6 months ago, the worst thing happened.
I'd been referred to the hospital for a general asthma check up. The nurse called me through for the preliminary height, weight and blood pressure checks, and as I stood on the scale, I watched the little wheel spin all the way round and hit the end. "oh," said the nurse, getting a little flushed. "there must be something wrong with these scales." I nodded in agreement, knowing full well there was nothing wrong with the scales, the problem, was very definitely me. "let me see if I can find something else." she said, as she bolted through the door.
The thing is, I've been huge since Year 7 at school, I started out really skinny, but at some point, it's like my metabolism just died. I got a little chunky, upgraded to paunchy, progressed through flabby and somehow arrived at a place where a nurse is dragging in some weird kind of bariatric chair scale. I sat in the chair, focused more on trying to not let the emotions I was feeling show on my face than I was anything else.
The result announced the nurse - "163kg - you don't look that big..."
163kg, which is over 25 1/2 stone, or just shy of 360lbs - a weight I'd only previously heard announced by the ring announcers at a wrestling show. (incidentally, a weight that was more often than not exaggerated for effect...)
Now I was kind of aware that I was huge - I just did everything in my power to avoid thinking about it. I avoided mirrors, bought baggy clothes online, casually selecting the most X's available, I'd get the bus, rather than risk squeezing myself onto the tube - even though it'd take an extra hour to reach my destination. Regardless of what I did however, the truth was there in front of me, sadly the world is far too full of mirrors and other reflective surfaces, the number of online retailers that could supply my need for multiple X's dwindled to one, and far too often i've sat skewed into an uncomfortable position to prevent myself encroaching onto the person who bravely sat next to me on the bus.
Every year (weirdly around this time) I'd get a lighting bolt of motivation, I'd join a gym, I'd sign up for some miserable food replacement shake plan, buy a diet book, count some calories and for a few months things seem positive. Then out of nowhere the motivation just dies, I go from weekly weigh-ins to fortnightly, the three times a week gym trips are skipped (only if its raining, or too sunny or maybe I didn't sleep well last night, I'll go tomorrow, I'll push myself a little more, unless its still raining...)
Whatever calorie counting app I'd settled on this time, that initially was full of hourly updates, now has more holes than the groins of my jeans. I hate myself for feeling this way, for failing again. I hate that my brain can navigate diet rules and find loopholes like a top barrister or tax accountant. I hate that I can't control myself, that I'm weak and pathetic and can somehow always find a way to sabotage my efforts and end up in a worse place eating my way up the BMI scale yet again.
So here we are, spurred on by a bariatric weighing experience, and looking for the lastest answer.
But I'm nervous. Sure the side effects don't sound great, the nausea, bloating, diarrhea. I can barely afford the treatment, the talk of not knowing the long term effects, the increased risk of cancer... non of that sounds great.
What I'm actually scared of though, is that despite the 'wonder drug' label, this is just something else that I'm going to fail with, another thing my broken brain will manage to bypass, shuffle around and sabotage. It really actually terrifies me, the thought that maybe I can't be helped.

Hi Fiat Fam; I own a 2015 Fiat 500c Pop and was curious what I can upgrade the radio system to? I am well over warranty so I’m also wondering if a normal mechanic (my mechanic is great with Fiats) can do the swap, or if it’s better to take it to the dealership? My inside headliner also needs a replacement which I know the dealership will have to do. $$$$. But I love this damn car and get tons of compliments and asks for it. It’s the Yoshi green color. Thanks for any tips.

Hi everybody
Looking for some input, as I'm working my way towards a 1st YouTube channel and wish to record video with "good enough quality that it does not look too amateurish". Please note this is not a "for profit" channel but educational for my fellow caregivers with family members affected with Alzheimer's.
I was planning to shoot on my Pixel 6, but alas my USB-C port is temperamental as gear you put in may or not stay connected even when plugged in. To add to my situation, the USB-C on this phone is soldered on making it very hard to replace. I did a fair amount of cleaning and reading to tell me I need to look at an alternative and am waiting for the Pixel 9 for an upgrade, due October 2024 apparently. The content will mostly be filmed indoor in our house and I have lighting. Obviously trying not to buy something for 4-5 months of use :)
So my next step is: what do I own which can do the job? This is where I'm looking for wisdom an advice. Here is what I can use on-hand:

• iPad Air 4th gen: wife's device. I can use it but is this device going to deliver decent results?
• Canon T3i, my trusty old DSLR, but it caps at 4GB/file due to it's "generation" hence 12 mins/clip and I may need longer
• Canon VIXIA HF M31 camcorder: oldie but goodie I got when the kids were still kids. It does full HD but would the other 2 devices offer better recording quality? I always found the device sluggish as well

I did get the HollyLand Lark M1 microphone with USB-C & Lightning cables so I should be all set for sound.
Advice welcome, if you have alternative ideas I'll take all suggestions.
Thanks!

219 bands, 219 songs! Here's the YouTube Music Version:
Deathcore/Metalcore - Best One Song Encyclopedia
Obviously "best song" is a very subjective notion, but I got a bunch of input from the big Deathcore/Metalcore group on FB, as well as Metalcore during the brief period before the post was removed (imagine tongue-sticking-out emoji here!) Anyway, the alphabetized band list by itself is pretty cool, IMHO. Enjoy - and please feel free to make suggestions for additions or changes!

1. Aborted - Dreadbringer
2. Abbie Falls - Pitch Black
3. Across the Sun – May Silence Keep You
4. After The Burial - Behold The Crown
5. A Hero A Fake – I Know I
6. All Out War – Into the Killing Fields
7. Allt – Paralyzed
8. All That Remains - This Calling
9. Alpha Wolf - Akudama
10. alt. - BACK TO EARTH
11. A Mourning Star – A World Beyond
12. Angelmaker- What I Would Give
13. Annalynn - Closer to the Edge
14. Annisokay - Coma Blue
15. Any Given Day – Savior
16. Architects - These Colors Don’t Run
17. As Blood Runs Black – In Dying Days
18. As I Lay Daying - The Sound of Truth
19. Asking Alexandria - A Single Moment of Sincerity
20. Atena – Oil Rigs
21. ATLVS – Comethazine
22. Atreyu – Crimson
23. Attack! Attack! – Killing for Sport
24. Avenged Sevenfold – Unholy Confessions
25. Aviana – Rage
26. August Burns Red - White Washed
27. AVOID - Whatever
28. Bad Omens - ARTIFICIAL SUICIDE
29. Before I Turn – Aglaeca
30. Being as an ocean - the hardest part is forgetting those you swore you would never forget
31. Bleed from Within - Alive
32. Bleeding Through - Revenge I Seek
33. Bloodywood - Machi Bhasad
34. Bodysnatcher – Exterminate
35. Botch – One Twenty Two
36. Boundaries – I'd Rather Not Say
37. Breakdown of Sanity – The Storm
38. Bring Me the Horizon - Shadow Moses
39. Bullet for my Valentine - Four Words (To Choke Upon)
40. Bury Tomorrow – Choke
41. Caliban – Memorial
42. Carnifex - Die Without Hope
43. Caskets - The Final Say
44. Chamber - Replacing Every Weakness
45. Chelsea Grin – Cheyne Stokes
46. Chimaira – Pure Hatred
47. Classic Jack – LAG
48. Code Orange - Forever
49. coldrain - 2020
50. Conquer Divide - Afterthought.wav
51. Converge – A Single Tear
52. Counterparts - Whispers Of Your Death
53. Crimson Eyes – Serenity
54. Crown the Empire – The Fallout
55. Crystal Lake - Apollo
56. Currents - Better Days
57. Daedric - Alchemy
58. Dance Gavin Dance – Chucky vs. The Giant Tortoise
59. Dark Divine - The Fear
60. Darkest Hour - Goddess of War, Give Me Something to Die For
61. Darko US - Pale Tongue
62. Dal Av & Jackson Rose – Insanely Illegal Cage Fight
63. Dead Crown – Joker
64. Dealer – Crooked
65. Defocus – Crooked Mind
66. Demon Hunter - Cross to Bear
67. Downswing – Bound to Misery (feat. AVOID)
68. Dying Wish - Enemies in Red
69. Earth Crisis – Forced March
70. Eighteen Visions – Reality Killer
71. Elwood Stray - Half Life
72. Emmure - When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong
73. Enterprise Earth – Reanimate // Disintegrate
74. ERRA - Lunar Halo
75. Esprit D’Air - Ocean’s Call
76. Every Time I Die - Map Change
77. Fallstar – When Justice Cracks the Sky
78. Fit for a King - Backbreaker
79. Fit for an Autopsy – Under a Serpent Sun
80. Flames of Betrayal – The Rain Reeks of Heaven
81. Foreign Hands - Separation Souvenir
82. For the Fallen Dreams – Sulfate
83. For today - Break the Cycle
84. Get the Shot – Deathbound (feat Rob Watson)
85. Ghost Iris – My Dear Rat Kings
86. Gideon -- Bite Down
87. God Forbid - To the Fallen Hero
88. Great American Ghost – Ann Arbor (Be Safe)
89. Greyhaven - Kappa (River Child)
90. Guilt Trip – Eyes Wide Shut
91. Hanabie - Otaku Lovely Densetsu
92. Harm’s Way – Become a Machine
93. Haste the Day – 68
94. Hatebreed – Own Your World
95. Heart of a Coward – Hollow
96. Heaven Shall Fall – Hunters Will Be Hunted
97. Holding Absence - Monochrome
98. Humanity’s Last Breath - Labyrinthian
99. Ice Nine Kills – The American Nightmare
100. If I Were You – System Failure
101. Imminence – Chasing Shadows
102. Impending Doom - There Will be Violence
103. In Heart’s Wake – Survival (The Chariot)
104. I Prevail - Deadweight
105. I See Stars - Running With Scissors
106. InChaos - Butterfly Effect
107. Ingested – I, Despoiler
108. Invent Animate - False Meridian
109. Jesus Piece - Fear of Failure
110. Job for a Cowboy – Sun of Nihility
111. Johnny Booth - The Ladder
112. Killswitch Engage - My Last Serenade
113. Kill The Lights - Dead From The Start
114. Knocked Loose - Deep in the Willow
115. Kublai Khan - The Hammer
116. Lamb of God - Descending
117. Left to Suffer – Overwhelming Power
118. LVNDMARKS - False Reality
119. Light the Torch - Die Alone
120. Like Moths To Flames - Dissociative Being
121. Loathe - Aggressive Evolution
122. Lorna Shore – Of the Abyss
123. Make Them Suffer - Uncharted
124. Misery Signals - Luminary
125. Malevolence – On Broken Glass
126. MAYFLOWER – Misery
127. Maylene & the Sons of Disaster – Caution: Dangerous Curves Ahead
128. MIRE – Inside
129. Miss May I – Hey Mister
130. Motionless in White – Disguise
131. Mouth for War – Saturate Me
132. Mugshot – Egodystonic
133. Myka Relocate – Hide the Truth
134. Norma Jean - Sword in Mouth, Fire Eyes
135. Nora – I Should Have Sent Flowers
136. Novelists FR - Souvenirs
137. Of Mice and Men - The Depths
138. Ocean Sleeper - Your Love I'll Never Need
139. Opal In Sky - The Blight
140. Orthodox - Cave In
141. Paleface – Lights Out
142. Paria - The Absurdity of Solace
143. Parkway Drive – Dark Days
144. Patient Sixty-Seven - Hibbertia
145. Periphery - Stranger Things
146. PERN – Gasping for Air
147. Phinehas – I Am the Lion
148. Polaris - The Remedy
149. Pupil Slicer - No Temple
150. Reflections - Help
151. Reliqa – Tyrant
152. Renesans - Labor of Hate
153. Rings of Saturn - Senseless Massacre
154. Sail’s End - The Sound of Silence 3: Three
155. Sanction – The Prophet Who Saw Fire
156. SAVE US – Distance
157. Scarlet Horizon - Seed
158. Sea of Treachery – Unleash the Serpents
159. Serration – Simulations of Hell
160. Shadow of Intent – The Prelude to Bereavement
161. Shadows Fall – The Light that Blinds
162. Shai Halud - Solely Concentrating on the Negative Aspects of Life
163. Silent Planet - Antimatter
164. Signs of the Swarm – Amongst the Low and Empty
165. Silverstein - Your Sword vs My Dagger
166. Sion – More than Just Myself
167. Slaughter to Prevail - Viking
168. Sleep Token – The Summoning
169. Snapcase – Harrison Bergeron
170. Spite – led
171. Spiritbox - The Beauty Of Suffering
172. Spiritual Chaos - End
173. Suicide Silence - Unanswered
174. Sunami – Mind Your Business
175. Sworn In – Snake Eyes
176. Tenside - Come Alive Dying
177. The Acacia Strain - The Impaler
178. The Afterimage – Secrets
179. The Amity Affliction – Pittsburgh
180. The Black Dahlia Murder – What a Horrible Night to Have a Curse
181. The Browning - The End of Existence
182. The Chariot - David De La Hoz
183. The Devil Wears Prada - Danger: Wildman
184. The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us is The Killer
185. The Empire Shall Fall – Voices Forming Weapons
186. The Ghost Inside – Aftermath
187. The Gloom in the Corner – Bleed You Out
188. The Human Abstract – Vela, Together We Await the Storm
189. The Ongoing Concept - Feel Again
190. The Plot in You - Crows
191. The Zenith Passage – Deus Deceptor
192. Thornhill - Casanova
193. Throwdown – This Continuum
194. Thrown - on the verge
195. Thy Art is Murder – Holy War
196. Times of Grace – Medusa
197. To the Grave – Terrorist Threat
198. Trivium - Down from the Sky
199. Undying – the Company of Storms
200. Unearth - This Glorious Nightmare
201. Upon a Burning Body – Extermination
202. Varials – Anything to Numb
203. VCTMS – Pull From the Hurt
204. Veil of Maya - Outsider
205. VEXED – X my <3 (Hope to Die)
206. Vision of Disorder - D.T.O.
207. Wage War - The River
208. Walls of Jericho – Forever Militant
209. War of Ages – Collapse
210. We Are The Empty – Carcass
211. We Came As Romans - What I Wished I never Had
212. Whitechapel - I Will Find You
213. While She Sleeps - You Are We
214. Within Destruction – Void
215. Within the Ruins – Gods Amongst Men
216. Wolves at the Gate – Deadweight
217. World of Pleasure – Carbon Copy
218. Xibalba – Death Threat
219. Zao - Resistance

Hello everyone, I am an active Redditor and I see a lot Redditors are looking to get an air purifier. But with so many options out there it's difficult to find one that cleans your air well. So, to make it easy for them to decide I am making a list of some good options to look at. I'm a guy who is reviewing different products from past 5 years. I do extensive research and also read reviews by customers and experts.
To make this list of best air purifiers I looked at their CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate), it is a measure of the rate at which these air purifiers can filter the air in a measured space, with separate readings across dust, smoke and pollen.
So, whether you’re looking for a compact design, large room coverage, energy efficiency or smart features, I have got an air purifier that’s right for your needs.

1. Blueair Blue Pure 211+ Auto (best overall)
2. Coway Airmega AP-1512HH (best & energy efficient)
3. Winix 5500-2 (best for small room)
4. Clorox Large Room True HEPA (best value)
5. Honeywell HPA 300 (best for large rooms)

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​

Blueair Blue Pure 211+ Auto - $280

The Blueair Blue Pure 211+ Auto tops the list. This air purifier will suit rooms up to 550 sq ft. It features an upright cuboid design, with a plastic upper section and a skirt fitted around the base, which acts as a pre-filter and comes in several colors. A HEPASilent filter is included, which uses both a carbon and particle layer.
To me, it looks like a futuristic robot, which has a quality appearance compared to the competition. There are three fan speeds on offer as well as an auto function, plus a night mode is included for dimming the lights.
Reasons to buy:

• If you want a strong air purifier
• It comes with enough features to suit everyday operation, including three fan speeds, an auto mode and a night mode.
• The skirt on the lower half of this air purifier comes in several colors, including pink, blue, green and gray, so you can customize it to suit your décor or personality.

Reasons to avoid:

• It weighs 12.5 pounds and measures 20 x 13 x 13 inches (H x W x D)
• The night mood is good but not excellent

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​

Coway Airmega AP-1512HH

The Coway Airmega AP-1512HH is smaller in size than Blueair Blue Pure 211+, measuring 16.8 x 18.3 x 9.6 inches (H x W x D). Don’t mistake this for meaning it’s more portable though, as it still weighs 12.3 pounds. This air purifier isn’t easy to lug around despite the included handle. While compact, it will suit rooms of up to 384 sq ft.
It has an auto mode included, so it will self-adjust the fan speed depending on the conditions of the room, and it comes with an eco mode which lets it power off when not required.
For me, it's appearance is more in keeping with a hotel or office versus a modern home, but it's performance is worth considering.
Reasons to buy:

• The Coway Airmega AP-1512HH has the best energy score
• Takes less space
• While it’s a compact design, it’s not lacking in settings

Reasons to avoid:

• A little hard to move around
• Expensive replacement filters ($40)

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​

Winix 5500-2

The Winix 5500-2 likely won’t win any beauty contests with its appearance, measuring 23.6 x 15 x 8.2 inches with a black plain casing and vents scored across its front. But, in my opinion, it's more likely to blend in with your décor than drawer the eye, which is no bad thing.
Plus, it’s still a strong performer, achieving a decent CADR across the board and featuring a design which is very accessible. And if you love unusual tech, the “Plasmawave” technology is sure to raise a few eyebrows. It suits rooms up to 360 sqft.
Reasons to buy:

• Unique technology
• Air quality indicator
• Remote control included

Reasons to avoid:

• Expensive filters
• Large and plain design

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​

Clorox Large Room True HEPA

The Clorox Large Room True HEPA Air Purifier offers a small and effective design, measuring 19 x 10 x 10 inches while suiting rooms up to 320 sq ft. It has a neat and pleasing appearance — looking somewhat like a large battery with a fitted pre-filter skirt and a single button on top.
Reasons to buy:

• This air purifier features a compact design which is ideal for smaller spaces.
• Priced at $149, this air purifier offers excellent value for money.

Reasons to avoid:

• it’s likely unsuitable for larger bedrooms or living rooms
• It does not come with a remote control or smart home connectivity

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​

Honeywell HPA300

The Honeywell HPA300 is a bulky beast of a device that offers strong performance considering its reasonable price. It’s a large oval air purifier with slats all around, measuring 22.3 x 20.0 x 10.8 inches. It’s pretty heavy at 17 pounds.
Reasons to buy:

• It will cover rooms of up to 465 sq ft, which is pretty sizable
• Cheap replacement filters
• The touch-based control panel on top of this air purifier is very easy to use.

Reasons to avoid:

• It lacks an auto mode, which means it will stick to whatever fan speed you set
• It consumes a lot of energy, using 1.002 kWh over 24 hours on the standard setting
• This air purifier is quite a noisy operator

Emby / Jellyfin transcode fixes

The recent transcode path fixes to Jellyfin / Emby have brought a small bug out of the woodwork.. in some cases, the streamers may insist on transcoding your media based on your perceived bandwidth limits, and then fail to transcode because (a) it's 4K content, or (b) the transcoding path is not set to /transcode, and we've prevented use of the network storage for such!
A simple workaround is to edit your Jellyfin / Emby users, and to remove their permissions to perform video transcodes, something like this: https://elfhosted.com/images/emby-prevent-user-from-transcoding.png

Subscription bugfixes

So far we've found one bug with the subscription process improvements announced yesterday - if you had subscription pending cancellation (maybe you canceled a monthly subscription after a few days because you don't want to renew it), the system would deactivate your subscription immediately.
We'll now "hang on to" cancelled subscriptions until they age out - this could still cause a little bit of a nuisance if you cancel and resubscribe to the same app on a daily subscription, for example to fix your VPN configuration. In this case, the old "pending" and new "active" subscriptions would clash, and the config may get muddled.
If you're on a prepaid subscription though, you do have the option to either "cancel" (immediate), or "cancel when prepaid period ends" (pending).
If you're unlucky enough to stumble into this edge case, drop us an [#elf-help][elf-help] ticket, and we'll sort it manually for you.

Force kills suspended

In March/April, when we were dealing with Ceph instability, we implemented "force" app restarts, which would restart your apps without waiting for the storage to disconnect (typically [Plex][Plex] and the Aars were culprits). Now that storage is purring like a happy, well-fed cat, there's hardly ever a legitimate need to force-kill a pod.
Since we made much of the storage single-attachable (ReadWriteOnce) as well, (to avoid the I/O congestion which caused the instability in the first place), force-killing pods generally makes their replacements unhappier, as they can sit and wait forever for the previous pod's storage volumes to "detach".
So I've turned off force-killing for now - if you find yourself needing to force-delete a pod, please create an [#elf-help][elf-help] ticket, and we'll try to address the underlying problem instead :)

Today's scoreboard

Metric	Numberz	Delta
🧝 Total subscribers	341	+5
👾 Zurg mounts:	116	+2
💾 ElfStorage in TBs	93	-
🐬 Tenant pods	2990	+77
🦸 Elf-vengers	8	-
🧑‍🎓 Trainees	22	-
🐛 Bugz squished	2	-
🕹️ New toyz	0	-

Summary

Thanks for geeking out with us, and please share these posts with your friends / enemies! :)

Hi all, I just got myself a 2 bed flat and if all goes well I should be getting the keys this Sept. I plan on doing some refurbishment on the bathroom. Will be a whole new bathroom as I wanted to replace the bath tub with a shower tray and enclosure and update the toilet and basin. I am an civil engineer and can do fair amount of refurb and handy with carpentry work and done minor plumbing and electrical works. I have not tiled before. but looking at some videos on YouTube it seems reasonably easy for me to do. My number one concern when it comes to a flat is that it's above someone else's unit. so leakage from doing plumbing work would be a major concern.
Accidents do happens. So if I decide to DIY this, should I get some sort of insurance to cover any eventual problems during or after. And just wondering if I am not a certified trademan, would the insurance even cover me as a DIYer.
Cost of refurb will be in the region of £10k all in done by a contractor although I plan to look for other quotes. But doing it myself for most parts and leave the specialist works to the specialist like plumbing and electrical would save me some.
Have others tackle this sort of work themselves. My level of confidence is such that if this is a freehold property like a terrace house I would be doing it myself with some help from the experts.

Hello, I've been working on a prototype of a skateboarding game for the past few months, with the idea to get all of the mechanics working before touching any art/ modelling. The issue is, I have created all of my animations using the default unity TPS starter pack robot, and a mixamo idle avatar that I had lying around for the animation avatar. (I can't remember why it was set up this way but there you go).
Fast forward to now and I have spent a week learning how to make a basic character model in blender, then tried to autorig in mixamo (successfully, according to how it looks there). However, when trying to replace the mesh/ skeleton of the TPS puppet in unity with this rigged model, I cannot get it to inherit the old animations and I can't find a single tutorial anywhere which has the same issue.
I'm aware you are supposed to replace the animation avatar with the one you retrieve from the mixamo download, but this causes the model to fall through the floor up to their hips, and no animations will play. (Before anyone asks, yes I am changing the rig to humanoid on import). If anyone has experienced something similar or is able to help in anyway I'd be very grateful as this is causing me a lot of stress at the moment! Thanks for reading

Hi folks,
As I'm contemplating upgrading my PC and considering my options, I'm following the builds on reddit and I've seen an amazing number of gorgeous watercooled PCs, but one thing that strikes me as odd, is that it's mostly 90 degree bends and fittings everywhere.
Now granted, my loop is 12 years old, and it served me well, but back then the philosophy was to keep the loops as short as possible and avoid tight bends. None of my fittings are 90 degrees. Either they're 45 or straight. I've been replacing components (CPU and GPU), but the rest of the loop has remained the same.
I know this doesn't result in a build that is pleasing to the eye, all the photos I've seen are proof of that. But I'm wondering is loop efficiency a thing of the past, or is it a case of form over function?
Sure, it looks much nicer to have 90 degree bends and all the tubes going into a distro plate, but it's terribly inefficient, restricting flow, and having water spend more time in tubes instead of either picking up heat from the blocks or dissipating it in the radiators.
Is that why everyone runs two-three radiators, just to get to the performance level of one radiator and optimised loop, but have it looking better?
Or am I worrying too much about this? I mean I like the clean cut look of hard tubing with 90 degree bends and distro plates, but I don't want to sacrifice on noise or performance. At the moment I run 3 fans and one radiator in my system, and it keeps the 3090 and 5800x3d perfectly quiet and cool.
I'm looking to upgrade when Zen5 and 5xxx nvidia GPUs come out. So for sure the heat output will increase. Also considering an external radiator to keep the whole thing cleaner.
Thanks!

That sounds like a really helpful resource! Maintaining a car can be quite a financial commitment, and having a comprehensive guide to the expenses involved can be incredibly useful for car owners. Here’s a suggested:

Introduction

• Brief overview of the importance of regular car maintenance.
• Explanation of why understanding car service costs is essential for budgeting and planning.

Regular Maintenance Services

1. Oil Change

• Average cost
• Frequency
• Importance

1. Tire Rotation and Alignment

• Costs involved
• Frequency recommendations
• Impact on vehicle performance and safety

1. Brake Inspection and Maintenance

• Typical expenses
• Signs indicating brake issues
• Importance of timely brake maintenance

1. Fluid Checks and Changes

• Various fluids to monitor (e.g., coolant, transmission fluid)
• Costs associated with fluid changes
• Recommended intervals for fluid checks

1. Air Filter Replacement

• Cost range
• Frequency of replacement
• Effects on engine performance and longevity

Seasonal Maintenance

1. Winterization

• Services required
• Costs involved
• Importance for vehicle safety during winter months

1. Summer Preparation

• Maintenance tasks specific to summer
• Estimated expenses
• Benefits of summer maintenance

Unexpected Repairs

1. Common Repairs and Their Costs

• Examples: battery replacement, alternator issues, etc.
• Average costs for common repairs
• Factors affecting repair expenses

1. Emergency Repairs

• Dealing with unexpected breakdowns
• Average costs for emergency repairs
• Importance of having an emergency fund for car repairs

DIY vs. Professional Services

1. Pros and Cons of DIY Maintenance

• Cost savings vs. risks
• Tasks suitable for DIY
• Tools required for basic maintenance

1. Benefits of Professional Services

• Expertise and experience
• Warranty considerations
• Cost-effectiveness in the long run

Tips for Saving on Car Maintenance

1. Regular Maintenance Schedule

• Importance of sticking to manufacturer recommendations
• Preventive measures to avoid costly repairs

1. Comparison Shopping

• Getting quotes from multiple service providers
• Negotiating prices

1. DIY Where Appropriate

• Safe tasks for DIY maintenance
• Resources for learning DIY car maintenance

Conclusion

• Recap of key points
• Encouragement for proactive car maintenance
• Importance of budgeting for car expenses

Additional Resources

• Links to reliable websites for further reading
• Tools for estimating car maintenance costs

Regular car maintenance is crucial for several reasons:
1. Safety: Proper maintenance ensures that your vehicle operates safely on the road. Components such as brakes, tires, lights, and steering need regular checks to function correctly and avoid accidents.
2. Reliability: Routine maintenance helps prevent unexpected breakdowns and ensures your car is reliable for daily use. Regular inspections can catch potential issues early before they escalate into major problems.
3. Performance: Well-maintained vehicles tend to perform better in terms of fuel efficiency, acceleration, and overall driving experience. Keeping the engine, transmission, and other systems in good condition ensures optimal performance.
4. Longevity: Regular maintenance extends the lifespan of your car. By servicing the engine, changing fluids, replacing worn-out parts, and addressing minor issues promptly, you can help your vehicle last longer and maintain its value over time.
5. Cost Savings: While it may seem counterintuitive, regular maintenance can save you money in the long run. Preventive maintenance is often less expensive than major repairs resulting from neglected issues. Additionally, a well-maintained car is more fuel-efficient, saving you money at the pump.
Overall, regular car maintenance is essential for safety, reliability, performance, longevity, and cost savings. It’s an investment in your vehicle’s health and your own peace of mind on the road.
Thanks for giving your valuable time to read this blog, In case you are having an another brand car for example Renault and you are looking for a Renault Service Dubai then visit Service My Car website in case you need any service or repairs.

I'm thinking of replacing the rotor bolts on my 6-bolt disc wheelset. The current bolt heads have got slightly rounded through repeated use (removing rotors for travel etc) so want fresh ones before it becomes a LBS job to remove the old ones! If I'm buying new ones anyway, figured might as well get good ones, but unclear on what the best option is, especially related to material (steel/Ti/alloy all seem to be common options). Specific brand suggestions also welcome. My criteria are:

• Not dying - it's a gravel bike so assume forces won't be as high as a mtb but even so, don't want bolts shearing off under load.
• Minimal faff - the more I can fit-and-forget the better. I've heard about galvanic corrosion being an issue with some bolts; happy to apply appropriate assembly paste but the less frequently the better.
• Light weight. This is only on the list so I can put it last - I'm really not fussed about the weight saving that can be made from rotor bolts.

Below you'll find information and links to help advocate for Reproductive Freedoms and Abortion care in Canada and emerging policy issues with the Reddit platform. This is a recurring post and will be periodically updated as needed. Feel free to post additional information and discussions in the comments.
Advocating for Abortion Care in Canada:

• There is a serious lack of Abortion Care options in Canada, particularly in the rural areas, and for those living on reserves, they have almost no access to Abortion care. People may have to travel more than 100km and across provincial lines to access abortion. Some have to travel by plane from their rural community to one with an abortion clinic or hospital. This puts an unfair financial and logistical burden on those that need to access abortion care. Provincial Health Insurance Plans do not cover travel costs related to receiving medical care.
• Because many provinces have few facilities that provide Abortion care, this places an unreasonable load on the clinics that do exist, forcing clients to look elsewhere for facilities with capacity to help them. In Alberta, there is one clinic for every 209,077 people who can become pregnant (number of assigned-at-birth females between the ages of 15-29). PEI, the Northwest Territories and the Yukon Territory each only have 1 Abortion care provider. Nunavut only has 2 abortion providers, and of those, only one offers medical abortion covered by the provincial health insurance plan. In fact, 9 (out of a total of 13) Canadian provinces and territories have five or fewer facililities offering abortion care in their entire province. And 10 Canadian provinces and territories have one or fewer (0) rural facililities offering abortion care.
• Some provinces, have more restrictive guidelines regarding abortion, limiting access to abortion care to those with a gestational period of less than 12 weeks (meaning, 12 weeks since the first day of your last period, not 12 weeks since you discovered you were pregnant or when you had sex). Many people who menstruate have irregular periods. Some people might only menstruate every 2 or 3 months, and might only discover that they are pregnant near the gestation limit of 12 weeks.
• Insurance coverage also limits access to abortions. Some provinces, like Nunavut, do not offer coverage for medical abortions unless they are prescribed and performed in a hospital. And being a rural province, there also happens to be only 1 hospital in Nunavut - Qikiqtani General Hospital in Iqualuit. New Brunswick will only cover abortion services in a hospital setting, which means that abortion medical care provided in clinics are not covered by their Provincial Health Insurance Plan.
• Sexual and reproductive health services are among the services that physicians, pharmacists and nurse practitioners are most frequently unwilling to provide on moral or religious grounds. People who have been harassed and/or attacked while visiting an Abortion clinic may experience stigma and/or discrimination from their peers, especially in smaller, rural communities where everyone knows one another. People refused care by health care professionals because of personal beliefs may experience stigma and/or discrimination, forcing them to travel outside of their community to receive the care they need. This can all be particularly daunting for young people or those with limited resources.
• Everyone in Canada is supposed to have equal rights to access health care, regardless of race, age, class, immigration status, gender expression, sexuality and ability. Nevertheless, anyone's right to seek abortion care can be be impacted by discrimination and bigotry, both systemic and as a result of individual prejudice on the part of service providers. Racism, xenophobia, classism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, and ageism in Canada are all direct and intersecting barriers to accessing abortion. It is much more difficult for a person who doesn\u2019t speak English to access abortion services, despite the presence of a translator. Transpeople also experience discrimination at higher rates in reproductive health care settings. Providers may also lack the knowledge or training to provide trans-affirming abortion care and abortion services are typically housed within *women\u2019s* health care departments.
• Further compounding the issue of inequitable abortion access are unregulated crisis pregnancy centres (CPCs), which are anti-choice pregnancy centres that advertise in hospitals, doctor's offices, churches, schools and community centre. They deceive people coming to them for options and advice by giving misinformation about abortion or by insisting on options that may delay or interfere with the clients ability to access the care they need. CPCs far outnumber abortion care providers in Canada. In Ontario alone, there are 77 active CPCs but only 38 abortion care providers. Overall, in Canada, there are 165 known CPCs compared to 147 abortion care providers (as of August 2022).

Reference: Policy Options, via the Institute for Research on Public Policy and Action Canada for Sexual Health & Rights
What can you do to improve access to abortion care in Canada?

1. Listen, research and learn. This is always the first step to understand any problem.
2. Send a letter to your MP and MPP. Tell them that access to abortion care is important and how difficult it can be to access it in your province. Urge them to prevent anti-choice groups and CPCs from receiving charitable status, and to revoke the charitable status from CPCs that already have it. Encourage them to include reasonable reimbursement for travel costs related to receiving medical care when it is not available in your community. And push them to pass Safe Access Zone Legislation to protect patients, practitioners and their staff from anti-choice harassment and intimidation.
3. Give a donation to a pro-choice charitable organization of your choice. Remember, if you give a total of $201 CDN or more to Canadian charitable organizations, you'll get a credit of 29% of your total annual donations on your income taxes (for those that file Canadian Income Taxes, only).
4. Sign up for the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada Newsletter. https://www.arcc-cdac.ca/
5. Participate in local marches and rallys in support of access to abortion care.
6. Spread the Word. Tell your friends and family. Encourage them to research, listen and learn. Encourage them to contact their MPP and MPs.
7. If you work in a Doctor's office or as a family physician, consider incorporating Mifegymiso into your practice to ensure patients have timely access to this essential service. If you are a Doctor, or studying to be one, consider opening an Abortion Care practice when you are licensed and qualified to do so, especially in rural areas where there are a lack of options.
8. If you work in politics, consider proposing legislation that will ensure safe access zones for abortion care providers and their clients and covering reasonable travel costs for constituents when medical care is not available in their community.
9. If you are a journalist or work in media, consider preparing pieces sharing the difficulty Canadians can have accessing medical care such as abortions.
10. If you work in the area of Not For Profit/Advocacy, consider partnering with a Pro-choice organization and helping them spread information and lobby for improving access to abortion care for Canadians.
11. If you know someone who needs abortion care, consider giving them a ride to a clinic, helping them access the advice and care they need, and provide non-judgemental support.
12. Ensure persons of First Nations, Metis and Inuit heritage know about Jordan's Principle, which ensures that First Nations children (which includes people who can become pregnant under the age of 18) can access the products, services and supports they need, when they need them. https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1568396042341/1568396159824

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Emerging Policy Issues with Reddit
On July 1, 2023, Reddit raised the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that killed every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader. This policy change meant that mobile users would have a lesser experience browsing Reddit, users with visual difficulties could not browse reddit as screenreaders are not compatible with the official Reddit app, and mods lost tools that they depend on to keep communities on-topic and spam-free. Many subreddits protested this change in June 2023, and the Reddit admins enforced draconian measures such as removing and replacing mods who privatized their subreddits in protest of this policy change.
On September 12, 2023, Reddit will eliminate reddit coins, including removing all accumulated coins, a perk that Reddit Premium users pay for every month. Coins are used to reward comments and posts by showing your appreciation for the effort. Some reddit coins offer the ability to use reddit without ads.
In March 2024, Reddit had an IPO (Initial Public Offering), and the founder and current CEO, as well as the COO have sold $500,000 of their shares. How does this effect you? Reddit may face pressure to increase revenues to attract investors. This could lead to more ads or new monetization features. There could also be changes to the platform to attract a wider user base, such as bans and censorship on certain topics or words and control over content to appease more conservative shareholders or users.
What can you do to protest policy changes at Reddit?

1. Listen, research and learn. Check /modcoord for updates
2. Cancel your Reddit Premium membership
3. Participate in subreddit led protests
4. Look for other forums to patronize. We have a forum on Discord called Auntie Network Canada. Message the mods here for an invite link to the Discord group.
5. Complain. Message the mods of reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on reddit. Leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app.

Hi folks, I do a bit of writing on the side but nobody fancied picking this up and it's going out of date fast. So I thought I'd share with the sub instead.
Why Unai Emery is the Manager of the Season. And it's not only for his results on the pitch.
On the opening day of the 2023/24 Premier League season, Aston Villa were battered 5-1 away to Newcastle in a match that saw defensive talisman Tyrone Mings suffer a similar season-ending injury to that of his teammate Emi Buendia, who had damaged his knee ligaments in training a few days earlier. Villa’s shiny new centre-back, Pau Torres, looked lightweight and twitchy as a replacement for Mings, with his dreamy blue eyes and expansive, continental passing range only serving to confirm pre-existing fears that he wasn’t cut out for the #PaceOfThePremierLeague. Buendia’s replacement, Philippe Coutinho, gave the least convincing cameo performance since Donald Trump turned up in Home Alone 2.
Sir Alex Ferguson praised the Villa performance regardless, saying they’d played fantastic football and had simply lost bad goals. The natural assumption was that he’d indulged in one too many complimentary sherries, perhaps having gotten lost in the excitement of a new Premier League season after a summer of watching steroid-ridden horses running around and around in a circle. I scoffed. Hell, we all did.
But it turns out there is life in the big red-nosed dog yet - because nine months and 38 matches later, Pau Torres is well en-route to becoming an Aston Villa cult hero and Lil’ Phil Coutinho has been all but forgotten, having spent the season out on loan to… some club, somewhere, presumably in the Middle East.
Back on English soil, Aston Villa have qualified for the Champions League - and we all owe Alex Ferguson an apology. Game, as the kids might still say, do indeed recognise game.
And nobody plays the game like Unai Emery. Not in this past season, at least.
Who else could remain so stoic in the face of not two, but three first-team ACL injuries and a seemingly endless succession of unshakeable niggles to the likes of Jacob Ramsey, Alex Moreno and Youri Tielemans? Not Mauricio Pochettino, who cried it was not fair to judge his Chelsea team in the midst of an injury crisis; nor even Erik Ten Hag, who likened his attempts to improve an injury-stricken team to swimming with your hands behind your back - not easily done, by the looks of things, despite being blessed with a natural, ready-made swimming cap.
Excuses are not my mentality, said Emery back in March. I am usually not speaking about ‘if’. We just have to play. We have to accept each result and enjoy each moment. My objective is to send the same message to players and supporters — enjoy.
And us supporters certainly did enjoy it. We enjoyed reducing Manchester City to just two shots across ninety minutes, enjoyed doing the double over Arsenal without conceding a goal, enjoyed the curing of Ollie Watkins’ goalscoring yips and the long overdue presence of Ezri Konsa in the England squad, the rapid ascension of a team that Steven Gerrard had ambling towards the relegation zone, onwards and upwards not only into the Champions League, but also into our first European semi-final in a generation.
So what if it was only the Conference League? And if a 6-2 defeat on aggregate against Olympiakos was a little embarrassing? If the player who scored a hat-trick in the first leg had only recently returned from a stint in Qatar?
Emery’s squad were running on fumes by then. They’d just seen their goalkeeper receive two yellow cards and not get sent off - they were hallucinating, exhausted. In the words of their captain John McGinn, they were half men. And somehow that’s not even a reference to the ever-changing array of regens, schoolboys and teenagers who filled out the matchday squads towards the season’s end, stinking out the Aston Villa bench like they were passing around a joint at the bus stop.
Of the ten players to have played the most matches across elite European football this season, five of them wore claret and blue (and not a single one of them played for Burnley, although Jarrod Bowen did put in a shift for West Ham). Even the players who were fit were often unavailable through suspension: John McGinn got himself sent off for a shoulder barge against Spurs, only to be outdone a few matches later by the ever-competitive Douglas Luiz, who successfully tallied up ten progressively avoidable yellow cards in time to miss a crucial match against Arsenal at The Emirates.
Of course, supporters of every club will feel that they have attracted the worst luck, endured the most adversity. But I want to highlight Villa’s woes here because neither the likes of Sky Sports or even Emery himself can be relied upon to do so. Out of context, his achievements at Aston Villa are commendable. In context, they become almost astonishing.
It is the sensible decision that he will be named as the Premier League’s Manager of the Season. Arteta’s Arsenal have improved, put up a good fight; Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have managed to turn the record-breaking into the mundane. And yes, Gary O’Neil is English. But nobody has upset the odds as comprehensively, with as much class, as much commitment as Emery has. He has developed a “no excuse” culture amongst the squad at Aston Villa and in return they have delivered a season for which no excuses are necessary.
I’d hope that he’d sit back now and enjoy the surely-inevitable plaudits. For those of us who’ve been watching closely though, we know that’s not quite his style.
If you enjoyed my writing there's a whole book of it available here! Winner Stays On: England with The FA Cup for a Compass
Cheers.

Hi folks,
Longtime lurker and first-time poster here. I need a (relatively) unbiased perspective on something that happened last night with my girlfriend.
For context, things between us have been touch and go for the past two months. A combination of issues we had when we first started dating resurfacing and long-distance (she's been working out of the country since March but will be back in about ten days) has made it hard to soothe each other during such times.
Things yesterday were more than okay. Actually, they were great. The warmth that we had at the start of the year when she was still here was back. She was affectionate, loving, cracking jokes, smiling, laughing, etc. I felt great. We decided to prepare dinner together that night on FaceTime, and things were going stellar.
Until she was jokingly telling me to stop singing this one song that she hated and I told her "to relax" in a non-serious tone. I instantly went, "Oh shit haha I'm so sorry, don't take my head off," because I remembered how she hates it when someone tells her to "relax." She clapped back, saying, "Haha don't tell me to relax, I'll fucking punch you in the face." And that is when I got pissed.
I'm a sensitive guy. I always have been. It is something that has caused me a lot of anguish in my previous relationship because I can very quickly get upset about small things. For some reason, I've always had an issue with this kind of language in relationships. Violence. Do I think my girlfriend would actually punch me in the face? Of course not. But for whatever reason, I've always been hyper-sensitive to this kind of talk. I also despise it when anyone goes for my face in a joking manner, whether it's some rough housing with my dad or my friends, or my significant other jokingly giving me a couple of taps on the face.
I've never been physically abused in my life. My parents never laid a hand on me. I've never been physically bullied, either. So I really don't know where this aversion to physical or verbal jokes of this kind comes from.
I got a little pissed. I didn't shout, scream, or throw a tantrum. But I was visibly upset. She asked me why I was so pissed since she was clearly joking and said she would never actually punch me. I said I don't like that kind of language being thrown around even as a joke, to which she said, "Who hurt you?"
She went on to say that if this triggered a soft spot because of something that happened to me, I should communicate that to her. But I can't expect her to understand that if I've never told her. I said nothing happened to me. I've never been physically abused, so there's no "trauma" underlying it. It's just something I don't enjoy. No need to overanalyze it.
That sentence kicked my anger up a few notches. I guess reflecting on it, it felt invalidating. It frustrated me. I said, "Who hurt me? Do you really want to take it there? Is that how you want to handle this?"
I was pretty sure I knew why that sentence hurt me. I was in an emotionally abusive, toxic relationship for five years with a borderline narcississt. My girlfriend knows this. She knows how bad it was. And I guess the crass nature of the 'who hurt you?' comment reminded me of a time earlier in my relationship with my current girlfriend where we were having an argument and she said, "Do I have to treat you like shit to have you?" Which was a clear reference to my previous relationship. She has since apologized for that comment, after I told her how profoundly invalidating and wrong it is to say something like that.
The thing is. My girlfriend has a tendency to say things that come off as rude, hurtful, or invalidating when she's upset. And I think this whole situation triggered that fight or flight response after the 'Who hurt you?' debacle.
Back to the current issue....
I was flooded, so I told her I'd call her back after I've cooled off. I took five minutes to relax and then called her back. I apologized for my "overreaction" to her joke and explained to her that generally, I don't enjoy these kinds of jokes.
She went on to say that she finds me getting upset at something like this, to the degree that I did get upset, "kind of ridiculous."
I told her I understand. I said it was unfair to get roused up like that. I told her it's all water under the bridge now and I know she didn't mean anything she said seriously. I reiterated that I don't appreciate these kinds of jokes and that I don't think it's a big ask not to make them in our relationship. She agreed.
After we spoke about it, I couldn't shake the feeling that her telling me my reaction was "ridiculous" and me doubling down by saying it was "unfair" to her was, in reality, unfair to me, and invalidating for me.
Either way, it seemed like the damage was done, though. She was cold for the rest of the night while we watched something on Netflix. The jokey, smiling, sensual person that was there a few minutes ago was replaced by a cold, frustrated, avoidant person. Things were just lukewarm for the rest of the night. She was back to feeling super anxious about all the things we were going through and I was back to feeling like garbage. My anxiety was through the roof. My heart was beating like I was running away from a tiger. I felt sick to my stomach.
I wanted to beat myself up to a pulp. My internal monologue went straight into self-hatred mode. "Why are you like this? This is all your fault. Things were fine, but your sensitive, fragile ass just had to have a moment, right? You couldn't just enjoy the present moment. You couldn't take two seconds to calm your nervous system down before overreacting. Now she probably feels like she has to walk on eggshells around you. She probably thinks you're a baby. You're not a real man. A real man wouldn't throw a childish tantrum like this over a silly fucking joke. You just gave her the ick. You triggered her, and now she's anxious and feeling like crap, and so are you. You just can't have nice things, can you? You have to self-sabotage, don't you?"
I didn't give into the monologue. I took ten minutes to record a voice note to myself, speaking to myself as though I was a friend. I told myself that while I may have overreacted, I did the right thing by taking accountability and apologizing. I also reminded myself that what I had done was far from a "tantrum." I didn't scream, shout, break stuff, or name-call. I didn't blame her, hold it against her for the rest of the night, or stonewall.
The issue that I am dealing with and have always dealt with in these situations is the intense feelings of shame and guilt that come about after these moments. In addition, I feel like I can never truly validate my feelings. Sure, I recorded that voice note as an exercise to try to rewire that awful, abusive self-talk in my head, but I still felt like the whole situation was entirely my fault. I still sort of blame myself for how she is feeling now. I blame myself for disrupting a moment of peace and well-being in our relationship. And I also know that I am prone to self-sabotage, so that makes it even more difficult to find the middle ground between taking responsibility for my actions and validating my feelings.
Was I being extra? Was I really overreacting? Is my insecure attachment causing me to overanalyze or interpret my girlfriend's actions after the initial episode I had? Did she really invalidate how I was feeling by asking the "who hurt you?" question in a somewhat sarcastic way as well as telling me that it was ridiculous of me to get angry at such a thing? Was I really being unfair to her by reacting how I did? Is my nervous system just picking up on a pattern of invalidating behaviour and the anger after the 'who hurt you?' comment is a natural reaction to that? It is the morning after that situation, and I am feeling rather distant towards her. I feel almost sick in my stomach. As though I'm seeing a side to her that I shouldn't ignore. But again, I think as people with insecure attachments we have this tendency to either put people on an insane pedestal to which they will inevitably fall short of or label any behaviour as a 'red flag'.
I'm not looking for a pity party. I want honest opinions, please. If I was really in the wrong, I want to hear that perspective.
TL;DR:
Things have been touch and go with my girlfriend due to resurfacing issues and long-distance challenges. Last night on FaceTime, she joked about punching me in the face, which upset me as I'm sensitive to violent language. I expressed my discomfort, and she responded with a sarcastic "who hurt you?" This reminded me of a past abusive relationship. I took a break to calm down and apologized, but she called my reaction "ridiculous." She became cold afterward, making me anxious and self-critical. Now, I feel conflicted, wondering if my reaction was an overreaction or if her responses were invalidating. Am I overanalyzing due to my insecure attachment style, or is this a red flag? Seeking honest opinions.

Bio from The Festival Voice

Artist Biography by Daniel Karasek
Pretty Lights is a music project out of Colorado started by Derek Vincent Smith. He started making hip-hop in high school and dropped out of college during his freshman year at the University of Colorado at Boulder to pursue a career in producing music. Derek released his debut album in 2006 titled Taking Up Your Precious Time under the moniker Pretty Lights. He toured on this album supporting STS9, the Disco Biscuits, and Widespread Panic. By 2010, Derek had released two more albums and had toured major festivals including Coachella, Ultra, Movement, and Electric Zoo. The next year he created his Pretty Lights Music imprint to release albums by Michal Menert, Gramatik, and Eliot Lipp. In 2012, Derek started working on Pretty Lights’ fourth album, which featured drummer Adam Deitch, Soulive’s Eric Krasno, the Harlem Gospel Choir, and members of the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Treme Brass Band. The idea behind the album was to capture a vintage sound while making it sound like what Pretty Lights had been known to produce. The resulting album, A Color Map of the Sun, was nominated at the 2013 Grammy Awards. The Hidden Shades EP came the following year featuring remixes and B-side tracks. Later in 2014, Derek moved to New Orleans to form a band he called Pretty Lights Live. This lineup toured for a few years with some Red Rocks shows included on the tour. Then, Derek fell off the map and became a whisper in the music community. He had to get himself sorted out with rumors of substance abuse being what stole him from the world and his fans. Then, after five years and a global pandemic, Derek rose from the ashes with Pretty Lights Live, featuring Alvin Ford Jr. on drums, Borahm Lee on keys, Michal Menert on guitar, and turntablist Chris Karns. The band toured in 2023 to sold-out venues across the country. Their live show now features drones, Lidar-crafted visuals, and free live streams that are available on YouTube.
To give a very simplified overview of how their set works, Derek acts as a conductor of sorts for all the other band members. Each member plays their instruments as a jam band and feeds in their audio to Derek. Derek then live mixes these sounds with a custom modular synthesizer to create what comes out of the PA systems at a show. Additionally, Derek will incorporate his own noise into the mix as well. While all this is going on, there are Lidar sensors onstage that are taking live 3-D mappings of the stage and sometimes the crowd and venue. On the screens behind the band, they project these mappings for visuals during the show. Oh, and they have a ton of lasers that light up the sky. And if that wasn’t enough, the rumor for Bonnaroo is that there will be a drone show above Pretty Lights on Thursday. I’ve seen what drones can do while I was at the Texas Eclipse Fest this year. It will be the best show of their 2024 tour.

 
Genre: EDM, Electro Soul, Hip-Hop, One of the Greatest Artists of the 21st Century
Scheduled: Thursday and Sunday morning to beckon the sun
Songs & Sets:
Pretty Lights Live at The Eastern Day 2 Both Sets Friday 8.25.23
Pretty Lights Live at The Brooklyn Mirage Day 2 Both Sets Sunday 10.1.23
Pretty Lights Live at the Caverns Day 1 Friday 11.3.23
Pretty Lights Live at Hulaween Day 1 Saturday 10.28.23
Have you seen Pretty Lights before? Please share your experience and favorite songs.
 

Days Until Bonnaroo: 23

Remember to drink water and warm up those high fives!
 
Link to previous AotD post

I realize both cpu options are 'dated' in today's world, but it's my two options without having to go AM5 and drop a chunk of change. I'm trying to get as far with AM4 as I can before needing an overhaul. They would be replacing my current 5600x. I'm wondering which of the two I should go with. The chosen one would be paired with a 3090 and 48gb of 3200mhz ram. Mainly to be used for gaming and content creation (streaming and video editing on Davinci Resolve). I know there's not a huge difference gaming amongst the non 3d iterations of the 5000 series, I'm more so looking at the additional firepower in the content creation aspect. What's the opinion's about the two options? Performance gains, experiences with each, etc. Both are available used relatively local to me (Yes I could always check hardwareswap as well) and there's a Noctua NH-D15 SE nearby that I'd probably use to cool either option. Both options are around $200-250/75 from what I'm seeing locally. TIA for the input!

Hi all, I'm due to have a left hip replacement and removal of a femural rod and pins/screws in my femur and hip next month (due to severe arthritis in my right hip from a car accident when I was a teenager). I'm feeling very anxious about it all. I was wondering if anyone has had this or similar done and has any advice or tips for before or after the surgery? And what to expect.. Feeling very scared for the surgery itself too. I have bad anxiety and get panic attacks whenever I go in for any hospital procedure!
I also do hot yoga, hatha and vinyasa yoga regularly and am worried I won't be able to do this afterwards. I am restricted now with a lot of the poses but if I couldn't do yoga again it would really affect my mental health.
Any comments are most welcome..thank you in advance!

Hi,
I bought a Stiga Twinclip 950 V a year and a half ago. Its characteristics suit me but unfortunately, it has never worked well (in particular, the traction belt only keeps coming off).
Before the Stiga I had a Honda HR216 for around thirty years (my father 15 years and me 15 years). It never had any major problems but she was starting to get tired, so I sold it for parts.
I am therefore looking for a new lawnmower for my 1500 m² land to replace the Stiga.
Do you have any brands to recommend to me, and/or others to advise against? Stiga? (another model...) Honda? Husqvarna? Stihl?
My criteria
Important :

• Mower where you walk behind (I wonder if a brush cutter would be a good choice too)
• Robust and reliable
• Durable and stainless housing
• Cutting width between approximately 48 and 53 cm
• Powerful engine (Twinclip 950 V ok: 2.5kW/3000rpm and cylinder 160 cm3)
• Rear or side discharge (no need for collection and not interested in mulching)
• Max cutting height: at least 7.5 cm (better if more)
• Self-propelled with at least 2 speeds
• Fast forward speed at 4.5 km/h minimum (better if more)
• Wheels on ball bearings
• Height adjustable handlebar

Facultative:

• Beltless transmission?
• Foldable handlebar
• Not too noisy (max 98 db)
• Limited vibrations (Twinclip 950 V ok: 4.7 m/s2)
• Budget about 1000 €

Thanks :)