I was really excited to finally try Arc when it comes to windows as people seemed to love it and it always looked interesting and clean to me. Here I will write a short review of what i've noticed with using it a few days.
I won't touch so much on the subject on side tabs, Spaces, "bookmarks", these are not really issues and are definitely subjective and different, some people might like the new approach, some dont.
Here's a quick summary of my thoughts on the most notable "features" (Sidenav, Spaces, Different Logic for Bookmarks)

• I personally like the side nav, i like how easy it is to see everything and is forcing me to use my keaboard more for navigation (Ctrl+S, Ctrl+T, Ctrl+W), which i enjoy. It also looks great
• Spaces, and similar features like it in other browsers, is something that's not a part of my workflow typically. I like everything in one place and don't like unnecessary overhead. However, i see great potential in this for people who want to separate personal life and work, or multiple different works in an organized way.
• I don't use bookmarks as heavily as some people either, but it definitely feels weird having them act as tabs, maybe I could get used to it.

I just wanted to mention those obvious and biggest selling points of Arc; however, these are subjective features and changing the way people think about browsers and navigation, I don't want to talk about this atm. Each person should decide if they like what Arc has to offer when it comes to these "breaking" changes.
I also don't want to talk about any early Windows bugs, I'm sure those will be sorted out soon.
What I primarily wanted to talk about is some missing features. Sadly, at this point in time, Arc feels like a downgrade. Many features are missing or abstracted in a very weird way, and its not clear why, most of the things I'm about to talk about would not impact the "nature" of Arc, so I'm not sure why they were left out or not implemented.

1. Favourites (Quick access, or h/e you wanna call it)

When I started using Arc, considering that there is no way to customize the default home page, I was disappointed to see that theres no way for me to quickly open up some my most visited places. Then i found the Favourites, and i was pleasantly surprised, they looked clean, were accessible at all times, didn't take up too much space, perfect. That's what i thought until i was disappointed again.
The way favourites behave is just dumb, i have no other way of putting it. Its horrible and mostly unusable.
Example: Let's say I favorite Netflix. I click on it to open it, it's not gonna create a new tab, its just gonna open it in favorites. I play a movie and navigate off. There is NO WAY for me to tell that Netflix was ever even opened, that I have an entire movie playing in the background, i would have no idea where its coming from, what is playing, or anything about it, until i finally click on it to see whats going on. It's a horrible experience.
This somewhat intertwines with the way current "bookmarks" behave, except that this type of behavior is never expected from a quick-access menu. Atm these are just glorified tabs, but worse since they have no title, no indicators for being opened or playing audio, nothing.
To fix this simply make clicking on this open a new tab, I don't see how the current approach is better.

2. Titles

I can't for the life of me figure out why this is the case, but some webpage titles are overridden. Most notably I noticed Gmail, but I think i saw other cases as well.
In other browsers the title bar would show something like: Inbox(5) - [myemail@gmail.com](mailto:myemail@gmail.com)
In Arc it shows: Gmail
Just why? A very useful piece of information coming from the third party website itself is overridden for a worse user experience.

3. Multi-monitomulti-window support

For this part it might be important to notice the difference between Windows and Mac users. Correct me if I'm wrong but Mac seems typically focused on one monitor (considering the product), and the workflows for MacOS apps are built with that in mind. I'm not saying that all windows users use multiple monitors, in fact most don't, but it seems more common to have those types of customizability.
Now that Arc is on Windows the "Mac way of doing things" seems to remain, and everything feels slightly off.

• Technically you can have multiple arc windows, but the only way to make them is to drag and drop tabs. However, this creates an entirely new unnamed new space, and I'm not sure if that is what i would want.
• Creating new windows lacks the UX compared to Chrome, where you can just drag it out anywhere and it works natively the way a windows app is expected to.
• Middle-clicking the Arc icon in the taskbar doesn't do anything (should open a new window). And Right Click->New window opens the original Space with the same tabs,it feels very off and buggy, I don't see the benefit.
• Splitting is probably the closest I found to match the way I typically use a browser. However these are also not very intuitive, its hard to navigate, replace/add/close tabs, theres a weird white border, you cant split vertically

4. Settings

I couldn't wait to dive into the settings and personalize my Arc experience to fix all of these "issues" I was having. Only to find that settings pretty much don't exist. There is nothing.
(I'm not talking about chromium settings, these need to exist. But even these are impossible to find for an average user)
Here are all the available options

• Change the Theme between the two (they seem exactly the same)
• Change default search engine
• Setup when tabs are archived
• THATS IT, those 3 settings are the only ones that exist.

In such an "innovative" browser I expected intinitely more options to tweak things around. The way it currently is, if you don't like Arcs very opinionated way of doing things, you can't do anything about it. This is probably one of my biggest downsides.

5. Why?

• Opening a URL/Search window always shows "The Browser Company" youtube channel as one of the option? At least disable it when opened once, or put more rows in this menu, you remove an entire space for most recently opened places for an ad.
• Navigating off a page playing a puts a video in a small window over your other stuff. Maybe 1/20 times i watch a video I might want this to happen, the rest of the time, its a music video, podcast, something to listen to, you just navigated quickly off of it, etc. At least add an option to remove this. (As I was writing this i found a way to disable the "picture in picture", I will leave the section to show my initial thought, but im pleasantly surprised i was able to fix this and im willing to give other features a try the same way)

Conclusion

I will still be using Arc for a while to see if I can get used to some of my current pain-points and to give it a better shot, as well as wait for potential upgrades.
Let me know what you guys think and if you found a workaround for some of my issues. Or have any other benefits to Arc that i filed to notice.
Thanks for reading

I’ve had this theory in my mind for a while, and I’d love to expand on it with Scout’s Honor answering my questions. I think I might have an idea as to how the Infected psychology works. Be warned, this is going to be a very long post.
First, I want to look at Ink. He retained almost his entire personality, even after being Infected. I’m going to use him as an example through this entire theory.
We know Burt used the line “The smarter you are in life, the smarter you are in death” and it was brought up again much later on in Season 4, signifying some serious importance. Kelly also once said, referring to Ink: “What happens when they turn you, but you’re already a monster?” I don’t think this was just a throwaway guess. I think this has serious significance to the story and helps build my theory a bit.
Let’s use Datu and his perspective after he was turned. He said he felt like he was “watching his life through the backseat of his mind.” Like he was lacking control. But Ink retained control, and both of them are smart cookies. Why? Or why doesn’t Randy show nearly as much control as Ink, and why did his eyes AND Datu’s go cloudy?
You could say the eyes thing is related to how much control you retain, but with Scout’s Honor and Joe, and also Buffalo Bill, I don’t believe this is the case. Rather, there are THREE components at play that separate Ink / Datu and Randy / Joe and Buffalo Bill.
Using Burt’s first line, we can say intelligence is a factor in how much of yourself you maintain. But intelligence alone isn’t enough, because Randy didn’t have control like Ink did. Another factor is how much of a leader or a “follower” you are (wink wink). I think this plays into the clouding of the eyes. Every Infected we’ve seen without cloudy eyes is some kind of leader, Ink leading mass hordes, “Coal” leading the Scorpions, Buffalo Bill holding alpha status, and Joe leading the… other Scorpions. (I see what you did there, Kc) Now, whether or not the green eyes is a coincidence between all the leaders or green eyes form in Infected leaders, or green eyes has a relation to leadership, I’m not sure, but I do think how much of a leader you are also goes into play as to how much of yourself you retain.
Finally, using Kelly’s quote, how much of a monster you are. This is the third and most important component and it hasn’t been explored much, but I think there is something about how Infected turn that protects them from retaining their future self, should they hate what they’ve become. Basically, if someone who hated Infected turned, they would have the least control, because otherwise they would try and take themselves down. It’s like how humans have self-preservation, Infected also have a more complex self-preservation instinct.
The higher each of these components are, the more of yourself there is after you’re turned. Ink was a rare and lucky combo of all three, and so when he turned, he remained himself. Randy was high in intelligence but wasn’t a monster or a leader, so he had cloudy eyes and only had a small part of himself left inside. Datu was similar because he wasn’t a leader either and his eyes went cloudy, but he had a comparable intelligence. He also mentioned seeing from the backseat of his mind, as in being without control because he wasn’t a monster either.
Joe wasn’t a monster, but he was a leader. He most likely had a good intelligence because he was able to trap the kids in Scout’s Honor and predict their movements (if I listened to that right). So he didn’t retain his personality, because the “monster” part is what an Infected needs to be like themselves. In simplest terms, if you’re an unintelligent monster who follows rather than leads, you most likely won’t retain very much of yourself, but if you’re an intelligent leader who can’t stand hurting others, you would most likely see the same effect. You need all three to be like Ink.
This means Buffalo Bill was probably also a good person before death, as he shows leadership instincts and intelligence, but isn’t coherent like Ink.
Finally, there are two other parts of how the Infected work that are separate but I’d like to still mention them. One is physical characteristics, and the other is your deepest drive. I believe both of these are “amplified” once you turn. For physical characteristics, I think the changes an Infected goes under that makes them tougher, also makes them better in whatever they’re good at (an athletic person would become a runner, which could explain why jumpers were so rare because most people aren’t extremely good at jumping versus running. Also, the Infected are better on ground and chasing and so probably are strengthened in that field more).
The deepest drive thing comes from some of the conclusions made from Scout’s Honor and Descendants, with Fredo and the wedding couple and more. I think that whatever your deepest motivator or drive when you turn becomes your main drive as an Infected. I imagine the more you retain from life and the more control you have, the less of this exists, but it still does exist in everyone depending on how motivated of people they were. Many people who turned probably had no drive (like, living life day to day, with no goal), and that could explain why so many Infected are mindless.
I’d love to hear some thoughts on this and see if anyone agrees or disagrees. There’s a few leaps but I’ve tried to keep it as close to the story as I can.

I have a couple of questions. (Student) I’ve been getting different answers. I understand that when a person is on mechinical ventilation you always increase FiO2 first (until 0.60) before you raise PEEP. My question is when you wish to titrate down because the ABG is looking good(a lot better) which do you go down on first? Is it still FiO2 first or PEEP? Example, Fio2 is 0.80 with a PEEP of 12. What should I go down on first?
Second question, I always understood that if the patient has a pH less than 7.30 with a paCO2 over 50 that is acute ventilatory failure and you should get ready to intubate. Is that a good criteria to follow for regular patients?
Third question bouncing off the second. Regarding COPD patients and their ABG results. What values (pH, PaCO2, PaO2) am I looking for to begin NPPV and what numbers should i be at to tell me “hey now it’s time to intubate” ? I understand that their appearance, sensorium, WOB, and other factors come into play but I’d like to know just what to do based off ABG results.
I’m looking for what the NBRC hospital wants us to do and not real life experience. Thank you! I know that was a lot.

I have been thinking about different aspects of this a lot lately, and wanted to get some people’s perspectives. There are a few patterns to Middle Earth history that I think drastically reduce the load placed on world building. At the same time, I feel like it sort of limits the amount of deep dive we can do into the setting. I am on the fence as to whether these techniques offer a valuable toolkit to modern authors, or if the genre is sort of specifically responding to the detriments of this strategy.

1. History is carefully segmented. Tolkien appears to have very intentionally killed off every elf with a voiceline from the first age, except Galadriel who has symbolic and allegorical significance. And he worked hard to develop her history into something he was happy with, as Christopher has noted in his discussions of Galadriel and Celeborn. Then the geography and political reality of Beleriand disappears. The second age does the same thing. Even in the third age, we get the sense of a very limited “free world” which our heroes travel just about all of.

Hitting reset on a limited history obviously allows an author to have far more control over the reader’s experience. If Thingol was still cheerfully being a dick in Doriath in the third age, I would constantly want to know more about the mighty king of old, even if Tolkien wanted the story to move away from him. Likewise, I would be fascinated to hear duelling opinions about life from surviving heirs to the house of Finwe in the Third Age. But dozens of immortal elves all talking about Fingolfin’s death like it happened last week would get tedious. Careful pruning allowed Tolkien to make the few “Wise” characters we meet really feel that way.

1. We don’t meet normal people outside the Shire. This isn’t entirely true. Houses of Healing, Beregond, Labadal, maybe Erendis, etc. but mostly everyone we meet comes from power and wields power as a matter of course. No farmers, no traders, no Jim the spearman who just knows he is going to be troll stew.

The benefit here is that Tolkien doesn’t have to develop the social problems of everywhere we travel. A farmer in Rohan might talk about their problems with Theodan’s tax policy or grumble about changing fashion and Gondorian social influence. Tolkien has a very nuanced but clear moral message in his writing, like many authors.
Sanderson, for example, has very graspable messages in his books. But Sanderson clearly struggles to offer a good discourse on that message. The “heroes” all think loyalty and trust and honor are sacrosanct, and the people who disagree change their minds or are villains. And, much as I love Sanderson, it is a weakness of his writing.
Tolkien evades that somewhat clumsy message sending by simply avoiding the discourse. Aragorn never gets told that farmers would rather live as “slaves” under Sauron if it meant their kids could come home alive. Frodo is never reminded that some people bear unbearable burdens all their lives with no songs or friends or volcanic relief to speak of. A “fantastic” cast allows Tolkien to stay on message and remain more Romantic than a GRRM style chat with urchins might permit.

1. The main quest is the only but-for part of the story. Sure, Tolkien tells us lots of stuff happens we don’t know about. But in each age, we read about the significant events, they are driven by a small cast of “elites” and the rest of the world sort of doesn’t matter. If Lothlorien had fallen, little about the story would have changed. So we see the whole “effective” world through the character’s eyes, with very little concurrent causation developing events.

I think of this as the difference between developing an open world sandbox game and a carefully curated linear RPG. Both have value, but Tolkien had far more control because he didn’t have to worry about what the blue wizards were doing while the fellowship crossed Karadhras or what the Umbadite political scene looked like around the battle of Helms deep.
I could write a lot about how these and similar choices impact storytelling but I really just want to know if other people have had similar takes and, if so, how they feel these elements effect their engagement with Tolkien and other authors in the genre.

I was asking a ton of questions when I started workbench 5 days ago and received a ton of feedback but no one was exactly certain if it was a scam or not or if they had just messed up. By day 4, yesterday, I had the majority of my answers and hope the following warning will help others.
So, this is how it works. I will use a $100 deposit as an example. You start your 40/40 set with $100. A 3/3 album comes up. 2 of the 3 songs will be of a negative value. Your $100 gets frozen when song 2 for the album comes up. You then put an additional $100 in to unfreeze and continue. At that point the system behaves as though you have started with $200 so when the 3rd song comes up it will freeze you at a negative $200. If you put in that $200 to unfreeze, the system will continue your set as though you started with a $400 deposit. They say it is “rare“ and “lucky” to get a 2/2 or a 3/3 but I guarantee you, especially on “salary” day, you will get combo albums. And they can throw as many 2/2’s or 3/3’s at you in a set of 40/40 as they want. Meaning if you are unfreezing the 3rd song of a 3/3 and you are at 9/40, this can continue to happen several more times within that 40/40 set regardless of how ”rare” and “lucky” you are told you are!
Following the math in the above scenario of an initial $100 deposit to start a 40/40, if you happen to get three 3/3 combo albums, you will need to spend $5,200 to get to the end of your 40/40 set, remembering that every time you pay to unfreeze, your initial deposit amount increases and all songs left in your set are based on the new amount each time. Start with 100. Unfreeze for 100 and then 200. Total 400 to continue to 10/40. Then unfreeze for 400 and 800 for second 3/3. Third 3/3 will be 1,200 and 2,400 to unfreeze. Total of $5,200 if you get three 3/3’s in one 40/40 set. And they could fit more in. No idea the extent of how evil they can get!
Final part of my warning. I used $100 as an example because I told them I was going to skip day 5 (long story short), so they hit me on day 4. I did not get sucked in past unfreezing once and walked away without unfreezing at 9/40. The warning is for those who get to day 5. They do put the $800 in your account at the start of or during a set so even if you only deposit $100, you will go through your set as though you deposited $900. I didn’t do the math here but hoping everyone understands and gets the big picture!

Before I dive in, know that I love my wife and I want to fix this. I’m posting in RelationshipAdvice for a reason. It will be a lot, but please don’t read it like an AITA post and pass judgment. I need some honest advice, and I’m miles away from my real-life support network.
The TL; DR is that my wife has (re)developed a bunch of conversational habits from hanging out with her brother. These habits leave me feeling excluded, stressed, and are messing with my work. Trying to address them has opened a whole can of worms, mainly that my wife hates my entire problem-solving style.
I’m keeping details vague in case she stumbles upon this post. Please, if you think my story doesn’t add up, or you think you know where I am and want to offer real estate advice or whatever, keep it to yourself.
We got hitched and moved in together right before before Covid hit. Started off great, but after six months of lockdowns and masks, we realized we could live anywhere in the country without paying through the nose for coastal housing. For context: I work in tech, and my wife is a performer. We met in a bar, and honestly, Covid was the wake-up call that my career hadn’t lived up to my potential, probably due to alcohol. So I accepted the reality that maybe my career isn’t going where I hoped, and isn’t likely to – and instead of chasing after it, we should downsize our expenses. I counted my blessings for having a wonderful wife instead.
I negotiated permanent remote work. We aimed to move to the low-cost state she grew up in. Her brother, who I like way more than my own family, hooked us up with a place to rent near his house. Bigger than we needed, but I was okay with it because it had space for a home office. We boxed up our lives into a truck and moved.
Here’s where it gets complicated. My wife has always been talkative, and she can be pretty dang loud. Not sure how much of this I didn’t fully realize before. When we were dating, we only saw each other a couple of days a week, and in our first place together, we never had visitors thanks to the pandemic. But when she's with her brother, she talks like she's trying to command a room full of first-graders. She also doesn’t adjust her volume when she’s close to me. I have tinnitus, and she has literally made my ears ring by talking while leaning on me
Next up. I feel like a jerk saying this, given what I know about the word ‘shrill’, but hear me out. If the two of us are in the same room, she’ll use a tone of voice that seems intended to be impossible to ignore.
Third, if I try to join the conversation, my wife will interrupt me and steamroll right over me. Part of this is because she has a strange conversational rhythm where she seems to be done talking but then BAM! She jumps back in at an even higher volume, after the pause. So if you think it’s your turn to speak, you get interrupted. She does this even when no one else is talking. She will interrupt me to finish my sentences, nearly always incorrectly. She will interrupt me to tell me I’m wrong about something, ruining my flow. She will interrupt me to take over telling a story, telling it worse by missing key facts and rambling at higher speed.
Fourth, she doesn't seem to organize her thoughts before speaking. At all. Couple with what I just mentioned, you've got her cutting off anyone who dares to chime in until she's “talked out” the subject with everything she can think of. By then, everyone else is bored and over being interrupted when they try to jump in. So, the topic just fizzles out, and she covers that up with nervous laughter.
Fifth, if I try to ask questions to follow along, she gets mad that I’m interrupting her or ruining her flow. So I’ve given up on questions. If I lose track, I either catch up or I don’t. I can’t zone out because of her volume and tone.
Sixth, after she’s been around her brother, she maintains this kind of conversational energy when it’s just us. Her brother can be just as loud, and raises his voice and talks over her right back in the moment. But when we’re in any group that does not include my wife, he’s back to an energy I can converse with. She does not switch back, not unless she hasn’t seen him for at least a week.
Seventh, their parents’ first language isn’t English, and they immediately switch to it as soon as I leave the room. If you know the language I mean, it makes every conversation sound like a fight. I figure, if they’re not including me anyway, why talk in English while I’m around? Why can’t I just leave you guys to talk? No, because then my wife gets mad that I’m a bad host, that I “hate” her brother, or calls me a “rude teenager”.
Eighth, 90% of their what they talk about are their opinions, mostly of family members, reality TV, or random AITA stuff. They just keep regurgitating the same views about people, social issues, capitalism, America, over and over. When I do get to throw in my two cents, they often react with anger. It feels like a low-effort bonding activity: like we’re constantly reaffirming the group values – and verbally punishing transgression – rather than discuss anything new. Her brother isn’t like this away from her.
However I slice this, it’s incongruent. If they want me involved by speaking English, why not let me chime in? If they think they're entertaining me, why not make sure I'm following? And if I'm supposed to zone out, why use a tone and volume that's impossible to ignore?
The impression I get is that my wife thinks my role is to be her passive audience, plain and simple.
There’s more about my job, but first, how I’ve failed to address this so far.
First, the loudness. According to both of them ‘that’s just the way we are,’ so it ain’t changing.
I haven’t addressed the tone, I can’t figure out how to without starting a fight.
Interruptions. My wife has had four levels of reactions when I have brought this up. First, she straight-up ignores it. Second, she acknowledges it, but with an eye roll like I'm just being petty. Third is to get mad, call me an asshole, or accuse me of silencing her. Fourth, she blows up and yells all kinds of crap (“you’re evil,” “you just hate my brother,” and incongruently, “you two are douche-bros together”), which after she’ll say she didn’t mean. She’ll then start crying about losing me, or even making her brother hate her. She’ll make me swear to keep reminding her. But in the moment, when she’s not upset, she’s back to eye rolling.
Rambling. My wife’s response is that I do the exact same thing, and that when I do it, it’s extremely boring. What she means is that if I’m excited by or trying to explain anything technical, she tunes out as soon as she hears a word she doesn’t understand, and stares right through my head until I stop talking. Apparently, this is ‘polite’. Asking questions, saying I'm not interested? Just rude.
How she changes her behavior around her brother. Raising it makes her mad. She has straight-up told me, “I will always pick my brother over you.” In her more honest moments, she’s admitted the thought of me developing a beef with her brother is one of her worst nightmares, so her anger is really for of that outcome, directed at me. She gets that this is counterproductive, sometimes. But this conversation is tough.
Switching in English. They forget this and slip back to ‘politeness’ rules. I have to be careful how I word ‘I have no interest in this conversation’ or ‘You don’t need to talk in English’ or they both say I’m rude and get mad.
My wife has also said she hates the way I solve relationship problems, calling it ‘patronizing hippy crap’. For instance, I ask people what their goal is in saying or doing certain thing (“What’s your intention in talking so loud?”). This immediately makes my wife mad, like she thinks I’m playing sociology professor and using brains to outsmart her. Thing is, she will say a LOT of things she doesn’t mean in an argument, and I tend to take things literally, so I need to check that she doesn’t actually mean “You’re evil”, otherwise the argument escalates for other reasons.
I feel like she retaliates for feeling like I’m trying to impose some kind of intellectual superiority over her by trying to impose some kind of “social intelligence” superiority over me. “Of course people don’t mean everything they say in fucking arguments, are you retarded?”. She’ll misinterpret what I’m saying in a way that implies I’m real dumb, then moves the conversation on before I can defend myself. All of which is exacerbated by how her habits push me out of the conversation.
Onto work problems. My job requires two things from me: hard problem-solving which needs long periods of uninterrupted focus, and rapid incident response. Being interrupted/talked to while I’m deep in work disrupts both of those. Neither my wife nor her brother (who’s a contractor) stick to regular office hours, and they both like to knock back a few during the day. Now, I have no issue with that, but I do have a problem when he comes over, starts drinking with my wife, they have loud conversations which I can hear from my office. Often from one room to another.
My wife doesn’t appreciate me complaining about this since she “should be free to enjoy her own home” and I “can easily get another job.” I’ve tried explaining to her that no, I can’t easily get a job that pays the same in this state. Either I’d have to hunt for increasingly scarce remote work, or we’d need to suck up downsizing and potentially moving away from her brother. She refuses to entertain any of this.
Things have improved slightly since I started composing this post, but only after a chaotic incident. She stormed into my office to look for something, mid-argument with her brother. In frustration, I took off for a drive to clear my head. Of course, there was an incident while I was out, I missed the notification, and got written up for it.
I’ve tried talking to her brother one-on-one. He’s a realist. Rent a private office, and get ourselves into couples therapy. My objection is straightforward: the cost of commuting, office rent, couples therapy (no cheaper here, lower quality by all accounts), on top of our current expenses, exceed what we were paying before we moved. All this because my wife won't adjust her behavior to accommodate my needs, or respect my job.
They often invite me to drink with them during lunch and sometimes suggest blowing off the rest of the day. Despite my repeated refusals, they persist, considering it polite. I find it rude and disrespectful to keep pushing. They've even labeled me as "boring”. But what really grinds my gears is when they invite me out and I decline, they think they've got a right to grill me about why. A few times, when I've had enough of their pestering, I’ll state my position more firmly, and then they’ll get real mad that I’m being “judgmental”, and think I’m better than them. So now if they invite me anywhere, I just shut it down with a simple "no" and zero explanation. Which bugs them, but at least it keeps the peace.
There are a ton of other emergent/secondary annoyances I could get into, but let's cap it at three.
One, since I’ve said they’re both being hypocritical about me being ‘judgmental’ (even though I wasn’t) in refusing to join their plans, when the majority of their conversations are judging other people: it has become a game to them to point out every time they think I’m a hypocrite. I answered my wife from another room once. She brings it up as my ‘hypocrisy’ whenever I mention she’s yelling to her brother in another room, and she’s right next to me.
I think it’s different: her yelling in the house upsets me, but my ‘hypocrisy’, she enjoys that. We aren’t trading vices. If I realize I’m upsetting my wife, I stop doing whatever it is that’s upsetting her. She seems to be telling me that she doesn’t care to adjust her behavior to stop upsetting me. And that the real problem is that I keep talking about it, rather than just quietly suffering through it.
Two I've likely developed obnoxious habits just to maintain some space in conversations with my wife, such as speaking louder to overcome interruptions.
Three, my wife will talk to me at any time, without paying any attention to what I’m doing or even whether I’m wearing noise-cancelling headphones. She’ll interrupt me whilst I’m holding a mop, vacuum, trash bag to remind me to mop, vacuum, or take out the trash. She’ll interrupt me while I’m tackling a chore to give me instructions. I don't understand them, she'll take over, do it the exact same way I was, then huff about it. She’ll interrupt me whilst I’m getting ready to remind me to take my wallet, throwing off my train of thought and making me forget what I was looking for. Which I’ll then forget. She’ll interrupt me while driving, for random observations (‘look, a cute dog!’) no matter how many times I tell her it’s dangerous.
It’s hard to explain how much more restrictive this makes my life feel. I avoid tasks that will take over 20 minutes unless my wife is out. My wife and brother both mock me for traits (lousy memory, lack of focus, disorganization) which they exacerbate with their behavior.
When my wife is away from her brother, she returns to her usual self, the woman I fell for.
My gut tells me her family has a toxic way of communicating (the rest of her family are borderline abusive), and she learnt to tone down of those tendencies while away from them. She is more at ease with that way of speaking with her brother, and she falls back to it with him – and is trying to force me to adapt to it. There’s probably a side order of some history of feeling sidelined in male-dominated groups, so she’s acting out on that trauma and making sure out-talks us both. She’s got zero patience for boredom, which is why she butts in and won’t take extra time to make sure I understand – and why she thinks my ‘long rants’ are way longer and more boring than hers.
Her view is that conversations are boring unless people are excited, and excited people interrupt and talk over each other constantly. I hate that, because a conversation just feels like a constant fight to participate. It’s draining and I’d rather not socialize at all.
She describes the way I’d rather talk – back and forth – as “pompous, like you think you’re a king who can’t be interrupted”.
I don’t have a support system here since everyone I know here is through them, and everyone back home still believes I successfully rode off into the sunset. So, Reddit, how do I better communicate my needs to my wife? Both to not lose my job, and to enjoy conversations with her?

As a side note, it takes you back to a bygone era. When American leaders were larger than life figures. Powerful men, who for whatever their faults were, cared about the country and its future. Today we have feckless dotards with soy hipster handlers.
Professor Woodrow Wilson once said that every man sent out from a university should be a man of his nation as well as a man of his time, and I am confident that the men and women who carry the honor of graduating from this institution will continue to give from their lives, from their talents, a high measure of public service and public support.
"There are few earthly things more beautiful than a university," wrote John Masefield in his tribute to English universities--and his words are equally true today. He did not refer to spires and towers, to campus greens and ivied walls. He admired the splendid beauty of the university, he said, because it was "a place where those who hate ignorance may strive to know, where those who perceive truth may strive to make others see."
I have, therefore, chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived--yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace.
What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children--not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women--not merely peace in our time but peace for all time.
I speak of peace because of the new face of war. Total war makes no sense in an age when great powers can maintain large and relatively invulnerable nuclear forces and refuse to surrender without resort to those forces. It makes no sense in an age when a single nuclear weapon contains almost ten times the explosive force delivered by all the allied air forces in the Second World War. It makes no sense in an age when the deadly poisons produced by a nuclear exchange would be carried by wind and water and soil and seed to the far corners of the globe and to generations yet unborn.
Today the expenditure of billions of dollars every year on weapons acquired for the purpose of making sure we never need to use them is essential to keeping the peace. But surely the acquisition of such idle stockpiles--which can only destroy and never create--is not the only, much less the most efficient, means of assuring peace.
I speak of peace, therefore, as the necessary rational end of rational men. I realize that the pursuit of peace is not as dramatic as the pursuit of war--and frequently the words of the pursuer fall on deaf ears. But we have no more urgent task.
Some say that it is useless to speak of world peace or world law or world disarmament--and that it will be useless until the leaders of the Soviet Union adopt a more enlightened attitude. I hope they do. I believe we can help them do it. But I also believe that we must reexamine our own attitude--as individuals and as a Nation--for our attitude is as essential as theirs. And every graduate of this school, every thoughtful citizen who despairs of war and wishes to bring peace, should begin by looking inward--by examining his own attitude toward the possibilities of peace, toward the Soviet Union, toward the course of the cold war and toward freedom and peace here at home.
First: Let us examine our attitude toward peace itself. Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many think it unreal. But that is a dangerous, defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable--that mankind is doomed--that we are gripped by forces we cannot control.
We need not accept that view. Our problems are manmade--therefore, they can be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings. Man's reason and spirit have often solved the seemingly unsolvable--and we believe they can do it again.
I am not referring to the absolute, infinite concept of peace and good will of which some fantasies and fanatics dream. I do not deny the value of hopes and dreams but we merely invite discouragement and incredulity by making that our only and immediate goal.
Let us focus instead on a more practical, more attainable peace-- based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions--on a series of concrete actions and effective agreements which are in the interest of all concerned. There is no single, simple key to this peace--no grand or magic formula to be adopted by one or two powers. Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts. It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each new generation. For peace is a process--a way of solving problems.
With such a peace, there will still be quarrels and conflicting interests, as there are within families and nations. World peace, like community peace, does not require that each man love his neighbor--it requires only that they live together in mutual tolerance, submitting their disputes to a just and peaceful settlement. And history teaches us that enmities between nations, as between individuals, do not last forever. However fixed our likes and dislikes may seem, the tide of time and events will often bring surprising changes in the relations between nations and neighbors.
So let us persevere. Peace need not be impracticable, and war need not be inevitable. By defining our goal more clearly, by making it seem more manageable and less remote, we can help all peoples to see it, to draw hope from it, and to move irresistibly toward it.
Second: Let us reexamine our attitude toward the Soviet Union. It is discouraging to think that their leaders may actually believe what their propagandists write. It is discouraging to read a recent authoritative Soviet text on Military Strategy and find, on page after page, wholly baseless and incredible claims--such as the allegation that "American imperialist circles are preparing to unleash different types of wars . . . that there is a very real threat of a preventive war being unleashed by American imperialists against the Soviet Union . . . [and that] the political aims of the American imperialists are to enslave economically and politically the European and other capitalist countries . . . [and] to achieve world domination . . . by means of aggressive wars."
Truly, as it was written long ago: "The wicked flee when no man pursueth." Yet it is sad to read these Soviet statements--to realize the extent of the gulf between us. But it is also a warning--a warning to the American people not to fall into the same trap as the Soviets, not to see only a distorted and desperate view of the other side, not to see conflict as inevitable, accommodation as impossible, and communication as nothing more than an exchange of threats.
No government or social system is so evil that its people must be considered as lacking in virtue. As Americans, we find communism profoundly repugnant as a negation of personal freedom and dignity. But we can still hail the Russian people for their many achievements--in science and space, in economic and industrial growth, in culture and in acts of courage.
Among the many traits the peoples of our two countries have in common, none is stronger than our mutual abhorrence of war. Almost unique among the major world powers, we have never been at war with each other. And no nation in the history of battle ever suffered more than the Soviet Union suffered in the course of the Second World War. At least 20 million lost their lives. Countless millions of homes and farms were burned or sacked. A third of the nation's territory, including nearly two thirds of its industrial base, was turned into a wasteland--a loss equivalent to the devastation of this country east of Chicago.
Today, should total war ever break out again--no matter how--our two countries would become the primary targets. It is an ironic but accurate fact that the two strongest powers are the two in the most danger of devastation. All we have built, all we have worked for, would be destroyed in the first 24 hours. And even in the cold war, which brings burdens and dangers to so many nations, including this Nation's closest allies--our two countries bear the heaviest burdens. For we are both devoting massive sums of money to weapons that could be better devoted to combating ignorance, poverty, and disease. We are both caught up in a vicious and dangerous cycle in which suspicion on one side breeds suspicion on the other, and new weapons beget counterweapons.
In short, both the United States and its allies, and the Soviet Union and its allies, have a mutually deep interest in a just and genuine peace and in halting the arms race. Agreements to this end are in the interests of the Soviet Union as well as ours--and even the most hostile nations can be relied upon to accept and keep those treaty obligations, and only those treaty obligations, which are in their own interest.
So, let us not be blind to our differences--but let us also direct attention to our common interests and to the means by which those differences can be resolved. And if we cannot end now our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal.
Third: Let us reexamine our attitude toward the cold war, remembering that we are not engaged in a debate, seeking to pile up debating points. We are not here distributing blame or pointing the finger of judgment. We must deal with the world as it is, and not as it might have been had the history of the last 18 years been different.
We must, therefore, persevere in the search for peace in the hope that constructive changes within the Communist bloc might bring within reach solutions which now seem beyond us. We must conduct our affairs in such a way that it becomes in the Communists' interest to agree on a genuine peace. Above all, while defending our own vital interests, nuclear powers must avert those confrontations which bring an adversary to a choice of either a humiliating retreat or a nuclear war. To adopt that kind of course in the nuclear age would be evidence only of the bankruptcy of our policy--or of a collective death-wish for the world.
To secure these ends, America's weapons are nonprovocative, carefully controlled, designed to deter, and capable of selective use. Our military forces are committed to peace and disciplined in self- restraint. Our diplomats are instructed to avoid unnecessary irritants and purely rhetorical hostility.
For we can seek a relaxation of tension without relaxing our guard. And, for our part, we do not need to use threats to prove that we are resolute. We do not need to jam foreign broadcasts out of fear our faith will be eroded. We are unwilling to impose our system on any unwilling people--but we are willing and able to engage in peaceful competition with any people on earth.
Meanwhile, we seek to strengthen the United Nations, to help solve its financial problems, to make it a more effective instrument for peace, to develop it into a genuine world security system--a system capable of resolving disputes on the basis of law, of insuring the security of the large and the small, and of creating conditions under which arms can finally be abolished.
At the same time we seek to keep peace inside the non-Communist world, where many nations, all of them our friends, are divided over issues which weaken Western unity, which invite Communist intervention or which threaten to erupt into war. Our efforts in West New Guinea, in the Congo, in the Middle East, and in the Indian subcontinent, have been persistent and patient despite criticism from both sides. We have also tried to set an example for others--by seeking to adjust small but significant differences with our own closest neighbors in Mexico and in Canada.
Speaking of other nations, I wish to make one point clear. We are bound to many nations by alliances. Those alliances exist because our concern and theirs substantially overlap. Our commitment to defend Western Europe and West Berlin, for example, stands undiminished because of the identity of our vital interests. The United States will make no deal with the Soviet Union at the expense of other nations and other peoples, not merely because they are our partners, but also because their interests and ours converge.
Our interests converge, however, not only in defending the frontiers of freedom, but in pursuing the paths of peace. It is our hope-- and the purpose of allied policies--to convince the Soviet Union that she, too, should let each nation choose its own future, so long as that choice does not interfere with the choices of others. The Communist drive to impose their political and economic system on others is the primary cause of world tension today. For there can be no doubt that, if all nations could refrain from interfering in the self-determination of others, the peace would be much more assured.
This will require a new effort to achieve world law--a new context for world discussions. It will require increased understanding between the Soviets and ourselves. And increased understanding will require increased contact and communication. One step in this direction is the proposed arrangement for a direct line between Moscow and Washington, to avoid on each side the dangerous delays, misunderstandings, and misreadings of the other's actions which might occur at a time of crisis.
We have also been talking in Geneva about the other first-step measures of arms control designed to limit the intensity of the arms race and to reduce the risks of accidental war. Our primary long range interest in Geneva, however, is general and complete disarmament-- designed to take place by stages, permitting parallel political developments to build the new institutions of peace which would take the place of arms. The pursuit of disarmament has been an effort of this Government since the 1920's. It has been urgently sought by the past three administrations. And however dim the prospects may be today, we intend to continue this effort--to continue it in order that all countries, including our own, can better grasp what the problems and possibilities of disarmament are.
The one major area of these negotiations where the end is in sight, yet where a fresh start is badly needed, is in a treaty to outlaw nuclear tests. The conclusion of such a treaty, so near and yet so far, would check the spiraling arms race in one of its most dangerous areas. It would place the nuclear powers in a position to deal more effectively with one of the greatest hazards which man faces in 1963, the further spread of nuclear arms. It would increase our security--it would decrease the prospects of war. Surely this goal is sufficiently important to require our steady pursuit, yielding neither to the temptation to give up the whole effort nor the temptation to give up our insistence on vital and responsible safeguards.
I am taking this opportunity, therefore, to announce two important decisions in this regard.
First: Chairman Khrushchev, Prime Minister Macmillan, and I have agreed that high-level discussions will shortly begin in Moscow looking toward early agreement on a comprehensive test ban treaty. Our hopes must be tempered with the caution of history--but with our hopes go the hopes of all mankind.
Second: To make clear our good faith and solemn convictions on the matter, I now declare that the United States does not propose to conduct nuclear tests in the atmosphere so long as other states do not do so. We will not be the first to resume. Such a declaration is no substitute for a formal binding treaty, but I hope it will help us achieve one. Nor would such a treaty be a substitute for disarmament, but I hope it will help us achieve it.
Finally, my fellow Americans, let us examine our attitude toward peace and freedom here at home. The quality and spirit of our own society must justify and support our efforts abroad. We must show it in the dedication of our own lives--as many of you who are graduating today will have a unique opportunity to do, by serving without pay in the Peace Corps abroad or in the proposed National Service Corps here at home.
But wherever we are, we must all, in our daily lives, live up to the age-old faith that peace and freedom walk together. In too many of our cities today, the peace is not secure because the freedom is incomplete.
It is the responsibility of the executive branch at all levels of government--local, State, and National--to provide and protect that freedom for all of our citizens by all means within their authority. It is the responsibility of the legislative branch at all levels, wherever that authority is not now adequate, to make it adequate. And it is the responsibility of all citizens in all sections of this country to respect the rights of all others and to respect the law of the land.
All this is not unrelated to world peace. "When a man's ways please the Lord," the Scriptures tell us, "he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." And is not peace, in the last analysis, basically a matter of human rights--the right to live out our lives without fear of devastation--the right to breathe air as nature provided it--the right of future generations to a healthy existence?
While we proceed to safeguard our national interests, let us also safeguard human interests. And the elimination of war and arms is clearly in the interest of both. No treaty, however much it may be to the advantage of all, however tightly it may be worded, can provide absolute security against the risks of deception and evasion. But it can--if it is sufficiently effective in its enforcement and if it is sufficiently in the interests of its signers--offer far more security and far fewer risks than an unabated, uncontrolled, unpredictable arms race.
The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. We do not want a war. We do not now expect a war. This generation of Americans has already had enough--more than enough--of war and hate and oppression. We shall be prepared if others wish it. We shall be alert to try to stop it. But we shall also do our part to build a world of peace where the weak are safe and the strong are just. We are not helpless before that task or hopeless of its success. Confident and unafraid, we labor on--not toward a strategy of annihilation but toward a strategy of peace.

This story has been gaining some small online traction over the past couple of days, and Russell Edwards has been namedropped again by Keith Bennett’s brother, Alan Bennett, on social media. I want people to be in no doubt about what Edwards did back in 2022, and I want to make sure that the following ranks near the top of Google searches too so that people can easily find information that discredits this complete and utter charlatan.
Header photo description and credits: Greater Manchester Police employing a drone in the excavation of the site searched for the remains of Keith Bennett on Saddleworth Moor, 2nd October 2022. Manchester Evening News

Who is Russell Edwards?

Edwards is a self-proclaimed “amateur detective”, who has for many years invested a lot of his own time and money in trying to get to the bottom of numerous infamous unsolved cases. He has claimed to have identified Jack the Ripper as a Polish barber named Aaron Kosminski, and wrote a book about his “findings” called “Naming Jack the Ripper” - which have since been called into question along with the credibility of both Edwards and the forensic scientist he collaborated with in regards to both Jack the Ripper and the Moors Murders, Jari Louhelainen.
Edwards also runs a Jack the Ripper guided walking tour in London. I won’t link to it because a) I don’t want to drive up clicks to it and b) the website contains a lot of misinformation as well as graphic autopsy images of Ripper victims without warning. I initially thought he had stopped doing these, but the most recent review listed on there was from January of this year.
He claimed to have started looking into Keith Bennett’s disappearance in 2015, but had been interested in the case since around the time the remains of another Moors Murders victim, Pauline Reade, were discovered in 1987.

The known facts of Keith Bennett’s disappearance and murder

Keith was walking to his grandmother’s house on the evening of 16th June 1964 when he was abducted by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. According to their accounts, he was driven up to Saddleworth Moor and endured sexual assault before he was strangled to death and buried in a shallow grave. There is a detailed and extensive write-up on Brady’s and Hindley’s conflicting accounts linked here. Tragically, to this day Keith Bennett remains the only one of the couple’s victims whose remains were never recovered.
I would strongly encourage everybody to read these FAQs around the search for Keith too. I wrote these up a while ago, and Alan himself has been kind enough to contribute to them as well after the fact.

The 2022 “findings”

First off, here’s where exactly Edwards made his “discovery” in relation to where the other bodies were found. I should state that this area consists of plenty of gullies and peat soil. If you click on the 2022 Search on Saddleworth Moor flair, you‘ll see everything we discussed in this subreddit as the search was being carried out. But I will recap what happened anyway.
In a statement published on 30th September 2022, GMP Force Review Officer Martin Bottomley said:
“At around 11.25am on Thursday 29th September 2022, Greater Manchester Police was contacted by the representative of an author who has been researching the murder of Keith Bennett, a victim of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. Following direct contact with the author, we were informed that he had discovered what he believes are potential human remains in a remote location on the Moors and he agreed to meet with officers yesterday afternoon to elaborate on his find and direct us to a site of interest.
“The site was assessed late last night and, this morning, specialist officers have begun initial exploration activity. We are in the very early stages of assessing the information which has been brought to our attention but have made the decision to act on it in line with a normal response to a report of this kind.”
It was first reported in the Daily Mail that a “skull” had been found, although the same article then went on to say that “detectives are preparing to exhume a particular area where suspected skeletal remains have been found including what experts believe to be a child’s upper jaw with a full set of teeth”. It was also reported that a small piece of blue and white striped material, and potential samples of body tissue (although this was later discredited as a probable mixture of vegetation and muddy water), had been found.
Edwards had claimed he and his team had conducted extensive soil analysis of the area, which they had discovered 4 weeks before. There were high levels of calcium, which can indicate the presence of human remains (but the team did not mention that it also indicates the presence of limestone or another high calcium natural material). Describing the dig, he said “the smell hit me about 2ft down. Like a sewer, like ammonia. I worked as a gravedigger when I was 19. It hits you, that smell of death. It is distinctive.”
Alan Bennett later stated that the smell was probably methane - of which there are pockets containing it across the moor. Edwards also falsely stated that everything was left in situ - more on that in the paragraph after the next one.
On Saturday 1st October, Greater Manchester Police issued a statement saying that “no identifiable human remains have been found” - despite what several tabloid and local newspapers had been reporting. It was confirmed that drones were being used in the search on the 2nd October, and a statement issued by GMP later that day confirmed that excavation of the site will continue for the foreseeable future.
Edwards and members of his team started posting on Facebook and declaring that Keith Bennett had already been found. On 2nd October, Jari Louhelainen, a Senior Lecturer in Molecular Biology at Liverpool John Moores University and a member of Edwards’ team, posted a photo of himself analysing what he suspected was a “bunch of hair” from the dig site. He later confirmed in the comments of his post (after being called out for posting it in the first place) that it was a “look-a-like plant material”.
On 4th October, Detective Chief Inspector Cheryl Hughes, of GMP’s Force Review Unit, said: “Forensic Archaeologists and Forensic Anthropologists have now completed a methodical archaeological excavation and examination of the area previously dug and refilled by the member of the public. No bones, fabric or items of interest were recovered from the soil.
“These accredited and certified forensic experts are now continuing with a methodical and controlled excavation of the area immediately surrounding the original site to provide a higher level of assurance of the presence or absence of any items of interest. Further soil samples have been taken for analysis, but at this time there is no visible evidence to suggest the presence of human remains. The scene examination is ongoing.
“A report of possible human remains is always treated with seriousness. As such, we have deployed police search advisors who can support our scenes of crimes officers – this will result in more visible and high profile tactics, such as officers walking in lines to identify any potential sites of focus.
“GMP is committed to providing Keith’s family with answers following this report, both from the physical excavation and subsequent analysis of samples. This will take some time but we will keep the family updated at every stage and request that their privacy is respected.
“We have seen the outpouring of support since this news broke so know how our communities feel about this case but we are asking members of the public not to travel to the area and can assure them that we will provide timely and appropriate updates.”
At 2pm on 7th October 2022, Greater Manchester Police announced that they had closed the scene on Saddleworth Moor after finding no evidence to indicate the presence of human remains. “At this time, there is no evidence of the presence of human remains.”
Assistant Chief Constable Sarah Jackson, portfolio holder for crime, said: “We have always said that we would respond, in a timely and appropriate manner, to any credible information which may lead us towards finding Keith. Our actions in the last week or so are a highly visible example of what that response looks like, with the force utilising the knowledge and skills of accredited experts, specialist officers and staff. It is these accredited experts and specialists who have brought us to a position from where we can say that, despite a thorough search of the scene and ongoing analysis of samples taken both by ourselves and a third party, there is currently no evidence of the presence of human remains at, or surrounding, the identified site on Saddleworth Moor. However, I want to make it clear that our investigation to find answers for Keith’s family is not over.
“We understand how our communities in Greater Manchester feel about this case, the renewed interest in it and the shared desire to find Keith. Much of Saddleworth Moor is private land so we would ask that members of the public, in the first instance, report any perceived intelligence to their local police service. The discovery of suspected human remains must be reported immediately to enable the use of specialist resources to investigate appropriately.”
Senior Investigating Officer Detective Chief Inspector Cheryl Hughes said: “The investigation into Keith’s disappearance and murder has remained open since 1964 and it will not be closed until we have found the answers his family have deserved for so many years. We are thankful for their continued support of our ongoing enquiries. This has been a distressing time for them and we ask that their privacy is respected.
“We understand the confusion which may have been caused to Keith’s family and communities across Greater Manchester by reports to the contrary. We hope that by giving this detailed update today, we provide reassurance that GMP are committed to finding accurate answers for Keith’s family.
“In response to the report made on Thursday 29 September 2022, officers met with the member of the public who later provided us with samples and copies of the photographs he had taken. He also took officers to the location from which he had obtained these and provided grid references.
“In the days since, independent accredited forensic archaeologists and certified forensic anthropologists, together with GMP’s Crime Scene Investigators, have completed a methodical forensic archaeological excavation and examination of the identified area and beyond. An accredited forensic geologist also took a number of soil samples – analysis of which is ongoing.
“The items given to us by the member of the public have been examined by a forensic scientist and though this hasn’t yet indicated the presence of human remains – more analysis is required. With regards to the photograph, we have sought the assistance of a forensic botanist. We are now utilising the knowledge and skills of a forensic image expert to put a standard anthropological measurement to the object to assist with identification. At this stage, the indications are that it would be considerably smaller than a juvenile jaw and it cannot be ruled out that it is plant-based.
“The excavation and examination at the site is complete and, to reiterate, we have found no evidence that this is the burial location of Keith Bennett.”

Aftermath

It was discovered that two of Edwards’ team members, Lesley Dunlop (a geologist) and Dawn Keen (a forensic archaeologist) were not accredited professionals in their respective fields. Alan Bennett clarified in a Facebook post on 5th November 2022, in reference to Keen:
“Any professional archaeologist would ask for a scale in any pictures or video taken at a scene [in reference to the fact that police confirmed the object found was too small to be a juvenile jaw], that was not the case here and the reason police had to call in a photographic specialist to determine the scale of the supposed jawbone..which turns out to be too small for a child from what I've been told so far and, of course couldn't be found anyway and could only have been vegetation if anything at all.”
I am not entirely sure what the “blue and white striped fabric” turned out to be - I assume that nothing was found.
Alan has since posted evidence that Russell Edwards had been planning the “discovery of Keith’s remains” as part of a stunt to promote his upcoming book on the case - a book that Edwards has been radio-silent about since all of this controversy.
Edwards has refused to apologise to Keith’s family and despite being proven wrong, and him and his team being called out for the charlatans they are (with even him admitting that his own reputation is in tatters), as of December 2022 he stood by his actions and his claims that he believed he had found Keith’s body.
To my own understanding (though I do not speak on behalf of Alan Bennett or on behalf of anybody who was involved in this whole debacle, let me be clear), there has been complete radio-silence on news of Edwards’ book since this date.

hello everyone, i'm here to give a complete guide as a diamond 4 peaker for akshan, i'm just going to give raw information and not form this into a normal comprehensive guide so take it as it is, i've been playing akshan 2 weeks after he came out as a main, and i used to be in top 200 akshan players eune, i'm here tho to give a guide not to flex, so lets get right into it.
as everybody knows, bork and kraken with tabi mercenary and berserker was the play almost all the time, however now that kraken cannot crit and its build path changed, [ hearthbound axe completely trash ] on hit is not really the play, what i noticed, is that crit items and the new yun tal wildarrows item is coming into play much more, and that collector and infinity edge order can be a good 2 item spike to build, but somehow it just doesn't feel natural and doesn't give that much of a value based on both items cost, especially in the early game, and collector passive is useless, since you naturally execute with R if they are low health, and rarely makes it useful, and infinity edge in itself is just raw stats.
however, i've noticed that lethality build is absolutely goated, not too costy, provides great worth, both stats and descriptions wise, so this is the build i recommend as of current patch 14.10. first off we have hubris, it has been a good item for akshan for the past few patches, but it wasn't nearly as good and stable as bork kraken combo, and it was rather optional. hubris is great for akshans kit, since you can stack it within the 3 second of the items passive, for example using R on a fight from afar, you usually one shot people too making it an easy high value item.
the second item which is a really great choice is voltaic cyclosword, by using your E its passive is on most of the time, really great for poking or as a first item choice next to hubris, there isn't much to say about this item, it stacks faster during your W stealth, and isn't that costy either.
third item is an absolute underdog amongst the items, which is opportunity, it's an extremely cheap item and could be counted as a powerspike, it's movement speed per kills within 3 seconds is really useful and its out of fight lethality is even more worthy considering the item itself gives lethality, and the cost of the item is ridiculously low comparing it to the worth it gives [2700 gold].
now you might think, what other items could you use that is not collector or infinity edge? peep this: this 3 items give more than enough worth for you to snowball and win, however you need to think about mid to late game too, and none of these items give you any protection whatsoever. striderbreaker is the answer. it gives you the hp that you're lacking, the attack speed if you couldn't build berserkers, since none of the lethality items give you attack speed, it gives you movement speed on autoattacks and you can use stridebreakers active to slow enemies when you E on top of them, or if you need to back off if some enemies are in your face, the possibilities are endless.
now that we have our 4 items and boots, what is there to buy now? we have every worth in our inventory to be useful, but there is still chance that you fall of later in the game or you aren't performing as good, but that's rarely the case since you snowball extremely hard with akshan, but now that we have everything we have, we can build the collector and infinity edge combo for last. collector passive can be now more useful since you will have your R on rarely as the game goes on and you rely more on your autoattacks and E, infinity edge amplifications is the cherry on top of the cake. when buying these items, you can get rid of opportunity as the game goes on, swapping it with infinity edge. in the end you will end up with 50% crit rate and increased crit damage, both of them making your R stronger, you have endless amounts of lethality, some attack speed, some hp, tankiness from boots, the rest is history.
other item options can be: jak'sho, lord dominik, yun tal wildarrows, both swapped with opportunity in the build, making the build look kinda like this: boots, hubris, voltaic, collector, infinity edge, yun tal wildarrows/lord dominik. you could build yun tal and ldr first then IE. then collector too if you really want to, jak'sho is really great if you need to 1v9 carry and have to tank a lot of damage and/or in extended fights, this is more of a late game item that you gotta get.
now that the build is complete, let's talk about runes. even though press the attack got a huge buff, it doesn't really synchronize with the concept of lethality, and i have played first strike akshan for fun back then, like a fun piggy bank build where i make everything about getting more gold from every aspect, runes, items, etc. since akshan gains extra gold from killing scoundrels too. now i made it into a normal concept that can be played as a real build too. you're gonna take first strike, cash back, triple tonic, cosmic insight, then on the secondary we're gonna take on the precision rune tree absorb life, and then it's optional whatever scaling you need, but i prefer legend: bloodline for extra life steal that you wouldn't get for example from bork since it's not included in the build, then for the three stats you choose attack speed, adaptive force, and health scaling.
also for your first back if you've got a great lead or if you feel like it would be a great option i recommend cull. this new cash back rune is perfect for this lethality/crit build, since you will be buying items like crazy, and it gives back at least 2k worth of gold towards the end of the game. triple tonic is just a no brainer, it's perfect for akshans play style, for beginners it's an even better choice, lvl 3 gives gold and makes farming easier, lvl 6 extra adaptive force can be extremely good for roams or scuttle/grub fights, and lvl 9 an extra point in E or Q is massive worth, since Q scaling on minion dmg is beneficial for clearing waves, and E dmg talks for itself.
other than this, there isn't really much info i could give, you need to practise akshan for first to grasp his playstyle, and you need to get used to the champ itself to know when it's powerspikes are, when you are behind in game, etc. with this build, i never felt behind or limited by anything, i know chinese ppl might still build on hit akshan since they are all about spacing autoattacking and stuff and they sure as hell good with their fundamentals but this playstyle is a rather good option too, with this build and runes and everything i got a penta in ranked on the first day of the new patch and ranked split. reminder that i'm not that much of a good player, as i said i peaked diamond so i'm sure that there are people out there that could still be rocking on hit akshan and press the attack and perform a million times better than me, this is just my concept, i wish everyone good luck with the new items and ranked split and use my advice as it is. if you have any questions feel free to comment.

Here are 3 sampled answers using Maestrix as an example but you can easily apply your product details or URLs. These results have been generated in 3 minutes. You can do it for your own product on maestrix.ai.
A/ Market Category Frame of Reference: Maestrix AI competes in the AI-powered Marketing Automation and Planning Tools market category, which includes products that leverage artificial intelligence to provide marketing strategy, planning, and execution capabilities.
Competitors:

1. New Startups:
   • chatGPT (AI-powered marketing assistant)
   • Adcreative.ai (AI-powered ad creative optimization)
2. Legacy Companies:
   • HubSpot (marketing, sales, and customer service software)
   • Marketo (marketing automation platform)
3. Everyday Tools Repurposed:
   • Prompt Bibles by infopreneurs (customized marketing strategy templates)

Competitive Alternatives:

Alternative	How it Addresses the Market	Downsides	How Maestrix AI is Better
Hiring a Marketing Agency	Provides custom marketing strategies and execution	Expensive, time-consuming, and often lacks AI-driven insights	Maestrix AI provides AI-powered insights and automation at a lower cost and faster pace
Using Traditional Marketing Tools (e.g., HubSpot)	Offers marketing automation capabilities	Lacks AI-powered insights and requires significant setup and training	Maestrix AI provides AI-driven insights and automation with minimal setup and training
Custom-built Marketing Strategy Templates (e.g., Prompt Bibles)	Provides a customized marketing strategy	Limited scalability, requires constant updates, and lacks AI-driven insights	Maestrix AI provides AI-powered insights and automation that adapts to changing market conditions
Doing Nothing (DIY Marketing)	Lowers costs and provides control	Time-consuming, lacks scalability, and often ineffective	Maestrix AI provides AI-powered insights and automation at a lower cost and faster pace

Key Unique Attributes:

Unique Attribute	What Makes it Unique	How it Addresses the Problem
AI-powered Insights	Uses machine learning algorithms to analyze market data and provide actionable insights	Provides data-driven marketing strategies and campaigns
Automated Campaign Generation	Uses natural language processing to generate ad copy, social posts, email campaigns, and landing pages	Saves time and resources while ensuring consistent branding and messaging
Comprehensive Digital Strategy	Offers a holistic approach to marketing, including go-to-market, e-commerce, and competitor analysis	Ensures a cohesive marketing strategy that drives business growth
Expert-driven Positioning and Messaging	Provides expert-level positioning and messaging frameworks	Helps businesses differentiate themselves in the market and resonate with their target audience

Enabled Value and Proof:

Enabled Value	Proof
Data-driven marketing strategies	Case studies demonstrating 25% increase in conversions and 30% decrease in ad spend
Time and resource efficiency	Customer testimonials highlighting 50% reduction in marketing execution time
Scalable and adaptable marketing campaigns	Whitepapers and research papers on the effectiveness of AI-powered marketing automation
Expert-level positioning and messaging	Success stories of businesses that achieved significant growth with Maestrix AI's positioning and messaging frameworks

Customer Segments:

Segment	Motivations	Triggers	Barriers
Startups	Need to quickly establish a strong market presence	Limited marketing resources and expertise	Difficulty in creating effective marketing strategies and campaigns
Solopreneurs	Desire to maximize online presence and sales	Limited time and marketing know-how	Difficulty in creating and executing marketing campaigns
Small Teams	Need to drive business growth through effective marketing	Limited marketing resources and budget constraints	Difficulty in creating and executing marketing campaigns

SWOT Summary Table:

Strengths	Weaknesses	Opportunities	Threats
AI-powered insights and automation	Limited brand recognition	Growing demand for AI-powered marketing tools	Competition from established marketing automation platforms
Comprehensive digital strategy	Dependence on APIs and third-party data sources	Expanding into new markets and industries	Regulatory changes affecting AI-powered marketing tools
Expert-driven positioning and messaging	Limited sales and marketing resources	Partnerships with digital marketing agencies and consultancies	Competition from emerging startups and new market entrants
Scalable and adaptable marketing campaigns	High customer acquisition costs	Expanding into new geographic markets	Economic downturns affecting marketing budgets

B/ User Positioning Statements:

1. I'm trying to develop a marketing strategy using online tutorials, but I get overwhelmed by the amount of information because it's hard to prioritize what's relevant for my business. Now, I can access tailored marketing insights and campaign ideas with Maestrix AI, so that I can create effective marketing strategies that drive results.
2. I'm trying to create engaging ad content using a copywriter, but it takes too much time and money because I need to brief them on my brand and product. Now, I can generate precise ads and social posts with Maestrix AI, so that I can quickly launch targeted campaigns that resonate with my audience.
3. I'm trying to optimize my marketing budget using spreadsheet analysis, but it's hard to make data-driven decisions because I'm not a marketing expert. Now, I can get actionable marketing recommendations with Maestrix AI, so that I can maximize my ROI and grow my business.
4. I'm trying to improve my brand's online presence using a web developer, but it takes too long and costs too much because I need to redesign my website. Now, I can create optimized landing pages and email campaigns with Maestrix AI, so that I can attract and retain more customers.
5. I'm trying to outperform my competitors using industry reports, but it's hard to stay ahead because I lack the resources and expertise. Now, I can analyze my competitors and get tailored marketing strategies with Maestrix AI, so that I can dominate my market and reach my business goals.

Competitor Analysis Table:

Category	B2B Competitors	B2C Competitors
AI Marketing Assistants	ChatGPT, HubSpot	-
Traditional Agencies	Traditional ad agencies, Marketing firms	-
Marketing Tools	Hootsuite, Mailchimp	Canva, Adobe Creative Cloud
AI Content Generation	Content Blossom, Snoring Cat	AI Writer, WordLift
Prompt Bibles	Infopreneurs (e.g. [Prompt Bible by [Influencer])	-

Top ICP / Persona Recommendations Table:

Dimension	Recommendation 1 (B2B)	Recommendation 2 (B2C)	Recommendation 3 (B2B)	Recommendation 4 (B2C)	Recommendation 5 (B2B)
Industry	Tech startups	E-commerce entrepreneurs	Small marketing teams	Solopreneurs	Growing businesses
Company Size	10-50 employees	1-5 employees	5-20 employees	1-5 employees	50-200 employees
Job Function	Marketing Manager	FoundeCEO	Growth Hacker	Entrepreneur	CMO
Primary Goal	Drive customer acquisition	Increase online sales	Boost brand awareness	Establish thought leadership	Optimize marketing budget
Pain Points	Limited marketing resources, difficulty measuring ROI	Difficulty creating engaging content, limited marketing expertise	Struggling to scale marketing efforts, limited budget	Difficulty establishing brand identity, limited resources	Difficulty optimizing marketing budget, lack of marketing expertise

Avoidance Recommendations Table:

Dimension	Avoidance Recommendation
Industry	Highly regulated industries (e.g. finance, healthcare)
Company Size	Large enterprises (>500 employees)
Job Function	IT/Tech professionals without marketing responsibilities
Primary Goal	Reducing costs, process optimization (not marketing-related)
Pain Points	Difficulty with internal communications, team management

Recommendation Rationale Summary:
Our top recommendations target tech startups, e-commerce entrepreneurs, small marketing teams, solopreneurs, and growing businesses in the B2B and B2C spaces. These personas struggle with limited marketing resources, difficulty measuring ROI, and creating engaging content. Maestrix AI addresses these pain points by providing tailored marketing insights, campaign ideas, and content generation. Our recommendations avoid highly regulated industries, large enterprises, and IT/Tech professionals without marketing responsibilities, as these groups may require more specialized solutions or have different priorities.
Challenging Decisions Analysis:
For B2B audiences: 1) convincing marketing teams to adopt AI-assisted marketing strategies, and 2) demonstrating the ROI of Maestrix AI.
For B2C audiences: 1) educating solopreneurs and small business owners about the benefits of AI marketing assistants, and 2) addressing concerns about AI-generated content quality.
Persona/Client Canvas:
Here are three detailed persona profiles:
Persona 1: Marketing Manager Maya

• Demographics: 28-40 years old, marketing professionals in tech startups
• Psychographics: Ambitious, growth-oriented, data-driven
• Role/Job: Marketing Manager
• Problem to solve: Limited marketing resources, difficulty measuring ROI
• Pains of this problem: Feeling overwhelmed, lacking confidence in marketing decisions
• Jobs-To-Be-Done: Drive customer acquisition, increase brand awareness
• Motivation: Prove the value of marketing to the organization
• Trigger: New marketing budget allocation, need to scale marketing efforts
• Barriers: Limited resources, difficulty justifying marketing spend
• Context: Familiar with marketing automation tools, looking for innovative solutions

Persona 2: E-commerce Entrepreneur Emma

• Demographics: 25-45 years old, e-commerce entrepreneurs
• Psychographics: Entrepreneurial, driven, creative
• Role/Job: FoundeCEO
• Problem to solve: Difficulty creating engaging content, limited marketing expertise
• Pains of this problem: Feeling stuck, struggling to compete with larger brands
• Jobs-To-Be-Done: Increase online sales, establish thought leadership
• Motivation: Grow the business, establish a strong brand identity
• Trigger: Launching a new product or service, need to drive sales
• Barriers: Limited budget, difficulty finding the right marketing talent
• Context: Familiar with social media marketing, looking for efficient marketing solutions

Persona 3: Growth Hacker Alex

• Demographics: 25-40 years old, growth hackers in small marketing teams
• Psychographics: Analytical, adaptable, results-oriented
• Role/Job: Growth Hacker
• Problem to solve: Struggling to scale marketing efforts, limited budget
• Pains of this problem: Feeling frustrated, difficulty justifying marketing spend
• Jobs-To-Be-Done: Boost brand awareness, optimize marketing budget
• Motivation: Drive user acquisition, prove the value of growth hacking
• Trigger: New marketing budget allocation, need to scale marketing efforts
• Barriers: Limited resources, difficulty measuring ROI
• Context: Familiar with marketing automation tools, looking for innovative solutions

C/ CAMPAIGN IDEAS
Table 1: Thought-provoking Statements

Statement
Marketing doesn't have to be a guessing game.
Stop throwing spaghetti at the wall.
Your competitors are already using AI marketing.
Traditional agencies are stuck in the past.
You can't out-hustle a machine.
Marketing strategies shouldn't be a shot in the dark.
Don't let your competition outsmart you.
What if you could predict your marketing success?
It's time to take the gamble out of marketing.
Your business deserves data-driven decisions.

Table 2: 'Pick a Fight' Statements

Statement
Traditional agencies are a waste of your money.
ChatGPT is a toy, not a marketing solution.
Prompt bibles are a lazy marketing hack.
Why settle for mediocre marketing when you can have AI-powered perfection?
Your competitors are using AI marketing. Why aren't you?
Marketing by committee is a recipe for disaster.
Don't let your competitors out-AI you.
Legacy marketing strategies are holding you back.
What's your marketing strategy? "I don't know" isn't an answer.
Stop trying to be a jack-of-all-trades, master of none.

Table 3: Irreverent Questions

Question
Are you tired of throwing money at marketing and hoping for the best?
How much did your last failed marketing campaign cost you?
Do you really think your competitors are stupid?
What's the ROI on your current marketing strategy... -1%?
How many hours have you wasted on marketing meetings?
Are you a startup or a sideshow?
Is your marketing strategy based on hope or data?
Do you really think you can outsmart the market?
How many marketing agencies have failed you?
Are you ready to take the gamble out of marketing?

Table 4: Creative Angles

Angle	Explanation
1. AI-Powered Perfection	Highlighting Maestrix AI's ability to deliver precise marketing campaigns and strategies.
2. From Chaos to Clarity	Emphasizing the clarity and direction Maestrix AI brings to marketing efforts.
3. Marketing in the Dark	Illustrating the uncertainty of traditional marketing strategies and the need for Maestrix AI.
4. The AI Advantage	Showcasing the competitive edge Maestrix AI provides to startups and small teams.
5. Data-Driven Decisions	Focusing on the data-driven approach of Maestrix AI and the confidence it brings.
6. Smarter Marketing	Positioning Maestrix AI as a smarter, more efficient way to approach marketing.
7. Outsmart the Competition	Highlighting Maestrix AI's ability to help businesses stay ahead of the competition.
8. No More Guesswork	Emphasizing the elimination of guesswork in marketing with Maestrix AI.
9. Predictable Success	Showcasing the predictable success and ROI of Maestrix AI marketing campaigns.
10. Marketing on Autopilot	Positioning Maestrix AI as a reliable, hands-off marketing solution.

Table 5: Billboard Concepts
Here are 15 billboard concepts for each creative angle, with remarkable headlines, different rhetorical devices, different tones, and a 5-word signature that describes the value of Maestrix AI using the 4Cs copywriting formula.
Angle 1: AI-Powered Perfection

Headline	Rhetorical Device	Tone	Signature
"Marketing, elevated."	Allusion	Sophisticated	"Precise marketing. Guaranteed."
"Your marketing, perfected."	Anaphora	Confident	"Flawless marketing strategies."
"The future of marketing, today."	Hyperbole	Futuristic	"Revolutionary AI marketing tools."

...
Angle 10: Marketing on Autopilot

Headline	Rhetorical Device	Tone	Signature
"Marketing on cruise control."	Metaphor	Relaxing	"Hands-off marketing freedom."
"Set it and forget it."	Enthymeme	Carefree	"Marketing on autopilot, guaranteed."
"Let AI handle it."	Aporia	Trusting	"Reliable marketing solutions."

Table 6: Highly Creative and Original Concepts

Concept	Explanation
"Marketing Oracle" Campaign	Positioning Maestrix AI as a mystical, all-knowing marketing guide.
"Marketing Myth-Busting" Series	Creating a series of ads that debunk common marketing myths and showcase Maestrix AI as the solution.
"AI vs. Human" Marketing Challenge	Pitting Maestrix AI against human marketers in a series of marketing challenges, highlighting the AI's superiority.
"The Great Marketing Escape"	Creating an immersive, escape-room-style experience that demonstrates the frustrations of traditional marketing and the relief of Maestrix AI.
"Marketing Utopia"	Illustrating a world where marketing strategies are data-driven, efficient, and successful, thanks to Maestrix AI.
"Marketing Time Capsule"	Creating a time capsule filled with outdated marketing materials and strategies, contrasted with the futuristic, AI-powered marketing of Maestrix AI.
"Marketing Symphony"	Using music and sound design to illustrate the harmony and efficiency of Maestrix AI marketing campaigns.
"The Marketing Maze"	Creating a maze that represents the complexities of traditional marketing, with Maestrix AI as the guiding light that leads to success.
"Marketing in the Dark... Ages"	Illustrating the dark ages of marketing, where businesses struggled without Maestrix AI, and the enlightenment that comes with AI-powered marketing.
"The AI Marketing Architect"	Positioning Maestrix AI as a master builder of marketing strategies, creating a solid foundation for business success.

Hello, everyone!
After almost 2 months of "distro hopping" I finally found a place where I feel like home, literally feel like it was made for me, every detail seems to be perfect...
I have been using linux mint for almost 3 years now, I used it for 90% of my activities (and I literally only had windows for gaming, specially for VR)...
After some time I realized that steam was actually available for linux and I started looking that many of my games were available for linux and actually native (probably like 20 to 30% of them), I thought it would be nice to transfer my Linux into a bigger SSD, so I could split the games for linux in one SSD and the ones for Windows into another one...
Then I saw this little option in steam linux called: "make all games available" and I was surprised that I could actually run many of them, although I had no hope on running most of the games, I thought to myself it would be impossible to find a compatibility layer that made modern games work in Linux...
Eventually I noticed another little thing called "Proton" and saw that I can choose in the compatibility options multiple proton options, I saw that a huge amount of my games would run pretty well!
Afterwards, I tried enabling proton for some regular Linux-available games (like Cyberpunk 2077 and Howarts Legacy) that didn't run super well in regular linux (there was like stuttering or framerate drops, I couldn't really tell), but with Proton they would run even better than in Windows, it was amazing to see that!
Then I learned about two additional great applications: lutris and bottles (this was mostly because I had just installed 7th Heaven in Windows -The mod manager that can make the Classic Final Fantasy VII game look and feel absolutely stunning- and I wanted to give it a go in my Linux Mint), I followed an old tutorial on how to install the mod manager and I saw bottles, then I realized that there was another tool similar called Lutris (which was much better IMO, and it's my goto for any non steam game, specially for abandonware games, and it surprisingly runs games from like 20-30 years ago!)... I would use bottles mostly for mod managers and old puzzle games that I wanted to have in a single prefix (by the way, thanks to these two mod managers, I understood a lot about the world of prefixes and I was fascinated by it! With steam I never noticed this and with regular wine I had no idea how things worked, discovering Windows prefixes was like finding a brand new world!).
Later on, after having most of my games working on my Linux mint, I tried to run & make work every single possible "tricky" game, old and new (one example is paraworld, which literally took me an Hex modifier to make it work because of some weird port configuration, lol, that one would work in Linux, some other examples were games with the Easy Anti Cheat) and eventually made every single one of my games I tried to work (in total probably 200)...
However, the very last thing that was missing was to be able to play my VR games, and it was solely the reason to keep Windows in another partition (I was dumb enough to upgrade my windows 10 to 11, unfortunately), I started to look into the possibility on running a VR device on linux and discovered that the valve index was compatible with Linux, so, I thought in selling my HP Reverb G2, but because of it, I realized that Windows would actually TERMINATE COMPATIBILITY WITH WINDOWS MEDIA REALITY DEVICES AND DISABLE THE APPLICATION FOREVER! It was unreal for me, the worst kind of move I've ever seen in a corporation, even worse than Ubisoft taking away games you paid for, because this was a full fledged electronic device of hundreds (and in some cases thousands) of dollars...
At the same time, I made a post on reddit asking about VR in Linux and someone gave me some great advice about it and sent me a discord server link: "Linux VR Adventures", there I started to get into the rabbit hole about the VR possibilities in Linux, I statred looking for a great step by step tutorial to install Monado with Windows Mixed reality devices: I followed the tutorial and I succeeded! My linux Mint was able to use my VR headset as a display (and it can play properly VR 180 degree videos properly!).
However, that would only be the first part of the process: The second and hardest part would be to create a compatibility layer to either enhance or replace SteamVR itself (because, for some reason, SteamVR for Linux has a bug that closes the VR options and when they open again it says something like: "disabled Monado driver because on the last attempt, the application crashed", and I could never solve that problem, no matter what...
From the advice of my fellow reddit user as well, I tried to install Envision, which would be the tool to fix such problem by replacing SteamVR, but it was no use, this would be my first stopper in my Linux journey: unfortunately Envision required either Ubuntu 23 (The latest version of Mint is based on Ubuntu 22) or other more up to date kernel (i.e. latest arch or fedora), I spent probably the whole night trying to make envision work by compiling manually & installing dozens of packages because some dependency libraries required certain version of another and they piled up until the point I had to go to a very low level...
After all of that, I finally made envision work but when trying to create my VR profile, it showed me a weird error about my VR headset that I could never sort out, it was very frustrating but I knew it was time to give up and try something new...
So, what I did is to install Arch to replace Windows for good, it was probably one of the best decisions of my life, I would get rid of Windows forever, after 25 years or so using it, would be a semi-radical change, but I knew it was time: VR used to be the only reason to cling to them but if Windows was going to get rid of its flagship app & brick its devices, it had to go! (Plus I started to look about the multiple controversies about Windows 11 like the ads in the start menu and more recently the issue about Bitlocker, I have hated Windows & Microsoft for the better part of my life as well), it was simply time for a change!
After a couple hours I managed to install Arch and it was surprisingly great! I installed it alongside KDE Plasma 6 and I was astonished on how beautiful it looked and how many desktop effects, cursors, themes, login greeters, etc., I could use, it was my first time using KDE after only using Cinnamon and Gnome...
Then I tried installing steam on my Arch and everything ran very smoothly, I think I installed a couple of libraries but it was almost plug and play, games felt even running better than in Mint! However, Arch had a few issues that I couldn't ignore: the first one was an audio driver bug: I couldn't sort it out and my optical output wouldn't work (I didn't bother to fix it that much because I still had mint when I needed to use my optical output); the second issue wasn't much of an Arch's problem but it kinda turned me down: sddm and its multiple problems in the login greeters (I installed a few of them and when I tried to login the next time I had a black screen for no reason, the only way to login back was to login in mint and modify manually the config files for sddm in another partition, and then someone in reddit gave advice on how to start kde plasma without sddm and voila! it worked, only a singular sddm theme worked in the end but I was content with it). And the third and most important issue for me: a bunch of things that I needed to install manually that I already took for granted: a folder browser, a folder compression file, a text editor, etc. (I know the general purpose of Arch is to be as minimalist and customizable as possible, but for me it was a bit tedious, specially adding the right click actions in the config files for some apps, it made things unecessarily complicated for my liking)...
Eventually I got a barebones gaming laptop and I asked in reddit if it would be better to install either Fedora or Debian for gaming: most people recommended me Fedora and I got excited about it: I installed the Fedora Workstation edition and it worked like a charm in everything! Fedora would be specially useful for me because I'm a developer and I've seen everywhere that this is probably the best System for Developers (and I also noticed that it has the best compatibility with some technologies like Oracle, which would be great, because I was never able to install Oracle in my linux mint, I worked mostly with .NET, Angular and I would start with python and Docker as well)...
However, I liked both, Fedora and KDE so much that I wanted to see if I could get Fedora AND KDE in my main computer, I made a hard decision on replacing Arch for the Fedora 40 KDE version, and I was very excited to look into it!
BUT, there were a number of issues I experienced with this new Fedora KDE: the first one was that the KDE effects (one of the main reasons I chose this particular system) were kinda broken, sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn't, they were like slower than in arch and had some of the options disabled (like the little colors you can use in the hexagon "burn my window" effect to open and close windows), and in general it felt slower than Arch, sddm didn't work either, I didn't know if it was because Fedora 40 just came a few days ago and KDE Plasma 6 wasn't fully compatible yet or what happened, but I was willing to accept this, as long as my games worked...
The second and most important issue is that I couldn't make most of my steam games to work I tried to look what I was missing, I installed ProtonUpQt and a bunch of libraries but it was no use, something was wrong but I couldn't pinpoint what was it...
Then I remembered that in the reddit post I made, someone recommended me Nobara (because it was a Fedora Fork, mostly adapted for gaming, developed by Mr. Glorious Eggroll himself, with everything out of the box to make it plug and play for games) and I decided to give it a go...
After making the live cd, I noticed that KDE worked much better (I think the latest version of Nobara still uses Fedora 39 & Plasma KDE 5 but because of that it's a bit more stable?), I installed it into my system and started customizing everything like crazy! I also tried sddm and it also failed, however, it at least allowed me to login from a black screen (rather than not allowing me a login, like in Arch), I decided to ditch sddm in favor of LightDM and it was probably for the best, since I've used LightDM in Mint for years and I knew exactly how to configure and customize it, and it never broke!
After adapting the system to my liking, I noticed that everything I would want is already installed: a good web browser, ProtonUpQt, Steam, Lutris, there's even a tool for Xbox controller drivers, it was crazy to me to see all of this, plus everything on top of a Fedora system that would allow me to work on my software development projects.
Then the real final test would come: how good does it run steam games? I tried at least 50 of my most recent games and all of them ran flawlessly! I didn't have to install anything, all came up first try, no issues! The next step would be to see if Lutris still ran the games that I could run in Mint and: it did: I copied every prefix that I have in Mint to my Nobara Lutris and they worked the exact same way! Everything looked perfect!
The Very last step would be to immerse myself into the VR world that I still left pending, however, I haven't tried the VR installation steps yet but I was able to download & run the AppImage of envision and run it (unlike mint, where I had to compile it manually, not without the nightmare of compiling & updating all the dependencies as well)... I looked that open composite was another possibility for this and I would try either of them alongside Monado eventually (I haven't done it yet because I had to travel but once I'm back, I'll 100% do it!).
At this point I'm mostly convinced about replacing Mint for good and take advantage of all my hard drives: I have Nobara in a 1tb nvme m2 and mint in a 4tb regular SATA ssd, I could use that mint drive as an additional ssd for games or something, it doesn't make so much sense to have a dual boot of systems that do mostly the same (Nobara being the superior one in multiple ways, of course), I was willing to have Arch dual booted with Mint because Arch had better compatibility with VR but for me it was very hard to think about Arch as my main and only system, for all the issues that I mentioned before), but now I definitely found a place where I want to stay, a place I can call home, and I feel very excited for having this great system and the future things I'll do in it!

Played some tournaments last night with a buddy. We ended up constantly running into teams with 2/3 mediums, mostly running heal beam and defib. It was extremely frustrating to play against because the teams with 3 mediums were constantly defibbing and heal beaming their entire team back to life.
Defib only brings people back to half HP, correct? Could be interesting if subsequent defibs on the same target within 'x' amount of time brought the target back to even less HP. For example- defib used on heavy, he's brought back to 175 HP, defib timer starter on the heavy ('x' seconds long), heavy killed, defibbed by second teammate, he comes back with 90 HP now. Second defib resets the stacking timer, increases duration. If he's defibbed a third time while the timer is still active, now he spawns with 50 HP (minimum). A full 'E' revive will reset the DEFIB timer, respawns reset the timer.
Another option would be to make heal beam only 75% effective when used on a recently defibbed target.
Another option would be to make heal beam stacking inefficient (second beam does 50%), or heal beam stacking doubles the rate at which the heal beam gun overheats.

I've seen people struggle with the Gambler Challenges and the games, so I decided to make a full post with some tips for those challanges and an explanation of the games.

Gambler Challenges

Rank 1: Win five hands of Poker. — The description on how to play the game is gonna be further down. I suggest going all in. Going all in might make your opponents fold which would get you to win. You can also play poker in the mission “Who is Not Without Sin” since the wins are scripted there.
Rank 2: In Blackjack, double down and win the hand five times. — The description on how to play the game is gonna be further down. Double down if you’ve got 9, 10 or 11 without an ace. When you double down you’ll only receive one more card before standing with the cards you’ve got.
Rank 3: Win three games of Five Finger Fillet. — Look at the hand of your opponent when it’s their turn to see what buttons you have to hit. It’s not in a row, so when the game gets too hard leave and go somewhere else to continue playing.
Rank 4: Bust one poker table out in each location (Flatneck Station, Saint Denis, Valentine). — You need to bust one player out by making them lose all of their money. It’s easier the fewer opponents you have. Just go all in immediately. If you go all in and lose your money, quit the game and run away from the poker table a bit or sleep and then come back to join again.
Rank 5: Win three rounds of dominoes without drawing any tiles against two or fewer opponents. — The description on how to play the game is gonna be further down. It’s just about winning a round not the whole game so this is quite easy. Play and be lucky enough to not draw for three rounds.
Rank 6: Beat the blackjack dealer in two locations (Rhodes, Van Horn Trading Post). — Simple, you just need to beat the dealer in each of those locations, which is literally just playing the game and winning.
Rank 7: Beat the five finger fillet opponent in each location (Strawberry, Valentine, Van Horn Trading Post). — Basically the same as the third challenge. You just have to win 2 out of 3 rounds in one game to make your opponent leave the table in each location.
Rank 8: Win three hands of blackjack, with three hits or more. — The shittiest challenge R* could have come up with. Just bet the lowest amount of money each time if you care about saving money. Ties unfortunately don’t count. Good luck.
Rank 9: Win three games of dominoes in a row. — Make sure the table you’re at only has one opponent. It’ll be faster and easier for you to win that way. If you feel like you’re losing the game, quit while it’s your turn to make sure you don’t lose your streak. The one with the most points will win so play for points.
Rank 10: Win three hands of poker in a row. — Probably the easiest gambler challange. Make sure you already did the mission "A Fine Night of Debauchery" in Chapter 4. Then first, go to your story missions and replay the mission "Who is Not Without Sin". Accept to play poker before continuing the mission. It has two scripted poker games so you'll win each time. After finishing those make sure to continue and finish the mission. Then replay "A Fine Night of Debauchery". After getting to the poker game and winning it, since it's also scripted, you should have finished the challange.

Game Rules

Poker
Google the 10 poker hands and a ranking of them to look at while you’re playing if you don’t know them. The color of the cards doesn’t matter. The number and what kind of face card it is does matter. You'll get two cards at the beginning of the game and you'll keep those throughout the entire game. No one should see your cards, but since it's in RDR it doesn't matter. There's another set of cards in the middle of the table. Those are the cards everyone sees and everyone uses. They’re called „community cards“. After everyone made their bets there'll be a new card that'll get revealed in the middle. You have to create one of the hands I mentioned earlier, like a Royal Flush for example, with the two cards you've got and the community cards. If you've got a 6 and an 8 and there's a 7, 9 and 10 in the middle you've got a Straight Flush. You'll either bet high if you're sure of yourself and your cards (and the hand you might build), or you'll bluff by betting high if you've got terrible cards to make them think you've got amazing cards. You'll achieve that by betting higher, technically raising the pot each time. The NPCs might fold making you win. You can also give up your cards and lose your money by folding if you’re unsure of your cards. You might want to do that if the person before you bet too high and you don’t want to call (bet the same amount as they did) or raise the amount. It‘s to minimize your loss.
Blackjack
You’re at a table and either you’ve got other players or not but you’ve always got a dealer sitting in front of you which you’re (and other players are) playing against. You’re now making a bet and then trying to get as close to 21 as possible without surpassing 21 with the value of your cards. Each of the face cards are worth 10 and an ace is either worth 11 or 1 depending on whether 11 would make you surpass 21 or not. If it would make you surpass it the ace turns into a 1. If it wouldn’t it stays at 11. The dealer will give you two cards. If you got a 3 and a 7 that makes your total card value a 10. Now you’d “hit” meaning getting another card. If the card you got was, for example, a Queen your card value would be at 20. You can stick with that which you should or you can ask for another card and hope for an ace, since that’d make your value a perfect 21. You’re essentially just trying to be the one that gets closest to 21 or exactly 21 without surpassing that amount. After each of the players decide to stick with the amount they’ve got the dealer will reveal their cards and add more cards or stay just like you did. The one closest to 21 wins. If the other players didn’t surpass 21 and got amounts of, for example, 19 and 17 and the dealer is also under 20, or even surpassed 21, your 20 wins.
Dominoes
it’s relatively simple. If you’re doing it for the gambler challenges I suggest you always join a table with only one person sitting at it so you only have one opponent.
The main goal while playing is to be the first person with an empty hand. It’ll start with one person laying a domino in the middle of the table. Now you essentially just match the numbers of your domino to the dominoes that are on the table. If the first domino was a 6:5, you need to look for a domino in your hand that has either a 5 or a 6 on it. So 5:(any number) or 6:(any number). The 6 on your domino and the 6 of the domino on the table will face each other. That’ll continue that way. If you cannot match any numbers from your hand to the dominoes that are on the table you’ll need to draw another (or multiple) domino/dominoes until you can actually place another. The second goal is to reach a certain amount of points. In an “All Fives” game (which I recommend because it’s a bit easier) you need to be the first to reach 100 points. A game of dominoes will spread into multiple directions but each end is what you actually need to focus on. If all of these open ends add up to a multiple of 5 (5,10,15,20,25, …) you’ll be awarded points. So if your opponent laid down a 4:5 and you add a 5:6 both open ends added together make up 10. 6:5 5:4 The numbers in the middle (in this case 5:5) do not matter. Only the ends matter which in this case are a 6 and a 4. You’ll probably have multiple open ends as soon as you’re further into the game, but the rules stay the same.

I've seen people struggle with the Gambler Challenges and the games, so I decided to make a full post with some tips for those challanges and an explanation of the games.

Gambler Challenges

Rank 1: Win five hands of Poker. — The description on how to play the game is gonna be further down. I suggest going all in. Going all in might make your opponents fold which would get you to win. You can also play poker in the mission “Who is Not Without Sin” since the wins are scripted there.
Rank 2: In Blackjack, double down and win the hand five times. — The description on how to play the game is gonna be further down. Double down if you’ve got 9, 10 or 11 without an ace. When you double down you’ll only receive one more card before standing with the cards you’ve got.
Rank 3: Win three games of Five Finger Fillet. — Look at the hand of your opponent when it’s their turn to see what buttons you have to hit. It’s not in a row, so when the game gets too hard leave and go somewhere else to continue playing.
Rank 4: Bust one poker table out in each location (Flatneck Station, Saint Denis, Valentine). — You need to bust one player out by making them lose all of their money. It’s easier the fewer opponents you have. Just go all in immediately. If you go all in and lose your money, quit the game and run away from the poker table a bit or sleep and then come back to join again.
Rank 5: Win three rounds of dominoes without drawing any tiles against two or fewer opponents. — The description on how to play the game is gonna be further down. It’s just about winning a round not the whole game so this is quite easy. Play and be lucky enough to not draw for three rounds.
Rank 6: Beat the blackjack dealer in two locations (Rhodes, Van Horn Trading Post). — Simple, you just need to beat the dealer in each of those locations, which is literally just playing the game and winning.
Rank 7: Beat the five finger fillet opponent in each location (Strawberry, Valentine, Van Horn Trading Post). — Basically the same as the third challenge. You just have to win 2 out of 3 rounds in one game to make your opponent leave the table in each location.
Rank 8: Win three hands of blackjack, with three hits or more. — The shittiest challenge R* could have come up with. Just bet the lowest amount of money each time if you care about saving money. Ties unfortunately don’t count. Good luck.
Rank 9: Win three games of dominoes in a row. — Make sure the table you’re at only has one opponent. It’ll be faster and easier for you to win that way. If you feel like you’re losing the game, quit while it’s your turn to make sure you don’t lose your streak. The one with the most points will win so play for points.
Rank 10: Win three hands of poker in a row. — Probably the easiest gambler challange. Make sure you already did the mission "A Fine Night of Debauchery" in Chapter 4. Then first, go to your story missions and replay the mission "Who is Not Without Sin". Accept to play poker before continuing the mission. It has two scripted poker games so you'll win each time. After finishing those make sure to continue and finish the mission. Then replay "A Fine Night of Debauchery". After getting to the poker game and winning it, since it's also scripted, you should have finished the challange.

Game Rules

Poker
Google the 10 poker hands and a ranking of them to look at while you’re playing if you don’t know them. The color of the cards doesn’t matter. The number and what kind of face card it is does matter. You'll get two cards at the beginning of the game and you'll keep those throughout the entire game. No one should see your cards, but since it's in RDR it doesn't matter. There's another set of cards in the middle of the table. Those are the cards everyone sees and everyone uses. They’re called „community cards“. After everyone made their bets there'll be a new card that'll get revealed in the middle. You have to create one of the hands I mentioned earlier, like a Royal Flush for example, with the two cards you've got and the community cards. If you've got a 6 and an 8 and there's a 7, 9 and 10 in the middle you've got a Straight Flush. You'll either bet high if you're sure of yourself and your cards (and the hand you might build), or you'll bluff by betting high if you've got terrible cards to make them think you've got amazing cards. You'll achieve that by betting higher, technically raising the pot each time. The NPCs might fold making you win. You can also give up your cards and lose your money by folding if you’re unsure of your cards. You might want to do that if the person before you bet too high and you don’t want to call (bet the same amount as they did) or raise the amount. It‘s to minimize your loss.
Blackjack
You’re at a table and either you’ve got other players or not but you’ve always got a dealer sitting in front of you which you’re (and other players are) playing against. You’re now making a bet and then trying to get as close to 21 as possible without surpassing 21 with the value of your cards. Each of the face cards are worth 10 and an ace is either worth 11 or 1 depending on whether 11 would make you surpass 21 or not. If it would make you surpass it the ace turns into a 1. If it wouldn’t it stays at 11. The dealer will give you two cards. If you got a 3 and a 7 that makes your total card value a 10. Now you’d “hit” meaning getting another card. If the card you got was, for example, a Queen your card value would be at 20. You can stick with that which you should or you can ask for another card and hope for an ace, since that’d make your value a perfect 21. You’re essentially just trying to be the one that gets closest to 21 or exactly 21 without surpassing that amount. After each of the players decide to stick with the amount they’ve got the dealer will reveal their cards and add more cards or stay just like you did. The one closest to 21 wins. If the other players didn’t surpass 21 and got amounts of, for example, 19 and 17 and the dealer is also under 20, or even surpassed 21, your 20 wins.
Dominoes
it’s relatively simple. If you’re doing it for the gambler challenges I suggest you always join a table with only one person sitting at it so you only have one opponent.
The main goal while playing is to be the first person with an empty hand. It’ll start with one person laying a domino in the middle of the table. Now you essentially just match the numbers of your domino to the dominoes that are on the table. If the first domino was a 6:5, you need to look for a domino in your hand that has either a 5 or a 6 on it. So 5:(any number) or 6:(any number). The 6 on your domino and the 6 of the domino on the table will face each other. That’ll continue that way. If you cannot match any numbers from your hand to the dominoes that are on the table you’ll need to draw another (or multiple) domino/dominoes until you can actually place another. The second goal is to reach a certain amount of points. In an “All Fives” game (which I recommend because it’s a bit easier) you need to be the first to reach 100 points. A game of dominoes will spread into multiple directions but each end is what you actually need to focus on. If all of these open ends add up to a multiple of 5 (5,10,15,20,25, …) you’ll be awarded points. So if your opponent laid down a 4:5 and you add a 5:6 both open ends added together make up 10. 6:5 5:4 The numbers in the middle (in this case 5:5) do not matter. Only the ends matter which in this case are a 6 and a 4. You’ll probably have multiple open ends as soon as you’re further into the game, but the rules stay the same.

So, just to begin, I have an nmom, without a doubt. This is about her.
She does this thing that has always driven me absolutely nuts. It's like you tell her stuff and she just doesn't internalize it.
Perfect example: I had to tell her I was bisexual 3 times. She'd look at me, go 'okay' and then never bring it up again. The reason it came up again is because she'd make mention to me being straight and I'd go 'no....'. I'm trans too, turns out (lol, serendipity I guess) and she WILL NOT gender me correctly.
She's absolutely always been a narcissist, however the problems didn't hit fever pitch until I started transitioning and the mask started slipping a lot more. Probably because I very much no longer fit in with the whole me being an extension of her and me refusing to fit her worldview. She tried to stop me and tried to tell me she should get a say in whether or not I should do it (which lol, I was 31 years old and financially independent when I started so no, you absolutely shouldn't) and only played nice after she realized that everyone else was fine with it and that nobody else was being a jerk and after she could, in her little covert narc brain, rewrite a narrative of oh, I am once again the martyr mom to a suffering trans child. Which. Again. 31. Financially independent. I have my problems but being a suffering trans person is not one of them and it's not surprising she as a narcissistic cis person would come up with a caricature that offensive to describe me.
I am a happy person who also happens to be trans. That's it. It's part of me but I prefer to not be defined by it and I have a very full life of things and people I love. So reducing me to that sucks and is very lame.
I allowed her the grace period of not one but two years on the pronouns. We're coming up on year 3 of me being on hormones and I'm done tolerating it and I'm starting to pull away. The rest of the public genders me correctly and gets it right 100% of the time because I've been on testosterone for THREE. YEARS. I simply don't believe she's not doing it on purpose at this point.
But it happens in relation to other things too. We could have a crazy knock down drag out fight - she'll wait a few days depending on severity and then act like it NEVER happened. Won't mention it. It's like she refuses to internalize anything she doesn't like or doesn't fit in with her worldview. You can't even mention it, she'll dodge the shit out of questions or like just be like 'yeah' and move on ASAP.
Is there a name for this? I hate it so damn much because as much as it sucks, it's pretty smart because she always has plausible deniability on her side if she has to justify herself to a third party that she wasn't mistreating me. It's infuriating. I mean I know on some level it probably just falls under the category of gaslighting but I'm wondering if there's anything more specific in terms of name or definition for this behavior.

DAY: MAY 15, 2024

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• 5-15-2024FIGHTING FAT AND INFLAMMATION: SCIENTISTS DEVELOP NEW COMPOUNDS The menthyl esters of valine (MV) and isoleucine (MI) are multi-faceted molecules with enhanced anti-inflammatory and anti-obesity activities. The discovery and development of such molecules can result in newer classes of therapeutic drugs to treat a wide range of metabolic disorders. Credit: Gen-ichiro Arimura from Tokyo University of Science Modified derivatives of natural products have led to significant therapeutic advances and commercial success in recent times. Menthol is a naturally occurring cyclic monoterpene alcohol found in various plants,
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• 5-15-2024STUDY SHOWS COMBINING JOYFUL ACTIVITIES WITH ‘SAVORING’ THERAPY SHOWS POSITIVE MENTAL HEALTH RESULTS AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE With rates of depression rising among young people on university campuses, a team of SMU researchers found that combining two different therapeutic approaches demonstrated effectiveness in improving students’ overall mental health. Their findings show that students receiving behavioral activation (BA) therapy augmented with savoring (S) experienced improvements in positive and negative mood. Behavioral activation is a therapeutic approach that alleviates depression by increasing engagement in meaningful activities,
• 5-15-2024AI-BASED SURGICAL PREDICTION MODELS HAVE LIMITS Prediction models generated by machine learning are being increasingly used in medicine to identify risk factors and possible outcomes, especially for total joint replacements of knees and hips—although researchers warn that machine-generated predictions are currently being drawn from a limited data pool. “Machine learning has great potential for processing ‘big data’ and has proved its undeniable capability, although it is not free of issues,
• 5-15-2024STUDY FINDS FRONT-OF-PACKAGE NUTRITION LABELING RESULTS IN HEALTHIER PRODUCTS A study finds that a food labeling system introduced by the French government in 2017 resulted in healthier products. The study of Nutri-Score, a voluntary labeling system that assigns a simple letter grade based on nutrition, is believed to be the first to examine how food manufacturers responded to the change. Using detailed product and nutrition data from 2014 to 2021,
• 5-15-2024EXPERT EXPLAINS PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERNS ON AVIAN FLU Using genetically engineered mice expressing a specific variant of HLA, researchers uncover the instrumental role of this protein in the development of drug eruptions. They found that when HLA binds to an antiviral drug, abacavir, it can lead to the formation of defective proteins, which trigger a stress response in the endoplasmic reticulum, ultimately cascading into drug eruption. This implies that HLA is involved in previously unknown signaling pathways and processes that go beyond its traditionally accepted role within the immune system.
• 5-15-2024EXPLORING THE MECHANISM BEHIND DRUG ERUPTIONS IN THE SKINUsing genetically engineered mice expressing a specific variant of HLA, researchers uncover the instrumental role of this protein in the development of drug eruptions. They found that when HLA binds to an antiviral drug, abacavir, it can lead to the formation of defective proteins, which trigger a stress response in the endoplasmic reticulum, ultimately cascading into drug eruption.
• 5-15-2024STUDY PROVIDES BLUEPRINT FOR HYBRID-VIRTUAL HOME VISIT MODEL TO SUPPORT PATIENTS WHO DO NOT LIVE CLOSE TO A HOSPITAL a team developed and successfully tested a hybrid-virtual home visit model that provides care to veterans who do not live close to a VA health care facility.
• 5-15-2024HOW SCIENCE IS CHANGING THE GAME IN SPORTS Digital twins of athletes allow athletes and coaches to evaluate performance and trial technique changes. It’s an open secret that the countries that win the most medals in the Olympics and Paralympics combine talent and technology. Athletes are preparing for the next three Olympics and Paralympics in Paris in 2024
• 5-15-2024STUDY REVEALS HOW PRACTICE FORMS NEW MEMORY PATHWAYS IN THE BRAIN The effects of optogenetic inhibition on WM task performance. a, The experimental set-up. b, The delayed-association WM task trial types; licking was assessed during the 3?s choice period, with early- and late-delays periods noted. c, Learning progress across eight sessions, measured on the basis of the percentage of correct responses. d, Learning session example
• 5-15-2024A MEDITERRANEAN DIET CAN EASE SYMPTOMS OF STRESS AND ANXIETY, SAYS STUDY It’s no secret that the Mediterranean diet is good for your health. Already recommended to reduce the risks of bowel cancer, heart disease, and dementia, new research shows that the Mediterranean diet can also reduce symptoms of stress and anxiety.
• 5-15-2024ENHANCING PATIENT RESPONSE TO CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY
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• 5-15-2024NEW EVIDENCE FOR USE OF ANTI-INFLAMMATORY THERAPY FOR PREVENTION OF RECURRENT VASCULAR EVENTS IN STROKE
• 5-15-2024STUDY PAVES THE WAY FOR AN ACTIVE AGENT AGAINST HEPATITIS E
• 5-15-2024RESEARCHERS DEVELOP METHOD TO MONITOR PATIENTS WITH SPINAL MUSCULAR ATROPHY USING SOUND WAVES
• 5-15-2024INFERTILITY TREATMENT FOUND TO DOUBLE THE RISK OF POSTPARTUM HEART DISEASE
• 5-15-2024A PROMISING APPROACH TO INTRAOPERATIVE CANCER DIAGNOSIS
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• 5-15-2024ONLY 20% OF U.S. NONPROFIT HOSPITALS INVESTED IN HOUSING AS PART OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNITY BENEFIT MANDATE
• 5-15-2024NEW STUDY LINKS AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER TO DISRUPTED DEVELOPMENTAL DOPAMINE
• 5-15-2024STUDY FINDS SEVERE ISCHEMIC STROKES ARE RARE IN PATIENT POPULATION
• 5-15-2024CYCLIN D1 EXPRESSION MAY BE A BIOMARKER FOR PENILE CANCER
• 5-15-2024GUIDELINE ISSUED FOR PEOPLE WITH EPILEPSY WHO MAY BECOME PREGNANT
• 5-15-2024NEW CARDIAC RESEARCH COULD SAVE WOMEN’S LIVES BY IMPROVING DETECTION OF HEART FAILURE
• 5-15-2024PATIENTS REPORT SIGNIFICANT SYMPTOM REDUCTION WITHIN A SINGLE INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE ENCOUNTER
• 5-15-2024STUDY LINKS PROTEIN SECRETED BY BLOOD VESSELS TO DRUG-RESISTANT CANCER
• 5-15-2024RESEARCHERS EXPLORE THE ROLE OF OF TRANSPOSABLE ELEMENTS IN MYOCARDITIS
• 5-15-2024STUDY REVEALS IMMUNOTHERAPY’S POTENTIAL IN BOOSTING IMMUNE SYSTEMS OF OLDER INDIVIDUALS
• 5-15-2024CANADIAN HOSPITAL DATA SHOW LONGER, COSTLIER STAYS FOR PATIENTS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS
• 5-15-2024SCIENTISTS WANT TO KNOW HOW THE SMELLS OF NATURE BENEFIT OUR HEALTH
• 5-15-2024STUDY FINDS TWO GENES OF THE GERMLINE ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF BRAIN TUMORS IN DROSOPHILA
• 5-15-2024EVALUATING A NEW GROUP TRAINING TOOL FOR THE PREVENTION OF DEMENTIA
• 5-15-2024RESEARCH CHALLENGES LINK BETWEEN MOTOR IMPAIRMENT AND BRAIN INJURY
• 5-15-2024RESEARCH CHALLENGES LINK BETWEEN MOTOR IMPAIRMENT AND BRAIN INJURY
• 5-15-2024CHIROPRACTIC ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER LIKELIHOOD OF TRAMADOL PRESCRIPTION IN ADULTS WITH SCIATICA
• 5-15-2024UNVEILING THE IMPACT OF JOB LOSS ON THE HEALTH OF IMMIGRANTS IN GERMANY
• 5-15-2024HEALTH CARE INTERPRETERS IMPORTANT FOR HEART ATTACK REHABILITATION, SAYS STUDY
• 5-15-2024RESEARCHERS FIND MICROPLASTICS IN CANINE AND HUMAN TESTICULAR TISSUE
• 5-15-2024ANTISEIZURE MEDICATIONS CAN PRODUCE LIFE-THREATENING REACTIONS
• 5-15-2024ADULTS WHO HAD DIFFICULT CHILDHOODS ARE NOT RECEIVING SUFFICIENT MENTAL HEALTH CARE, FINDS CALIFORNIA STUDY
• 5-15-2024AI MAY IMPROVE DOCTOR–PATIENT INTERACTIONS FOR OLDER ADULTS WITH CANCER
• 5-15-2024BLOOD PRESSURE DRUGS MORE THAN DOUBLE BONE-FRACTURE RISK IN NURSING HOME PATIENTS
• 5-15-2024PREVENTING PEDIATRIC FALLS
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• 5-15-2024TREATMENT-RESISTANT DEPRESSION LINKED TO BODY MASS INDEX: STUDY
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• 5-15-2024STUDY FINDS LINK BETWEEN BMI TRAJECTORIES AND FRACTURE RISK IN LATE ADULTHOOD
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• 5-15-2024PRE- AND POST-SURGICAL IMMUNOTHERAPY IMPROVES OUTCOMES FOR PATIENTS WITH OPERABLE LUNG CANCER, PHASE III STUDY FINDS
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• 5-15-2024OLDER NATIVE AMERICANS MAY EXPERIENCE HIGHER LEVELS OF COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT THAN PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT
• 5-15-2024RESEARCHERS DEVELOP INNOVATIVE PLATFORM FOR MODELING HUMAN MUSCLE DISEASES IN WORMS
• 5-15-2024CLIMATE CHANGE IS LIKELY TO AGGRAVATE BRAIN CONDITIONS, STUDY FINDS
• 5-15-2024NEW STUDY SHOWS CONTINUED HIGH EFFECTIVENESS OF HPV VACCINATION IN ENGLAND
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• 5-15-2024NOVEL INHIBITOR INSIGHTS OFFER PATHWAY TO PREVENTING PXR-ASSOCIATED DRUG RESISTANCE
• 5-15-2024THE DOCTOR IS IN… BUT WHAT’S BEHIND THEM? STUDY REVEALS IMPACTS OF TELEHEALTH BACKGROUND SETTINGS
• 5-15-2024HIGH TELEHEALTH USE TIED TO INCREASED HEALTH CARE UTILIZATION, COST
• 5-15-2024NEW BIOMARKER IDENTIFIED TO DIAGNOSE ALZHEIMER’S IN ASYMPTOMATIC STAGES
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• 5-15-2024STUDY FINDS ASTROCYTIC PH REGULATOR CAN REPAIR BLOOD-BRAIN BARRIER, REVERSE BRAIN DAMAGE CAUSED BY ISCHEMIC STROKE
• 5-15-2024DISPARITIES SEEN IN CARBAPENEM-RESISTANT ENTEROBACTERALES BLOODSTREAM INFECTION OUTCOMES
• 5-15-2024WHY IS WHOOPING COUGH SURGING IN THE UK? FALLING VACCINATION RATES MAY BE THE ANSWER
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Hey all, I am starting to work on a content analysis project for a publication. I will manually code over a dozen documents and establish positions according to my conceptual framework. To increase the reliability of my analysis, I will ask a second and a third coder to code after I show them the codebook, train them, etc. Textbook stuff.
I will ask a colleague of mine from the department, but I am also thinking of asking a friend, who is/was an academic, who recently left academia to work in the private sector to be the third coder. My friend is a native speaker of the documents I am coding, and I thought skills and fluency would provide solid results. Then, I'll calculate Krippendorf's alpha and all that.
I have looked around but never saw anything about disclosing the coder's identity; it is generally just mentioned as "second and third coder." I was thinking maybe I should be more cautious and choose an active academic if I need to disclose it somewhere—journal submission, for example.
So, four general questions stand: Does it matter who the coder is as long as the coder is instructed properly? Does it matter if a coder is not active in academia but has academic credentials? Plus, having a personal relationship with the main researcher? Do I need to disclose the coder's identity somewhere - if so, how?
Thanks!

I posted here 6 weeks ago about my last nanny who was questionably going to kidnap my 15 month old. Well, she has been gone for a month and it has been a breath of fresh air in our home. Our new nanny was recommended to us by a mutual contact. Her first day was April 16th. She is bringing her daughter who is a little over a month older than my son. We had wanted him to get more socialization and because this person came so highly recommended, we accepted that care would be split between the 2 babies versus just 1. We pay less than we did for our last nanny as well because she is bringing her child.
Things have been going really well, except... 2 weeks ago she mentioned that her 3 almost 4 year old niece who her brother splits custody of was going to be out of preschool for the summer and could she occasionally come over with them. We should have asked the frequency in hindsight (you already see where this is going). We at the time said yes, thinking it would be once every few weeks.
Last week, she was just dropped off at our house with no heads up for 1 full day and 1 half day. Today, our nanny came in with her, so another full day. We told her we didn't expect her niece to be with her today, and she said it was because her mom (grandma of the niece) had 2 dog vet appointments and needed her to take the niece. Look, I get it. Being a parent is hard. Summer is hard. But, we had to find childcare. We want to be supportive of her, however, 1) this takes already split attention more off of our child, 2) we do not run a daycare, 3) we haven't met the niece's parents ever and god forbid if something happened to her in our home (if she fell and hurt herself for example), what would they do, 4) we are paying her, this is not her doing us a favor.
This is the third time this has happened and we plan to have a conversation with her TODAY (both had to run to work calls this morning) about this. We were willing to make concessions since it is just for the summer if it truly was occasional and not weekly. What would you do if you were us?
I am so tired of having problems with the people we are trusting AND PAYING to watch our child and so tired of feeling like we are being taken advantage of in some way.