I am working on a document and I did quite plenty changes over the last 10 minutes but holyyyy I was changing an object and did CTRL+Z but the entire thing I did is gone??? Like I'm back to the original template. Is this being fixed? Why is this a thing for a platform where we can pay premium to use for? Shouldn't this be fixed the moment something this critical is reported?
I don't even know where to begin again

So this originally started as an idea to use chat gpt to run a DND 5e campaign for me to use to test different character builds, then I started to wonder if I could incorporate hunter x hunter into the game. Using a really really long chat gpt prompt I wrote it actually ended up going really well so I decided to try to make it an entire system that you could kinda hopefully incorporate into any version of DND or other ttrpgs to have your own personalized hunter x hunter campaign. Now this whole thing is really messy but that's just because it's easier for my weird brain to work with. Anyway here's what I have so far 1. Primary Race: Human - The primary race is human, reflecting the "Hunter x Hunter" universe. However, players can customize their characters with unique physical traits or abilities, reflecting the diverse range of human appearances in the series.

1. Alternative Race: Chimera Ant
   
   • As an alternative, players can choose to be a Chimera Ant, which allows for a mix of human and animal traits, offering unique physical and sensory abilities. This race would have its own set of strengths and vulnerabilities.
2. Classes
   
   • Hunter: The main class, with sub-classes based on Hunter types (e.g., Beast Hunter, Treasure Hunter).
   • Assassin: Focused on stealth and precision, with techniques like those of the Zoldyck family. Sub-classes could be based on different assassination styles or tools.
   • Criminal: A class for those who operate outside the law, like the Phantom Troupe, with sub-classes based on criminal expertise (e.g., Thief, Bandit, Mercenary).

Nen System Integration

1. Nen Types and Abilities
   
   • Each class develops Nen abilities based on their Nen type, with unique Hatsu abilities.
   • Assassins and Criminals might have Nen abilities that complement their class skills (e.g., a Thief might be a Transmuter, changing the properties of their aura to aid in stealth).
2. Aura Points (AP)
   
   • This system replaces spell slots. Using Nen abilities consumes AP, which can be restored with rest.

Gameplay Mechanics

1. Nen Training and Character Progression
   
   • Character leveling involves improving Nen control and developing Hatsu abilities.
2. Combat and Nen Conflicts
   
   • Combat includes standard D&D mechanics and strategic use of Nen.
   • Nen-enhanced attacks and defenses: Characters can use AP to enhance physical attacks or bolster defense, adding an extra layer to combat strategy.
3. Quests and Adventures
   
   • DMs craft campaigns within the "Hunter x Hunter" world, allowing exploration and interaction with familiar and new elements.

Balancing and Adaptation

1. Balancing Races and Classes
   
   • Chimera Ants might have natural advantages (like enhanced senses) but also specific weaknesses (such as susceptibility to certain Nen types).
   • Each class and sub-class should offer unique advantages and playstyles without overshadowing others.
2. Adapting Nen Abilities
   
   • Nen abilities must be balanced in power and utility, encouraging creative use without making them overpowered.
   • Regular player feedback and DM discretion will be essential for maintaining balance.
3. Skill and Ability Checks
   
   • Incorporate Nen in skill checks, where appropriate, to allow creative problem-solving using Nen abilities.

This hybrid RPG would blend the detailed world and power system of "Hunter x Hunter" with the structured gameplay of D&D 5e, offering a rich and dynamic role-playing experience. Players can explore the complexities of Nen, engage in strategic combat, and embark on diverse quests, all while navigating the morally complex and vibrant world of "Hunter x Hunter."
Merging the power system and world of "Hunter x Hunter" with the fundamentals of Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) 5th Edition could create a unique and exciting tabletop RPG experience. Here's a basic framework for how it could be done:

Character Creation

1. Races and Backgrounds: Stick to D&D's system for races and backgrounds, as these provide rich lore and diversity. However, incorporate elements from the "Hunter x Hunter" world into the backgrounds, allowing players to come from specific regions or organizations within that universe.
   
2. Classes: Replace D&D classes with "Hunter" as the primary class. Sub-classes could be based on the different types of Hunters in "Hunter x Hunter" (like Beast Hunter, Treasure Hunter, Blacklist Hunter, etc.), each with unique skills and quests.
   
3. Ability Scores: Use the standard D&D ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma). These will influence the character's physical and mental capabilities as usual.
   

Nen System Integration

1. Nen Types: During character creation, players determine their Nen type (Enhancer, Emitter, Manipulator, Transmuter, Conjurer, Specialist). This could be chosen or determined randomly, as in the series.
   
2. Nen Abilities (Hatsu): Players develop their unique Hatsu abilities, guided by their Nen type. This replaces the magic/spellcasting system of traditional D&D. Balancing these abilities would be key to ensure gameplay remains challenging and engaging.
   
3. Aura Points (AP): Similar to spell slots in D&D, characters have Aura Points. Using Nen abilities consumes AP, which can be restored with rest.
   

Gameplay Mechanics

1. Nen Training and Challenges: Incorporate Nen training into the leveling-up process. As characters level up, they gain more control over their Nen, unlocking new capabilities or strengthening their Hatsu.
   
2. Quests and Storytelling: The DM crafts adventures within the "Hunter x Hunter" universe, allowing players to explore familiar locales and encounter characters from the series, while also introducing original plots.
   
3. Combat and Challenges: Integrate D&D's combat system, but with modifications to incorporate Nen abilities. This includes Aura defense, Nen-enhanced attacks, and strategic use of Hatsu abilities. A nen user may choose to enhance their Attack power, Speed, or defense, by covering their bodies or weapons with aura. Enhanced Attack- Choosing to put 1 or more AP into enhancing attack will grant +2 to damage for each point.
   

Enhanced Defense- Choosing to put 1 or more points into defense will subtract -2 points of damage taken for each point.
Enhanced Speed- Choosing to put 1 or more AP into speed will grant +5 movement speed, +1 to attack bonus, and +1 to AC for every two AP, because enhancing speed is much more difficult and usually only one who's ability allows for it can enhance their speed efficiently.
Enhancing such abilities uses AP but does not deplete it. tho prolonged use of aura will cause it to weaken over time. through training this can be overcome.

1. Nen Conflicts: Introduce Nen battles, which are more about outsmarting opponents with clever use of Nen abilities than just overpowering them.

Balancing and Adaptation

• Balancing Nen Abilities: Ensure that Nen abilities are balanced, allowing for creative use without overpowering characters. This might require regular adjustments and feedback from players.
  
• Adapting D&D Mechanics: Some standard D&D mechanics might need to be adapted or omitted to fit the "Hunter x Hunter" theme. For instance, traditional spellcasting doesn't fit, so classes that rely heavily on this might need reworking.
  

This hybrid game would offer the depth and complexity of D&D's role-playing and combat systems with the unique and intriguing Nen system from "Hunter x Hunter," creating a fresh and engaging experience for players familiar with either or both worlds.
In "Hunter x Hunter," each Nen user has an affinity for one of six Nen types: Enhancer, Emitter, Manipulator, Transmuter, Conjurer, and Specialist. We can assign a key ability score to each Nen type for calculating Aura Points (AP) and other Nen-related mechanics. Here's a suggested assignment:

1. Enhancer
   
   • Key Ability: Strength or Constitution
   • Rationale: Enhancers focus on reinforcing their natural physical abilities, making Strength or Constitution a natural fit.
2. Emitter
   
   • Key Ability: Charisma
   • Rationale: Emitters project their aura away from their bodies, requiring force of personality, represented by Charisma.
3. Manipulator
   
   • Key Ability: Intelligence
   • Rationale: Manipulation requires precision and understanding complex systems, aligning well with Intelligence.
4. Transmuter
   
   • Key Ability: Dexterity
   • Rationale: Transmuters alter the properties of their aura, requiring finesse and control, which Dexterity represents.
5. Conjurer
   
   • Key Ability: Wisdom
   • Rationale: Conjurers create objects out of their aura, requiring insight and strong mental discipline, qualities associated with Wisdom.
6. Specialist
   
   • Key Ability: Wisdom or Charisma
   • Rationale: Specialists have unique and varied abilities that don't fit into other categories. Wisdom or Charisma can be chosen based on the nature of the Specialist's unique ability.

Aura Points (AP) Calculation

• AP is calculated using the formula: [Character Level] + [Modifier of Key Ability Score] x 2.
• For instance, a Level 5 Enhancer with a Strength score of 16 (Modifier +3) would have an AP of 5 + (3 x 2) = 11.

Using the Key Ability Score

• The key ability score would also be used for determining the difficulty class (DC) for saving throws against Nen abilities, and for attack rolls when applicable.
• For example, if an Emitter with a Charisma modifier of +2 uses an ability that requires a target to make a saving throw, the DC would be calculated using their Charisma modifier.

This system ties the Nen type to specific D&D ability scores, enhancing the role-playing aspect by encouraging players to consider their characters' strengths and weaknesses when choosing their Nen type and developing their abilities.
Removing traditional spellcasting and replacing it with a Nen-based system is a significant change that can fully integrate the unique aspects of "Hunter x Hunter" into your D&D game. Here's how you can adapt the Aura Point (AP) system to completely replace spellcasting:

Revised Aura Point (AP) System for Nen Abilities

1. Aura Points as the Sole Power Source - All supernatural abilities, including those that would normally be spells in D&D, are now Nen abilities powered by AP. - Characters do not have spell slots but instead use AP to activate and sustain their Nen abilities.
2. Nen Ability Categories - Classify Nen abilities into tiers, similar to spell levels: Basic, Intermediate, Advanced, and Master. - The AP cost for using an ability depends on its tier: Basic (1-2 AP), Intermediate (3-5 AP), Advanced (6-8 AP), Master (9-12 AP).
3. Learning and Developing Nen Abilities - Characters learn new Nen abilities as they level up. The number and tier of abilities they can learn and use are based on their level and key ability score. - Characters can also develop custom Nen abilities in consultation with the DM, tailored to their character's development and story.
4. Aura Point Recovery - AP is fully restored after a long rest. Half of the maximum AP is restored after a short rest. - Certain items or actions in-game could also restore AP.
5. Overexertion Risks - Using more AP than the maximum can lead to overexertion, causing fatigue, reduction in maximum hit points, or other penalties. - Severe overexertion could lead to more drastic consequences, like temporary loss of Nen abilities.
6. Nen Training and Advancement - Include quests or training sessions for characters to increase their AP maximum, reduce Nen ability costs, or learn new abilities. - This system allows for character growth and the pursuit of mastery over Nen.
7. Nen-Based Defense and Attacks - Allow characters to use AP to enhance physical attacks, defense, or to perform feats like enhanced jumps, bursts of speed, etc.
8. Balancing Nen Abilities - The DM should ensure Nen abilities are balanced within the game, avoiding overpowered combinations. - Regular feedback and adjustments may be necessary based on gameplay experience.
With this revised system, Nen becomes the central mechanic for all supernatural and extraordinary abilities in the game, deeply immersing players in the "Hunter x Hunter" universe while maintaining the strategic and role-playing elements of D&D. This approach requires careful planning and balance but offers a unique and engaging gameplay experience. for the HUNTER class, the features include
Creating detailed class features and proficiencies for each Hunter class and its subclasses in a D&D 5e format requires a comprehensive approach. I'll provide a basic outline for the "Hunter" class and one subclass, the "Beast Hunter," as an example. You can use this format as a template to develop other subclasses.

Hunter Class (General Features)

Hit Points - Hit Dice: 1d10 per Hunter level - Hit Points at 1st Level: 10 + Constitution modifier - Hit Points at Higher Levels: 1d10 (or 6) + Constitution modifier per Hunter level after 1st
Proficiencies - Armor: Light armor, medium armor - Weapons: Simple weapons, martial weapons - Tools: None - Saving Throws: Dexterity, Intelligence - Skills: Choose two from Acrobatics, Survival, Investigation, Nature, Perception, Stealth
Equipment - (a) a longbow and 20 arrows or (b) any simple weapon - (a) a dungeoneer's pack or (b) an explorer's pack - Leather armor, a hunter's token, and a dagger
Features
Let's define each feature of the Hunter class in the context of a "Hunter x Hunter" and D&D 5e hybrid game:

Level 1: Nen Sensitivity

• Gain the ability to perceive and vaguely sense aura (Nen) in yourself and others.
• Provides advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks related to detecting Nen use or aura presence.

Level 1: Hunter's Expertise

• Choose two skills from the Hunter skill list. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of the chosen skills.

Level 2: Nen Training (Basic Techniques)

• Learn the basic Nen techniques: Ten, Zetsu, and Ren.
• Ten allows you to defend against low-level Nen attacks.
• Zetsu lets you conceal your aura, improving stealth.
• Ren increases your aura output temporarily, enhancing physical abilities for a short time.

Level 3: Hunter Archetype

• Choose a Hunter Archetype, reflecting your specialized training as a Hunter. This choice grants you features at later levels.

Level 3: Nen Ability (Hatsu)

• Develop your unique Nen ability (Hatsu) based on your Nen type. This is a special ability you can use by spending Aura Points (AP).

Level 4: Ability Score Improvement

• Improve one ability score of your choice by 2, or two ability scores of your choice by 1. As normal, you can’t increase an ability score above 20 using this feature.

Level 5: Extra Attack

• You can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

Level 6: Archetype Feature

• Gain a feature granted by your chosen Hunter Archetype.

Level 7: Nen Training (Advanced Techniques)

• Learn advanced Nen techniques that allow for more potent use of your aura, including enhanced versions of Ten, Zetsu, and Ren.

Level 8: Ability Score Improvement

• As with level 4.

Level 9: Indomitable (1 use)

• You can reroll a saving throw that you fail. If you do so, you must use the new roll, and you can’t use this feature again until you finish a long rest.

Level 10: Archetype Feature

• Gain an additional feature from your chosen Hunter Archetype.

Level 11: Improved Nen Ability

• Your Nen ability (Hatsu) becomes more potent or versatile. This could mean lower AP costs, increased effects, or additional options for its use.

Level 12: Ability Score Improvement

• As with level 4.

Level 13: Indomitable (2 uses)

• As with level 9, but you can use this feature twice between long rests.

Level 14: Archetype Feature

• Gain another feature from your chosen Hunter Archetype.

Level 15: Nen Mastery

• Gain mastery over your aura, significantly increasing your Aura Point (AP) maximum and potentially unlocking unique uses for your Nen.

Level 16: Ability Score Improvement

• As with level 4.

Level 17: Indomitable (3 uses)

• As with level 9, but you can use this feature three times between long rests.

Level 18: Archetype Feature

• Gain an additional feature from your chosen Hunter Archetype.

Level 19: Ability Score Improvement

• As with level 4.

Level 20: Hunter's Pinnacle

• Reach the pinnacle of your Hunter abilities, granting a significant, unique power or enhancement related to your Nen type and Hunter Archetype. This could be a powerful new Nen ability, a permanent increase to key stats, or another major benefit.

These features combine D&D 5e mechanics with "Hunter x Hunter" lore, offering a comprehensive and thematic progression for characters in this hybrid game.
Each subclass within the Hunter class would have similar structure, with unique abilities and features tailored to their specialization, such as Sea Hunter, Gourmet Hunter, etc. This approach keeps the balance and progression familiar to D&D 5e while integrating the unique elements of the "Hunter x Hunter" universe.

Beast Hunter Subclass

Level 3: Beast Tracking - Gain proficiency in Survival. If you already have it, double your proficiency bonus for Survival checks related to beasts. - Learn to track and identify creatures by their tracks, noises, and other signs.
Level 6: Primal Communication - Ability to communicate on a basic level with beasts and understand their intentions and emotions.
Level 10: Beast Companion - Bond with a beast you encounter, which becomes your faithful companion. - Use the Ranger's Companion feature from the Ranger class as a reference for rules and stats.
Level 14: Predator's Instinct - Gain advantage on initiative rolls in natural environments. - Can't be surprised by beast-type creatures.
Level 18: Master of Beasts - Gain the ability to temporarily control or influence the behavior of beasts through Nen.

Sea Hunter Subclass

Level 3: Aquatic Adaptation - Gain the ability to breathe underwater and a swimming speed equal to your walking speed. - Gain proficiency in Athletics. If already proficient, double the proficiency bonus for Athletics checks related to swimming.
Level 6: Deep Sea Knowledge - Advantage on Nature and Survival checks related to aquatic environments. - Can identify aquatic creatures and plants and their uses or dangers.
Level 10: Pressure Resistance - Gain resistance to cold damage and ignore the effects of deep and cold water pressure.
Level 14: Master Navigator - Can never be lost at sea. Gain proficiency in Navigation tools. If already proficient, double the proficiency bonus.
Level 18: Call of the Depths - Ability to summon and communicate with sea creatures, possibly enlisting their help or guidance.

Treasure Hunter Subclass

Level 3: Artifact Lore - Gain proficiency in History. If already proficient, double the proficiency bonus for History checks related to artifacts and treasures. - Can identify and appraise artifacts and relics.
Level 6: Trap Sense - Gain advantage on saving throws against traps and spells that protect treasures. - Can detect the presence of traps within a 30-foot radius.
Level 10: Dungeon Delver - Move at normal speed while stealthily exploring ruins and dungeons. - Resistance to damage from traps.
Level 14: Ancient Secrets - Can decipher ancient languages and codes. Gain advantage on Intelligence checks related to ancient texts and puzzles.
Level 18: Treasure's Boon - Once per long rest, can locate a significant treasure, artifact, or hidden place within a 10-mile radius.

Music Hunter Subclass

Level 3: Harmonic Awareness - Gain proficiency in a musical instrument of your choice. If already proficient, double the proficiency bonus. - Can detect mood and intentions of others through their tone and choice of words.
Level 6: Soothing Melody - Can use music to calm emotions, dispel fear, or inspire courage in others.
Level 10: Sonic Resonance - Gain resistance to thunder damage and charm effects. - Can use music to communicate simple ideas to creatures that don't speak any languages.
Level 14: Echolocation - Through focused listening, can sense the location of objects and creatures in complete darkness within a 60-foot radius.
Level 18: Symphony of Power - Once per long rest, can play a powerful melody that grants temporary hit points, cures one condition, or boosts one ability score for the duration of the performance.

Gourmet Hunter Subclass

Level 3: Culinary Expertise - Gain proficiency in Cooking tools. If already proficient, double the proficiency bonus. - Can identify edible and medicinal plants and creatures, and the best ways to prepare them.
Level 6: Enhanced Taste - Can detect poisons and potions by taste. Gain advantage on saving throws against ingested poisons.
Level 10: Exotic Cuisine - Can prepare meals that grant temporary hit points or other minor benefits.
Level 14: Iron Stomach - Gain immunity to poison and disease from ingested sources.
Level 18: Culinary Masterpiece - Once per long rest, can create a meal that acts as a Greater Restoration spell or provides a significant buff to the party.

Blacklist Hunter Subclass

Level 3: Investigative Skills - Gain proficiency in Investigation. If already proficient, double the proficiency bonus. - Can gather information and track targets in urban environments more efficiently.
Level 6: Interrogation Expert - Gain advantage on Insight and Intimidation checks when interrogating.
Level 10: Criminal Network - Can establish contacts and gather information from criminal sources. Gain advantage on Charisma checks when dealing with criminals.
Level 14: Expert Tracker - Gain the ability to track targets over long distances, even across different terrains.
Level 18: Master of Justice - Once per long rest, can discern the truth of any statement or determine the location of a person or object related to your investigation.

Medical Hunter Subclass

Level 3: Medical Knowledge - Gain proficiency in Medicine. If already proficient, double the proficiency bonus. - Can stabilize a dying creature as a bonus action.
Level 6: Herbalist - Can identify and create medicinal herbs and potions. Gain proficiency in Herbalism Kit.
Level 10: Healer's Touch - Can use a pool of healing points to restore hit points equal to 5 times your Hunter level. As an action, can touch a creature to restore any number of these points.
Level 14: Disease Resistance - Gain immunity to disease and advantage on saving throws against effects that cause illness.
Level 18: Lifesaver - Once per long rest, can perform a healing action that acts as a Resurrection spell without needing material components.

Archaeological Hunter Subclass

Level 3: Ancient Lore - Gain proficiency in History. If already proficient, double the proficiency bonus. - Can identify and interpret historical artifacts, ruins, and texts.
Level 6: Ruins Delver - Gain advantage on saving throws made to avoid or resist traps and natural hazards in ancient ruins and dungeons.
Level 10: Relic Hunter - Can sense the presence of significant historical artifacts within a 1-mile radius.
Level 14: Cryptographer - Gain the ability to decipher ancient codes and languages, and unlock magical inscriptions.
Level 18: Guardian's Favor - Once per long rest, can invoke ancient powers for protection or insight, granting advantage on a series of checks or resisting a powerful magical effect.

Information Hunter Subclass

Level 3: Network of Contacts - Gain proficiency in Persuasion. If already proficient, double the proficiency bonus. - Can establish a network of informants to gather information more effectively.
Level 6: Codebreaker - Gain advantage on Intelligence checks to intercept and decipher secret messages and codes.
Level 10: Eavesdropper - Gain the ability to listen in on conversations or sounds from great distances or through barriers.
Level 14: Master of Disguise - Can create disguises that allow blending into almost any environment or society. Advantage on checks made to maintain a disguise.
Level 18: Omnipresent Knowledge - Once per long rest, can gain detailed knowledge about a person, place, or object that is not commonly known or easily accessible.

Lost Hunter Subclass

Level 3: Expert Tracker - Gain proficiency in Survival. If already proficient, double the proficiency bonus. - Can track creatures and people across various terrains, and can discern the passage of time since their passing.
Level 6: Urban Tracker - Adapted to tracking in urban environments, can navigate and gather information in cities efficiently.
Level 10: Sixth Sense - Gain a limited ability to sense the direction of a sought person or object within a 5-mile radius.
Level 14: Path Finder - Can create shortcuts or find the most efficient paths through natural and urban landscapes.
Level 18: Find the Lost - Once per long rest, can locate exactly a lost person or item, regardless of distance or barriers, as long as they are on the same plane of existence.
These subclass features provide specialized skills and abilities that align with the unique roles and expertise of each type of Hunter, allowing for a rich role-playing experience within the "Hunter x Hunter" and D&D 5e hybrid framework. Players can choose a path that best suits their interests and play style, diving deep into the diverse world of "Hunter x Hunter." . If anyone has any suggestions or questions please let me know. Also if you want the full chat gpt prompt you can DM me

TL;DR: Why were respectable women required to wear veils under Middle Assyrian Law 40? Why did married sacred prostitutes have to veil themselves while unmarried ones did not? How were people expected to distinguish between respectable women and those veiling unlawfully? Additionally, what sources can I use to study the history of prostitution in Mesopotamia before the establishment of this law?
Context:
I am researching the history of prostitution and stumbled across Middle Assyrian Law 40, which outlines specific veiling practices for women in ancient Assyrian society. This law, dating back to around 1450 BCE, requires respectable women, such as wives and widows, to wear veils while prohibiting slaves and prostitutes from doing so. Additionally, it mandates that married sacred prostitutes must veil themselves, whereas unmarried sacred prostitutes must not. The law also includes punishments for individuals who fail to report unrespectable women who veil themselves, raising questions about enforcement and identification processes.
Questions:

1. Purpose of Veiling for Respectable Women: The law mandates that respectable women, such as wives and widows, must wear veils. While I understand that veiling helped to distinguish free women from slaves, isn't it sufficient to enforce the no-veil policy on unrespectable women? Why did respectable women have to veil themselves instead of being free to wear what they wanted?
2. Veiling Practices for Sacred Prostitutes: While I understand that commercial prostitutes mainly came from poor families or were even slaves and thus branded as unrespectable, why was it necessary to brand unmarried sacred prostitutes also as unrespectable? The law stipulates that married sacred prostitutes must wear veils while unmarried sacred prostitutes must not. Given that both groups perform sexual acts as part of their sacred duties, why is there a distinction in their veiling practices?
3. Enforcement and Identification: The law mentions punishment for individuals who fail to report unrespectable women who veil themselves. How were people able to distinguish between respectable women and those unlawfully veiling themselves? What mechanisms were in place to ensure this differentiation?
4. History of Prostitution Before MAL 40: Since sexual rites to the goddess IshtaInanna existed from around 3000 BCE, long before the establishment of MAL 40, how did the dynamics of prostitution and veiling practices change over this time period? The reenactment of the Sacred Marriage of the Goddess IshtaInanna was an annual festival that may have involved sexual activity on the part of the worshipers in and around the temple grounds. As far as I know, these rites have been performed for almost two thousand years, starting from around 3000 BCE. However, Codex Hammurabi and Middle Assyrian Law are written around 1800-1500 BCE. Where should I read about this timeframe?

I appreciate any insights or sources that can help clarify these aspects of Middle Assyrian Law 40 and the historical context of prostitution in ancient Mesopotamia.
Thank you for your assistance.

Monthly Merchandise Megathread #39!

Hello everyone! This is a mega thread for merchandise sales in which /Neopets members can advertise and find sales of Neopets merchandise with ease here. This thread will not be pinned after today, but it will be added to the sidebar.
Please read the following information carefully and trade safely!

Rules

• Sellers must abide by our 90/10 Advertising Rule:

Some Neopets-related promotional posts/comments are allowed if you are an active member of the subreddit. A maximum of 10% of your contributions can be promotional; the other 90% should be meaningful and active engagement in other conversations here.

• Please do NOT advertise a sales post in private messages/chats, thread comments, or in a new post. Don't treat the Neopets community as your own personal cash cow.
  
• If you are selling NC Cards, please follow and adhere to the 90/10 rule as outlined above.
  
• NC Cards/Merch/Codes are NOT to be traded with NP/NC items as that is against site rules.
  
• Art, craft, and coding commissions are NOT allowed due to the legal complications involved. (We are waiting to re-evaluate this once the Neopets Fan Art program fully releases.) Additionally, we do not condone DMing random people to sell merch either.
  
• Moderators have no liability with respect to any conducted transactions.
  
• Moderators are not liable for lost funds or time. We cannot help you get your money back/your merch. It is YOUR responsibility to uphold your end and choose partners wisely. Caveat Emptor.
  
• Moderators will step in if we receive multiple reports that a user is abusing the marketplace via not delivering works, not paying or any other breach of trust.
  

General

• This thread is in CONTEST MODE This is to discourage downvoting in order to increase everyone's visibility and make it fairer for participants arriving throughout the day. All posts are randomized!
  
• Please observe all rules as outlined in our community and discussion guidelines! (Check out the nifty sidebar!)
  
• The plan is to have a mega thread every first Saturday of the month.
  
• Reminder: NEVER mention Reddit (or any variations thereof like Read It, Arr! Neopets, Blue Aliens, “that other site”, etc) or this thread on Neopets itself! We are not an officially affiliated fansite and doing so can put your account—or the ones of others—at risk of getting frozen!
  

Courtesy

• If you do gift, gift at your own discretion.
  
• Exercise caution when it comes to new Reddit/Neopets accounts posting on the thread.
  
• Please don’t be rude and steal other people’s sales if they are not intended for you.
  
• There is to be no begging or harassment of any kind.
  
• Report any suspicious individuals to the mods! This thread is a free-for-all chaotic mess most of the time and not micro-managed in any manner.
  

FAQ

Is Selling NC Cards/Merch/Codes Neo-Legal?

• See Neopian Times, Issue 529 (tl;dr: Yes, but no exchanging on-site NP/NC for IRL Merch)

Hi, TNT. While I was browsing through eBay, I found Neopets trading cards for sale. There are so many, and I was interested in buying some, but wouldn't that be against the rules? I don't really think it would be, but I'd rather ask than risk my account. I'm not 100% sure, but can't you redeem codes from the cards in the packs and get items? Would that then be considered buying items? ~i_luv_cows12345
No, physical merchandise produced or officially licensed by us is just fine to buy, sell, or trade online. This includes stuff like real life plushies, action figures, TCG cards, etc. Codes are considered a legitimate part of these items. Items you cannot buy or sell online are virtual items, Neopoints, Neopets, or accounts.

• See Neopian Times, Issue 610 (tl;dr: Yes, but no exchanging on-site NP/NC for IRL Merch)

Hi, TNT! I have an odd question for you.... about commissions. Now, I know taking them in exchange for anything on Neopets is against the rules, as is doing commissions with Neopets characters. However... what about real-life merchandise? I'm the sort that's willing to take trades, and I was wondering: could someone pay me in Neopets plushies? What about rare item codes, or Neocash? (the cards, not actual on-site NC items) I mean, people sell the item codes on eBay all the time, so wouldn't that be okay? As far as NC cards go, if I'm just going to buy them anyway, why not save a step? Would these be against the Terms & Conditions because they give things on the site itself? I mean, obviously, it still wouldn't be okay to do a commission OF Neopets, but in exchange for merchandise, where do you guys stand? (please remove my username) ~username removed
As you said, as long as you aren't taking commissions of Neopets intellectual property, you're welcome to trade or sell your real-world merchandise however you'd like. According to Lawyerbot: "Trading plushies, rare item codes, NC cards, etc. for real-life merchandise is fine. I once traded my brother's turtle to a friend for a Shadow Uni Plushie.

Can I just send the Space Faerie Code, but keep the items?

• See Neopian Times, Issue 651 (tl;dr: Yes)

Hi, TNT! So, I had a question about gifting rare item codes, Space Faerie codes, site theme codes (like Puzzle Adventure), etc. I know it is against the rules to ask for anything like "tips" or compensation in return for gifting a code, as well as selling codes. However, is it against the rules to ask someone to return the item that they got from the code itself? Say someone receives a plushie from redeeming a code. Is it okay to ask that they return the plushie, or would it be better to say something like, "I would greatly appreciate if you return the item, but it's not required" since non-requested thank you gifts are allowed? I just wanted to be sure. Thank you for your time! Also, a side note: I LOVE YOU, TNT. I HAVE BEEN PLAYING FOR 9+ YEARS NOW AND NEOPETS IS AWESOME. spreads love Please remove my username. ~username removed
If the receiver is kind enough to return the item from the code, we wouldn't consider it any sort of "tip" due to the nature of Rate Item Codes. That said, once you give away the code, it is up to the codebearer to decide what to do with the item. You can ask them as you phrased the example above, but code gifting is an unsupported transaction and we will likely be unable to assist if the person chooses to keep the item.

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I am not The OOP, OOP is u/Complex-Wing7114
I have 2 weeks to get away from my husband
Originally posted to offmychest
Thanks to u/soayherder for suggesting this BoRU
Previous BoRU
TRIGGER WARNING: controlling behavior, threats, abusive behavior, stalking, assault, physical violence, gaslighting
Original Post Apr 27, 2024
Throwaway account as my husband and In-laws are follow my main. I, 29 F, have been married to my husband, 30 m, who I'll call Alex. Alex and I met in college during our freshman year. We started off as just friends, and got married seven months ago. I've gotten along with his family, but we aren't super close but we're friendly enough. The problem is that Alex has begun to make me incredibly uncomfortable.
Firstly, he's begun to ask me who I'm meeting with, where, what we plan on doing, how long every single time I leave the house without him. At first, I just thought he was being protective and a good partner just in case something happened, but then he started checking my phone after the visits, vetting and researching each of my friends as well.
He also has been pursuing me to link my bank account to his, as he's "in charge" of the finances when he was perfectly fine with keeping them separate before. We fight about it almost every day.
Finally, yesterday when he was preparing to go on a work trip for two weeks in California, he demanded I wear a tracker so he could keep and eye on me while he's gone. I can't do this anymore, I feel like I'm suffocating and his family who I've spoken to about his worrying behavior just said he's being careful and protective as a good husband should. I need to gather my things together and find a way to be gone before he gets home without tipping him off.
He's always threatened that if he ever found me cheating on him he'd turn in divorce papers the same day. He keeps a filled out copy in his desk. I'm going to submit those the day I leave. But there's so much to do, bergen finding a new place to live, seeing if my job has any transfers available, packing and moving in two weeks. His return flight May 11th, so I need to move quickly. I'm posting here because I don't have any close family, and I can't risk dragging my friends into this as we share the same friends.I just needed a place to vent, and ask if anyone has any advice on the easiest and safest way to do this?
Edit: oh my god you guys are amazing! I never even thought to not use his divorce papers. I'll check for cameras before I start any packing or prepping. I may also shred his divorce papers just in case and look into getting a lawyer for myself. I'm in a no fault divorce state, that much I so remember which will help. I'll update again when I know more. The tracker he wants me to use is a small clip to put on the belt or waistband. I'll wear it unless I'm going or doing something related to me leaving. No pets yet thankfully.
Update Apr 28, 2024
So I've gotten a lot of support and helpful advice along with questions I thought I should clarify before I proceed with the update. Some asked why I'd be 'hiding' things from Alex regarding going out and who I'm meeting with. I don't, and I have nothing to hide. However when he begins to then double check everything I tell him with the other people there right down to each person I talked to and what I said. Did I send any text msgs, did I order food, how much did I eat, that's when it started to feel like I was slowly being pushed into a corner. It didn't start that bad, but gradually grew worse overtime.
All of the Reddit subs my in-law's families are part of are related gardening and diy so I highly doubt they'll see this, if so by the time they do, I'll hopefully be gone. I talked to my job and explained things to my manager. And they promised to look into openings in other states to see if they could get me into one. They'll have an update on that in three days. I trust that my bank account us secured, considering he's tried to get into it before and failed. I found one camera in the kitchen, another in the living room and one in our bedroom. As such, I've left them in place for now and done all other planning, either in the bathroom pretending I'm taking a bath.
I'm honestly staying away from the domestic violence services as my sister-in-law is unfortunately higher up in those considering she volunteers there and I have a feeling if I did show up there, they would know in a heartbeat. I can't look for apartments until I get the update from my work, but either or i'm still gonna be leaving the state. The day before I do I will be changing my number carrier and wiping my laptop and all of his electronics before I do.
I've met with 2 lawyers so far and had them look over the paperwork. My husband had prepared and both said that it did it have some clauses in it. That could have caused me some trouble down the line. What alarmed all of us close the fact that several of those clauses dealt with future children, and not as a hypothetical. Like several hair suggested I have a feeling he fully intended on getting me pregnant to keep me trapped and tied to him.
There are 3 other locations. My job could send me to and I have. As a precaution Begun looking into all 3 cities and housing in the areas. Just in case one of those, this is the one they send me to. Even if they don't have an opening that they can push me into then I will just have to quit, move and figure things out on my own. I have enough money to live and survive for a few months until I can pick up another job.
Unfortunately all of our friends are mutuals and would likely be unaware of the consequences of saying or sharing anything I do or say with my husband. I don't have any surviving close family and obviously my in laws are not a good resource to rely on. I am on my own unfortunately, other than the wonderful bonds, i've begun to make here. I will update again if I get more information or something else happens. Otherwise all update when my work gets back to me. I do plan on leaving before he returns, though. Just to make sure that i'm not anywhere near here at that time.
Update 2 Apr 30, 2024
Good news! My work has an opening I qualify for that will not only shift me across the country, but also comes with a salary increase as well. I've started telling my in laws and friends that I'm planning a surprise outing for when my husband gets back for just the two of us. This way, people don't give me odd looks if they see me out and about. I've even gone as far as asking MIL to show me his favorite recipes.
Meanwhile, I've found a moving company that while small is willing to work in a storm. The reason is in five days, we're supposed to get hit with a large storm front. I plan to shut off the breaker and say we lost power if he asks just as several people here suggested and even send him a short clip of the storm.
I will have all of my stuff moved that afternoon, and I will be flying out once the weather has cleared enough to do so. I have a lawyer who will push my divorce through, and I've filled out the necessary paperwork so that I don't have to be here for it. I'm not suing for assets or alimony and I've shredded his divorce papers as well. I've set up a cheap payphone plan through cricket until this is all said and done at which point I will find a new carrier, number and phone. This one is being wiped and left behind.
My laptop is provided by my work, and the IT department inspected it thoroughly and it was clean thankfully. No other electronic aside from my laptop and new phone will be coming with me. If alex needs to talk to me, he can do it through my lawyer. Not sure if anything else will happen, my fingers are crossed that he doesn't think anythings amiss until after I leave - and I'm not turning the breaker back on when I do. He can when he gets home. My work is covering the plane ticket, so that at least is one expense I don't have to finagle in.
Update 3 May 7, 2024
Update 3: I have 2 weeks to get away from my husband.
It's been a busy week, but I've gotten so much done. Firstly, I am now out of the house and am currently in a hotel while I look for an apartment. It's a big city, bustling with people no matter where you look. We had a pretty bad storm system hit back home, that actually lasted two days. High winds, thunder, lightning and even hail everywhere. I didn't take much from the house, my documents, clothes and important sentimental items. I left all of the furniture and electronics behind. I cleaned the house top to bottom and took pictures on my phone so he couldn't claim I damaged anything when I left.
My lawyer has already started divorce proceedings, and my husband will be served on the 8th. His plane is due to land early morning, and the sheriff will be there at the house waiting for him. He is very much about public appearances and reputation. My lawyer will be calling him as well to inform him that I am more than willing to air out everything to the public about his actions if it means securing my freedom from him. I will go to court as long as I must to get this pushed through.
I haven't told our friends or his in-laws yet, I will do that while he is on the flight to prevent him from getting wind of it before he's handed the divorce papers. I will be calling around and explaining why we're getting divorced, to try and prevent him from twisting this into somehow being my fault. I don't want him trying to claim I had an affair or something so I want to get the truth out before he can twist this.
I'm... doing okay. I'm tired, but yet I feel almost jittery and off-kilter. I keep looking over my shoulder and monitoring what I say even when I don't really need to anymore. Hopefully that will fade soon. My work is covering the cost of the hotel, and I'm working on getting my other things in order. I also need to find a new GP as I want to get a full test just to make sure everything is okay. I don't know when my next update will be, probably when the divorce papers are filed or if we have to go to court to push them through. I will try to keep my head up, but it feels like I'm in a whirlwind or something with so many things to do and think about. I kinda thought it would be easier once I got out of the house but while the fear is smaller, somehow the number of tasks only seems to have grown.
Update 4 May 14, 2024
Sorry I haven't updated for a while, things got hectic and a bit chaotic honestly. Firstly, I'm working on getting an apartment still and have applications in at three different places and will hopefully hear back from them soon. I'm still going into work here at the new location, so I don't have to worry about burning through my emergency savings completely. I've gotten a lot of emails from Alex, his family and our old friend group asking question after question. I have only sent one return email to Alex, explaining that I don't believe we are truly compatible, and it is best we separate now. That his treatment of me when I'd done nothing to deserve as such was just as much of a deal breaker as cheating was for him.
I ended the email with the statement that I would not be contacting him further and anything else he needed to pass on to me or vice versa would be done through my lawyer. For his family and friends, I just typed up one email outlining everything that had happened and why I left. I told them I wished them no ill will, but that such treatment of his wife and partner was not acceptable. That should Alex get remarried in the future, I wished they would help support both partners and not just Alex.
Alex, from what my lawyer told me, was livid when he was served. The sheriff actually ended up booking him for assault on an officer and menacing due to the threats he was shouting. His father bailed him out in a few hours, but with the testimony of the sheriff, my lawyer believes I have a very good chance at getting a restraining order. Alex, upon returning to the house, apparently lost his temper again, breaking the dining table into pieces as well as the tv, and putting several holes in the walls. At least that's what one of the emails from one of our friends reported as Alex called him to help him clean up the mess.
My lawyer already has pictures of the house I took, with timestamps as evidence nothing had been damaged by me. My friend reported that Alex tried to claim I'd been the one to trash the house but the holes in the wall were at head height - Alex is 6'3", and I'm 5'4" so he knew that was false. Either way, taking the pictures definitely will help me so again thank you everyone here for the advice because I never would have thought of that on my own. My work won't share details of where I am, as I do work with some higher end clientele who value security and that information won't be gossiped about and no, I'm not some stripper or escort. I deal with contracts, notary and business management. As such, even if Alex tried to use my work to find me, he wouldn't succeed.

NEW UPDATE

Update on leaving May 26, 2024
It’s been a little bit, and I thought I’d answer some questions before giving my update. It may be a while after this until things change.
Firstly, No I didn’t bring my car. The public transport here is good enough to use without needing one. I have secured an apartment, and the building has good security. You need a key card to enter, and there is a security guard at a desk right by the entrance to the building. As part of my contract, I gave them a photo of Alex and his family so that even in the off chance they do find me, they won’t be let in.
The responses I got from the emails varied. His family said I was overreacting, and that I owe Alex an apology for the problems this has caused him. The pending criminal charges puts him at risk of losing his job if he’s convicted. Alex sent a long email, apologizing and pleading for me to come home. He said he was worried for me, that he is willing to go to therapy if it will appease me. He wants us to remain together, and he didn’t think leaving was an appropriate response to his genuine concern and worry for my health and safety. The friends gave somewhat lacking replies, saying that they didn’t think Alex was ever going to hurt me and that I shouldn’t be letting my imagination run away wild. As much as I want to say I was surprised by the lack of support, I’m honestly not.
He intends to fight the divorce. I am letting my lawyer handle it, and I am also pursuing a protective order as well. Once I got approved for my apartment, I also froze my credit. I’ve changed my phone carrier and number, as well as making sure none of my documents list Alex as next of kin or POA.
Some have asked why I was so paranoid about Alex and his possible future actions. The answer for that actually is somewhat simple – my grandmother. I loved that woman to bits. As a teen, she explained why my grandfather was never around. He was extremely abusive and manipulative, and her generation didn’t allow divorce really. She wouldn’t have been able to buy a house or get a good enough job to support her and my mother on her own. As such, she endured it, shielded my mom as she could until my grandfather died. When I felt like I may have been overreacting, I remembered how she’d said she’d always wished she’d been able to see grandfather for what he was early on when she may have been able to annul the marriage.
I don’t know when I’ll update again, maybe when the divorce goes through or if something big happens but until then, I’m just trying to keep my head above the water.
THIS IS A REPOST SUB - I AM NOT THE OOP
DO NOT CONTACT THE OOP's OR COMMENT ON LINKED POSTS, REMEMBER - RULE 7

The Injustice Initiative and Megaverse Council did not grieve with their former leader for too long, due to the combined forces of Venessa and Velocity making swift progress in uniting dozens of Omniverses under their heroic banner. Velocity used her direct and demanding demeanor to influence the defenders of each Omniverse to join the Council and was brutally honest in her meetings with the current situation. She stressed that if they refuse to join then they will face extinction and the Council will not help them when they are attacked due to them only having priorities for attacking the demons head on. Venessa on the other hand focused her attention in strengthening the Injustice Initiative with rigorous training and firing incompetent people in leadership positions and swiftly replacing them with those that were far more competent and understood the severity of the situation. In the span of 16 days, the combined efforts of these two feminine leaders made great leaps in progress that equaled or surpassed Diamond's own work in the past three months.
While these two were on a mission together, The Researcher contacted them regarding a very important matter. When the two heroines arrived at the Council's headquarters The Researcher revealed to them two enormous discoveries. "We finally found them. The place where our foes call home, Omniverse 6,666,666. We do not know much of this Omniverse other than the Diamond from Omniverse 8 being aware of its potential and became paranoid of its existence leading him nearly wiping all traces of it from the Council's database. I happen to uncover the last fragments of his report that failed to be deleted. Furthermore, the Core of that Omniverse is deeply fractured, completely drained of all power. We can deduce with sound reasoning that the landscape of that Omniverse is something out of an apocalypse with everything that could have gone wrong, definitely went wrong. In addition, it is a very wide and vast Omniverse similar to the Main Omniverse. In fact, before its current miserable state, it was a near copy of the Main Omniverse. We are trying to scout and analyze the area as best as we can, but it is blocking all of our scanners. Our supernatural sensors can barely last four seconds before frying when they sense the amount of dark negative energy that shrouds that Omniverse." Velocity, "And the other news?" "We also found a very promising Omniverse that was elusive to our map, but just appeared and is surging with radiant energy from the Light." Venessa abruptly, "Light? Like The Light......... not just colorful lights?" "Correct. Would you care to guess what this Omniverse's number is?" "I would assume it would be the polar opposite of the other, so Omniverse 7,777,777?" "Bingo. Apparently, they have a hierarchy over there and their King requests your presence. His words not mine were King Alexander humbly requests the presence of Empress Venessa of the Main Omniverse and any companions she wishes to bring for a formal meeting in regards to the future protection of the Megaverse."
"Alright, message King Alexander and tell him I will adhere to his request. She accessed her communication com and ordered Tray and Cross to join her on the mission. She then turned to Velocity. I would have you join me on this mission, but I do not want to delay the progress you are making in convincing more Omniverses to join our cause." A short time passed as the three members arrived for their briefing with Venessa. After their meeting, they used their watches and traveled to Omniverse 7,777,777. Their eyes were blinded by the bright rays of the sun, before they could tell where they were at. At last, their eyes adjusted to their environment, which resulted in them being astonished at the shining city that was before them. They observed trains similar to bullet trains zipping back and forth through wind tubes and the residents there in very intricate clothing. The residents either had high collar jackets, dazzling shirts, and most importantly, Venessa could sense all of them having unusual levels of the Light inside of them. A loud voice could be heard behind them. "Are these the people who the King wishes to speak with?" The group turns around and sees two men standing a few feet behind them. One appears six foot and a few inches, he did not wear a shirt but was surrounded with gold and red armor, a long red cape, black pants, and long flowing blonde hair. The other was a little shorter around five feet and possibly 11 inches with black and purple hair, a black and purple cape, purple pants, and purple armor in the exact areas as the first man. The second one responded to his companion in a soft-spoken manner,"Yes, these are the three we were assigned to escort back to the castle." Venessa, "Hey, are you two like siblings or something? You two kind of look alike." The purple one, "That assumption is correct. I am Lucrest and this is my older obnoxious brother Leoped." Leoped, "We are two in a handful of select individuals, who serve the King by carrying out special assignments and investigations." Lucrest, "If you will please follow us, the King is eager to greet you."
The three heroes followed the two guards to the castle, during their walk Venessa teased her sibling, Tray. "It appears those two brothers have larger swords than you. I think they are far superior swordsmen if they can handle large blades like that. It fails to even compare your toothpick of a sword." "Shush! I don't want to hear it. I choose elegance and gracefulness over something flashy." The group finally reached the castle as several guards in colorful shining full body armor saluted the group as they stepped inside the large white crystal doors of the castle. Leoped and Lucrest led the trio right towards the throne room; no sooner than when the doors opened, King Alexander leaped from his throne and welcomed his guests. The King's outfit was composed of expensive black cloth with silver and blue crystals creating his unique armor with gold outlining around the edges and his crown. His hair was white as snow with a cape flowing from his waist with two metallic angelic wings attached to his back. He appeared as someone who was no older than their early 20's, much less muscular than Leoped, while possessing a staggering height of 6,7. "Greetings Empress Venessa, first adopted child of Diamond! A pleasure to finally meet you. Greetings to you Tray, second adopted child of Diamond! And a very warm welcome to Cross, the last member and headmaster of the Royal Guard!" Cross' attitude changed from being standoffish to one of utter shock. No one has addressed him as headmaster since the days of the Clone War. Tray whispered to Venessa, "Headmaster of the Royal Guard? I never knew that about Cross." "Yes, many years in Cross' realm he was headmaster of the Royal Guard, an elite group of warriors who protected his realm from malevolent threats under the orders of a man named the Keeper. This was brought to an end when.........Alastor manipulated him to massacre all of his fellow friends and the Keeper towards the end of the Clone War, mere days before order Kingdom Come was initiated."
King Alexander, "Empress Venessa please accept these gifts as a sign of good will. He signaled for four servants to step forward with bundles of technology and scrolls. The Alphaverse is more than ready to work closely alongside the Megaverse Council to defeat the fallen angels and corrupted souls of the Demonic Council! Please follow me to our war chambers." King Alexander led the heroes down several steps to a room that was protected by several guards. They were granted access and upon entering, the heroes were stunned to see holographic displays of plans and projects that were scattered as two male figures were debating with a female. The figures turned to the doors and quickly turned off the scattered plans and pulled up a file that said, "Propositions and explanation for the Megaverse Council." One unique hologram Venessa saw before it disappeared was a hologram of the Matrix of Eternity with a subject line under it labeled "Restore the Matrix to its former power?" As Venessa was deep in thought, King Alexander spoke to his guests who the other three figures were, "The lanky one with grey hair and a gas mask is our lead chemist, Lorenzo. The other one with him with the crimson operator hat, black and red hair, and basically black and red from his natural wings to his armor adored with many medals is our head of homeland security, Viciate. Last but not least is our lead scientist of technology, and weapons, whose brilliance I cannot put into words, Malissia." Malissia had medium length jet black hair that only left her left eye visible, yet it appeared she had unique facial marks that were long black lines leading up to her eyelids. She wore a long black coat that went just above her ankles with boots in the shape of heels. Nearly everything she wore was black except her shirt which was white with print that resembles computer chips. Malissia, "I prefer to go by M." Tray in a playful manner, "A little gothic in your appearance compared to everyone we've seen today!" "Simply a matter of taste and perception." Tray then noticed Malissia had white irises as the rest of her eyes were black, which created a sense of mystery behind them.
Lorenzo, "The disgraced Royal Guard is here......." King Alexander disappointingly, "Lorenzo......we talked about this." Venessa, "Hey what was that project regarding the Matrix of Eternity about? How would any of you be able to reload it?" King Alexander, "We have the source that originally fueled the Matrix. We were the ones who originally created it." Cross and Tray were shocked to hear such a revelation. Was the king bluffing or legitimately telling the truth? Malissia, "The reason you saw so many other projects scattered was due to these two knuckleheads trying to push these loose ideas my way, knowing full well we had a meeting today." Viciate, "Then Lorenzo and I should be going." Viciate and Lorenzo leave the room as King Alexander and Malissia start speaking with Venessa, Tray, and Cross. Lorenzo and Viciate journeyed far from the castle's boundaries and into the outskirts of the gorgeous city into a dark alleyway where a female was waiting for them. "Have you two finally reached a decision?" Lorenzo, "Yes, we have, Paradox." Paradox in a feminine form smiled while twirling their hair, with a snap of their fingers a contract appeared before Lorenzo and Viciate. "Both of you sign there. Viciate tried to sign with a pen, but Paradox stopped him. Nuh uh uh, in blood!" Viciate pulled a dagger and cut a piece of flesh off him and Lorenzo as they signed the contract that bonded them to Black Hat. See that wasn't so hard. Now I sense you have something to tell me?" Viciate, "The Empress, playboy, and ex-harbinger of darkness are here. They learned of the plans to restore the Matrix of Eternity." A sadistic smile appeared on Paradox's face, "Wonderful! Wonderful! Things could not be better! With your help we can kill those three now and you two will rule this Omniverse as the new kings only in service to Black Hat and the Council. Let them retrieve the remains of the Matrix, and we can either strike before or after they restore the Matrix, then steal it and place it within the treasury with the other dangerous objects that could pose a threat to our reign. Run along now and continue to play your parts like good little errand boys." Paradox gave them a wink. Lorenzo, "Freak! When it comes to your services, we work with you, not for you!" The two then leave as Paradox continues to smile in the shadows.
Back in the war chamber. Venessa, "Impressive. All that you are proposing will greatly benefit us. I can see your offers are sincere, but I must ask, why it took you this long to reveal yourselves?" King Alexander, "That is........simply because of an old law......that had been in effect for thousands of years. I wanted to honor my father and his father, but eventually my consciousness allowed me to overturn that old silly law." Loud footsteps could be running through the halls as a young teenage girl open the doors to the room with pieces of paper in her arms. She began to speak clearly out of breath, "I'm here sister. The documents you wanted." Mallisa, "A few minutes late like usual, Joan." "It's not my fault, military class went on longer than normal! Gosh, how many times do I have to tell you I hate it that mom and dad forced me to become a soldier!" "Everyone, this is my younger sister, Joan. Joan this is Empress Venessa and her two colleagues, Tray and Cross." Everyone exchanged friendly greetings except for Tray who stared at Joan. There was something about Joan that captivated him, it was either the childish way she speaks or the fact she had navy hair like he did. Instead of a handshake, he wrapped both his hands around hers and knelt down, "My fair lady, it is with great honor to meet you. I pray that you will accept my greeting as one of humbleness and may good health and prosperity follow you all the days of your life, my dearest madam." Everyone in the room stared dumbfounded at Tray's speech. Cross, "Where the crap did that come from Shakespeare?" Joan stood there blushing as she stuttered while addressing Tray, "Th....thank y...yo.....you." King Alexander, "Well this meeting is nearing its end, so why don't Tray and Joan spend some time with each other while the rest of us handle the closing logistics?" Mallisa, "WHAT THE?" "Alright it's settled then. Tray and Joan, you two are dismissed."
Joan and Tray stared at each other before she offered Tray some lunch, which he readily agreed to. Alexander turned back to Venessa, "Venessa, if you don't mind, I will like you and your party to stay here the next four days. The first two can be used to handle business regarding our technology and battle tactics as I introduce you to our greatest soldiers, warriors, and fighters. The last two days can be a sort of mini vacation." "Well..........I don't think such an offer will hurt. You have yourself a deal King Alexander!" At lunch Tray and Joan were deep in conversation. Tray, "You look much different than your sister. Your eyes are normal, you are much more cheerful, and just overall livelier." "My sister takes all the stress and responsibilities of the family upon her. That and her role in the kingdom just adds more stress to her. As for her eyes and facial markings, those came when she felt called to the Spring of Restoration." "What now?" "The Spring of Restoration grants those worthy unique properties or powers. Only a select few experience a change from the spring. It is not heavily protected because the spring prevents anyone unworthy from stepping foot in its waters." "Radical." "Mhm!" "So, I heard you fighting with your sister about you hating being trained as a soldier. Why is that?" "It freaking sucks! My parents do not want me to be an astronomer or engineer! They want me to become a Celestial Crusader. On top of that, I don't even get to choose what I want to do or what I want to eat a majority of the time! Eating lunch with you right now is a rare occurrence." "Have you brought your problems to the king?" "Yes, but I don't know if he is hearing my pleas or not. If he's not, I don't blame him, he has a lot on his mind and considering my parents are very influential in terms of politics, if the king makes a brash move, my parents will give him political turmoil." Tray abruptly received a message from Venessa stating their four day stay. He was excited and already made up his mind that he will spend these four days showing Joan the freedom she is missing out on.
The next two days, King Alexander did everything he said he would to Venessa and Cross. Among the strongest warriors and fighters were Ezekiel with his four angelic wings and star saber, Phonix with his ability to control time and fire, Ian with the ability to create things out of metal at will and his large sword in the shape of a key, Vivi with her ability of harnessing animal souls and acquiring their powers and abilities to her disposal, and with several other notable fighters. Yet, the group was slowly stalked by Lorenzo who reported all of their movements to Paradox. The next two days arrived where Venessa and Cross briefly parted ways in order to find some way to relax before returning to base. On the fourth day, Venessa contacted her adoptive mother, Selena, for a special request. She wanted Selena to travel to the Alphaverse with the Matrix of Eternity in order to restore it with wisdom capable of changing the tide of the war. As for Joan and Tray, the two traveled all across the kingdom from going to the beach, kayaking, visiting the aquarium, and art museum. Tray taught Joan how to properly duel and was deeply proud when she complimented him on his elegant sword. Unknown to them Viciate was also reporting their activities to Paradox. On one of their stops, Joan brought Tray to the Spring of Restoration just for them to sight see. Yet, she was startled when Tray stopped responding to her. His eyes were affixed at the spring as he slowly started to step towards it. Joan tried to stop him, but her petite body could not stop him.
Suddenly, he stopped on the edge of the spring and bent down scooping up the water as he started to drink it from his hands. Joan was confused at Tray's behavior, "Are you......alright?" Before Tray could turn around, he collapsed on the ground. "TRAY!" She ran to him, but when she arrived, his eyes opened wildly as his body started to glow with an unearthly light. Tray's body started to transform with his pupils becoming white similar to Mallisa but instead of the other part of his eye becoming black, it became a bright cyan color. His navy hair became white with a few streaks of cyan along with his olive skin changing to being white as quartz. His outfit even started to change around him with his clothes glowing with a clear like cyan substance with a hood gently resting on his hair. Gold embroidered his collar as a unique glowing cyan halo appearing over his head. "Joan.....please tell me I'm not dead." "I uhhhh you mmmmmmm I guess not? Here let me show you what you look like." Joan opened her camera and took a photo of him in order for Tray to see the photo. "Oh my gosh I became even more handsome." "Seriously, that's what you think about after looking like you just died on me!" "Hey, I'm sorry for zoning out on you like that. I just heard a soothing voice calling me from the Spring and I could not help but follow it." "The voice was more than soothing than mine?!" "Well yes...CRAP NO NOT LIKE THAT I SWEAR!" Joan started punching Tray as he let out a hearty laugh. From the shadows Viciate contacted Paradox on what happened and for Paradox to arrive swiftly to exterminate the couple.
The two continued on their walk after having their emotions die down. Yet, there was a sort of tension in the air between the two as one waited for the other to speak first. At last, Tray was the one to break the tension as he stopped Joan and decided to finally reveal to her the thoughts that had been plaguing his mind the past few days. "Joan, I don't know how to say this but, whenever I am around you, I just feel warm inside and what I could only describe as butterflies, erupt in my stomach." Joan blushed deeply before responding, "Oh Tray!" "Joan, if you do not want to enlist in the Celestial Crusaders, you don't have to. I'm offering you a choice. I see how much you care for your older sister and your eagerness for freedom. I encourage you to follow your heart and join me. I promise with every fiber in my being that my family and I will protect you and support you with whatever decision you make." Joan with tears in her eyes. "Oh Tray! Thank you! I want to briefly stay here so I can help my sister with any last assignments and join you on exploring the Megaverse and you taking me back to the Omniverse you call home! Thank you, thank you for being such a wonderful person to me these past four days. Truthfully, I can say I feel the same when I am around you. Your outgoing free-spirited nature is very cute and contagious." Tray extends his hand towards Joan, "Then what are we waiting for? Take my hand and I will show you all the wonderful places in my Omniverse! Obviously after you are done helping your sister of course." He gave her a big comforting smile as he waited for her to wipe the tears of gratitude off her face. However, just before she could place her hand in his, a gunshot went off as a singular bullet went through the right side of Joan's head and exited out of the left. Tray opened his eyes and was horrified at the pool of blood emerging from Joan's body as she lay lifeless on the ground. He was shaken as he heard a sickening laugh. He hastily turned his head to the direction of the laughter.
Tray's eyes widened in confusion as he saw Gadget Bandito emerge from the shadows. "What.....what are you doing here? How did you get here? Why have you done this after being a loyal member of the Initiative for many years?!" "Doesn't matter. Any last words kid?" Tray thought inwardly, "Wait......no......there is no way he is the real Gadget Bandito. The real one does not even know a lot of the Megaverse, much less keep up with any news from the Initiative." He finally spoke out loud. "My powers and senses are telling me you are Gadget Bandito. But my heart, mind, and soul tell me otherwise! WHO ARE YOU?" Paradox finally revealed himself to Tray as he morphed into his mechanical appearance. Tray finally spoke after being at a loss for words, "I know you. I know who you are. No, you are not even a person anymore. You have turned yourself into something unrecognizable. I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE! YOU ARE THE CREATURE WHO MURDERED MY FATHER'S PARENTS ON THE NIGHT OF HOLY THURSDAY!" Paradox had a twisted malicious grin on his mechanical face as he spoke, "Aren't you a smart one." Tray began to channel his new powers granted to him from the Spring of Restoration. "I WILL NOT ONLY AVENGE THE DEATH OF DIAMOND'S PARENTS! BUT FOR JOAN WHO YOU SHOT IN COLD BLOOD! DIE YOU BODY MORPHING BASTARD!"
Filled with pure rage, Tray could not control his powers as Paradox merely toyed with him before using Tray's disorientation to his advantage. Paradox was able to overpower the young hero, but briefly underestimated his new power buff when Tray's halo pierced itself into Paradox's chest. This comeback was shortly lived due to the intervention of Viciate who incapacitated Tray and tied him up. Elsewhere, Venessa felt a disturbance in her gut and thus gathered Cross and met with King Alexander to ask where Tray and Joan were at. The King did not know of their location much to the dismay of Venessa, but suddenly in the throne room a thick green mist entered the room which knocked the guards and the heroes unconscious. Lorenzo did his best to pick up the bodies of the heroes and tie them up, "Now we just wait for the Queen of Asteria to arrive and snatch the Matrix from her by ransoming these hostages."
Meanwhile Selena took care of Diamond and would not allow him out of her sight. If he had to leave her house, she would go with him wherever he went, due to the public opinion on him fiercely divided. There were some who believed the attacks were caused by him while others knew that he would never do such a thing and it had to be an imposter. She would fiercely criticize any bystander who booed or tried to assault Diamond. Diamond on the other hand did not like how Selena was being overprotective of him, and her reasoning was that his mental state was not in a good place. Truthfully, it felt like he was on house arrest. One day the two of them took a nap on Selena's couch, when Selena was notified to embark on the mission to Omniverse 7,777,777. She did not have Diamond know what mission it was, but said it was important. "Don't do anything stupid or silly while I'm gone. And do not go on any adventures either! If I find out you left the town, you won't hear the end of it!" "Alright sheesh I got it."
Selena traveled to Sanctuary and entered one of the passwords a few of the elite members possessed in order to gain access to the broken remains of the Matrix of Eternity. She grabbed the pieces and created a portal to the Alphaverse. Once Selena teleported off to her mission, Diamond took advantage of this opportunity and decided to venture into town. He grabbed his Bluetooth earbuds and walked outside to his favorite coffee shop. While walking, he played Have You Ever Seen The Rain, by Creedence Clearwater Revival, one of his father's favorite bands. He could not resist but sing along with the lyrics, "When it's over so they say it'll rain a sunny day, I know, shining down like water. I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain? I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain? Coming down on a sunny day." During his stroll a handful of protestors spotted him and began to yell, "Murderer! Thief! Crook! Liar!" One such protestor threw a pot of hot water at him, which nearly resulted in Diamond retaliated, but he bore these wrongs patiently and continued on his way. He turned a corner into an alleyway and started to dance and jump in the puddles. On the other side were a set of stairs where he slowly danced his way down each step to the closing parts of the song still singing with raw emotion. "Yeaaaaahhhhhhhh I wanna know have you seen the rain? I wanna know have you ever seen the rain? Coming down on a sunny day."
He turned off his music when he entered the doors of the small shop and waited patiently in line. After he finished placing his order and pulled out his wallet to pay, the cashier whispered to him, "It's on the house. You are still a hero to us who work here." "Are you sure ma'am?" "Yes. It'll be out shortly." He took a seat near a window and started reading the local newspaper in silence. Just then a little boy who was with his parents came to his side and started to speak with him. "Excuse me sir, but are you, Diamond?" Diamond chuckled to himself, "Well there is no use in hiding my identity. Yes, I am." "Can you tell me what it was like during the year I was born?" "Uh, odd request but yeah I can tell you, first I have to ask how old are you?" "I just turned four!" "Well happy birthday! Let's see four years ago was 2016.....wait no it was 2020. Gosh was 2020 four years ago? Man, all these adventures all start flowing together kid. So, around this time an old enemy of mine named......" Diamond abruptly stopped speaking as he felt a disturbance. "Named who, sir?" Diamond stood up and slowly walked to the doors as a giant explosion went off in the center of town. Everyone started screaming, running in all directions from the blast, as Diamond signaled his AI using his nanotech vision glasses. "HONEY what are we looking at? HONEY? Crap I never turned you back on." Diamond hastily had his nanotech grow on his left arm as he turned on the setting to activate HONEY. "I'm back! Are you ok boss, did you do anything brash when I was gone?" "We can catch up later HONEY, right now I need you to prevent traffic from entering this street and alert the local authorities." "Yes sir!"
While all of this was happening on Earth, Selena's portal finally brought her to the Alphaverse. She begins to mutter to herself, "Alright Venessa I'm here. Hopefully we can get this done quickly, because I don't trust Diamond being by himself." Selena was cautious of her surroundings, due to being greeted with an eerie vacant throne room. She suddenly heard a quiet "help me," this prompted her to locate the source of the voice which resulted in her finding Lorenzo lying next to a pillar. "Please help me." "Who did this to you, where are they now, and have you seen a young girl with pink and blue hair go by?" Selena used her powers to silently read the injured person's mind, but before her powers could alert her of it being a trap, she heard another voice which caused her pupils to shrink with fear. "Hello my precious doll." Selena turned to face the new voice and to her horror, she saw Paradox standing behind her, appearing the same way he looked the day before he died. The trauma from the mistreatment and terror she received from him overridden her senses and caused her to stand completely motionless. Behind her Lorenzo leaped and took off his mask expelling a strong toxin into her lungs causing her to faint and drop the pieces of the Matrix. Lorenzo, "Why did you change the plan to capture her instead of bargaining with her?" Paradox, "Because I want the last thing, they see is me holding the reloaded Matrix and handing it over to my masters." Paradox then switched back to his mechanical body and wrapped Selena in thick pairs of chains. He then took her body along with the rest of the heroes to the depths of the castle.
Simultaneously on Earth, Diamond slowly made his way to the source of the blast as he yelled at the pedestrians to head southbound. When he reached the center of the blast three figures emerged. A hulking lizard creature, a humanoid squid, and a tall figure wrapped in black cloth with piercing red goggles. "HEY! THIS TOWN IS CLOSED TO THUGS LIKE YOU TODAY!" The man in black cloth responded back, "We were wishing for a fight with Selena, but facing you is even better!" "I suggest you stand down before I rip a tentacle from your friend Squidward!" "Grok shut his mouth." The hulking creature lifted his axe from his back and started charging at Diamond. Diamond tapped his chest as his nanotech started to form around him as he created several large blasters from his back and fired at Grok. The blasts sent Grok flying backwards to his two other companions, but the man in black simply waved his hand to the right which sent Grok crashing into a local store. Diamond flew towards the humanoid squid and started punching him with unrelenting force that caused the squid to vomit quantities of ink. The man in black teleported behind Diamond and used his mystic powers to gain the upper hand by distorting the reality around them. The squid shaped his head into a spear and tried to pierce Diamond with his poison, but Diamond dodged it and sent him hurdling towards the man in black, breaking the reality illusion. He then had his suit create a sticky net which he shot to capture both the man in black and squid. Grok finally managed to get back up, but upon seeing his comrades captured, he clicked a button on his belt that resulted in him exploding creating a blast deadlier than the first. Diamond noticed there were a few people that were in the blast radius of this second explosion and flew towards them using his strength to hold the falling debris from the tall business building. The debris piled the streets with dust and papers, until the sound of sirens broke the silence. Law enforcement arrested the two other villains while Diamond was barely holding large portions of fallen walls, glass, and stone from crushing him and the civilians under him. The leading officer noticed Diamond struggling in the debris, but decided not to help him, he thought to himself, "Let's see if he can truly save others and be the hero the weak minded believe him to be." The crushing weight began to take a toll on Diamond as he slowly began to lose his footing until he was on his knees holding the debris up.
"I promise.....I will get all of you out alive!" Negative thoughts began to enter his mind as various voices began to call out. "You are not good enough. You couldn't save your own parents; how can you save these unfortunate souls? You are playing a fool's game. See how the law enforcement refuses to acknowledge your existence. Face it your story is over. Finished. You are nothing but a weak boy who thought he could have been a great hero." Diamond tried to block out these voices, but they began to take a toll on him, nearly causing him to give up, but then a quiet voice entered his mind. A voice smooth like honey but strong as thunder echoed in his mind. "You are something more. Look inside yourself, you are something far more than when you started all those years ago as a small-town hero. Do not listen to their empty words, listen to me. Do you renounce sin?" "I do." "Do you renounce the Devil, the sin whisperer, and all his empty promises?" "I do!" "Do you believe in the Faith of your fathers, the Resurrection, and life everlasting?" "I do!" "Arise my child." At that very moment Diamond felt the power of the Light course through him at greater quantities than before as his body began to glow with gold and white light. With a newfound access to the Light, Diamond felt it was only natural to change the wording when harnessing its power, "Through the power of Heaven's Light.......All things are possible!" Diamond effortlessly lifted the debris away from him as the civilians under his care ran to the rest of the crowd. The onlookers stared at Diamond's glowing gold and white body. They were baffled in amazement as a few murmured amongst themselves, "Truly this is the act of a selfless hero."
Diamond did not hear the crowd's cheers, whistles, and praises as he stood deep in contemplation. Deep within his soul, he was able to sense his family was in grave danger. With his connection to the Light restored, he made it his new mission to travel to the Omniverse where he sensed the disturbance. He quietly spoke to himself, "Oh yeah I'm ready to whip the person who is so bent on ruining my life! But first, I have to do it in style. He allowed his suit to create two large speakers; HONEY make sure the volume is on max. Time for us to go back into the Megaverse!"
To Be Continued In The Alphaverse Part 2

DAY: MAY 31 2024
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RESEARCH SUGGESTS LEADERS’ SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ARE TAKEN JUST AS SERIOUSLY AS FORMAL STATEMENTS

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SCALE OF ONLINE HARM TO CHILDREN REVEALED IN GLOBAL STUDY

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PRONATALISM IS THE LATEST SILICON VALLEY TREND. WHAT IS IT—AND WHY IS IT DISTURBING?

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HOW SCIENCE, MATH, AND TECH CAN PROPEL SWIMMERS TO NEW HEIGHTS

One hundred years ago, in the 1924 Paris Olympics, American Johnny Weissmuller won the men’s 100m freestyle with a time of 59 seconds. Nearly 100 years later, in the most recent Olympics, the delayed 2020 Games in Tokyo, Caeleb Dressel took home the same event with a time that was 12 seconds faster than Weissmuller’s. Swimming times across the board have become much faster over the past century, a result of several factors, including innovations
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BANNING SEX CRIME OFFENDERS FROM CHANGING THEIR NAMES DOESN’T MAKE US SAFER

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SILICON VALLEY ISN’T THE START-UP UTOPIA WE THOUGHT, RESEARCH FINDS

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I WANT TO KEEP MY CHILD SAFE FROM ABUSE—BUT RESEARCH TELLS ME I’M DOING IT WRONG

Child sexual abuse is uncomfortable to think about, much less talk about. The idea of an adult engaging in sexual behaviors with a child feels sickening. It’s easiest to believe that it rarely happens, and when it does, that it’s only to children whose parents aren’t protecting them. This belief stayed with me during my early days as a parent. I kept an eye out for creepy men at the playground and was skeptical of men who worked with young children, such as teachers and coaches. When my kids were
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OVER 300 MILLION YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE EXPERIENCED ONLINE SEXUAL ABUSE, EXPLOITATION, FINDS METASTUDY

It takes a lot to shock Kelvin Lay. My friend and colleague was responsible for setting up Africa’s first dedicated child exploitation and human trafficking units, and for many years he was a senior investigating officer for the Child Exploitation Online Protection Center at the UK’s National Crime Agency, specializing in extra territorial prosecutions on child exploitation across the globe. But what happened when he recently volunteered for a demonstration of cutting-edge identification software left him speechless. Within seconds of being fed with an image
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CYBERFLASHING IS A FORM OF GENDERED SEXUAL VIOLENCE THAT MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY

Sexting—sending sexually suggestive or explicit messages and images—is now a widespread practice, and can be a healthy way to express and explore sexuality. However, there is a need to distinguish between consensual sexting and forms of sexual harassment like cyberflashing. Cyberflashing refers to the act of non-consensually sending sexual imagery (like nudes or “dick pics”) to another person. It is facilitated through communications technologies including text, AirDrop and social media applications like Snapchat and Tinder. Similar to flashing—when a person unexpectedly and deliberately “flashes” their genitals to others—that occurs in
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VIRTUAL TRAINING MAY BE AN EFFECTIVE, COST-EFFICIENT OPTION FOR CHILD EDUCATORS

Teachers and other child educators can benefit from regular professional development, but in-person training can be expensive. New research found that virtual training can be a budget-friendly alternative—and especially effective for certain groups of educators. The study—a collaboration between researchers at Penn State and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and published in the International Journal of Professional Development, Learners and Learning—found that educators who took a virtual training reported feeling more confident in their abilities to implement practices shown to support positive youth development. In particular, after-school providers who did not
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HUMBLE LEADERS BOOST EMPLOYEES’ WORKPLACE STATUS AND LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL, FINDS STUDY

There are many different types of workplace leaders, from those who prioritize the needs of team members and the organization above their own, to authentic leaders who foster openness, trust and transparency. A recent study by the University of South Australia published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior has highlighted the significant benefits of humble leadership in the workplace. According to the study by UniSA’s Dr. Xiao Lin, humble leadership can effectively elevate the workplace status of employees by boosting their sense of respect and prominence. It also leads to
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WHY ARE GROCERY BILLS SO HIGH? A NEW STUDY LOOKS AT THE SCIENCE BEHIND FOOD PRICE REPORTING

Rising food costs are squeezing Canadians around the country. Nearly everyone is feeling the pinch, and it’s not just an inconvenience—high food prices are a major threat to food security for many Canadians. Understanding why food prices are so high and why they are changing is critical to the well-being of our society. Unfortunately, consensus on why food price are so high is in short supply. Explanations given in reports like Canada’s Food Price Report and the news media range widely, from the war in Ukraine to supply chain issues
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WILL GENERATIVE AI CHANGE THE WAY UNIVERSITIES COMMUNICATE?

Is artificial intelligence an unprecedented opportunity, or will it rob everyone of jobs and creativity? As we debate on social media (and perhaps use ChatGPT almost daily), generative AIs have also entered the arena of university communication. These tools—based on large language models that were optimized for interactive communication—can indeed support, expand, and innovate university communication offerings. Justus Henke has analyzed the situation of German realities about six months after the launch of ChatGPT 3. “The research was conducted about a year ago when enthusiasm was high, but it was
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STUDY SHOWS RELATIVELY LOW NUMBER OF SUPERSPREADERS RESPONSIBLE FOR LARGE PORTION OF MISINFORMATION ON TWITTER

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HOW LIFE’S BIG MOMENTS CAN CHALLENGE STARTUPS

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RUDE AT WORK? FEELING GUILTY CAN MAKE YOU A BETTER, KINDER WORKER

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RESEARCHERS INTRODUCE A PLANETARY INCLUSION SCALE TO FOSTER BROADER ETHICAL THINKING

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‘LEAN IN’ MESSAGES CAN LOWER WOMEN’S MOTIVATION TO PROTEST GENDER INEQUALITY

Women in leadership are often told to “Lean In,” designed to be motivational messaging demonstrating that they are more confident, strategic and resilient to setback. However, new research indicates that such “lean in” messaging can hinder women’s motivation to protest gender equality. Popularized in a book by American technology executive Sherly Sandberg, the “Lean In” solution to gender inequality advises women that demonstrating personal resilience and perseverance in the face of setbacks is key to career advancement. Now, a new study led by the University of Exeter, Bath Spa University
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ALGORITHMS COULD HELP IMPROVE JUDICIAL DECISIONS

A new paper in the Quarterly Journal of Economics finds that replacing certain judicial decision-making functions with algorithms could improve outcomes for defendants by eliminating some of the systemic biases of judges. Decision makers make consequential choices based on predictions of unknown outcomes. Judges, in particular, make decisions about whether to grant bail to defendants or how to sentence those convicted. Companies now use machine learning based models increasingly in high-stakes decisions. There are various assumptions about human behavior underlying the deployment of such learning models that play out in
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DIGITAL CAMPAIGNING IS A HUGE PART OF ELECTIONS NOW—BUT GOING VIRAL ISN’T EVERYTHING

The election has commenced and the race is on—to amass as many likes, shares and comments as possible. Digital campaigning, particularly through social media, is now a key part of political candidates’ communication toolkit. In fact, every general election campaign since 1997 has at some point been lauded as the first to make effective use of digital campaigning. But it was in 2015 that David Cameron’s campaign first made strategic use of social media to drive an election victory. As political reporter Tim Ross outlines in his excellent book, Why
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WHY ARE ORGANIZATIONAL COVER-UPS SO COMMON?

The TV dramatization of the UK Horizon Post Office scandal evoked outrage and disbelief. However, as another example of dysfunctional organizational behavior, it was expected rather than exceptional. The Post Office saga joins a long list of cover-ups or scandals that includes Hillsborough, Enron, Grenfell, the infected blood scandal, the Tuam babies scandal in the Republic of Ireland, Boeing 737 Max and Nasa (Columbia space shuttle). They represent what happens when there is a move within organizations and institutions to cover up the causes of
5-31-2024

AMONG GEN Z AUSTRALIANS, 38% IDENTIFY AS SPIRITUAL AND HALF BELIEVE IN KARMA. WHY IS SPIRITUALITY SO POPULAR?

Spirituality is increasingly popular with young Australians: recent research shows 38% of Gen Z Australians identify as spiritual. It also reports 50% of them believe in karma, 29% in reincarnation and 20% in astrology. When it comes to activities equated with spirituality, 28% of Gen Z Australians practice meditation and 22% practice yoga. In Australia, spirituality is strongly, enduringly central to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and culturally and religiously diverse communities. Yet until recently, spirituality has received far less attention than religion. Spirituality may be
5-31-2024

COMPANIES CAN IMPROVE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THEIR PRODUCTS IN THE EARLIEST PRODUCT-DESIGN STAGES

An interdisciplinary team of researchers from Lithuanian and Italian universities propose a tool that allows companies to assess the circularity of their future products. The self-assessment tool emphasizes the co-creation of circular design in the early (creative) stages of product development, encouraging entrepreneurs and designers to think more systematically and collaborate better by integrating related stakeholders into the product development process. The study is published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology. “The majority of existing practical tools (systems of indicators) are aimed at measuring the environmental impact of products already
5-31-2024

RESEARCH EXAMINES HOW RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION AFFECTS A STATE’S COLLEGE ENROLLMENT

New research has revealed up to a 9% increase in college first-year enrollments in US states that have legalized recreational marijuana compared with states without such legalization. The study, which is published in Economic Inquiry, found that the increase was from out-of-state enrollments, with early adopter states and public non-research institutions experiencing the most pronounced increases. Recreational marijuana legalization did not negatively impact degree completion or graduation rate, and it did not affect college prices, quality, or in?state enrollment. The findings suggest that some students perceive recreational marijuana legalization as
5-31-2024

RESEARCH EXAMINES HOW RECREATIONAL MARIJUANA LEGALIZATION AFFECTS A STATE’S COLLEGE ENROLLMENT

New research has revealed up to a 9% increase in college first-year enrollments in US states that have legalized recreational marijuana compared with states without such legalization. The study, which is published in Economic Inquiry, found that the increase was from out-of-state enrollments, with early adopter states and public non-research institutions experiencing the most pronounced increases. Recreational marijuana legalization did not negatively impact degree completion or graduation rate, and it did not affect college prices, quality, or in?state enrollment. The findings suggest that some students perceive recreational marijuana legalization as
5-31-2024

HOW THE ‘MODEL MINORITY’ MYTH HARMS ASIAN AMERICANS

May is Asian and Pacific American Heritage Month, a time when Americans celebrate the profound contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders—a group that is commonly abbreviated as AAPI—to U.S. society. It’s also a time to acknowledge the complexity of AAPI experience. And as a professor who studies equity and inclusion in business, I think the focus on AAPI communities this month provides an excellent occasion to push back against a stereotype that has long misrepresented and marginalized a diverse range of people: the myth of the “model minority.” The
5-31-2024

WONDERING HOW TO TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT CONSENT? HERE’S AN AGE-BASED GUIDE TO GET YOU STARTED

The Australian government’s new campaign Consent Can’t Wait challenges us all to improve our understanding of consent. It asks a series of questions to illustrate this issue is more complex than simplistic “no means no” messaging. The campaign invites viewers to consider the nuances of consent, so we can raise these important issues with children and young people in our lives. But what is a good age to start talking about consent? How do parents tackle such conversations when this information probably wasn’t readily discussed in our own upbringing? How
5-31-2024

A PRODUCT OF NATURE OR NURTURE?

The concept of cultural entrepreneurship has many facets. It encompasses both the cultural and social impact of entrepreneurial training, and the environmental factors that influence its development. Some societies, such as the U.S., have a strong entrepreneurial culture. This means that certain characteristics are celebrated and encouraged, such as the ability of individuals to assume risks, patience when confronting challenges, and innovative problem solving, especially in uncertain situations. However, not all countries have such an entrepreneurial culture. Entrepreneurship struggles to take off in Europe In general, entrepreneurship can drive economic
5-31-2024

STUDY BRIDGES ANIMAL BEHAVIOR RESEARCH AND COMPUTER CODING TO ENGAGE CHILDREN IN STEM

A graphic depicting a student coding. Credit: Carnegie Mellon University Teachers today face a bit of a conundrum, according to a new study from researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Their goal is to prepare young students to enter a rapidly changing world. Even basic jobs require technical proficiency, which requires computational and analytical skills. To address this need, many educators are pushing to fold these important STEM skills into elementary curriculum. Here’s the problem. Young students can lose interest and even develop an aversion
5-31-2024

STUDY SHOWS VR CAN HELP TEACHERS BETTER DISTRIBUTE THEIR GAZE

On the left, a bird’s-eye view of the virtual classroom; on the right, screenshots of each of the four gaze-visualization conditions. Teachers need to know their material, but they must also keep their students engaged and interested. Part of that involves making eye contact with their students—all of them. A multidisciplinary team of researchers tested several methods of data visualization in an immersive virtual reality (VR) classroom, to give teachers a way to gauge
5-31-2024

MARKETERS CAN MANAGE ‘FEATURE CREEP’ SO CONSUMERS FEEL LESS INTIMIDATED BY TOO MANY FEATURES IN A PRODUCT

Wifi-enabled washing machines. Voice-controlled microwaves. App-enabled TVs, vacuum cleaners, and even window blinds you can control from the comfort of your couch. Many of the technological features now included in everyday products are useful and accessible. But research has shown that having too many can overwhelm potential buyers, making them less likely to make a purchase. In recent research, Wayne Hoyer, marketing professor and James L. Bayless/William S. Farrish Fund Chair for Free Enterprise at Texas McCombs, digs into the phenomenon of “feature creep” and its impact on consumer sentiment.
5-31-2024

RESEARCHERS EXPLAIN SOCIAL MEDIA’S ROLE IN RAPIDLY SHIFTING SOCIAL NORMS ON GENDER AND SEXUALITY

A new paper summarizing decades of research demonstrates how social media has supported an explosion of diversity in gender and sexuality in America during the 21st century, and also how these technologies have equally enabled a cultural backlash. The paper’s authors, UC Santa Cruz Psychology Department faculty members Phil Hammack and Adriana Manago, identified five main narratives about gender and sexuality that they believe emerged through social media as people have strived to be “authentic” on these platforms. The findings, along with resulting recommendations for psychology researchers and practitioners, were
5-31-2024

KEY FACTORS IN TRAINING ASSESSORS FOR ENHANCED PERFORMANCE RATINGS

New research is examining how organizations can improve their training programs by customizing frame-of-reference training to emphasize identifying negative behaviors critical to their goals. While assessors naturally identify positive behaviors, C. Allen Gorman, Ph.D., associate professor in UAB’s Department of Management, Information Systems and Quantitative Methods, says targeted training helps them recognize harmful actions that can hinder organizational objectives. Involving assessors in defining important performance dimensions and examples of behaviors, both good and
5-31-2024

STUDIES CHALLENGE WIDELY HELD BELIEFS ON APPLICANT DIVERSITY AND WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE

Justin Frake is interested in cause-and-effect relationships in real-world data and the hidden dynamics that shape workplace behavior and equality—or inequality, as the case might be. His curiosity has led to research that challenges some popular beliefs as well as published studies related to women in the workforce. One study shows that firms promoting flatter hierarchies inadvertently discourage female applicants and another study counters several recent studies that claim women CEOs negatively impact career outcomes of other women. Both are published in the Strategic Management Journal. The assistant professor of
5-31-2024

CHALLENGING LEWIN’S MOTIVATIONAL CONFLICTS THEORY

A recent series of experiments challenges the longstanding theory of motivational conflict resolution introduced by Kurt Lewin. According to Lewin, conflicts between two undesirable outcomes (avoidance–avoidance conflicts) are typically harder to resolve than those between two desirable ones (approach–approach conflicts). Lewin posited that avoidance–avoidance conflicts, where individuals must choose between two undesirable outcomes, are typically more challenging to resolve compared to approach–approach conflicts, which involve choosing between two desirable options.
5-31-2024

MEN WITH ‘TOXIC MASCULINITY’ ARE MORE LIKELY TO MAKE SEXUAL ADVANCES WITHOUT CONSENT, STUDY FINDS

No means no when it comes to sex. But what happens when a woman makes a more passive response to a sexual advance? According to new research from Binghamton University, men differ in how they interpret these types of responses, and men who display hostile masculinity, known commonly as “toxic masculinity,” tend to act on them regardless of whether or not they think it’s consensual. A team of researchers, including Binghamton psychology professor Richard Mattson and graduate student Michael Shaw asked men between the ages of 18–25 to respond to
5-31-2024

WHY WE DEHUMANIZE OUR POLITICAL OPPONENTS

Some of human history’s greatest atrocities—genocide, slavery, ethnic cleanings—are rooted in our ability to dehumanize people from other social, political, or cultural groups. Whereas prior research has traced dehumanization to the belief that others think or feel less than we do, new research co-authored by Haas professor Sameer Srivastava shows that our tendency to dehumanize can also be influenced by how we think others view important facets of the world. The greater the difference between our perceptions of an outgroup’s worldview
5-31-2024

STUDY SUGGESTS CHILDREN ARE OFTEN EXPOSED TO PROBLEMATIC CLICK BAIT DURING YOUTUBE SEARCHES

When a child peruses YouTube, the content recommended to them is not always age appropriate, a new study suggests. Researchers mimicked search behaviors of children using popular search terms, such as memes, Minecraft and Fortnite, and captured video thumbnails recommended at the end of each video. Among the 2,880 thumbnails analyzed, many contained problematic click bait, such as violence or frightening images, according to the Michigan Medicine led research in JAMA Network Open. “Children spend a significant amount of time on free video sharing platforms that include user-generated content,” said
5-31-2024

STUDY FINDS WOMEN ARE VULNERABLE IN POST-WAR PEACE PROCESSES

Post-war peace processes are a dangerous period for women. Many are forced to live close to men who committed serious abuse during the war or are expected to testify in various types of truth commissions, which can be both retraumatizing and stigmatizing. These are the findings of a new study by peace researchers at Uppsala University, published in the journal PLOS ONE. “In short, peace projects can force women to live side by side with ex-combatants who committed atrocities during the war. This puts them at risk of further threat
5-31-2024

HOW EMBRACING THE CRINGE CAN HELP YOUR DATING LIFE

We can all agree that dating is hard. Getting to know people can feel vulnerable, but at the same time, exciting. We can also agree that feeling rejected can be one of the worst feelings, especially after we put ourselves out there. Dating can also expose us to a lot of cringey things, maybe even something we didn’t know we’d consider cringey. Think of cringe like something that makes you uncomfortable, or something about someone else that you don’t find attractive. Before dating, most of us consider what we’re looking
5-31-2024

PERSONAL CONNECTIONS AT WORK POSITIVELY IMPACT RETENTION AND MENTAL HEALTH, SAYS REPORT

New survey results from Wiley suggest people still feel connected at work despite the prevalence of hybrid and remote work environments and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). According to the latest Wiley Workplace Intelligence report, “Human Connection: The Crucial Secret to Thriving in the Digital Age,” nearly 8 in 10 employees surveyed (78%) said they feel connected with their coworkers, and almost 7 in 10 (69%) said they also enjoy making connections with their colleagues. Around half even said they want to learn more about their coworkers by doing
5-31-2024

RESEARCHER DEVELOPS MODEL OF INFLUENCER IMPORTANCE WITHIN INSTAGRAM NETWORKS

A study has provided new insights into social media influencers, particularly focusing on those in the women’s fashion sector on the well-known image and video sharing platform Instagram. In a departure from the approach taken by earlier studies, Jens K. Perret of the International School of Management in Cologne, Germany, has used network statistics and centrality measures to establish a model of influencer importance within their network. Perret analyzed data from 255 influencers covering a four-year period. Influencers are loosely
5-31-2024

MOST PEOPLE TRUST ACCURATE SEARCH RESULTS WHEN THE STAKES ARE HIGH, STUDY FINDS

Rank (X-axis) does not affect the evaluation of trustworthiness (Y-axis, mean-centered) of accurate results. This lack of relationship is robust across experiments (columns) and for clicked results (top row, red) as well as non-clicked results (bottom row, blue). The trend lines represent the predicted change in trustworthiness ratings per unit decrease in rank fitted by the linear regression models. Credit: Scientific Reports (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61645-8 Using experiments with COVID-19 related queries, Cornell sociology and information science researchers found that in a public health emergency, most people pick out and click
5-31-2024

MISLEADING COVID-19 HEADLINES FROM MAINSTREAM SOURCES DID MORE HARM ON FACEBOOK THAN FAKE NEWS, STUDY FINDS

Despite the greater potency of “fake news” on Facebook to discourage Americans from taking the COVID-19 vaccine, users’ greater exposure to unflagged, vaccine-skeptical content meant the latter had a much greater negative effect on vaccine uptake. Credit: Jennifer Allen, Duncan Watts, David G. Rand Since the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in 2021, fake news on social media has been widely blamed for low vaccine uptake in the United States—but research by MIT Sloan School of Management Ph.D. candidate Jennifer Allen and Professor David Rand finds that the blame lies
5-31-2024

CRITICAL DIALOGUE HELPS STRAIGHT MEN CONFRONT SEXIST, HOMOPHOBIC BELIEFS

Adult heterosexual men with sexist and homophobic views can potentially improve their attitudes toward gay men and women by engaging in critical dialogues that use illustrations as a springboard, according to a new University of Michigan study. The work is published in the journal Sexual and Gender Diversity in Social Services. The process by which people shift from a prejudicial stance to one of relative acceptance is a key innovation of the study. Guided by trained facilitators, critical dialogues reflect illustrations depicting different gender roles and sexual identities. The images
5-31-2024

RELIEVING A FEAR OF PUBLIC SPEAKING

If you dread public speaking you are not alone. It is a leading social phobia, one that can cause a state of anxiety that reduces otherwise articulate people to nervous incoherence. A strong fear of public speaking is known as glossophobia. Academic studies estimate it affects 20% of the population, but depending on the sample and methodology, the figure could be as high as 40%. As American writer and humourist Mark Twain said, “There are two types of speakers: Those who get nervous and those who are liars.” But help
5-31-2024

HOW SOME PRIVATE COMPANIES ARE MARKETING TECH AND AI SOLUTIONS

How do universities and colleges decide who to admit? Given the earnings advantage of a post-secondary degree both globally and in Canada, this is an important social mobility question. While the answer varies from one institution to the next, most focus on education criteria like exam scores and grades. However, Canada’s new intake cap on study permit applications puts increased pressure on Canadian institutions to also consider immigration criteria when admitting international undergraduate students. This is just the latest example of immigration’s growing influence on the societal roles of Canadian

I saw an article about a rock found that was claimed to be an ancient scuplure of a stingray, possibly the oldest example of animal art. But looking at the pictures (sorry I can't add attachments), it just looks like a kite shaped rock. The authors of the paper about it claim it has a 'near perfect' outline of a stingray, and that the 'symmetrical markings' show its orientation. But the only 'markings' on it don't actually correspond to stingray anatomy, and are barely symmetrical. To top it off, it the outline (the only indication it could be a stingray) has clear deviations from stingray anatomy.
They call this 'speculation', but they published a paper which was then reported on in several articles online so it seems like there should be some weight to a claim like this made by experts. It's also pretty significant that it's claimed to be the oldest example of animal art ever.
Is there some evidence here that I'm missing?

I sell a bundle containing nearly all of the WSP courses (including the entire Premium Package). What's included:

1. Wall Street Prep Premium Package (Financial Statement Modeling, DCF Modeling, Trading Comps, Transaction Comps, M&A Modeling, LBO Modeling)
2. Bank & FIG Modeling
3. Oil & Gas Modeling
4. Restructuring Modeling
5. Real Estate (REIT) Modeling
6. Guide to the Technical Finance Interview
7. Excel Crash Course
8. The Ultimate Excel VBA Course
9. Accounting Crash Course
10. Advanced Accounting
11. Analyzing Financial Reports
12. Interpreting Non-GAAP Reports
13. Corporate Finance Crash Course
14. Crash Course in Bonds and Debt
15. PowerPoint Crash Course

Comes with all of the videos, Excel templates, and supplemental PDF files. All can be downloaded.
Shoot me a message!

TLDR: Passed with 70 points on first try. I'm happier about passing on the first try than about passing at all, because that means I won't have to endure this again.
Background:
I have about 6 years of experience as a Security Engineer in IR teams, but I have never done any penetration tests. Never heard of winpeas, linpeas, etc. Barely heard of mimikatz and bloodhound because they would come up once in a while when responding to alerts or when engaging against red teams. Also, half of those 6 years were in the military where I hardly ever got to do the job. Im sure some of you can relate.
Why OSCP:
TL;DR: vanity.
Every year or so, I feel an itch to get a new cert that's harder than the previous one. The progression went from CompTIA certs to SANS certs in forensics and malware reverse engineering which landed me in pretty demanding jobs. Recently, I took a step back to take a less demanding job, but with that, came a compulsive itch to tickle my brain with something demanding. I'd heard of OSCP, and the horrors. Purely out of vanity, I figured there's no better way to feel good about myself than to get this cert. I had no incentive to get a new job, or to get promoted or to make more money or anything like that because I am already in highly overpaid role.
How I did it:
TLDR: 4 months of prep. 1.5 month for PEN200, then 2.5 months of labs.
At the end of December, I signed up for LearnOne. The discount didn't matter to me because my employer paid for it, but it definitely helped. Starting in January, I skimmed over the PEN-100 modules to familiarize myself with Kali Linux, and then started PEN-200 full speed. With a wife, toddler and a newborn, it wasn't easy to make time to study at home, but I went through the modules as often as I could at work. I completed the course in about a month and a half. It was like drinking from a firehose. Never had I ever felt so overwhelmed by so much new and exciting knowledge at such a pace. Really enjoyed the learning process.
After PEN200, I dove right into the challenge labs. I was very quickly humbled by Medtech when I spent an entire week trying to figure out how to get an initial foothold. That's when I had to take a step back, go through Portswigger, and then try again. Overall, Medtech took me at least 2 weeks. Followed by another week for Relia. Did a couple PG practice boxes, and then dove straight into OSCP A B and C so could get the 10 bonus points. I think the practice tests were easier because they were smaller AD sets, but some of the standalones were absolutely brutal. Before I moved on to more PG boxes, I took a few weeks off from studying as I realized that I was spending way too little time with family, and way too much time at the desk.
My next prep work as PG boxes. I think I did about 25 PG boxes total, mostly windows. I didn't watch any Ippsec walkthroughs, but I did follow TJ Null's list for PG boxes.
I also read the HTB Academy's Active Directory course, which I think is absolutely excellent. I didn't complete it, but I studied and took notes on the portions that I found relevant. I basically entirely replaced my PEN200 AD notes with the HTB Academy's AD notes because HTB material was so much better.
Walkthroughs: I really really enjoyed S1REN!'s PG practice boxes walkthroughs. Highly recommend.
I have no opinions about Ippsec because I didn't watch his videos because I wanted to focus as much as possible on Offsec material, and I considered HTB boxes as more of a "distraction" of sorts from the Offsec way of doing things. Don't trust my opinion blindly though, since there are so many people out there who love IppSec for good reasons. If you're tight on time, I'd skip Ippsec. HOWEVER, I highly recommend you to bookmark his website ippsec.rocks where you can keyword-search for walkthrough. This is incredibly helpful and I am very grateful to Ippsec for doing this.
Tib3rius: Cough up the $30 or so and purchase the Windows/Linux privesc bundle by Tib3rius. It's not better than PEN200's material by a whole lot, but it's still better.
My exam experience:
I knew this would not be easy, but it was much harder than I imagined. This was because against by best judgement, [1] I started later in the day, and [2] I didn't take as many breaks as I should have and [3] I forgot it KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid. Up until the 12 hours, I had 0 points. I finally made progress only after I backed off from the complex approaches and tried something ridiculously simple. After initial foothold, it was super easy. Same with my next standalone. After initial foothold, it was super easy. Couldn't crack into the other 2 standalones because I was just too exhausted from beating my head against the keyboard for 12 hrs. Had I taken a step back and got some rest, perhaps I would've been in a better mental state to tackle all the boxes.
Tips for preparing:

• Get the 10 bonus points. I wouldn't have passed if I hadn't.
• For SQLi, do Portswigger modules first before doing the PEN200 modules. Portswigger has interactive exercises that solidify your SQLi knowledge before you can put it into practice. Don't bother with the Blind SQLi portions (except for what you need to do to get your 80% completion)
• Don't waste time by being stuck. Don't tRy hARdER when all you're doing is beating your head against the keyboard and burning yourself out. Look for solutions. The goal is to learn, and the time you spend pulling your hair out is better spent on adding more knowledge to your arsenal.
• Do the PG boxes, but again lean on walkthroughs as needed. Out of the 20+ boxes I did, I think I pwned only 2-3 boxes on my own.
• If you are not on a time crunch, give yourself the time to learn from HTB Academy, TCM, etc before jumping into PEN200. If I had known any better, that's what i would've done. If you are like me and are willing to take on a challenge at the cost of family life and Work life balance, go ahead and throw yourself into the fire. Otherwise, I'd recommend taking a softer and longer ramp up approach.
• Take notes but don't bother wasting time on learning how to write reports. As long as you take screenshots, you'll be able to slap together a report on exam day. Way too many people overcomplicate report writing. Use the OffSec template. It's ugly, but 70 points is 70 points.

Tips for exam:

• Keep it simple. If you find yourself pulling your hair out trying to figure out how to exploit a machine, you're likely going down the wrong path. The vectors of exploit are very simple, but only slightly out of reach. Perhaps you under-enumerated. Or maybe you went straight to trying complex solutions without trying the easy solutions that were right under your nose the whole time.
• Start early even if you're not a morning person. I started at midday, which was a mistake.
• If you get stuck for too long, go for a drive or just step away.
• Do everything twice. On the first go, just do the hacking and don't worry about the notes too much. After you've got enough points, revert the machines, then go back through your steps, taking VERY thorough notes and screenshots.

Good luck, all!

Good morning guys,
I have a tenant renting a commercial building where the lease started on the 04/07/22. On the 10/11/23 they reported movement in the ceiling but didn’t do anything about it. (Pest control falls under their responsibility as outlined in the lease agreement). Due to them not acting for several months, rodents nested in the insulation and a a heavy smell is penetrating some of the rooms as a result of it. Part of the ceiling has been stained as well. The tenant now says we need to replace the insulation as it is old and dirty. I do agree it is old and dirty, so is the building. But the smell and rodent problem was well over a year into his lease and I feel like it is his responsibility to replace the damaged insulation.
Open ear if someone thinks otherwise 👍

Hi,
I'm trying to make a reporting workbench for IBD patients using the "Find Patients - Generic Criteria" to track various variables and share with people who are less technically inclined. Examples include next appt, with who, last remicade dose, etc. Currently, when I run the report it takes like 5 minutes to load up as it reruns the criteria through the patient base.
I thought about using registries to speed this up. Am I understanding correctly that I can make the registry one of the "Find Patients" criteria and that would make the report run much faster?
There's also a report template specifically for registries so I don't konw if I should just being doing that instead? The setup guide on galaxy and the training pdf on the class don't really go into great detail.
Are there benefits to even using registries and registry metrics for what I'm trying to do or should I just be satasfied with a workbench that jsut takes 5 minutes to load and go from there?
As a second question, is there a way to create a smartlink that just runs an equation based on encounter variables such as weight, weight, etc, and just farts out whatever I want? Like a weight based dose for something or some other more complicated equation. I feel like there has to be a way based on the million things I know epic can do but ideally I'd like to do it the simplest way instead of the most insane way.

Hey everyone,
As many of us know, the North East has long struggled with underrepresentation and lack of real power. The North East Combined Authority (NECA) has been a step towards regional governance, but it's far from perfect. It's time to reform the NECA into a more democratic and effective body that truly serves our needs. Here's a roadmap to transform the NECA into the North East Executive.

Step 1: Building Awareness and Support

1. Public Engagement Campaign:
   • Launch a comprehensive public engagement campaign.
   • Use social media, local media, town hall meetings, and community events to spread the word.
   • Highlight the benefits of a democratic North East Executive.
2. Forming Alliances:
   • Build a coalition of support with local politicians, community leaders, businesses, advocacy groups, and citizens.
   • Engage key stakeholders who have influence and interest in regional devolution.

Step 2: Drafting the Reform Proposal

1. Research and Consultation:
   • Conduct research on successful regional governance models.
   • Consult with experts in public administration, law, and regional development.
   • Organize public consultations to gather input from North East residents.
2. Drafting the Proposal:
   • Develop a detailed proposal outlining the structure, powers, and responsibilities of the North East Executive.
   • Include direct elections using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) method.
   • Define legislative powers over key areas such as healthcare, education, housing, and environmental policy.
   • Outline fiscal autonomy mechanisms.

Step 3: Political Advocacy and Legislation

1. Petition and Lobbying:
   • Launch a petition to demonstrate public support for the reform.
   • Lobby MPs, local councilors, and other influential figures.
   • Present the petition and reform proposal to relevant government bodies and committees.
2. Drafting Legislation:
   • Work with sympathetic politicians to draft the necessary legislation.
   • Ensure the legislation includes provisions for direct elections, expanded powers, fiscal autonomy, and accountability measures.

Step 4: Implementation and Transition

1. Legislative Approval:
   • Push for the approval of the legislation in Parliament.
   • Engage in public and political debates.
2. Transition Planning:
   • Develop a transition plan to shift from the current NECA structure to the new North East Executive.
   • Establish timelines, resource allocation, and interim governance arrangements.
3. Elections and Establishment:
   • Conduct the first direct elections for the North East Executive using the STV method.
   • Implement the legislative and fiscal changes to ensure the Executive is fully operational.

Step 5: Monitoring and Adjustment

1. Ongoing Review:
   • Establish mechanisms for ongoing review and assessment of the Executive's performance.
   • Make adjustments based on feedback and evolving regional needs.
2. Public Engagement and Transparency:
   • Maintain high levels of public engagement and transparency.
   • Regularly publish reports on achievements, challenges, and future plans.

Including Tees Valley

To ensure comprehensive regional representation, we propose incorporating the Tees Valley into the North East Executive. This would unify the governance of the broader North East region and enhance our collective bargaining power and resource management.

Conclusion

By following this roadmap, we can transform the NECA into a more democratic, empowered, and effective governance structure. The North East Executive will ensure our region's unique needs and aspirations are met with tailored policies and accountable leadership.
Let’s work together to make this vision a reality!
Feel free to share your thoughts, suggestions, or support for this initiative. If you're passionate about seeing more devolution in the North East, join us in advocating for a better future!
Sign the petition here: https://chng.it/gcYzCrSHvw

Hey everyone,
As many of us know, the North East has long struggled with underrepresentation and lack of real power. The North East Combined Authority (NECA) has been a step towards regional governance, but it's far from perfect. It's time to reform the NECA into a more democratic and effective body that truly serves our needs. Here's a roadmap to transform the NECA into the North East Executive.

Step 1: Building Awareness and Support

1. Public Engagement Campaign:
   • Launch a comprehensive public engagement campaign.
   • Use social media, local media, town hall meetings, and community events to spread the word.
   • Highlight the benefits of a democratic North East Executive.
2. Forming Alliances:
   • Build a coalition of support with local politicians, community leaders, businesses, advocacy groups, and citizens.
   • Engage key stakeholders who have influence and interest in regional devolution.

Step 2: Drafting the Reform Proposal

1. Research and Consultation:
   • Conduct research on successful regional governance models.
   • Consult with experts in public administration, law, and regional development.
   • Organize public consultations to gather input from North East residents.
2. Drafting the Proposal:
   • Develop a detailed proposal outlining the structure, powers, and responsibilities of the North East Executive.
   • Include direct elections using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) method.
   • Define legislative powers over key areas such as healthcare, education, housing, and environmental policy.
   • Outline fiscal autonomy mechanisms.

Step 3: Political Advocacy and Legislation

1. Petition and Lobbying:
   • Launch a petition to demonstrate public support for the reform.
   • Lobby MPs, local councilors, and other influential figures.
   • Present the petition and reform proposal to relevant government bodies and committees.
2. Drafting Legislation:
   • Work with sympathetic politicians to draft the necessary legislation.
   • Ensure the legislation includes provisions for direct elections, expanded powers, fiscal autonomy, and accountability measures.

Step 4: Implementation and Transition

1. Legislative Approval:
   • Push for the approval of the legislation in Parliament.
   • Engage in public and political debates.
2. Transition Planning:
   • Develop a transition plan to shift from the current NECA structure to the new North East Executive.
   • Establish timelines, resource allocation, and interim governance arrangements.
3. Elections and Establishment:
   • Conduct the first direct elections for the North East Executive using the STV method.
   • Implement the legislative and fiscal changes to ensure the Executive is fully operational.

Step 5: Monitoring and Adjustment

1. Ongoing Review:
   • Establish mechanisms for ongoing review and assessment of the Executive's performance.
   • Make adjustments based on feedback and evolving regional needs.
2. Public Engagement and Transparency:
   • Maintain high levels of public engagement and transparency.
   • Regularly publish reports on achievements, challenges, and future plans.

Including Tees Valley

To ensure comprehensive regional representation, we propose incorporating the Tees Valley into the North East Executive. This would unify the governance of the broader North East region and enhance our collective bargaining power and resource management.

Conclusion

By following this roadmap, we can transform the NECA into a more democratic, empowered, and effective governance structure. The North East Executive will ensure our region's unique needs and aspirations are met with tailored policies and accountable leadership.
Let’s work together to make this vision a reality!
Feel free to share your thoughts, suggestions, or support for this initiative. If you're passionate about seeing more devolution in the North East, join us in advocating for a better future!
Sign the petition here: https://chng.it/gcYzCrSHvw