To start, 2023-2024 has been a very challenging year for my mental health. I did two rounds in an intensive outpatient program that ran three days a week, had several scary medication changes, and finally received an official OCD diagnoses to go with the depression and anxiety. This also includes reoccurring intrusive thoughts of non-lethal ways to hurt myself and constant reassurance seeking, as well as being an inherently over-sensitive person who wears their heart on their sleeve.
I have been feeling a bit better recently, though. With that hopefulness, I went on a date this past weekend. Prior to it, we both agreed that it had to happen organically, and that it could end up becoming something more down the road if it all went well. Which I was okay with! I could wait! He was worth that to me! And I was so excited!
It's important to the story that you all know this man was 1.) handsome and strong 2.) incredibly sweet and 3.) getting his PhD in clinical psychology. And he liked me. My brain was immediately telling me it was too good to be true. I'm not used to this at all. I don't date. I don't experience mutual attraction. It was the first time I really felt like I had a shot.
We hit it off instantly, went bar hopping, talked for hours, and went back to his place. It had gone so well up until I had to disclose my status of HSV-2 (tearfully, as I could have stopped at the last drink) where he was very understanding, swore it didn't change anything, and was appreciative of me letting him know.
But then, I promptly inserted my foot into my mouth going on about how this had been the best first date I ever had, making him promise me he would go out with me again but not because he was obligated to, then went ahead and said "I'm going through a lot of shit right now." Every time he asked me if I was okay, I said no, not really. Like WHY WOULD I SAY THAT. ANY OF THAT.
He was so nice through all of it, but I knew I had freaked him out. A whole day passes and I don't hear from him. That's where my compulsive reasoning kicked into overdrive and my OCD locked tf in. I was flipping out for at least 48 hours straight. I had done too much, said too much, scared him off. Which, after finally getting text out of him, was exactly the case. I got the fateful text saying that he just wanted to keep it friendly from now on.
I apologized for what I had said in a vulnerable state, for putting him in an uncomfortable position, and making him feel rushed into something less-than-casual. I told him I understood where he was coming from, how I fell too fast, got in my feelings, made it sound like I was rushing him into a commitment. Then I had to follow up with a long-winded message about how it was a bummer it was ending before I could have another shot, how I just kept talking because I was so nervous and I liked him, etc - just to really hammer the final nail into that casket, you know.
The whole time, I'm a crying mess, feeling so stupid for thinking I was well enough to date, and pathetic for getting so overly excited about finally feeling wanted. After a year I thought I wouldn't survive, I felt so optimistic, but then I had to go from 0 to 100 and unthinkingly stomp on the potential of a really, really good thing.
At that point, he responded to none of that and just told me there was no reason for me to apologize, that he meant what he said about being friends. I ended it with a "sure, let me know when you're free" fully knowing I probably won't ever hear from this man again. But as inadvisable as it is, I kinda want to hold him to it. Unless the attraction wasn't there anymore, maybe I could redeem myself? Maybe if he saw me, he'd still feel the chemistry we had?
But I know how that sounds, I swear. I really do. It's not a good idea to wedge my foot into a door he's politely tried to close. As I had been reminded by several loved ones, trying to date right now is only going to hurt me more. And they're probably right. And that really sucks.
If you read all of this, thank you. You didn't have to hear me harp and carry on and self-pity, but you did. Many kisses upon you.
TL;DR: I fumbled a good man because I was drunk and mentally unwell and I've been beating myself up about it for days.

I was pulled over for going 77 in a 60 on a rural state highway. I didn’t put cruise control on. It is a 2 point violation. It’s easy to get up to that speed on mostly empty roads if you’re not careful and not watching your speed.
I regret speeding and getting the ticket but now I have to handle it like an adult. My options are:

1. Pay the ticket and take the points: $165
2. Take traffic school and avoid the points $250 + $25 cost of traffic school = $275
3. Hire a potentially risky attorney like Off the Record and watch them to make sure everything works out $239 + cost of ticket/whatever they can plea me down to.

The insurance premium increase will probably cost me $800 over the next three years. I will lose my safe driver discount that I have had since I got my license over 5 years ago, and I will get rated for the ticket for at least three years.
The traffic safety program as it is called states:
“Upon successfully completing the course, the defendant's citation will be dismissed, therefore avoiding a conviction and no points will be added to their driving record.”
I deeply regret my actions and will not be speeding again. It was an immature and poor decision and I need to learn better time management/patience skills and it was better for me to learn this way than to actually hurt someone because of my actions. Nothing is ever worth risking someone else’s life for.
Also does anyone have good tips on how to avoid speeding in the first place, I started putting cruise control on - many speed limits are very low for the roads - I guess I just have to get used to that as better safe than sorry. I know I won’t always be perfect but will avoid doing anything like 10+ over the limit.

See so many people crying about the the Idea of BG4 cause it wont be larian but why?
I'll confess I was a bit disappointed that Larian said they wont be making BG4 or any expansions but I was also excited at the prospect that BG4 is almost certain to happen. I get WOTC are a shitty company but I also think the reaction they have recently had based of recent actions regarding firing writers etc. could potentially scare them to actually think carefully with BG4 cause if they fuck it up they have lost their golden goose.
I think the most important thing is that the writing is good and its non-linear (pretty sure thats why people love BG3), do you think maybe if WOTC grovelled enough they could maybe convince some BG3 writers to work with them again? Even if the answers no, there are plenty of talented writers in this world who could write a good BG game, it just might be in a slightly different flavour to BG3, just how BG1 and 2 had a different flavour. They also have the money to invest into making BG4 a good game and a money maker, I think they would have to be really stupid to make BG4 a slapdash game.
I will admit I think the biggest struggle will be the gameplay will almost certainly be different compared to BG3 unless Larian licensed out the engine. Different doesn't mean bad, I mean the gameplay in BG1 & 2 was significantly different (and better bg1 & 2 gameplay sucks unless on story mode imo) and it rocked, im sure there is a developer out there that can make their own style of gameplay that is similar but unique in its own right. I mean Fallout: New Vegas was significantly different gameplay wise to 1 and 2 but still felt true to the OG games (we did have to suffer through 3 first though granted).
I also think for BG4 to succeed it would also need to completely abandon the BG3 characters as the BG3 characters are too precious and I feel other writers wouldn't understand them in the same way as the OGs but thats not to say that they cant make equally interesting stories and characters.
All i'm saying is I get why people are disappointed that they wont have a Larian BG3 but it doesnt mean BG4 will suck. As long as your prepared for it to be slightly different and not a continuation of BG3 it could rock!
maybe im wrong but im hopeful

Who we are One of a kind female ran clan (2 male title holders all the rest are female) we could use some players and someone who can enjoy clash again no need to be rude or a stalker. we are trying to be more active. If you need advice or help we are Herefor it the chat is not talkative cuz well almost everyone in the clan knows each other irl. We get 1200+ raid medals every weekend. We also landed ourselves in crystal 2 God knows how. WE REQUIRE DISCORD TO BE PUT IN WAR.
Wanna chat about hobbits star wars game of thrones or Good music We are your clan.
What we are looking for: 1. th6-th16 2. Respectful players 3. Do war attacks and actually do war 4. Participation In clan capital 5. also max troops are for war.
join our discord to https://discord.gg/EPYc3pdTfh
come help us out https://link.clashofclans.com/en?action=OpenClanProfile&tag=2QLJQCQUR

Counterpoint to u/team3dalpha's recent post.

1) IQ is real

This meaningless. IQ is about as "real" as the Dow Jones Industrial average or an index of socioeconomic status. Beyond that, basically anyone boasting about how "IQ is real" most likely doesn't even know what they're trying to say. "Real" in what sense?

2) IQ (fluid) doesn’t just measure how “smart” you are, it measures how fast you can learn and how fast you can solve a problem you’ve never seen before.

There is zero evidence for this. In fact, the evidence supports no effect of IQ on learning rate:

• An astonishing regularity in student learning rate
  
• Does fluid intelligence facilitate the learning of English as a foreign language?
  
• Predicting Long-Term Growth in Students' Mathematics Achievement
  
• Correlates of individual, and age-related, differences in short-term learning
  

3) IQ is largely genetic & heritable

IQ is not "largely genetic". IQ is "heritable", which is a specific statistical concept used in quantitative geneteics that does not mean "genetic".

4) there absolutely exists ethnic differences in IQ, largely due to natural selection and environment.

There is zero evidence for natural selection here. In fact, again, there is negative evidence; tests for divergent selection have been done and found nothing.

5) IQ (fluid) cannot be increased past your genetic limit

Lmao, there is no evidence for anything like a "genetic limit". And getting a degree can increase IQ by around 22 points.

Not allowing people to discuss IQ (I get in trouble every time I do)

Unfortuntate, but I don't know... could well be justified in your specific case.

actually HURTS men and societal progress.

Discussion of IQ is not remotely as important for "societal progress" as IQists delude themselves into believing.

Scientific truths should be discussed freely regardless of whose feelings it hurts.

I largely agree.

So yeah... this is a post where I review all 5 Cage The Elephant albums. Pretty simple. These are all reviews that I originally wrote on an app/website called "Musicboard" over the past couple weeks, but I've copy-pasted them here for your reading convenience. Hope you enjoy & I hope to to talk about these albums with you!
____________________________________________

Self Titled

Probably their weakest album to date, but still a pretty solid debut overall.
I hate to be so predictable, but the best song here is still “Ain’t No Rest for The Wicked”, and it ain’t even close. It’s extremely fun & catchy, it’s the album’s most sonically distinct piece BY FAR, and it’s storytelling/pacing are both absolutely flawless. A track that absolutely deserves it’s iconic status.
Even though the record’s best isn’t up for debate, there are some other pretty good highlights as well. “In One Ear” is a very solid opener for the project, “Judas” gives us consistently excellent lyricism, and “Tiny Little Robots” has an uncharacteristically super atmospheric bridge which makes it stand out quite a bit. It also transitions super smoothly into the following “Lotus” who’s engaging pacing, beautiful chorus, & satisfying climax make it another easy favourite for me.
But then beyond the lovably visceral energy of it’s closer, “Free Love”, Cage The Elephant’s self-titled debut really doesn’t give me a whole lot more to talk about. It’s got consistently great musicianship, a decent number of highlights, and some bizarrely excellent song transitions, but the album has a really bad case of being FAR too samey. Everything outside of the tracks I’ve already mentioned blend together in my mind almost completely. None of them are bad, but none of them are particularly memorable either.
This album is still pretty good at the end of the day, some solid garage rock fun, but Cage’s later projects would all feel a whole lot more distinct & purposeful.
Best Songs: Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked, Lotus, & Free Love.
Weakest Songs: Drones in the Valley, Soil to the Sun, & Back Stabbin' Betty.
This album gets a strong 7/10 from me.
____________________________________________

Thank You, Happy Birthday

It may be a little all over the place, but it’s still a pretty big improvement over their debut.
For one, the sound of this album is FAR more lush & vibrant than that of their debut. The guitars here are especially brimming with so much more life & colour than they were on their self-titled record. Another big improvement is that record is how much more variety this album has. It’s an incredibly stylistically varied project, and while that does lead to it feeling a little messy every so often, it’s all still held together very well by excellent & super aesthetically consistent production.
The album starts out quite strong with “Always Something”. The ominous guitars, raw vocals, & slight electronic elements all combine to make for a rather gripping opener. Other highlights include “Shake Me Down” which I love for it’s percussive acoustic guitars & personal childhood nostalgia, “Aberdeen” which I love for it’s super catchy melodies & powerfully mixed guitars, as well as “Right Before My Eyes” which has a similarly excellent sound & a surprisingly moving chorus.
This record also contains a lot of the most loudly abrasive material that Cage have ever released... to very mixed results. You have tracks like “Sell Yourself” & “Doctor Help Me” which are just sorta forgettable, a song like “Indy Kidz” which has a fantastic instrumental alongside an unfortunately & obnoxiously tryhard vocal performance, but then you have “Sabertooth Tiger” which is actually one of my TOP favourites here. The chaotic viscerality of this one feels so much more natural than those other tracks, as well as SO MUCH more invigorating. I really wasn't expecting to love it so much upon revisiting it today, but it very much surprised me.
On the other side of the coin, we also have a couple distinctly lowkey moments that I’d like to talk about. “Rubber Ball” is a very pleasant track with a slightly jaunty charm to it, but even more pleasant than that is “Flow”. My favourite song on the whole album. It’s not a particularly sad song, nor is it like STUNNINGLY beautiful, and yet… I often find myself close to tears when listening to it. If I had to put the feeling into words, I’d say that the atmosphere of this song is so perfectly tender & existentially content that it’s… genuinely overwhelming. I yearn to forever exist within the powerful sense of peace that this song provides, but I can only do so for 3 minutes at a time & that makes me wanna cry.
Overall, “Thank You Happy Birthday” is just a WAY more consistently enjoyable project than their debut. It has cleaner production, a far more memorable aesthetic, a greater sense of sonic exploration, better vocals for the most part, MUCH higher highs, and far fewer lows as well. Other than those “forgettably abrasive” songs which I talked about 2 paragraphs ago, the only significant lowlight for me would be the underwhelming closer that is “Carry Me In”. The record honestly should’ve just ended with “Flow” cuz these final 2 tracks which come right after just aren’t very interesting.
But yeah, other than having a significantly weaker closer, this album is an improvement over their first in every single way.
Best Songs: Flow, Sabertooth Tiger, & Aberdeen
Weakest Songs: Doctor Help Me, Carry Me In, & Sell Yourself.
This album gets a light to decent 8/10 from me.
____________________________________________

Melophobia

Don’t you love it when an overall “pretty good” discography randomly contains one genuine masterpiece?
I absolutely ADORE this record, and I don’t even consider Cage The Elephant to be one of my all time favourite bands. They probably wouldn’t make my Top 25, but “Melophobia” specifically is easily one of the best albums I’ve ever heard, and (now that I no longer listen to Arcade Fire) my personal favourite release of 2013. At the very least, it’s a stiff competition between this & Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories”. I’ve gotta go track by track with this one in order to effectively convey my love for it so buckle in!
“Spiderhead” is a genuinely perfect opener for the record. It conveys to us ALL of the project’s best qualities while never feeling like it’s spoiled the album for you. The best is still very much yet to come. We’ve got scuzzy guitars that feel both authentically raw & immaculately produced, super catchy melodies delivered through a very precise yet slightly wild vocal performance, and also this really cool “glitched tempo change” at the end which gives this specific song a very unique flare.
“Come A Little Closer” is probably the most popular song here, and while it’s not my personal #1, it is still absolutely deserving of that status. The verses ease us in with a super slick bassline, some incredibly atmospheric guitars/synths, as well as a grippingly moody vocal performance. All of which come to a head on the track's spectacularly explosive choruses which still manage to fit the song’s moody tone flawlessly. The bridge here is also excellent with an extremely effective build to the song’s final & most explosive chorus. LOVE this track. Iconic shit.
“Telescope” is even more iconic though. It’s the best thing that Matt Schultz has ever written & it’s not even a contest honestly. We open with some tenderly playful synths which eventually give way to an equally playful yet distinctly melancholic vocal performance & lyrical story. This leads to the song’s incredible chorus which only becomes more emotionally powerful each & every time it’s repeated, but it’s the bridge here that really elevates the track into something truly spectacular. It’s so instrumentally frantic & vocally raw while still miraculously fitting into the song’s overall tenderly melancholic atmosphere. Such an evocative masterpiece. Unquestionably one of my favourite songs of all time.
“It’s Just Forever” is frequently maligned as the album’s one & only dud, but other than some admittedly awkward tonal whiplash between it & the last song, I still think it’s a fantastic addition to the record. We’ve got some wonderfully visceral guitars, a delightfully wild guest vocal performance courtesy of Alison Mosshart, and an outro that predicted the “Untitled Goose Game” OST six years in advance. What’s not to love?
“Take It Or Leave It” has a super chillaxed atmosphere all throughout, but never in a way that becomes boring. The chorus is super catchy, I enjoy the slight country-isms of the track, and the guitars sound amazing… but that’s definitely starting to become a moot point in this review. SUCH a vibe of a song.
“Halo” is probably the least uniquely remarkable song here. I don’t really have anything specific to say about it, but don’t think for a second that I mean to imply it’s even remotely weak. It’s still a banger.
“Black Widow” is an absolute BLAST of a song. The gritty rock’n’roll instrumentation along with those seductive vocals are obviously fantastic, but the star of the show here is undoubtedly the brass elements. The blaring horns on this track, whichever ones they are exactly, are sheer musical euphoria. That brief moment during the bridge where they completely overpower the rest of the mix is especially stunning. This is another one of those songs that I often hear people proclaiming as one of the album’s worst, but I think those people are weak. This song is nothing short of SPECTACULAR. Such a wonderful rush of visceral energy.
“Hypocrite” serves as a very nice change of pace for the record. The incredibly unique drum rhythms & overall slow pacing really make it stand out here. We’ve got a decently moving chorus, some nice brass elements yet again, and while said brass elements aren’t nearly as impressive as last time, these horns still fill out the mix very nicely & aid the song in having an even more unique energy than the aforementioned odd drumming was already giving it.
“Teeth” is the most perfectly unhinged thing that Cage The Elephant has ever released. In my review for their previous album, I talked about how certain tracks there often struggled to nail the balance of “controlled chaos”. Songs from that record which attempted this mostly just felt messy instead of compellingly scatterbrained. “Teeth”, on the other hand, achieves that balance effortlessly. Everything about this track is marvelous madness. The frantically abrasive guitars, evocatively strange lyrics, rivetingly unrefined vocals, and OH MY WORD that outro. After being a badass rock song for about 3 minutes, this shit randomly decides to basically become spoken word jazz at the end, and it works miraculously well. The lethargic bassline, the dour brass elements, the lyrics rich with meaning that’s hard to fully grasp. The whole thing is genuinely quite unnerving, but in a way that’s always still very enjoyable to listen to.
“Cigarette Daydreams” is a very interesting closer for this album. The acoustics & pianos are both incredibly pretty, the vocals & melodies are both really moving, and the whole experience is extremely immersive with it’s atmosphere. It’s a truly beautiful song on it’s own as well as an extremely anticlimactic ending for the record. But to explain why I actually mean that as a positive, I need to talk about “Teeth” again. Keep in mind that everything I’m about to say here has absolutely NOTHING to do with the lyrics of these songs. It’s simply my mind creating a story by interpreting the emotional atmospheres of both tracks.
“Teeth” is like witnessing or being involved in some sort of traumatic event. It’s a chaotic mess that leaves you deeply unsettled. Horrified even. Like being the bystander to a uniquely bad car crash. The kind where gorey death is very clearly visible. “Cigarette Daydreams” contrasts “Teeth” by being easily the most tender & simplistic song on the album. It’s very comforting with it’s musicality, but what I love here is that it’s not quite “cathartic”. It’s not a release of tension or an eradication of negative emotion. It’s like being frozen with shock after witnessing this crash before someone else eventually arrives to comfort you. This comfort feels nice & brings you back to your senses, but you’re still not ok. You still witnessed something horrible & a quick bit of comfort isn’t going to immediately fix that.
That’s the story I read from the tonal dichotomy between these 2 songs. A story of horror followed by incomplete comfort. It’s not a satisfying ending for me, but it’s such a specific & evocative kind of dissatisfaction that I can’t help but be fascinated by it. A super cathartic track full of positive emotion & grandiose beauty wouldn’t have worked here at all. Something quietly comforting that’s lacking in huge catharsis is the only way this could have gone. It’s the only ending that makes sense directly after a track as wild a “Teeth”. Again, NONE of this has anything to do with the lyrics. Just sheer emotion.
In conclusion though, I really fucking love “Melophobia”. It’s got perfect pacing, perfect production, tons of variety, so many excellent highlights, and one of the most memorable album endings I’ve ever experienced. The band’s whole discography is undoubtedly quite good, but this record is still LEAGUES above anything else that came before it, and so far, anything that has come after. Y’all better listen to it if you haven’t already.
Best Songs: Telescope, Black Widow, & Come A Little Closer.
Weakest Songs: haha no.
10/10. Masterpiece.
____________________________________________

Tell Me I'm Pretty

It’s a HUGE downgrade from the last album, but still a decent enough listen.
It’s a stiff competition between this & their self-titled when we’re deciding which Cage The Elephant album is the weakest. They both exist on pretty much equal levels of “unremarkably decent”, but I think I’d probably give “Tell Me I’m Pretty” an ever so slight edge over their debut. Even though I’m ultimately gonna give them the same rating, I think this record has a few more significantly notable qualities.
“Cry Baby” is a very solid opener & “Mess Around” is a delightfully nostalgic single in spite of literally just being a Black Keys song, but it’s only on tracks 4-7 where this album really hits it’s stride. “Too Late To Say Goodbye” is very methodically emotive, “Cold Cold Cold” has some super fun percussion & an engagingly dazed sense of atmosphere, and “How Are You True” is one of the prettiest songs in the band’s whole catalog. The choppy vocal effects are extremely immersive, and the lowkey energy of it all is wonderfully hypnotic.
It also transitions very naturally out of the song right before it. That song being “Trouble”. The strongest piece of this album by a pretty wide margin. The backing vocals are beautiful, the chorus is really impactful, the acoustic elements are particularly well utilized, and the whole thing truly feels “Melophobia quality” while still being sonically distinct from that project. After this 4-7 stretch however, the album’s final 3 tracks don’t give me a whole lot to talk about.
I enjoy the spaghetti western vibes of “That’s Right” decently enough, but “Punchin’s Bag” is one of the most forgettable songs that CTE have ever made, and even though it’s a decently fun track on it’s own, “Portuguese Knife Fight” has almost no real impact as a CLOSER. Which is particularly disappointing coming right off the heels of a record with one of the most impactful endings I’ve ever heard.
So yeah… “Tell Me I’m Pretty” definitely isn’t bad, but it definitely ain’t special either. It’s unenergetic in a way that mostly feels ill fitting of the band, Dan Auerbach’s production is solid but also extremely homogeneous, and lots of Matt’s vocals here feel way more “performative” than they do natural and/or “from the heart”. I do still enjoy this record for it’s excellent musicianship, generally solid song writing, and handful of wonderful highlights, but something definitely feels a little off about it all.
They just weren’t in peak form here. Which, again, is not a very pretty look right up against one of the most PEAK albums of the 2010’s.
Best Songs: Trouble, Cold Cold Cold, & How Are You True.
Weakest Songs: Punchin’ Bag, Sweetie Little Jean, & Portuguese Knife Fight.
This album gets a strong 7/10 to me.
____________________________________________

Social Cues

Not without it’s problems, but undoubtedly some of their strongest material to date.
This is pretty easily their 2nd best album if you ask me. It’s nowhere NEAR as good as 2013’s “Melophobia”, but it’s not like I ever expected them to reach those heights again. Cage The Elephant are an overall “pretty good” band with one exceptional masterpiece that came out of nowhere. But in terms of the rest of their “pretty good” discography, this is a very enjoyable album… even if it is VERY front loaded. Tracks 1-7 are all fantastic with only one exception, but then tracks 8-13 are all super forgettable outside of a couple key exceptions.
Let’s talk about that excellent first half though. “Broken Boy” is an immediately gripping BANGER of an opener with viscerally crisp production, The Title Track has a wonderfully psychedelic soundscape to it & one of the band’s catchiest choruses ever, and “Night Running” is a song that’s always gotten way too much hate in my opinion. I can KINDA understand the aversion to how sheerly radio friendly it is, but the vibes are again delightfully psychedelic, the Beck feature suits the track flawlessly, and there’s this extremely appealing sense of… idk “fuzziness” to the production on the chorus. Super sonically satisfying stuff.
Other great moments from this first half include “Ready to Let Go’ which was a perfect lead single for the record, as well as “Skin And Bones” which has a really moving chorus & some beautifully implemented strings, but easily the HARDEST banger of the whole project comes to us in the direct middle. “House of Glass”. This is one of the spectacularly wild things they’ve ever put out & it’s an absolute BLAST to listen to. The sly vocals, viciously vigorous guitars, and perfectly chaotic production all come together to create one of their best songs to date. LOVE IT.
Now for that relatively lackluster 2nd half. “The War Is Over” actually grew on me quite a bit this time around which I wasn’t expecting, but we still have songs like “Dance Dance” which feel distinctly lacking in creativity, “Tokyo Smoke” which frankly just feels kinda aimless to me, as well as “What I’m Becoming” which, in an attempt to sound soft & lowkey, just comes across as rather drab. These songs are all still “decent” at the end of the day, but they absolutely do not live up to the consistently high quality of that first half. Where this 2nd half DOES shine however are in it’s softer moment’s that aren’t “What I’m Becoming”.
“Love’s the Only Way” is SUCH a lovely track. The light guitars, the ethereal string sections, the tender vocal performance, the vividly “late night” atmosphere of it all! It’s easily one of the most beautiful glimpses into their softer side that the band have ever given us, but even more beautiful than that is the album’s closer & best song BY FAR, “Goodbye”. The lyrics are absolutely heartbreaking, the pianos are extremely moving in spite of being so very simple, and the bridge here is beyond fascinating to me.
There’s this part of it’s instrumental that’s either a muted piano or the pitched down plucks of an orchestral stringed instrument. Whatever the hell it is, it gives me chills damn near every time I hear it. There aren’t even lyrics during this part, but it still manages to be one of the most evocative depictions of sadness that I’ve ever borne witness to. Undeniable proof that sound alone can often speak SO MUCH louder than words. This has been my go to “depression song” for YEARS now & I don’t see that changing any time soon.
So that’s “Social Cues”! It’s definitely got some issues, but I still like it quite a bit. It’s got a really fun new sound for the band, a decent amount of variety, consistently excellent lyrics that are largely about Matt’s, at the time, recent divorce, and some of the highest highs in their entire discography. It’s undoubtedly frontloaded, but still a very satisfying album experience overall. I mean it’s kind of impossible NOT to be satisfied with a closer this stellar.
Best Songs: Goodbye, House of Glass, & Social Cues.
Weakest Songs: What I’m Becoming, Black Madonna, & Tokyo Smoke.
This album gets a decent 8/10 from me.
____________________________________________
Well that's the post! Hope you enjoyed reading it & I'd love to discuss any & all of my takes in the comments!

Starting to debunk 🔥 

End of the debunks 

Be a smokescreen who results in multiple idols going out in pockets? BIG SUCCESS
Be the smokescreen so long you believe you're safe when you find the Idol and are actually the target now? BIG MISTAKE
Tier Kenzie:

1. Kenzie: Do I even need to explain? Kenzie either wins or is somehow a F4 Fallen Angel, which I give like... a 0.5% chance of happening. The story is of Kenzie and her flawless social game and how she maneuvers through anything.

Tier Ben and Liz:

1. Ben: In the event that the 0.5% happens and Kenzie is a fallen angel, I guess her sidekick in his own sob story packages is the winner lol.
   
2. Liz: Basically same as Ben, but her edit is a bit worse than his IMO.
   

Tier Charlie and Maria:

1. Charlie: I NEVER thought I would put Charlie below Liz in a Contenders Ranking but here we are lol. The past 2 episodes have been explicitly telling us in depth why Charlie would lose a Jury vote. The entire past 2 episodes combined have basically and essentially completely shredded any and all strategic agency from the majority of the season. His story is that he's a bright guy who can do well, but simply lacked the killer's instinct and accurate reads to nail the ending.
   
2. Maria: Same as Charlie essentially, but her edit is way more negative lol. Julie and Maria being back to back 5th placers is kinda iconic lmao.
   

Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/Gm4iQ1T
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Dibs = listed price & must be paid within 45min or will void

I wanted to share my thoughts on Uncletopia and why I believe it isn't a suitable replacement for Casual mode in Team Fortress 2.
First and foremost, I want to acknowledge that Casual mode in TF2 currently has significant issues, particularly with the rampant problem of bots ruining games. It's understandable that players would seek alternatives to escape this frustration, and Uncletopia was designed to be that sanctuary. However, after spending a decent amount of time on Uncletopia servers, I've found that while it scores high on the no-bots front, it falls short in other critical areas that define a true "casual" experience.

1. Constant Steamrolls One of the most noticeable issues on Uncletopia is the frequency of steamrolls. Matches usually end in lopsided victories with one team dominating the other, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience for the losing side. This isn't a rare occurrence—it's practically the norm. A balanced match where both teams have a fair chance seems like a unicorn sighting.
   
2. Lack of Autoscrambling Autobalance in TF2's Casual mode isn't perfect, but at least it's something. Uncletopia, on the other hand, has no autoscramble feature. There's an option for players to call a scramble, but it’s rarely used. The absence of automatic team rebalancing prolongs one-sided matches and the misery that comes with them.
   
3. Tryhard Sweatfest Atmosphere Dane's vision for Uncletopia is commendable, but the reality is that the servers often feel less like a casual gaming experience and more like a competitive sweatfest. Players are generally highly skilled and geared towards winning at any cost. For those looking to unwind and just have fun, it can feel like walking into an esport trial by fire.
   
4. Inconsistent Fun The essence of Casual mode is, or should be, fun above all else. Uncletopia largely misses this mark. What’s supposed to be a haven from the bot-plagued Casual experience often devolves into a series of intense, high-stakes matches that leave casual players burnt out and disheartened.
   

I don't mind losing; it's a natural part of the game and something we all have to deal with. But... On Uncletopia, losses rarely feel fair. The lack of balance and the predominance of tryhard behavior strip away the enjoyment of a good, hard-fought loss. Instead, it often feels like you're being thrown into a meat grinder with no hope of escape.
While Uncletopia provides a bot-free environment, it doesn't deliver the balanced, relaxed gameplay experience many of us crave from a "casual" mode. I appreciate what Dane is trying to achieve, and there are certainly aspects of Uncletopia that are commendable, but as a replacement for Casual, it just doesn’t cut it. If you’re a player who loves competitive matches and thrives in a more intense atmosphere, Uncletopia might be your go-to server. For the rest of us seeking a genuinely casual experience, the search unfortunately continues. I don't have any hopes that Valve will actually address the bot issue either, so there's really just nowhere for me to go anymore. :/

Last week I have this important dinner with a business man and his team, me and my partners want him to introduce our product on his company's routines. Honestly, everything was going just great for the last months, everyone was getting along until that dinner, it was at on of his associate's house. The mood was light, everyone was joking and having some drinks (I'm muslim, so didn't consume any alcohol) and people were starting to get a bit light headed and giggly.
I don't recall what was the exact context of this conversation, but I was talking about how good it is to allow employees to work remotely, for it is proven to increase productivity and life quality, it reduces expenses in rent and electricity at the office, and it also enlarges the hiring pool, for you are not limited to people available on your comunity, but in the entire country (or even the world). Then the conversation shifted to taxes, because people who work remotely in other countries may face tax challenges declaring their income. All good so far, until they start complaining about how the government overcomplicate the way we have to declare taxes since "They already spy on us and know everything" (their words). So I got a direct question: Do you think the governmet is trustworthy?
Summarizing my reply, I said "no", when they asked me to elaborate (reassuring that 'they' includes people from both companies), I stated that there is so much dirt in the places of power, and mentioned the Jeffrey Epstein episode, in which he was beign watched by two guards and monitored by cameras 24/7, and conveniently enough he found a gap in the guard surveillance to attempt agains his life (also the cameras malfunctioned at the exact moment).
We shouldn't discuss politics specially in the situation I was in, but I thought I was being evasive and saying common sense... But guys, y'all have no idea what this dinner became after I mentioned the J.E. thing. Their chief of techology and infrastructure started rampanting on me, raised his voice, said I was stupid and only believe on 2 minute videos I see on Facebook, rather than actually making research about the facts, that I spread misinformation and becuase of people like me that society is falling apart, for I knew nothing about what I was saying and even said I was the conspiracy theorist, the type that wears aluminum papel hats.
I don't know if he was already drunk or what, but I found this reaction way over exagerated. I didn't even say something that crazy, I said that there is dirt in the positions of power and in the end they do what they want, doesn't matter if it is good or bad to the people. Anyway, after that the mood was completely ruined, everyone was silent, I looked over my watch and said something like 'yeah, think it's time for me to go', and then left.
After that, I appointed people to talk to them in my place for now, and we have another meeting scheduled to the end of June, but I honestly don't think this deal is going to happen no more, their CTO's probably will do whatever he can to boyicot it.
I have to admit that I was very surprised by his reaction, I was not expecting that at all, in my mind they would just shrug and say somthing like "that's so much we don't know about right... anyone want more beer..." and keep going with the meeting, rather than throw a tantrum.
For reference:
1- I'm not the CEO of the company I represent, I own 20% of the shares and work at the Finance office, specially on expansions.
2 - It is not to the guy who yelled at me to decide if rather or not the deal is going to happen, but he has influence and can act behind the curtains.
3 - English is not my primary language, so please overlook minor grammatical errors 👍
4 - Maybe I'm overthinkg it and no one really cares about what happened that night

Hi, today I got my first leopard gecko. I was planning to get a rescue (ig) from a teacher who no longer wanted her (I have been taking care of her during breaks for the past 2 years), she told me last week that she changed her mind last minute but I’ve put over 6 months on diy-ing her enclosure along with well over $1,000 in supplies etc. so I decided I’d just get my own. It was from a pet store, ik bad, I wasn’t expecting to get a baby so I just want to make sure everything’s right. (I actually think it’s a juvenile maybe 4 months they wouldn’t give an answer but they had it for like 2-3 months)
Btw, I think it’s a boy but I’m not sure, I haven’t really looked well because I’m trying to handle it
Some of my main questions: - if I’m doing anything severely wrong tell me - how old do you think it is? - is its weight a huge concern (I weighed it at .5 oz or 14.2 grams, there was a slightly older Leo in there with him so I don’t think it’s illness related) - any health concerns (I didn’t see any, eyes, nose, and mouth are clear, don’t look too skinny and is pretty active) Suggests for when to move to upgraded tank (Terra Sahara substrate) - any ideas on possible look/ morph (I think it may be an albino?) - any improvement suggestions
For its temporary enclosure - 16 qt tub with meat top - paper towel bottom - Small water bowl - moist hide - second hide - slate (cleaned and baked) for basking - deep heat projector - Arcadia 7% shade dweller (comes in tomorrow, I just used a led today)
Also good news he ate 8 mealworms today!
Permanent set up (for the next year, & still working on but almost done) - 20g long -terra Sahara substrate -everything in last one -diy background and hides - natural wood and stones (all treated)
I’ll answer any questions too (also how do you add pictures?

We just bought a row home 3 weeks ago. The house is 125 years old and was vacant for at least 5 years and needs a TON of work. We have been repairing and refinishing the floors, sanding the baseboards, and having roofing and electric inspections. We plan on moving in in July and hopefully everything will be very close to being done. All work is done during the day from like 10-6 ish.
Our neighbor to the right is a middle aged woman who recently had a TBI (how do I know that? She’s told me like 5 times) She isn’t mean per se but.. off (maybe due to the TBI? One time she seemed drunk or super high but she said it was because she just got out of the hospital) she lives alone and is home ALL day. I can tell by her LinkedIn that she has been super successful in the past so I do have some empathy that perhaps the TBI disabled her. My empathy is running short, though. Whenever she hears any kind of hammering or the drum sander for the floors she aggressively knocks on the door and asks what’s going on. And this is at like 2pm. It’s like a 2x daily occurrence, despite us informing her that it’s floors being refinished and it’s all being done as fast as possible and she’s really rude to my husband. She indicated we should pay for an air bnb until it’s done. She ALSO complained on facebook last fall about how much she hated the abandoned property that is now our house and wanted someone to move in and fix it up. Well, here we are!!! These things literally have to be done so we can move in and not die in an electric fire or fall through the floors.
She’s kind to me when I stop by and say hi. I’m starting to think the TBI is the culprit for this weirdness but it’s super off putting and making me nervous about what life will be like when we move in. The walls are super thick plaster and I cannot hear a single thing through them so I am hoping it’s just the empty house + hammering that she can hear. I guess I’ll keep yall posted lol.

I'm 5'1, 130 lbs, and a lady for reference. I actually have the NEMO Forte 35 in the men's version, but when I purchased it, I didn't realize what the difference between men's and women's bags were. Since it was used gear, I couldn't return it. I didn't know women's bags are more well insulated until a few months ago... so even though I LOVE the bag, my feet are always cold when I use it. Otherwise it is so amazing- lightweight and comfortable!
I jumped the gun and bought the same one in the women's version because it was a really good price and because I have faith that this one is better suited for me, I hope lol.
Has anyone else had an issue with their feet getting cold in their sleeping bags? I'd say the coldest I've slept is 35-40F. I get that these temperature ratings are usually more "optimistic" but my feet were sooo cold the last two times I used the bag. I also use a bag liner but it's still cold down there. I'm wondering if I need to bring a lightweight quilt or camp blanket but I want to do more backpacking this year.

I've been an avid coffee drinker for about a decade. Started in an office out of college. It was free, so cool, right? Started with one up a day, weekdays only, then evolved into weekends, and strong brews. Things went downhill when I my partner bought a Chemex for Christmas one year. I found I really like darker blends and specialized coffee.
Fast forward to 2024 and I feel like especially in the last 2-3 years I've just sort of been in a fog working from home. I've had zero motivation, but I do get my work done. It's tiresome though. I procrastinate, put things off for days, then rush to get them done. I also couldn't really focus on things. Work especially, meetings, even hobbies.
My normal morning routine was feeding the cats, then going directly to brewing that morning cup, empty stomach, then not eating until at least noon, telling myself it's "intermittent fasting" and good for me (which it very well might be, just not with coffee). It would be 10-11am before I really started anything because I just sat around after having coffee and really didn't want to start anything.
I actually decided to quit caffeine because I've had a upset stomach for about 6 months. Mainly on the left side, not pain, but something just felt constantly upset, but seemed to go away when I slept and woke up. I took a guess it was coffee on the empty stomach.
The good news is a week in now, the stomach issues have significantly gone away. 90% gone and I'm hoping it's 100% in another week or two. But what I discovered was far more interesting.
Naturally, I just started doing work, chores, or whatever way earlier. I didn't have my coffee, then sit around for 2 hours, procrastinating and dreading things. I just got to work. In the last week, I've done a ton. Some days I'd do work, lift weights in the middle of the day instead of putting it off until evening. Do more extensive projects around the house in the evening. I'd get into flow state much easier. Just getting on a project and going with it, then seeing 3-4 hours have passed and I feel great about what I accomplished. Things just came way easier. There wasn't any dreading it or excessive procrastination. I actually wanted to do things again - which was very weird to me.
I didn't plan any of this - this was mainly to cure the upset stomach. I didn't change my schedule. I just feel much more motivated to do things for some reason. I can now focus on work calls and meetings, or sit down and just hammer out a project through completion.
I know this goes against what coffee and caffeine is supposed to do for you, but I think it depends on the frequency and dose. If you're drinking a cup or two a day just to get started and functioning, even then you basically need it to function. Then question how well you're actually functioning and if you're just going through the motions or not.
There were some slight downsides in days 2-3 for sure. I was damn tired. Like falling asleep in the middle of the day tired. That worked it's way out around day 4 for me with a lot of sleep. I also sort of miss starting my day off with coffee, but the benefits are there for sure. I don't plan on going back or even getting back into having even one cup to start the day.
I never really noticed, but so many people are walking around in public with coffee cups and tumblers ALL DAY. I was at a sporting event over the weekend and saw plenty of people in the venue drinking coffee at 3pm.

Before I start, let me apologize for the “long-windedness” of my story. It required a bit of explanation about the context and my job.
I work in property management as a consultant In a college town on the East Coast of the US. As you can imagine, it’s a lot of young people. Oftentimes a lot of college kids won’t understand a lot of concepts like guarantors, conditional deposits, and so forth. I personally enjoy it a lot, especially as a full-time student myself. I love being able to interact with people my age, it’s easier to connect, and I get a lot of joy from helping people understand things like this. It’s makes a lot easier since I worked in a banking for a little while.
While a lot of people might think that this “lack of understanding” would cause a majority of the issues and “problematic” people we have to deal with, I would argue the opposite. In fact, I tend to deal with a particularly higher number of entitled parents rather than students. Like your typical helicopter parent who still desperately tries to control every aspect of their little angel’s life, often at the expense of the student. Anyways, I had an interaction earlier that I think took the cake for one of the MEANEST parents that I’ve met. Not in the traditional way of yelling, screaming, and whining until your ears bleed, but rather, bullying completely random college-aged people.
We’re coming to the beginning of the summer, which means that “college housing” (for those who don’t know) is wrapping up. This is because a lot of people (students and parents) prepare for the next school year during the previous school year. This includes choosing classes, getting jobs, and, importantly, finding housing. This is especially so for upperclassman (sophomores, juniors, and seniors), who don’t live on campus as much (it’s possible, but off-campus housing is often nicer and you don’t have to share a bedroom/dorm).
Because of the fact that we’re coming to the end of our leasing period, we’re quite short on available housing. We sell 1, 2, 3, and 4 bedroom houses. The leases last for a year and we often have people renew. That’s good for us as it means we have to sell less, it’s bad for the college students who want to live where we are because we’re a small community and places within the community are often pretty competitive. With that being said, there is a somewhat common situation that presents itself. This is when a student renews their lease (for example in a 4 bedroom home) while their other roommate(s) don’t. For more context, each person signs an individual lease. This means some people can stay in a house while other people leave.
In order to deal with this, my complex tries their best to “roommate” match. Essentially, try to match hobbies, interests, and personality types to minimize the conflict between random roommates. However, bear in mind this is not a “requirement”. We cater to a lot of students, but we aren’t a student-only housing complex. With that said, one of the incentives to roommate match for my complex is that they make more money from the individual leases (more people that sign-on the more money), however, it’s worth noting that this benefit does NOT extend to us as employees. We don’t make commission, so for us it’s really just trying to be nice when we do it, because it is a considerable amount of extra work.
Just because we try super hard to make people happy, it’s doesn’t mean everything always comes to fruition. People fight, don’t get along, or just don’t “match”. We understand this, but we try our best.
Anyways, we received a call from a mother earlier today, she’d been trying for weeks to get her son (a renewing resident who currently lives in a 4 bedroom by himself who roommates left after the lease ended), lets call her Karen. Let me stop here and say that I don’t blame the son at all for his mom’s behavior. Sometimes it’s hard to control or think of the actions of the person/people who raised us as “wrong”. Especially as the son or daughter of a person.
Karen had been trying for weeks to find roommates for her son. A stipulation of our leases is that if you knowingly resign a lease knowing that your other roommates will not be renewing, that you are either willing to take the given roommate assignment (which again, we try super hard to match as best as we can, but are not “required” to), so in the case of Karen’s son, 3 additional roommates. Karen had been shooting down all of our roommate matches for weeks. She had given one of my coworkers an earful when she found that she would not be the one officially approving or denying each applicant for her son (again, they are not “their” rooms to choose, they only pay for 1/4 bedrooms and within the unit). Following hanging up in her (my coworkers) face, it would seem that Karen decided that was either going to find her son the perfect roommates or get the whole townhome for her son, but either way she was NOT going to pay the nearly $2400 for the four bedrooms (each room is roughly $599).
So as mentioned, good ol’ Karen continues to shoot down every one of the roommates that we find for her son. Also bear in mind that we are NOT associate with the university, so the people that we are giving her are other applicants that we actively have to SEARCH for in order to find. But as mentioned Karen shoots one after another down. Finally, my manager asks Karen exactly what she wants (what kind of qualities, person, etc.). Karen wants a graduate student or young professional for her son. This in itself is not an unreasonable request, not everyone likes to party (despite the fact we are a party school) and we do try to accommodate requests such as these.
Today, three young applicants come along (actually, one came a few days ago, one yesterday, etc.). We'd been compiling this list of people to go into the home who met Karen's specifications for roommates. We were essentially going above-and-beyond for no reason other than just being patient with her demands (sounds dumb, but other customer service people get me ;) ).
So, today, my coworker calls Karen and explains the good news that we have found roommates that fit her specifications. Karen inquires about the qualities of the applicants, what they do, are they in school, etc. My coworker proceeds to explain that two of the students are graduate students, and one of the people is a young professional (fresh out of college). The ages were about the same between residents, gender and personalities matched, and the specifications set forth by Karen were pretty much met. However, upon hearing that the other roommates were grad-students, Karen very suddenly exclaimed "ew, I don't want my son with a bunch of nerds, find him someone else".
Like WTF, she's never met them, she had barely even heard about them. We had just pitched the idea to her, and they met HER specifications, and she has the gall to say that they're "too nerdy" for her son. I took over the call and ended it somewhat professionally as my coworker was about to (reasonably) lose it. The guys were perfectly nice and seemed friendly, had similar hobbies, among other things. It's such a shame to see a GROWN-ADULT (Karen is 55 according to her profile with the company) bully actual college students. Especially completely and unnecessarily calling them nerds (which, for the record, just wasn't true, as when I met one of the guys he was JACKED), and even if he was, why do you have to say it?
Anyways, sorry for the super long rant, shoutout to my fellow college students, we'll see how it goes tomorrow when I get back to work (c'est la vie).
TL:DR: Karen complains that the roommates we found are too "nerdy" for her son, despite asking for their type specifically.

I spent some time with it the night I got it and had fun. Coming back to it a couple nights later, I ended up playing it for like 5 or 6 hours straight I think. This game is a lot better than I was expecting! I'm still not far, but I like exploring the levels. I love the vast amount of weapons, armor, and artifacts in the game. Also a big fan of the roguelite elements, and how not only does it have a tower mode when online that allows you to play a true to the core roguelite game that lets you grab up an item for your story character, but also how the levels change on the actual story map when you go back to them. The levels are also a lot bigger than I imagined them being. It's got that Diablo/Champions of Norrath feel to it where you're often finding better equipment, and I really enjoy the feature of the weapons having 1-3 multi choice upgrades, usually according the the grade of the item. It also has gives vibes of some of the Gauntlet games. Overall really enjoying the experience, so I had to come and gush about it on the sub!

My fellow whovians,
I am relatively new to the world of convention going and have set out to meet as many people involved in Doctor Who as possible classic and new. That being said, I thought that a clever way to go about it was to get one item signed by the people from each respective era. I initially thought of getting a comic book signed but I realized that a comic is pretty small and I probably would not be able to fit everyone onto it. Additionally, there is also no consistent cover of every doctor. This led me to think about maybe getting a poster signed, but the issue there is that it is really hard to find anything official and consistent that represents each Doctor. The closest poster or art that I've found is from Alice Zhang, but she hasn't done art for all of the Doctors yet (Missing 1,2,3,5, and 6). I was wondering if anybody here knew any poster or art that has a consistent design which represents each Doctors era? To elaborate more, I'm thinking of something on the lines of the classic Who blu ray covers in terms of style that represents a Doctor's era, but I don't think they sell those as actual prints. I'd be looking for anything that I can purchase. I'd rather not print my own stuff out, but if somebody knows any art that is only available digitally, I'd be open to looking and printing. Thanks a lot guys!

I have a ram 2500 2012 diesel(bone stock). Essentially the title but to explain we gotta go back to 2 years ago. My transmission went, I wanted 800 hp on the truck at some point, so I upgraded, costed around $8k but I missed a thrust washer in between the pump and primary and it smoked itself within 50 miles, costed another 2k to fix what smoked. Well in doing so I got a valve body that needed a tune but the shop didn’t mess around with tunes so they recommended me to a different place. I towed the truck there, dropped it off, had them put the tune on everything worked fine and has ran amazing since. I made the dumb choice to add in a 5 dial engine tune that was supposed to be emissions intact but they messed up and put an emissionsless tune on, did my emissions and gave me my stickers. They then called 2 weeks later and said they messed up, well the truck ran amazing, felt like 100 or so more horsepower so I was very reluctant to take it back in and for various other reasons I decided not to. So I drove like that for a year and went to get it emissions tested and it said everything was “not supported” so obviously I took it back in to them and put the right tune on, However, they said the truck would not accept the tune as the check engine light was on for the egr. Now this is where it gets weird, I put on a trailer probably 6k pounds and went and burned it up a steep hill and the check engine turned off, for about a week. Took it back in that Monday night after they closed, dropped it, went home. Tuesday morning got a call that they still couldn’t get the truck to take the tune. The reason being that the vgt was throwing codes, I drive it home, buy a new turbo, stick it on, dropped it back off and the next morning again another call saying the truck wouldn’t take the tune. This time the reason being this now my nightmare of a code p2002. Now at this point I’m pretty skeptical about there work after looking into the cost of a new dpf and the fact that they could not answer any of my questions regarding what they actually tuned my truck with because they get there tunes from a place called starlight. Now it’s a reputable company and they make great tunes and alot of people use them but their customer service is only open on Wednesday from 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm and that is it. So I take it into a diesel performance shop that is very reputable, which my dad has also been using for years, to diagnose the issue. Now this is where I am completely lost. The guy flashed my ecm with a stock, straight from dodge, tune and test drives it with his reader. Says EVERYTHING is running completely normal, all the numbers are normal, fuel rail, boost pressures, dpf sensors all read at normal levels at all times, regens just fine, dpf fills up and regens properly, they replaced the map sensor and the “ppm?” Sensor which reads back pressure?, etc All in all he kept it and test drove it for 2 weeks and tried everything he could think would cause this and the only thing he noticed was that the egr was not doing exactly what it should.
Now, the truck smokes ( not a lot but enough to see in the day) pretty consistently until under load. Essentially once the turbo kicks in it stops. He told me that the egr is 95% open at idle and takes a little longer to close than it should which I guess isn’t supposed to happen. He put a brand new egr on there and test drove it same thing, smoke whenever there is no boost, egr not doing what it’s supposed to. He then unplugs the egr entirely and guess what zero smoke… whatsoever… not even a puff.
Now after 2 years of cops and dmv lines and impound lots and countless hours googling everything I can find about similar issues, I’m completely lost on what to do now.
He recommends the dealer but he says he knows that they are just going to throw parts at it until it’s fixed. This is likely looking down the barrel of a 7-10k dollar shotgun. Just to find out it’s some dumb sensor or something I am not aware of.
So my questions are; What all in the computer makes the egr valve open? Has anyone dealt with this before? Or even something similar? What would you do in this case? Please ask whatever questions I will gladly answer or look into them.
Sorry if this novel is hard to read I didn’t pay attention much in school

Well Haters…
This is what I think and I don’t see anyone else having my same thought but let’s set this up.
If you can, do serious comments and let’s open a nice debate about this topic!
So, The best UWs are GT BH and SL no doubt!
4th UW = CF
Not anymore!
The thing is simple, Dying from Doritos/Nachos Vampire!!!
Nothing can stop them, especially in early and mid game, and Recently I figure out several things.
I guess that enemy speed depends on Tiers but in T-1 I completely take away Attack Speed Card cuz The Only Way to defeat Vampires is only by Thorns.
I died too many time cuz of them so I figure it out that to reach T-7 and maybe even T-8 milestone there is only one way to go for, which is Health Build.
Now there are two3 things to say, two about how to get massive health and one about why health is pretty useful anyway even in long term game.
1) DW!
not only gives a pretty nice advantage on coin boost especially during coins farm runs, but It gives a massive 7x times your base health, and that already helps way too much alone to get till T-4 at least, having 1k health Workshop and 2x lab health. So there is no doubt that health is the fastest way to get not only those damn milestone, but also to start farms in higher tiers, but that goes along also with a bit of damage.
2) WormHole Redirector!
To me There’s no way module better than this one to use not only for any kind of enemies but especially for Vampires. Even a 25% will get you through so many more waves that also with this module only, without DW also, it allows you to get through so many Tiers milestones, and even coin farm. The advantage to have it, it makes useful to also Upgrade Health Regen which secures so much your ability to have max “max recovery” at all time, and there is no doubt that having Health Regen that works on your full Health is a bad thing.
3) Walls!
DW and WR already gives you massive Health and Health Regen, but having massive Health gives so much potential To the Wall which is based on that. People have Trilions of Base health in late game only because it helps way too much, combining it also with Damage in late game of course, but only the Health could make you relax for a while even in the Higest Tiers.
health is way too important right now because of Vampires especially, and an Health Build is the fastest way to get those Early milestones, no doubt in this.
This also gives you chances to Farm pretty high Tiers and when you reach a cap, it is time to upgrade Damage!
This is where CL comes to help with, not only because of the insane multiplier it gets, but also because of the module it comes with.
1) CL!
At Lv 7 with only 161 stones it already gives 5 times the basic damage, up to Lv 30 where it gives over 60 times the basic damage, this is the first thing to take in consideration. After that at Lv 5 with only 220 stones it give a 10% of chance to spawn, which doesn’t seems much but considering that you might shoot 100 projectiles per second, you have basically 10 CL each seconds, not considering the number of bolts it shoots after a successful activation. Last but not least there are the number of bolts which max out to 5 with 655 stones which seems much but It’s pretty worth. So only with lv 7, lv 5 and 5 bolts, the damage increases a lot and it’s barely 900 stones which is not much for the massive damage output you’re throwing. You also should consider the 2x from Perks which double everything and having 5 Bolts that gets triggered 10 times each seconds dealing 19 times the damage you have currently it’s impressive I’d say, not considering that by maxing all of it you will have 30 activation in one sec, and 150 bolts each sec dealing not 60 but 120 times the actual damage you have, if you max everything out, it’s already an huge benefit to start to do some real damage.
2) Dimension Core!
Well, there is much to say but maybe there isn’t even much to say after all. With this module you have double the chance of activating CL and from everything I said above you have between 5x to 20x more damage. If this didn’t convince you yet I really don’t know what will.
After This Defense and this huge Offense, Only now, I would start to think to Slow enemies Down, especially Vampires, because you will have enough damage to take care of those for a while, and in case that isn’t enough, you have Trillions of health That Can Take care of it, Health that can hold Vampires for so long that damage will take it, or maybe that thorns will handle, and health that also gets back to max after a vampire dies.
CF is that important if you’re already struggling to get vampires down or as close as possible to the tower without also bringing every other enemy close enough to deal massive damage to you?
This is why the first 3 UWs are the one mentioned before, this is why 4th UW is DW, 5th UW is CL and finally 6th most important UW is CF!
I really want to see if someone still thinks that CF won’t just get worse the Vampire situation for those Early or even Mid players that are around Right Now With this Nachos/Doritos upgrade.
Current Version 23.4!
I’m waiting Everyone’s thoughts About this newBest UW’s setup!

We keep saying he should drop his leaks but which ones y'all think would perform well & also satisfy us?
I think Rock Shit & Control Me are some good candidates , both hella mainstream songs with amazing Faygo performances, great beats, hella replayability & I think either or would fit on WAR 2 dependent on their placement on the tracklist
I would say wishes, Poppin tags or Outta space but those leaks are almost too good to be delegated to be a lead single / part of a 2 pack for the album for these reasons
1) Wishes needs to be on the album early on as a "Off the map" or "4Sum+" type track to keep the album going but also be one of the best tracks but can't be overplayed as a single to ruin the tracks experience
2) Outta Space although already seemingly like the lead single based on leaks, I don't think it'll work for what Faygo & what his team want, it's too chill for what war 2 is probably gonna be it's more like "Control" off WLR, Like it's a great song but if you were to show someone control off WLR they would not immediately think it's a rage , industrial, hype type album & would assume it's more chill
3) Poppin tags ain't seen like a single to me but like "You Better Move" off EA, Like it's a great song but if "You Better Move" was the lead single for EA that would have been disappointing but something like "That Way" was a way more replayable single with mainstream appeal (like Rockshit or Control Me)
Overall I hope he drops a replayable song as a lead single instead of a technically amazing song, Faygo & his team probably know what to drop YE performed really well for dropping when Faygo had hella hate & WYW had hella positive reactions, I just hope Faygo drops either a fire lead single or a 2 pack before the album so we can actually start being hype for WAR 2 again
(Also mods I hope this follows the rules I'm talking about leaks nothing else☺️)