Welcome to our fifth discussion of Leviathan Wakes. Hold onto your cool detective hats or your environment suits, because we finally get some answers to our mystery! This week, we will discuss Chapters 34-40. The Marginalia post is here. You can find the Schedule here.
The discussion questions are below. One note - this is a very popular book series and TV show, but please keep in mind that not everyone has read or watched already, so be mindful not to include anything that could be a hint or a spoiler! Please mark spoilers not related to this section of the book using the format > ! Spoiler text here !< (without any spaces between the characters themselves or between the characters and the first and last words).
Now brace yourselves: here comes the juice!
Chapter Summaries:
Chapter 34 - Miller: Detective Miller and the crew of the Roci board the hidden ship (the one that captured the crew of the Scopuli before destroying it), wearing environment suits because the ship has no atmosphere - someone left the doors open. They stick together at first as they move through the ship, discovering signs of a struggle, zombie vomit, and twelve torpedo tubes big enough to destroy capital ships like the Donnager or the Canterbury. Miller uses his detective skills to determine that everyone but Julie retreated to engineering. Once there, they discover a truly grisly sight: layers of human flesh and bones are sort of fused around the reactor, which has been shut down. Naomi and Holden gasp in shock and disgust, Miller turns on his cop brain to suppress emotion and view it as a crime scene, and Amos seems… calm and able to ignore the gore. The team splits up to look for more clues.
Amos stays in engineering to start up the computers and get the reactor back online. Naomi works on the ops deck to run diagnostics. Miller and Holden head to the bridge, which wasn’t affected by the fighting onboard. Miller reviews the internal feeds and finds footage showing the captured Scopuli crew being led onto the ship, stripped, and put in restraints. Julie fights back viciously but is knocked unconscious and stuffed in a locker with a jumpsuit (which is where we met her in the prologue). The crew is left in the galley for 132 hours before they decide to make a stand, but it is quickly suppressed. One of the crew is thrown out an airlock and the others are heavily restrained as they scream and cry. Just as Miller gets to the first appearance of a vomit zombie (at hour 160 of footage), Amos yells that he’s been exposed to some radiation because the human flesh blob had damaged the reactor shielding. He decides to keep working while Alex monitors his health status from the Roci.
Then Holden calls Miller over to view one of the last feeds Julie accessed. It’s a corporate presentation video created for a man named Dresden and the board of Protogen. It features a man Miller dubs “the sociopath” because of his cold, practiced smile…and because of the content. The sociopath tells the board (and us) the history of scientific discovery on Phoebe, which was thought to just be a moon and a source of water, but became a research station when a survey found complex silicon structures in the ice. Protogen was tasked with investigating and discovered that Phoebe is not a moon but evidence of a galactic biosphere: it is an alien weapon sent towards Earth 2 ⅓ billion years ago, which never made it because of orbital mechanics. Protogen has discovered that this weapon is not alive per se; rather, it is something they’ve termed the “protomolecule” which has the ability to maintain structure while replicating other systems and manipulating them at scalable rates. Of course, they alerted the proper authorities and made sure… just kidding, they’ve secretly been doing tests. The sociopath believes that whoever controls the protomolecule will gain control of all political and economic power going forward. Chillingly, the sociopath urges them to pursue large-scale testing to understand the protomolecule and its human applications. That large-scale testing is Eros.
TL;DR - Julie found evidence that Protogen (her dad’s company) has discovered an alien weapon, branded it the “protomolecule”, and secretly tested it on the people of Eros (and probably other smaller tests). The entire war has just been a distraction.
Chapter 35 - Holden: Naomi explains that most of the messages on the comm logs have been coded, but the last one is in plain text: the captain informed Thoth Station that the ship was contaminated, everyone was about to die, and the “materials” had been secured. He also planned to send vector data so they could find the ship. The Roci crew put two and alien-symbol-for-two together: they figure out that the captain has locked protomolecule samples in his safe. They also decide that the tightbeam messages were being sent to a secret research station Protogen was using to monitor the Eros experiment. Even though the fact “Naomi is the best” is a proven concept on par with “space is cold”, she is NOT able to open the captain’s safe, so they decide to cut it out of the wall and bring it with them on the Roci. They also scuttle the ship so no one can a) recover the stealth technology and alien weapons, or b) get exposed to the protomolecule-human soup inside. (Amos would have preferred to hack the frozen dead body goo off the reactor with a chainsaw and salvage such an impressive and expensive ship, which is… another way to go.)
It’s clear that someone else with stealth tech is searching actively for this ship, but the Roci won’t see them coming so they decide to get the hell out of Dodge. Naomi jokes that their options include turning the safe over to the OPA (they’d be heroes), selling out to Mars (they’d be rich), or starting their own biotech firm (just kidding, that’s evil). When Miller checks in with Holden about a decision on where to go next, he drops a figurative bomb on him regarding actual bombs in the news. Since Holden did his best Edward Snowden impersonation and leaked the data that the mystery ships are from Earth, Mars asked a few too many questions and in response, Earth has blown up a whole bunch of Martian ships and destroyed the Deimos deep radar station. Miller ruefully gives Holden credit for sticking to his guns about his belief in “free information”. He also points out that Holden’s principles make him responsible for all those deaths and the destruction of the Earth-Mars Coalition… and possibly the universe as they know it.
Chapter 36 - Miller: The war between Mars and the Belt seems like no big deal now that Earth and Mars are fighting. Miller watches the news feeds as the conflict turns into a blockade, and he realizes he is steeling himself for an announcement of a planetary attack on Earth or Mars, but it never comes. He and Amos deal with the stress by having beer for breakfast.
Miller meets up with Holden in the med bay for their routine blood flushes and cancer treatments, and they reopen their debate about what to do with the data files and who is to blame for the war(s).

• Holden’s position: Broadcast everything to everyone! (I know, I know, so out of character, right?) People will understand that they’ve been set up and will turn their wrath on Protogen instead of each other. Also, these are ancient conflicts. The Belt has always hated Mars and the inner planets in general. Mars and Earth have always had animosities secretly brewing and they do military training for the inevitable showdown. Or as Miller puts it, “Not my powder keg; I just brought the match.”
• Miller’s position: Stop and consider what people will do if they hear an Earth company did this. Every other data leak has been used as an excuse to shoot at someone the other side doesn’t like. Also, people suck. They aren’t going to hold hands and sing Kumbaya just because Protogen is the bad guy. They’ll move on to shooting each other so they can be the ones to control the protomolecule. Or as Holden puts it, “Maybe Protogen is a little right. People are too dumb to be trusted with big information so we should keep hard, scary stuff a big secret. That’ll totally work out.”

Holden’s idealism starts to fade as he takes in Miller’s hard truths about humanity. To be fair, Miller loses a little idealism over his perceptions of the inner planets’ relationship which, to the Belt, seemed stable and friendly enough (and united against them). Miller encourages Holden to use Naomi’s judgment as a measuring stick for whether something is right (similar to how he uses illusion-Julie as his conscience and sounding board) and then he goes back to the news feeds to watch Ceres slowly collapse into chaos. Holden decides the only person and place he trusts - or at least doesn’t completely distrust - is Fred Johnson on Tycho Station, so they head there. Holden also wonders why they don’t just destroy the safe and make sure everyone stays away from Eros and Phoebe; Miller admits it’s because the protomolecule might just be the holy grail.
Chapter 37 - Holden: The crew of the Roci is taking a break from doom scrolling to cook fake space lasagna for dinner and bond over the food and conversation. As Holden watches the crew laugh at Amos’s belches and Miller’s wild story about cheese smuggling, he reflects that they represent all three prongs of the conflict: Naomi and Miller are Belters, Amos and he are from Earth, and Alex is from Mars. Yet they’re friends, and Holden knows this is what they have to fight for. The cheese smuggling makes no sense to Amos (why cheese and not drugs?), and Naomi points out that this illustrates how little people from the inner planets understand Belters. Earthers have free air and easy access to resources, while Belters know everything that sustains life is rare and their access to it is fragile. And this is why Protogen didn’t blink an eye before killing 1.5 million Belters on Eros: they’re “other”. Then Alex points out that this doesn’t make sense; it's a risky and unnecessarily complicated way to kill people just to satisfy prejudices. It becomes clear that Eros isn’t a hate crime, it’s a vacuum-sealed test tube to let the protomolecule learn how to do its job better by giving it access to a huge amount of biomass. The early transformations looked incomplete, as if it didn’t know how to work with human flesh yet, so Protogen was giving it a chance to train. Holden wants to know where they would even find enough people who would support an evil operation like this, and Miller promises to ask Dresden (the Protogen board member mentioned in the video) when they meet him. Something tells me that conversation won’t go well.
As the Roci approaches Tycho station, Holden and Miller take in the view of the Nauvoo, the partially constructed Mormon generation ship. When Miller says the Mormans may be in for a long and lonely death if they don’t find a habitable planet, Holden notes that this is the good kind of galactic exploration humans can accomplish (the protomolecule being the bad kind). Miller then asks Holden why he trusts Fred, and Holden explains that in addition to being the only person who hasn’t tried to jail them or blow them up since all this began, Fred is “real OPA”: he’s a politician and not part of the war-mongering factions who think they can survive indefinitely without the inner planets. When Miller points out that there isn’t a political solution to Protogen, Holden insists Fred has other skills, too. Later, Fred reads through all the information on the protomolecule and is incredulous that anyone could think to do this. Miller assures him that genocide is an old-school crime and it’s important that they stop it. Holden offers up the location of the observation station in exchange for enough OPA fighters to take down Protogen, and the right to retain custody of the safe and its contents. Fred agrees only after Holden points out that no one else can be trusted to do the right thing with a secret this big. Plus, he says Fred already knows what Holden will do with it.
Chapter 38 - Miller: It feels strange to Miller to explore the wide open spaces of Tycho Station, the fanciest place he has ever set foot on. He notices Naomi working on her hand terminal and letting her food get cold; she is too preoccupied with trying to figure out the location of the station to enjoy the amenities. As they talk, Miller is reminded of Havelock’s advice to just let go when he got pulled off a case, which jogs his memory that Havelock actually works for Protogen! (I’m surprised he didn’t get there faster; maybe everyone had a point that he was sort of a washed up detective.) He rushes off to make contact with his old buddy - probably his last real partner ever - in an encrypted drop site of a Ganymede server cluster. As he waits for a response, Miller is amused to realize he has started thinking like Holden: he feels like someone should warn the Mormans that they could potentially run into the alien creators of the protomolecule who may want to kill them. Havelock comes through, passing along the coordinates to a “very scary deep research and development lab” and asking Miller to be discreet never contact him again so he doesn’t get killed for betraying his employer. Miller sends him an encrypted warning to quit his job ASAP and not take postings at any black ops sites, before saying goodbye for the last time to the only person that still respected him as a cop. (I may or may not be sniffling a bit at this.)
Miller rounds up Naomi and Holden so they can bring Fred the coordinates. In Fred’s office, Miller starts lecturing him about the serious nature of the mission and the need to have a solid plan with adequate firepower, not the usual OPA shenanigans. Everyone’s a little confused until they realize that Miller doesn’t know that Fred is “the butcher of Anderson Station” and a former Colonel in the Earth Navy. Fred assures Miller he’s no amateur and will plan ahead. Miller then insists that he get to come along for the assault on Thoth Station. Eight days later, the plan is set in motion and Miller begins packing his meager belongings into a very small bag, figuring he’ll never see the Roci again. Even if he makes it off Thoth alive, he’ll have to figure out a way to make money and improvise a life plan of some sort. He tries to thank Holden and say goodbye, but the Roci’s captain interrupts Miller to ask where they’ll all meet up after the mission is complete. Miller is confused at first, then overcome with emotion when he realizes Holden considers Miller part of the crew! I’m not crying, you’re crying. Actually, it’s Miller who is weeping. But he pulls himself together so he can head to the assault ship.
Chapter 39 - Holden: The Rocinante needs to sneak up on Thoth Station, so they are pretending to be a loose cargo container that broke off the Guy Molinari (the Belter ship carrying the assault team, which is pretending to be a cargo ship). They fly with everything shut down so that it’s more convincing, hoping they can get close enough to the station to do some damage before Thoth starts firing back. As they approach and are able to reboot everything needed for battle, a stealth ship is spied hanging out near Thoth Station. Then, suddenly it becomes clear that there are two small stealth ships, which will be much harder to fight off. Everyone does their jobs efficiently on the Roci, but in the ensuing battle with the stealth ships, they start to take some damage. First, the Roci is hit by a gauss cannon that goes straight through the machine shop and galley. Holden mourns his coffee maker. Amos notices a leak in the maneuvering thrusters and heads to fix it between the inner and outer hulls, which isn’t an ideal place to be floating around during a battle. This stresses Naomi out, but Holden orders everyone to stay focused. They are able to take out one of the stealth ships, but the other gets close enough to do some impressive damage to the Roci. There is major hull damage as well as loss of four maneuvering thrusters, a PDC, their O2 storage, and the crew airlock. Alex is about to destroy the second stealth ship when the Roci’s point defense cannons (PDCs) detonate an enemy warhead up close. It knocks everyone out, punches holes throughout the Roci (narrowly missing Naomi), dislodges equipment, and fills the ship with debris. Holden marvels that they are alive at all, and Alex points out that is only because the ship’s anti-spalling webbing eliminates shrapnel. They make contact with Fred, who says he’ll find them a place to land, and the Guy Molinari prepares for the assault on Thoth Station. It’s Miller’s turn to shine!
Chapter 40 - Miller: On the Guy Molinari, Miller is talking to a Belter kid named Diogo as they wait for the assault to start. Miller realizes that while he has fancy Martian armor from the Roci and experience with gunfights in station corridors, he is surrounded by inexperienced young Belters with borrowed gear, and he will likely have to watch dozens of them die during the battle. But Diogo isn’t worried; he is confident and eager to get started. Fred announces that they are ready to start boarding since the Roci gave them the “all clear”, and Miller is happy to hear his friends have survived. The assault on the station starts off rough, with Protogen soldiers fighting them in the corridors and automatic defense lasers taking out some of the Belters in the first wave. But Fred knows how to command his OPA “troops” and keep them in line, and things start to go more smoothly as they slow down and maneuver carefully. Miller and Diogo are part of a group taking shelter at Fred’s direction and fending off Protogen counterattacks, and they start to talk during a lull. When two Protogen soldiers sneak up on them from behind, Diogo is hit and Miller chastises himself for chatting during a battle and not staying alert. He thinks Diogo is dead, but he pops up laughing and streaked with white goo from crowd suppression rounds, which Miller finds an odd choice of weapon. It’s the first sign that Thoth Station may not totally understand what’s happening. The OPA soldiers cut their way through the blast doors to get to the operations center, where they find Dresden (the dude mentioned in the sociopath’s Protogen video). Fred arrives to take command of the station, and Dresden offers to negotiate, clearly misunderstanding the reason for the assault. He offers to give the OPA whatever resources they need to go back to fighting their war (money, medical supplies, weapons, ordnance) if they’ll just leave and let the station get back to their very important work. Fred points out that they know about Eros, but Dresden insists no one knows what they did there, and there won’t be a better bargaining position for Fred when Earth sends its battleships. Fred basically calls Dresden Satan, but Dresden doesn’t understand the reference.

So you read that right it is looking like the audition will air tonight in the UK at 7:30pm on itv and stv.
Just want to also give the pre warning that the social media racists will not be happy about them being on the show. This has been something they have not been happy with all season so far and I don't see that changing any time soon. If you see any post of a racist nature report it to that platform and block the person do not engage or try to educate them in any way, as these types of people just flat out refuse to listen to anything that does not fit their narrative.
If the audition airs tonight I will post the YouTube video later if there is one.

This question gets asked at least 3 times a week, and so I figured I'd share my experiences in a central place so folks can search for it easier. If you've had some experiences you'd like to share in the comments, that would be cool as well.
Disclaimer: I have 1 book, it's non-fiction, and unique in that is applies specifically to political campaigning. My genre is very niche. Thus, your mileage will probably vary from mine. Additionally, I say the word "profitable", but that doesn't mean wildly successful, just that I'm no longer losing money on amazon ads. From starting, it took 4 months of tweaking for me to earn a profit in a single month, and 2 more months before I made my money back.
Campaigns: Set up one of each of the Automatic, Keyword, and Product campaigns. After a few months you'll hopefully be able to open a "Winning Campaign" for the Keywords and Products to track your successes separately. Don't do custom text yet (US only), more on that down in A/B testing.
Ads: If your book comes in more than 1 format, pick the format that has the highest royalties. Again, you can test variations later.
Targets (keywords and products/categories): Go wide at first. Search for your book using the search terms(keywords) you think people will use, and add them to your campaign targets. There are plenty of services (google the term "amazon keyword tool") to help you come up with new ones. Just keep adding things, but don't be ridiculous.
After a while (like 2-3 months) if you notice that some targets just don't produce sales. If they have 50+ clicks, then just turn them off.
Bids: The big trick is to let it run long enough to really know your target cost per click. Start very small (ignore "suggested bid") and only increase later. Set these to "Dynamic bids - down only". I am serious about ignoring the suggested bid. I watched a video that said to set my bids to the suggested and max out at a dollar, but I hemorrhaged money. The people making these videos don't know the break even point of your book.
Bid adjustment: After about 200 clicks, calculate the average number of clicks before you get a sale. Then divide your royalties by that number and set your bids to slightly lower than that. Don't worry about impressions, since you only pay for clicks. For me that calculation look like this - My royalties are $5.50 per book, and the ads have sold 61 copies ($335.5 total), it took me 855 clicks to get those sales (conversion rate: 14 clicks per sale), so each click should cost $0.40. You should actually do this calculation separately for each of your campaign types. My Products campaign is set to $0.25 and my Keywords bid is set to $0.75. Unless your book royalties, and conversion rate is the same as mine, don't use my bid numbers.
Budget: Unless your bids are high, it shouldn't matter how you set it. Mine is at $10 a day, and amazon literally never uses that. Just pick a number you don't mind losing, and you'll be fine.
Winning Campaigns: Slowly, as you notice certain keywords, categories, or products produce sales at a higher rate than that average, you can spin those off into a separate "Winning Campaign" and set the bid slightly higher. My Winning Products has 4 categories and 0 product targets. My Winning Keywords has 2 keywords in it.
Remember that bid calculation from above? Do it again for each target and set the rate on each one individually.
A/B Testing: I said above not to do custom text. Well now that you have a winning campaign with profitable targets it's time to start. You can google for ideas, but I've tried a few different variations of themes from my blurb, excerpts from reviews, and just whatever I could come up with.
Other than custom text, there are number of things you can try. If you have an idea, spin it off into its own campaign, and give it a try. After a reasonable number of click (50-200 probably) you can safely call it statically relevant and turn off the losing version.
Final Tips: Be patient. Don't obsess. Don't change things too often. Keep good notes. Good luck!

I’m 18F and I’ve been told I’m mostly romantic, ethereal, and then with some dramatic (my nose and eyes). However I’m not comfortable with my essences, especially having dramatic facial features. I’ve been researching ways to become more ingenue as I feel like it’s what I want to be. It doesn’t necessarily have to be all ingenue, but enough to make me look young. I want to incorporate it in my makeup and then eventually when I get plastic surgery. I guess the reasoning is that it makes me feel more feminine and less intimidating. I want to look kinder and softer. I’m not saying other types aren’t feminine, but it’s that type of “feminine” I want.
Of course, I’ve been told it’s very difficult, but I’m changing most of my facial features anyways. I’m trying to get some insight on it. The only thing I really want gone is the dramatic essence, and the only thing I really want to get is the ingenue essence blended into the romantic and ethereal. It could be the way I do my makeup, my hair, my clothes, my mannerisms and personality, and the surgeries that could help. I have a lot of notes on it, but other opinions matter too. If there’s anything that you think could help, please don’t feel discouraged to share 💕

Throwaway... warning - long'ish post:
How do you keep a marriage alive with an autistic child? Those of you who have managed to do this, salute!
My wife and I have been married for 16 years and have an 8 year ND child with global development delay, as well as 2 older neurotypicals.
Autism is complex and you have to get into the mental universe of the child to understand and meet their needs.
This is something that my wife has never wanted to do, insisting that somehow treating him as a neurotypical would gradually induce more NT behaviours. This backfires and leads to meltdowns and general atrophying of behaviour even further.
OTOH, I've developed a deep, psychological bond and trust with my son, where he understands that I understand him and is therefore naturally much more strongly bonded to me than his mother.
This has meant that all of my spare time goes to him as I have to fit the bill of care for both parents.
This has led to resentment on my part and frustration on her part.
She's just not the type to have the patience to deal with an autistic child, and has had her own, deep seated trauma in childhood that has left her 'not all there' emotionally, in many ways.
Our marriage wasn't strong to begin with and she had the third child against my wishes initially. This hasn't helped.
We're at a point where we're constantly fighting and its impacting the older teenagers as well.
I'm at my wits end as to what to do. I read that the divorce rates for parents with autistic children is 80% plus and I'm not surprised. Given how little attachment my son has with his mother, I anticipate the impact from a separation to be cushioned. However, it will take its psychological toll on me as then I will be truly alone. It was also impact the teenagers somewhat- although I can sense that they've had it with all the drama, disagreement and conflicts.
(Therapy is not an option because she's perfect and all fault lies with me; therapy also brings up deeper, aforementioned trauma for her - that she can't deal with).
Looking to hear from folks who've been in same or similar situations and how you handled it. I've tried to inculcate a high degree of mental fortitude and emotional awareness in life - and while I can probably 'deal' with this, I'm not sure what hands there are to play.
Thanks for reading!

In the ever-evolving world of search engine optimization (SEO), understanding and implementing the latest strategies is crucial for staying ahead of the competition. One such strategy is semantic SEO. This approach focuses on the meaning behind the words and phrases users type into search engines, rather than just the keywords themselves. But what exactly is semantic SEO, and why is it important? Let’s dive in.

The Basics of Semantic SEO

At its core, SEO is about optimizing content for the intent behind a user’s search query. Instead of focusing solely on specific keywords, semantic SEO considers the context and relationships between words to provide more relevant and comprehensive search results. This approach aligns with how search engines like Google are becoming increasingly sophisticated in understanding and processing language.

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How Semantic SEO Works

Semantic SEO leverages advanced algorithms that understand natural language and context. These algorithms can interpret synonyms, related concepts, and even the sentiment behind queries. By optimizing your content with a semantic approach, you help search engines better understand the context of your content, which can lead to higher rankings and more relevant traffic.

Why Are Semantic Keywords Important in SEO?

Semantic keywords are crucial because they reflect the way people naturally speak and search. Here are a few reasons why they matter:

1. Enhanced User Experience: Content that addresses the user’s intent provides a better experience, which can lead to longer site visits and lower bounce rates.
2. Improved Search Engine Understanding: By using semantic keywords, you help search engines grasp the broader context of your content, making it easier for them to match it with relevant queries.
3. Higher Rankings: Content optimized for semantic search is more likely to rank higher because it aligns with the sophisticated algorithms of modern search engines.
4. Increased Visibility: Semantic keywords can help your content appear in a wider range of search results, capturing traffic from various related queries.

The Role of Structured Data in Semantic SEO

Structured data plays a significant role in semantic SEO. It helps search engines understand the context of your content by providing explicit clues about the meaning behind it. Implementing structured data, such as schema markup, can enhance your site’s search engine visibility by enabling rich snippets and other enhanced search results features.

Semantic SEO Tools

Several tools can help you implement a semantic SEO strategy effectively. Here are some of the most popular ones:

1. Google’s Natural Language API: This tool analyzes text to understand the structure and meaning behind it.
2. SEMrush: Offers features to identify semantic keywords and analyze content for semantic SEO.
3. Ahrefs: Provides insights into related keywords and their context, helping you optimize your content.
4. MarketMuse: Uses AI to suggest content improvements and identify semantic gaps in your writing.
5. Surfer SEO: Analyzes top-ranking pages to help you optimize your content semantically.

Implementing Semantic Keywords in Your SEO Strategy

Incorporating semantic keywords into your SEO strategy involves several steps:

1. Keyword Research: Start by identifying primary keywords related to your topic. Then, use tools like SEMrush or Ahrefs to find related terms and phrases.
2. Content Creation: Write content that naturally incorporates these keywords. Focus on creating comprehensive, in-depth articles that cover the topic from multiple angles.
3. Use Synonyms and Related Terms: Don’t just repeat the same keywords. Use synonyms and related terms to create a more natural and varied text.
4. Optimize for User Intent: Consider what users are looking for when they type a query. Aim to answer their questions and solve their problems.
5. Structured Data: Implement schema markup to help search engines understand the context of your content.

Case Study: Successful Semantic SEO

Let’s look at a hypothetical case study to understand the impact of semantic SEO. Imagine a travel blog looking to increase its organic traffic. By adopting a semantic SEO strategy, they might do the following:

1. Identify User Intent: Understand that users searching for “best travel destinations” might also be interested in “affordable travel destinations” or “family-friendly travel spots.”
2. Create Comprehensive Guides: Develop detailed guides covering various aspects of travel destinations, including costs, activities, and family-friendly options.
3. Use Structured Data: Implement schema markup to highlight key information, such as location, price range, and user reviews.
4. Monitor and Adjust: Continuously use tools like Google Analytics and SEMrush to monitor performance and adjust the content strategy as needed.

By focusing on the semantic relationships between keywords and understanding user intent, the travel blog can attract a broader audience and rank higher in search results.

Common Misconceptions About Semantic SEO

There are several misconceptions about semantic SEO that can hinder its effective implementation:

1. It’s Just About Using Synonyms: While synonyms are part of it, semantic SEO is more about understanding and addressing user intent.
2. It Replaces Traditional SEO: Semantic SEO complements rather than replaces traditional SEO practices. Both are essential for a successful strategy.
3. Only Big Sites Can Benefit: Any site, regardless of size, can implement semantic SEO to improve its rankings and visibility.

Future of Semantic SEO

The future of semantic SEO looks promising as search engines continue to evolve. Here are some trends to watch:

1. Voice Search: With the rise of voice assistants like Siri and Alexa, optimizing for natural language queries will become even more crucial.
2. AI and Machine Learning: These technologies will further enhance search engines’ ability to understand context and intent.
3. Visual and Video Search: As visual and video content becomes more prevalent, understanding the semantics of these formats will be key.

Conclusion

Semantic SEO is a powerful strategy that goes beyond traditional keyword optimization. By focusing on the meaning and context behind search queries, you can create more relevant and comprehensive content that meets user intent. Implementing semantic keywords, using structured data, and leveraging advanced SEO tools can significantly enhance your site’s search engine visibility and rankings. As search engines continue to evolve, staying ahead with semantic SEO will be essential for maintaining a competitive edge in the digital landscape.

FAQs on Semantic SEO

1. What is the difference between traditional SEO and semantic SEO?

Answer: Traditional SEO focuses on optimizing content around specific keywords to improve search engine rankings. It involves practices like keyword stuffing, backlink building, and meta tag optimization. In contrast, semantic SEO emphasizes the meaning and context behind keywords, understanding user intent, and creating content that addresses those intents comprehensively. It uses related terms, synonyms, and structured data to help search engines understand the broader context of the content.

1. How can semantic SEO improve my website’s search rankings?

Answer: Semantic SEO can enhance your website’s search rankings by aligning your content with how search engines understand and process language. By optimizing for user intent and context, you create more relevant and comprehensive content. This improves the user experience, leading to longer visits and lower bounce rates, which are positive signals to search engines. Additionally, using structured data helps search engines better understand and display your content in rich snippets, further boosting visibility.

1. What tools are best for implementing semantic SEO?

Answer: Several tools can assist with semantic SEO implementation. Some of the most popular include:

• Google’s Natural Language API: Analyzes text to understand structure and meaning.
• SEMrush: Identifies semantic keywords and analyzes content for optimization.
• Ahrefs: Provides insights into related keywords and their contexts.
• MarketMuse: Uses AI to suggest content improvements and identify semantic gaps.
• Surfer SEO: Analyzes top-ranking pages to help optimize content semantically.

1. How do I find semantic keywords for my content?

Answer: To find semantic keywords, start with thorough keyword research using tools like SEMrush, Ahrefs, or Google Keyword Planner. Identify your primary keywords and then look for related terms, synonyms, and variations. Analyze search queries and user intent to understand what users are looking for. Tools like Answer the Public can also provide insights into common questions and topics related to your primary keywords, helping you identify semantic keywords that align with user intent.

1. Why is structured data important in semantic SEO?

Answer: Structured data is crucial in semantic SEO because it provides search engines with explicit information about the content on your website. By using schema markup, you can help search engines understand the context and relationships within your content. This can enhance your search engine visibility by enabling rich snippets, knowledge graphs, and other enhanced search results features. Structured data helps ensure that your content is accurately represented in search results, making it easier for users to find and engage with your content.
In the ever-evolving world of search engine optimization (SEO), understanding and implementing the latest strategies is crucial for staying ahead of the competition. One such strategy is semantic SEO. This approach focuses on the meaning behind the words and phrases users type into search engines, rather than just the keywords themselves. But what exactly is semantic SEO, and why is it important? Let’s dive in.

This is geared towards deciding what kind of service/consulting business you can start, or course you could create and sell. But also works for figuring out what kind of higher-paying job you can get, product-based business, etc.
PHASE 1: IDENTIFY
Take 30 minutes today, and 30 minutes tomorrow. Actually invest this time, over two separate days. It works 1000% better that way.
Write down as many answers as you can to the following questions:
1) What tasks are you good at?
(e.g. running, fixing cars, making girls laugh, brewing good coffee)
2) What skills have you learned well?
(e.g. programming, writing viral tweets, a sport)
3) What challenges have you overcome in life?
(e.g. fixed a stutter, overcome a phobia of X, dug yourself out of debt, lost 50 lbs)
4) In jobs you've had, what tasks did you do well at? Especially if you became the "go-to" guy when anyone needed this?
(e.g. calming down mad customers, creating excel spreadsheets, selling)
5) What's easy for you, that's hard for other people?
(finding great photo ops, getting girls' numbers, picking winning stocks)
Keep going until you get a MINIMUM of 30 things. 50 is better. If you don't have at least 30, think harder, and/or start asking friends what you're good at (this is a good thing to do anyway)
Once you have done that:
6) Find at least two friends and family who have known you for years. Ask them: "What have you noticed I am good at?" Ask them in a way that they can take time to give a thoughtful and thorough response (over text works well, since then you have a written record.) If they need prompting, help them with questions like:

• "What do you mean by X?"
• "Tell me more about X."
• "Can you elaborate?"
• "What else have you noticed I am good at?"

This will give you many good additions to your list, which you would never have thought of on your own.
PHASE 2: CLASSIFY
Get a sheet of blank paper, divide it into 4 quadrants. Along the top, write "FEW <-> MANY". On the side, write "LOW <-> HIGH" (but write it sideways).
Take every single item you came up with in Phase 1, and classify it in two ways:
1) FEW vs MANY - How many people does this appeal to?
(e.g. Few: tuning your race car, advanced mathematics.
Many: get a raise at work, get more dates (for guys), find a great guy and keep him (for gals))
2) LOW vs HIGH price - what are people willing to PAY for this?
(e.g. Low: folding clothes, digging dirt, posting comments on twitter, how to throw a baseball
High: Writing advertisements that sell, finally getting in shape after failing at it for 20 years, launching a new high-paying career)
Write each into one of the 4 quadrants on your sheet of paper. If you're not sure, just guess - sort through them quickly, your first impression is fine.
PHASE 3: SORT
The sweet spot is MANY and HIGH PRICE. If you can solve a problem that many people have, and they're willing to pay an arm and a leg for, and you can actually solve that problem for people - that's the easiest to monetize.
For FEW and LOW price - forget about those.
In fact, forget about most LOW price - No one's going to give you stacks of cash for your high-end agency or course for repairing holes in socks.
The exception is something that is you feel you can serve to MANY people, at a profit. You come up with a unique product that you can sell worldwide through Walmart, for example.
Your best bets will probably be on the HIGH end. The more people who want it, the better.
PHASE 4: FILTER
Make a spreadsheet (or write it on paper) with your ideas in the first column, and then five more columns with these labels:

• Need
• Entry
• Control
• Scale
• Timing

Evaluate your ideas on a scale of 1 to 5 for each of these facets:

1. NEED. Is this something people desperately need? The more it is a "need" rather than a "want", people are more likely to pay for it.
   [5 = desperately need, 1 = completely optional]
   
2. ENTRY. How easy is it for a competitor to clone your business, and compete with you? Barriers can include copyright/IP law protections, unique reputation or brand, ingrained habits of the market, etc.
   [5 = difficult to clone and compete, 1 = no barrier to competing]
   
3. CONTROL: Do you have control over the product or service being sold, your pricing, etc.? Or is it controlled by some other entity (e.g. with affiliate marketing)?
   [5 = you have full control over every aspect of the business, 1 = some other entity has full control]
   
4. SCALE: If it becomes profitable, can you ramp up sales (and profit) by a factor of 10? 100? 1,000? What is the MAXIMUM monthly profit this may grow to?
   AND: how easily can it ramp up to that limit?
   Do you have to hire, train and retain expensive employees to scale it?
   Or can you use automation to scale up without effort?
   A food cart on a street corner has a low upper limit to its profit. A nationwide restaurant chain can scale that 1000x, but that will cost a lot of money and time. In contrast, a SaaS computer program can quickly scale up worldwide, maybe even without having to bother hiring any employees at all.
   [5 = scale to the moon easily, 1 = cannot scale high or will be difficult/expensive to scale]
   
5. TIMING - How much of YOUR time is required for the day-to-day operation? At the beginning, of course you will be fully involved. But is there at least a potential path to where it can continue to earn money without requiring a lot of your time?
   [5 = you can eventually drop off the grid for a month and it continues printing money, 1 = it only ever earns money while you are giving it your full attention]
   

Once you have ranked your ideas on these dimensions, select one you feel you can be successful with. An idea that is all 5's is likely to be much better than an idea that is all 1's, but in the end go with your gut.
PHASE 5: EXECUTE
Test it. Create an idea for how to make money on it - whether that's building a business around it (ideally), or getting a job/side hustle - and put that plan into action.
It'll either work or it won't. You'll either make $ or you won't. If not, asking people for feedback in this room. You may need to pick a different idea. Maybe the idea's great, and you need to execute differently.
But keep going, learn from your experiences, and NEVER GIVE UP. There is no failure, you either learn or succeed. The only possible failure is doing nothing and letting time pass by unused.
PRODUCTIVITY WHILE COOLING OFF.
A productive activity that takes very little effort is reading through the money room and spend a good amount of time going through it.
You’ll see how hundreds of guys are making real life building money. Go through them all, and find 5 that appeal to you, and the telegram username of who’s making money that way.
You should be able to answer basic questions. How much do they make monthly from that income source? How long did it take to make that income? How long did it take to get their first payday from that income source? Did they have any prior skills that were required to be able to start that income source? Etc.

Hi. I'm working as a C++ dev, and there's a pattern that's everywhere in my company's codebase. But I'm still quite early in my career so tbh it has my doubting myself. I thought this violated strict-aliasing rules so was undefined behaviour, but with how much I'm seeing it in our code it has me doubting myself. As this is written by people with a lot more experience then me.
If you have a char* or uint8_t* you've read off a socket or character device:

char buffer[512]; // or std::uint8_t buffer[512] // imagine we're reading from a device or socket into the buffer here... // then later: const std::uint32_t *ptr = reinterpret_cast(buffer); const uint32_t n = ntohl(*ptr); // etc... 

I don't see -fno-strict-aliasing in our compiler flags either. But I thought that while you can cast a pointer to any type to a chauint8_t pointer, it doesn't work the other way round. The compiler is free to optimise based on that assumption, not to mention issues with alignment, caching etc.
If I'm wrong can someone explain where how? I may have misunderstood aliasing rules. Thanks a lot!

Me (21M) and my best friend “I will call him Jason in this post” (20M) have been friends for almost a decade. And for the last few years, he’s mostly been my only friend. He’s not the most social person either so we spent a lot of time together. We always had mostly similar passions and interests, we have the same humour and therefore had a lot of great times. I experienced a lot of great things together with him, like some really cool trips, or experimenting a little with drugs etc.. Therefore I hold a lot of value to this friendship.
But now for why I’m making this post. For the past few months or maybe even for the last year and a half, things haven’t been the same. When I graduated from school and started at university I tried to use the chance and tried to socialise more. This isn’t easy for me but I found some friends at university that are really cool and I think they find me cool as well. Of course we’re meeting up sometimes, and sometimes I brought Jason along because I thought it’ll be funny and we would have a good time. But it wasn’t, he was quite for almost the whole duration of the meet ups. Even when trying my best to include him it didn’t work out and that made things a bit awkward tbh and I regretted bringing him with me. After multiple times of him not saying anything to anyone i just stopped inviting him, which maybe is uncool from me but no way he actually enjoyed being there. I of course still spend most of the time with him, just for when others are involved I don’t bring him with me. He didn’t say anything to me about wanting to come to such meet ups so that’s just how it is now. My Problem with this is that like I said I mostly didn’t have many friends as a teenager, it was just him. But now I’m a bit older and I don’t want sitting on a bench and smoking weed alone with him be the only thing I do when going out anymore. And he just doesn’t seem to be wanting the same. This of course is really far away from quitting a friendship that lasted a decade, but there has been something else that combined with what I described right now makes me doubt the future of this friendship.
The second Problem is his Attitude in the last one and a half years. In some Moments he is annoyingly sensitive. I’m not a bad guy, I don’t say stuff that may hurt other people just for my own amusement. But of course I, like everybody else, like to do some banter, normal things in a friendship I would say. But for quite some time he can’t take a fucking joke and it’s really unbearable. Like for example last week we wanted to play a shooter game which we played a lot a few years ago, yk for the good old times and stuff. We talked about it the whole week and organised when we would do it. We both are really busy with university right now so time for hour long gaming sessions is spare, we said let’s do it on friday and I was really excited the whole week. Then Friday comes and I was ready for gaming with my bro for the whole night, the first round starts and I die very soon, my skills were a bit rusty. He was still alive and when he got approached by enemies he missed his whole magazine without one hitting one bullet. In my opinion this was a funny situation and I laughed a bit and said something along the lines of "damn not even one hit", after that he didn’t say anything and after a few minutes he said that he wants to go off. We wanted to play for the whole night but finished after 20 minutes because he didn’t like my comment I guess? I personally think this is silly behaviour and this didn’t happen for the first time, I could give you even more examples but don’t want this to get too long. This change in attitude btw happened before I started having some other friends so I think there’s no connection. And I know for a fact that everything’s going fine at home, so no extra stress or something that bothers him. Therefore I have to assume that this is just the person he developed into and I’m going to be honest I personally can’t really stand it. I of course asked him if everything’s right when such things happened but he always said that everything’s fine and pointed to blame to me.
So this is the situation and like I said in the title, I don’t know if this is worth it anymore. I without a doubt wouldn’t wanna be friends with a person that behaves like this but we’ve been best friends for a long time and I feel bad for maybe ending this. Therefore I’m asking you for help, is there maybe something I can do or what would you do in this situation? Or should I just accept that it’s over?
Thanks in Regards.
tl;dr : Best friend makes it hard to be friends with him and I don’t know if the friendship is worth it anymore

"Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) from Star Trek: The Next Generation is a beloved character for many reasons, and he has become a particularly important figure for people with autism and other forms of neurodivergence. The Cleveland Clinic defines neurodivergent as a term describing "people whose brain differences affect how their brain works." Similarly, Data was different from many of his peers among the USS Enterprise-D crew. Not only was he an android, but his behavior and ways of thinking differed from that of his coworkers and friends. Much like Spock (Leonard Nimoy) before him, Data became a relatable character for many people who felt like they did not fit in. [...]
Data wished more than anything to be human, and over the course of Star Trek: The Next Generation, he searched for his humanity. The android tried out various human hobbies, such as painting and playing the violin. Like many people with autism or other forms of neurodivergence, Data sometimes became fixated on these hobbies. Data often missed social cues that were obvious to others or misunderstood the meaning of idioms. He took things literally and did not always understand when people were joking. In the TNG episode "Tin Man," Data meets an unusually empathetic Betazoid who cannot sense any emotion from Data. This troubles him, but the man tells Data: "Perhaps you're just different. Not a sin, you know, though you may have heard otherwise." Though Data was constantly striving to be more human, he failed to see that he already possessed a type of humanity."
In her chapter from the book Autism in Film and Television, Dr. Ina Rae Hark points out that “Data may not have human emotions, but there are many indications that he has android equivalents.” Throughout The Next Generation, Data shows that he cares about the people around him in many different ways. He mourns when he loses people close to him, he has an obvious affection for his pet cat, he goes out of his way to help people in need, and Data connects with children who need a friend. These examples, along with so many others, demonstrate that Data does feel, in his own way. As Dr. Hark puts it: "Data, that most atypical android curiosity, can’t read his own feelings as feelings, but that doesn’t mean the feelings are inauthentic." People with neurodivergent brains may have difficulty understanding their emotions or may express them differently, but that does not make them any less valid.
In Star Trek: Picard season 3, Data receives the ultimate upgrade. His consciousness is combined with that of his brothers Lore and B-4, as well as that of his daughter, Lal (Hallie Todd). Not only does he now have the ability to experience more organic emotions, he also receives a more human-like, synthetic body.
While there was nothing wrong with Data before this upgrade, he clearly felt like he was lacking something. Much like someone with neurodivergence may use medicine or therapy to improve their quality of life, this upgrade does not change who Data is as a person, but just helps him to feel more like himself. Data's journey on Star Trek: The Next Generation and beyond made him a hero to many autistic and neurodivergent viewers."
Rachel Hulshult (ScreenRant)
https://screenrant.com/star-trek-data-hero-autistic-neurodivergent-people/

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A little back story, my sister is like a second mom to me. She always took care of me when I was younger, we had a little gap in our relationship once I reached my teenage years until I turned 22 I believe. She also helped me out a lot as an adult when I was doing bad, and helped with the kids, which I am very grateful for. I am doing 100% better financially and life wise thankfully and we grew very close. She comes over to my house daily and we chat. I love her very much. She is or was? My best friend.
On Friday, our mom had a gastric balloon inserted and the plan was that my sister will drive her to the hospital, and then she will drop mom off to stay with me and I will look after her for a week.
Unfortunately, or irresponsibly I kept postponing my oil change and drove 400 miles over and my plan was to get that done and a few other tasks on Friday before it was time to get kids from school and watch mom. Plans changed and my sister made an appointment on Friday at 10 AM and I had to go to the hospital and switch out with her. My mom and I left the hospital around 11:30 AM. I called my sister, asked her if she will be able to come keep mom’s company at 3, so I can get kids, change oil, and go get my bonus child “A” from an hour away. She told me no she cannot leave work, and I said ok. She asked me “why?” I answered and told her my to do list. She told me everything can be postponed till Saturday, and my husband can borrow her car and pick up “A” alone. I said “aww ok” she asked why do you wanna go anyways? I told her I enjoy it. She told me ok well u got a more important task which is take care of mom. I agreed and we hung up.
My mom overheard me mention my oil change. She said she was okay because of the strong meds and to go get it done because its bad for the car. I asked her are you sure? About three times before I turned away from the house and went to get it changed. Now, I know what I did was wrong. I should’ve just kept it to myself and drove us home. I was a bit stressed because of the over 400 miles and indeed could’ve waited till Saturday. I was selfish and very wrong for it and was unaware mom was being a mom.
My sister called me yelling and said angrily: “Where are you?! Ima come get mom! Screw my important work I’ll call in so u can go enjoy doing things” Me: “Take 5.” and she proceeded to yell at me extremely loudly bc I’m at Take 5 and about how selfish and unreliable I am. I asked her why is she talking to me like this? She said because I don’t want to watch our mom. I’m selfish, etc. I said to her that was not what happened and that I agreed to watch her and I have no issues. She accused me of gaslighting and that I am only watching her because she “blocked” all the excuses I had to not watch her by lending my husband her car for the long drive, and suggesting it can wait until Saturday. I said “that’s not what happened. You asked me why I was asking you to watch our mom.” (I thought I was talkin to a friend and told her whats on my mind..) Her “This is the first time I see a toxic trait from you!!” and kept interrupting me (the whole time yelling) “I’M NOT UR EFFIN HUSBAND I’M NOT GONNA GO IN CIRCLES WITH YOU. I’M ON MY WAY TO GET HER.” I said “ok I’ll see u” and we said bye then before hanging up she said in a disgusted tone “Gaslighting bich” I sent her the address and texted her that she was very mean.. She called me immediately yelling “You wanna fight?! I’ll fkin fight” and said many mean things yelling… I said “No. I’m not trying to” she kept going off and I repeated many Okay’s as I couldn’t let a sentence out.
The oil change was done, and I had to leave the area, so I called her to let her know. “Hey where are you? I just got done and left take 5” She started screaming at me even more “Are we playing games?!! I’m already effin here!“ Me: “I had to leave to the main road, Take 5 exit force-“ Her: “ ENOUGH WITH THE EXCUSES! COME BACK IMMEDIATELY! YOU SHOULD’VE CHECKED WITH ME BEFORE LEAVING.” Me: thats what I was doing… but no worries I am making a U-Turn, I literally just left.” She said many things and I just kept saying “ok” she called me disrespectful for saying many okays and hung up.
I immediately started crying because I felt so bad about myself. The whole time I was talking in a respectful tone and I felt so misunderstood.. she was not listening to me. Maybe I’m sensitive..I understand what I did was selfish, but I believe in effective communication and not attacking ppl.
Mother’s day comes up, she texts me abt a present at the door. She bought me a balloon and a teddy with flowers with a really sweet note. Mind you, I did not talk to her for almost two days. I was giving her space bc when I tried telling her she was mean to me she went off on me even more. I texted her thank u and cant wait for the day where we celebrate it together. (She wants to be a mom soon)
Monday, mom comes over and my sister calls her and finds out she is at my house. My sister called me and asked “why are you not talking to me?” I said because of Friday. The yelling and calling me gaslighter, toxic, b*ch really hurt my feelings. She yelled at me some more and said “after everything I’ve done for you, YOU cutting ME off?!! YOU?!” And listed a few major things she done for me and that she has a car seat in her car right now for whenever I needed help. Her: “WHO DOES THAT FOR SOMEONE? NOBODY!” Me: “I know you’re a great sister , bu-“ Her:“YOU UPSET WITH ME? WHAT U DID WAS WORSE! AWFUL AND SELFISH”
I couldn’t get a sentence out. She was crying, I was crying. I said please let me talk.. she said go ahead and right as I was starting my sentence she told me she wants nothing to do with me, or my kids. To not show up at her wedding or house or else cops will be called. Then blocked me.
I found out she forgot to block me on an app so I messaged her there but then she blocked me there too without reading any.
Yesterday, Friday, I was driving mom to DPS to get her D.L & sis called mom and asked her to put her on speaker. She indirectly was talking to me “Hey mom I think “M” is tryna come up with excuses to not show up, and using the cops as an excuse. She obviously has lots of grudges deep inside towards me bc no way all these feelings came out of nowhere. She is hateful inside.”
She said I have a victim mentality, and need serious mental help and that I knew she was all talk and sisters fight.
I responded: “I’m not used to being yelled at, disowned and blocked casually. Never happened before. Of course I took it seriously.”
Her: “Obviously I will not call the cops on u if u show up. There ya go. I did what I should do & invited u and ur welcomed but it makes no difference to me whether u show up or not bc now I know where I stand. What my “value” is to you. Obviously ur looking for a reason to not talk to me or show up to my wedding. Just know ur welcomed but idc if u come or not.”
I love her very much but my feelings were hurt badly.. She said I am unappreciative and “you know whats going on with me! I have many issues, the wedding, work/school, and just got my period!” then compared herself to my husband who yelled at me last week that “I kiss his a** and excuse him, but me, u dont excuse me and stopped talking to me for two days?”
Me: “that is not true bc my spouse and I didnt talk till he apolog-“
Her: u know that BS
Me: I always excuse yo-
Anywho she said “we will never go back to being close again.” and as a sister I am welcomed to the wedding. I said to her that I am too old to be yelled and screamed at like this, we’re not kids anymore. She said “Shame on u to say that. That’s exactly what a child would say. If you’re so mature you would’ve came and talked to me like an adult and let me know that you’re upset with me.”
Me: “that’s literally what I did and got screamed at and insulted, I gave you spa-”
Her: stop I’m not acknowledging what ur saying and ur not acknowledging what I’m saying so its best to not talk until you can comprehend what I’m saying. For tonight, lay in bed and put yourself in my shoes. Picture everything I’ve done for you and how you’re treating me.”
Me *sobbing: “BUT I ONLY DIDNT TALK TO YOU FOR TWOO DAYYYYSSS I WAS GIVING YOU SPACEEE YOU WERE YELLING ATT MEE. I SAID A COMMENT TO YOU AND YOU DIDNT TALK TO ME FOR TWO WEEKS AND I APOLOGIZED ALMOST EVERY SINGLE DA-“
Her: Yes and then I came over even cried and apologized for cutting you off for two weeks.”
Me: finishing my sentence I EXPRESSED TO YOU HOW YOU HURT MY FEELINGS U BLOCKED ME AND DISOWNED ME.”
Her: “Yes. and I apologize for calling u a gaslighting bi*ch.”
Me: U DIDNT.
Her “I am now! I just said I APOLOGIZE. And look at you I am talking to you all normal and look at you all yelling at me and I’m still cool and calm.”
Me: “ I WASNT YELLIN I AM SOBBING MY VOICE IS CRACKED IM CRYING AND MOM HAS YOU ON SPEAKER AND I AM DRIVING ON A HIGHWAY”
Her: “no u were yelling. Even ask “S” I have u on speaker she hears u right now. You have a victim mentality, bro. Seriously. If this is how u see it then u just got a victim mentality. I’m genuine ur sick u need that checked out thats very serious.” (S is my other sister, here for the wedding)
Me: “Idk maybe I do. All I know is this is how I feel. I’m very hurt.”
Her: “What broke me the most is that I got you a mother’s day present like an idiot and lost a part of my pride unknowingly while ur there upset. What? Ur waiting for me to come kiss ur a**?”
DetailsI said an insulting comment a few months ago. She spotted and I told her its abnormal and that preggos usually spot. I know she’s a virgin, and have no doubts. That’s why I said it is abnormal. She thought I was hinting she was pregnant, yelled at me and said “YOU THINK EVERYONE IS A WHRE LIKE YOU?!” and she didnt talk to me for two weeks. I cried and apologized to her many times at the time, but she was too angry. Which is why I thought in this current situation space would be a good idea because she seemed very angry at me, but I guess I was wrong.
I am losing my mind. I feel so wronged but she says I’m wrong?! She said I do not value or appreciate her bc I didnt let her know I was upset and that I purposely didn’t talk to her for two days? But when I said “it goes both ways! U do not value me u rather disown me and block me over-“
Her: “theres a big difference between u and me. I did a lot for u. We’re not the same.” Her: “go trauma bond with your husband over what I did and disrespect me together. Isn’t trauma bond the reason y’all together? You’re welcome”
WHAAAAT?!! HOW CAN I DISRESPECT MY SIS OR ALLOW MY HUSBAND TO DISRESPECT HER?!!
She was very angry that she bought me a mothers day present and said if she had known I was upset she wouldn’t have gotten me a teddy. I said “u didn’t know bc I’m the one that got yelled at..” she shut me up basically and said I am sick in the head and love to be a victim.. I’m so frustrated.
What should I do? I am very hurt but also don’t want to make it a bigger deal by not showing up. I felt like dirt.. I’m not a punching bag.. she doesnt yell at me often. Just this week.. Last week she yelled at me for parking her car wrong and I apologized then texted her and apologized some more bc she was furious and then she said its ok that she was just hungry… How is it my fault she’s hungry?
Do I show up to the wedding? Do I let our relationship die and just be casual sisters? Do I apologize to her for overreacting?
P.s. all the dashes are her cutting me off.
I wish it allowed me to upload screenshots of what I texted her

So I had just recieved my email stating that I had passed the exam and moving on to the interview stage of this process. What type of questions should I be expecting to answer, should I dress any particular way. Any tips to get in their ears a little bit to make myself stand out/look better? Any advice is always appreciated 😎

I'll definitely need a laptop for uni, and i can't decide between the two options in the title. My total budget is 3,000 USD, maybe willing to stretch it by about 200-300 USD. The two options are:

1. Getting a 13 inch M3 MacBook Air with 16GB RAM, 256 GB SSD storage for 1,200 USD, and the rest 1,800 USD for the PC, with the configuration given below. I'm planning to use my MBA during classes, and the PC for homework, my own personal projects, and gaming. I'm only worried about having my work on 2 different computers, and the potential hassle of having a PC in the university dorms. I know version control exists, it's just that i think I'd prefer that all my work was at one place, and I wouldn't have to constantly switch between devices, and not run into any potential problems with not having some documents or files when I need it.
2. Getting a 14 inch M3 MacBook Pro with 36 GB RAM, 512 GB / 1 TB SSD storage for about 2400 USD, and the rest 600 USD for the steam deck. The powerful MBP would keep my work all at one place and I'd be able to perform all my demanding workflows on it, and the steam deck would be perfect for portable gaming. I already have a monitor and peripherals, so I could run the MBP on a dual screen setup at home/dorm if I needed to for that extra productivity. However, I'm not so sure about spending a fortune on a device that's not upgradable and have to deal with it becoming outdated hardware - and that's why I'd prefer a PC, which is much more powerful for a fraction of the price, with the scope of upgradability and that I'd be able to keep the PC for much longer.

Any sort of help/advice would be appreciated.
Specs:
PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor	$278.50 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Deepcool AK620 68.99 CFM CPU Cooler	$54.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard	Gigabyte B650 GAMING X AX V2 ATX AM5 Motherboard	$168.65 @ Amazon
Memory	G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL32 Memory	$98.18 @ Amazon
Storage	Crucial P3 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$117.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	PowerColor Hellhound Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24 GB Video Card	$899.99
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My Brother (18M) recently failed in his grade 12 exam. He has never been a good student. He wrote a supplementary exam. After the exam, my parents noticed that he was spending all his time on phone, mindlessly scrolling through reels, shorts, playing PUBG and other games of similar sort.
So my parents decided to send him to a 15 days religious camp. This was the first time he has left our home for long periods alone.The first day he went there, he had constipation. In addition, he refused to go to toilet as the toilet in the camp was squatting type (this was in a rural area). He raised hell for the camp organizers, the camp organizers took him to a doctor in the middle of the night, got him constipation meds and had him go to a western toilet. From then on he started calling my parents throught the night to take him back. He told at first he was still constipated, and then kept telling about this girl who is going to kill him (he doesn't have friends, let alone a girlfriend). My parents thought he was making stuff up. He kept calling every hour or two, so my dad asked the organizer to take away phones from him and others in camp. He was fine for a day, the next day he apparently went outside the camp and kept telling "i am going to be killed, i am going to be killed" to people on the road. He kept repeating how there was this girl (pretty sure she doesn't exist) who was going to shoot him with a huge rifle. He kept telling how she was a daughter of a rich and powerful guy and she is going to kill him. He kept crying. Today, on the 5th day, my dad finally relented and took him back home.
He has lost a lot of weight, which he shouldn't have as he is an avid eater, and the food in the camp is awesome. The organizers told my father that he would barely eat (very unlike him). When he came home, he let it slip that he barely used the toilet as he felt it was unhygienic. He wore the same shirt for 3-4 days.
After he kept home, he kept saying how he knows my parents plan to bury him alive and how he knows what they are going to do to him. He went outside for a bit and heard our security man speaking something along the lines of "..oh yes, came today.." he came inside and told us how he knew that the security was involved with us. My dad told us along the way, my brother kept thinking everybody was staring at him and talking about him.
He also still has an upset stomach and nausea.
My parents think it's just stress of the exam that has gotten to him and that damn violent game on his phone (he kept using game terminology) they have agreed to take him to a physician on Monday, and if the physician refers him to a psychiatrist, then to a psychiatrist.
Is he okay, i am scared?