I started my sober curious journey over a year and a half ago, mostly for mental health reasons. I didn’t drink every day, but I binge drank on the weekends and did a fair amount of party drugs. I am not in AA/NA or anything, though therapy, some reading, and my sobriety app have all really helped. This process began about 2 years into my current relationship. I didn’t ask my partner to get sober with me, because I don’t think that’s a fair ask. I’m doing it for me. We have discussed at length, however, how he can support me by not binge drinking himself (we are in our 30s) or doing hard drugs. Having drinks with dinner or out with friends is of course fine. Even getting tipsy or drunk at a wedding, for example, would be reasonable. But he sometimes can take it to another level. And on a few occasions (maybe 10 in the 1.5 years) after these expectations were agreed upon and reiterated he’s done coke or Molly or gotten fully wasted, both in my presence and absence. I have tried setting boundaries - choosing to stay home or drive separately so I can leave when I want to - but this often means that he goes overboard. I’m not there, so no, I don’t actually know. But if what I see in person - and know him to be as a person - is any indication, I can only imagine what goes on. And many times he’s not come home because he says he fell asleep at a friends house. Which, okay, yes, please don’t drive. But why are you passing out or even not calling me to say you’re spending the night? I know where he is and that he’s safe, but communication would be appreciated. And if you’re not even considering the courtesy of a text, then you’re too far gone to be thinking straight. Maybe that’s just an assumption on my part…
My question is, are my expectations unfair? He says he’s done with the party scene and wants to live a healthier life, and again, it doesn’t happen all the time. But it is essentially a recurring pattern of disappointment, minimizing, arguing, and generally feeling unsupported. And I just have a hard time trusting him because unfortunately there have been times when he lied. Is this going to work long term? I suppose it’s for me to decide if I can live with it. But it’d be helpful to hear from people in similar partnerships. What language or boundaries did you practice to make it fair, not controlling. I don’t want to control him, I just want to grow and improve our lives together.

Hey guys, I (25M) wanted to post this here and get some advice of what to do next? I have been considering legal action, but I wonder if I have much of a case here. Some key things to note:

I live in Nevada, USA, which is a right-to-work state and I was about to complete my 6-month probationary period before I was let go.
I never signed off on a termination letter or any written statement about what happened
The company I work for is a private company

I have been talking to my company's HR department about what happened and I'll just copy and paste what happened from the written statement I gave them:
"On 5/9/24 I was originally scheduled to work at 2 PM, and was heading into our office on the second floor when Chris, my director, was waiting for me at the elevator doors. At that moment, I did not know he requested to speak with me as I had not checked my messages yet prior to arriving to work. I followed him to a meeting room behind the bar on the casino floor and sat down with him and Kevin, a new Operations Manager that had just been promoted, as a witness. Chris informed me that I was being let go, to my shock. I asked why. He gave me a rather vague answer about how many factors have led to this decision, but he does not believe that I will mesh well with the team long-term and unfortunately it has come to this. When I had first started in my position, Chris and I had only two conversations about my progress and his concerns:
One was with my former superior Paul and Chris about how some of my behavior was a bit distracting to others and while it is good to be enjoying your work, please focus on my work and try to conversate with my coworkers about things relating to the job. I understood that, and took it in stride. I reigned it in and focused more on my tasks at hand and never heard another such complaint.
The second was when I had incorrectly scored an NHL game one night and the mistake was not found out until the next day, causing an all-around headache. I had similar, more minor mistakes in the past, so Chris told me to do better and that while mistakes are bound to happen, to have a better attention to detail. I understood and had improved in the months since that conversation and I hadn't made a mistake like that since.
With these in mind, I said to Chris that he couldn't deny that I hadn't improved since starting my position and my former issues had already been rectified, to which he agreed. So I asked him to give me a more tangible reason behind his decision. He cited my interactions with my coworker Logan made her feel uncomfortable in the office.
Logan is a girl the same age as me and her desk is on the other side of the room. My interactions with her were limited simply because of this fact and the most I ever spoke to her was greeting her when I arrived in the office, as I greeted everyone else, and benign small talk. May 9th is also her birthday, as I had heard from some of her other coworkers, so I even got her a birthday card and a singular cupcake that day.
For the record: I never singled her out in this treatment; in fact many times I had offered snacks or food to fellow coworkers. I even brought in staple snacks in Chinese culture for Chinese New Year this year a few months ago for the whole office to try. I offered them to everyone including Logan, as it is a big day in my culture and unfortunately I had to celebrate while at work. In my opinion, things like reminders of your birthday while at work is a very inclusive gesture and I was actively trying to make our company a better place to work at by promoting a more positive culture by setting an example. I even asked a coworker for his birthday so I could remember when it came around, as I realized I didn't know anyone's birthday yet. I did not mean anything by my actions, if they truly were making Logan feel uncomfortable, and I think some sort of warning beforehand would have been more than fair. If Logan herself was too uncomfortable with saying it to me personally, I could've also have heard it from any of my superiors first.
I made this point in my conversation with Chris; his only reply to me was that some people aren't comfortable enough doing that without hurting anyone's feelings. I feel that there is something more than what Chris told me and Logan's perception of me may not be the only reason I was terminated. And if Logan's perception of me was a deciding factor in my termination, I do not appreciate that treatment or assumptions being made of me simply because I am a man and she is a woman and therefore all my actions are perceived as malicious and/or having ulterior motives."

NASCAR is in an era where they’re focused on evolving the sport along with having a wide variety of tracks such as the iconic superspeedways, mile and a half’s, short tracks, street courses, road courses, rovals, and dirt tracks.
Many drivers weren’t a fan of the dirt track race Bristol, which is understandable.
Here’s a comprise I came up with that’ll be a consideration.
In Monster Energy Supercross there’s the Daytona race. The riders race on the grass infield in the trioval of Daytona that’s covered in dirt.
It could be a compromise to have a dirt section in the trioval perhaps along with pit road as well, but the remainder of the Droval would be a non diet racing surface. A dirt section would be minimal enough to not annoy the drivers who don’t enjoy dirt, but it would also exist just enough for drivers to showcase their skill on dirt in a small section for drivers who grew up on dirt and to provide variety along with uniqueness for fans. This dirt section would only be about let’s say 10-15 maybe 20% of the Droval at maximum, that’s it.
A dirt section in the trioval in front of the main crowd of attendance would intrigue fans and it would be a memory acknowledgement wise to the grassroots of NASCAR that conducted races on dirts and beaches for example.
Texas, Atlanta, Daytona, and Charlotte are all Droval candidates in my opinion along with Indianapolis except the dirt section at Indianapolis would have to be in a creative location considering there’s no trioval plus the dirt would have to be in a location that wouldn’t damage the Indianapolis road course and be viewable to the fans present at the track in the main grand stands.
This is just my opinion. I know some may agree and some may not agree or have mixed thoughts, that’s perfectly okay. I do miss the dirt Bristol race slightly, so this is the reason why I wanted to at least come up with an idea to bring a little bit of dirt into NASCAR without having a complete dirt race 100% around a track.

(prepare for a hella yap session)
I am not much of a hater. Even some of the heavily hated stuff, take RWBY for example, I can easily ignore the negatives and look at the positives. Though, there are 4 things I hate in this world. Katsuki Bakugo, Ragyo Kiryuin, Marilyn Manson and Dio vs Sakuya. Now while the first two are for another day on why I hate them and the third one is a musician which I won't talk about here, I will happily explain here why this is one of the worst matchups. Not just for Sakuya, or just Dio, or just for Touhou or Jojo. No. One of, if not, the worst matchup. Period. At the end, I will leave recommendations to other matchups for them. And by the way, this is in the style of u/McMania's matchup ranking style, atleast from what I can find from him so thank you for this indepth overview/kinda debunk. Let's go.
Part 1: Connections
Well, heres the thing. There aren't any! The only connection is "they stop time". There is also the fact they use knives but Sakuya's main weapon are her knives while Dio has several other means of attacking. Okay. By that definition, Michael Newman from the 2006 movie "Click" vs Dio can work as well. I will not deny the fact they both can stop time but with it being a small connection and it being the only one, and the fact it can be applied to many other characters, it is barely impressive. Although, while the connections suck. I want to point out one of a few positives.
Part 1.5: Contrasts
Now while the connections suck, the contrasts is actually interesting. With Dio being a vampire, having a human servant while also having time powers and using knives (again, weak connections). While Sakuya is a vampire HUNTER and she is the said human servant to a vampire (Remilia). Now Remilia vs Dio is a topic for a different time, this is a neat contrast matchup. But that is the only thing carrying it. Nothing else impressive. For connections, I will have it as a 0.5/10. Now, how thematic is it?
Part 2: Thematic
Not in the fucking slightest. According to Mr Mania, a thematic matchup is how similar their story is and how good the theme is. Like I said earlier, very bad themes to it. But a vampire theme is decent to this. And their stories matching up, the fucking fuckity no. They do NOT allign up in the SLIGHTEST. So that, it gets a ZERO out of 10. Next up, animation potential.
Part 3: Animation potential
Okay, you get the win this time. With how much fanmade sprites, 3d renders and how easy it could be drawn as. Although for the other options, I feel it isn't as impressive. For that, Im giving this an 8. But only because of how popular and good their sprites, 3d renders and drawability are.
Part 4: Fight potential
Hmm. We could use the knives, but Dio uses a multitude of other weapons. Also, Sakuya's spell cards and hax completely negate all of Dio's weapons so for that, this gets a 4 due to the fact Sakuya hard counters all of Dio's hax. By Mr Mania's definition, even if one character hard counters, as long as its nothing basic, it gets a 4 or higher.
Part 5: Interaction Potential
If you know stuff about Touhou, Sakuya is mainly just hands. With that, Dio will be the main talker in this. Which he will be very cocky but Sakuya, she will ignore Dio. This is my main issue with Sakuya as she isn't much of a talker in a fight, but knowing how cocky Dio will be, she will probably ignore Dio even more. With that, it gets a 3. They can interact, its just realistically, Sakuya refuses.
Part 6: Story Potential
Again, another suprising positive. Sakuya actually has a motivator for fighting as Dio is a vampire and she hunts vampires. Although, by Mr Mania's definition, there has to be a sort of growth or something interesting about the story and the fight. Which brings it down as I doubt Sakuya will have much of a reaction to Dio's death (spoiler for part 8 of this). And I don't see anything special about this. With that, it gets a 5.
Part 7: Music Potential
Okay, you got lucky again. I refuse to elaborate but it can be done in rock, classical, metal, etc. As well as with plenty of music to work with and the said music both blending well and going hard as fuck. I am giving it a 10. But their other matchups also get a 10 in music so nothing impressive.
Part 8: Debatability.
If I could, I would give it a 0 or negatives. But, by Mr Mania's definition, if both have feats, at minimum, it gets a 1. And dear god, Sakuya farts and Part 3 of Jojo is gone (please don't make fetish art from me mentioning that). Anyways, the only way Dio can win is with EoH or comp Dio; entirely different matchups to begin with. So with that, I give it a 1, but if the definition gets changed, I am willing to give it even lower.
Part 9: Promotability
Again, another positive. Lots and lots of offical renders for both. As well as lots of fanart for both to be able to use. For drawing, its literally a maid with white hair and a blonde buff dude wearing a yellow suit. Extremely easy to draw. Even I could draw it. Although for trailers, we gotta use the fanmade anime for Sakuya. But plenty of clips for Sakuya. With that, it gets an 8. Mainly due to Sakuya needing a fanmade anime for her clips.
Part 10: Recognizability
Touhou isn't that recognizable. I first heard of Touhou from Bad Apple in my recommendations in my Youtube feed but with the amount of fan content being popular but not noticing it is Touhou, it could be recognizable. As for Dio, well Dio is an anime icon along with Jojo. But, with that, gets a 6. Mainly carried by Dio and stuff like Bad Apple and Fumo memes.
Total: 45.5/100. By u/McMania and "The Council"'s definition, FAILURE. (suprisingly, it did 1.5 points better than Kiritapp's original review). By definition from Mr Mania, it could work but hella issues with the episode.
Now, who is better for them?
If you want a good matchup with Sakuya fighting a Jojo character or Dio fighting a Touhou character? May I introduce you to Sakuya vs Pucci (https://www.reddit.com/DeathBattleMatchups/s/Ujld0klUVM) and Dio vs Byakuren (https://www.reddit.com/DeathBattleMatchups/s/h1MiTLbddY). Now, they aren't perfect but they are way better than this piece of shit matchup. Now, lets first talk about the star of the show first: Sakuya Izayoi
Sakuya has plenty of options I really like. Bayonetta and Alucard from Castlevania immediately come into mind. Bayonetta makes Sakuya's time powers properly treated while Alucard gives an interesting debate and hella potential with other stuff. Besides those two stars and the priest, it kinda stops there. (someone please make a good Sakuya matchup.)
Dio on the other hand, I will be talking about four Dios. Part 1, Part 3, EoH and Comp.
Part 1 should go to Muzan from Demon Slayer. Should be the same amount of potential with Johnathan vs Tanjiro but villain and less emotion yet a more colder death.
Part 3, two actually. Voldomort from Harry Potter and Alucard from Hellsing are both his best for going over Part 3 Dio. I will skip Diego as they are different yet similar due to the reset. Also Diego is a separate entity.
Eyes Of Hevaen Dio, I choose What If Ultron. I think the highlights are the interaction potential from it and it's amazing connections.
And Comp Dio, Reverse Flash or Beatrice from Umineko. I know the second one is controversial but I would say it is 10x better than Sakuyio. As it actually presents them in a good light and their actual personalities are presented well.

The trinity is one of the main topics the INC focuses to argue about, and in every argument/debate i've seen, the INC does not represent the Trinity accurately. This thread is for this purpose of denouncing the lies of the INC in regards to this topic.
I will not give everything off in one post so that people will not get turned off with being introduced to a wall of text so as this thread progresses, more content will drop in.

1) Is the word Trinity in the Bible?

Answer is no. However, this is not a good argument because the word "Bible" and "Epistles" are not found in scripture either. These are words were later made to give a name for certain things taught in the Bible. "Epistle" was made to give a name to all of paul's letters, the word "Bible" was made to give a word for the compiled OT and NT. Likewise, the word "Trinity" was made to have a word for the 3 different persons of God described in the bible.
In the Bible, it was called "the Godhead" Colossians 2:9-10 - In him dwells the fullness of the Godhead.

The word "God" in hebrew is Elohim. In one of James_Readme's threads, I asked him as to what the hebrew word for God is, which he chose not respond to. Here is the reason why, if you read the book of Isaiah, you'll see a class of angels such as Cherub and Cherubim, the difference between the two is that Cherub is singular while Cherubim is plural. Same thing with Seraph and Seraphim. In hebrew, anything that ends with an IM is masculine plural, there ElohIM is plural. God is a plural word.

Genesis 1:26 God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness

2) Isaiah 45:5

I am the LORD, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God.
When the INC uses this verse, they are misrepresenting and being dishonest as to what we believe the Trinity to be. We believe the Trinity is 1 God.
Matt 28:19: baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. It says "Name" (singular) not "Names"
John 10:30, I and the Father are one.
John 1:1 - The Word was with God and the Word was God
The Bible shows that there is only 1 God, but it describes 3 different essences of this one God. Therefore since the Bible teaches the Father, Son, and HS to be one God then obvious Isaiah 45:5 is applicable (has always been applicable) to the triune God. Again, go back to the hebrew word for God being "ElohIM".

3) Jesus says the Father is my God

John 20:17 - ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
This is a complicated one, because it will require to understand the nature of Jesus. Being God and Man. When Jesus became man, he took our nature and became submissive to the Father
Hebrews 2:9 - What we do see is Jesus, *who for a little while was given a position 'a little lower than the angels'
Yes, Jesus called the Father God, and likewise God the Father calls Jesus God.
Hebrews 1: 8 - But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.....
Now, the INC posted a "rebuttal" to this https://incmedia.org/does-hebrews-18-call-jesus-god/

Brother Bob: So dear friends, who is this prophecy all about? In Hebrews 1:8, Apostle Paul was simply quoting this: Psalm 45:6-7, “to the Son He says ‘Your throne, O God**,**” and you know, it’s in this portion of the verse is why people draw the conclusion and think that God is calling Jesus God. But, let’s go back again to Hebrews 1:8 and include verse 9 with it this time, because that is so very important to do, it reads this way, including verse 9:

This is a poor rebuttal.
First, this Bob guy doesn't explain is what/who that Psalms 45 prophecy is about. It's a Messianic Prophecy, so even back then in Psalms Jesus is already being called God. This INC minister is not answering as to who is that "God" and why is the Father using that prophecy in reference to the son.

Now, False preachers, they will only read verse 8, leave out verse 9, You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.”
[Hebrews 1:8-9 New King James Version]
Brother Bob: So dear friends, it is made clear here in verse 9, that to the son, whom God is referring to, is one who has a God. The true God does not have another God, or else there would be two Gods. Hebrews 1:8-9 is simply, then, an important prophecy about the Son who was anointed with the oil of gladness, and who hates lawlessness and loves righteousness.

Verse 9 just proves our point. This isn't implying "another God" but both the Father and the Son to be God. Next, this guy leaves out v10-13 that helps affirm that this entire chapter is showing the Father and Son to be equally 1 God.
V10: HE (God) ALSO SAYS: In the beginning, Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.
Who is the Father referring to as Lord, who laid the foundations of the earth?
then in v13, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies, a footstool for your feet" This is quoting Psalm 110:1, which begins with "and the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand..." Who is this Lord?
Another reason why this Bob person is wrong is because even the muslims will say Hebrews 1 has the Father calling Jesus God. If you go to the Muslim sub and ask them what do they think of Paul, they will bash him for being a false prophet. The muslims think Paul is the guy who started the belief of the trinity and they use this verse as an example of the "corruption" made by Paul . That is why they reject the NT, that is why they claim the Quran was sent by God --because the NT was corrupted. So even they know what the actual message of this chapter is.

The INC will play games as much as they want, but in the end they have to prove why their church has credibility. They are a church made by filipinos and believed by only filipinos, and they are not only contending with 2000 years of christian teachings but they are basing their stance on a bunch of books that were compiled and translated by churches they consider as "false teachers".
I'll leave this for now, there are other things such as Matthew 24:36 and other verses which i will get through some other time.

This is for us normies who don’t want to sift through a hundred youtube videos just to figure out basic information that should be readily available. This guide is designed for people who are new to modding.
This LLO follows Brxsie’s model. For more detailed info on categorization refer to their reddit post.
You can leave out any mod on this list that you don’t want except for USSEP.
Key:
*= my personal notes explaining what a mod does or why I added it
e.g. = extra examples of popular mods that should be placed in that category
Blurb
(skip this section if you want the quick version of this post)
Hi everyone; I’m not a modder nor a PC player, but I was desperate to figure out how to safely load my game with reasonable lore-friendly updates. Every LLO guide I’ve found so far has either been outdated, contradictory to other sources, does not specify which mods fall under what category, is way too vague, or way too specific. The mods I’ve listed here should be easily searchable on the recently updated Xbox creations menu so that any Xbox player can easily copy this list. Originally, I was just recording my LLO for my own personal use, but I figured this could help people who don’t have the time to put in as much research as I have.
If you are brand new to modding, vanilla+ means that you want to stay faithful to the original game as much as possible while upgrading the look of your Skyrim world and making a few convenient tweaks. The least “true to the original game” mod on this list is convenient horses. In my experience so far, this LLO plays just as smoothly as vanilla Skyrim.
Unless I wrote a note next to the mod stating otherwise, all of these mods are independent of one another, except for: divine atmosphere, divine atmosphere snowflake edit, and realistic snowflakes. If you like the ugly fractal snowflakes in divine atmosphere then don’t bother with the other two mods, but if not, you need the vanilla snowflake edit and the snowflake texture mod to go together. Therefore, you can leave out any mod on this list that you don’t want except for USSEP), and the game will function normally.
To customize settings of mods while in-game, go to magic -> powers. “Equip” the mod you want to change and press RB once out of the menu. This is relevant to divine atmospheres, divine interiors, flute finder, convenient horses, and some dialogue mods.
Most mods on this list can be downloaded or deleted safely while playing a pre-existing save file. Deleting mods become problematic when you have already added and interacted with a custom item to the game and then delete the mod that supported the item. When testing new mods, I suggest only adding a few at a time so that you know what to delete if you encounter any issues.
If you are reading this on a laptop or PC, you can press command/control F to search for keywords of the mods you want to install to find where they belong in the LLO.
Personally, my favorite mods that I’ve added to the game are the dialogue mods and the texture mods. They make Skyrim feel like a real world with real people living in it and I would highly suggest using some or all of them. I’d also love to hear everyone’s suggestions on proposed edits to this load order. Please let me know if you are aware of any conflicting mods or bugs, or if I have made any mistakes in my layperson's explanation of techy stuff. Unsure if this is relevant information, but I’m located in the USA.
Extra notes:
What the heck is a leveled list? A leveled list is a change in the code that makes changes to certain values. Such as changing how much gold a character has or how powerful an enemy is.
And what exactly is an area edit? An area edit is any mod that adds or significantly changes a location in the game. This includes adding extra trees, adding extra smelters, or adding custom player homes that do not exist in vanilla, among other things.
Why are there all of these categories and why is it so complicated? LLO sorts mods so that the game can load the most important files first. When LLO is not followed, the game will inevitably crash. Categories allow us to sort mods into the LLO based on how they interact with the game's code. People sometimes disagree on what order to put the categories in, but all LLO templates use the same basic categories.
I do not use immersive citizens AI because multiple people have reported bugs. Other people have no issues with it, but I prefer to stay on the safe side.
Remember to lower your in-game brightness, especially when you are using divine interiors and divine atmospheres. If the brightness is all the way up, things will start to glow. You will have to use torches in locations with zero light, such as corners in caves. This adds a realistic feel to the game. If you give a torch to your follower, they will automatically use it in in low-light conditions. I switch between default/glimmegrim/vivid depending on where I am and how colorful I want things to be. The game may look darker overall as you can see in the screenshots, but this is more true to how lighting works in the real world.
Skyrim 101 tip: When you ditch items to reduce your carry weight, store them somewhere (such as a dead body or a chest) instead of dropping them on the ground. If you drop items all over your game it will eventually lag.
When creating a new character, keep in mind that once you start playing, you might change the lighting and make the colors more saturated. For example: I accidentally gave myself yellow hair instead of natural blonde because I forgot about lighting and atmosphere changes. This is another reason to install the vanity mirror mod, which allows you to change your character mid-game.
Storage space: all of the mods I have listed here take up approximately 4.36GB.
I suggest keeping a note of your LLO on your phone so that you can easily categorize mods you want to add the future.
Sometimes LLO will not save, so I recommend double-checking that everything landed in the right spot or backing up your LLO to bethesda before exiting the LLO menu.
Sometimes you need to restart your game to enable a newly installed mod.
How to delete a complex mod without causing problems: disable the mod, hard reset (hold power button for 10 secs or unplug the console), uninstall the mod, hard reset.
I’ve noticed a bug where I cannot tell my follower (Lydia) to do anything in “command mode”. I don’t know what’s causing this- it seems like a dialogue issue but I rarely use the command mode feature anyway so it’s small enough for me to ignore for now. Let me know if you find out what's causing this!
*Blurb over\*
Master Files

Unofficial skyrim special edition patch (USSEP) *almost every source says that this must be installed. It fixes core bugs in the game that developers have not bothered to update themselves

Foundations: Lots of game changes (e.g. cheat room, encounters overhaul, etc.)

Convenient horses *allows you to summon your horse from anywhere, store items on your horse, give followers horses, etc.

Dialogue Overhauls

Guard dialogue overhaul
Follower commentary overhaul
Misc dialogue edits and more
Relationship dialogue overhaul

Fonts/UI (excluding map mods)

Font replacer - eadui

Alterations to vanilla quests
Any craftable item

Vanity Mirror *this is to fix the makeup bug where your lips are off center when you create your character. I have not tested this yet, but apparently if you open up the customization menu with the vanity mirror then the makeup will work again. Cheat room also works for the makeup issue, but I didn’t want so many extra cheats in my game just to fix this one ridiculous bug
Get no more dead followers *functionally turns off friendly fire for followers

Game mechanic changes: races, perks, vampires, adoptions, etc.

Flute finder - a skyrim gps tracker for npcs *this is because I always lost my followers in vanilla and it was super annoying
Multiple Marriages *haven’t tested this yet so cannot vouch for its effectiveness
Auto unequip ammo *unequips arrows when you uneauip your bow so that you’re not always walking around with a sheath on your back

Level Progression (e.g. Clever leveling)
Perk overhauls/changes
Magic additions and modifications

Master of Destruction (xb1) *adds new high level spells that target specific characters instead of killing everyone in the area
Mining spell *I hate carrying a stupid pickaxe everywhere, so this spell mines for you. I haven't tested this mod yet though

Leveled list changes (e.g. rebalanced leveled lists)

Better gold *adds slightly more gold when looting specific high level enemies
Master trader 1x *this replenishes merchant gold each time you speak to them

NPC Leveled list (e.g. organized bandits in skyrim)
Any audio

Chapter II - Jeremy Soule inspired music *Jeremy Soule composed the original game soundtrack. This adds a few hours of similar sounding music that blend in with the game

Weather and Atmosphere (put weather up ^ in LLO if the mod is just a weather mod and not an atmosphere mod)

Divine Atmosphere: Aetherius *my favorite setting is vivid or grim
Divine Atmosphere: Aetherius vanilla snowflakes option
Ultra realistic snow flakes (custom snowflake texture) *if searching for this mod, search for “snow flakes” instead of “snowflakes”

Grass
Grass Fixes
Skin/skeleton physics and appearance changes

pristine vanilla movement
XP32 maximum skeleton special edition plus *changes some physics for smoother movement

Animation mods

360 walk and run *at first I put this in the gameplay mechanics category, but it did not work there. In the animation category it works as intended

Meshes and Textures
*The mods I’ve listed in this section should cover almost every visual in the game. Nothing is too drastic of a style change and fits right in to the game’s vibe.

Wear multiple rings *this mod is more useful for stacking enchantments rather than pure aesthetics. Not necessary if you want a more vanilla game
Divine texture pack - architecture
Dark ages: fantasy dungeons
Dark ages: dragon Textures
Divine creatures texture pack
Omen armors weapons and clothing *I highly recommend this one!
Fluffy snow
Dark ages - landscapes
Divine skins and bodies for men *misleading name: this is actually unisex. Make sure this goes above^ divine people otherwise you might experience an occasional face glitch. This must be used along with divine people in order to work correctly
Granite mountains *another mod I highly recommend
Dark Ages: Trees of the north
Divine SMIM *Static mesh improvement mod. SMIM mods redesign lots of small items in the game
Lucidaps’ high poly project v5.x *This corrects blocky items to make things look more realistic. It cooperates with the SMIM to create beautifully textured and realistic item designs, such as the ridiculously good looking head of cabbage

Non-combat NPC AI
Immersion (e.g. immersive patrols, landlord etc.) - can be tricky to categorize
Anything that changes a character’s/npc face or hair (e.g natural eyes)

Divine people of skyrim: celestial *For more vanilla/gritty looking people, try the dark ages texture pack. Both divine people and dark ages people mods must be paired with its corresponding skins mod, otherwise the textures will get cut off at the neck due to mismatching colors

Interior lighting changes

Divine interiors shadows and light *my favorite setting is glimmer or default if the game looks too oversaturated because of the lighting. I highly recommend this mod, it makes the game feel much richer

Interior decorating changes
Lightweight multiple area edits

Unique bridges of skyrim
Divine forests
Get more smelters *haven’t tested this extensively but I don’t foresee any issues since it doesn’t interfere with anything big

Single area edits like player homes
Multiple area edits (e.g. divine cities)
*I do not recommend divine cities or divine villages because it can be buggy. One time Lydia got permanently stuck in a modded tavern and I had to backtrack through an hour of progress to get her back out
Adding individual unique objects

Auto Harvest Ring *because I like alchemy but hate picking flowers. Equipping this ring automatically harvests ingredients in range. Just remember to ditch the cabbages to reduce your carry weight

Combat changes, combat AI (e.g. realistic damage, wildcat)

Dark ages: immersive dragon ai
Better stealth ai for followers *followers will not start fighting automatically while you are trying to be sneaky

Unique follower mods (e.g. Sofia)
Mods that add new quests (mods that alter vanilla quests do not go here)

More to say 9.0.2 *this dialogue mod is here because it adds new quests. The other dialogue mods I’ve added are less consequential and simply add a little immersion. I’m unsure if this conflicts with the other dialogue mods

Map mods

A quality world map - vivid with stone roads *map mods use up VRAM and many people recommend against using them. I’m not a tech person, so forgive me if this isn’t accurate, but VRAM is similar to regular RAM. This means you can reset VRAM if you hard restart your console. If you are playing with tons of heavyweight mods all the time then maybe you should skip map mods, however in this LLO I have not noticed any FPS changes at all and personally, it’s worth it to me to hard restart the console every once in a while so that I can keep this mod. Source for the tech info (posted Oct. 2023) - https://www.xboxforums.com/threads/ram-and-vram.24007/
Pastel map markers *Can you tell I like organizing? Color coding the map makes it more readable and gives locations a touch more personality

Mods that specify bottom LO

Apologies if this is obvious (I have no real programming experience) or already asked a lot (I was surprised I couldn’t find it via search). I‘m trying to find or make a batch file rename shortcut on iPadOS that does a few simple things:

Lets me select several files at once from a location of my choosing in the Files app (usually in either a Dropbox or iCloud folder).
Prompts me to enter a new file name prefix (like “NewFileName”)
Renames all selected files to the new name and appends a sequential number after them. (Like NewFileName01, NewFileName02, etc)
Lets me choose where the new files are saved (or places them in the same folder as the originals).
Gives me the option to delete the original files (ideally, but I can do this manually if I have to).

I found this one: Batch Renaming Photos in the Files app which is pretty close to what I want, but it seems to number things in single digits (like Filename - 1, Filename - 2) and I was wondering if there’s a way to change that to 2 digits (like Filename - 01, Filename - 02)?
Basically part of the reason I need this shortcut to begin with is because I’m exporting batches of files from Procreate, which also uses single digits, which means if I have more than 9 in the sequence (like 12 for example), they’re ordered as Filename - 1, Filename - 11, Filename - 12, Filename - 2, Filename - 3 (and so on) instead of being properly ordered from 1-12, which drives me nuts when trying to find and work with batches of files.
Two other minor issues (but not dealbreakers if they can’t be solved) are:

I ideally want to be able to choose how the number is appended (like Filename01, Filename_01, etc. instead of just defaulting to the dash format).
There’s a weird issue I’m having with this one in that selecting files and launching from the share sheet still prompts me to select files again (and doesn’t use the previous selections), making the share sheet feature kind of irrelevant. I don’t absolutely need the share sheet option to work though.

I did also find this: Batch rename and copy shortcut for use with photography files which appends the number directly after the new Filename which gives me a bit more flexibility and allows me to add in the 0 as part of the preffix and then I guess I could go back and delete it for the numbers 10+, but it‘s not the most ideal workaround.
But overall. this 2nd one is probably overkill for what I need and has some other issues (like not being able to just choose one folder to save all the renamed files in without having to enter a folder path manually or reselect it for each file).
Anyway, sorry again if this is an obvious question. It feels like it should be an easy thing to figure out, but I’ve been struggling with it for hours because of my lack of experience in this area.

A Homily Prepared For Sunday May 19, 2024
The Collect
O God, who on this day taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Gospel
John 7:37–39a
37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
Commentary on Today’s Gospel Selection;
In our Gospel selection for today, Pentecost Sunday, we look at an event which takes place on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, also known as Feast of Booths, and Sukkot. The event takes place in SeptembeOctober, and celebrates the fall harvest of grapes and olives. It lasts seven days with a holy convocation on the eighth day (Leviticus 23:36).
Jewish law specifies that, during the Feast of Tabernacles, Jewish people “You shall dwell in booths seven days. All who are native-born in Israel shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 23:42-43). It also characterizes this feast as a fall harvest festival (Exodus 23:16; Deuteronomy 16:13).
It was during this feast or celebrations that:
“Jesus stood and cried, saying,If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (vs. 37-38) To understand the context of the situation in which Jesus stands and makes this pronouncement, you have to understand the daily rituals which took place during the festival.
During the first six days of the week long event, a priest would go to the Pool of Siloam and draw a pitcher full of water, then march in procession back to the temple with the people repeating from a verse found in Isaiah 12:3, “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”
Then upon returning to the temple the priest would pour out the water in an offering to God, commemorating the water that poured from the rock that sustained the ancient Israelites (Exodus 17:1-7; Numbers 20:1-13) as well as the rains that sustained Israel during the year just passed.
Everyday for six days, the people had been celebrating the water that had given their people physical sustenance; Jesus now tells them that he is capable of satisfying their spiritual thirst.
“as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”(v. 38b) Just as we today think of the heart as being the center of emotions, (e.g. from the heart) in those times, they believed that the belly was the place where warm kindly benevolent feelings were generated. Jesus is saying that those who believe in him will receive these spiritual waters, waters of spiritual blessings, salvation.
When lost in the desert, the children of Israel thought the waters from God that materialized as flowing from a rock, were a blessing, a salvation in the physical sense for those who faced death from thirst (dehydration.) At the core of Jesus message to them that day, lies the fact that instead of worshiping an event that took place hundreds of years beforehand, a miracle that only provided physical sustenance for a brief time, they should be paying attention to his message which offers an eternal spiritual sustenance.
This verse brings to mind Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman, “the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).
Jeremiah 2:13 also contains a reference to spiritual water: “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Likewise we see in Jeremiah 17:13 “O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.” Perhaps Jesus recognized this disparity which could be seen in the religious rite in which the people celebrated his Father’s gift of water for physical thirst while remaining obvious to “the fountain of living waters” that God offered them.
In writing this Gospel, John the Evangelist, adds a note to the reader in verse 39; “But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.”
Here we find an explanation as to why these verses were selected for Pentecost Sunday, the day that the Holy spirit descended upon the Followers of Christ. Water and the Spirit are connected elsewhere in John — for example, when Jesus tells Nicodemus that “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (3:5). In Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman, living water is the symbol of the revelation of God in Christ which satisfies all spiritual thirst (4:10-15). “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)
This living water that springs up into everlasting life, as promised by Jesus, is water that satisfies one’s spiritual thirst. A water that traditionally has been found through attendance and membership in the church, where one learns about the message and teachings of Christ, the essence of the water itself.
Unfortunately over the last decade, we have watched a great exodus from the church; in particular the old main-line churches. Those churches hemorrhaging membership most excessively, are those who in recent years have spent less time on—if not totally abandoning—the Gospel of Christ, while embracing a social gospel that may be based on good intentions, but none the less fails to address the people’s spiritual thirst.
Indeed, when questioned by pollsters attempting to gather information regarding this great exodus, a large number of people say that they identify as “spiritual but not religious.” Assuming that these people are indeed spiritual, then we can also assume that they are not finding in these churches, the water and spirit, with which to satisfy their thirst.
Ironically, we find the Hebrew people in chapter 7 attending a great celebration, one in which the observances commemorate important events in their history as a people chosen by God. Annual celebrations that for them, were certainly fun and wondrous to participate in, but yet—as Jesus noted by his crying out—they were failing to receive the spiritual water of God and instead they were focusing on recreating an event of centuries past. I say this is ironic, in that today we find the churches focusing, not on recreating events of the past as a commemoration of the importance of the event, but rather on progressive social ideologies that often conflict with the word of God itself. A so called social gospel that often drowns out the message of the Gospel of Christ.
Instead of uniting together as brothers and sisters in Christ seeking the water and spirit that Jesus spoke of, our churches are inculcating, not a gospel of the spirit that unites us in the name of Christ, but rather an ideology that divides us along social constructs and identities.
People who readily identify—when asked—as spiritual, seem to have an innate thirst for authentic spirituality, and apparently are not finding a cure for that thirst in these churches that are no longer churches of Christ, but which are now, for all pratical purposes, churches of progressive ideology.
But yet, if you really seek through the news media diligently, you will see signs that the Holy Spirit is descending again, in some ways, just as it did during that event we commemorate today.
The principalities of this world work to suppress the news of the spirit moving, but yet reports are emerging of young people filling the pews at revivals, mass baptisms, even the conversion of formerly reprobate celebrities who have now found Christ and are trying to turn around their life, to be as born again. We also are witnessing an increasing number of celebrities who are speaking out, unapologetically affirming their Christian beliefs and advocating for traditional family values and lifestyles. The Holy Spirit has touched the hearts of these individuals, compelling them to ignore their fears of persecution or their aversion to being called out as not being politically or socially correct.
As we observe the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon those in that room, let us be cognizant of the fact that there are many people in this world today, who are hungry for authentic Christianity. Those who thirst for authentic water and spirit that satiates the spiritual thirst. Those who can be characterized as being the least of these.
The “least of these” is a phrase that originates from Matthew 25:31–46, a passage often used in these modern times, to guilt Christians, causing them to embrace this false social gospel that is emptying the churches. Christians are not leaving because they do not want to help others, but due to the fact that they instinctively know that this passage, and others, are used out of context in an effort to guilt them into accepting what they know in their heart is wrong.
Matthew wrote this at a time, in which most likely the least of these, the needy, those imprisoned and persecuted, those that Christ called his bothers, most likely were his brothers and sisters, as it was a time in which Christians were discriminated against and tortured for their beliefs. Matthew was preaching to a congregation that knew all too well what the conditions Jesus spoke of were like.
While we are always to help the financially impoverished, a careful reading of Matthew 25:31–46 and its historical context demonstrates the need to give aid to the spiritually impoverished as well. When we look at how this passage was taught prior to the emergence of the social gospel a century past. We find a rebuke of the minsters who teach such false doctrines in these words of Jesus: “For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me ”
There are yet those who are spiritually hungry, spiritually thirsty, naked in spirit, they are treated as strangers by the modern church because they hold traditional values dear. There are those who speak out against all sorts of abominations and now find themselves in prison, sick and isolated. But yet the churches of social gospel turn a blind eye to them.
The rest of us must keep the spiritually hungry and thirsty in our prayers, reach out to them and help them find the spirit that is once again moving today as it moved two millennia ago.
Benediction:
O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I view Operating Cash Flow (OCF) as the bloodline of any entertainment media business.
Warner Brother's Discovery (WBD) manages to pull in some $7+ Billion annual OCF. With a current market value of $20 Billion, WBD sells on the market 3 times its annual OCF. That's pretty fucking cheap.
The question is why so "cheap"?
Well, maybe it's because of WBD's:

Crippling $40+ Billion in debt
Relatively "high" interest rates
10% top-line decline in the linear segment
Anti-trust political climate

However, I think the market has overstated these concerns. With my super inexperienced opinion I think: - WBD's $7+ Billion in OCF is sustainable - Interest rates will stay at a reasonable level (a.k.a no Paul Volcker) - The cable ecosystem won't implode before substaintial debt repayment - The cable ecosystem won't implode before direct-to-consumer becomes a material replacement
The key insight I have over other investors is:
WBD is a business that is saddled, but not funded, by debt, nor primarily funded by equity (cough cough AMC and GME cough).
Sadly, currently I can't say the same about PARA: - Most PARA debt reduction is net of asset sales - If Shari Redstone succeeds in the Skydance merger, then essentially PARA is being funded by new equity to pay down debt.
Of course, for PARA, this won't matter if the turnaround succeeds. However, the current status quote isn't the prettiest -- as the case with most turnarounds (otherwise you wouldn't call it a "turnaround").
For most people, the investment thesis on PARA is more of a sum of the parts (SoTP). If Shari does the "right thing" and get's EVERYBODY a nice payday, then our SoTP will have come to fruition.
So why this post?
Should we cash out, my next "deep value" investment will be WBD. You should be aware though of some risk factors: - Interest rates rocket higher - WBD loses the NBA rights - Top-line decreases in the cable ecosystem is fine, but if the bottom-line is materially affected by cord-cutting then economies scale is lost and the cable-ecosystem is fundamentally broken.
You might wonder, why not Disney? Valuation. Why not AMC? I'm not an APE. Why not Netflix? Valuation.
Of course though, I always keep half my "fuck you" money in the index. Stock picking is just a hobby...
Edit: Also, WBD is Seth Klarman approved who intern is Warren Buffet approved.
Edit: Moreover, Michael Burry has been in and out of the stock more than once.

30 year fan, not some newbie here. Just something I never really thought about much before.
I mean, those little foam earplugs are well and good for fans 200 yards away from the track for 4 hours on a sunday, but they can't possibly be effective for long term use, right? Even more advanced protection seems outgunned by the sheer amount of time these guys are exposed to engine noise
Figure an average driver has 10 years experience when you factor in local racing, trucks/xfinity and cup.. that's tens of thousands of hours in the car for practices, testing, races etc.. you mean to tell me they don't have defective protection once in a while? Military veterans sued 3m over it and won a ton of money not too long ago, so it happens. Just something I don't see mentioned.

A Homily Prepared For Sunday May 19, 2024
The Collect
O God, who on this day taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
The Gospel
John 7:37–39a
37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
Commentary on Today’s Gospel Selection;
In our Gospel selection for today, Pentecost Sunday, we look at an event which takes place on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles, also known as Feast of Booths, and Sukkot. The event takes place in SeptembeOctober, and celebrates the fall harvest of grapes and olives. It lasts seven days with a holy convocation on the eighth day (Leviticus 23:36).
Jewish law specifies that, during the Feast of Tabernacles, Jewish people “You shall dwell in booths seven days. All who are native-born in Israel shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 23:42-43). It also characterizes this feast as a fall harvest festival (Exodus 23:16; Deuteronomy 16:13).
It was during this feast or celebrations that:
“Jesus stood and cried, saying,If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (vs. 37-38) To understand the context of the situation in which Jesus stands and makes this pronouncement, you have to understand the daily rituals which took place during the festival.
During the first six days of the week long event, a priest would go to the Pool of Siloam and draw a pitcher full of water, then march in procession back to the temple with the people repeating from a verse found in Isaiah 12:3, “Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.”
Then upon returning to the temple the priest would pour out the water in an offering to God, commemorating the water that poured from the rock that sustained the ancient Israelites (Exodus 17:1-7; Numbers 20:1-13) as well as the rains that sustained Israel during the year just passed.
Everyday for six days, the people had been celebrating the water that had given their people physical sustenance; Jesus now tells them that he is capable of satisfying their spiritual thirst.
“as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.”(v. 38b) Just as we today think of the heart as being the center of emotions, (e.g. from the heart) in those times, they believed that the belly was the place where warm kindly benevolent feelings were generated. Jesus is saying that those who believe in him will receive these spiritual waters, waters of spiritual blessings, salvation.
When lost in the desert, the children of Israel thought the waters from God that materialized as flowing from a rock, were a blessing, a salvation in the physical sense for those who faced death from thirst (dehydration.) At the core of Jesus message to them that day, lies the fact that instead of worshiping an event that took place hundreds of years beforehand, a miracle that only provided physical sustenance for a brief time, they should be paying attention to his message which offers an eternal spiritual sustenance.
This verse brings to mind Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman, “the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:13-14).
Jeremiah 2:13 also contains a reference to spiritual water: “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Likewise we see in Jeremiah 17:13 “O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.” Perhaps Jesus recognized this disparity which could be seen in the religious rite in which the people celebrated his Father’s gift of water for physical thirst while remaining obvious to “the fountain of living waters” that God offered them.
In writing this Gospel, John the Evangelist, adds a note to the reader in verse 39; “But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.”
Here we find an explanation as to why these verses were selected for Pentecost Sunday, the day that the Holy spirit descended upon the Followers of Christ. Water and the Spirit are connected elsewhere in John — for example, when Jesus tells Nicodemus that “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (3:5). In Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman, living water is the symbol of the revelation of God in Christ which satisfies all spiritual thirst (4:10-15). “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)
This living water that springs up into everlasting life, as promised by Jesus, is water that satisfies one’s spiritual thirst. A water that traditionally has been found through attendance and membership in the church, where one learns about the message and teachings of Christ, the essence of the water itself.
Unfortunately over the last decade, we have watched a great exodus from the church; in particular the old main-line churches. Those churches hemorrhaging membership most excessively, are those who in recent years have spent less time on—if not totally abandoning—the Gospel of Christ, while embracing a social gospel that may be based on good intentions, but none the less fails to address the people’s spiritual thirst.
Indeed, when questioned by pollsters attempting to gather information regarding this great exodus, a large number of people say that they identify as “spiritual but not religious.” Assuming that these people are indeed spiritual, then we can also assume that they are not finding in these churches, the water and spirit, with which to satisfy their thirst.
Ironically, we find the Hebrew people in chapter 7 attending a great celebration, one in which the observances commemorate important events in their history as a people chosen by God. Annual celebrations that for them, were certainly fun and wondrous to participate in, but yet—as Jesus noted by his crying out—they were failing to receive the spiritual water of God and instead they were focusing on recreating an event of centuries past. I say this is ironic, in that today we find the churches focusing, not on recreating events of the past as a commemoration of the importance of the event, but rather on progressive social ideologies that often conflict with the word of God itself. A so called social gospel that often drowns out the message of the Gospel of Christ.
Instead of uniting together as brothers and sisters in Christ seeking the water and spirit that Jesus spoke of, our churches are inculcating, not a gospel of the spirit that unites us in the name of Christ, but rather an ideology that divides us along social constructs and identities.
People who readily identify—when asked—as spiritual, seem to have an innate thirst for authentic spirituality, and apparently are not finding a cure for that thirst in these churches that are no longer churches of Christ, but which are now, for all pratical purposes, churches of progressive ideology.
But yet, if you really seek through the news media diligently, you will see signs that the Holy Spirit is descending again, in some ways, just as it did during that event we commemorate today.
The principalities of this world work to suppress the news of the spirit moving, but yet reports are emerging of young people filling the pews at revivals, mass baptisms, even the conversion of formerly reprobate celebrities who have now found Christ and are trying to turn around their life, to be as born again. We also are witnessing an increasing number of celebrities who are speaking out, unapologetically affirming their Christian beliefs and advocating for traditional family values and lifestyles. The Holy Spirit has touched the hearts of these individuals, compelling them to ignore their fears of persecution or their aversion to being called out as not being politically or socially correct.
As we observe the day that the Holy Spirit descended upon those in that room, let us be cognizant of the fact that there are many people in this world today, who are hungry for authentic Christianity. Those who thirst for authentic water and spirit that satiates the spiritual thirst. Those who can be characterized as being the least of these.
The “least of these” is a phrase that originates from Matthew 25:31–46, a passage often used in these modern times, to guilt Christians, causing them to embrace this false social gospel that is emptying the churches. Christians are not leaving because they do not want to help others, but due to the fact that they instinctively know that this passage, and others, are used out of context in an effort to guilt them into accepting what they know in their heart is wrong.
Matthew wrote this at a time, in which most likely the least of these, the needy, those imprisoned and persecuted, those that Christ called his bothers, most likely were his brothers and sisters, as it was a time in which Christians were discriminated against and tortured for their beliefs. Matthew was preaching to a congregation that knew all too well what the conditions Jesus spoke of were like.
While we are always to help the financially impoverished, a careful reading of Matthew 25:31–46 and its historical context demonstrates the need to give aid to the spiritually impoverished as well. When we look at how this passage was taught prior to the emergence of the social gospel a century past. We find a rebuke of the minsters who teach such false doctrines in these words of Jesus: “For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me ”
There are yet those who are spiritually hungry, spiritually thirsty, naked in spirit, they are treated as strangers by the modern church because they hold traditional values dear. There are those who speak out against all sorts of abominations and now find themselves in prison, sick and isolated. But yet the churches of social gospel turn a blind eye to them.
The rest of us must keep the spiritually hungry and thirsty in our prayers, reach out to them and help them find the spirit that is once again moving today as it moved two millennia ago.
Benediction:
O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hey all. Hoping the best & brightest that I know are here might be able to point me in the right direction of what's happening to me 🙏😭 I'm at my absolute wits end tonight mentally & just hoping to hear from anyone with suggestions on specialists or what factors might be at play.
More details below & about my LC in my post history (https://www.reddit.com/LongHaulersRecovery/s/e0qhGhz9vK) but started combo Birth Control (nylia) on 5/10 for an IVF cycle, last dose 5/14 & had extreme reaction.

Current Symptoms that started 10 days ago: Anxiety, depression, increased temperature, diarrhea, increased BP (119/77 to 143/86) & RHR (68 to 74), stronger tinnitus, severe RLS at night only sleeping 1-2 hrs at a time, leg pains over veins, bulging veins in legs mainly but also hands, psoriasis flare and expansion on ankles and elbows, dry skin that felt on fire on my body, legs that felt like fire ants were crawling on them, dry mouth, headache, noticeable veins over whole body and insomnia.

About Me 36/F 5'5" 208lbs, PCOS, psoriasis, hypothyroid, reflux, Gastroparesis, dry eye, infertility and IDWA. On Nexium, synthroid, prenatal, CoQ10, D3, B12, omega 3s, and miralax 2x/day.
2021 infection after 3x moderna, tinnitus, pots, exertion intolerance, post viral Gastroparesis, dry eye, brain fog. 4 months post infection had GB removed, helped symptoms a lot. 2022 and 2023 boosters went totally fine, no issues. Modified diet, worked w/post covid clinic & by 2023 besides tinnitus & GP, felt great and was cleared by every specialist at age 35 to try for a baby.
2023 Conceived and lost 3 pregnacies in a row. First in Sept at 10w miscarriage, then had COVID 3 weeks later - took paxlovid and it helped tremendously, didn't feel like any symptoms worsened. Next was a chemical at 5 weeks Dec, and 3rd was at 8 weeks blighted ovum in Feb. D&c surgeries for 1 & 3. By the 2nd pregnancy I was severely iron deficient from my limited GP diet & pregnacy (ferritin 4, iron sat 21%, iron 30, abnormal mch/MCV) and I feel that contributed to the 2 later losses, first was random genetic. IV iron Infusions necessary bc didn't tolerate oral with GP, did 4 and just finished 4/30 - getting updated iron bloods Monday.
Now Stopped BC 4 days ago when it became unbearable & went to PCP, they're baffled as the extreme leg and vein stuff doesn't fit bc side effects. Sent me & no DVT on duplex US, told stop BC, wear compression socks, take magnesium, elevate, watch BP. I wake up at night with knee and below feeling hot, woke up shaking one night. BP and RhR 5 days out have started to stabilize 🙏 but even now I still experience side of neck tightening, yesterday and today had major sharp headaches when I never get headaches and one eye blurry - it went to my teeth and then my left eye felt a bit of pressure and now is slightly blurry despite my eye drops.
I'm suspecting CVI about the veins, and I was really just hoping that the worsened tinnitus, headache and temp issues are hormone related but a few hours is 6 days from stopping pills. I can't believe 4 fucking pills did this all to me.
Any help or suggestions of what to look into. extremely appreciated. 🙏

I’m not saying that this is definitively the case, but I just can’t conceive of an explanation for a hatred that has lasted this long, this consistently, and under so many different insane rationales. It’s so irrational that it’s supernatural.
Other groups have been hated, are hated, and continue to be hated. But the level, longevity and adaptibility of hatred for Jews is different. When a Yazidi lady running from ISIS seeks asylum in America, she’s basically good. Of course she’ll have to figure out how to make a living like any other immigrant, and deal with the standard trauma, but she probably won’t be hated in the new place like she was in the old place.
But when a Jew goes from one country to another, he’s hated both in the old one AND IN THE NEW ONE. Maybe the hatred in the new one is less, for a time, but it’s still there.
When a gay man runs from Iraq to Europe for being gay, European society generally takes him in. Over in Iraq they hate him for being gay and possibly an infidel, but over in Europe he’s just a guy who had a hard time.
But for Jews, the literal rationale for why we are evil changes everywhere we go, such that we cannot catch a break. For example, the Nazis persecuted Jews for being “Judeo-Bolshevists”. There are reports that after the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, many Jews escaped from annexed Poland into the interior of the USSR. But then just 10 years after the war, Stalin called Jews “rootless cosmopolitans” who were spying for the west. He slaughtered Jewish poets and doctors based on this rationale, and he was likely preparing another mass persecution of Jews before he died.
So we are persecuted for being too capitalist AND too communist. That makes NO SENSE.
But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Religiosity or lack thereof doesn’t save us either. When the Soviet Union started its persecution of Jews, it worked to strip our religion from us because that was the “opiate of the masses.” But back in the days of the Spanish Inquisiton, we were persecuted for NOT BEING RELIGIOUS ENOUGH, meaning our conversions to Christianity weren’t sincere enough. Even after Jews were forced to become Christian, they still made distinctions between Old Christians and “New Christians” who had come from Jews. The New Christians had restrictions that the old ones didn’t.
The hatred constantly mutates. It’s completely nonsensical, yet it still remains so popular. Even though the reasoning changes every few years. No other group deals with this. I literally cannot name another group that has continually evolving forms of hatred against them.
The only explanation I can think of is that Hashem made this all happen on purpose. To keep us distinct, because if we’re constantly hated and kept on our toes, we stick to our own distinct peoplehood. We remain particularistic and more mindful of our own interests.
Probably cynical, probably a little paranoid, but I think there’s a point to it.

Hey so I’m relocating to Sydney for work and going the Flatmates route. I’ve had a few virtual inspections and liked one or two spaces by how they looked in call, but I’m wary about committing to lock something in before I’ve physically visited the place? Has anyone moved in based on virtual checks alone?
House A: 400 pw, near Lidcombe station. Sort of like a high-rise condominium type. Pretty new so clean, also really spacious and landlady has been full-on responsive, which feels like a good sign. We also came to an agreement that the price will stay as-is for 12 months.
Partly furnished so need to buy a bed and mattress, but everything else is there. As I’ll need to work in office 2-3x a week and factoring in odd visits to the city, I’ve calculated total transport to cost me $50–I like to round up just in case.
House B: 400 pw, Newtown, 10-15 min walk to the office and 4 min walk to the nearest station. A terrace house, fully furnished and has a balcony (is that a good thing? Is that not prone to damp?) and would save me transport costs. Only thing is rent is sure to spike every 6 months, which I can’t afford.
House C: 230 pw, Darlington, also a terrace house but tinier. A few steps away from Redfern Station but room is so small kind of like an attic with one window facing the neighbour’s yard and have to furnish it myself. The only reason I’m considering it is location and cost.
Are these good places? Any advice on picking a house or on these two areas? Thanks!

The fact that investors purchased all 10 million special warrants in VERSES AI's private placement offering is generally seen as a positive sign for retail investors. It's important for retail investors to still thoroughly research the company's fundamentals, risks, and future prospects before making any investment decisions. But overall, the successful private placement capital raise is an encouraging sign that sophisticated investors have confidence in VERSES AI's business outlook and growth trajectory. That private placement capital raise gives me confidence. That tweet from Gabe Thursday night gave me confidence. They have a highly educated and well respected team of professionals working for them. I believe VERSES is taking into account all of the players in the technology sector, and choosing the strategy to disclose information in a way that maximizes its payoff. Take into account the other players in the AI space https://x.com/josephjacks_/status/1791658967715967209?s=46 that’s why VERSES is the best. Because there’s a clear path to AGI. Yea they didn’t deliver all 10 beta partners, yea they’ve only demonstrated one of their intelligent agents playing pong. But it learned how to play pong in minutes not hours without any previous training. That’s the path to AGI. And people are still missing the significance of this milestone. Yea more benchmarks would be nice but consider it icing on the cake. I know what they have. I’ve seen the evidence. I see sophisticated investors with confidence in VERSES. I look at the signals that articulate that this company will exceed expectations. I have confidence. I don’t need someone to spoon feed me fundamentals on a chart and break down every technical aspect of the way the stock trades and tell me a bull flag is forming. One minute we’re going to be sitting at .80 cents saying where is GENIUS and before you know it we’ll be saying $5 dollars! Looking good! Time to get listed on the Nasdaq The typical timeline for a private placement can range from 6-8 weeks or longer, depending on the size and complexity of the deal. So closing within 30 days is actually a relatively quick turnaround. The important factor is that VERSES successfully sold the entire allotment of 10 million special warrants to raise the targeted $10 million. This demonstrates strong investor demand. Private placements involve multiple steps like investor negotiations, due diligence, pricing, and legal/regulatory requirements. Some deals may take longer than others to complete these processes. The fact that sophisticated investors purchased all 10 million warrants is a positive signal about their confidence in VERSES' business prospects and growth trajectory.

So, all the talk right now is FFIE, CRKN, and GWAV. I'm actually in all three and encourage you to stay in for AS LONG AS IT IS GOOD FOR YOU. But I want to talk about the importance of not going full port, and diamond-handing to a loss. There is ALWAYS a next FFIE. In all my years, I've seen so many I can't begin to estimate how many I've seen. As you play this game, you NEED to have stop losses set. You need to remember not to get greedy. Bank your profits, and be getting excited for your next play. Keeping an eye on what is coming up really helps keep you detached from the stock, so you don't get burned and left holding the bag.
Since what has brought most of you to these stocks is the thought of a MOASS, I’m gonna write up some other short stock opportunities. Full disclosure upfront: I’m heavy in two of these, and would love nothing more than 1/100th of the volume ya’ll have generated to come to those stocks.
This list is ranked top to bottom in percentage of short float, and ranked at the bottom in my interest level and my positions.
So, some of the most shorted stocks currently, and my thoughts on each:
Sunpower SPWR
On this list because it is the most shorted (non-penny) stock with 95% short interest. At sub $3 and only 45 million shares, this is as squeezable as it gets. Any sort of squeeze would have to be from meme value as the financials of this company aren’t great. They haven’t met expected earnings in the past 5 quarters, and have actually done worse quarter after quarter.
If this found volume and a rabid community I’d be in… but I’m not touching this thing otherwise. This is a real “all or nothing” stock.
MicroCloud Hologram HOLO
Spend anytime on squeeze forums and youre gonna see this one. Another stock with insane (75%) short interest This company has shown multiple times over that it is capable of a run. Part of that is that the product that they are making is quite intriguing… the other part is that this stock has left a lot of bagholders in its wake. If there were call options available, I’d be buying far dated OTMs hand over fist, because at some point, this thing will explode again.
Childrens Place PLCE
Okay, so this has some fundamentals that could be interesting to some. Heavily in debt, with historically bad gross margins, and a panic sell off when they announced they had breached debt covenants, this stock has gone from over $100 post-pandemic, to roughly $12 today.
Why could it be intriguing? Mithaq capital purchased 7 million shares recently. Backed by the Saudis, and capable of offering better terms on back debt, this could be a takeoveturnaround story. Purely speculative, and high risk, I don't see a squeeze happening here anytime soon, but if messageboard chatter picked up, I’d be grabbing a lot more calls… when this goes, it’ll go fast.
B. Riley Financial RILY
At 56% shorted this is one of my top picks (#2), the one most primed for a squeeze, and I'm heavily in it.
This is also the first company on this list that has a clear path to an increase in stock price. For me personally, this is what I look for in an investment. I love a good squeeze, as it accelerates my profits, but I like betting on companies that are going to get me there regardless of the squeeze.
This company has many facets and if you want backstory, there are several good write ups/DDs available on Reddit. As it stands, despite turning around their slow quarters, and doing better as a business, short sellers have ramped up their positions? Why? Because there is an actual villain in this story. Marc Cahodes. He is an infamous short seller, with a personal grudge against this company, and the short sellers are not running off a functioning thesis. This is about destroying a company to soothe a slighted ego. Soon, short sellers will unwind their position, as the stock has pretty much found its base. A short squeeze in the near future could send this stock up into the $90 range.
Trupanion TRUP
39% short sold, this pet insurance company has recently come under attack by…it’s Marc Cahodes again. Marc did his usual tactic, doxing and harassing supporters, and accusing everybody in the business (down to the janitor) of fraud. However, despite these attacks, the company itself has mostly “Buy” ratings. The share price has slumped, due to bad Q1 earnings and the short attacks, but there is a new CEO and she is intent on increasing profitability, and decent quarterly results could pop this back up to historic $60 levels (+100%).
Cutera CUTR
This company makes hardware for treating acne and other dermatologic issues. 39% shorted this should be on your radar in early JULY. Listening to their earnings call was a lot to be excited about, if you could stand to listen to their hopium bullshit. Clearing up inventory, and debt, they have a lot of potential to have a strong Q2 showing. At $2 a share, I’ve gone ahead and made a small position, as this is might be the bottom.
Immunity Bio IBRX
OH. MY. GOD. I LOVE THIS STOCK. By far my #1 right now. Sitting at 39% shorted, I wouldn't be surprised to find that Merck is behind the shorting; trying to keep the stock price down so they can buy it out. This is a life saving cancer treatment. With recent FDA approval, this company sold 400 million in product ITS FIRST WEEK. With trials ongoing for multiple other uses, and a meeting with the FDA scheduled in June to get it fast tracked as a treatment for lung cancer. I have a $20 price target set for July. $40 by September.
There is honestly so much to say about this company, that I will write up a separate, in depth DD.
Novavax NVAX
If you were paying attention, you just watched this thing pop (260%) Is it done? Actually, yeah, Probably. I’ve read a lot of chatter about how it has a historic high of $300 without people factoring in its 20:1 reverse split. Robinhood needs to fix the UI, because a lot of people are tossing out good money. That said, with 33% short interest, a mild squeeze may happen for a few bucks.
Lucid LCID
A DPAC luxury EV maker on the most shorted list? Who would have thought?! Ok, so, I’ve had a chance now to drive a couple of these… and HOLY SHIT. I want this company to survive. I want one of these cars.
That said, yeah, I’m not putting more money into this. I’m putting it on this list because sometimes, great products fail. This is a prime example. Since first being wow’d by this car, the stock price has fallen 80%. Truthfully, if the Saudis walk away from Lucid, they're done. Don't fall in love with a stock.
AST Spacemobile ASTS
The lowest short interest on this list (28.3% which is still high as fuck!!!) is my #3 pick. And I’m in this bigly. This tech is so good, it’s literally going to change your life. Imagine, no place on Earth being without cell service. Why is it shorted? Delays, and Delays, and Delays. Go on over to the subreddit, and feel the general relief that everyone feels as launch is FINALLY nearing. If you are thinking of getting into this stock, do so before early July, as it nears major catalysts.
There it is. My list.
I’m gonna order them now in the rank that I view them, with my positions.
IBRX (3000 shares and 402 call options)
RILY (2700 shares and 17 call options)
ASTS (5000 shares and 103 call options)
HOLO (1500 shares)
PLCE (25 shares and 10 call options)
CUTR (1000 shares and 20 call options)
TRUP (10 call options)
LCID (No position, sold off at a loss)
NVAX (no position, sold off at a loss)
SPWR (10 call options) - lowest position currently, but if chatter starts happening this goes to #4

Indigenous knowledge has been vital to the Pacific Islands, keeping civilization alive and running with specific traditions. Indigenous knowledge can be explained as institutionalised local information, built-up knowledge, and stories passed from one generation to another by word of mouth that have impacted socialisation processes (Osunade, 1994). Although indigenous knowledge is vital to the Pacific, a lot of the knowledge has been lost over time. Through discussion, we will find why the Pacific has been through a loss of indigenous knowledge overtime.
Globalisation is one of the many reasons for the loss of indigenous knowledge. This is due to the increased connectivity, modernisation, and spread of Western lifestyles. These factors have created pressure on traditional Pacific communities. An example of how this has happened is through the allure of Western education, careers, and consumerism. These ideals have drawn Pasifika peoples away from their indigenous ways of doing things, as the traditional way may pay less or be less efficient. This has led to the gradual erosion of interest and investment in preserving cultural practices and knowledge.
Migration, driven by opportunities of higher paying jobs or jobs in general and climate changes like the rising of the sea level, has become a defining factor for many Pacific Island communities. A 1988 study on households of Tongan and Samoan residents in Sydney found that “only ten percent of respondents intended to return to their island countries” (Dickie, 2005). The attraction of better jobs and living conditions often draws young people away from their homelands, setting in motion a process that disrupts the vital transmission of indigenous knowledge. This migration disrupts the intergenerational passing down of indigenous knowledge, as young people become disconnected from the land, sea, and cultural practices that underpin traditional knowledge systems.
In the 1870s speaking Te Reo Māori in schools was forbidden because Māori at the time thought it would be best to be taught only English and ridding the use of Te Reo Māori. “supplement the law forbidding the speaking of Maori in class, or in the school grounds in school hours, no person or parent can engage a child in speaking Maori, and in such cases, any child can inform on that person or parent to the Committee, who shall be empowered to fine that person or parent the sum of five shillings.” (Native Schools Act, 1867) The empowered Māori put this law in place to civilise the Māori youth and integrate them into the English system, which in return caused a great loss in our language. Because of this act the children moved to adulthood with a trauma that followed them with speaking their native tongue which also played a part in making Te Reo Māori a dying language at the time.
Education is crucial when it comes to the topic of saving indigenous knowledge. Young Pacific Islanders can gain a greater understanding of their cultural heritage by incorporating indigenous knowledge into formal education systems. Efforts that back local craftsmen, fishermen, and farmers in safeguarding traditional practices that help in the growth of indigenous knowledge. By supporting language immersion programs, we can protect this part of our Pacific island's culture. Another way we can safeguard our indigenous knowledge could be through online platforms where stories and legends could be shared to keep them alive. Creating story books of legends for young ones to read and having social events focused on spreading awareness of the loss of indigenous knowledge to motivate the newer generations to keep it alive.
Altugan (2015) found positive outcomes when teachers taught children with the same ethnic background. Through their commonality, the students were more motivated to do their work and achieved greater grades as they could learn about their culture and understand work through their similar cultural backgrounds. Having Pasifika people teach Pasifika youth about indigenous knowledge could positively impact youth and keep this knowledge alive for future generations as they may be more motivated and understood when indigenous knowledge is passed on through Pasifika people.
These practices and forms of preserving and teaching indigenous knowledge may impact the identity of Pasifika peoples. According to Correa Charles (1983), we find our identity through the knowledge and understanding of ourselves and our environment. As someone who may not know much of the indigenous history they are related to, figuring out more indigenous knowledge may help them feel as though more of their identity is found. This loss of indigenous knowledge may also be a loss of some Pasifika’s identity.
Due to the appeal of more Western cultures, indigenous knowledge needs to be recovered and constantly recognized to revitalise its importance for future generations. As discussed, multiple threats are found, which are reasons for the loss of indigenous knowledge. These serve as significant indicators of what to watch out for and work on towards the preservation of cultural practices. As there is already a loss of indigenous knowledge, specifically among the youth, the disconnection from their culture must be acted upon. As the youth are our future, they also hold the ability to keep or lose more indigenous knowledge. This means many efforts need to be made to preserve and teach to keep indigenous knowledge going for future generations

Hi all,
As my first real Django project I'm building an app for outdoor professionals (educators, guides) to keep track of their experience. Basically a logbook but eventually with features like collaboration, mapping, and reporting. You can see what I have so far here!
Currently working on the Experience model. An Experience will have standard attributes like where did you go, when, was it a professional trip or your own personal recreation, who were your clients? But it should also have attributes specific to each outdoor pursuit. For paddling, canoes, kayaks, etc. For whitewater, what grade (1, 2, 3..)? For climbing, what grade (5.10, 5.11..) and how many pitches?
I'll build in many of these attributes, but I also want the app to be flexible enough that users can add their own sport (e.g., barefoot snow skiing) and create fields based on what an employer would need to know about their experiences in that sport.
Looking through SO, many of the posts on dynamic model fields in Django are several years old. For example, this mentions EAV but says there's no clear leader for an implementation. Now Django EAV 2 seems to be pretty strong? Apparently there are still efficiency concerns compared to JSON?
Given that most of my users won't need custom fields, and those who do will define maybe 2-3 Experience types with 5-6 custom fields each, I'm wondering what would be the best way to do implement this today.
Currently on postges, but would love a database-agnostic solution in case I decide to use a different database for production. Note: I'm early enough in this project that I'm even open to using a platform other than Django, if there's one that makes way more sense for this.
Thanks in advance for any advice!

10 examples of an abiotic factor

Welcome to /r/pennystocks

1) Is the word Trinity in the Bible?

2) Isaiah 45:5

3) Jesus says the Father is my God