Best evincing the v i b e s from each era.
Some of my best suggestions:
1920s and 30s Howie Morenz with his rather whimsical skill and speed and a kinda magical realist vibe in part due to tragedy
1940s and 50s Maurice Richard with his gritty tough as nails "oh yeah well fuck you wise guy" demeanor and classic silent generation understated manner, scored 5 goals 8 points after moving a house full of furniture hours before
Early 60s Béliveau, my grandfather made a documentary film with him back in the day, every bit the charming low key pro
Late 60s Orr breaking tradition and transforming the paradigm, going from a crew cut to wild shaggy hair perfectly symbolic. Cue simpsons reference.
1970s Guy Lafleur with no helmet, cigarettes on bench, the hair ofc, kinda doofy vibe a bit, an earthy panache
1980s Kent Nilsson. The Magic Man. Even gretz (who, yeah, should be chosen for this) said he was the most skilled player he had ever seen
Early 1990s Jagr mullet. High flying offense. Kinda goofy vibe.
Late 1990s this era sucked. So idk ultimately. No one needed.
Early 2000s Bryan McCabe with spiky hair, limp bizkit vibe, big booming shot, lots of hits, rock em sock em combo, no visor either
2010s Henraaak (iykyk) Lundqvist given his aesthetic and the era of the goalie, but then again most of that was RVH butterfly based while he was pretty old school, so likely Price?
2020s Zegras with chill zoomer vibe, next level fancy trick plays, low key personality, somewhat more sizzle than substance ultimately
2050s Skyyghleur Crosby with his respect of the lizard people, ally of the lizard people, all hail the lizard people

This is a straight to the point buyers guide for people that are wondering if any of the AL ships are worth buying or not. I am here to give you an idea of what's worth, and what's not. I will rank them in descending order for convenience. Keep in mind that these are from my own opinions on the game: my word is not law. These are just my recommendations from my personal experience and a spur of the moment deal personally.

Best Pick: AL Montpelier

This is a premium version of Cleveland, the USN tier VIII CL. However, unlike the later AL premiums, AL Montpelier was unique in at least, a very minor way: She has tighter shot grouping due to a 2.15 sigma versus the standard 2.0 at the cost of slower reload at 0.5 sec slower (7 sec vs 6.5 sec). The result is overall consistent salvos, at the cost of just a little DPM that can be fixed with Adrenaline Rush and Top Grade Gunner, depending on how you build her.
Besides that, she also has un-nerfed version of radar, at a 30 sec vs 27 sec on Cleveland. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but if you run Consumable Enchantments and or Surveillance Radar Mod 1, you have a larger number that the percent based changes will take affect on. Essentially, with both the commander skill and 2nd slot upgrade, you get 39.6 sec vs 35.6 seconds on duration. So a radar build is not bad compared to Cleveland. Besides that, she doesn't have access to the catapult fighter consumable, but that is super seceded by radar and anyways so who cares.
And above all else, it is a Cleveland, which is IMO, a very competitively viable cruiser at tier VIII, with it's very small citadel, thin profile / narrow beam that leads to a lot of over-penetrations, good DPM, good concealment, and good AA. It really only lacks in the speed, gun range, and shell flight time problems, which can be remedied with skill and positioning.
As far as the commander voice acting, Rie Takahashi voices Montpelier. If you do not know who that is or do not care, and just want to know if the commander's voice is annoying or not, then be happy that she isn't overtly grating compared to some of the other commanders you can get. I find her rather composed, cool, and relaxed, fitting the trope of kuudere, if you even know what that means.
TLDR: Premium Cleveland with higher sigma, slightly lower RoF, Longer lasting radar.

Runner Up: AL Sovetsky Rossiya

This is a premium version of Sovetsky Soyuz, the VMF (Soviet Navy) Tier IX BB. Like Montpelier, she is slightly unique to her tech tree counterpart, bar being premium, by having standard battleship dispersion (USN, Royal Navy, German, etc.) instead of Russian BB dispersion formula that gets way better inside 15km. She does also have 1.8 sigma versus 1.7 sigma, for slightly tighter shot grouping. So, while Soyuz excels at mid range, Rossiya excels at long range, which does reasonably well considering the average high tier meta these days.
Other than that, you retain all the upsides of Fast action Damage Control Parties, the tough hull design of the Sovetsky Soyuz. The only other thing you DO NOT get is the AA, as she has the Hull A of Sovetsky Soyuz, and in turn has worse AA overall. In fact, she has such bad AA that only Musashi beats her out in having worse AA for Tier IX battleships. So yeah, CVs that know their targets will have free reign on you, so stick close to allies in CV matches.
Now a I'll be honest with you, Rossiya is not a super competitive BB at tier IX, so this choice is really just down to being different in few ways instead of blatant copy paste. Really, only AL Montpelier is the only super competitive option here. So above all else, Rossiya is a side grade if anything and you should not fear of having FOMO for not getting her. Besides, she's not an historical ship that is going to get removed because it was OP, so fret not (COUGH COUGH MUSASHI, COUGH COUGH ALASKA, COUGH COUGH MISSOURI).
Lastly, the commander is voiced by Manami Numakura. I can really only characterize her as cool, tough, deep voiced anime woman archetype. I dunno really how to explain it that well, so I apologize for anyone that likes her due to my poor description.
TLDR: Premium Sovetsky Soyuz Hull A with 1.8 sigma and standard battleship dispersion.
OK, with those two out of the way, I want to put a disclaimer here that the next ships are purely optional and not super worth it IMO and really only selected for being different than the rest, I.E. not something that is currently offered in other ships / premium ships already in-game.

Optional 1st Pick: AL Prinz Heinrich

This is a premium version of Prinz Heinrich, the tier VII german battlecruiser of the Ersatz Yorck class. She is a 1 for 1 copy of Prinz Heinrich: no special differences here besides premium benefits.
Now, while she is not unique in any way, she is not a bad battlecruiser for tier VII standards. This mainly comes down to the 50mm deck plating she has in a tier wrought with battleships with just 26mm of plating on their decks. Really, any tier VII battleship that has more than 27mm of plating is really competitive in this tier, simply because they don't get overmatched or full-penned by HE. It's sort of why Scharnhorst '43 is so popular and good, since she doesn't get chunked for 10k when hit by 15 in + guns (380mm guns for ya'll metric nerds).
Besides that, she's not slow as hell, going at a decent 28 knots, has 15in guns herself, has fast acting DCP, and is the first ship in the german battlecruisefast battleship line that gets that sweet improved secondary dispersion formula, which despite the 9km max range, means that she has free DPM to let the game play itself essentially. Combined with torpedoes, she can bum rush many slower and weaker battleships that the german battlecruiser line is famous for. And on top of all that, she also has hydro for better pushing to see torpedoes earlier, or push smoked up ships.
Now for some cons, the guns, while using battlecruiser dispersion have an awful 1.5 sigma, so your shot grouping is... bad. Do not be surprised if a lot of your shells in your salvo get a mind of their own. Besides that, she's on the below average end of HP for tier VII, at 56k. Also, she does have 25mm bow and stern. She does have a 30mm extended belt (colloquially known as an ice breaker), which is followed by 120mm extended belt, that protects the lower portion of the ship from overmatch bar 18in guns that she MIGHT face in the likes of Georgia, Sun Yat Sen, Musashi, and Tsurugi, and Adatara. Still, that doesn't mean she is immune from overmatch, as the odd shell can still get through her bow and stern and chunk you, so do not bet on it 100%.
Now that is for the most part, the review. However, for any true fans out there, they know that Prinz Heinrich from AL is actually a P-Class cruiser, AKA Schill in this game. Since Schill was a limited time ship that required whaling for her, and that wargaming dropped the ball and just did "Oh this ship has the same name! Here ya go!" then you know how much this kind of sucks. If you just like Prinz Heinrich, and want her as a premium, you can ignore this tidbit, but for any true fans that DO NOT have Schill, you're shit outta luck.
As far as commander goes, the voice actor, Hiyori Nitta, does a wonderful job characterizing a carefree and bubbly character. As previously mentioned, I recommend putting her on Schill if you really care about game accuracy, that is, if you even had Schill to begin with.
TLDR: Premium Prinz Heinrich copy-paste. Get it only if you really like Prinz Heinrich (the ship) which is actually pretty good for its tier, and want a premium version of it, or Prinz Heinrich as the character.

Optional 2nd Pick: AL Shimakaze

Hoo boy, this one might be controversial. This is a special ship (NOT a premium ship) of IJN DD, Shimakaze.
Shimakaze really needs no introduction. It is the old school torpedo boat that coined the phrase "Torpedo soup" or at least contributed to that phrase. It can put 3x5 23k damage, 12km Type 93 long lance torpedoes into the water. It has some of the best concealment for her tier, getting down to 5.6km surface detect, and good speed at 39 kts (42 kts when speed boost is active). It has been here since the games launch, and well, admittedly, or at least in my opinion, has seen better days.
Still, while some other DDs might have powercrept her a little, you can't mistake the fact that a well played Shimakaze can terrorize a team that lacks the tools to pin her down. Even if that is seldom the case most of the time (48% win rate on NA out of 8 million battles), the ship still has strong tools when played to it's strengths. 23k damage torpedoes are no joke... if you get hit by them at least, as they have a pretty awful average reaction time of ~9.35 sec (according to wows ship builder). Now, this can be sort of remedied with building for torpedo speed, getting torpedo tubes mod 1 and swift fish to decrease that time to ~8.5 sec, but that's still far above the average of 7.8 sec most torpedoes have in other nations. Still, if you get the right angle, devstriking a full HP battleship is not uncommon if you get a perfectly lined up shot. Thing is, it takes WAY more skill and positioning than you think it does, especially considering that most top tier players sort of know what they're doing, and that a lot of top tier ships can run hydroacoustic search these days.
Combined with the fact that she has some of the worse gun DPM of any tier X DD, and has fairly low HP for the tier, it can be fairly hard to play this ship unless you get just the best matchmaking ever. It's a real feast or famine type ship, which I would say summarizes most of the IJN Shimakaze line in general, bar maybe the mid tiers. All this really means is that Shimakaze is NOT the most competitive DD at tier X, as arguably many other nations have better torpedo boats, or better yet, opt for hybrid boats that can defend themselves fairly well, such as the Pan Euro DDs. Still, as mentioned earlier, if played to her strengths, she can be a good ship, but all I am arguing for is that she is not a meta ship, at least in my opinion.
Now, onto the whole Special Ship thing. Yes, this IS a tier X ship that can be bought for money. And YES, this is like the ARP Yamato deal, allowing noob whales to skip to tier X and forgo all the blood sweat and tears that goes into grinding to top tier. And YES, IT'S A SHIMAKAZE, THE TIER X NOOB MACHINE. I DO NOT HAVE HIGH HOPES FOR MANY AL SHIMAKAZE PLAYERS EITHER. With that out of the way, what benefit do you get for getting a special ship version of Shimakaze?
Well, to start, Special ships essentially have the premium bonus package already baked in, I.E: +50% Credits, +100% Ship XP, +100% Commander XP, +100% Free XP. On top of that, you also have a reduced repair cost compared to a standard tier X. Besides that, you can freely swap commanders onto this ship like a premium ship with no retraining required, making it a good trainer. These are the ONLY 2 reasons that make this ship more economically viable compared to Shimakaze. While the bonus package on Shimakaze can achieve 1 of these 3 effects, the other two, reduced repair cost and free commander swapping, puts this above standard Shimakaze as a result.
So, unfortunately, This is a slightly better Shimakaze. So if you REALLY like Shimakaze, and want a premium version of it, well, here it is, for a lot of goddamn money. Like $100+ expensive. Go figure ya know?
Also, the commander is voiced by Saori Hayami.
TLDR: Special Ship verison of Shimakaze. Take if you are a whale have a lot of expendable income to burn, AND really like Shimakaze (The ship), and or really like Shimakaze (the AL character).

Optional 3rd Pick: AL Yukikaze

AL Yukikaze is a similar version of the IJN DD Kagero, but with F8 torpedoes and no option for torpedo reload booster.
Now, this is the last of the semi-unique AL ships, as every other one has been copy-paste. Yukikaze at the very least is different in that she has F8 torpedoes. These differ than Kagero's choice by having less range, (8km vs 10km), higher damage (21k vs 20k), faster reload (104 sec vs 112 sec), and higher speed (76kts to 67kts) which also leads to a better reaction time of ~8.8 sec vs ~9.45 sec.
Now, does this make Yukikaze better? No, not really, as 8km is rather short range for high tier standards. It does make them almost break past ~8 sec reaction time with a full torpedo speed build, the best of any type 93 torpedo, but combined with the fact that it has no other differences in gun handling, DPM, HP, and consumables, I find this shorter ranged torpedo to be a high risk high reward setup, which already exacerbates high tier IJN DD gameplay further than it already is, being so heavily feast or famine.
I can really only recommend this ship if you really like Kagero for whatever reason and really like the 8km F8 playstyle. That and if you like the history of the ship and or like the character of the ship, voiced by Kana Yuuki, despite how annoying and self aggrandizing her character is made out to be.
TLDR: Kagero but 8km F8 torpedoes.
OK, now for the ships I really do not recommend at all for varying reasons. The reviews are going to be more brief from here on out.

Skip 1: AL Cheshire

Only get this if you really, REALLY want to get Cheshire right now. Currently, regular Cheshire is off sale, and cannot be obtained. For whatever reason you think you might need Cheshire, this is the only way to obtain her at the moment in AL form. Which more than likely means that if you want her, you are more than likely a fan of the AL character, as the ship itself is pretty bad. Kind of polarizing given that Cheshire in AL is pretty meta, and her in WoWs she's pretty solidly in D tier for competitiveness.
She is essentially a worse Albemarle, having no Spotter Plane, and garbage DPM for the tier. Really, the 9.2 in guns really only offer 59mm of pen vs 34mm, and better AP pen with overall flatter flight times, but not by much. The armor is Okayish, but trust me when you will get smacked through your bow and stern often, as you have a stepped citadel that if you get overmatched through either direction, you WILL get citadelled. While you get that 50% cit and hull repair party, it really doesn't matter that much when it happens so often, or you just get straight up dev striked. Combined with the lack of spotter plane, that 16km gun range will feel really short, especially when you are bottom tier.
You can at least be happy that the AA she has is up to par in how she is in AL, as it's best in class for her tier. Well, mostly, but her Flak Count is above average at 6+1, and combined with always having defensive fire, I recommend getting the commander skill Focus Fire Training, so you get that +1 flak cloud for 8 in total, which combined with Defensive fires flak buff, those flak bursts will do 7k a pop, Which is the equivalent to instantly destroying about 7 to 3 planes depending on the type if they run into it while DF is active.
Besides that, the commander is voiced by Shizuka Ishigami, and well, pretends to be a catgirl.
TLDR: Get this if you really really, REALLY want Cheshire and you don't have one, or because you really like the AL character.

Skip 2: AL Hornet

This is just Hornet. You can get her cheaper with a 25% discount coupon. It's also a CV, which I imagine is not everyones cup of tea.
The commander is voiced by Nozomi Yamamoto, and personally, I enjoy the happy go lucky characterization she has. This might be the ONLY reason you want to get Hornet, that or because you like the cool skin the ship has, and or the free 10 point commander.
TLDR: Get regular Hornet with 25% discount. ONLY buy this if you love AL Hornet (the character) to pieces.

Skip 3 & 4: AL Azuma and AL Agir

These two are just Agir and Azuma, coal ships, that you can get absolutely for free. They are also not really the best Tier IX cruisers anyways, as Azuma is super vulnerable to battleships, and Agir doesn't match up to the likes of other large cruisers at this tier.
That said, I can only imagine you getting these ships for the same reasons for Hornet, and that is because you are a fan of the AL characterization of these ships, as Azuma is voiced by Kiyono Yasuno, and Agir, Ayane Sakura. Or you just like the ship skins.
TLDR: Get Azuma and or Agir for free with Coal. ONLY buy this if you love AL Agir / AL Azuma (the characters).

BONUS: Commander Pack

Hahaha no. Unless you really love AL and don't mind by dropping... looks at price... 100$+ USD and getting a ton of fully voiced commanders, then go for it. The only other reason would be because you are a fresh player and need 10 point commanders for most of the nations in this game, which is really only useful if you need say concealment expert on destroyers for example, then sure, go for it if you find that to be an OK option.

There were a lot of changes that came about today with Metro's launch of the new Flex plans.
First off, devices are no longer on deals if you don't sign up for a Flex plan. This means the price to get a partially subsidized device has gone up from $40 to $55. They also recently hiked the unlocking period from 180 days to 365 days so the days of hitting up Metro for a cheap discounted phone are coming to an end as Flex also requires ID verification and if you hit and run with the phone you aren't eligible for another for a year.
The old $30 ($25 with autopay) BYOD plan is still available on the website and it's supposed to be available in store as well but expect resistance if you try to get it there. I would recommend buying a $10 SIM card at Walmart if you don't have an eSIM option and activating it on the web portal - https://www.metrobyt-mobile.com/activate/activation-el (the web portal can also activate eSIM devices)
The old $40 unlimited plan is now a heritage plan. The old $30 5GB plan has been axed (there is a $30 2GB heritage plan). Heritage plans require signing up with customer service, they're not available in stores or online self service.
The Flex plans are a whole can of worms that would be tough to summarize here but basically if you get a Flex plan, you get a discount on your phone up front, and you get new customer pricing when you trade in to upgrade (there are tiers of 1, 2, and 3 years, with holding on to your phone longer giving you the largest benefit). Seeing how these plans are $55, $65, and $75 (each available with a $5 discount for autopay), I don't think these will appeal to most people here. Existing customers who switch to Flex plans aren't eligible for a new device until they've been on it for at least a year so that won't be appealing to most people anyway.
You can check out more details about the Flex plans here - https://www.metrobyt-mobile.com/metro-flex
Existing customers are grandfathered into their plans but when switching devices may be prompted to change their plan and may be unable to add a new line to their current plan. Customer service can assist with swapping devices without losing your existing plan but they may or may not charge a $25 fee to do so.
Overall the changes aren't as bad as I expected from talking to people who work for Metro dealers but this is definitely a price hike for most new customers who don't know about the heritage plans or scroll around the website to find the $30 unlimited plan. This makes the $45 10GB plan the cheapest for most people, a $10-$15 increase in the price floor depending on whether they sign up for autopay. Then on the top end, the new $75 plan is $5-$10 more expensive than the previous ceiling, based on autopay as well.

Welcome to my Plex Client TED Talk

First off, yes, I know that most people don't need the "supremely ultimate" streaming solution (perfect Dolby Vision w/ FEL + Lossless audio + third-party streaming app compatibility). The answer is ultimately hardware and user-dependent. That being said, we get a dozen posts here a month asking what the best all-in-one streaming device is for those who do want Dolby Vision/lossless audio, and most of the time they are either recommended the Shield or an Apple TV from what I can tell. For reasons I'll get into and you may or may not already be well aware of, neither of these do both of those things perfectly (or at all).
That's what makes it so hard to do your own research on this particular subject - there's too much confusion about which devices can do what and too much outdated info on Plex and elsewhere. On top of that people so often come out as blatantly rude defending their device of choice because "there's no other option", which discourages discussion. I had to spend hours upon hours combing through old Reddit threads, forum posts, technical spec breakdowns, and ultimately gamble on purchasing devices myself before I found truly definitive answers that I didn't have to triple guess.

NVIDIA Shield

First off, let's credit the Shield for its longtime reign on the throne as the ultimate all-in-one streaming device for Plex. It handles lossless audio, has a nice interface, and supported Dolby Vision for quite a while there for both remuxes and streaming apps. However, it is getting old, still costs around $200 USD, and there are an increasing number of DV movies with FEL layer (this spreadsheet isn't a complete list) with more coming out every month. Some studios now release ALL their UHDs with FEL.
The Shield doesn't handle these FEL rips properly, and even if you can live with the red tint it adds to FEL movies, we are primarily a group of tech-savvy users and enthusiasts with theater setups with equipment in the thousands of dollars range. We shouldn't be recommending a rather pricey 5-year old device and sometimes glitchy streaming device with a blatantly obvious visual issue to people who could do better with their viewing experience and their wallets (I may end up eating these words later). Dolby Vision and OLED is becoming more commonly used as people upgrade their TVs - this is not a niche enthusiast technology anymore even if the average consumer still doesn't understand exactly DV is/does. Having the red tint isn't something that everyone with a Shield streaming FEL remuxes should have to live with.

Devices without Lossless Audio

There are several other devices that are consistently recommended here that don't support lossless audio in Plex, including but not limited to:

• Apple TV (Only does DD+, even with Infuse as far as I understand)
• Roku
• TVs (yes, even with eARC)
• Chromecast (CCwGTV, Ultra)

Please stop telling people that these are capable of blu-ray quality lossless audio. They are not.

Possible Solution Device(s)

So, where does that leave us? There are some enthusiast-level options like Dune and Zidoo players. I don't know a ton about them, but I know they are compatible with lossless audio codecs. Someone else will have to comment if they are capable of playing back FEL layer natively (not sure if they have a secondary decoder or not). The Ugoos AM6B Plus with CoreELEC seems to be the only device in the world I have seen online of that can do FEL perfectly and works with Atmos and DTS:X lossless audio.
Still, I know these types of players are not as user friendly as a Shield or ATV and can be a pain to use normal streaming apps on. Plus they cost as much or more than the Shield does.
That leaves us with one or two other devices depending on how you look at it. The most cost effective in my opinion? The New 4K Fire Stick Max that released about 6 months ago. With 20 minutes of setup that anyone here could walk someone through, this device gets you 95% of the way there. There are still caveats to consider. Still, I believe that this is the single best device on the market for those who want a reasonably modern UI/UX (amazon toxic ad-fest aside), use regular streaming apps in addition to Plex, need compatibility with all DV profiles + FEL and lossless audio, AND most importantly, want the best bang for their buck (currently available for ~$35 USD with an Amazon coupon). It even supports HDR10+ for the tiny amount of UHDs that support that.
It is by no means perfect, though. Let's look at the 4K Fire Stick Max caveats:

• Ridiculous amount of ads (possibly could be mitigated with a different launcher or PiHole?)
• Have to install Kodi + PM4K (Plex) addon
  • Kodi has some additional setup to passthrough all audio codecs and convert DV P7 w/ FEL -> P8.1
    • This DV profile conversion supposedly does affect color accuracy, though I can't see much of a difference personally. More testing needs to be done by people with nicer equipment and more technical knowledge than I possess
• Native Plex app doesn't support DTS-HD MA or DTS:X. You have to use Kodi with PM4K.
• No ethernet

It remains to be seen if the Shield's red tint issue is worse than whatever color problems crop up when converting DV P7 -> P8.1 on the Fire Stick Max with Kodi's feature set. Not even considering that the Fire Stick is $150+ less, I'd rather go with occasional minute coloring issues versus a blanket red push on my entire movie.
The importance of the lack of ethernet depends on the user's wifi setup. I have a 3 year old Wifi 6 Google router and I can watch any 4K rip I've thrown at it, up to the 100mb/s range without any problem. The Fire Cube 3 is basically a beefed up Fire Stick Max, so this is an option if you absolutely must have ethernet, but you'll need a $10 USB to ethernet adapter. The USB port is only 2.0, but you can still get 250-350 MB/s with an adapter, more than enough for streaming anything.
Another potential device I have not tested is the Amazon Fire Cube 2, which supposedly can sideload CoreELEC and thereby gain full FEL/lossless capabilities. I cannot verify that, so if someone can speak to it please do. Even so, it is an older device and the setup requires at least a little more work than the Fire Stick Max/Cube 3.

Conclusion and Other Considerations

Ultimately, there isn't a perfect device that can do absolutely everything, especially for the average user, and there's literally nothing in existence that can do it all using the native Plex app. If Plex on the new Fire Stick Max worked out of the box, then it would be near-perfect, but the addition of needing Kodi adds some one-time complication.
Even if you use the Ugoos AM6B+, it seems like you may have a hard time with third-party streaming apps despite its proficiency with 4K UHD remuxes. The Amazon devices have many pitfalls and require some extra setup, but the cost of the Fire Stick Max in particular makes it (in my opinion) easier to look past some of them. $50 or less is a lot more reasonable than $200 when recommending a device.
As for what device to recommend to others, it's going to be a mixed bag. Ultimately it depends on what the user needs as I mentioned in my first paragraph. If they only care about Dolby Vision and not lossless audio, just using a Smart TV's apps may be best. If they want lossless but have a Samsung TV and therefore can't use Dolby Vision, a Shield still may be their best bet, or a PS5/Xbox. It all depends.
I personally only use the Fire Stick Max when I watch a rip of any disc I own that has DV+FEL (or HDR10+). If I watch anything else on Plex like a regular blu-ray rip, a 4K rip with just HDR10, or watch something in a different streaming app, I use my Series X, which can do HDR10 and lossless audio just fine.

I hope that this is a helpful post and sparks some interesting discussion for those who stuck with me to the end. Please offer any corrections to my claims, though I do feel as though I have researched this pretty exhaustively short of spending thousands to buy and test every possible device against one another myself. I hope it helps anyone who comes looking for an answer to the question of which device(s) to get for their Plex setup.

I'm currently in Germany. I'm originally from Poland. master engineer IT with digital electronics. over 18 years of experience in soft-dev. I don't want to work for IT companies at all. I explored all types and sizes of companies, in two countries. Everywhere IT companies have the same problems. Polish software turns out is made a lot better. Germany is 15 - 20 years behind Poland in the digitalization, and they won't catch up. I want to do my own stuff. To do so I need a normal day job, something in trades would be great. I know it might by hard to find a 40h/week job without overtime in Germany. Something with 30 or 35 h/week would be awesome. I tried to work as telecommunication technician, but that area is a disaster (that is why I know Germany won't catch up with the digitalization). Most of the service jobs (i.e. public transport, railway) is a disaster. I wanted to work in a shop, I have work experience in a supermarket and a sport shop, but to work on a cash register in Germany you have to have a finished vocational training which takes 3 years (for me 2) with scraps for pay. In Poland, in a supermarket, I had after 4 months a palletjack certificate, top 5 speed on a cash register and I would know all the processes. So except of cutting cost, and exploitation I have no idea why they ignore my experience and need that training. If some of you have an idea which vocational training is worth doing, I would appreciate it. Currently I'm thinking about doing training for a Warehouse clerk with forklift license and PLC programmer. For the later I have knowledge and skills. I'm the third generation engineer in my family. Electricity and electronics were my toys since I remember. Asm and C were my first programming languages (as teenager), and I have played over the years with PLC and similar devices. Getting education in that area looks like a long road. The German industry today seams dying exactly like it happened in Poland in the 1990s. Germans have moved a lot of things to China, or Chinese companies bought German companies and pose as Germans with production moved to China (Germans falsely believe the German made things are better. That's a fact. I saw that myself, the Internet connections are an example. Prepaid plans in the Turkish shops have better and a cheaper offer than the German main providers, but only immigrants are using them, and Germans buy expensive plans in German providers. In Poland the same company offers 4 - 8 times more GBs for a bit smaller price per month). Germans are also closing factories in Poland today, and moving them to China. The German government is incompetent and has no idea about economy and industry (i.e. the only PVs factory in German went bankrupt, and they are now fully dependent on PVs from China). It doesn't look like getting into industry automation is a good idea. Warehouse looks more stable. The goods from China someone has to process and store somewhere. This is also a skill useful worldwide. This is important for me, as with each month, I'm getting more confident, that things will only get worse in Germany and more I read the German law it looks like as it is also a country not to live in. I'm not going back to Poland. What do you think about those two options? Do you have some other ideas or tips? Do you have an idea what I could do to get money to pay the bills, not work for 6 days for 10 to 12 hours, and have time to do my own software? I'm a union member so I have help at hand.

hey everyone,
wanted to share my story of how I cut my screen time by 70% and replaced almost all of it with reading.
I used to be the type of person that scrolled through YouTube shorts / reddit literally the moment I had any bit of free time. it could be the smallest little opening where I have a break, like when I need to wait in line for like 10 seconds for the subway, and I'd jump into Shorts and get a hit of dopamine. it was fucking terrible.
I always told myself that I wanted to read more, but as most people do, I would just tell myself that but never actually act on it. I'd have books lying around that I'd buy and never read.
it was only when I actually put intentional thought into controlling the friction in my daily life that I was able to finally replace my useless scrolling with something healthy (reading)
my blunt advice to anyone interested in doing the same:

1. if you're using physical books, good luck ever reading them. physical books are way too cumbersome. you need to make reading as enticing as using addictive apps. get an eBook app (I use Apple Books) and put it right on your home screen. it should be accessible in one click, anywhere you are. that's the only chance you'll be able to combat how accessible social media is.
2. on the flip side, make it hard as hell to open social media. don't just download an eBook and hope and pray that you'll make the right decision. but also don't completely lock away your apps. you'll just get pissed off. find a tool that adds friction to opening your apps (I use superhappy ai, it makes me chat with an ai before I can open anything). that means you still get access, but most of the time will choose your eBook because it's instantaneous.
3. do both 1 and 2. this one is the reason most people fail. a lot of people try to download screen time apps without having an alternative thing to do on their phone. good luck with that. you'll get way too pissed off at your apps being blocked. you need something else on your phone to do while your apps are blocked. ebooks are my choice, but it could be journalling, Spotify, whatever

hopefully this helps. I can't stress enough how important it is to experiment with what works for you though. it's been a long journey for me but I think I finally cracked the code on how to make my monkey brain get off of these damn social media apps. good luck!

hey everyone,
wanted to share my story of how I cut my screen time by 70% and replaced almost all of it with reading.
I used to be the type of person that scrolled through YouTube shorts / reddit literally the moment I had any bit of free time. it could be the smallest little opening where I have a break, like when I need to wait in line for like 10 seconds for the subway, and I'd jump into Shorts and get a hit of dopamine. it was fucking terrible.
I always told myself that I wanted to read more, but as most people do, I would just tell myself that but never actually act on it. I'd have books lying around that I'd buy and never read.
it was only when I actually put intentional thought into controlling the friction in my daily life that I was able to finally replace my useless scrolling with something healthy (reading)
my blunt advice to anyone interested in doing the same:

1. if you're using physical books, good luck ever reading them. physical books are way too cumbersome. you need to make reading as enticing as using addictive apps. get an eBook app (I use Apple Books) and put it right on your home screen. it should be accessible in one click, anywhere you are. that's the only chance you'll be able to combat how accessible social media is.
2. on the flip side, make it hard as hell to open social media. don't just download an eBook and hope and pray that you'll make the right decision. but also don't completely lock away your apps. you'll just get pissed off. find a tool that adds friction to opening your apps (I use superhappy ai, it makes me chat with an ai before I can open anything). that means you still get access, but most of the time will choose your eBook because it's instantaneous.
3. do both 1 and 2. this one is the reason most people fail. a lot of people try to download screen time apps without having an alternative thing to do on their phone. good luck with that. you'll get way too pissed off at your apps being blocked. you need something else on your phone to do while your apps are blocked. ebooks are my choice, but it could be journalling, Spotify, whatever

hopefully this helps. I can't stress enough how important it is to experiment with what works for you though. it's been a long journey for me but I think I finally cracked the code on how to make my monkey brain get off of these damn social media apps. good luck!

Hello,
New puppy, E, less than 15 weeks old she’s been with me for about 2 weeks adopted from local AS. Everything seems to be going well, potty training is pretty solid and crate training is progressing. Getting better about listening and jumping and demanding food.
I have a problem with what I think is demand barking for items held by my older pup. Since getting her I’ve made sure to buy things that are safe for both girls so they often end up switching toys/bully sticks/chewies and usually without issues.
Problem becomes when my old girl (P) is actively chewing on hers and the baby decides she no longer wants to keep chewing on the one she has and wants P’s, that age old tale. Excessive and very loud barking will then take place until I remove the item entirely. I’ve ignored it before for up to 20 minutes before to see how long it would go, P won’t correct her for just barking but will if E actually makes a move and E doesn’t seem to have an off switch or a threshold for stopping on her own.
Taking (via a trade) the item from P doesn’t seem fair to me and it doesn’t actually solve the problem because once the item is back in play then we are right back to it. P has some separation anxiety and while she will go to my room and chew I can’t really shut her in because of this but if I don’t shut her in then E can get to her.
What should I be doing here? I don’t want to punish P by never letting her have these things again (not really looking to punish E either) but I’m at a loss. Bully sticks have been a lifesaver with me wfh and a puppy, it is the only thing that will keep her occupied for any period of time that I’m not able to entertain her. Leaving E in the crate is also not really feasible because she is so little and we are still working through the crate fear and I am also afraid of it feeling like a punishment for E (ie sis gets a treat and I get stuck in my crate).
Thank you!

Hey gang. I went to request a DRS transfer from Schwab today, didn't realize there was a $100 fee. Between that and all the "potential consequences regarding the DRS" the agent quoted at me I was kind of spooked. Has anyone else had to pay a fee? Conversation below
3:31 PMSchwab Representative
S****** R has joined the chat
Hello J*****, Greetings from Austin, TX! I am happy to help you today.
S****** R,
3:31 PM Hi S*****, I want an outbound DRS transfer of my GME shares to Computershare please.
3:31 PM I am happy to assist with your request. Please give me a moment while I pull up your account. Si****** R,
3:32 PM ok thank you
3:32 PM There is a $100 fee associated with the DRS out. Are you ok with that? S****** R
, 3:36 PM I will have to get back to you. Thank you.
3:38 PM Sure.I just need to go over some potential consequences regarding the DRS out before I submit the request. S****** R, 3:38 PM
Consequences of holding physical shares or DRS shares at the Transfer agent: You will be responsible for monitoring all corporate action notifications and submissions from the Transfer agent. If you trade the security at Schwab after the shares are ordered out, the inconvenience of delivering the certificate(s) or DRS shares back to Schwab on settlement day (T+2), which if not received timely can result in a “buy-in”, liability and account restrictions. Following internet information (i.e., Reddit, blogs, etc.) may not be accurate or substantiated.
Consequences of holding DRS shares at the Transfer agent. Multiple accounts to manage as each security is normally held in a different account at the Transfer agent(T/A). Potential trading delays, commissions, and fees at the T/A. Potential delayed payments at the T/A. Loss of margin investing or using securities for pledged asset loans. Normally longer hold times for service calls.
3.) Consequences of holding physical shares: $100 fee to “order out” a physical certificate. Additional $50 “rush fee” if the client wants the “order out” process expedited. The possibility of losing the physical certificate(s) and the cost associated with the replacement of that certificate(s) by the T/A. Safety and storage of physical certificate(s). Depositing and selling certificate(s) that have been replaced and previously sold which are rejected by the T/A or presenting copies of certificates which are rejected by the T/A. In these situations, the security needs to be “bought in” and the liability for any loss is on the client.

I am getting into eBook reading (I have preferred reading paper-based books till now). For eBooks, I like to read on a 10-inch size screen and have been debating between Kindle Scribe vs iPad for book reading. My use cases os reading books inside my home during day time in a well-lit area as well as reading in bed before I sleep.
I do have an old iPad which I currently use without any light filter protector.
Kindle Scribe seems good for two use cases - a lot of reading and not taking. With the current sale on Amazon, I can get it for $250.
However, I was questioning do I need to buy a Kindle when I already have an iPad and can just apply a light filter protector, and use grey on black during night reading to keep the eye strain low.
Am I thinking straight about iPad or should just get the Kindle Scribe? I am even open to buying the latest iPad if recent technology advancements make any improvements from an eye-strain perspective Somehow I like the multi-cases utility of the iPad, I can use it for drawing, etc.

I've seen this question popping up here in the sub many times so I thought it was time I could share what setup works best for me.
The main goal is to have 30W mode and VRR ( AMD Freesync) in docked mode in an external monitor.

1. Get this Dell Monitor S2522HG (1080p x 244hz AMD Freesync VRR enabled)
2. Try to get this dock or its other Chinese rebranded equivalent on Amazon. (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BN8HBC59/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)
3. Buy this charger (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0C1FZWT8M/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8)
4. Most importantly buy this cable DVI (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VVJZJ2P/ref=ppx\_yo\_dt\_b\_search\_asin\_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

The 4th point is most important because there is a lot of confusion between HDMI version and DVI versions and standards. In order for VRR to work (at least for me, the monitor in point 1 only comes with DP cable 1.2 which is useless. However the monitor can only support VRR via DP cable 1.4. Hence needless to say the DP cable that comes with this monitor is useless.
Optional: Logi keyboard and mouse combo with logi+ software for key customizations is great. For e.g. you can assign command center for quick access using cent mouse click.
Thats it. Plug everything in, using the DP1.4 with freesync on in AMD software. One last thing, just change the VRR refresh rate in windows settings to 120hz VRR which is Ally's native.
Enjoy!

After buying an Eero Pro 6 3 pack from Amazon, I just picked up a 4th used unit on eBay. It just arrived today and looked like a totally normal box / and unit. After adding it, the app now says "Provided by Lennar".
Searching here I see some older posts about this but nothing recently - anything I should be concerned about or differences? Or just a visual thing in the app?

Analysis of the Last 5 Days

• Price Movement: FFIE has experienced significant price volatility over the past 5 days, with noticeable spikes likely driven by increased buying pressure, possibly due to a short squeeze.
• Volume: Trading volume has been exceptionally high, indicating strong interest and activity around the stock.
• High Short Interest: Given the high percentage of shares sold short (85.17%), the potential for a continued short squeeze remains high.

Prediction for Tomorrow

1. Expected Price Range:
   • High: $2.50
   • Low: $1.50
2. Predicted Closing Price: $2.00
   • Confidence Level: 60%

Confidence in Predictions

• High Price: 50%
  • Given the volatile nature of short squeezes and the potential for continued buying pressure, there's a moderate chance that FFIE could reach the high end of this range.
• Low Price: 40%
  • If the buying pressure subsides or if short sellers start covering their positions more aggressively, the price might drop to the lower end of this range.

Factors Influencing the Prediction

• Continued Buying Pressure: If retail investors continue to buy aggressively, the stock could see further price increases.
• Short Covering: Short sellers might start covering their positions, leading to additional upward pressure on the stock price.
• Market Sentiment: Broader market conditions and sentiment towards the company will also play a role in the stock’s movement.

Key Factors Influencing a Short Squeeze Trigger

1. Short Interest: The high short interest (85.17%) indicates that a large number of shares have been sold short, setting the stage for a potential squeeze.
2. Volume and Buying Pressure: Increased buying volume can force short sellers to cover their positions, leading to a spike in the stock price.
3. Market Sentiment: Positive news, investor sentiment, or coordinated buying efforts (e.g., by retail investors) can amplify the squeeze.

Estimated Trigger Price for a Significant Short Squeeze

Based on the analysis of FFIE's recent price movements and trading volume:

• Trigger Price Range: $2.50 to $3.00

Explanation and Confidence Levels

1. $2.50:
   • Confidence Level: 70%
   • At this price, many short sellers may start to feel significant pressure due to mounting losses, leading to a wave of covering.
2. $3.00:
   • Confidence Level: 50%
   • If the stock reaches this level, the likelihood of a dramatic squeeze increases, as the pain for short sellers becomes intense, and more may be forced to cover their positions rapidly.

Potential Spike Levels

If a short squeeze is triggered at these levels, the stock could experience an exponential increase. Here are some potential spike levels:

• Immediate Spike Target: $4.00 to $5.00
  • Confidence Level: 60%
  • This range represents a significant psychological barrier and a potential doubling from the estimated trigger price, which is common in aggressive short squeezes.
• Extended Spike Target: $6.00 to $8.00
  • Confidence Level: 30%
  • If the buying frenzy continues and more short sellers are forced to cover, the stock could reach these higher levels. However, the confidence in this extended target is lower due to the increased unpredictability at such high valuations.

Summary

• Trigger Price Range: $2.50 to $3.00
• Immediate Spike Target: $4.00 to $5.00
• Extended Spike Target: $6.00 to $8.00

Estimating the Short Squeeze Impact

1. Initial Short Interest: 85.17% of 42.67M shares outstanding are shorted.
   • Total Shorted Shares: 0.8517 * 42.67M = 36.34M shares
2. Short Squeeze Trigger: Suppose the trigger price range is $2.50 to $3.00, causing a significant number of short sellers to cover.
3. Estimating Short Covering:
   • A significant short squeeze can force many short sellers to cover their positions quickly, leading to a rapid decrease in short interest.

Scenario Analysis

1. Moderate Squeeze (50% Covering):
   • Shorts Covered: 50% of 36.34M = 18.17M shares
   • Remaining Shorts: 36.34M - 18.17M = 18.17M shares
   • Post-Squeeze Short Interest: 18.17M / 42.67M = 42.57%
2. Aggressive Squeeze (75% Covering):
   • Shorts Covered: 75% of 36.34M = 27.26M shares
   • Remaining Shorts: 36.34M - 27.26M = 9.08M shares
   • Post-Squeeze Short Interest: 9.08M / 42.67M = 21.28%
3. Extreme Squeeze (90% Covering):
   • Shorts Covered: 90% of 36.34M = 32.71M shares
   • Remaining Shorts: 36.34M - 32.71M = 3.63M shares
   • Post-Squeeze Short Interest: 3.63M / 42.67M = 8.51%

Summary of Scenarios

1. Moderate Squeeze:
   • Shorts Covered: 18.17M shares
   • Remaining Shorts: 18.17M shares
   • Post-Squeeze Short Interest: 42.57%
2. Aggressive Squeeze:
   • Shorts Covered: 27.26M shares
   • Remaining Shorts: 9.08M shares
   • Post-Squeeze Short Interest: 21.28%
3. Extreme Squeeze:
   • Shorts Covered: 32.71M shares
   • Remaining Shorts: 3.63M shares
   • Post-Squeeze Short Interest: 8.51%

Confidence Levels for Scenarios

• Moderate Squeeze: 70%
• Aggressive Squeeze: 50%
• Extreme Squeeze: 30%

https://preview.redd.it/xorsjvvonu0d1.png?width=1053&format=png&auto=webp&s=fde0f8786679e2ca5ff2b14b322d9f982be66ca3
(beginner coder and developer here)
I need some help with coding this shopGUI. Basically, I have an npc that you can walk up to and press E on so that this shopGUI appears. Problem is I've tried various different things but can't seem to get a few things to work;
1) Make the image of the thing you're trying to buy appear in the Icon box that's right above the text that reads 'Label'.
2) No matter what I tried I couldn't change the text from 'Label' to the description I wanted.
3) I know how to make a leaderboard and code everything for it in, but I don't know how to subtract the cost from the amount you have, or how to make it unpurchaseable if you don't have enough.
4) Lastly, I tried 3 different things to try and get a sound to play the the shopGUI opens, and a different sound for when it closes but neither of them play.
Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

I downloaded the free version of Zenith thinking it was an MMO (and being surprised if it was free so I'm not complaining) but so far it looks like I'm just in this hub area and it's not really RPG based - no real quests it's just a few dungeon runs.
Before I buy The Last City I just want to check that that's the full game? And is there a decent amount of RPG elements I.e. quests, gear to level up, a loose story and boss fights?
Thanks

I will summarize the story the best I can cuz telling stories isn’t my strength.
Three weeks ago a friend of my roommate stayed over in our apartment while my roommate was on a trip, this guy came to celebrate the holidays in the country we live and my roommate said he could stay for the weekend in his room. (for context; this is a normal arrangement that we have where our friends often will stay over with us instead of paying for a hotel)
So I (24 F) was hosting this guy, let's call him Broccoli (30 M), whom my roommate told him to don’t talk to me or bother me because I was very reserved lol, but from the very beginning when he texted about his landing I was replying with silly jokes so he wouldn’t feel awkward being in a stranger house, I did not had much info about him or did he about me. First night here we had a conversation about life, career, and other personal stuff, by the second night we barely talked or saw each other because during the day he was celebrating the holidays and I was working, three Doritos later, or aka third night, we already had a first date with dinner, coffee, arcade, cocktails and kinda end up having sex, kinda because he made me and himself so physically exhausted with all that crazy adventure around the city, from the moment we had coffee I tried to take us home but he wanted to make a big impression I guess, which I find cute.
Since then he has gone back to the country where he lives and works (Idk if it is relevant to the story, but in case is confusing to someone, none of the people mentioned in this story including myself, are originally from the countries where we currently live, European union stuff I guess) and currently, we are E-Dating and I do want to know where this goes since we did a nice match and he shows how interest he is in me, he told me he wants me to come to visit him in the end of the summer and even said he will pay for the tickets after I told him I don’t think I have money for that since I already have few trips scheduled, like for example I will be going to US to visit my family in July so I will be gone from Europe 4 weeks and with a heavy time difference which means we will barely even speak in that period, so he already bought tickets to visit me before I leave for US so we can spend time together, which is crazy because I even said that we will not have any sex because my roommate will be home, I will have my period and I am just too uncomfortable/in pain for that, that I will not have days off because I am just coming from a vacation so we only will have by time before or after work and he still did not hesitate to buy them.
So here comes the issue, I don’t know how to bring up this aspect of my life to him, I want to be honest with him and usually goes more smoothly because I get to meet the person for a few months before bringing it up, but since he is doing a lot of money investment in me so the ideal will be from the moment he comes to ask what are his expectations from me, from us, like I can have a monogamous relationship, I did in the past, but we probably will be E-dating for a while before anything, so I don’t know till what point I can compromise or settle without feeling that I am hiding something from him of who I am as a person. Originally during the dates Broccoli is coming, I was going to have a different friend over to have sex because my roommate was going to be on holidays, and I cancelled to prioritize Broccoli but also before meeting Broccoli in a few weeks, I already have a weekend trip scheduled to the mediterranean which he knows of because I said I was visiting friends, what he doesn’t know is those friends are a guy I used to date and his new partner that they invite me to celebrate with them that they got a new apartment, a threesome basically, which I already planned and paid for the tickets before even knowing Broccoli existed, and is kinda weird because I don’t want and I will not cancel this arrangement because tickets are bought and Broccoli is not even my boyfriend, which means I don’t feel the need to give explicit details about me going on a weekend trip to another country to have a threesome, but I do feel the need of being honest about my sexually active life. And also I am of course assuming Broccoli is monogamous, and this is because when we had sex that night he did not want to use a condom because he wasn’t able to feel anything he said, which I told him I am not doing raw sex and his answer then was “that’s not an issue if we are exclusive” YIKES like this is his red flag so far, my last thought in that moment was STI, I was concern about pregnancy because the only thing stopping me from it are condoms, and I am not looking forward to hormone myself with pills since my body is fine, and even though I am sexually active I never had to drink a day after pill and have never done a pregnancy test in my life because It was never a need, I did not want to start now because of this guy that I just met, I still want to give him a chance, assuming we can figure something out with the condoms, but is like oh my god you don’t want to use condoms you don’t even know what I have we just meet each other (I don’t have anything and I did not say that out loud either but those are my current thoughts when reflecting about he not being worry enough about condoms, was of course also a weird moment to bring up like well you are not my first roommate’s friend that I sleep with)
In conclusion, how should I approach him when he comes, to talk about what are his relationship expectations with me since we live in different countries for now and how to bring up that my past and present active life have being very much like this story.

I've finally started reading pretty voraciously again this year, and I've been looking into getting an eReader for travel and as a space saver. I was in love with what I saw of the Kobo Libra 2, but the general consensus is that it's being discontinued for newe future models (though there's been some mixed information). I feel like I'm back to square one on my search so I would love some advice!
I'd prefer black and white from a pricing and battery usage standpoint, but I'm not totally opposed to color. I can't see myself taking notes, just occasionally highlighting but mostly reading. I plan to use it with Libby for the most part, with potentially utilizing an "unlimited" plan or buying the occasional book. I would prefer to have a backlight so I can read at night/in the evenings and for accessibility, I need page turn buttons. Kindles are not an option.
Thanks in advance, y'all!

(Yes, the creators already did this, but I wanted to try reproducing their results.)
First of all, there's definitely still issues with the dataset.

1. Questions mostly have 10 possible answers, but some have fewer "to remove unreasonable choices". This is supposed to be done by actually having <10 answers (I assume), but in some cases questions are padded with N/A at the end multiple times. Removing N/A from the end of the options list until only one existed resulted in removing 3314 options from the test. AFAIK N/A is never the correct answer to any question (I checked).
2. Some questions are duplicates. I kept only the first instance encountered. This removed 86 questions from the test. I didn't check if their answer options were also duplicates.
3. Some questions have duplicate answer options (i.e. A and C or whichever being the same answer). As this is obviously incorrect I removed these questions from the test. This removed ~400 questions. It should be pretty easy to fix these but I didn't want to spend more time.
4. Some questions are impossible to answer as they're missing info.
   • For example, question ID 2668 is "Which of the following scans can image brain function?" but it does not give further details, and the answer options are things like "I, II and III only".
   • I only noticed one of these but I'm pretty sure there are more.
5. Some questions have very bad formatting, like 11797:
   • \textquotedblleftNew business firms can under price older firms, because thenewer firms can buy the latest equipment and are not bur-denedwith the older, less economical equipment which olderfirms must retire before they can economically adopt thenew. This is why continued technological progress contributesto maintaining a competitive economic system." Explain the er-rors in both sentences.
   • Smarter models will probably do better on things like this, but I don't think the formatting is intentional.

For my first run, I used temperature 0.2 (they used 0.1) and this system prompt:

You are a knowledgeable expert. When given a multiple choice question, think it through then give your single final answer as The answer is ....

Here is their system prompt:

You are an knowledge expert, you are supposed to answer the multi-choice question to derive your final answer as The answer is ....

I'm not a fan of the phrasing, but more importantly in my preliminary testing I noticed that GPT-4o interpreted it to mean that it could give multiple answers. My "single final answer" was intended to prevent that. This mostly worked, but when answering questions that involved a lot of LaTeX in the CoT it would sometimes format the answer using LaTeX, making regex matching unreasonably hard. (I didn't fix those, scoring them as failures.)
For my second run, I used temperature 0.5 (which OpenAI uses in their simple-evals repo) and this system prompt:

Answer the following multiple choice question. The last line of your response should be of the following format: 'Answer: ($LETTER)' (without quotes) where LETTER is a single one of the options. Think step by step before answering.

This is based on this prompt from OpenAI's evals. OpenAI's says to pick one of "ABCD" but I was too lazy to generate that dynamically so I changed it a bit. It seems to work well. I used the regex Answer\s*:\s*\(\$?([A-Ja-j])\) to capture the answer.
If the model's output didn't seem to give an answer at all I manually checked it. This was:

• Mostly GPT-4o saying that none of the answers are correct
• Sometimes the model entering an infinite loop until it ran out of output space
• A few times the model giving a numeric answer, often one that had no correspondence to possible answers. Scored as a failure.
• A few times very slightly bad formatting that my regex didn't match. If the answer it gave was correct I manually fixed it, on the rationale that a slightly better regex could have caught it, otherwise I left it alone (since it wouldn't affect the score either way).

Here are the results I got, plus the original results from TIGER Lab @ UWaterloo.

Models	Prompting	Overall	Biology	Business	Chemistry	ComputerScience	Economics	Engineering	Health	History	Law	Math	Philosophy	Physics	Psychology	Other
GPT-4o (TIGER Lab)	CoT	0.7149	0.8504	0.7852	0.7428	0.7512	0.784	0.5401	0.7152	0.6718	0.5393	0.762	0.6947	0.7355	0.7726	0.7091
GPT-4o (my first run)	CoT	0.7100	0.8441	0.7802	0.7502	0.7404	0.7763	0.5740	0.7061	0.6761	0.5753	0.7901	0.6760	0.7349	0.7611	0.7117
GPT-4o (my second run)	CoT	0.7113	0.8441	0.7725	0.7628	0.7506	0.7662	0.5584	0.6964	0.6641	0.5597	0.7772	0.6474	0.7378	0.7445	0.7041

So I'd say the results themselves are basically "yep, that sure is how it scores". I don't know if my overall scores are actually slightly worse or if it's the effect of removing almost 500 questions from a 12.3k question dataset.
Total cost: maybe $160 based on token counts, messed up cost tracking at first.
The second run had approx 2.17M input tokens and 5.04M output tokens. Naively scaling this to other models (without actually using their tokenizers, and assuming they'll give identical output lengths) gives these approximate prices:

• Claude 3 Opus: $410
• GPT-4-0314: $367
• GPT-4-32k-0314: $608

I don't intend to run those.
I'll post the inputs/outputs of both runs if anyone knows a good place to upload password-protected zips (to avoid accidental scraping, since everything posted to reddit is trained on).

I’m a 17 y/o high school student soon to graduate. I work almost every day afterschool from 4-12, and I work 9-5 on the weekends. Today I came home from school completely exhausted from doing tests to graduate all day. It’s one of my days off and I wanted to come home and rest maybe an hour or two because my head has been hurting me. I walk into myself and my mom is screaming at me about how I never do anything around the house anymore (I pay bills and buy food) and how e i’m becoming lazy, and that I need to clean today or I will be grounded. I tried to explain how i’m feeling mentally today and she turned it on to herself. I ran into my room and closed my door to take a breather. Currently i’m in my room thinking on if I was being dramatic or if she was .