Well hi there! How's the week been treating you?
Mine's been alright, but that's not what you're here for is it?
You saw the title on this post and now you're all curious right?
I bet you're wondering what boyfriend stuff includes? Let's start with:

• Getting texted back regularly with an option for phone calls!
  
• Going out on dates with possible holding hands or making out!
  
• I'll make you laugh with all sorts of jokes from the sophisticated cynicism, cutting sarcasm to childish fart jokes I can do it all!
  
• You can get home cooked dinners! And breakfast too if I'm working overnights!
  
• You'll get all sorts of attention and compliments!
  
• I'm emotionally available and completely over my ex's!
  
• Flowers!
  

....and so much more!
Sounds pretty great right?
But who am I?
I'm a nearly middle aged divorced ex stand up comic that's worked himself into full on burnout working in hotels for the last twenty years. It's made into someone that's very empathetic and caring while still being to be cold as ice when needed.
In my free time I'm kind of a traditional nerdy white guy. Gaming, cartoons (not anime though), science fiction, detective stories, alternative history, sketch comedy, various sitcoms, hiking, cooking and mowing the lawn occupy my off hours. I also tried getting back into writing again, but it's been challenging.
Now it's your turn! PM me and we can start planning the first date!

Here’s my rankings:

1. Hunter - Bro knew he was getting votes & was even planning on playing the idol, but then completely overthought the entire thing by trying to calculate the votes, which caused him to not play his idol, resulting in his own demise.
   
2. Venus - Some people may disagree with this, and that’s fine, but the reason as to why I have her higher than Q is because according to exit interviews, she knew that accidentally revealing/hinting to Charlie that she had an idol was a BIG MISTAKE, but for some reason, she somehow didn’t play her idol, despite the fact that Charlie was the frickin swing vote at that tribal & Venus should’ve caught on to the possibly that Q was still the decoy target
   
3. Q - While it’s a bit understandable, on Q’s part, that he wouldn’t be the F6 target, considering he was the smokescreen target for three straight tribals, he should’ve knew something was up, considering that his name wasn’t being thrown around at tribal & the fact that a lot of people disliked him. And it was also dumb on Maria’s part in not telling Q that he was getting votes.
   
4. Tiffany - I’ll probably cut her a little bit of slack considering the circumstances around the vote, with most of the tribe hating on Q, however she should’ve played her idol at the F8, considering that her idol was now public
   
5. Jem - Her non-idol play was the most justified since she didn’t recognize her name was being thrown out & she did a good job in duping most of her tribe into them believing that doesn’t have it. However, she really destroyed her own game by getting too erratic, trying to control everything, and by being a terrible liar once she was confronted by Tim about the idol.
   

Hi! I’m making my first real batch of ginger bug soda. I have eight 16 oz glass swing top bottles that I bottled yesterday. I didn’t think of the fact that I’m leaving tomorrow on a trip until half way through bottling. I hoped they would carbonate by today, though I knew it was a long shot. No bubbling so far. I don’t want them exploding while I’m gone. Is it safe to leave them for two days room temperature or should I refrigerate? I planned on taking one or two with us. I’ll have people pet sitting so I can have them burp the bottles - I just really don’t want them becoming alcoholic. What’s best practice here?
TL;DR - I planned poorly. Will my sodas explode or turn into booze in the next two days?

I was let go from J5 last month. It was my choice to let it happen, company merged and I didn't care for the new management style of pressuring engineers to finish tasks earlier than planned to look good for the new brass so I just starting procrastinating until I was let go. Pay was way below market for my role but it was super low in workload before the merger so I kept it in my lineup. But of course Rule #2 always be applying paid off and I got 2 offers within 3 weeks paying close to double. Now I'm considering accepting both and removing J4 as well but I'm nervous that I won't like one and end up having to drop it back to 4Js while searching again instead of just accepting one to replace J5. Whats been your experencience changing your lineup when it wasn't necessarily bad to before the change? Did you regret it?
Edit: I tried 6Js before and it was hell. 4Js is my ideal comfort zone but 5 is just enough stress for me to not be bored all day and accelerate my Fire journey

We have 5 full days in Costa Rica. This is our first time spending 2 nights in La Fortuna and 2 nights in Monteverde. Please rate our itinerary 🙏 We will be there first half of August and plan on not renting a car. If you have shuttle recommendations, please share..
Day 0 Arrive in Costa Rica at 10:00 PM
Immigration, baggage claim, and airport procedures
Transfer to a budget-friendly accommodation in San Jose
~Overnight stay in San Jose
Day 1 Breakfast in San Jose
8:00 AM: Shuttle from San Jose to La Fortuna (3 hrs)
11 AM -1 PM: Check-in and lunch
1- 5 PM: Hot Springs and relax
8-9 PM: Local cooking/dinner experience
~Overnight stay in La Fortuna
Day 2 7 AM: Arenal Volcanic National Park (30-40 mins from La Fortuna)
10 AM: Take the trail ($15 entry 2-3 hours)
Fortuna Waterfall (8 mins from La Fortuna) El Salto (Rope Swing)
OR book a full day tour
~Overnight stay in La Fortuna
Day 3 6-8 AM: Shuttle to Rio Celeste (1 hours 30 mins)
8-10 AM: enjoy waterfall
12 PM: Get to Lake Arenal Dam (2 hours from Rio Celeste)
Taxi/Boat/Taxi to Monteverde Cloud Forest (3-4 hours)
El Tigre Waterfalls - if you get a chance (is on the way to Santa Elena 30 mins away)
~Overnight stay in Santa Elena
Day 4 Monteverde Preserve hike (3 hours)
Horseback riding or Adventure Park (3 hours)
~Overnight stay in Santa Elena
Day 5 Leave at 8 AM: Shuttle back to San Jose (4-5 hours)
1-8 PM: Explore San Jose (*One relaxing activity - Find place for luggage)
8:00-8:30 PM: Get to airport
8:30 PM: Check-in and security procedures Flight back at 11:59 PM

This is gonna be a long and personal one. If you do read it, I appreciate it. I absolutely understand if you don’t though. With that all being said, I’m hoping Gabriel sees this.
I had my fourth call today with LM nearly two hours ago now (yes, it’s taken this long for or me to find the ‘right’ words). We went through more directions and not to give anything away, but I was surprised and confused a bit (may make another post with spoilers to ask here about it to see if anyone else has had the same happen to them, we’ll see). It was a nice distraction. I then tried to make an appointment. We talked of family for a moment. It was nice to remember something that I didn’t for a very, very long time.
As the call went on, my mind trailed to my father. (TW: Intense medical procedure). He’s currently in a hospital out of state still recovering from a double lung transplant he had a week ago. The first time I got to talk with him since the surgery happened was yesterday. It’s already been a long six year process. I didn’t realize just how long of a road it would still be until I heard my dad’s voice last night.
To further explain— I have a high functioning auditory memory. I am able to remember and recall the sounds and/or voices that I hear for long periods of time (which can sometimes be up to years in my case). Voices, music, etc. tend to mean a lot to me. So, I was shocked and a bit heartbroken when I realized that my dad didn’t sound or even process some things the same as he used to a week after the surgery. It’s my first time experiencing anything like this, so I was taken aback a bit.
I began to get anxious during the phone call while memories of him flooded in without warning and I didn’t want to ruin the rest of the experience. So, I tried to make something out of it. And I opened up. I remembered you can say if you’re having a psychological emergency. So, I let Gabriel know.
When explaining why I felt anxious, it was odd for me. Usually I’m very sure in how I’m feeling and why I’m feeling it. It’s been a long road with my dad’s health. I wasn’t sure other than ‘anxious’ how to describe where I was at. Thank you for bearing through it and for your patience with me, Gabriel, if you do read this.
He took me through a few breaths, but then let me know that he couldn’t take me through the whole emergency process. He dropped his ‘customer service’ voice as he explained that we only had 30 seconds left of our call today. I told him ‘it’s okay’, with a slight waver in my voice that I poorly tried to hide. ‘It’s hard when someone you love.. starts to become different due to medical.. (TW: swearing) shit. I don’t know what else to say.’ ‘I appreciate you saying anything, honest. Thank you.’ The bell rang. I took my survey. I thanked him. The call ended.
His honesty, even when not knowing what to say, gave me more comfort than almost any other conversation I’ve had about my dad. It really, really is hard. And he recognized that.
I didn’t realize until the call was over that when I thanked him, I thanked him by another name. I do apologize, I truly didn’t mean to. I promise that I know your name. I sat with myself for a while wondering why I called him that specific name of all names. I would say why, but I feel as though I’ve already opened up a lot today.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you for hearing me.
I wanted to talk about this moment in particular during my call today because I wanted to say that if there’s anyone reading this going through any similar or unrelated struggles— reach out. Doesn’t have to be to LM. Trust me when I say that I definitely didn’t plan on it being LM or Gabriel. It can be with a loved one or someone close. Doesn’t have to be someone close either. Just as long as you reach out to someone rather than hold on to whatever struggle you’re going through. It’s terrifying, yes. But you never know. You could really find comfort in an unexpected and unplanned conversation. I did.
Gabriel. Thank you. Until Next Time.

I'm pleased to share that I successfully exited my GameStop position at $60, having entered at $30, effectively doubling my investment. I plan to reinvest these gains into AGBA Acquisition. Additionally, I doubled my position in Greenwave Technology, and once today's funds are cleared, I will be fully invested in AGBA.

Hello all,
I am working on a bridle for the Percheron I ride as a gift for his owner, since his old one is falling apart, and he only has an English bridle once this one is gone. I've previously made him a halter using bridle leather, but I wanted to use veg for his bridle to be able to carve it. I typically finish the grain with resolene to protect the painting I do on my pieces, and plan to do it on this one. I like this option better than just wax and oil finishes since I find it stands up well to tough conditions.
I wanted to spitball some ideas on softening the flesh side a bit so it doesn't rub and maybe learn a new method if mine aren't really suited to tack that touches the horse. My thoughts right now are between a wax and oil based conditioner worked into the flesh side so that it becomes supple, but before it's totally saturated and scraped with a metal rib to break the leather in a bit. I use this method for belts I make for myself since I can be a princess about stiff leather.
Burnishing with gum trag and getting a nice slick smooth back side (I worry here about the back still being too stiff and rubbing, but I know it will at a minimum reduce friction)
Using a lower weight leather and doubling it so that I have grain on both sides. This is the least ideal because it would all be hand stitched. I use a treadle to sew my leather usually, but the limit I've found on it seems to be about 8oz total leather being sewn. There may be a different style needle that will give me better results though as that's what fails for me rather than power or speed, so I will also shop around to see if there's a good industrial duty needle that will fit my treadle.
Also in potentially backing it, I have some short shearling I could line it with that would be really nice, or I could make some wool felt to line it with.
My instinct is the oil/wax conditioner, but I do plan to play with various options. before making the bridle and patterning it all out.

Hi everyone!
I'm currently pursuing a double major in Computer Science and Mathematics and need to select my electives. Since I haven't taken any physics courses yet, I have the option to choose between advanced math courses (like Number Theory, Complex Analysis, or Vector and Tensor Calculus) and physics courses (such as Newtonian Mechanics, Electromagnetism, and Thermodynamics with Calculus).
Given that I plan to go to grad school to study machine learning applications for quantitative finance, which of these courses do you think would be more beneficial for me?
Thank you for your help!

Introduction

The main purpose of this guide will be to help unlock the golden dice for those of you who feel less confident about tackling honour mode. This is designed to be a path of least resistance, so we won’t be experiencing everything this game has to offer. It’s also worth noting that instead of focusing on min-maxing for damage; we prioritise safe & consistent damage. We don’t need to be respeccing characters often, if at all, and we won’t be relying on strength elixirs. My girlfriend (u/-babyjanehudson) and I put this together as we’ve beaten honour mode a 5 times now without any failed attempts, we were even in the first 800 people to beat it which is kinda cool! Here’s how we did it. First starting with our builds, then a little general advice and finally just a list of some general Do’s & Don’ts. Apologies for the wall of text.
​

Builds:

Bardlock (party face) - Great old one Warlock 2, college of lore bard 10 - Cha16>Dex16>Con14>Wis12

• Key items are the spell sparkler until Markoheshkir, potent robe, quickspell gloves, necklace of elemental augmentation & the warped headband of intellect (great for general party face checks in acts 1+2) at least until you get the birthright at sorcerers sundries in act 3. Once I reach act 3 and have persuaded half of the shadow cursed lands into dying, I personally choose to respec into Sorlock: 2 goolock, 2 fighter, 8 draconic sorcerer. It’s not necessary but I find it gives the edge in combat while in act 3, as there are less dialogue checks available that bard can abuse. Being a sorlock means every morning in camp I can convert ALL level 1+2 spell slots into extra sorcery slots meaning my bonus action is now always being used for eldritch blast thanks to quickened spell meta magic plus we have action surge :) Skill priority for this character is Persuasuion > Intimidation > Deception > Performance > Perception > Investigation. Credit to u/kethrynweryn for this build, it’s easily my fav in the game.

​
Life cleric 12 - Wis16>Con16>Dex14>Str
(light cleric does more damage so is technically better for experienced players but a life cleric is there to save your run in case of an emergency, something pretty invaluable to beginners in HM as we can’t assume we are winning every fight in the first 2 turns like we ideally aim to)

• key items are reapers embrace, sentinel shield, hell riders pride, the whispering promise & blood of lathander. Other items of note would be luminous armor & the radiant/illumation rings. Most fights will simply involve casting spirit guardians at its highest level and running through crowds of enemies like you’re mowing a lawn, picking up the war caster feat is brilliant for helping you keep concentration when taking attacks of opportunity but i know as a feat it’s a little divisive, just my personal preference. This setup trivialises all combat encounters in act 2. Just remember to check enemies for radiant retort, they’re few and far between but can fuck things up if you forget.

​
Swords Bard Archer (Lockpicker) - 6 Swords Bard, 4 Rogue Thief, 2 Fighter - Dex17>Cha14>Con14>Wis12>Str

• Key items are hag hair (+1dex), titan string, risky ring, hill giant club, helm of arcane acuity & band of the mystic scoundrel. With this setup every time you attack, you can hold person, fear, vicious mockery or invisibility as a bonus action :) Just make sure to use your slashing flourish as much as possible to maximise damage. Don’t forget to get to the high ground whenever possible to increase your damage.

Skill priority for this character is Sleight of hand > Stealth > Perception > Persuasion > Intimidation > Deception > Acrobatics
​
Barbarian - Wild heart Bear Barb 8, Battle Master Fighter 4 - Str16>Con16>Dex14>Wis12

• Key items are more flexible here as this build is less dependant on gear. I recommend grabbing the Everburn blade if you can, it really helps during the slog of act 1 (to get it easily, when you first find Shadowheart on the nautiloid immediately swap any one of the spells in her book for Command, then use command drop on Zhalk and steal his sword. I do not recommend trying to fight him for it). Most the time you’ll just wear the usual barb stuff, bracers of defence & a 2H weapon of your choice. If you’re willing to brave Raphael & Ansur this build becomes a powerhouse with the gauntlets of hill giant strength, amulet of health & Baldurans giantslayer. These items are incredible but are also locked behind fights which pose the highest risk to your run, prepare carefully and if you don't feel confident enough then don’t be ashamed to just skip them. Anyway we take wild heart bear because being resistant to everything but psychic damage is really underrated. You can use this character to abuse the poor souls that your swords bard has been using hold person on for easy crits. Make sure to always use reckless attack. Initially it sounds bizarre but stick with me, you want enemies to have advantage against your barb. Attacking recklessly while keeping your AC capped around 17~19 means the computer always prioritises attacking your barb’ over the rest of your party. This is great as we will be taking half damage from every source other than psychic. Not to mention if you’re always using reckless attack, the feat Great Weapon Master no longer has a downside, so it becomes a reliable +10 to damage.

​
Final note for builds:
As you’ve probably noticed, yes almost everybody in the party takes a dip in fighter for access to action surge & shield proficiency. I learned this habit from Colby like everything else I know. He’s the Bob Ross of DnD builds and well worth your time.
​

General Advice

The most important factor in honour mode is “meta knowledge”, This means things like: knowing how to enter each combat effectively, making sure everyone is in a good position before starting, knowing exactly which enemies/spells you’ll face during that fight and ensuring you always take the enemy by surprise to gain a free turn. Being properly prepared is better than any build. As for difficulty, Act 1 is always going to be your biggest challenge so use plenty of rests and pick your fights carefully. For this guide I also recommend using your bard to persuade the act 2 bosses into committing suicide.

Do’s:

• Always have a these spells prepared: longstrider, aid, enhance ability, bless, misty step, heroes feast, counterspell, shield & guidance.
  
• Buy the ring of bless from Volo the moment you meet him at the grove.
  
• Steal Laezel’s armor at the start if you’re not using her, it’s great medium armor in the first few hours.
  
• Let Volo take your eye for a permanent see invisibility buff.
  
• Barbarian should always use reckless attack
  
• Buy & craft every potion of speed you can get your grubby mitts on. With the slight nerfs to Haste in HM potions of speed are a safer alternative.
  
• Take the Hag hair +1dex for swords bard and most the time just let Ethel have Mayrina, its fiddly to control who Ethel will offer the deal to so just go in being prepared to sacrifice Mayrina.
  
• Talk to crusher outside the goblin camp and persuade him to kiss your feet. He'll run off embaressed, follow him to the bridge away from all the other goblins. Now you can safely and easily kill him to loot his ring which increases movement speed.
  
• Use your party face to poison the goblin camp in act 1, killing over half of them outside before even entering combat and then the party face can simply deny everything.
  
• Look up the wiki page for every boss and check their legendary resistances/actions BEFORE starting the encounter. Ethel, inquisitor w’wargaz, cazador, steel watch titan & Nether brain specifically can do some seriously nasty stuff that’s exclusive to HM & can easily catch you off guard.
  
• Kill Balthazar in his room/lab where you first meet him. To make the fight even easier you can take flesh into the self same trial using the bell so you don’t have to fight him alongside Balthazar. Either way it’s a much easier than the fighting in the shadowfell.
  
• Take alert if someone has a spare feat available, otherwise increasing your main ability score is usually the best bet.
  
• Cast sanctuary on Isobel during the raid on the last light in, a lot easier than chasing after her trying to heal & blade ward her. Alternatively ignore her altogether, go straight to ambush against the drider, grab the lantern and release dolly dolly dolly, allowing you to skip the Isobel & Marcus’s fight altogether.
  
• Keep characters ability scores in even values when possible, odd values do not change anything (with a slight exception to constitution as odd values still give a little extra hp).
  
• Try to keep all characters at 12 Wis or higher to avoid being feared, charmed or hold person’d.
  
• Cast darkness over Halsins portal to prevent enemies attacking it.
  
• Take Gortash's deal to skip his fight & the steel foundry.
  
• Use minor illusion to group enemies together & pull them out of position before initiating combat. You can also use this method to fix broken NPC’s when they’re not standing where they’re meant to. Looking at you Alfira & Lakrissa.
  
• If you’re open to a little cheesing you can leave some ranged/throwing party members on the steps before the Grym boss fight. Now just rain hell down on the boss from safety.
  
• Globe of invulnerability is exactly as broken as it sounds. These scrolls restock daily at sorcerers sundries & trivialise every boss encounter in act 3. Ansur specifically has no way of countering this.
  
• Illithid powers. These wriggly little cuties are some of the strongest buffs/abilities available. I recommend having every possible party member take atleast: favourable beginnings, luck of the far realms, ability drain & cull the weak. If you opt to go half illithid then you get access to some outrageous kit such as: fly, psionic dominance, illithid expertise & blackhole.
  
• Summon any minions before casting Aid, Heroes feast, Longstrider & other morning buffs.
  
• Use your potions, elixirs & scrolls as much as possible. They’re literally everywhere & with good reason. A well timed potion of invisibility or scroll of misty step can save a run.
  
• Most people know this already but don’t forget you can throw healing potions at allies in a pinch.
  
• Before descending the stairs to Cazador’s fight have a party member go invisible. They can run over and free Astarion before rolling initiative. This method can also be used to free Volo, Mayrina, Aylin or set up smokepowder barrels for a one turn kill.
  
• Use darkness to cover any pickpocketing and then flee the area before the NPC notices they've been got.
  
• Only trade with vendors using your highest persuasion character.
  
• Give your frequently visited vendors a few hundred gold to max out their attitude. this way you have the best prices for both buying and selling.
  
• Remember you can skip the final fight altogether using the dialogue option (important distinction) to blow Gale up at the brain stem in act 3.
  

Don’ts:

• Don’t awaken at the Zaithisk unless you’re certain you can make the checks, there is a great guide on respeccing for this exact moment credit to u/kodiak3393.
  
• Don't use friends, guidance or any other spell when bargaining with Ethel for Mayrina & the hag hair. It will trigger Ethel's legendary action and prevent you from getting the hag hair.
  
• Don’t free Orpheus unless you're prepared to also fight the Emperor in the final fight.
  
• Don’t play as durge for the first time. Worth noting the cloak exclusive to durge is easily the best in the game but being durge throws the player some unexpected curveballs that can end a run if you're not prepared.
  
• Don’t keep sharpshooter toggled on permanenlty unless you’ve got risky ring or oil of accuracy.
  
• Don’t try & save the gondians, don’t go to the iron throne, do not pass go, do not collect £200
  
• Don’t underestimate Flind the and other Gnolls who are attacking Rugan in act 1, you ideally want to be level 4 before this fight. Ensure to start the encounter from insidde the cave where Rugan is trapped, it can be accessed from the area near the fake paladins of tyr & Karlach.
  
• Don’t use the cantrip Friends unless you plan on immediately leaving the area or killing the target.
  
• Don’t convince Ketheric to commit suicide at the mindlfayer colony. Instead use the first phase of the fight to get into position & takeout the Mindflayer asasp then get to work on the apostles. Makes phase 2 infinitely easier.
  
• Don’t talk to Wulbren or the Tieflings in the Moonrise prison until you’ve killed the warden and all the guards . These guards are utterly brain dead and somehow will never inform anyone upstairs of your massacre, regardless of how stealthily or raucously you tackle them. So just go hog wild. This’ll secure your potent robe with ease.
  

​
[Updated & reformatted version of the guide I wrote and posted a few months ago on bg3builds with my old account u/JoseMongo]

Zone 7b. 6,000sq ft of cool season in the back yard (with weeds) 2,000 sq fr of zoysia in the front lawn. I have owned this property for 5 years now but just decided I want the best damn lawn in the neighborhood. I realize this won’t happen in a season but it’s not in terrible shape as it is.
I’ve already treated the back yard with weed b gone to kill wild strawberries, violets, some creeping Charlie and a ton of clover. Going to do another dose of that in about a week. The front doesn’t need much help as it’s nice thick zoysia. I’ll be lowering the HOC this season and scalping heavily while dormant next season. Back yard is about 30-40% weeds and 2-3 types of grass… that is my main area of focus.
Getting a soil test asap but I already know I’m dealing with some heavy clay soil. This is the reason I plan on dressing with garden soil blend from a local landscape supply company (below)
Anyway, see below for a breakdown of my plans:
After weeds die:
Fill in large holes with top soil and compost.
Plant kgb/ fescue blend with 5% micro clover in those spots and bare spots from where the weeds were.
Cover with hay
Water daily
After seeds sprout, fertilize.
Option: Kelp mix.
EARLY JUNE:
Fungus treatment for the front lawn
Grub control for the front lawn
JULY:
Fertilize again
SEPTEMBER:
Fertilize towards the end of the month
OCTOBER:
Aerate back yard and clean up the cores
Mow low
Overseed with fescue/ kgb mix with 5% micro clover in back yard only.
Top dress with garden soil (30/70 blend of aged compost and screened top soil). (6yds) $330 for soil, $100 delivery. $430 total.
NEXT SPRING:
APRIL:
Pre emergent in the back yard.
Scalp the zoysia as low as possible and bag the clippings.
MAY:
Fertilizer back yard
Aerate front yard
Top dress with garden soil. (2yds) $140 for soil, $100 delivery. $240 total.
TOWARDS THE END OF MAY:
Post emergent all over.

Hello, my parents took out a few Parent Plus Loans for me for college and it's about $28k. I, unfortunately, didn't hear about the double consolidation method until it was too late and I had already consolidated all 3 loans. The monthly payments on the Graduated plan are $168 right now and will increase every 2 years. My parents, of course, are making me pay this, since it was my college experience. I guess the advice I'm looking for is should I try to refinance them to get lower payments, or should I wait it out and see if any sort of relief plan becomes available for the Parent Plus loans via the Student Aid website? Also, the Graduated plan was about $60 cheaper than the ICR plan, since it goes off of my parents income sadly. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you!

I'm in Minnesota and 2 weeks ago seeded a few larger areas along with some smaller bare spots around the yard and a light overseed everywhere else. I cut short before all this, but we've had great weather and my watering for the new seed has made the established sections of my lawn grow very fast. It's now a few inches past where I typically cut and I'm worried that it's shading out some of the smaller bare spots I was trying to fill in.
Is it best to wait maybe a few more weeks or can I carefully mow now? I would plan to entirely stay off the larger seeded sections, but mow everywhere else since I can't really weave between the smaller bare spots.
The established grass is quite long, so to stick to the 1/3rd rule should I mow at the highest height and then hit it again a few days later at a lower height?
Should I bag everything for now? How long after seeding can I switch from bagging to mulching?

I live in NW Philly and work in Newark NJ 3x a week. Most days on the way to work I take SEPTA’s Chestnut Hill West line, transfer to Amtrak at Billy Gray and double-back up the NEC. While it would be great to save an hour of my time by getting off at North Philly and catching the Keystone from here, CHW gets in just a couple minutes later so I’d miss the connection, but that’s not really why I’m writing this post.
The real reason is the way back. With dynamic Amtrak ticket prices I use a combination of both Amtrak and SEPTA depending on how flexible I need the times to be. On the days I can’t afford Amtrak home (because I haven’t planned well enough ahead), I take SEPTA train 722 southbound from Trenton. If I were to transfer at 30th when everything is running on time I would miss my connection to Chestnut Hill West by 1 minute; so, to avoid waiting at 30th for yet another hour, I get off at North Philly as I have done a handful of times since starting this role.
Here’s a rundown of my experience last week: After exiting the train, I walk down the steps with the other passengers exiting the train before turning left and hustling out of the tunnel to the barren CHW platform, being sure to dodge the couple of people in the corner injecting their legs. Thus begins the longest and scariest 15 minutes of my day, waiting for the train at the top of the hill that is the CHW North Philly platform. Another passenger arrives, seemingly an EMS worker from Temple Hospital and it’s nice to have some company up there just in case shit hits the fan. Soon, an Amtrak police cruiser turns into the parking lot and drives to the edge of the parking lot next to the hill and rolls down her window. She asks “Are you ok? You’re not getting too close to the tracks, are you?” I explain I’m fine and well behind the yellow line and that I am expecting my CHW train to be arriving in 5 minutes. She had no idea was Chestnut Hill West even was and proceeded to remain parked until the train arrived. While it was comforting to have the police nearby, I can’t help but feel that I am not doing the right thing by using this train station and that I’m out of place by attempting to use it.
If Amtrak and SEPTA are citing low ridership as a reason for not investing in North Philly station, please know it’s not because of lack of interest: it’s because anyone who attempts to use it for its designated purpose of a quick transfer from the Northwest to the Northeast needs to complete an entire risk management assessment before even considering to use the station. That, in my view, is unacceptable. (Side note, similarly I’ve completely ruled out ever transferring to the 23 bus from Wayne Junction again–I tried it and it was terrifying).
In researching this topic, I have also learned there is an unofficial pathway from the south end of the Amtrak platform that lets you cross directly over to the CHW side but it seems to be grade level and possibly even more dangerous than the creepy tunnel and crossing the parking lot.
Amtrak owns this station so I assume SEPTA’s hands are tied in the same way that they can’t complete the pedestrian tunnel under 30th street, but if Amtrak doesn’t even know what CHW is, how are we ever going to have a safe and usable North Philly station?
Can anyone else relate? I’ll continue to make this transfer any day that CHW is running on time on which I would miss the connection at 30th, anytime I can’t afford Amtrak because it literally saves me an hour of my life after a 3 hour commute. Am I taking my life into my own hands?

We've started putting money towards our baby's 529 plan a couple of months ago and I was going off of the VA529 Tuition Cost Calculator and what they thought was a good amount to put in per month.
I just checked again today and all of a sudden the amount we should be putting in per month has doubled?
Is total cost of tuition really going to be ~550k in the 2040s? Like really?