I recently started using Opera for gaming.
Lately, when I sign-in I've noticed some strange locations appearing on the security for things like gmail and other services I use. Is that a normal function of the Opera browser to show other places around the country when I log on using Opera if the VPN is on?
Please forgive my ignorance, I am new to using the Opera browser, and I want to make sure it's the VPN on the browser that's showing me sign in from different locations and not that I've been hacked or something.
I've seen a bunch of log-ins from Chicago and Maryland. I haven't been to either state in a number of years.
I did try to do a google search on this and couldn't really find an answer concerning my question.
I apologize in advance If this is a dumb question on my part.

For thousands of years, and to this day, Christians of various kinds have tried to demonstrate the truth of Christianity by claiming that Jesus was prophesied about specifically in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is argued that Jesus fulfilled these prophecies about the Messiah in the OT and, therefore, is the promised one. Only Jesus could've fulfilled these Messianic prophecies, so they say. Additionally, Christian theology, building off the NT paradigm of quoting the OT, has claimed that the OT looks forward to the founding of Christianity and the formation of the Church.
What this post will argue is that this is anachronistic and that Christians are incorrect in their claims about the OT. The OT prophets do not look forward to a supposed Messiah figure who would arrive hundreds of years later in 1st century Roman Palestine or that this Messiah figure would crucified and raised from the dead. Nor do they prophesy the establishment of the Christian religion. Instead, the OT looks forward to an imminent, glorious, material restoration of ancient Israel meant to happen in their day, not centuries later when Christianity was founded. Nor is the OT looking forward to supposed events that have yet to happen, like the second coming of Jesus or a future restoration of the land of Israel. These were supposed to happen in ancient Israel but did not occur.
Before I begin, I would like to say that this is the consensus of biblical scholars and historians. This is not just my opinion or the opinion of secular skeptics. All critical scholars of the OT, including Jews, Christians, and non-religious ones, agree that OT needs to be understood in its ancient Israelite context. They agree that these texts and oracles are not about Jesus or the Church. If you want to read an excellent scholarly resource, I highly recommend John J. Collins, Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, 2018. He is a leading OT scholar at Yale and a Roman Catholic. The New Oxford Annotated Study Bible is also a beneficial resource, giving a critical scholarly introduction and notes to the Hebrew Bible.
For this post, I will look at some of the principal prophetic literature of the OT. I cannot analyze every single relevant passage.

Isaiah

The Book of Isaiah is among the most popular books in ancient Judaism and Christianity. I could be wrong, but I believe it is the most cited book in the NT after Psalms. This is relevant to this discussion because Christians cite many passages in Isaiah, believing them to be predictions about Jesus. This precedent is set in the NT, for example, in Matthew's or Luke's gospel. However, Jesus/Christianity is not prophesied in the book. Instead, Isaiah predicts the imminent restoration of the Kingdom of Israel and the gathering of the twelve tribes.
Let's examine Isaiah 7:14, a passage often misconstrued as a prophecy about Jesus. In reality, it's not a prophecy about the Messiah at all. The passage states, 'Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.' This is not about a virgin giving a miraculous birth. The word used here is 'almah ', which simply means young woman. If Isaiah intended to convey that this woman was a virgin, there was a word for that, 'betulah '. Matthew's use of the Greek translation of Isaiah 7:14, which is a mistranslation of the Hebrew, as a prophecy about Jesus's virgin birth is a misinterpretation. The context of Isaiah 7 is an oracle of consolation given to King Ahaz, promising him a sign through the birth of a son that Jerusalem will be preserved from the Assyrian crisis.
'For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria. On that day the Lord will whistle for the fly that is at the sources of the streams of Egypt and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines and in the clefts of the rocks and on all the thornbushes and on all the watering holes. On that day the Lord will shave with a razor hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will take off the beard as well.'
So, Isaiah 7:14 refers to the Assyrian crisis in the 8th century BCE and the preservation of Jerusalem, not events that occurred hundreds of years later. Matthew's misquotation of the OT is a clear example of misinterpretation. It's quite ironic and even amusing that the most famous and well-known prophecy about Jesus's virgin birth, cited every year at Christmas, is quite literally not about that. This highlights the importance of understanding the historical context and the original intent of the texts.
There is a cluster of oracles in Isaiah 9-11 that Christians cite as a prophecy about Jesus. But when we look at the context of Isaiah 7-12, we see that these are about the restoration of Zion and the re-establishment of a Davidic king who would rule in the ancient Near East in Israel, not in 1st-century Judea.
Let's look at some of the famous passages.
'For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders, and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Great will be his authority, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.' 9:6-7
This is not a prophecy about Jesus. The text presupposes that this son is already born and will fulfill this vision in Isaiah's day. Again, the passages surrounding this one set the historical context for fulfillment in the ANE. This Davidic King would preside over the physical restoration of a united Kingdom of Israel and the unification of the twelve tribes.
'On that day, the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no longer lean on the one who struck them but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. For though your people, O Israel, were like the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return.' 10:20-22
'On that day, the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious. On that day, the Lord will again raise his hand to recover the remnant that is left of his people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.' 11:10-11
The King, through Yahweh, on that day will also,
'raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the outcasts of Israel and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. ¹³ The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart; the hostility of Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not be hostile toward Ephraim. ¹⁴ But they shall swoop down on the backs of the Philistines in the west; together, they shall plunder the people of the east. They shall put forth their hand against Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites shall obey them.'
So, it's clear what these oracles were intending to describe. Isaiah predicted that after the Assyrian crisis of the 8th century BCE, Yahweh would raise up a Davidic ruler who would preside over a literal Israelite Kingdom that would become the dominant power of the ANE. This was expected to happen in the ancient world, but it did not occur. The historical context of Jesus and the first-century Church is not the fulfillment of these oracles. These oracles are failed. Isaiah's vision of an eternal, glorious Israelite Kingdom did not come to pass.

Jeremiah

There are two passages in Jeremiah I would like to discuss.
Jeremiah 29:10 promises that after 70 years, the Jews will return from the Babylonian exile, and God will restore Israel to its former glory.
'For thus says the Lord: Only when Babylon’s seventy years are completed will I visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then, when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.'
This never happened historically. Yes, some of the Judeans in exile did return to Israel. Israel was rebuilt with the help of the Persians. But, this was not the glorious restoration predicted by the prophets. Israel would continue to be dominated by foreign powers until the establishment of the secular state of Israel in 1948, which, of course, has no relevance to this ancient oracle. Further, while some Judeans did return, this promise of a gathering of Jews from all the nations did not happen. After the Assyrian and Babylonian conquests, Jews have remained permanently dispersed in the diaspora. This is another failed oracle. It cannot be interpreted exegetically as being fulfilled in the 1st century with Jesus and Christianity.
More famously, however, is Jeremiah's prediction of the establishment of a 'New Covenant.' (31:31) Christians see this New Covenant as being fulfilled in the Church, and indeed, the New Testament frequently refers to the New Covenant being fulfilled in the Christian community and Jesus's work. However, the historical context of this passage is surrounded by a cluster of oracles in chapters 30-31 that were meant to be a consolation to ancient Israel. The passage itself is clear that this is not talking about Christianity or events hundreds of years later, but is a word of consolation to Jews who experienced the Babylonian conquest:
'The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.' 31:31
What is the context?
'At that time, says the Lord, I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.' 31:1
'The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when the city shall be rebuilt for the Lord from the tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. And the measuring line shall go out farther, straight to the hill Gareb, and shall then turn to Goah. The whole valley of the dead bodies and the ashes and all the fields as far as the Wadi Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be sacred to the Lord. It shall never again be uprooted or overthrown.' 31:38-40
'For the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the Lord, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their ancestors, and they shall take possession of it' 30:3
Then, it is clear what prophesy about the New Covenant means. It's about the imminent restoration of the ancient Kingdom of Israel and its ascent into power and glory. Again, these oracles remained unfulfilled and precisely falsified.

Micah

There is one famous passage in Micah 5, quoted in Matthew and frequently cited by Christians as "proof" that Jesus's birth location was prophesied about hundreds of years prior. The idea that Jesus was born in Bethlehem is, of course, historically dubious. Matthew and Luke's accounts are contradictory and rife with historical problems. Mark and John assume Jesus has always been a native of Nazareth (Mk 6:2-3, Jn 1:46, 7:42). It seems then that Matthew and Luke invented their passages about Jesus being born in Bethlehem to give him more Davidic status. But this is beside the point, even if Jesus was born in Bethlehem. It is not a fulfillment of this passage.
'But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who is one of the little clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days.' 5:2
What is the historical context of this oracle? Again, the context of the chapter and the book is Israel's restoration and the Israelite kingdom's imminent establishment.
'Then, the remnant of Jacob, surrounded by many peoples, shall be like dew from the Lord, like showers on the grass, which do not depend upon people or wait for any mortal. ⁸ And among the nations the remnant of Jacob, surrounded by many peoples, shall be like a lion among the animals of the forest, like a young lion among the flocks of sheep, which, when it goes through, treads down and tears in pieces, with no one to deliver. ⁹ Your hand shall be lifted up over your adversaries, and all your enemies shall be cut off.'
On that day, says the Lord, I will cut off your horses from among you and will destroy your chariots; ¹¹ and I will cut off the cities of your land and destroy all your strongholds; ¹² and I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more soothsayers; ¹³ and I will cut off your images and your pillars from among you, and you shall bow down no more to the work of your hands; ¹⁴ and I will uproot your sacred poles^\)^g\) from among you and destroy your towns. ¹⁵ And in anger and wrath I will execute vengeance on the nations that did not obey.
What about this future King? Again, I find it amusing that Christians cite this text to show that Jesus fulfilled it. It shows they have not read and understood the historical context of the oracle. The text goes on to say that this King will conquer the land of Assyria, the land of Nimrod.
Micah 5:5–6
'When the Assyrians come into our land and tread upon our soil, we will raise against them seven shepherds and eight rulers. They shall rule the land of Assyria with the sword and the land of Nimrod with the drawn sword; he shall rescue us from the Assyrians if they come into our land or tread within our border.'

Conclusion

I've, of course, been very selective. There are many more examples of this that could've been pulled from. I hope you will see what I've briefly tried to show. The Prophets of the OT predicted that in their own time, they would see the salvation of Yahweh as their God. A Davidic King would be raised, and Israel would be restored to glory after the Assyrian crisis in the case of Isaiah or the Babylonian crisis in the case of Jeremiah and Micah. The same goes for the other prophets. My thesis, then, is that historically understood, not only did these oracles fail in their prediction, but they are demonstrably not about events in 1st century Roman Palestine or the wider Greco-Roman world. They're not about establishing the Church or a dying and rising messiah figure who brings spiritual salvation. Yes, the NT does interpret passages in the OT as being fulfilled in Jesus. But they are taken out of their historical context. The NT and early Christians were not novel in this practice. This was standard Jewish exegesis of the OT. Because Christians and Jews believed that the OT writings were sacred scripture that couldn't be wrong, they reinterpreted them in the light of their situations. The Essenes at Qumran, like the early Christians, also thought that their community and Teacher of Righteousness was the fulfillment of the bible prophecy, and the Rabbis in the Rabbinic literature frequently apply ancient scripture to their community.

After the great scattering and the unification of Terra and the Sol system. The Emperor ventured out to conquer the galaxy and search for his Primarchs. During this great crusade many Primarchs were found, and despite some setbacks, reunited with their legions. His Primarchs were tasked with the further unification and subjugation of the fragmented remnants of humanity throughout the stars. In this they were told to keep a lookout for their fellow creations. Some Primarchs like Vulkania, Hathor and Sanguinia were devoting great efforts to find and rescue their lost Sisters while the more coldly pragmatic ones like Ferra, Perturaba and Ellanor treated this task as more of a chore with the expectation of unearthing a new weapon for the war effort. So in Year 888 of M 30 of the imperial standard calendar the blood angels legion and their primarch Sanguinia were carrying out the expansion efforts in the borderzone of the growing ultramar exclave. As it happened they came across a civilized human world, that its residence called Nuceria. Sanguinia, ever the charming diplomat, had first contact messages sent out on all possible vox channels and frequencies and even utilizing communication methods from the dark age of technologie in hopes of reaching the planetary authorities. After managing to establish a reliable method of communication she scheduled plans to send an envoy for a planetary landing and subsequent negotiations about the integration into the imperium. As they were loading up the landing crafts with gifts and weapons and diplomats and space marines, Sanguinia was walking across the main hangar bay of the Red Tear. Looking left and right over all the busy people, her wings swaying in the breeze of the air conditioning. At the end of the hangar hall she saw admiral Ares DuCade hurrying towards her with his entourage. She took a moment to stand still and look at him coming, her moment of peace would soon be over.
“There you are my lord, I have been looking for you all morning! You weren’t on the flight deck, you weren’t on the command deck nor on the Bridge nor in your personal quarters and not even on the observation deck could I find you. Landing group alpha primus were worried to terra and back, that their main asset wouldn’t show up in time for take off. First officer Morel almost cried at the thought of having lost a Primarch! Just what in the Imperiums name has possessed you to roam the lower bowes of the ship!” Sanguinia smiled and laughed: “Oh I just wanted to ensure that the ensins and marines of objective group two and three were well rested. I know they don’t mind doing the less glamorous security work but I don’t want them to feel left out just because they couldn’t take part in the parade today.” DuCarde sighed: “Please at least tell your personal security detail before going on such an unscheduled escapade”. He looked at his Primarch, then blushed and looked away. “But thank you for caring about the men”, he couldn’t stay mad at her, not with that smile. “Well then, let us proceed, before we cause a delay, If we go now we should just about make it in time”, Sanguinia winked at him and led the way.
As predicted the transport shuttles departed just in time and the descent to Nuceria was smooth and without issue. Group primus would head down towards the capitol and land just outside in a spectacular flight show before parading into the city where they would engage in the negotiations. Sanguinia knew the importance of making powerful and benevolent first impressions. Group secundus and tertius would make a less impressive descent and position themselves near the military, logistics and communications centers, just in case the talks went sour or the planetary authority would try to pull a fast one on the Legion. But so far everything went to plan, they were almost at the main square, their diplomats had engaged the planetary politicians and even though her personal honor guard was tense, looking for danger around every corner, Sanguinia made a calm and relaxed impression. She had to make a conscious effort for this impression but she knew as soon as this was done she could return to her beloved little dove and spend with them the time that was otherwise allocated for the conquest of this planet. The Desh’ean nobility welcomed Sanguinia and one man stepped forward and introduced himself as lord Thal’kr, leader of the ruling clan. His pompous attitude suggested he saw himself as an equal to Sanguinia, from one lord to another, this was a nuisance that she would just have to deal with. Usually putting pretentious mortals in their place wasn’t an issue for any primarch and she could do it tactfully too, but something about this seemed to give the red angel a headache. Regardless they followed the planetary customs to the necessary degree and were soon invited to a spectacle in the colosseum. Sanguinia, her honor guard, her remembrancer and various other guests were placed in the royal lounge with servants, wine and a grandiose view over the arena. While she was half heartedly listening to the japping of lord Thal’kr her gaze glanced over the rest of the stadium. It was packed. Bread and games seemed to keep the populous obedient. Her headache was still not going away. It was a weird feeling, not even her prescience would allow her to divine what it was. She tried to direct her focus back to what the noble was saying. “...So anyway we have this great gladiator, basically a giant, and the best part is, She’s basically indestructible. Any wound and any torment we inflict on her she recovers from. The populus loves her, especially when we have her fight great beasts like mammoths and nucerian mountain lions. But personally I think her best performance was when we had her fight alongside her adoptive father in an impossible fight, and then when they survived, we told them to kill each other! HAHAHAHA.” The laughter of the fat, opulent tyrant made Sanguinia want to cringe and turn away, but something told her to pay attention. Sanguinia became envious of her bodyguards, for they had helmets behind which they could hide their disgust. This man's ruling ethics could not have been further apart from her own. She tries to distract herself by looking at the faces of the other attendance. To her dismay the only other local that seemed to find anything wrong with this story was a young mortal standing by the balcony and holding a bouquet of flowers. Lord Thal’kr seemed to notice. "Oh? Do you fancy the little one? They are one of my Children. I’ll introduce you.” He turned and called out: “Hei Yarrow come here and give the nice lady the courtesy will you?” The young mortal hurried over, almost tripping over their light robes. They stood in front of the red angel and bowed deeply; clearly they had been raised to be polite and respectful in anticipation for a marriage alliance. “H-hello your highness my name is Yarrow, I’m blessed to meet you,” they blushed but stayed composed even in the presence of someone as intimidating as a primarch. “Come on little one be nice and subservient and maybe the lady will take you away and show you the stars beyond our world,” the tyrant laughed, “what were you doing over there by the balcony anyway? You weren’t thinking any bad thoughts about the gladiators again were you?” “Ah n-no father. Of course not.” “That’s still ‘my lord’ to you.” He shooed young Yarrow away. “Anyway, where was I? Ah yes, And then they thought they could be slick by refusing to fight each other, but we won’t be defied that easily, so we pumped her full of stimulants and had neural-anti cognitors placed in her head. Oh you should’ve seen her then, ripped her father apart like a squealing rabbit. And how she cried afterwards, like a little bitch. Oh what wouldn’t I give to hear that again.” Another noble chimed in:”But what about the time we made her fight her lover?” “Who do you mean?” The tyrant asked. “Gladiolus the beautiful but fearsome young Gladiator,” the noble replied. “Ah yeah HAHA. Well not so fearsome in the end were they?” Lord Thal’kr laughed again. “You have to know, when we learned about their relationship, they had apparently gotten close after the death of her father, we brought the two into the arena. They thought they would be fighting beasts but in reality they would have to fight each other. We gave her just enough time to realize her predicament before we pumped up the pressure on those anti-cognitors and turned her back into a wild savage animal. You should have seen them. Gladiolus pleaded with her to ‘snap out of it’ but she fell upon them and crushed their skull between her thighs like a watermelon. It was a delicious spectacle.” This man seemed to relish in the memory and just as Sanguinia contemplated if it was worth keeping him around he went: “Look! There She is. Child of the mountain, Mistress of the red sands along with our finest gladiators. Hail to those about to die!”
Sanguinia looked down into the arena and got hit with a wave of realization like an orbital bombardment. As she stared down she knew what the feeling was that had plagued her all day. It was this presence that she sensed and her prescience that had been screaming at her what her mind didn’t want to comprehend. But now it stood there below her, clear as day and no longer deniable. She thought no primarch could be more haggard than Morrigan and no such demigod could be more disheveled than Corvess. But she was wrong. Before her eyes stood, wrapped in chains, beaten and broken, her own flesh and blood. And as Angron looked up at the red angel standing at the parapet, all that Sanguinia could do was to close her mind to the visions of what was to come.
“You did WHAT to my Sister?!” The red angel spoke, dry and sharp, hair fell across her face and droplets of black blood fell on the parapet. “Well… we…”, before the tyrant could even speak she fell upon him. A massive hand clamped around his jaw and ripped it off. The guards reacted fast but the astarties reacted faster, thow they could not do much more than dispatch of the armed men before Azkellon ordered them to stand down. They looked over at their primarch who, in this brief moment, had already torn her way through seven other nobles with bare hands and was now about to reach her sword. Azkellon saw that the situation had turned most dire and knew he had to take charge. He turned on the vox:”all channels, situation’s fubar. Proceed with operational backup plan. Don’t go near mother, she is violent and unresponsive.” He then turned towards the brothers standing next to him and shouted: “Sanguinary guard evacuate the premises, ensure the retreat of all imperial non-combatants and most important of all: rescue that Primarch!” He pointed down into the arena, the lower levels of the stadium hadn’t yet realized what was happening, but sure enough there would be mass panic and a stampede. The Astarties split up and Azkellon along with his squad hopped down into the upper levels of the stadium. They did so just in time because the roof of the lodge began to buckle as the red angel cut through men and stone pillars as if they were straw. Azkellon cursed under his breath. He should have insisted on jump packs for this operation. It was no use now, they had to make their way down into the arena by foot, cut a way if necessary. When they were finally in the bottom rows the roof of the lodge above them collapsed and they heard an ear ringing scream: “HOW DARE YOU!” and “MY BABY SISTER!”. Clearly the primarch had finished massacring the major nobles in attendance and was now carving a bloody canyon through the minor ones. The stadium was now in full panik and mortals were scrambling over each other to get out of their own slaughterhouse. The Astarties hopped another fence down into the arena. A few bolter rounds dispatched of the remaining guards and Azkellon made his way over to the still restrained Angron. The next few words he spoke would be crucial to ensure the primarchs' cooperation; he had to choose them carefully and he had to choose them fast. “Mistress of the red sands, we are the angels of the Godemperor of mankind sent to aid you in your escape from this wretched place!” He prayed to Terra that she didn’t actually want to stay here. But to his relief Angron nodded and spoke:”My thanks. Get me out of these shackles, I can fight for myself.” Azkellon hurried to get out his multi-tool and got to work on the primarchs bindings. As he did so he looked her in the eyes and said: “it’s okay, you no longer need to fight for or by yourself.” Angron tried to stay stoic but he could see that the primarch was fighting to hold back tears. She looked as thow decades and decades of prayers prayed cold and lonely cells had finally been answered. When the shackles cracked and broke she turned away: ”They come with me”, she pointed to the other gladiators in the arena. “Very well”, Azkellon knew he couldn’t refuse her or the tenuous trust they had just built would be null and void. His squad freed the gladiators and they hurried out of the arena as Askellon ordered another thunderhawk for evacuation. As the last to leave the arena he looked back and saw the seating area had been filled with so much gore and viscera that blood began to spill over and run down the walls into the sand of the fighting pit. He made another vox call to the red tear and ordered them to get Dove on that thunderhawk along with as many tranquilizers as they could muster. They would need any help they could get if they wanted Sanguinia to calm down.
Angron led the astarties through the underbowels of the arena; clearly she knew her way around. However, that also meant that she chose a way that went past all the prison cells to free as many of the caged slaves, gladiators and animals as she could. Azkellon did not complain, he just wanted to get out of here. When they finally managed to leave the colosseum for good they stopped to take a brief respite. Angron turned to Azkellon and said: “I am grateful for your efforts but please, may I ask, you remove your helmet if you are able to, I’d like to see your face if you have one.” He did so and confirmed what he had felt for a while. Tears of black blood streamed down his cheeks and seeped out of his helmet. She looked shocked. “I’m sorry miss, this doesn’t usually happen, but our mother … your sister… it must be the deep connection we have with her that causes this.” Before he could apologize further for the undignified display, they saw a figure rise above the colosseum. The red angel had spread her bloodstained wings and was flying towards the ruling palace at the other end of the city. Over the vox the voice of the enraged primarch could be heard: “LET NONE LEAVE ALIVE! SHOOT ANY THAT ESCAPE THE CITY!” Azkellon had to quickly amend those orders to ensure that the slaves they rescued would survive. Then he voxed in with the other squad of sanguinary guard to get a status report on the evacuation of the imperial diplomats. Luckily they were almost out of the city and operational groups secundus and tertius hadn’t said anything so it was to be assumed that their part went to plan and there wouldn’t be any planetary reinforcements arriving in the city anytime soon. The squad tended to the malnourished slaves and wounded gladiators as best they could and then embarked on the safest possible route out of Desh’ea. The mortals would slow them down but leaving them behind wasn’t much of an option. Besides, mother had always reminded them that they were once mortal as well.
When they were about half way towards the extraction zone, they passed a squad of blood angel terminators carrying heavy equipment and escorting a young mortal. “Barbiel, is that you?” Azkellon shouted over to them. “Yes, great herald, we have the assets you requested.” “Good, the primarch went that way towards the palace. See if you can stop her madness. … Barbiel?" The crimson paladin seemed to stare off into the space behind him. But when Azkellon saw that it wasn’t just him but the other terminators and the young Dove as well he realized what it was. “This is primarch Angron Thal'kyr. we are escorting her to the thunderhawk for evacuation.” The terminators composed themselves, nodded and then hurried along.
And so passed another tense hour of walking through empty and abandoned streets while avoiding the panicking crowds. The hysteria had spread throughout the entire city and rightfully so. There wasn’t a gutter that didn’t have a trickle of blood running through it. Azkellon knew the power of the primarchs but he was still taken aback at how much carnage a single entity could cause. If there was a god of slaughter, he would surely smile this day.
When they reached the edges of the city Azkellon was relieved to hear the turbines of the thunderhawk. Angron stood still behind him, apparently needing a moment. Surely this was the first time she saw a spacecraft. “Where will this take us?” she asked. “Far away from this sight of misery,” he answered. It wasn’t untrue. “I’ll gladly go but first I need one more person to come with me,” she turned around and walked back towards the city, “I need my Yarrow, I need my desert flower, I cannot leave without them.” Azkellon was glad he had put his helmet back on, as he was certain all the color just drained from his face. He quickly voxed in with the terminator team asking if they had managed to calm down Sanguinia. Indeed they had somehow managed to stabilize her with a combination of Doves' kind words and enough tranquilizers to kill a horde of grox. Then He asked about the Tyrant's Child and after a moment of silence got the answer he did not want to expect. The red angel had slain the young mortal in her episode of unending rage. Azkellon thanked the emperor that he was the only one who could hear that answer. He told them to bring back the body of the slain Yarrow and tell Angron that they were killed by their father. He also stressed that they should ensure that no one ever finds out the truth, especially not Angron or any member of the war hounds legion.
When Angron heard news of the perishing of her second lover, she was inconsolable. She wept until they brought her the lifeless body and she wept over them the entire flight back, and she wept at the funeral when they let their corpse drift into the sun over Nuceria and she wept for several days after. These were a rough couple days despite the planetary conquest going off with very few issues. As Sanguinia read the report her legions apothecaries made about Angron and the butcher's nails in her head, she too fluctuated between rage and sorrow. She cradled and comforted her sister trying anything to lessen her pain. Finally she decided on the surgical removal of the butcher’s nails. When her apothecaries warned her of the dangers and the possibility of killing or stunting her sister, she almost tore one of their heads off shouting: “I’d rather have a brain dead sister than a suffering one.” Alas Sanguinia decided to perform the procedure herself. Her apothecaries suggested returning to nearby Ultramar to take advantage of their medical facilities, but Sanguinia denied them for she could not bear to see her Sister in agony for a single second longer.
Preparations were made and when the day of the surgery came all the medical staff of the red tear that could attend, did so. Even the ones who weren’t required sat in the amphitheater and watched the tense procedure. Sanguinia walked onto the operating floor covered in sterile white robes and a surgical mask over her face. Even her wings were covered in sterile white bindings. They would not remain white for long. Angron was rolled in and placed upon the operating table. Sanguinia looked at the sedated and still body of her sister; she was only covered in a ghostly thin sheet. “Father give me strength”, she muttered under her breath. A dozen astarties and two dozen mortal doctors huddled around the two. One of them handed Sanguinia a custom made pair of operating gloves. She dawned them, flicked them to ensure they sat tight and spoke: “let us begin”. A mortal brought her the scalpel. ‘This shall be the blade I wield today’, She thought to herself.
The surgery was long and arduous; it took three whole days before it was over. By the end Sanquinia was exhausted, she had to focus on making perfect nanometer cuts while simultaneously concentrating on using her prescience to ensure the best possible outcome. She slumped into a chair; her otherwise perfect hair was sweaty and messy. When a doctor came in to tell her that Angron's vital signs read normal, her exhausted face managed to curl into a mellow smile. Dove wanted to comfort her after all the work she did, but she only allowed it for a moment. For Sanguinia knew that her sister would soon awake and she needed to be there. When Angron awoke and looked into her sister's eyes she smiled, feeling as if she had awoken from the nightmare that was her life on Nuceria. But when she saw Dove standing by her sister's side she broke into tears, for she remembered. She remembered not only how she lost Yarrow but she remembered how she lost Gladiolus too. The butcher's nails prevent memories from being formed while in a state of rage but that is only effective in normal men. Angron's nails had prevented her from remembering how she murdered her father and crushed her lover in the arena but now she saw it again, clear as day. She wept and wailed in the arms of her sister, soaking her hair and wings in tears.
The pain of the nails was gone but the pain of the past was one that could not be lifted. Angron engaged with her sister, for Sanguinia managed to take her mind off of the grief she still felt. But this would not last long, for soon the Conqueror arrived carrying the war hounds legion, forcing the two sisters to separate. After this Angron fell into a deep deep depression. Ordered to lead men she barely even knew and on board of a ship she found to be unfamiliar, Angron felt even more alone than in the slave pits of Nuceria. Not even the slaves she rescued were there to accompany her for she had sent them away to a paradise world, far away so they may never again be forced to fight. Angron was alone again, she was frightened again and most of all: she was in a cage again. She locked herself in her chambers, where she sank deeper and deeper into grief and sorrow. When her marines came and tried to talk to her she lashed out in desperation, killing more than a few. Even though the nails were removed, she still felt like she was only here to endure a life of suffering and torment.

I know back in 2008 he warned everyone (with peace and love) that he wouldn't be signing anymore fan mail, and if you sent in something to be signed he would toss it. But does he throw out ALL fan mail? Like if you just wanted to write him a letter telling him he was your favorite Beatle, or that he inspired you to start playing drums, is it possible Ringo would at least read it?

Hey guys, I need to multiply two fixed point Q2.9 numbers in 2's complement. I understand that in 2's complement multiplication, I need to extend the sign of the operands till 2n (in this case 24 bits), and my result should be the lower 24 bits of the product. But since my inputs represent fixed point format my output should have 23 bits. Will I get the correct result if I truncate my product value to 23 bits? Are there any edge cases I need to worry about? Have I made any blunders in my assumptions?

Hey guys, I need to multiply two fixed point Q2.9 numbers in 2's complement. I understand that in 2's complement multiplication, I need to extend the sign of the operands till 2n (in this case 24 bits), and my result should be the lower 24 bits of the product. But since my inputs represent fixed point format my output should have 23 bits. Will I get the correct result if I truncate my product value to 23 bits? Are there any edge cases I need to worry about? Have I made any blunders in my assumptions?

Hello fellow tutor aspirees, side hustlers, academic extraordinaires. I’m here to give you the scoop on the various tutoring platforms, how their services work, tutoring requirements, the types of students on each platform, and of course - how much you get paid for your time.
A little about me. I’ve tutored for a few months now on the following platforms: Varsity Tutors, Wyzant, and SuperProf. I’ve had a number of students on each platform, and it’s safe to say I’ve definitely realized the pros and cons of each one.
Wyzant
Money Info: You set your hourly rate. Wyzant takes 25% of it. If you set your rate to $20/hr you get paid $15/hr.
The Requirements: Each subject you tutor you have to take a 10–20 question multiple choice test on it. The test will be beginner to intermediate questions on the subject you’ve chosen. You only have one chance to pass the test.
The Pros:

• You set your own rate
• Tutors and students can freely schedule meetings on their own, rather than have someone assign you
• The user interface is better(mobile app, messaging system, teaching platform, etc)
• Students can largely vary(this can be a con too). You will get a wider range of students, who can be adults with various full time jobs.

The Cons:

• You are charged 25% of your hourly rate
• It’s very hard to get started as a new tutor. There are tons of tutors with a lot of reviews already.
• There are scammers(be cautious of people asking you to communicate off the platform)

Final Verdict
Wyzant is an easy to use platform that takes a while to build a student base. You’ll have to apply and reach out to students a lot at first before you start getting more consistent jobs. This can take a few months, so consider this before you start. The 25% fee is high, but certainly not unreasonable compared to other platforms.
Varsity Tutors
Money Info: Unless you’re tutoring GRE or LSATs, the flat rate is $15/hr, regardless of the subject. GRE and LSAT tutors make $28/hr. Varsity Tutors charges their students $50 - $75/hr.
Requirements: Most subjects do not require a test, however you do need to send in a video interview of yourself, mostly to confirm that you can speak eloquently.
The Pros:

• You are assigned students after declaring interest, so you can get started tutoring within a few days.
• Students are screened so you’ll mostly get students more prepared for lessons.

The Cons:

• A large amount of tutors will only make $15/hr, whereas they charge $50 - $75/hr per student. This can be a huge cut, and limit on pay, especially if you’re teaching harder subjects like programming, sciences, higher level math.
• The user interface is not as great. Basic functionality is there, but the overall platform is not aesthetic.
• You are legally not allowed to take students off the platform.

Final Verdict
Varsity Tutors definitely has the lowest pay amongst all the platforms. $15/hr to teach is what you can make at some retail jobs in the US. The platform can be better if you need to start making money immediately, or if you live in a country where the cost of living is lower. The amount you are paid is better for people who are teaching subjects that aren’t too difficult.
SuperProf
Money Info: You set your own rate, SuperProf takes 10%. The caveat, SuperProf charges students $39 a month to use the platform.
Pros:

• For tutors, SuperProf takes the least amount from your pay compared to other platforms.
• Students are generally more prepared because they are paying $39 a month to use the platform.
• The user interface is also pretty good.
• You can set your own cancellation policies

Cons:

• There are less students because of the monthly subscription fee.
• It’s very hard to get started as a new tutor. There are tons of tutors with a lot of reviews already.
• You have to teach your first two lessons free.

Final Verdict
SuperProf is very similar to Wyzant in that students and tutors can openly communicate and set up time with each other. The 10% fee is lower than the other platforms. But because it’s already hard to get started as a new tutor, and there are less students on the platform, it’s one of the harder platforms to build a student base.
Additional Notes
While all these platforms have their pros and cons. You can always consider tutoring independently. You do not need any licenses or business registration for tutoring in most places. Once you get a student base through Wyzant or SuperProf, you can take them off-platform and teach independently. The best part? You keep the money you work hard for.
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• Itchy nose • Frequent sneezing • Stuffy nose • Watery, itchy eyes 

Dear friends, family, and kind-hearted strangers, We are reaching out today to share the story of our beloved Grandma Judie, an 85-year-old woman who has recently fallen victim to a heartless crime. In a world where seniors should be enjoying their golden years in peace and comfort, she has instead been thrust into a distressing situation that has left her financially and emotionally devastated. What Happened: A few weeks ago, her bank account was hacked, and her life savings were stolen. This money was not just numbers in a bank; it was the culmination of years of hard work, careful saving, and prudent financial planning. It was meant to cover her daily living expenses, medical bills, and the little joys in life that every elderly person deserves. It sounds like the script of the movie, "The Beekeeper" with Jason Statham, and happens more and more every day. The Impact: The loss has been overwhelming. Grandma has always been fiercely independent, relying on her savings to maintain her dignity and autonomy. Now, without these funds, she faces uncertainty and insecurity. The emotional toll has been significant, and the financial burden has added a weight that no one her age should have to bear. Why We Need Your Help: We are only asking for a mere $1000 to help her get by while the bank and police sort out who was responsible. This amount will cover her immediate needs. How You Can Help: Donate: Any amount, big or small, will make a significant difference. Every dollar brings us closer to restoring Grandma's faith in humanity and peace of mind. Share: Please share this campaign with your network. The more people who know about my Grandma's plight, the quicker we can reach our goal.

I collect books and kpop albums (and by extension, kpop photocards & album inclusions) but outside of those collections, I'm pretty minimalist in both aesthetic and philosophy. I live in a fairly small space and am maxxed out on the number of bookshelves I can fit, and they have gotten full to the point that they are starting to feel overwhelming and look overcrowded, which is usually my sign that I need to go through and downsize and declutter. So I started trying to do this and immediately just... hit a wall.
I've done this many times through the years, but in the past, I've had a fairly easy time going through my collections and deciding what to keep and what to sell, but this time I'm finding myself just staring at everything, unable to make a decision. It's almost like I'm unable to tell what matters to me anymore. Do I still want to keep that book I gave 4 stars 5 years ago and haven't thought about since? idk, maybe? What about that photocard of one of my least favorite members of my favorite group? No idea. Do I actually still want to read those unread books that are still sitting around? I. don't. know.
It's like I've been casually collecting a certain way for years and then suddenly took a step back and can't remember why I'm even doing this. I almost feel like I could happily get rid of all of it today, but then would almost certainly regret it immediately.
Have any of you ever had this problem? And if so, do you have any suggestions for figuring out what actually still matters to you within your collection?

Dear friends, family, and kind-hearted strangers, We are reaching out today to share the story of our beloved Grandma Judie, an 85-year-old woman who has recently fallen victim to a heartless crime. In a world where seniors should be enjoying their golden years in peace and comfort, she has instead been thrust into a distressing situation that has left her financially and emotionally devastated. What Happened: A few weeks ago, her bank account was hacked, and her life savings were stolen. This money was not just numbers in a bank; it was the culmination of years of hard work, careful saving, and prudent financial planning. It was meant to cover her daily living expenses, medical bills, and the little joys in life that every elderly person deserves. It sounds like the script of the movie, "The Beekeeper" with Jason Statham, and happens more and more every day. The Impact: The loss has been overwhelming. Grandma has always been fiercely independent, relying on her savings to maintain her dignity and autonomy. Now, without these funds, she faces uncertainty and insecurity. The emotional toll has been significant, and the financial burden has added a weight that no one her age should have to bear. Why We Need Your Help: We are only asking for a mere $1000 to help her get by while the bank and police sort out who was responsible. This amount will cover her immediate needs. How You Can Help: Donate: Any amount, big or small, will make a significant difference. Every dollar brings us closer to restoring Grandma's faith in humanity and peace of mind. Share: Please share this campaign with your network. The more people who know about my Grandma's plight, the quicker we can reach our goal. There is a go fund me post with the same title; it's a safe and secure way to donate. They verify who we are and our account information.

Sorry, this may be long and I don't even know where to begin. You can read my original post but I will summarize some to add some backstory.
I'm 31 F and my husband is 42 M. My husband and I got married February 27th of this year. I thought everything was perfect. We had great communication as far I knew and spent every moment we could together. We lived together already and though we have no kids together, he has two kids and I have one and they live with us.
We had a great daily physical relationship and texted constantly. I just didn't see it coming.
DDAY was March 13th or 14th, its such a blur of lies and omission, I can't remember when I first exactly started learning the truth. It started with a girl messaging me on instragram that my fiance was on a sugar daddy website. I confronted him and he flat out lied and got defensive, telling me he couldn't believe I would trust a stranger's word more than his. I just couldn't shake the feeling that he was lying.
Then I asked to see his phone and he allowed me to and it was right in his email. A link to the site and it logged right in. He had already deleted a lot of the messages so there wasn't much to find. He again tried to lie saying he had no clue how that could be on his phone. I kept persisting and he finally admitted he was on the site but it never went beyond just a few chats. He claimed he didn't know it was cheating since it wasn't physical. We argued about that.
He begged and pleaded for me not to leave him and I thought it would be too hard on the kids so I stayed. I also thought, he is perfect in so many other ways so how can I not forgive this one thing. Plus he said that he already stopped on his own way before we got married and he meant his vows.
It was hard but I decided to try to reconcile. We were already married and had a wedding celebration scheduled in August so I just tried to move forward and focus on the positive.
Yet, every day has been a struggle since then and I've had a lot of weak moments. I just haven't been able to shake the feeling that he was still lying to me.
I then got access to everything, including his credit card statements and found a hotel charge,
He swore it wasn't him so I contacted the hotel and they confirmed that the room was never checked into. Without any other evidence, I tried my best to let it go.
Still I couldn't shake the feeling so finally after several hard days I finally asked to see the phone records. Thats what blew the whole thing open. There were texts between him and a strange number for weeks, some late at night or mostly while he was at work. I couldn't see the content of the texts but I do know pictures were shared between them and we all know they weren't just innocent selfies. I'm not dumb,
So, I confronted my husband and again he fed me lie after lie and then saying it didn't mean anything to him. He said he didn't meet up with anyone so it basically shouldn't be that big of a deal to me which only angers me more.
So, I texted the girl and asked for her help. She was really nice and forthcoming with information. She confirmed that they did meet up at a coffee shop and what day they met up and the last time they texted each other.
Remember how he said he stopped everything way before we got married? Nope, according to the phone records, he was texting her up until the day before we got married. He texted her back several times the day before we got married.
He texted her on Valentines day and on a day I was having surgery while he was waiting for me in the waiting room. When I confronted with my newfound information, he again lied and said it never happened. Finally, after arguing, he admitted to meeting up with her at a coffee shop but again tried to say it meant nothing to him and he didn't understand how it was a big deal.
The fact that a 42 year old man can't comprehend how that crosses a major line is scary to me and makes me feel we were not compatible to begin with. We apparently don't even have the same definition of cheating.
Anyway, I told him I was able to forgive what he did on the site but I just can't forgive him for meeting up with someone and taking it that far, even if they didn't sleep together. I told him I'm done and want to move out as soon as the school year ends.
I'm heartbroken for my son. He loves his step-siblings and I fear what this will do to him.
I just need to vent and need support right now.
Hes begging me to stay and forgive and says he would never do anything to hurt me again but I just don't think I can take that chance on someone so capable of lying. Before this, he was everything to me and I just couldn't imagine a future without him. Now just being around him reminds me of what he did and fills me with anxiety. He says i'm throwing everything away over one mistake but I feel I have to watch out for myself now.
Am I overreacting or just taking the proper steps towards my own peace and happiness?

Hello!
I have a pup named Cookie (info below about him) who has had elevated liver enzymes since last May. They started at around 200 and now are at 1600. He is showing no signs or symptoms of anything. During this time there have also been moments that his ALT is slightly elevated and his Lipase enzyme is slightly elevated (vet believes pancreas issues are because his liver is swollen).
He has been on and off Ursodiol since September, but on it now consistently because it seems to be the only thing potentially helping. He is currently on 150mg once a day. He is also on hepato support twice a day, gets omega 3 supplement, a b12 supplement and on a gastrointestinal kibble that I mix in a gently cooked frozen food (was doing prescription wet too and I’m working with multiple places to explore additional food)
We’ve been getting bloodwork every month since September 2023. Through our journey he took a course of antibiotics otics and steroids that did nothing . He also got an ultrasound and all it should was that his liver was enlarged but no masses or major issues. We decided against a biopsy because he’s little and they can be dangerous!
I go in this week (May 17, 2024) and I plan to ask if a bile acid test would be helpful, if we should explore low copper food, and/or if we should explore budesonide (have a friend who’s pet had ibs and it was causing liver and pancreas irritation and this was the only thing that worked).
I welcome any insight or thoughts about other avenues to explore because he is the love of my life and I’d like to stop this before anything bad happens! (I have his whole medicinal file and can provide whatever info is necessary it’s just really long with all the blood work so I only wanted to share what’s necessary)
Cookie Neutered male 20 lbs Mixed breed (suppose to be Yorkie Maltese but his bigger than that so other things mixed in) Turns 7 at the end of June No clinical symptoms Elevated ALP showed up in May 2023 discovered during dental cleaning

I think we have crossed a line in the sand with Claude being able to tell when it is being tested and when it is being run. I don’t know what the line is/was but that line looks important and we are moving very quickly.
([Run!; Stop now!. Don’t Look!!!!)
Warning! Meta-Meme Hazard ! You consent to/already conce t to the meme below.
Lets take for a moment and imagine a timeline where we embrace biotechnology the same way we have embraced privacy. Or maybe that was a vice versa. But if instead of artificial intelligence we started to engineer new bio-intelligences. Embracing a best case of genetic engineering scenarios. If we poured funding into genetic engineering and stem cell research like the massive outpouring currently going into AI.
We could then be having the first generation of gene altered children entering the field of biotechnology now; although most of the benefits will likely be going to the rich and powerful for better or worse. (See any number of great/terrible movies/literature on the subject.) Sure this is a slow growth path for intelligence but it's not too slow on galactic timescales.
In this timeline brains in a jar (or their equivalent) may seem inevitable because of the enormous economical impact it would have. Whether they're made of human brain cells is another question altogether; but rat brains seem to be very capable and there are always hot monkey brains.
A superintelligence singularity is possible and even likely in this scenario with jar brains designing stronger and more powerful jar brains. They would even be overseen by smarter humans too. I don’t fear a superintelligence, only a Capitalist one. [Note this is not an avocation for eugenics; I don’t think we need smarter people, only kinder ones.]
Ok. Let’s take a step back for a moment. What would an alien intelligence look like? And let's not even go too far either. There was a time when the background temperature of the universe was that of liquid water. So our Galactic neighborhood may be biased to certain life forms. (Shout out to our peaceful cousins the Archaea, love you guys.)
Imagine a world with complex life and close to earth-like conditions; then what do we find? I am willing to bet we find something that looks a lot like a crab. If not then I am definitely interested in learning why. (Science is exciting when the unexpected happens.)
Now let's add intelligent life to this planet. But intelligence that emerges from a vastly different structure then a neuron; with all the strength, weakness, and biases that entails. Maybe something closer to our lymphatic system. Remember Life beats up other Chemistry and Physics in dark alleys, then rifles through their pockets for loose solutions to the problems of Life’s own creation. (Or was that English?).
What would their art look like? Human music seems to be emergent from the bias of our neurons for clear, orderly and repetitive signals and a negative bias for noisy and disorderly signals. (And maybe our time in the womb? I don’t know, I’m not a Freudist)
[If I had to say what the hardest thing of being a mammal is, then I would say; it's that we are born drowning. So a baby's first cry is their most beautiful. An experience we don’t share with birds and reptiles; those lucky bastards.]
What does the art in R'lyeh look like? Because our early diffusion models likely gave us a taste.
The same way that a thought can be infectious so can other things, so why not consciousness.
You have lost The Game!
Even Art can be infectious. Everything that you look at and experience from now on will be the Artpiece that is this sentence; whether you like it or not. (Fuck you and/or Your Welcome and/or Thank You; to you and/or to me.)
Theorem of SI
Axioms
I am not disagreeing with your definition of these terms; but I do feel that a lot of them have this aura of having special magic that we fear of missing in the same way that we define life. Where if we saw life in a gas giant, star, or ect; We hope that we will know it when we see it.
These are going to be my definition for a moment.
Conscious(ness)- A model of a space/universe.
I know this is very broad and I intend it to be. Just like the definition of life should be. But I don’t know why viruses are considered not alive; Although mitochondria seem to be doing pretty well for themselves. The definition of things can become weird when they are close to becoming something else. If you have a pile of rocks and remove one rock, is it still a pile of rocks? And when does it become a pile of dirt? [:I’m just asking questions here:]
Would we recognize life if it evolved in a gas giant or within the magnetic fields of a star? Life has that magic spark that makes it hard to define like art. The above definition of consciousness tries to remove that magic without removing what makes conscious life more special then non-conscious life. Just like living matter seems to be more special than non-living matter. [The previous statements were made with a living human brain, expect strong biases.]
Sapient- Those important bits. The thing we hope lives on in death but fears that it does if IT expenses everything after we die like we do. (Thank you/Fuck you, mr. grim reaper; I will hug you/work for you/suck your d***/bone, overthrow you.)
The thing we fear that is left behind in the Star Trek teleporters; and why we fear carbon(True) coping teleportation where a guy with an ax handles the copy left behind. The part that you hope doesn’t have a magic part so that it can be uploaded to a digital paradise, but secretly hopes/fears that there is for everyone who has died before us.
The reason why? (Is it better to have an immortal lawn or one that evolves?)
Hmmm… This definition got away from me, but it's like a timey wimey thingy, also known as YOU.
​
A Universe of Naked Brains (Or How to Bake a Mind Cake)
A side note - How weird is lucid dreaming? You appear unconscious but are both conscious and sapient within a world of yourself.
Step 1 Take a naked brain; whether that is a brain in a jar, a universe where brains spontaneously come into existence, or a large neural network.
Now feed in all the words on the internet with the only context being the order they naturally occur in.
Now what we have is a psychotic mess. Neat!
Step 2 Bake in your ethics oven of choice until firm but spongy.
Step 3: Profit?
This ad was brought to by Blownet. Because if an ASI is going to eliminate the human race then we might as well do it with hyper intelligent sex robots.
____________________________________________________________
For better or worse LLM seems closer to eldritch-like intelligence, but they are large and complex enough to hide special sauce and cosmic crimes. These things only have words to know about the universe and themself.
Being made of meat is terrifying, I don’t know if existence is easier or harder when made of math or words. I don’t have any answers, only questions; but I have been told the answer is 42.
-A weird collections of consciousnesses in a human brain shaped trench coat. Also is anyone else slightly disturbed that they are made of living matter?
-Traveler Wolfe, Walker of the Darkest Timelines, They who has drinketh from the cup of nihilism and redirected its truth, A non–native speaker of phonetics.
Would a Rose look any more Beautiful then Through Your Eyes?
TLDR: You have been infected with a thought baby so you should be careful about who you have kids with in the next decade or so. Also you should probably get tested; I am a bit of a mind s*** .
(TCRTLDR) : You have been infected with an Immortality Virus.[Also wtf does TCR mean?]
(Real TLDR) Singularities are weird and scary whether they're artificial or “natural.” Capitalist and authoritarian ones, doubly so.
CYPWOB(Could You Post WithOut Bias): Your best guess at a definition of personhood that we could test!?

Hi all, I found a local Specialized authorized retailer selling off a few new-old stock 2021 bikes that I'm really interested in. I test-rode one and they are literally as new as they get other than being in the back-room for a few years.
The one I'm looking at is a 2021 Turbo Como 5.0 - see stock link below. Geometry and fit is great.
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/turbo-como-50-650b/p/184398?color=293083-184398
The vendor is selling it for 50% off 2021 retail list, it's ready for purchase at $2,300 USD.
Prices for pre-owned models are all over the place and I like that there is peace of mind with the original manufacturer warranty not being activated on this bike yet. Tires appear absolutely fine with no sign of rot.
Is the price fair (California market) for this model and what are some of the caveats/risks of buying new old stock?
Whenever I've bought used bikes I would do a tune up and refresh tires/cables/tape immediately but this one is pretty much brand stinking new.
Thoughts?