Starbucks free tumbler

Today i had a customer ask for 2 pink drinks with light ice, from the very beginning she had an attitude but i ignored it and made the drinks. about 10 mins later she comes back asking for my manger, i explained to her that my manger wasn’t around so she then asked me for his number. for context i work in a starbucks inside a target so we use walkies to communicate with our leaders, so i unfortunately couldn’t provide her that either. she then proceeded to tell me that i didn’t know anything, and points at her empty cup and asks me “does this like light ice to you?”. to avoid any further problems i simply remade them for her, though i feel like she was just trying to play me out of a free drink. I have no problem fixing mistakes but she approached me so hostile and drank her entire drink before deciding to say something. I would have called my manger but being that he also manages our market department which is across the store i tried to manage it as best as i could.

Some people may hate what i will say now, but i do this maybe once per week to ensure my things are up-to date. I run this command:

apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y && apt-get full-upgrade -y && apt-get dist-upgrade -y && apt-get autoremove -y 

to ensure everything on my Kali Linux OS is on the latest version. I have nothing crazy running on it, so the small downtime i have with a manual reboot is no issue for me. In most cases, there are some updates, but today i got over 800!

apt-get update && apt-get upgrade -y && apt-get full-upgrade -y && apt-get dist-upgrade -y && apt-get autoremove -y Get:1 http://mirror.netcologne.de/kali kali-rolling InRelease [41.5 kB] Get:2 http://mirror.netcologne.de/kali kali-rolling/main amd64 Packages [19.8 MB] Get:3 http://mirror.netcologne.de/kali kali-rolling/main amd64 Contents (deb) [46.4 MB] Get:4 http://mirror.netcologne.de/kali kali-rolling/contrib amd64 Packages [115 kB] Get:5 http://mirror.netcologne.de/kali kali-rolling/contrib amd64 Contents (deb) [257 kB] Get:6 http://mirror.netcologne.de/kali kali-rolling/non-free amd64 Packages [193 kB] Fetched 66.9 MB in 14s (4770 kB/s) Reading package lists... Done Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree... Done Reading state information... Done Calculating upgrade... Done The following packages were automatically installed and are no longer required: libgphoto2-l10n libnsl-dev libtirpc-dev python3-editables vlc-l10n Use 'sudo apt autoremove' to remove them. The following packages have been kept back: accountsservice afflib-tools aircrack-ng alsa-ucm-conf apache2 apache2-bin apache2-data apache2-utils apt apt-utils arp-scan arping arpwatch asleap at-spi2-core atril avahi-daemon avahi-utils axel bind9-dnsutils bind9-host bind9-libs bluez bluez-obexd bully cabextract cadaver cherrytree chromium chromium-common chromium-sandbox clang-15 clang-16 colord coreutils cowpatty cryptsetup cryptsetup-bin cryptsetup-initramfs cryptsetup-nuke-password cups-pk-helper curl curlftpfs cutycapt darkstat dconf-gsettings-backend dconf-service debugedit desktop-file-utils dirb dirmngr dnsmasq-base driftnet dsniff e2fsprogs eapmd5pass edb-debugger edb-debugger-plugins enchant-2 engrampa engrampa-common ettercap-common ettercap-graphical ewf-tools exim4-base exim4-daemon-light exo-utils extundelete fdisk file firefox-esr flac fragrouter freerdp2-x11 galera-4 gawk gcr gcr4 gdb geoclue-2.0 ghostscript gir1.2-atk-1.0 gir1.2-atspi-2.0 gir1.2-freedesktop gir1.2-girepository-2.0 gir1.2-glib-2.0 gir1.2-gstreamer-1.0 gir1.2-gtk-3.0 gir1.2-pango-1.0 gir1.2-polkit-1.0 git glib-networking glib-networking-services gnome-disk-utility gnome-keyring gnome-keyring-pkcs11 gnome-system-tools gnome-themes-extra gnupg gnupg-l10n gnupg-utils gnutls-bin gparted gpg gpg-agent gpg-wks-client gpg-wks-server gpgconf gpgsm gpgv graphicsmagick graphviz gss-ntlmssp gstreamer1.0-gl gstreamer1.0-libav gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad gstreamer1.0-plugins-base gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-x gtk-update-icon-cache gtk2-engines-pixbuf gtkhash guile-3.0-libs guymager gvfs gvfs-backends gvfs-common gvfs-daemons gvfs-fuse gvfs-libs gvmd gvmd-common hashcat hexinject hping3 hydra hydra-gtk iio-sensor-proxy ike-scan iproute2 irpas john johnny kali-linux-headless kismet-capture-hak5-wifi-coconut kismet-capture-linux-bluetooth kismet-capture-linux-wifi kismet-capture-nrf-51822 kismet-capture-nrf-52840 kismet-capture-nrf-mousejack kismet-capture-nxp-kw41z kismet-capture-rz-killerbee kismet-capture-ti-cc-2531 kismet-capture-ti-cc-2540 kismet-capture-ubertooth-one kismet-core kismet-logtools kmod ldap-utils libaccountsservice0 libalgorithm-diff-xs-perl libapache2-mod-php8.2 libaprutil1-dbd-sqlite3 libaprutil1-ldap libapt-pkg-perl libarmadillo12 libasound2-plugins libass9 libatk-wrapper-java-jni libatkmm-1.6-1v5 libaudio2 libavahi-client3 libavahi-common-data libavahi-common3 libavahi-core7 libavahi-glib1 libavcodec60 libavdevice60 libavfilter9 libavformat60 libavutil58 libayatana-appindicator3-1 libayatana-ido3-0.4-0 libayatana-indicator3-7 libb-hooks-op-check-perl libbabeltrace1 libbit-vector-perl libblockdev-crypto3 libblockdev-fs3 libblockdev-loop3 libblockdev-mdraid3 libblockdev-nvme3 libblockdev-part3 libblockdev-swap3 libblockdev-utils3 libblockdev3 libbpf1 libcairo-gobject2 libcairo-script-interpreter2 libcairo2 libcaja-extension1 libcanberra-gtk3-0 libcanberra-gtk3-module libcanberra0 libcephfs2 libcharon-extauth-plugins libclang-common-15-dev libclang-common-16-dev libclass-c3-xs-perl libclass-load-xs-perl libclass-xsaccessor-perl libclone-perl libcloudproviders0 libcolord2 libcolorhug2 libcompress-raw-lzma-perl libcrypt-ssleay-perl libcryptsetup12 libct4 libdate-calc-xs-perl libdbd-mariadb-perl libdbd-sqlite3-perl libdbi-perl libdbus-glib-1-2 libdbusmenu-glib4 libdbusmenu-gtk3-4 libdconf1 libdecor-0-0 libdecor-0-plugin-1-gtk libdevel-callchecker-perl libdevel-caller-perl libdevel-lexalias-perl libdigest-crc-perl libdigest-md4-perl libdvdnav4 libeac3 libegl-mesa0 libenchant-2-2 libencode-perl libewf2 libexo-2-0 libfcgi-perl libffado2 libfido2-1 libfile-fcntllock-perl libfindrtp libflite1 libfluidsynth3 libfreefare-bin libfreetype6 libfreexl1 libfsverity0 libgail-common libgarcon-1-0 libgarcon-gtk3-1-0 libgbm1 libgck-1-0 libgck-2-2 libgcr-4-4 libgcr-base-3-1 libgcr-ui-3-1 libgd3 libgdata22 libgdk-pixbuf-2.0-0 libgdk-pixbuf2.0-bin libgfapi0 libgfrpc0 libgfxdr0 libgirepository-1.0-1 libgl1-mesa-dri 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liblocale-gettext-perl liblqr-1-0 libmagic-dev libmagic-mgc libmagickcore-6.q16-7-extra libmanette-0.2-0 libmariadb3 libmath-random-isaac-xs-perl libmbim-glib4 libmbim-proxy libmbim-utils libmm-glib0 libmongocrypt0 libmoose-perl libmosquitto1 libmotif-common libmousepad0 libncurses-dev libncurses6 libncursesw6 libnet-dbus-perl libnet-dns-sec-perl libnet-libidn2-perl libnet-pcap-perl libnet-rawip-perl libnet-ssh2-perl libnet-ssleay-perl libnfsidmap1 libnice10 libnm0 libnma-common libnma-gtk4-0 libnma0 libnotify-bin libnotify4 libnsl-dev libnsl2 libnss-systemd libogdi4.1 liboobs-1-5 libopenconnect5 libopenexr-3-1-30 libopenmpt-modplug1 libopusfile0 libosmesa6 libpackage-stash-xs-perl libpackagekit-glib2-18 libpadwalker-perl libpaho-mqtt1.3 libpam-modules libpam-modules-bin libpam-systemd libpango-1.0-0 libpangocairo-1.0-0 libpangoft2-1.0-0 libpangomm-1.4-1v5 libpangoxft-1.0-0 libparams-classify-perl libparams-util-perl libpcap0.8-dev libpcaudio0 libpcsclite1 libpipewire-0.3-modules libplymouth5 libpocketsphinx3 libpocl2-common libpolkit-agent-1-0 libpolkit-gobject-1-0 libportaudio2 libportmidi0 libpq5 libproc-processtable-perl libproj25 libproxy-tools libproxy1v5 libpulse-mainloop-glib0 libpulse0 libpulsedsp libpython3.11-dev libpython3.11-minimal libpython3.11-stdlib libpython3.12-minimal libpython3.12-stdlib libqmi-glib5 libqmi-proxy libqmi-utils libqrtr-glib0 libqscintilla2-qt5-15 libqt5charts5 libqt5designer5 libqt5help5 libqt5positioning5 libqt5qml5 libqt5qmlmodels5 libqt5quick5 libqt5sensors5 libqt5sql5-sqlite libqt5svg5 libqt5waylandclient5 libqt5waylandcompositor5 libqt5webchannel5 libqt5webkit5 libqt5x11extras5 libqt5xmlpatterns5 libqt6core5compat6 libqt6multimedia6 libqt6qml6 libqt6qmlmodels6 libqt6quick6 libqt6sql6-sqlite libqt6svg6 libqt6waylandclient6 libqt6waylandcompositor6 libqt6waylandeglclienthwintegration6 libqt6waylandeglcompositorhwintegration6 libqt6wlshellintegration6 libqtermwidget5-1 librabbitmq4 libradare2-dev libradcli4 librados2 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libwacom9 libwebkit2gtk-4.1-0 libwine libwnck-3-0 libwpebackend-fdo-1.0-1 libxatracker2 libxaw7 libxfce4panel-2.0-4 libxfce4ui-2-0 libxfce4ui-utils libxfce4util7 libxfconf-0-3 libxklavier16 libxm4 libxml++2.6-2v5 libxml-parser-perl libxmu6 libxstring-perl libxt-dev libyara10 libyelp0 libzip-dev libzvbi-common light-locker lightdm lightdm-gtk-greeter llvm-15 llvm-15-dev llvm-15-linker-tools llvm-15-runtime llvm-15-tools llvm-16 llvm-16-dev llvm-16-linker-tools llvm-16-runtime llvm-16-tools lsof magicrescue mailutils mailutils-common man-db mariadb-client mariadb-client-core mariadb-server mariadb-server-core mate-calc mate-polkit mc mc-data mdbtools medusa mesa-va-drivers mesa-vdpau-drivers mesa-vulkan-drivers metasploit-framework mfterm modemmanager mosquitto mousepad mpg123 mtd-utils mupdf-tools ncrack netdiscover netsniff-ng network-manager network-manager-fortisslvpn network-manager-fortisslvpn-gnome network-manager-gnome network-manager-l2tp network-manager-l2tp-gnome network-manager-openconnect network-manager-openconnect-gnome network-manager-openvpn network-manager-openvpn-gnome network-manager-pptp network-manager-pptp-gnome network-manager-vpnc network-manager-vpnc-gnome netwox nfs-common nginx nginx-common ngrep nmap nmap-common nodejs ntfs-3g ohrwurm onboard onboard-common onboard-data openconnect openfortivpn openjdk-17-jdk openjdk-17-jdk-headless openjdk-17-jre openjdk-17-jre-headless openjdk-21-jre openjdk-21-jre-headless opensc opensc-pkcs11 openssh-client openssh-server openssh-sftp-server openssl openvas-scanner openvpn ophcrack ophcrack-cli p0f parole parted passing-the-hash pavucontrol pcscd perl perl-base perl-openssl-defaults perl-tk php8.2-cli php8.2-common php8.2-mysql php8.2-opcache php8.2-readline pinentry-gnome3 pipewire pipewire-bin pipewire-pulse pkexec plymouth plymouth-label pocl-opencl-icd policykit-1 policykit-1-gnome polkitd postgresql-16 postgresql-16-pg-gvm postgresql-client-16 ppp proj-bin proxytunnel pst-utils ptunnel pulseaudio pulseaudio-utils pyqt5-dev-tools pyqt6-dev-tools python3-aioquic python3-apt python3-bluepy python3-cryptography python3-cups python3-dbus python3-gdal python3-gevent python3-gi python3-gi-cairo python3-gpg python3-kismetcapturertl433 python3-kismetcapturertladsb python3-kismetcapturertlamr python3-ldb python3-magic python3-magic-ahupp python3-pcapy python3-protobuf python3-pycares python3-pycurl python3-pygame python3-pyqt5 python3-pyqt5.qtopengl python3-pyqt6 python3-samba python3-talloc python3-uvloop python3-wxgtk4.0 python3.11 python3.11-dev python3.11-minimal python3.12 python3.12-minimal qsslcaudit qt5-gtk-platformtheme qt5ct qt6-base-dev-tools qt6-gtk-platformtheme qt6-qpa-plugins qt6-wayland qt6ct qtbase5-dev-tools qterminal qtwayland5 radare2 rcracki-mt rdesktop readpe reaver recordmydesktop redis-server redis-tools redsocks rifiuti2 ristretto rpcbind rpm rpm-common rpm2cpio rsync rtpbreak rtpinsertsound rtpmixsound ruby ruby-atomic ruby-ethon ruby-eventmachine ruby-ffi ruby-hitimes ruby-http-parser.rb ruby-levenshtein ruby-msgpack ruby-nio4r ruby-nokogiri ruby-oj ruby-sdbm ruby-sqlite3 ruby-unf-ext ruby-yajl ruby3.1 ruby3.1-dev samba samba-common samba-common-bin samba-dsdb-modules samba-libs samba-vfs-modules samdump2 sane-airscan sane-utils shared-mime-info siege sipcrack sipp skipfish sleuthkit smbclient snmp snmpd socat speech-dispatcher speech-dispatcher-audio-plugins speech-dispatcher-espeak-ng sqlite3 sqlitebrowser sqsh ssldump sslsniff sslsplit strongswan-charon strongswan-libcharon strongswan-starter stunnel4 subversion sudo system-config-printer-udev system-tools-backends systemd systemd-timesyncd tcpdump tcpflow tcpick tcpreplay testdisk texlive-binaries thc-ipv6 thc-pptp-bruter thc-ssl-dos thin thunar thunar-archive-plugin thunar-gtkhash thunar-volman tmux tnftp tshark tumbler tumbler-common udisks2 unicornscan upower usb-modeswitch vboot-kernel-utils vboot-utils vim vim-common vim-gtk3 vim-gui-common vim-runtime vim-tiny vlc vlc-bin vlc-data vlc-plugin-access-extra vlc-plugin-base vlc-plugin-notify vlc-plugin-qt vlc-plugin-samba vlc-plugin-skins2 vlc-plugin-video-output vlc-plugin-video-splitter vlc-plugin-visualization voiphopper vpnc wget wine64 winexe wireless-tools wireplumber wireshark wireshark-common wpasupplicant x11-apps x11-session-utils x11-utils x11-xkb-utils x11-xserver-utils xdg-dbus-proxy xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-gtk xdg-user-dirs-gtk xfce4-appfinder xfce4-battery-plugin xfce4-clipman xfce4-clipman-plugin xfce4-cpufreq-plugin xfce4-cpugraph-plugin xfce4-datetime-plugin xfce4-diskperf-plugin xfce4-fsguard-plugin xfce4-genmon-plugin xfce4-netload-plugin xfce4-notifyd xfce4-panel xfce4-places-plugin xfce4-power-manager xfce4-power-manager-plugins xfce4-pulseaudio-plugin xfce4-screenshooter xfce4-sensors-plugin xfce4-session xfce4-settings xfce4-systemload-plugin xfce4-taskmanager xfce4-timer-plugin xfce4-verve-plugin xfce4-wavelan-plugin xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin xfce4-xkb-plugin xfconf xfdesktop4 xfwm4 xiccd xl2tpd xtightvncviewer yelp yersinia zerofree zsh The following packages will be upgraded: at-spi2-common atftpd atril-common base-files bash bluez-hcidump bsdextrautils bsdutils bulk-extractor burpsuite busybox cgpt clang cpp-13 cpp-13-x86-64-linux-gnu dbus dbus-bin dbus-daemon dbus-user-session dbus-x11 docbook-xml docker.io dpkg dpkg-dev eject exim4-config exploitdb ffmpeg fiked fonts-lyx g++-13 g++-13-x86-64-linux-gnu gcc-13 gcc-13-base gcc-13-x86-64-linux-gnu gcc-14-base gdal-data gdal-plugins gir1.2-ayatanaappindicator3-0.1 gir1.2-gdkpixbuf-2.0 gir1.2-gtkspell3-3.0 gir1.2-handy-1 gir1.2-harfbuzz-0.0 gir1.2-nm-1.0 gir1.2-notify-0.7 gir1.2-packagekitglib-1.0 gir1.2-secret-1 gir1.2-vte-2.91 gir1.2-wnck-3.0 gir1.2-xfconf-0 glib-networking-common golang-1.22-go golang-1.22-src graphicsmagick-imagemagick-compat groff-base grub-common grub-efi-amd64 grub-efi-amd64-bin grub2-common hashcat-data httrack ibverbs-providers imagemagick-6-common inetutils-telnet intel-media-va-driver jadx kali-desktop-base kali-desktop-core kali-desktop-xfce kali-linux-core kali-linux-default kali-linux-firmware kali-linux-large kali-system-cli kali-system-core kali-system-gui kali-themes kali-themes-common kali-tools-top10 kismet kismet-capture-common krb5-locales lib32gcc-s1 lib32stdc++6 libasan8 libasound2-data libatomic1 libavif16 libblkid1 libbluetooth-dev libbluetooth3 libboost-filesystem1.83.0 libboost-iostreams1.74.0 libboost-thread1.74.0 libboost-thread1.83.0 libbrlapi0.8 libc-bin libc-dev-bin libc-devtools libc-l10n libc6 libc6-dbg libc6-dev libc6-i386 libcaca0 libcc1-0 libcdt5 libcgraph6 libclang-rt-15-dev libclang-rt-16-dev libcom-err2 libdbus-1-3 libdbus-1-dev libde265-0 libdebconfclient0 libdebuginfod-common libdpkg-perl libfdisk1 libfftw3-double3 libfftw3-single3 libfstrm0 libgcc-13-dev libgcc-s1 libgdata-common libgdk-pixbuf2.0-common libgfortran5 libgl1-mesa-dev libglib2.0-data libgoa-1.0-common libgomp1 libgpg-error0 libgphoto2-l10n libgs-common libgsasl18 libgsf-1-common libgtk-4-common libgvpr2 libharfbuzz-icu0 libheif-plugin-aomenc libheif-plugin-dav1d libheif-plugin-libde265 libheif-plugin-x265 libheif1 libhivex0 libhunspell-1.7-0 libhwasan0 libibverbs1 libigdgmm12 libiniparser1 libinput-bin libitm1 libjbig2dec0 libkpathsea6 liblab-gamut1 libldap-common liblsan0 liblua5.1-0 liblua5.2-0 liblua5.3-0 liblua5.4-0 libmount1 libmujs3 libnet-dns-perl libnghttp2-14 libntlm0 libobjc-13-dev libobjc4 libodbc2 libodbcinst2 libopenblas0-pthread libopenjp2-7 libpam-gnome-keyring libpam-runtime libpam0g libpathplan4 libpcap-dev libpipewire-0.3-common libplist3 libpostproc57 libprotobuf-c1 libptexenc1 libpython3-dev libpython3-stdlib libqrencode4 libquadmath0 libradare2-common libselinux1 libsemanage2 libsharpyuv0 libslang2 libsmartcols1 libsnmp-base libsoup2.4-common libss2 libssh-gcrypt-4 libstdc++-13-dev libstdc++6 libswresample4 libsynctex2 libtexlua53-5 libtheora0 libtirpc-common libtsan2 libubsan1 libudev1 liburing2 libuuid1 libva-drm2 libva-wayland2 libva-x11-2 libva2 libwbclient0 libwebp7 libwebpdemux2 libwebpmux3 libwildmidi2 libwireshark-data libwmflite-0.2-7 libxfce4util-bin libxmuu1 libxpm4 linux-image-6.6.15-amd64 linux-image-amd64 locales logsave mariadb-common mariadb-plugin-provider-bzip2 mariadb-plugin-provider-lz4 mariadb-plugin-provider-lzma mariadb-plugin-provider-lzo mariadb-plugin-provider-snappy mingw-w64-common mingw-w64-i686-dev mingw-w64-x86-64-dev mount nano ncurses-base ncurses-bin ncurses-term net-tools nodejs-doc offsec-awae-python2 perl-modules-5.38 pev php8.2 pinentry-curses postgresql postgresql-client-common postgresql-common proj-data python-apt-common python-matplotlib-data python-tinycss2-common python3 python3-all python3-apispec python3-brlapi python3-celery python3-cupshelpers python3-dev python3-distutils python3-ecdsa python3-feedparser python3-filelock python3-hatchling python3-jose python3-kismetcapturebtgeiger python3-kismetcapturefreaklabszigbee python3-kombu python3-lib2to3 python3-marshmallow-sqlalchemy python3-matplotlib python3-mdit-py-plugins python3-memcache python3-minimal python3-mistune0 python3-numexpr python3-numpy python3-pandas python3-pandas-lib python3-plaster-pastedeploy python3-pydot python3-pyinstaller-hooks-contrib python3-pypsrp python3-reportlab python3-rq python3-speechd python3-stone python3-tinycss2 python3-tk python3-tqdm python3-vine python3-virtualenv python3-werkzeug readline-common rfkill ruby-dev ruby-i18n ruby-ipaddress ruby3.1-doc samba-ad-provision sslyze sucrack system-config-printer system-config-printer-common systemd-dev systemd-sysv tightvncpasswd tightvncserver truecrack tzdata tzdata-legacy udev util-linux util-linux-extra va-driver-all vlc-l10n wireless-regdb xbrlapi xfce4-helpers zlib1g zlib1g-dev 322 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 885 not upgraded. 

Can someone tell me whats going on here? I dont see any new crazy releases on Kalis Website. So i am bit confused on why i had so many updates when im doing this update command weekly.
Thanks!
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Tell me your craziest T1D related story! Here is mine:
I was going to grab some spiritual books from the library and started having a really bad low, so I sat down. I had my head in my hands, cold sweat making my shirt stick to me while i tried to convince myself that I wasnt goin to go unconscious before my starbucks frap hit my bloodstream.
I noticed a girl very unconvincingly browsing through books that i have seen throughout the store (possibly following me?). she kept moving around, glancing at me, before finally working up the nerve to speak to me. She asked me if there was anywhere she could sit. I was kinda dumbstuck, because i was in the seating area, surrounded by multiple empty chairs. i just gestured to some chairs over in the corner and told her those were free. she then introduced herself and started talking about her youth group as she sat in the chair infront of mine.
I was nodding, probably visible pale, sweaty and shaky, and was like "I'm so sorry, I'm having a medical emergency right now". and she goes "oh no worries!" and continues to tell me about her youth group, and that I should give her my contact info so I could join.
I ended up just giving her my insta so she would leave me alone, and she finally walked off so I could die in peace. but it was insane that i was obviously sick and distressed and she took it as a chance to try and recruit me.
TL;DR: I was having a critical low and someone decided that was a great time to recruit for their youth group

This offer seems too good to be true. Did you really get to eat at the Humble market kitchen which had a buffet breakfast? Because I heard free breakfast here often just means pastries and a fruit cup at Starbucks. Appreciate any insights, thank you!

I’ve been to two states & can only find the mugs , which I collect the tumblers specifically when I visit a new state .

Hello Reddit!
We are super curious about women with middle names Starbucks intake. If you are interested in helping out with our study, please feel free to answer this Google Form. Thank you so much, your input is valuable
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You don’t know how care free these motherfuckers are! We’re here on the clock ready for war, they’re at Starbucks getting macchianos or whatever the fuck they’re called for their plump little lives and plump little wives. You’re stil an afterthought, a nothing that will turn into oblivion in less than 8 DAYS! Take that how you will. No one can stop you but you, definitely not those prissy little fucks, don’t let them lead you to believe they can!

Hi all! I’ve been working since 2018, but I change jobs pretty quick so I’ve had about 5 different jobs throughout those years ( all kinda different but barista and retail are the predominant ones). How far should I go in putting my work in my resume?
I had the last three written down there.
Mind you I am finally getting my Bachelor in Social Work and I don’t have much experience besides practicums and volunteering.
Thank u all!

Hello! We're a big group of 9 pax with mostly older people, then young adults in their 20s. We're mostly staying in Osaka and 1 night in Kyoto, so in this Kobe trip we rented a car. Checking if the schedule is doable or is the itinerary overpacked?
Notes: We won't be doing a lot of shopping here, mainly walking around Kitano-Cho and would love to travel local restos and cafes!
KOBE 10 HOUR DAY TRIP (8 AM - 6 PM)
• 8 AM : Osaka Airbnb to Kobe (38 to 44 minutes travel time)
• 8:50 AM - 10:20 AM (1 hr 40 mins) : Kitano Ijinkan

• Kitano-Cho Plaza
• Short Breakfast at Nishimura Coffee
• Walk around & visit western houses with entrance fees ranging from ¥550 to ¥750 or PHP 250+
• Kitano's unique Starbucks Concept Store (check out Kobe exclusive Starbucks tumblers)

• 10:30 AM - 11:10 AM (30 mins) : Ikuta Shrine
Travel from Ikuta Shrine to Nunobiki Herb Garden (7 min drive)
• 11:20 AM - 1 PM (1 hr 20 mins) : Nunobiki Herb Gardens & Ropeway
Travel from Nunobiki Herb Garden to Nankin Machi (10 min drive)
• 1:20 PM - 2:40 PM (1 hr 20 mins) : Late lunch at Nankin Machi / ChinaTown
Travel from Nankin Machi to Atoa (4 min drive)
• 2:50 PM - 4:00 PM (1 hr 10 mins) : Aquarium x Art atoa
• 4:10 PM - 5:10 PM (1 hr) : Harborland Port Tower & Meriken Park
• 5:15 PM - 6 PM : Kobe to Dotonbori (39 minutes travel time)
END OF KOBE TRIP
Any recommendations are also appreciated! Also, how's the weather in Kobe by end of May?

Hey Everyone,
I wanted to share my most recent recipes with you! First, we have a REALLY tasty pineapple loaf. This is an alternative to the beloved Starbucks lemon loaf for anyone allergic to citrus and/or dairy.
Pineapple Loaf: https://youtu.be/po98C49yCGU
Next, we have a nightshade-free lasagna just in time for the newest Garfield movie. This lasagna is made with mangoes instead of tomatoes. It is also dairy-free and onions and garlic-free, but don't worry everything has been accounted for and the flavors have been recreated to taste like the lasagna you know and loved.
Mango Lasagna: https://youtu.be/bMkMns-7t1k
I hope you enjoy these recipes and please share them with anyone who needs them. As always, comment what recipes you'd like to see next or what recipes you miss eating! I'm happy to recreate anything.
From my kitchen to yours. Eat happy!

and still "landslide" might be too generous for biden. trump's ahead in 5 out of 6 of the swing states that have historically decided elections. biden won all 6 of these swing states in 2020 but now is winning only one of them by 2%. trump is winning by as much as 13% in the other five states.
people who think it's because of the gaza war and that it serves biden right are wrong. first, the only swing state biden's winning right now is minnesota, which has the largest percent share of muslims/middle easterners/north africans in the country. second, the poll shows that the people who supported biden in 2020 but are no longer supporting him in 2024 are young, black and hispanic self-identified moderates and conservatives, and that the most important issues to them are the economy and immigration. self-identified progressives and liberals are still sticking with biden across the board. people are throwing a fit over the burning sun scandal and forgetting that trump got Roe V Wade overturned and abortion illegal. people are foaming at the mouth over chuu drinking starbucks and forgetting that trump gave netanyahu free reign to build settlements in the west bank and recognized contested territories such as jerusalem and the golan heights as israeli.
why am i posting this here? because a majority of the people on here have family and friends who fall into the young, black/Hispanic self-identified moderate/conservative category, and a majority of the people on here are passionate about women's rights and the gaza war, and so a majority of the people on here have the power to educate their friends and family and turn the tide on the election in 6 months.
second, the ranting on this sub shows there's a lot of discontent with and a desire for change in kpop, which international fans may feel powerless over. the good news is that america has a huge influence on not just kpop, but korea; in my opinion, trump's election galvanized korea to elect their current president, who ran on a campaign of anti-feminism. trump normalizes sexism, racism, and xenophobia not only on the world stage, but in a world leader ("world" meaning having global influence and recognition, like xi jinping or narenda modi), and world leaders set the standard for what is acceptable conduct not just among politicians, but among their country's citizens. trump inspired many "tell it like it is" fringe politicians in america, but also had people yelling "TRUMP!" at minorities including at a black female student at a recent campus protest for gaza at mississippi university. trump's behavior is being watched and modeled across the country and across the world, and this sub has the power to help signal to the world that his behavior is not ok.

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I got a potential job lined up but i’ve been at the bux for 4 years now and im so scared to leave 🥴 Im an SSV and lately it has just gotten so taxing and so exhausting. opening 6 days in a row this week and i just wanna die 😭 but there’s so many pros and cons of both jobs and i need other opinions
the bux: 20.80/hr 5 min drive from my house. amazing coworkers. no typical bux drama at all. my SM is literally AMAZING. She is the perfect manager and is so caring and shows up for us. free college. transfer opportunities if i move. easy and flexible time off system. PTO rate is 1h20hrs
cons: overworked. so exhausted from work i don’t even have time to do the school i always end up failing. getting yelled at and berated multiple times a week. No interest moving up in the company. Not a consistent schedule (although usually opens).
Potential new job: 17/hr + potential commission set rotating schedule. 4 days off a week. work rotating weekends, and closed every sunday except for the last sunday of the month. schedule made months in advance. receptionist job, no more hustle and exhaustion. free laser hair removal. PTO rate is 1h17hrs
cons: 35-45 min drive. no free school. slight pay cut (with commission it almost evens out). have to request time off super in advance.
the new job is a receptionist at a laser hair removal place. My friend left bux to work there and she likes it. I don’t see a career for me at starbucks but i don’t know what exactly i want. This job feels like it would be a step down like im sorta embarrassed to say i’d be a receptionist but id mentally feel so much better and maybe i coukd actually start doing school id just have to get financial aid or pay 😭 idk what to do i love the crew at my store my team is amazing and i enjoy the work its just so much lately

period: april 28th to May 14th 2024.
Nights spent in: Tokyo - Sendai - Fukushima - Koriyama - Nagoya - Hakata ( Fukuoka ).
If it's really off the beaten path or not you'll decide, some destinations visited are really particular, other are way more popular even if usually not what you'll visit in your first trip to Japan. let's say i've been to japan last summer and did all the usual things one do the first time he's there, probably even something more: Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka - Nara - Nikko, Fukuoka, Matsumoto, Himeji, Miyajima. pretty much what almost anyone does for their first time if they have the opportunity.
Given the weak Yen and having still some time ( and money ) i could spend i decided to come back less than a year later, this time at the end of April up until half may in order to explore less popular destinations. I'll avoid to provide the usual tips anyone provide, like how to move from narita, how to get a Suica or how to book a train seat, how to operate a toilet and such things.
SOME TIPS
Concerning Suica: contrary to what most people suggest, i didn't buy one neither last summer or this time and frankly i've never missed not having it. I use my mastercard credit card, most places in japan accept it with zero problems and for the rest you can get Yen at any ATM machine that you can find in any combini with it and pay cash wich japanese still very much use
Concerning the period of the year: last year i went in August. I can confirm that moving around in April/May is so incredibly much better. The heat in august is some day even unbearable. This time the weather was mostly fine, got only one day of rain even if the temperatures were still a bit on the cold side overall. Unfortunately this year Sakura came early and I missed it by a week or two. But still apart from the cherry trees all the plants were blossoming and it was so nice to see flowers everywhere compared to the pain of the humidity and the torment of cicadas you have during summer.
Concerning golden week: one of the two weeks i was there was the golden week. I didn't book anything in advance but, maybe because of the fact i was moving off the beaten path, i almost never had problems booking trains or hotels during golden week ( i said almost, more details later ). Cant tell what's the effect when trying to book hotels in places like Kyoto.
concerning planning: my usual planning method goes the following: i book the plane, obviously. I buy JRP ( yes i still bought it even after the price increase ) and i book two days of hotels. The rest of my trip i have an idea of what i want to do and where i want to go but i book hotels and such, while going along. This gives me the flexibility to change my itinerary or react to bad weather ( last summer i run away from a typhoon with this trick ) or unexpected problems ( last summer i got food poisoning and i had to delay my program booking an hotel for three more days than expected: had i booked all nights in advance it would have been a huge problem ). I only book hotels using the booking website app and i can only say good things about it. I travel alone, maybe for couples or families this isn't as easy as it was for me.
Warning: I like to walk and I walk a lot. So if you need tips to move around, I’m not probably the right person because what you might want to do using a bus or a taxi I would probably do by walking. I’ve walked on average of 20 km a day and probably more and if a place is like 3-4 km from where I am I walk there without even looking if there’s a better option with a bus or something else.
I will give a vote to the places I’ve visited according to two parameters:
How off the beaten path it really is, judging by how many foreign tourists I met there. And an overall vote telling how worthy I feel the place is to visit. To make it short I will call them “OTBP VOTE and OVERALL VOTE”

SO LET'S START WITH THE ACTUAL TRIP REPORT:
Day 1: landing in Tokyo at midday in Narita. After finishing all the immigration process i moved to my hotel. This time i decided to book it for two nights in Omiya/Saitama. The place is less than half an hour from Tokyo Station and was the opportunity to see something different. I haven't seen much of the place but the area around the station was very lively, lots of restaurant and lots of people moving around. It was full of decoration with squirrells and a football team, i guess they were either promoting it or they won something cause decorations were everywhere, honestly didn't ask about. Well apart from checking in, recovering from the flight, looking for something to eat and checking a bit the areai didn't do much.
day 2: in the morning i took the train to Ashikaga Flower Park. I've seen picture of it online and according to the informations i gathered i might have been late for the sakura but the Wisteria were in full bloom and they had a lot of them in this park.
So i took the train, it was around an hour ride and Omiya was strategically on the way. I realized my trip plan was proably a good one when, once reached the Ashikaga flower park station ( there's a train station dedicated to this park ) all the people on the train got off. A little walk, ticket and i was in. The place, given the right time of the year, was AMAZING, UNBELIEVABLE. I can't begin to tell you how cool and how huge the wisteria plants were. they were in full bloom, and was something out of this world, it looked like something you see in the movie avatar. Like three or four wisterias as big as a basketball field if not even more, of different colours and kinds, plus a lot more of regular sized wisterias and a lot more flower plants of all kinds. Had to say, for some reason with all the flowers the air wasn’t at all full of their scent. I even got a wisteria flavoured ice cream, wich was probably a wisteria coloured ice cream cause it didn’t have any real particular taste. The place was packed with Japanese people and foreigners like me you could count them on the fingers of one hand. I arrived there early, so by early afternoon I was satisfied with my visit and moved away. A quick check on my train app and google maps and realized I could reach Kawagoe from there fairly easily.
ASHIKAGA FLOWER PARK OTBP: 9 OVERALL: 10
When I was on the train it stopped at the Tochigi station, it looked nice from the train so I decided to jump off and check the area a bit, because sometime I do that kind of things, and the idea wasn’t bad at all: the town itself doesn’t look anything special but there’s a canal wich was very picturesque, plus it was fully decorated with paper carps because of the time of the year and Japanese people were doing boat rides on the river on traditional little boats while singing songs. I won't say to go there specifically to see the place, but if you're on that train route or still around it, it might be worth a stop. So, once I finished checking the area I jump back on the train and finally reached Kawagoe.
TOCHIGI: OTBP: 10 OVERALL: 6 ½
Kawagoe is a small place north of Tokyo, not very far, wich is know for a small neighbourhood with old Edo houses. That neighbourhood is more far from the station that I expected, but still nice and worth a check. There’s a very cool bell tower there and one of the coolest Starbucks I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t spend a whole day in Kawagoe if you ask me but If you’re in Tokyo and have an half day available that you don't know how to spend I’d say it’s totally worth a train ride. Had my dinner there and then moved back to Omiya where I would spend my last night.
KAWAGOE: OTBP: 7 OVERALL: 7
Day 3: woke up early, jumped on the train and moved to Sendai where I had planned to stay the next three nights. Once again Omiya was a good choice cause I could take the shinkansen right from there without having to move back to Tokyo.
Arrived in Sendai, left my luggage in the hotel where I couldn’t check in cause it was still to early and hopped on a local train in direction of Matsushima. By midday I was already in Matsushima. This is another very famous destination for Japanese people, one of the most known panoramas in japan. Have to say, the town is a typical sea town, definitely welcoming. I had one of the best Sushi I ever had in japan in a local restaurant ( check matsushima sushi kou if interested ). Visited Zuiganji temple and then walked a bit on the coast, crossed the Fukuurabashi bridge, the long red bridge that you probably have seen in some picture, and walked around Fukuurajima. Here you can have a walk around the island it’s not small but is small enough that you can walk it all fairly quickly and it has some nice spots to discover. You have to pay a small fee to cross the bridge. Then went back, checked the Godaido of Zuiganji and it’s worth mentioning that when walking along the coast I’ve stumbled across a couple of signs giving instructions on what to do in case of a tsunami and what happened back in 2011, wich I didn’t even think about up until that moment and suddenly the memories went back to what happened there more than 10 years ago. Last thing, my advice is to walk down to Oshima island. This little island is less crowded, you can reach it crossing a little red bridge and honestly to me it’s the best spot to admire Matsushima. I didn’t went for the ferry ride across the bay cause the weather wasn’t very good and I was starting to be a little short on time, so I moved back to Sendai.
MATSUSHIMA: OTBP: 9 OVERALL: 8 ½
Once back in Sendai, I went to see the sunset from the panoramic floor of the AER building near the station, wich is totally free even if finding the right elevator that takes you up might be a bit tricky, but the view is totally worth it, you can even see in the distance the big white shape of the dai-kannon and from the other side of the floor you can easily see the sea.
Talking about Sendai, I didn’t dedicate to the city the time that should have been necessary because I was always on day trips and I spend there mostly the late evenings, but my impression is that Sendai is a very nice city that should appear more often in peoples itineraries. The city is particularly vibrant and alive, lot of young people, lot of things to see and do, a covered shopping street that is almost endless full of restaurants and shops, way more green than many other Japanese cities. I’d recommend anyone who had the time and the opportunity to spend a little time here. Also it has a very distinctive identity and everything proudly revolves around the image of its founder Date Masamune who is everywhere in senday, even the penguin of the local DonQuishotte mall was dressed up as Date Masamune.
So after the panorama, I went in the hotel, finally checked in and then moved back to look for food. Walked down what I think is called ichibancho street, wich as I said before is an endless downtown road full of shops and restaurant and stopped to have a try at the most famous local dish, Gyutan, wich is grilled cow tongue. Never had tongue in my life and have to admit it, it’s not bad at all, I quite enjoyed it. Had a little more walk around then called it a day.
SENDAI: OTBP: 7 ½ OVERALL: 9
Day 4: today trip is to Hiraizumi, a UNESCO world heritage site, where you can admire some historically significant buddhist sites. You had to catch a coincidence in Ichinoseki but the whole ride is pretty straight forward and doesn’t really take much time. At 9 am I was already ready to explore. As I sad I’m a walker, so I walked the walk from the station to the Chuson Ji temple wich is around 2 km and I totally recommend it cause the town is quite nice to walk through, very small village, very cozy and intimate. Chuson Ji it’s a very beautiful complex to explore, it’s inside a forest, kinda reminds a bit of Nikko atmosphere if you’ve been there even if the buildings aren’t as spectacular. The whole wood was full of blossoming plants and here and there I was able to spot some late cherry tree still full of flowers, giving me an hint to what sakura must really be.
You stumble in the temple buildings one after another while you go deep into the wood. I reach the main building and there’s a ceremony in progress. I discovered later that the next day was planned the Fujiwara festival where all people dress up like in Edo period and do a parade in the city. The day I was there instead the children parade was planned, so it was full of kids dressed up and judging by how proud and elegant their parents were I tend to think it was a pretty big thing for them. I enjoy the situation for a while, then went back to exploring, till I reached the main attraction of the temple wich is the Konjikido, a golden pavilion that dates back to the XII century wich is amazing to see in person.
Once I finished exploring the whole Chuson Ji complex I went looking for a restaurant and had a nice ramen set, because the visit took the whole morning, then moved to the second stop wich was Motsuji Temple: as much as Chuson Ji impressed me, Motsu-ji disappointed me. The thing is, you pay to enter and in the end what you see is a place mostly empty, where the only building there are reconstructions and most places are just a bunch of rocks with signs saying “here once was this building” “here once was that building” and the main thing you’ll see there is a pond whose importance is that it dates back to the time when Japanese gardens were kinda dull compared to what they’ll become centuries later. So it’s kinda a pond that you would completely ignore in a different context. I mean, I totally get the historical importance of this place, but, honestly from the ignorant eyes of a tourist it’s really nothing you would invest your time visiting, according to my opinion.
Another place that would have been worth visiting was Takkoku-no Iwaya Bishamondo, but isn’t really that easy to reach, it’s a bit far to walk to and I was once again out of time, therefore I decided to skip it and went back to the station and to sendai where I again went to look for something to eat and had a little night stroll, nothing worth mentioning.
HIRAIZUMI: OTBP: 9 OVERALL: 8
Day 5: today I decided to go to Kakunodate. The town is a easily reachable by train from sendai but a bit far compared to the day before. Went off the station and once again started walking. The place is known mainly for its many samurai houses, all indications point to them so it’s not possible to miss them. The town itself for the little I’ve seen doesn’t really seem to offer much apart from that but the samurai distict it’s nice. Many of the houses have been converted into small museums, that you can visit paying a small fee. I entered one of them, there was a little tour showing the history of the city and the history of the family of samurai living there. Among the things you could do you had the chance even to hold a real katana ( it felt quite a clumsy and top heavy sword compared to what I had imagined ). In fairness, to my taste, there isn’t much to do apart from visiting the samurai district, yes you can visit the local museum, do some craft shopping ( I bought a very nice box made of cherry bark there wich is a typical local craft ) therefore after a late lunch I was back to Sendai. In my opinion if you want to see a Samurai district you can also go to Kanazawa and there’s much more to see there overall compared to Kakunodate, but if you like the atmosphere of a smaller village instead of a big city and you like something more “off the beaten path” then I’d say go to kakunodate.
KAKUNODATE: OTBP: 8 ½ OVERALL: 6 ½
Given i was back to sendai relatively early, that gave me the opportunity to walk ( yes I walked even there ) to see the dai-kannon. The walk was nice, it took me through some very quiet neighbourhood that you wouldn’t normally visit. When I reached the statue It was too late to go inside it but I still had a good view of it. That is a quite impressive sight, you almost have difficulty to grasp the actual size of it. The area around the statue has really nothing to offer, therefore my honest suggestion is take a ride with the sightseeing bus and use that to reach it and once you’re finished with the statue move to a more interesting spot.
And this was my last day in Sendai. My plan at this point was to book two nights at Koriyama but probably because of the golden week I wasn’t able to find a hotel to my liking there therefore I decided to book one night in Fukushima and the next night in Koriyama. These were the two more expensive nights of all my trip and still ended up spending only around 70 € a night.
Day 6: plan for the day: leave the luggage in the hotel, visit Yamadera, go back to sendai, pick up the luggage and move to fukushima to spend the night. Yamadera is truly easy to reach from Sendai and a very recommended destination if you happen to be in Sendai. The place is mostly known for a temple that is reachable walking an abundant number of steps up a hillside. You reach the town, wich Is a very little and cozy village in the mountains west from Sendai and the temple is very close to the station so it’s not possible to miss it. You can tell the whole village revolves around the temple but it still maintain an authentic spirit. Lots of restaurants and little shops to visit on the road that brings to the temple. The temple itself is very “vertical” : sets of stone stairs will lead you up the side of the hills, till you reach the main building and a couple of satellite building where you’ll be rewarded by an amazing view on the village below. If you don’t mind stairs you’ll be rewarded with a very relaxing atmosphere. Here too given the latitude and the altitude I’ve been able to enjoy a couple of late blossoming cherry trees. The weather was amazing that day and all the gardens where full of flowers, this made the whole trip particularly enjoyable. Luckly I’m an early bird because later in the day the place was really packed with visitors. Once I was finished I had a nice set of Yamagata Dashi Soba in a typical restaurant with Tatamis low tables and a beautiful view on the river that cuts in half the village.
YAMADERA: OTBP: 10 OVERALL 9
After a late lunch I jumped back to the train, went back to sendai to pickup the luggage and moved to the next stop, Fukushima. Here I had the first disappointment of my trip. As my usual I booked a hotel that was close to the main train station, wich is usally the place where you want to be. I had a walk around there and the impression I got from Fukushima was that the place was miserable, a place that has really nothing much to offer to a tourist and not even to a citizen because compared to all the other places I’ve been in japan the impression was that even the locals weren’t as lively and enjoying life that much. I hope I’m not offending anyone and for sure I can’t give a proper review of the place after just an evening spent there, but the impression I got was of one of those town, that you can find in every country you'll visit, where young people can’t wait to get old enough to run away from.
FUKUSHIMA: OTBP: 9 ½ OVERALL: 4
DAY 7: wake up in fukushima, move to Koriyama, leave the luggage at the hotel, and then visit Ouchi-Juku and Aizu Wakamatsu. If you’re wondering, the thing is doable but you need to move early. Once you reach Koriyama you take the local train for Aizu Wakamatsu. There you jump on another local train, wich isn’t entirely operated by JR so you’ll have to pay a ticket, to Yunokami Onsen station where you end up in one of the coolest train stations in japan because it’s built in the style of a traditional house with wooden interiors and a straw roof, and it has a feet onsen right outside where you can wait the train while bathing your feet in thermal water, how cool is that?
From here you take a bus and reach Ouchi Juku. On paper it sounds harder than it actually is but you have to plan your trip properly. Ouchi Juku is a post town all made of traditional houses that reminds you a bit of Shirakawa Go, I frankly don’t know how it isn’t more popular among foreigners cause it’s truly a one of a kind place. Most probably is because it’s so off the beaten path and hard to reach. Still it’s extremely popular among Japanese people because the place was crowded and, when I left, the car traffic was stuck by how many people where trying to reach the place by car. I have to tell you in all honestly the place is probably a bit too touristy because there’s not a single house that isn’t turned into a gift shop or a restaurant. But still the place is so charming and picturesque that is totally worth a visit, plus the surrounding woods, mountains and rice field really act like a frame around the most beautiful picture. So I spend the morning here and around 2 pm I move back to Aizu, because there are really not many bus runs in the evening taking you back to Yunokami Onsen and you better reach the place early.
OUCHI JUKU: OTBP: 10 OVERALL: 9
That gives me the opportunity to visit Aizu Wakamatsu. Ive heard about the city for its castle and for the legend of the Byakko Tai. I get off to Aizu Wakamatsu main station and walk across town till I reach the castle. Keep in mind it’s Saturday and along the whole walk I might have crossed three people. The city was deserted and one thing I’ve learned is, if people on a Saturday evening flee a city like that, then there isn’t much to do or see there, and that’s the impression I got, kinda like Fukushima, probably even worse. Still, I reached the castle: the park is very nice, the castle is a beautiful Japanese castle but, to my understanding it’s a modern reconstruction cause the original castle was lost during the Meiji restoration as Aizu was one of the spots that rised against the emperor. At least around the castle there were now many people. From the castle, wich I didn’t visit inside, I went back to the train station, this time I reached Nanukamachi station and I have to admit it the area there seemed more alive and interesting to stroll around than the area around main Aizu station, therefore maybe I just walked across the wrong part of the town, I honestly can’t tell.
AIZU: OTBP: 9 OVERALL: 6
From Aizu I finally moved by train to Koriyama. I really didn’t spend enough time there to have a proper opinion but the impression I got was of a laid back place, more relaxing than sendai and definitely more alive than fukushima. If I had more time I’d probably give it a shot for a day visit, it might be a surprise.

DAY 8: by this day I ended up with a terrible sore throath that I had to endure almost till my last day in japan. I never had a fever but there was definitely something going around, I kept hearing many Japanese people coughing on trains all around japan so there was definitely something going around, maybe it’s just the season changing, it happens during this season all the times to have some cold or cough. Anyway, the day I had to wake up early and move from Koriyama to Nagoya by Shinkansen, wich was a considerably long trip but at least it gave me the opportunity to take probably the best picture I’ve ever take of mount fuji, from the train. Once in Nagoya I left the luggage in the hotel ( wich, thanks probably to the fact that the golden week just ended, I happened to book for 4 nights for a whopping 25€ a night wich was a total steal even for current Japanese standard prices ). There I immediately jumped on another train and went to visit Inuyama.
The area around Nagoya is a bit tricky cause it’s full of railroads operated by a company that is not JR wich are not covered by the JR Pass but there’s a JR station a bit to the north of Inuyama that will do the job. The place is totally recommended for three reason: it’s overall nice, with the Kiso river cutting it, the castle is one of the few original ones and even if small is considered a national treasure and the whole area around the castle is very nice and worthy to spend some time on. So I visited the castle, the view from the top floor is awesome and in a clear day you can easily spot the skyline of Nagoya. Outside the castle there’s an edo style street full of shops, restaurants and street food that is nice to explore, totally recommended a walk there.
INUYAMA: OTBP: 8 ½ OVERALL: 10
Coming back to Nagoya I just had energy to look for food then I went back to my hotel for a good night of sleep.
DAY 9: a day trip from Nagoya to Ise. The trip isn’t that easy, you got to take a couple of trains if you move only by JR ( and a couple of stops of one of them aren’t even JR operated wich is a little confusing honestly ) and you end up in Iseshi station. From there I moved to Ise Jingu Geku, wich is the outer sanctuary and from there you can take a bus ( guess what, I walked instead ) to the main Ise sanctuary. If you don’t know Ise Jingu is the most sacred place in the Shinto religion and is regularly visited even by the emperor given his role in the Shinto religion. Inside the main temple one of the most sacred relics of Shinto religion is preserved.
Well, being totally honest here’s my impressions of Ise: it’s not simple to reach. The city itself, for what I’ve seen, looks like it has seen better days, meaning it looks like it’s falling apart. And the temples, there’s really not that much to see: they are in a forest, and the temples are not that spectacular, plus the most interesting parts are forbidden to visit. You can go to Atsuta Jingu without moving out from Nagoya and have a fairly realistic impression of what you would see in Ise without all the issues. I know people will attack me for what I’m saying, but that is what I’ve got from it. The most fun part was the edo style neighborhood that you can find right before entering the main Isu complex, wich looks almost like a theme park. I don’t say don’t go there, I say if you are, as you are probably, on borrowed time, with lots of places you want to visit and too few days to see them all, if Ise is in your list you might want to use the day to see something else.
ISE: OTBP: 6 ½ OVERALL: 6 ½
DAY 10: I decided to spend the day in Nagoya and take a look of the city, thanks also to the weather that was a bit rainy and really not inviting for another day trip. What I’ve seen in a day is the samurai exposition in Marunouchi. It’s free and it’s totally worth it, lots of beautiful samurai armours and swords. There’s another exposition that opened not many years ago that you can go nto too far but I didn’t visit so I can’t tell about that. From here I went to Nagoya castle. You pay to enter the complex but currently the Castle is under restoration and you can see it from outside ( it’s very impressive, Nagoya and Osaka castles are massive ) but not visit from inside. But the Honmaru Palace right beside it is open and totally worth a visit. From here took the subway ( yeah today I didn’t walk much so I got a subway day pass ) to the Osu Shotengai Shopping District, wich is the usual kind of covered shopping streets nest you can find in all the Japanese cities, and then moved again to Atsuta Jingu Shrine that, as I said, to me is a completely valid alternative to visiting Ise. The day went by without even noticing and I couldn’t see all the other places I had picked, like the Toyota museum, the tokugawa museum or the science museum, but that’s what you get when you only have one day dedicated to visit a city as big as Nagoya. Still I had time to get an impression of the city and I honestly don’t get the bad reputation it has among foreigners, the city looked to me quite interesting, nice, full of things to see and the people felt particularly laid back compared to cities like Tokyo or Osaka, it’s probably the place where I’ve seen the biggest number of tanned Japanese in all the country. To me Nagoya is totally worth at least two or three days dedicated only to visiting the city.
NAGOYA: OTBP: 5 OVERALL: 9
DAY 11: my original plan was to walk the Nakasendo from Magome to Tsumago. But the weather that day was kinda shit, I wasn’t feeling particularly In the mood of a walk because of my throath and I was starting to feel a bit tired, so I improvised and went for a day in Takayama and Gero Onsen. Takayama is pretty famous. I went there around 20 years ago and I remembered it as a very nice place. Getting back now, with all the Japanese places I’ve seen so far, I would say this: the train trip to Takayama is Spectacular, is a truly feast for the eyes. The town itself, it left me a little disappointed. The Edo style streets that its famous for, I’ve seen so many of them at that point around japan that it didn’t really leave a significant impression on me. And it was honestly smaller than I remembered it. Plus the weather, as I said, didn’t help. So overall the reality didn’t stand up to my memories and my expectations. Plus most of the houses there have now been turned in cheap souvenir shops with nothing giving you an authentic feeling. Don’t know, probably I wasn’t really in the mood that day.
TAKAYAMA: OTBP: 2 OVERALL: 6 ½
I took the opportunity on the way back to stop at Gero Onsen. Unfortunately I didn’t have the time to actually stop for an onsen cause overall the whole day wasn’t planned and I mainly improvised. Still the town is very nice and probably, having no expectations or no knowledge of it, even more worth visiting than Takayama. Had a nice walk around the town, and at least had the opportunity to “feel” the thermal water cause there’s plenty of fountains with hot spring water where you can rest your feet or your hands. It was enough to make me aware that a proper onsen there must be a very enjoyable experience.
GERO ONSENS: OTBP: 8 OVERALL: 8
And after this I went to Nagoya where I spent my last night in the city.

DAY 12: moving to Fukuoka ( Hakata ). I booked a hotel near Hakata station so I jumped on the shinkansen and moved there. The ride was as confortable as any shinkansen ride can be and I reached the place sooner than I imagined. First thing was a good look of the city from the panoramic floor in the station. Then had a walk to the Canal City mall wich is a very weirdly and interesting designed mall that is a very popular location in town. Had a walk from there to Nakasu island where I got a quick dinner considering it was already time, and had another walk around the area wich unfortunately will turn out to be my only experience of Fukuoka. I’ll spend here three nights but the following days will be so full that won’t give me any chance to visit the town more, so in the end I don’t really have an opinion on Fukuoka if not that I should probably have spent more time there, but unfortunately the days you have are numbered and there’s so much to see that you have to give up something here and there, so i won't even give a vote to the city.
DAY 13: Destination is Kagoshima that it’s easily reachable by train. I went there with no real expectation and I was totally blown away. Something clicked and I instantly liked the town, I must say that probably the fact that one of the most beautiful girls I’ve seen in japan out of the blue started a conversation with me on the train probably helped a lot in putting me in a good mood.
From the station I walked downtown till the coast. On the way I stopped shopping a bit, found a local market where local artisans that day were exposing their crafts wich I liked a lot and went to the top floor of the Centerrace Mall to get a panoramic view of the city with an amazing view on Sakurajima volcano. If you don’t know it’s the symbol of the city and it’s said to be almost always active, the whole day I’ve been there he kept puffing little clouds of smoke from time to time, it was very cool. So, once reached the cost I walked ( you should know it by now ) till I reached Sengan-En wich is the garden and the palace of a local lord and it’s very beautiful, totally worth a visit, also compared to many other places in japan, this is more modern and therefore more unique both in the architecture of the palace and the style of the garden. I’d say if you are in Kagoshima you won’t regret visiting it ( maybe don’t do like me and take a bus cause it’s more than 6 km from the station ). After visiting Sengan En I went back to the ferries and took a ferry to Sakurajima. The ferry is very cheap, 200 yen, and quick to reach it’s destination, but on Sakurajima there’s really not much to do if you don’t plan to use a bus or some other kind of transportation. Since it was already evening, I had nothing planned and I had to go back to Hakata, I just took the time to have a walk on the Lava Trail wich is a walk in a natural park that has grown over an old lava flow, wich is a quite unique thing that I enjoyed more than I expected. Then I went back to Kagoshima, had dinner and moved back to Hakata. I have to say I really enjoyed Kagoshima, the city has a unique vibe, very laid back, the people seemed to be relaxed and happy and were much more open toward foreigners than anywhere I’ve experienced. If I’ll ever be back in japan I’ll surely manage to spend some more time in Kagoshima. I took the train and I was back in hakata at around midnight so I went straight to bed in hotel
KAGOSHIMA: OTBP: 10 OVERALL: 10
Day 14: Nagasaki. Another fairly easy destination to reach from Fukuoka. The city itself is very narrow and develops around its river. As a tourist I was immediately attracted to its atomic bomb museum, wich is north from the station. I went there, you don’t say, by foot.
And later, once I’ve done with the atomic bomb part, the Nagasaki near the sea.
And here starts the tale of the two Nagasaki, because it feels like two different places in one. The north part, wich I didn’t enjoy much, felt a bit neglected and it’s mostly houses where people live. And it’s the part where you’ll see more tourists because as I said all the atomic spots are there.
On the other hand the south part near the city was to me much more alive and full of life, I’m no expert but that’s probably where the locals like to spend their free time and on the other hand you’ll see way less tourists here.
Back to the morning, I did what most tourists do, and visited the atomic bomb museum, the peace park, the ipocenter, and went also to see the half standing torii that is one of the few authentic places left as testament of the bombing, around the city. Talking about the museum, I’ve been to both thins and Hiroshima and, even if Hiroshima is bigger and with much more to see, I would suggest if one has the opportunity to visit also the Nagasaki one, it absolutely has its own legs to stand on. On a side note, out of 10 visitors, 9 were foreigners, I guess Japanese already know their history and don’t feel the need to visit such a place on a nice Sunday morning.
The peace park it’s a park, there you can see the famous statue wich is one of the main symbols of Nagasaki and that, if you ask me, is one of the ugliest statues you can find in the world, but still if you’re in Nagasaki you probably don’t want to miss it.
After lunch I moved to the sea side, here I’ve seen DeiJima wich is the former artificial island where the Portuguese were segregated centuries ago, very interesting place, kinda like a mix of an open air museum and a theme park, felt a little bit plastic but still worth some of your time.
Then had a walk to the near seaside park wich is a very nice and relaxing place where flocks of eagles fly so low over your head that if you rise your hand you can almost touch them, and pretty much ended the day there before having to go back to Fukuoka.
NAGASAKI: OTBP: 5 OVERALL: 7 ½

Day 15 – 16 - 17: my last full days in japan. I was in need of some rest at this point and I needed to move closer to Narita where I had booked my flight for day 18, so i spent more than half of day 15 to transfer from Hakata to Tokyo. I booked my last hotel for three nights near Otsuka station, wich if you ask me is a nice spot to stay in Tokyo. When I arrived in the evening there was a rose festival and all around the station there were roses bushes in flower and there were people singing and the whole station looked alive but also quiet, if you like a place to stay In Tokyo that it’s not chaotic like Shinjuku or Shibuya I’d recommend Otsuka.
The last days aren’t really worth mentioning, I’ve spent most of the time shopping for souvenirs, and recovering for all the travel i did the two weeks before. I explored a couple of places worth mentioning that not everyone ever goes to in Tokyo, like Nakano Broadway ( a weird shopping district that feels like a little Akiabara ), Nippori where there’s a little known street nice for shopping, or Chiba where there’s one of the biggest mall in japan but apart from that nothing much that you can read in the report of anyone who have been to Tokyo.
And with this, I think I can conclude my report. If you want me to upload some picture and you have a site to suggest me where it’s easy to upload and you don’t have to make an account let me know and if there’s enough interest I will oblige as soon as I’ve finished downloading all the pictures from my phone.

DAY: May 19 2024

• 5-19-2024 ILLNESS TOOK AWAY HER VOICE. AI CREATED A REPLICA SHE CARRIES IN HER PHONE Alexis Bogan, whose speech was impaired by a brain tumor, uses an AI powered smartphone app to create a audible drink order at a Starbucks drive-thru on Monday, April 29, 2024, in Lincoln, R.I. The app converts her typed entries into a verbal message created using her original voice. Credit: AP Photo/Steven Senne The voice Alexis “Lexi” Bogan had before last summer was exuberant. She loved to belt out Taylor Swift and Zach Bryan ballads in the car. She laughed all the time—even while corralling misbehaving preschoolers or debating politics
• 5-19-2024 SMART CONTACT LENSES LEAD THE WAY FOR HUMAN-MACHINE INTERACTION Scientists have developed eye-tracking smart content lenses based on radio frequency tags that can be used for various applications, including health care and augmented reality (AR). The lenses are biocompatible and imperceptible, requiring no battery or conventional silicon chips. Smart contact lenses that can keep track of various health factors and can be used for human-machine interaction (HMI) are a relatively new technology.
• 5-19-2024 INTEL EXEC ON BRINGING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INTO THE WORKPLACE Artificial intelligence is just about everywhere you look these days—including the workplace. That means training staff about the technology and using it responsibly is critical. It’s a tall order, especially as the commercialization of generative AI continues its rapid growth. Now some tech players have kickstarted initiatives in hopes of meeting that need. Christy Pambianchi, chief people officer at Intel, recently spoke with The Associated Press about how the semiconductor chip maker is expanding AI education programming beyond the company’s walls—as well as best practices around
• 5-19-2024 JUST BELIEVING THAT AN AI IS HELPING BOOSTS YOUR PERFORMANCE, STUDY FINDS Sometimes it seems like an AI is helping, but the benefit is actually a placebo effect—people performing better simply because they expect to be doing so—according to new research from Aalto University. The study also shows how difficult it is to shake people’s trust in the capabilities of
• 5-19-2024 FEMALE HEALTH APPS MISUSE HIGHLY SENSITIVE DATA, STUDY FINDS Apps designed for female health monitoring are exposing users to unnecessary privacy and safety risks through their poor data handling practices, according to new research from King’s College London and University College London (UCL). In the most extensive evaluation of the privacy practices of female health apps to date, researchers found apps that handle medical and fertility data are coercing users into entering sensitive information that could put them at risk.
• 5-19-2024 OPENAI GIVES CHATGPT NEW POWERS TO SEE, HEAR OpenAI and Microsoft are in a heated rivalry with Google to be generative AI’s major player, but Facebook-owner Meta and upstart Anthropic are also making big moves to compete. OpenAI on Monday released a higher performing and even more human-like version of the artificial intelligence technology that underpins its popular generative tool ChatGPT, making it free to all users. The update to OpenAI’s flagship product landed a day before Google is expected to make its own announcements about Gemini, the search engine giant’s own AI tool that competes with ChatGPT
• 5-19-2024 CHATBOTS TELL PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR, RESEARCHERS FIND Chatbots share limited information, reinforce ideologies, and, as a result, can lead to more polarized thinking when it comes to controversial issues, according to new Johns Hopkins University–led research. The study challenges perceptions that chatbots are impartial and provides insight into how using conversational search systems could widen the public divide on hot-button issues and leave people vulnerable to manipulation. “Because people are reading a summary paragraph generated by AI, they think they’re getting unbiased, fact-based answers,”
• 5-19-2024 STUDENTS, ACTIVISTS, ENTERTAINERS: MINECRAFT’S GLOBAL APPEAL Since the first version of Minecraft was released to the public 15 years ago, the block-based world-building game has become a global phenomenon. Since the first version of Minecraft was released to the public 15 years ago, the block-based world-building game has become a global phenomenon. Players of all ages and backgrounds have used the game for everything from educational projects and architecture to building communities and creating artwork. With more than 300 million copies sold, it is the best-selling video game of all time.
• 5-19-2024 SWISS NURSERY LETS ROBOT DO THE TALKING Swiss children in a Lausanne creche have some fun with their new robot friend, Nao. Sat in a circle on the nursery floor, a group of Swiss three-year-olds ask a robot called Nao questions about giraffes and broccoli. By the time these children become adults, interacting with robots may well be as commonplace as using a smartphone, experts believe. So one Lausanne creche has decided to give them a head start.
• 5-19-2024 EU TO ENCOURAGE INFLUENCERS TO HAVE ‘POSITIVE’ IMPACT Younger audiences increasingly get their information from influencers as they turn away from traditional media. The EU announced steps Tuesday to encourage influencers to post content that has a “positive” impact on society, as concerns rise over disinformation in a fragmented information landscape. With online creators increasingly the preferred source of news and opinions for younger audiences in the European Union, Brussels said they needed to be helped to use their role wisely. Ministers from EU countries responsible for culture, audiovisual and media issues approved a series of steps
• 5-19-2024 THE METAVERSE COULD CHANGE OUR RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES, AND CREATE NEW ONES New technologies have always informed and changed our religious experiences. Listening to early radio broadcasts in the 1880s was experienced by many as religious because radio voices seemed to come from some other dimension. Séances became wildly popular at the time because it was thought by some that radio had opened a door to the spirit world. Today, religion is experiencing new transformations. The information-rich, image-laden character of the internet can provide new ways to understand and explain religious activity.
• 5-19-2024RESEARCH SHEDS LIGHT ON THE WEB OF TRUST, PRIVACY AND SAFETY FACTORS SHAPING USERS’ EXPERIENCES ON FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE Love it or hate it, Facebook Marketplace is the largest online resale site today with more than one billion monthly users.
• 5-19-2024RESEARCH SHEDS LIGHT ON THE WEB OF TRUST, PRIVACY AND SAFETY FACTORS SHAPING USERS’ EXPERIENCES ON FACEBOOK MARKETPLACE Google on Tuesday rolled out a retooled search engine that will frequently favor responses crafted by artificial intelligence over website links, a shift promising to quicken the quest for information while also potentially disrupting the flow of money-making internet traffic. The makeover announced at Google’s annual developers conference will begin this week in the U.S. when hundreds of millions of people will start to periodically see conversational summaries
• 5-19-2024 NEW STRATEGIC DESIGN APPROACH FOCUSES ON TURNING AI MISTAKES INTO USER BENEFITS More and more often, automated lending systems powered by artificial intelligence (AI) reject qualified loan applicants without explanation. Even worse, they leave rejected applicants with no recourse. People can have similar experiences when applying for jobs or petitioning their health insurance providers. While AI tools determine the fate of people in difficult situations daily, Upol Ehsan says more thought should be given to challenging these decisions or working around them. Ehsan, a Georgia Tech explainable AI (XAI) researcher, says many rejection cases are not the applicant’s fault.
• 5-19-2024 MANAGING SCREEN TIME BY MAKING PHONES SLIGHTLY MORE ANNOYING TO USE Existing apps for managing screen time can abruptly lock users out of their phone. If users were in the middle of an important task, they could scramble to skip the time limit, opening themselves up to spend more time on their phone than originally intended. InteractOut’s interventions are more gradual and allow users to decide when to put down their phones while also encouraging them to think harder about their smartphone use.
• 5-19-2024 DIGITAL TWIN HELPS OPTIMIZE MANUFACTURING SPEED WHILE SATISFYING QUALITY CONSTRAINTS Feedrate optimization using an uncertainty-aware digital twin demonstrates significant cycle time reductions of up to 38% in a CNC machine tool while staying close to the error tolerances compared to the existing methods. A new method uses a digital twin to optimize manufacturing machine speed—known as feed rate—while adhering to quality constraints,
• 5-19-2024 THE INCREASING DIFFICULTY OF DETECTING AI- VERSUS HUMAN-GENERATED TEXT Generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools are used to create text, images and videos, impacting the way society consumes and produces online content. As that technology continues to evolve, it is becoming increasingly difficult to tell the difference between AI-generated and human-generated content. Determining the integrity of online information—particularly text—is the current research focus in the Penn State Information Knowledge and wEb (PIKE) Lab, led by Dongwon Lee, professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Penn State. In a discussion with Penn State News, Lee spoke about the
• 5-19-2024 RESEARCH TEAM WORKS TO IMPROVE AI-BASED DECISION-MAKING TOOLS FOR PUBLIC SERVICES More and more public services—such as affordable housing, public school matching and child welfare—are relying on algorithms to make decisions and allocate resources. So far, much of the work that has gone into designing these systems has focused on workers’ experiences using them or communities’ perceptions of them. But what about the actual impact of these programs have on people, especially when the decisions the systems make lead to denial of services? Can you design algorithms to help people make sense of and contest decisions that significantly impact them?
• 5-19-2024 CINEMATIC TOOLS CAN SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE USER EXPERIENCE IN VIRTUAL REALITY ENVIRONMENTS Without teleportation, many users would be unable to use virtual reality due to motion sickness. Unfortunately, teleportation can cause users to miss important aspects of their surroundings. Credit: Alan Medlar Cinematography techniques can significantly increase user engagement with virtual environments and, in particular, the aesthetic appeal of what users see in virtual reality.
• 5-19-2024 HUMAN DIFFERENCES IN JUDGMENT LEAD TO PROBLEMS FOR AIThe noise level observed in ComVE annotations when controlling the minimum (a) and maximum (b) allowable labels for each turker (we omit the residual in these two figures as, similar to what was observed earlier for TG-CSR, it was nearly coincidental with the level noise curve). We also report the statistics of statements categorized by the number of annotation labels under different cutoff methods used for screening participating annotators
• 5-19-2024 HUMAN DIFFERENCES IN JUDGMENT LEAD TO PROBLEMS FOR AI Innovation is rarely accidental. Behind every new invention and product, including the device you are using to read this story, is years of research, investment, and planning. Organizations that want to reach these milestones in the fastest and most efficient way possible use technology roadmaps.
• 5-19-2024 HUMAN DIFFERENCES IN JUDGMENT LEAD TO PROBLEMS FOR AI A team of researchers at Delft University of Technology has developed a drone that flies autonomously using neuromorphic image processing and control based on the workings of animal brains. Animal brains use less data and energy compared to current deep neural networks running on graphics processing units (GPUs).
• 5-19-2024 US SENATORS UNVEIL ‘ROADMAP’ TO AI LAWS Top US lawmakers on Wednesday said efforts to pass laws governing AI were entering a higher gear and hoped to pump $32 billion into the sector to help assure US dominance. US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said bipartisan legislators had agreed on a policy roadmap and had tasked key senate committees to draft specific proposals on regulating AI. The US is home to the biggest AI companies in the world and has trailed the EU and other regions on coming up with rules to rein in the sector.
• 5-19-2024 US SENATORS UNVEIL ‘ROADMAP’ TO AI LAWS Google chief executive Sundar Pichai says the AI revamp of its online search engine will soon spread to countries other than the United States. Google’s use of artificial intelligence to sum up answers to search queries has publishers wondering if traffic to their websites will wither. The internet titan announced Tuesday it is introducing AI-generated answers to online queries in the United States, in one of the biggest changes to its world-leading search engine in 25 years.
• 5-19-2024 CONSUMER GROUPS ACCUSE TEMU OF MANIPULATING ONLINE SHOPPERS Chinese shopping app Temu has on average around 75 million monthly active users in the EU. European consumer groups on Thursday accused Chinese shopping app Temu of using “manipulative techniques” to make users spend more and other violations of a landmark EU tech law. One of the fastest-growing apps, Temu only entered the EU market in April 2023 and says it has on average around 75 million monthly active users in the 27-country bloc. Europe’s BEUC umbrella consumer rights group filed a complaint with the European Commission while 17 member
• 5-19-2024 PARENTS UNDERESTIMATE THE PRIVACY RISKS KIDS FACE IN VIRTUAL REALITY Nearly two thirds of parents of children aged 5–10 don’t understand the metaverse, according to the Institution of Engineering and Technology. Credit: Kampus Production/Pexels/public domain Virtual reality lets kids play 3D games with their friends as avatars, go back in time, even journey to outer space, all without leaving their living rooms. But while children are immersed in the metaverse, they also face privacy risks that their parents might not recognize
• 5-19-2024 MODEL DISGORGEMENT—THE KEY TO FIXING AI BIAS AND COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT? By now, the challenges posed by generative AI are no secret. Models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude and Meta’s Llama have been known to “hallucinate,” inventing potentially misleading responses, as well as divulge sensitive information, like copyrighted materials.
• 5-19-2024 CAN WE RID ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OF BIAS? AI giants face a challenge of making artficial intelligence models reflect the world’s diversity without being overly politically correct. Artificial intelligence built on mountains of potentially biased information has created a real risk of automating discrimination, but is there any way to re-educate the machines? The question for some is extremely urgent. In this ChatGPT era, AI will generate more and more decisions for health care providers, bank lenders or lawyers, using whatever was scoured from the internet as source material.
• 5-19-2024 CHATGPT IS NOW BETTER THAN EVER AT FAKING HUMAN EMOTION AND BEHAVIOR OpenAI executive Mira Murati launching GPT-4o. Credit: OpenAI Earlier this week OpenAI launched GPT-4o (“o” for “omni”), a new version of the artificial intelligence (AI) system powering the popular ChatGPT chatbot. GPT-4o is promoted as a step towards more natural engagement with AI. According to the demonstration video, it can have voice conversations with users in near real-time, exhibiting human-like personality and behavior. This emphasis on personality is likely to be a point of contention. In OpenAI’s demos, GPT-4o sounds friendly, empathetic and engaging. It tells “spontaneous” jokes, giggles, flirts
• 5-19-2024 MOST PEOPLE STILL THINK BARRISTERS NEED TO SOUND POSH, RESEARCH SHOWS—BUT ACCENT DISCRIMINATION SERVES NO ONE In the UK legal system, a barrister’s job is to present formalized legal arguments in court and at tribunals. Training to become one, therefore, involves considerable focus on oral skills. It is considered important that barristers have the ability to speak “eloquently.” This risks people thinking there is a “correct” way of speaking in order to be successful in this career. Accents, of course, play an important role here. Accent-based bias discriminates against speakers with non-standard accents—people whose speech differs from Received Pronunciation (RP).
• 5-19-2024 A MINUTE’S SILENCE IS FINE BUT WHEN IT COMES TO VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, BEING QUIET ISN’T ENOUGH Sport has a role to play in creating a culture of respect, yet women in sport are often seen as “less than” on almost every measure: salaries, sponsorship, broadcasting, leadership, access, media, coaching, officiating, uniforms and support. Research shows 3 out of 4 Australian men are gender equality supporters, but very few (17%) prioritize taking any action. As Australia grapples with a “national crisis” of violence against women, what can men in sport do to help?
• 5-19-2024 ARE CANADIANS TOO POOR TO BREAK UP? Why did Al and Peg Bundy from the sitcom Married… with Children never get divorced? After all, they were rarely happy and constantly arguing. Maybe they felt they were the best they could do for each other—a middle-aged homely shoe salesman and a stay-at-home mom with two kids. They cared for each other, but they also hated each other deeply. And neither ever cheated, despite having the opportunity. However, what if the Bundys lived in Canada today?
• 5-19-2024 REPORT LOOKS AT ‘POVERTY STIGMA’ THROUGH A NEW LENS TO STAMP IT OUT OF SOCIETY Stigma is a glue that holds poverty, inequality and economic insecurity in place enabling and exacerbating inequalities of wealth, health and opportunity, says a new report. Poverty stigma is a “wicked social problem,” highly complex, difficult to define and challenging to solve
• 5-19-2024 HOW CRAFT-BASED FIRMS PROJECT AUTHENTICITY THROUGH CREDIBLY AND VISIBLY COMMUNICATING THEIR IDENTITY Consumers are drawn to authenticity when it comes to craft-based firms, and a study looked at how managers in identity-driven markets are challenged to maintain their authenticity as their company’s scale of operations expands. In such craft industries, the authors note, overt claims of authenticity by producers are ineffective.
• 5-19-2024 PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH OFFERS STRATEGIES FOR HEALTHY POLITICAL DISCUSSIONS AMONG PEOPLE WITH OPPOSING VIEWS Civilized political debates may seem increasingly out of reach as democracies across the world face rising polarization, but people still want to discuss issues with people they disagree with—especially those who present themselves as balanced and willing to seek solutions that work for everyone or open to learning new information, according to two studies published by the American Psychological Association.
• 5-19-2024 MORE THAN HALF OF AMERICANS GIVE TO CHARITY AT CHECKOUT, SURVEY SHOWS 53% of Americans give to charity at checkout, and young and diverse people tend to do it more often, according to new research from Binghamton University, State University of New York. Credit: Binghamton University, State University of New York Fifty-three percent of Americans give impulsively to charities at the checkout, and certain demographics tend to give more, according to a new survey conducted by faculty at Binghamton University,