Reading selections that hve questions about making generalizations

I’ve been thinking of things my party can get up to between the main adventures. The book mentions some ideas for pirate ship hunting but I want to create a memorable challenge for my party, so I thought about what would make a properly efficient pirate crew.

1. An assault team of level 5 Aarakocra gloomstalker rangers with the Sharpshooter feat use fog cloud to conceal their approach.
2. 90-ish feet above where the deck of the ship will be a short time later, one of them casts Rope Trick on a one-inch piece of rope and they all hide inside.
3. As the ship passes. Slow they all leap out, dive to be within range for Hunter’s Mark, having had time to discuss and select their individual targets, then fly upwards back out of normal range for most weapons and unleash their longbows. They prioritize the officers, since common crew will probably go down from a single arrow anyway.
4. With no penalties for long range, ignoring half and three quarters cover, this group should quickly be able to clear the decks while staying out of range of most ranged weapons and spells.
5. Meanwhile, a group of air genesi swashbuckler rogues have been swimming along beneath the ship, hanging on to it below the waterline out of sight. Once the decks are clear they can hang on and climb the sides using levitation to make the climb trivial and holding on to the boat to overcome levitation’s limitations on lateral movement.
6. With the Aarakocra providing air cover, the rogues can sneak/hunt through the rest of the ship mopping up lurkers and other survivors. Judicious use of Silence and Pass Without Trace will help keep things quiet, and perhaps a couple of soul knife rogues could provide Psychic Whispers to facilitate comms during the assault.

Kill the crew, sail close, loot what you want, sink ship.
Probably need 5-6 Aarakocra and 6-8 genasi.
Two thoughts/questions: 1. What have I done? This feels like an unbeatable way to take a ship, assuming that neither mangonel nor ballista can aim high enough to hit the birds, who can quickly get themselves to 200’ or more away from the deck and still hit targets with impunity.

1. What could a team of adventurers do to stop it? Assume that there are no survivors of previous attacks to provide any information on the strategy. Also assume all the Aarakocra have plumage like a parrot.

Star Wars in general just doesn't feel nuanced. Everyone is either comically evil or a goodie two shoes.
Yes, the original trilogy was made in a different era and one of the first movies to do what it did. But nowadays with nearly 50 years of stories, it feels like there's not enough that makes us question our characters' morals.
The only character I can really think of that actually made me think about this is Kreia. She is perhaps the best written character in Star Wars, because she's the only one who doesn't see everything in black and white. I guess you could also say Qui-Gon was quite grey, but as of Disney canon he's no longer a grey Jedi. I don't think there even is a grey Jedi in canon.
Star Wars just feels too much like "good guys do good things, bad guys do bad things." Which kind of sucks because like I said, Star Wars is nearly 50 years old. You'd think there'd be more stories about moral grey areas.

Hello! First disclaimer is that I’m a university undergraduate student and not looking for medical advice. Second thing is I already tried to look this up and googling was not entirely useful but rather gave more questions. 1) is testosterone levels genetically determined or more so epigenetically determined? I understand that environmental components can impact testosterone negatively and positively but is the natural levels due to the enhancers within the testosterone genomic locus? 2) from my understanding testosterone inhibits future testosterone production in a normal feedback loop. Once exogenous testosterone is minimal/zero does this result in normal levels after some point? To me this makes sense but I (I’m a premed) was in a doctors office one day shadowing and he was complaining about how once you get on testosterone you can’t get off. I should’ve asked while I was there but honestly I didn’t know enough. From my understanding of the cycle of testosterone it should come back but I’m kinda curious about this. In addition to this if there are additional environmental influences that do raise testosterone by releasing it from sex binding gobulin hormone (I butchered that probably) , does that increase cause negative feedback inhibition or because it releases it from SBGH it doesn’t have a big effect? - sorry for bothering you all and I assume these are kinda basic. I chose testosterone because honestly I kinda have just always had these questions. I like to read/pick up fun facts and as I’m not in university currently I don’t know who else to ask. Thank you so much for answering this and have a great day!

Tuesday, May 28 Good morning! Here's our Markets Reporter Josh Schafer with your preview of the abbreviated week ahead.
️ Stocks still near record highs: Stocks closed last week with mixed results as debate about when, or if, the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates continued to be top of mind for investors. But they still stand near record highs. ‌ After a quiet week on the economic data front, a key reading of the Fed's preferred inflation gauge is set to greet investors in the week ahead. A second update on economic growth in the first quarter and a reading on consumer confidence are also on the economic schedule. ‌ On the corporate front, earnings season is officially winding down, with Salesforce, Costco, Dollar General, and Best Buy highlighting a lighter schedule of quarterly reports. What we're watching
Morning Brief is written and edited by Ethan Wolff-Mann. For the web version, click here. Follow all the action throughout the day on Yahoo Finance and on the Yahoo Finance app.
Rate debate: A hotter-than-expected reading on US economic output, combined with a hawkish tone from Fed officials in the minutes of the central bank's May meeting, prompted investors to scale back expectations for interest rate cuts again. Investors are now pricing in fewer than two cuts for the year, and debate has shifted to whether or not the Fed will make its first cut by September. ‌ As of Friday, markets were pricing in a 50% chance the Fed doesn't cut in September, a noted shift from the 70% chance investors had priced in a month ago, per the CME FedWatch tool. ‌ Goldman's chief US economist David Mericle pushed its predicted first cut from July to September, but reasoned that his team still views these cuts as "optional" given the strength of the economy. All else equal, signs of strength in the economy "lessen the urgency" for the Fed to cut, Mericle reasoned. ‌ With earnings season largely over, Truist co-chief investment officer Keith Lerner told Yahoo Finance the discussion around the Fed, inflation, and economic data will once again take center stage for markets in the near term. ‌ "That just makes for a more volatile market," Lerner said. ‌
A fresh check on prices: Inflation's trajectory remains crucial to the Fed's rate-cutting timeline, and markets will get an update on any progress on Friday with the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index. ‌ Economists expect April's "core" PCE, the Fed's preferred gauge that excludes the volatile food and energy categories, clocked in at an annual gain of 2.8%, flat from March's increase. Over the prior month, economists expect "core" PCE rose 0.3%, also in line with last month's change. ‌ Another economic growth update: US economic growth for the first quarter of 2024 came in far weaker than economists had expected. On April 25, the Bureau of Economic Analysis's advance estimate of first quarter US gross domestic product showed the economy grew at an annualized pace of 1.6% during the period, missing the 2.5% growth expected by economists surveyed by Bloomberg. ‌
The secondary reading is slated for Thursday, and economists believe after down revisions to retail sales data in February and March, the GDP number will fall to 1.3% in this reading. However, Bank of America US economist Michael Gapen wrote in a note to clients that this shouldn't be an ominous sign about the health of the US economy as final sales to domestic purchasers remains strong.
A solid earnings backdrop for the rest of the year is one of several factors many strategists are citing as they revise up their year-end targets for the S&P 500. ‌ But Deutsche Bank chief equity strategist Binky Chadha told Yahoo Finance while people are "talking bullish," equity positioning hasn't shifted much in the past three months. Deutsche Bank's measure of positioning shows investors are "overweight" equities but not to the "extreme" levels seen in 2021 and 2018.
Chart of the day This is one of several reasons Chadha sees "upside risks" to his updated call for the S&P 500 to end 2024 at 5,500. Chadha believes there could be more room to run for stocks, particularly given that he feels consensus isn't currently pricing in outperformance for the US economy. ‌ Chadha highlights that expectations for the US economy have really just shifted from an incoming recession to at or slightly below normal trend growth. If that consensus continues to move higher, and the US economy once again grows more than expected this year amid what some believe could be a productivity boom for the US labor force, it's not hard to see the S&P 500 hitting 6,000, per Chadha. ‌ "We've come a long way, but we don't seem to have gone all the way," Chadha said.
Tuesday ‌ ‌ ‌ Wednesday ‌ ‌ ‌ Thursday ‌ ‌ ‌ Friday ‌ ‌ Earnings and economic calendar Economic data: S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index year-over-year, March (+6.38% prior); Conference Board Consumer Confidence, May (96 expected, 97 prior); Dallas Fed manufacturing activity, May (-15 expected, -14.5 prior)
Earnings: Box (BOX), Cava (CAVA) Economic data: MBA Mortgage Applications, week ending May 24 (+1.9% prior); Richmond Fed manufacturing index, May (-7); Federal Reserve releases Beige Book Earnings: Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), Advance Auto Parts (AAP), American Eagle (AEO), BMO (BMO), C3.ai (AI), Chewy (CHWY), Dick's Sporting Goods (DKS), HP (HPQ), Okta (OKTA), Salesforce (CRM)
Economic data: First quarter GDP, second estimate (1.3% annualized rate expected, +1.6% previously); First quarter personal consumption, second estimate (+2.1% expected, 2.5% previously); Initial jobless claims, week ended May 25 (218,000 expected, 215,000 previously); Pending home sales, month-over-month, April (-0.6% expected, +3.4% previously); Wholesale inventories month-over-month April preliminary (-0.1% expected, -0.4% previously) Earnings: Best Buy (BBY), Birkenstock (BIRK), Build-a-Bear Workshop (BBW), Burlington Stores (BURL), Canopy Growth (CGC), Costco (COST), Dollar General (DG), Foot Locker (FL), Hormel Foods (HRL), Kohl's (KSS), Marvell Technology (MRVL), MongoDB (MDB), Ulta Beauty (ULTA), Zscaler (ZS)
Economic data: Personal income, month-over-month, April (+0.3% expected, +0.5% previously); Personal spending, month-over-month, April (+0.3% expected, +0.8% previously); PCE inflation, month-over-month, April (+0.3% expected, +0.3% previously); PCE inflation, year-over-year, April (+2.7% expected, +2.7% previously); "Core" PCE, month-over-month, April (+0.3% expected, +0.3% previously); "Core" PCE, year-over-year, April (+2.8% expected; +2.8% previously) Earnings: BRP (DOO.TO)

This is a bit of a vent, I apologize in advance for the super long post.
So, I (28 F) have this friend (30 F) who I’ve known for over a decade. We met when we were teenagers and I would say I consider her one of my best friends. However, there’s always been this underlying feeling of competitiveness between us. I used to brush it off when we were teens and even early 20’s, but now we are about to enter our 30’s and it is still the same. However, there isn’t one giant scenario where I’ve felt comfortable enough to tell her that I feel like she’s trying to “one up” me or compare our scenarios. It’s always just little comments, some backhanded, some just kind of odd. If I’m sad about a situation, she will comfort me for a second but then go into a long spiel about how she’s had it so much worse and handled it better. Whatever I’m going through or have been through, she’s had it worse, every single time. Even when our situations don’t even really seem related, she finds a way to make it about herself. I feel mean for thinking this way but I do feel like it’s the truth. Whenever I’m doing well or am proud of an accomplishment, she never really acknowledges it or says anything about it. I am aware that I sometimes rely on external validation a bit so sometimes I wonder if I am expecting too much from her. But sometimes I feel like I am always trying to cheer her on and highlight her hard work etc, and don’t feel this reciprocated. I also feel like our daily lives are compared a lot, and my work or day to day routines are “undermined” in comparison to hers (example: I’m in graduate school and will say something like “oh I’m sorry I haven’t replied for a little bit I’ve been really busy with work and school”, and she will just reply with a long paragraph about everything she’s done this week and how hard she’s been working, how busy she’s been, how early she had to get up, etc.)
TW: SA below • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • A few years ago, I was SA. I didn’t tell her because in that moment, I felt that if I did, she would just talk about herself, and that’s not what I needed at the time. I saw her about a year after it happened and ended up having a panic attack and then briefly telling her. I didn’t give any details, just said I was SA last year. Several months later we briefly talked about it (I never actually told her what happened and I don’t think I will) she said she was hurt that I didn’t come to her because she wants to be there for me, but that it was okay. Then she goes on to say how my situation isn’t even that bad though because she’s been SA multiple times, and that she was surprised that this was the first time this has happened to me because of how many women this happens to (it wasn’t, I was also SA as a child and she knew that) and made some weird comments about how now I’ve joined the club and can empathize with her better and become more resilient. I kind of interrupted and said this wasn’t the first time, but then I kind of dissociated and it confirmed exactly why I never went to her first comfort in the first place. I felt extremely dismissed and unheard.
I do recognize that she has low self esteem but portrays herself as if she doesn’t, and has some trauma to work through. But that is up to her to decide and not something I would really say because telling someone they have low self esteem that they should work through would be rude. But I do think a lot of her comments stem from low self esteem. I also do believe she has the best intentions but just doesn’t always come across that way. I do genuinely think that she wants to help when I need it and just be a good friend in general, which is why I have always talked myself out of saying anything to her. I know she loves me and values me as a best friend too. I feel guilty that I’ve had these feelings bottled in and have never went to her about it. Even reading this back I feel like I sound so rude about someone who is supposed to be my best friend. I hate confrontation so I’ve always brushed it aside and convinced myself that I’m just taking things the wrong way. I’m not sure if it’s fair to go to her with examples, or if I should just wait until an opportunity comes up where I can address it in the moment. Or, if I am just reading into things too much and maybe I’m the one who wants conversations to be about me?? Am I expecting too much validation?
So basically, would I be the asshole if I told her I feel like there’s an underlying competitiveness between us, and then give her some examples of why?
TL;DR: My best friend compares all of our situations which often hurts my feelings, and I’m not sure if I should talk to her about how I’m feeling. I feel like sometimes maybe I am the one being selfish.

I've been noticing a lot of chatter about the differences between ultrabooks and traditional laptops lately, and I thought it would be a great idea to dive into this topic. Whether you're in the market for a new laptop or just curious about the differences, this post is for you,
What Exactly is an Ultrabook?
Ultrabooks are a category of laptops defined by their thin and lightweight design, typically less than 0.8 inches thick and weighing under 3 pounds. They are designed for high portability without sacrificing too much performance. Key features include:

• Slim design: Easily fits into a backpack or briefcase.
• Long battery life: Often lasting 8-12 hours on a single charge.
• Fast performance: Equipped with SSDs and efficient processors.
• Premium build quality: Often featuring metal bodies and high-resolution display

Traditional Laptops: The Workhorses
Traditional laptops, on the other hand, offer a broader range of options in terms of size, performance, and price. They tend to be bulkier but pack more power, making them suitable for a variety of tasks from gaming to professional work. Key features include:

• Varied performance: From budget-friendly models to high-end machines.
• Upgradeable components: Easier to upgrade RAM, storage, and sometimes the GPU.
• Better cooling systems: Often more effective at managing heat during intensive tasks.
• Wider port selection: More USB ports, HDMI, and other connectivity options.
  Ultrabooks vs. Traditional Laptops
  

1. Portability and Design

Ultrabooks: Perfect for those who are always on the go. Their sleek and lightweight design makes them easy to carry around, ideal for students and professionals who need to travel light.
Traditional Laptops: Tend to be bulkier but offer more variety in screen sizes and form factors. Better suited for users who prioritize performance over portability.

1. Performance and Usage

Ultrabooks: Equipped with efficient processors like Intel's Core i5/i7 or AMD Ryzen 5/7, these laptops handle everyday tasks, multimedia consumption, and light gaming with ease. However, they might struggle with high-end gaming or resource-intensive applications.
Traditional Laptops: Available with powerful CPUs and GPUs, they excel in performance-heavy tasks like video editing, 3D rendering, and gaming. They are the go-to choice for professionals who need serious computing power.

1. Battery Life

Ultrabooks: Designed for extended use on the go, ultrabooks typically offer impressive battery life, often lasting through a full workday or longer.
Traditional Laptops: While some models offer good battery life, high-performance traditional laptops might need more frequent charging, especially during intensive tasks.

1. Upgradability and Customization

Ultrabooks: Generally, ultrabooks have limited upgrade options. Most components are soldered onto the motherboard, which means you need to choose your specs wisely at purchase.
Traditional Laptops: Offer greater flexibility with upgrades. You can usually upgrade RAM, storage, and sometimes even the GPU, extending the lifespan and performance of your device.
Which One Should You Choose?
Your choice between an ultrabook and a traditional laptop depends largely on your personal needs and preferences. Here are a few scenarios to help you decide:

• For the Traveler: If you value portability and long battery life, an ultrabook is your best bet. It's perfect for students, business professionals, and anyone who needs to work on the go.
• For the Power User: If you need a machine that can handle heavy-duty tasks like gaming, video editing, or software development, a traditional laptop with powerful specs will serve you well.
• For the Budget-Conscious: Traditional laptops offer a wider range of prices and specs, making it easier to find something that fits your budget while meeting your performance needs.

What are your thoughts? Are you Team Ultrabook or Team Traditional Laptop? Share your experiences and let’s get a discussion going

This is the story of a friend, who confided in me but I'm sharing this with you to illustrate a very important point. Something that not many people will tell you.
So read it till the end.
✨️✨️✨️
This story, which is a 100% true as with evwrything else I've ever written on here, illustrates how The Law exhausts the easiest, least resistant way possible to realize your dreams.
And how, sometimes, that's not something good.
✨️✨️✨️
It all started with a need. A burning need for money. My friend owed some people a lot of money. She never told me before or I would have helped her get out of this pickle far earlier.
But, as usual, she remained unassuming and secretive. Until just yesterday, she showed me the list of creditors, which had more than a dozen names written on it. 😱
Crazy.
I know she's always been impulsive but to do this? I didn't judge her but I was disappointed, ngl, that she never told me what was happening behind the scenes. 😔
Well, she told me this yesterday morning and the following afternoon, while taking a nap, I imagined her telling me over text that she got the money she needed. 🥳
I repeated it a few times. It was hazy as I was VERY VERY sleepy. But as usual, I looped it until I fell asleep.
💤 The nap itself was only 10 mins long.
That was it, really.
🪄✨️ And I did get the text by the evening so I was relieved. But today, she told me the whole truth.
She had stolen the money from her dad, who had very UNEXPECTEDLY came into a big amount of cash! 😱
He brough that cash home yesterday evening and she stole it!
🤔 And the funny thing? The dad doesn't even seem to remember that he ever brought that money in thw first place.
HE DOESN'T EVEN REMEMBER IT, YOU GUYSSS!!!
It seems to have been erased from his mind.
He has no recollectiom of it. But of course, she feels guilty to her very core. That's why she told me this in the first place.
She's my best friend, and we are quite frank with each other, tbh. My heart went out to her when she said to me,
"I am in an emergency or I would never have done this. I'll pay my parents back double this amount. This is just a loan!" 😔
And I trust her. I know that she will.
✨️✨️✨️
But I also understan why this happened.
She only recently confessed to me that she has a habit of steaking stuff. Money, usually. 🫥
Not a big amount. A couple dollars here and there. And mostly she steals it from her dad, she said. She's in college. Doing post grad.
She mentioned her dad knows she takes a couple dollars sometimes without him knowing and he doesn't mind. I dunno how that works though. 🤷🏻‍♀️
🌸 When she revealed this piece of information, that's when it hit me!
Look, she isn't earning right now. She has no personal savings. Not of such a big amount. Neither does she have that many friends or wealthy ass relatives lmao 😂
So, the FIRST possible way for her to get the money, according to me, was for her to do what she's always been doing, as she confessed.
Steal money from her dad.
And her dad getting into that amount of money was also the path of least resistance in her case!
So that's why he got the money in the first place. Otherwise why would he?? Their family is barely making ends meet afterall! And they have a humble little shop in the suburbs.
🤔 But now, you'll ask, DOES THIS MEAN THERE WAS NO OTHER WAYY FOR THE LAW TO MANIFEST THE MONEY??
Well, here's where I want to build on my previous post!
🪄 Of course there was a way other than thia. There could have been COUNTLES number of ways this could have been manifested. DUH 🙄
But for that to happen, she'd have to resist her urge to steal. If she hadn't stolen the money, then after a couple of days, another opportunity would have risen!
I am 100000% sure of it!
But since it was easier for her to resort to unethical means, second nature even, then thay's what ended up happening!
✨️✨️✨️
And since I wasn't aware of this habit of hers, it wasn't my belief either, before any of you pounce on me like hungry kittens lmao 😂
✨️✨️✨️
Well, there you go. I wanted to share this story with you to illustrate one VERY IMPORTANT POINT -
Never lie or cheat or steal. Not even as a joke. Try to stay away from any of these things. Because these open pathways for you, that might get you your styff easily in the beginning but, when it'll truly matter, you won't be able to resist your urge.
Like my friend couldn't.
But that doesn't mean you can't tell little white lies when it's necessary or something.
I'm talking about EXTREMES here, you people!
✨️✨️✨️
I hope this story helps clear some questions for you, questions you didn't even kmow you had.
Until next time,
R A I N ☔️

I think the general fan (and King himself) disdain over the Kubrick film made me overhype the book before reading it. Kubrick’s The Shining is one of my all time favorite horror movies, and I’ve watched it many times over the past few decades. It’s one of those movies that I think is timeless. And hearing everyone say the book is light years better had me excited.
Now, I did not dislike the book. I enjoyed it a lot actually. I did appreciate the more in depth context with characters, especially Jack. But there were some questionable choices for the “horror” sequences in the book that somewhat ruined the immersion for me.
The fire hose monster scenes were a bit goofy. I know King likes to make inanimate objects horrifying, but a hose seems like quite a stretch. But what I found worse, were the living hedge animals that King seemed to think would terrify the reader enough to warrant their constant presence in the story. I don’t mean to be rude, but every scene with those hedge animals felt like it came from the mind of a 10 year old, more fitting for a Goosebumps book.
I was honestly shocked that the iconic twins from the movie didn’t make any ghostly appearances in the book. I kept expecting for Danny to turn around and see them, only for it to never happen.
In short, great character development and definitely great moments of tension, but at the same time some questionable choices that make me appreciate the movie more in some areas 🤷‍♂️

Picture a glamorous Mediterranean port city, awash with wealth. A rich American girl, just arrived with her father on his yacht, out partying with a gaggle of recently acquired friends, meets a handsome and mysterious stranger at a club. They get along famously, but fate intervenes before they can truly get to know each other- in the form of the stranger's nameless work calling him away.
The very next night, fate brings them back together again, when she finds him bleeding in an alleyway.
He has to tell her something, just enough to keep her from running to call the ambulance. He's been undercover, and tonight that cover was nearly blown. If the people he's been working with find him in this state- and that includes finding him in the hospital- everything he's been working towards, his entire operation, it will all fall apart. Better if she just walks away and forgets she ever saw him.
She can accept all of that except for the last part. Maybe it's her conscience, or her attraction to him, or a selfish thirst for adventure, or all three; she can't see any reason why he shouldn't come back to her yacht instead. She has three entire rooms all to herself, almost an entire wing. He'll be safe.
Maybe it's the blood loss, or his attraction to her, or a selfish desire not to die; he finds himself being convinced much more easily than usual.
All of a sudden she's mixed up in something much bigger- and much closer to home- than she could have imagined...
~~~

Hey all! I'm Lee, and I'm looking for someone of a similar roleplaying type to myself, to play the brave, clever, and slightly naive heroine of a movie-inspired spy story! That is, I'm looking for a multi-paragraph writer (not novella!), who writes on discord, is over 21 and doesn't mind waits for replies- we've both got IRL lives to live, after all!
I've got lots of potential twists and turns in mind for this story, but also a lot that's currently open to be decided, so you'll be able to contribute to the plot as well. Like the title said, it's going to have vintage vibes (I've watched a lot of 1960s spy moves!), only because modern settings just don't do it for me! Cellphones, internet, instant communication- they just spoil the fun. What I'm aiming for is the aesthetic and general technology level of the 60s, but not too nitpicky about specific historical details.
Expect- drama, action, intrigue, hurt/comfort, romance, excitement, a good balance of grit and glamoudarkness and light.
Send me a message if you're interested! Please be sure and make it clear that you read through the entire post- if it's obvious that you didn't, I won't answer.

Tl;dr: Had a fantastic time with a potential FWB I'd known for years, and then she left me.on Read and unfriended. I'm at a loss.
So I worked with her for a couple years. Nothing happened, but we always got along along well. Eventually one of us left that job, and we traded info before saying bye. We got to messaging (I know, I know, but I wasn't even sure she wanted to get together, and she's a big messaging type, anyway) and pretty soon we talked our way into acknowledging we both wanted an ongoing casual thing with absolutely no strings. HHH, right? So we made very quick plans for her to come over and potentially stay over. She came over the next night, wine in hand, and it went just about perfect. Didn't even watch a movie as we planned since we were talking and laughing for hours. Naturally cuddled up midconversation. Casually kissed her at one point and went back to talking. Pretty soon, doing little talking. We took our time, too. Did almost everything, but we'd agreed on a red line of "No matter what, no full hooking up the first hangout." Fine with me. We enjoyed each other extensively, anyway. Had some similar semifreaky interests, too. When we finished, she stayed over, and we slept either with her on my shoulder or me spooning her, alternating all night. Morning, we had a little more fun, but she had to go quickly. Nothing was awkward. We still made time for some of that morning fun. We parted ways with some flirty words about how it went and about the future.
That night, I messaged her that it was great our interests meshed so well and I couldn't wait for next time. Left on Read.
Few days later, I sent the second and last message, about wanting to share some flirty thoughts I'd had along the lines of things we'd discussed. Left on Read.
Now, a couple weeks after our meet, I see she unfriended me.
I'm lost, confused, a bit butthurt, and man just a bit plain old hurt. We clicked well, really well, in conversation and in having our fun. We'd known each other for years. We had a lot in common. We had a great acquaintance (and once we got to talking possibilities, I was always casually clear we were not just friends and I didn't want that). And truly everything I can think of from our meet, start to finish, suggested we'd talk more often and meet again soon.
Instead, ghosted and unfriended. Someone I'd known for years.
Like I said, I'm lost, confused, and a bit butthurt. I know better than to reach out to her. But that's as far as I can make sense of it, so that's why I'm reaching out here.
Rather than telling me what to do from here (forget her and focus on yourself), can anyone offer any insight or similar experiences? I just have a million questions I'll neve ask, so making sense of those would help most of all.

Tl;dr: Had a fantastic time with a potential FWB I'd known for years, and then she left me on Read and unfriended. I'm at a loss.
So I worked with her for a couple years. Nothing happened, but we always got along along well. Eventually one of us left that job, and we traded info before saying bye. We got to messaging (I know, I know, but I wasn't even sure she wanted to get together, and she's a big messaging type, anyway) and pretty soon we talked our way into acknowledging we both wanted an ongoing casual thing with absolutely no strings. HHH, right? So we made very quick plans for her to come over and potentially stay over. She came over the next night, wine in hand, and it went just about perfect. Didn't even watch a movie as we planned since we were talking and laughing for hours. Naturally cuddled up midconversation. Casually kissed her at one point and went back to talking. Pretty soon, doing little talking. We took our time, too. Did almost everything, but we'd agreed on a red line of "No matter what, no full hooking up the first hangout." Fine with me. We enjoyed each other extensively, anyway. Had some similar semifreaky interests, too. When we finished, she stayed over, and we slept either with her on my shoulder or me spooning her, alternating all night. Morning, we had a little more fun, but she had to go quickly. Nothing was awkward. We still made time for some of that morning fun. We parted ways with some flirty words about how it went and about the future.
That night, I messaged her that it was great our interests meshed so well and I couldn't wait for next time. Left on Read.
Few days later, I sent the second and last message, about wanting to share some flirty thoughts I'd had along the lines of things we'd discussed. Left on Read.
Now, a couple weeks after our meet, I see she unfriended me.
I'm lost, confused, a bit butthurt, and man just a bit plain old hurt. We clicked well, really well, in conversation and in having our fun. We'd known each other for years. We had a lot in common. We had a great acquaintance (and once we got to talking possibilities, I was always casually clear we were not just friends and I didn't want that). And truly everything I can think of from our meet, start to finish, suggested we'd talk more often and meet again soon.
Instead, ghosted and unfriended. Someone I'd known for years.
Like I said, I'm lost, confused, and a bit butthurt. I know better than to reach out to her. But that's as far as I can make sense of it, so that's why I'm reaching out here.
Rather than telling me what to do from here (forget her and focus on yourself), can anyone offer any insight or similar experiences? I just have a million questions I'll neve ask, so making sense of those would help most of all.

Hi all, I've never posted on this sub let alone reddit before but I'm constantly on here reading others posts and I’d like a diverse perspective about my situation and what others would do in my position. I'm also posting in some other subs to see if opinions change based on the demographic. That being said, let's get into this story.
First I(26) want to say that I'm very close to both my dad(late 60’s) and grandfather(early 90’s). They both have spent their lives farming. When they were my age they would farm in the summer and drive trucks and log in the winter. I have spent my summers farming with them and winters I’ve worked different jobs including construction, plumbing and more recently I got a degree in machining. Though that didn't last long as both my boss and the in-house engineers all said I was too smart to be machining and should go back to school for engineering. I took this to heart and started going to school for civil engineering as I feel it would bring the most satisfaction in terms of work product and the added flexibility of where I want to live and work. I’ve been going to a local community college for the last two years which has allowed me to continue helping on the farm whenever needed. This coming semester I will have to leave for a university about 4 hours away meaning I won't be able to help on the farm. I'm very blessed in that both my dad and grandfather are very supportive of me going into engineering and have even offered money to help with school but luckily though part time work and scholarships I haven’t needed to accept it.
Here's my dilemma, even though they are very supportive I can't stop myself from feeling guilty for leaving the farm and leaving my almost 70 year old dad and 90 year old grandfather to continue farming by themselves. They’ve been able to manage it before, like last summer when I had an internship and only was able to help 3-4 hours in the evenings, but they barely seemed to get all the work done. Seeing my grandfather work in the field from 8am to 9pm during the summer just doesn't seem fair while I sit in an office job. A side note my grandfather is an amazing self taught welder that still does most of our welding unless it's in a more awkward spot he can't get to, in which case he basically coaches me through the process. My grandfather will never retire, he even told me when I asked that if he retired he might as well just die because what else would he do. My father is the same way and would never want to sell the business or land which is something I also would never want to do. I feel bad letting multiple generations or experience and time in a business disappear so I can go do something I would like to do. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy farming. I just see more stability in having a more stable 9-5 job with health insurance and paid time off.
This dilemma is not new to me, it's been in my head eversense since highschool. When the guidance counselors would ask me what I wanted to do after school I always had ideas of things I’d really enjoy but always felt somewhat obligated to stay and work the family farm. Especially because I’m an only child and the only relative that could feasibly take over the farm. The farm is also not a corporation that could afford to hire someone and give benefits like health insurance and a 401k which seems like the minimum to be able to hire someone outside of family. It's not a new dilemma but recently it's really started to get to me with the moving further away from home and my father having to go to the ER twice this month from hurting his wrist falling out of a tractor and another health issue that required surgery. It just really makes me realize that he is getting older and could use more help around the farm. Though he fully supports me, he has asked before if something did happen to him if I would take over the farm and continue the business. I told him yes and do fully believe I would, which makes me question why I wouldn’t be trying to learn as much from him now as possible so when the day comes he does pass away I’m more prepared to take over.
Here's my question for all of you, what would you do in my situation? Or has anyone known someone in a similar situation and how did they go about things? I've considered going back to machining because I think it would be a more useful skill on the farm and then taking some welding classes at the community college. But I’ve also thought about finishing engineering and seeing if it would be possible to work full time in the winter and part time or take summers off to farm. I know the latter part is very unlikely but I wanted to see if anyone has seen a similar set up with their work before.
I also wanted to add that even though the farm doesn't make enough to hire someone full time, if I stayed and farmed I would be able to make a comfortable income as I would have a percent ownership in the business. Especially if I was able to work somewhere else during the winter to supplement it.

Hi there, using a throwaway because of privacy. Hopefully that is okay.
I (30F) am thinking of finding a therapist, but it is hard because I feel like I have been let down in the past.
I don't know where to begin, and I am hugely aware that having a professional in real life to unpack this with me would be best.
I just want some outsider's perspective
For as long as I can remember I haven't been able to make or keep friends. I have questioned whether I have autism spectrum disorder my whole life and have had therapists strongly agree- or say that I don't. I have had some mental disorders my whole life and was only diagnosed as an adult, but nothing unheard of- depression, bipolar, ocd. etc.
I love my alone time and am a true introvert. I am 'boring' and have been insecure about that, but at the same time find it difficult to change without help. I have always been a homebody, I read, have geeky/nerdy interests/.etc.
Now in my early 30s I feel kind of scared. I've never dated and I have no friends. Even other people with autism have relationships, platonic and nonplatonic. I've noticed the pattern- people in general seem to not find me interesting or 'normal' or want to know me. My extended family members love my siblings but are indifferent towards me, I'm socially awkward and a bit shy but I still have social skills so it's not that, I feel like the problem is internal.
Therapists and counselors have lauded my conversational skills and said I'm friendly and easy to talk to, but I'm sick of it- I can't seem to make or maintain any close relationships, and I want to in the near future. I have a lot of mental illness-related activities that keep me indoors and isolated- anxieties, trauma, ocd compulsions, but I'm scared because for the periods of my life where that wasn't dominating my life, I still couldn't make friends.
The window seems to be closing. I've excluded myself from sports teams, sports, social activities because of my social problems, I haven't partied or being to weddings etc. There had always been something 'wrong' with me. Don't know where I'm going with this, but if any internet strangers have any advice or insight that would be so appreciated. Thanks for reading.

Hey everyone just a simple question as I am about to host an event soon. I (24M) like to host functions at my house. When the summer and special occasions is around I invite 30-70 people who all around my age with a few tiny bit older and normally send an invite in advance(most people 1-3 week notice and the close friends a month in advance). Only three times out of probably 30+ parties I host that I invite 20+ people, I have more than 50% show up. I make a rule for myself if they keep telling me maybe for three events in a row and don't show up I will just don't invite them aswell 90% won't invite again if they just keep my message on read. However, I constantly get those maybes or I will let you know text with rarely a follow up. I normally like a yes or a no as it be easier to track, I normally buy all the drinks and snacks. I do want to see how much things I need to buy to be a good amount without over boarding.
Should I reach out to people that say maybes in the past 2-3 weeks ago to confirm for a head count or should go by my own rule/your own(the reader's) advice?

Please bare with me as this will be a long one, it's my first ever post on reddit.
TW of child loss.
I (32f) my FH (35m) are getting married august this year. We live in Australia in a different state to both sides of our family. As we thought instead of picking between the two states we are from, we will have it where we are now.
History as I know all you lot love the background stories. We met in 2019, through tinder(in the state we currently both are atm). It was love at first sight for me. I already had a son who in 2019 was 8yo. My son adorned my partner, he would talk about future siblings and us getting married. Which led my partner n I picking wedding songs and talking about marriage. In 2021 my partner n I were a bit rocky. But my world came crashing apart when I got a phone call my son passed in a car crash. I flew back to my home state and well as you can imagine I was a mess. My family which I hadn't spoken to in 4 years due to being accused for something I did not do. They found out I didn't. But long story short I was in the head space to nit pick. My sons funeral happened and well I just got left by all my siblings to do the clean up my self while they went to the after do. I missed it. I'm only one person and I got blamed and made to feel like crap for it. And a lot other shit. In other words three of my siblings are arseholes. If they dont get their way. My sister we'll call her Petal(24), brothers Steve (31) n Bob (27).
My partner n I always stayed in contact but we spilt as he was still in the state we met. His boss wouldn't let him take time off etc. In the beginning 2023 I came back to the state to organise my sons stuff. Realising this man kept everything of his and mine in the same spot. He still looked after my cat n dog after all that time also. We rekindled and both realised the flame was always still there for each other. So by September last year we were ready to move forward with life as short as it is announce to our family's save the dates. Via Txt as we both have huge families, we would save the money this way.
A few weeks go by. I get a phone call from Steve. (Whom I havent spoken to since before coming up here as I had enough of always being cancelled on or never picking up my calls or barely responding to my texts) So I was like why am I getting a call. Turns out I just got questions after questions... well statements 'you never asked me to move' 'mum will be staying with me not you on your wedding' 'im not babysitting joey' youngest brother 12yo we I stated he would be other brother Dale (second youngest 21- they are all my siblings from my mother's side) as they are always together when Dale visits. I just focused on the positive. I knew he was wanting me to bite. Then when I was explaining joey would be walking behind my nieces with my sons photo Steve interrupted when are you getting married and laughed. He then said no, His daughter wasn't going to be wearing a dress she'll be wearing the same as her dad... and laughed. at the beginning of his save the date I put 'Aunty would love niece to be a flower girl if she would like' Remember no contact since this phone call at all. So I thought he was joking as he laughed. He then started repeating she was wearing the same as him. He also asked why would joey be following them and as I was explaining what I was thinking as my son would've wanted his cousins up there with him. I got cut off. I just planned all this and I said no I asked and you never responded. You never said no even when I spoke about the dresses. Apparently I just don't know what no sounds like and I've not changed and she is HIS flower girl for when him and his partner get married. I understand wanting your child to be apart of your wedding.... hence why I was trying to do what I know damn sure my boy would have done - to the point if they weren't in the party he would walk up to them n get them to help throw petal down the isle. I was upset. He rambled on and yelled shit at me and hung up when I said well if you didn't want her being a flower girl you could've just said it straight out.
I am still upset but I'm only upset due to he only brought it up when I was talking about what my son would want. If he had a problem with it why didn't he say it before hand. Later mum(51) found out him n his partner were upset I was getting married before them ( they have been engaged since 2021 and no mention of a wedding date) and they didn't want their daughter being someone else's flower girl before hand. Which again I understand so why not say that instead of starting the shit?
The next day Bob decided to tell me he couldn't come to the wedding as he doesn't know what his life would bring him to be doing then 🤦🏼‍♀️
Anyway I start to move forward with wedding planning . I let a friend know, as i was going to ask her to be a Bm. After saying getting married she bloody laughed so hard like i told the most funniest joke ever.... her daughter came in she is still laughing n said ' can you believe they are getting married' while wiping away tears from her eyes she laughed so hard. So I decided not to mention the bm part. She later started telling me what I should do for colours, who the bms should be, that the best man wears something different to the groomsmen. Etc. It was getting out of hand and everytime I mentioned we had decided what we are doing already is was wrong .... until she decided to make a competition with my unaware mother 'she better wear a dress or ill look better then her. Maybe even you' so I cut her out of my social group, my partner still thinks she was just helping. He needs the fog to clear.
I ask my best friend who I have known since 2017 and who was still there for me through the hard time of my son passing and still is to this day. Kel(43f) to be my MOH. My two sisters Petal n Kay(28f on father's side) as bridesmaids. As iTs tHe rIgHt tHiNg to do 🤦🏼‍♀️ at first I thought petal would flake first. If it's not her way she'll make some sort of version (even if it's LIES) that you did her wrong. I picked the dresses they were more then happy to pay for them. $160 ish each(aus). Well Kay went Mia for a few weeks. Then in January this year asked me if the place accepted afterpay. I said I know they accept Kalana or what ever its called. N then she was busting her arse for me to check.... she had the website I asked if she had her flights and accommodation prebooked. Nothing. As I was going to offer to pay for the dress if she was struggling. So I offered for her to come as a guest. 2 weeks NOT A SINGLE WORD. Not answering my calls or texts that wasn't even about the wedding. Its now Feb. I ask my cousin to be a back BM she was more then happy n as I was on the phone to her Kay said ' im getting a job so it'll be all sorted' now Kay is a sister who will take advantage for other people's hand outs. Where we are the closer to august you leave it your looking at 1600 n back minimum. N the week we are getting married not only with it be tourist session but race day also ( we forgot about race day 😅) After explaining this to her she decided with many more weeks in between she'll not come to the wedding at all.
So then it was my BF, petal and cousin.
Two weeks ago I got asked by my fathers (he is a dead beat) sister if he was invited. Long story short, I'm the child he never wanted. He never met my son at all while he was alive and loves to cause drama when it's not about him. He was a junkie when I first met him. So I politely said sorry no he is not and sorry for putting you in this position.
Just up until last week petal flaked. Family drama was happening and I pulled her up on her lies she had put in a group chat. She hadn't spoken to me since May. She would read the wedding chat but not respond. And I found out she had me on mute. Laste week I messaged her on the group chat, our private chat and text her can you aleast let me know whats going on. She came back with ' im not coming nor will I be in your wedding' I thanked her for letting me know. Went in the group chat for the wedding n she had already removed herself. N I blocked her shortly after my mum called. Mum had asked if I had heard from Petal. I told her what happened. Well, mum Being a mum was like 'ill get to the bottom of this' She asked why are you not part of the wedding anymore. My sister turned n said its not of your business. N then said I blocked her from the chat a while ago and I have not once messaged her n I'm mean. Mum caught her out n said she seen her lil picture keep up with the messaged just today etc. N she just banged on how no one understands her. So I blocked her.
I have now asked for my partners Sister to be a bm and she's more then happy to and I paid for her dress straight away so it should arrive to her before she is due to come up.
I found out in April my son will finally be a older brother like he always wanted. This is a miracle baby as I've had a few health problems with my uterus. To the point doctors said I might not even be able to do IVF. My partner n I are over the moon. I am in a a place where I'm happy and upset because my son is not here to witness what he always wanted. We have only told those that have been supportive, mu mum Dale and joey and my Sil.
All the stress of just my family has taken its toll. We have already paid majority of the wedding off and can't elope. I've lost all happiness for our day. I'm scared my father will rock up (he is spiteful like that) n im just deflated. With the add stress of being now 12weeks pregnant and still worried I could lose it at any point.
I have gotten all their jewellery, personalised pjs since Kay was involved. Personalised gifts and im paying for their hair and make up.
Kel my Moh is ready to go on a witch hunt. She's pissed that I have let it all go on for so long. So I'm trying to see if I am in the right or if I am in the wrong.
Am I being the Arsehole ? Bridezilla? Just feels no matter what happens in my life it's not good enough. If anything needs clearing up please let me know. Sorry for the long post. Thankyou in advance And if anyone has any advice ? Thankyou

"Good afternoon Ms. Lopez." I say, warmly greeting an elderly Cuban woman in her sixties. She smiles sweetly at me as she asks me if I am the chef behind today's food, in Spanish. I smile and nod at her, and she excitedly begins to chatter in Spanish, telling me the latest chisme regarding the latest romantic escapades occurring in her son's life.
I lightly place some ham on the sandwich I'm preparing for her as she excitedly gossips with me. I cleverly practice my active listening skills, while occasionally chiming in to let her know that I am actively aware of what she's saying. The woman is one of the last people to arrive during today's meal hour. She seems to operate on a sense of punctuality that is uniquely hers, almost like a force of nature. I almost admire it, if I'm being honest. My fellow volunteers look at me and smile as they sense the passive patience I radiate in this minor interaction.
The day has been one of the more chill ones in the soup kitchen, especially since I started actively championing the place. At our most busy we've served hundreds of families in a single day, and today we've served a few dozen. There's something quite nice about this moment of normalcy. I wonder if I sometimes took this level of mundanity for granted during this jump...
To be fair to myself a part of me is almost acting like I'm guaranteed to send myself to some apocalyptic hellscape and that's just not happening. I'm almost guaranteed to go to a place more dangerous than "9-5; a white-collar simulator", but I'm picking my next destination and after the decade of serenity I've had here I've got no reason to act like a dumbass and jeopardize my odds of long-term success in this career by sending myself to a death trap. Ms. Lopez smiles as she walks away, clearly believing she's shared vital chisme with me. To be fair, she did share gossip plenty of people would find juicy, but since I'm not some gossip I was the wrong audience for her words.
My fellow volunteers look at me and glance at my phone with curious looks. I pick up the thing and see that I've been missing an exhilarating conversation in our group chat. I skim the thing, my perfected memory allowing me to instantly catch up with the conversation the small gaggle of brave volunteers who kindly donate our weekend hours have been having before I begin to text the group back.
The rest of the day passes by in a blur. We wait for the people who've come for a meal to finish their food up and then we get to cleaning. After that we do a few sweeps of the parts of the church we've used before going our separate ways. I make my way home, and I do some light meal-prepping as well as practice a few more of my skills. At this point in my stay I've perfected my routine and could do it in my sleep... If I ever slept that is. In the entire time I've been in this setting I don't believe I've slept once. That is a nice feeling, since it means I never wasted an hour of my time, much less six.
The work week is a bit of a slog, since I am eagerly anticipating the news regarding my final promotion. I was never the sort to believe that time felt longer when you were excited about something, or dreading it, but in the time since I came to this setting I've gradually become a believer in such ideas even if they still feel a bit silly. Nonetheless. I diligently work through the week, keep my team on track, and when Friday rolls around I get the news I've waited for.
Thanks to "Gamer's Mind" I am able to keep my face even as the office's general supervisor explains this news to me and not outwardly express my excitement, but internally I am more excited than I've been about anything since I first entered this world. This news means that I'll be getting right around $3,000 dollars every two weeks just for existing! This means that in future jumps working will be optional unless I get really greedy, which frees me up to decide what I want to do in most modern settings. In medieval settings this amount of money could be even more vital, though at the same time such a thing could just... not matter, since in such a setting I could easily just avoid civilization, but this money will certainly liberate me from a lot of the struggles of wasting vast swathes of a jump at a job I don't want.
At the time that I was being told the good news I almost began to cry. Thank goodness for Gamer's Mind, I guess.
Nine years ago I was down on my luck and down to my last dollars when I got the job offer that led me here and this news means that I am free from such things. The freedom and power that comes with making enough to get by, especially passively, is awe-inspiring, and it's quite difficult for me to find the words to express how excited it makes me feel even days after it. I spend... close to a week passively smiling and being just ambiently happy, as I begin to integrate a new set of responsibilities into my work life.
During this time my decision to fix the coffee machine in the office break-room by hand after it almost burns a colleague results in me getting a new class; "Handyman" and the initial ability I receive is a simple one that bolsters my agility a touch, agility being my attribute tied to fine motor skills. I skillfully use this class to actually fix various things by hand, and I begin to steadily accrue various maintenance skills. In days I gain class levels, and with each class level I am able to repair things faster, more cheaply, and eventually my ability to fix matures into an ability to improve things, which I instinctively know will lead to some shenanigans down the line. Before I know it days have turned into weeks, which age and turn into months. My skills with leadership and motivation have continued to improve and I lead my team with my full focus and skillful decision-making. Before I know it I am in the final leg of the final stretch of my first jump.
I've been here for 119 months. Nine years and eleven months. It's actually been... even longer than that. I'm at the beginning of the final week of my stay here, and my hands idly clean a dish as I passively listen to Pastor Charlie, one of the few guest pastors the church has invited in years deliver a sermon. He has the congregants enraptured and eating out of the palm of his hand as he speaks about a miracle that "Our Lord" once performed. His voice is a pleasant distraction and one of my twin trains of thought listens and takes notes on how the man delivers his sermon. Physically I seem to be engrossed in the man's sermon when someone, one of the church's assistants, taps on my shoulder and gestures for me to walk over to the pastor's office. I stealthy get up, activating "Rogue" and make my way out of the serving area adjacent to the kitchen. I relax a touch when I'm in the long hallway leading me to Tyler's, Pastor Rhodes's, office.
As I walk down the humble hallway I feel a strange sense of finality wash over me. There's something uncommonly... real about this trek. I feel more solid, more whole than I have in a while, and I suspect that it's because this is my last time in this soup kitchen, this church. I won't be returning here, at least not for a while, and that's sad. It's not the saddest thing that's ever happened to me, but it is kind of a bummer and I allow myself to feel a touch of real, genuine sadness at the sobering realization that when I leave this place I'll be leaving for a long time.
I eventually put that thought away, shelving it and compartmentalizing my thoughts so I can focus on better, happier things. My enhanced senses allow me to spot things like faint cracks too thin for normal humans to spot, and as I walk past them I cast my handy spell on them. I watch as the walls of the hallway repair themselves and I smile, sensing the powerful potential of the spell at my fingertips. I reach the office of the man I've spent plenty of weekends working alongside, and under, and I smile, even internally, when he looks up and spots me. He greets me with a smile and motions for me to sit down. When I do what he asks, he immediately begins to speak.
"Lucas, I apologize for calling out to you but I wanted to check in. Today you seemed... Out of it." The man exclaims, and judging from the way my heart jumps in my chest I realize that some people are just.... more intuitive than others. My acting skill gets a nice little load of experience when I mask my reaction to his words and let out a small, natural sounding laugh in response to his question.
"Tyler," I begin, causing the man to wince. I'm an atheist, or at least I was pre-chain, now... well, now I'm a lot more curious about religion than I was before. I'm not sure if gods exist, but I sure as shit know the supernatural does and I'm not in the business of denying what I can see. I've made my vague religious position clear to the man long ago so he insists I call him "Tyler" which I've personally always found a bit awkward, but there's something a little funny about how it disarms him so cleanly during this interaction. "I'm doing... Okay. I AM bummed I won't be here next week." I state, calmly. This causes my friend's eyes to widen in surprise.
"You're missing a week? I'm sure some of our regulars will be disappointed. Is everything alright?" The man asks. His question is so sincere, so genuine that it's mildly disarming.
I'm... not a nice person. I'm far from mean, sure, but I've come to accept that there's a core of kindness in some people, even in many people, and I am not someone who has that core, that central, unconscious, guiding light that moves them towards kindness with the ease and naturalness of a heartbeat. At my core rests something else, something I don't know if I can articulate in just a few words.
I wouldn't say I'm mean or anything like that but I'm far more cynical than a lot of the people I've met are. In this world, especially, it seems like a lot of people are just decent at heart and I suspect that that was and is the case in the world I was born on as well. Tyler is one of the people I've met whose central guiding light seems to be centered around decency and kindness and I think in any world the man could find himself in he'd strive to be kind. It's almost like interacting with a real version of Ned Flanders from The Simpsons...
"I'm okay. I'm gonna be doing other stuff, and I normally prioritize the soup kitchen over my work or social life," I state, and this isn't a flex it's simply a very true statement. Tyler hears the remark and smiles faintly. "But I've been asked to help out with other stuff from friends who wouldn't ask if it wasn't something they really felt they could handle alone. I'm just gonna miss one weekend, and then I'll be back." I remark, and Tyler smiles at me.
"Okay Lucas. If you need any help you'd ask, right?" Tyler asks, and I consider the question. This is only somewhat an act, as I don't know if I'd ask for help if I needed it. I ultimately nod at the man and I can sense a touch of sadness as he studies my response, which I don't love but I also don't really feel right lying anymore than is necessary. The man makes some small talk and I quickly breeze through it. In minutes I am back in the kitchen with the others. And minutes after that I am cleaning with my fellow volunteers. Almost before I know it I'm stepping out of the church after we've cleaned out the kitchen. I glance at it one last time before I make my way home.
The next few days pass by in a blur, with only two minor oddities; the first being that I ask Hannah to come out with me on Friday night. I have got to see if I can stomach the idea of any sort of romance in a jump, and this is a consequence free way for me to do something along those lines. The second oddity is that I spend nearly all of my money purchasing... well, everything. Every night after work I go to various stores and spend the money that I really haven't needed all that much until now, purchasing things like weapons, food, and especially books. I buy boatloads of books, both ready and willing to use up something I won't be able to take with me into future jumps anyway in exchange for stuff I CAN take with me, thanks to the fiat-backed power of an infinite inventory.
The work week is, aside from what I do after work every night, pretty normal but Friday itself is weirdly solemn. The day passes by as quickly as any other day has, filled with minor encounters with glitches, and a few more annoyances with my small number of drawbacks but when five rolls around I clock out one last time and give the office a final look. I am weirdly slow when it comes to getting up and leaving my cubicle, in fact I'm actually one of the last office workers to leave the office but as I step out of the building I experience another burst of gratitude to Gamer's Mind, which keeps me from acting odd or even tearing up as I glance back at the place I've spent thousands of hours in.
I allow myself a beat to... honestly, grieve. I tell myself that it's okay to have feelings about leaving, even if those feelings are big and weird and are not the most fun. Nonetheless I don't linger here, at my place of employment, I have other things I both need and want to do. I use my inventory and change into a pretty casual outfit before I begin a brief walk. _________________________________________________________________________
​The park beside the office building is a rare example of a pristine location in the city. It is filled with natural greenery, and at the moment a stunningly pretty redhead glances at her phone waiting for someone to pop into view.
The redhead is wearing a pleasant looking dress and a jacket, as the weather is just beginning to take the seasonal turn towards the unpleasant. It's still warm enough that the clothes are mostly unnecessary but as she waits for her friend, a young man who has finally gotten the courage to ask her out on something vaguely approximating a date, she appreciates the wisdom of her decision to wear the slightly warmer than necessary clothes.
Her "date", mostly in her eyes though he is aware of her feelings and a part of him feels some happiness in the idea that this is a date, enters the park and spots her before she spots him. He reaches into his inventory and he retrieves something, a nice little bouquet he purchased earlier today and safely stored away. The flowers, prettily packed and all, appear as he walks towards the young woman.
Lucas is testing the waters here. He isn't testing the waters with Hannah specifically, but rather what it feels like to go on a date as a jumper. He has long had strange feelings about this, but he knows that he is going to leave tomorrow and so he wants to see if he can enjoy a date as a jumper, so he is doing a scientific experiment even if he feels... less than great about some aspects of all of this.
"Hannah!" Lucas says, calling out to one of his first, in fact one of his only, real friends in this world. The redhead excitedly turns and spots her longtime friend, waving at him and waving him over. She spots the bouquet and lets out a delighted sounding laugh, and when Lucas hears it the smile that alights his features is heartwarming.
In his day to day life some facets of Lucas's charisma-heavy build only rarely surface in ways that matter and his looks tends to be one such thing He is attractive enough that his looks can captivate and reside in one's imagination for a while after they first meet him, but right now, this early on along his chain his looks are only enough to make people have schoolgirl crushes on him and people can and do get used to his looks after a while. Still, in some moments this is enough to color the impression he makes on people. Right now, in a romantic context, his supernatural attractiveness is enough to change the sort of impression he makes on someone.
The handsome actor reaches his friend and sits down next to her. He hands her the flowers and for a moment a strange serenity washes over the two as they enjoy each other's company. Lucas looks inward and he realizes that he genuinely, well and truly, likes this moment. Hannah looks at him and eventually asks an important question.
"Lucas... how am I gonna hold these flowers?" She asks, and this makes him smile. He is quick to offer her a response.
"I'll take them when we get going but I saw them and I thought of you. I felt like I'd regret it if I didn't give you these." He says, and there is an odd, for him, level of sincerity and genuineness in his voice that makes Hannah giggle girlishly. Lucas right now is relying on his perk-enhanced instincts and the charisma he has honed through social encounters for the last decade, and he's enjoying how it feels.
Both of the figures on the "Date", though neither of them officially dubbed it that, enjoy the moment. Their passive delight and infatuation create an envy-inducing atmosphere of closeness and quiet joy that radiates outward. The park is nearly abandoned so there is no one to witness this moment other than Lucas's benefactor, and Lucas is simply at peace.
Eventually he lightly touches Hannah's hand, and asks her if she'd like to go and get dinner before they go to the movie they agreed on going to watch earlier this week. Hannah agrees, handing Lucas the bouquet and he, to her surprise, puts it in the bag he has on his person. When she asks if that will squish or hurt the flowers Lucas tells her, with a bizarre amount of confidence, that it won't. She eventually accepts this, having learned to trust that Lucas knows what he is doing, and the two of them begin a short walk to a mall they both know well.

“Bingo!” The call echoed through the hall, followed by the collective groans of the other assembled Hellspawn. Askeraz the Malfeasant looked away from the trapped heroes and towards his demon army. They cowed.
“What was that?” Askeraz asked, his voice carried every shadow of the night.
“Uh, sorry, your Dark Lordliness, please ignore me.”
Askeraz looked at the heroes. He had been in the middle of his victory speech. Shouldn’t he just continue? This was his moment of triumph but-
“Let me see what you’re holding,” Askeraz commanded as he held out a fell hand toward the demons. The Demon that had yelled bingo, Kalim the Fleshrender, sheepishly handed the card to Askeraz, who began reading.
He was aghast at the first square.
“Tremble before me?” Askeraz asked, indignant. Based on the other squares, he’d already figured out what the card was. They were playing bingo with his speech but… “Tremble before me is a staple of the craft! A victory speech without it is a classless rant!”
“Sorry sir.”
“And beside it! ‘All Hope is Lost’. Pardon, you might as well be asking me not to use vowels!”
The heroes, trapped in the Soul Cage, were, almost, more confused than frightened. Almost.
“Sorry again, sir.”
Askeraz held out his free hand and collected another card. He repeated the process frantically, checking each and every entry that the Hellspawn had brought to the moment of his triumph.
That they were playing bingo right now? Bad enough, but considering victory was partially about celebration Askeraz could forgive party games. What he couldn’t forgive was the lack of understanding inherent in the cards. That had to be corrected now.
Askeraz waved an arm, and hellish magic swallowed the souls of the heroes. While they screamed, he approached his assembled generals.
“To begin, if you’re including ‘Behold my power’ on the card, you might as well have a free space. Konrad the Black, one of the original masters of dark triumphant speech, a wretched man who truly codified the forms of the modern art, said in his Soulbinding Treatise that a speech which does not include reverence to power, should not be considered a victory, nor a speech.”
Askeraz pulled out a large scroll for notes and continued. “Additionally the position of phrases on the grid completely ignore the accepted structure of the genre. For example, fundamental structural understanding is that a speech cannot have a reference to the power of light and dark within the opening of the monologue. It’s poor form. Both light and shadow motifs are central to the theming of closing statements. If you look into the research of Brimhilda Bladeheart—one of my favorite scholars of the craft—it’s clear her ideas on genre and managing audience expectation are central to my execution. I hope it’s clear at least. She’s an inspiration.”
Askeraz trailed off. There was just so much wrong. He snatched the cards away. He would show them. He would craft a tense game of bingo, where the chance of victory was equal on each card based on a proper understanding of the sacred art of villainous monologue. None of this new-age free-form hippy bullshit. Before he could make a game, though, there were more lessons to teach….
“And furthermore!”

My daughter is 16 and has been diagnosed with autism, anxiety, depression, bi-polar disorder, and borderline personality disorder. She has been in three different programs, two of which she was expelled due to her defiance and conduct. She has been at Red Hawk for the past six months.
When looking for a program online for your daughter, you will quickly become inundated with negative posts about therapeutic boarding schools including RHA. When reviewing these negative posts, you always need to keep in mind that many of the posts are written by individuals who: (1) never had a daughter who attended the school, (2) "heard" about the program but have no first hand knowledge, or (3) disgruntled, upset, and emotionally charged kids who may or may not have attended the school. It is utterly frustrating to read negative posts about RHA and not be able to counter the posts.
Here are a few negative RHA posts that I would like to dispel:
1) There is inappropriate conduct by the staff (my favorite example - owners asking the girls to rub their feet): FALSE - our daughter has never reported any inappropriate conduct by any staff member. While you may think that my daughter (and the others) can't truthfully report what is going on at the facility, what you may not know, is that I visit my daughter every three months. I went to visit her in April and she stayed in a hotel room with us for three nights. If there was something going on at the school she would have told us.
2) The girls can't get calls or mail: FALSE - we speak to our daughter every week. She also writes us letters that are scanned and sent via email. The family can send letters via email or regular mail. I know she receives the letters because she sends a written response or we discuss the letter on a video call. In regards to the calls - the calls are all video calls. We get to talk and see our daughter every week.
3) It is dangerous to give guardianship to RHA: FALSE - I admit that I was scared when I was asked to sign a document giving temporary guardianship to RHA. But then, I thought about it logically. My daughter lives in another state and I need to someone to have the legal right to make choices/decisions on daughter's behalf. I will not risk the health and well-being of my daughter due to my own ungrounded fear in allowing temporary guardianship. More importantly, I truly trust RHA staff and know that they have the well-being of my daughter in mind when making decisions.
I have not covered all negative posts, but addressed some of the posts that stood out to me.
HERE IS MY MESSAGE TO YOU: I love my daughter unconditionally. Above all else, I want her to be happy and healthy. It was a difficult decision to send her away, and there are many days that I am sad she is not living with us. Sometimes I wish she could come home. But, then I remind myself why she is at RHA. She is there because she needs help, help that we could not provide her. She was breaking the family and in the process destroying herself. My greatest act of love was to send her to a program where she can get the help she needs.
The only program that has been successful for our family is RHA. RHA offers a safe and caring environment. The staff listen to us and guide us to making the best decisions for our family and our daughter. RHA offers encouragement and support to our daughter. It is hard to think about where my daughter would be if we did not seek help for her last year.
Words of wisdom, when you call a program or visit a program, pay attention to your gut instinct. Ask for the telephone numbers of parents who have had a daughter in the program. Not all therapeutic boarding schools are bad and abusive. Talk to the head of the school/program and make sure you feel heard and understood by that person. The first time I called Valerie, I had a really good feeling. She had a positive attitude and answered each and every question I asked. She was not evasive and she was forthright with her responses. Sometimes, you need to take a leap of faith, and that leap led me to RHA.
For parents of daughters who struggle, remember that you are not alone and there are options for you and your daughter. Every so often, I see glimpses of my sweet daughter, and I hope that for you!
Wish you all the best!

Date: 5/26/24
Location: Buffalo, NY
Time: 3:19:01
My Strava for More Information. Give me a follow if you feel so inclined :)
Sorry to be be dramatic with the title. I promise I'm not posting this SOLELY for internet sympathy. I realize I might seem ungrateful but I just feel like I left a large amount of time out on the course and I'm not entirely sure how I would correct my performance if I could. I'm a newer marathon runner who has made a lot of progress in the last year by training super hard, cross training, cleaning up my diet, recovering, etc... . I want to learn as much as I can from this experience. I could use the perspective of some more experience runners.

Goal	Description	Completed
A	3:05 BQ	no
B	3:07	no
C	3:10	no

Background:
This was my 2nd Marathon. My first marathon was a 3:28:30 at Wine Glass in Corning, NY, 6 months ago (10/1/23). My marathon training follows my weight loss story, starting in November 2022; 230 lbs (104 kg) down to 183 lbs (83 kg) today. For reference, I am a 6'-2" male. I ran a few half marathons prior to 2022 but my training has been on and off for the last 5 years and never more than 25 miles per week.
My training leading up to my first marathon followed a fairly long MAF intensity build (30 mpw at the end) leading into Advanced Marathoning - Pfitz 18/55 with the "Long Run" & "Medium Long Run" done at MAF effort. I knew I was compromising on speed by doing this however, the mileage seemed intimidating at the time. I later committed to follow the Pfitz pace instruction for these runs for my Buffalo block (10%-20% Marathon pace for the last 5-10 miles)
Following my first marathon, I was lucky to have a very experienced friend (2:37 marathoner) coach me though another Pfitz block. I decided to set the goal of running under 3 hours in 2024. My goal time for Buffalo was initially 3:15 to get me half way there. As you will read, that quickly changed...
Training:
Pre Pfitz Block - 1 month mostly off running after Wine Glass. 10 weeks running build prior to Pfitz 18/55. In this 10 weeks, I focused heavily on zwift indoor cycling (zwift academy, rapha 500, alp du zwift >60, etc) and was running 30-35 mpw using the 80:20 rule. The last 3-4 weeks I just did the first 2 weeks of the pfitz plan over and over again. I think the cross training severed me very well to lose weight and strengthen my overall fitness
Pfitz 18/55 - First 9 Weeks - I feel like I made a lot of progress in the first half of this training plan with the following race times reflecting my gains; Wk. 4 Lake Effect Half Marathon 1:37:17, Wk. 9 Syracuse Half Marathon 1:31:51 (a very hilly course covered in ice.) These races gave me a lot of confidence knowing that I did not taper for them at all. I used the VDOT 02 predictor for marathon and saw 3:22 and 3:11 equivalent Marathon times and got very excited.
Pfitz 18/55 - Last 9 Weeks - Using my new predicted marathon time of 3:10 , I started really pushing my long runs and found that I could sustain 7:40 pace consistently on my final 10 miles of my long runs. I was also pushing the first part of these long runs to stay under 8 min / mile. I felt like I had alot of success initially pushing the pace during these workouts. I ran several non-tapered tune-up races: Wk. 14 10k 40:58, Wk. 16 10k 40:35. These results gave me the confidence to go for a 3:05 marathon. On Wk. 13, I did a 18 mi run w/ 14 miles at marathon pace and my heart rate was very high and I struggled to stay at 7:05. I chalked this up to training fatigue but in retrospect this should have been a red flag?
Pre-race:
I regret doing a bit of dieting prior to my carb load at the beginning of my taper, knowing I would gain some weight lbs in the week before the race. During the last 3 days of the taper, I ate too much bread and pasta and felt overly full up until the night before the race. My typical diet of 80% whole food plant based really fell out of sorts. I'm not a vegetarian or anything, but I find this helps me keep my weight down. Hydration and electrolytes were OK.
Race:
The strategy was to go out at 7:08/mi through 16 miles and make a decision to negative split to 6:57/mi for the last 10, or try to hang-on for a 3:07.
The day ranged from 55 degrees to the low 70s but very humid. The course was very hazy at times. I did not feel burdened by the weather but I'm sure it had some effect.
I had a maurten non-caf gel every 4-5 miles. I stopped at most water stations.
Miles 1-10 - I was surprised by the ease of my goal pace, even banking some time on a few down-hill miles. I regret this.
Miles 10-13 felt like I needed to push a small amount to keep pace but I let me self slow down 5-10 seconds per mile to minimize fatigue.
Miles 13-15 definitely required some effort to maintain pace. This effort reminded me of the early miles of the 10% marathon pace for the long runs. I did not feel like I was about to bonk at this time.
Miles 16 - I felt confident enough to speed up and test a sub 7 minute pace which I achieved for the first mile. The next 7 miles were incredible hard for me with the lactate really building up in my muscles. I progressively slowing to a 9:21/ mi pace a mile 24. I feel like I had done an OK job creating an environment during training where I needed to push through pain however, this level of muscle fatigue did not feel like it could be overcome with grit. I found my self periodically walking for 10 seconds to regain my composure. This part of the race left me with a lot of doubt about my fitness level.
Mile 25 - I saw the 3:20 pacer and decided to beat him with a very difficult last mile given the down-hill nature of the last mile.
Conclusions:
My lack of experience at this distance leaves me with more questions and than answers unfortunately. Part of me thinks I had no business shooting for a 3:05 to begin with, and that I should have read the signs and the difficulty of my predicted marathon pace during my long runs. I certainly hope to be testing this more in the future before setting a goal time. I would like to think that I may have had a chance at going under 3:10 or 3:15 if I had paced the race better and did not mess with my diet as much. Typically, when I have bonked before my heart-rate skyrockets. Here, I can only attribute my fatigue to lactic acid since my heart-rate was mostly in control and my breathing did not feel like the limiting factor.
I would love to hear advice and thoughts on this race as I recover and start training for Wineglass Marathon again in the fall marathon.
Thanks in Advance(d) for your advice,
Ken

Mile	Pace	Elev (ft)	Heart Rate (Max 190)
1	7:08	63	148
2	6:53	-15	161
3	6:56	-44	160
4	7:06	23	164
5	7:04	28	165
6	6:57	-37	164
7	6:54	-18	165
8	7:13	-15	163
9	7:14	7	164
10	7:12	-15	159
11	7:09	-1	165
12	7:07	0	171
13	7:13	26	169
14	7:17	28	167
15	7:34	26	167
16	7:15	-34	167
17	6:53	-24	168
18	7:10	24	171
19	7:42	3	165
20	7:51	-13	166
21	8:28	-11	156
22	8:08	1	160
23	8:59	20	154
24	9:20	8	151
25	9:02	37	155
26	7:54	-62	155

Hi all! We’ve made this thread for finding study partners and groups for the September 2024 GAMSAT. We hope that by doing so we will be able to funnel everyone into one place to find study partners, rather than having multiple people individually posting, many of which are for the same locations and looking for the same things, which hopefully will make it easier to connect with one another.
Please feel free to post your location/what you’re looking for in a study group/partner below!
I also wanted to give a friendly reminder that we have a discord server! The discord is a place to study together on video/voice call, for discussing questions for s1 and s3, and reading/reviewing each other's s2 essays- a lot of which is hard/not really feasible to arrange/do via reddit. It is also a place to just chat with other applicants and medical students, ask questions about the application process and different medical programs, and also for MMI practice when that time comes. The discord community is great, and we are always happy to meet new people, so please join us if you are interested or think you would benefit from it!

The architexture I believe is used (could be very wrong so please correct if incorrect)
-Packet comes in the interface and queued in the input buffer of that interface -then according to the scheduler a packet is chosen and the entire packet is moved to the ram of that interface for processing. All changes are made, -then the packet gets a new internal header which contains field like output interface - the interface from which the packet needs to be sent, for easier routing by switching fabric to route it accordingly and -then the packet is placed in an another buffer which contains processed packets only. -then the scheduler takes a packet from this buffer and the switching fabric controller checks the new internal header and then according to that routes the packet through the crossbar switch fabric. Now the question I want to ask is

1. Is the entire packet copied/moved into the ram of that interface for processing?

• If copied

Does it mean the buffer has a locking mechanism like mutex for only that part of the buffer where the packet resides for concurrent processing by threads?
After all processing are the changes written back in the input buffer if so does it mean the mutex locks some additional space for the new internal header as well?
How does the OS know till where to apply the mutex as the packet size is in the buffer as well?
If the packet after processing is put in the input buffer, how does the scheduler know which packets are already processed wouldn't it need to check all packets for the new internal header?

• If moved

After all processing on the packet and changes made is the packet put back again in the input buffer or is there another buffer named like all processed packets so that the scheduler can pick the packets from this buffer and send them through the switching fabric according to the new internal header?

1. Is there another CPU in the switching fabric used which checks the new internal header and according to it routes packet?
   
2. How is the scheduler of input buffer able to implement QoS if to determine the urgency of the packet is in the packet itself? Does it mean the scheduler reads all packets QoS fields from the buffer and then picks accordingly to place the packet in the ram for processing? OR the scheduler for input buffer doesn't take QoS in consideration but QoS only applies for the next propogation of the packet by adding a field in the new internal header like output queue no.A. Lets suppose there are 3 output queues A,B & C this field makes the switching fabric controller place the packet in the output buffer of highest priority so that the output scheduler would pick packets from higher prioity buffer before lower priority buffer So QoS only applies for Propogation Delay and not for Processing Delay?
   
3. Since packet lengths differ how is it that packets travelling through the switching fabric know about contention (collision) OR is it that the controller schedules so no contention can occur?