Weight loss work fitness home

First of all I want to start this by saying I’m so tired. Just tired in general but tired of this situation. I am a stay at home mom as well as a wfh mom. I have one toddler she’s about a year. I don’t even know where to start but, my bf, m31 and I f29 live together. I’ve had this conversation with him countless times how I need help around the house, with cleaning etc. I’m the only one who is tending to my toddler every second and hour of the day, even when he is home. I work at early mornings. My toddler wakes up frequently through the night and I’m always the one to tend to her. This man literally gets home from work and plays his video game on his cell phone until he goes to bed. I cook dinner, clean, give the baby a bath, give myself a bath, get her ready for bed, change her diapers, put her down, and it’s like 9pm by then and he hasn’t got up off the couch. He also has a son outside our relationship that I have to take care of when he’s “not around”. Which is always, because he works. I’ve told him time and time again I need help, and he tells me that why do I set standards that I, myself cannot even live up too? I clean the whole house but he will still comment on things when he hasn’t even helped or done anything. I know he knows this is wrong because we have friends come over he doesn’t touch the game ONCE. He engages and talks to them. Which is fine and good I guess. I’m just tired of begging this man to be someone he’s obviously not. He has high standards that I have to live up too or else it’s not good enough. I have one foot out the door ATP. I rather be alone and take care of my daughter I know I can do it by myself because I have been this whole time. Then take care of two messy boys who don’t clean up after themselves.
I just want to leave so bad. I get scared too, but what’s the worst that can happen I have one less child to worry about an a adult child. I just want to have a good life for myself and my daughter, i want to be a happy mom not an overstimulated mom because I’m in a relationship I’m not being heard. No matter how many times I beat the same drum. And also, I have to beg for sex, and then I still don’t get it until he’s ready. He doesn’t take care of me ever, if you know what I mean. I’ve told him this is an issue. I’m just ready to give up. How would one suggest to deal with this situation?

I see this all the time in parking lots, at parks, etc.
For example, there's a woman who lives in my building who sits alone in her car for like at least 30-40 minutes after she gets home from work every day. I have seen her sit there for over an hour before going in. She seems to just be scrolling on her phone, no music playing that I have noticed, just chilling.
Sometimes her Chinese husband will come out to the car and she'll roll down the window and talk to him for a few minutes, then he will just go back inside and she'll keep chilling in the car.
Personally I'd rather hang out almost anywhere besides in the driver's seat of my car, but maybe there's something I am missing

Have a holiday home planned mid August. Exactly three months. I’m too fat, drink too much, diet isn’t great.
Had flair ups before, don’t take any meds. Last one was a year ago.
So here we go, hard exercise and diet time. Veggies and walking/jogging, lifting weights.
Came back home after work, smacked my big toe into the weight lifting bench. And guess what. Frigging gouty foot the next morning. That was Sunday.

Having my surgery in 5 weeks! First consultation only a week ago but I've been thinking of this procedure for the past 2 years, maintaining a healthy weight & working out consistently.
Excited but so scared! Having a TT, told no MR is needed (no pregnancy history and surgeon checked my abdomen) but also having a breast uplift (no implants) in the same surgery
The total cost and recovery is really overwhelming but my stomach has always been a point of insecurity - never worn a two piece bikini anywhere!
Looking for some encouraging words please 🙏 terrified but also very excited and can't wait.

So as I need to get more exercise in and I’m limited on time because of my 2-4 yr old girls I’ve been thinking about commuting by bike to work. I’ve done it a few times in the past on my old diamondback insight and there is now more of a bike trail so I can stay off the heavy traffic roads. I’m looking to lose weight so I want to put some effort in pedaling wise. I’m 6’ 240lbs. With the new sale I’m thinking about pulling the trigger on the soltera.2. Any reasons on why this won’t do the job? I’ve never ridden an e-bike before. The safest route is 20 miles each way. The shorter route but heavily congested road saves me a few miles but I think just because I’d rather be safe I’ll always take the longer route. Thanks for any advice or info!

1. Can easily be made irrelevant by introducing more enemies with weakness bar immunity
2. Like some existing bosses, either you have to kill the rest of the mobs to “unlock” the boss’ weakness bar OR just straight a phase in which they gain a shield that prevents us from reducing their weakness bar all together.
3. We know gacha games introduce new gimmicks all the time to promote latest characters that fit that niche and indirectly highlights the weakness of the old meta to prevent “brute forcing” every content in the game.
4. Niche meta like “DoT” or “FUA” doesn’t really have a hard counter as of now that I’m aware of, no enemies can hard dispell debuffs/DoT status, extra resistance to DoT, or things like hit repeatedly by FUA resulted in less effectiveness.
5. Because the harsh truth of Break Effect-focused scaling is that they don’t do damage unless you break the enemy’s weakness and if it’s prevented you might be a dead weight in a turn-based game
   
6. On the flip side, introducing good damage numbers for a break meta meaning moving forward to balance it out they will have to make adjustments to the enemies weakness bar that might affect non-break-meta negatively
   
7. Just like the introduction of Ruan Mei providing a game-changing 50% Weakness Break Efficiency, you won’t notice it at first and take the comfort of breaking enemies’ weakness for granted until you take Ruan Mei off your team
   
8. e.g. Kafka E can perfectly break the weakness bar for most Penacony non-Elites, but when you replace RM with Robin her E alone will not be enough to break it and leave that annoying 25% weakness bar left
   
9. More supports with Break Efficiency buff is almost expected but the side effect will be a drop in QoL when you take them off the team
   

This is mainly a rant, but advice is appreciated.
TW: Abuse, Suicide mention, drug use
I (19F), want to take my sister, but I can't. I'm a college student with no apartment or job as of currently. My bf (19m) is my savior right now, and would be willing to adopt my sister with me if we were stable.
Right now, it's me, my sister, and my dad (42m). My bio mom left me and dad when I was 5, and he met my step mom about a year later. They got married when I was 7, and that's when she started hurting me when she didn't get her way. Physically and mentally. She also made me clean everything myself. I called myself Cinderella as a kid. My dad would simply talk to her about what she did to me, and it would only get worse. We finally left when I was 13, but the damage was long done. She had my sister when I was 11, and having her around gave me a reason to live. She means the world to me.
My step mom never got arrested for what she put me through. They just got divorced, and she got my sister during the school year. My dad used to drink a lot, but he's been drinking significantly less lately. That just makes it hurt more.
We have my sister right now, because her mom called her school and threatened suicide. My aunt (step mom's sister, who I still love because she tried to protect me when in-state) said my step mom might be on cocaine as well. My dad, after begging and telling him he was too scared to protect me and to not make the same mistake with my sister, is finally fighting back.
I've been back from my second semester for 3 days, and 2 of those ended in arguments that he started. I try to keep things calm, but he keeps egging me on until I snap and start arguing with him. He admitted last night that he does that on purpose because he's stressed and it helps him calm down. My dad gets verbally abusive to me during these arguments, and it really hurts. He refuses to get therapy, and I don't know what to do.
Neither house is good for my sister. Not like this. But I can't lose her. My dad only has his arguments with me, so I think it's better for her than her mom's house.
I seriously want to drop out and get an apartment with my sister and bf (she knows him and loves him, and his family) so she can be safe.
My bf is keeping me sane, and is helping me work through my trauma. All of it, actually. Nightmares, breakdowns, etc. I love him, and he's been reminding me that my dad's arguments aren't my fault. He keeps me sane after everything, and doesn't take it personally if I ask if he'll end up hurting me too. He knows why I ask, and he knows that it means I'm dealing with something at home.
I attend counseling on campus, but I can't afford an actual therapist right now, so I needed to say something somewhere. Thanks for reading.

I'm 11 shots in and, as of this morning, my scale reports that I'm 25 lbs down. This feels like a truly meaningful amount and I only have 7 lbs to go until I hit my driver's license weight! (And, if I'm honest, that DL number is as stale as the strange hard candy my grandmother would mine for me from the bottom of her purse.)
I'm posting not just because I want to mark this moment (I do), but to say thank you to everyone in this sub for your continued wisdom and support. Your shared experiences, advice, and struggles have been incredibly meaningful and I have felt so many of you virtually holding my hand throughout this!
Ok...back to working on the remaining 40+ lbs...

What are your tips for navigating work(cooperate America) and even social life as a legal immigrant? I’m 27(F) from a Western African country. I lived in my home country for 22 years before relocating to the US with my family. I’m a very reserved introverted individual, my culture played a big factor in shaping my person.
I find it difficult to keep up with conversations after saying hello and following up with a few words, when I get comfortable and speak I wonder if they are still following me. I say this because I see a shift in their body language and sometimes they just give short answers.
This translates to my work because I’m not much of a talker, I’m very straight to the point. I get my job done and I do so well. But in meetings or gatherings, I observe and listen and when I feel the need to speak about an observation or just make a contribution everyone goes quiet making it super weird for me and they pick up their talk back like I didn’t just say something.
My supervisor speaks well of me and appreciates the work that I do. But I am an over-thinker and would appreciate your tips and thoughts if this is something you can relate with.

I'm not familiar with Australian law at all so any help would be appreciated.
I have rented a Granny flat in a house on 29 February directly from the owner. The agreement format is the formal "Residential Rental Agreement" made by "Consumer Affairs Victoria" and is in 10 pages. In the second page, between the two choices of "fixed" and "periodic", it is indicated that it's a "periodic agreement (monthly)". Also at page 10, in the "additional terms" section, the owner has written this: (with a little bad grammar)
"Any behavioral issues will be this contract will be terminated without notice of termination."
Also the bond is 0 and it's written in the contract that cash is a better payment (probably because the owner is not reporting to ATO).
Now, back to the story, I always worked as a remote software developer and that's what I told them when I moved in. So I'm basically in my unit all the time. I have a contact with a company that indicated so, too, that I'm working with them.
During the last month, due to small amount of work that I received from my company (long story), I started doing Uber delivery with a bike. From that day, strange behaviors from my house owner, who are a couple in their mid 50s, appeared. First of all, they both start asking me that if I were honest about being a software developer, why am I doing Uber deliver? (Which I answered nicely and said that I'm getting interviews). After several days, I received a text message from them indicating that I let someone stay overnight in my flat and this is a beach of contract and I have to pay them half of my fortnightly rent which I said I didn't had anyone over (I didn't have anyone over and this is not in our rental agreement as I see. Also, they have cameras all over the house and also through the entrance and they could easily check this). Then the wife constantly teases me about how she thought I'm in IT and I'm an Uber delivery person. Also she teases me about not getting out of the house that much and also being late at one night (I was Ubering and got home at 2am after a 9 hour shift, I didn't disturb anyone but their dog that is kept in the yard kept barking when I entered. Maybe this woke them up or they simply checked the cameras).
I'm getting the vibe that they are looking for an excuse to have me evacuated. They don't seem very reasonable. For example, they have a neglected dog in our common 15m² yard that they never take for a walk, treat, get close to or anything, just the automatic feeder is set and the dog shits and pisses all over the yard! (Maybe they, as a foreign (Asian) couple, don't feel safe at home, and the dog is there to scare the two tenants they have I don't know).
My question is, if they decide to have me vacated and make an excuse to show as a beach of contract and it is debatable, what would be the notice period and my options? I can do one month but two weeks for notice period is very short for me.

“Will you look at that,” Captain Yontan marveled from the observation deck. They had arrived in the Solar System at long last, the old bastion of knowledge mankind had abandoned many millennia ago.
“Such a basic tech, yet so beautiful, so… poetic,” Lezlybe uttered, gazing at the constant flux of Sunfire Conduit pulled from the sun to one, two, three relays, and finally to the surface of Pluto, where its energy was being harnessed inside a crater. “And you’re certain that’s where the Ultimate Knowledge is stored?”
“Yes,” Yontan nodded. “Every clue leads to Pluto. Can you imagine? The Ultimate Knowledge, lost for millennia, on this planet out of all places.”
“Ready to descend at your command, captain,” announced Ghenna.
Yontan turned to his crew and smiled. It was the first time they had seen him do that in months. “Hover around the south-south-eastern quadrant of the crater. That’s where the entrance is supposed to be.”
“Yes, Sir!”
Lezlybe’s turned to face the captain, her long black hair swirling around with her.
“Wouldn’t that energy burn us on approach?”
“It might be basic tech, but not that basic, Lez,” said Yontan. “It’s safe up to a distance of 100 meters. Don’t underestimate the intelligence of our ancestors because they built this thing in the distant past. They were as smart as us. Smarter even, in certain aspects, I’m sure.”
“Found the entrance, captain,” said Ghenna. It was a pale peach colored door built on the craterside.
“Land near it, wherever it’s stable.”
“Yes, Sir!”
The ship touched down next to the Hollis Crater. Yontan and four others suited up and left the craft. Before heading for the door, the team stopped to gaze at the Sunfire Conduit from their position. It went up, up, up as far as the eye could see.
Jmerr was awestruck.
“I can’t believe we’re able to look at it with basic sun visors. Do you think our ancestors purposefully designed it like that?”
“Of course,” said Yontan, mesmerized by the spiraling blaze swooshing down the crater. “Aesthetics have always been important, especially since it used to be connected to three planets, two dwarf planets, and eight moons. Many renown painters have depicted the Conduits in their art. Although no physical portraits survived, their works have been well documented over hundreds of books.”
Lezlybe approached Jmerr and put her hand over his shoulder.
“I kind of wish we could hear its thunderous sound. I imagine it’d be a satisfying swoosh, kind of like a blowtorch.”
“You’d be deaf before you’d hear a thing,” laughed Yontan. “We’re speaking of extremely powerful jets coming from a star, after all. I can’t wait to see why they’re pulling so much energy on such a small planet. It’s totally excessive in my view.”
“Maybe it’s not,” said Lezlybe. “Especially if the Ultimate Knowledge is behind this door.”
The team approached the door, a small black panel to its side. Yontan placed a round device on top and, seconds later, it retracted into the ground.
“A Grampus?” frowned Jmerr, even though no one could see his face behind the visor. “Why do you use this old AI?”
“Because I don’t know the code,” explained Yontan as they stepped inside a long hall. “So I brought this device with me to crack the password. Don’t forget that this here is also old tech. Newer devices could break something.” He glanced over his shoulder at the wide-open entryway with the ship not too far behind. “But it looks like the Grampus broke it anyway since it doesn’t slide shut.”
At the end of the wide turquoise hall, another door was easily popped open with Yontan’s device. This time, however, the heavy door closed shut when the last person stepped in.
“I hope we’re not trapped in this small room,” gulped Lezlybe.
“Don’t worry, we can ask someone on board to cut it open if needed,” said Yontan. “After all we –”
PSHHHHHHHH
A burst of gas sprayed them from all sides, followed by a shower of heavy liquid. A few moments after it stopped, the door in front of them opened, and a gentle male voice greeted them.
“Welcome to U.K. ONE. The current air pressure is at 101.3 kilopascals, with a temperature of 22.4 degrees Celsius and a humidity level set at 60% RH.”
The voice then proceeded to inform them about the room’s condition among other sets of data.
“I see. We were inside a basic decompression chamber,” muttered Jmerr.
The tallest crewmate, Lessandre, popped his helmet off and took a deep breath.
“Ah, historical fresh air,” he boomed, looking around the oval room. “It brings a tear to my eye.”
“What are you doing?” Yontan shouted. “We don’t know what particles or microorganisms could linger in here.”
“Relax, captain. Tyche analyzed the air and told me it’s fine. Why don’t you all retract your visors and experience this multimillennial-old air? You’ll never have the chance to do that again, you know.”
Yontan checked with his own version of his AI, Tyche, and everything seemed to be fine, so he retracted the visor of his helmet as well, just in time to scratch an itch on his beard. The rest of the crew followed, except for Jmerr.
“Come on, Jmerr. It’s a unique experience, my friend,” beamed Lessandre, tapping on his shoulder.
Jmerr scowled at Lessandre. “I refuse to take unnecessary risks.”
“As you wish,” Lessandre grinned, loudly sniffing the air. “Ahhh. The air in here is exceptionally… how to describe it?”
“Dusty?” Lezlybe chimed in. “I think the auto-clean on the filter stopped working long ago.”
Yontan was ignoring his crew, inspecting the walls of this oval room for clues. But the room was pretty much empty, outside of the air conditioning holes and lights flickering on the ceiling.
“I know there’s another door on the other side of the crater, but that one’s the entrance to the accumulator and workspaces,” he muttered to himself, caressing the wall in the hopes of finding a button or a gap of sorts.
“Is that place also turquoise?” asked Lessandre. “I really hate this color. Reminds me too much of my ex.”
Lezlybe rolled her eyes.
“Then why don’t we go there?” asked Ghenna, who had closed her visor since she didn’t like the smell.
“Because,” began Yontan absent-mindedly while brushing his hands over the wall, “every document points to this place. We’ll check the other site if we don’t find anything here. Now if only I – aha! A button. This might be it.”
Yontan pushed it with his finger. Instead of clicking, like any other button would, his index finger sank completely in. He immediately withdrew it, fearing something might cut his finger off. But the button came back, except it was now white and protruded out of the wall. Yontan hesitantly pressed it.
An oval pedestal emerged from the middle of the floor, gradually rising until it reached chest height. The left side slid open with melodious clicks, and out came a small table with a round black object on it with a sky-blue center. Before they had the time to guess what it was, a hologram rose from it, displaying the head of an old balding man with a lazy eye.
“Greetings, future humans,” said the feeble voice. “And welcome to K.U. ONE. What is your purpose here?”
Yontan glanced at his crew, who gave him a nod and shrugs. He cleared his throat and spoke clearly, “We’ve come here to gain access to the Ultimate Knowledge, which is said to contain the answers to our purpose within the universe.”
“I see. And you are one, two, five. Oh! That is good news, good news indeed. I’ve been waiting for you. Well, not me per se, since I’m long dead, I suppose,” the hologram laughed, “but my digital image. And five? Oh, proof that nothing happens at random.”
Yontan was slightly taken aback.
“Wait. You’re not a simple recording?”
“No, no. I’m enhanced with artificial intelligence. It speaks as I would speak, saying what I asked it to say – with a bit of panache. Now, move to the other side of the pedestal. It will pop open and contain a box.”
The other side popped open, displaying a silver box embossed with gold on the edges. It was beautiful. Lessandre grabbed it and tried to pry it open.
“Tut-tut! You need the key to open the box. I’ll hand it over only of you accept to eat its contents.”
“Eat it?” Yontan uttered in excitement. “Will it alter our brains? Give us the knowledge we yearn for?”
“Not quite. But it is a necessary step.”
“I won’t touch it,” Jmerr stated firmly. “I don’t trust this man. Whatever’s inside, it’s been in there for thousands of years. There’s no way it’s still edible.”
“Oh but it is,” grinned the man. “What do you think the Sunfire Conduit is used for?”
“What?” uttered Lezlybe. “The power of the sun used for… food?”
“Of course, there’s more to it. But a lot of energy is necessary to cool it down to near zero kelvin and keep it that way until it’s very slowly reheated to the ideal temperature for you to savor.
“Now, will you eat its contents or not?”
“Why don’t we bring it back to the ship and study it?” suggested Jmerr.
“The moment you leave the room with the box, its contents will be destroyed, and so will the key to Ultimate Knowledge.”
Yontan exchanged a glance with his crew. Lessandre gave him thumbs up, Ghenna nodded and Lezlybe shrugged. Jmerr was the only one to firmly shake his head.
“Fine, we’ll eat its contents,” said Yontan, upon which Jmerr put his hands up in the air in frustration.
A key appeared from the front of the pedestal. Yonan used it to open the box Lessandre was holding. Five dark-brown spherical objects were neatly placed within fitting molds, resembling the five dots on a die.
“Behold the Five Orbs of Knowledge,” the hologram said solemnly. “I recommend one for each of you.”
Jmerr crossed his arms. “There’s no way I’m touching this.”
“What if someone eats two?” asked Yontan, eyeing Jmerr.
“It would sadden me, even though it might be beneficial to grasp the Ultimate Knowledge.”
Without hesitation, Lessandre popped the middle one in his mouth. Every other crewmate was staring at him. A few bites in, he suddenly froze, eyes wide open. His gaze slowly shifted from Yontan, to Lezlybe, to Ghenna – whose visor was now lowered – and finally stopped on Jmerr.
“Awl eash ‘em bofh,” he rapidly chewed, popping a second one in. “Awl eash ‘em owl ihf you guysh downt.”
Yontan’s hand was shaking as he picked his Orb. Lezlybe and Ghenna also chose one.
“On the count of three,” gulped Yontan, as he noticed the horrified look on Jmerr. “One… two… three!”
The shell of the Orb had a slight crunch, with a rather soft, creamy inner core, gently melting on their tongue. Sweet with a zest of bitterness. Each bite, each movement of their tongue was another moment they savored, dreading the end of this unique flavor. It was an explosion of exoticism, a sensory overload inside their mouth; the richness of the Orb filled their taste buds and souls alike with pure bliss.
Then there was the aroma, dissolving the dusty odor of the room with its arboraceous perfume. It reminded them of Terrestrial woods, now planted across various planets in the Milky Way. Comforting, ancient, nostalgic, and so raw at heart.
Fortunately, this jolly adventure didn’t end after they swallowed it, no, each residue, sticking to the various corners of their mouths, lingered like a fleeting memory soon to disappear forever. Yet it was still there, to grasp with the palm of their hands. But when they tried to, it became vapor, dwindling, yet etched in their brains with such strength it would be impossible to ever forget this moment. Ever.
Their minds were still floating on a cloud of ecstasy when Yontan stared at Lessandre.
“You ate two,” he breathed. “And you,” he turned to Jmerr, “you have no idea what you’ve just missed. It’s… indescribably delectable.” Yontan faced the hologram. “Please, give us one more, for Jmerr. He has to try this… Orb.”
The hologram grinned widely, creasing the old man’s entire face.
“These were the last five. There are no more.”
“WHAT?” everyone shouted at once.
“Th– that’s it? No more?” Yontan’s shoulder slumped. “Why didn’t you tell us earlier? We could’ve taken it back to the ship and try to recreate it.”
“It’s impossible without the recipe.”
“A recipe? Give it to us, I don’t care about Ultimate Knowledge anymore,” Lessandre laughed.
“But you had two,” Lezlybe scowled.
“And I want more,” he chuckled. “I’ve never felt better in my life. Even two were far too few!”
“Yes, hand us the recipe so we can share it with the rest of the crew,” pleaded Yontan.
The hologram seemed more and more pleased with itself.
“Even if I gave you the recipe you couldn’t make it when the main ingredient’s missing.”
“What’s the main ingredient?” Ghenna asked.
“Cacao. And these were chocolate truffles, which I made myself utilizing the very last cacao beans to ever exist. I’m sorry. You’ll never eat chocolate ever again.”
Jmerr seemed disappointed upon hearing it, especially after seeing how everyone reacted to it.
“B – but… why?” Yontan asked. “Why offer us a delicious treat only to punch us in the gut right after?”
The hologram smiled. “Think. What is your purpose here?”
“To acquire Ultimate Knowledge… But I fail to understand…”
“If my clock is correct, 3622 years have passed since the last human – which is myself – set wheels in this room. 3622 years of technological advancement, of accumulated mastery of various sciences and understanding of the universe. Yet you believe Ultimate Knowledge is to be found in the past?”
The crewmembers looked at each other, dumbfounded.
“So… it doesn’t exist?” suggested Lezlybe. “We’ve come this far for nothing…”
“Haven’t you just experienced the ultimate delicacy of humankind? Therein lies everything you need to know.”
“It’s not about the knowledge,” began Yontan, “but about the experience we savor?”
“Exactly!” Clapping hands appeared in front of the hologram’s face. “Instead of looking for something that may not be, learn to cherish the transient nature of existence through every experience you encounter. Who knows what happens once you’re dead? Constant hesitation leads to a life of lost opportunities. One of you has learned this lesson the hard way, I’m afraid. However, the tall man over there has greatly benefited from this lesson. Balance in all things!”
“No data is ever lost,” snorted Jmerr scornfully. “Death is simply the temporary loss of information until it’s retrieved.”
“The no-hiding theorem,” smiled the hologram. “Of course. But you wouldn’t be here if you could completely determine the state of the entire universe. Thus, my rhetoric stays valid. For as long as this is beyond our grasp – likely until humanity’s extinction – you ought to cherish every experience and lose your fear of consequences within reason.”
The room went silent, the subtle taste of chocolate still lingering in their mouths like the fading words of an old love letter.
“What do we do now, captain?” Ghenna asked shyly.
“Take your new-found knowledge and share it with others,” the hologram said before Yontan could open his mouth.
“So… there really is nothing else here?”
“Nothing at all.”
The hologram fluttered for a moment.
“Were these really the last pieces of chocolate?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you eat them yourself?”
“Because sharing is the quintessential attribute of humanity. And I’m glad to have contributed my part, even though it took several millennia.”
“So why use all that energy from the sun?” asked Lezlybe.
“It’s twofold,” said the hologram. “Partially to keep this chocolate in pristine state, as I said before. You’ll understand the second reason soon enough. Let’s say it’s a parting gift, for that man who hasn’t eaten his Orb.”
“I don’t understand.” Yontan was running his fingers through his hair. “You speak of sharing, yet we won’t be able to share this exquisite experience. There’s no chocolate left.”
“Share the wisdom you’ve acquired. Or perhaps you shall find something unique to share with others as I did. Even the stories of your adv–”
The man disappeared for a few seconds.
“–entures – Ah? We’ve been cut. Soon I shall be free, just like your minds. Swiftly return to your ships, and sail t–”
It flickered again and stopped for nearly ten seconds.
“–he vast empty space to… wherever your heart leads you. Farewell. Fare well indeed.”
The hologram zoomed out to show an old man sitting on a wheelchair, waving both hands. It flickered one last time before completely fading out with a hum.
Suddenly, a familiar voice spoke from everyone’s earpiece.
“Captain, is everything all right?” asked one of the crew left on the ship in a panic.
“Why? Did the entrance crumble down?”
“No, Sir. It’s the Conduit. You need to see this for yourself.”
The crew put on their visors and hurried out of the room, through the hallway, out on the freezing surface of Pluto. They gasped upon staring up.
“The Conduit!” Ghenna uttered.
It was oscillating, slowly shrinking until the last flames swooshed back and forth from the relay to the crater, and then, it retracted entirely.
“It’s… it’s gone…” sighed Yontan.
“The parting gift,” Jmerr sobbed. “He knew. He knew someone might not try out the chocolate truffle, and he purposefully shut down the entire system.”
Lessandre turned to Jmerr. “Consider this your incredible experience. We must be the only humans to ever see this happen in real time.”
“But we can reconnect it, unlike the chocolate, can’t we?” said Lizlybe.
Yontan shook his head. “Do you know of the ancient pyramids in the northern African continent?”
“Yeah…” she hesitated. “Vaguely.”
“Do you know why they’ve never been rebuilt?”
Lezlybe shrugged.
“Because there’s nothing to gain in doing so.” He pointed his finger at the vast expanse above him. “We’ve never rebuilt the ancient pyramids – not due to complexity, but due to loss of time and resources involved without any actual benefit. I’m afraid this is the last time anyone has admired this old tech at work.”
Upon their return on the ship, they told the rest of the crew what inside the U.K. ONE.
“So the Ultimate Knowledge doesn’t exist?” one of the crewmember asked.
Yontan took one last glance at the crater as the ship took off.
“I believe it does,” he beamed, looking at the bemused faces of his crew. “Not here.” He gently tapped his temple. “But here.” His hand rested on his chest. “And there.” His arms were wide open, as if trying to embrace his whole crew at once. “Acquired wisdom is the Ultimate Knowledge. And the ability to share experiences with others is our greatest gift.”

So before these last couple weeks, I had only ever played ME2, with my disk copy of ME1 being broken so the game would crash when arriving at the Citadel for the first time. But after playing Andromeda, I couldn't help feeling after 60 hours and 96% completion, that I just played 3 different games.
Let me explain.
The first game was personally my favourite. Arriving at Habitat 07, finding the Nexus in it's unfinished state, arriving at EOS and exploring the failed outposts and experiencing a limited progression until you progress the planet's story further. I loved how the wider world was cut off by high radiation that kept my exploration limited to a managable amount initially. I loved how once I set up the colony, I got to decide what type of colony it was (I picked Military for obvious reasons), and even got an awesome cutscene of the prefabs and shuttles landing on the planet. I loved how soon after fixing the vault, things started to improve, more of the map opened up, SAM gave me a run down of what was now available and the environment seemed to change visually.
This set up my assumptions for the rest of game quite high and I was all for it. However, things quickly changed after going to the second habitable planent. Aya.
Suddenly I've been thrown onto a small accessible hub area with no planetary exploration, and instead been presented with fish lipped, bug eyed, wannabe Twi'leks. I am no longer in my explore, adapt, overcome mind set and I'm suddenly brought into a "Gotta make these new aliens like me unlike the other group of aliens" mind set. This is in itself isn't terrible as it varies the gameplay and the story, however the game NEVER returns to the previous experience that I was greatly looking forward to, but I pressed onwards with the hope that my EOS experience would continue.
I was wrong.
More systems were now made accessible (Despite the Nexus saying that their probes only reached as far as Aya's system), so naturally I checked, did the repetetive task of going from planet to planet with a roughly 20% payout of either 270xp or a mineral vein visable from space that gives less than a single mineral node you find planetside, and then proceeded to Havarl. My hopes remained high as the map appeared small and the Nomad wasn't usable, and 2 of the 3 remnant towers were already activated, massively bringing down the amount of busy work I had to do. I didn't consider this as a planet to colonize and instead treated it like a large hub area with a few story progression quests, like finding our lovable gay Turian spectre Avitus and getting the first clues as to the status of the other 3 Arks. I did the Vault, established a research outpost with the Angaran's and was satisfied.
Then I moved onto Vauld.
Up to this point and a little more, I had believed that my EOS experience would return now that I had Aya and Havarl out of the way. When I landed on Vauld, I loved the atmosphere. It was dark, cold and clearly had something for me to achieve. My first thought while walking through the snow (aside from wondering why there was a pilot telling me he was ready to assault the enemy stronghold once I gave the go ahead), was "Wow, I can't wait to see how things change once the vault is active, I bet the ice is going to melt gradually and you'll see the ground underneath". Suffice to say my Vauld experience peaked after leaving the resistance base, approaching the 2 Angaran's standing outside and looked down at the large open area for me to explore. And with my hopes still high, explore I did. However this was the first major sign that things had changed.
There was no longer locked progression, waiting for me to restore the vault (Unlike EOS which had lvl 1 and lvl 3, Valud only had lvl 1 and lvl 2 which only stifled exploration but didn't directly prevent it). There was no awesome cutscene or meaningful choice once I established my outpost. There was no visual change except for somewhat clear skies, and I really had no reason to come back to the planet afterwards except to complete quests I was too lazy to do straight away, or continue missions that brought me back. At this point it was clear that my assumptions of the game were incorrect and the experience I enjoyed from EOS would not be returning.
Then we moved onto Kadara, the planet I hate the most. I landed into another hub area, again with no accessible exploration area, but unlike Aya, this planet had one that was separated by a loading screen. Sloane was a bitch and I questioned how the Angara here had been mingling with the Milky Way exiles for the last 14 months, yet our landing on Aya was apparently first contact with the Angaran's who were already associated with our lovable rogue.
Again, planet exploration disapointed me, except this time there was even less than Vauld. Now the only environmental hazard was sulfur water which was practically an insta kill if you so much as touched the water with your toe. I did the usual, went to every forward base, collected every mission and task, completed the story progression and then resolved the conflict that would allow me to get an outpost down. And despite Vauld giving me little reason to return after, Kadara gave me even less! With the only reason to return being follow ups of other missions and loyalty missions. But hey at least the water no longer kills you. I guess that's "progression".
And to my dissapointment, Havarl was actually considered an Outpost/Colony, meaning the last place I had to go to was Elaaden. The second Desert planet (Though this one is hot instead of radioactive), the home of the exiled Krogans, and another planet where the Angaran have an established presence and have been in contact with the exiles for 14 months with Ryder being first contact 14 months later. Though I was just glad to finally find out where Drak had apparently come from ever since he mentioned moving with his clan after leaving the Nexus and being found on EOS, despite his clan being firmly established in Elaaden.
Like Vauld and Kadara. I drove around without any temporary limitation. Got the forward bases. Collected the quests and met the bitch in charge (In Elaaden there are actually 2 bitches in charges, though only 1 of which you can actually get rid of and replace). I did the story progression, resolved the local problems, watched an epic battle between 2 Krogan that I had absolutely no influence over (Couldn't even decide who to put incharge of New Tachanka like I could do with Kadara port), and just as quickly as I arrived at Elaaden, I had left. Leaving the Arks and Meridian to resolve.
Resolving the arks were a little dissapointing. I had hoped to recover the Arks, expand options for colonization, gain more quests and give me more reason to explore. Instead all I ended up with was 2 functional arks. A loss of about 25% of the Turians, Asarians and Salarians that came to Andromeda and not a single original Path Finder on the Nexus. And despite in game dialogue mentioning that the retrieval of the Arks had allowed for construction to continue on the Nexus, there was no visual changes of the Nexus which remained in the same half built state since the start of the game (When I saw Nexus levels, I had incorrectly believed that each time the level increased, the Nexus would gradually be completed).
And then there was Meridian, which was actually a Remnant space station/city that you needed to bring back online. At this point it was felt like the 3rd game had come into effect. While the first game had great exploration and colonization, while the 2nd game felt like a more tedius version of ME1 with less meaningful choices and plot, and more filler. And now we've moved onto the 3rd game, which is a massively rushed attempt at "ending" the game and giving some minor rewards/punishments for choices you've made through the mid game and the end boss fight being a partial Architect fight filled with many remnant forces, which follows a "warthog run" populazised by the final mission of Halo Combat Evolved.
There is nothing reflective of the rest of the game in the final missions, and after the final mission, the epilogue sets up or leaves unanswered questions that would have/should have been answered in DLC or a Sequal.
These being:
Qaurian Ark (Probably chased by 1 or more Reapers that escaped by the Crucible destroying everything)
Removing the Scourge (Implied that it could be removed in Meridian, but then never brought up again)
Uncovering the Benefactor (Likely The Elusive Man or The Shadow Broker (Could be Liara or the previous one))
Turning outposts into Colonies
Construction of Port Meridian
Fixing Ryder - 01 (Previously Habitat 07)
The Ancient AI (Disapears after the Hyperion gets stolen)
Waking Ryder's mother
Restoring Communication with the Milky Way (They questioned why communication wasn't open after setting the nexus up)
Connecting the Engine (Meridian) to the Remnant City and activating all Vaults remotely
Primus informing the Kett Empire about what's happened in the Heleus cluster
And probably a few other smaller that I can't recall at this time.
So there it is. Why does the game feel like 3 different games in 1 package? Why did the game peak at EOS and then slowly decline for the rest of the game?
I look forward to discussions in the comments.

I'm at a loss here. I'm trying to figure out what to do about my itchy skin following showers. First off, I have sensitive skin. I used to breakout very easily and had a skin allergy, over the years that allergy has lessened and in some cases doesn't bother me at all. I continue to use gentler products on my skin, I lotion everyday especially after showers or baths. But lately, nothing works when it comes to the itchiness my skin experiences after a shower or bath. The itching could last for an hour to all day.
I recently moved to the Tacoma area in Washington and I'm 32 weeks pregnant with my first child. Ever since moving here I have experience extreme itching all over my legs and some parts of my upper body. First, I tried Cera Ve Extreme Itch Relief and even put it in the fridge for a cooking affect on my skin. That didn't help. I'd even put ice packs on my skin to stop myself from itching. It was only a temporary relief solution. I looked up at home solutions and if my pregnancy could be a factor. Online suggested it could be the humidity in the air (or lack thereof) so I got a humidifer that I run every night. It also said pregnancy could trigger eczema. At my OB, appointment, I spoke to my physician who thought it could be an allergy and gave me medicine. She also suggested using Aveeno's Oatmeal bath packets followed by their lotion. Despite having taken those pills for several weeks and using the Aveeno products, I'm still severely itchy. I looked again online and saw that the hard water from my home could be a factor. The landlord will not allow me to add a water softener system to the home so I purchased a shower head filter which I installed. However, after showering again, I was still itchy all over and it feels like bugs biting me. It's not a type of itch that I can simply ignore. It's almost painful and I'm forced to scratch.
Does anyone have any help? Any other ideas?
Products I use: ALL Free and Clear washing detergent, Dove Shea butter soap bar, Aveeno Oatmeal Lotion, Passion and Beyond Deep Clean Cooling Shampoo and Conditioner, and Palmers Cocoa Butter lotion and oil for my growing belly.
TIA!

34 yo female here and exploring different career options. Currently working at a corporate chain restaurant as a Team Lead. Have worked in a variety of food service settings including fine dining, nursing home kitchen, spiritual retreat center, authentic French cafe, and BBQ joint. Also have experience with nonprofit organizations, housekeeping, and retail.
Food service experience: Bussing, dishwashing, prep, line (breakfast cook, fryer, sandwich builder), some baking/pastry experience, catering prep, buffet service, cashiering
Human Services experience: Volunteer coordinating (3 years' total) with a focus on managing community service volunteers; worked at a residential mental health facility; worked in recovery; worked in a group home with individuals with developmental disabilities/mental illness diagnoses; med passing; certified in CPR and First Aid; former Habitat for Humanity and Meals on Wheels employee
Housekeeping: Housekeeping for larger hotel chain as well as other smaller resorts; Housekeeping Supervisor for a lodge in WY; private home-cleaning
I have an Associate's Degree in Human Services because my original intent was to go into social work. I like to be active (moving and doing, not a gym-goer!) and engaged with people, so being confined to an office or stuck in front of a computer screen is not for me.
I work best either alone, closely with a boss I respect, or a small team. At my current job, one of my favorite things is working with younger people (18-25). I like people and making connections, I'm a problem solvefixer, I like things to be in order (clean, organized, running smoothly, etc), and I'm great at helping people find resources.
I've had people suggest Public Relations, Human Resources, middle management, or office manager. Thoughts???

Hi everybody!
I never rode a bicycle until I found GCN. Now my cardio has gone through the roof. I've been lifting weights for 10 years, so I have a really balanced and strong physique, but I feel the bike was what was missing to boost my health. My question is: I'm taking the intense GCN workouts seriously, like VO2 max 30-minute sessions, HIIT 30-minute sessions, and 1-hour VO2 sessions. Here's what I do:
I use my MATRIX gym bike with resistance and follow the GCN instructions. For example:
They tell me to go at 1 effort level, or 10, or 7, and a specific RPM. On the first day, I followed those instructions exactly. The next day, when they said go to 1 effort level, I raised it to 2, and the same with 10 (I raised it to 11) and so on. Now, in the 30-minute HIIT workout, I follow the same RPM but use 8 levels over what they say. If they say go to 10 effort level, I set the bike to 18 resistance, and I do that with every level they tell me.
I really feel this is boosting my health, cardio, endurance, resistance, etc. I feel the work getting done.
I want to know if you think this is a good way of doing it. I'm really getting addicted to it. I eat really healthy, still lift weights, and sleep 7-8 hours a day. I take electrolytes before biking as well. I'm 27 years old.
Please, I want to keep improving my biking as much as possible, and since I'm a newbie, I would love to have some of your guidance.
Thank you, guys!

SW315 CW304 GW190 Dose: 2.5mg
So today is the day that I did my second dose. With the first dose and changing my diet I managed to lose 11 pounds in two weeks! I have been following a high protein low carb diet and have been substituting one meal a day with a protein shake (and I drink a protein shake at breakfast). This medication is amazing! I am completely amazed at how fast the medication worked for me regarding appetite suppression.
I am hoping to get down to the 290s in this next week or after my next dose (hopefully).
Also regarding protein shakes, what do you all put in your shakes? Currently I am only doing either milk or water and protein powder.
Do you all think it would be possible to get into the 290s after this dose? Do you all think I am losing weight too fast?

I (28) don’t want to work, stay home, study, accomplish anything, marry, have children, travel, stay where I am, work out, sit still, sleep, wake up, pray, deny the existence of any god, be social, or not talk to anybody. I am just existing, and it’s so tiring.
Since my mother passed away, I couldn’t care less about anything. I go to therapy, but it’s all the same whether I go or not. I don’t care.
I don’t know why I wrote that—just a vent, or maybe to see if anyone might relate. I don’t know. Thanks for reading.

Will travel to Mongolia mid-June for work. Any tips on work attire and leisure wear? What food should I try? What places can I visit? What can I bring home for souvenirs?
Thank you!! ☺️