This is an update post to my original post from yesterday.
Princess' Escalated Support reached out to me this morning. Of all the many things that I tried, what worked was a twittesocial media post I made out of pure desperation, with @princesscruises in the request. Almost immediately I received a DM on twitter asking for my booking info and setting up a call for today. At 11AM I received that call.
The support person was friendly, helpful, and clear. Despite the fault being my own, they were kind enough to rebook me on an identical cruise a month from now while only charging me the nominal difference of the promotion I had grabbed on the original cruise. I did have to eat the original flights and buy new flights, but that loss is manageable and the family and I still get to have the cruise experience we had hoped for this summer!
I am so very grateful to everyone that reached out to me here on reddit and also to Princess for (eventually) reaching out to me, despite the fault and responsibility for this being my own. I am overwhelmed by the support I received!
One redditor provided me with information to a place in Juneau that was able to contact the logistics team directly on the Discovery Princess ship in order to answer the question of whether or not I could meet the ship at port (I could not unfortunately, but still!).
Another redditor offered me a free cruise that they may not have time to use this season before it expires. Amazingly selfless. Your generosity is overwhelming and humbling, to say the least! Thank you all for the support. It has meant so much to me and to my family during a dark moment in our lives.
Thankfully I found resolution. The extra cost is a hard, but well earned, lesson for me. One that I will never forget. I have already booked a hotel room the night before the flight next to the airport. I've got everyone in the family on the same page - 3 HOURS before. I also paid for the premiere insurance for all of us. I'm going to read over their policy carefully.
Thank you again to everyone for your support, and Princess as well for coming through.

When I first started selling on Amazon, I faced a steep learning curve. As a novice, I quickly realized that optimizing my product listings was crucial for success. Through trial and error, research, and plenty of late nights, I discovered some key strategies that can help any new seller thrive. Here's a guide based on my experience on how to optimize your Amazon listings.

Understand Amazon’s Focus

Amazon's core philosophy is customer first. This means the platform prioritizes the product over the store and the customer over the seller. Your listings must reflect this focus to succeed. Optimizing your listing isn't just about making it attractive; it's about ensuring it meets Amazon’s standards and appeals to potential buyers.

Key Elements of a Good Amazon Listing

To create a compelling Amazon listing, you need to pay attention to four main elements: the title, five-point description, keywords, and images. Here's how to get each one right:

1. Crafting the Perfect Title

The title is one of the most critical parts of your listing. A good title should include core keywords, your brand name, key selling points, and product features. Here are some tips:

• Core Keywords: Include relevant keywords that potential customers are likely to use in their search.
• Trademarks and Selling Points: Highlight your brand and the unique features of your product.
• Product Features: Mention essential features that make your product stand out.
• Capitalization: Capitalize the first letter of each word (excluding conjunctions, articles, and prepositions).
• Relevance: Place the most relevant keywords at the beginning of the title.
• Clarity: Avoid cluttering the title with too many words. A concise, clear title performs better.
• Compliance: Do not include price, shipping cost, or contact information. Avoid using special symbols.

2. Optimizing Product Images

High-quality images are vital for attracting customers. Amazon has strict guidelines for product images, which include:

• Format: Use TIFF, JPEG, GIF, or PNG.
• Content: Images should be real photographs of the product, not drawings or diagrams.
• Background: Use a pure white background (RGB value 255, 255, 255).
• Focus: The product should occupy 85% of the image space and be free of other items that could cause confusion.
• Main Image: Must be pure white, with no text, logos, or watermarks. The product should take up about 85% of the space.
• Alternate Images: You can include up to eight alternate images. These should show different sides and details of the product.
• Size and Ratio: The long side of the image should be between 1001 and 3000 pixels, ideally 2560 pixels to use Amazon’s zoom feature. The recommended aspect ratio is 1:1.3.

3. Writing the Five-Point Description

The five-point description highlights your product’s features and advantages. It's crucial for convincing buyers to make a purchase.

• Unique Selling Points: Emphasize what makes your product unique and how it solves customer problems.
• Customer Needs: Address common questions and concerns, particularly for technical or electronic products.
• Prioritization: List the most compelling selling points first.
• Simplicity: Use clear, concise language that is easy to understand.

4. Utilizing Keywords

Keywords help your product get found in searches. Use keyword research tools to find high-traffic, relevant keywords. Place these strategically in your title, bullet points, and product description to improve visibility.

Monitoring and Optimizing Performance

When your product first launches, initial sales might be slow. This is normal, but don’t let it discourage you. Use Amazon’s backend tools to monitor click-through rates and conversion rates. Poor performance in these areas can indicate issues with your title, images, or descriptions. Adjust these elements based on the data to improve your listing.

Promotions and Launch Strategies

New products get a visibility boost from Amazon, but this window is short. Promote your product aggressively in the first two weeks to capitalize on this. High sales volume during this period can significantly improve your keyword ranking and visibility.

Final Thoughts

Optimizing your Amazon listing is a continuous process. Always be on the lookout for new trends, customer feedback, and performance data to refine your approach. By focusing on the key elements of your listing and continuously improving, you can increase your chances of success as an Amazon seller.

So jamband had one of its typical bash on DMB for being accessible and not noodling around enough threads and one guy wrote this about Dave....
"DMB is not a jamband for legit reasons mentioned elsewhere in the thread. I have seen Dave many times and do not hate the music per se. Many of my friends appear prominently in the What Would You Say music video and I was early on the DMB bandwagon.
The big problem is that for a scene founded in the communal and universal love of the Grateful Dead, Dave is a giant asshole. He is greedy, ungrateful and has burned nearly everyone that has worked with him in the music biz.
He burned Tim, he burned everyone in the Boulder music scene in the 90s, he fired his entire crew for a $50 million check from Clear Channel. He is the worst kind of sellout, the kind who doesn’t share the wealth.
There are plenty of aholes in the jam scene. Some people hate John Mayer, I have it on good authority that he’s AOK. Some hate Ryan Adams and they might have a point, but I don’t know for sure if sober Ryan is a dick. Dave is definitely not someone who has enamored himself to anyone I’ve ever known who has come in contact with him.
So DMB is OK with me, although not a jamband, and Dave himself is not. I’ll still take free tix to go see him but will definitely never willingly give the guy my money."
I have not heard any of this before and none of it seems remotely true. However, I thought I would ask around here if anyone has heard things like this before. I asked him to provide details and he wrote....
"Dave moved to Boulder around 1994 after his music career stalled in Charlottesville. The scene and people there were very welcoming to him, giving him incredible generosity and support. The Fox Theatre allowed him to film a video there for free, people stepped up to help him out at KBCO, Albums on the Hill, Program Council etc. Once Under the Table and Dreaming was released and became a smash hit, he packed his shit and left town immediately, without thanking or even contacting a single person in the scene. The very next time he came back to town in 2001, the band went over curfew at Folsom Field, leading to a 15-year ban on holding concerts there.
And I was using the word “crew” loosely as he did retain his roadies when he sold his tour. He fired the entire DMB touring administration, including accountants, road management, ticketing staff, etc. He sold his tour to SFX/Clear Channel, who immediately doubled ticket prices so you couldn’t get into stadium nosebleeds for under $50 and booked him exclusively into the 100+ CC owned/controlled venues in the US. Clear Channel at the time was a notorious music monopoly who would pull bands off the air if they played shows promoted by competitors, and was famous in Denver for shenanigans like parking a manure truck out front of the Boulder Theater or dumping truckloads of rocks or fish outside competing venues to disrupt concerts they didn’t book.
Honestly the impact to the independent promoter and music venue community of Dave’s decision was much broader than just the dozens of people he fired. When you look around your city and wax nostalgic about venues long gone, there is a distinct likelihood that it was Clear Channel who ran them out of business. I left the promoting business because of them, and my boss sold his owner share and became an accountant.
Much of what I’m saying here is a matter of public record in the monopoly case NIPP Inc vs Clear Channel Communications Inc (311 F. Supp. 2d 1048). Westword also covered the story extensively in the 2000s."
Dave moved to Boulder in 1994 after his music career stalled in Charlottesville? Umm, dude, thats when DMB was taking off and they became a national sensation. WTF is this guy talking about? As a side note, even if there is something to this, Boulder is the land of wealthy faux-hippie trustafarians anyway. I'm pretty sure they're doing okay without Dave's money.

Throw away account just in case.
Yesterday night I was charged with assault on my girlfriend outside a club. I was very drunk and I thought I saw her cheating so I was yelling at her outside. What happened was I was telling her to go away but she kept trying to talk so I pushed her away several times. One guy saw this and he tried to intervene to help my girlfriend. I was being a complete moron and accused the bystander he was the one my girlfriend was cheating. To be honest I don’t remember much after but I got into a physical altercation with the bystander.
The Police came and talked with some witness and some of them said I slapped and choked my girlfriend. I would never do anything like that to her. Even pushing her away was the first time I have ever been physical with a girl. I was drunk and I must have pushed her quite hard which I feel terrible about and I feel awful for getting into a fight with a complete stranger. I thought I was arrested for my fight but I found out that I was being charged for assault on my girlfriend due to the witness statements. They said there were cctv and will found out the truth from the video during my trial.
I was released from the police station this morning under the condition that I do not contact or go near my girlfriend until the trail is done. However I got a text from her afterwards saying she will go to city hall with a letter to request the charges to be dropped and confirmed that I never hit her. I didn’t text her back or contact her as I didn’t want to risk breaking my release contract. I am just worried I ruined my life and that I might be convicted and have a criminal record resulting in losing my job. How likely would you think this case would be dropped and would I have a criminal record still?
I have never been arrested before or have had any criminal charges in my life. I have never been abusive or physically to anyone and the fight with the stranger was my first physical fight in my life. I feel terrible towards my girlfriend and especially to the innocent stranger, altough I do want to thank him for whopping my ass and putting some sense into me. Any advice would be appreciated!

I'm currently querying a book and I got this rejection letter:

"Thank you again for your submission. You have an amazing foundation and the writing is lovely. But from a reader perspective, I found the overuse of italics to be distracting. The Chicago Manual of Style and APA have guidance on the use of italics in fiction writing, and generally say to use italics for emphasis (especially in dialogue). A great example of this is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is from a genre—upper middle grade fantasy—where the use of italics in dialogue is common.
As always, this is subjective and just my sole opinion. Other agents likely will differ, and you may have already secured an agent, so disregard my opinion.
So, I'm sorry. I will have to pass on this version. Should you ever revise in the future, and utilize interiority vs. italics for thoughts and deep POV, I'd be happy to consider again,
Thank you for considering me and best of luck with your future queries."

It seemed promising, but I write in the third person and I thought italics were used for thoughts. I'm not sure what the agent wants in this case. Do they want me to remove the italics and use "quotes" instead (though I think this is confusing to separate speech from thought) or are they looking for a 1st person's POV vs. 3rd person (if that's the case they probably aren't the agent for me)? Do they want more telling instead of showing in this case? Or is it something else entirely?

What are you guys using to find your unicorns aka MSRP Raptors? Cars.com, Auto Trader, Ford.com. Or do you just cold call Ford dealerships?
I’m in the market for a ‘24 non R. With the 37PP. Sadly I’m in California and MSRP is a four letter word round these parts. So out of state is probably my best bet.
I know I’ll ultimately have to call the dealer to get the true price. Just trying to expedite the process.
Thanks for any help/advice you can offer.

I’ll start off with this disclaimer. I am not getting paid to promote this company or their CAD software.
I spent a long time looking for legit CAD software to use after designing a couple of things on TinkerCAD. Every CAD program I found had one of three glaring issues with it. It was insanely expensive (thousands of dollars), your files are made public, or you couldn’t do commercial products with it. I know the enforcement of the commercial products isn’t really enforced, but I just don’t like to take any chances.
Anyways, the CAD software I found is made by Alibre. It is a fully fledged program. I believe the interface is intuitive and resembles other CAD programs. You can export in STL and multiple STEP formats (amongst other file types). It’s NOT cloud based, so you don’t have worry about server issues. And supposedly if you needed to transfer the license from one computer to another, it’s a fairly simple process. I haven’t done this yet, so I can’t comment on personal experience. And the most important factor for this program… it’s actually affordable. I believe I have the middle tier (Alibre Pro) of their software, and I pay $30/monthly. You also have options to pay yearly for a discount ($300), and I believe you can buy a lifetime license for $1000. There is no restriction on selling commercially regardless of which tier you purchase.
The program just needs an occasional Internet connection for updates, but your files are kept locally on whatever machine is running the software, so they’re not being uploaded somewhere. I have run into a bug here and there, but it’s usually fixed by saving and relaunching the program. They have many tutorials on how to get started.
One downside is that because this company is not well known, there aren’t very many videos on YouTube etc.
Overall, I’ve been extremely satisfied with Alibre. I’ve been using it for almost 5 months now on a decent laptop so I can design anywhere. This CAD program has allowed me to expand my designs significantly. I just wanted to make this post after seeing another post about CAD software last night on this subreddit. I hope many people find this post and it ends up helping as well. Here’s a link to their software. Thank you!
https://www.alibre.com/buy-now/#compare

You can see my post history for more info about the story of my friend/female coworker who split on me, reported me to HR, then refused to work with me (how she didn't get in trouble is beyond me). We work remotely so I haven't seen her in 1.5 years.
Over a year ago she got a promotion when she was clearly not ready for it. She's causing chaos, people are finding new roles without thanking her and jumping ship, etc. Finally, so many people have told me "she clearly has borderline personality disorder" that I can't believe I missed it. I have healed to a point that I'm not bothered by things anymore, thankfully. But I was nervous to think about crossing paths again.
A few weeks ago I attended a work conference. My attendance was last minute and she did not expect me to be there. We were taking seats for the first meeting and she literally jumped when she saw me then beelined for a different area of the room. I almost didn't recognize her--hair bleached blonde and gained weight. Mirroring her most recent boss to a degree.
After the meeting, we had a dinner and drinks/networking deal. About 100 people were there and she was bouncing around like crazy from person to person (not sure if this was due to my presence, or else). It looked exhausting. I also didn't recognize her personality from afar--drinking pretty quickly/heavily, acting like a super cool person, etc. different from what I remember (although I think she has possibly slipped into drinking, or more open about it). Again, any time she would get close to me, she beelined a different direction. Amusing. Many times though I had a sense that someone was staring at me--and when I looked up, it was her. I decided to keep an eye out a bit closer, only to respect her actions and make sure I was able to avoid her.
However, as she drank more that evening I noticed a change. Once, she went over to a mutual from a prior role that neither of us had cared for and we, in the past, joked was my "arch nemesis". At one point, he was by himself and she went over to talk to him--all while looking directly at me from across room the whole time. She was sending me a message. Later, I was off to the side next to a group of people, and she looked right at me, then waltzed over to the other side of the group, sending another message. (There is one person that knows we were close and aren't anymore, so knows there was some major falling out--but doesn't know the details. She picked up on what happened with that last move right away).
The next day our paths crossed ways very few times--one exception coming to mind is that I was walking down a long hall into an open area where people were. I was scanning the crowd and happened to see her. She saw me, dropped her head and looked away and immediately left the room. Later that evening at an off-site event, she continued to avoid. Yet I would walk into a room and she would immediately be making eye contact with me before I realized who I was looking at. A few more times I had that "sense" of someone looking at me--and I would look over and she would immediately drop her head and furiously text on her phone. Finally, due to a crowded space, I ended up next to someone who was next to her. I saw her slowly take two steps back and then shuffle away.
The final day, I only saw her when people were departing for the airport. She looked at me again and steered clear. I coincidentally passed her on the way to my car and she completely ignored me.
That was the last time I saw her. No words were exchanged. And yet, the non-verbal communication spoke volumes.
I am basically healed and my wife and I have developed some compassion for her. I thought about saying hello, etc. or otherwise just being a polite human being, mature, etc. But then I had to continue to remind myself that she has BPD, and would not receive it like someone who did not have it. I essentially continued to grey rock/stay NC. After the interactions, I realized it was absolutely the right call to continue to do so. Who knows what would have happened if I had tried to be cordial. She probably would have accused me of harassing her or something at this work event. My simple presence clearly triggered a lot of things within her.
I do wonder what she was thinking and feeling. Was she feeling shame/regret, then it turned into anger and impulsivity by trying to demonstrate that she was "doing ok"? Did she still see me as some terrible person as part of splitting? Did I bring back bad memories of a major professional/personal mistake in her life? Because I didn't try to approach or validate her, I may have completely restarted a cycle of a sense of abandonment/rejection. I hope that's not the case because I don't desire to hurt her, but I did start wondering about that.
Regardless, it was really an interesting experience and staying no contact in the situation was the right move, for sure.

It occurred to me that my previous post Changing Gears left people hanging. So, I felt compelled to follow up and give an answer.
Part 2.
So, I would say we have hit upon a link of sorts that exists between Merck and CytoDyn that cannot be denied.
As I alluded to in that post, there must have been a massive conflict of interest in CytoDyn's management BOD and Cyrus' intentions when it came time to making the decision to proceed or not to proceed with a fully funded MD Anderson combination Keytruda Clinical Trial for mCRC. While it would have been greatly in favor of CytoDyn to pursue this trial, the BOD incredulously made the unbelievable decision to walk away from it, completely against Cyrus' wishes. As we know, "Any government divided cannot stand. It will fall... eventually."
Was there an argument between Cyrus and Tanya? I'd say more than likely yes. He was still VP and remains as such. I believe the reason why the BOD decided the way they did was due to their 1st allegiance to the FDA and not doing anything that would risk the hold getting lifted. After all, they came too far to blow it at the last mile. However, it remains possible, that Merck did not want the MD Anderson Phase II Combination trial for mCRC to happen. After all, Merck just completed their own trial of Keytruda with their own CCR5 blockade Vicriviroc and the trial just finished last week. It failed. Maybe they needed time to see if their own CCR5 blockade would work before experimenting with ours at MD Anderson?
Could Merck have influenced the BOD in one way or another and push to cancel the free trial? The trial that Cyrus arranged which would provide CytoDyn with a vast amount of FREE unequivocal Research Data so valuable to CytoDyn. That would have provided that pot of gold, free of charge to CytoDyn. The unassailable and unequivocal data set which Cyrus absolutely required in order to properly present the Company to Big Pharma so as to receive proper bids and valuation. Merck could have been against proceeding in this trial because they had their own to try first and that might have influenced our BOD to pull the plug. Maybe Merck said, "wait, we want to try out our drug first. If it fails, we will be knocking on your door." And that was all which was necessary to get the BOD to comply.
Now, with Dr. Lalezari as CEO, CytoDyn is back on board in the pursuit of mCRC and his decision is supreme. Why wouldn't that fully funded MD Anderson trial still be an option? Maybe it still is available, but it would have to be a combination trial ONLY. The two drugs cannot be pitted one against the other. You cannot have leronlimab beating Keytruda. No absolutely not. Given that Keytruda is on the ticket, the FDA accepts the trial.
From this BioSpace Article March, 2023, Cyrus confidently asserted:

"These are both areas where checkpoint inhibitors have failed to show efficacy when added to a standard-of-care backbone, Arman said, adding that leronlimab has shown positive signals in both.
“From a mechanistic standpoint, we believe we could get a synergistic effect with a checkpoint inhibitor,” he said.
Leronlimab is currently being trialed in combination with Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in a breast cancer xenograft model in partnership with MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Arman said CytoDyn expects to observe an enhanced anti-tumor effect from the combination and identify immunological biomarkers."

From the May 2024 Letter to Shareholders, Dr. Lalezari stated:

"It is imperative that the Company generate unassailable results in the clinic and I believe the above trials can accomplish this. Starting the oncology study and related fundraising is the top priority of the Company at this time"

Both of them boldly claim the effectiveness of leronlimab in mCRC. Cyrus says it could generate a synergistic effect with Keytruda resulting from the combination of the two drugs, while Lalezari points to the unassailable results both must have appreciated. Certainly, both men have also seen the unassailable results that shall be described in the coming (2) journal articles in mTNBC. When Amarex was forced to hand over the raw data of these trials, it had to be decoded and put into FDA Good Clinical Practice format which took hours and hours of painstaking work, but it got done thanks to Bernie Cunningham, Joseph Miedling and the auditors Cyrus put into place for such work. What they found must have been truly amazing so as to compel them to put those results into a peer reviewed journal articles.
In my prior thesis which u/psasoffice had also helped me determine, The Timeline and The Connections as to why CytoDyn pulled out, I discussed Kivlighn's role in the matter. Remember, I put forth that Kivlighn had pulled it away from Merck. That he took the free trial opportunity away from them so they could just buy us to perform the trial themselves. I said that Kivlighn caused CytoDyn's BOD to pull out of the trial in hopes of forcing Merck to swoop in and buy CytoDyn outright. I wrote:

"Kivlighn needed to determine CytoDyn's best path to partner. Kivlighn began changing the direction of the company while Cyrus Arman was sick. Cyrus was headed down the "do it alone" path. His main goal was MASH, but he also wanted to partner in Oncology and he wanted HIV, cure, long acting and was eyeing the resubmission of HIV-MDR. When Cyrus was out on MLOA, Kivlighn had the opportunity to modify or change Cyrus' original heading. Kivlighn wanted the company sold. He wanted the company partnered or bought out.
At some point, because of the results of the MD Anderson study, I believe Cyrus Arman had negotiated with MD Anderson on a CRC trial where CytoDyn would supply all the leronlimab, while MD Anderson did everything else. MD Anderson offered this to Cyrus and Cyrus was all in. Just waiting for the hold to lift. But, while Cyrus was sick and out on MLOA, and because Kivlighn had Merck experience and because Kivlighn "knew" how to make the company obtain a partnership, he recommended that CytoDyn turn down the MD Anderson offer to perform the CRC trial and to take that away from Merck. Almost like a "bait and switch". Kivlighn was thinking that if Merck really wanted CytoDyn, that they would come on in, swoop down and buy it outright, completely before anything was proven by trial, that might raise the asking price as they knew its capacity already given the study was with Keytruda, MD Anderson and leronlimab. They could do the trial themselves if they bought CytoDyn. Maybe, Kivlighn wanted to prevent Merck from thinking that they can wait to see how well leronlimab does in the MD Anderson sponsored trial which would give Merck some time before making the offer to buy CytoDyn. He wanted to take that away from Merck and force them to buy now. Because if the MD Anderson trial were to proceed in CRC, the good results would make CytoDyn even more valuable. I'm really not sure what Kivlighn was thinking, but whatever it was, it sure did piss off many people, especially Cyrus Arman."

If this conjectured hypothesis is right, then Kivlighn must also have believed, that the data in both the mCRC murine study and the mTNBC trial which he had also seen, in his opinion, was powerful enough such that a Phase II trial was not even necessary and a pull out of the trial would surely induce Merck, (who was also privy to the same murine data), to purchase the Company. What Kivlighn failed to consider though, (if this whole scenario is true), is that CytoDyn never owned the MD Anderson data and CytoDyn now has no way to prove that the MD Anderson results in fact do amaze unless they decide to purchase that data from MD Anderson. In addition, he also failed to recognize that Merck was running their own combination Keytruda + CCR5 Blockade Vicriviroc against mCRC simultaneously. So, then the BOD, Kivlighn and possibly Merck could be all to blame for the cancellation of this otherwise windfall and gratis trial that CytoDyn could have immensely benefited from.
As to the pursuit of what the FDA intended for CytoDyn to proceed once coming off hold, which is the Inflammation and Immune Activation trial, it initially did not draw sufficient support from the public and therefore did not result in an increasing share price to the point to raise funds without completely depleting available shares. Therefore, CytoDyn now has its CEO and VP in concert back on the mCRC train again. But a partner is necessary and fund raising has become #1 priority.
Look, all of the companies are out to find the best weapon against these MSS tumors. Right now, there is no solution. Leronlimab is the solution and the data that proves it is in the hands of MD Anderson. Soon, data for it is forthcoming in the (2) peer reviewed journal articles in mTNBC. But regarding mCRC, that data resides with MD Anderson and it is only in a murine study, but apparently good enough to have been offered a fully funded Phase II combination trial with Keytruda. So, Dr. Lalezari made the decision to shift gears to this new mCRC indication but he needs money. He also needs a partner. But he has Cyrus there at his side and Cyrus somehow got MD Anderson to create this Phase II trial.. How did he do that? He must have spoken to some Merck people, wouldn't you think? to see if they also wanted to take the profound murine mTNBC results and apply them towards mCRC in a fully funded human, phase II combo trial? Maybe he can do it again and if need be, without Keytruda?
But this time around, the only way the trial could be run is as a combination only trial. The two drugs could not be pitted against each other. If they were synergistic before, then they are kept that way. Regardless of which PD-1 blockade is used, it should remain a combination trial because of the partnership. The partnership is more important than which drug is doing the work. But, Why would we want to experiment with another PD-1 blocker when we already have seen the results as synergistic? We wouldn't unless we were forced to. Meaning, Merck fails to enter while another PD-1 comes in and partners. Would that induce a Merck counter bid? Assuming they have found no solution to their expiring patent problem, it probably would.
After all, why is every drug out there failing to extend their patent? Is Keytruda simply unable to treat MSS type tumors despite all means of assistance? But we have evidence of their synergism. Given that the only known substance on Earth that is capable of treating these MSS tumors is leronlimab, why have we not been the #1 choice to combine with? Until now, with the hold said and done with and given the new change in priority to mCRC, and with Merck's Keytruda with their own CCR5 blockade Vicriviroc Trial which failed, will Merck now be interested to take a second look at CytoDyn? How long will this search go on for? How many patients?
The provocative data is coming in peer reviewed journal articles that prove leronlimab treats the very difficult mTNBC. Merck already knows from the murine study that it treats the MSS mCRC tumors. What matters is that they know the data and that the data is unassailable as per Lalezari and Arman. They know that by combining with leronlimab, they would have a successful result. The only problem is that they cannot show that leronlimab is better at it than Keytruda. Therefore, they cannot have a standalone leronlimab arm and a standalone Keytruda arm. The two cannot be pitted against each other. And I thank Respert24 for this ingenious answer.

"Notice they didn't create a Dud-Only arm versus a Keytruda-Only arm. A surefire way to inadvertently show that a different drug is better than your own. Keytruda is already "proven" and is going to want to run a trial that shows they can extend their patent. Similar to this trial, if we ended up in a trial with them it would, in my humble opinion, be Keytruda + LL all day. Maybe both of the doses we've had in studies (350/700).

What I don't expect is a trial that Cytodyn would run if there was no partnership, which is to compare and contrast LL to Keytruda. If Merck is running it they're just trying to show that together you see a better result, and boom! They've got new life and we've got the exciting new darling of the oncology world."
CytoDyn have seen the data on mCRC, but it is not in their pocket. However, they do have the mTNBC data, but no priority to target that right now. Is that because, Merck or MD Anderson might have an interest in treating mCRC MSS type tumors? So, it seems like this won't be solved until Merck finds a solution to their problem before their patent expires. Patent expiration is the end all to all of this and they have 4 more years of trying to find something that will extend it. Something that allows it to be used on all MSS tumors, not just mCRC or mTNBC, but 85% of all cancers.
Given that Keytruda is the Darling of the Oncology World and given leronlimab is the only drug that can treat 85% of the oncologic tumors out there while Keytruda can only help less than 15%, doesn't it make sense for them to come together in combination therapy to treat the entirety of cancers across the board? In this way, so many of the world's problems could be wiped out in one solid partnership. Isn't the name of the game to have a therapeutic solution to the entirety of this disease? And who can't work with Lalezari? That is no excuse.

Hi everyone (sorry for the incoming long post)
I am trying to help a friend recover a list of books that we read in HS. They have a goal of re-reading them all again, but lost track of a good number of them at their former house and can’t find them. They went to school in Fort Bend ISD (Elkins HS) from around 2012-2016 and were in primarily Pre-AP/AP English classes so some of the books came from summer reading as well.
I am a former student of FBISD, but I also was only able to come up with a few books. I’m hoping someone can assist me in this search or if you still have your syllabi from your English classes at a FBISD school that you can share that is even better! Even if you weren’t in AP and have an idea of some books that were read during that time that would still be helpful.
Some books that we were able to remembebooks that they still have that might help jog your memory are: The Scarlet Letter; Lord of the Flies; Speak; Bless me, Ultima; All the Pretty Horses; A Farewell to Arms; 1984; A Brave New World; Of Mice and Men; As I lay Dying; and Fahrenheit 451.
If you happen to work at Fort Bend ISD school and have a current list of readings that match some of my list I would appreciate if you could share, however, I do know a lot of books are banned so it’s unlikely they are still reading the same books now.
Thank you!

= = = =
Voting for Phase 5 has concluded! Check the Tickets Scoreboard HERE to see both the public and judge voting results.
= = = =
Hello, patient designers of customhearthstone! Thank you for waiting this long on the results, let's wrap this up so that we can all engage in other comps and summer (winter) endeavors!
To address what everyone's been waiting for -- the last Secret Ticket was PYROBLAST. The 'questions' in the "Discussion & questions go here" comment was encoded with Pyroblast. The letters' positions in the alphabet were added together (and reduced by 26 if it overflows) to produce the code word 'gtwhvupgm'.
Now, for what's left of the comp: the judges choosing their favorite set of the 20 sets that submitted for each phase. All of these submissions are compiled in these slides. Please take a moment to see if your own submission is pasted properly (use the second slide which should link to it).
The raffle winners will be drawn soon, alongside the results post.

Hi everyone,
I'm a first-time college student navigating the financial aid process, and I could really use some advice from those of you who have been through this before.
I've received a financial aid award letter from my college, but I'm not entirely sure if this means I've fully received my financial aid package. What should I be looking for to confirm that everything is in place? Are there additional steps I need to take after receiving the award letter? How can I ensure that all the funds will be disbursed to cover my tuition and other expenses? And I also don't see anything on the FASA website it just shows me that my from have been processed and everything, so I'm not entirely sure that I got the financial aid from my college or not?
Any personal experiences would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

The Facebook Lottery Promotion going on is a new innovation by the Facebook Authorities, by saying A BIG THANK YOU to all our Online Users, For making Facebook their number one means to connect, communicate, relate and hook up with their Families, Love Ones and Friends over the world and Facebook is the largest Social Networking for communication, People over the world valued the site cause it among the best.🥂👏🎉🥳🙌🎊

General

This subreddit is North American focused. If you would like to provide information from other countries, please leave it in a comment below or contact the moderators.
 
What is a perfusionist and what do they do?
A perfusionist’s central role is to operate a heart-lung machine during open heart surgeries or other surgeries where blood flow may be impaired or interrupted. Examples of surgeries or devices that may require perfusionists most commonly include:

• Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG)
• Heart Valve Repair or Replacement
• Congenital Heart Defect Repairs
• Organ Transplants
• Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO)
• Ventricular Assist Devices (VAD)
• Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumps (IABP)
• Chemoperfusion

 
What is the salary and job outlook?
Salaries for perfusionists are generally higher than $150,000 per year. There are a wide variety of pay structures that will affect total compensation packages.
The future of perfusion is unclear, mostly due to concerns of market saturation. A search through /Perfusion will reveal a wide variety of opinions on the matter. The American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion (ABCP) publishes an annual report listing the number of certifications gained and lost. Included in the most current report (2023) is a historical list going back to 2000. Included in the 2022 report is the number of students admitted and graduated in 2021 and 2022.
 
Professional Organizations and Resources:  

• American Society of ExtraCorporeal Technology  
  
• The American Academy of Cardiovascular Perfusion  
  
• The Canadian Society of Clinical Perfusion  
  
• The Tiny Perfusion Letter
  

 

Education and Credentialing

 
How do I become a perfusionist?
To become a practicing perfusionist in the United States, you must become a Certified Clinical Perfusionist (CCP). This credential is governed by the American Board of Cardiovascular Perfusion (ABCP) and is awarded after passing two board examinations: the Perfusion Basic Science Examination (PBSE) and the Clinical Applications in Perfusion Examination (CAPE).
Qualification to sit for the board exams is achieved by completing a certified program. The accrediting body for programs is the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and a current list of programs may be found by going to this page, selecting “Profession” and choosing “Perfusion.” Unfortunately, this does not include programs that are defunct or programs that are undergoing the preliminary accreditation process. All schools require an undergraduate degree before entry regardless of outcome: degree or certificate.
The list of schools maintained at Perfusion.com and at SpecialtyCare are not current.
Programs currently undergoing preliminary certification include (alphabetical):

• Emory School of Nursing
• Lawrence Technological University
• Northern Kentucky University
• University of Southern California

Program lengths vary from 18 to 21 months and cost varies from approximately $30,000 to $140,000.
 

Common Questions About the Application Process

 
Is it competitive?
The application process is extremely competitive. Schools are typically receiving several hundred applications and most take 20 or fewer students.
When does the application cycle begin?
The application cycle is different for each school, but typically start as early as June 1 for start dates the following year.
That means that for the beginning of the 2025-2026 academic year, applications will begin opening on June 1, 2024.
When do applications close?
Again, each program will be different. Some programs close earlier than others. Some programs have processes that take awhile to complete, so it is advisable to complete your application before the process closes.
Which school should I apply to?
You should apply to every school you're qualified for.
What prerequisites are required for perfusion school?
Each of the programs have different requirements. Contacting each of the programs with program specific questions is going to result in much more accurate answers than asking here. Programs can and do change requirements on an ongoing basis.
Nearly all programs require at least a documented conversation with a perfusionist or shadowing a case as part of the application process.
How do I find a perfusionist to shadow?
LinkedIn is your best resource. You may also post a request for a specific geographical area using the flair “Shadow Request.” You can also try contacting hospitals that do open heart surgery and arranging to shadow a perfusionist.
What kind of work experience is useful when applying to perfusion school?
Perfusion assistant jobs are sometimes referred to as a “golden ticket” for admission to a school. Many schools seem to value healthcare experience, through what type varies from school to school. Traditionally, RNs with critical care or operating room experience and respiratory techs seem to have a high degree of success. Other perfusion / OR adjacent jobs like anesthesia techs also seem to correlate with higher acceptance rates. As the application process becomes more competitive, it may be worth reaching out to current students to see what class make ups look like or Program Directors to see what advice they may give. Unfortunately, the application process is a “black box” and each institution has different qualities, traits, and experience they seem to value.
What are my chances of getting into School X? / Should I apply this year or wait until I have more experience?
No one knows. Your chances of getting into a school that you haven't applied to are zero. Contact the program for specific questions and guidance about your situation. The application process is a "black box" process with only the Program Directors and Admissions Council Members knowing how they work and what they are looking for in the current cohort. If you have specific questions about feedback you have received, feel free to ask them. Generic "what if" questions have a low likelihood of being approved in this subreddit.
Social Media
Look over all your social media accounts. Clean them up. Present yourself well online.
Additional Resources
/prospective_perfusion - subreddit dedicated to the application process and questions
/perfusion_accepted - subreddit dedicated to accepted students
 
 
Thanks to ghansie10 for the original thread - if you see this, please DM me!
Please report broken links or incorrect information to the moderators.
Feel free to post questions or information below.

Hey,
I´ve been using Notesnook for a while, and I absolutely love it! Definitely enjoy the customization of the apps look and everything, definitely not using other apps ever!!...But...
Lately I´ve been noticing that as I type, the letters are "too slow" or not synced with the speed I type with (sorry, I don´t know the professional terms for this), and it´s both annoying and sometimes the words are missing letters because of this.
My laptop is not laggy, the typing is smooth in apps like Word or even as I type here in this post.
Any ideas what to do?
Thank you!

For my first 100ish levels I played mostly Haz 3 and 4, avoiding most of the nasty warnings. I had fun and met a lot of cool dwarves. With the announcement of the rapidly approaching Season 5, I fell into a fervor I rarely feel for games nowadays. I switched to exclusively to haz 4 and got another 100ish levels. Got to the point I’d scroll through the server list for lone dwarves on crazy looking missions or with nasty warnings. Host my own lobbies for assignments doing missions no matter the warning, biome, or mission type. I had gotten to the point where I could carry greenbeards with no issues and no downs. I started to wonder what Haz 5 was like, previously I had only completed two EDDs and maybe 3 easy Haz 5 missions (think Eggs x4 or Morkite x200). So I started slowly integrate myself into Haz 5. And that is what I now call the Masochist Incident happened.
I joined a Haz 5 Morkite x250 with 3 Lithophage spikes with my Gunner NTP build. All the dwarves are bronze promoted between level 50-70. At the point where I joined they were in the last cave and every single spike was in there too. I proceed to help them clear the entire cave and boy oh boy was it a far cry from Haz 4. We mopped up the mission scraped some Nitra together and got out. I was feeling pretty proud only having 1 down, 7 revives, and 200+ enemy kills. We get back to the rig and the Engi host is telling me how he does super hard missions to get better and loves doing Haz 5 double warnings because they always feel unique. So I stuck with him to do just that, an Elimination with Lethal Enemies and Mactera Plague and On-Site Refining with Elite Threat and Low O2. If you have played any Haz 5 with any of those modifiers then I don’t have to tell you that it was hell. Somehow we managed to complete both of them and get out. I friended the Engi and had to take a break because my nerves were shot. After an hour long break I went back to scrolling for Haz 4 missions and I realized how easy it is in comparison. This masochist Engi had ruined Haz 4 for me but I was so thankful. So now, I scroll for Haz 5 missions and I even did a 3 Dread Elim with Low O2 and Exploder Infestation with randoms. I feel addicted to completing these double warnings they feel so good to beat.
TLDR: Played Haz 4 for most of my time on DRG, joined random crazy dwarf and did two Haz 5 double warnings in a row and got my eyes opened. Now addicted to hard missions.
Tips for players looking to climb the difficulty ladder

1. Previously before this I had been soloing Deep Dives. Gets you good at kiting and being quick and efficient with your objectives. Thinking I’ll try soloing EDDs soon.
   
2. Prioritize your health. Even if it’s just a little red sugar it could be the difference. So many things can one shot you if you’re sitting at minimum health (highest your health will naturally regen to).
   
3. I cannot stress enough you need to be well-seasoned from Haz 4. Carrying others and multiple missions with no downs is a good start.
   
4. Do a little research, both into weapon builds and perks. Having a decent amount of OCs helps a lot. Not saying copy every meta build you see, just get some ideas and do some experimenting to see what you like.
   
5. Know your role and your class strengths. Efficiency is the big word for Haz 5. Finish the objectives, strip the cave of minerals and events, and get out before you run out of Nitra.
   

Rock and Stone miners, see you in the caves.

Hi everyone (sorry for the incoming long post)
I am trying to help a friend recover a list of books that we read in HS. They have a goal of re-reading them all again, but lost track of a good number of them at their former house and can’t find them. They went to school in Fort Bend ISD (Elkins HS) from around 2012-2016 and were in primarily Pre-AP/AP English classes so some of the books came from summer reading as well.
I am a former student of FBISD, but I also was only able to come up with a few books. I’m hoping someone can assist me in this search or if you still have your syllabi from your English classes at a FBISD school that you can share that is even better! Even if you weren’t in AP and have an idea of some books that were read during that time that would still be helpful.
Some books that we were able to remembebooks that they still have that might help jog your memory are: The Scarlet Letter; Lord of the Flies; Speak; Bless me, Ultima; All the Pretty Horses; A Farewell to Arms; 1984; A Brave New World; Of Mice and Men; As I lay Dying; and Fahrenheit 451.
If you happen to work at Fort Bend ISD school and have a current list of readings that match some of my list I would appreciate if you could share, however, I do know a lot of books are banned so it’s unlikely they are still reading the same books now.
Thank you!

Hi there,
I got a TN Visa last month and am flying down tomorrow. My friend has graciously offered to drive my vehicle down to my location 8 days from now, and then he will be flying back home. I'm not driving myself down due to some work scheduling for next week that can't be moved. I don't plan to legally import the vehicle at this time. Since he'll be crossing the border driving a vehicle that is not his, I want to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible for him. He'll have some possessions of mine but mainly just some clothes and my golf clubs.
What would you recommend I do to make it as painless as possible for him in case he gets questioned by the border officers?
I was thinking a letter with my name and information on it explaining the scenario would be sufficient, but was curious to get any advice from frequent border-crossers here. Thanks in advance!