Two dudes 1 horse

So this will be a lomg post. I'd really appreciate criticism and feedback.
My friend and I recently started a web scraping company. We're both quite experienced professionally as we've worked for several companies internationally and made good money from that.
We wanted to lay foundations to our own web scraping and automation company rather than working in jobs. I've been focused more on SEO and the CMO stuff, while my business partner has been creating scripts etc.
Now here's the issue.
We bought a domain, created a brand identity, made a website (I'm still optimising it on a localhost) and we've been pitching to clients for a while now through different platforms including reddit even.
We hired BDEs to find leads on freelancing platforms like Upwork as well on commision. (As soon as we get clients, we'll shift them to full-time hires)
Our goal was to let the business self finance itself rather than throwing in money (mainly cause I'm not in the position to invest in this comapny as my other startup takes everything I earn) so we did not invest in lead generation using email copywriting since we still need to buy the web hosting and thus the email domain. Until I get my hands on an email domain, I cannot cold pitch to clients using our own leads (we generate leads so it's our thing and we're pretty good at it).
Our goal was to get a few clients and work for them for cheap, get the money for the web hosting services and Mailchimp (probably) and then start an email campaign. The executing part is easy enough since I've excel at that and I'm confident we can convert.
The problem is that the phase 1 part of getting the first few clients is not going well. We got a few clients, had a conversation with them, and even made a working model and script. Heck, we even scraped a few leads. The project was supposed to be 500 USD per week and the client was fully on board until suddenly he bailed out without a reason. He was happy with the leads and the methodology as far as I know.
Same happened with a few other clients. They contacted, I had a call with them, laid out the full plan and at the end, they did not have the capacity to pay. This was mainly cause they wanted to hire us on commision since most of them were new startups themselves.
Not a problem. These things happen. But one of those projects took us several weeks to create and now we're sitting empty with a script, a methodology and leads on our hands without any clients. The first client had pretty much stayed in contact with us for a month until we had created everything so it was a bummer.
I'm not dishearted in the slightest but I need to access what's going wrong here since this may be a learning curve here for us to avail.
Any strategies anyone could suggest?
I know the wise thing to do would be to pour money and buy a web hosting but I've already got my hands in two other businesses and I cannot afford to use the revenue being generated from them in this web scraping company. So investing money is not possible right now.
Also, if anyone can take that first project off my hands, I'd be willing to do it for cheap. The rates we've put for our data scraping services weren't that bad either.
We were charging $100 for 3000 leads per day and $500 per week for 17k leads. These leads were niche based and all verified emails.
The SaaS part of the business comes here actually since we generate leads and if the client likes the work, we create a bot for them and license them the product with a UI design and everything so they can scrape their emails using their own proxies for perpetuity with just maintenance costs given to us.

• Server opened Feb 7th 2022
• ALMOST OFFICIAL 1PP
• Highly Active and Solid Community.
• Chenarus w/16+ Custom Points of Interest.
• My Favorite and Only Xbox Server
• 1st person only.
• Factions, Safe Zone, Traders, Tightly Watched Community to Prevent Cheating
• Custom Towns and Revised Loot(1.1x)
  
• Our server is going to offer a unique experience, close to official, but with a great community to make friends and competitive opponents.Our server is meant to cater to official players who don’t want to deal with the scum bag tactics associated with playing official, and be a new challenge for solo community players and factions.
  
• This is for dedicated players and groups who aren’t afraid to put in some work to get what they want in dayz!
  
• Bring all your buddies and Form a Faction and/or come alone hunt down some bounties.
  
• We aim to keep rules to simple common sense guidelines and focus our efforts on sever performance and making a fun server everyone can enjoy.
  

Server information:
https://discord.com/invite/almostofficial1pp

• 1pp
• 50 Slot (very active community) -Unlimited Sprint on & Spawn w/ Map
• Raid weekends from Friday 6pm est through Sunday 6pm est
• Build anywhere is on
• Bounty System
• Revised Loot Economy
• Delayed Kill Feed
• 1.1 x boost to loot
• TWO custom bunker locations in tisy and VMC!
• 16 Custom Towns, Military, and Bunker Locations for you to Explore!
• Fully functional, highly active trading community located at Green mountain!
• Ability to grow and sell weed for cash!
• Daily events!
• Random Airdrop loot events
• PVE based events
• Fully built cars!
• Very Low amount of Gameplay rules!
• Large factions who are constantly recruiting!
• Extremely active and helpful staff.

https://discord.com/invite/almostofficial1pp

Let me tell you the tale of copy into
For those of you that don’t know this kind of command, COPY INTO, is a command that lets you unload data from snowflake to any external source and with a specified format, it also works in the other direction to load data.
Here is the documentation for the curious ones https://docs.snowflake.com/en/sql-reference/sql/copy-into-location
As all the talented data engineers on this subreddit we wanted to build an idempotent pipeline to export data so we decided to use the Overwrite option to… overwrite the data in case we have to re-run the process if there are some data quality issues for example.

COPY INTO 'gcs://mybucket/unload/my_file.csv' FROM mytable STORAGE_INTEGRATION = myintegration FILE_FORMAT = (FORMAT_NAME = my_csv_format) OVERWRITE = True; 

As the naming is fairly obvious and it looks really like the option I’m looking for I didn’t dig deeper in the documentation.
But a few days later we started having some issues, sometimes we had a bit too many rows, most of the time a few rows were fully duplicated, but never a lot, around 5% and not on every run… We tried to replicate it, but it was not always happening. And it was part of a more complex pipeline.
After investigating we were left with only two possibilities: either copy into doesn’t work (highly improbable) or we didn’t use the command well (weird because it didn’t look complicated). I decided to RTFM deeper.
After looking at File format features I started to dig on OVERWRITE

OVERWRITE = TRUE FALSE Boolean that specifies whether the COPY command overwrites existing files with matching names, if any, in the location where files are stored. 

Quite what you would expect from overwrite but wait.. there is more

The option does not remove any existing files that do not match the names of the files that the COPY command unloads. 

Hum…

In many cases, enabling this option helps prevent data duplication in the target stage when the same COPY INTO  statement is executed multiple times. However, when an unload operation writes multiple files to a stage, Snowflake appends a suffix that ensures each file name is unique across parallel execution threads (e.g. data_0_1_0). The number of parallel execution threads can vary between unload operations. If the files written by an unload operation do not have the same filenames as files written by a previous operation, SQL statements that include this copy option cannot replace the existing files, resulting in duplicate files. 

Oh… so if your process is using multiple threads (like you would expect in a data platform), multiple partitions are written and if between different runs the number of threads used changes it may not overwrite all your partitions.
In our case it was a single partition that was sometimes overwritten or not explaining the small row count difference we had.
But there is a solution offered,

To avoid data duplication in the target stage, we recommend setting the INCLUDE_QUERY_ID = TRUE copy option instead of OVERWRITE = TRUE and removing all data files in the target stage and path (or using a different path for each unload operation) between each unload job. 

I can think of 2 other solutions that could be also useful for different use cases:

1. include query_id name in each partition file, in our case we would have some duplicates but it would be a far easier bug to discover because it would be a full duplication of the data
2. use SINGLE=True to write the output to a single partition, works for a lot of cases, but not big data use cases
3. empty the folder before outputting to it using another tool

I hope it will help some data engineers to avoid this pitfall.
TLDR: Snowflake OVERWRITE option in COPY INTO should be named OPTIMISTIC_OVERWRITE, and I should have taken the time to read the doc.Let me tell you the tale of copy into

I test in two weeks and I am close to running out of all the AAMC CARS passages. Should I just redo CARS Package 1 even though I recently did and finished them? I really do not want to do 3rd party due to getting out of AAMC's logic.

Long chance but is anyone in BC covered under the provincial plan? What the heck is the process etc. it is so confusing. My insurer tells me my province might cover this blah blah but no details. I called Pharmacare. 1 hr and 30 minute wait. I left @ call back number. Day two and no calls returned
Thanks.

(I posted this on hairdye as well, I’m looking for opinions!)
Hi! I’m looking for advice about what the next best/safest move is for my hair. I’m naturally a level 6-7, with fine, type 2 hair. I started with completely virgin hair.
1.I lightened the hair behind my ears (narcissa malfoy inspired) to a level 9 by doing two rounds of lightener with 20 volume cream developer. I left this alone for about one month.
2.I decided I wanted to go back to my natural color, so I put Arctic Fox’s Sunset Orange diluted with white conditioner on my hair to re-pigment. (I think this was my first mistake)
3.Then, in mental-breakdown-fashion, I used box dye. I used a box dye that was a level 7. It didn’t show up over the orange filler I did, so I did another box dye over it in a warm level 6, and surprise: it’s too dark, and also red/orange.
4.I used the ion color remover packet first, and it didn’t do much to lift the color. In a panic I went out and got some Color Oops, which didn’t do much either (and yes, I rinsed for 30 minutes!)
5.I got the Malibu CPR treatment and went ahead with that. It also did nothing for me. I can tell some of the pigment is obviously gone because my hair doesn’t look as saturated as when I started, but it’s still a dark looking level 6 that’s an off red/orange color.
Now I’m just wondering how I should proceed; if I need to wait a certain amount of time to do anything, if I shouldn’t use bleach because it will push the pigment further into my hair, etc. Ideally I want to either try to lighten it again to a level 8 at least, or figure out how to make the current color match the rest of my head. I have pretty neutral light brown hair that’s a true level 6.5. Any advice for my next move?

Hey guys - my apologies for the very basic question. I'm a sole sysadmin in a small shop so I don't get a lot of practice patching ESXi.
We have two ESXi hosts running 8.0.1 that I need to patch. We have a total of 15 VMs between the two hosts.
Both hosts are running on HP Proliant DL360 Gen10 servers with a VMware custom image from HP.
I really don't have a use case for DRS but HA would be good.
Is there a good way to update both hosts in my current non-clustered environment?
Download the 8.0.2 iso from HP and just boot from it? Can I do a baseline and remediate?
Thanks guys.

I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2011 and have been on a gluten free diet since. I’m kind of sensitive but not extremely sensitive (for example, no symptoms from shared fryers but I did get sick for 1-2 days from a quarter portion of a rice pilaf that contained orzo, or another time I got sick from a soup that had soy sauce in it).
I got a call asking if I wanted to participate in a clinical trial (for KAN-101). I’m interested, but I would have to take a gluten-containing beverage for two weeks. I’m a little scared of intentionally eating gluten since I don’t know if it will work (or if I’m in the placebo group). Does anyone have any experiences with gluten challenge after a long time off gluten?
Thanks!

On-Screen Appearance: The Vessel warps in with the Dream Nail. Neutral Pose: Relaxed pose, nail on its back. Walk: Takes small steps forward>Leans forward and breaks into a jog. Dash: Sprintmaster run. Jump: The Vessel makes a simple leap. Double Jump: Flaps the Wings of The Monarch once for extra altitude. Idle Pose 1: The Vessel looks up as wisps of Shadow swirl around it. Idle Pose 2: The Vessel nods off for a second and then shrugs awake again.
Block: The Vessel strikes a Focus stance, Baldur's Shell forming around it. Dodge Roll: Does a swift Shade Dash, repeated inputs turns it into the Mothwing Dash. Aerial Dodge: Does a swift Shade Dash, repeated inputs turns it into the Mothwing Dash.
Unique Mechanic: SOUL Gauge: The Vessel gains a little bit of SOUL with every successful nail attack, and a full SOUL usage upon executing a directional throw. The SOUL can then be expended to empower certain attacks. A maximum of 3 usages of SOUL can be stored at any time. The SOUL is lost upon losing a stock. Unique Mechanic: Dreamgate: At the start of a fight, a Dreamgate is set at the Vessel's spawn point. Using a down throw, the Vessel can set a new Dreamgate which acts as its spawn point and teleport point for its Up Special from that moment on.
Neutral Attack: The Vessel does a Quick Slash with the nail, an additional input follows up with a slash in the other direction. The attack loops into itself and can rapidly be repeated. Forward Tilt: The Vessel does a slashing attack with the nail as they advance, Longnail + Mark of Pride-based reach, the recoil from hitting with the attack pushes the Vessel back a little. Up Tilt: The Vessel does a swift slash with its nail above itself. The attack loops into itself. Down Tilt: The Vessel takes a low, defensive stance with its nail for a second, if attacked it counters with a horizontal slash. (Based on the Hollow Knight's parry and counter attack.) The parry has a damage cap of 10%, above which the Vessel's guard will break. Dash Attack: The Vessel does a swift dash, slashing once with its nail as it does. (Based on the Broken Vessel's dash attack.)
Neutral Aerial: The Vessel does two Quick Slashes with its nail. Loops into itself. Negligible knockback. Forward Aerial: The Vessel does a slashing attack with the nail, firing a Grubberfly Elegy projectile. The recoil from hitting with the melee portion of the attack pushes the Vessel back a little. Back Aerial: The Vessel turns around in the air and thrusts with its nail. Very good knockback. Up Aerial: The Vessel swiftly slashes at the space above itself with its nail. The attack loops into itself. Down Aerial: The Vessel swiftly slashes at the space below itself, the recoil from hitting with the attack pushes the Vessel up a little. Longnail-based reach. The attack loops into itself.
Grab: The Vessel reaches out with a hand and grabs in front of itself. Very short reach but also pretty fast. Pummel: The Vessel stabs at the grappled opponent with its nail. Forward Throw: The Vessel gathers energy and slashes with its Dream Nail. Scratch damage, good launch power, fills 1 usage of the SOUL Gauge. Back Throw: Shade Dash behind the opponent and slashes them with the Dream Nail. Dream Wielder-based speed. Pitiful damage, mediocre launch power, fills 1 usage of the SOUL Gauge. Up Throw: The Vessel stabs the opponent with the Dream Nail and lifts them overhead, the Dream Nail charges up for a second and then erupts into a column of Dream Essence. Pitiful damage, good launch power, fills 1 usage of the SOUL Gauge. Down Throw: The Vessel pulls the opponent down on the ground and stabs the Dream Nail into them. Scratch damage, poor launch power, fills 1 usage of the SOUL Gauge, sets a new Dreamgate.
Forward Smash: The Vessel assumes a Nail Art stance and gathers power. Upon releasing the attack button it unleashes the Great Slash. Excellent launch power. Up Smash: The Vessel gathers SOUL energy. Upon releasing the attack button it unleashes the Howling Wraiths, releasing a blast of SOUL above and around itself. If the Vessel has at least one use of SOUL Gauge, it is instead covered in Shadow energy, expends 1 use of SOUL Gauge, and unleashes the Abyss Shriek, releasing a larger and more powerful blast of SOUL and Shadow above and around itself. Excellent damage. Down Smash: The Vessel assumes a Nail Art stance and gathers power. Upon releasing the attack button it unleashes the Cyclone Slash around itself. Excellent damage.
Floor Attack: The Vessel rises with a flailing nail attack. (Based on the Broken Vessels flailing attack.) Edge Attack: The Vessel climbs up the edge and thrusts out with its nail.
Neutral Special: Vengeful Spirit > Shade Soul: The Vessel fires a small, white spirit projectile straight forward. The projectile stops when it hits a medium powered projectile, an enemy or a wall. If the Vessel has at least one use of SOUL Gauge, it instead expends 1 use of SOUL Gauge and fires a Shaman Stone-empowered black spirit projectile. The projectile continues flying even if it hits other projectiles or opponents. Up Special: Dreamgate: The Vessel takes a stance with its Dream Nail pointing upward. After about 1½ second, the Vessel teleports in a burst of Dream Essence to its Dreamgate. Upon completing the teleportation the Vessel has momentary invulnerability. Side Special: Sharp Shadow > Nail Art: Dash Slash: The Vessel does a swift Shade Dash forward, turning into a Sharp Shadow that damages anyone it dashes through. If the attack is done with a Smash input, the Vessel takes a Nail Art stance and gathers power. Upon releasing the attack button it performs a Dash Slash at the end of the Shade Dash move. The Dash Slash has the same damage and launch power as Forward Smash but a sharper launch incline. Down Special: Desolate Dive > Descending Dark: The Vessel leaps up into the air and then slams down into the ground with concentrated SOUL, unleashing a shockwave. If the Vessel has at least one use of SOUL Gauge, it instead expends 1 use of SOUL Gauge, gains full invulnerability for the duration of the attack, and unleashes a second shockwave of Shadow upon impact with the ground.
Final Smash: Void Heart: Barbed Shadow tendrils lash out from the Vessel, if one enemy is hit by the attack then, congratulations, a winner is you! If the opponent has less than 100% damage, has more than 1 stock remaining, or the Vessel has been KO'd at least once during the course of the match then: Cut to the hit opponent being bound in a rising void by Shadow tendrils as the Void Given Form wails on them until they are swallowed by the void. Instantly KO's if the Vessel manages to bring the opponent's damage percentage over 100% during the Final Smash. If the opponent has more than 100% damage, is down to their last stock, and the Vessel hasn't been KO'd a during the match then the opponent is engulfed in a black void where the Void Given Focus tears into them until the opponent is devoured by the darkness.
Up Taunt: The Vessel strikes a Focus stance for a second, making SOUL energy erupt around itself, loops into itself up to three times. Side Taunt: The Vessel brandishes its nail, striking a pose issuing challenge. Down Taunt: The Vessel takes out a map and looks at it for as long as the button is pressed, can slowly move around while taunting.
Colour 1: Base colours (white shell, black eyes, dark grey cloak, black body underneath). Colour 2: Broken Vessel (broken and infected shell of the Broken Vessel, orange eyes, longer cloak). Colour 3: Hollow Knight (cracked version of the young Hollow Knight's shell, orange eyes). Colour 4: Sibling (shell of the Mothwing Cloak Vessel from Greenpath, longer cloak). Colour 5: Shade (white eyes, otherwise completely pitch black, longer cloak). Colour 6: Lost Kin (whole shell of the Lost Kin, longer cloak) Colour 7: Pure Knight (the young Hollow Knight's shell, light grey cloak, pure white nail). Colour 8: The Grey Prince (Zote's asymmetrical shell with mouth, wood-coloured nail, voiced lines).
Stage: Hallownest. BGM 1: Enter Hallownest. BGM 2: Crossroads. BGM 3: Mantis Lords / Sisters of Battle remix. BGM 4: Dung Defender / White Defender remix. BGM 5: Decisive Battle. BGM 6: Soul Sanctum / Soul Master remix. BGM 7: Colosseum of Fools. BGM 8: Broken Vessel. BGM 9: Sealed Vessel. BGM 10: Radiance. BGM 11: Hive Knight. BGM 12: Truth, Beauty and Hatred. BGM 13: Gods and Glory. BGM 14: Furious Gods. BGM 15: Pure Vessel.
Victory Pose 1: The Vessel sits down on a bench, nods off, and then shrugs awake again. Victory Pose 2: The Vessel holds its sword raised in front of itself, Shadows swirling all around. Victory Pose 3: The Vessel is covered in Shadows and unleashes an Abyssal Shriek. Team Victory Pose: The Vessel strikes a Focus stance, making SOUL energy erupt around itself.

Unpopular opinion and I know I'm gonna get downvoted to hell for this and probably laughed at, but I have to get this off my chest.
It absolutely baffles me that they went with a black male protagonist for this game.
This is a game set in an ASIAN COUNTRY with an ASIAN THEME based on ASIAN HISTORY, yet we have a non-Asian male as the protagonist. It’s not just farcical at this point, it's blatantly offensive.
Imagine if Ubisoft had made an AC game that's set in Africa, but chose to cast a white dude as the main character. Imagine the huge uproar that would erupt on social media from certain groups (looking at you, Sweet Baby Inc.) if Ubisoft had done something like that. All those woke idiots would be loudly crying racism from the rooftops and demanding a public apology from Ubisoft.
Now how do you think us Asians feel about being forced to play as a black dude in medieval Japan of all places? I'm sure those same woke idiots would call it "progressive" and "inclusive". I call it outrageous and infuriating.
I take particular issue with this because Asian men have been historically underrepresented in all forms of media.
We see plenty of white male protagonists in films, TV shows and video games.
We see plenty of black male protagonists in films, TV shows and video games.
But we rarely, if ever, see any asian males in Western media, especially as the main protagonists. Go ahead and count the number of Asian men who play lead roles in Western shows. Now count the number of white and black male lead protagonists. Now compare the numbers. I guess when Westerners refer to the importance of allowing more diverse representation of "people of color" in media, they're only referring to blacks and maybe hispanics, and no one else. No other ethnicities allowed.
This is a recurring problem not just in video games, but in all forms of Western media.
The recent Shogun and Tokyo Vice TV shows both have white dudes as the main characters (yes I know they're both based on books from white dudes, I don't care, and in fact it kind of proves my point). The 3 body problem (based on a Chinese novel set in China with a nearly all-Chinese cast) recast nearly all of the characters to be non-Asians, and even gender-swapped the male protagonist to become two females. And we even recently had wonderfully smooth-brained tabloid articles cropping up on the web complaining about why there aren't any black people in Shogun. It really does seem like the West has a serious aversion to making any media set in Asia without having a non-Asian male perspective. Is Asia really that "exotic" or "alien" that audiences don't want to see an Asian man as the main character? That the only way to make sense of the "exotic" and “alien” Asian culture is to have a non-Asian window into it?
Even in the few cases where Asian men are represented (albeit in non-lead roles), we're often emasculated and desexualized, being stereotypically portrayed as either the skinny and nerdy maths whiz or the weird and funny Kung Fu master. The West loves to emasculate us even further by regularly casting Asian women as the love interests of non-Asian male protagonists. And now we’re even being replaced by non-Asian actors in roles that should rightfully have been played by Asian men.
Now before you chime in with "B...b...but Yasuke was a real person and he was a samurai!!!!111oneonone", yes I've read about Yasuke and I know it's historically accurate that he was present in Japan in this time period.
But you know what else is historically accurate in this time period? JAPANESE MEN IN JAPAN.
In fact, I would argue that is much MORE historically accurate and would have been much more common to see JAPANESE MEN IN JAPAN in this time period, instead of black men in japan during this time period (especially given that Japan remains one of the most ethnically homogeneous and xenophobic countries in the world, but I digress). Controversial opinion, I know.
For all of Ubisoft's vaunted claims that they care about promoting the fair and respectful representation of different cultures, this is anything but respectful.
This was Ubisoft's opportunity to improve the visibility and representation of Asian males by having an Asian man as the protagonist of a game set in an Asian country, but as with the rest of their games, it seems that Ubisoft is more preoccupied with virtue signalling and pushing their race-based political agenda than anything else.
And as for Yasuke, there is no conclusive evidence that he was ever a Samurai. Much of what we know about him comes from the Shincho Koki and some writings from foreign missionaries, none of which explicitly mention that he ever held Samurai status. All that we know, for certain, is that he was in the employ of Oda Nobunaga as a weapon bearer, but bearing a lord's weapon on its own is no definitive indicator of Samurai status. But unfortunately, woke idiots with an agenda have latched onto this one little factoid and made the giant logical leap that he must have been a Samurai and are now pushing that as an official narrative. And Ubisoft being Ubisoft, never one to squander an opportunity to virtue signal about how much they support woke causes, are now taking up that narrative as well.
It’s ridiculous. Ubisoft has already featured black male protagonists in a few of their past AC games, Adéwalé and Bayek, to be specific. NONE of the AC games thus far have had an East Asian male protagonist. Not a single one.
I suppose you could argue that those games weren't set in Asia, so I'm willing to give Ubisoft a free pass for those ones, but when they finally, FINALLY make a game set in Japan, the one place in the world where it would not only be perfectly reasonable but expected to cast an Asian man in the lead role, who do they choose to cast instead? A black dude. At this point, I'm not sure if Ubisoft is deliberately trying to insult Asian men, or if they're just clueless.
It's even more frustrating when you consider that historically Ubisoft has been willing to cast minorities as main characters in settings where it actually made sense for them to appear. Assassin's Creed III (set in America) had a native American as the main character, and the recent AC: Mirage had an Arab dude as the main character.
So if they are perfectly capable of casting a Middle Eastern dude as the main character for a game set in the Middle East, and they are capable of casting a native American as the main character for a game set in America, why can't they cast an Asian dude as the main character for a game set in FUCKING ASIA OF ALL PLACES?! It's straight up insulting.
And more broadly, what sort of message is Ubisoft trying to send here, exactly? That Asian men aren't "manly" enough to be leading men? That only non-Asian minorities can be leading men? That an Asian man can’t be the hero? That only a black man can save Japan? Well that, in itself, is racist. But then again, for all the woke idiots out there, it’s the right kind of racism, I suppose.
I think I’ll wrap things up here, because I'm probably just shouting into the wind. This game will go on to sell millions of copies, be praised as the next Quad-A masterpiece from Ubisoft, everyone will laud Ubisoft for being so "progressive and inclusive", and us Asian men will continue to be shafted. I guess cultural appropriation is perfectly okay when black people do it!
TLDR: The West's emasculation of Asian men continues. Rant over.
EDIT: On a side note, I really love how Ubisoft cynically exploits minorities and women for its own financial gain. We're talking about a company that was exposed as having an extremely toxic culture and had numerous sexual harassment allegations levelled at them only a few years back, and some of its employees were even arrested for sexual assault, which one lawyer referred to as "systemic sexual violence". Gee, that's somewhat ironic for a company that loves to publicly rant about how much it cares about women, and regularly casts women as main protagonists in a lot of their games... It's almost as if they're a bunch of virtue-signalling liars! Let's be honest, this company doesn't actually care about minorities or women, it just likes to use them to score easy brownie points and make everyone THINK that they care. "Hey look! We care about all these progressive issues! We respect women and minorities! We respect them so much we cast them as main characters in our games! We. Care. So buy our games! Buy games from The Company That Cares ^TM"

Here’s the situation: my partner and I are renting an apartment in Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh specifically) and my partner’s cousin said she might be getting assigned to a summer project for school that would take place in Pittsburgh. She’d be here for “the summer,” which I imagine is anywhere from 1-2 months, so we offered to let her crash with us so she doesn’t have to worry about rent. It’s not set in stone yet, but that offer is on the table.
My partner and I are the only ones on the lease currently. I did some googling and was able to find that anyone who stays in a residence as a guest for longer than 30 days legally becomes a tenant per PA law. It was unclear if such a thing occurring would violate my lease, as the only thing the original lease says regarding tenants is the following:

2. NATURE OF OCCUPANCY: As a special consideration and inducement for the granting of this Lease by the Landlord to the Tenant, the personal residence, described above shall be used and occupied only by the members of the Tenant's family or others whose names and ages are set forth below: [My partner and I’s names]

This is all there is. Nothing about guest rules or anything, no limits on how long guests can stay, nothing. We’ve had short term guests before of course, like family being in town for a couple days. If he has noticed, he hasn’t said anything. We’ve lived here for close to 3 years and have a great tenant-landlord relationship (he’s a great landlord - quite rare in this landscape). The above statement does mention “family,” but it’s not clear on if that means immediate or extended family, just dependents and spouses, etc. This cousin does not have the same last name as my partner.
In short, my question is: if my partner’s cousin does end up assigned to this project and Pittsburgh and she plans to stay with us for more than 30 days, should I let my landlord know and get her on the lease temporarily? Is that a thing? I just don’t want to risk violating my lease, as we love the apartment and the area and plan to stick around for the foreseeable future.
Some extra info: The lease has since been modified to be indefinitely month to month, which I think is nice because we don’t have to re-up every year or two, he just occasionally drops an updated month-to-month lease addendum in our mailbox. This landlord is, as far as I can tell, retired and maintaining ~ 5 properties that he rents out. Hasn’t shown any signs of sketchy behavior, all good things in the 3 years we’ve lived here.

My LO is 19 weeks and we’re starting to think about sleep training.
For nights he usually goes down pretty easy we do bottle, a little play, prayers, book and down awake. He’ll fuss for a few and he’s out!
It’s what follows afterwards…. On a good night he’s up one or two times.so he’d wake at 12 and 4. Lately it’s been more, it’s like he has two bad nights and then a good one which is hard on the body when you’re breastfeeding.
I’ve watched him self settle to sleep after waking sometimes which is why I’m confused. But other times he’s waking at 10,12,4,6 like every two hours. His longest stretch of sleep usually is not the first one- it’s the one after midnight if he gives us a long stretch at all.
Schedule is awake between 7:30/8 and then his naps typically go 1.75/2/2.5/2/2 and lights out by 8:15-8:45 depending on the length of his naps and when the last one ends. Naps he needs more assistance getting to sleep and I usually let him get drowsy in the swing but he falls asleep in his crib alone.
He is a lousy napper most days and sometimes gives me an hour and a half but it’s usually 30-50 minutes long which is why he’s doing 4 naps.
Any insight to the wakings? He seems hungry but I feed him every two hours during the day and top him up before bed at night.
Would sleep training help? How would you even handle it for night wakings only when his initial falling asleep is fine?
We have a few vacations this summer and I’d like to do this before we go and while we’re home for a few weeks beforehand.

Crosspost from Climbeharder
TLDR: After a serious injury, I decided to train my fingers and mobility and have already seen great results. I focused on repeaters and my 20mm max hangs increased from ~145lbs for 5 seconds in January 2024 to ~169lbs for 4 seconds May 2024. I'll post an update in about 4-6 weeks after a few runs at max hangs and continued training.
For context, I (33F) have been bouldering for around 6 years. About 3 years ago, I partially tore my labrum and developed severe tendinosis in multiple areas which hampered my ability to train my fingers without risking additional injury. Prior to my recent accident, I had topped my first indoor V8 boulder and was within 1 move of several outdoor V6s. I was ready for the Spring send season.
Then I fell. While trying to top out an awkward V5, I had a bad fall and severely sprained both ankles at the same time. X-rays showed there was also an avulsion fracture on my outer left ankle and the doctor confirmed that I likely pulled several ligaments around the foot and ankle joint.
The doctor also concluded that even if only a single ankle had been sprained, it would be at least 12 weeks recovery time, which meant minimal to no impact and no climbing. Since I messed up both ankles, it would take substantially longer to recover.
Since I couldn't climb, I resolved to train my fingers until my ankles recovered. The shoulders felt great and I had been wanting to do a finger strengthening regimen, and I was homebound. It was perfect.
Back in January, I had started a max hang protocol that was abandoned in favor of climbing harder routes. The previous max hovered between 140-145lbs on the 20mm edge and a bodyweight repeater max of ~30s (7s on 3s rest) per set on the 20mm edge. While those numbers were disappointing at the time, they also provided a great framework for this new routine.
The routine focused on hypertrophy, so I'd have more forearm mass to work with. I started the first few sessions on the 25mm edge, holding for 7s and resting for 5s, as many reps as I could between 6 sets.
Initial total hang times were about 5:10 between six sets of 7 second hangs. After a few sessions, I settled on six sets of 10 second hangs with 5 second rests. The goal was to reach a full 6 minutes, and if that was not fulfilled, I would do three density hangs of 20 seconds on the 20mm edge at the end of my session.
I kept this up until I consistently hung for a total time of 5:40, after about four weeks. At which point I switched to the 20mm edge and followed the same protocol for another two weeks. My max time under tension on the 20mm was 5:55 on 4/30.
I then took a weeklong break before testing my maxes. This time I tested my max strictly on the 20mm ledge for 7 seconds and was able to successfully hold at least 163.6 lbs and failed at 168.6 lbs for 4 seconds. Bodyweight repeaters changed my overall hanging weight from 126% to 146% of bodyweight.

Please help. I’m new to Fresno. I’ve worn my nails very long (about two inches) for 15 years—I’m no noob. The first place I tried here was a nightmare.
I want a salon that does Gelx, understands careful removal and can handle long nails. I like to get a new set every 4 weeks—not a fill.
Here’s the long story:
For over a decade I did acrylics. The last few years I’ve been getting Gelx extensions, having the full set replaced every 4ish weeks. My last salon (in Oakland) carefully soaked and used the drill to remove them in a way that minimized damage to my natural nail. I prefer Gelx because they flex more when caught on something rather than snap. And with the way my previous salon was removing and replacing them, my natural nails were healthier than ever underneath.
Elegant Nail Spa in Fresno* butchered me. They assured me they could do Gelx extensions, on the phone and when I showed them my hands at arrival. After a pedicure service (Tiffany is great), I was moved over to the nail station. Dude soaked them a little and then ripped them off of my nails. He swore this was normal—I’ve seen salons between my regular for Gelx and no. The whole time telling me Gelx was stupid, weaker, harder to fill (I told him I do not fill them). Then when it was time to apply, he brought out a mix matched box of nails that a) didn’t have sizes to fit my fingers, b) didn’t have consistent lengths and c) were no where near long enough. I was told I had to do acrylic.
Fine, I said. I could take an acrylic set until I found a new salon. He then took a drill to my nails and brought them down to paper thin. A manager stopped by multiple times and asked him if he needed help handling such long nails. He insisted he didn’t despite making icicles of my nails with the acrylic and taking forever to file them back into shape. He also constantly told me that we should make them shorter. My finger tips were sore for days after the visit. I then shaped them some more myself because, again, icicles.
A voice was screaming at me to walk out of the salon during that appointment but I kept thinking — It’s just one set. There’s no way you’re walking into another salon and getting seen right now. It’s fine.
It was not fine.
They started lifting after about 4 days. But the big one: Two weeks later, today, I was lifting a blanket and my thumb nail snapped off revealing a good portion of the quick. I’m in pain, I’m unsure how to care for it, how to repair it, wtf to do, I’m crying like a baby from the stress of it all.
This has never happened to me in all my years of doing crazy shit with crazy long nails, and I’ve seen a million nail techs. Especially when I was consistently getting acrylics, my nail damage got rough sometimes. I did my own acrylics in the pandemic out of desperation. I’ve seen it all. In 15 years, I know how to treat my nails and how they should be treated.
Help me Fresno! Who knows the best salon?
*Middle aged dude. Slicked back hair, wore a wallet chain. Definitely had an emo phase in his past (no shame)—fuck that guy. Flip side: Tiffany at this salon gives a great pedicure.

Hi! I’m looking for advice about what the next best and safest move is for my hair. I’m naturally a level 6-7, with fine, type 2 hair. I started with completely virgin hair.
1.I lightened the hair behind my ears (narcissa malfoy inspired) to a level 9 by doing two rounds of lightener with 20 volume cream developer. I left this alone for about one month.
2.I decided I wanted to go back to my natural color, so I put Arctic Fox’s Sunset Orange diluted with white conditioner on my hair to re-pigment. (I think this was my first mistake)
3.Then, in mental-breakdown-fashion, I used box dye. I used a box dye that was a level 7. It didn’t show up over the orange filler I did, so I did another box dye over it in a warm level 6, and surprise: it’s too dark, and also red/orange.
4.I used the ion color remover packet first, and it didn’t do much to lift the color. In a panic I went out and got some Color Oops, which didn’t do much either (and yes, I rinsed for 30 minutes!)
5.I got the Malibu CPR treatment and went ahead with that. It also did nothing for me. I can tell some of the pigment is obviously gone because my hair doesn’t look as saturated as when I started, but it’s still a dark looking level 6 that’s an off red/orange color.
Now I’m just wondering how I should proceed; if I need to wait a certain amount of time to do anything, if I shouldn’t use bleach because it will push the pigment further into my hair, etc. Ideally I want to either try to lighten it again to a level 8 at least, or figure out how to make the current color match the rest of my head. I have pretty neutral light brown hair that’s a true level 6.5. Any advice for my next move?

If you’re one of the fifth of Americans interested in sports betting, becoming a bookie is a great way to turn a profit. It’s fun, engaging, and puts you on the end of gambling that wins more often than not.
To be a quality bookie, setting competitive betting lines is critical. Read on to learn the ins and outs of game odds, reading lines, and more.
The Basics of Betting Lines
Betting lines are numbers that sports bookies set to represent the projected outcome of a sporting event. The line is put on the bookie’s online platform so that gamblers can reference them while betting.
A sports betting line consists of three basic parts. The first is the chances that both the favorite and the underdog have of winning. The second is a spread showcasing how many points the favorite team is projected to win by.
The third is how much money a person can make on a bet.
Types of Sports Betting Lines
There are three core types of betting lines, the primary one in the US being American odds. Also called the “money line,” these odds look something like this:

• Bears -400
• Packers +200

The (-) sign indicates a favorite that’s projected to win. The number following it is how much money you’d need to stake to win $100.
The (+) indicates an underdog. The number beside it is the amount that you’ll win for every $100 you wager.
So, if someone bet $100 on the Packers and won, they’d get $300 back (the initial wager plus $200). If they bet $400 on the Bears and won, they’d get $500 back (the initial wager plus $100). If they only bet $100 on the Bears and won, they’d get $125 back (the original wager plus $25 in earnings.)
However, fractional odds and decimal odds are also popular.
Fractional odds, also called “British odds,” are listed as fractions. If you gave a team a fractional listing of 5/1, those who bet on that team will win $5 for every dollar they wager.
Decimal odds represent the amount that a bettor will win for every dollar they gamble. If the Packers have 3.00 decimal odds, you win $300 on a $100 bet. If the Bears have 1.3 odds, you only get a $30 net profit when you wager $100 on them.
Do Sportsbooks Have Different Lines?
Lines are based on many factors, including:

• Past wins/losses
• Statistics and records of competing teams
• The outcomes of past games where the teams went head-to-head
• The performance of teams and players throughout the season
• Injuries/suspensions that could impact the game outcome
• Home advantage

No two people are going to draw the same conclusions from this information. This means lines will always vary from sportsbook to sportsbook.
You also want to stay competitive and lucrative. The lines you set will depend on your projected profits and goals. A professional oddsmaker will help you set competitive lines that suit your needs. https://aceperhead.com/blog/bookie-101/do-sportsbooks-have-different-lines/

I would like to know if there's a way to determine which strategy - which boxes several numbers - is the better way to play.
The game in my state is called Lotto 47. Each Lotto 47 play is $1. Players select six numbers from one to 47 for a chance to win a jackpot starting at $1 million and that grows until someone wins it.
In order to win the jackpot or smaller prizes the player must meet one of the conditions shown below.
Match 6 of 6: Jackpot
Match 5 of 6: $2,500
Match 4 of 6: $100
Match 3 of 6: $5
Strategy #1 (Cost: $21 per draw) the player takes 8 numbers and plays them in all possible combinations of 6 numbers per ticket. However, one of the 8 numbers (Key Number) is on every ticket. Thus, in order to hit the jackpot, that one key number number - that's on every ticket - must match 1 of the numbers drawn. But it doesn't have to be to win any of the smaller prizes - which would contain multiple winning tickets.
Strategy #2 (Cost: $20 per draw) the player takes 9 numbers and plays them in all possible combinations of 6 numbers per ticket. However, three of the 9 numbers (Key Numbers) is on every ticket. Thus, in order to hit the jackpot, those three key numbers - that's on every ticket - must match 3 of the numbers drawn. But they don't have to be to win the smallest prize - which would contain multiple winning tickets. However, to win 4 of 6 prize one of the key numbers would have to match - which would contain multiple winning tickets. And to win the 5 of 6, two numbers would have to match - which would contain multiple winning tickets..
So it seems obvious that Strategy #1 would be the better way to play. But in #2 there are nine numbers used to box, compared to only 8 in #1. But three key numbers must match in #2 so it seems harder to win the jackpot or the two largest smaller prizes.
So which strategy is better? And is there a statistical way to determine the better strategy?

Schulich Builders Scholarship Are you planning on entering into a skilled trades program in the fall of 2024? You could be eligible for one of ten Schulich Builders Scholarships valued at up to $40,000 ($20,000 per academic year), supporting the costs of tuition, living expenses and tools. Scholarships are awarded to students enrolling in full-time, certificate and diploma programs within eligible skilled trade fields.Learn more at https://www.fanshawec.ca/schulichbuilders and be sure to apply by May 31, 2024
The Joyce Family Foundation Bursary Starting at Fanshawe this fall? You may be eligible or the Joyce Family Foundation Bursary. This bursary is available to students enrolled full-time in the first year of any post-secondary program at Fanshawe. To be eligible students must be a Canadian Citizen, Permanent Resident or Protected Person/Refugee and meet Ontario residency requirements, have graduated from an Ontario high school within the last three years and be able to demonstrate financial need.Learn more and apply by Friday, May 31 at: https://bursaries.fanshawec.ca/Details.aspx?OfferingId=1029
Canerector Scholars Program The Canerector Scholars Program is available to students enrolled in eligible skilled trade programs with an interest in leadership. Scholars may receive an initial $1,000 tuition payment, as well as a $1,000 tuition payment per academic term for the duration of their program (up to $7,000). $100,000 is available to be allocated annually to scholars. Applicants must be a Canadian Citizen, permanent resident or protected person/refugee; be enrolling in a full time, first year, eligible skilled trade program starting in fall 2024. To keep the scholarship, recipients must maintain a 3.0 GPA and demonstrate participation in a mentorship activity throughout every level of their program. https://fanshawec.ca/canerector
WSIB Scholars Program Announcing the WSIB Scholars program available to Canadian students (incl. PPP/R) in eligible business, information technology or nursing programs who have an interest in leadership. Two year diplomas and three year advanced diplomas are eligible for $2,500 (renewable each term), while four year degrees are eligible for $5,000 (renewable each term).Apply by Friday, May 31 www.fanshawec.ca/wsib_scholars
One more to be announced soon - also due May 31! Watch for updates.
Fanshawe Entrance Bursary - deadline June 30 for Fall 2024 Starting at Fanshawe this year? You may be eligible for funding up to $2000 and considered for other entrance opportunities. Learn more about Fanshawe's Entrance Bursary: https://bursaries.fanshawec.ca/Details.aspx?OfferingId=970Starting in fall?

This is my best guess as to why she broke up with me. I'm less heart broken as I'm just confused and don't know why in the first place. We dated for about 4 months. It was a little bit of a long distance relationship, 1 hr drive one way. But we were/are both very busy with work, kids, and both of us going back to school. Our days are packed. Yet we manage to text and call each other everyday. As far as I knew, it worked out. We would talk for hours, we had to make up excuses to end our phone calls. The sex was phenomenal. We both have kids, a house, and a car. I'm a little better off than she is but not drastically. She lives in a nice house in a rough neighborhood, I live in a rough house in a nice neighborhood.
Now to some of the weirdness. Maybe it's just that stereotypical "men don't understand women". She liked that I made more and during our dating, I paid for everything. Even treated her to a few nice things she never got to experience. I cooked real nice meals. I cleaned up. I doted on her when she was stressed and offered massages, that usually led to sex. She admitted she wanted someone to take care of her. So I was trying to do just that. Yet during the phone call when I realized she was breaking up. She didn't like that I never grew up POOR. I did to an extent, but not broken down and condemned mobile home or living out of a car poor. She almost gave a notion that she wants to continue living like that even. Not that she does now, but that's was she desires. I know, it's weird.
She often talked about Texas and where/how she grew up. I told her I appreciate her southern Texas strong girl attitude. I found it endearing, I'd also like to one day see where she grew up. I loved when her texan accent came out. Yet some how that was contentious. I wasn't Texan myself and just would never understand. She said Texan men dress a certain way. Even asked me to do so. So I did and she liked it, so I made note to always dress like that in front of her.
We both agreed to hold off on introducing the kids to one another. I felt that was OK. Yet, all she talked about was her kids. I would chime in and yet she got defensive about it one time. Worried about potential ww3, I more or less mentioned "omg your son is 17, he would have to sign up for the draft." It was a concerned thought on my end. She didn't like it nonetheless but didn't seem overly upset, just said her kids are off limits I apologized and made a mental note of it. She would still talk about her kids all the time though, no worries I just minded saying certain things.
Even up to the end. One day we planned to meet. She was a little hesitant to get together. She was going through a rough patch with some personal things. I was understanding so I didn't press it. She mentioned a friend was going out, I told her I would like for her to be with friends at least and have a good time. Just call me so I know she gets home safely. Which she did, and we talked for a solid hour at like 1am. It was that conversation in which she subtly very subtly said I should continue dating and try to date other girls. That was the hint. She was just going to not date anymore, and I should see other people. I said "but why I don't need to date. I'm dating you" to be honest I can be dense as a brick sometimes.
A few days later we have the actual talk about what's going on and she said it plainly then, we're done. She complained about a whole bunch of things that she used to like about me. I was just confused. It mainly was about money matters.
Like I said though, she wanted to be spoiled and taken care of. Which I guess I could only do so much. I don't make enough to just make all her troubles go away. But I also don't make too little that I could just drop everything and move in with her. Nor could i attempt to do so. Im in a decent neighborhood with a good school for my kid. She liked where she lives and didn't want to entertain moving near me, she did have to think about moving out of her house sooner than later. Even looked at apartments around her area. Which I understood, her split parenting situation is she needs to live where she lives. She can't do another court battle at the moment. Nor can I. But also, if she is just not going to date. She made it sound like she doesn't have time. Welll, we weren't exactly spending a lot of time together. Just every other weekend we would either meet up at my house or her house. For all intents and purposes, it was casual at best. Yet, I brought that up, just keeping things casual and, nope, we are done.
Dude, I really don't know. I'm motivated, going to school, hitting the gym, she liked my muscles. She would awkwardly say "I like your face" I dressed how she wanted me to. I cooked and cleaned for us when necessary. Gave her massages and would pamper her however I could. I paid for our nights out. We didnt see each other a lot so it wasnt like i was constantly feeding her attention and being overly submissive to her. I literally just don't get it. These were all good things then out of the blue, they were not. I'm heart broken, yet Moreso just confused by it all. It's literally like she flipped a switch and decided no she is done.

So let me try to get all of the pertinent information out within the word limit. The gist of my post is that almost halfway through the year, I (39m) have threatened to call the cops on my brother-in-law because I suspect some of my belongings may have been sold. Those belongings have been in storage since October, 2022.
In mid-2022 I was sharing a house with my sister (then pregnant with her second child) and her husband. She discovered her husband had cheated on her with at least two women. Physically with a neighbor and at least emotionally with a woman online. At the time, preggo sister moved out with baby #1 to live with our mother.
It was already the plan to sell the house, but this accelerated it. I started looking for a new place and pack. It was at this time I noticed her Switch gaming console. I messaged her and asked if she took it with her. She said no.
Turned out her husband had gone behind her back and sold it to a used game store. His story changed twice when caught in the lie.This Switch was a birthday gift from me to my sister a few years back.
It's October 2022, I suffered from an embolism. Most of my large intestines have been removed and I have an ostomy bag. I was told my stuff is in storage. I lost a lot of muscle mass in that time. So, I eventually upgrade to a nursing home in 2023 and continue to attend therapy as the hospital allows. I eventually apply to and get accepted into an income-based, handicapped accessible apartment "back home." Ultimately, I moved into my new apartment, January, 2024.
Now, sometime in 2023, my sister took her cheating X back. They were co-parenting so she was bound to see him a lot. For a time, the brother-in-law was living in that original apartment I was going to move into, which is why I know it was shitty. Not that he asked for it, but he was watching my two cats. Both of whom died, I assume at the same time.
When I moved into my apartment, my sister and her husband were able to get a lot of my things from storage to my new apartment. But it's not everything. Unfortunately, as my things got packed up, my sister also packed her stuff up and a lot of it got stored together. Every time I'd ask if another family member could go to the unit, she's said she needs to be there to say what's hers. I am having enough mobility issues currently, being wheelchair bound. I can't just go to the storage unit and direct someone to pick through boxes I sadly did not pack.
My fear is, I have a lot of gaming and collectibles. I have some back in my possession. But previously when I've asked my sister said she couldn't guarantee her husband hadn't sold some of my belongings. Sadly, I've asked so much she's now angrily said he hasn't sold anything. But I argue, until I see for myself, I don't know that. His past actions prove otherwise.
When I mentioned getting the police involved, she got very pissed. AITA?