Memorandum of public speaking

Public speaking

2008.12.04 06:35 Public speaking

publicspeaking is a place for anything and everything to do with the art of public speaking. Whether you want to share a video of a great speech or want some help with a school speech assignment publicspeaking is the place for you!
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2008.06.24 10:58 Debate

/Debate is a subreddit dedicated to discussing formal styles of speech debate as practiced in high school and college. These include Lincoln Douglas, Policy, Public Forum, Parliamentary, and Congressional Debates, as well as speech events like Original Oratory, Interpretation, and Extemporaneous Speaking.
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2019.07.18 02:29 amitkukreja ThePublicSpeaker

This community is related to all things public speaking. It's purpose is to be a useful resource to answer questions regarding how to get better and get over the fear of public speaking. I (Amit Kukreja) am a public speaking coach and have been speaking for the past decade. Most of the content I put out on social media is dedicated to helping people with public speaking and my company's mission is to rid the world's fear of public speaking. Enjoy the group and don't be afraid to ask questions!
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2024.05.21 23:22 ianrafalko Stop amplifying these harassment-centric Scientology “protests”.

2nd generation Scientologist here, I left a few years back (was in for 24 years) and have been speaking out and advocating for holding the cult accountable like many in the anti-Scientology community. And although I am glad to see many more people are protesting these days then in recent years, it’s worth considering WHY we are protesting in the first place.
Don’t get me wrong, there are many valid ways to protest Scientology in order to hold them accountable for their abuse of their members, be it financial, mental, emotional or otherwise. However, recently, I and many others in this community have noticed a trend of people going out of their way to scream at, harass, and publicly humiliate individual members who have nothing to do with management or who have no power or wherewithal to move the needle in holding the cult accountable. Many of these are also done through monetized livestreams, where they are literally profiting off of the humiliation and harassment of strangers. scientologists are already humiliated by management from how they’ve been going to extreme lengths to cover up abuses, create slander websites about ex-members who speak out and represent themselves as a malicious, secretive and as an otherwise horrendously deceptive and dangerous organization.
StreetsLA being one of the first to instigate the trend and another major figure in the community seeing the views he got and promoting it as some kind of advantageous business opportunity where you can make a YouTube channel screaming at and harassing People (who are literally forbidden to stick up for themselves) for money. Many of these personalities following suit are wildly narcissistic, clout chasing freaks who say the most vile and inhumane shit I’ve ever heard, but it’s these types of people who are attracted to these types of protests.
This is a serious fight with serious implications for those who’ve been affected by the cult, and although I understand the dramatic appeal, it’s being turned into a sideshow for entertainment, with no regard to the ramifications of said behavior. In Scientology, you’re indoctrinated to believe (like in many cults) that it is “us versus them“ that all who have not learned the “true workable technology“ of Scientology are insane and under the thumb of some ancient cabal of evil psychiatrists, blah blah. The point is, these types of protests literally prove (from the Scientologist perspective) that L. Ron Hubbard was right and they are wise to stay within the cult because it is safer than leaving, it emboldens them to trust this technology deeper because every time they walk outside, someone is screaming “GET BACK IN YOUR CULT!” at the top of their lungs for days/weeks on end.
Yes, many Scientologists are so lost in the sauce they go out of their way to attempt to intimidate protesters(most of which are management reps of individual orgs who are trained to do so), while management drafts up the legal documents to attack them. But most (imo) are harmless normal folk who have been manipulated extensively and probably have doubts about Scientology effectiveness because of how in debt they are or how little “progress“ they have made, there are children in many of those buildings and it’s hard to say what impression they’re getting from the protesters I’m referring to, I can tell you when I was a kid, seeing seeing people in masks screaming at me and my family as I walked in was very confusing and frightening to say the least.
The nuance here is, although Scientology is a corrupt, evil and destructive cult, we must appeal to those who have the power to remove Scientology’s tax exempt status, we must appeal to the humanity in its members to use common sense, to have some self-respect and understand that they are being used and spreading Scientology is doing the opposite of helping mankind.
Realistically, Scientology as a concept will never go away, and there will always be a small amount of people who stick up for it, but we can make actual effective change that removes Scientology’s ability to silence victims, abuse children, elder abuse, coverup sexual abuse, traffic whole families for labor, etc.
I understand that this kind of content can be entertaining for many of you, but what they are doing is setting us back and I’m not going to pretend that one of the biggest podcasts in the world (that I’ve been a fan of since it began) amplifying and bolstering such behavior hasn’t been disappointing to say the least.
I implore you to seek to understand the nuance in this area and stop promoting abusive behavior, you cannot abuse people out of an abusive situation and the only way scientologists at large will leave as if they understand that the indoctrination they’ve been fed is malicious and wrong.
The H3 channels and pod have always been an outlet for me to relieve stress and laugh when everything else in my life feels like shit, even when I was in the cult. So I won’t stop watching, but I’ve said my peace and I appreciate the tolerance and inclusivity this community promotes. So with that. Peace.
🤙
submitted by ianrafalko to h3h3productions [link] [comments]


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2024.05.21 23:13 PoliticsModeratorBot Discussion Thread: Assorted Special, Primary, Recall, and General Elections on May 21st, 2024 in California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, New York, and Oregon

News (Overview)

California

Today some Californians will complete their voting in the special general election for CA's US House District 20. Per the New York Times: "Nine candidates are vying to fill the seat left vacant by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for the duration of his term, which ends in early 2025. Two weeks ago, a primary election was held to fill the seat for a full two-year term starting next year. In that race, two Republicans who are running again today, Vince Fong, a state Assemblyman, and Mike Boudreaux, the Tulare County sheriff, advanced to the November general election."
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Results and Resources

Florida

Per Ballotpedia, Florida's sole election today is the "Special general election for Orlando City Council Commissioner District 5"
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Results

Georgia

Per the Georgia Recorder: "Georgians will have one last opportunity Tuesday to head to the polls to vote in state and congressional primaries and a host of nonpartisan races on ballots all across the state."
Resources
News and Analysis
Live Updates
Results

Idaho

Idahoans finish voting today in statewide primaries as well as a local recall election in Kamiah
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Results

Kentucky

Resources
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Results

New York

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Oregon

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Announcements
1) We are actively looking for new moderators. If you have any interest in helping to make this subreddit a place for quality discussion, please fill out this form.
2) Those looking for the earlier discussion thread from today on Secretary of State Blinken's testimony before the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee can find that at this link.
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2024.05.21 23:06 Lost-Occasion-7243 Jonathan Lyons

https://www.montereyherald.com/2023/03/14/carmel-unified-releases-investigative-report-of-high-school-principal/ Hello, as I’ve seen this article, and known this man personally. I had the coincidental privilege of living in Carmel ( going to Carmel High) and living in Medford later in life. This article barely skims the surface, Jonathan Lyon is a man not to be trusted. When multiple girls from this high school came to him, asking for help in sexual exploitation and videos being distributed, he told these young girls to not speak of it. Made them not victims, but perpetrators, threatened them with the looming threat of child porn charges. Fully knowing they were against the young women’s knowledge or consent. In the time I was enrolled, he stood protecting a teacher later convicted of sexual misconduct with underage girls, including but not limited to child pornography. Perpetuated a culture of wealth and privilege, and above all public image. Your child is not safe with this man, he will not protect them. The only interest he has is in his own self. He should never work with children again, god forbid another young woman become a victim.
submitted by Lost-Occasion-7243 to Medford [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 22:52 Affectionate_Run3921 My FIRE playbook

I replied to a post the other day and received some requests to share more about my story as to how I grew my annual earnings from 28k to 750k, and my net worth from a starting point of being in debt to what is now on track to be $10M+ when I retire early in a few years at 55. This happened slowly but steadily over the course of a 30 year career. I replied that my story was not very exciting, and that I’m not sure how replicable or relevant it is, but I am happy to share it here in hopes there is some value for someone.
TLDR version: Get in the door at a big company, climb the corporate ladder, don’t let lifestyle creep sabotage your path to FIRE, invest all you can along the way for the long term.
More detailed version for anyone interested:
I grew up lower middle class. Far from poverty, but we didn’t have a lot. As a kid, I wanted more and set very specific goals towards finding ways to make money and to one day retire early. I didn’t know any successful people, but figured it starts with going to college. No one else in my family had done that, but I went off to a state school and put myself through 4 years to get a Bachelors in Business Wanted to try something entrepreneurially after, but couldn’t afford to and needed to get a job to start paying back the loans.
I had read every career and business book I could get my hands on. The job search strategy I chose was to get hired in an entry level role at a branch of a Fortune 500 company and work my way up, or leave in a few years and apply what I had learned to my own business. I got a couple interviews but wasn’t getting hired because I lacked experience.
Sales seemed to be the best place to start from what I had read, and I ended up getting hired in a sales job at a small company earning $28k. Once I had a year of experience I again started applying to big companies. I don’t want to get into what company or specific field I’m in, but it’s not FAANG / tech, not healthcare, and not banking/finance. I really don’t think industry/field matters as much as size of company does. Big, publicly held corporations benchmark compensation levels and tend to structure pay similarly to be competitive.
Also, everyone says pick a field you are passionate about. That’s great advice, but I think the culture of the company matters most. I targeted large, growing industries and researched company culture. Speaking to people first hand instead of relying on online reviews, which often have negative bias. My 21 year old logic was to work backwards - big successful companies with a good culture will have the most opportunities for me to grow, advance and earn more over time.
I finally got in the door and landed a sales job at a small district of a Fortune 500, making 60k. I outperformed my peer group and built a name for myself internally and externally in the market over my first 2 years. By now I was making 80k and ready to move up, but there were not any openings expected anytime soon. Around this time, I got recruited by a different company as a manager and accepted. My comp jumped to 130k. More importantly, this company was performing better, had a better culture, and had more internal opportunities. I made it known I was here to grow and make contributions to the business, and wanted to advance. Management liked the enthusiasm and I delivered on results. I also constantly invested in my own professional development. I learned everything about our customers and competitors, and brought forward ideas and strategies to stay ahead of the game. A few more years of this, and I moved out of sales and into other departments to learn more about the business and grow my experience - Operations, Marketing, etc.
25 years and a series of promotions later I was promoted to be one of a handful of Vice Presidents running the company. There are obviously a lot of variables and this path isn’t for everyone, and it’s up to you what applies for you. For me, the themes that worked were: Out work and outperform others. Keep a positive attitude. Seek mentorship. Be a lifelong learner. Build relationships at all levels of the company - treat everyone the same regardless of position or title. Be quick to adapt to constantly changing environments. And most importantly, never comprise your integrity. It’s everything you have. Performance is only table stakes. You need a good attitude and people skills to go with it if you’re going to advance. High performance gets you exposure to upper management, and how you show up in those exposures becomes your image over time. Image carries the most weight for promotions based on studies. It’s up to you to manage yours.
Outside of work, my wife stayed home and we raised our family very comfortably on my growing salary. We lived well but didn’t spend any more when I made 750k than we did at 200k. We paid off all debt as soon as possible, including our house, allowing us to maximize the amount we were able to invest over a long time period.
I hope that aspects of this are helpful to some of you. Happy to answer any questions here but no private messages please. Too many scams. Best regards.
submitted by Affectionate_Run3921 to Fire [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 22:51 Koala_Guru Why Hank's villain era didn't work, and how it easily could've (Long Essay)

Hopefully this isn’t downvoted instantly, because I know people seem to get strangely very defensive about Beast’s characterization in this run. I think there is a lot of miscommunication whenever a Beast fan complains about how he was depicted here. Often times people will discount those complaints because they think Beast fans just don’t want him to go bad, when that doesn’t really seem to be the whole truth from what I’ve seen. Ultimately, the complaints I raise and I have seen others raise are more about thinking the writing of his spiral in X-Force 2019 was not done well rather than that said spiral shouldn’t have happened at all. With the Krakoa era coming to an end, and “From the Ashes” having the now-rebooted Beast who is pulled all the way from his time on The Defenders, I don’t see any of the flaws here being addressed beyond characters casually referring to how bad he became. So I wanted to take this time in the in-between, where our new Beast is apparently just chilling on Wonder Man’s couch while the rest of the X-Men fight against Orchis and Nimrod, to once and for all lay out the flaws of Beast’s villainous era, and establish not that it shouldn’t have happened, but that it could have been way better.
Problem 1: A Lack of Pathos:
Most X-Men fans who have been reading for awhile will agree that it’s honestly surprising more mutants haven’t gone down a dark path. Their history is one of striving for acceptance, putting their lives on the line for people who would rather see them dead, and being rewarded with not one but multiple genocides on their population. Some of the most interesting stories can actually come from a formally “upstanding” mutant finally deciding enough is enough. When Cyclops went down his “villainous” path, it made a lot of sense. We’d seen him becoming more disenfranchised with the dream for years. We’d seen his trust in Xavier erode time and time again, and so when he decided to stop asking for acceptance and start demanding it, it was hard to blame him. Even as we saw most of his friends turn against him, that didn’t stop people from declaring “Cyclops Was Right,” because his perspective could easily be understood, and he did achieve results. More recently in X-Men ‘97, we saw Rogue go down a dark path in the wake of Genosha being wiped out, including Magneto and Gambit. Again, this was understood, and it was an interesting direction for her character.
This sort of turn would also make a ton of sense for Hank McCoy. Did you know that back towards the start of the original Uncanny X-Men run, Hank was actually the first X-Men we ever saw to leave the team and say that Magneto was right, after he and Bobby were attacked by an angry mob because Hank used his powers to save a young child? Over the years, one of Hank’s most recurring struggles and arcs is self-loathing and eventual acceptance of his condition. Hank has always been at his darkest when he’s trapped in his spiral of self-loathing, but when he comes out the other side, he tends to be one of the most optimistic mutants when it comes to coexistence with humans. He was out making connections and fighting alongside non-mutants before anyone else. Joining the Avengers and Defenders, speaking on behalf of mutant rights before congress, dating human women who were able to accept his appearance, blue fur and all. Until they weren’t… looking at you, Trish Tilby.
So with all of this in mind, it would honestly be an extremely interesting arc to see Hank, this optimistic mutant who has spent his life building bridges and making connections with humanity, to be slowly beaten down and start to believe peace is not an option. As one of the original X-Men, he has been there through every tragedy that struck the mutant population. And as one of the smartest X-Men, he has usually been at the center of these crises. He has seen advancements in science meant to eradicate the mutants. He has fought against viruses that threaten to drive them extinct. He was there in the wreckage of Genosha. He has seen countless friends killed again and again. He has suffered his own mutation evolving and making him less and less human-looking. He saw the development of a mutant “cure” and was tempted to take it. He has seen it all.
And so that brings us to Krakoa. This is the moment where the mutants as a whole decided enough was enough. If they could not be accepted by humanity, they would pack up and form their own nation, and they would force humanity to accept that they exist by developing life-saving drugs that other nations would have to rely on. And what is one of the first things that happens after the establishment of Krakoa? Hank witnesses assassins infiltrate the island and assassinate Charles Xavier. This right here is honestly the perfect setup for Hank to go darker than he has before. Even after literally segregating the mutant population from humanity, like humanity seemed to want, they still decided to come and kill the man at the forefront of the movement. And Hank, recently placed in charge of mutant black-ops, would likely see that all options are on the table.
Unfortunately, Hank’s actual pathos surrounding the decisions he would go on to make is not explored by the book itself. The book has no interest in detailing Hank’s fall from grace as we saw with Cyclops before him. The book just wants us to accept that Hank has already fallen. And in fact, according to the writing, maybe he never had anywhere to fall from. Any time a character in X-Force tries to ask important questions to understand Hank’s thought process, they are cut off. Usually by Wolverine saying “He’s always been like this.” And then on one occasion, when Wolverine asked Hank why he was doing all this dark shit, Hank said, “Didn’t you read the script? I’ve always been like this.” There is no attempt to examine Hank as a character. We don’t need to know why Hank makes the decisions he does, because this book wants Hank to be a black and white villain and so that’s what he will be. Why? Because he’s always been like this.
Problem 2: Rapid Escalation:
One of the major defenses people have when it comes to Krakoan Hank is that he has apparently been on the road to his villainous self for over a decade. The X-Force run itself loved to have characters spout a list of Hank’s previous “crimes” without any context involved, as justification for why he was acting the way he did in the current run. The problem is, that context is very important. Because it shows the disparity in the Hank of previous stories who made mistakes with good intentions vs the Hank of X-Force who did heinous shit because he wanted to. This was less a plane making a slow descent and more a plane that was slowly descending, but then its engines shut off and it plummeted into a fiery explosion.
To make this case, we need to briefly analyze the previous perceived transgressions of Hank McCoy to show what they actually meant for his character and how they differ from the Bond villain X-Force would present us with. Let’s start with Threnody. Somehow, Threnody became a bit of a buzzword for the beginning of the end for Hank. When people talk about the history of Hank and Threnody, they will usually present it as one of Hank’s worst sins, saying something like “Hank callously handed Threnody over to Mr. Sinister so he could experiment on and abuse her!!!” It kind of makes for some whiplash when you actually read the Threnody story people are talking about. Here is a brief rundown of what actually happens:
Threnody is a young woman who cannot control her powers. It causes her no end of grief, and when we are introduced to her, she is homeless and constantly in danger of hurting herself or others. Beast, Rogue, and Iceman come across Threnody who has been found first by Mr. Sinister. Sinister actually has a vested interest in curing the Legacy Virus, and believes he can help Threnody master her powers, at which point she will prove vital in his efforts to study said Virus. Notably, Threnody wants to go with Sinister here. While Rogue disapproves, Hank does believe that Sinister is actually Threnody’s best option, openly stating Sinister can actually help her gain control and the X-Men cannot, because, as Hank directly says, Sinister is willing to damn parts of his soul in pursuit of scientific enlightenment, and the X-Men are not. A few issues later, when breaking into Sinister’s base, Hank encounters Threnody again. She’s happy. Sinister did indeed help her control her powers, and she has been able to use her abilities to help mutants the world over, while also undermining Sinister’s more evil operations from the inside. Hank expresses relief, saying he was kept up at night by his decision to let her go with Sinister, but Threnody actually thanks him for letting her. And that’s it. That’s Hank’s big “crime” here.
Hank’s other “sins” are also of varying levels of severity. There’s the time “Hank worked with his evil self to cure the Legacy Virus!” when the actual story in question is Hank asserting that he won’t stoop to the levels of Dark Beast and compromise his values in the name of science. There’s the time “Hank sided with the Inhumans against the X-Men!” when the actual story is Storm sending Hank to Attilan to find a way to end the conflict between mutants and inhumans before war broke out. Hank runs out of time to find a cure for the terrigen mist cloud, suggests mutants get off-world in the meantime rather than go to war with the inhumans, is thrown into a cell by the other X-Men for his “betrayal”, and then freed at the conclusion of the war by a repentant Storm when it comes to light that the whole conflict was manipulated by Emma Frost. There’s the time “Hank risked the timestream by bringing the original X-Men to the present day!” A decision that was made on his perceived deathbed with the hopes of bringing his old friend Cyclops back to his side. Hank wants to take the young mutants back right away, but they refuse. And instead of others enforcing that they need to return, we actually see Kitty Pride decide to lead them in the present in memory of Charles Xavier. Notably, Kitty would be one of the many mutants in future issues who would yell at Hank about this.
The point of this post isn’t to absolve Hank of all fault. He has made countless mistakes and bad decisions. Regardless of the culpability of others, the pulling of the O5 to the present was his decision. During Secret Empire, Hank would turn a blind eye to Hydra’s activity simply to keep the mutants under his care safe. During all of this, however, Hank’s character was not compromised. He expressed despair and regret over his worse choices, and struggled with thinking he was a good person any longer. Again, going back to his recurring struggle with self-loathing. He had pathos behind his decisions and how they affected him, and would often reunite with Wonder Man as an opportunity to recenter and declare he would “be better tomorrow than he was yesterday.”
You would think, if the aim of X-Force was to turn Hank into a full-on villain, it would take advantage of the long-form storytelling of comics to chronicle that escalation. Like I said, the assassination of Charles Xavier is a great starting point for Hank to start going darker than he ever has before. The problem is, we don’t get an escalation. Hank starts the run by doing some of the most heinous shit imaginable. Regardless of your thoughts on the severity of Hank’s previous mistakes, none of them compare to his opening volley in this run. Hank uses telefloronics to override and genocide an entire country, leaving various people either completely dead or braindead. We later find out that during this time he also established a space station where he ran unethical experiments on prisoners like Krakoa’s very own Dr. Mengele. He then accuses his old ally Colossus of conspiring with Russia against Krakoa, and calls forth the mutant population to witness as he parades a shamed Colossus through its streets. Then he kills Wolverine and resurrects him as a mindless animal who he uses as an attack dog against his perceived enemies. This isn’t an escalation, this is a different character. And the aforementioned lack of pathos means that we don’t get to see him struggle with these choices. We don’t see his thought process as he becomes darker and darker. Why would we? “He’s always been like this.”
Problem 3: No Personality:
One of the most fun aspects of turning a protagonist into an antagonist is seeing how their personality works with a more villainous mindset. When Cyclops became an “antagonist” to the X-Men, he was still Cyclops. He stuck to his convictions, he was a great leader and tactician, and he was able to turn many mutants to his side because of this. We’ve seen an evil Beast before. The creatively-named Dark Beast is from an alternate future where Beast went down a dark path lacking ethics. The fun of this character, besides comparing his ideologies with our Hank McCoy, is seeing how Hank’s penchant for jokes or quotes now become far more sinister and cutting.
There’s a strange narrative that the jokey Hank is reserved for the Avengers while the Hank with the X-Men is all business and science. This isn’t entirely true. Early on when he was a member of the Defenders, Hank talks about this sort of thing. He essentially says that he wears different hats. While working with the X-Men, he used big words essentially to gain respect from both his teammates and humanity. But with other teams, and in his then-new furry form, he dropped all of that. His speech became more naturalistic and he was much more of a goofball. The thing is, it’s the speech patterns that truly change depending on who Hank is hanging with, not his personality. Hank with the X-Men and Hank with the Avengers are both jovial characters who like to tell jokes and quote philosophy. You can see Hank being a bit of a clown among the X-Men in various runs. So it’s not like it’s a given that Hank is some entirely different dry doctor devoid of any sense of humor when among the X-Men.
But this is how Hank is portrayed in X-Force. Part of why this version of Hank is so hard to reconcile with the rest of his history for fans of the character is that he just doesn’t act like himself, even when he isn’t actively committing war crimes. In one early issue of the run, we get a glimpse at Beast’s journal where he accounts a meeting he had with Forge. Now, Beast has been known to be a very physical character. He is often known to sweep others into a hug, or even plant a big kiss on their face in the case of characters like Wonder Man or Iceman. Meanwhile this one page where we read his thoughts on Forge is clearly pretending this is not the case:
I paid Forge a visit in the Armory – and I must say that he can be, like Logan, rather impossible. There is a certain locker room bravado about him I find perplexing, like a language I only half understand. For instance, he refused to shake my hand but instead dragged me into what he called a “bro hug.” Then he challenged me to a “feat of strength,” asking if I would test out this sappy “muck bomb” he had developed that – or so I gather – glues one in place. He wondered if a “big boy” like me might be able to thrash free of the binding. I refused him and said I very much would prefer to get down to business. He then referred to me as a “bookish peckerwood @#$%” but did so with a friendly laugh and clapped me on the shoulder hard enough to make me stagger. I’m not sure how to process this, honestly. Is he being friendly or cruel? Is it possible to be both?
Needless to say, this doesn’t read like Beast. It reads like an android that has never before felt human emotion. I remember before reading this I was theorizing that Hank had been switched with Dark Beast once more to explain his sudden escalation, but after this I realized that couldn’t be the case. Because this sounds like neither Beast nor Dark Beast. Dark Beast understood how to properly write Hank as a villain. He doesn’t suddenly become your typical made scientist devoid of emotion, humor, or basic human understanding. He still makes jokes that are now cruel. He still quotes literature in a way that paints him as a god among men. Hank going bad can be a fun read, but this run was not.
Problem 4: No One Cares:
Another important angle to consider when writing a story of a good person breaking bad is how it affects those around them. Those who are close friends to the person and find themselves disturbed by their current actions. Again, I return to Cyclops. Regardless of where you stand on if he was right or not, he was very much positioned as an antagonist to the mutants at the Jean Grey School for Higher Learning. Yet we see various friends of Cyclops still caring for him and wanting to pull him back from what they perceive as the dark side. Like I previously said, Beast’s whole reason for messing with the timeline was because he felt he was going to die and wanted to try to appeal to his old friend and bring him back around before he passed on. When someone good goes bad, part of the emotional core is seeing former friends try to appeal to their better nature, and even eventually deciding they’ve gone too far to turn back.
Not so with Hank in X-Force. Like I said, this run posits that this is not any kind of heel turn for Hank. This is how he’s always been. “Hank this isn’t you!” “No, he’s always been like this.” “Hank, turn back before it’s too late!” “Turn back where? He’s always been like this.” None of Hank’s friends give a shit. Hank’s best friend amongst the X-Men is Bobby Drake, Iceman, and we never once see any kind of confrontation there. Cyclops and Angel similarly doesn’t care. Now you could argue this is because X-Force is a secretive organization. Bobby and Scott don’t even know what Hank is doing. There are two issues with this. First, things reach a point where they would know. Hank’s actions become public knowledge, and Wolverine goes off to hunt him down while the rest of the X-Men just kinda look the other way. And second, there is someone with a lot of history with Hank that was a part of X-Force and did see everything that was going on. Jean Grey.
But we never get to see Jean wonder what’s happened to her close friend. Jean who was always incredibly close to Hank. Jean who, it was confirmed during the All-New X-Men era, had mutual feelings for Hank and might have started dating him had things been different. But no, Jean, like every character in this run, accepts that Hank has always been like this. That’s the answer to everything. So instead of some kind of emotional confrontation where she tries to appeal to his better nature, we instead have Jean yell at Hank, use her powers to throw him against a wall, and quit X-Force. And then most recently, we see her tell Firestar without hesitation to throw Hank under the bus for any heat that comes her way from her undercover mission. Because everyone will believe Hank is responsible for all the bad shit. Who the hell cares about Hank? According to this run, no one.
Conclusion:
I hope you can see the larger issue here. When Beast fans complain about his Krakoan era, people assume they just don’t want to see their favorite do bad things. But it’s practically accepted at this point in comics that most heroes will have a villain arc. Hell, Iceman is the only one of the original five X-Men who hasn’t gone down a dark path at this point. The problem is that everything about the writing of Hank during this time was just not done well. There is no exploration of Hank’s descent into villainy, and any questioning down that line is immediately shut down by the assertion that this is just who he’s always been. There isn’t any slow escalation because his first move is genocide. Hank is not even written as himself during this era, but rather as a generic bond villain. And none of Hank’s former close friends even show any emotion about his turn to villainy. An evil Hank story could easily work. We saw it with Dark Beast. A story where the former optimistic member of the X-Men has been beaten down so many times that he takes on a “whatever it takes” mentality could be interesting and emotionally resonant as we both understand what drove him here yet hate the man he’s become. But that isn’t what we got. We got a run that wrote him as a complete stranger and then had all the characters tell the reader that they were wrong for ever thinking he was anyone else.
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2024.05.21 22:47 Then_Marionberry_259 MAY 21, 2024 KTN.V DRILLING DRAMATICALLY INCREASES STRIKE LENGTH OF D-VEIN WITH HIGHS TO 920 GPT SILVER AND 4.1% LEAD-ZINC AT COLUMBA HIGH-GRADE SILVER PROJECT

MAY 21, 2024 KTN.V DRILLING DRAMATICALLY INCREASES STRIKE LENGTH OF D-VEIN WITH HIGHS TO 920 GPT SILVER AND 4.1% LEAD-ZINC AT COLUMBA HIGH-GRADE SILVER PROJECT
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VANCOUVER, BC , May 21, 2024 /CNW/ - Kootenay Silver Inc. (TSXV: KTN) (the "Company" or "Kootenay") is very pleased to announce results from the first six drill holes targeting the eastern extension of the D-Vein target.
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Four of the first six holes (CDH-24-148 to 151) were deliberately drilled at shallow levels to establish dip orientation of the vein before testing the deeper productive zone. Outcrop exposure is limited in the drilling area and initial holes drilled for structure followed by holes CDH-24-152 and 153 that drilled for grade at a significant 200 meter step out from previous intercepts at a comparable depth.
Holes CDH-24-152 and 153 targeted D-Vein at or below the important elevation of 1750 meters above sea level below which, as a rule of thumb at Columba Project, high silver grades are encountered. These two holes are on the same fence and are both very large step outs of 200 meters from the nearest intercept below 1750m elevation (CDH-23-147). and both intercepted mineralization in the D-vein. The two holes are 150 meters apart in the dip direction.
Holes CDH-24-152 to 153 increase the previously established 450 meter strike length to 650 meters between holes CDH-23-136 to 137 and CDH-24-152 to 153.
Highlights
CDH-24-153
  • 435 gpt silver over 11 meters drilled width/3.52 meters estimated true width within 183 gpt silver over 40 meters drilled width/12.96 meters estimated true width
  • 920 gpt silver assay high over 1.35 meters drilled width/0.43 meters est. true width
  • Very large lateral step out along strike from nearest holes at similar elevation around 1600 to 1675m
  • ~325 meters from CDH-23-145 (22 meters/15.4 meters est. true width of 174 gpt silver with 6 meters/4.2 meters est. true width of 435 gpt silver and 1 meter of 814 gpt silver ) 1
  • ~375 meters from CDH-22-128 (20 meters/13.6 meters est. true width of 136 gpt silver with 2 meters of 520 gpt silver) 2
CDH-24-152
  • Large step out along strike of previous drilling.
  • Tests the upper edge of high grade zone near 1775 meter above seal level
  • ~ 200 meters along strike of CDH-23-147 ( 532 gpt silver over 8 meters drilled/4.96 meters est. true width within 219 gpt silver over 28 meters) 3
  • ~ 150 meters up dip of CDH-24-153
  • 347 gpt silver over 5.6 meters drilled/3.36 meters est. true width within 240 gpt silver over 9.0 meters drilled /5.4 meters est. true width.
  • 492 gpt silver over 2.65 meters drilled/1.59 meters est. true width.
The current drilling program is designed to find the strike extent of D-Vein mineralization in preparation of infill drilling and a now fully funded follow up program of 20,000 meters, aimed to delineate a maiden resource expected in late 2024. In addition to the D-Vein, the Company maintains a priority list of new vein targets and known vein extensions all warranting drill testing.
Kootenay's President & CEO, James McDonald states, "We increased the magnitude of step outs on the D-Vein with 100 to 300 meter step outs to great success on the first few holes. These large step outs along strike and down dip are rapidly building volume of mineralized vein. We are very excited to continue stepping out and are preparing to add a drill rig to test high priority targets while one will remain dedicated to step out then infill drilling of D-Vein."
Drill highlights, maps and sections from the project are tabulated on the Company's website at the links below
Click to view the , , and cross sections
Table 1. D Vein Intercepts from shallow drilling
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Table 2. Highlights of Drill holes Targeting D-Vein Below 1750m elevation
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As previously mentioned, results discussed herein represent the first series of holes designed as aggressive step outs along the D-Vein structure in a region where the structure is not visible at surface. Holes CDH-24-148 to CDH-24-151 successfully intersected the target at shallow depths, above the projected upper horizon of strong mineralization. These holes will provide invaluable information for subsequent drilling targeting high grade mineralization. Holes CDH-24-152 and CDH-24-153 intersected the D Vein at a deeper levels and silver grades returned were correspondingly higher.
The company has completed over 30,000 meters of diamond drilling in 153 holes at Columba since 2019 and intercepted numerous veins with high silver grades and widths indicating excellent resource potential. Prospective veins on the project are hosted within a volcanic caldera setting, the surface extent of mapped veins measuring roughly 4 kilometres by 3 kilometres. Management believes that Columba may be a newly recognized vein district that is nearly entirely preserved from erosion.
A comprehensive list of drill results completed on the Columba Property since 2019 may be viewed here: Columba Drill Results
Sampling and QA/QC at Columba
All technical information for the Columba exploration program is obtained and reported under a formal quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") program. Samples are taken from core cut in half with a diamond saw under the direction of qualified geologists and engineers. Samples are then labeled, placed in plastic bags, sealed and with interval and sample numbers recorded. Samples are delivered by the Company to ALS Minerals ("ALS") in Chihuahua. The Company inserts blanks, standards and duplicates at regular intervals as follows. On average a blank is inserted every 100 samples beginning at the start of sampling and again when leaving the mineral zone. Standards are inserted when entering the potential mineralized zone and in the middle of them, on average one in every 25 samples is a standard. Duplicates are taken in the mineralized intervals at an average 2 duplicates for each hole.
The samples are dried, crushed and pulverized with the pulps being sent airfreight for analysis by ALS in Vancouver, B.C. Systematic assaying of standards, blanks and duplicates is performed for precision and accuracy. Analysis for silver, zinc, lead and copper and related trace elements was done by ICP four acid digestion, with gold analysis by 30-gram fire assay with an AA finish. All drilling reported is HQ core and was completed by Globextools, S.A. de C.V. of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Qualified Persons
The Kootenay technical information in this news release has been prepared in accordance with the Canadian regulatory requirements set out in National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects) and reviewed and approved on behalf of Kootenay by Mr. Dale Brittliffe, BSc. P. Geol., Vice President, Exploration of Kootenay Silver, is the Company's nominated Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101, Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed the scientific and technical information disclosed in this news release. Mr. Brittliffe is not independent of Kootenay Silver.
About Kootenay Silver Inc.
Kootenay Silver Inc. is an exploration company actively engaged in the discovery and development of mineral projects in the Sierra Madre Region of Mexico Mexico , Kootenay continues to provide its shareholders with significant leverage to silver prices. The Company remains focused on the expansion of its current silver resources, new discoveries and the near-term economic development of its priority silver projects located in prolific mining districts in Sonora , State and Chihuahua, State, Mexico , respectively.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:
*The information in this news release has been prepared as at May 20, 2024
Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of factors and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Kootenay as of the date of such statements, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, known and unknown, could cause actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by law, Kootenay expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in Kootenay's expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Cautionary Note to US Investors: This news release includes Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources classification terms that comply with reporting standards in Canada and the Mineral Reserves and the Mineral Resources estimates are made in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (" NI 43-101 "). NI 43-101 is a rule developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators that establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. These standards differ significantly from the requirements adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the " SEC "). The SEC sets rules that are applicable to domestic United States reporting companies. Consequently, Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources information included in this news release is not comparable to similar information that would generally be disclosed by domestic U.S. reporting companies subject to the reporting and disclosure requirements of the SEC. Accordingly, information concerning mineral deposits set forth herein may not be comparable with information made public by companies that report in accordance with U.S. standards.
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SOURCE Kootenay Silver Inc.

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2024.05.21 22:43 AustinJ78 Help deciding on early school path K-5+

Our first kid is starting kindergarten in the Fall, and we're having trouble deciding where to send them. We were hoping to get some other folks' thoughts on pros/cons, or what kinds of questions we should be asking ourselves/schools/teachers, to help guide our decision.
We're looking at:
  1. A Waldorf-inspired charter school; K-8
  2. A two-way immersive Spanish language program; K-8
  3. A 'regular' public school kindergarten.
For number 1, we have a grandparent that is a big advocate for the Waldorf system, with a few other grandkids that went to a different, private Waldorf school. We really like a lot of what we've seen with this charter school; a private education experience without the cost, hand-work and practical skills like cooking and sewing, trying to keep some of the magic of being a kid, confidence building and public speaking. The teacher also moves with their class through the grade levels, which strikes me as an incredible opportunity for the teacher to build a very strong and personal relationship with each student, truly getting to know their strengths and weaknesses, 'hitting the ground running' each year.
For downsides, due to the small size of this charter school, they only have 1 class per grade level, so unfortunately, that means that if our kid clashes with this teacher for whatever reason, our only option is to find another school. We've also heard that reading is very much NOT a priority until much later under the Waldorf system, and our kid LOVES to read. Not sure if that's really a problem or not; they'd probably be a few years ahead of normal kindergarten reading anyways, and it's not like we're NOT gonna keep reading at home, but that Waldorf philosophy really struck us as odd (In case it's not obvious, we parents are voracious readers ourselves...).
For number 2, it is a program which starts with 90% of the day done in Spanish, with plenty of contextual clues and gestures, etc. to help kids understand. This balance shifts gradually year by year, until it is roughly 50% Spanish and 50% English by around Grade 5. Being fluent in English and Spanish is a huge advantage here, and learning language that young seems to come waaay easier than later in life. The exposure to different culture would be invaluable as well.
For downsides, it sounds like a pretty intense experience. The teachers warn that the kids often come home exhausted at first, that they might not want to talk about their day due to needing to 'recharge' first. The school itself isn't quite as nice, definitely more crowded. The program is in its 5th year, so the grade 6-8 part is planned at a local Middle School, but hasn't been 'battle-tested'.
Number 3 is the public school we're zoned for. It's a newer facility, backs up to one of our favorite parks, and would be about a 15 minute walk through quiet neighborhoods or a 5 minute drive. Otherwise, just... a regular school.
What are some good ways to work through making this decision with my partner? Any red flags that jump out to anyone based on this limited info?
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2024.05.21 22:42 TransitionCreative12 I am the common denominator

I created this account, to vent some of my frustration. I won't be commenting, looking, or editing it after I post. No, I'm not a bot, but sometimes I wish I was.
One of my best friend tried to kill himself, he left a farewell message which wasn't supposed to be interpretted as that, but I understood. I called every hospital in the area looking for his name, until I found one. When I went to visit him, I wasn't sure if I'd be finding him dead or alive. I worked up the courage to walk into the room, and found that he was surprised to see me. With so much frustration and anger in my mind, I just started yelling at him, wondering what the fuck he was thinking and why he didn't just call me. He couldn't answer, but a tear rolled down his cheek and my anger subsided and turned into grief, depression, then sorry. I asked him, why and he said told me I knew why. He struggled with major depression for years, like me. I tried my best to be a friend and help him out of that hole, but nothing I did would help. I thought maybe if I put my depression to the side and helped him with his I'd find a way of curing my own. I was never overt with any of the actions, I lent out a helping hand when neeeded and hung out with him when he was down. We've both had terrible traumas— his from neglect and financial issues, and mine from abuse and bullying, but I thought because we both suffered we would be able suffer together. I visitied him when his family was there as I was the nuclear detterent. I watched his mother and brother hurl insults at eachother while I tried to lighten the mood, the brother cared for him, the mother didn't. It seemed like she was there, just to say she showed up. I've known her for a while, she's callous, she always has a couple boyfriends on her side, but she never tries to keep them around. When the brother and the mother were around the entire room was filled with a negative aura and you can feel it, it was never pleasant and when I left tensions only raised. I visited him when work allowed me to, but after he was transferred to the psych ward, my schedule didn't fit in with any of the visitation hours so I never could. When he left the psych ward, what followed were days of him visiting my workplace during my lunch hours telling me that he would attempt it again, "it could happen any day now." My words seemed so hollow and breathless as I tried to sounding them out. I questioned myself, "What could I say? What could I do? Why is he telling me this?" This happened almost everyday for a couple of months, he would visit me and utter the same words. One day, I asked him, "How do you want me to respond to this" and to his non-challant reply was, "I don't know take it as you well." He was always forgetful, so I hoped he would forget about me too. Some nights we would get boba and he would tell me I was part of the reason he did it. I didn't know how to respond and I still don't. What did I do? I was completely and utterly drained of any emotions, sadness, depression, anger, grief. He was a boa constrictor wrapping it's body around mine smothering me to death. Nothing mattered to me, and so one day, I left without saying a word. He is still alive and hasn't tried anything since then, to which I am thankful. But I never answered his texts or calls. In this rough patch, I started unravelling because everything around me was unfolding.
I was still talking to the above friend, during this time when I got a call from my brother, "She's in the ER because she OD'D. Can you bring some blankets?" He was completely devoid of any urgency or emotion, I understand he doesn't handle them very well, but the calmness of voice only irritated me and made my bite my tongue til I bled. My mind was blank as I sped down the highway at 100mph. I remember the flickering lights as I paced through the hallway, a nurse recognized me from my personal life, but I brushed her off saying that I didn't know her as she was part of our church. Our family is conservative and if this got out, then all eyes would be on us with looks of disappointment and shame. I couldn't tell anyone. I hesitated, a roller coaster of emotions overwhelmed me as I grew closer and closer to the room. The same ones that had enveloped me with my best friend, but this one was brought on by so much shame. "How didn't I see this coming? What sort of brother am I, that I can't protect my only sister? Please... Please... Please.. don't be dead." I stopped in the hallway, where my brother stood and he just said he was getting a sandwhich. I watched him go as he walked away, not an ounce of grief, but after I saw him I noticed there was confusion and sadness in his face, but his words remained neutral as if he were trying to keep it together. I approached the door and hesitated right before going in, rubbing tears that were running down my face and collecting myself the best way I could. I saw her lying there, so helpless, barely alive, and struggling to breathe. My stomach sunk, my heart dropped, and my lungs collapsed. No physical pain, no abuse I had suffered, no moment would have prepared me for this, but as I looked at her she looked at me. I walked over and remarked, "This is because I didn't kill the spider, isn't it?" She laughed in pain the best she could, and my Dad added into and gave me a small slap on the head laughng as well. I saw her arms and saw the cuts and how deep they were. The heart monitor started fading and transforming into ringing within my ears. I sat down and talked to my Mom and Dad to see what we needed. They asked for blankets, which I forgot, and something to eat. I told them to go home as I'd just stay here to watch over her. They both said no at first, but my Dad reluctantly agreed after realizing there was no one to watch his business the next day. I nearly lost my mind. Your daughter is laying here in the ER, and you still need someone to watch the business? I volunteered to do it, but I stayed in the hospital until the I had to leave as I watch the seconds turn into minutes, the minutes to hours. The clock has never moved that slow before, I felt like I was frozen in every moment. It was only after I had learned she was raped three times. My blood boiled, my face turned hot, as I was heading to my car demanding who did it. He'd done this mutliple times. throughout the year, and I had no idea. I reached a point where I stormed out of my house, but my brother asked me where I was going. I told him that I was going to find him, and beat the living shit out of them. He stopped me and told me, that that's why she didn't tell me. I didn't understand it it all, why he wasn't hopping into the car with me to this mother fuckers house after knowing all of this. He didn't want me to know because I'd go over to the hospital demanding her and asking her who did it. He was right. I calmed down, but if he wasn't there I would have found the fucker and I would have beaten the living shit out of them. I told my best friend what happened, and he tried to keep me calm and tried to get my mind off of things. We went to a friends birthday party and I could still hear the heart monitor ringing as I watched everyone have fun, eat, and party over this friends birthday. I felt like an extra, just playing the part of someone who's there to be there. I laughed and made jokes, but this hole in my chest kept getting wider and wouldn't close. I hadn't slept in three days, and the pain was like I was being eaten alive without being able to scream in agony. When we returned to the hospital, she was moved to a different facility, because she wasn't needed in the ER any longer. The nurses asked me to leave as they said that visiting hours were over, but they fell upon empty ears. I wasn't moving. I stayed there all night, and woke up the next morning. I don't remember falling asleep, I just blacked out at one point. I could tell you that when I woke up, all I saw where white walls, white floors, and white sheets. The typical hospital smell that filled the air with ammonia as it burned through my lungs. The heart monitor started to lose it's preptual ring and began to sound normal again. None of these details are important, but I remember them so well as if I'm living that moment right now. This was my second close call. She was home within the next week, but this trauma made our family a lot closer— but, there's a new edition to the family in the shape of an elephant, he doesn't speak to us and we don't speak to him, but he's always there. I haven't been able to look at her the same way, because I'm not sure what will set her off, and the scars on her arms still make me sick to the stomach.
My second best friend was tearing at the seams while all this was happening and I was trying to get his life back together, but something just wasn't clicking with him. I saw him descend into an abyss that I couldn't pull him out of, he started stalking his ex, binge drinking at work, in public, etc. , doing more and more drugs. I went to his rented out room where the landlord would help him do his laundry, cook for him, allow him to have pets even though she was against it. She was kind to him, and I had hoped that might have had some affect on his mental state, but he couldn't get out of his head. He nose dived and I tried to bring him back up, but I couldn't so I gave up. I was emotionally and physically exhausted from everything, in a puddle of a quicksand trying to get out, the more I resisted the further it pulled me down. I was in a boxing match with hit after hit after hit, I just couldn't stand it anymore, but this man gave me a family when mine abused me, he gave me a home when I didn't want to go back to mine, he allowed me to express myself and be free when I was in a position where everyone wanted to chain me, he became a friend when I needed one the most. I pleaded with my group to look after him a little bit more, we could take shifts, but no one cared or wanted to listen. "You can't help someone who can't help themselves." After his nose dive, I told him I couldn't do this anymore and I'd rather kill myself to watch him destroy himself, so I stopped speaking to him— after all, you can't help someone who can't help himself. I removed myself from the group and started working on myself. It had been a year since we last talked, he wrote one story on Instagram that caught my attention, "Maybe everyone was right about me." By this time, I had finally collected myself, I was in a good place, and I had every intention of talking with him again and helping him get back on track if I could, whether it be reaching out or just treating him like a person as if it were a typical Tuesday. As I was typing in the words, I stopped myself and said I needed a little bit more time. I was in the midst of a massive project at work that needed to be completed in two days. The next day, I got a text from one of the mutal friends in the group I had left, "He's dead. They found his body in his room." I stared at the phone for a few seconds. My mind blank. I just put my phone down and kept working.
I haven't talked to a therapist about any of this, but I have mentioned it. None of them seem interested in exploring it so it must not be that important, but I feel the need to get this burden off my chest. These three events happened concurrently, and after the dusk settled, I looked closer into all of the close relationships I had, and how many of my closest friends had ended up hurting themselves in a way to "heal." Nearly all of them. They would vent their struggles to me, and I always became an ear because people just need to be heard. Maybe they had problems before I met them, maybe they didn't. I'm probably stretching my own importance in their lives, but the nagging tick that bothers me is that I feel like I am the common denominator.
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2024.05.21 22:40 Still_Performance_39 An Introduction to Terran Zoology - Chapter 37

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.
submitted by Still_Performance_39 to NatureofPredators [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 22:35 kikijane711 Where is the YOGA instructor/expert anyway?

So H waas a yoga instructor and supposedly partner or founder of a yoga studio. Why do we never see any yoga anymore? Like literally she could teach a few classes a week and even bring her older kids or at least Carmen? She supposedly LOVED yoga so much and it was part of her living clearly and we NEVER SEE SO MUCH as a pose any longer and even more stupidly she never involves her kids? I don't get why she hasn't done this if she is so considered about them being vegan etc and healthy "supposedly"? I mean WHAT does she do all day? Wouldn't NOW be a great time to get good press and garner some favor in the public's eye if she were "donating" her time to do yoga on a donation basis or at a rehab facility or something? Even going to the kids private school (Mommy and me things are BIG, coming in and reading/speaking) and leading the kids through chair yoga to "de-stress" as they mature and learn etc? She is SO PHONY. She was a yoga instructor bc she was "born bendy" and more flexible. It was nothing she worked towards or is even qualified for yet she still uses it in descriptions of herself.
submitted by kikijane711 to HilariaBaldwin [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 22:33 Dutch_Ministry Choose your own Alternative Polish monarch post alternative ww1 ( Please read backstory in discribtion )

Choose your own Alternative Polish monarch post alternative ww1 ( Please read backstory in discribtion )
( Hi guys. Even if you are not a Monarchist this might be a fun discusion to have. I used to make plenty of these alternative choose your own monarch posts on Monarchism but sadly they no longer allow alternative history. Hopefully I will find a better audiance here. )
Situation. ( PLEASE READ EVERYTHING BEFORE VOTING )
Congratulations you are a Polish person in an alternative 1919 were the Central powers won ww1.
Poland just got its independence 1 year ago and after a referendum the big majority of people voted Semi-constitutional Monarchy!
The future king will have the following powers.
- able to dissolve Parliament in times of crisis
- appoint a Prime minister until new elections are called in the case of a Parliament dissolution by the king
- Full and absolute say over diplomatic ties ( So trade deals. Big foreign business deals. allies and wars ) The king will have full control over that.
You are now in the voting boots again to finally choose your king. Everybody has voted and its a tie between the 3 claimants ( I know math doesn't work like that but shut up ) Your vote will decide the future of Poland and its dynasty.

https://preview.redd.it/rb09mdeoau1d1.png?width=555&format=png&auto=webp&s=aa3314f575e4cddf9bbb8e8cd23f345be5d1829a
Option 1
Polish claimant. age 46
Polish was born in Poland under a noble family. And grew up wise and smart. He played a big role in its independence movement. And when Germany was at war with Russia. Polish decided to gather up his partisans and push the Russians completely out of Poland. This is a huge reason why Poland is not a puppet state of Germany today. A decorated war hero. And a good eye for economics and diplomacy. He is loved by pretty much the entire country. And it would have been a easy choice to make if it weren't for the following problem.
He is nearly infertile and doesn't have kids. And at his age its even not lickly to get a kid.
His only direct family are 2 cousins still in their teens ( 18 and 19 respectably )
1 of which is homosexual and its hard to say whether he can force himself to have sex with a woman to have kids.
But the other problem is that he was one of the few people who voted in favour of a Republic. And its unsure what he would do if he became king. He would Either give up all his power to parliament or simply abdicate the throne and hand it over to his half sister ( See person bellow )
The second cousin is Polish's half Niece who had a Russian noble father. She plays favouritism with the Russian minorities in Poland and doesn't even consider herself Polish at all and prefers to be called Russian. If she took the crown after Polish. It could very well be possible she would try and get annexed by Russia as a sort of puppet state. The only good thing to say about her is that Women suffrage would be taken seriously.

Option 2
Saxon Claimant. age 23
Saxon was born in Saxony Germany and moved to Poland when he was 18 to marry a Polish Lower noble widow woman he met during a trip there.
Even tho Saxon was born German he is trying his hardest to speak Polish even if his accent is thick.
But Saxon is known for having a very good and generous hart. He and his wife always make great efforts to help the poor and those in need.
During the war Saxon sold a bunch of his German assets to afford to set up field hospitals and soup kitchens. And other humantarian aid.
Even building shelters for widows and parentless children.
Saxon is also a strong believer in equality. and helps his wife with allot of women suffrage programs and he himself works with helping minorities have equal footing. Such as the Jewish population who adore him very much. And the left over Russian minority who normaly feel scared of Polish retaliation against them since the Russian Empire fell. Saxon is a man of the people no matter who you are. Rich, poor, Jewish, Russian, Male or female. He treats you all the same with respect and passion.
Saxon does have his downsides. Even tho he has support in the lower Noble families. Because of his progressive views. He is absolutely hated by the rich and high nobles who will do anything to undermine him or make him look foolish. Which sadly. isn't hard to do. His second big downside is that Saxon is a HUGE clumsy idiot.
A few examples.
during 2 separate occasions when he met Tsar Nicholas the second and Kaiser Wilhelm the second
He greeted them as followed.
Kaiser Nicholas II of Germany.
Tsar Wilhelm II of Russia.
This happened 2 years separate from each other.
Nicholas was too ashamed to say anything to the man to correct him
And Wilhelm almost threw a fit figuring out whether Saxon was joking, serious or just an idiot.
He also during a Ottoman delegate meeting ordered his chefs to prepare a big meal which consisted of a roasted PIG not realizing Turks are Muslim and Muslims consider Pig meat Haram.
Saxon was also seen accidently singing the Russian anthem thinking it was Polish during the first raising of the Polish flag. And lastly he pointed towards Stockholm when asked to show the location for Military field hospitals during the war. ( Just to name a few )
Now some people might call this foolish behaviour funny in its own way. But when the constitution says the king has FULL power over diplomacy..... You better hope his majesty has some good advisors with him.

Option 3
Austrian claimant. age 61
Austrian is a mastermind when it comes to diplomacy. Austrian knows a persons traits and personality the moment he makes eye contact with you. He can make you agree to even the most absurd deals if he wants you too. His silver tongue is like no other. Which keeping the constitution in mind would be a perfect king.
However, Austrian is a close relative of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary and even tho Austrian supports a independent Poland. He does like to see it be REALLY close with Austria-Hungary to the point were Poland would almost be considered a puppet.
Austrian is also a big Autocrat and doesn't believe in mob rule. There are already rumours he made deals with many of the high Nobles to attempt some form of power move. What kind? a coup? Loopholes? nobody knows. But knowing Austrian is good in the Silver tongue. He will definitely exploit the system in his favour. And if Austrian somehow gains real legslative power in the case of a coup. Then this might be bad news for the working class. Austrian is a STRONG opposer to Socialism and Communism. Which might not sound to out of the ordinary for people of his stature if it wernt for the fact Austrian is against Worker Unions. Against Minium wages, maxium 10 hour workers days. As he believes you get what you derserve by the end of the month. The Communist/Socialist parties of Polland has already declared that there WILL be consequences if Austrian becomes king. Which is a clear threath to civilwar. And with the Communist/Socialist party having 23% of the Parliament seats, their nothing to sneeze at
However. the emperor of Austria Hungary has already publicly announced that if his relative is elected king of Poland. Austria-Hungary will cede most of Polish speaking Galicia over to Poland. almost doubling the size of Poland and bringing millions of ethnic Poles into Poland. Which includes the cities of Krakow and Lwow and their respective provinces Finally uniting them.

https://preview.redd.it/1gm72nmtau1d1.png?width=429&format=png&auto=webp&s=efcd381dab2c85fa11f0bc96ed46480d8ba64b5a
But is it worth it in exchange of a Autocratic king who will tie Poland in the Austrian-Hungarian sphere of Influence? And or worse. Possible civilwar against the Communist?
The 3 options are layed before you. Who will you vote for and Why?Have fun discussing .
Vote for your favorite Monarch with either reacting with a :
1
2
3
To show your support
( I hope you guys have fun discusion the ups and downs of each option. Sorry for the bad spelling I am not that great. If you want more of these I have a bunch of them still saved )
View Poll
submitted by Dutch_Ministry to AlternateHistory [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 22:28 OdinsDrengr Two faces at the grocery store

This happened last night.
Went to Wegman’s to quickly get a few groceries. As I’m walking into the store, I’m immediately slowed by a boomer lady lumbering along very slowly. I get it, she’s old, time does a number on one’s body. She takes a seat at a motorized scooter cart to do her shopping, and that’s when I see this woman’s resting face is grimace like any and everything in the world pisses her off. I grab a cart and go about my shopping.
Five to 10 minutes later, I pass her down an aisle and notice she has her phone held out in front of her face while driving her scooter. She’s on the phone — speaker phone — while shopping. I personally don’t mind, but I remember thinking “if that boomer passed a younger person on speaker phone, full volume, or had their music playing out loud she’d probably lose her mind.”
A few minutes later, I pass her again and can hear that she seems to be talking about grandkids with her daughter. “Aw that’s so cute I bet they had so much fun,” kind of stuff. But not two minutes later, I pass her for the final time and the tone of the conversation had shifted. Now, she was buzzing by like Dale Earnhardt and saying “I’m in a grocery store and I will NOT sit here and be lectured by my daughter.”
So many questions. What prompted this turn of conversation? She realizes that she put herself in the position to be on the phone in public, right? The world will never know, because she hung up and flew over to the self checkout where I saw her staring both up and down her glasses simultaneously while she looked at the screen like it was speaking a foreign language to her.
submitted by OdinsDrengr to BoomersBeingFools [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 22:27 RaymanGame It's a delicate topic, but hear me out

TLDR: The Spacerig needs an Outhouse.
Okay. I know this sounds weird. But: I can not overstate how regularly this happens to me — I open up a public lobby, wait a few moments & then my bowels speak up »You need to take a number two. Now!« – Tho i leave for a few Minutes, yes actually just a few, and at least one person has already left my lobby …
The solution: A quiet place for the host. Where they can let people know how soon they'll be back.
Thank you for your time, this was my assay about how important a brb-notice-system is a crucial part of any public, client -controlled multiplayer lobby.
Rock and Stone everyone. – Günther-Dikdik
submitted by RaymanGame to DeepRockGalactic [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 22:20 Goldentesla69420ape Cheat Sheet for abbreviations: CompTIA Security+ (Plus) Certification

Here are all of the relevant keywords/abbreviations for the CompTIA sec+ exam.
Comment below if you have any questions, if I made a mistake, or if I missed something!
AAA: Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting ABAC: Attribute-Based Access Control ACL: Access Control List AD: Active Directory AES: Advanced Encryption Standard AES256: Advanced Encryption Standard with a key size of 256 bits AH: Authentication Header AI: Artificial Intelligence AIS: Automated Information System ALE: Annual Loss Expectancy AP: Access Point API: Application Programming Interface APT: Advanced Persistent Threat ARO: Annualized Rate of Occurrence ARP: Address Resolution Protocol ASLR: Address Space Layout Randomization ASP: Application Service Provider ATT&CK: Adversarial Tactics, Techniques, and Common Knowledge AUP: Acceptable Use Policy AV: Antivirus BASH: Bourne Again Shell BCP: Business Continuity Plan BGP: Border Gateway Protocol BIA: Business Impact Analysis BIOS: Basic Input/Output System BPA: Business Process Automation BPDU: Bridge Protocol Data Unit BSSID: Basic Service Set Identifier BYOD: Bring Your Own Device CA: Certificate Authority CAPTCHA: Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart CAR: Corrective Action Report CASB: Cloud Access Security Broker CBC: Cipher Block Chaining CBT: Computer-Based Training CCMP: Counter Mode with Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code Protocol CCTV: Closed-Circuit Television CERT: Computer Emergency Response Team CFB: Cipher Feedback CHAP: Challenge-Handshake Authentication Protocol CIO: Chief Information Officer CIRT: Computer Incident Response Team CIS: Center for Internet Security CMS: Content Management System CN: Common Name COOP: Continuity of Operations COPE: Corporate-Owned, Personally-Enabled CP: Control Plane CRC: Cyclic Redundancy Check CRL: Certificate Revocation List CSA: Cloud Security Alliance CSIRT: Computer Security Incident Response Team CSO: Chief Security Officer CSP: Cloud Service Provider CSR: Certificate Signing Request CSRF: Cross-Site Request Forgery CSU: Central Service Unit CTM: Content Threat Management CTO: Chief Technology Officer CVE: Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures CVSS: Common Vulnerability Scoring System CYOD: Choose Your Own Device DAC: Discretionary Access Control DBA: Database Administrator DDoS: Distributed Denial of Service DEP: Data Execution Prevention DER: Distinguished Encoding Rules DES: Data Encryption Standard DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol DHE: Diffie-Hellman Ephemeral DKIM: DomainKeys Identified Mail DLL: Dynamic Link Library DLP: Data Loss Prevention DMARC: Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance DNT: Do Not Track DNS: Domain Name System DNSSEC: Domain Name System Security Extensions DoS: Denial of Service DPO: Data Protection Officer DRP: Disaster Recovery Plan DSA: Digital Signature Algorithm DSL: Digital Subscriber Line EAP: Extensible Authentication Protocol ECB: Electronic Codebook ECC: Elliptic Curve Cryptography ECDHE: Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman Ephemeral ECDSA: Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm EDR: Endpoint Detection and Response EFS: Encrypting File System EIP: Enterprise Information Portal EOL: End of Life EOS: End of Support ERP: Enterprise Resource Planning ESN: Electronic Serial Number ESP: Encapsulating Security Payload ESSID: Extended Service Set Identifier FACL: File Access Control List FDE: Full Disk Encryption FIM: File Integrity Monitoring FPGA: Field-Programmable Gate Array FRR: Fast Reroute FTP: File Transfer Protocol FTPS: FTP Secure GCM: Galois/Counter Mode GDPR: General Data Protection Regulation GPG: GNU Privacy Guard GPO: Group Policy Object GPS: Global Positioning System GPU: Graphics Processing Unit GRE: Generic Routing Encapsulation HA: High Availability HDD: Hard Disk Drive HIDS: Host-based Intrusion Detection System HIPS: Host-based Intrusion Prevention System HMAC: Keyed-Hash Message Authentication Code HOTP: HMAC-based One-Time Password HSM: Hardware Security Module HSMaaS: Hardware Security Module as a Service HTML: Hypertext Markup Language HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol HTTPS: Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure HVAC: Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning IaaS: Infrastructure as a Service IAM: Identity and Access Management ICMP: Internet Control Message Protocol ICS: Industrial Control System IDEA: International Data Encryption Algorithm IDF: Intermediate Distribution Frame IdP: Identity Provider IDS: Intrusion Detection System IPS: Intrusion Prevention System IEEE: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers IKE: Internet Key Exchange IM: Instant Messaging IMAP4: Internet Message Access Protocol version 4 IoC: Indicator of Compromise IoT: Internet of Things IP: Internet Protocol IPSec: Internet Protocol Security IR: Incident Response IRC: Internet Relay Chat IRP: Incident Response Plan ISA: Interconnection Security Agreement ISFW: Integrated Security and Firewalls ISO: International Organization for Standardization ISP: Internet Service Provider ISSO: Information Systems Security Officer ITCP: Information Technology Contingency Plan IV: Initialization Vector KDC: Key Distribution Center KEK: Key Encryption Key L2TP: Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol LAN: Local Area Network LDAP: Lightweight Directory Access Protocol LEAP: Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol MaaS: Monitoring as a Service MAC: Media Access Control MAM: Mobile Application Management MAN: Metropolitan Area Network MBR: Master Boot Record MD5: Message Digest Algorithm 5 MDF: Main Distribution Frame MDM: Mobile Device Management MFA: Multi-Factor Authentication MFD: Multi-Function Device MFP: Multi-Function Printer ML: Machine Learning MMS: Multimedia Messaging Service MOA: Memorandum of Agreement MOU: Memorandum of Understanding MPLS: Multiprotocol Label Switching MSA: Master Service Agreement MSP: Managed Service Provider MSSP: Managed Security Service Provider MTBF: Mean Time Between Failures MTTF: Mean Time To Failure MTTR: Mean Time To Repair MTU: Maximum Transmission Unit NAC: Network Access Control NAT: Network Address Translation NDA: Non-Disclosure Agreement NFC: Near Field Communication NFV: Network Functions Virtualization NGFW: Next-Generation Firewall NG-SWG: Next-Generation Secure Web Gateway NIC: Network Interface Card NIDS: Network Intrusion Detection System NIPS: Network Intrusion Prevention System NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology NOC: Network Operations Center NTFS: New Technology File System NTLM: New Technology LAN Manager NTP: Network Time Protocol OCSP: Online Certificate Status Protocol OID: Object Identifier OS: Operating System OAI: OpenID Authentication OSINT: Open Source Intelligence OSPF: Open Shortest Path First OT: Operational Technology OTA: Over-the-Air OTG: On-The-Go OVAL: Open Vulnerability and Assessment Language OWASP: Open Web Application Security Project P12: Personal Information Exchange Format P2P: Peer-to-Peer PaaS: Platform as a Service PAC: Proxy Auto-Configuration PAM: Privileged Access Management PAP: Password Authentication Protocol PAT: Port Address Translation PBKDF2: Password-Based Key Derivation Function 2 PBX: Private Branch Exchange PCAP: Packet Capture PCI DSS: Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard PDU: Protocol Data Unit PE: Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol PEAP: Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol PED: Portable Electronic Device PEM: Privacy Enhanced Mail PFS: Perfect Forward Secrecy PGP: Pretty Good Privacy PHI: Protected Health Information PII: Personally Identifiable Information PIN: Personal Identification Number PIV: Personal Identity Verification PKCS: Public Key Cryptography Standards PKI: Public Key Infrastructure PoC: Proof of Concept POP: Post Office Protocol POTS: Plain Old Telephone Service PPP: Point-to-Point Protocol PPTP: Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol PSK: Pre-Shared Key PTZ: Pan-Tilt-Zoom PUP: Potentially Unwanted Program QA: Quality Assurance QoS: Quality of Service RA: Recovery Agent RAD: Rapid Application Development RADIUS: Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service RAID: Redundant Array of Independent Disks RAM: Random Access Memory RAS: Remote Access Service RAT: Remote Access Trojan RC4: Rivest Cipher 4 RCS: Remote Control System RFC: Request for Comments RFID: Radio-Frequency Identification RIPEMD: RACE Integrity Primitives Evaluation Message Digest ROI: Return on Investment RPO: Recovery Point Objective RSA: Rivest-Shamir-Adleman RTBH: Remote Triggered Black Hole RTO: Recovery Time Objective RTOS: Real-Time Operating System RTP: Real-Time Transport Protocol S/MIME: Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions SaaS: Software as a Service SAE: Simultaneous Authentication of Equals SAML: Security Assertion Markup Language SCADA: Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition SCAP: Security Content Automation Protocol SCEP: Simple Certificate Enrollment Protocol SDK: Software Development Kit SDLC: Software Development Life Cycle SDLM: Software Development Lifecycle Management SDN: Software-Defined Networking SDP: Session Description Protocol SDV: Software-Defined Vehicle SED: Self-Encrypting Drive SEH: Structured Exception Handler SFTP: Secure File Transfer Protocol SHA: Secure Hash Algorithm SIEM: Security Information and Event Management SIM: Subscriber Identity Module SIP: Session Initiation Protocol SLA: Service Level Agreement SLE: Single Loss Expectancy SMB: Server Message Block SMS: Short Message Service SMTP/S: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol/Secure SNMP: Simple Network Management Protocol SOAP: Simple Object Access Protocol SOAR: Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response SoC: Security Operations Center SOC: System-On-Chip SPF: Sender Policy Framework SPIM: Spam Over Instant Messaging SQL: Structured Query Language SQLi: SQL Injection SRTP: Secure Real-Time Transport Protocol SSD: Solid-State Drive SSH: Secure Shell SSID: Service Set Identifier SSL: Secure Sockets Layer SSO: Single Sign-On STIX: Structured Threat Information eXpression STP: Spanning Tree Protocol SWG: Secure Web Gateway TACACS+: Terminal Access Controller Access-Control System Plus TGT: Ticket Granting Ticket TKIP: Temporal Key Integrity Protocol TLS: Transport Layer Security TOTP: Time-Based One-Time Password TPM: Trusted Platform Module TSIG: Transaction Signature TTP: Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures UAT: User Acceptance Testing UDP: User Datagram Protocol UEBA: User and Entity Behavior Analytics UEFI: Unified Extensible Firmware Interface UEM: Unified Endpoint Management UPS: Uninterruptible Power Supply URI: Uniform Resource Identifier URL: Uniform Resource Locator USB: Universal Serial Bus USB OTG: USB On-The-Go UTM: Unified Threat Management UTP: Unshielded Twisted Pair VBA: Visual Basic for Applications VDE: Virtual Desktop Environment VDI: Virtual Desktop Infrastructure VLAN: Virtual Local Area Network VLSM: Variable Length Subnet Masking VM: Virtual Machine VoIP: Voice over Internet Protocol VPC: Virtual Private Cloud VPN: Virtual Private Network VTC: Video Teleconferencing WAF: Web Application Firewall WAP: Wireless Access Point WEP: Wired Equivalent Privacy WIDS: Wireless Intrusion Detection System WIPS: Wireless Intrusion Prevention System WORM: Write Once, Read Many WPA: Wi-Fi Protected Access WPS: Wi-Fi Protected Setup XaaS: Anything as a Service XSRF: Cross-Site Request Forgery
submitted by Goldentesla69420ape to CompTIA [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 22:11 Healthy-Neat-3088 Is it possible to have ADHD when working as a bookkeeper?

Hey,
I've been hyper fixating about ADHD for about a week now and I don't know why.
There are symptoms that I relate very much to like being easily distracted, careless mistakes, zoning out/daydreaming, listening to someone speak but not quite registering what was being said, especially when there's a group of people then I just don't participate in the conversations.
I'm 30 years old, failed college 2 times and am working as a bookkeeper and now I'm thinking of going to college and 3 the third time.
I've had problems with addiction for many years and that might be the reason for failing college but generally I never can focus for too long on learning something boring.
I'm generally pretty organized, phone always in the same place, keys always in the same place, everything has its place, I'm not forgetful but I write everything down on lists, I do forget little things at work often though but never miss deadlines.
Now the waiting time to get an ADHD diagnosis through public service is like 4 years here in Iceland but privately it costs a lot.
College is starting soon and I'm contemplating if I should pay a lot and get a diagnosis but I'm anxious that may just be a waste of money as not all the symptoms fit for me but I don't wanna fail school once again.
What should I do?
Is it even possible to have ADHD as a bookkeeper?
submitted by Healthy-Neat-3088 to ADHD [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 21:59 durmiendozzz Looking for native euskaldunak!

Kaixo,
I'm working on a multilingual project that involves Basque and I'm looking for some native speakers that are willing to help. This would entail making recordings of yourself speaking Basque for use in a public database. Please contact me if you're interested, and I can provide some more details.
Eskerrik asko!
submitted by durmiendozzz to basque [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 21:59 Tricky-Balance6133 Does anyone constantly question themselves?

Specifically I mean with their autism.
I am pretty much convinced that I have autism. It would explain everything.
But I’m an adult female who, I have to assume, is good enough at masking that no one has ever figured it out. I’ve been diagnosed with adhd and I want to find out about ASD, but I don’t even know if I fully believe the ADHD part yet. It would explain all my grades in school, my tendency to save everything for the last minute, my constant lateness, my day dreaming, literally everything. But still I wonder, am I just trying to make excuses for myself?
It doesn’t help that there’s a strong stigma against adults looking for diagnosis. It also really doesn’t help that it’s “trendy” or whatever, so even mentioning it has people rolling their eyes.
The “trendiness” is what brought ADHD to my attention, more or less. At least, learning from others who made their diagnosis public (“hm, these ladies with adhd in this study group I’m in use a lot of the same study methods I use 🤔” that’s where the journey started). But now I am learning about autism and COULD IT BE AUTISTIC BURNOUT IM EXPERIENCING?! I’ve been struggling, a lot, in my adult years with work and school and having kids and trying to manage all the things. I can’t help but wonder if I’m looking for an excuse, or a defense for why I am this way. I’m questioning my own reality here.
But if it isn’t just an excuse, why don’t I have friends? Why do I struggle to focus in school or move up at work? Why am I booksmart but also soooo dumb sometimes? Why do people look at me like I’m dumb when I make any comment about anything ever? Why do I repel friendship? Why do people seem to like me less the more I speak? Why does no one take me seriously? What am I missing?
It’s a spectrum, so what if I’m autistic but not autistic enough?
Will doctors even take me seriously if I ask them about screening? Is this all just a procrastination technique so I can avoid homework some more?
FML.
How do adults go about getting serious diagnoses? I’m afraid to even ask my new doctor about getting medicated for my adhd because I can’t help but feel like I’m just trying to cheat the system to get my hands on controlled substances. But I didn’t abuse them, and they worked. That means they’re right for me, right?
But I’m an adult. I shouldn’t need medication to meet the expectations of daily life, like showing up to work when I’m scheduled instead of calling out “sick” because I’m too exhausted to wrap my brain around working. I mean, is there anyone who isn’t tired? Is there anyone who doesn’t have to force themselves to get up and go to work every day?
FML.
WTF IS THIS IMPOSTER SYNDROME?!
I need so many answers that I just don’t have 😩
submitted by Tricky-Balance6133 to autism [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 21:51 BrnFish245 An open letter to the advisory board and instructors at the Global Center for Religious Research (GCRR)

To the Board of Directors, Advisory Board, and Instructors at the Global Center for Religious Research:
When I first came across an advertisement for the Global Center for Religious Research’s courses, I got excited, especially because the instructors weren’t all old white guys like me. I wanted to get a broad range of experiences. I intended not only to sign up for the courses, but to see whether or not I might be able to offer courses through GCRR in the future. I pictured a future in which I would have a whole new set of colleagues who, like me, treat clients who have experienced religious trauma.
Before buying anything, I decided to join the “Religious Trauma Studies” Facebook group that GCRR is running. It took me less than an hour to become very concerned about the behavior of GCRR and its leader, Darren Slade.
While GCRR’s advertisements give the impression of professionalism and research, Slade himself is traumatizing and even harassing his/your own customers. Do you not see it? Best case scenario: he’ll keep embarrassing you. Worst case scenario: someone (especially if you ever have employees) is going to sue you. If he publicly treats his customers with this much contempt, how will he treat his employees, if he ever gets this business off the ground?
To illustrate, I am attaching several documents printed (customer names redacted) from the GCRR’s “Religious Trauma Studies” Facebook group. It’s messy, but you can go look up the Facebook group and find the originals.
If you’re a therapist, do you not see how much credibility you lose by associating yourself with an organization that mocks your own therapy clients for being triggered and having feelings? And Slade's approach isn't just annoying or unprofessional, it’s aggressive. Surely you can see what I’m talking about? Why are you supporting this guy?
At one point in the attached document (while accusing a woman of being sexist against him for saying he's being sexist), Slade even claims that men are constantly discriminated against just for speaking, and that "oppression and marginalization cut both ways". (About 1/3 of the way down page 3). You are all experts in religious trauma, and I first became interested in GCRR's courses because I saw some women and people of color among the instructors and advisors. Do you, as a group, actually believe that "oppression and marginalization cuts both ways"? Do you believe that racism, sexism, and homophobia oppress and marginalize straight white men just as much as people of color, women, and LGBT people? If so, I'll be warning people away from your whole organization.
Our job is to help people put an end to this kind of abuse, not to perpetuate it. Our job is to help people to recover from their traumas, not inflict more trauma, and certainly not to belittle them for speaking up.
If I had gotten involved without checking out how Slade treats his customers, I'd be embarrassed now, so I'm taking the time to give you the professional heads-up that I would want were I in your shoes.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/128aqrYsIlbCBLcWfAiYu6JdaDeZ_1Ouo/view?usp=sharing
submitted by BrnFish245 to ReligiousTrauma [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 21:50 IdeaRegular4671 What do you think is the best way to prevent a mental illness diagnosis and personality disorder diagnosis? How do you avoid the stigma, the scarlet letter, character assassinations , false accusations and smear merchant campaigns?

Do you just not leave your house and never speak your mind or show any opinions of your own and follow the crowd like a chameleon? Do you never show any emotions or feelings whatsoever and be robotic mechanic and follow orders all of the time like a obedient soldier or programmed android/robot? I guess you have to be the best actoactress in existence to never be labled. Be the best super spy in existence. Saying suicidal thoughts ideations depressing anxious or homicidal feelings is a red flag in the normie or mental health crowd that’s a red flag to them so they can forcibly drug you “treat” you against your will and lock you up in a psych ward. Never say that to those types of people it’s a trap and self sabotage. It’s dangerous saying that out in public or to strangers only share that personal info of your life feelings and emotions to people you trust and know for some time but if you know they are pro psych don’t get close to them or just be the best actoactress in existence, play your role to perfection. Lie just lie like they lie and you’ll be safe. These people are dangerous individuals if they hear one word out of those thought crimes they switch so fast, their mask falls off and they will try to incarcerate you bully you ostracize you kill you smear you and will try to destroy your life and paint you as the bad guy of society and be the villain of humanity. You will be the problem in their eyes and not them. They play a super dangerous blaming game one wrong move and you are dead to them and your reputation and good social standing is over in a matter of seconds.
submitted by IdeaRegular4671 to Antipsychiatry [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 21:45 HRJafael Pioneer’s new auxiliary gym a ‘valuable resource’ that boosts student health

https://archive.is/EZUY4
With a one-time financial investment into the complete overhaul of its auxiliary gym, Pioneer Valley Regional School is hoping the work will pay dividends for students in the classroom, on the athletic field and for the rest of their lives.
The upgrades, which cost around $65,000, according to Director of Finance and Operations Jordan Burns, turned the school’s auxiliary gym — affectionately branded as “The Aux” — from an old workout space to a modern gym that welcomes students of all abilities and motivations. Among the improvements are a new floor; all-new equipment, including six racks; and a strip of artificial turf.
Nick Adams, Pioneer’s physical education teacher and assistant athletic director, said the improvements can “bridge the gap” between education and physical and mental wellness, and students of all backgrounds have been engaging in the new space since it opened in March.
“The kids are starting to identify the flow. … They come in, no matter what team they are, what age, it’s all scalable, so we can reach all of our students that are willing to come in,” Adams said. “Traditional phys. ed. isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. ... All teams, all genders, all social groups, we’re able to go inside and work toward a common goal, which I think is very unifying for a school.”
Burns added that the renovation was a big project for the school and the results speak for themselves.
“That was money well-spent to take a space that was somewhat of an eyesore and turn it into not only a functional classroom and training space, but a space that students can be proud of,” Burns said.
The gym is open for Adams’ two strength and fitness classes and then after school most days for students to use. He also expects the gym will be open for student athletes and their teams in the summer, and the school has been communicating with Northfield’s Recreation Department to see if they can set up public workout hours.
This “investment for a lifetime,” Adams said, can instill good physical exercise habits, which in turn directly benefits mental and emotional health for students. He noted those benefits, especially for middle school boys and girls, are invaluable for their growth into young adults. The practical knowledge of gym equipment is an added benefit, too, as students can take the exercises and routines they develop at Pioneer and take them to a public gym.
“Anything that we can do to get a positive reinforcement in their confidence, like, ‘Hey, I couldn’t do that last time, but I tried it this time and it was possible,’” Adams said. “They get that and you really get to start to see them shimmer and that’s cool, but we’ve got to access it, which is the hard part.”
Junior Jackson Campbell and several other students said the auxiliary gym’s improvements have been a huge boost for the school and they’ve enjoyed using it.
“It’s a good spot to come and feel like yourself,” Campbell said, joking that it’s “the best room in the entire school.” “People work together in here.”
“It’s a really valuable resource,” added fellow junior Joey Seaman.
submitted by HRJafael to FranklinCountyMA [link] [comments]


2024.05.21 21:32 Worried-Paper-3787 AITHA for continuing to hang out with my ex sister-in law?

Hang in there, this is a long one: I (50F) have been with my husband (57M) for almost 16 years, married for 12 years. He has 3 brothers and 1 sister. One of his brothers, we will call “Roy” has just went through a divorce with his 5th wife,”Sara” after being together 9 years. She is the third wife that I have known him to be married to since my husband (his brother ) and I have been together. He was married to the first two long before we met. Anyway, over the time we were married she and I became very close. Like actual sisters. We have a lot in common and we can tell each other anything. We are the same religion, love horror movies and the paranormal. We take trips together. Go to concerts and conventions. My relationship with her is always how I felt a “sister” relationship should be. I do have a sister but we barely talk and I may only see her once a year. Sara is the sister I chose. She feels the same way about me. Sara and Roy separated in September of last year. His treatment of her was abhorrent. I am not just saying that because we are so close. He’s a narcissist. He had to be the center of her world and yet he would call her a “Fuckin Liar” or a “fucking piece of shit” he would constantly accuse her of cheating and go through her phone trying to find evidence but never did. He even texted me from her phone once pretending to be her to see what I would say. I had a weird feeling when I received the text because Sara and I didn’t usually text about him when she with him due to his nosiness …the text said “what should I do” so I responded vaguely with something that I would say to either one of them. He then started texting me from his phone going off on me. I told him I didn’t say anything to her that I wouldn’t say to his face. It got to the point where everyone had issues being around him, especially if he was drinking. Here come the holidays. Thanksgiving my husband and I hosted the dinner. All of his siblings, their kids, and grandchildren were invited. On my side it was my mom, my kids and grandchildren. I didn’t invite Sara (although I would’ve rather her been there) due to the separation and pending divorce. I heard a couple of my husband’s nieces talking about seeing each other the next month for Christmas. At that time no one in the family had brought up hosting Christmas, so I volunteered. I set the Christmas dinner date for the family the Saturday before Christmas. Everyone that was there for Thanksgiving was invited. We use a group chat on messenger. every Christmas since I was a child, we would go to church at midnight on Christmas Eve then come home and open presents. When my older sister got married and moved out, we just started celebrating on Christmas Eve so she could have Christmas Day with her new family…the tradition never changed even when my husband and I started dating. I would have my kids Christmas Eve, they would go with their dad Christmas Day. A few years ago, my husband’s sister “Karen” lost her husband to cancer a few weeks before Christmas so we started inviting her to our Christmas Eve celebrations so she wouldn’t be alone. I told my husband since we are inviting Karen we should also invite Roy and Sara. We did that for a few years. Now the blow up….. Since my husband and I planned the extended family Christmas the weekend before Christmas, I told him I would like to invite Sara Christmas Eve so she, my mom and I could go to the Christmas Eve service after dinner. My husband was ok with this. He likes Sara too. I also invited Karen as we have been the past few years. My husband called Karen a few days later and she just blew up on him saying it was bullshit that we were inviting Sara and not Roy….he said Roy was invited to the extended family Christmas with everyone else. She said Christmas is for family and it’s just wrong that Sara and I were still hanging out. Roy didn’t like it either. In fact he still doesn’t. I brought up to Karen that me still hanging with Sara is no different than her being BFF’s with Roy’s first wife and she said she had nothing to do with this and she didn’t want her brother being alone on the holidays (he has four grown daughters he could spend the holidays with) so she decided to host Christmas Eve dinner also…at the same time as ours. My husband and I decided the drama was too much so we canceled the extended family Christmas dinner (not very many RSVP’d anyway). Karen and a few of Roy’s daughters even got upset with my stepson for not attending their Christmas Eve dinner. Basically wanting him to choose between his own dad and them. My husband and Roy still talk and hang out but he has not seen or spoken to Karen since then. My husband expects an apology from her before he will speak to her and she is too stubborn to do so. His sister and brother still talk about me behind my back about how they can’t believe I still hang out with and in fact if they see her in public they will not speak to her. She and I still hang out and have a trip planned together in a couple months. So, AITHA for being 50 years old and choosing to spend my time with a woman who is like a sister to me and a really good person even though she divorced my husband’s brother?
submitted by Worried-Paper-3787 to AITAH [link] [comments]


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