NA Pro Scrims
Starting: 3 PM PT / 6 PM ET
Format: Bo8 (4 WE + 4 SP)
Info:
Calendar: Minustempo Calendar
Teamstream: teamstream.gg/ (See live events for scrim POVs)
Rosters/Drops:
Scrim Priority: Performance scrims till groups released.
Teams: TBD - See comments.
Notes:

1. Teams are set ~60 mins prior to scrims starting.
2. Not all teams will stream. If they are streaming, they will have a green circle in Teamstream.
3. Scores may be released through the Oversight bot (mostly NA players). They will be tweeted after. Feel free to post scores in the thread. twitter.com/_minustempo
4. Possible Watch Parties:
   1. twitch.tv/nicewigg
   2. twitch.tv/greek
   3. twitch.tv/AyeJHawk

Are wa tenshi no koe!

Extra Info and Links

ANN MAL TV Tropes Wikipedia
Synopsis:
"To know your sin is to have no sin."
Born from a cocoon in the village of Old Home, a young Haibane, an angel like being with a halo and small gray wings and very yummy looking ears, awakens to a world she does not understand without memories of her past. Named Rakka da rapper for the dream of falling she had while inside the cocoon, she soon becomes accustomed to life in the strange town. However, there are strict rules for the Haibane, such as being forbidden to leave the village or go near the walls surrounding it. These, along with mysterious disappearances of their kind on their "Day of Flight," begin to unsettle Rakka and the others since they know almost nothing about their own kind.
Haibane Renmei tells not only Rakka's story but also of those around her, as they live their lives with no memories of the past while trying to break free from their former pain and ultimately find salvation.
From MAL~
Haibane Renmei (Charcoal Feather Federation) is a 13-episode anime which began life as Charcoal Feathers in Old Town, a doujinshi series by Yoshitoshi ABe. Yoshitori's fingers are all over this work, best known for working alongside Chiaki Konaka for the holy trinity of Lain and Texhnolyze with Haibane being ABe's personal baby. With Tomokazu Tokoro lending his adorable name to the directors credits with his MariaHolix and Hellsing Ultimate experience!
Also may be worth noting, some of you may actually be slightly familiar with this project since of course we hosted Lain earlier this year before we jumped onto basketball loli randomly. No news on Texhnolyze tho. That shit is waaay too much of a downer for a The Loli Otaku rewatch

Why should you watch it?

!"Reincarnated as a Lv1 Angel in Another World: My Slow Life as an Odd-jobber."!
Ahahaha! This is where I, as your super responsible and reliable host should try to sell you on the Haibane Renmei experience. Well let me tell you!! I don't know...
Haibane is certainly a series that will show up on your anime adventure a few times but truthly I couldn't quite tell you what it's about. Until hosting Lain I genuinely thought it was an iyashikei slice of life, close to Chiaki's other work, NieA_7, which also has supernatural themes but instead of being on angels it's instead a starving and poverty stricken alien and human duo. Tone wise unfortunately it's gonna be a gloomy time, but I'm sure we can find some lights to focus on~ The show has similar vibes to what you could sometimes find in your Mushishi, Girls Last Tour for another TLO anime, or your Chiyo's Schoolwait, Kino's School Road. No!! Kino no Tabi! There, that's the one.
If you're interested in checking out a series that's more about a journey into the philosophical and life's karma then this is an experience that you shouldn't miss out on. Don't be afraid, this is exactly the type of series you should enter completely blind. Just trust your guide~

Fun Stuff

Daily QotD's, as I do, but whilst I will be doing my Comments of the Day, the corner where I nominate my favourite one liners, favourite observations, and just plain neat comments from rewatchers that definitely replied to at least three other users. I will also be bringing back our much beloved...
Abyssbringer's "What is the thematic purpose of this scene corner!!"
Each day I will post a Prompt as a sort of preview for the upcoming episode. Take this Prompt and write something charming~ Be it a quippy one liner, a prediction on what the scene could possibly be, or just take it totally out of context and try to confuse any tourists that are lurking! If you're confused or need more elaboration I will be happy to discuss further. You may also check out my many previous rewatches for references.
For tomorrow, here's our episode one.

Abyssbringer Prompt!!

Index Thread

Dates, times and plans

So then! The rewatch will begin on Friday, May 17th at 22:00 UTC, 17:00 EST 16:00 CST, 15:00 MST, 14:00 PST So 10pm UK time. We will be doing one episode per day with a series discussion to wrap up. I'm sorry about the short notice, I'd just been holding off on the thread too long!
If you strain your ears, you can probably hear it.

Hello Kenya, mental health is a critical issue affecting many people therefore we would like to provide a dedicated thread for members to access mental health resources and support. This thread is a space where members can access emergency contacts and support, as well as resources for ongoing mental health care.
Please Message us to add/update contacts.
Emergency Contacts

• Befrienders Kenya - 0722 178 177
• Chiromo Hospital Group - 0800 220 000
• Kenya Red Cross - 1199
• Emergency Medicine Kenya Foundation - 0800 723 253
• Niskize - 0900 620 800
• Kenya Police - 911/999/112

Domestic/Sexual Violence

• HealthCare Assistance Kenya - 1195
• Kimbilio Trust - 1193
• Gender Violence Recovery Centre - 0800 720 565
• Coalition on Violence Against Women - 0800 720 553
• Gender Based Violence - 21094 Or Send Help SMS To 1198
• Gender Based Violence For Men - 1195 Or 1196

Psychological Services
Nairobi

• KNH (free for U25)
• Kamili Mental Health Organisation - 0700 327 701
• Amani Counselling Centre - 0722 626 590
• NMS - 0110 008 608 / 0110 008 609 (32 clinics round Nairobi)

Mombasa

• Amani Counselling Centre - 0723 647 768
• Chiromo Hospital Group Nyali - 0792 873 125

Kisumu

• Amani Counselling Centre - 0722 626 590
• TINADA Youth Organisation - 0724 018 799

Eldoret

• Hopewell Counselling - 0717 296 275

Nakuru

• PDO Kenya - 0774 354 618 (Monthly Support Group)
• Jawabu Therapy & Counselling - 0708 065 599

Queer Friendly
SANKOFA Wellness Africa - 0700 009 105
Blossom Center for Wellness - 0780 511 880
Blossomout Consultants - 0705 671 777
Recro Group - 0717 787 807
Leone Chege - 0714 168 713
Further Resources: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1OnnrG5ggnMDz4278FnQSb7kItZp4YMhv3Sf4RRbJ66M/edit

Now daily! Feel free to ask any silly stupid questions or not-so-silly stupid questions that you haven't had a chance to ask here. Be kind to those that do and try to answer without downvoting. Please keep criticism and snide remarks out of the thread.

"World Seal: Guardian of Aster Fall, Book 7" by David North is a fascinating addition to the Guardian of Aster Fall series, providing readers an epic fantasy adventure filled with action, intrigue, and magic. In this edition, protagonist Alaric and his comrades continue their journey to preserve the world of Aster Fall from sinister forces that threaten its very existence.
As Alaric digs deeper into his job as the Guardian of Aster Fall, he meets new obstacles and foes that test his strength, courage, and loyalty. With the help of his companions, including the fascinating sorceress Selena and the devoted knight Sir Gareth, Alaric must unravel ancient truths and release the power of the World Seal in order to save his world from annihilation.
North's language is vivid and evocative, bringing readers to a richly imagined world filled with magical creatures, mysterious powers, and epic battles. The novel is loaded with pulse-pounding action sequences, clever plot twists, and moments of heart-stopping suspense that keep readers anxiously turning the pages.
One of the highlights of "World Seal" rests in its well-developed characters, each with their own unique personalities and motivations. Alaric is a compelling protagonist, dealing with the weight of his fate and the sacrifices he must make to fulfill his job as the Guardian. The supporting ensemble adds depth and complexity to the drama, with each character playing a significant role in the evolving storyline.
Overall, "World Seal: Guardian of Aster Fall, Book 7" is a gripping and exhilarating book that will satisfy aficionados of epic fantasy. With its engaging tale, interesting characters, and deep world-building, it's guaranteed to have readers eagerly expecting the next part in the series.
Free Audiobook with a free trial of Audible at freeaudiobookstrial .com

Looking for advice on becoming OE if anyone is feeling froggy. I just don't know what I could do, but debt keeps slowly piling up and there's no good end in sight. Crap keeps happening and we add a little more debt each time. You all seem to have yourselves together, but I also think you are working with more knowledge & experience in the fields that make OE possible. I'm going to apologize for the length in advance.
I am 46. Intelligent, but far too dumb to do anything with it in high school when I would have qualified for full free rides to college if I'd put any effort into it. They called it gifted and put me in special & advanced classes. I outscored the valedictorian on the advanced grammar final without studying. This is relevant; I swear. I just want to lay out what I'm capable of despite the path I put myself on due to early poor decisions.
Graduated at 17 despite no effort (I started school early; back then you could do that if the kid tested high enough), working full time right away in food service. Got pregnant at 18, got a job at the bank. Started as teller and ended as the Vault Manager. Over the next few years, I did switchboard for a large construction company and Club Secretary for one of the local country clubs. Turns out I thrive in support roles. I'm a people pleaser.
Still in my early 20s, I was a legal secretary for eight years specializing in everything but criminal and domestic. I can do transcription, correspondence, and manage calendars. I can create pleadings, estate planning documents, rental and purchase agreements, corporate filings and even some PI work. Mostly my dictation for creation of documents went like, "We need a will. Use the Smith's as an example. Each other's PRs, then the daughter. Everything to each other then the kids, per stirpes. Separate share trust with distro at 25 and 30." I cannot create a full will with all the legalese, but I can edit an existing template to fit the customer. By the end, I was reminding the atty of the provisions he was forgetting to add to some agreements.
After that, I started my Exec Asst gigs. Three years for the CEO at a healthcare facility until they eliminated my position and four years for the President of a manufacturing facility. That's when they promoted my boss, he headed back to Germany, and I got the boss from hell. He fired me for refusing to come in on my day off to work for free (not to mention the subtle fat shaming). I guess they do that in Belgium, but not here buddy. HR tried to tell him. He didn't listen. I'd not been fired before, but I was mad and took the free vacation.
After unemployment and my little settlement, I took a small job as a receptionist seven years go because Exec Asst jobs are not a dime a dozen in this Midwest region and I didn't want to waste all of my savings being lazy. I tried to leave within a few months because I did find something better that still had quite a commute, but my employer had issues in the past filling this role so they threw a bunch of money at me to get me to stay. I've been answering a busy phone on top of other tasks I was assigned once they realized that I could do more than answer a phone, but still got exec asst pay. Only recently were they able to find another receptionist so I could focus all my time on being the boss' asst. I guess four lines lighting up at once isn't something everyone can handle.
I have a lot of down time while on the job, in office. I can't do remote for them because most of my job is harassing my boss to do his (the joke is he pays extra for the harassment), and another physical job is impossible because the commute is just over forty-five minutes each way. I have an eleven hour day. I'm physically driving for an hour and a half, I'm lunching for an hour, but I'm only actually working about 2-3 hours on some days while I'm here. I do like it, especially the people and my boss(es) are great. It's not overly challenging unless you count flighty customers who can't seem to decide what day they want my tech to fly there for service, and I don't have to take stress home. Kids are grown, so I only need to be in the room with the spouse for "quality time" once I get home at 6pm.
I'm proficient in all Microsoft Office programs, Google office programs, I've learned some user-unfriendly management software over the years like SAP and Prophet 21. It's been awhile since I've done much Adobe, but I can get through it and make some damned good looking business cards. I book travel and coordinate meetings, I plan events, I create flyers (Canva for this because I'm not that creative), etc. Basically, lots of support tasks and I just figure out what I don't already know. That's what Google's for, right?
I've not done any social media management nor QuickBooks, but I think learning one of those might put me in the direction I need...maybe? Seems like those might be things that would make finding remote work easier, but I'm only speculating. I want to ask you all, but that seems rude...and time consuming.
I need something either sporadic enough or with enough deadline leeway I could do it on my down time or even a tad after I get home in the evening if I couldn't get to it during the day. I was thinking Virtual Asst, but that market seems flooded with people from overseas willing to work for nothing. I can do cheap tasks, but I can't work for $5/hour. Maybe reach out to some law offices for spill over dictation? I did do that over my unwanted sabbatical through a service. I think I'm going to have to learn to market myself, maybe. I do still have a foot pedal.
Does this sound familiar to anyone? Do you have advice for me on how to get started? Do you have a suggestion for what I could pull off based on what you read about me? Do you have suggestions on things I need to do/learn before I even attempt something?
Any knowledge you wish to bless me with would be greatly appreciated.

I've recently completed my third year of computer engineering at UofT, and I wanted to share my thoughts on the courses I've taken. I hope this will be beneficial to incoming first, second, and third-year engineering students. My area of depth is 6 (Software) and my areas of breadth are 4 (Control) and 5 (Computer hardware/networks).
Difficulty: How hard it was to comprehend course material and/or complete practice problems accurately. Keep in mind that difficulty is subjective but I tried to eliminate personal bias and be as objective as possible.
Workload: The amount of work to complete outside of lectures (labs, assignments, homework, studying for tests/exams).
All engineers take the exact same courses in their first year first semester and similar ones in second semester. I took these courses in 2021 during covid so some information might be outdated.
First Year Semester 1:
APS100 Orientation to Engineering:
Difficulty: 1/10 Workload: 3/10 Course Average: N/A
There is no technical material in this course. All coursework consists of Ethics analysis, creating a schedule for time management, creating your resume, and discussion board participation. During tutorials, the TA typically asks behavioral questions to the class and covers slides pertaining to engineering principles, the learning environment, test readiness, and related topics.
APS110 Engineering Chemistry and Materials Science
Difficulty: 6/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: B
This course blends elements of chemistry, physics, and mathematics, requiring lots of formulas and memorization. The assignments and online quizzes were moderately difficult. Not sure if he’s still teaching but Scott Ramsay was a really good professor. Really enjoyed watching his video demonstrations.
APS111 Engineering Strategies and Practices I
Difficulty: 3/10 Workload: 6/10 (Variable) Course Average: B
Students are organized into groups of 5-6 and are assigned the task of developing a solution for a client, following the engineering design process. Success in this course heavily relies on your team. Throughout the semester, there are several milestones where you need to submit large reports with your team, making it crucial to have capable teammates. Many teams resorted to last-minute cramming the night before each milestone (not a good idea). Additionally, there are two peer reviews, so make sure you contribute to avoid being perceived as an unproductive member. In most cases, you don’t need to worry about this though. You’d likely all be good friends by that point (and give each other a perfect review).
CIV100 Mechanics
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload: 9/10 Course Average: C+
The consensus among most students in my year was that this was the toughest first year course. It's incredibly calculation heavy, with questions that may appear straightforward in theory but require multiple steps to solve. Even a minor error can screw up your entire calculation process. The assignments are extremely time-consuming, and the quizzes pose significant challenges. I suggest you work in a group for the assignments. Furthermore, both the final exam and midterm were exceptionally difficult.
MAT186 Calculus I
Difficulty: 4/10 Workload: 4/10 Course Average: B
If you’ve taken IB or AP this course will be a breeze. Even without that background, it's still relatively straightforward. Very little on integrals, mostly derivatives, rates of change, and graphs. PCEs and WebWorks were trivial, and the midterm and exam were easy.
MAT188 Linear Algebra
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: B-
The majority of the course revolves around relatively straightforward operations on matrices and vectors. However, it does introduce abstract concepts like higher-order dimensions, which may require some deeper thinking to fully grasp. Webwork assignments were slightly more challenging compared to MAT186's, and completing assignments took a while. Once again, you should work with a partner or as a group. Pay attention in the MATLAB practicals because you’ll be using MATLAB pretty often in future courses.
First Year Semester 2:
APS105 Computer Fundamentals
Difficulty: 6/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: B-
If you’ve taken programming in high school, you will likely find this course very easy (2/10 difficulty). The course covers simple programming syntax, along with basic sorting algorithms, without delving into more advanced concepts beyond linked lists and binary trees. I think that this was one of the more enjoyable courses of first year.
APS112 Engineering Strategies and Practices II
Difficulty: 5/10 Workload: 7/10 (Variable) Course Average: B+
This course is essentially a continuation of APS111, but with the added component of being assigned an actual client with a real-world problem statement. Each group works with a unique client, and at the end of the term, you present your final report directly to them, along with your supervisors. As with APS111, the quality of your team plays a crucial role in your success. Another thing to note is that unlike APS111, there were multiple individual assignments to complete on top of your team reports.
ECE110 Electrical Fundamentals
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 6/10 Course Average: C+
Definitely one of the harder first year courses. This course marks your introduction to circuits. Topics covered include capacitors, Ampere's law, Ohm's law, Kirchhoff's laws, AC/DC circuits, magnetism, Thevenin and Norton equivalents, and more. The material is extensive and requires thorough understanding, as many future courses will build upon its concepts. Make sure that you understand the content well, given its foundational importance in subsequent courses.
ECE191 Introduction to Electrical and Computer Engineering
Difficulty: 0/10 Workload: 1/10 Course Average: N/A
Seminar course. You just need to show up to the lectures (one per week) and submit a 100-ish word report about what you learned.
MAT187 Calculus II
Difficulty: 6/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: C+
The workload in this course is comparable to Calc I, but the content is more challenging (obviously). It delves deeper into integrals and introduces concepts like ordinary differential equations and polar coordinates. But again, you’ll manage just fine if you did decently in Calc 1, and especially if you’ve taken AP math or IB HL math.
MIE100 Dynamics
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload 4/10 Course Average: C+
I personally found this to be the most challenging course in first year, but it seems that most people disagree with me. It shares similarities with CIV100, but you’re instead dealing with dynamic systems (moving) rather than static ones (not moving). Some concepts may prove difficult to grasp initially. However, if you focus on memorizing the relevant formulas and understanding when to apply them, you should be okay. Expect an emphasis on physics in this course.
Second year was the worst (for ECE) and a very big step up from first year. If you struggled in first year, you better lock in for second year.
Second Year Semester 1:
ECE201 ECE Seminar Course
Difficulty: 0/10 Workload: 0/10 Course Average: N/A
Another seminar course, except you just need to attend 7/10 lectures to pass. Most students just scan their Tcard at the entrance then leave right after. The lectures are pretty useless except the Magellan one where they show you how to choose courses for 3rd and 4th year.
ECE212 Circuit Analysis
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 8/10 Course Average: B+
This course provides a deeper exploration of circuits, extending beyond circuit solving to include frequency and sinusoidal analysis. Questions tend to be long so careless errors will cost you. Personally, I found the labs challenging, particularly because they required working with oscilloscopes at a higher level than I was used to, and I could not for the life of me figure out how to use that thing.
ECE241 Digital Systems
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 8/10 Course Average: B-
This hardware course focuses on the foundation of hardware. A lot of the content is at the fundamental level so it’s not too hard to comprehend. However, the main challenge lies in learning Verilog, a hardware description language. I hate Verilog. All the labs are done using Verilog, and frustratingly, the course provides no instruction on the language, nor are there many helpful resources available online. This lack of guidance made what should have been straightforward labs much more difficult. Thankfully if you are in CE, you’ll never need to take another course with Verilog again. The midterm was easy but the final was borderline impossible.
ECE244 Programming Fundamentals
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: B-
This course is the sequel to APS105, delving into more advanced concepts like pointers, constructors, polymorphism, and inheritance. Many of these topics may feel familiar if you have prior programming experience, particularly from high school. Consequently, if you're already proficient in programming, as many computer engineering students are, you should be able to navigate through this course well. The labs were generally manageable, although a couple of them were time-consuming.
MAT290 Advanced Engineering Mathematics
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload 8/10 Course Average: B
In this course, you’ll learn a lot of miscellaneous mathematical concepts that will be relevant in future courses. The goal is to establish a strong foundation to facilitate understanding in third and fourth-year courses. There is also a quiz every week. They were terrible from a time management standpoint, but as long as you spent 3-4 hours per week completing the assigned textbook questions, you should be alright since one (out of two) of the questions on the quiz is guaranteed to be an assigned textbook question (at least, that was the case when I took the course).
MAT291 Calculus III
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload 9/10 Course Average: B-
The entire workload comes from studying for those damn weekly quizzes, much like MAT290. Personally, I found it to be one of the most difficult courses I've ever taken. Think of calculus 2, but now everything is in three dimensions, encompassing concepts like surface integrals, flux integrals, and more. Additionally, the course introduces abstract topics that I still struggle to grasp. Balancing the demands of this course alongside everything else was an incredibly stressful experience.
Second Year Semester 2:
ECE216 Signals and Systems
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload:7/10 Course Average: C+
I think everyone hated this course. It was so poorly taught and the midterms felt haphazard and unpredictable. I relied on the power of BS to pass (worked surprisingly). Other than working with many graphs and MATLAB, I don’t remember much about this course because it was so uninteresting.
ECE221 Electric and Magnetic Fields
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: C+
This course serves as an introduction to fields, while also expanding on the principles covered in ECE110. Many concepts build upon intuitive ideas, such as the repulsion of identical charges and attraction of opposite charges, which can make seemingly complex topics less intimidating. There are also many procedures that you need to know to solve specific types of questions. The labs are generally straightforward. You just need to follow the steps on the lab worksheet and answer a few simple questions from the TA.
ECE231 Intro to Electronics
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: C+
This course is basically circuit analysis but significantly harder. It combines everything you've learned about circuits thus far, introducing new topics on top of that foundation. There are so many new concepts to learn and the final pretty much tests you on all of them. I’ve encountered multiple scenarios where I saw two concepts that I thought were completely separate from each other being integrated into a single question on an exam. Also very calculation heavy. Despite my experience in this course, I must admit Khoman Fang was a great professor.
ECE243 Computer Organization
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 6/10 Course Average: B
This course is a direct continuation of ECE241, and surprisingly, I found it a lot more enjoyable than its prerequisite. The focus is on Assembly language programming, which I found to be way more understandable compared to Verilog. Assembly operates at a fundamental level, so you’re technically working with the most basic building blocks in programming. The labs often involved seemingly simple tasks like counting to 10 on a HEX display, but the nature of Assembly meant that achieving this could require hundreds of lines of code. I appreciated these labs as they provided a refreshing change from the usual programming tasks. Final and midterm exams were relatively easy.
ECE297 Software communication and design
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 9/10 (Variable) Course Average: B+
Despite the demanding workload, this course was one of my favorites. The main project involved collaborating in teams of three to develop a geographical information system (similar to Google Maps). Unlike other courses where teams are assigned, here you have the freedom to choose your own teammates. Starting off, your team is given only the OpenStreetMap database, and the APIs, granting you complete control over your project's design, functionality, and optimization. Performance enhancement and pathfinding algorithms were key components of the project. It's crucial for all team members to contribute effectively for success in this course; And trust me, this is not a one or two person project. To succeed in this course, all three members must be doing their share.
Third Year:
They say that third year is the easiest year for ECE, but that depends on what courses you choose. For me, it was only slightly easier than second year but still significantly harder than first year.
APS360 Fundamentals of Deep Learning
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload : 8/10 Course Average: B+
This course felt fundamentally very different compared to the other programming related courses. If you’re unfamiliar with deep learning, the content can be overwhelming but the inner workings behind AI are both fascinating and challenging to grasp. Fortunately, much of the coding in the course revolves around preparing data, setting up AI architectures, and training/testing models, rather than building an AI from scratch. While the labs are manageable, the final project can be very time consuming, particularly as training a single model can require hours or even days. Regarding this aspect, make sure you start early. Both the midterm and final exams were quite difficult.
ECE302 Probability and Applications
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 3/10 Course Average: B-
The first half of this course is very straightforward. Just an introduction to probability. The second half is where the difficulty quickly ramps up. Make sure you don’t underestimate the second half of the course. I made the mistake of assuming the material was easy after performing well on both midterms (midterms were very easy), leading me to neglect the final third of the course so I flunked the final. FYI, our marks were determined solely by the 2 midterms and the final.
ECE344 Operating Systems
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 10/10 Course Average: B
This course had the most difficult and demanding labs I’ve ever seen in my life. They are due every two weeks and some of them took most students more than 15 hours to complete. I’ve seen people staying up all night in the GB computer rooms to finish these labs. One positive aspect of the course if Jon Eyolfson is your professor, is that all lectures are both recorded and live-streamed, allowing attendance in person, online synchronously, or asynchronously. But if you have Ding Yuan, good luck. I heard he is not only bad at teaching, but also makes you program an operating system from scratch. The course content is quite interesting and the Midterm and final exams were fair.
ECE345 Algorithms and Data Structures
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: B+
If you're one of those programming geniuses who have been doing Leetcode since like 3 years old, you’d have likely already learned all course content before you’ve even started the course. You could probably write midterm and final exams without attending any lectures. However, if you're not as experienced, attending every lecture, taking detailed notes, and staying focused is crucial. Personally speaking, some algorithms were incredibly difficult for me to grasp, while others were simple. Assignments typically include both coding and long-answer components, which can be time-consuming, but you can work with a partner.
TEP444 Positive Psychology for Engineers
Difficulty: 1/10 Workload: 3/10 Course Average: A-
This course overall was very enjoyable and a nice refreshing experience from the other technical courses. You go on excursions to various locations with your group and write reports. It's an excellent opportunity to expand your social circle and make new friends. If you aim for an A- grade (80-85), you can breeze through with minimal effort. However, achieving a higher grade (A or A+) would require significantly more work (like 5 times more, no joke), which is not worth the extra effort in my opinion.
CSC343 Introduction to Databases
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 10/10 Course Average: Unreleased
The content of this course is actually pretty interesting and is taught well. But the assignments were excessively time consuming. There are only three in total, but each one demanded such a significant investment of time to the point where I contemplated dropping the course altogether. You do work with a partner (going solo isn’t even an option if you want to complete the assignments) but even so, be prepared to invest 15-30 hours per person, per assignment (they also mark hard). Despite the workload, I do recommend taking this course because knowing SQL can substantially benefit you in the future. Just start the assignments early. On a positive note, the midterm and final were relatively straightforward.
ECE311 Introduction to Control Systems
Difficulty: 10/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: C+
This course didn't come with a heavy workload, consisting only of three labs and two midterms. However, I found the content to be very challenging. It felt like they condensed and combined every concept from every engineering math and physics course into one. Topics ranged from circuits and dynamics to Laplace transforms, matrices, Bode plots, and more. It didn’t help that Prof Scardovi didn’t record any lectures, has messy handwriting, and uses a damn chalkboard instead of modern technology like other profs do. The midterms and final were somewhat lenient compared to the lectures, but this course still ended up being my lowest mark.
ECE361 Computer networks I
Difficulty: 8/10 Workload: 9/10 Course Average: B
This course requires a lot of memorization compared to other courses. You’ll have to understand calculation processes but also memorize a lot of general knowledge about networks. A problem with this course is that some concepts that show up in tests are not adequately explained in lectures. By far the best way to study is to do past exams. Professor Valaee often recycles questions, sometimes even directly copying past midterms and finals (like he did in my cohort). Unlike other courses, there is no big assignment/lab for this course, but it makes up for it with quantity. There’s a quiz every week, a wireshark lab every 2 weeks, a programming lab every 2 weeks, and a midterm. The programming labs are already difficult by themselves, but this cumulative workload felt very overwhelming.
ECE472 Engineering Economics and Entrepreneurship
Difficulty: 7/10 Workload: 5/10 Course Average: B+
This is straight up an economics course, no engineering at all. You’ll learn about investments, equity, financing, and related areas. There are 4 quizzes throughout the semester, with quiz 3 (quiz 3 specifically) being by far the hardest (average in the 50s). Since you're able to bring your textbook to the quizzes and exam, my biggest tip is to write past quiz and exam solutions in your textbook, as there's a limited pool of questions, and new questions often resemble some kind of variation of past ones.
ECE421 Introduction to Machine Learning
Difficulty: 9/10 Workload: 7/10 Course Average: unreleased
While the course content itself may be challenging, surprisingly, the midterm and final exams were pretty easy. There's a slight discorrelation between the lecture material and what appears on the exams, but relying on past exams for preparation should be enough. The course leans heavily on mathematical concepts, much more so than APS360. The assignments were difficult and tedious but I recommend you work with others to complete it.
With that, I've covered my thoughts and tips for all the engineering courses I've completed. Transitioning into your next year in engineering, particularly if you’re transitioning from high school, can feel daunting. However, remember that you're not alone in this experience – many of your peers are facing similar challenges. If you need any more advice or have questions, feel free to reach out to me via DMs!

I had DI w/ free Nip Grafts at Reformkliniken in Malmö on 18th April! Dr Tuve was my surgeon. I wanted to leave a review here since a few things happened that I wasn't prepared for and maybe this'll help anyone else!
I am from the UK and decided to have surgery privately with Dr Tuve as it was much cheaper than the UK. The cost of the surgery was 65000 SEK which is about £4800.
I flew from Manchester to Copenhagen, and then took a train to Malmö. It wasn't that expensive and very easy to figure out directions in person.
I went for 2 weeks and 4 days so I could go to in person appointments before and after the surgery. I'm also autistic and felt I needed the extra time to ground myself in a new country. I stayed at the Scandic St Jörgen hotel which was only a 5 minute walk from the clinic. Hotels are quite pricey and it has it's pros and cons. Pros - close to clinic, hotel cleaners, free wifi, close to food shops and restaurants, easy to get to train/transport. Cons - more expensive than airbnb, no fridge so had to have takeout a lot, they did a laundry service but it was VERY expensive.
In the end I do think the hotel was right for me and my needs, but I know many others are not as privileged to be able to stay that long in a hotel.
I had my pre op appointment on the 16th, which I was dreading but it went a lot better than I thought it would. Dr Tuve asked me a lot of questions about my gender, how long I've wanted top surgery, is my family accepting, etc. He then examined my chest and asked what kind of results I'd like. He let me get changed before he stepped in which I was grateful for. They asked if I had picked up my prescription (meds needed before surgery), however I hadn't had any notification about this prescription at all. They were very quick to give me a new one, which I collected the next day.
The 18th was surgery day, and I was told to arrive at the clinic at 7am. My partner walked me there, and we said goodbye outside the clinic doors. I had to fill in some paperwork, have an anti bacterial shower, and pee before surgery. I was really nervous for the anesthetic and going under, plus the IV, but it was a lot better than I thought it'd be! The nurse who did my IV was very kind and did it quickly, and it wasn't painful at all. I was called into surgery at around 8:20am. I had to lay on the surgical table, which was honestly the scariest part. The anesthetic took a few minutes and then it all kinda hit and once. It felt like a very deep long nap. I was out of surgery and awake by 12:20pm.
I was very sleepy for a few hours and apparently I sent a lot of videos of me to my partner but I don't remember taking them! They are funny to watch back! I was feeling quite nauseous so out of the food options I had some granola and apple juice. I was offered a sandwich too but that was too much for me. I kept falling in and out of sleep for a bit. The nurse was encouraging me to try go to the toilet, but I was really nauseous. I did end up being sick a lot, it was whenever I sat up. We ended up wheeling me in a wheelchair to the toilet to try pee (which was a success!). I was given some anti nausea meds. Before I left the clinic, the nurse took off my post op binder, nips dressings, and large dressing, and I felt a lot better. I got to see my chest for the first time (my nips were still covered by gauze). It looked really good for the first day! The nurse showed me how to wrap the binder myself and what to do with the nip dressings. He then wrapped me back up, but I immediately threw up which he realised was from the pressure of the large dressing. He decided to take off the large dressing so I was just wrapped with the nip dressings and binder. He only allowed this because I wasn't that swollen!
I left the clinic at 7pm, and my partner picked me up. I was able to walk easily, just sore on top, and I was on a lot of painkillers so it wasn't that bad.
The instructions from my dr was to have a shower daily, antibiotics twice a day, pain meds twice a day, more pain meds can be taken if needed (I did for the first few days). My partner helped me shower the first 3 days as I couldn't really reach anything, but after that I was slowly more independent. We had a shower head we could take off the wall which was very handy and made it a lot easier. I had to sleep on my back, which is quite painful since I had a curved spine, but I found ways to cope with it (pillow under lumbar region, pillow under feet for elevation). I brought a travel pillow and a mastectomy pillow with me. I honestly didn't use the mastectomy pillow for what it was made for, as it hurt to put my arms in the side holes. I used it more to stop myself rolling to the side. The travel pillow is a must. It helped stop a lot of neck pain, and I could fall asleep a lot easier laying on my back with my head surrounded by the travel pillow.
Unfortunately I got really ill on my 4th day post op. I track my periods, and knew one was coming up, so I was already expecting pain the week before (normal for me). This pain was a 10/10, I couldn't move and threw up a lot. We called the clinic and apparently it is normal for surgery to affect periods and cycles. I wasn't expecting anything quite this intense, so I thought I'd leave this in here in case anyone else experiences it! No-one else that I knew that was having top surgery experienced this, but I know I have a lot more intense symptoms of periods normally so this may have contributed to it. Luckily this only lasted 1 day.
The rest of the week was a lot better, and I managed to eat a lot more and do a few more things. I went on daily walks as advised by Dr Tuve, but nothing too far.
On my 9th day post op I had a random allergic reaction. My body really went through it! My face was swollen and red, and I had hives all over my body. We had no idea where it had come from since I was just doing the same stuff as normal, however I am almost certain it is linked to my autism/stress levels (I have had random intense illness related stuff flare up from overstimulation and stress a few times). I was given some antihistamines and they worked slowly over a few days.
On my 12th day I had my post op appointment where a nurse removed the gauze from my nips and any visible stitching from them. I was super nervous going to this appointment as my nips smelt really bad and I was worried they were infected. Luckily all was good ! Apparently I had a small hematoma, but it didn't have fluid so no need to drain. I was instructed to wash my nips 2-3 times a day, have my daily shower as per usual, and change the tape on my insicions once a week. I also had a small bandage gauze I taped to my nips which I had to do til they were dry. My nips were dry by 2 days after this appointment, but I used the small bandages for about a week as I was nervous of the binder causing irritation on my nips. I also had to keep wearing the binder, which I have to do til 4-6 weeks after surgery (depending on how swollen I am).
I flew back home on 2nd May, and it was all good health wise.
Since then, recovery has been good! I'm very happy with my chest. My insicions look super thin and the nips look great too.
Overall, my experience with Dr Tuve and his team was great! Here are my main pros and cons:
Pros - Cheaper and high quality results! - Very lovely nurses and Dr. I felt I was in good hands. - They are happy to answer any questions, post op and pre op. - The clinic is very nice. Felt like I was in a hotel! - You do not need to be on T or have a gender dysphoria diagnosis. These things can help the process, but are absolutely not necessary.
Cons - Most documents were in Swedish and I had to translate them using Google Translate. You can call up the clinic to ask questions, but I am not good with phone calls! - The documents/help sheets aren't super clear on post op care, it is mostly for pre op information - Sometimes a lack of communication, such as with the lost prescription.
I hope this helps anyone!

Timestamp
Local to 94551.
Prices reduced, again, more mice added.
All prices are shipped, OBO, CONUS ONLY, same day if possible. Happy to trade as well, list of mice and mousepads I am looking for is below, feel free to ask about items not on my list. Feel free to offer other mice and mousepads that are not on the list. About half the mice come with the box - if they come with the box, it's shown in the timestamp.
Will discount for bundles (larger discount for larger bundles). Will of course send more photos to interested buyers upon request.
Have >25 purchases, sales, and trades on mousemarket in the last 6 months.
I am simply thinning out my collection. All of these mice are duplicates for me (I have too many mice...), and in most cases I bought a sealed BNIB or open-box version of the mouse and am now selling the one I had before.
Pwnage Stormbreaker Black $100 - Like new, only used twice because I prefer the LE Nacho color. Has brand new and unused red Pwnage glass skates installed. Comes in box with dongle and cable, does not include screwdriver or grip tape.
Finalmouse Air58 Ninja Mystic Blue $130 each - No boxes. Both in excellent working condition. No yellowing or major cosmetic defects. One of them was only rarely used but comes with stock skates, the other was used more often (but not that much) and comes with aftermarket skates which I was told are FM-1 Hyperglides (they glide amazingly), so I have priced them the same.
Finalmouse Ultralight Sunset $95 - No box, mouse is in excellent working condition.
Finalmouse Ultralight 2 Capetown #1 $75 - Comes with the box, open-box minus the infinity skins. Was only used several times, and the infinity skins were removed for use on a different UL2 capetown.
Finalmouse Ultralight 2 Capetown #2 $60 - No box. Picked this up as part of a bundle only for a different mouse I wanted. Lightly used by the original owner, I never used it myself aside to verify functionality.
Finalmouse Starlight Pro last Legend Medium $155 - Almost no usage on the mouse, mouse is like-new. Stock skates have been replaced with dot skates. Does NOT come with centerpiece code or grips.
GWolves Skoll SKL $30 - Complete-in-box. Picked this up as part of a bundle only for a different mouse I wanted. Lightly used by the original owner, I never used it myself aside to verify functionality.
GWolves Hati HTM $30 (wired) - Complete-in-box. Picked this up as part of a bundle only for a different mouse I wanted. Lightly used by the original owner, I never used it myself aside to verify functionality.
Logitech G PRO x Superlight $50 - No wire or dongle, but has box and grip tapes. These seem to be going for $80 or so with dongle, and dongles which can be repaired seem to be $15-$20. Picked this up as part of a bundle only for a different mouse I wanted. Lightly used by the original owner, I never used it myself aside to verify functionality.
Mice and mousepads I am looking for:

• Finalmouse Tournament Pro
• Finalmouse Classic Ergo
• Finalmouse Classic Ergo 2, any color [particularly black], preferred with box
• Finalmouse SL12 Zeus (small or medium)
• Finalmouse SL12 Ares (small or medium)
• Finalmouse SL12 Hades (small or medium)
• Finalmouse SL12 Achilles (small or medium)
• Finalmouse SL12 Pegasus (small or medium)
• Finalmouse SL12 Tenz, medium, BNIB
• FM-1 Hyperglides
• FM-2 Hyperglides
• WLMouse Beast X Fabulous Beasts 8K, any color, BNIB or like-new
• WLMouuse Bast X Max, any color, BNIB or like-new
• Razer Viper V3 Pro, black preferred, BNIB or like-new
• Pwnage Stormbreaker Platinum, BNIB or like-new
• ROG Keris II ACE, BNIB or like-new
• Infinitymice Vagabond, BNIB or like-new
• Infinitymice Shogun, BNIB or like-new
• XL Artisan Mousepads, BNIB or like-new
• Yuki Aim cloth pads, BNIB or like-new
• Wraith Blade X - Japan Edition, BNIB or like-new
• Kanami Nana or Naifu, BNIB or like-new

Comment before PM please!

Welcome to the Peanut Gallery! Sorry for the gap in updates. As you can see, I am no where near as dedicated as the master of the craft, having to juggle work and other things too. This is apprentice Lara filling in for the master thestoryteller987 with high hopes he is doing well.

The tempo of Russian offensive operations in northern Kharkiv Oblast continues to decrease after Russian forces initially seized areas that Ukrainian officials have now confirmed were less defended

basically, as we stated in a previous summary, Russia will park its artillery close over the Ukrainian border, but not too close that it becomes a target. Ballpark figure, lets syay within 10 KM. Then from there it can, without problem, bombard everything and anything it sees fit without the worry of western weapons striking back. Russian forces advance,, but the artillery does not. And suddenly you're in a sticky situation. A big push doesn't happen because the big guns can't reach and Russia is back to meat wave tactics against 13km and 20km of fortifications.

The US Helsinki Commission stated that the US should allow Ukraine to conduct strikes against military targets in Russia's border areas amid an ongoing Russian offensive operation into Kharkiv Oblast from Russia, although US officials continue to express unwillingness to support such strikes

Hence this is why the US needs to lift this silly sanction. If Ukrainian can strike, lets say 20 KM from its border, that'll deal with the building up of troops, the over the border artillery and what not.
See I have a slightly different idea. Now the UK has already said we wouldn't necessarily be sad if they used Storm Shadows in Russia. which is largely a political move because there are not that many of them. but maybe, with the acquirement of US aid, Ukraine can use these to clear out their border region a bit. I think the EU needs to grow a pair of balls and lift the sanction. Let the US play at peacemakecareful positioning. Even if the UK/EU can't produce as much as the US< being able to focus US fully on defense would free up enough for over the border strikes. I can see the benefit of careful limits I think what the EU doesn't want is to see the leopards driving across into Russia. that strikes me as a big step. Arguably, russian tanks already took that step, but still. I can see why they are concerned about that. But as long as boots and wheels stay on Ukraine's side of the border, I think it's perfectly reasonable that anything else is free game.

Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to publicly prioritize the further mobilization of the Russian defense industrial base (DIB) while also attempting to assuage possible domestic fears about the negative effects of increased Russian defense spending.

He's juggling realism with politics. Realisticly, the DIB needs to pull its finger out because Russia is facing huge shortages, bigger than the shortages of the toilet paper and pasta in Covid times. But to do that he'd have to go onto a war footing (ISW thinks this would not even be enough) but he also knows that Russian's don't want that. At all.

Putin stated that "whoever masters the latest means of armed struggle faster, wins" and called for the Russian defense industry to "double, triple" production and create more effective, accurate, and powerful weapons in order to decrease Russian losses.

He can call for it, doesn't mean it's ever going to happen. I calll for a million pound every day. Still hasn't happened and I honestly think I'm more likely to get that million pounds than the Russian DIB is to triple its production.

Putin specifically noted that the Russian DIB must increase the quality of Russian weapons.

I'd love to see some statistics: Launches :: num of exploded on launch :: num of hit on target. Russian weapons miss a lot, blow up in the wrong place a lot, and explode with less boom a lot. Still a complete and utter pain in the ass, especially for Ukraine, but a reassurance for NATO in so far as NATO can shoot better, more accurately and with bigger boomage.

Putin is likely concerned about the economic and diplomatic implications of decreased Russian arms exports.

In short, Russia is unable to keep up with its commitments to other countries, like India. It essentially said: We can supply you with fancy shmancy weapons if you allie with us. You won't need to worry about Uncle Sam filling your back yard with democracy an d liberty because Big Daddy Putin has got your back.
Accept.. He hasn't. they delayed shipments to India, and so not only are they getting pissy, but other countries who took his word for it (Armenia) are now going wait... Can we actually trust this Vodca drinking guy know what he is saying?

The Kremlin confirmed the appointments of the newly formed Moscow and Leningrad military districts (MMD and LMD) and other military district commanders on May 15.

TLDR: A bunch of generals got moved about. A bunch of nobody's I don't know the names of or history. Sorry. This is why thestoryteller987 is better at this than me. In short, Russia likes to play his generals against each other to gain favour with him. Which works until they all become pissed off with him and cut off his head. Dschinghis Khan did something similar, and for him it worked... Kind of. Until he died. And the whole system collapsed/ And Putin is getting mighty old...

Russian sources speculated that the May 13 detention of Russian Deputy Defense Minister Lieutenant General Yuri Kuznetsov is only the beginning of a wider effort to root out corruption within the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD).

It could be as ISW speculates although I personally think this is the cover for a bit of a purge. Putin needs yes sir men and loyalists and that chain has to remain strong. If someone becomes slightly discontent, that could spread.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced during a joint press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on May 15 that the US will provide a two billion dollar "defense enterprise fund" to Ukraine

This is going into Ukraine's DIB, the purchase of weapons, and purchasing weapons from other countries. This bit made me laugh a little:

helping Ukraine purchase military equipment and weapons from the US and other countries.

Basically, hey, here's 2 billion for you to give to me so I can give you a gun.

Ukraine's Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reportedly struck a Russian fuel depot in Rostov Oblast on the night of May 14 to 15.

Pop pop! Another depo struck by Ukraine lightning. Does Russia have many of these left now?

The Kremlin continues to add European officials to Russia's wanted list as part of Russia's efforts to assert the jurisdiction of Russian federal law over sovereign NATO member states.

This is so pointless. And we do it back. Putin is wanted by the hague. He's never going to stand trial, and if those individuals on Russia's list are captured, they won't either jjust for slightly different reasons. It's interesting though that Zelensky has been on and off the list a few times. Surely' he's the top target?
In summary though these wanted lists are an information campaign, part of Russia's vast info war tactics. Laying the ground for future work.

Russian forces recently made confirmed advances in northern Kharkiv Oblast, near Siversk, and west of Donetsk City.

ISW has a fairly low opinion of these advances, just the usual daily grind.

Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Lytyvyenko assessed on May 15 that Russian forces will have enough tanks and armored fighting vehicles for the next year and half of fighting in Ukraine at their current operational tempo

Far too long, if you ask me! Someone give Ukraine some more guns so we can end this by Christmas!

Ukrainian officials continue to warn that Russian forces are systematically and increasingly using chemical weapons and other likely-banned chemical substances in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Support Forces Command stated on April 5 that Ukrainian forces have recorded 371 cases of Russian forces using munitions containing chemical substances during the last month and 1,412 cases of Russian forces using chemical weapons between February 2023 and March 2024.

Please give Ukraine what they need to bring this war to an end.
‘Q’ for the Community:

• So. US weapons striking over the border in Russia. What's your take?

• Join the conversation on /TheNuttySpectacle!

Edit**** found a free pdf if anyone would like the link ☺️

Title.
Saw a google legend from the subreddit but it's from 2021 so I'm not sure if it's up to date. If it's not free are there any lots that are free parking past 4:30PM on campus ? Thanks
edit: added "google" for clarity

I was wondering if there's anyone here who'd be willing to run an Incredibles AU campaign using the M&M system, which a dear friend of mine recommended. I already got a roadmap for the basic story (including various different arcs) and world rules, as well as specific characters, but the GM would have free creative reign to move within those parameters to surprise us and make it fun for them as well.
Payed based on the hours of play of course.
Edit: also looking for players, we got 3 so far (potentially 4)

I made a free website template for streamers, open source on GitHub. You can download the files and edit them however you want " colors, fonts .. etc " to create your own site. It includes a homepage where you can add your name, details, photo, and links, an affiliation page where you can change the photos and text to suit your needs, a store page that you can connect to Shopify or Printify, and a contact page with a simple email. If you find this useful, please support me with a star on github. Thanks!
Home page
Affiliate page
Store page
Contact
Live link : https://1z99.github.io/streameindex.html Github : https://github.com/1Z99/streamer

Wanting a widget to put on my homescreen that displays a different bit of text each day, chosen at random out of a pool of bits of text that I give it. Like getting a fortune cookie every day or something, I guess.
Anyone know something that does that? All I can see are about a million to-do list apps.
Edit: like this but a widget, and I choose what it says
Edit 2: or like this but without all the bloat and "pay me! pay me!" . Just checking it now and it looks like it does at least do what I want. But good lord I wish it wasn't as annoying
Edit 3: nvm on the second one. Does everything I want IFF I pay for it. Unwilling, it's a horrible looking thing that doesn't deserve money for existing

There's a project inspired by Joanne Cameron's condition:
"In 2019, scientists discovered a woman with a new form of congenital pain insensitivity that left her virtually immune not only to physical pain but to psychological pain as well.
Unlike other forms of congenital pain insensitivity, her condition left her blissfully unaffected by fear, sadness, anger, anxiety, and grief. She is also free of the frequent injuries and early childhood self-mutilation behaviors that make other forms of congenital pain insensitivity so pathological and dangerous.
Her pain-sensing neurons work, but she does not generate intrinsically unpleasant experiential qualities in response to the signals they send her brain.
Her syndrome remained unknown to her until she was well into her sixth decade of life, in contrast to other forms of congenital pain insensitivity that make themselves known immediately due to their disastrous consequences."
"On May 24th, 2023, University College London released its landmark paper investigating the molecular basis of this strange new pain insensitivity syndrome titled "Molecular Basis of FAAH-Out Associated Pain Insensitivity," in which it was revealed that this "Feel Good Syndrome" was caused by two simple genetic mutations affecting the FAAH Platform: a less active SNP of the FAAH gene and an 8KB micro-deletion at the beginning of the FAAH-OUT pseudo-gene, which lead to a drastic increase in anandamide ("the bliss molecule").
These two generic differences had a downstream impact on many genes, but only a handful of these changes were identified as relevant to physical and psychological suffering. Chief among them were the downregulation of ACKR3 - an endogenous opioid scavenger - and the upregulation of BDNF - a nerve growth factor known to impact depression and anxiety.
This "Feel Good Syndrome" could be replicated using gene editing technologies like CRISPR in humans and livestock animals. Moreover, it could plausibly be reproduced pharmacologically using already existing inhibitors of FAAH (which substantially boost anandamide and BDNF) and ACKR3."
Inhibition of FAAH not only provides profound analgesic effect itself but also seems to prevent and reverse opioid tolerance https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7280000/
Their website https://faroutinitiative.com/

Tldr: A critical SYNDE coalition home hole is burned to the ground by HAWKS and hundreds of billions are lost or safelogged.

On Starting Points

One of the more contentious elements of any major conflict is identifying when, precisely, it actually began. In EVE, as IRL, that is particularly challenging given the breadth of metagaming which takes place. Did the Wormhole War begin when SYNDE decided last summer that they wanted to replace HAWKS as the dominant high-class wormhole group and committed to making that a reality? Did it begin when they solidified their alliance with the Initiative? When they build their wormhole coalition? When they seeded HAWKS home with capitals? Any of those, had they been out in the open, would likely have triggered open hostilities. But those plans and the steps towards their ultimate objective were carefully and smartly hidden from view.
The widespread SYNDE coalition assault on HAWKS C5 and C6 holes began on March 24^th. With the information we now have available to us, the real start of the war was likely the eviction of Voidlings during the first week of March 2024. HAWKS and their future allies were almost certainly unaware of the significance of that eviction, but leaked internal SYNDE comms put truth to the notion that SYNDE viewed that as a critical first step in isolating and crippling HAWKS. It was, then, the first overt act of war by SYNDE – though its place in that broader campaign remained shrouded for several weeks.
Voidlings is a small to midsize wormhole group. A few years ago, they were a growing low class wormhole group living in a C2 with HS and C3 statics. In 2022, they moved into a new home, a C5 wormhole with a C5 static. For non-wormholers, nearly every high class PVP group lives in a C5 with a C5 static. C5 space is both where the majority of high class farms are. The abundance of C5 statics means that living on the “C5 Highway” is often the best route to all forms of high class pvp and pve content. Honor brawls also almost exclusively take place in C5 holes.
So Voidlings grew from a low-class group into a high-class group, and they continued recruiting in an effort to become one of the relevant high class PVP groups. Their zkillboard suggests they participated in most traditional high class activities – farming, feeding, fighting, evicting, ganking, skirmishing. It appears they were supported during this period of growth by one or more HAWKS members. As a result of this affiliation they were not approached by SYNDE during their coalition-building period. Instead, they were marked for pre-war eviction both to be a preliminary test of coalition coordination and also to eliminate a potential HAWKS ally. Isolating HAWKS was key to the entire war plan.
SYNDE began seeding the Voidlings home with dreads in Feb 2024, ultimately bringing in 6 to support their eviction. At the appropriate time, a robust joint fleet led by SYNDE but also including key coalition allies TURBO and Stay Feral infiltrated the Voidlings home hole, installed a staging POS and began their eviction. They diligently held hole control, adding another half-dozen capital ships to their arsenal over the next several hours. A Voidlings eviction seemed inevitable, as they simply lacked the manpower and experience needed to prevent a collection of wormhole groups that large from evicting them. As is often the case when a home hole is under threat of eviction, batphones rang out across wormhole space. HAWKS, NOVAC and SL0W answered the call for Voidlings. The future SYNDE coalition was on already on standby to support this eviction if necessary, as well as future neutral LUPUS. SYNDE had also secured a commitment from the Initiative to support should the need arise.
At first, it did not appears that the batphoning was likely to change anything. SYNDE maintained diligent hole control, not permitting either Voidlings or any allies from bringing in ships or pilots via the Voidlings static. HAWKS rage rolled from their home to get into the Voidlings home, but was unsuccessful.
For the non-wormholers, when you rage roll a C5 static in order to connect with a specific C5 wormhole, you have a 1 in 531 chance of getting connected to that specific hole with each rage roll. Rolling into a specific hole requires days of 24/7 rage rolling and even then the odds are against you. Wormhole groups really only engage in this level of commitment for really high-level situations, such as the historical eviction of HK’s home hole Rage back in 2018.
Midway through the eviction, however, a frig hole popped connecting the Voidlings home with Horde space. HAWKS, NOVAC and SL0W immediately burned in shuttles to that frig hole, and SYNDE was unable to stop the vast majority of them from jumping into the hole and docking in the besieged Voidlings fort.
Voidlings leadership distributed their home defense handout Ravens to their comrades and the stage was set for a glorious home eviction defense fight. SYNDE and friends had a large 100-ship Barghest fleet supported by nearly a dozen capitals (dreads/fax) while Voidlings and friends could field 100 cruise Ravens with FAX logi and nearly two dozen long-range dreads. Range control and capital placement was understood by both sides’ FCs to be critical to the outcome of the fight. SYNDE had a fleet advantage, but one that could be overcome. Unbeknownst to the Voidlings side, once the frig hole popped SYNDE leadership had invoked their war alliance with Initiative, The Initative pinged and mobilized a 200-man Tengu fleet, travelling quickly to the wormhole chain’s entrance. Jumping in, the Initiative fleet docked in a nearby SYNDE farm and waited.
As a critical citadel timer approached, SYNDE FC Cyrus Kurush fleet warped dreads to range the full Barghest comp along with them. Bubbles exploded all over the grid, aiming to stop the Voidlings defense fleet from warping to a good position. This was an effective stratagem, as SYNDE knew that the Voidlings defense fleet would rely on FAX logi – so pinging around grid was not a viable option. The Voidlings fleet needed a clean warp-in, to a position favorable for their cruise Ravens. The dreads began bashing the fortizar, forcing the Voidlings fleet to commit the fleet or watch their citadel burn. The Ravens and their FAX logi aligned and warped, accepting a mediocre initial position that would permit the SYNDE dreads to apply well. Once the FAX landed, the HAWKS FC leading the Voidlings fleet called for all dreads to undock, and they were warped in to support this all-in defense effort. Those dreads landed, activated siege modules, and began primarying the SYNDE dreads.
After one SYNDE dread exploded and another started taking damage, the trap was sprung. Reports on both comms noted that a 200-man tengu fleet was on dscan. Confusion turned into delight on SYNDE comms and resigned frustration on Voidlings comms as the Initiative fleet landed on grid and immediately began fragging Ravens. What might have been a closely-fought battle quickly turned into a complete rout. Voidlings was able to extract a small number of dreads – but the butcher’s toll was a heavy one. Voidlings – having supplied all the ships used by the defenders – lost the entire Raven fleet and nearly all the capitals, for a total of 327b lost against 1117b killed. https://br.evetools.org/related/31001880/202403020300
The remainder of the eviction proceeded to plan, and all Voidlings citadels were destroyed. SYNDE celebrated a successful test run of their broader vision and campaign. In recent leaks that cover the aftermath, SYNDE lead Cyrus Kurush noted that although SYNDE had shown they could take on HAWKS alone, they would take advantage of their massive alliance to simply speed the broader war goal of taking all the HAWKS high class farms and taking their rightful place atop a New Wormhole Oder.

On Rallying Cries and Motivations

This leads to another critical element for how the war would unfold. Wars in EVE are won by motivated pilots first, and a war chest second. For some time, SYNDE and their primary allies had planted the seeds of resentment towards HAWKS among their members. This is not a challenging task, as most wormhole groups generally dislike each other to begin with. In casus belli discussions with HAWKS immediately prior to the war, and in coalition and leadership meetings with their side, SYNDE was fairly consistent about their war aims: take all HAWKS C6 farms, take HAWKS C5 farms, and take HAWKS home. Those farms were to be distributed to SYNDE and their allies, although the specifics were studiously avoided in discussions.
The leak of the SYNDE pre-war CTA gives real insight into members motivations going into the war. Typically, pre-war CTA meetings in EVE are full of hype, energy and enthusiasm. The Synde CTA, by contrast, seemed a much more pragmatic event. Members were concerned about their current farms, about the plan to deploy out of home and into a C6 staging, about working with blues, and about their ability to participate in NPSI fleets during the war. SYNDE lead Cyrus Kurush needed to make clear several times that the expectation was that even though many SYNDE members were also members of other LS and NS groups, they were expected to devote their full effort and focus to the upcoming war against HAWKS. It is almost impossible to take away from that CTA meeting anything other than a rather shocking lack of enthusiasm for the war from SYNDE line members.

The War in Heaven

On the other hand, HAWKS motivations were much easier to discern. This War presented an existential threat. In the eyes of the SYNDE coalition, HAWKS farms and home were both forfeit. Everything they had built over the preceding decade was destined for destruction. Isolated and outnumbered, this would be the ultimate test of HAWKS members’ commitment. The sudden and shocking rebirth of Hard Knocks was mirrored by a large number of longterm HAWKS members also resubbing.
Another critical and perhaps overlooked element of motivations on HAWKS side was the war vs peace element. Although “peace” in wormhole space is a decidedly violent affair in general, with pretty much every group killing every other group on a daily basis, it had been many years since there was a major, sustained conflict in wormhole space. Nullsec often differentiates between “Skirmish FCs” and “Strat FCs”, with the former leading normal day-to-day fleets of battlecruiser sized ships or smaller, and the latter leading the heavy fleets, cap fleets, super fleets or the sizeable, complicated fleets deployed in major conflicts. In the cartel world that is wormhole space, it might be more appropriate to differentiate between “Territory FCs” and “War FCs”. The former freely leads the wide range of fleets that fight, gank, camp and brawl throughout wormhole space on a daily basis. The latter wants to lead larger, more complicated fleets in direct support of a broader strategic initiative. In gaming as IRL, it is normal for highly skilled players to want to be challenged – and at some point, the normal day-to-day fights no longer satisfies those urges. In some cases, that leads to corps fading away (HK), in others, it leads to limited participation (many HAWKS members/FCs).
When this Wormhole War kicked off, it was promptly dubbed “The War in Heaven” by the HAWKS/HK side. This name refers directly to the biblical conflict between two rival groups of Angels – that led by Michael, and that led by Satan. Revelation 12:7-10:

7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

It is not particularly challenging to figure out which side HAWKS was associating themselves with, given that the name of their CEO is Michael1995.
Perhaps more pragmatically, among members in both HAWKS and the reborn HK, this war was indeed a gift from Heaven above – a chance to dive into a massive, complicated campaign against a foe who was willing to violate wormhole norms in order to achieve their goals. During the first two weeks when HAWKS farms were burning, there is a sense that many of the HAWKS and HK leads were genuinely giddy about the opportunity to take the field and leverage all their accumulated skills, knowledge and experience against an increasingly-reviled opponent. Yes, things looked dire from the outside but internally, there was a mixture of enthusiasm and cautious optimism.

Headshots and Flipping

During normal wormhole fights, both brawls and skirmishes, it is generally considered poor form to headshot the other side’s FC. It happens sometimes, but is definitely looked down upon in the wormhole community. This is the sort of norm that disappears in the context of a large war, or any sort of existential threat situation.
At the strategic level, “headshotting” generally refers to destroying or debilitating the other side’s capacity to fight by taking home holes or staging holes. This would be a key element in the HAWKS strategy, and one surprisingly absent from the SYNDE side. From the very first week, HAWKS looked to take advantage of any opportunity, however fleeting, to headshot SYNDE and their allies. The early ATRAX eviction was the first example of this. It would not be the last, not by a long shot.
Another key tactic is flipping. Not flipping as in changing sides, but rather flipping as in unanchoring and then re-anchoring an Upwell citadel. Recall that when a citadel dies in a wormhole, every pilot’s possessions that remain in that citadel drop as loot cans on the grid. 100% loot drop, 100% of the time. Over time, as pilots join and then leave a group, hangar containers accumulate. Over the years, in successful wormhole groups, this frozen hangar trash can reach into the tens or hundreds of billions. This can make evicting a wormhole resident or group an increasingly attractive over time. A hole that has been owned for a year will not have much loot drop. One owned for many years will likely have a great deal more.
Years ago, intrepid wormhole residents realized that a good way to counter this mechanic was to “flip” their citadels: unanchor, get all the AFG/left corp loot for yourself, then re-anchor. There is risk to this, but for a pvp corp that maintains hole control, the risk is quite minimal.
HAWKS had lived in their current home for nearly a decade. A large, successful group like HAWKS accumulates a large amount of hangar wealth over a period like that, much of it frozen as members AFG or leave corp. During the first week of the War, HAWKS recognized this large oversight and unanchored all the structures in their home hole. A neutral observer might have thought that HAWKS were self-evicting. Through their spy, SYNDE knew that they were planning to flip them and stay in the fight. Unwilling to entertain a HAWKS home eviction at this early stage in the war, SYNDE watched as HAWKS unanchored all their citadels and replaced them with a dozen newly anchored fortizars – and clearing their citadel grid of thousands of loot cans. A steady stream of DSTs transiting in and out of HAWKS home confirmed that wealth was quickly transferred out to kspace.
In that first week, by “flipping” their citadels, HAWKS eliminated the majority of the financial incentives that generally come with evicting a pvp corp’s home hole.

Seeding an Apple

During the period where HAWKS farms were burning and SYNDE was soaring, on Tuesday April 2^nd, HAWKS rolled into the SUGAR home hole. Some of SUGAR’s pvp toons were supporting SYNDE, some were farming, others were out participating in NPSI roams in kspace. Few of them were in their home hole. HAWKS sent in a bait RF fleet of a trio of Leshaks while at the same time pinging for a heavy armor Nighthawk fleet. SUGAR panic pinged as the Leshaks began RFing one of the many citadels in their home. With confusion reigning, SUGAR undocked a kitchen sink fleet including armor and shield, capital and subcapital. Once SUGAR began engaging, HAWKS brought in their heavy shield fleet. HAWKS then began dismantling the haphazard SUGAR home defense fleet, as captured in the first 3 minutes of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZKgFPbSaLk
After fragging much of the SUGAR defenders, HAWKS proceeded to reinforce every citadel in the SUGAR home. SUGAR lost 35bn in ships in a one-sided fight. SYNDE was dismayed by the poor SUGAR showing. https://br.evetools.org/b66452e6803aec30012694316
Those structures all repaired over the coming week.
On April 12^th , HAWKS returned and again reinforced all SUGAR structures, this time with no opposition. Following that second round of reinforces, SUGAR pinged and directed its members to return to home and adopt a defensive posture with rigorous hole control to prevent a HAWKS return.
Many SUGAR members by this point were now opposing their corp’s direction. They certainly disliked HAWKS, but they had historically disliked SYNDE and their allies just as much. Joining them struck many members as a short-sighted, unwise adventure. They had actively participated in reinforcing and blowing up HAWKS structures, only to discover that SYNDE was most often dropping replacement citadels as they got cleared. SUGAR line members felt they were doing a lot of work for little or no benefit.
On April 13^th, HAWKS rolled into the SUGAR home hole for a third time – this time with amor timers only hours away. SUGAR immediately sought to roll that incoming wormhole, throwing yacht after yacht at it, as well as a lone praxis. They were able to crit the hole despite losing yachts every few passes.
Sigils are a common ship used most often by Nullsec farmers looking to roll wormholes that threaten their peaceful farming, These Sigils are referred to by wormholers almost universally as “suicide sigils”. The SUGAR FC directed his members to get into Sigils, undock, nullify, and warp to the hole. That hole needed to die. It needed to die now. “Even mains?” one member – Scott Appleblade - inquired. “Even mains,” replied the FC.
Scott hopped into the sigil, and warped to the hole, forgetting to nullify. He landed in the bubble, and was immediately fragged by the HAWKS on grid. https://zkillboard.com/kill/116986540/
Scott, now sitting in Jita, asked for a route back into his home. The FC replied they had no kspace entries at the minute. Scott asked if one could be found. The FC replied not now, quiet, we’re still dealing with this hole. Scott logged off, seething.
Scott had not wanted this war from the very start. Scott had recently upgrade from a Class 3 farm to a Class 5 farm of his own. Scott enjoyed farming combat sites in Leshaks and dreaming of a brighter future. Scott had always dreamed he might one day save up enough to afford a faction FAX: the Loggerhead. He knew they didn’t make much sense and were rarely used, but Scott loved the “Poggerhead” meme. Scott prided himself on his memes. He would often meet people and knew right away that they would become a meme. That was just life, but an elite meme could memorialize that. Scott just wanted to undock from his home fort in a Loggerhead and enjoy the moment. That seemed less and less likely now that the SUGAR home was being reinforced weekly. SUGAR leadership was either absent or, frankly, being dicks. Scott was over it. He had worked too hard. He deserved better. His fellow SUGAR members did, too.
Scott waited until later in the day when he was able to get a kspace entry for his main back into SUGAR’s home chain. He flew his inty in, still seething but with a plan for exacting revenge coalescing in Scott’s mind.
For the non-wormholers, it is important to explain that when you are a member of a wormhole corp, you have a lot more access to corp assets than you likely ever would in a Nullsec or Lowsec corp. Due to wormhole mechanics, wormhole corps almost always have a “Shared” corp hangar in each citadel where commonly used ships and modules are available to all members. This usually includes rolling ships, and handout pvp ships, among other things.
Scott docked in their home fort. He hesitated for a minute as he surveyed those familiar surroundings, but then the rage came back. He just wanted to farm, and now he might lose that. All because of SUGAR leadership. He knew his corp mates understood and would appreciate his actions. Scott proceeded to move everything in the SUGAR shared corp hangar to his personal hangar. He did a double take – he had just acquired over 30b of assets. That would go a long way towards a down payment on the Loggerhead if he could get that to a trade hub.
One good idea begets another, and Scott repackaged every assembled ship he had just taken. He then put the most valuable elements into his two DSTs. He shuttled those out to Jita and back, and then repeated the round trip several times. During the monotony of the transits, Scott realized that nobody – not leadership, not his corp mates – had noticed anything. Even though he was now much wealthier, SUGAR was still in need of a wakeup call.
As he warped to the next wormhole, it hit him – the bookmarks! This is another major difference between Nullsec / Lowsec and wormhole groups. In kspace, one can navigate very easily, or at least with confidence about where you’re going. In wormholes, one needs corp mates scanning wormholes and making bookmarks, basically a temporary map that wormhole pilots use to navigate the ever-changing wormhole landscape. All members need access to those bookmarks, and the ability to create, edit and delete them.
Scott deleted them. All of them. No more going to help SYNDE. No more warping your dread to a safe because HAWKS had bubbled the fort. No more finding your way back after getting rolled out. With no bookmarks, SUGAR would need to stop and consider where they were and why. Scott was pleased with the neat metaphor. At least he thought it was a metaphor. Might also be an analogy. He wasn’t sure, but he was sure it was brilliant.
His DSTs landed on the next hole and Scott jumped. It was then that Scott noticed he had no bookmarks in the next wormhole. That knowledge, combined with his decision not to fit probe launchers on either of his DSTs, was not a positive development. Scott, priding himself on his judgment, weighed his current situation against all he had achieved this evening – over 20b of ships and mods in Jita, and a powerful statement to SUGAR leadership. That was worth the loss of two DSTs that only had about 1.5B combined between them. Scott self-destructed the DSTs, returned to Jita, and went to bed contemplating a brighter future.

When Espionage Meets Opportunity

Prior to shutting the doors a few years ago, Hard Knocks had been regarded in the wormhole community as the top wormhole group for espionage. In a world where information is power, they have always had a remarkable abundance of critical information. Unlike HAWKS, HK was aware of the SYNDE plans and coalition building not long after they were conceived. As allies joined the SYNDE effort, HK sought to penetrate those groups. SUGAR accepted a key HK spy in January of this year. Over the next two months, this spy would quickly work his way up the SUGAR hierarchy, demonstrating strong FC and leadership abilities. When the war broke out, he was one of the main FCs. His background in HK and HAWKS affiliated groups was no concern for SUGAR leadership as they committed to the SYNDE coalition.
When Scott pilfered everything from SUGAR shared and deleted all bookmarks, the spy noticed both. He consulted with his HK mates and decided it might be a fantastic opportunity. The spy reached out to SUGAR directors and offered to do his part in resolving the matter – they needed to cut off access to Scott and his alts, they needed to do it 5 minutes ago and they needed to tighten things up. He knew how to do it, and he was happy to help. There was only one SUGAR director online. He was unsure of how to best resolve the Scott situation, so he called up the CEO on his cell. The CEO and director huddled up and agreed that their best FC was the man to fix it. They gave director roles to a spy who’d been in corp less than 3 months. During a war. A war against HAWKS and HK.
SUGAR members woke up the morning of Sunday April 14^th, logged on, and discovered that every one of the structures in their home hole had been transferred to an HK holding corp. Their implant sets were all gone. Every single one. They were unable to dock. Most of their combat pilots were not even in their home hole. What was in the SUGAR home was a massive HAWKS coalition fleet.
And NOVAC was in it.

Stay on the Sidelines and You Will Burn

SYNDE’s diplomatic efforts had been widespread for the months leading up to the Wormhole War. They had enlisted the support of both large wormhole groups and small in building their expansive anti-HAWKS coalition. Two of the biggest pvp groups in wormhole space had consistently declined their overtures: LUPUS and NOVAC. Strong, independent, brawling groups, they did not like HAWKS, but they also didn’t like SYNDE. In proper cartel fashion, they were not interested in helping either of those groups achieve more power or territory. Truth be told they wanted both sides to lose. Better to remain neutral and pick the best course at a later time.
SYNDE did not push much until the first two weeks of the war. During that first week of burning HAWKS farms, according to SYNDE lead Cyrus Kurush, 16 or 17 C6 farms were transferred from HAWKS to NOVAC. LUPUS was the beneficiary of a smaller number of HAWKS farms. It was clear that under the weight of the broad offensive, many HAWKS members had opted to sell their farms to neutral wormhole groups. In most cases, it was HAWKS members selling farms to long-term EVE friends in other wormhole groups.
Cyrus Kurush was livid. He had already earmarked every HAWKS C6, and now many of them seemed to be passing out of the war and into the hands of neutrals who continued to refuse to join his coalition. He directed his lead diplo Zelvig to reengage with NOVAC and clearly relay his message. Zelvig did so, informing NOVAC of two key things: one, further receipt of any HAWKS farm would be viewed as an act of war, and two, while NOVAC was welcome to remain a friendly neutral during this early part of the campaign, the C6s they had already received from HAWKS should be seen as being held in trust for the wormhole community. Following the now-inevitable HAWKS eviction and removal from high class space, NOVAC would have to settle their farm accounts with SYNDE. With his customary enthusiasm, Zelvig gave NOVAC a timeline for their decision to join the coalition: as soon as the last HAWKS C6 farm fell, SYNDE would turn to the NOVAC C6s unless they had already joined. Zelvig estimated that gave NOVAC 2 or 3 more weeks to make a decision.
NOVAC made their decision that night, informing HAWKS leadership that they would be joining the HAWKS side. They asked only that they have a week to get their group organized and prepared. At the end of that week, NOVAC joined HAWKS, HK, Voidlings, and 418 in infiltrating a Vulture fleet into SUGAR’s home hole.

Sugar Free: J104037 Bleeds and Falls

Two things happened from the jump: HAWKS took and held hole control in SUGAR’s home hole while infiltrating additional pilots, and SYNDE pinged hard to get their coalition members to consolidate in Waffle House, the C6 hole that they had made their staging at the start of the war. It was chosen due to its C6 static, which permitted SYNDE to roll into HAWKS C6 farms and reinforce then destroy them at will.
With the HAWKS fleet swelling in numbers with NOVAC’s addition to their alliance, they openly docked in SUGAR’s citadels – now owned by HK. SUGAR members could only watch in horror as the citadel showed more and more reds docking in their fortizar.
SYNDE began rage-rolling in earnest, hoping to connect to SUGAR’s home. Cyrus Kurush was eager to test the new coalition Cyclone Fleet Issue doctrine they had theorycrafted to counter the HAWKS Vuilture doctrine. He preferred their blaster Megathron Navy Issue doctrine, but that had proven ill-suited to deal with the Vultures in the earlier brawl in the HK staging C6.
As would happen often throughout this campaign, luck favored the bold. SYNDE rolled into SUGAR’s home at a high point for SYNDE fleet participation. SYNDE immediately jumped sabres into system and fully bubbled their “in” hole, giving them the time they needed to warp their entire fleet to the hole. They avoided a repeat of the prior fight where they were unable to get their entire fleet in due to poor hole control. The full SYNDE fleet jumped through the hole, rolling it as they sent in the full 3b+ in ship mass. All told, over 150 Cyclone Fleet Issues flooded into the SUGAR home, along with support. The HAWKS fleet undocked to reports of 20 dreads on dscan as the SYNDE fleet warped to the (former) SUGAR main fortizar. SUGAR members had logged on the caps they were still able to pilot – some undocked from that forts, others from deep safes in system. As the CFI fleet connected with the increasing dread bomb, siege modules were engaged and the battle was joined.
The fight was a back and forth affair for a short period before some aggressive FCing by the HAWKS/HK/NOVAC FC team forced the SYNDE fleet to extract. At that point, a dynamic unique to wormhole combat emerged. SYNDE, realizing they could not win on grid, focused on extracting as many SUGAR capitals as possible. They would scan the new static C5 connection – as would HAWKS – and then each would race subcap fleets to that new hole and contest it. If SYNDE was able to get there first and keep the hole clear of sabre bubbles, SUGAR would warp their capitals to that hole and jump 3 of them out. That would kill the hole, causing a new static wormhole to appear one minute later where the two sides could repeat the process. With each new static wormhole, SYNDE continued to feed ships and lose combat capability.
A highly comedic situation occurred on one such hole. HAWKS warped their lone rolling carrier to it blind. In so doing, they hoped to be able to jump the carrier and briefly assert hole control – preventing more than one SUGAR cap from getting out, and also giving the HAWKS fleet time to tackle the others. The carrier landed right after the SUGAR caps did – but in a critical communication gap, the SUGAR caps did not know which 3 were supposed to leave on this hole. SYNDE sabres bubbled up, but the carrier was already on the wormhole. It jumped the hole with its prop on. A clamor erupted on SYNDE comms as they awaited guidance about which cap, if any, should leave. The HAWKS rolling carrier burned untouched back to the hole on the other side. A SUGAR Moros Navy Issue, frustrated at the indecision, jumped anyway. Most of the time, that would have rolled the wormhole, trapping the Moros Navy and rolling carrier on the other side. Luckily for the HAWKS carrier, it was a high-mass hole. The wormhole went critical but did not close. The HAWKS rolling carrier jumped back.
The Moros Navy had extracted, but the remaining SUGAR caps were now sitting around the now-dead hole’s bookmark. Many began burning away and out of the bubbles from the SYNDE sabres who had tried to protect that hole. SYNDE FC Cyrus Kurush ordered his sabres to get off the hole and stop bubbling their dreads, and they did. Forgotten in the chaos and indecision, the HAWKS rolling carrier decloaked, aligned out, cycled prop and initiated wrap. It was immediately primaried by both dreads and the SYNDE CFI fleet. Chaotic calls to bubble the carrier were met with hesitation as those same sabres had only recently been told not to bubble. The carrier entered warp as the bubbles were deployed. The carrier pilot shared this video of the bold carrier roll and escape. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDgzA8J6j44&t
The carrier escape from a heavily bubbled grid marked the final turning point in the SYNDE extraction efforts. HAWKS sabres flooded the grid, tackling most of the SUGAR caps. After more fighting, the SYNDE coalition CFIs extracted from the grid, leaving the caps to their fate. As the caps began exploding and with the HAWKS fleet committed to their destruction, the SYNDE subcap fleet left via the new static.
The final totals for that fight were 48b lost by the HAWKS side, 144b lost by the SYNDE coalition side. https://br.evetools.org/b6633f295132a2a0012c77eb6
SUGAR had extracted 4 dreads, but at a heavy price.

Blue Balls and Explosions

With the clock ticking on the armor and hull timers of the SUGAR structures, SYNDE tried to reset in their C6 staging. Again, they pinged for their coalition to reassemble in that system. Again, they began rolling. That process continued for many hours.
The following day, on April 15^th, SYNDE would roll into the SUGAR home not once but twice. Both times, SYNDE only had a partial CFI fleet docked in their fortizar while the HAWKS side maintained a full Vulture fleet ready to undock on a moment’s notice. The HAWKS, HK and NOVAC leadership team knew that this was a critical moment in the campaign, and every effort was made to complete the SUGAR eviction.
SYNDE rolled into SUGAR’s home twice on April 15^th. And they immediately rolled the connection both times.
SYNDE lead Cyrus Kurush was personally scanning and rolling. He knew exactly what HAWKS had on hand, knew he could not contest for hole control, and just rolled the connection off quietly. Twice.
Cyrus Kurush knew that the integrity of his coalition required him to make every effort to save a key member’s home hole – but he was also very frustrated by SUGAR’s lack of readiness to defend their home. He had expected a lot more caps, more ships, more support. He felt he had beaten the HAWKS fleet in that large initial brawl, and had been let down by SUGAR. He did not want to risk sacrificing another major loss for a group that could not stand on their own two feet.

The Initiative to Regain the Initiative

The SUGAR Fortizar hull timers were on Tuesday, April 16^th.
A key early-war HAWKS ally, a small EUTZ pvp group called Czarna-Kompania, had infiltrated two dreads overnight. Two other groups had brought in one each. That dread force would give HAWKS the flexibility of hitting concurrent hull timers. There were multiple structures that needed to get hit over a two hour period. The dreads would let the HAWKS side bash those citadels while also keeping their subcap fleet free to fight for and maintain hole control if at all possible.
Hours before those timers, disaster struck the HAWKS effort. An A009 wormhole connection popped into the SUGAR home.
For an eviction, the worst possible wormhole connection is an A009 wormhole. It is a 16-hour frigate-sized wormhole that connects to a shattered wormhole that will also have a number of frig holes connecting outward to kspace systems. Frig holes cannot be rolled.
This meant that for the time leading up to the critical hull timers, there would be an unrollable hole into the eviction target, into SUGAR’s home.
By this time, it was clear to all involved parties that SYNDE had a close partnership with the Initiative. Although this was fraying some of the wormhole groups in the coalition, it still afforded SYNDE a chance to salvage the situation. SYNDE lead Cyrus Kurush formed an attack plan with Initiative leadership. During the hours immediately prior to the hull timers, SYNDE would assemble a heavy fleet in their staging, and rage roll for the SUGAR home. The Initiative would form a full bomber fleet, and travel to the C13 shattered wormhole. The second that SYNDE rolled in, they would execute a lethal 3-pronged attack: the SYNDE fleet would explode into the SUGAR home, all remaining SUGAR capitals and subcapitals would undock, and the Initiative bomber fleet would jump the A009. They would time those 3 critical elements based on the location, strength and composition of the HAWKS fleet. It was a good plan. If they could connect those three prongs, they would have 3 times the number that HAWKS could muster. Pings went out and the fleets assembled. Init travelled with a 300 bomber fleet to the shattered hole. SYNDE began rage rolling. About 50 SUGAR pilots sat on logon screen and waited on SYNDE comms.
HAWKS was aware of all of the above. HAWKS, working closely with HK and NOVAC strategists, devised a counter for the two concerning prongs. The SYNDE rolling threat had two counters. Within the SYNDE staging, there was a small fleet of yachts and a seeded, cloaked rolling carrier. In the SUGAR home, another rolling carrier sat ready to suicide roll if needed. Should SYNDE warp their fleet from the fort to a new wormhole, HAWKS was prepared to simultaneously warp both carrier and yachts to that same hole. They were confident they could stop the majority of the SYNDE fleet from making it through the wormhole.
The real threat was the Initiative, and that damned frig hole. HAWKS placed three sniping fleets around the wormhole and dropped a massive number of anchorable bubbles around it. On the hole itself were a mixture of smartbombing battleships and suicide dictors, each orbiting patiently. When the report came of the 300 Initiative bombers entering the shattered hole on the other side, the HAWKS team was ready and waiting.
The Initiative FC team, with a scout already in SUGAR staging, saw all of this. War-seasoned FCs, there was no scenario where they were jumping their bombers into that future charnal house. Unless SYNDE could pull those fleets away from the hole, it was an impossible standoff. The HAWKS battlecruiser fleet could not jump the hole. The Initiative bombers would not jump the hole. The Initiative bombers sat there and waited for SYNDE to roll in.
Meanwhile, in SUGAR staging, citadels came out of reinforce for hull timers and the allied dreads went to work. And everyone else waited. The SYNDE fleet waited on their fort while their FC rage rolled. The Initiative fleet waited in the shattered. The HAWKS alliance fleet waited on the other side of the shattered. One by one, the citadels began blowing up.
The SYNDE fleet stood down. The Initiative left the shattered wormhole and headed back to Fountain. SYNDE had gotten the full Nullsec batphone allied response, but been unable to take advantage of it.
Unconfirmable reports are that the HAWKS alliance looted nearly 200b from the various structures, including a large number of capital ships, on top of the 150b+ exploded. https://br.evetools.org/b661f2a2eddb48200112d82c5 (The three “friendly” caps that were destroyed were looted SUGAR caps that the allies decided to blow up rather than keep and exfiltrate from the hole.)
Some SUGAR members would still try to participate, but SUGAR was done as a fighting unit in the Wormhole War.
The next part will focus on what would become the most important battlefield in the either war – Waffle House, the SYNDE coalition staging C6.

$1 pwe,$5 bmwt unless specified in Excel. Lmk if you need closeups. Sticking to wantlist and paypal ff for now. Also need Yu-Nagaba eeveelutions. Cheers
Random Lot: https://imgur.com/a/bADsCcu ($10 ff, free bmwt. All LP-NM)
Raw Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/sSOD35t (Salamence gone.)

• Muk ex NM closeups: https://imgur.com/a/oh4PgAe

Prices/Conditions/151: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vAgzAkueaqGi2OZRT3VRXqpU91j_QOz9GMsjMsg5Gpk/edit#gid=716809273
Wantlist (MP-LP vintage, NM Modern): https://www.tcgcollector.com/cards/intl?cardSource=inWishlist&releaseDateOrder=oldToNew&cardsPerPage=120&displayAs=images&viewUser=BlerpDerpSkerp

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• SEO: I have knowledge of search engine optimization techniques to help improve your website's visibility.
• Technical and Customer Support: I can assist your customers with technical issues or general inquiries.
• Dropshipping Knowledge: I am familiar with dropshipping and can help you manage your dropshipping business.
• Any other work: If you have any other tasks not mentioned above, feel free to discuss them with me.

Here is a list of software I am proficient in:

• Shopify, Aliexpress, Oberlo: I can assist you with managing your online store, product sourcing, and order fulfillment.
• Zendesk: I can efficiently handle customer support tickets and provide excellent service.
• WordPress, WooCommerce: I have experience in managing WordPress websites and setting up online stores using WooCommerce.
• Slack, Skype: I am comfortable using these communication tools to collaborate with you and your team.
• Word, Excel: I can create and edit documents, spreadsheets, and reports using these Microsoft Office tools.
• Google Docs, Sheets: I am familiar with Google's productivity suite and can work on documents and spreadsheets online.
• Asana, Harvest: I can use these project management tools to stay organized and track tasks.
• Zopim: I have experience using Zopim live chat software to provide real-time support.

Thank you, and I look forward to working with you!

Hello there! I am a remote worker offering my services as a Virtual Assistant. With my skills and experience, I can assist you with various tasks to lighten your workload. Here is a list of tasks I can help you with:

• Data entry: I can efficiently handle data entry tasks, ensuring accuracy and attention to detail.
• Transcribing: I am proficient in transcribing audio and video files into written documents.
• Translating (English <-> Spanish): I am fluent in both English and Spanish and can assist with translations between these languages.
• QA Testing: I have experience in quality assurance testing to help ensure your products or services meet high standards.
• Social Media Management: I can manage your social media accounts, create content, schedule posts, and engage with your audience.
• Email Management: I can handle your email correspondence, organize your inbox, and respond to inquiries.
• Live Chat Support: I am skilled in providing real-time customer support through live chat platforms.
• Web Research: I can conduct thorough research on various topics and provide you with well-organized summaries.
• SEO: I have knowledge of search engine optimization techniques to help improve your website's visibility.
• Technical and Customer Support: I can assist your customers with technical issues or general inquiries.
• Dropshipping Knowledge: I am familiar with dropshipping and can help you manage your dropshipping business.
• Any other work: If you have any other tasks not mentioned above, feel free to discuss them with me.

Here is a list of software I am proficient in:

• Shopify, Aliexpress, Oberlo: I can assist you with managing your online store, product sourcing, and order fulfillment.
• Zendesk: I can efficiently handle customer support tickets and provide excellent service.
• WordPress, WooCommerce: I have experience in managing WordPress websites and setting up online stores using WooCommerce.
• Slack, Skype: I am comfortable using these communication tools to collaborate with you and your team.
• Word, Excel: I can create and edit documents, spreadsheets, and reports using these Microsoft Office tools.
• Google Docs, Sheets: I am familiar with Google's productivity suite and can work on documents and spreadsheets online.
• Asana, Harvest: I can use these project management tools to stay organized and track tasks.
• Zopim: I have experience using Zopim live chat software to provide real-time support.

Thank you, and I look forward to working with you!