One of the biggest frustrations I see people having in this group is with the YouTube Algorithm. They are 110% certain that they aren’t getting any views because the algorithm is broken. Instead of spending time improving their content, they spend most of their time, trying to prove to themselves and everyone else – “The YouTube Algorithm is broken and not working as it should”. Or the classic – “The YouTube algorithm only pushes content from big YouTube Channels”.
Today I wanted to share with you what I’ve learned about the infamous and evil “Algorithm” and how it applies to your YouTube channel. Hopefully it helps give you clarity on the YouTube Algorithm and reframes your thinking when it comes to building a successful YouTube channel. I also hope it helps reduce the frustration and the burn out you may feel because your channel isn’t where you want it to be.
The YouTube Algorithm is an AI-powered recommendation system, which is designed to put the BEST and most engaging content in front of viewers on YouTube. It does this by analyzing large amounts of data that tracks the preferences and habits of viewers. The cool and frustrating thing about the algorithm is that it changes over time. For example, the algorithm used to favor subscriber counts, but it has recently shifted and prioritizes views. I am sure there are other tweaks and shifts that happen often, but this was the most noticeable change.
Here is where it gets frustrating, most new content creators are misled by random bits of information from “YouTube Experts” about how the algorithm works. And when their videos flop on YouTube, the only reason they can come up with is – “The Algorithm is not working correctly.”
The truth is, in order to understand how the algorithm works, you first have to accept one simple fact. An algorithm will always work in favor of a company’s policies, values and mission statement.
Now that we know this, let’s dive a little deeper. YouTube’s approach prioritizes the 4-Rs

1. REMOVE content that violates its polices.
2. REDUCE false news.
3. RAISE UP authoritative sources for news and information.
4. REWARD trusted creators.

In their creator videos, YouTube says – “YouTube’s recommendation system actually finds videos for viewers, rather than finding viewers for videos” - Put simply, YouTube prioritizes the VIEWER – not the CREATOR! Let me say it another way just for emphasis – Viewers want to see videos THEY WANT TO WATCH, not the videos YOU WANT TO MAKE.
Although the algorithm takes into account several factors when recommending content, it can be split into two main categories
• Viewer Personalization – This includes data about what videos users watch and which ones they ignore.
• Viewer Satisfaction – This measures the performance of a video based on metrics like longer watch time, video shares, likes, comments, subscribes and watch history.
Reading the comments and posts, it seems a lot of people don’t take into consideration the fact that; “The Algorithm” is a term that reflects the behavior and viewing habits of YOUR audience. It’s not some robot deciding if it should show your video to other people or not. It is also very important to remember, because YOUR audience loves YOUR videos, it doesn’t mean other people will.
How to win with the algorithm audience on YouTube.
1). Make the tough decision on how you want to use the YouTube Platform. It doesn’t matter what you decide to do, just always keep in mind each decision has different outcomes, and success is not guaranteed.
a. Do you view YouTube as a place to share your life/experiences and videos on YouTube. This is fine, but you need to remember all art, isn’t fine art. If your art isn’t appealing to the masses, you may get frustrated and burnt-out creating content for people who aren’t interested.
b. Do you view YouTube as a business and an opportunity to make money. This is also fine, but at this point you become a “contracted” employee of YouTube, and it is your responsibility to make sure you adopt their business model and align your content with YouTube’s expectations – Do this and you are more likely to succeed.
2). Understand the metrics and how/where YouTube places your content.
A. YouTube Search – YouTube is a search engine, and it prioritizes your content based on the following
i. Relevance – your videos should have appropriate keywords, titles, tags and descriptions.
ii. Engagement – your videos should have high watch time, likes, and comments.
iii. Quality – Your videos should have quality content, display expertise and trustworthiness.
B. YouTube Homepage – Here is where most viewers start their journey. Here a viewer can see video ads, relevant videos and shorts that a person may be interested in.
C. Recommended Videos – Videos are recommended to users based on their watch history, search history, channel subscriptions, country and time of day/month/year.
D. Trending Videos – Trending aims to share videos that appeal to a large audience. Think viral videos, new music videos or breaking news. – Things that instantly capture a viewer’s attention.
E. Subscriptions and Notifications – Videos are shown to people who have subscribed to your channel and/or are notified of your latest content.
Always remember to succeed at YouTube you have reframe your thinking and use logic and data to drive your decision making and content strategy. Don’t let misinformed “YouTube Experts” influence your decision making. In 2023 YouTube generated 31.5 billion dollars in revenue and reached 2.7 billion active users – How can they do this if their algorithm is broken?
It’s a tough pill to swallow, but greatness is only achieved by setting aside our egos. Stop worrying/arguing about the algorithm, and work on making small improvements and connecting with your audience. Bruce Lee once said – “It is like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don’t concentrate on the finger or you will miss all that heavenly glory.”
Disclaimer – I am not a YouTube expert, but I am an expert in the Information Technology field, and I use data and analytics to make data driven decisions and to craft and tell compelling stories.

First of all, apologies in advance for the potentially lengthy post. I just have to get this off my chest, also interested to see what other people think.
For some context: I am a 17 year old male who has been living with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) my entire life, and have been depressed since I was 9-10, with my depression generally growing worse with each year, the past 6ish months specifically being one of my worst episodes of suicidal thoughts and depression in somewhere close to 3 years, and that time I had attempted to kill myself for the first time through asphyxiation.
I should add on too that despite having ASD for my entire life, I was actually diagnosed with it earlier this year, along with MDD too. (The story as to how I got my diagnosis is an entire other story that I will leave out here but would not mind sharing if anyone asks.)
I have been far from a decent person over the past decade or so, with my behaviour and actions being antisocial at best and plain stupid at worst, this includes but is not limited to; being inconsiderate and rude, consistent lying and deception, thievery and even being a bit physically abusive just to name a few.
From the ages of 8-14. I was an absolute piece of shit, constantly being cold hearted to everyone around me and taking all the compassion that they would give me for granted, and whenever I would get called out for it, I would never take responsibility, trying to shift the blame to someone else. And I would lie over every little thing, every innocuous detail, whatever it was, I would lie about it.
And of course me being a kid at the time and begging enough, I was given multiple chances by friends and family alike. I was let back into my friend groups despite the shitty treatment I gave them, my family continued to take care of me and would not mistreat me (at least in my eyes) although I took all of that for granted, did not learn my lesson and instead just gave them the middle finger.
It got so bad to the point where after like 4 years of the cycle repeating, acting like this and being given, from what I can recall, 8 chances to change but not changing. I was pretty much ousted from my family and friends, going on to be treated like an outcast. Having multiple groups of friends in school at the time coming up to me and telling me that they did not want to be my friends anymore and my family going ahead and ignoring me. It was at that point where it all hit me, when I was around 13 years old.
I had already been pretty depressed up to that point, not only because of the backlash I had received from the way I conducted myself but for other reasons too such as unable to meet expectations that my parents and teachers would place on me (I am an Asian kid and come from an Asian household so I was always expected to be more than what I was capable of.) and so being outcasted and treated like a stranger, coupled on with everything else I was going through at the time, caused me to have my worst depressive episode ever. I finally understood that I was a worthless sack of shit, that I bothered and burdened everyone around me for so long, despite being given many chances to change. And for once in my life, I finally took responsibility, I had no one else but myself to blame, it was entirely my fault.
I had become all alone by 14, shun by everyone around me and it was not like I could complain about everyone ignoring me and no longer wanting to do anything with me because I deserved it frankly for the way I treated people. The self hatred becoming too much and I just wanted to escape so I attempted to kill myself for the first time, ultimately failing though since trying to asphyxiate is insanely painful that my body naturally began struggling to survive.
Since then, I have not really recovered, more so just gotten used to it all, feeling invisible, dealing with the consequences of my actions, my suicidal and depressing thoughts, everything that now its just common occurrence to want to die, with the thoughts even being comforting and relieving at times.
I have tried to change over the past couple of years, even getting into a relationship that lasted for little over a year before we broke up and ended things on good terms. And although I can say that I am a better person that who I was a couple years ago, frankly I was way too late and still feel like the ultimate burden, just absolute dead weight that's for some reason being kept around, I was given the opportunity to change ages ago, multiple times, yet I blew it all away.
That is where it leaves me today, a hinderance who has stayed well past their welcome. A foul person who was unable to change and make it up to everyone in time, despite all the chances that I was given. My decision to not change and to continue with my shitty personality and behaviour causing a flurry of individual consequences, where when piled and stacked upon each other, creates this massive list of consequences that I cant ever make up for. Its as if there was this massive backlog that I just never attended to and now my unwillingness to attend to it is coming to bite me in the back, and honestly, I do not even know why I am still trying in life. I have been given somewhere around 10 chances to change for the better and turn my life around but failed each and every time, wasting away years of my life, harming everyone around me in the process. I can never forgive myself and it does not matter how much I do since the damage has already been done.
And yes, as I mentioned before, I was diagnosed as an autist earlier this year, which would have played a part to this all with varying levels of effect but I hate using that as an excuse, and one reason why I was afraid of receiving the diagnosis. I have lived pretty much my entire life up until this year unaware that I was autistic but even so, I want to take responsibility and not try to dismiss it all as just a part of being autistic.
I really want to kill myself, I in fact really should kill myself for the way I have lived my life up to this point. Its not just the antisocial-ness that eggs me on to kill myself, as I hinted at earlier 5 paragraphs above, there are a lot of other shit that goes on in my life asides from this, this is just one of the big, main reasons out of the multitude of reasons as to why I should kill myself that I wanted to talk about today. And it feels like the list of reasons why I should commit suicide grows in some way with each day that passes by.
Once again, apologies for the long post, it turned out to be way longer than what I had expected, but its something that I feel strongly about and wanted to talk about for a while since I really only allow myself to be depressed over things I have control over as I try not to focus on the external factors outside my control too much, and so I tend to be more caught up on and frustrated at things that could have been avoided but wasn't because of me such as this. Thank you for making it this far when you really did not need to, I am glad that I was able to get a chunk of my inner turmoil and conflict out after years of keeping it within. I will try my best to reply and answer any questions.

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Hi, I’m bonzos-number-1-fan You might know me from such theories as; "Theory of Fears; or, Zur Furchtlehre", "What R# Means: The ABCs of Fear" or, "Padlocks, How Do They Even Work?".
I’m back with another essay about this show. Today’s subject is a little different from previous ones. Rather than explaining what I think something in this show is, I’ll be explaining what I think it isn’t. What I’m going to be talking about is the very popular theory that CAT1/2/3 means the supernatural aspect is a Person/Place/Object.
Because I’m talking about other people’s ideas here I do want to start off by saying I understand why this theory is attractive and I don’t think anyone is stupid or anything for believing it. I just personally think there are angles from which it doesn’t work and that the sum of them makes it fairly certain to be untrue. I could be very wrong about that, and my other theories, or I could be very right. I don’t think either scenario matters much. This essay isn’t about being right but about talking about a big thing in the community. I just happen to not believe this one and people have signalled interest in hearing why.
So with all that out of the way I’m going to start by establishing the terminology being used. Then I’ll break down what this theory is positing and follow it up with the ways I think it does and doesn’t work. That’s basically it but with 16 episodes and supplemental material to cover it’s still not going to be terribly short.
Huge thanks to @brettanomycroft for proof reading/editing this madness.

Spoilers for The Magnus Protocol up to and including episode 16.

 

What is a CAT#?

A CAT# is the first 4-5 characters of an OIAR's incident report header. While these are not often referenced in the main body of the show, each incident we hear is accompanied by one in the show's description and transcript. As an example this is the case number for the first incident of episode 1.

CAT1RBC5257-12052022-09012024

Reanimation (Partial) -/- Regret [Email]

The first line is the case number. CAT1 is this incident's CAT#. The RBC (R#/Rank) and 5257 (DPHW) have been topics I've discussed in essays I linked at the start. The second line is the header and is formatted “Section (Subsection) -/- Crosslink [Format]”. CAT#s is all we're concerning ourselves with today but I will be using this terminology going forward.
Now we know what they look like, what is it we know about them? Well, not much at all. From the show itself we know there are CAT1s, CAT2s, CAT3s and CAT23s. From the Klaus excel sheet that was found as part of the ARG (and can be found here) we also know there are CAT12s and CAT13s. With that information we can say with some certainty that CAT1, CAT2, and CAT3 are non-mutually exclusive groupings. It's very likely not a linear scale of some description—i.e CAT23 isn't between CAT2 and CAT3—because CAT13 doesn't fit such a scale. Which means that where there are two numbers in a CAT# that incident likely fits both groups rather than being a new group. This also strongly implies that an incident could be CAT123 although we have yet to see that demonstrated.
We also know that CAT is short for "Category". In the Klaus sheet these numbers are located in the "Kategorie" column. "Kategorie" being German for "category". This unfortunately doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. CAT#s denote some form of grouping.
There is only one other fact we know about CAT#s and that's this:

ALICE
Right, so, after each entry there's four numbers. That’s the DPHW. So, “dolls comma watching” is… 1157. Then you cross reference with the table here, that would be a 2-C, and then you type that into the box here, along with date of incident if there is one and today’s date.

Which is not a lot to go on at all but it does raise an important question. How is a CAT# assigned? There are two major assumptions you could make here. The first is the “objective method” and that it’s a factor of either the section, subject, DPHW or a combination thereof. This means that they are pre-assigned in the same way that DPHWs are. This method has an inherent trait in that it means every header manifests as the same sort of thing. While it’s not a problem to say that every Doll (Watching) is the same— that could just be the rules of the setting—it does make CAT# itself somewhat redundant. The terminology of the headers will often describe something inherent about the CAT#. We have a CAT3 case that’s Dice (Bone) -/- Fate but dice are objects so why would you need to restate that?
The second is the “subjective method” in which the assessor chooses the CAT# based on the incident itself. The subjective method has a larger assumption built into it in that they know what CAT#s are. They don’t know what DPHW is and have shown no indication of knowing what CAT# is either. So I’d say it’s less likely that CAT#s are subjective rather than objective. However, for the purposes of this essay I will assume that both are as likely to be true as each other and will refer to them both. Different cases show different flaws when one of these is true over the other, so both will get discussed.
 

What is Person/Place/Object?

Person/Place/Object is the theory that the three single digit CAT#s stand for Person, Place, and Object respectively. Combinations of these digits represent that an incident falls into each category. A CAT1 incident indicates that the supernatural element of an incident is a person in some respect, while a CAT23 would indicate both a place and an object.
As I have mentioned this isn’t a theory with a single theorist or origin to point to. As such this theory isn’t a monolith and there is variation in how these categories are presented from theory to theory. Sometimes “Person” is literal and other times it includes any sentient thing, “places” aren’t always strictly physical locations, and the narrative framing of what “objects” are may shift. As such I will be taking the broadest interpretation of these categories as their definitions.
People will include animals and other sentient beings. Places will include metaphysical locations. Objects won’t need to be physical in nature. This is both the fairest I can be to all theories and also the strongest I can make this theory. The broader I can make these definitions, the more different ideas can be represented and the more wiggle room the CAT#s get.
What I’ll do next is run through all the incidents the show has mentioned and explain them as I see it. We’ll start with the ones that fit this theory well because they require little explanation. Then when that’s established we’ll talk about the places I think this theory falls down.
 

Which Incidents fit well?

CAT1:

CAT1RBC5257 Reanimation (Partial) -/- Regret: There is something like a zombie in this incident. That’s something like a person and so fits well.
CAT1RB4824 Injury (Needles) -/- Intimidation: Needles is definitely a person, no question there.
CAT1RB2275 Mascot (Kids) -/- Murder: Bonzo walks, “talks”, and probably thinks. He’s a person.
CAT1B4728 Mascot (Kids) -/- Frenzy: Bonzo is still doing that stuff so is still a person.
CAT1RB4426 Transformation (Snake) -/-Horde: There was a person and they turned into snakes. Snakes count as people here too. Given the amount of snakes this is the most CAT1 CAT1.
CAT1RB-6451 Hunt (Aristocratic) -/- Compulsion: Lady M is the most person on this list.
CAT1RB1565 Tattoo (Influencer) -/- Cardiac: Definitely involves a person doing something supernatural.
 

CAT2:

CAT2C8175 Infection (Full Body) -/- Arboreal: This incident takes place in a time and space bending garden. Makes perfect sense for CAT2.
CAT2RB2377 Disappearance (Undetermined) -/- Invitation: A spooky theatre is a location for sure.
 

CAT3:

CAT3RBC1567 Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic: In this instance the object in question is the tattoo. Which I think is really stretching the definition of “object” but I’m still going to give it to the theory.
CAT3C7494 Collection (Blood) -/- Musical: A magical violin is definitely an object.
CAT3RB3354 Dice (Bone) -/- Fate: Bone dice are inarguably objects.
CAT3RB4622 Gambling (Application) -/- Murder: It’s another stretch to call an app an object but, again, happy to give it to the theory.
 

CAT23:

CAT23RAB2155 Transformation (Eyes) -/- Trespass: In this incident’s case the location is the Magnus Institute and the object is the box RedCanary stole. I think there are some problems with this one but there is enough to get through.
 

Which Incidents Don't?

CAT1:

CAT1RBC5257 Reanimation (Partial) -/- Regret: You’re not misremembering, I did say this fit well. Because on the surface it really does make sense, but I think if you push just a little it makes very little sense. Why? Because any category you want to place this in is easily justified in the incident itself. There is a zombie-esque thing but also a Frankenstein-esque figure for CAT1. CAT 2 would be the location of the graveyard itself. It was chosen by the presumed creator of this zombie-like creature and is depicted similar to the one in Marked, a CAT23 incident. If this theory is correct and the Marked graveyard is supernatural I can’t see a reason to discount that possibility here. CAT3 fits too because the presumed creation method is that they were Frankenstein-ed which does require some sort of surgical apparatus. But whichever choice you make you’ve not really clarified the incident at all.
This issue is further seen in the methodology of assigning CAT#s.Objectively it has the same problem all objective assignments do. Reanimation implies there is going to be a reanimated person so restating that doesn’t add much. If we look at the subjective method then this is chosen largely at random. There isn’t enough of an indication in this incident to clearly state which CAT this is. So it’s neither helped in the assessment of the incident and doesn’t provide anything for response because all choices are justifiable.
 
CAT1RB4426 Transformation (Snake) -/- Horde: Not misremembering here either. There is a problem with this one in that it’s demonstrated to be an infection. This makes the source of the affliction basically unknowable. The source could qualify it for other CATs but the larger issue here is that what CAT1 means here and what it means elsewhere are not that comparable. Needles, Bonzo, and Lady M are all sentient and independent. The afflicted we see in this case are normal people until they get very rapidly sick, summon a portal to the snake dimension in their throats, and die. Which leaves CAT1 translating to “something in the rough shape of a person” which is a really wide range of interpretations. Which is something I feel has little practical utility in either assessing or responding to these incidents.
 
CAT1RB1565 Tattoo (Influencer) -/- Cardiac: Still not misremembering. While you can say that Ink5oul or Madame E are the person in this instance there is a major conflict here with CAT3RBC1567 Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic. If Daria’s transformation was CAT3 because tattoos are objects then there is no reasonable justification that this isn’t at least CAT13. It’s the same person, doing the same thing, to a very similar result but in a different CAT. The headers are entirely different, and so this/that may be misfiled, but it highlights a problem with Daria’s incident. If the incident with the Tattoo header isn’t an object then tattoos are probably not objects under this scheme.
If this is objective then this is always a person, or on people, which makes a great deal of sense. However if that’s the case then the objective method for Daria’s case sort of falls apart because there wasn’t really a secondary object there. Additionally, because all incidents with that case’s header being objects is a huge stretch. So if this incident, or that incident, is misfiled it doesn’t really matter. In either case (or even if both of them are misfiled), it largely disproves that tattoos are objects, creating a larger issue with that theory as it affects more than just this case. Subjectively as far as we’re aware Sam filed all three of the Ink5oul incidents. So he chose an object in Daria’s case but then opted against it here despite there being no real reason to that we can see. You could say that now Ink5oul has been in it more, he thinks Ink5oul has some sort of supernatural power themselves which makes them a CAT1; that would still make this CAT13 as episode 11 was CAT23.
 

CAT2:

CAT2RC1157 Dolls (Watching): This is a big one in my opinion. It’s not only the first incident we’re told about, but it's both Sam’s and our first exposure to an explanation of the OIAR’s filing system. It’s also one I see ignored in most of the posts that posit the Person/Place/Object theory. That is understandable as we don’t hear the incident itself but we do hear enough of it to show that there is a flaw in the theory.
What we hear about this incident is entirely focused on the doll itself and questions about its nature. It’s a split between Dolls (Watching) and Dolls (Human Skin) with the former being chosen as the latter is only implied. Dolls themselves are objects which would make this CAT3, and if the doll is sentient a CAT1. However, this is placed in CAT2 indicating that it's actually caused by the location in some respect. In order for that to make sense you have to make 3 major assumptions. Assumption 1: despite no indication in the conversation about this incident suggesting anything outside of the doll being strange there was actually a “haunted house”. Assumption 2: despite there being sections far more descriptive of locations—i.e Architecture—Dolls is more suited to this incident. Assumption 3: despite this being Sam’s/the audience’s first exposure to this system it leaves out the real source of the incident when, narratively, this is an explanation of it. Those are some fairly major assumptions to make to justify a theory.
This also has issues with either method of assigning CAT#s. If CAT# is objective then every Dolls (Watching) is actually a location. Unlike with something like Reanimation (Partial) that doesn't make much sense as dolls themselves are objects. In the subjective method, Alice assigned this as a location but their discussion of it centred solely on an object and she didn't explain to Sam why she did it.
 
CAT2RC3338 Agglomeration (Miscellany) -/- Congregation: This might be my favourite example of issues I have with this theory. To explain it we’ll look at this from both the objective and subjective methods while taking into account outside knowledge of the show from an audience perspective.
Everyone I’ve seen posit this theory attributes CAT2 to Hilltop here.They do this solely because of TMA. There is nothing in this episode that makes Hilltop out to be anything special in any way. But because Hilltop is special in TMA the audience is primed to view this location as special. It may very well be but there is no reason to think that. In fact, I’d argue there's reason to think otherwise based on this episode, but that is a little off topic for this essay. However from an objective perspective it can’t take Hilltop into account because not every header of this sort will take place in Hilltop. They could only manifest at special locations but that seems like a stretch. If it is true, why does this unique combination of words not include a word that describes it as a location? Subjectively it could be a misfile. Celia would be the only person who knows what Hilltop is in TMA— assuming some of the theories on her are correct—but that doesn’t make Hilltop important in and of itself. It also means she ignored large parts of this incident when filing it just to focus on that element. As this case is the one Alice uses to teach Celia the system with, then this also relies on Alice knowing or not correcting Celia. In either scenario this case is full of people of definite supernatural quality, lacks a location of supernatural quality, but has 100s of objects of dubious supernatural quality. Something doesn’t make sense here if this theory is correct.
 
CAT2RBC3366 Architecture (Liminal) -/- Hunger: This one is interesting because it shows a flaw not in the theory per se but in the methodology as a whole if the theory is correct. If CAT# is what the theory says it is why is this just CAT2? It being CAT2 at all is redundant when its header describes a location but in this incident we see it’s populated by supernatural creatures. I call them Uncannybals—as should you—and they’re monsters living in the shadow realm. That seems like very important information to include. So it should be CAT12 as there are both people and a place. The OIAR methodology already has the problem that you can’t include multiple headers but CAT#s, if they worked like this, could be used to alleviate that issue. The way it’s implemented here just makes it virtually pointless to include at all.
 

CAT3:

CAT3RBC1567 Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic: This was largely already covered. So simply put if Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic is an object because of the tattoo, and Tattoo (Corpse) -/- Compulsion is an object because of the tattoo, but Tattoo (Influencer) -/- Cardiac isn’t an object despite being virtually identical to this case then CAT3 doesn't mean object.
The method problems are the same as above too. Now this case is the one most likely of the three to be misfiled. So you could say that Daria's case is misfiled and would actually be CAT1 if filed correctly. Tattoos aren’t objects, this case is a mistake. Then you could explain that Marked is CAT23 because corpses are objects (so 13 if he was alive). Objectively this header always being CAT3 still poses problems because we know there are Transformations that don’t require objects. Which brings us back to the problem of “why are the headers so bad at describing these things?”. If it’s subjective Sam decided that object instead of person made more sense here. Seemingly based on the fact that there is a tattoo. Later on he changed his mind about this but choosing it in the first place seems like a stretch. If he knew what these things meant in order to choose them, object seems like a very unobvious choice.
 

CAT23:

CAT23RC5246 Tattoo (Corpse) -/- Compulsion: This one is fairly clear to me. I’m going to be very generous and suggest that the corpse here is the object based on the above. The reason this one is a problem is that there wasn’t a location here. I’ve seen people say that it must be the graveyard but that’s confirmation bias IMO. It wasn’t a large feature of the episode, didn’t do anything coastal graveyards don’t do, and had no overt supernatural properties to it. I don’t personally think anyone would categorise this as CAT23 based on the incident alone but because CAT23 people will justify it to fit. That’s not inherently a problem because sometimes you have to make assumptions but given all of the above I don’t think that assumption is a reasonable one to make.
Objectively all compelling corpse tattoos are found in magical graveyards—or morgues, tombs, goth bars, and other corpse hangouts—and I think we can all agree that’s sort of wack. Subjectively Sam decided the graveyard was magic despite there being nothing to suggest that.
 

Klaus’ CAT#s:

This is a bit of a special section. I briefly mention Klaus in the intro but I didn’t mention that some of the incidents we’ve heard have been found on the Klaus sheet. The canonicity of these aren’t 100% and I would say the show takes precedent so this is supplemental rather than definitive. I think I’ve more than shown that this theory doesn’t hold up. This is more of an academic exercise.
The big thing to know here is that Kluas’ cases lack headers entirely but that some Klaus cases have notes and it’s these notes attached. It’s only one’s with those notes I’m interested in for this because of how they relate to things we’ve heard. One case is CAT3RBC1567 with the note “tinte”. CAT3RBC1567 is Daria’s case and “tinte” is German for “ink”. So this is very likely that case. There are 4 other cases with that note and they’re two CAT1s, a CAT3, and a CAT13. So even if Daria’s case is misfiled not all of those are the correct CAT# for that assumption. There are also two CAT1s and a CAT2 marked “Herr B”, which is “Mr B” in English. These aren’t tied to a Bonzo case we’ve heard yet but one of them does take place in Bland Theme Park, Somerset. That’s not definitively Bonzo but it’s a good hint at it.
Additionally there are 6 CAT2 cases that have the note “Katzen LOL” or “Cats LOL” which you’d expect to be CAT1s if there are cats involved. In a similar vein there are one CAT1 and five CAT2s marked “Kreigsvolk” which is literally “War People” but more likely “Army” or “Soldiers”. Again, you’d expect more CAT1s if CAT1 is people.
I’m not saying any of the above is the backbone of my reasoning here but these are things that are showing up in the show and they do seem to be pointing the same direction as what I’m saying. Ignoring them entirely I think the theory doesn’t hold up but with them I think it’s very clear.
 

Conclusion

I don’t have much of a wrap up here. Anyone who’s been reading my posts for a while has known that I’ve never thought this theory worked. It’s not something I ever get too deep into because I’m also obviously happy for people to have ideas I disagree with, as am I happy for them to disagree with my ideas. That’s just healthy theorising. I’d been considering writing this for a while though but was mostly held back by not wanting to come across as some sort of arbiter of what is and isn’t correct, and didn’t want to seem like I was calling anyone out specifically. However a few people now said they wanted to see this and there are enough instances of parallel thought on this theory that it’s impossible for me to really single people out now. So here we are.
Just to reiterate for people that did/do believe this theory I don’t think anyone was stupid and/or wrong for thinking it. I hope if the above has convinced you that I’m right about it that you’re not dissuaded from making and sharing future theories. I’ve have 3 or 4 terrible CAT# theories and a few R# theories too. My current ideas on DPHW and R# might be awfully wrong in the long run and that’ll be okay.
That’s me anyway, hope this was at the very least an interesting read if it didn’t manage to be a convincing one. Bonzo! Bonzo!! Bonzo!!!

Hi, I’m bonzos-number-1-fan You might know me from such theories as; "Theory of Fears; or, Zur Furchtlehre", "What R# Means: The ABCs of Fear" or, "Padlocks, How Do They Even Work?".
I’m back with another essay about this show. Today’s subject is a little different from previous ones. Rather than explaining what I think something in this show is, I’ll be explaining what I think it isn’t. What I’m going to be talking about is the very popular theory that CAT1/2/3 means the supernatural aspect is a Person/Place/Object.
Because I’m talking about other people’s ideas here I do want to start off by saying I understand why this theory is attractive and I don’t think anyone is stupid or anything for believing it. I just personally think there are angles from which it doesn’t work and that the sum of them makes it fairly certain to be untrue. I could be very wrong about that, and my other theories, or I could be very right. I don’t think either scenario matters much. This essay isn’t about being right but about talking about a big thing in the community. I just happen to not believe this one and people have signalled interest in hearing why.
So with all that out of the way I’m going to start by establishing the terminology being used. Then I’ll break down what this theory is positing and follow it up with the ways I think it does and doesn’t work. That’s basically it but with 16 episodes and supplemental material to cover it’s still not going to be terribly short.
Huge thanks to @brettanomycroft for proof reading/editing this madness.

Spoilers for The Magnus Protocol up to and including episode 16.

 

What is a CAT#?

A CAT# is the first 4-5 characters of an OIAR's incident report header. While these are not often referenced in the main body of the show, each incident we hear is accompanied by one in the show's description and transcript. As an example this is the case number for the first incident of episode 1.

CAT1RBC5257-12052022-09012024

Reanimation (Partial) -/- Regret [Email]

The first line is the case number. CAT1 is this incident's CAT#. The RBC (R#/Rank) and 5257 (DPHW) have been topics I've discussed in essays I linked at the start. The second line is the header and is formatted “Section (Subsection) -/- Crosslink [Format]”. CAT#s is all we're concerning ourselves with today but I will be using this terminology going forward.
Now we know what they look like, what is it we know about them? Well, not much at all. From the show itself we know there are CAT1s, CAT2s, CAT3s and CAT23s. From the Klaus excel sheet that was found as part of the ARG (and can be found here) we also know there are CAT12s and CAT13s. With that information we can say with some certainty that CAT1, CAT2, and CAT3 are non-mutually exclusive groupings. It's very likely not a linear scale of some description—i.e CAT23 isn't between CAT2 and CAT3—because CAT13 doesn't fit such a scale. Which means that where there are two numbers in a CAT# that incident likely fits both groups rather than being a new group. This also strongly implies that an incident could be CAT123 although we have yet to see that demonstrated.
We also know that CAT is short for "Category". In the Klaus sheet these numbers are located in the "Kategorie" column. "Kategorie" being German for "category". This unfortunately doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know. CAT#s denote some form of grouping.
There is only one other fact we know about CAT#s and that's this:

ALICE
Right, so, after each entry there's four numbers. That’s the DPHW. So, “dolls comma watching” is… 1157. Then you cross reference with the table here, that would be a 2-C, and then you type that into the box here, along with date of incident if there is one and today’s date.

Which is not a lot to go on at all but it does raise an important question. How is a CAT# assigned? There are two major assumptions you could make here. The first is the “objective method” and that it’s a factor of either the section, subject, DPHW or a combination thereof. This means that they are pre-assigned in the same way that DPHWs are. This method has an inherent trait in that it means every header manifests as the same sort of thing. While it’s not a problem to say that every Doll (Watching) is the same— that could just be the rules of the setting—it does make CAT# itself somewhat redundant. The terminology of the headers will often describe something inherent about the CAT#. We have a CAT3 case that’s Dice (Bone) -/- Fate but dice are objects so why would you need to restate that?
The second is the “subjective method” in which the assessor chooses the CAT# based on the incident itself. The subjective method has a larger assumption built into it in that they know what CAT#s are. They don’t know what DPHW is and have shown no indication of knowing what CAT# is either. So I’d say it’s less likely that CAT#s are subjective rather than objective. However, for the purposes of this essay I will assume that both are as likely to be true as each other and will refer to them both. Different cases show different flaws when one of these is true over the other, so both will get discussed.
 

What is Person/Place/Object?

Person/Place/Object is the theory that the three single digit CAT#s stand for Person, Place, and Object respectively. Combinations of these digits represent that an incident falls into each category. A CAT1 incident indicates that the supernatural element of an incident is a person in some respect, while a CAT23 would indicate both a place and an object.
As I have mentioned this isn’t a theory with a single theorist or origin to point to. As such this theory isn’t a monolith and there is variation in how these categories are presented from theory to theory. Sometimes “Person” is literal and other times it includes any sentient thing, “places” aren’t always strictly physical locations, and the narrative framing of what “objects” are may shift. As such I will be taking the broadest interpretation of these categories as their definitions.
People will include animals and other sentient beings. Places will include metaphysical locations. Objects won’t need to be physical in nature. This is both the fairest I can be to all theories and also the strongest I can make this theory. The broader I can make these definitions, the more different ideas can be represented and the more wiggle room the CAT#s get.
What I’ll do next is run through all the incidents the show has mentioned and explain them as I see it. We’ll start with the ones that fit this theory well because they require little explanation. Then when that’s established we’ll talk about the places I think this theory falls down.
 

Which Incidents fit well?

CAT1:

CAT1RBC5257 Reanimation (Partial) -/- Regret: There is something like a zombie in this incident. That’s something like a person and so fits well.
CAT1RB4824 Injury (Needles) -/- Intimidation: Needles is definitely a person, no question there.
CAT1RB2275 Mascot (Kids) -/- Murder: Bonzo walks, “talks”, and probably thinks. He’s a person.
CAT1B4728 Mascot (Kids) -/- Frenzy: Bonzo is still doing that stuff so is still a person.
CAT1RB4426 Transformation (Snake) -/-Horde: There was a person and they turned into snakes. Snakes count as people here too. Given the amount of snakes this is the most CAT1 CAT1.
CAT1RB-6451 Hunt (Aristocratic) -/- Compulsion: Lady M is the most person on this list.
CAT1RB1565 Tattoo (Influencer) -/- Cardiac: Definitely involves a person doing something supernatural.
 

CAT2:

CAT2C8175 Infection (Full Body) -/- Arboreal: This incident takes place in a time and space bending garden. Makes perfect sense for CAT2.
CAT2RB2377 Disappearance (Undetermined) -/- Invitation: A spooky theatre is a location for sure.
 

CAT3:

CAT3RBC1567 Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic: In this instance the object in question is the tattoo. Which I think is really stretching the definition of “object” but I’m still going to give it to the theory.
CAT3C7494 Collection (Blood) -/- Musical: A magical violin is definitely an object.
CAT3RB3354 Dice (Bone) -/- Fate: Bone dice are inarguably objects.
CAT3RB4622 Gambling (Application) -/- Murder: It’s another stretch to call an app an object but, again, happy to give it to the theory.
 

CAT23:

CAT23RAB2155 Transformation (Eyes) -/- Trespass: In this incident’s case the location is the Magnus Institute and the object is the box RedCanary stole. I think there are some problems with this one but there is enough to get through.
 

Which Incidents Don't?

CAT1:

CAT1RBC5257 Reanimation (Partial) -/- Regret: You’re not misremembering, I did say this fit well. Because on the surface it really does make sense, but I think if you push just a little it makes very little sense. Why? Because any category you want to place this in is easily justified in the incident itself. There is a zombie-esque thing but also a Frankenstein-esque figure for CAT1. CAT 2 would be the location of the graveyard itself. It was chosen by the presumed creator of this zombie-like creature and is depicted similar to the one in Marked, a CAT23 incident. If this theory is correct and the Marked graveyard is supernatural I can’t see a reason to discount that possibility here. CAT3 fits too because the presumed creation method is that they were Frankenstein-ed which does require some sort of surgical apparatus. But whichever choice you make you’ve not really clarified the incident at all.
This issue is further seen in the methodology of assigning CAT#s.Objectively it has the same problem all objective assignments do. Reanimation implies there is going to be a reanimated person so restating that doesn’t add much. If we look at the subjective method then this is chosen largely at random. There isn’t enough of an indication in this incident to clearly state which CAT this is. So it’s neither helped in the assessment of the incident and doesn’t provide anything for response because all choices are justifiable.
 
CAT1RB4426 Transformation (Snake) -/- Horde: Not misremembering here either. There is a problem with this one in that it’s demonstrated to be an infection. This makes the source of the affliction basically unknowable. The source could qualify it for other CATs but the larger issue here is that what CAT1 means here and what it means elsewhere are not that comparable. Needles, Bonzo, and Lady M are all sentient and independent. The afflicted we see in this case are normal people until they get very rapidly sick, summon a portal to the snake dimension in their throats, and die. Which leaves CAT1 translating to “something in the rough shape of a person” which is a really wide range of interpretations. Which is something I feel has little practical utility in either assessing or responding to these incidents.
 
CAT1RB1565 Tattoo (Influencer) -/- Cardiac: Still not misremembering. While you can say that Ink5oul or Madame E are the person in this instance there is a major conflict here with CAT3RBC1567 Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic. If Daria’s transformation was CAT3 because tattoos are objects then there is no reasonable justification that this isn’t at least CAT13. It’s the same person, doing the same thing, to a very similar result but in a different CAT. The headers are entirely different, and so this/that may be misfiled, but it highlights a problem with Daria’s incident. If the incident with the Tattoo header isn’t an object then tattoos are probably not objects under this scheme.
If this is objective then this is always a person, or on people, which makes a great deal of sense. However if that’s the case then the objective method for Daria’s case sort of falls apart because there wasn’t really a secondary object there. Additionally, because all incidents with that case’s header being objects is a huge stretch. So if this incident, or that incident, is misfiled it doesn’t really matter. In either case (or even if both of them are misfiled), it largely disproves that tattoos are objects, creating a larger issue with that theory as it affects more than just this case. Subjectively as far as we’re aware Sam filed all three of the Ink5oul incidents. So he chose an object in Daria’s case but then opted against it here despite there being no real reason to that we can see. You could say that now Ink5oul has been in it more, he thinks Ink5oul has some sort of supernatural power themselves which makes them a CAT1; that would still make this CAT13 as episode 11 was CAT23.
 

CAT2:

CAT2RC1157 Dolls (Watching): This is a big one in my opinion. It’s not only the first incident we’re told about, but it's both Sam’s and our first exposure to an explanation of the OIAR’s filing system. It’s also one I see ignored in most of the posts that posit the Person/Place/Object theory. That is understandable as we don’t hear the incident itself but we do hear enough of it to show that there is a flaw in the theory.
What we hear about this incident is entirely focused on the doll itself and questions about its nature. It’s a split between Dolls (Watching) and Dolls (Human Skin) with the former being chosen as the latter is only implied. Dolls themselves are objects which would make this CAT3, and if the doll is sentient a CAT1. However, this is placed in CAT2 indicating that it's actually caused by the location in some respect. In order for that to make sense you have to make 3 major assumptions. Assumption 1: despite no indication in the conversation about this incident suggesting anything outside of the doll being strange there was actually a “haunted house”. Assumption 2: despite there being sections far more descriptive of locations—i.e Architecture—Dolls is more suited to this incident. Assumption 3: despite this being Sam’s/the audience’s first exposure to this system it leaves out the real source of the incident when, narratively, this is an explanation of it. Those are some fairly major assumptions to make to justify a theory.
This also has issues with either method of assigning CAT#s. If CAT# is objective then every Dolls (Watching) is actually a location. Unlike with something like Reanimation (Partial) that doesn't make much sense as dolls themselves are objects. In the subjective method, Alice assigned this as a location but their discussion of it centred solely on an object and she didn't explain to Sam why she did it.
 
CAT2RC3338 Agglomeration (Miscellany) -/- Congregation: This might be my favourite example of issues I have with this theory. To explain it we’ll look at this from both the objective and subjective methods while taking into account outside knowledge of the show from an audience perspective.
Everyone I’ve seen posit this theory attributes CAT2 to Hilltop here.They do this solely because of TMA. There is nothing in this episode that makes Hilltop out to be anything special in any way. But because Hilltop is special in TMA the audience is primed to view this location as special. It may very well be but there is no reason to think that. In fact, I’d argue there's reason to think otherwise based on this episode, but that is a little off topic for this essay. However from an objective perspective it can’t take Hilltop into account because not every header of this sort will take place in Hilltop. They could only manifest at special locations but that seems like a stretch. If it is true, why does this unique combination of words not include a word that describes it as a location? Subjectively it could be a misfile. Celia would be the only person who knows what Hilltop is in TMA— assuming some of the theories on her are correct—but that doesn’t make Hilltop important in and of itself. It also means she ignored large parts of this incident when filing it just to focus on that element. As this case is the one Alice uses to teach Celia the system with, then this also relies on Alice knowing or not correcting Celia. In either scenario this case is full of people of definite supernatural quality, lacks a location of supernatural quality, but has 100s of objects of dubious supernatural quality. Something doesn’t make sense here if this theory is correct.
 
CAT2RBC3366 Architecture (Liminal) -/- Hunger: This one is interesting because it shows a flaw not in the theory per se but in the methodology as a whole if the theory is correct. If CAT# is what the theory says it is why is this just CAT2? It being CAT2 at all is redundant when its header describes a location but in this incident we see it’s populated by supernatural creatures. I call them Uncannybals—as should you—and they’re monsters living in the shadow realm. That seems like very important information to include. So it should be CAT12 as there are both people and a place. The OIAR methodology already has the problem that you can’t include multiple headers but CAT#s, if they worked like this, could be used to alleviate that issue. The way it’s implemented here just makes it virtually pointless to include at all.
 

CAT3:

CAT3RBC1567 Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic: This was largely already covered. So simply put if Transformation (Full) -/- Dysmorphic is an object because of the tattoo, and Tattoo (Corpse) -/- Compulsion is an object because of the tattoo, but Tattoo (Influencer) -/- Cardiac isn’t an object despite being virtually identical to this case then CAT3 doesn't mean object.
The method problems are the same as above too. Now this case is the one most likely of the three to be misfiled. So you could say that Daria's case is misfiled and would actually be CAT1 if filed correctly. Tattoos aren’t objects, this case is a mistake. Then you could explain that Marked is CAT23 because corpses are objects (so 13 if he was alive). Objectively this header always being CAT3 still poses problems because we know there are Transformations that don’t require objects. Which brings us back to the problem of “why are the headers so bad at describing these things?”. If it’s subjective Sam decided that object instead of person made more sense here. Seemingly based on the fact that there is a tattoo. Later on he changed his mind about this but choosing it in the first place seems like a stretch. If he knew what these things meant in order to choose them, object seems like a very unobvious choice.
 

CAT23:

CAT23RC5246 Tattoo (Corpse) -/- Compulsion: This one is fairly clear to me. I’m going to be very generous and suggest that the corpse here is the object based on the above. The reason this one is a problem is that there wasn’t a location here. I’ve seen people say that it must be the graveyard but that’s confirmation bias IMO. It wasn’t a large feature of the episode, didn’t do anything coastal graveyards don’t do, and had no overt supernatural properties to it. I don’t personally think anyone would categorise this as CAT23 based on the incident alone but because CAT23 people will justify it to fit. That’s not inherently a problem because sometimes you have to make assumptions but given all of the above I don’t think that assumption is a reasonable one to make.
Objectively all compelling corpse tattoos are found in magical graveyards—or morgues, tombs, goth bars, and other corpse hangouts—and I think we can all agree that’s sort of wack. Subjectively Sam decided the graveyard was magic despite there being nothing to suggest that.
 

Klaus’ CAT#s:

This is a bit of a special section. I briefly mention Klaus in the intro but I didn’t mention that some of the incidents we’ve heard have been found on the Klaus sheet. The canonicity of these aren’t 100% and I would say the show takes precedent so this is supplemental rather than definitive. I think I’ve more than shown that this theory doesn’t hold up. This is more of an academic exercise.
The big thing to know here is that Kluas’ cases lack headers entirely but that some Klaus cases have notes and it’s these notes attached. It’s only one’s with those notes I’m interested in for this because of how they relate to things we’ve heard. One case is CAT3RBC1567 with the note “tinte”. CAT3RBC1567 is Daria’s case and “tinte” is German for “ink”. So this is very likely that case. There are 4 other cases with that note and they’re two CAT1s, a CAT3, and a CAT13. So even if Daria’s case is misfiled not all of those are the correct CAT# for that assumption. There are also two CAT1s and a CAT2 marked “Herr B”, which is “Mr B” in English. These aren’t tied to a Bonzo case we’ve heard yet but one of them does take place in Bland Theme Park, Somerset. That’s not definitively Bonzo but it’s a good hint at it.
Additionally there are 6 CAT2 cases that have the note “Katzen LOL” or “Cats LOL” which you’d expect to be CAT1s if there are cats involved. In a similar vein there are one CAT1 and five CAT2s marked “Kreigsvolk” which is literally “War People” but more likely “Army” or “Soldiers”. Again, you’d expect more CAT1s if CAT1 is people.
I’m not saying any of the above is the backbone of my reasoning here but these are things that are showing up in the show and they do seem to be pointing the same direction as what I’m saying. Ignoring them entirely I think the theory doesn’t hold up but with them I think it’s very clear.
 

Conclusion

I don’t have much of a wrap up here. Anyone who’s been reading my posts for a while has known that I’ve never thought this theory worked. It’s not something I ever get too deep into because I’m also obviously happy for people to have ideas I disagree with, as am I happy for them to disagree with my ideas. That’s just healthy theorising. I’d been considering writing this for a while though but was mostly held back by not wanting to come across as some sort of arbiter of what is and isn’t correct, and didn’t want to seem like I was calling anyone out specifically. However a few people now said they wanted to see this and there are enough instances of parallel thought on this theory that it’s impossible for me to really single people out now. So here we are.
Just to reiterate for people that did/do believe this theory I don’t think anyone was stupid and/or wrong for thinking it. I hope if the above has convinced you that I’m right about it that you’re not dissuaded from making and sharing future theories. I’ve have 3 or 4 terrible CAT# theories and a few R# theories too. My current ideas on DPHW and R# might be awfully wrong in the long run and that’ll be okay.
That’s me anyway, hope this was at the very least an interesting read if it didn’t manage to be a convincing one. Bonzo! Bonzo!! Bonzo!!!

Hey there, I'm looking for an intermediate guitar player with some free time to play guitar with and perhaps teach each other new techniques and practice together, most importantly jam and play together, been trying to get into music clubs and groups here and there, but apparently the head of the club's little cousin or girl they're obsessing over who barely attend and barely know 2 and a half chords, are much more worthy of joining these clubs than students with passion and impressive skills, that are btw in a uni that they're not students of, look I'm not shaming beginners, I'm just saying these extracurricular activity clubs or groups are ran by selfish and very biased people who ruin other students chances of doing what they absolutely love with other people of the same interest, it's always been like that, and not just in music clubs, but in other clubs as well, the head of these clubs is always some harem gatherer who keeps accepting girls left and right and only his guy friends and no one else, barely looking at the skill or consistency factor.
Anyways if ur down to play, learn together and have fun talking and showing each other what we can do hit me up, looking forward to jam with you :)

Credit to u/SpacePaladin15 for the NOP Universe.
Hey, I hope everyone's doing well!
Today we return to the namesake of this fic, an actual lesson about animals. This one focuses on Koalas! One of Australia's most recognisable critters. I hope you enjoy.
It's hardly worth mentioning, seeing as I'm an infrequent poster at the best of times, but I'll not have another chapter out for a few weeks due to limited free time and devoting most of my writing time to an upcoming ficnapping. Be sure to look out for that!
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Memory transcription subject: Rysel, Venlil Environmental Researcher
Date [Standardised human time]: 8th September 2136
“Koalas!”
Bernard’s energised voice boomed through the air as the classroom's monitor flickered into life, images of this paws lecture topic popping up one after the other until the entire screen was filled with a collage of furry quadrupeds.
Squee! I’ll never get tired of this, it’s all so cool!
As usual the sight of something new stirred immediate discussion, hushed murmurs swelling into vibrant discourse in little more than a heartbeat. Most of the class swiftly huddled together into small herds to bounce ideas around while the rest opted to stick to the solace of their own thoughts as they took in the display.
I’d be quite happy in either situation, though seeing as Sandi had already sunk into deep concentration and Kailo had peeled off to talk with Ennerif and Solenk, it seemed the decision had been made for me on this occasion. Wasting no more time on idle inspection of the people around me, I focused my full attention forward, eager to form first impressions before the lesson began in earnest.
Now then, time to make some educated guesses. What traits does this animal have? I wonder if I’ll get any right this paw?
Professional assumptions went paw-in-paw with the lectures, examining and coming up with hypotheses about the specimens was only natural. Recently however, I’d started to make a little game of it to make things even more interesting than usual. A veritable bonfire of ideas had been set ablaze within me, fueled by my newfound knowledge of Earthen wildlife. Every flash and spark of the flame was a fresh theory I could try to apply to the lectures. It was an invigorating exercise that further stoked my unceasing wonderment.
So far I’d only done this once during the previous class and, to my disappointment, I’d not done too well.
I was right when I guessed that chickens were omnivores, but wrong in my assumption that they could fly. And that red thing on their head, the um… what was it called? The comb! Yes, the comb. I thought that was to attract mates, but it regulates body heat instead. It’s fascinating. Oh! Stars damn it I’m rambling!
I bapped my tail against my leg, the soft thud being just enough to snap me back from my runaway thoughts before I went completely wall-eyed. I was becoming more and more accustomed to getting lost in my own head while remaining conscious of the fact; it was happening so frequently now that it was pretty much impossible not to. Now I was able to pull myself back to the world around me without having to rely on someone else shaking me out of it. Most of the time anyway.
Sandi still keeps an eye on me, and Kailo even decided to help out once without being too snide about it. Anyway where was I? Oh yeah, Koalas.
Glancing at the furred animals, two things immediately stood out. Firstly, their eyes were in a more central position on their face. And second, all the images showed them being on or close to trees. There were other noteworthy observations of course, such as the Koala’s prominent nose and rounded features, but they fell to the wayside as I honed in on these points first.
Hmmm… ok. I already know to discount the idea that they’re predators just from eye position, so let’s get that thought out of here. Maybe omnivorous? Herbivore? Agh no, I can’t just guess that for the sake of guessing, that’s the same problem! Hrm, it’s tough making these assumptions now that everything I thought I knew has been turned on its head.
Nevermind, I’ll focus on the other thing. All the trees make me think they’re arboreal, that seems to be a reasonable assumption. I wonder what else they-
Clearing his throat, Bernard broke my concentration, his call for attention silencing the murmuring conversation and redirecting everyone's focus to the lecturer's podium.
His gaze panned across the room as he waited for everyone to settle, a beaming smile lighting up his face, “As ever I’m delighted to see you all get so into the subject matter from the get go. I’m looking forward to hearing what you were discussing should you wish to share. For now though, how about we get started, hm?”
A chorus of merry bleats rang out from across the audience, ears and tails flicking happily in agreement. Bernard's grin grew in tandem with the class's fervour, clasping his hands together enthusiastically as he launched into the lesson, “Excellent! Then let’s get started.”
The pictures on screen dissolved away until only one remained, enlarging to cover the entire monitor with the fluffy grey face of a Koala peacefully reclining in the crook of a tree.
“Ah, there we are,” Bernard’s baritone timbre drifted through the room as he looked up at the image, his own tone reflecting the relaxed attitude of the animal on screen, “He looks so comfortable doesn’t he? Perfectly at peace with the world, not too surprising considering they sleep almost 20 hours a day. A full paw!”
A wave of beeps and gasps rippled through the herd, punctuated by a single yawn-dressed comment from Rova, “A full paw? Hwuuu… jealous.”
Her drowsy remark elicited several whistling giggles from the herd, Bernard's own jovial chortle joining them as he turned to face her, “Late evening Rova?”
I twisted a little in my seat, panning an eye in Rova’s direction just in time to see her bleary eyes bulge open and her ears shoot up, now intensely aware of the fact she hadn’t been as quiet as she thought she had.
Sitting up abruptly, she hastily tapped down errant tufts of wool that’d flared in surprise as she composed herself, though her nervousness at becoming the centre of the class's attention was still plain for all to hear, “Uh- I um… achem, a little bit yes, um- …sorry. Lokki dragged me out to a movie viewing in the rec centre. It went on pretty late.”
A melodramatic bray from the other side of the room drew everyone's ears away from Rova to the now aghast Lokki, paw splayed across his chest in faux indignation, “Dragged you? Well excuse me for trying to broaden your horizons with human movies. That’ll be the list time I- …Ahaaaa…”
Lokki’s theatrics were cut short by a heavy yawn of his own, a swell of whistling laughter rolling through the herd as vibrant bloom lit up his snout, a sight that elicited a particularly amused bleat from Rova.
Turning away from the duo I looked back at Bernard, pleased to see that he was chuckling along with us. Behaviour like Lokki’s would never have been tolerated in my school and university days but, in stark contrast, Bernard revelled in it, the liveliness of his students fueling his own bombastic style of teaching. It was a pleasant change of pace having a teacher who let us all be ourselves in class; provided we weren’t too disruptive to the lesson plan.
Speaking of which.
His laughter still rumbling through the air, Bernard clapped his hands to pull everyone's focus back to him, “Ok, ok, let’s get back to it then shall we? Rova. Lokki. Hopefully the two of you can stay awake long enough until you can grab yourselves a coffee.”
As the class settled down and the last few giggling beeps petered out, Benard pointed a hand to the screen, “So, the Koala. Let’s start simple shall we? They are herbivorous marsupials native to the eastern and southern coasts of Australia. Easily recognised the world over, they are a well known and beloved symbol of their homeland, along with other animals such as the Kangaroo and the Emu. The former of which you might remember from one of our earlier lectures.”
Indeed I did remember, along with how angry Bernard had gotten after some speh-head had derided the Yotul after he explained how he held specific disdain for such attitudes.
Uuuggghh… I never want to see him angry again. So chilling.
I shook my ears in an effort to dismiss the unpleasant memory, panning my eyes back to the monitor to try and distract myself by inspecting the Koala’s physical appearance once more. Thankfully, by some Star's blessed intervention, Bernard had the exact same idea.
“Koala’s are rather squat in stature, ranging around sixty to eighty-five centimetres in length and weighing little more than fifteen to sixteen kilograms at their full size. As you can see, the fur of this fellow before you is a lovely silvery grey, but their fur can also sport a chocolaty brown hue as well. Arguably the most distinctive part of their appearance is their head, being rather large for their body size and having rounded ears, a large nose, and a pair of small eyes. These are often brown but variations do occur.”
It didn’t slip past my notice that Bernard didn’t bother to point out that the Koala’s eyes were forward facing. I didn’t think he’d simply forgotten, so perhaps he just felt it wasn’t necessary given that he’d already stated it was herbivorous. Either way, no one stuck up a paw or tail to question him.
“Now this will hardly be surprising considering how long they sleep, but Koala’s are largely sedentary and it’s rather easy to see why when you have a look into the contents of their diet.”
With the press of a button the Koala on screen was replaced by images of vibrant green vegetation. Soaring trees and flowering shrubbery weaved together across landscape framed pictures pulled admiring trills from the herd, the diversity of the plant life being shown standing as a reminder that it wasn’t only animal life that flourished on Earth.
After giving everyone the chance to take in the picturesque scenes, Bernard casually hammered that point home, “This is eucalyptus or, more accurately, a choice selection of more than 700 plants belonging to the eucalyptus genus, though the Koala itself favours 30 of them in particular.”
700!? Stars…
Realising that my ears had drooped in my momentary awe, I twisted them back to tune into the lesson, only for them to splay out in shock at the next words to come out of Bernard's mouth.
“The leaves of these plants are the primary food source of the Koala and there are a couple things worth mentioning when talking about these plants. For starters they do not have much nutritional or caloric value, leading to the Koala’s low-energy lifestyle. Additionally, they contain toxic compounds.”
A shiver instantly ran through the herd, ears flicking rapidly in confusion and alarm followed by a few quizzical whispers. It didn’t take long for someone to decide to give a proper voice to the murmuring.
“Excuse me Doctor. Did we hear that right? Their diet is made up of toxic flora?” Vlek’s grumbling incredulity cut through the herd's mutterings with ease. Until Kailo’s recent change of heart, the fifty something rotation old blonde Venlil had been a close second in terms of scepticism. Mercifully his rebuttals had always been relevant questions as opposed to ranting diatribes, so he at least remained on topic if nothing else.
Bernard nodded in confirmation, smiling back at Vlek while absentmindedly twirling the end of his moustache, “You heard me right, they do indeed consume plants that are toxic. Just not to them.”
Any worry or uncertainty still clinging to the herd was swept away by the provision of the glaringly obvious answer, leaving me chuckling inwardly at the oversight.
Ah of course! The plant might be poisonous but they’ll have evolved to deal with that. Stars… I’m so used to expecting the unexpected with Earth that I didn’t even consider the simplest solution.
“I see, thank you Doctor,” Vlek replied, a tinge of interest still audible in his tone, “I assume they’ve developed some adaptation to become immune to the harmful effects?”
The question immediately evoked a smirk from our teacher, but he hurriedly suppressed it while bobbing his head, “They have indeed. There are several factors that aid in their digestion of eucalyptus leaves without succumbing to the plant's baleful properties. The first is a part of the intestinal tract called the cecum. It contains a microbiome that allows the Koala to digest the eucalyptus. Coupled with this is an enzyme in the Koala’s liver that helps them break down the toxins. They are also capable of sniffing out the plants with the least amount of toxins, ensuring that they ingest as little as possible.”
Pausing for a breath Bernard looked back at the screen before turning to face us, another grin curling at the edges of his mouth as he continued with his explanation, “This is mostly for adult Koala’s, because while their young also possess these same adaptations, they don’t just go straight to munching through foliage right after being born. No, they need a little help making that jump and getting a stomach full of all that good gut bacteria. It’s nothing bad, but those of a sensitive stomach may wish to prepare themselves for this next part.”
Bernard’s assurances did little to assuage the concern that his warning had foisted upon us. Having been exposed to so much of the weirdness Earth had to offer everyone always ended up on edge whenever Bernard gave advice like this, even if he did say it in jest.
What strange nonsense thing do Koala pups do then? Judging by the way he’s acting it probably isn’t something as simple as drinking milk from the mother. Hmmm…
“So,” Bernard began, snapping us from our pensive stupor, “Young Koala’s, known as joeys, have a gestation period of thirty-five days on average, which is approximately forty-two paws. Once born they travel from the birth canal to a pouch in their mother so that they can continue to develop and grow. In the pouch the joey finds and latches onto one of two teats and these provide the newborn with a steady stream of nourishing milk. It spends the next six to seven months growing in the pouch, its eyes, ears, and fur all developing as time goes on.”
Okay, interesting. But this is exactly how I thought it’d go. What’s different?
The unexpected normalcy of the Koala’s birth and growth cycle had calmed everyone's nerves, only to be replaced with an air of suspicion as we waited with rapt attention for Bernard to drop the other claw and upend our expectations like he always did.
Not wanting to keep us in further suspense he forged ahead, the tempo of his voice picking up as the smile started to crease his face once more, “Now to make the switch from milk to eucalyptus, the mother also feeds the joey a substance called pap. It comes from the cecum I mentioned earlier, and contains all the gut bacteria required to help the young Koala in making the switch to eucalyptus.”
He stopped and looked around, searching us for a reaction to what I felt was a rather bland statement of fact. What was it he was saying without actually saying? Koala pups drink milk to mature and then include this pap substance so that they can start eating plants. I don’t see what-
The cecum is part of the intestine.
I blinked.
I blinked again, the intrusive interruption scouring my brain clean of any other thought bar the one it’d just implanted itself in the forefront of my mind.
Oh stars. They-
“They eat their own poop!?”
The shocked bleat shattered the peace of the room to reveal that most if not all of us had come to the same tail curling conclusion. As the hall filled with unrestrained vocalisations of disgust, an ‘Ugh’ over here and a ‘Blegh’ over there, Bernard’s own bellowing laughter joined the throng of voices.
“Ha! Everytime! Each and every time. Clearly it doesn’t matter if my students are Human or Venlil. Whenever someone learns about the Koala’s dietary development the reaction is the same!”
Pleased with himself beyond reason, Bernard chuckled away while the rest of us grappled with this ghastly reality. While there were plenty of animals that feasted on things that ranged from simply unappealing all the way to the stomach churningly grotesque, I’d never heard of an animal that actively consumed the excrement of its own species. Benefits aside, the prospect of having to do that to survive to adulthood sent a shiver of revulsion down my spine.
Ewww… Stars, I hope I forget this feeling by 2nd meal. They’re serving sturen and magamroot stew later. I was really looking forward to it.
With the herds mood beginning to temper Bernard tapped the podiums controls, removing the verdant collage of eucalyptus to display several similar yet distinct environments, still chortling merrily to himself in the process, “Ok then, with that little foray into their diet complete, why don’t we look at their habitat in more detail? As you might imagine given their diet and arboreal nature, Koala’s live in forested regions, and can be found in tropical and temperate zones. About a century ago they were classed as a vulnerable species, however efforts were made to turn this around and increase their numbers. Sadly the largest factor in their decline was human activity, as the fertile lands that gave rise to their bountiful forests were coveted farm land for our settlements.”
It was strange to hear Bernard so matter of factly admit to humanity's negative impacts on other species. He’d alluded to such things in the past but always with an air of caution, carefully pawing the line between honestly answering a question while not painting humanity as uncaring and destructive. AKA, the ‘predators’ we’d all initially expected them to be.
Perhaps his comfort in making such admissions was a reflection of the class's comfort with him, for no one so much as batted an ear. Even Kailo, who I would’ve expected to jump at the chance to use this as a prime example of predatory danger, only flicked an ear in stern yet silent concern.
A cough from Bernard drew my attention back, a new picture on screen that showed a forest from a bird's-eye view. Drawn across the image were around a dozen ringed areas, some bordering one another while others overlapped to some degree. It took me a moment, but I soon recognised that what I was looking at was a map, the rings representing what I assumed to be territories. And it didn’t take much effort to guess who each one belonged to.
“From habitats we move onto behaviours, so let’s start with territories. Koala’s are solitary animals. Yes, despite being herbivores. Considering they’re only awake for roughly four hours of the day I can hardly blame them. Lots to do and not a lot of time to do it. Jokes aside, once they mature they are quite independent, carving out a little slice of land for themselves, as displayed in this example, called a Home Range. That is not to say they go it alone and leave everything else behind however. Rather, as shown in the map behind me, they live in their own space while still being part of a larger social group.”
With another press of his pad the picture was updated to show one of two symbols in each segment, along with a key to the side of the map displayed in helpful Venlang. A quick glance told me that the symbols were representing whether the territory belonged to a male or female of the species.
“As you can see there is quite a bit of overlap between different Koala’s territories. It is in these areas that most of the socialising takes place between neighbours. The trees in these locations represent the few areas where intrusion across territories is acceptable for the sake of social interaction. Outside of that the Koala’s stick to their own territories for the most part, with the exceptions of Koala’s who are passing through, attempting to become part of the social group themselves, or dominant males who sometimes go off into another Koala’s range. But how do they know where one range begins and another range ends you might ask? Well, this brings us onto the next part of the lecture. How do Koala’s communicate?”
Wiping away the map from the monitor, Bernard loaded up a video of a Koala sitting in a tree and pressed play. Head held high, the Koala’s body shook as it belted out a reverberating call into the wilderness that could only be described as a garbled combination of a car engine failing to turn over mixed with the hiccups of someone with a particularly sore throat.
That’s how they sound? Oof that must be rough on the lungs.
I clearly wasn’t the only one to share such a thought, because I clocked Sandi tracing a paw along her neck as the noise went on, ears fluttering in discomfort at the noise.
Bernard himself cleared his own throat as the video came to an end, minimising it and replacing it with another image of a tree with a Koala rubbing up against the bark, “I think they’ve got me beat on who’s got the deeper voice!”
His joke garnered several amused beeps, a rare reaction that caused a beaming smile to shine across his face at lighting speed, “Oh you’re too kind. I’ll be here all week. Now where were we? Oh yes! Communication. As you’ve just heard, Koala’s are capable of loud low pitched bellows that can carry over vast distances. These express everything from ‘Hello I’m over here’ to ‘This is my turf, stay away’. Bellowing is more common in the males than the females, opting for shouting matches as opposed to outright fights when it comes to asserting dominance. Other vocal expressions include grunts, wails, and snarls if they’re acting particularly angsty. Mother and joey pairs also communicate through gentle clicking, squeaking, and murmuring sounds. And there’s one more thing worth mentioning. Something they have in common with Humans and Venlil when it comes to emoting.”
Really? They do something we do?
Curious, I pressed myself against the desk, straining as close as I could to once more scrutinise the Koala’s features. Not a lot stood out to me at first, the grey marsupial not sharing many similarities with a Venlil that I could identify.
Ok think. We show emotion with our ears, tails, and our wool on occasion. They don’t have tails so it’s obviously not that. Wool standing on end is more a reaction than a conscious expression. So it must be the ears then.
To my quiet satisfaction, my hunch was soon validated by Bernard, “As well as their vocalisations, Koala’s are very emotive through their facial features. Just like humans, they use their mouths and lips to show how they feel, but these tend more towards the aggressive side of the scale than what you might see on a human. Regarding yourselves however, Koala’s utilise their ears in tandem with their mouth movements when showing strong emotion.”
I was delighted to hear that my assumption was correct, a little happy flick twisting out through my tail and bapping against my chair with a muted thump against the plastic.
Hehe yes! Got one right!
“Now then, we are getting close to lunchtime so I’ll finish this segment off with something I think you’ll find particularly interesting. Diplomacy.”
Perplexed mutterings followed in the wake of the bizarre inclusion to the lecture, my own thoughts being dominated by bewilderment as I tried and failed to make sense of how the two could possibly be related.
Why would Koala’s, or any animal for that matter, be linked to diplomacy? Hmmm...
I could understand dispatching exterminators to deal with a predator issue as a show of goodwill, that at least includes animals, but Humans aren’t like that so I think I can safely scratch that off the list.
Maybe the humans who live in that region benefited from Koala’s in some way. Could they have gotten something from them? But what?
Hopefully not what the pups get from their mothers.
Agh no! Begone awful intrusive thoughts. Blegh! I don’t need that in my head.
As I wrestled with the short-lived revulsion inflicted upon me by my Star's damned subconscious, Bernard placed a new image on screen, one that was decidedly different from all that had preceded it.
On screen were more than a couple dozen pictures of humans. Some were pictured alone while others congregated in large groups while cameras surrounded them from all angles. Across all the images, I noted two common themes. First of all, a solid majority of the humans were wearing formal wear similar to what I’d seen worn by UN representatives on TV. If the gaggle of journalists in the background of the photos didn’t already confirm my suspicions, then it was this similarity which made me conclude they were all people of some importance. Likely politicians judging from context clues.
Secondly, each of the individuals was interacting with a Koala in some form. Some cradled one against their chests while others were feeding it eucalyptus leaves or pellets of some kind. One of the assumed politicians had become an impromptu bed for a snoozing bundle of fur, a gleeful smile spread across their face as they lovingly gazed down at the sleeping Koala in their lap.
As I continued to stare at the assorted photos something clicked into place, a sudden spark flickering into life. A burgeoning light of comprehension that flared and swelled with every wide-eyed breath I took. Some things still escaped me, things I hoped would soon be explained, but in staring at all of the humans happy smiling faces, I was struck with an instant of pure understanding.
If someone, say a Nevok for instance, offered to gift me a creature that was common to them but which might exotic and breathtaking to a Venlil, how could my feelings not be swayed? How could I walk away from that encounter and not have grown closer to them as a result?
“Koala diplomacy,” Bernard waved his hand up at the monitor, a slight reverence in his tone, “My favourite kind of soft power diplomacy. Where political leaders take photo ops with Koala’s and, on occasion, the Australian government loans Koala’s to other nations for a time to bolster positive relations. It certainly helps that Koala’s are a beloved animal worldwide, drawing large crowds and revenue for countries fortunate enough to host the adorable critters.”
The truly alien concept predictably sparked instant discussion in the herd, two polar opposite schools of thought swiftly cementing themselves as the most popular opinions. Simultaneously, I heard one voice trill excitedly while another scoffed at what they clearly saw as a ridiculous and offensive notion.
“Squee! That’d be so cool! I’d love to get the chance to see a Liri from Coila. Remember the Rainbow Boa? Think of that shimmering effect and colour but put it on a bird! Ah! I’ve only heard their song on video. It’d be a treat to hear it in person!”
Ooo! I’ve read about them! I’d love to get up close to one.
“Loaning. As if animals are property to be hoarded and traded? Pugh! Another predatory trait the humans don’t want to acknowledge for what it is.”
Ugh, typical. Jump right to the worst possible option.
However, despite my dismissal of their disparaging fumings, an uncomfortable thought pressed upon my mind. While it was plain to see how much humans cared for the Koala, it didn’t change the fact that humans did keep animals as property just as the scornful herd member had said.
This begged a rather important, disquieting question. Aside from keeping some animals as cattle, a stomach tightening minefield I had no desire to step a claw onto right now, how else did humans keep other creatures. And how did they treat them?
Before I was fully conscious of doing it my paw was in the air, the question primed on my tongue.
Noticing my elevated paw Bernard pointed at me, smiling warmly, “Yes Rysel? What’s on your mind?”
Sorry Bernard. I hope this one’s not too awkward for you to answer.
Flicking my ear in appreciation, and waiting for everyone to settle enough so that I could be heard, I voiced my concerns as neutrally as possible, “Thank you Doctor. I uh, just had a thought. We know that humans keep certain animals for… particular reasons, and we know why. From how you’ve spoken about Koala’s I think it's fair to say that the same cannot be said for them. However, this makes me wonder, what other reasons do humans have for keeping animals and how do you treat them?”
A flash of surprise blinked across Bernard's eyes but vanished so quickly that it felt like I’d imagined it. Had he not expected such a question? Maybe he was just shocked that it’d been me who’d ended up asking it?
Stars, am I so predictable that no one expects me to ask difficult questions?
Unfortunately, a quick glance at my deskmates seemed to prove that to be the case, as both Sandi and Kailo were looking at me with differing degrees of astonishment flapping in their ears.
Well speh.
“A very good point Rysel, certainly one that’s worth raising. Yet another example of you all anticipating what I have to say before I can bring it up myself.” Bernard tapped the podium, switching off the monitor before returning his focus to me, “We won’t be needing that. I’ve nothing prepared that I can show you and we’re heading to lunch in a few minutes anyway. Still, that’s plenty of time to give you a bit of an answer.”
A bit? What does he mean just a bit?
Made even more curious by Bernard's preempted admission that he wasn’t going to fully answer my query, I dialled both my ears on him, fixing him with an inquisitive stare as he started to explain with a tone that was noticeably more nonchalant than any of his previous explanations.
“So, animals in captivity for reasons other than what you already know. Honestly I would love to delve into other reasons regarding why we keep animals. However, I have a lesson plan in the works that I hope to share with you all in the not too distant future. Some of it touches upon this very topic and I’d quite like to bundle it all together. That said, I can tell you how animals in captivity are treated. In short, the answer is very well. There are a mountain of laws both on private and public interests that govern the standards and ethical treatment of animals, and breaches of these laws are quite severe even for relatively minor infractions.”
While I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed by the vague answer to what was really the bulk of my question, I was at least satisfied by Bernard’s assurances that animals in captivity, such as the Koala, were well looked after. Considering the barely subdued grumbling coming from some corners of the audience it was clear that several of the herd didn’t believe Bernard outright, but I trusted him to be honest. Additionally, the mention of an upcoming lecture focused on humans keeping animals caused quite the buzz.
I felt a mix of excitement and trepidation at exploring the topic further. He’d pretty much confirmed we wouldn’t be talking about cattle farms, for which I was relieved, but that still left a huge amount of uncertainty in what was to come.
Humans keeping animals as cattle was a forgone conclusion. As horrifying as that reality was, it was one I could understand from a detached and strictly clinical point of view. Being predators they ate meat and therefore they kept cattle. But the concept of keeping animals for any other reason baffled me.
What could be the purpose? The diplomacy thing makes sense now that I have context, but what other reasons could they have.
The class's discussions were interrupted by the recognisable ring of the break bell, the shift in attention eliciting a change in conversation from confused hypotheses to peppy conversation on how everyone was planning to spend their break and what they had in mind for 2nd meal.
“Well I can see everyone’s excited for lunch, and who am I to disappoint,” chuckling Bernard waved us all up from our seats, pocketing his pad from the podium and heading to open the classroom door for us, “Enjoy your break, get a good rest along with a hearty meal, and I’ll see you all back here at the usual time.”
As everyone else filed out I stayed behind, waving at Sandi and Kailo as they left, and pawing over to Bernard once he and I were the only ones left in the room.
Ears folded down and with an apologetic tinge in my voice I greeted him as I sidled up to him, “Hey Bernard, I uh… sorry if that last question was unexpected.”
Chortling in reply, Bernard waved a hand through the air in a sign I’d come to understand meant ‘not a problem’.
“No need to apologise Rysel. It was a good question and most certainly not a problem.”
Heh, called it.
I sighed, allowing tension I didn’t realise I’d been holding to relax itself from my shoulders, “Phew, that’s a relief. I’m glad. I’m curious to hear what this new lesson is you’ve got in store for us by the way.”
Bernard wagged a finger at me, throwing up his eyebrows in mock amazement, “Oh are you now? Well I’m afraid you’ll have to remain curious for the time being. It’s going to be quite the surprise if all goes to plan. But…”
He trailed off, glancing at me before looking to the door like he was making sure no one else was around.
Wait, is he going to tell me? Oh please yes let me know now!
Stopping myself from jumping on the spot in excited anticipation, and trying my damndest to stop my tail from wagging in equal measure, I stared up at Bernard as he stewed in his thoughts before turning back to face me.
“I can’t tell you the specifics, but I’m working with Alejandro and Tolim to get something together. A trip that’s not a trip as it were. And when it happens, I’m going to need a few of the more accepting members of the class to lend me a hand. I’m hoping you and a couple others will be able to help with that?”
A trip that’s not a trip? What does that mean? Agh who cares about that right now! Bernard’s relying on me to help out!
Still trying not to keep myself from bouncing around with pup like glee I swished my tail and nodded my head in joint agreement, happy to help with whatever Bernard had in store for us, “Of course! Anything you need I’ll be there to lend a paw. You can count on me!”
A broad warm smile lit up Bernard's face, a hand patting me on the shoulder in appreciation, “Thank you Rysel. I knew I could rely on you but it still warms my heart to hear it. And, as thanks for this and for the many times you’ve shown your support, the surprise includes a little something special I think you’d appreciate the most.”
If my earlier enthusiasm had been at a nine, then the implication of a supposed gift sent it rocketing all the way to a hundred in a heartbeat.
“Wait… WHAT!? What do you mean? What are you doing?”
As impossible as it seemed, Bernard's grin grew even wider as I almost lost myself in wool shaking exhilaration, “Call it my own form of Koala diplomacy. But I’m afraid that’s all I can say for now. Wouldn’t want to ruin the surprise even for you!”
“Oh you ass!” Whistling jovially I bapped my tail against Bernard’s leg in fake indignation, evoking a barking bellowing laugh from the man himself.
Still laughing, the two of us departed the class and made for the canteen, my rumbling stomach leading me on while my mind spun with fantastical thoughts as to what Bernard had prepared for us.
And what specifically he had in store for me.

Book 3 mentions that as lore-speakers the heros will continue to receive a monthly stipend from the school but does not specify the GP amount. By this point the heros should be level 8 and I'm wondering what an appropriate amount would be to give them?
The Magaambya covers the cost of modest personal accomodations as well so this should probably be factored in to how much I end up giving them.
Our group is still in book 1 but I want to plan ahead. I'm also thinking I should maybe also bump up the stipend amount once they become attendants, and conversants at levels 4 and 6 respectively.

This is my attempt to summarize this research study (PDF): "Rhythmic tapping difficulties in adults who stutter: A deficit in beat perception, motor execution, or sensorimotor integration?" (2023)
Goal:

• Investigating the rhythmic abilities of people who stutter and to identify which processes potentially are impaired:

1. beat perception and reproduction
2. the execution of movements, in particular their initiation
3. or, sensorimotor integration

Research findings:

• People who stutter (PWS) were able to reproduce an isochronous pattern (aka occuring at the same time) on their own, without external auditory stimuli, with similar accuracy as the people who do not stutter (PNS), but with increased variability
• This group difference in variability was observed immediately after passive listening, without prior motor engagement, and was not enhanced or reduced after several seconds of tapping
• However, PWS showed increased tapping variability in the reproduction and synchronization tasks, this timing variability did not correlate significantly with the variability in reaction times or tapping force
• PWS exhibited larger negative mean asynchronies, and increased synchronization variability in synchronization tasks
• These group differences were not affected by beat hierarchy (i.e., “strong” vs. “weak” beats), pattern complexity (non-isochronous vs. isochronous) or presence versus absence of external auditory stimulus (1:1 vs. 1:4 isochronous pattern)
• Differences between PWS and PNS were not enhanced or reduced with sensorimotor learning, over the first taps of a synchronization task
• We hypothesize a deficit in neuronal oscillators coupling in production, but not in perception, of rhythmic patterns, and a larger delay in multi-modal feedback processing for PWS

Intro:

• In paced tapping tasks, i.e., when tapping in synchrony with an external metronome or musical excerpt, previous studies reported a greater tapping variability in PWS. In addition, when tapping along with a metronome marking a simple isochronous sequence, PWS tend to tap more ahead of the beat, i.e., they show a greater “Negative Mean Asynchrony” (NMA)
• Differences in movement behavior originate from deficits at more than one level e.g., paced tapping involves:
• (1) the skill to perceive a periodic beat
• (2) the capacity to initiate and execute movements to reproduce that beat
• (3) and the ability to monitor and update movement timing on-line, using sensory feedback

Identifying motor delays and variability at the speech motor execution stage

• What exactly is the reason for difficulties at the motor execution stage? For example:
• (1) muscle functioning can be impaired
• (2) inaccurate, unstable, or insufficiently activated internal representations
• Stuttering frequency is influenced by task complexity or speed
• In the current study, we investigated: To what extent is the increased timing variability and decreased timing accuracy of PWS related to difficulties in motor planning and execution?

Beat perception and reproduction

• “Beat” perception refers to the internal representation of periodicity when listening, seeing, or feeling a regular sequence of stimuli
• “Oscillators Coupling Hypothesis” suggests that beat perception involves the in phase tuning of endogenous neuronal oscillations in the brain, with external physical periodic or oscillatory phenomena. The observation that steady state-evoked potentials appear in the delta frequency range [0.5–4 Hz] in subjects who were passively listening to a rhythmic sequence at 2.4Hz, provides support for this hypothesis
• “Active Sensing” hypothesis: it extends the Oscillators Coupling Hypothesis by incorporating the role of the motor cortex. It proposes that the tuning of neuronal oscillations in the auditory cortex (which happens in the delta frequency range) is influenced by similar oscillations in the motor cortex. When perceiving beats in the delta frequency range (0.5–4 Hz), there is a coordinated tuning of oscillations between the auditory and motor cortices. This suggests an interaction between sensory perception (hearing the beats) and motor processing (possibly related to movement or rhythm)

Influence of motor engagement and sensorimotor learning

• It is uncertain to what extent the motor system influences or is intrinsically involved in timing processes
• Previous studies found some brain activity in motor regions during passive listening to a rhythmic pattern, without any movement, supporting the idea that beat perception intrinsically involves the motor system
• The coupling of neuronal oscillations to an external beat frequency, observed in passive listening to rhythm, is enhanced when gestures, like finger tapping, are simultaneously produced
• These observations support the idea that people build an internal representation of the beat by detecting the periodicity in sensory inputs without actual movement, but that this internal representation is nevertheless consolidated with engaging the motor system

Conclusions:
Is stuttering linked to difficulties in movement initiation due to a dysfunctional basal ganglia?

• This study found no significant differences between people who stutter (PWS) and people who do not stutter (PNS) in terms of average finger reaction time and its variability
• No correlation was found between reaction times and the severity of stuttering or synchronization accuracy
• Suggesting that movement initiation difficulties are not a contributing factor to stuttering in externally triggered movements
• The study concluded that timing differences observed between PWS and PNS were not due to difficulties in initiating movements

Are motor impairments in PWS related to inaccurate internal models or neural noise?

• The study found no correlation between timing and force variability, suggesting that the observed differences were not due to inaccurate internal models or neural noise

Beat Perception and Reproduction

• PWS demonstrated the ability to tap an isochronous sequence without external auditory reference and predict regular events, showing no significant acceleration or deceleration. They maintained acceptable levels of periodicity error and tapping variability, indicating accurate beat perception and transfer to motor actions
• Suggesting no strong deficit in tuning neuronal oscillations with the external beat in PWS
• PWS showed no significant difference in periodicity error during beat reproduction tasks but exhibited greater tapping variability. This indicates that PWS can perceive the beat accurately but have difficulty reproducing it consistently
• The study proposes that timing differences are not due to impaired motor execution but might be explained by the Oscillators Coupling Hypothesis
• PWS showed no difference in marking beat hierarchy compared to PNS. Both groups tapped stronger beats with greater force, indicating that beat hierarchy perception was intact

Sensorimotor Integration and Learning

• Current research findings exclude the idea that NMA is a compensation for motor delays or an underestimation of intervals
• PLV also varied with external auditory stimuli and task complexity, indicating that tapping variability in synchronization tasks involves additional sensorimotor variability. However, this was not significantly different between PWS and PNS, suggesting no deficit at this stage
• Improvement in synchronization consistency was observed for both groups over time, but not in accuracy. This excludes a sensorimotor learning deficit in PWS for consolidating internal beat representations

Tips:

• address the impairment in rhythmic abilities regarding beat perception and reproduction, the execution of movements, in particular their initiation, and sensorimotor integration
• address the increased variability when reproducing an isochronous pattern without external auditory stimuli
• address the prior motor engagement
• address the larger negative mean asynchronies (NMA), and increased synchronization variability (NMA refers to: a common phenomenon observed in synchronization tapping tasks is the tendency, even in typical individuals, to anticipate the beat, i.e., demonstrating a Negative Mean Asynchrony) (NMA depends on feedback modalities and is reduced when direct auditory feedback is available compared to information provided by only tactile-kinesthetic feedback. NMA reflects a slower processing and integration of tactile feedback than auditory or visual feedback)
• address the deficit in neuronal oscillators coupling in production (but not in perception) of rhythmic patterns, and address the larger delay in multi-modal feedback processing
• address the significant differences in movement duration, movement timing and reaching accuracy in upper limb and non-speech orofacial movements
• address the larger variability and disrupted timing across and within moving components, such as limbs and articulators (which is suggesting a timing deficit)
• address the dysfunctional dopamine receptors and address the disrupted basal ganglia-thalamo-cortical network (which is affecting both motor control and time processing)
• address the motor delays and variability at the speech motor execution stage
• address the longer voice reaction times
• address the longer movement durations, peak velocity latencies, and lower peak velocities for finger flexion
• address the longer durations between the peak EMG of lip muscles and the speech onset
• learn to rely more on the feedforward and automatized mode of motor control, rather than mainly relying on sensory feedback (leading to inducing additional processing delays and eventually leading to unstable movement behavior of different effectors, especially at fast rate) (For example: Using sensory feedback for on-line monitoring and correcting timing errors. Resulting in delays in the pathway linking motor commands and their sensory consequences that need to be compensated)
• address the peak in beta oscillations in the basal ganglia after the stimulus occurred (which is interpreted as an increased attention and prediction of an event after the stimulus occured)
• address the potential deficit in recovering an underlying beat (which results in increased difficulties to add and remove events (or musical notes) within a periodic pattern. In contrast, if you struggle with the underlying beat, these tasks become harder because you lack the regular reference points, and therefore it becomes more difficult to perceive and reproduce complex rhythms, as well as meter. For example: a triple meter is a waltz (1-2-3, 1-2-3), with one strong beat followed by two weaker ones)
• address the movement initiation difficulties (contributing to stuttering in internally triggered movements)
• address the impairment of (1) the medial premotor circuit (associated with self-triggered actions (in contrast, the lateral premotor circuit - associated with externally triggered actions - is intact in stutterers). Understand that research found no significant timing differences in periodicity error in tasks mediated by the medial premotor circuit, rather they found significant differences in negative mean asynchrony - suggesting overreliance on the lateral premotor circuit involving on external triggers
• address the greater variability in movement amplitude and timing
• address the increased timing variability during simple synchronization tasks
• address the greater tapping variability (PWS can perceive the beat accurately but have difficulty reproducing it consistently)
• address the deficit in coupling neuronal oscillators driving the motor system (that leads to increased variability in beat reproduction)
• address the increased errors in reproducing complex non-isochronous patterns (rather than beat hierarchy perception as this was shown to be intact)
• address the reduced accuracy and consistency in synchronization tasks - with greater negative mean asynchrony (NMA) and lower phase locking values (PLV)
• address the variations in phase angles depended on beat strength, external auditory stimuli, and task complexity
• Ask yourself: What compensations do I implement for motor delays or an underestimation of intervals?
• address the slower processing of tactile and proprioceptive information (leading to increased integration delays between auditory and kinesthetic feedback - which explains why PWS perform taps in advance of the beat to synchronize sensory inputs accurately)
• address the NMA compensatory strategy for slower tactile feedback accumulation

Why Roman empire fell? Main causes.

The fall of the Roman Empire in the West wasn't caused by a single event, but rather a combination of factors that weakened the empire over a long period. Some of the main causes historians point to include:

• Invasions by Barbarian Tribes: For centuries, Rome faced pressure from Germanic tribes on its borders. By the 4th and 5th centuries, these groups, like the Visigoths and Huns, were able to breach Roman defenses and settle within the empire.
• Economic Decline: The vast Roman Empire was expensive to maintain. Over time, a combination of factors like overspending on military, high taxes, and inflation strained the economy.
• Political Instability: A series of weak emperors and power struggles weakened central authority. This made it difficult for Rome to respond effectively to threats or hold its vast territories together.
• Military Issues: The Roman military, once a powerful force, weakened over time. The ability to recruit and train legions declined, and corruption became an issue.
• The Rise of Christianity: The spread of Christianity, which differed greatly from traditional Roman religion, introduced some social and cultural divisions within the empire.

These are just some of the main reasons why the Western Roman Empire fell. It's important to remember that the decline was complex and historians continue to debate the relative importance of these factors.

What would must had be done so Roman empire could prevail?

That's a fascinating question! However, it's important to remember that history doesn't offer do-overs. The fall of the Roman Empire stemmed from a complex web of issues that built up over centuries. Here are some things the Romans could have tried, though success isn't guaranteed:

• Economic Reform: Addressing inflation, finding new sources of revenue, and promoting trade could have strengthened the empire's financial base.
• Military Reorganization: Reforms focusing on recruitment, training, and equipment could have bolstered the legions' effectiveness.
• Stronger Leadership: A series of capable emperors who prioritized stability, addressed corruption, and inspired loyalty might have held the empire together.
• Integration of Barbarian Tribes: Instead of just fighting them off, the Romans could have attempted to assimilate barbarian groups, giving them a stake in the empire's success.
• Religious Tolerance: Greater acceptance of Christianity, perhaps even integrating some aspects into Roman religion, could have lessened social and cultural divisions.

It's also important to consider external factors. The rise of powerful enemies like the Huns might have been difficult to overcome regardless of Roman actions.
Ultimately, the Roman Empire's fall was a product of its time. The solutions we think of today might not have been feasible in their historical context. However, exploring these "what ifs" allows us to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to the rise and fall of empires.

Date: 05/21/2024

Reading time: 10 minutes, 2056 words

🪖 Military

Armenia participates in NATO's Regex 2024 headquarters exercise in Moldova

Armenia is participating in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Regex 2024 headquarters exercise that have started in Moldova on May 20. The military exercises will be held from May 20 to 24. They are attended by about 30 representatives from NATO partner countries.

Armenpress

Armenian army factor is important for security guarantees, but it is not the only one - Security Council Secretary

Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said in an interview with Civilnet that having combat-ready and effective armed forces is very important for ensuring security guarantees. Attempts have been made over the past 6 years to expand the notion of security, he said.

ArkaAm

NATO and Armenia strengthen cooperation in defense education

Representatives from the Armenian Ministry of Defense met with their counterparts at NATO Headquarters at the end of April. Reviewed activities conducted within the framework of NATO’s Defence Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP) for Armenia. Set out the plan of joint activities for the rest of the year and for 2025.

ArmRadio

Funeral procession of Iranian president Raisi starts in Tabriz

The funeral procession of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and seven others killed in a helicopter crash began in the northwestern city of Tabriz on Tuesday morning. Another funeral service is scheduled to be held in the holy city of Qom on Tuesday evening. The president will be laid to rest on May 23 at noon in Mashhad in northeastern Iran.

Armenpress, The National Assembly observes minute of silence for Iranian President and staff lost in helicopter crash

🏛️ Politics & Government

Azerbaijani FM makes phone call to Iran's acting Foreign Minister

Jeyhun Bayramov and Ali Bagheri held phone conversation on May 21, Azerbaijani media reports say. Bayramv expressed condolences to Iranian government and people of Iran on tragic death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

Armenpress

Armenian, Slovenian foreign ministries address security implications of recent developments

Political consultations between the ministries of foreign affairs of Armenia and Slovenia were held in Yerevan. The parties emphasized the importance of further deepening the political dialogue between the two countries. The latest international and regional developments were addressed at the meeting.

Armenpress

Joint statement adopted at the International Conference on Nuclear Security; Armenia joins

A Co-Presidents’ Joint Statement was adopted during the International Conference on Nuclear Security held in Vienna on May 20-21. Armenia, among other participating countries, joined the Statement.

Armenpress

Alen Simonyan, Ruslan Stefanchuk discuss the security situation in the South Caucasus and Ukraine

The Armenian National Assembly President Alen Simonyan and the Speaker of the Verkhovna (Supreme) Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk held via video conference. The interlocutors discussed the security situation in the South Caucasus and in Ukraine.

Armenpress, Armenian, Ukrainian Parliament Speakers discuss situation in the South Caucasus and Ukraine

Armenia top security official receives CIA deputy director

Secretary of the Armenian Security Council Armen Grigoryan received a delegation from the CIA. Issues related to Armenia-US bilateral cooperation as well as regional security were discussed at the meeting.

Armenpress, Armen Grigoryan and Hamad Khamis Al-Kubaisi discuss prospects for Armenia-Qatar relations, Pashinyan holds meeting with CIA deputy director, Armenia, Qatar discuss developing economic relations, Pashinyan discussed issues related to the Armenia-US and international agenda with the deputy head of the US CIA, Armenian PM, CIA Deputy Director discuss international, regional issues, Armenia-Qatar ties discussed in Doha

Moldova signs security and defence partnership with EU

Moldova has signed a security and defence partnership with the European Union. It is the first country to sign such a deal with the EU. The deal will allow to jointly address common security challenges.

Armenpress

Mirzoyan and Floyd highlight comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty's role in non- proliferation and nuclear disarmament

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a meeting with the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization Robert Floyd in Vienna. The role of the Treaty in non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament was emphasized on both sides.

Armenpress

Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development to be involved in Armenia’s infrastructure projects

Armenia's Vice Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan and Managing Director of the Eurasian Fund for Stabilization and Development (EFSD) Andrey Shirokov discussed the Fund's involvement in Armenia's infrastructure projects. The parties also pointed out the importance of Armenia’s participation in large regional projects.

ArkaAm

Security Council Secretary: Armenia ready to sign peace treaty with Azerbaijan ‘any day’

Armenia is ready to sign a peace treaty with Azerbaijan 'any day' Armenia’s Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said he is hoping to sign the treaty “as soon as possible” Armenia”s officials mentioned the three basic principles it expects the treaty to be based on multiple times.

ArkaAm

Victory or concessions? Secretary of Security Council comments on delimitation ofborder with Azerbaijan

Armenian Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan declined to describe launch of border demarcation with Azerbaijan as a victory or concessions amid ongoing occupation of parts of the sovereign territory of the country by Azerbaijan. Armenia ceded 2.5 villages to Azerbaijan, but there are territories that were returned to Armenia.

ArkaAm

Armenia calls for prohibiting threats of attacks on nuclear facilities

Armenia has raised the need for a treaty prohibiting attacks on nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes.

PanArmenian

Armenian lawyers protest against bill that will increase the cost of their services

Armenian lawyers have expressed dissatisfaction with a new bill on the parliament's agenda. From October 2024 they will have to pay 10% turnover tax instead of 5% now, and from 2025 they will pay 20% VAT. Head of the Armenian Chamber of Advocates Simon Babayan said that such a tax increase will lead to a significant increase in the price of lawyer services by 38%.

ArkaAm

Funeral procession moves to Qom, Iran

Caskets of Iran's President and fellow passengers are now being transferred from Tabriz to Qom. The city is considered the second most sacred city in Iran after Mashhad. State media are reporting that the bodies will be carried around the shrine. The bodies will then be taken to the capital, Tehran, where they will be laid to rest.

ArmRadio

💵 Economy

Armenia works on diversification of economy with an eye on Europe - Secretary of the Security Council

Armenia is working hard to diversify its economy with the prospect of increasing exports to Europe. Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan said the country has not yet achieved significant success in the economic sphere. Armenia's foreign trade turnover with EU countries in first quarter of 2024 reached almost $494.3 million.

ArkaAm, Armenia is working to diversify its economy with the prospect of exporting to Europe. AX:

Almost 100 taxpayers in Armenia fined 55.25 million drams for unregistered workers

In April 2024, about 98 business entities in Armenia were found to have unregistered workers. In particular, the fines imposed on 17 companies amounted to about AMD 29.8 million. These companies are engaged in the sale of flowers and seeds, furniture production, cosmetics, jewelry and perfumes.

ArkaAm

Armenia’s GDP grows by 9.2% up to 1.97 trillion AMD

Armenia's GDP increased by 9.2% in Q1 2024 compared to the same period of 2023. Manufacturing industry showed the highest growth, standing at 31.1%, repair of cars and motorcycles grew by 25.1% In nominal terms, the country's GDP in current prices amounted to 1,971,230.4 million drams at the end of the reporting period.

ArkaAm

Second tranche of loan for development of MSMEs provided to Ardshinbank by EBRD and EU

Ardshinbank signed an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU) for the allocation of the second tranche of financing to re-lending micro, small, and medium businesses. This lending is carried out under the “MSME Competitiveness in the Eastern Partnership (EaP SMEC)” program. The agreement will support MSME investments in sustainable technologies, as well as towards health and safety.

ArkaAm, The EBRD and the EU granted Ardshinbank the second tranche of the loan for the development of SMEs (PHOTO)

Ambassador sees potential for expansion of trade between Armenia and Brazil

Diplomatic relations between Armenia and Brazil were established more than 30 years ago. Ambassador Yeganian said that the trade between the two countries amounts to approximately $100 million dollars annually. Brazil is one of the largest economies in the world, and Armenia has seen impressive economic growth.

ArmRadio

Armenia an emerging destination for UK and global investors – Ambassador

Armenia’s Ambassador to UK Varuzhan Nersesyan writes in an article published by London Business Matters. He emphasizes that Armenia in recent years Armenia has made significant progress on enhancing its business environment, creating opportunities and favorable conditions for investment.

ArmRadio

🧪 Science & Technology

Surveying works underway in Armenia’s Kirants

Surveying works are underway in the Armenian village of Kirants in the northern Tavush province.

PanArmenian

IAEA’s Grossi to visit Kaliningrad May 28 to discuss ZNPP

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi will visit Kaliningrad on May 28 to discuss the situation at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said.

Armenpress

IAEA supports Armenia’s nuclear program – Rafael Grossi

International Atomic Energy Agency supports Armenia’s nuclear program, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi wrote on X. Grossi presented the results of his meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan.

Armenpress, Effective cooperation is established between Armenia and IAEA

Tree Planting Results with My Forest Armenia: The Power of One Dram

During March and April 2022, AMD 10.757.867 was directed to the afforestation program of the "My Forest Armenia" NGO, 16,000 trees were planted. Representatives of IDBank and Idram visited Jrashen again to see the newly planted forest.

Armenpress

Mirzoyan: Armenia will extend lifetime of current nuclear power unit with smooth transition tonew capacity by 2036

The Armenian NPP is one of the main sources of electricity in the country, providing up to 40% of the total generation. Its service life has been extended until 2026, and work is underway to re-extend it for another 10 years. The construction of a new plant is estimated to take 8-10 years.

ArkaAm, Armenia has decided to extend the operation period of the NPP until 2036, with the ultimate goal of a smooth transition to the new capacity. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Armenia says ready to extend nuclear plant’s lifetime by 10 years

🎭 Culture

ARARAT Special Evening Dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of Charles Aznavour

On May 20 ARARAT legendary Armenian brandy, celebrated the centennial of Maestro Charles Aznavour with a special event. The event took place at the "One & Only" theater within the Seven Visions Hotel. Guests of the event had the chance to reveal the brandy on the course of special tasting.

Armenpress, VTB Armenia general sponsor for Charles Aznavour 100th birthday tribute concert, VTB-Armenia Bank acted as the main sponsor of the concert dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Charles Aznavour., For you, Charles: Yerevan to host exhibition on Aznavour’s centennial anniversary, ARARAT special evening dedicated to Aznavour's 100th Anniv.

“Yerevan Ballet Festival” to host theater groups from various countries

The "Yerevan Ballet Festival" will be held on June 2-5 in the park named after Hovhannes Tumanyan. Admission to the outdoor ballet festival is free.

Armenpress

Aznavouriana: Album dedicated to Aznavour’s 100th anniversary released

The album “Aznavouriana” by Deutsche Grammophon is already released and is available since May 17, 2024, just ahead of the artist’s birthday. The album is a collection of exquisite interpretations of globally beloved iconic songs.

ArmRadio

⚽ Sport

Gymnasts left for Bulgaria

Gymnastics team will participate in "World Challenge Cup" to be held in Bulgaria. Artur Davtyan, Artur Avetisyan, Erik Baghdasaryan, and Artur Tovmasyan will represent Armenia in the regular round.

Armenpress

Hayk Martirosyan wins 7th round of Sharjah tournament

Shant Sargsyan, Samvel Ter-Sahakyan, Manuel Petrosyan shared the point. Hayk Martirosyan won the 7th round of the Sharjah Masters 2024 international tournament in UAE. The leaders are participants from India and the USA with 5.5 points.

Armenpress

Donations to Armenia:

Himnadram
ServicemenFund
Armenian Wounded Heroes
ArmeniaFund

A few excerpts:

1. It's called shooting, but rather than expelling any kind of projectile, this little box sucks in all the world, its surfaces and contents, into its ravenous, mystifying interior.
   
2. Fassbinder's early films take place in a world where people either work themselves to death or find themselves in a permanent loose end; are way too busy or have all the time in the world; have too many emotions to process or absolutely nothing to feel and nothing to say. They keep themselves doing the least amount possible. They are both overstimulated and dolefully resigned.
   

These blank-faced groups of friends, family members, petty criminals, drinkers and idlers obey a choreography not of the damned but the debilitated. Saturated with lassitude and stifled want. Standing around not knowing what to do or say or who to hurt next. Boredom is the crucial factor here. In the face of so much 'free time' and so many 'lifestyle 'choices' one logical response is a kind of unfeeling blankness: anhedonia, existential wilting, mute withdrawal. Sudden bursts into hysterical violence. Something has torn open the social fabric, has frayed or distressed the relationship between social space, memory and experience; one consequence of this is that nobody much cares to investigate what that cause might be. It could almost be the end-result of one big successful psy-op: people who got everything they thought they ever wanted but only feel worse for it.

1. Nature is absent, by and large, from this world. No one is impatient to go back into that dark Germanic wood. Beneath the model town... unspeakable traces, tainted soil, spoiled dreams. Nowhere do we detect any hint of the utopian prospect of beneath the paving stones the beach.
   
2. Bright gaudy colours of the new consumer landscape: somewhere between Pontormo and a Christmas shop window. His films reproduce the asethetic of being right on the edge of not very tasteful at all. The huge Poussin mural in Petra Von Kant. Art as easy listening decor. Inner states made exterior in a wilderness of mirrors.
   
3. Fear Eats the Soul: a series of precise framings of people on thresholds. People framed by doorways or mirrors or windows, like figures in a painting. Astonishing colours, but also a necessary degree of distancing. It can feel at times as if we are intimately familiar with these interiors. This does not look like a movie-set room. It looks like a room you may have been in yourself, many times.
   

(Penman, author of Fassbinder Thousands of Mirrors, was a contemporary of Fisher's and that whole network of blogs in the '90s. Acc to a recent LRB review, Penman is the first to apply Derrida's concept of hauntology to contemporary popular culture, which I thought was interesting since Fisher is typically credited with that)

Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMS) have emerged as a game-changer in the realm of fitness and bodybuilding, offering a safer alternative to traditional anabolic steroids. With a myriad of SARMS flooding the market, each boasting unique benefits and mechanisms, it can be challenging to navigate through the plethora of options to find the most effective ones. In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into some of the best SARMS available, providing insights into their functions, advantages, and considerations for usage.

1. MK-677 (Ibutamoren): While not technically a SARM, MK-677 is often grouped with SARMS due to its similar effects. This compound is a potent growth hormone secretagogue, stimulating the production of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). MK-677 is prized for its ability to enhance muscle growth, promote fat loss, and improve sleep quality and recovery. It's particularly popular among individuals looking to pack on size and strength without resorting to traditional anabolic steroids.
2. SR9009 (Stenabolic): Another non-SARM compound, SR9009 operates as a Rev-Erb agonist, influencing the body's circadian rhythm and metabolism. It has gained attention for its potential to boost endurance, enhance fat loss, and improve cardiovascular health. SR9009 users often report increased energy levels, faster recovery times, and greater overall stamina, making it a valuable addition to cutting or endurance-focused cycles.
3. YK-11: Despite its classification as a SARM, YK-11 exhibits characteristics of both SARMS and traditional steroids. It functions as a myostatin inhibitor, allowing for unprecedented muscle growth beyond the limitations imposed by the body's natural regulatory mechanisms. YK-11 users often experience rapid gains in muscle mass, strength, and power, making it a sought-after option for bulking cycles.
4. LGD-3303: Although less well-known than its counterparts, LGD-3303 has been gaining traction for its promising muscle-building properties. It operates similarly to Ligandrol (LGD-4033) but with potentially fewer androgenic side effects. LGD-3303 users typically report significant gains in lean muscle mass, enhanced strength, and improved recovery, making it an appealing option for both bulking and recomposition phases.
5. S-23: Known for its potent anabolic effects, S-23 is revered for its ability to promote muscle growth and increase bone density. It operates by binding to androgen receptors in the muscles and bones, leading to enhanced protein synthesis and muscle hypertrophy. S-23 users often experience rapid gains in strength and muscle mass, along with improvements in endurance and overall athletic performance.

For more>> What are the best sarms
It's important to note that while SARMS offer exciting potential benefits for physique enhancement and performance, they also come with potential risks and side effects. These may include suppression of natural testosterone production, lipid imbalances, and liver toxicity, among others. Therefore, it's crucial to approach SARMS use with caution, conduct thorough research, and consider consulting with a knowledgeable healthcare professional or experienced coach before embarking on a SARMS regimen.
In conclusion, the selection of SARMS ultimately depends on individual goals, preferences, and tolerance levels. Whether you're aiming to bulk up, lean out, or improve athletic performance, there's likely a SARMS regimen that can help you achieve your objectives. By staying informed, exercising prudence, and prioritizing safety, you can unlock the potential benefits of SARMS while minimizing the associated risks, paving the way for a successful and rewarding fitness journey.

Hey all!
I'd like to see what your thoughts are on a certain phenomenon I've noticed on social media groups for academic psychologists (mostly Facebook, but I'd be interested to know of any experiences from other apps).
Basically, I'm in a Facebook group for academic psychologists. The group is pretty active, and it sports more than 40.000 members. Most discussions are related to academic topics: mainly centered on recently published papers, commentary on them, and recent methodological advances. The discussions are mainly civil and insightful.
But over the past few months, I've noticed a particular trend among certain prominent members (I won't name them, but they're somewhat prominent names in their fields of research). These members are commonly scientific reformists, and they frequently post on topics concerned with the replication crisis. This by itself is a pretty good thing, and I believe that such topics should be much more mainstream, and should be widely talked about.
Now, what irks me is not the topic itself, but the conduct of certain prominent members. They post frequently, and their posts are rude to say the least. It seems that any time a certain replication attempt is unsuccesfull, they call out the authors of the original papers, publicly calling them frauds or charlatans. Whenever someone proposes or uses a method not favoured by those members, they get called out publicly, with frequent accusations of fraud. Pretty much anyone publishing any work deemed "wrong" by a few members gets blasted in a manner unseemly of any academic communication. Talking with some of my peers, some have even said that they're afraid of publishing in open science journals, believing that any error discovered would result in them being publicly humiliated in such conduct.
What troubles me the most is that recently I've seen attacks related to psychometric topics, and from those attacks it became quite clear that the attackers have a profound deficit when it comes to psychometric theory! Recently, I've seen some "reformators" call out that using factor analysis is a sign that an author is oldfashioned, and that everyone should just use SEM, which shows not only that the reformators don't understand the reasoning behind factor-analytic methods, but that they ignore the faults inherent in most SEM models that are not prominent in an exploratory FA! Just minutes ago, I've seen a prominent member call out Denny Borsboom as a "charlatan" and a "pseudometrist" because the author felt wronged that his article on emotion measurement didn't talk about positive affect, which makes no sense at all because the authors of the paper proposed a network model of measurement which by definition doesn't include any higher-order factors! Besides, anyone even remotely familiar with contemporary psychometric literature wouldn't dare call someone like Borsboom a "pseudometrist", even if they don't agree with his approaches.
All in all, it seems to me that social media discourse in academic psychology is becoming pretty toxic, and that it might be causing some negative effects on the scientific zeitgeist. I mean, if people are afraid that some wannabe witch-hunter will publicly proclaim them as frauds if their results are not replicated or if they used a network of a factor model, and if they associate that kind of behavior with open science reforms, then such reforms will probably not gain much popularity, which will just hurt scientific progress in the long run.
What are you thoughts on that kind of online academic behavior? Should (or can there) anything be done about it? Do you think it can have any effects on the grander scheme of things? Have you had any experiences with it yourself?

I recently sent a message via Fidelity Investments' "secure email" section of their website:
I have this device called a YubiKey. Among other multi–factor authentication protocols, it supports FIDO U2F*. I'm looking for the button to add my YubiKey as a 2nd factor for when I login. Can you help me locate it? Attached are some screenshots of your website. Thank you in advance. *Some information on FIDO U2F: https://www.yubico.com/authentication-standards/fido-u2f-standard/
and I recived this response:
``` From: Fidelity To: REDACTED Topic: Technical support Subject: RE: I can't find the button to add my YubiKey as a multi–factor authentication method for my account. Date: REDACTED
Dear REDACTED:
You reached me in the Electronic Channel Support group (Technical Support), your satisfaction with our website, online tools, and applications is important to us!
I received your email about security login processes using multi-factor authentication. I appreciate the screenshots and link provided and the opportunity to assist you.
To answer your question/concerns about security and using alternative authentication methods, such as devices like YubiKeys, that supports FIDO U2F*, as alternative for a login authentication with Fidelity, currently we do only support SMS text authentication and Symantec VIP Access.
• Fidelity uses SMS authentication for login and high risk transactions. This in addition of other security controls and options. You can learn more here: https://www.fidelity.com/security/overview • Fidelity does not support at this time any other third party hardware authenticator devices like YubiKeys. Except for Symantec VIP Access.
You can learn more about VIP Access by Symantec here: https://www.fidelity.com/security/soft-tokens/faqs And here: https://www.fidelity.com/security/soft-tokens/overview
Understanding your security concerns, I took this as an opportunity and submitted feedback on your behalf. I requested that support for alternative authentication devices like YubiKeys is added to our login authentication processes is considered as a future enhancement to login security.
Fidelity listens to all customers’ feedback. This feedback is what drives changes to our website, online tools, and applications.
We welcome all your ideas and suggestions to improve our services. You can submit feedback at any time using the Feedback tab located on the right side of most pages at Fidelity.com, of course we are always glad to receive your feedback via email, chat or over a phone call.
Thank you for selecting Fidelity as your financial institution, please be safe and have a great Tuesday!
Sincerely,
REDACTED Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC, Member NYSE, SIPC ```
So I urge all YubiKey and Fidelity customers to go to the multi-factor authentication settings page, which can be found by logging in, clicking on Profile, then Security center under the Security section, and clicking on the feedback button as explained above.

Remember when Roger said that they were too early after they had reached the laugh tale? They had everything but what that they didn't, I guess that would be some important information, the imformation around the world encrypted on the normal poneygliffs. You know like informations regarding with ancient weapon and JoyBoy's journey. Due to the incomplete information Roger might have been too early to see the wonder or make the wonder, even if it had been Nika devil fruit still the information was a key to it. That said Shanks now might know the source of all that information regarding the voices of the past from 900 years ago, and most probable source of it is the Island of Giants, 'Elbaf', where all the reference books of the people of Ohara and Dr. Clover are collected there, so for him it's not that much hard to gather it all. Moreover as he said it the last Road Poneygliff must be there on Elbaf, cause confidence that he had when he said that hints it. If he had not known the mean factor that gets you there on Laugh Tale, he wouldn't have mentioned it to claim the one piece. Even Big Mom and Kaido seemed to be only revealing their dream when they mentioned that they want to become the king of the pirates. So that's it if some significant part of information is revealed by Dr. Vegapunk, the most opportunitistic pirate group like Blackbeard, Strawhats because of Robin, Law, Kidd, Cross Guild, Shanks might be there for it, and only part remains would be the Last Road Poneygliff.

My fellow gamers, for too long has our community suffered the indignation of an intolerable culture that has denigrated, besmirched, exploited, and has outright demonized our culture of unique individuals with a genuine love of a hobby that they see as profitable and progressive. They have taken beloved IP’s (Intellectual Properties) and twisted them into their own personal ideological crusade of undermining and humiliating the core aspects of characters they deemed as “Toxic” or “White Supremacy”. Through the guise and protection of DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity) & ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) they have used our influence in the entertainment industry to push their narratives and agendas that have stigmatized our culture with numerous anti-consumer practices that they call “being progressive”. But the truth of the matter is they were never really looking to be a part of our community, they simply wanted to use our community as a tool of activism and propaganda in the entertainment industry as it was extremely profitable, and they wanted inclusion in that division. Ever since GamerGate & Female Frequency, we have had to endure the incursion of forced ideologies, xenophobic behaviors and inferior overpriced products that have never been in our best interest and have been flat out disgraceful towards foreign media.
Before Gaming had become a major source of entertainment, we were often categorized as anti-social or societies rejects where because we found more enjoyment in playing fictional characters and not spending as much time out and about, we never fully assimilated in society (which is a good thing if you ask me). From 1998 to 2007, at the height of innovation, creativity and production, Gaming had reached a golden age in which it had revolutionized society. Hollywood Execs who had ruined the movie industry turned their attention to video games as a source of income since video games had outperformed movies in terms of profit. No one was concerned about gaming, much less diversity or inclusivity until it became profitable. This makes people like SBI look extremely disingenuous as they were not interested in gamers as a community with its own culture. They simply wanted to use it as another weapon in identity politics.
Microtransactions; the hidden enemy to gamer progress and inducer to mental laziness of our community. Microtransactions have been around for a long time; however, it has never been more potent and apparent than in recent years. It has aided in the dismantling and segregation of players on the ideology of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and has created another sub-culture of gamers who have no real drive to be better outside of how much money they put into the game. This has degraded our culture as well as we have become “fat” off transactional gaming but at the same time we have been “starved” of purposeful gaming where our achievements were our sustenance. I am not saying that microtransactions are bad, but when they are exploitative and predatorial like they have been and don’t give gamers room to grow, we become lethargic and unwilling to improve ourselves as gamers. Oversaturated microtransactional games are one of the many reasons why we have become complacent and unwilling to fight against the exploitative tactics used by big brand game companies such EA, Ubisoft, ActivisionBlizzard, NaughtyDog and so many other western business model companies. Western style games were not like this in the past, they had much more depth and actual effort put into them with the gamer in mind. This has not been the case for over a decade and our connection to western developers has been whittled down to just being transactional. That is one of the reasons why you see so many remasters and remakes in today’s gamer community. They have lost their willingness to improve as developers of games and simply accept corporate/share holder rules.
Game journalists also do not have any real integrity or purpose outside of being funded for their involvement in promoting IPG (Identity Political Games) in a positive light to the public whether it’s positively received or not. They are not interested in what we have to say, they all support the same agenda and that is why they are a dying breed. Within the next couple of years, they will be out of the job and more than likely they will not be able to stay in the industry giving how they have responded to past articles that have clearly been scripted on the premise of diversity and racism. Not only that, but most of them are also extremely hostile to the community as they stereotype and defame the individuals that are a part of the community they are supposed to serve. We have been mentally liberated from their lies and coercive tactics as we tend to laugh at their obvious attempt at virtue signaling while hiding their misdoings so that they can play the victim.
My gamer brothers & sisters, I would not suggest the following action that we must take now without good cause. I have weighed our options and the best option for us now is this…...CULTURAL SECESSION. Naturally this is a form of segregation where they would more than likely claim they are being segregated by the dominant culture of the gaming community but that is incorrect. For years now we have been the ones who are often marginalized and ostracized for the smaller portion of our community. And when we aren’t, we’re exploited for more funds so that these companies can stay in business only to subject us to low quality products that coincide with the “WOKE Agenda” that are often huge expenses to these big brands i.e. AAA/AAAA games that will eventually flop for its obvious forced diversity and bug infested product which will undoubtedly piss off the consumer to the point of wanting a refund. Losing copious amounts of capital and stock in the process, not to mention their reputation is permanently marred.
We must separate on every cultural level in terms of entertainment and ideology. We must reject everything from the west that promotes toxic western beliefs, practices, and exclusion from other cultures (i.e. Southeastern Countries such as Japan and Korea). Japan & Korea have been the targets of unjust discrimination from Western Developers, Western Journalists, Western Localizers (The Wokelizers) and Western Society Prejudice regarding their sense of aesthetics as Westerners hate the aesthetic sense of these countries. The reason why they resort to such base tactics isn’t just because it weaponizes the ideal female form but it’s also because they have deep-seated insecurities about their own looks so when they see attractive female characters, they use terms such as “unrealistic” or “hypersexualized” to establish the moral high ground. But the truth is, they want to feel superior to that which is ideal, so they insult and dehumanize this figure that portrays natural female beauty because they see it as an insult to their own social superiority in what they believe is a hierarchy of them being at the top of all other women. Because of this and so many contributing factors, their movies flop harder than the Fat Chocobo landing on a group of enemies and their games seismically fail just as much if not more. We must sever our connection to Western Developers, Publishers, and ALL Western-Centric Entertainment for they seek to mentally enslave us to their Xenophobic ideology.
Let’s define Western Culture and its traits. Western Culture/Society is composed of more than several different ideologies that work in unison with one another to facilitate dominance over multiple aspects of society. Business, Social, Political, Technological, and sometimes even Global Affairs are affected by these ideologies that portray a specific mindset of Western beliefs. What are those ideologies you ask?

• Perpetual Victimhood: By weaponizing the fact that they are marginalized and of a small portion of western society, they can push their agenda to absurd standards that ultimately ostracize the main demographic. And when companies don’t capitulate, they are labeled as anti-progressive/misogynist’s or cohorts of White Supremacy. They use this to cancel their targets and silence them through societal defamation to keep the public on their side. They also use this mindset to justify their own lack of self-agency as they tend to throw companies who do adhere to their demands but miserably fail to turn a profit under the bus so that they can maintain face in front of the public while denying their actual involvement. They will never accept “Sense of Agency” when it’s negative but will gladly accept it when a positive outcome shines on them as if they are entitled to it.

Official Wiki GamerGate Page)
​

• Societal Terrorism: This is another form of ideology weaponization that they use in order to make companies “toe-the-line” with their agenda. By weaponizing cancel culture, they exert dominance over these companies but in exchange they also reimburse those companies with DEI & ESG funds that raise their credit score as well as having social status with the marginalized demographic. However; cancel culture has not succeeded in years and developers and publishers probably only want the money and the DEI ESG rating. But they have to maintain the image of having social economic power so that they can continue to strong-arm other developers into compliance and promoting financial benefits of DEI & ESG. In other words, if you are not for sale, they discredit and stigmatize you in the industry.

Asmongold Clips.
https://youtu.be/Iq86DnmX2xY
​

• “Its not us, its you who’s wrong” Mentality: This mentality is especially annoying as they tend to use it to hide their incompetence. They often look down upon gamers who are not in the industry to hide their obvious lack of knowledge on game development thinking that their job title grants them special status that they believe gives them the right to be condescending. But the truth they never wanted revealed has already strangled their careers of all credibility. They were never GAMERS, they were INVADERS. Community Colonists that seek to indoctrinate next generational gamers into their hive-mind and brand previous generations of gamers as villains.

@GeeksandGamers
https://youtu.be/1HbrTkqQFuM
​

• Double-standard Enforcement: By labeling something as “unrealistic” or “hypersexualized”, they can claim this is morally wrong if it promotes traditional dynamics between men and women. Heterosexual relationships are condemned while at the same time Same-sex relationships are praised. Additionally, heterosexual relationships with main white male characters turn antagonistic and spotlight stealing. This is deliberate as to promote the “Girl Boss” ideology to indoctrinate women into the Feminazi state of mind. While at the same time, should a male character also adopt the “I don’t need male/female” ideology its seen as Toxic Masculinity which isn’t even a real thing. The idea of a strong male character is taboo while enforcing strong female characters is the ideal.

@MugenLord
https://youtu.be/to5Uciy_yeg
@EndymionTv
https://youtu.be/7TPTR8-qmbk
​

• Dehumanization/Demonization: This is something that most military branches use in order to remove conscious inhibitions such as mass slaughter is wrong or categorization. By enforcing ideologies to denounce humanity in certain targets, it deactivates your conscience by saying this is not human therefore its ethically okay to treat this target without compassion and deny the fact it has sentience. We gamers fall under this category for journalists, developers, companies and society at large. This is a tactic we are familiar with to an extent as it implies that we are not normal when we do not do what everybody else is doing. “Geeks are the worse” or “Nerds need to fall into a pit of lava” are verbal dehumanization forms that most people in society say and we as Gamers tend to be relegated to those categories. This is their way of imposing the social hierarchy on us by establishing superiority. We know this as Gamers as we see it very often in the games that we play and some times experience it in real life.

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Gamergate#The_end_of_their_relevance
​

• Deflection/Projection: This is basic psychology 101. By redirecting the conversation away from their mistakes and back on to the opposing view to avert blame and justify their innocence they can avoid criticism. However; deflection is a CONSCIOUS decision, meaning they have no real argument to justify their incompetence. If you can consciously process the situation, you have self-agency which means you don’t have a legitimate excuse. Projection is something else entirely. Most times, Projection doesn’t work on conscious decisions rather it is automatically deployed when feeling threatened, anxious or both. Instead of accepting accountability for feelings or actions that are deemed socially unacceptable they accuse others of committing that unacceptable behavior thereby exonerating themselves and proving that those feelings and/or actions are not their own.

@TheTrentReport
https://youtu.be/bPIPSKruYRo
These traits are so nefarious and unconscionable that I have a hard time believing that anyone could harbor them. However, given the social, political, and economic climate that we are in, those in power who use their influence on controlling society most definitely possess these insidious traits. Everything that they do is all about control and since video games are the biggest market in the world, they want control over it and the communities built around it to accrue more wealth and to use that wealth to subjugate other cultures. Mainstream media is a tool as well as mainstream organizations and sites to help accomplish this goal.
The government recently announced its intentions towards what they believe is “GamerGate 2.0” and now even the ADL has made an official appearance, referring to gamers as “extremist’s”. We know EXACTLY what they are doing, and they aren’t even trying to hide it anymore because they don’t think we are aware of their motives. This is just a pretext for them to exert even more control and we know why, it’s because they want the influence we as a community have to must serve them. So here is what we do my fellow gamers-
“In light of recent events and years of mainstream stigma, we the members of the Global Gaming Community [GGC] must officially renounce ALL TIES to the corporate western video game market. We have been financially exploited through predatorial monetization schemes, pelted with numerous articles of disdain and intentional misrepresentation from game journalists, news outlets regarding us as dangerous individuals and, even subjected to inferior products not only riddled with bugs but also products meant to push political agendas. For the preservation of our community and its unique culture, apart from a few select game development studios we officially sever all connections to western owned video game companies & their mainstream affiliates. From this point onward, we will no longer support western corporate developers, journalists and publishers that do not coincide with the goals of our community.”
Naturally this is completely optional. If you are okay with the state of the gaming community as it is, feel free to ignore this. But if you wish for real change and a break away from oversaturated monetization in the games you play and the push for radical ideological reform, then you are in the right place. Lets sever these rotted miasmic ties once and for all so that our community can be preserved and made better for future gamers. If you agree with this, share it with whoever you think might be interested. The more gamers who get involved, the easier it will be for us to finally break free from mainstream game companies and their associates.

PUBG MOBILE
Mech Mania Showcase
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Social Media Entry: Collect your best PUBG MOBILE content; then upload your content to social media with the hashtag #MECHMANIASHOWCASE + #SWEEPSTAKES. 

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Prizes:
5 winners will each win UC valued at US$100

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1. Governing Law

These Official Rules, and any action related thereto, will be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, federal arbitration law and the laws of the State of California without regard to conflict of laws provisions. Except as otherwise expressly set forth in Section 15 “Dispute Resolution and Arbitration” the exclusive jurisdiction for all Disputes (defined below) that you and ZAM are not required to arbitrate will be the state and federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California and you and ZAM each waive any objection to jurisdiction and venue in such courts.

1. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration
   
2. Mandatory Arbitration of Disputes. We each agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Official Rules or the breach, termination, enforcement, interpretation or validity thereof or participation in the Sweepstakes (collectively, “Disputes”) will be resolved solely by binding, individual arbitration and not in a class, representative or consolidated action or proceeding. You and ZAM agree that the U.S. Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of these Official Rules, and that you and ZAM are each waiving the right to a trial by jury or to participate in a class action. This arbitration provision shall survive termination of these Official Rules.
   
3. Exceptions. As limited exceptions to Section 15(a) above: (i) we both may seek to resolve a Dispute in small claims court if it qualifies; and (ii) we each retain the right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief from a court to prevent (or enjoin) the infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property rights.
   
4. Conducting Arbitration and Arbitration Rules. The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules (the “AAA Rules”) then in effect, except as modified by these Official Rules. The AAA Rules are available at www.adr.org or by calling 1-800-778-7879. A party who wishes to start arbitration must submit a written Demand for Arbitration to AAA and give notice to the other party as specified in the AAA Rules. The AAA provides a form Demand for Arbitration at www.adr.org. Any arbitration hearings will take place in the county (or parish) where you live, unless we both agree to a different location. The parties agree that the arbitrator shall have exclusive authority to decide all issues relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability and scope of this arbitration agreement.
   
5. Arbitration Costs. Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the AAA Rules, and we won’t seek to recover the administration and arbitrator fees we are responsible for paying, unless the arbitrator finds your Dispute frivolous. If we prevail in arbitration we’ll pay all of our attorneys’ fees and costs and won’t seek to recover them from you. If you prevail in arbitration you will be entitled to an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses to the extent provided under applicable law.
   
6. Injunctive and Declaratory Relief. Except as provided in 13(b) above, the arbitrator shall determine all issues of liability on the merits of any claim asserted by either party and may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by that party’s individual claim. To the extent that you or we prevail on a claim and seek public injunctive relief (that is, injunctive relief that has the primary purpose and effect of prohibiting unlawful acts that threaten future injury to the public), the entitlement to and extent of such relief must be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction and not in arbitration. The parties agree that litigation of any issues of public injunctive relief shall be stayed pending the outcome of the merits of any individual claims in arbitration.
   
7. Class Action Waiver. YOU AND ZAM AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN YOUR OR ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. Further, if the parties’ Dispute is resolved through arbitration, the arbitrator may not consolidate another person’s claims with your claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding. If this specific provision is found to be unenforceable, then the entirety of this Dispute Resolution and Arbitration section shall be null and void.
   
8. Severability. With the exception of any of the provisions in Section 15(f) (“Class Action Waiver”), if an arbitrator or court of competent jurisdiction decides that any part of these Official Rules is invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of these Official Rules will still apply.
   
9. Languages. These Official Rules may be made in multiple language versions. In the event of a dispute as to the terms of different language versions, the English version shall prevail.
   
10. Country Specific Notices.
    
11. If any provision of these Official Rules is invalid under the law, rules, or regulations of a particular country, it will only apply to the extent permitted.
    
12. No Affiliation with Social Media Channels.
    
13. This Sweepstakes is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or administered by, or associated with, any of the social media channels used in connection with this Contest. Entrants understand that entrants are providing information to Sponsor and not to the social media channels. The information provided by entrants will only be used as described in these Official Rules and the Game’s Privacy Policy.
    

For any feedback or questions regarding these Official Rules, the Sweepstakes, winners, or prizes, you can contact Sponsor by sending an email to: entries@zam.com

Hello! I’m a bit obsessed with this game and am really interested in learning some of the meta information, particularly regarding monster spawns. I’ve been trying to Google my questions, but most of the resources I’m finding unfortunately do not seem to be updated.
I read somewhere that each quota day randomly sets a number, and the monsters (which all have number values assigned to them) spawned must add up to that, similar to Lethal Company. Is this correct? If so, what are the ranges for those spawns? I assume the number scales either by day or by quota. Is there a fan resource that includes what number value is assigned to each monster?
I also was wondering, is there a fan resource that has the percentages/probability of certain monsters and/or artifacts spawning? I noticed that Ear, for example, has been notably absent in my runs since the new update; I saw two on a run of Day One today (unfortunately the footage extraction failed), but that was the first time in at least 100 runs. My usual team mates and I have also yet to run into Ultra Knifo, Infiltrator, or Cam Creep (and we ran into the drone monster once, but it destroyed the FPS on the host’s computer and so the game crashed). Are they just insanely rare? I assumed Cam Creep would be from the bits I’ve glimpsed (I’ve tried to stay mostly blind), but by comparison, my group tends to see Fire (who I assumed to be rarer due to how dangerous it can be, but I could be wrong) at least once per quota.
I will say, my usual team only consistently started getting past the 2nd quota recently, and even then we sometimes struggle, so that could also be a factor. That’s another reason I’m curious to know how it decides which monsters to spawn! We used to think certain monsters couldn’t spawn on Day One, but then today we had Flicker right off the bat (tragically that footage was also victim to the “cannot extract” bug), so our theory was busted. 😂

I'm moving and I signed up for Fios last night with a rep in chat. I signed up with the rep instead on my own because she told me she would guarantee me the ability to link my Fios and Wireless accounts and get me the $25/month savings.
At the end of the chat, I was signed up for Fios and then when she tried to guide me through the setup, my Wireless account suddenly became unreachable. I tried to log-in with the same username and password I had been using for 10+ years and it just didn't work. She told me that it would be fixed by this morning and refused to help anymore.
This morning I try to log-in and ... surprise, it's not fixed. So I call "611" and they deregister me and try to have me reregister, but it's not picking up my phone number. They try to have me switch to my secondary e-mail, still doesn't work. They have me register my watch, which works and gets me into the account one time, but when I try to re log-in, it tries to send a 2FA alert to my watch which I never receive.
She offers to deregister my watch and let me try again, but I decide to press pause on the adventure and send this message to this group.
As of right now: (i) my Fios Account Management page works; (ii) my Wireless account is linked to my secondary e-mail and my watch, rendering it unusable b/c the watch can't get two-factor alerts on the watch. The whole reason I did this was to sign up for the $25/mo off offer which I have not yet been able to sign up for because it can't find my wireless account.
Any and all advice is welcome.