i've heard about ultracode ai and final round ai which are interview assistants that listen to questions and give you ai assisted answers. i'm sure there is more products hitting the market..
They have hefty price tags and I saw a post on blind from someone bragging that they used it to get offers.
Are candidates frequently using these?
I hate this but i remember in college people who cheat did get better grades and some students thought this was fair because the system was bogus anyway.

Hi all! I've just gotten an email to interview for an AGPA position for California State Parks. The interview process requires a half-hour written exam portion followed by a one-hour interview. Does anyone happen to know what both of these parts of the interview process will consist of? I really want this position and I want to be able to answer any questions as effectively as possible. Any advice on how to prepare?

Ok this is gonna be a very long, rambling, and probably somewhat disorganized post, so please bear with me.
I'm sure other people have had this same idea as well, but I'm not subscribed to the rebornevo forums and I'm not very active on this subreddit either, so I don't know how frequently it's been discussed outside of the small number of times I've seen it on Twitter, which still was after I had the thought when I first played V12 years ago. Even if it is I still wanted to try and organize my thoughts about it and present all of the evidence that brought me to think this even without engaging much with the larger community.
To jump right into it, the theory that I've been subscribing to for a pretty long time and was very confident in (until realizing some flaws with it) is that Madame X is the incarnation of Nymiera from Maria(nette)'s now dead universe, which is likely the same universe that Clear, Kieran, and potentially the Thunder Warrior Tapu Koko are from. She was defeated by her universe's Indriad but somehow managed to escape with her life, albeit badly injured, and was effectively out of commission, which led to Indriad eventually being able to bring about Storm 9 which would eventually lead to the end the world. Nymiera then likely got help from either her world's Xara and Jean, or Clear and Kieran themselves to construct her suit and escape to the next universe.
There's quite a few reasons I have to think this. I feel like a ton of evidence from throughout the game supports the idea, and I've been making note of them for years at this point. This is gonna be a bit meandering, but it's really difficult to organize thoughts about a plot as complicated as Rejuv's even if you're focusing on only one character, so again please bear with me:

• The most obvious point is that Madame X shows up directly in the prologue, to the Maria that becomes the one we meet in the Chrysalis manor. She clearly already has some amount of control over time at this point as well, meaning she had likely already claimed her world's time diamond but was unable to stop Indriad using it.
• Nymiera clearly still remembers the old world we learn about in the Third Layer. She knows Adrest by name and recognizes his presence within the player, hints at the emergence of the Zeight in the present day, and knows about the Archetype. Madame X, in the first cutscene where she's introduced at Blacksteeple, immediately refers to the player as the Interceptor, and she also clearly recognizes the power the Melia gains from the Archetype in the Bad Future. They in general seem to possess similar knowledge of major concepts like these.
  • Although you could argue that she might simply have learned about these things from Clear and Kieran, the fact that we see Madame X specifically talking to Maria in the prologue shows that she was at least aware of the Archetype already.
• This is an admittedly very small point that is potentially a coincidence, but I still want to acknowledge it: Madame X's suit seems to be evoking the image of a dragon and mostly uses dark colors. The two characters that we know are directly descended from Nymiera, Alexandra and Damian, favor Dragon and Dark type Pokemon, respectively.
• We know that Nymiera dual wielded crystal swords as her primary weapons rather than relying on Pokemon, and Madame X engages in combat almost exclusively with her sword. The only exception that we see is her attacking the player with her Yveltal at Blacksteeple Castle.
• We see the aforementioned crystal swords, as well as the corpse of Hazuki's Aegislash, within the storage room of the Chrysalis Manor, which all but confirms that Nymiera and the Defenders of Aevium were soundly defeated by Indriad in this timeline and he claimed their weapons as trophies.
  • As a small thought on the full fate of her world's defenders: Vivian was already dead because of the botched ritual, Hazuki was most likely killed, Anju was defeated but taken alive and imprisoned, likely to act as a potential vessel for Indriad (which is something I'd also like to talk about but that's best saved for another post). Given how cruel of a man Indriad is and how much he likes to torment people, I think that crippling Nymiera so she could no longer stand against him and then forcing her to live with the pain of her failure sounds like the type of thing he'd do. This is more of a headcanon, though, not something I'm actually trying to present as a major evidence for the theory.
• Because of .Karma Files we have explicit confirmation that Nymiera is an incarnation of Xerneas; it's a little on the nose for sure, but this can explain why she so heavily associates with the letter X, including why she took her name and took the name of Team Xen for her own, new organization even though it otherwise seems to be completely unrelated to the Team Xen of the Miera Region.
• If her mask is destroyed at the Pyramid, and she's effectively defeated prior to Clear and Kieran's intervention, she makes a remark about how the battle would have gone differently if not for her suit. It's vague, yes, but the implication is that the suit places some sort of limit on her power and she'd be far stronger without it, as while wearing it she can't fight at full capacity. This explains why she only wields one sword instead of two, as she likely can't dual wield without her full physical strength.
  • This next bit is straying into headcanon territory, so I don't fully count it for the theory, but we don't know exactly why she's wearing the suit; it's definitely not just to hide her identity, because there'd be far easier ways of doing that. I like to think that it's necessary for her to survive and limits her power to keep her from overexerting herself, similar to Darth Vader's suit from Star Wars. This would make sense with the idea I have that she was grievously wounded by Indriad even though she survived her fight with him.
• We know that there's a second Blacksteeple Castle on the same island that's hidden behind a protective barrier, which only Madame X can pass through. It's likely that this is the original Blacksteeple Castle and the one that we occupy during the prison arc is just a replica. We see in the Bad Future that Blacksteeple Castle has some sort of connection to Nymiera with the mosaic that we see. It's confirmed by Madame X that Blacksteeple was once Nymiera's castle, that she lost in the war mentioned in the legend that Nymiera tells to us. This would explain why Madame X is so protective of the original castle in the present day and why she can access it.
  • This would also explain why so much Xerneas iconography is still included in the replica of the castle.
• Speaking of Blacksteeple in the Bad Future: when confronted with the mosaic of Nymiera, Madame X calls her a cowardly and weak woman who couldn't protect what she needed to when it mattered most. This attitude already does make sense for her to have, but if she is the Nymiera who was defeated by Indriad in Maria's timeline, it only makes even more sense. She is so disgusted at herself for her own failure that she threw away her old name and forsakes her old actions, and looks down upon the Nymiera of the current timeline for making the same mistakes that she feels she did.
• We already know from the Regi sidequests in V13.5 that Nymiera's view of morality was a bit... warped, and she was willing to do some truly inhumane and manipulative shit if she thought it was necessary for the good of the many. Madame X's methods are obviously far more extreme than Nymiera's ever were, but even though her motivations and ultimate goal are unclear there's still hints that all of the things she's responsible for are, to her, just a means to an end. If Madame X is Nymiera, with her spirit having been broken by her failure to stop her world's Indriad, it's not hard to see how that already warped "Good of the many no matter the cost" mentality could evolve into doing absolutely anything to achieve her goals.
• The underground chamber in Kugearen where we find the Weird Diary has a lot going on, but the notable things are the statues of the Defenders,drawing of the Archetype, and map of present day Aevium. Hazuki's is missing, and Anju and Nymiera's are destroyed, with the game specifically noting that their eyes are torn out. There is no statue of Hazuki, and Vivian's is not only intact, but poised for battle. To break this all down a bit:
  • The Archetype symbol being so prominent as well as the present-day map show that it's someone who can both time travel and knows about the Archetype
  • The three states are of the Defenders that we know will suffer a poor fate.
    • Hazuki's is missing because she is the only that survived.
    • Vivian's is standing and complete because she was the only one able to mostly die on her own terms, but her spirit still struggled because of the failed spell; being poised for battle still lines up with the curse placed on her reincarnations.
    • Anju and Nymiera are both missing in the present day and were never seen again. Anju's fate is ambiguous, but obviously there's something going on with Angie (Which I have another theory about, but again, story for another post). Nymiera's spirit has appeared, but clearly can only do so much, as her only real act aside from talking to the player is transferring Hazuki's power to Saki.
  • Nymiera fancied herself an artist, and seemed to especially like working with stone given the many statues in Blacksteeple as well as the multiple stone carvings in her room.
  • All of this points to someone who can reliably time travel, knows of the archetype, has knowledge of Rift Pokemon, and has an intimate knowledge of the Defenders and their fates. Madame X is the only person who meets all of those first few qualifications, and it's also worth noting that Madame X's suit distinctly lacks eyes, similar to the two statues.

Essentially, the image I see with this is a Nymiera who became so disgusted at her own failures that she threw everything away, including her old identity, and and decided the best way to create a good world was to tear everything down and rebuild it herself, taking her belief in "The good of the many" to its furthest extreme and becoming a vengeful and bitter person in the process. She keeps "protecting" the Interceptor in hopes that their own quest will eventually guide them to resetting everything and destroying Karma for good.
However... in the process of thinking through this all over the last couple days, I realized several holes in this theory that I have to acknowledge, and keep it from really being an effective one.
First, if Nymiera is the avatar of Xerneas, then why is Madame X only ever seen using a Yveltal?
Second, the one aspect of Madame X's backstory story that she elected to reveal to us is about her mother. In her own words, "My "mother" was a weak individual who gave her life to protect me". Not only does Nymiera never hint at anything remotely similar this, but none of Adrest, Variya, or any of the files Adrest sends to Erin hint at anything even remotely close to this for Nymiera.
Third, which I think is the biggest issue: when we see Madame X's mask get broken by Sakitron at the pyramid, what little we see of her appearance doesn't exactly match up with Nymiera. What appears to be black hair could also just be a broken piece of her mask, her eyes are a bright red, and even though we barely see any skin, it visibly is not as dark as Nymiera's.
The first point is actually pretty easy to explain: the Yveltal is Indriad. Obviously we don't know how Indriad became a Yveltal, but there is precedent for shit like this happening and there's multiple hints towards it:

• Indriad is confirmed at the end of .Karma files is an avatar of Yveltal in the same way that Nymiera is one of Xerneas.
• In the Bad Future, when Melanie summons her Yveltal, she explicitly refers to it as her father. Melanie is a bad future version of Melia, Melia is in some capacity connected to Maria and is still explicitly related to Indriad's kids, the implication is pretty clear.
• There are other physical avatars of legendaries in the game: Spacea and Tiempa, who both can transform into the legendaries they are the avatars of. I don't know if it's ever been confirmed if Griselda was an explicit avatar of Giratina, but nonetheless, she was permanently transformed into one and can't change back. It's not unreasonable to see something similar happening to Indriad given that we don't know his final fate in the game's main timeline yet.
• Yes, this means there's some fucky shit going on with Angie, I have ideas about that as well but that also takes a ton of explanation and is best saved for a different post.

The other two though... I think more or less disprove the theory. Family-related trauma is already one of the game's biggest theme; if Nymiera had something related to her mother, it would have been made clear by this point. And there's just no way that I can think of to really justify the drastic difference in appearance between the two. I could simply handwave it and say "The differences in appearance are either a spriting error or a lighting thing with her helmet" and "We just haven't learned about Nymiera's mother yet", but both of those would just be copout answers to ignore.
I'm still confident that I'm onto something here and there is a connection between these two characters,
...so instead I came up with a crackpot theory that nonetheless I think has a nonzero chance of being true, although its much less liekly .
Madame X isn't an alternate universe Nymiera. She's an alternate universe Nim.
Is it a stupid assertion? Yes. But hear me out, starting with some of the more minor points:

• There is very obviously a connection between Nim and Nymiera. The game's placed a lot of emphasis on Nim's relationship to Alexandra and Damian, Nymiera's direct descendents, and Nim took her name from Nymiera's. When Nim appears in the flashback with Alexaandra and Damian she's calling out the names of Hazuki and the player character, yelling for them to watch out. This implies four things:
  • Nim originates in the past and was sent into the future.
  • Given that we haven't met her in the past, she probably comes into existence in the state that she already was.
  • Nim will meet the player and Hazuki in the past during some dangerous event, most likely a final battle with Indriad before Storm-9 fully hits, as we still don't know the final fate of the Defenders.
  • She doesn't say Anju and Nymiera's names, implying either something already happened to them or Nim was cut off in the middle of her sentence when she was sent forward in time.
• Despite Madame X claiming that Nymiera is dead, her spirit has appeared multiple times and is still very aware of the ongoing plot. Her body, however, has not.
• Clear going out of her way to manipulate Nim shows that Madame X likely has an interest in Nim herself.
• While she obviously prefers to use her psychic abilities, Nim's still clearly proficient with melee weapons as there's a handful of times where she uses her... hairpin things as a polearm of sorts.

There's three main reasons I think there actually is something here though: Nim's physical appearance, Madame X's "mother", and the reason Madame X needs her suit despite it making her weaker.
First: Nim's physical appearance is extremely similar to Madame X's under her mask. As Lorna, we can see that her pupils have a red hue very similar to Madame X's. Looking at both Nim's sprites and her official art, her skin tone is lighter than Nymiera's but still darker then most of the rest of the cast, which also lines up with the broken mask. Finally, assuming Madame X actually has black hair and that's not just a broken part of her mask in the sprite, Nim's hair is the same color.
Second: When Madame X mentions her "Mother", its quoted, presumably for air quotes. While it could just be her disrespecting her "Mother", it feels far more significant than that, like its moreso implying that whoever she's talking about wasn't her mother in the traditional sense. Madame X also states that the difference between her "Mother"'s sacrifice and the player's mom's sacrifice is that the player's mom's didn't matter; thus indirectly implying that Madame X's mom's sacrifice was important even if she looks down upon her mom for it. Assuming that Nymiera shares some connection to Nim- be it that Nymiera created her, Nim is her reincarnation, or something else- it's not unreasonable to think that Nim, after overcoming her memory issues, could view Nymiera as something of a mother figure, especially considering that Nim took her name Nymiera's because she felt a connection.
Third: The suit. There's a very obvious reason that Nim would need a suit to suppress her own power: to keep herself from draining the life force of her subordinates and stop her own Storm from getting out of control. It's a leap, sure, but it would explain why she needs a suit that actively inhibits her.
Why would Nim be doing all of this, and how would she become such a cruel and vengeful person? We see something similar happen to our own Nim through Clear's manipulation through preying on her fears and insecurities. Assuming bad enough shit happened to her, I could absolutely see an alternate universe Nim who lacked the support of characters like Aelita, Melia, and the Player going down this path.
Is this theory accurate? Probably not, but it was really fun to think about. I never fucking know what's gonna happen with this game which is why it's so fun to speculate about the absolute mess of lore that it has.
Thank you to anyone who took the time to read this massive ramble, it was fun to write and I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day!

I’m sure I’ll get some humorous answers here as well but in all seriousness..I recently was job hunting and took a position with private office. I interviewed at both private and dso style offices and was given offers by all the private offices and none of the dso’s. The contrast was pretty stark so I’m curious to see if anyone has some answers.

Introduction

There was a post that was recently posted and it's been asked a ton: "How do I get a computer science related job after I graduate from KSU?". I thought I'd share this with everyone because I've been down this path and managed to make it on the other side. This will be a long explanation and hopefully, can serve as some sort of guide for students. That being said, things are subjective and this is not the holy grail of how to make it. You might find all, some or none of it useful. I encourage testimonials and whatnot in the comments. Can be applied to all majors but, this primary for technology-based majors since I am in tech field. YMMV

About Me

I've been around here for a while. I was a student not too long ago, studied computer science for my bachelors. After graduating, I work in FAANG and have worked in big tech for a while. No, I don't work at Amazon. I am a senior software engineer. I touch frontend & backend technologies. I participate in hiring frequently.

Starting Out

Over the years and while attending here, there's been a weird disconnect between students, goals and how to achieve them in tech. Goals can be anywhere from learning new technologies, getting internships to securing a full time job before or after you graduate. As much as I would love for there to be a path where you can do minimum effort and still succeed, there isn't. A lot of you seem to not realize that. Getting a degree in this field is not enough. Doing projects that show no passion / interests is not enough. Being stuck on tutorials for years is not enough.
This field is much like a sport. There are very few people that can just be great without any effort. You have to be consistent. Four years is not a lot of time. It goes by super fast. If you constantly push things back and you do not take the time to learn the fundamentals outside the classroom, you will not succeed in this field. This field is at a point where there's so many of you. Every post on LinkedIn and news articles said "hey, this field is a gold mine and you'll make six figures out the gate". For a time, maybe that was somewhat true. As of writing this, it's not. You're going against people who have: better schools, better experience, etc. You have to find a way to diversify yourself early. If you can't diversify, you're going to be in a tough place later down the road. Knowledge not something you can just consume in less than an hour and pass an interview. You have to know it well. If you don't, there's someone else who will.
There's an interesting connotation in life that you're either born super smart or an absolute idiot and that you have to be smart to do computer science / programming. There are people with raw IQ that can consume things like no one you've ever met but, that's such a rarity that there's no realistic use in using that as a data point. If you ever took the time to ask someone who you thought was really good at something, they would tell you something along the lines of: I love what I do and I spent a lot of time doing this. There are hours and hours of time people put into passions that you don't / will never see. Meaning that they can no-life this shit for days on end and still come back and do it some more. It doesn't mean that you can't succeed if don't do that but, computing / programming is a very boring field if you do not enjoy it. I would seriously contemplate why you're going through this. If you're doing it for money and only money, you're going to end up miserable. No amount of money can make you do something you hate. It'll wear you down both mentally and physically. If you're doing this because it's a mix of passion and money, you're like everyone else and you gave yourself a better shot. It's a mental thing. Don't climb uphill if you rather sit at the bottom. Don't complain if you're at the bottom and you rather be at the top. There's nothing wrong with that. But, don't do it. For what it's worth, I am not the smartest person. I graduated high school with a low GPA and took college seriously because I wanted to do more with my life. Plus, being on hourly forever sounds horrible imo. Use the opportunities that life has given to you and run with it. Run far, run smart and run in a direction that you can see yourself going long-term.
Additionally, college is what you make of it. Blaming professors or the program (while I do agree sometimes) is not a solution. Blaming professors that don't speak English is a cop out. If you work in tech, you'll be interacting with a lot of people from other countries. Suck it up. Work with it instead of against it. Professors and TAs can only teach you so much. Classes are meant to give you a taste of what it's like in that domain / space. It's not meant to fix all your issues and show you the way. That's for you to do on your own time. Take accountability of your own success, explore the internet (it's free) and lock in. Stop looking for opportunities to find you. Actively seek them out yourself.

Networking

Make connections with people. I cannot stress how important this is. Especially on the Marietta campus, there's a lot of you that go to class, stingers / food, run to class and immediately start gaming and think that when your classes are over, you're done for the day. That's a bad mindset. Make connections with people. Sit with random people at stingers or wherever. Have a conversation. Find a common interest. Don't harass men / women for a date while you're at it. Keep it cool. A lot of people say "there's nothing to do at KSU and there's no life on campus". That's not true at all. It's true if you choose to put your head in a box and refuse to look up. Join a club that interests you. Get close to the people in that club who actively attend and build a personal relationship. If there's no club with your interest, make a club. Fuck it, lead one. You can make one officially through KSU or add a discord server to the student hub and go from there. You'll meet some really cool like-minded people. Lots of my connections have come from randomly showing up to a club, getting out of my comfort zone and weirdly enjoying it.

Interviewing

Brush up on your interview skills. Technical and behavioral abilities matter. Culture fit matters. A lot of you seem to walk around with almost zero personal hygiene. Clean yourself up, practice talking to people and get places. There's been this stigma that culture fit doesn't matter as much as technical and if I have great technical abilities, they'll just accept me. I can tell you for an absolutely fact that I have thrown out / tossed out resumes from highly technical individuals that had zero people skills. If you can't communicate and clean up, you're more of a risk than someone who does all those things and has a bit less technical ability. I can teach someone how to code. I can't teach someone how to take a shower or brush their teeth. Know more than just Leetcode. Learn system design. Take a course / watch a video on Linux and bash. Do not be afraid of the command line interface. Understand how things work at a deeper level. Take feedback seriously. Do not argue with people. If you future manager / colleague tells you that you need to work on things, work on those things. There's nothing worse than a co-worker in denial.

Jobs

As for internships and full time opportunities, there's a few classes at KSU that you really want to master: Data structures, Algorithm Analysis, Operating Systems and Discrete math. If you're in a major that doesn't have those classes, spend the extra money and take those classes. Do not take them online if you can afford to come in person. Take the hardest / best professors for those courses. Super important. Leetcode is quite literally, those classes merged together in a prompt-style format. If you do not understand those concepts, you will not make it in this field let alone pass an interview loop.
Data Structures - Varies. Rate my professor.
Algorithm Analysis - Varies. Rate my professor.
Operating Systems - Do not take Carla McManus if you want to learn the concepts fluently.
Discrete Math - Andy Wilson.
Having solid resume is super important. Many people who don't secure things and get automatically rejected, etc have horrible resumes. Spend the money (it's a lot) to get your resume professionally written. It's worth it. Invest in your long term career aspirations. Templates are cool but, they don't convey information well and come across as lazy. Don't put every achievement ever on there. I don't want to see a wall of text. No, I don't care if you're a Boy Scout. No, I don't care if you bussed tables in high school. You get the point. The rule of "only one page" is complete and total bullshit. If you have projects and prior work experience related to the role, list it down. Don't conserve space for the sake of keeping it one page. You're limiting yourself. I know the career center actively tells people on handshake to keep it to one page. They're wrong. I landed internships & full time roles consistently at big tech / FAANG for years with a 1.5 / 2 page resume. Do not lie on your resume. If you can't solve a leetcode hard consistently with the technology / language of choice, you don't know it well enough. I have interviewed a ton of students and people that list they know C or Python and can't write recursion or gives me a solution in O(N^2) or worse. Aim for O(N), use a hashmap / hash table when you can and do it in a language that doesn't make you fight the runtime / compiler. Trust me, we know when you're making shit up. If you don't know something say it and then, tell them to explain more. This way, you show that you have the capability to learn. Ask smart questions. Do not ask questions that have already been answered. Take notes.
On your resume, experience is only real experience if you get a W2. If you don't get a W2, you can't claim it as professional experience. A lot of background checks these days are drilling down on incorrect information. I have seen instances where people lie, get an offer, company finds out through a comprehensive background check and their offer is gone. Do not put the fate of your future income on a lie. I cannot stress this enough. A lot of students and people actively lie.
Secondly, the trick to getting a good internship is timing. A lot of you wait until Nov - Dec to find an internship and then, throw your hands up when no one responds. That's not a good mindset. Solid internships are recruiting in end of July to August. By September, the amount of open spots are extremely thin. Local companies tend to look for internships during this time. Internships are about luck after that. Reach out to people in your circle to increase your odds. A referral goes a long way. Prior experience through projects that are complex and unique go a long way. It's a numbers game. Don't aim for the highest thing ever without some sort of referral. You can still apply but, do not expect much from it. Start small and work your way up. It's extremely rare to go from KSU undergrad sophomore to Google. It takes a lot of outside work. If you happen to land the internship, make sure that you get recommendations at the end. Having real people who you worked with in a professional capacity that can vouch for you is huge. If you're in your junior year and you get an internship, make sure you try to secure a full time offer. Loop in your boss, mentor, etc. Make your expectations clear. Reach their expectations and beyond.
Thirdly, full time opportunities are rare and most new grads that get hired come from the previous year's intern pool. If you don't get converted, you have to make up that time searching for a job during your senior year. If you do get converted, keep looking because companies are flaky these days. Always have a Plan B & C. Never fully count on Plan A. If you don't have internships across four years, it's over for you. From a hiring manager perspective, it's an absolute red flag when we come across someone with a degree and no internships. That's effectively going against the point of college. You'll have to settle for crumbs and crawl your way up. Very few make it out of that hole. The bar is significantly higher. Especially, now.

Searching for an Opportunity

Do not wait until after you graduate to find a job. Jan - Early May are when most companies finalize budgets and hire. If you wait until after May, you'll might have to wait until after the Summer and possibly, October for hiring to pick up again. Proactivity is nothing but good for you. If you can't be proactive then, you won't succeed in this field. Referrals matter but, personal connections with the hiring manager / recruiter are much, much better. Work your way up. Don't discount an opportunity because it doesn't pay well. Get as much experience as you can and bounce around. Do not go into the gate thinking you're going to make $120K - $140K / yr out the gate. You're most-likely going to make $68K - $75K / yr depending on the location. Do not listen to LinkedIn posts that claim all this cool shit and how to do it. Trust me, it's bullshit. Don't pay attention to it. It's a brag-fest. It's a long road. Start walking on it early and you'll reach the other side when it matters most. Trust in it.
The reality of this economy is that highly experience people have been laid off. Those people are applying to entry level roles and those roles are being filled for cheap. In addition, watch out for fake postings and scam jobs. If you take a contract job, always keep looking. Avoid jobs that will providing "training" before you even start. Avoid jobs that are less than week old. You want things that are fresh. It's a numbers game. Apply for 300+ jobs every week until you get a response back. Don't be discouraged by employers who don't respond or ghost you. Keep at it. It's a mental game.

Conclusion

I think if you do these things, you'll end up at a great spot after four years. If you're just now coming across this and you've been slacking, use this an opportunity to wake the fuck up, light a fire under your ass and lock in. If you're still in denial after reading this post and you have yet to get anything, light a fire under your ass, come to terms with it and lock in.
If you're in it to do zero work, cheat on your classes, mess around for four years and somehow wing a high salary or a job in this field, good luck. You're fucked. You're so fucked, in-fact, that you'll be wondering "why me and why is it so hard" for a long ass time. Don't be that person.

Cool Resources

Git - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvUiKWv2-C0
Github (use this as your portfolio; web devs should make an actual clean website) - https://github.com
Github Student Pack (tons of free resources) - https://education.github.com/pack
Linux Handbook - https://linuxhandbook.com/ Linux Quickguide - https://github.com/mikeroyal/Linux-Guide
Lots of subreddits geared around linux and programming. Great resources to find.
Understand: Kernel Space vs. User Space, Memory Allocation / Deallocation, Bitwise Operations, Memory blocks, processes and threads, context switching
System Design Primer - https://github.com/donnemartin/system-design-primer
Understand: Monolith vs. Micro-services, Tradeoffs between different approaches, Vertical vs. Horizontal Scaling, Load Balancers, Buckets, Data lakes, CI / CD Pipelines, Data Clusters, Client-Server Architecture, Synchronous vs. Asynchronous Context: System design is like a giant puzzle that has many forms. Create a basic design. It won't be perfect. Mix-and-match different services and know why, how and tradeoffs between each approach.
Programming language is dependent on the role and what the company favors. Common ones are Java, C++, Python, C#, JavaScript / TypeScript and C. You can look at jobs that you would like to work someday, look at the requirements and use that as a basis on where to start learning. Things constantly change. Fundamentals build up on each other. Start small. Work your way up. Do not dream big. Dream realistic. Everyone is different.

https://preview.redd.it/4xrzwkgrih0d1.png?width=1292&format=png&auto=webp&s=27e7572a064e0ac1bde57fd9425d373cd0f4ec32
Cameron is back in the game in a 6-1-1 vote, and Scott and Anne Maria have gained immunity in a 7-5-2-1-1 vote.
Blaineley announces that Cameron has won the second chance challenge and is now back in the game. Cameron is incredulous, and Beardo, Ella, & Harold cheer for him, and Blaineley asks if she will get her money. Geoff laughs & says that they just barely went over time, which very much pisses off Blaineley, causing her to charge at Geoff. Security comes & captures her, and Geoff says that the next Aftermath will be at the secret finale location. As Blaineley is getting dragged away by security, Geoff signs off the episode, saying that he’ll see everyone next time.
Niagara Brawls
The episode opens with the Max clone scurrying around, playing with a sharp rock, and subsequently hiding when he sees the interns dragging the contestants to the cargo hold. The scene then cuts to a sleeping Max, who is having a dream about inventing things with Owen & Izzy. Scott, Sugar, & Topher then show up on hoverboards, destroying their work with lightning bolts. Max is thrown in the air, subsequently waking up & realizing that he and the other contestants have been thrown out of the plane.
Max promptly screams, waking everyone else up. While falling, two swan pedal boats are also falling with them. The contestants cling onto the boats as they fall and land in the water, making Anne Maria yell at Chris, as Staci shouts “Water!” This annoys Scott, but he & everyone else then see that they’re all heading toward a massive waterfall. Sugar laments about how she can’t win any more pageants when she dies, Dawn wishes her families good will, & Topher says that he fully doesn’t like Chris now. With Zoey though, she has turned into Commando Zoey, and uses her strength to throw Sugar into the other boat as an anchor, before furiously paddling both boats to safety. On the shore, Anne Maria compliments Zoey’s quick thinking & skills, and Scott is thinking. In the confessional, Scott says that Zoey must go ASAP, as she seems to be a big physical threat.
On shore, Chris reveals their location by telling the contestants that Niagara Falls is awesome, explaining that it is the jewel in Canada's crown and one of the top ten natural wonders in the world, also known for its fabulous casino, the place where they will head for the next part of the challenge, only to find themselves in the concert theater because all of them are underage. Topher asks if anyone will perform here, and Chris says that it’ll happen, as the last Aftermath episode has returned a contestant back to the game. Scott & Sugar are praying that it’s Sierra who returns, Max & Staci want Owen & Sadie respectively, and Chris then announces that it’s in fact Cameron who’s back in the game. Dawn is belated about this, and Cameron sings a song about Dawn & his friends, which is positively met.
Cameron asks Chris which team he’s on, and that he hopes it to be Team Amazon. Chris says that as of now it’s every man, woman, & Cameron for themselves, due to the teams being disbanded. Besides Scott, Sugar, & Topher, everyone is happy about this and is leering angrily at the villains. In the confessional, Sugar asks why everyone else is acting like they’re all friends, as this is Total Drama, not Total Friendship. With Zoey, she’s saying that she is excited at the chance of eliminating Scott or Sugar
Chris then announces that, since they are in the honeymoon capital of the world, they will be in pairs for "arranged marriages." The boys are placed in a giant casino machine, while the girls will pull the lever to see who their husband will be to team up for today's challenge and for Chris' own amusement, adding Bacon the bear in the slot machine, too.
Dawn pulls first, getting Scott, to which she slams the door on, crushing Scott’s arm. Dawn says that she’d prefer Bacon to Scott, making Chris give Bacon to Dawn. Sugar pulls next, getting Topher. Topher looks mostly indifferent to this, and Sugar suggests sabotaging everyone to gain victory, which Topher agrees with. Topher then asks what they should do with Scott, and Sugar says to treat him just like the others, as Sugar is in grave danger of being kicked if she loses.
Zoey pulls, hoping it’s not Scott, and gets Cameron. When Cameron sees this, he says that while he would rather have Dawn, Zoey is cool. Staci gets Max and they fist-bump, and this leaves Anne Maria with Scott, much to their dismay.
In part one of the challenge, the grooms must guide their blindfolded brides to a wedding dress while avoiding several obstacles in the first part of the competition, and if they don't get a dress, they can't move on to the next challenge. Topher tells Sugar not to worry about this, as he is amazing at this. Scott initially messes with Anne Maria, sending her into a pool of pudding, and Anne Maria says that he better stop it, unless he wants to be eliminated.
With Sugar & Topher, Sugar has found the first dress. Sugar suggests sabotaging the other teams, so they can automatically get immunity, which Topher agrees with. Staci & Max are trying to get to a dress, and Max is constantly changing his instructions, as Topher ais moving stuff around to confuse them. Cameron is guiding Zoey when Sugar steals his glasses, which causes him to accidentally send Zoey into a giant cake. Zoey groans at this and asks Cameron what happened. Cameron apologizes and says that it happened because Sugar stole his glasses, which Zoey forcibly takes back.
With Dawn & Bacon, the bear has successfully taken Dawn to the wedding dresses, clinching Dawn’s spot in the next challenge. Scott gets Anne Maria to the wedding dresses successfully, and so does Cameron with Zoey. As Chris says that the first challenge is over, Staci is able to get her wedding dress, annoying Topher & Sugar.
For the second part of the challenge, Chris explains that the grooms must hold their brides on a tightrope as they walk through Niagara Falls — which is packed with hungry sharks below because Chris thought they weren't quite unpleasant enough — and then they must successfully clear customs, saying that the first pair to do so wins invincibility. The mere idea of sharks is making Scott quiver, along with Max & Topher as well. As Sugar & Topher got to the dresses first, they get a head start. As they go by, Sugar trips Zoey for no apparent reason. Topher asks why, and Sugar says that she’s simply trying to get a rise out of Zoey.
Up next is Staci & Max, and the latter is staring at the falls below. Staci asks if he’s alright, and Max says that he feels psyched out by the challenge, as it seems really easy to fall to your death with one misstep. He then regains his breath and Staci starts to carry him on the rope.
Back with Topher & Sugar, Sugar tells Topher to hold on tight. Topher asks what this means, and Sugar slightly shakes the rope from side-to-side, making Staci & Max fall off. Cameron is bewildered by this, as they were just walking fine before. Zoey & Cameron get onto the tightrope next, speeding after the villains while being very wary of the looming threat of the falls.
Dawn & Bacon are next, with the Bear upright, carrying Dawn in her arms. Chris is surprised that anyone could actually find a grizzly bear that would be a good teammate. Bacon walks onto the tightrope, which causes a significant dip that nearly knocks off Scott, Sugar, Cameron, and Dawn. Zoey angrily asks who did this, and Cameron tells her to calm down, as it was just Dawn & the bear, which makes Zoey feel sheepish.
At the front, Sugar & Topher are discussing how they should sabotage everybody else once again when they reach customs. Chef starts to ask the duo some questions, and they are turned back when Chef asks them in which state is it illegal to have a donkey sleep in your bathtub after 7 P.M. Sugar said Texas, but the answer was Oklahoma.
Zoey & Cameron run into Sugar & Topher, and neither side is willing to move. In a bout of anger, Zoey violently shakes the rope, sending Dawn, the bear, Cameron, Topher, & Sugar into the falls. Zoey is mortified at what she has done, and dives in as well, looking for Cameron & Dawn. Scott & Anne Maria are the last ones standing, and carefully cross the rope to customs, where they answer all the questions correctly. Chef asks if they have anything else to say, and Anne Maria says that she’s just glad to be done with the challenge. The contestants in the water are now thankfully in a motorboat that is being driven by the interns, as Chris begrudgingly realizes that the contestants can't die.
Vote anyone sans Scott or Anne Maria, vote somebody for immunity, and feel free to come up with any plot points!

I literally had my medical/agility/investigation interview for NYS DOCCS a couple days ago. Before I went I was so curious as to what to expect so here’s how the day went for those applying currently.
Remember the entire day you’re there is part of the interview. Make sure you follow all the instructions including what’s written on your paperwork. The staff is always watching. I made sure to say hi and thank you to everyone I met regardless of what their job duty was and I did it with a smile.
First, you do the medical (pee test, hearing, EKG, eye exam and blood test). Then you meet with a physician to go over your medical evaluation. Then you’ll do the agility test. The only “difficult” part of the job is the 3 min step test. As long as you don’t quit or stumble, they’ll pass you. Just don’t quit!!
After all that you’ll meet with your assigned investigator. They’ll go over your packet line for line making sure everything was filled out and answered appropriately. And that was it. They didn’t even ask any personality questions like why you want to be a CO or ask about any experiences in careers related to the job.
Once that’s done they discuss the process and say no news is good news. My investigator said the process takes about 3-6 months but I’ve been reading people are getting called within 2 weeks. So now it’s just a waiting game. Good luck to everyone!

I am humbly requesting urgent assistance with a visit visa matter that has escalated to Wafidin (in kharj). I find it difficult to travel there and communication isn't easy, everyone only speaks Arabic. They never answer the phones. Is there anyone who can give me contact details or guide me the right direction?

Partial rant but also serious question for IT support roles. I've interviewed about 60 people for a role that's "mid" tier support borderlineing Jr. Admin and for my whatever reason I can't get people to answer questions correctly, or I catch a few out right thinking it's OK to think of it as a open book interview and use notes/Google. If you have 3-5+ years of experience and bunch of certs why are you struggling to answer basic question of what is DHCP, DNS, hardware troubleshooting, troubleshooting internet connectivity etc... Has anyone else experienced this? Is that too much to ask from from someone nowadays? I personally don't think it is and also find it hard to believe these candidates can confidently state they're good at IT if they can't even grasp these basic.

It was hard to believe that Link could ever really die. Link, the iconic hero of the Legend of Zelda series, is distinguished not just by his bravery but by his seemingly perpetual resilience, which stems from his possession of the Triforce of Courage. This sacred artifact, imbued with the essence of the goddess Farore, grants Link more than just bravery—it provides him with a supernatural safeguard against death. Throughout each of his adventures, whether he faces the dark magic of Ganon or the bewildering trials of alternate dimensions, the Triforce of Courage acts as a bastion of protection. It ensures that Link can withstand mortal dangers that would overwhelm others, allowing him to continue fighting and striving to restore balance to the realms he cherishes. This divine protection is a cornerstone of his character, symbolizing that as long as he bears the Triforce of Courage, Link will always rise to meet any challenge, undeterred by the specter of defeat or demise.
So with that understood, how do we explain the downfall timeline? Well I think I've got an answer.
The Triforce of Courage grants the bearer the courage to face overwhelming odds and protects them from losing their essence or being overwhelmed by external evils. In the Zelda series, this Triforce piece often manifests its power by aiding Link in overcoming supernatural threats and challenges that would otherwise be insurmountable.
After the events of Ocarina of Time, There are two separate timelines created, one with Link, and one without link. The timeline with Link is the child timeline, where young link returns to Kokiri Forest to seek out his friend Navi. What happens next is undetermined, until now...
Once there, Link gets lost, but not just lost, lost without a fairy. In the lore of Ocarina of Time, those who get lost in the Lost Woods without a fairy companion are said to become Skull Kids. However, Link, even after returning to his childhood and losing Navi, carries the Triforce of Courage. This artifact's essence not only embodies bravery but also fundamentally protects the wielder’s spirit from corruption and transformation. Essentially, the Triforce of Courage acts as a shield, preserving Link's identity and purpose against the transformative magic of the Lost Woods.
Link's venture into the Lost Woods, safeguarded by the Triforce of Courage, sets off a remarkable event. Instead of succumbing to the fate of becoming a Skull Kid—a common destiny for those who lose their way in this enchanted forest—the Triforce of Courage interacts with the mystical energies that saturate the woods. The Lost Woods are not only a mysterious and ancient place but also the location of the Kokiri's Emerald, a sacred stone left by the goddess Farore. Farore is known for her power to create realms, as seen in Skyward Sword.
This unique interaction between the protective power of the Triforce of Courage and the realm-creating magic associated with Farore' s Emerald generates a rift or portal. This portal leads to the creation of a new timeline: a fantasy timeline beginning in Termina, an alternate dimension that mirrors and distorts the realities of Hyrule. This pivotal moment marks the divergence from the known paths of Hyrule's history into new, uncharted territories.
(This fantasy timeline explains why their are are fantasy characters' in these particular Zelda games. Like Mario characters in Link's awakening or Din in the oracle games. These characters are fantasies.)
Why Termina?
Termina can be seen as a physical manifestation of a trial created by the Triforce of Courage for Link to overcome. This world, laden with impending doom, peculiar inhabitants, and twisted versions of Hyrule’s characters, is essentially a crucible designed to test Link’s bravery and resolve. The challenges within Termina are direct reflections of the inner fears and the courage needed to confront them, perfectly aligning with the purpose of the Triforce of Courage—to push its bearer beyond their limits in the face of true adversity.
Majora’s Mask, with its dark themes and existential threats, serves as the ultimate test of courage for Link. The Triforce’s influence ensures that Link not only survives the journey but is also given a chance to grow and understand the depths of courage. It guides him subtly, ensuring that he stays true to his quest of not only saving Termina but also finding his lost friend, Navi.
At the end of Majora's Mask, Link has successfully navigated the trials of Termina, proving his courage and fortitude. With his mission in Termina complete, and his attempts to find Navi (his fairy companion from Ocarina of Time) unresolved, Link departs from the unknown realm. As Link continues his wandering in search of Navi, the Triforce of Courage leads him to Hytopia, thus bringing us to the next game in the fantasy timeline, Triforce heroes.
After the events in Tri Force Heroes, where Link and his two duplicates successfully lift the curse on Princess Styla, the magical bond that linked the three Links dissipates. This could be explained by the Triforce of Courage, having fulfilled its purpose in Hytopia, leading Link to new challenges where his heroic virtues are needed. With Hytopia’s immediate crisis resolved, Link sets out to explore new lands, possibly still in search of his original quest to locate Navi or driven by a restlessness instilled by his continuous heroic callings as he is still unaware of the fantasy timeline that he’s in.
The Triforce of Courage, still with Link, guides him to new lands with emerging threats. This mystical artifact, sensing disturbances in the balance of good and evil in distant realms, might lead Link to Holodrum and Labrynna. These lands, unlike Hytopia, face dire existential threats that require not just courage but the ability to adapt to changing environments and timelines, which are central themes in Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages.
Link's Awakening occurs after Link’s heroic deeds in the Oracle series. In this narrative sequence, Link sets off on a personal journey to train and prepare for future threats. Still unaware that he's in a fantasy timeline. He travels by boat, seeking wisdom and strength to be better equipped as Hyrule’s guardian. This journey symbolizes a hero’s need to reflect and grow, a common theme in legends.
The central twist of Link’s Awakening is the realization that Koholint Island is a dream realm created by the Wind Fish. As Link gathers the instruments and prepares to awaken the Wind Fish, he faces a moral and existential dilemma: awakening the Wind Fish will erase the island and its inhabitants from existence. This challenge is a test of Link’s courage and wisdom, pushing him to understand the complexities of reality and illusion, a theme deeply embedded in his quest to overcome this fantasy timeline he’s created.
Upon awakening the Wind Fish, the island fades away, and Link finds himself adrift on the open sea on a piece of his shipwrecked boat. This conclusion represents a rebirth for Link, a literal and metaphorical awakening. He is left to reflect on the nature of his journey and the lessons learned about impermanence and the power of belief and dreams.
Unbeknownst to the people of Hyrule, Link has not died but has instead been transported to yet another dimension or time, continuing his adventures elsewhere or even struggling to find his way back to Hyrule. In this newly created timeline, however, his perceived death leads to the absence of a hero when Hyrule most needs one, resulting in the realm's downfall. The downfall timeline.

Conclusion:

This version of the downfall timeline is rich with the fantasy and magic central to The Legend of Zelda series. It hinges on a magical misinterpretation: the sight of Link vanishing into a rift created by the clash between the Triforce of Courage and the ancient magics of the Lost Woods. This event, seen as his death, marks the tragic beginning of the downfall timeline, setting the stage for a darker chapter in Hyrule's history where the hero is believed lost forever.

At wit's end here a little.
I've followed a few guides and tried to find an answer using the almighty Google, but nothing seems to be a definitive "this is the issue."

• I've gone into the Outlook settings and made sure that "Let devices and apps use POP" is enabled.
• Made sure that the account settings in Thunderbird are set to POP
• Made sure OAuth2 is enabled in account settings

I'm at a loss to figure this out. My impression from what I've read is that this is an ongoing problem caused not in small part by Microsoft themselves fucking with things on their end to make it difficult to connect to their servers (I wonder why).
I'm on Thunderbird version 155.10.2 (64 bit), Windows 10. The most recent error I'm getting is

Sending of the message failed. An error occurred while sending mail: Outgoing server (SMTP) error. The server responded: * OK The Microsoft Exchange IMAP4 service is ready. 

followed by a string of random letters. Any help or guides or previous posts are greatly appreciated.

So for some context, my mom is currently under a lot of stress. She is going through a divorce, fixing up her house, her job as a nurse has her with little to no free time. She casually let me know about a month ago that she wants me out and she is replacing me with my little sister. I have court papers saying my little sister cant live with me until she is 18, but I have changed and I believe that mess has been taken care of within the family.
Currently I have about $1k, car, and 2 of my friends are willing to take me in. I have been putting in job applications like a madman and i have been on probably 5 interviews within the past few weeks to no avail. How can I navigate this situation the best? I can afford the rent but in order to be stable I would need a job. My only other options are military, see if I can pull some strings and get into a trade school, and if all else fails then i have a fresh start button by moving states and living with my blood sister.
I will answer any questions and provide details on anything related to the situation.

So for some context, my mom is currently under a lot of stress. She is going through a divorce, fixing up her house, her job as a nurse has her with little to no free time. She casually let me know about a month ago that she wants me out and she is replacing me with my little sister. I have court papers saying my little sister cant live with me until she is 18, but I have changed and I believe that mess has been taken care of within the family.
Currently I have about $1k, car, and 2 of my friends are willing to take me in. I have been putting in job applications like a madman and i have been on probably 5 interviews within the past few weeks to no avail. How can I navigate this situation the best? I can afford the rent but in order to be stable I would need a job. My only other options are military, see if I can pull some strings and get into a trade school, and if all else fails then i have a fresh start button by moving states and living with my blood sister.
I will answer any questions and provide details on anything related to the situation.

Downloads

GitHub Releases

Linux, OS X, Windows

Compiling Guide

FAQ

• How do I use this subreddit?

If you're new here, make sure to read through the above. Secondly, any simple questions should be confined to this weekly announcement post. If you've found a bug or a new strategy, or wondering what type of playthrough to try, you should make a separate post about those.

• Flairs? What are those?

There are two types of flairs: user flairs (which are currently customizable) and post flairs. If you make a post, make sure you're flairing it appropriately for others. There are some exclusive flairs you cannot pick but should be on the lookout for, such as:
Changelog - these posts have very informative posts regarding changes.
Fixed - these posts generally have a solution to a bug or problem.
Lastly, if you flair a post [Help Wanted] and someone answered satisfactorily, make sure to re-flair it with [Solved] so others can find the solution instead of looking through tons of posts.

• Bright Nights? Wasn't that just a mod?

Bright Nights was originally a fork but turned into a supported pseudo-mod. It has now been restarted as a separate fork from Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead with a significantly different vision. On the surface, DDA and BN may appear the same but the gameplay will be starkly different with DDA focusing on realism and simulationist, with BN focusing on rogue-like gameplay and heavier sci-fi influences.

• I think the subreddit should have ... or The subreddit should change ...

Great! The modteam is always looking for feedback, please make a post about your purposed change or idea and let the community decide through voting and debate. If it's something that is a bit more sensitive, please send it through modmail.

Downloads

Stable - Gaiman (Recommended)

Android, Linux, OS X, Windows

Experimental (Not recommended)

Automated Installation

Catapult Game Launcher (3rd party, pretty convenient, more details in the link)
CDDA Game Launcher (3rd party, pretty convenient, more details in the link)

Manual Installation

Android, Linux, OS X, Windows
iOS

Compiling Guide

Controls (not up to date, controls for mobile can vary)

Helpful Guides

• Item Database
• Skill Training (Siersha - up to date for build #10626)
• Modding
• Detailed Guide (mlangsdorf)
• Quickstart Guide (DracoGriffin & AMurkin)
• Improved Text Readability (Bilb0)
• Tutorials
• Video Guide (Vormithrax)
• More Video Guide (GrandpuhTy)
• Written Guide (Pr0manTwitch)

Featured Let's Players

Individuals that are currently known for playing C:DDA. List is subject to change (maintain active and current streamers), send modmail if you'd like to be added.

Player(s)	Twitch	YouTube
Vormithrax	Link	Link
TheMurderUnicorn	Link	Link
TheCritsyBear	Link	Link
RyconRoleplays	None	Link
Orange01gaming	None	Link
nonsonogiucas	None	Link
GrandpuhTy	Link	Link

Memorial

Individuals that used to play C:DDA but have gone on hiatus or stopped streaming. These are mentioned here as requested by the community for being noteworthy.

Player(s)	Twitch	YouTube
flakaby	Link	None
Pr0manTwitch	Link	None
CromulentArcher	None	Link

Semi-Multiplayer - WatchCDDA.net

WatchCDDA.net is hosted by r7st and allows for semi-multiplayer ASCII version of Cataclysm: Dark Days Ahead. It can be a bit confusing to get started so make sure you check out the Instructions page for more details and join that Discord to communicate while playing. Any issues need to be expressed on WatchCDDA's Discord, not the subreddit - any troubleshooting posts will be removed.

• Requirements:
• WatchCDDA.net Account (set up is on Instructions page)
• SSH client (like PuTTY)
• Willingness to use ASCII (no tilesets yet)

FAQ

• How do I use this subreddit?

If you're new here, make sure to read through the above. Secondly, any simple questions should be confined to this weekly announcement post. If you've found a bug or a new strategy, or wondering what type of playthrough to try, you should make a separate post about those.

• Flairs? What are those?

There are two types of flairs: user flairs (which are currently customizable) and post flairs. If you make a post, make sure you're flairing it appropriately for others. There are some exclusive flairs you cannot pick but should be on the lookout for, such as:
Changelog - these posts have very informative posts regarding changes.
Fixed - these posts generally have a solution to a bug or problem.
Lastly, if you flair a post [Help Wanted] and someone answered satisfactorily, make sure to re-flair it with [Solved] so others can find the solution instead of looking through tons of posts.

• Oh no, my anti-virus says the launcher is a threat!

Antivirus products are known to detect the launcher as a threat and block its execution or delete the launcher. The reason for this is uncertain, but most likely due to a launcher component, PyInstaller, that is commonly flagged as a threat by antivirus software. A sufficient workaround is to add the launcher binary to your antivirus' whitelist, or to select the action to trust this binary when detected. More information can be found from the launcher's FAQ on Github.
If you are paranoid, you can always inspect the source code yourself and build the launcher from the source code. However, you are still likely to get false positives.

• The UI is broken or weird, is this normal?

If you think the UI isn't set up correctly, make sure to press } to access the UI Settings panel. You will be given a choice of several different styles, with "Labels" being the recommended setting for new players and "Classic" for veteran players.

• I think the subreddit should have ... or The subreddit should change ...

Great! The modteam is always looking for feedback, please make a post about your purposed change or idea and let the community decide through voting and debate. If it's something that is a bit more sensitive, please send it through modmail.

Welcome to the General Questions Megathread! Use this thread to ask away any burning questions you have about Food Fantasy!
Please be patient and give a reasonable amount of time for people to answer your question. If your question hasn't been answered, avoid making a new post to ask.
____________________________________________

Useful Links/Guides!

General Food Fantasy Guides:

• FAQ & Newbie Guide
• Food Soul Guide
• Disaster Boss Guide
• Artifact Guide
• Sky Showdown Info
• Sky Showdown Registration FAQ
• Taiyaki's Treasure System

Account/Game Issues:

• How to Retrieve Your Lost or Unbinded Account

Hi All,
I just wrote a very lengthy post on my life as a parent of a "troubled" daughter. She is 16 and has been diagnosed with autism, anxiety, depression, bi-polar disorder, and borderline personality disorder. She has been in three different programs. Currently, she is at Red Hawk Academy in Littlefield, Arizona. She has been at the school for the past six months.
On my own, without any request by Red Hawk Academy , I have decided to address and dispel any accusations and/or allegations directed at Red Hawk Academy ("RHA").
RHA is located in Littlefield, Arizona and the owners of the school are Valerie and Sonny. Valerie, Sonny, and all of the staff at RHA are honest, caring, and true to their words.
Before I address the outrageous and false accusations regarding RHA, I would like to point out that these posts/conversations are usually written by individuals who: (1) never had a daughter who attended RHA or (2) disgruntled, upset, and emotionally charged kids who may or may not have attended RHA.
That being said, when reading any negative post (including accusations and allegations) about RHA, or any therapeutic program, you should always think about who is writing the post. I have noticed that parents who have actually sent their kids to therapeutic boarding schools have long posts where they take the time to explain how they ended up sending their kids to one of these programs.
I have nothing to gain in writing this post. I am writing this post because I have a daughter with many psychological and behavioral problems. I am writing this post because sending her to RHA was the best decision I could have made for her and our family.
The following are accusations/allegations about RHA are without merit and completely ridiculous:

1. There is no information on individual staff members: FALSE - you can go to the RHA website (https://www.redhawkrtc.com/) and you will find information on each staff member. If you click on a staff member's name, you can read a bio on that person.
2. " My brother told me my niece can't get calls or mail": FALSE - we speak to our daughter every week. She also writes us letters that are scanned and sent via email. The family can send letters via email or regular mail. I know she receives the letters because she sends a written response or we discuss the letter on a video call. Every Wednesday, the girls receive all correspondence from their family members. In regards to the calls - the calls are all video calls. We get to talk to our daughter every week. There are two types of calls which occur every other week: (i) hour-long zoom family session with our daughter and Valerie (who has a master's in social work); (ii) 15-minute video call with our daughter on Google Meet. On the weeks where we do not have a family session with our daughter, we still meet for an hour with Valerie. As a parent, you may worry that every other week, you are only able to talk to your daughter for 15-minutes. I believe there are many reasons for the call schedule: (1) an hour-long family session every week is tough on our daughter (and I believe most kids); (2) it is nice to have a therapy session without our daughter, so we can work on our family and learn how to best support our daughter; and (3) parents are a distraction - when we have the family sessions, at times, we witness an angry, defiant, and resentful daughter. Both our family and our daughter need time apart to heal and self-reflect on the process.
3. "The owner (Sonny) gets his feet rubbed by the girls": FALSE - our daughter has never reported any inappropriate conduct by Sonny or any staff member. While you may think that my daughter (and the others) can't truthfully report what is going on at the facility, what you may not know, is that I visit my daughter every three months. I went to visit her in April and she stayed in a hotel room with us for three nights. If there was something going on at the school she would have told us.
4. " They (therapeutic boarding schools) are all unregulated and abusive": FALSE - all facilities are regulated at the state level or county level. As for the "abusive" comment, I can only speak as to the programs my daughter has attended. All three of the programs were not abusive. In our family, we have agreed to a safe word, which is a word our kids will use if ever in danger. My daughter has done everything in her power to get expelled from these programs and she has not once used the safe word. She knows the seriousness of using the safe word and knows that it should be used only if she truly is in danger (or being abused). Also, if you think about it logically, RHA would not allow families to take their kids away from the facility for days at a time if there was any abuse occurring at the school. In addition, some people may believe that consequences equates to abuse. My daughter's behavior is driven by her borderline personality disorder, and consequences are needed to curb that behavior. I have spoken with psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists and all have agreed that consistent consequences are the way to handle borderline personality disorders. The consequences are RHA are: (i) NOT abusive, (ii) reasonable, and (iii) sufficiently address the bad behavior.
5. " Sonny had them doing chores outside of the facility": FALSE - The girls can work outside of the building (located on school property) once they reach a certain goal. My daughter looks forward to working outside with Sonny and she gets to make some money in the process. I can't imagine any parent getting upset because his/her daughter is working. My daughter (and many other daughters) need to learn how to work, follow instructions, and follow-through with a project. My daughter had a great time painting a structure and it helped her understand the value of hard work. One of the staff members sent me a photo of my daughter after she finished the painting and she had a great big smile and paint all over her. Bottom-line, I want my daughter to be proud of her accomplishments, whether it be weed picking, painting, or other outdoor tasks.
6. It is dangerous to give guardianship to RHA: FALSE - I admit that I was scared when I was asked to sign a document giving temporary guardianship to RHA. But then, once again, I thought about it logically. My daughter lives in another state and I need to someone to have the legal right to make choices/decisions on daughter's behalf. I will not risk the health and well-being of my daughter due to my own ungrounded fear in allowing temporary guardianship. More importantly, I truly trust RHA staff and know that they have the well-being of my daughter in mind when making decisions.
7. "It’s usually the parents that are the problem and that’s the reality of it. So maybe check urself too or try family therapy or try to understand ur kid better": FALSE - If there is anything you take from this post is that not all families are the problem. Yes, some parents may be the problem, but not in my case. My daughter grew up in a loving environment where she was well taken care of. The family dynamic was healthy and we, as parents, offered emotional support, encouragement, love, kindness, and respect. My husband and I wanted to provide my daughter with the best life possible. My daughter, with no choice in the matter, has a chemical imbalance in her brain. I do not fault my daughter for this imbalance, but I do hold her accountable for her actions. She is consciously making decision that have put her life at risk.

I have not covered all negative posts, but addressed some of the posts that stood out to me.
Her is my message to you - I love my daughter unconditionally. Above all else, I want her to be happy and healthy. It was a difficult decision to send her away, and there are many days that I am sad she is not living with us. Sometimes I wish she could come home. But, then I remind myself why she is at RHA. She is there because she needs help, help that we could not provide her. She was breaking the family and in the process destroying herself. My greatest act of love was to send her to a program where she can get the help she needs.
The only program that has been successful for our family is RHA. RHA offers a safe and caring environment. The staff listen to us and guide us to making the best decisions for our family and our daughter. RHA offers encouragement and support to our daughter. It is hard to think about where my daughter would be if we did not seek help for her last year.
Words of wisdom, when you call a program or visit a program, pay attention to your gut instinct. Ask for the telephone numbers of parents who have had a daughter in the program. Not all therapeutic boarding schools are bad and abusive. Talk to the head of the school/program and make sure you feel heard and understood by that person. The first time I called Valerie, I had a really good feeling. She had a positive attitude and answered each and every question I asked. She was not evasive and she was forthright with her responses. Sometimes, you need to take a leap of faith, and that leap led me to RHA.
For parents of daughters who struggle, remember that you are not alone and there are options for you and your daughter. Every so often, I see glimpses of my sweet daughter, and I hope that for you!
Wish you all the best!

So I applied to Wegmans, made it through the inperson interview process and physical/ drug test. But, their offer of employment was rescinded because of the question; have you been convicted of a misdemeanor in the past 10 years? I answered no. But I had one 16 years ago and it showed up on the background check. I answered truthfully. If it asked “have you ever had a misdemeanor?” I would have said yes. Anyway, I still have a desire to work for Wegman’s as I just love the store and do almost all of my shopping there. Should I try to appeal it somehow?