We’ve lost comms with two Helldivers who crash-landed during their Pelican evacuation. The only intelligence we have is the pilot didn’t make it and two of our divers are down there with minimal supplies. We can’t reach them from space anymore but once you land, you should be able to re-establish communication.
You are tasked with finding and rescuing them before it’s too late. Our radar systems won’t work in this region, so talk to them. Perhaps there’s a landmark they can point out nearby to help you find them. There are no reinforcements. You are all on your own. Good Luck Helldivers.
This is a mission log for a mission I came up with. It works for bug or bots.
Basically, two players will play as the Pelican wreck survivors. They are armed with their Primary and secondary weapons, as well as grenades. They cannot use their radar or call in strategem support, however, there are 6 randomly generated support weapons to choose from located near the burning Pelican. Two of them are capable of taking down Bile Titans or Factory Striders. There’s also at least 6 caches of resupply packs littered around the area.
The smoke from the fallen Pelican rises fairly high so it’s best to stay put because the rescuers should be able to see the smoke when they get close enough and there is no other ammo anywhere else anyway.
The other two players are obviously the rescuers. They have full capabilities and play normally. Their only task is to communicate with the lost divers to find their position. There will obviously be many enemies between them and the survivors.
Lastly, every player has only one life. There are no reinforcements. The goal is to reach the survivors before they run out of ammo or are killed. These would be fairly short missions probably no longer than 15 min because the ammo just won’t last very long.
Your thoughts?

I'm currently working in a hospital's IT department under a "System Access" team as an analyst. The job duties are what I consider to be very simple, just requires some knowledge of knowing what certain basic things are and how to use them such as working with Active Directory, leveraging a Identity Governance tool to grant access, and understanding of a little bit of lots of different applications. But there is no coding/programming involved. Over some time I've started to realize that the people in my team or in the company have been here for 7+ years and they rarely open positions. I've tried to bring up that I was interested in collaborating with the only app developer on the team or maybe even some form of automation (planning to learn on the fly since they were already looking to use UiPath for some tasks), but it just goes out the window, specially since most managers/directors might be retiring in the next couple of years they don't really care that much or want more work on their shoulders.
I thought it would more than likely be accepted given that I've already been able to do most of the "senior" level employees tasks since they're not interested in working outside of their oldschool techniques, and didn't even ask for a promotion or raise, but I guess not. So after 3 years and still being an "Associate" making 1/3 of what the rest of the team makes so I'm getting somewhat demotivated.
When I received this position I was in the process of completing my B.S. in Cybersecurity. I completed it last year and this year I began my M.S. in CS with a concentration in AI/ML this year. I realized near the end of my B.S. that I enjoyed programming more so I started working on The Odin Project to get more knowledge in J.S./NodeJS/DBs/HTML/CSS and eventually work on some personal projects as a hobby to build my skill, but the Masters program is pretty intensive and during my undergrad I didn't dig too deep into programming, more very basic/entry level coursework in C#/C++/Java/Python.
Reflecting on everything brought me some questions and I thought I'd reach out to see if someone can give some guidance.

1. Should I still try to pickup The Odin Project "bootcamp" for Fullstack JS/JSNode again? But instead do it very slowly since my Masters program is taking up most of the time? Or just focus solely on the course knowledge?
2. Seeing other threads, I'm assuming that it might not be the best time to transition to a SWE or SDP job? I see mixed comments but mostly negative about the field at the moment.
3. If I do plan on slowly transitioning to a different company for a job, are there any known positions/titles, or indicators to look into that might make the job/company seem stable? Not really in a good financial position with my current salary to get laid off after a couple of months. (making around 45k before taxes at the moment, and live in a high cost city, moving soon if a new job permits it because in healthcare remote is a bit difficult)
4. Should I be dedicating more time into leet code as it'll be for sure required if I were to transition? I roughly looked into it and realized I wasn't even able to answecomplete the easy ones.
5. Are city/government positions that involve AI/ML or even JS-related descriptions good to move to gain experience and knowledge while studying? If so, what are some recommended departments or agencies?

Overall, I do feel like if someone seems my history/resume it might be a bit all over the place given I'm looking to go from Cybersecurity to some Junior Developer position to then AI/ML? But I'm just thinking of the smoothest way to transition while also being able to have a stable job and be good financially.

The defense and the prosecution today made their closing statements in the New York criminal case against Trump for falsifying business records to hide a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels. The payment was intended to stop her account of her sexual encounter with Trump from becoming public in the days before the 2016 election, when the Trump campaign was already reeling from the Access Hollywood tape showing Trump boasting of sexual assault.
The Biden-Harris campaign showed up at the trial today with veteran actor Robert DeNiro and former police officers Michael Fanone and Harry Dunn, who protected the U.S. Capitol and members of Congress from rioters on January 6, 2021. In words seemingly calculated to get under Trump’s skin, DeNiro said, “We New Yorkers used to tolerate him when he was just another grubby real estate hustler masquerading as a big shot,” and called him a coward.
When Robert Costa of CBS News asked campaign spokesperson Michael Tyler why they had shown up at the trial, Tyler answered: “Because you all are here. You’ve been incessantly covering this day in and day out, and we want to remind the American people ahead of the…first debate on June 27 of the unique, persistent, and growing threat that Donald Trump poses to the American people and to our democracy. So since you all are here, we’re here communicating that message.”
Yesterday, in remarks at Arlington National Cemetery in observance of Memorial Day, President Joe Biden honored “the sacrifice of the hundreds of thousands of women and men who’ve given their lives for this nation. Each one…a link in the chain of honor stretching back to our founding days. Each one bound by common commitment—not to a place, not to a person, not to a President, but to an idea unlike any idea in human history: the idea of the United States of America.”
“[F]reedom has never been guaranteed,” Biden said. “Every generation has to earn it; fight for it; defend it in battle between autocracy and democracy, between the greed of a few and the rights of many…. And just as our fallen heroes have kept the ultimate faith with our country and our democracy, we must keep faith with them,” he said.
His speech at Arlington echoed the message he delivered to this year’s graduating class at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he urged the graduates to hold fast to their oaths. “On your very first day at West Point, you raised your right hands and took an oath—not to a political party, not to a president, but to the Constitution of the United States of America—against all enemies, foreign and domestic,” he said to applause. Soldiers “have given their lives for that Constitution. They have fought to defend the freedoms that it protects: the right to vote, the right to worship, the right to raise your voice in protest. They have saved and sacrificed to ensure, as President Lincoln said, a ‘government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the Earth.’”
“[N]othing is guaranteed about our democracy in America. Every generation has an obligation to defend it, to protect it, to preserve it, to choose it,” he said. “Now, it’s your turn.” Biden spent more than an hour saluting and shaking the hand of each graduate.
In contrast, Trump ushered in Memorial Day with a post on his social media company, saying: “Happy Memorial Day to All, including the Human Scum that is working so hard to destroy our Once Great Country, & to the Radical Left, Trump Hating Federal Judge in New York that presided over, get this, TWO separate trials, that awarded a woman, who I never met before (a quick handshake at a celebrity event, 25 years ago, doesn’t count!), 91 MILLION DOLLARS for “DEFAMATION.” He then continued to attack E. Jean Carroll, the writer who successfully sued him for defamation, before turning to attack Judge Arthur Engoron, who presided over the civil case of Trump and the Trump Organization falsifying documents, and Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the current criminal case in New York.
The message behind this extraordinary post was twofold: Trump can think of nothing but himself…and he appears to be terrified.
On Saturday, May 25, Trump had an experience quite different from his usual reception at rallies of hand-picked supporters. He was resoundingly booed at the national convention of the Libertarian Party in Washington, D.C., where Secret Service agents confiscated squeaky rubber chickens before his speech. Attendees jeered Trump’s order, “You have to combine with us,” even when he reminded them of his libertarian credentials—tax cuts and defunding of federal equality programs—and promised to pardon the January 6 rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol.
Trump also promised to pardon Ross Ulbricht, who founded and from January 2011 to October 2013 ran an online criminal marketplace called Silk Road, where more than $200 million in illegal drugs and other illicit goods and services, such as computer hacking, were bought and sold. Most of the sales were of drugs, with the Silk Road home page listing nearly 13,000 options, including heroin, cocaine, ecstasy, and LSD. The wares were linked to at least six deaths from overdose around the world. In May 2015, Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison and was ordered to forfeit more than $180 million.
Libertarians want Ulbricht released because they support drug legalization on the grounds that people should be able to make their own choices and they see Ulbricht’s sentence as government overreach. Trump has repeatedly called for the death penalty for drug dealers, making his promise to pardon Ulbricht an illustration of just how badly he thinks he needs the support of Libertarian voters. But they refused to endorse him.
Trump appeared angry, and on Sunday, as Greg Sargent reported in The New Republic, he reposted a video of a man raging at MSNBC host Joe Scarborough. In it, the man says that when Trump is reelected: “He’ll get rid of all you f*cking liberals. You liberals are gone when he f*cking wins. You f*cking blowjob liberals are done. Uncle Donnie’s gonna take this election—landslide. Landslide, you f*cking half a blowjob. Landslide. Get the f*ck out of here, you scumbag.”
Trump’s elevation of this video, Sargent notes, is a dangerous escalation of his already violent rhetoric, and yet it has gotten very little media attention.
Last November, Matt Gertz of Media Matters reported that ABC News, CBS News, and NBC News provided 18 times more coverage of 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s comment at a fundraising event that “you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables” who are “racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamophobic,” than they provided of Trump’s November 2023 promise to “root out the communist, Marxist, fascist and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.”
CNN, the Fox News Channel, and MSNBC mentioned the “deplorables” comment nearly 9 times more than Trump’s “vermin” language. The ratio for the five highest-circulating U.S. newspapers was 29:1.
Clinton’s statement was consistent with polling, and she added that the rest of Trump’s supporters were “people who feel that the government has let them down, the economy has let them down, nobody cares about them, nobody worries about what happens to their lives and their futures, and they’re just desperate for change.” She said: “Those are people we have to understand and empathize with as well.”
Sargent noted that news stories require context and that Trump’s elevation of the violent video should be placed alongside his many threats to prosecute his enemies. While there is often concern over disrespect toward right-wing voters, Sargent writes, there has been very little attention to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s posting of “a video that declares a large ideological subgroup of Americans ‘done’ and ‘gone’ if he is elected.”
Scott MacFarlane of CBS News reported yesterday that Republicans have ignored a law passed in March 2022 requiring the placement of a small plaque honoring police officers who protected the U.S. Capitol and the lawmakers and staffers there on January 6, 2021. It was supposed to be in place by March 2023 but has not gone up. A spokesperson for House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) says his office is working on it. Kayla Tausche of CNN reported today that three of the police officers at the Capitol that day—Sergeant Aquilino Gonell and Officer Harry Dunn, both retired, and Officer Daniel Hodges, who is still with the Washington, D.C., metropolitan police—will be traveling to swing states for the Biden campaign to tell voters that Trump threatens Americans’ fundamental rights.
Finally, today, Melinda French Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, announced $1 billion in new spending over the next two years “for people and organizations working on behalf of women and families around the world, including on reproductive rights in the United States.” Only 2% of charitable giving in the U.S. goes to these organizations, she wrote the New York Times, and “[f]or too long, a lack of money has forced organizations fighting for women's rights into a defensive posture while the enemies of progress play offense. I want to help even the match.”
—
Notes:
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/26/libertarians-reject-trump-rfk-chase-oliver-presidential-nominee-00160040
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/05/27/remarks-by-president-biden-at-the-156th-national-memorial-day-observance-arlington-va/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2024/05/25/remarks-by-president-biden-in-commencement-address-to-the-united-states-military-academy-at-west-point-west-point-ny/
https://newrepublic.com/article/181973/trump-media-attacks-media-dangerous-turn
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/congress-fails-to-install-plaque-honoring-jan-6-police-officers/
https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/28/politics/biden-campaign-january-6-officers/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c722qy5dzlgo
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/25/trump-commute-ross-ulbricht-sentence-libertarian-convention-00160025
https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ross-ulbricht-aka-dread-pirate-roberts-sentenced-life-federal-prison-creating
https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-is-spotlighting-ross-ulbricht-silk-road-appeal-to-libertarians-2024
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4305566-trump-doubles-down-death-penalty-for-drug-dealers/
https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/major-news-outlets-gave-much-less-coverage-trumps-vermin-attack-then-they-did-clintons
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4687060-donald-trump-squeaky-chicken-libertarian-controversy/
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/28/opinion/melinda-french-gates-reproductive-rights.html
The Dworkin ReportDe Niro and Jan 6 Heroes Unload on Trump Outside NY TrialRobert De Niro just showed up outside the New York City courthouse, where Trump is facing 34 felony counts. Rightwing lunatics are already trying to start conspiracy theories lying and saying that thi…Read more8 hours ago · 765 likes · 132 comments · Scott Dworkin
X:
BidenHQ/status/1795469679542100005
costareports/status/1795484830349852855
adamkinzingestatus/1795111150494826743
BidenHQ/status/1795468053993357493

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUOUAr-WvFk
1:37 - Traits of a Narcissist
A narcissist has an insatiable need for admiration, affirmation, and validation, all of which are their drug of narcissistic supply. They believe themselves to be superior and grandiose, they're arrogant, they lack empathy, they're exploitative, they have unreasonable demands of people. These are all traits that are opposite from the traits of Jesus Christ and yet a religious context is often the most optimal place for a narcissist to freely practice their narcissism while appearing virtuous or pious. So I'm going to share with you 10 insights into why narcissists love religion and how they use it to serve their own purposes.
2:22 - Why It's Important to Understand Why Narcissists Love Religion
It's important to understand these things because Jesus warns his followers to beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. Hopefully these 10 insights will help you hack into whether or not you're dealing with a true follower or true shepherd or minister of Christ or a narcissist who is posing as one of these roles instead of being there to serve.
2:51 - #1 - The Abundance of Narcissistic Supply to be Had
The first reason why narcissists love religion is because of the abundance of narcissistic supply that could be had. It's a reality there is so much narcissistic supply to be had in religious settings. And narcissistic supply, as I mentioned before, is the praise, admiration, validation, honor, sense of significance that a narcissist is addicted to in order to regulate their negative emotions. So a religious context provides an easy platform for a narcissist because they could get access to a stage or a pulpit or a mic or some means to exert influence where they can gain all of that admiration and praise or a sense of superiority where they can present themselves as godly or pious individuals or chosen by God or specially anointed, all of this to gain validation and attention from people. And like I mentioned all of these things are a drug that a narcissist is addicted to and it is what actually feeds them, more than actually being in a relationship with God but to the pure all things are pure so there are many people in church and religious contexts who are honest good-hearted who believe the best about others and so they can be gullible to the narcissists around them who have disguised themselves as pious people for the sake of getting narcissistic supply and this is truly an evil because a narcissist pursuit of narcissistic supply comes at the cost of destroying and stepping on other people without any regard for their welfare.
4:32 - #2 - The Allure of Control and Power
The second reason why narcissists love religion is because of the alert of control and power. Religion offers a structure of beliefs and practices that can be manipulated by narcissists to exert control over others. For example a narcissist may twist and distort doctrines and scriptures to justify their authority and demand obedience from followers they could create God in their own image, which a lot of them do rather than follow and conform themselves to the God of the Bible. This kind of control feeds into the narcissist need for domination and power and it can get to a dangerous point where religious narcissist replaces God with themselves where they subtly over time position themselves as intermediaries between individuals and God. A narcissist might manipulate followers into believing that they alone possess the ability to interpret God's will or to speak on his behalf a narcissist does this whether consciously or unconsciously to elevate themselves to a divine status in the eyes of their followers and they may never say that they are doing this outright because no person would ever accept a human saying that you have to worship them like a god but a narcissist will certainly have structures and systems in place to make this a reality. And a follower or member of that religious context might not even realize what is happening until one day they notice that this narcissist has taken on an increasingly central role in their life and is dictating their decisions and their behaviors as if they were the ultimate authority. If you notice that you might be in a spiritual environment like this or someone you love might be and you're wondering if there's spiritual abuse going on or if it's a cult I put together a checklist to help you assess that situation and you can get access to it by clicking on the link in the description box below it's a really good tool to help you identify if the religious context you're in is toxic or has turned into a cult.
6:47 - #3 - Camouflage for Manipulation
The third reason why narcissists love religion is because it serves as a camouflage for manipulation. Religious contexts serve as a perfect camouflage for narcissist to disguise their true intentions these are places where it's easy for narcissists to cloak their behaviors and demands in spiritual language where they can manipulate and exploit others while appearing righteous and virtuous at the same time. And what better setup could there be for a covert narcissist who can continue acting narcissistic while appearing like a saint in the process there's no other place except churches and ministries and religious environments.
7:29 - #4 - Their ability to exploit certain teachings for personal gain
The fourth reason why narcissists are drawn to religion is because of their ability to exploit certain teachings for personal gain. Many religious communities emphasize principles like forgiveness, redemption, giving a second chance, reconciling, turning the other cheek, submitting to authority, and narcissists exploit these teachings extensively. They may present themselves as repentant as enlightened or they could be demanding forgiveness and reconciliation from others while refusing to cultivate Christ-like virtues within themselves so all this manipulation allows them to continue exploiting others behind this facade of being Godly.
8:15 - #5 - It allows them to Idolize their Self-Image
The fifth reason why narcissists love religion is because it allows them to idolize their self-image. Narcissists often have an inflated sense of self-importance and believe that they are special or unique so religion can offer a platform to reinforce this idealized self-image where they can portray themselves as chosen by God or having special spiritual gifts or insights or anointing.
8:44 - #6 - The Lack of Accountability
The sixth reason why narcissists love religion is because of the lack of accountability. Some denominations or churches or contacts might have more accountability than others but narcissist tend to gravitate towards those religious contexts that don't have much or have very little. Many religious narcissists exploit religious settings because they perceive them to be environments where their behaviors are less likely to be questioned or challenged so this lack of accountability allows them to continue their manipulative tactics without being questioned or challenged.
9:23 - #7 - It Gives Them a Get-Out-of-Jail Free Card from Having to Self-Reflect
The seventh reason why narcissists love religion is because it gives them a get out of jail free card from having to self-reflect. Narcissists typically struggle with self-awareness and introspection so religion offers a way for them to avoid confronting their own wounds or trauma or shortcomings by focusing on outward religious performance or acquiring religious knowledge, all this outward stuff that they can focus on. It's like Jesus saying to the Pharisees they're like these whitewashed tombs; they look beautiful and nice on the outside but inside they're full of dead man's bones. The attraction to religion allows a narcissist to spiritually bypass themselves where they can use all kinds of spiritual language like it's all washed by the blood or things like that to avoid dealing with deeper unresolved trauma within themselves and getting healed from it because there is power in Christ for healing but you have to do the work.
10:26 - #8 - Entitled and Exploit People in those Contexts
The eighth reason why narcissists love religion is is because it's easy for them to be entitled and to exploit people in these contexts in religious settings. Narcissists may feel entitled to special treatment or privileges due to their perceived spiritual status they might exploit others trust and vulnerability for their own personal gain and control. Narcissists may expect people to serve them, like a slave, free of charge. For instance, because they believe that they have a God-like status or they might expect people to hand their wealth over to them or neglect their own families in order to put the narcissist first all in the name of God.
11:09 - #9 - They Can Create a God in Their Own Image
The ninth reason why narcissists love religion is because they can create a God in their own image. Narcissists are not interested in cultivating Godly virtues within themselves as I mentioned before they would rather project their own traits onto God viewing him as judgmental, angry, or traits that resonate more with their narcissistic personality, more than who God actually is. And this kind of behavior allows narcissists to maintain a sense of superiority and justification for their actions.
11:43 - #10 - The Facade of Moral Superiority
The 10th reason why narcissist love religion is the facade of moral superiority religion provides narcissists with this platform to project a false sense of being moral or virtuous or Godly. And they can create this facade by practicing all the religious rituals and portray themselves in a certain way in front of people like this upstanding citizen, but in reality they could be practicing all kinds of dark deeds in private without people knowing hiding their true intentions all with this mask of piety and so that can serve very well for many narcissists and to enable them to continue their dark practices in secret while people are believing that they are this Godly pious person and that is actually a very hypocritical way to live and Jesus actually condemned these kinds of practices because that is what the religious leaders were doing in Biblical times but many narcissists gravitate towards religious settings in order to be able to continue living out this hypocritical lifestyle.
So understanding why narcissists are drawn to religion is really important in order to recognize and address the manipulation that can happen in churches and ministries while many churches and ministries promote cultivating Christ-like qualities. Sadly those same places attract narcissist to them because of opportunities it presents for control and admiration and validation but hopefully by being aware of these dynamics we can hopefully discern between genuine spiritual leaders and those who are using religion to drive their own ego-driven motives. Remember Jesus warned against the false prophets so hopefully by applying these insights we can navigate relationships in churches and ministries and operate with God's wisdom and discernment where we can be as shrewd as a snake and as innocent as a dove.
*Thanks to u/Jdub20202 for the video recommendation.

The Speed Advantage of Sorted Arrays

In the realm of computer programming, the organization of data plays a crucial role in determining the efficiency of algorithms. Specifically, in Java, the manner in which arrays are sorted can significantly impact the speed of data processing. This phenomenon is rooted in the principles of computational complexity and data structure optimization. Sorting an array organizes its elements in a specific order, either ascending or descending, which can facilitate quicker search and retrieval operations. The sorted arrangement allows algorithms to leverage binary search techniques, which drastically reduce the number of comparisons needed to find an element.
On the other hand, processing an unsorted array lacks these efficiencies. Each element may need to be individually examined, leading to a linear search approach. This method is inherently slower because it does not take advantage of any inherent order within the array. Understanding why sorted arrays are processed faster requires a deep dive into the mechanics of data access and algorithm efficiency. The benefits of sorting become especially evident in large datasets, where the difference in processing time can be substantial. This exploration sheds light on the importance of data organization in programming and its direct influence on performance.

Command/Concept	Description
Arrays.sort()	Java method to sort an array of elements into ascending numerical order or into a custom order defined by a Comparator.
Branch Prediction	In computer architecture, a technique to improve the flow in the instruction pipeline. Processors guess the direction of conditional operations to enhance performance.

Understanding Array Processing Efficiency

When it comes to processing arrays in programming, the arrangement of elements plays a crucial role in determining the efficiency of operations performed on them. This principle is especially true in the context of search and sort operations, where sorted arrays often provide significant performance benefits over their unsorted counterparts. The underlying reason for this disparity lies in the predictability and orderliness of sorted arrays, which allows algorithms to leverage certain assumptions and optimizations that are not possible with unsorted arrays.
For instance, binary search algorithms can quickly locate an element in a sorted array by repeatedly dividing the search interval in half, a method that is exponentially faster than linear search techniques required for unsorted arrays. Similarly, operations like finding the minimum or maximum value, merging arrays, or identifying duplicates are inherently more efficient with sorted data. These operations can take advantage of the sorted order to minimize comparisons and iterations. Furthermore, modern processors and their branch prediction algorithms perform better with the predictable access patterns of sorted arrays, reducing the number of costly cache misses and improving overall execution time. This discussion highlights not only the computational advantages of sorted arrays but also underscores the importance of data organization in software performance optimization.

Example: Sorting an Array in Java

Java programming environment

int[] numbers = {5, 3, 2, 8, 1, 4}; System.out.println("Unsorted: " + Arrays.toString(numbers)); Arrays.sort(numbers); System.out.println("Sorted: " + Arrays.toString(numbers)); 

The Impact of Array Sorting on Performance

Understanding why processing a sorted array can be significantly faster than an unsorted one involves delving into the intricacies of modern CPU architecture and algorithms. At the heart of this phenomenon is the concept of data locality and branch prediction, two critical factors that significantly influence performance. When an array is sorted, the elements are organized in a predictable order, which enhances data locality. This organization allows the CPU to efficiently cache and access the data, reducing the time it takes to retrieve it from memory. Additionally, sorted arrays benefit algorithms that rely on comparisons or searches, as their predictability leads to fewer computational steps.
Another key aspect is the optimization of branch prediction within the CPU. Modern processors use branch prediction to guess the likely outcome of conditional operations, preparing in advance to execute the following steps. In the context of sorted arrays, the predictability of data order makes these guesses more accurate, thereby minimizing the costly penalties associated with incorrect predictions. For instance, binary search algorithms exhibit remarkable efficiency with sorted arrays, as the predictable division of the dataset aligns well with the CPU’s branch prediction mechanism. This synergy between sorted data and hardware optimizations underscores the importance of understanding underlying computational principles when aiming to enhance software performance.

FAQs on Array Sorting and Performance

1. Question: Why does sorting an array improve search performance?
2. Answer: Sorting an array improves search performance by enabling more efficient search algorithms, like binary search, which significantly reduces the number of comparisons needed to find an element.
3. Question: What is data locality and how does it affect array processing?
4. Answer: Data locality refers to the arrangement of data in memory in a way that minimizes the distance and time it takes for the CPU to access it. Good data locality enhances cache utilization, making array processing faster.
5. Question: Can all types of data benefit from being sorted before processing?
6. Answer: While sorting can improve performance for many data processing tasks, the benefits depend on the specific operations being performed. Tasks that involve searching or ordering can benefit the most.
7. Question: How does branch prediction work with sorted arrays?
8. Answer: Branch prediction in CPUs tries to guess the outcome of if-else conditions. With sorted arrays, the predictability of conditions (e.g., in a binary search) improves, making branch prediction more accurate and processing faster.
9. Question: Is there a downside to sorting an array before processing it?
10. Answer: The main downside is the initial cost of sorting, which may not be justified if the array is large and the performance gain from subsequent operations does not offset this initial cost.
11. Question: Does the size of the array affect the benefits of sorting?
12. Answer: Yes, the larger the array, the more significant the performance improvements can be, especially for operations like search, due to the efficiency of algorithms like binary search on sorted data.
13. Question: Are there any specific sorting algorithms that are more effective in improving performance?
14. Answer: The choice of sorting algorithm depends on the context, including the size of the dataset and its initial order. Algorithms like quicksort and mergesort are generally effective for large datasets.
15. Question: How does sorting affect memory usage?
16. Answer: Sorting itself does not significantly affect memory usage, but the choice of sorting algorithm can, with some algorithms requiring additional memory for operations like merging.
17. Question: Can hardware differences affect the performance gains from sorting an array?
18. Answer: Yes, hardware differences, such as CPU speed, cache size, and memory speed, can affect how much performance gain is realized from sorting an array.

Wrapping Up the Insights on Array Sorting

The exploration into why processing a sorted array is faster than its unsorted counterpart sheds light on fundamental principles of computer science and hardware architecture. The benefits of sorting, encompassing enhanced data locality and branch prediction accuracy, underscore the symbiosis between software strategies and hardware capabilities. This interplay not only optimizes computational efficiency but also emphasizes the importance of algorithm selection in software development. While the initial cost of sorting might seem like a drawback, especially for larger datasets, the subsequent performance improvements in processing tasks validate its utility. Moreover, this discussion highlights the adaptability required in programming, urging developers to consider both algorithmic complexity and the underlying hardware environment. In essence, the decision to sort an array before processing it is a testament to the nuanced approach needed in optimization, balancing between computational overheads and execution speed to achieve optimal performance. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for both seasoned programmers and those new to the field, as it influences the effectiveness and efficiency of the solutions they craft.
https://www.tempmail.us.com/en/java/exploring-the-efficiency-of-sorted-arrays-in-java

I'm going to get my first PC for 8 years which I'll use for blender, substance designer, and graphics work on a daily basis. I'm coming from a 1700ryzen, 32gb ddr4, 1060 6gb and a 350 board.
My obsessive mind is confused as to which board and chip I should I go with,
Should I go for a 760 or 790 chipset. I don't plan to overclock and I'm confused as to if I should get a 14700 or a 14700k? If I go with the 760 I can repurpose my M-ATX case as there's some decent boards from MSI in this bracket, and paired with a 14700 I'll be drawing less watts, and only need a dual radiator AIO that my case supports. Will a 760 board support a 14700k? Am I better off going for a higher end 760 or an entry level 790? I'm looking at a 4060ti 12gb for the extra memory for graphics tasks. Also here in Brazil I'm paying a 100% tax, so that 800US i7 system is costing me over 2000 here, so every penny counts and I want it to be a decent rig. At the end of the day I don't mind getting the 14700k and getting a tri rad and new case, but if I can I'd rather save money. Thank you.
Parts so far:
RM750E power supply
1tb m.2 kingston
Might repurpose my beloved coolermaster M-ATX case

I seriously don't want to sound crazy but things are starting to make a lot of sense about the end times.

1. War on a large scale: As someone currently In the military, I'm seeing more declassified Intel about countries declaring war and preparing troops for deployment. 23 countries are currently in conflicts at this very moment.
   
2. Famine: Food shortages are becoming more common in parts of the world and over 10 famines have already been reported by the UNWFP in the following countries; Democratic Republic of congo,Afghanistan,Yemen,Syria,Sahel,South Sudan,Sudan,solmalia, northern Ethiopia, Haiti, and Palestine being the most recent.
   
3. Great earthquakes: Either by Nuclear weapons or actual earthquakes, but the way Jesus describes it. "Earthquakes in one place after another" (Matthew 24:7; Luke 21:11) Nukes make the most sense in that description.
   
4. Disease: according to Jesus, there would be epidemics of "terrible diseases" (Luke 21:11) 9 April 2024; first human case of Avian flu reported in the state of Texas, (unspecified region) United States. Not fear mongering, just stating data.
   
5. Crime: increasing of lawlessness (Matthew 24:12).
   

6.Ruining of the earth (revelation 11:18) foretold of mankind "ruining the earth", which can be done in a myriad of ways. Bringing harm to the environment is one of them.

1. Deteriorating Attitudes: Look at how reddit discusses ongoing conflicts, how X (former twitter) users have been renewed with uncontrolled hatred for one another without moderation. (2 Timothy 3:1-4) The Bible foretold of people being "unthankful, disloyal, not open to any agreement, without self control, without love of goodness, betrayers. Headstrong, puffed up with pride.
   
2. Breakdown of the family: (2 Timothy 3:2, 3) Many people would have "no natural affection" for their family. We're currently experiencing declining birth rates due to longer life expectancy, but also to financial hardships among our young and older population.
   
3. Diminished love of God: "The love of the greater number will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12). We are seeing more non believers and former believers abandoning their faiths due to hardship and animosity towards religion In general.
   
4. Religious hypocrisy: (2 Timothy 3:5) the Bible foretold that people would appear to worship God but not truly live by his standards. Draw your own conclusions on that one.
   
5. Increased understanding of Bible Prophecy: (Daniel 12:4) 4 "As for you, Daniel, Keep the words secret, and seal up the book until the time of the end. Many will rove about, and the true knowledge will become abundant" Perhaps the internet is what he may have been talking about?
   
6. A global preaching work: (Matthew 24:14) "this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in an all inhabited earth".
   
7. Widespread apathy and ridicule: (Matthew 24:37-39) Jesus foretold that people in general would ignore the overwhelming evidence of the approaching end. (2 Peter 3:3,4) "some would ridicule the evidence, dismissing it completely. Just look at how reddit reacts to not just Christians, but religion in general.
   
8. All prophecies fullfilled: (Matthew 24:33) "Jesus said that the last days will be marked by the simultaneous fulfillment of all these prophecies, not just a few or even most of them.
   

Please people of reddit. Look over the evidence, do your research, put the clues together and find out how we can overcome this.

Can we get so the quest item placement matched the mission lore (fluff? wording?) description? Atleast in PVE, where it would not hurt the economy or RMT. The quest design isn´t so bad, it clearly gave you clues where to search for something, but now it simply is misleading, and the description does not work. The quest item spawn is randomised and soft-locks your progression until you can find the desired item. Especially for beginners, this can be very frustrating.
Sanitary Standards - Part 1. The description sends you somewhere where no gas analyzers spawn. It just gives you +100xp \"exploration bonus\".
You can still locate the car and it still spawns medical loot, has a medic jacket, some loose med loot but no room 114 key!. It still even gives you the +100xp exploration bonus. Thats the infuriating part of these quests: This one would be fairly simple to do without wiki - go into big known landmarks (gas station and military cp) and search for a very specific car (there are 3 of that type), then go retrieve the item. But, if you follow the ingame directions, you will not fulfill this quest.
Never I found the key there. I looked all over the vagon. I always find it in filing cabinets or jackets, but ELSEWHERE. Not where it says it would be.
This one the description says to check campsites. Woods map has even them marked on the ingame map. There are several at all maps, and none of them spawns a flash drive anymore. People used to rush the campsite near the sawmill at woods to get an attempt, but it was so long ago.
This campsite here. Others are marked too. No flashdrives.
Why this detail was removed? Back then customs wasnt that big, but now it had 2 expansions, maybe some details would help to locate this?
Here you were supposed to find the 214 key in the garage 88 and then use it to get the 203 key in the mug. Guess what, none of them are there.
It seems like the game does not want you to play it as it is advertised, but rather go play loot manager 2024 and search filing cabinets and flip quest keys on fleamarket to progress. These are starting quests, it does not hurt anyone so their spawns are guaranteed or at least, improved? Why the Unknown and truck key spawn all the time but these do not? Will it break balance too much if the spawns for these early quests are going to be guaranteed? Why not make them spawn guaranteed only in PVE? Room 214 and 114 have safes inside, well, move the safes to unused rooms if they break the economy so much.
https://preview.redd.it/m6pnzthap93d1.jpg?width=301&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=70d4ff78165438a8a43778ff578b2ba6ba57f237
Also these:
Also, maps. Factory All the work, lore and love put into them, all for nothing. Back in the day you could use them to select the entry point to the map. Why not make maps more accessible, like give them as reward for first tasks at Ground Zero, and have the extracts more clearly marked on map? How should I know that "to glukhar" in cursive russian handwriting on the "Woods" map is the "Outskirts" extract? If I go into the first raid with only ingame knowledge about extracts, and do my absolute best, kill all enemies, and sustain no wounds, I am still bound to RNG to find an extract by pure luck before the timer runs out. That is simply not fair. The maps have been expanded several times and the brevity in giving directions no longer works, the map is not small enough to remember all landmarks by heart.
EDIT: They added back the possibility to inspect maps, however those are still outdated and do not reflect changes on the terrain. And there are still no maps for streets, reserve, lighthouse, ground zero.
This game needs new players. I get it that the core audience here are people who did this quests already 8 wipes consecutively, and can remember how to enter office building in factory from any spawn by muscle memory only, but all of the above exists for a reason, it was made, it was supposed to be ingame, and it does not work.

The life and biography of Abe Simpson is a running gag filled with extreme contradictions and improbable stories, but I tried to piece it all together (mainly using material before Season 10) to create a timeline that accounts for Abe’s senility and simply realism. Leave your thoughts down below!
——-
1912: Born in New York City to Orville Simpson and Yuma Hickman Simpson. Abe recalls being born and raised in another country but this probably didn’t happen, so we will just assume his father was an immigrant from either England or Canada (In my opinion Canada is more likely). I choose 1912 as the Simpsons is set around 1995, and if he is 83 years old in the early seasons, he was likely born in 1912.
c. 1920: The Simpsons relocate to Springfield, Oregon (Although never confirmed to be Oregon, we can use many context clues to make an educated guess it’s Oregon).
c. 1927-1931: Abe attends and graduates from high school. He mentions being a professional athlete but this probably isn’t true, but I will assume he was on high school sports teams: namely the Baseball, Track & Field, and wrestling teams
c. Great Depression: Abe likely works many odd jobs during the depression. I will give him some benefit of the doubt to some of his claims as he very well was a shoe shiner, a night watchman, a farmer, and traveling salesman in this era.
c. Great Depression: Although he definitely exaggerates his athletic exploits, I will say he was an amateur wrestler with the stage name “Glamorous Godfrey”. He also claims to have been a Javelin thrower in the 1936 Olympics, but he was likely just a good javelin thrower who participated in exhibitions and traveling circuses, and at best may have received a U.S Olympic Team tryout invitation.
c. 1938: My guess is that Abe enlisted in the United States Army before WW2. This could explain why he was a Master Sergeant (highest enlisted U.S. Army rank in WW2).
c. WW2: Abe rises to the rank of Master Sergeant in “Flying Hellfish” unit of the U.S Army. He served in the European Theatre: probably from D-Day in June 1944 to VE Day in May 1945. As a Master Sergeant, he was the highest enlisted rank and would have served as a battalion senior NCO.
1944: The Night before the D-Day invasions, he conceived a daughter named Abbey with a British woman named Edwina.
1945- Early 1950’s: As he had no legitimate family and mentions serving in other branches of the military, my guess is he decided to remain in the U.S. Military following WW2. This could’ve involved him maybe switching services from the Army to the Navy or Air Force, giving his claim of serving in all branches some credibility. For whatever reason, he would end up being discharged from the Military in the early 1950’s. My personal theory for his discharge, which would have ended his goal of a potential career, was that he was a member of the Communist Party of America.
c. 1950’s: Using his G.I bill benefits, Abe bought land in Springfield and went into thr Farming Business.
1955: Abe would marry Mona Simpson, the mother of Homer Simpson.
1956: This year he would have two children. Herbert Simpson Powell: an illegitimate child of a carnival worker he had a one night stand with, and Homer Simpson: his legitimate son with Mona Simpson.
c. 1968: With the Vietnam War in full swing, this is when Mona Simpson would likely become a hippie, leading to her and Abe’s separation through her faking of death. Around this time, Abe’s farming career would end as his farm would be foreclosed by the bank.
1970’s: After retiring as a farmer, Abe went back to being a salesman, specializing in selling goods such as medicine.
c. 1980-1995: Homer mentions putting Abe into a retirement home as soon as possible, and this would have most likely have happened around 1980 when Homer is in his early 20’s and Abe is in his late 60’s. This brings us to present day-The Simpsons in 1995, where Abe is a seasoned veteran of the Springfield Nursing Castle.

I have been trying to get jobs in larger institutions or businesses like a university or expanding corporation. There's a university and a corporation that has job posting I've watched over the last year and I've applied to a job in each and didn't get a call while I've also been applying to medium and small businesses (where my job history is).
One of my main skills is people, communication, client services, but I also have a ridiculous amount of entry level skills from working at startups and small businesses. When I wrote resumes for the university and large corporation, I pushed forward my relevant skills that the job posting advertised and didn't get a call which is life and okay. But there seems to be multiple jobs that are entry level that have people at the center with different flavours of skillsets that sometimes want someone with some education or training preferably, but since it's entry level it's preferable and not necessary.
So how do I write these resumes?? I have the same job as I've had for the past 4 years and I've done so many different things, each time I write a resume I have to replace half of my job tasks at least with ones relevant to the description. But how does this look to HR?
Like I'm trying to understand what the parameters are here, because I think if I do it in a way that's true to my experience but just LOOKS WEIRD and I submit like 3-5 more resumes in the next 12 months to let's say the uni since they have so many job postings all year...won't I look a little weird and like I'm lying?? I don't know how to apply to different entry level roles and not seem like it's me just "switching up my resume again" ugh haha
What do y'all do for this? Any HR people have any insight? Startup and small business "wearing many hats" life is hectic 🥲

SPOILERS FOR UG1, UG2, MW, Pro-Street, Rivals, Payback, Heat and Unbound
Recently, I'd gone and marathon a whole host of NFS Games, starting with Underground, and making my way up to Unbound. I had finished Payback, and moved forward to Heat when I realized the first set of Contracts from the Black Market was called: The Collector's Gambit. Initially, I thought of it as a simple throwaway line, or a callback to the most recent game at that time: Payback. But after going through Raziel's missions, noting the story beats of Heat, and doing the Tess/Yaz Delivery missions in Unbound, something just told me there seemed to be more going on here. It got me thinking about the other ridiculous story beats in the previous NFS games, and wondered if there were any connections.
It all started when I played Rivals again, and thought: "How on Earth do the Police and Racers get these cars? There isn't a single beater or Crown Vic in sight; the Sirens on that Charger are probably worth more than my apartment". Initially just chalked it as: Need For Speed's America could be like Dubai IRL, where supercars in law fleets are the norm; but couldn't put a piece of the puzzle down: The Racers. Obviously, it could be that the Racers get their cars from a number of shady/black market dealers, but who's giving the market their supply of LFA's and Pagani's? And why do both sides of the conflict have what seem to be military-grade weaponry on what should be, civilian vehicles at most?
I decided to move on to Payback, where there were three major story beats that caught my eye: Kobashi, Arkwright, and the NUMEROUS callbacks to pervious titles. The Curator name drops the Blacklist, the Run, and other NFS events, before selling Tyler on the Outlaw's Rush. We also know that the House had hired Cross to interrogate/torture Gallo during the House's initial takeover, which led to Silver Six, but Cross backed out. Even little nods, though unconfirmed, names such as Bull and Cooper are name dropped. Palmont City was also name dropped during the Speedcross DLC's, as it was the place where Speedcross got it's legitimacy in this universe, according to Rav. Aki Kimura also makes a full-fledged reappearance from ProStreet as DK in Noise Bomb. This game makes it clear that the Ghost games universe and the BlackBox universe's are within the same canon. Okay, so what now?
One MAJOR story beat that is often overlooked, is the role that the Brands play in Payback's narrative. To quickly refresh, Payback's parts are not only based on tiered performance, but specific brands give bonuses. One of the brands in-game we know was in-bed with the House: Chidori, as it was revealed by Charlie that Chidori custom parts had been transmitting data from Holtzman's C10, Nova's BC, and Valisev's GT-R. We also know that there were specifications for civilian cars too; alongside other technological developments, such as Skyhammer and the Jammers in Police Chargers being reminiscent of Rivals' and HP Police weaponry. As well, though not stated, due to the name, and the origami logo, it's very clear that Chidori has Japanese ties. We even meet a VIP from Japan in-game, who we pick up for the house: Kobashi. All signs point to the fact that Kobashi was the one outfitting House's cars with custom Chidori parts, and getting data from them. It wouldn't surprise me if Kobashi was the CEO, or at least, a Board of Directors member of Chidori. But why go through all this trouble for data from street racers? And why would data and a wager be so significant, that Fortune Valley's most powerful people: the Collector and the Gambler, would risk it all, just to appease Kobashi? The reward of all this hoop-jumping is joining "Arkwright", is that really it?
Heat's main story revolves around the Speedhunter's showdown, and the High-Speed Task Force stealing cars from the general populace. During "Follow the Law", Ana notes that the F40 we've been tailing had been wrongfully impounded, just like her Z, and other racers' cars. The climax of the mission hits it's peak when we go inside and see a whole operation of the HSTF dismantling the cars they impound, and shipping them off somewhere. At the end of Chapter 5, we even see Frank and Torres have a chat, and judging by Frank's tone, I don't think he was talking about the Police getting to him, but rather, who he would've shipped the cars to. Outside of the mascot cars from past games, the Collector is mentioned in Heat, through the first DLC's name, likely hinting the guy is still around. Because it's not like the House dissolved fully after Payback, the Collector still managed to irk out of Lina's mess; and likely has contacts like Raziel provide the tech needed to do his contracts. We never really grasp the full scope of the Collectors influence, so for all we know, he's the League member that contracts you and gives you the DB11 to find the people responsible for taking the DB5; he does like his cars after all.
Unbounds main story beat revolves around Alec somehow restoring the Lakeshore racing scene, after allegedly 2 years after Yaz stole our car and the LSPD stepped their presence up against street racing. But, when we find the LSPD, they aren't in the greatest of shapes either. Mayor Stevenson's foundation of her campaign is to stop street racing, and provide MORE funding to the LSPD. A detail I noticed about the LSPD was that, they don't have any variation of the Corvette as the "Ace"/Heat 5 car(s). Instead, LSPD's choice of Heat 5/Ace car is the Raptor, a more utilitarian choice, compared to other PD's in the NFS universe. And speaking of more utilitarian, it can be noted that Unbound is the first game in the series that actively TELLS you how to beat the Police. Chargers have this weakness, Camaro's have this weakness, CORVETTES SUCK AT GOING OFFROAD. Note that last part, as Payback and Heat's Corvettes didn't have much issue going off-road; likely signifying whoever was providing technology to LSPD was years behind other PD's. Sure, you could chalk it up to game mechanics, but I'd like to think that LSDP's weaknesses in their cars, and the lack of Rhino's in their fleet, show that the LSPD is eons away from the rest of the Need for Speed police forces. It should be also noted that Alex was a literal who nobody, until the story mentions that someone was sponsoring him and the Lakeshore Grand, but we never meet or hear from this benefactor. Plus, why would someone want to fund something as ridiculous as the Grand, while electoral campaigns to ban the sport of racing are at an all time high?
So, how does all of this relate to Arkwright, Most Wanted, and the Butterfly effect? I believe, that ever since the BlackBox protag showed up to the scene with the M3 GTR, it revealed the major weaknesses, of not only Rockport PD, but the rest of the countries PD's. If ONE guy can come out of nowhere with a then unconceivable car who put the fear of God into Porsche; and make a mockery of a PD, who at that point, was likely the most outfitted unit in the universe, whose to say it can't happen a second, third, fourth, or even millionth time? Hence, why we see the evolution of the Police in NFS Games, from their fleets, to even their weaponry, along with a noticeable downgrade as a benchmark in the form of the Lakeshore PD. Someone had to fund all of this, and that someone also benefits from street racing, legal or illegal, reigning supreme in the country. How else can we explain ludicrous scenario's such as the Run? That's where, Arkwright, enters stage left.
The legal definition of a Cartel is a group of independent corporations or other entities that join together to fix prices, rig bids, allocate markets, or conduct other similar illegal activities. I'd like to propose that, knowingly or unknowingly, the entire NFS universe is played out so that Arkwright can use the populace to make ill-gotten gains through data collection, with cars as the scapegoat. We know from Payback that Arkwright has their hands all over Chidori. Who's to say Carbon, Nextage, Americana and Outlaw weren't in on this either? At the very minimum, we know they have prominence in manufacturing. We also don't know how long Arkwright have been gathering data on racers. Sure we catch them in Payback, but who's to say they don't have our data in-lore, by events such as the Street Festivals in Pro Street or the legal street leagues/sponsorships all the way back from UG1 & UG2? It would make sense, if Arkwright is tracking us, and developing weapons based on the actions of the MC's we play as in NFS. And with all of the car-jacking Payback, Heat, and Unbound had gotten the MC's into, who's to say they unknowingly played into Arkwright's Mouse Utopia, of re-releasing those cars back into the economy for Arkwright to make more profit of these car-jackings? Tyler and his crew certainly didn't. What if Mayor Stevenson was another part of the Arkwright scheme that would be used to corner and monopolize the market, since they've already got Alec?
And who's to say other racers aren't fighting back, Charlie and Shift Lock have taken the fight to Arkwright, the Broker now also knows of Arkwright. Who's to say that the racers in Redview County were street racing out of rebellion? We only see the story from Zephyr and F-8's eyes in Rivals, meaning we don't even know current events in Redview County, as all they care about was what was in front of them. The VRT, the racer's, the weapons in Redview County, if not fully, I suspect Arkwright had a hand in it, and the racers either rebelled; OR unknowingly took the weapons that would provide their enemy with precious data; which could be used to make even more efficient weapons in the future to combat street racers. Hence, it could be an explanation as to why ex-criminals make up some part of the Vehicle Response Team in the RPD; what better guinea pigs than adrenaline-fueled hardened criminals fighting on the open roads with weapons and cars worth cities, with zero impunity to their actions?
All this leads me to believe that, ever since the BlackBox protag and the legendary M3 burst on to the scene, it created a butterfly effect that boosted the technological advancement of weapons and law-enforcement, which in turn lead to several economies, legal or illegal, being more than ready to meet the demands of what the BlackBox protag and his beloved M3 showed the 99% & the 1% of the bond between man and machine. And in both sides of the law, Arkwright would be ready behind the scenes, encourage and discourage where needed economically and technologically, while profiting off each and every event leading up to the NFS-verse's modern day. Hell, if my theory hold some water, the M3 could've been in Unbound because it was taken from Palm City, and being shipped country wide, with Yaz and the Unbound MC being just a link in the supply chain of Arkwright's shadow economy for profit and further technological advancements.
That's more or less what I've got, and I'd love to hear from any other lore enthusiasts out there with their thoughts. There's been a lot of "more questions than answers" with modern day NFS titles; and I know it's better to turn your brain off, and just enjoy the narrative for what it is; but this kind of theory-crafting is fun for me, and seeing the little coincidences you can find in these rabbit holes is the icing on the cake. TY for reading my ramble, and I'd love to hear your guys' thoughts!
TL;DR: Arkwright has been around before Payback, and controls the NFS Global Economies through Racing; and the world knowingly or unknowingly participates in their experiments and technological developments.

Introduction:

In March of this year, I attended the Embedded World Exhibition, which focuses on embedded systems. During my visit, I explored the Forlinx booth. Forlinx is renowned for developing System on Modules (SoMs) and Evaluation Boards for industrial PCs. I previously acquired an evaluation board from Forlinx last year. This year, I am excited to present the new Forlinx OK3588-C board in this video.
Today, we will explore the Forlinx OK3588-C board. Allow me to switch off the camera and transition to the desktop view.
Here, I have the hardware manual for the OK3588 board. If you require this hardware manual or the necessary SDKs to develop software for this board, please contact Forlinx, and they will provide you with the required resources.

SoM Appearance Diagram:

The evaluation board comprises two primary components. Firstly, this is the physical appearance. Here, we have the System on Module (SoM) mounted on a carrier board, which connects all peripherals to the SoM.
Let's begin by examining the System on Module. This module includes the Rockchip RK3588 main processor, two DRAM ICs, and eMMC storage for non-volatile data. Various components on the module generate the required voltages for the chip's operation. The Rockchip RK3588 is a robust processor.

RK3588 Description:

Displayed here is a block diagram of the RK3588. It features a dual-cluster core configuration. One cluster consists of a quad-core Cortex-A76 processor clocked at 2.6 GHz, and the second cluster includes a quad-core Cortex-A55 processor, clocked at either 1.5 or 1.8 GHz. This setup allows for power-saving capabilities by disabling the A76 cores when full performance is not required.
Another notable feature is the high-performance Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which is advantageous for tasks related to artificial intelligence and machine learning. In the future, I hope to demonstrate the NPU's capabilities.
The chip also includes a multimedia processor supporting various video decoders, even up to 8K resolution, and an embedded Mali-G GPU. For external memory interfaces, it has two eMMC controllers and support for LPDDR4 and LPDDR5. Additionally, it includes standard system peripherals, such as USB OTG 3.1, PCIe interfaces, Gigabit Ethernet, GPIO, SPI, and I²C.
RK3588 Description:
Displayed here is a block diagram of the RK3588. It features a dual-cluster core configuration. One cluster consists of a quad-core Cortex-A76 processor clocked at 2.6 GHz, and the second cluster includes a quad-core Cortex-A55 processor, clocked at either 1.5 or 1.8 GHz. This setup allows for power-saving capabilities by disabling the A76 cores when full performance is not required.
Another notable feature is the high-performance Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which is advantageous for tasks related to artificial intelligence and machine learning. In the future, I hope to demonstrate the NPU's capabilities.
The chip also includes a multimedia processor supporting various video decoders, even up to 8K resolution, and an embedded Mali-G GPU. For external memory interfaces, it has two eMMC controllers and support for LPDDR4 and LPDDR5. Additionally, it includes standard system peripherals, such as USB OTG 3.1, PCIe interfaces, Gigabit Ethernet, GPIO, SPI, and I²C.

Development Board Interface Description:

The carrier board includes numerous peripherals. There is a 12V power supply, a power switch, a reset switch, up to five camera connectors, microphone and speaker connectors, USB 2.0 host, and two USB 3.1 OTG ports. These USB ports can function as either hosts or devices. It also features two HDMI ports (one input and one output), a real-time clock with a battery, eDP ports, ADC connectors, an SD card slot, a fan connector, and M.2 slots for Wi-Fi and cellular cards.
The board also includes two full-size PCIe connectors, user buttons, CAN interfaces, an RS485 interface, a USB-to-serial adapter, and two Gigabit Ethernet ports. The overall setup is impressive.

Operation:

Let's power on the board. I have also connected a PCIe card to a free slot. Before proceeding, let's open the serial terminal to monitor the output.
The board is booting, and the kernel is starting successfully. Currently, we are running a minimal BusyBox root file system. In a future video, I will demonstrate how to build a custom Linux for this board. For now, this setup is sufficient.
We are running kernel version 5.10.66, built for ARM64 architecture. The board has eight processors, consisting of different Cortex-A cores. The available memory is 3.6 GB, with 155 MB currently in use. Background processes and the Mali GPU likely consume some memory.
We have eight I²C buses available, with one connected to the display connector for Display Data Channel (DDC) management.
The eMMC storage has multiple partitions. The board features seven GPIO chips and eight I²C connectors.
Lastly, I have connected a PCIe card, and the system detects it successfully. The card operates at PCIe Gen 1 speed with a link width of x1. Higher-end cards could achieve link speeds up to 8 GT/s and wider link widths.
This concludes the initial demonstration of the OK3588 board. In future videos, I will compile software for this board and provide more in-depth coverage of this compelling embedded system platform. I'm excited to showcase the full potential of the Forlinx OK3588-C development board and how it can be leveraged for a wide range of innovative projects. Stay tuned as I delve deeper into the capabilities of this board and explore how it can be leveraged for various applications.
Thank you for watching.
*This content and video was originally published by Johannes 4GNU_Linux

Introduction:

In March of this year, I attended the Embedded World Exhibition, which focuses on embedded systems. During my visit, I explored the Forlinx booth. Forlinx is renowned for developing System on Modules (SoMs) and Evaluation Boards for industrial PCs. I previously acquired an evaluation board from Forlinx last year. This year, I am excited to present the new Forlinx OK3588-C board in today's video.
Today, we will explore the Forlinx OK3588-C board. Allow me to switch off the camera and transition to the desktop view.
Here, I have the hardware manual for the OK3588 board. If you require this hardware manual or the necessary SDKs to develop software for this board, please contact Forlinx, and they will provide you with the required resources.

SoM Appearance Diagram:

The evaluation board comprises two primary components. Firstly, this is the physical appearance. Here, we have the System on Module (SoM) mounted on a carrier board, which connects all peripherals to the SoM.
Let's begin by examining the System on Module. This module includes the Rockchip RK3588 main processor, two DRAM ICs, and eMMC storage for non-volatile data. Various components on the module generate the required voltages for the chip's operation. The Rockchip RK3588 is a robust processor.

RK3588 Description:

Displayed here is a block diagram of the RK3588. It features a dual-cluster core configuration. One cluster consists of a quad-core Cortex-A76 processor clocked at 2.6 GHz, and the second cluster includes a quad-core Cortex-A55 processor, clocked at either 1.5 or 1.8 GHz. This setup allows for power-saving capabilities by disabling the A76 cores when full performance is not required.
Another notable feature is the high-performance Neural Processing Unit (NPU), which is advantageous for tasks related to artificial intelligence and machine learning. In the future, I hope to demonstrate the NPU's capabilities.
The chip also includes a multimedia processor supporting various video decoders, even up to 8K resolution, and an embedded Mali-G GPU. For external memory interfaces, it has two eMMC controllers and support for LPDDR4 and LPDDR5. Additionally, it includes standard system peripherals, such as USB OTG 3.1, PCIe interfaces, Gigabit Ethernet, GPIO, SPI, and I²C.

Development Board Interface Description:

The carrier board includes numerous peripherals. There is a 12V power supply, a power switch, a reset switch, up to five camera connectors, microphone and speaker connectors, USB 2.0 host, and two USB 3.1 OTG ports. These USB ports can function as either hosts or devices. It also features two HDMI ports (one input and one output), a real-time clock with a battery, eDP ports, ADC connectors, an SD card slot, a fan connector, and M.2 slots for Wi-Fi and cellular cards.
The board also includes two full-size PCIe connectors, user buttons, CAN interfaces, an RS485 interface, a USB-to-serial adapter, and two Gigabit Ethernet ports. The overall setup is impressive.

Operation:

Let's power on the board. I have also connected a PCIe card to a free slot. Before proceeding, let's open the serial terminal to monitor the output.
The board is booting, and the kernel is starting successfully. Currently, we are running a minimal BusyBox root file system. In a future video, I will demonstrate how to build a custom Linux for this board. For now, this setup is sufficient.
We are running kernel version 5.10.66, built for ARM64 architecture. The board has eight processors, consisting of different Cortex-A cores. The available memory is 3.6 GB, with 155 MB currently in use. Background processes and the Mali GPU likely consume some memory.
We have eight I²C buses available, with one connected to the display connector for Display Data Channel (DDC) management.
The eMMC storage has multiple partitions. The board features seven GPIO chips and eight I²C connectors.
Lastly, I have connected a PCIe card, and the system detects it successfully. The card operates at PCIe Gen 1 speed with a link width of x1. Higher-end cards could achieve link speeds up to 8 GT/s and wider link widths.
This concludes the initial demonstration of the OK3588 board. In future videos, I will compile software for this board. Thank you for watching.
*This content and video was originally published by u/Johannes 4GNU_Linux

Hi there,
I'm having a online print on demand business and I'm currently looking for a Virtual Assistant who has working experience in Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator:
Task: Your job is to vectorize AI generated t-shirt designs with the Image Tracer function of Illustrator. (You also have to fix some typos from time to time, adjust the design a bit, rename the files, ...)
Type: It's not a full-time/half-time job. It's rather task based. So it would rather be a side-income. But my demand will increase over time.
What I offer:

• $0.10 per unit/design (40-50 designs per hour are doable)
• Safe job for the future
• My demand will increase over time, if you work well

What I expect:

• Knowledge in Adobe IllustratoPhotoshop
• Good workflow
• Good English skills
• Submitting the work fast
• Stable internet connection (+ kinda good computer would be good)

Please send me a short description + references/portfolio per private message. No CV required. Applications without references will be ignored. We can make a paid test job as well.

Hi there,
I'm having a online print on demand business and I'm currently looking for a Virtual Assistant who has working experience in Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator:
Task: Your job is to vectorize AI generated t-shirt designs with the Image Tracer function of Illustrator. (You also have to fix some typos from time to time, adjust the design a bit, rename the files, ...)
Type: It's not a full-time/half-time job. It's rather task based. So it would rather be a side-income. But my demand will increase over time.
What I offer:

• $0.10 per unit (40-50 designs per hour are doable)
• Safe job for the future
• My demand will increase over time, if you work well

What I expect:

• Knowledge in Adobe IllustratoPhotoshop
• Good workflow
• Good English skills
• Submitting the work fast
• Stable internet connection (+ kinda good computer would be good)

Please send me a short description + references/portfolio per private message. No CV required. Applications without references will be ignored. We can make a paid test job as well.

Returning customers and bulk orders (270+ switches) get 10% off!
For ~$0.62 (PayPal G&S), I will hand-lube, film, part swap, and do various other mods to your MX, Choc, Box, etc., switches. I supply my own lube and films, but will accept customers' lube and switch parts for a reduced price. Buyers pay to and from shipping. Shipping for the typical U.S order will be cheap (about $4-$9), unless the package is several lbs. I will pay for some of the shipping cost for international customers. Faster shipping methods can be requested. Lubing/modding orders of a single set of switches are typically finished in less than a day, and shipped the next morning; sometimes on the same day when there's no line.
Lubes:

• Krytox 205g0
  • My go-to lube unless otherwise requested
• GHv4 (206g2 + GPL 106 oil in a 7:3 mixture)
• Carbon GS2
• Tribosys 3204
• Tribosys 3203
• Loob-3G
• RO-59^tm KT (has cure time, needs several coats)
  • Extra cost
• Krytox XHT-BDZ
  • Go-to for stab wires
• Molykote EM-30L PAO Grease (Thicker than 205g0, thinner than BDZ)

Oils (for springs):

• Super Lube 5100X
  • My go-to for good springs.
• GPL 105 (when available)
• 1000cst silicone oil (viscosity similar to GPL106)
  • Will probably be using this for most noisy springs by default.
• GPL 107 (when available)

In-stock films:

• Dangkeebs silicone - 1200x
• Kebo thick switch films - 149x

In-stock switches:

• Polished Greetech Sunsets coming soon!

Switch cleaning, polishing, and break-in!
388 switches or less recommended for break-in. Any switches with pre-applied factory lube will be cleaned thoroughly via ultrasonic cleaner before breaking in. Off-center actuations can be done to any set of 144 switches or less with no additional charge! Note that off-center presses are not usually necessary for diamond-polished switches.

Type of Service	Description	Price per switch (includes Paypal fees)
Lubing	A moderate coat of 205g0 is typical, unless another lube or lubing method is preferred. Bumpier tactiles, or switches with tighter tolerances, will get something lighter. Spring oiling is included.	~$0.62
Filming	Films can reduce noise in a switch while changing the sound profile. Also helps to reduce housing wobble in some switches.	~$0.05. Offered additionally with other services (not standalone).
Regular Break-In (650k Actuations)	Smooths out some awfully scratchy switches. Factory-lubed switches are cleaned first (discounted if not necessary).	~$0.32, ~$0.16 without cleaning.
Regular Break-In Package Deal	A discounted rate (~16%) for break-in + lube service. Cleaning included.	~$0.78
Diamond-Polish Break-In*	Highly recommended for scratchy switches, namely Cherries. Switches come out smoother than with a normal break-in. All necessary switch cleaning is included.	~$0.68
Diamond-Polish Package Deal*	A discounted rate (~15%) for polished break-in + lube service. Cleaning before and after included.	~$1.09, ~$1.14 with films (mine if they're in-stock, or provided by you)
Bearing Ball Modding	Easy way to reduce the travel of your switches consistently, as well as create a unique sound. Ask me about switch compatibility.	~$0.16
Switch Cleaning (Ultrasonic and hand-cleaning)	Necessary to remove PFPE-based lubes, like Krytox and Tribosys. Safe degreasing fluids, hand tools, and a Crest brand ultrasonic cleaner may be used. I don't mind putting the switches back together after, if you prefer. :)	~$0.16
Priority Queue	For an additional fee per switch, your order will be put in an expedited queue. Depending on demand, this can save weeks of time. Availability subject to change based on current wait times.	~$0.19

*Diamond-Polish services not eligible for 10% discount with bulk orders.
FAQ
Testimonials
Here is my updated order form, if you want to keep record of your order (completing this is not required).
I'm based in Virginia, USA, and my postal for local pickup is 23228. Best way to contact me is on Discord: .avalar Thank you for supporting me! I look forward to working with you. :)

WARNING! WALL OF TEXT.
Context:
The Empire is an interplanetary power that controls much of the Known Galaxy. It might seem that the Empire built its power on a multi-million army and a powerful navy, but the truth is slightly different. Of course, the role of the Imperial Armed Forces in creating the Empire's power cannot be underestimated, but the real tool that enabled the emperors to get the Empire to the place it is now was the special services, and in particular the Imperial Inspectorate, which was officially supposed to protect the citizens of the Empire against "terrorism and all persons harming the stability and legal order of the Empire", but in fact it was a highly developed apparatus of terror that murdered hundreds of millions of people throughout the entire existence of the Empire. The influence of the Imperial Inspectorate in the Empire was so strong that even the Emperor himself sometimes feared for his life and the loss of power.
Origin and background of the Great Silence:
In the year 1568 of Imperial Time, power in the Empire was taken over by Emperor Sinar Lythe, the leader of the then largest faction sitting on the Imperial Council - the Old Imperialists. This faction primarily postulated the return of the country to its roots, i.e. the Old Empire, during the rule of the Bantar House. Of all the factions on the Imperial Council, the Old Imperialists enjoyed the greatest prestige, were favored by the Emperor, and were appointed to various leadership positions in many Imperial institutions. The Emperor, fearing opposition from the remaining factions of the Imperial Council, introduced a law that prevented the Imperial Inspectorate from arresting members of the Old Imperialists without the consent of their parent faction organization or the Emperor himself. This created a system in which the Imperial Council was pushed into the background and the Emperor consolidated all power in his hands and had a free hand to shape his environment. Aubrin Vervaine, then Chief Inspector of the Imperial Inspectorate, one of the Emperor's most trusted men, cold, calculating, sadistic, will stop at nothing to fulfill his leader's orders. It was this man who was entrusted with the task of "protecting the legal order and stability of the Empire", which in a nutshell meant eliminating those who were becoming too influential and gaining too much support than they should.
For many years, the Emperor eliminated people who could threaten him or the faction he came from. He also felt the pressure put on him by the Old Imperialists, to whom he had granted immunities and created careers in imperial institutions a dozen or so years ago. These people wanted more and the Emperor knew it. He realized that if he didn't do anything about it, they would try to take power in the near future. The Emperor slowly began to turn against his own faction, trying to delay everything, but the faction's leaders knew well what was happening and were also preparing their own plan.
Cyseb Kaldine, a close associate of the Emperor and chairman of the Imperial Council on behalf of the Old Imperialists, began to openly criticize the Emperor for his "rash and condemnable decisions". Kaldine also worked closely with the previously mentioned Chief Inspector Aubrin Vervaine, who also wanted to eliminate the Emperor. Vervaine realized that the Emperor sees him as the greatest threat.
However, Vervaine, just like the Emperor, did not trust Cyseb, so after a personal conversation with the Emperor, in which he explained his concern about Cyseb's behavior, he was ordered to arrest him and sentence him to death. Then, the Old Imperialist faction plunged into a brutal power struggle that lasted until the Great Silence itself.
While the Old Imperialists were arguing over who should take Kaldine's place, Chief Inspector Aubrin Vervaine was murdered in his own apartment in the Imperial capital, Bantares. A show investigation was initiated into this event, but it did not solve anything, the case ended with the fact that it was assumed that the crime was committed by an assassin hired by the Old Imperialists, who, for reasons that have never been explained, was never caught.
The beginning of the Great Silence:
After this event, the new Chief Inspector of the Imperial Inspectorate was Lex Dystra, former Inspector General of the Department "S" of the Imperial Inspectorate, dealing with "Political-Military Surveillance". He was a man even worse than his predecessor and much more fanatical. Dystra believed that all opponents of the Empire should share the same fate - death. For him, the elimination of millions of lives was just a statistic that allowed the Empire to exist in the long run. However, Dystra was not devoted to the Emperor, but to the Empire, and separated these two entities with a thick line. He believed that if the Emperor began to act to the detriment of the Empire, he should be eliminated. Therefore, the appointment of Lex Dystra as Chief Inspector is considered to be the decline of the "Old Empire".
Dystra, apart from being the Chief Inspector, had an extremely strong position in the Imperial Inspectorate, due to the fact that he was previously the Head of the Department "S", he knew how to deal with the political sphere of the Empire and how to slowly eliminate people who bothered him. Like his predecessor, he saw the Emperor as his greatest opponent and slowly implemented his plan to remove him from power. He knew that the Emperor could not do anything to him, because the Department "S", which he so eagerly used, was entirely under the direct control of Dystra. Nevertheless, Dystra was afraid for his life and was protected by his most trusted people, and seeing that the Emperor was increasingly hot on his heels, he decided to take extremely drastic steps.
In the year 1578 of Imperial Time, in the capital of the Empire, Bantares, in the building of the Imperial Council which was directly connected to the building of the Imperial Citadel, the place where the Emperor himself sat, a terrorist attack took place. Terrorists, using previously planted explosives, blew up the entire western wing of the Council building, killing thousands of people, including dozens of councilors.
A huge panic broke out in the Empire, no one knew what was really happening, and the Imperial Inspectorate remained silent. Finally, the Emperor issued a proclamation to the citizens. He stated that the Imperial Council and himself were brutally attacked by "unspecified militants". He also reported that the Imperial Inspectorate was not up to the task and could not protect the Empire from "a visible and clearly imminent threat". He blamed Lex Dystra for the entire terrorist attack, stating that he was "an incompetent, corrupt and self-centered man." The Emperor urged citizens to stay at home until the whole matter is resolved, because, as he stated, "The Empire is struggling with an internal threat of the highest level."
The truth, however, was that the Emperor was behind the entire attack. He knew that the Imperial Inspectorate was an institution completely opposed to him, so he decided to reach out to the Imperial Intelligence Service, which was still loyal to him. However, the Emperor did not know that Lex Dystra's plan was coming to an end, and just a few hours after the terrorist attack, the Emperor was found in his throne room. Dead. Most likely poisoned.
The death of Emperor Sinar Lythe is considered the beginning of the Great Silence, and Lex Dystra, being directly responsible for the assassination of the Emperor, rested on his laurels, believing that all power in the Empire was subordinated only to him. However, he did not realize that both in the Imperial Inspectorate and in the Imperial Armed Forces a conspiracy had been formed against him, led by the Inspector General of Department "A" (Counterintelligence) Alexin Has Kels. Kels was also the leader of a newly formed faction in the Empire called the New Imperialists, who sought to restore law and order in the Empire, eliminate corruption and cronyism.
In the year 1579 Imperial Time, Lex Dystra was found dead in his office at Imperial Inspectorate Headquarters with a gunshot wound to the head...
I will write part two if you like it :)

first
Luna VI query: Set the source to the translation logs of Princess Amara Auralyn.
No problem!
Luna VI query: Narrate Amara's plan to flee from the war.
***
The moment Amara's nose caught the scent of that little puff of smoke ascending from Nathan's damaged equipment, she suspected something terrible had happened. Her lack of understanding of the nature of this particular piece of human tech was unimportant. Just from knowing the fact that this was one of the few items Nathan had rushingly retrieved was more than enough for her to infer its importance.
His extremely negative reaction to its destruction also hadn't escaped her notice.
Amid the ragged bursts of breath and droplets of sweat running down his face, he stared at the smoking piece of equipment on the ground as he cursed. Then he stood up in a huff, pulling his hair as if trying to remove it from his scalp.
With the object source of their distress in between herself and Nathan, she asked a question that she already knew the answer to. "Was that the device you would use to request help?"
Nathan was breathing too fast to speak properly. "What else could. It be."
His confirmation was the last straw for her to close her eyes, allowing all the emotions she'd been suppressing to be manifested, like a multi-colored river flowing among her black spots.
When she opened her eyes again, she and Nathan were already locking gazes, him bending his head forward as he used his knees to support his upper body, while she stood upright with her head at the same vertical level as his.
Amara felt a shared sense of anger at the situation between them, but she was also afraid that Nathan’s anger was more targeted at her than at the situation.
It took some courage for her to speak first.
"Do you have other means for contacting your people?" She knew it was unlikely he had that, but it was still a question worth asking.
"The radio transmitter was being jammed. I didn't think of bringing it with me." He was recovering his breath fast. "What about you? There is that earpiece, and yesterday you had that AR visor on all day."
"The communicator in my ear is short-ranged. As for the AR visor..." She struggled to tell the truth, but she still did it. "I hid it inside a hole in a tree and forgot it."
"A hole? In a tree? Are you kidding me?"
The truth was that Amara hid it before entering Nathan's tent on the previous night. She had certain expectations and didn't want to be interrupted by the notifications.
But of course, she would never admit that.
"See any pockets?" She extended both hands and put her tail beside them, showing she had nowhere to store the items.
"Oh… sorry. Sometimes I forget our differences."
Nathan believed her so easily that she felt a little bad for him, but not bad enough to waste their precious time with unnecessary talking. "Even should I go alone, I fear I cannot retrieve our devices. I would just get killed or captured for nothing. We cannot stay here either because soon they will follow your trail; we need a plan."
She was certain the only reason the enemies hadn't followed them yet was because they had underestimated Nathan's ability to run.
"I wouldn't let you go back there even if you wanted to, Amara. But at least you are thinking now." He touched his chin, his eyes wandering around. "And yeah, we need a plan."
Unknowingly to Nathan, his words had caused Amara to drift away. And it was not because of him saying he wouldn't allow her to return, but because of his mention of the fact that she wasn't thinking before.
And this had affected her deeply because she utterly agreed with him.
By noticing how differently Ryo and Elysira had handled the same situation before they had fleed, Amara had reflected about how poorly she had reacted to the war. She was guilty of thinking about this more than just a little while Nathan was putting in all the effort to take her away from danger.
She traced back her mistake to a single moment—when Nathan had told her his list of reasons why they couldn't be together. This was when she had allowed her heart to be poisoned with rejection, which by morning had spiraled out of control by the dreadful reportings she had received, and finally, it had culminated in her emotional response to the crisis.
Which curiously Nathan had later fixed by his total commitment to staying together.
Amara found all of that pathetic.
This time she set her priorities straight as she suppressed her detrimental feelings in favor of reason. "We could trek parallel to the mountain and find a cave to hide until the elders send help."
"How long would that take?" He asked.
His questions triggered a long chain of assumptions in her mind. She first considered the political situation after the disruptive assassinations in the capital, and then the logistics of the deployment of reinforcements.
But Amara discarded the whole plan when she tried to envision how long it would take for her allies to find them in the darkness of the forest, realizing how flawed her suggestion was.
Displaying red, she said, "Help will be here today, yet the war on the ground will turn into a slow spot-and-kill conflict. My thoughts must still be clouded. To hide in the mountains is a death sentence; the rebels would have a better idea where to search for us than my allies would."
Nathan touched his face and shook his head at her admission. Without fully understanding what he was doing, she watched him approach a young tree and stare at its bark as his right arm tensed.
Before she could ask a single question, he punched the rough bark, dislodging some wood from the brittle surface and making it fall.
He said, "I'm such an idiot. Now our only option is to keep running and I didn't even bring the water."
She was taken aback by his reaction.
It was true among her species that the males could be more aggressive under stressful situations. But to go as far as hunting themselves against a tree? This was something she hadn't seen before nor she could understand.
What would she do now?
Of all her priorities, communicating with him was very high on her list. This went much beyond certain feelings she had, being directly linked to their survival. Remembering how Ryo and Elysira had handled the same situation before they had fled, she couldn't help but feel like she and Nathan were still failing at this.
Following more instinct than reason, Amara decided to approach him as the red on her skin gradually gave way to purple at every step she took.
When he was within tails reach of her, she spoke.
"I cannot read your thoughts much less can I see your feelings, but I presume that similar to me you can also sense that we failed today, am I wrong?" Nathan pursed his lips and didn't reply, leaving her at a loss for a moment. Yet she didn't give up and wrapped her tail around his wrist, raising his scraped knuckles for him to see. "Why have you done this?"
"I..." He averted his eyes from the wound, relaxing his arm. "This ain't me I swear Amara. It's just-"
"The drones are coming." She was forced to shut him up with her tail to confirm what she heard in the background while he was speaking. After adjusting the angle of her ears she added, "At least three."
Seeing Nathan's face contort from one weird expression after the other, she could only feel regret and anger that she was forced to interrupt him. But as long as they were alive they could always talk more later.
"Great!" He took a deep breath and lowered his back for her to climb. "Let's see how far I can go without water."
"No." She could hear the drones advancing slowly, likely searching for places where they might have hidden, underestimating how far Nathan had taken her. "I do not doubt you can run more, but there is no point in running unless we can lose them. Can you do what Ryo did and destroy them?"
He didn't look at her as he replied, "I could try, but I don't have whatever aim improving add-on the military gave him, much less the years of training."
"Can I borrow your loud gun then?" Amara had a seed of a plan in her mind, a risky and reckless plan but still better than doing nothing or engaging in more random running.
"What? Do you have any idea how hard is to shoot those things down?" Nathan took her request so badly that he lifted his body again to explain more. "Your species may have precise movements and all, but this revolver needs more than just aiming, there's the recoil, reloading, and I bet it hurt your ears; besides I doubt you can do better than me without having taken a single shot with one of our guns your whole life."
Nathan was not wrong.
No matter how hard it felt to admit it to herself, the truth was that she was not a frontline fighter. She could bring order. She could weed out traitors. She could give directions. But taking a gun and firing at the enemies? Even a gun crafted by her species was something she lacked experience using.
Still, the way that he expressed his doubt without even hearing what she had in mind made her quite angry. It was nothing close to the feeling of rejection from the night, but it was still enough to encourage her to double down on her idea.
"I do not intend to shoot the drones from far away like you humans do." Amara pointed at the canopy of the young tree beside them and waited for him to look up before she added, "I want to ambush them from a close distance."
His eyes widened, but Nathan still wasn't convinced. "That's dangerous Amara. What if you miss it? You'll just let them know where we are for nothing. And even if you don't miss the shots can’t they just send more drones?"
"You speak reason, but my goal extends beyond destroying them. I know how brother and my species think and I want to mislead them." Amara did her best to let him know her intention. "You will have to be my bait too, and we will need to run as fast as we can towards the valleys once I destroy them. I would explain everything if there was time, but right now you will have to trust me."
"You want to go to the valleys..." He spoke in a low voice as he scratched his head.
Seeing that he didn't straight up reject her idea this time, Amara went on for the last push, showing a forced hint of yellow to try and sound confident. "No sane individual would go to the valleys without equipment and a large group, my brother and his army will never consider searching for us in there."
She regretted her wording as soon as she was done speaking, afraid she might have scared Nathan who was taking his time to reply.
But before she could say anything more, Nathan started loading his gun and when he was done he used his thumb to lower a little lever. "You have to pull this thing down each time before pulling the trigger, but I guess you saw me doing it enough times already." He then undid his action before offering the gun to her as he held it by the muzzle. "Don't forget to hold it with all your might or the recoil will hurt you."
She considered saying some words to let him know how much his trust meant to her, but the drones were approaching and there were more important things to say. Her tail simply coiled around the gun, and she took it as the weight of the task ahead caused the object to feel heavier than it was.
She considered if she should ask for more ammunition, but concluded she wouldn't have time to reload, which she knew was bad despite making things significantly easier.
"Go there and make it convincing that you are absolutely exhausted, can you?" Using her tail, Amara pointed at a bright spot on the ground, where a beam of blue light was making its way from the canopies to the ground. "This is important Nathan. The operators must believe you reached your limit, they must report to my brother that you cannot run much longer."
"This won't be too hard." His lips curled into a hint of a smile. "But are you sure they don't use AI instead of operators to guide the drones?"
"Only you humans are crazy enough to disregard the only law the alliance enforces." She started climbing the tree with each of her clawed hands poking holes into the bark from a different side, but when she was already above Nathan, she looked below. "I am counting on you. We made too many mistakes today, one more and it might not be forgiven."
"I'll do what you asked, okay? Just hit the drones and don't fall from the tree." He said before running towards the spot she had instructed him.
With each of them agreeing on their role, Amara kept climbing the tree, finding little difficulty in her initial task. This was so easy that almost all of her attention was focused on tracking the spinning blades of the drones, which were constantly approaching at a speed that suggested they were doing a minute inspection of the ground.
It was only when she was already high above that she noticed the first problem.
If she wanted the advantage of shooting the drones from the same plane they were approaching, Amara would either have to give up a hand for the aim, or she would have to compromise her camouflage by wrapping her legs around the tree to help her tail to hold her body.
Neither of the options was ideal, but doing nothing was even worse, which led her to choose to sacrifice some of her ability to aim in favor of a tighter grip, ensuring that her legs kept hidden behind the trunk as she pressed each of her clawed fingers of her left hand against the rough bark for a secure hold.
Feeling a burning anxiety like she never felt before, she transferred the gun from her tail to her right hand and surrounded the tree with her now free tail to improve her grip even more.
She then turned her head and took a final glance at Nathan and confirmed he was stooping down and breathing loudly, exactly on the spot she had asked him to go.
Now everything was ready.
Amara hid the gun in between her belly and the tree as her whole body mimicked the brownish color of the bark, even her tail and hair transitioning from their typical blue to a copy of the textured color surrounding her.
Her eyes closed and only a mental representation of her surroundings remained, being especially accurate this time as if her her body knew there was no room for mistakes.
As the seconds passed, her heart rate slowed down and her awareness peaked. Of all her body, only her long ears slightly moved as the positions of the three drones became less foggy in her mind the closer they got to her.
The fact that one of them suddenly stopped moving right in front of the tree was something she expected, that being the exact moment its sensors had found Nathan on the ground.
Instead of attacking, Amara waited.
And almost envisioning the exact conversation the operators were having behind their visors, she gauged the time they took to communicate among themselves by observing how long the other two drones had taken to start moving closer to the one that had spotted Nathan first.
This wasn't a lot of time, which put into perspective how fast she would have to act in order to prevent the other two drones from repositioning after the first one was destroyed.
Her heart was beating slowly and her mind was focused; the chances of the targets getting closer were no different than that of them getting more distant.
Somewhere inside she could feel it—now was the perfect moment for her attack.
Amara's eyes snapped open and her heart rate multiplied by nearly threefold, preparing her for intense exertion. The muscles of her left arm propelled her body sideways, taking her head away from the protection of the tree trunk. That happened at the same time that her clawed finger pulled down the little lever, just like Nathan had taught her.
Her eyes locked first on the most distant target, which was not further away from her than twelve meters, and her right arm moved accordingly, raising the gun as her clawed finger slipped into the trigger.
She knew how painful to her ears the noise would be, yet she still forced her eyes to stay open as she pulled the trigger.
Except, she flinched at the last moment and ended up missing the target because of it.
Now her ears were ringing and the number of targets was the same, fueling her fury for the next shots she fired in a quick sequence.
It took three more attempts to destroy the furthest target, turning her fury into apprehension.
And apprehension quickly transitioned into despair when, after destroying the middle target with two shots, she pulled the trigger aiming at the closed drone, only to hear an empty click.
The drone rotated towards her and she also felt Nathan's gaze in the distance, screaming something that she was too numb to understand.
Would she be the reason for their demise?
Just the thought of how happy her brother would be for seeing her so helpless was more than enough of a reason for her to not accept that.
So at the lack of bullets, she spitefully threw the gun at the spinning blades.
And when the outcome of her desperate action did little more than cause the drone to lose control for a few moments, she still refused to give up and pounced on it as if she were a trained huntress.
If Bhaela could jump from a tree and dig her claws into the veins of an Oczoil from high above and survive to tell the tale, why couldn't she do the same with a little drone?
Her confidence only lasted until no part of her body was touching the tree and her limbs contacted the blades, causing a sharp pain, which she promptly forgot as flesh and machine plummeted together.
Amara tried to use her tail and arms to cushion the fall, but unlike Bhaela graceful performance, all she achieved was her belly smashing the drone against the ground before her arms and head split the kinetic energy from the fall.
Her vision went black after that, but Amara knew she wasn't dead because that annoying ringing sound in her ears persisted, reminding her of her failure.
Time became confused in her state of disorientation, and she had no idea how long had passed when she felt her eyes being opened. As she watched the world around her through a red filter, Amara got to see Nathan's mouth moving, but she was unable to grasp a single word he said.
In a rushed manner, he took off his jacket and pulled out a knife, which he then used to slice a piece of fabric.
He said something again, and she felt his hand pressing against her forehead, the severed portion of his jacket he held being large enough to cover even her eyes below.
Amara felt like sleeping this time, the darkness feeling more welcoming than scary.
But before she could fall asleep, she noticed her body being lifted from the ground. And unlike the last time, she was being held from below as Nathan's hand kept her head locked against his body.
The last memory she retained before her consciousness faded was of hearing the rhythmic sound of his breathing and his loud steps below, feeling as if she might have wrapped her tail around his arm. Yet, she remained unsure whether she had truly done so or if it was just a product of her imagination.
***
This was an account based on Amara's plan to flee from the war. The previous narrative is based on the events of the morning of the twentieth day of the exploratory mission of Irisa. According to your current settings, no queries will be suggested.
next->patreon wiki

Just to disclose - I only work 8hrs per week for my NF which is not great for me due to not being enough hours. I only accepted this on the basis that hours were going to double in the coming months - however MB has decided not to increase her hours at work as she wants to continue to spend more time with NK which means my hours remain minimal. Anyway I have recently started working for this family and it has been good up until recently. It seems they are now starting to make adustments to our agreement/ work description, it started with asking me so show up 5 mins early before agreed start time, which was fine and not major and I have done this; but now it's asking me to start 30mins earlier (which means 7am start), which I agree to do but only if they were willing to pay an increased hourly rate for the additional 30mins, as it's not worth it for me to start that early unless it's compensated fairly. They declined this offer and said they would stick to the agreed work hours - which was fine for me because the hours I'm getting from this job are already making it not worth the work, so why would I start earlier at no additional incentive. Anyway following this discussion, I returned to work on Monday not thinking anything about it... however after I put NK down for a nap and cleaned the space after our morning of playing, DB walks in and approaches me entirely off guard like "hey can you do some chores". I was so taken by shock at his approach, because the way we have handled things to date has been for MB to write notes with instructions or tasks for me to do. When MB asks I usually prepare food for dinner or meal prep for NK - this has been my agreement with her and there have been no discussion around any house chores or anything else - cooking and cleaning up after myself was it. Obviously I clean up after NK and any mess we make but to date we haven't discussed anything more than this or agreed to it. FULL disclosure - I'm more than happy to do light house chores if asked (their house is actually spotless and there has been nothing at all I've felt like I could help with in terms of light work). Anyway DB continues talking at me, and then asks if he can show me a few things - like how to empty a dishwasher ?!?!???!? (Which was hilarious because it was empty) but also him mansplaining at me is killing me. He then leads me into the laundry and tells me that if there is something in the washing machine, I should then throw it in the dryer - once again this man clearly has no idea about house chores, to think you can literally dump everything in the dryer ?!?!? Anyway he was so patronising and rude and I kind of just stood there because I was so confused and taken off guard by this approach. After realising his house is clearly spotless he then told me that maybe I could check the drawers in the kitchen, and if I notice crumbs in the drawers I could then take out all the crockery and clean the crumbs. Now I have to admit this chore I felt uncomfortable with - happy to do light cleaning of course but no I will not be cleaning out your kitchen drawers. Anyway after DB finally decided to stop talking at me and swinging all his power around, I politely told him that I would prefer if there are specific tasks that NF want me to do, that they continue to use the note system we have been using to date. I also explained how I'm not comfortable going through there house (which again is literally SPOTLESS ** and I'm and OCD clean freak) to seek out things to do unless explicitly told tasks, I mean they both WTH and I don't feel comfortable going through their stuff unless they have told me beforehand. I told him that I'm happy to do light house chores but will not be doing deep cleaning, specifically because NONE of this had been discussed in our agreement so it's obvious they are now trying to squeeze me, on top of the fact that DB is clearly resentful towards me not accepting the early start times unless compensated. Also to disclose NK only ever sleeps for a max of 1.5hrs, mostly it's around the 40-1hr mark, so after tidying the space and doing some cooking, it's not like I'm always just sitting around. But yes there are sometimes 30min periods when I am and I'm reading my book. Anyway I'm starting to feel like DB is trying to push the boundaries of my role and reacts negatively when I try to stand my ground. It's making me feel extremely uncomfortable around him. Before this issue there were also times when he would come in (as both NPs are WFH) and cuddle NK, which was causing major tantrums, he would then proceed to patronise me as to how to clam down NK when like this - which is so frustrating as he is literally the only reason NK is now having a tantrum. He comes in and does this probably twice every day I'm there and now on top of this recent issue I'm starting to feel uncomfortable with his presence. I really don't know what to do at this point, I have no issues with MB and love dealing with her, it's just when DB is around and tries to tell me things outside of my conversations with MB. I just wish he would let me do my job and deal only with MB. Any suggestions would be great

Filtering Pivot Table by Value Calculations
I have a large dataset that I am analyzing by use of a (still large) pivot table. The pivot table itself has only one column and one row, both of which are text based.
For the values section, I have several calculations, some are the built in ones but others are measures that I’ve added myself. Min, max, mean, 95th percentile, and a few others.
What I would like to do is add slicers so that I can choose which calculations are displayed. I don’t necessarily want every descriptive statistic displayed at once but depending on the day and the task, I might want particular ones displayed. Every google search seems to only explain how to do more basic filtering but not filtering the formula chosen. Anybody have any ideas?
The fact that no data is displayed on the screenshot isn’t a concern.
Edit to clarify: I do not want to filter based on the quantities outputted by these measures/calculations. I want to filter to choose which measures are displayed.

Seasonal Allergies Immunotherapy
Hi I’m planning on applying for OCS when I graduate in May. But im currently taking allergy shots for my seasonal allergies. I would have no problem pausing them during basic etc. Resuming when I’m past training, but is this something I have to do? Is it worth having to get a medical waiver for it? Do I need to tell my recruiter?
Link to Comment Chain
Currently in the process of reenlisting as a prior service who was chaptered out in AIT for SI. Submitted and turned over all my paperwork to my recruiter and awaiting MEPS. My recruiter said this is the longest part of the waiting game from his experience. How long should I be expecting to wait realistically? I would ask my recruiter but I feel like I've bothered him enough over the past few weeks lmao. - Thanks!
Link to Comment Chain
Hey guys l need some advice so i'm gonna get straight to the point. I am 20 and a junior in college. I ship in June and i have 3 Mos choices so far. 19D, 11b and 19k. Which do y’all recommend?I'm hardworking and not lazy so yeah. I am joining for many reasons but one of the main reasons is travel. Would I get to do tha much? Thank you
Link to Comment Chain
Hey guys, I enlisted with an airborne contract that has my first assignment at Fort Liberty. How likely is it that I get assigned to the 82nd?
Link to Comment Chain
Weight loss
I'm currently 5% body fat over for the arms 2.0. I'm eating way better and consuming 12-1,500 calories and losing an average of 3,000 calories a day. I've been running/walking 2 miles a day of hill terrain. My recruiter said I need to lose 10 pounds by May 17. I need tips and tricks on how to lose those pounds by then
Link to Comment Chain
Army National Guard recruiter says at MEPS you can choose from several dates to start basic. Is that accurate?
If so, typically how many dates are there to choose from and how far in the future? I have a great civilian job, so would like to know my date as far in advance as possible.
Edit: would go on to traditional state OCS (yea, I know the internet’s opinions on it but it fits my life really well) afterwards.
Link to Comment Chain
I've got 4 years active and 3 years guard under my belt and I've always put in to my tsp to get the match. I know you need 8 years to keep the matching, but my unit has drained what little motivation I had left for the army, and I've decided I'm done. I'm curious if anyone can help me figure out if there's any option that will help me keep my tsp matching besides a 1 year extension. I doubt the IRR counts towards 8 years, and from what I understand, the inactive guard is simply a pause button. So instead of pushing me to 8 years, it's just delaying my 7th till next year or something. I'm also wondering if a future federal job would contribute to that 8 years or if it has to be all concurrent. Thank you for any help or any resources or links yall can send me to figure this out.
Link to Comment Chain
I was wondering if I could join the army with depression, anxiety, and OCD. All diagnosed. I have no suicide attempts or anything like that, no inpatient care either. All of these are somewhat mild and manageable, and I haven't been on any medication. But that was another concern of mine, if I was to get on any medication, would that disqualify me? Thanks a lot.
Link to Comment Chain
Im currently a senior in high school trying to enlist in the army since December but I’m at a loss of what to do. I took the asvab scored a 61 but autism came up on my records from when I was a kid. I had to get a full medical Record for meps then they wanted my pharmacy record and now they want some more records my recruiter made me sign a form for my old doctors to get it from them about a month and a week ago. I called him the earlier this week and he said he Kentucky or Kansas (I didn’t hear him well and forgot) doing some training I honestly just don’t know what to do I’ll graduate from high school in a few weeks and I probably have a month after that before my parents kick me out any advice?
Link to Comment Chain
Hey all, I wanted to get some insight on whether you all think I would be able to enlist with Crohn's. I've seen online that it's generally marked as an "unwaivable medical condition" but sometimes goes on a case by case basis. My IBD is very mild, I honestly forget that I even have the damn disease because it doesnt effect my daily life at all. I have it managed by taking an 8-week biologic but have gone on extended breaks from it before due to insurance reasons (roughly 2-3 months without any meds) and had no flare ups or any issues of the sort. However, my doctor is thinking of switching me to a daily pill (Rinvoq). I don't have any food sensitivities like a lot of Crohn's patients have (caffeine, alcohol, dairy, etc.) and have never had any surgeries nor does my GI doctor think i'll ever need one. I wanted to enlist for a 17C contract as im already in college for tech anyhow, I'm not sure if that would effect my standing. However, dream MOS is 18X but I figure that may be tougher to get by a recruiter. Any advice or thoughts? Army has been my dream forever and I don't want to have to give it up, so I'd really do anything haha.
Link to Comment Chain
I have 2 non violent felonies from 2011 and PTD from 2022 for possession. I've been upfront and honest with my recruiter. He sent me to test today and I scored 63 on Asvab and GT of 113. Is there a chance for me? Thanks in advance. 30 and in great health and shape.
Link to Comment Chain
What bases would you do bmt if your in cyber security and aviation mechanics?
Link to Comment Chain
I ship out in a week. Went to meps and signed in March. Can I change my MOS? Or is it too late ?? I want something language related because I’m fluent in Arabic (already passed DLPT)
Link to Comment Chain
For anyone that has done OSUT at Fort Moore, how long does it typically take before they’ll tell you where your FDS is?
Link to Comment Chain
I have read a few horror stories where someone enlisted with X,Y, or Z in their contract, but after basic they where told something else and could not confirm the original. For example, someone claims they had a specific location through Option 19, only to later be told they are going somewhere else.
My first question is: has this happened to anyone here, and if so and how was it resolved?
My second question is: after signing your contract, how do you gain acess to it later? Do you receive a physical copy for yourself? Can you download a copy? Is there someone you can ask in the Army to retrieve it for you? Will it be acessable on a portal of somekind?
I am considering enlisting with option 19 and the location is very important to me. Thank you!
Link to Comment Chain
Is phone use in BCT only delegated to calls? Also does phone use depend on what phase you're in, like, red phase 20 minutes, blue 30 minutes? Going to jackson
Link to Comment Chain
Not the best time to swear in, waivers
I have all of my waivers approved, however, I won’t be swearing in due to job circumstances. If things change, can I still go back into the army or will I blocked out of it forever?
Link to Comment Chain
I have an AAM and 3 COAs which S1 has been tracking for months but which have yet to reflect on my PPW. Do I have any recourse?
Link to Comment Chain
my recruiter says that I can't get option 4 in my 35W contract but I really want to be airborne as a 35p/m so I have a higher chance of having my skills be put to use. Can i put in for airborne at DLI or AIT? what is the earliest I can do this and how would I go about it? I just went through the normal MEPS process not the airborne physical fyi
Link to Comment Chain
Is a bonus worth choosing the Army over the AF?
In general, I’ve heard that the army’s QoL is less than that of the Air Force. However, the army has way more jobs w bonuses that I’d be interested in. And it’s the same or similar jobs as the Air Force, but w a bonus. I know the Basic Training for army is also longer, but a bonus can be convincing. I have the same question, but in regards to joining the navy as well. I want to focus on my education during my enlistment & get my bachelors & id also like travel opportunities. I haven’t taken my ASVAB yet, it’s scheduled the 16th. I scored rlly well on the PiCAT, and according to those scores I qualify for some army jobs w a bonus. I know it’s not as simple as that, and it’s a whole process & based on what’s available. Just want some opinions on if I was offered an army job w a bonus as opposed to the same/ similar Air Force job without, would you consider it worth it based on your experience?
I already got some answers from a post I made about this, but moderator deleted it and said to comment here. But any additional info/ insight is greatly appreciated. I want to make the best choice for my future in the case that I don't want to do 20 years.
Link to Comment Chain
I'm joining up rn and working with a recruiter. We've got my waivers and everything. Pretty much just have to pick a job. For background I was an IET separation back in 2009. From what I've read and what me and my recruiter have gone over I am glossary non-prior service. I could have sworn I read (albeit a while ago) that business rules did not apply to GNPS, so I should be free to pick my MOS. However, I talked to my recruiter earlier today and he wants me to sit with his 1SG and go over the job options available for prior service. Am I wrong and I just get what I get?
Link to Comment Chain
Please help!
I was looking to join the guard but in my medical records it shows I had Guillan barre. I was feeling some numbness in my legs, but looking back at it, it was very cold outside and I was just a bitch who would try to get out of school by any means possible. They did a spinal tap and never found any trace of the disease however. I was in the hospital for a couple of days, the gave me immunoglobulin and then I went home and nothing ever came of it. I am currently completely asymptomatic This was when I was 12 or 13 years old. Now I’m 18 and want to join but my recruiter said I have to get all the records and stuff. What is the chance that I will still be able to join? I tried looking it up online but I couldn’t find an answer. Also if I’m able to join, will I need a medical waiver?
Link to Comment Chain
My MOS is 68W, I'm shipping out in June and I'm taking the OPAT in a couple of weeks. I'm 5'2 and 115ish pounds. I'm pretty fit. My biggest worry is the standing long jump. I want to pass the OPAT with flying colors and keep my MOS. Is there any advice or tips y'all can give me?
Link to Comment Chain
I’m looking to graduate and enlist in a month but can’t decide on what MOS I want. I think 11B because I don’t want to individuate and do army shit or 68W but I’m not sure if I can get advanced combative training or other schools I want. I want to do something that’s “high speed” and meaningful while working my way towards Ranger reg. Is the 82nd Airborne a good pathway to that? How is civil affairs? Can you enlist directly into it while being active duty?
Link to Comment Chain
Thinking about reenlisting to army with 8.5 PS in USMC. Been out < 5years. Will I have to repeat AIT if I keep my same MOS? I know this is the wrong channel for USMC feedback but also considering going back there if it would mean not repeating AlT. Thanks in advance!
Link to Comment Chain
Hi everyone! I’m a high school student planning on joining the military. I’m Muslim, so I want to be sure that whichever branch I join is accommodating to Muslim needs. If it changes anything, I’m planning joining through the ROTC route.
My main concerns are, does the Army give beard waivers for Muslims? Is it possible to take short breaks throughout the day to pray? Can you fast during Ramadan? Can you be provided with halal (no pork/no alcohol) food?
Also, I’m interested in infantry or armor (or any kind of ground forces officer in general). Would these accommodations interfere with being selected for these careers or being mission ready? (Such as a beard, fasting, etc.)
Link to Comment Chain
i’m a current nasty girl and i’m looking to transfer to Active duty. i understand i need a conditional release in order to sign a new contract and need my G-1 to sign off on it. i’m looking for info on the process from someone who’s gone through the process.
Link to Comment Chain
What are the odds of getting a waiver for ulcerative colitis? I was EPTS’d out in march 2023 after being diagnosed while I was at 30th AG. My GI said I was in remission as of jan of this year. I take 4 Lialda pills a day and get an entyvio infusion every 2 months. I feel perfectly fine now though. Scored a 74 on the asvab.
Link to Comment Chain
Medical record
In the navy currently and getting out in a year. I had a back injury prior to enlisting that I didn’t disclose. I plan on entering the army after my contract. If this comes up will my discharge from the navy be lowered or my benefits revoked?
Link to Comment Chain
So my recruiter told me that I have to get a lease first, but the thing is, is that we don't have one with our landlord. It's more like an oral lease and he's a slumlord who never tries to communicate with any of us. That being said, my recruiter then said that I should find a lease online and edit it to where I state that I'm paying the rent to my sister instead (who has a valid ID) He also stated that my sister and I have to go to a check-cashing place to get it notarized. Is this all ok to do and will the BHA be approved? Also if it's approved, does this mean that the rent we pay which is $1,365.50, is going to be paid for while I'm away and how exactly??
Link to Comment Chain
Can I enlist if I have a Mexican highschool diploma? (I am american, just finished highschool in mexico) And don't have a address in the USA???
Link to Comment Chain
I am thinking of finishing up my bachelors and joining as an officer, my question was whether it was possible or not to guarantee mos 17c in the army if I join as an officer.
Link to Comment Chain
I just got told that I cant enlist for 2 years after my waiver got denied for a history of depression. I stopped feeling depressed last August but got officially cleared into remission in February. I was told theres no point in a consult and the most I can do is reach out to a congressman. Other than reaching out to a congressman, is there really nothing I can do?
Link to Comment Chain
Questions about Virginia National Guard
I want to do OCS! Now here’s my confusion. My recruiter is saying that the moment I swear in is the moment my contract is going to start and will count towards that 6 year! So, if he is right, I will basically complete 2 years training if I do state OCS. But I would like to have more control on what branch I get! My top 3 are: cyber warfare, signal, and intel. Should I do accelerated in that case? Also how likely am I to get one of those aforementioned three if I do state OCS of 18 months? My bachelor was in Computer Engineering, and I am currently enrolled in ASU for master’s pursuing Computer Science! Will I get that 24k a year tuition fee because he said there’s a possibility I might get it since it’s fully online? Can I get tuition assistance and loan repayment both? Does getting either one incur additional service time?
Link to Comment Chain
im thinking of joining as a officer and going into ocs, what is the best branch for a well paying civilian job after completing my service, for context my major right now is relg studies plus maybe bio.
Link to Comment Chain
I leave for Future Soldier Preparatory Course for the fitness aspect on the 21st, has anyone gone through it recently? There’s not a whole lot of information on it online, I was just wondering what it’s like, and what to expect. Do you get issued all of your gear since you will be going to bmt after? What is reception like? Any and all information and tips is greatly appreciated!
Link to Comment Chain
So my husband is going to meps next week. he has 2 different sets of scars on his left arm. He works at a mobile home plant building houses. One was from when he got caught on a nail so it's a little deeper looking and another was from some sheet metal at work. He didn't disclose it to his boss because he works on a line and it would've put his team behind so he just put some bandaids on it and went about his day and cleaned it up when he got home. This was about 1-2 years ago. What is his meps experience going to be like? They aren't self harm obviously but we've heard horror stories about the doctors at meps not believing people and DQ them. He honestly forgot about telling his recruiter and his recruiter has already sent in all his medical history and got him scheduled for meps. Should he still go ahead and tell his recruiter or just wait and disclose it at meps?
Link to Comment Chain
Should i go in as 17c or try my luck at ocs?
Link to Comment Chain
I'm currently in process Enlisting in the Reserve, while holding an associate's degree in mechanical engineering technology, with some side education in programming. While I am working towards my bachelor's degree, I'm looking to pick an MOS that will help my career, or at the very least, be interesting. I don't remember my scores, but my Recruiter told me whatever I pick, my score won't be the limiting factor.
Top of the list for career jobs is 15 series, from what I've heard from currently enlisted in my friend group, wrenching on aircraft in general is a fast track to a cushy job on the outside with my education. 25 series looks boring but useful as anything IT/electrical complements my degree. On the more interesting side, I was looking at 91 series, either 91F or 91P.
Am I going anywhere wrong with any of these jobs? Anything I should be keeping in mind?
Link to Comment Chain
25D or 35T I just wonder which MOS would be better for career. I am really interested in IT. I know 25D is not entry MOS. Let’s say you meet requirements for both MOS. If you stay as enlisted side, what would you recommend?
Link to Comment Chain
I’m heading to ait now at fort Moore for 91M do I get my phone and am I in a dorm how is that like
Link to Comment Chain
Hi all,
I am a permanent resident here is the US, and last week I finished my ASVAB mock test with a 95 on my AFQT. The recruiter says I am eligible for everything that doesn't require a security clearance which is kind of a problem as my dream MOS are the 35-series and 17-series (As both of these are locked behind clearance requirement)
After some thinking, I narrow down to the following, but there are still too many so I hope I can get your feedback on what I am doing. My aims are: a/I want something that will translate into the civilian world well if my time in the army doesn't go well, b/I want an MOS that can advanced through warrant or becoming a commission officer if my time in the army does go well, and c/I want to push myself to the limit and break out of my comfort zone to see where I can go. If I sound arrogant, please forgive for that: I am just trying to be as careful as possible. I am nearly reaching my thirty, and I want to take deliberate steps because I no longer have the luxury of youth and family to try and fail.
The MOS are:
11-series, 12B and 12D: I have a soft spot for these despite knowing they don't translate into the civilian world. But in my heart somewhere is a wild child that wants to test my physical prowess and wants to blow things up. I do know my knees and lower back will hate me for picking this.
15 series: With exceptions to 15C, 15J, and other works related to flying or being mechanics of sensitive equipment, I can be an aircraft technicians. I read that there are demands for airplane mechanics but I don't know much about this field other than a/I got to repair planes, b/people seem to hate it because you have to sign a long contract if you become a warrant.
68A: I did see this MOS getting recommended a lot but after reading its description, I am not very sure if I want to do it either both in the army or afterwards. I must also admit I don't have a good insights onto the day to day life of this job. Can someone shed some light about this MOS for me?
68C: Becoming a nurse seems like a very safe choice out of the military given that the BLS projects nurse to be in high demand and being able to take care of your family sounds like a big plus to me; however, I don't know if I like being a nurse. My parents were doctors, and having seen the hospital environment I can say I am not a fan. I also look into 68A but BLS prospect for it didn't seem good, and the training on 68E, 68D, and 68V look a little bit too short. Do you really become a dental assistant just with 10 weeks of training?
68W: I must admit, I have a soft spot for 68W as it allows me to be both learn some medical skills and be on the field. However, I do notice that 68W only translates to paramedic/EMT post-army, while 68C translates to becoming a nurse (which is more valued and regarded as "better" than paramedic or EMT and thus in higher demand)
88H, 92A, 92F, and 92Y: I pick these because, according to BLS, there is a projected increase need for people in warehousing and transportation. From my limited understanding of the fields, you will be in charge of handling logistics such as maintaining unit inventory, ordering supplies and weapons for your units, etc. but I am not very sure on the difference between, say, 92Y and 92A.
So, can you give me a suggestions? May anyone who has been in these MOS share their experience to help me pick? What are some of the MOS I miss?
Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Link to Comment Chain
Is the 09m program ending at the end of may?
Link to Comment Chain
How does one secure a religious exemption before basic training? My recruiter said we would talk about it down the line but it’s getting down to the wire and I’d rather it not get forgotten.
Link to Comment Chain
Hi my duty station is at JBLM I’ll hopefully be there around May of 2025. I still have too go through basic and AIT but I was hoping that I could get some info about the barracks and hopefully get in touch with some of the people that are getting stationed/ already stationed There that are aviation, specifically 15Y. Thank you
Link to Comment Chain
How can i improve my chances of success after the military?
I'm going to meps in 2 weeks and im shooting for a 25 series mos. 25H was what was available at the recruiters after i took my practice asvab. I'm not the brightest bulb but, hey, I'll take it. Aside from college ,which i want to continue to pursue throughout my time in the army (or after depending on my mental fortitude once i'm actually in,) how can i set myself up for success in the civilian world? Any input from past 25h or 25 series who somehow translated their career into decent paying jobs will be much appreciated.
I'll add I'm only joining the army for the college benefits and free training as i come from a poor household and have no other feasible way to pay for it.
Link to Comment Chain
Hello everyone,
I was recently laid off from a $64k job, and honestly, I'm not too upset. I was already feeling burnt out and unhappy, staying primarily for the promised educational benefits to facilitate a career change, which obviously fell through with the job loss. Now, I'm considering my options and the military as a new path has been sounding appealing to an extent. The VA loan and GI Bill are particularly enticing because they would help me pursue a degree without getting into debt, and enabling the career change I've been considering. And the thought of being able to buy a house at this age/economy seems awesome.
At 28, I'm weighing the implications of joining now, especially considering the pay cut and spending four years AD without the guarantee of going overseas which for me would make it much more worthwhile. Also, I'd likely be one of the older members among younger peers, which is another factor to consider. My entry rank would be E3 due to my associate degree told by the Air force recruiter I met, but I'll need a moral waiver for a misdemeanor I had at 18, which might limit my job options not to mention she told me I would have to be at the disposal of whatever the Air Force wanted me to do? Which I am assuming means that I could enlist for one thing that they tell me nope get your doing this.The Air Force recruiter told me that I would be just fine and I would be able to get in as long as my ASVAB score is high enough.
I'm torn about whether to commit to AD and save myself or a longer term in the military via reserves but still stuck in the same loop of feeling in fulfilled, unable to afford university and in a place I would rather leave. Insights from anyone who joined the military later or faced similar decisions would be incredibly helpful.
Thanks for any advice!
P.S I am also ok with the idea of the military as a career as I would still be able to retire earlier than many of my peers if I pursue the 20 year route..
Link to Comment Chain
I’m reenlisting at the end of this month (was NG but going active). My husband is also active and I was wondering how likely is it that I can be in the same battalion as my husband? I know married couples aren’t supposed to work directly together but would that still be considered “working together”?
Link to Comment Chain
Hi All, I'm 23F graduating college with my bachelor's in international relations at the end of July. I speak intermediate Spanish and would be open to learning more languages. I am looking for a mos that doesn't restrict me to behind a desk or sitting on my ass all day. I was thinking of something intelligence related. I would appreciate any advice/help.
Link to Comment Chain
So i have hemorrhoids right now and I go to MEPS monday. I have a Drs visit from about 2 years ago where she prescribed me the cream to use. The cream says to only use it when you have hemorrhoids. I still have the cream. Will I pass MEPS if I bring that the Dr visit. or should I get a new one the day before? It's Saturday so my recruiter won't answer.
Link to Comment Chain
So I enlisted on Friday. (25H) and I ship to BT in August. I’ve made my mind up before enlisting that I was going to make a career out of it. So now I’m here before you all to ask… what’s some advice you could give someone looking to do 20. Like what’s steps would you take if you could go back to make the most of your Army career? I remember my dad who served in the navy would always say “choose your rate choose your fate” and I think I started off on the right foot. Any suggestions to help make the correct steps in my new career path?
Link to Comment Chain
Going back in. Needing some suggestions on different MOS.
So when I was in the first time I was a 25U. I was 16 when I swore in to secure my mos and left at 18YO. I’ve decicided to go back in. Im picking between 19 jobs, I qualify for all of them as I keep my old asvab scores. I scored over a 105 in everything so I have a pretty big list to pick from. These jobs have good jobs outside of the army and that’s my angle, I know 25U translates to a good job outside of the army but it’s not my cup of tea. So any info on the jobs in the army and civilian life for these mos would be greatly appreciate. The jobs are: 68L 68X (specifically because I want to help vets who are/have suffered) 88H 35F 25B 35M 35G 35L 88K 88N 88U 27D 31E 12M 15Q 15N 25U 88L 88M
Link to Comment Chain
Already signed my contract but I really really wanna change my MOS by the time I ship out for BCT in mid-July, what would be the best way to approach and ask my recruiter to change my MOS? The one that I want is really in demand (19K) so maybe that might help?
Link to Comment Chain
Background: Greencard holder, 6yr+ experience in IT field. No degree. Married.
Always wanted to join the military and finally have the opportunity to do so.
What I want to experience from the military;
I want the opportunity to grow in the IT field and have military experience and later on attain a contractor job in overseas installations. Very interested in being able to move overseas for a few years specially Japan.
My biggest interest is to grow in my career + experience other countries.
Recruits have also told me that for active duty they are allowing first duty station to be chosen because the army apparently has a shortage of people joining so they want to motivate people to join by allowing them to choose duty stations. This has made me consider going active IF they aren't lying about this + the job security has always been a plus to me.
My primary plan was :
Going reserve, getting my citizenship while in basic training, changing my mos to 25B then finding government contracting job overseas preferably (Japan) and changing my unit to Japan to drill there (Camp Zama). Overall my biggest goal is to move overseas and be in the IT field.
What is the best route? Advice is greatly appreciated in advance:)
Link to Comment Chain
I want to enlist as a 19D Wont be for a year or so still but trying to do my research and evrything and make sure this is what i want, So far it looks like it is but i have a couple of questions that i need answering before i decided to enlist. 1. as a 19D with 19C coming will 19D still be manning Bradleys 2. What are my chances of being assigned to a cav unit i really dont wanna be assigned to an infantry or god knows what else 3. Am i able to enlist as active at 17?
Link to Comment Chain
Is it hard to get a self harm waiver? It happened one time three years ago. My recruiter is pushing for it now
Link to Comment Chain
I'm going to MEPS this week and I was told that the Job I'm really interested in (12w) is rare and to not get my hopes up. I'll be doing research about some other jobs, but if I really want that job should I just wait for a slot to open up or go with alternate choices?
Does anyone have any experience with this job and how often slots show up?
Link to Comment Chain
Vision Waiver Acceptance Probability
So I’m wanting to enlist as an 11x OP 4in the army, went to MEPS a few weeks ago, and am currently waiting on a current injury to be waived. I’m just kind of worrying about my vision waiver. Recruiter said we have to wait for this to be cleared first, then we can launch the vision waiver.
What’s the probability that a vision waiver will be accepted with Visual Acuity of 20/30 20/50 corrected vision. I understand everything is case to case, I’m just kind of worrying that it’ll end up being denied.
Link to Comment Chain
Is there a list of all the different Options in contracts? Like Option 40, Option 4, Option 19, etc?
Link to Comment Chain
In the process of renegotiating my contract before shipping out and I'm seriously considering 19K (M1 Armor Crewman). Recruiter told me that anyone can volunteer to go to airborne school at BCT and I really want to go airborne but it seems like 19Ks don't really do it as much as other MOS's. Is it true that i will have the opportunity to volunteer myself for airborne school at basic? If not, how can I attend Airborne or any other specialized school as a tanker?
Link to Comment Chain
Leaving for BT in 2wks. First stop Ft Lenwood and then ft sill for AIT. Then off to Ft Drum for my 1st duty station. Can anyone offer insight on what to expect at each location/stage? 13F if it matters. Much appreciated.
Link to Comment Chain
Just reserved mos 88L Water craft engineer.
Was excited at first as I’ve e heard a lot of good things about this mos, but i have a wife, 6yr old and another on the way and am worried that i wont be home that often given this mos. Im supposed to go to meps in 4 days and swear in. Im really not trying to be away from my family all that often. Is this mos bad for family life? Have i made a mistake? Or should i keep it and roll with it. Any recommendations on what i should do?
Link to Comment Chain
Hello, I’m in ROTC right now but I’m about to go to CST. I have been looking into branches as much as possible and am pretty set on ADA but I wanted to ask if anyone here has been on a HIMAD or SHORAD deployment that can give me some insight on what it’s like, more specifically SHORAD but I do want to hear both sides.
Link to Comment Chain
Joining the army
hi, I am 17 turning 18F, and im joining the army and going to boot camp soon. What are some advice or anything you would tell someone before they go to boot camp or thinking about joining the army?
Link to Comment Chain
Hello, I'm currently a high school senior who is interested in joining the ROTC. I've reached out to ROTC recruiters in the colleges that I will be attending however, they never picked up their phones nor responded to their emails after multiple attempts. I've also scheduled appointments with them only for them to not show up multiple times. I've also called the army and they said they would have someone call me but they never did either. I was wondering if anyone could help me get in touch with an ROTC recruiter as I got a few questions about the Army ROTC as well as the process to proceed.
Link to Comment Chain
Can you go to an maritime academy before your service then get it paid when you join? Can you take maritime academy while active duty?
Link to Comment Chain
What are possible first duty stations for Army officers out of ROTC by MOS?
Link to Comment Chain