Good day.
Recently I switched to a new configuration:
Processor - AMD Ryzen 7 5700X
GPU - ASUS GeForce RTX 3060 TUF Gaming OC Edition (LHR) 12GB GDDR6 (Samsung)
RAM - 2x8GB Samsung M378A1G43DB0-CPB
Motherboard - GIGABYTE B550M DS3H rev.1.7
PSU - SEASONIC M12II-620 80+ Bronze
Monitor - Dell U2412M
Unfortunately, since then I have been struggling with a number of problems:
Graphic artifacts in Google Chrome (which, however, are not observed in other Chromium-based applications, such as Discord). Sometimes they start appearing very often, sometimes not. Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/SstYZ4kW1MY
Strong frame rate drops in YouTube or complete video freezing (even though a certain fragment is buffered) when the browser is open in dual window mode;
Graphics problems without hardware acceleration: in Chrome, when I turn off Hardware Acceleration, as well as in IntelliJ IDEA and Sublime Text, I observe issues with vertical synchronization: when scrolling the page, the top part of the screen does not keep up with the bottom (or vice versa);
The game Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden sometimes refuses to start citing inability to allocate video memory;
Sometimes I experience micro-freezes in several games on fairly simple scenes that were smoothly rendered on a laptop with Intel UHD Graphics 620. A funny thing is that during these spikes the fps counter often goes higher and exceeds the max VSync FPS (for example, the counter shows 63 instead of 60 FPS).
Noteworthy points:
Utilities programming4beginners.com/gpumemtest and github.com/GpuZelenograd/memtest_vulkan did not reveal any issues with video memory;
Issues 2, 3, and 5 (possibly 1) are resolved by starting screen recording through GeForce Experience. Not in the sense that the problems are not visible in the final recording, but in the sense that everything works correctly while the recording is running;
Reinstalling drivers via DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) did not help;
Replacing RTX 3060 with an old GTX 980Ti did not help; Reinstalling Windows did not help.
What would you recommend doing?

Hey there! 24m here in Pennsylvania, just south of Philly. I’ve been feeling kinda lonely as of late and haven’t had much luck on dating apps so I thought I’d give this a try. I’m looking for a girl that I can fall in love with, preferably close by, though I’m fine with something long distance as long as we plan to close the distance some day! I’m definitely a hopeless romantic, I want someone I can laugh with, hangout as best friends, and support each other throughout our lives. I really want to find that forever girl to settle down with yk. Another thing is I really want kids someday, it’s a dream of mine to be a dad 😅 Though definitely not anytime soon! I will say, I can be a lil shy / anxious with meeting new people, so apologies if I’m a little slow to open up!
A few things about me: I’m 6’2” chubby with a dad bod, so if that’s not your thing no worries. I get some sort of physical l attraction is important. I am working on losing weight and have lost 50 lbs so far! I’m also a big nerd, my cat is named after LOTR and I play a lot of DnD. I love gaming! I’d love it if I could find someone who does as well! Some of my favorite games are Stardew Valley, Baldur’s Gate 3, and It Takes Too. Though I honestly will play mostly anything 😂 Lately I’ve been playing a bunch of FFXIV Online, LoL, and a few other games. I’m also big into live music, punk rock is my go to though I listen to mostly any genre. I don’t smoke, though I do drink socially, I like touring breweries / distilleries! I’m also a big eagles fan!
I’d love to chat and get to know each other, can swap a pic or two as well, and call on discord or something. I really hope to hear from you!

Reading some threads about gamechanger, it got me thinking. What's the worst job for a parent going to a youth game, Gamechanger or volunteer ump? Having had to do both of these roles, they each sucked in their own fun ways.
Gamechanger parent

• Busy the whole game, can't really watch for fun.
• Always going to make someone unhappy with every close decision. Hit or error? Passed ball or wild pitch? Extra base on throw or not? Who gets charged with the error?
• Knowing that your judgement affects kids playing time and all-star selection process.
• Parents very willing to voice their disagreement with your choices and very unwilling to do it themselves.

Volunteer ump

• No time to prepare. Don't have a paid ump this game, what parent wants to do it? No game unless we have an ump, no pressure.
• Behind the plate, here's a smelly chest pad and 10 year old mask we found in the box. No legs, good luck back there.
• Behind the mound, have fun trying to tell where the ball crosses the plate, especially with younger kids throwing rainbows. If there's a hit with runners on, just spin around in circles trying to keep track of the ball and the runners.
• Parents very willing to voice their disagreement with your choices and very unwilling to do it themselves.

First of all, I know this is going to take a while to set up and would require being at least LL6, but probably closer to LL9 for this specific build I'm thinking of. Super long story short. I wanted to all in with Technophile and Iconoclast talents which will give me the Enlightenment-class and Unstable NHPs, neither of which counts against the max NHP count. Then I'd need to take at least 3 license levels in Horus to get access to the Lesson of Shaping core bonus, which would let me take two 2 more NHPs. Now, here are my questions:
1) I'm think about starting this build with the Blackbeard license and runnering Empakaai frame as my primary mech. This will give me access to Sehkmet at LL3. Would that be a good place start or would you recommend something else?
2) I really like Lucifer (the NHP) to add my heat as damage, but that would mean taking 3LL in the Tokugawa license. While this license very much plays into the theme of burning ape rage I'm going for, I would need to take 3LL in Horus to get access to the Lesson of Shaping bonus to take both Lucifer and Sehkmet. Should I start investing in Horus before the Tokugawa, split my LL in both, or just go head first into Harrison first? Also, which Horus license(s) would you recommend for a melee focused build that plays well the fire theme?
3) For talents beyond Technophile and Iconoclast, I was thinking I should go with Juggernaut and Nuclear Cavalier The 3rd level of Jugg will really play into the idea of my mech being a pissed off silverback gorilla and dramatically add to my ability to build up heat quickly to then delivery that heat as damage. And Nuclear Cavalier as both a means of upping the heat damage and allowing myself to cool off a big while imparting even more damage. Are there better options than those two, or do you think that should work out right? Also, which should I be investing in first, or should I just bounce between them?
4) After getting through LL9, what else should I invest in? I'm think of going Nelson for the access to the ram jets so my monkey can move hella fast. What's more terrifying than a monkey with a giant fist flying at you while obviously emanating an absurd amount of heat? But more importantly, is there a different direction you'd take it while sticking with that rampaging ape idea? Maybe Caliban for the supermassive weapon mod or Blackwitch for the Ferrous Lash?
I'm still super new to this game so I have a million more questions, but those are the main four. If you've read this far, thank you, and I'd love to hear your opinions and.l advice on my Super Sayain Goku build!

This is not any kind of complete love story with any complete ending it's just collection of few incidents. I am just writing it on the run. I am using dummy name for her let's call her Shree.
So story starts in 7th standard I guess. Once day an aunty approached me while I was going for tution class that she wants to talk to my tuition teacher regarding admission of her daughter because their family recently got shifted to our near by society and while I go for tuition probably she might have seen me.
So from here story starts, next day Aunty was with her daughter "Shree" she introduced me with her and we went to tution as usual she was walking a little far behind us ( me and bro ) and following us to the tution because she didn't know the path but Idk what I had no feeling for her with first sight. Like for a month or two she was attending tution with us we almost never talked to each other because I am very shy person and same with her.
After that vacation started and I went to Mama ke ghar and idk what happened I stated to see her in my dreams like playing badminton in our society compound and talking with her so much and she was always cheering and happy in my dream I slightly thought about it that I might like her and eventually started falling for her.
Incident - 1 I started developing very little little feeling for her and one fine day I she came to me with some project work/ model she wanted to create a solar system with toys 😂 idk what was she expecting and she described the project so so un realistic with those material. I brutally told her that it's not possible like this ( I had no communication skills but I really liked her ).
Incident - 2 We used to play games in compound we have a common society compound ( very complex to understand ) and it was her bday she gifted me and all other kinds "Kaccha Mango" it was very special for me I exactly remember she gave me 3 and I kept in hidden pocket of my school bag and never ever ate it after like 1.5 years Chitiya ( Ant ) aa gai bag mai and I had to throw them I was very upset because like after 1 year of this "gift"(kaccha mango) her family shifted somewhere else it was her first and last gift to me.
Incident - 3 Once we were playing Hide and Seek ( Dabba is Spice idk what it's translation in english ) "Shree" , I and one small kid hide at same place. I saw her so very closely ( not in creepy manner ) her brown eyes was like coconut 😂. I was feeling that time should stop and I can see her indefinitely. If I try to describe more about her I have to make another post so leave it and back to the story. We exchange few words about our study nothing more and I tried to peek and see the status of the compound for the guy who was after us to find us and she told don't take a peek to me and as an obedient friend I instantly pulled back my head and it hit so hard in the corner of the wall that it instantly started to bleed. She started to get panic but I was very calm and said nothing happened to me ( I knew I was bleeding but still I wanted to spend more time with her 🫠). After that neighborhood of that building came and my parents and took me to hospital and I got stitches. While on my way and getting stitches all I was thinking was about her that she must be very scared because of this incident. After this incident Shree never came to compound to play with us.
Incident - 4 We totally lost each other's contact after she shifted another where then I saw in same complex where I was going to tution ( new tution not the older where we were together we changed in 9th standard and she before 9th ) and saw her in the stairs of the tution and I asked her "Do You remember me ?" Shree "No I don't" *Traumatic Background music player inside my heart - "Chann se jo toote sapna ...." * After like 5 seconds she laughed ( her smile was so so so much cute 🫠😭 ) and said " Obviously I remember you " and we exchanged our last smile with each other.
I was scared of proposing her because I had literally 0.1 female interaction with anyone in my entire life and she was "Jain" so I thought she might tell her parents 😭 and never dared to purpose her. I still Miss her a lot and currently don't have any idea or contacts where can I find her but if "Shree" is reading this just i wanted to talk to you ( not going to propose you 😭😂💀 ) just " How are you? "😭
That's it guys that you for reading this I know it's not any well structured story but just my feelings. Thank you all for reading this much lots of love.

Hi, newbie here!
Been streaming for about a year and a half sofar and I’ve been really happy to earn a small tight knit community around my weekly stream! Things have been really great and I just wrapped up a 7 episode long play of Chrono Cross!
However with twitch studio shutting down I find myself at a huge loss of what to do! I chose twitch studio over OBS and SLOBS due to its barebones UI and its very kind layout options that let me have everything I needed and nothing I didn’t!
I had my chat box covering a 3rd of my 2nd monitor so it was nice and large and I could keep up with it! My scenes were all nicely wrapped up in its easy to click and manage box for scene changes and I never got bombarded with “features” that would have to be paid for or “subscribed into” or not warn me when things aren’t working (mic turned off or “are you sure you want to stop streaming” warning boxes are things I appreciate a lot!)
It was lightweight and clean and now I’m left struggling as to what to do to get up and running again for my future streams! And as a Vtuber I need a light program so my model can shine lagless!
I had my scenes set up so when a new game was chosen I could just load a new frame and background image into the system and BAM it’s all ready to go!
Now I’m left struggling to Find another barebones, clean, easy to read program that’s going to work for me! Frankly I’m pissed that twitch is doing this!
Would anyone be willing to help me out with finding a new program to use? I’m interested in the OG OBS but am worried I won’t have my chat box/ statistics or be able to import my old image/browser assets?
I’m autistic so I don’t do well with drastic changes and would greatly appreciate a little bit of kindness and help with this!

Hi, all! 👋

Intro/Question:

Let me just start out by saying that I’ve been on here for a little while and have admired not only the persistence, dedication, and grit of the women on here, but also the kindness and support in comparison to other groups. I wish I could give/get hugs from you all because a lot of you seem like such wonderful people, and I could really use some of that kindness in my life at the moment.
Now, I guess I’ll get right into my reason for posting this: I’d love some advice/insight/thoughts from y’all on recommendations for my next steps in this career transition towards software development because I’ve been struggling for awhile with finding a FT or even PT role.
Throughout this time, my mental health has also declined greatly (while on this journey, I’ve actually started antidepressant medication for the first time ever because my mental health has exponentially decreased, and have also seen a few different therapists in the same span of time).

VERY brief overview of my journey thus far:

Early Education: Growing up in a predominantly white community outside the main city, I was put into ESL classes despite being born in the U.S. I'm Latina, and my parents--who knew little English at the time--agreed with everything the educators suggested. This meant I was often taken out of critical science and math classes to make time for ESL work. Despite being a straight-A student, I had to work harder than others, and I believe this was one reason why.About a year and a half ago, I was diagnosed with combined ADD/ADHD. As a kid, it often took me longer to complete my work. My parents noticed but assumed it was just the way I functioned. My mom often recounted how I needed a "million" breaks while doing homework, which often led to late nights. Despite these struggles, I managed to stay on top of my studies.
Undergrad Education (2015 - 2019): I am a first-gen college grad and earned a bachelors in biochem & environmental science summer 2019. I discovered computer science during my junior year of college (by then, it was too late to take more courses in CS let alone attempt to make a switch without staying an extra year, which my scholarships would not cover). After graduating college, I was still interested in learning more about CS, so I took an Introduction to Programming in C course at my local community college, and not only earned an A, but also thoroughly enjoyed the content.
Grad School (Spring 2022): Enrolled in an online Masters in CS at Case Western Reserve University for those without CS degrees with a $30,000 grant from the dept. Took Discrete Mathematics and Algorithms & Data Structures in Java (those of us w/o a CS degree had to pass these before being able to move into the rest of the program where we’d be merged with those who DID have CS degrees), but paused due to my younger brother's unexpected passing.
Bootcamp (Fall 2022): Received a full-ride scholarship to a bootcamp (1/15 out of 1200 applicants accepted) where I learned full-stack development with Python, JavaScript, SQL, Flask, AJAX, and React, among other technologies. Graduated December 2022.
Further Learning (Spring/Summer 2023): Accepted into Code the Dream’s React course, dedicating over 20 hours per week to mastering React all while volunteering to work on open-source projects.
Internship (Fall 2023 - Present): I was interning at an early-stage Ed Tech startup up until the end of April, contributing to building an app from the ground up. I Gained experience in code writing/reviewing, CI/CD methodology, technical communication, and working on a software development team along with other teams like the content team and design team.

Struggles/Thoughts:

I have been consistently applying for FT/PT roles, internships, etc. with nothing but maybe 4 interviews since graduating from my bootcamp. In addition, I’ve been tweaking my resume for jobs that I feel I could be a particularly good candidate for using Jobscan with no luck.
With regards to the startup, they’ve informed me that they do not have sufficient funding to bring me on. Furthermore, about a month after the internship contract officially ended, the other female intern (graduated from the same bootcamp, although different cohorts) at the startup also let me know that she was being brought on again for an extended contract, and asked if I was offered the same—to which I replied that no, I wasn’t. I guess she also has an associates in CS, which also helps and I am not mad at her for anything and support her and uplift her, but as you can imagine, I am a little disappointed (more in myself than anything, I guess). It just makes me feel a bit crushed. I made myself always available (even after hours), replied quickly, got along super well with everyone, got my tasks all done for the most part. ==> Towards the end, I was tasked with a particularly difficult task, and was able to get through a good chunk of a new game, but was not able to fully finish. During this period, I was also struggling to get ahold of my ADHD meds, but they seemed to be out of stock everywhere, so that also didn't help.

Next steps:

I’m debating whether I should just keep applying, find some other program (AS/BS/MS), or just stop this trajectory altogether (although, I REALLY hope that I won’t have to because it would probably break me 😔).
I know that my math skills probably aren’t on par with those of others in the field, and I know that I need to work on those as well, so if you have any suggestions for free resources for that/what I should focus on with regards to teaching myself these concepts I’d also really appreciate it. I'm currently taking the Harvard CS50 course for credit as well as a Mathematics for Machine Learning course on Coursera (they state that this is for people of all math levels).
I’ve learned a lot and am passionate about continuing to grow as a software engineedeveloper. Any advice on next steps, opportunities, etc. that you feel may be relevant would be greatly appreciated. Thank you SO much if you read this far! 🫶

I pitch up looking for skele recruits, and trading gear from my smiths even doing a bit of bounty hunting/enslaving man hunters in a low-mid level squad with a few powerful characters.
Noble hunter wants to "try his new crossbow." Coward runs away after I get him in critical, but his guards win the fight. Luckily none of us died, but I had to stop fighting and heal Beep before he died. Reason enough to crucify them! Luckily no nasty shit like a manhunter rolled up, this is a no savescum run except in bugs so I'd have to play it out.
Later man hunters think we're slaves. Whatever, easy.
We ain't done. A pack of samurai then roll up on us between the HN-UC boarder making up an arrest reason. I try to bribe their leader even choosing the bigger number, but she said it was "pocket change" and "to the slave mines we go!" Easy fight luckily, but was worried about losing that one. Of course I lose some rep.
Biggest pricks in the game. They then proceed to play victim when they lose, like that obnoxious kid in middle school everyone hated except they got an army. Just a bit more training and a new outpost with 6 barrel turrets and we'll lay waste to their shit country. Was going to start with the HN.
Got no issue with the Sheks, other than them calling me flat skin and calling me greedy/throwing me in the clink for trying to bribe out of getting busted smuggling. Whatever, do the crime do the time. In the UC don't do the crime do the life sentence of slavery.

Before we started up dating, she talked about how her dad was bad to her and she used to have an abandonment issue, but she's over all of that. She was a super charismatic, smoking hot, funny, intelligent 30-something that was chronically single. (which is another red flag)
Early in our dating, when I had my kids (6 out of 14 days), we'd just text, call, and video call. She'd go to bed at her house, I'd sleep at my place. When I didn't have my kids I was with her. Period. Those were the two phases I was in.
So I spent 8 out of 14 nights at her place. We live in the midwest. I'd find out her dad (lives in Texas) was visiting her mom (walking distance from M's house) for a month only after he was gone. Like he was there, a mile away, for over four weeks, and I hadn't even known he was in, though I spent over half the nights at M's. We/she didn't go there, he didn't comes to M's house. Her mom would come over for dinner and games and they wouldn't even refer to him being in!
It took me two years to meet him, at her brother's wedding on the East Coast. He was a HUGE fan of mine, to the point he was irritated that he and I weren't assigned to the same table (he's the father of the groom, I was a boyfriend of his sister, of course we were at different tables!). In four years I had dinner with him and the rest of the family once at M's place and once at my house.
How the hell did I believe her that she was "over all of that"??? A mile away for a month, and he wouldn't even get mentioned.
Christ, they were so many red flags I was blinded to or ignored.

At the time of this post 145 thousand people are still without power going on almost 6 days without power. Tornado wiped out our power grid in select areas throughout Texas. Here's some things I learned and a situation report of my experience living with a very large family of mixed ages.
Context: We had been getting hit with some pretty gnarly weather however business as usual in Texas. I didn't think much of it usually when our grids down they're pretty quick to respond minus the snow storm years back. So when I heard there was a storm brewing I didn't even flinch I always keep some very very basics, battery's, lights, water, 2 weeks minimum of non perishable foods, self defense protection, and ammo, etc. But I hardly consider myself a prepper anymore, but I know some people don't even have that.
I use to be really on top of my preps overtime, however my stockpile had dwindled, as did my thirst for knowledge and hands on experience/training. I just honestly wasn't on top of my game anymore, and quit taking this as serious years ago. This tornado really brought me back to reality, so this post is mostly for entry level preppers looking at some practical advice from a 5 day experience, I fully regret the fact I quit taking this serious years ago.
First Day: Around 6pm, emergency alert on phone stating Tornado in your area, seek shelter immediately. Thought ok let's shelter in the master bedroom closet. Wind rocked the house pretty good, could hear limbs from tree's falling, within about 10 minutes the power shuts off, and glancing outside within a hour the streets flooded. The storm had died down, as did the flooding, and it was time to asses the damage in the immediate area. Got in the car, power had blown out pretty much every store/house within a several mile zone. Found one square zone with a few places that had power, got some fast food but waited about 30 minutes because everyone went there.
What I wish I had on day one/ and general notes:
Rain boots: The streets had not only flooded but was blocked by limbs in the roadway. Luckily our flooding wasn't too severe but had it been I wish I did have rainboots so normal shoes didn't get soaked. or some type of beach sandals, etc.
Chainsaw, electric saw, axes, regular saw: Would of come in handy if the limbs in our area blocking the road were any bigger.
Higher up vehicles: Some vehicles couldn't make it through the flood due to being so low to the ground, so take into account your vehicles.
More variety of quality flashlights: Electric Lanterns came in clutch, but wish I had more handhelds, head mounted, and higher end lanterns.
Battery Inventory checks: Wish I had not only more batteries cause you really do burn through these quick, but wish I had checked all my lights battery condition, and stored new batteries in waterproof containers.
Alternative sources to battery's: Not a huge fan of candles due to fire risk, but some not scented beeswax or soy based candles would of came in handy to help ration battery supply. Maybe glass lanterns as well for safety and ease of transport. Glowsticks would of been great option too.
Car chargers: believe it or not some of us didn't have car chargers for our cell phones cause we mostly charge our phones at home, although we were able to share, wish we had this on day one for all our phones.
Fully charged portable battery bank, or portable phone chargers: If we had this we wouldn't of been out in our cars late at night charging stuff putting us at more risk for being possible victims to crime.
Quality of cell phone, and cellphone provider: Have a POS phone but keep putting off upgrading it? Don't. Luckily mine was good but some of our cellphone providers carriers had better signal then others, some of are phones were in bad shape and it was noted we wish we didn't put off upgrading it sooner. You can't predict how well your provider will do but maybe do your research, unsure how this works but now I can do my research and learn from it. I had 0 issues with boost mobile but other family members weren't so lucky.
Cash: This is obvious but due to us moving towards a cashless society its pretty uncommon, but this would of came in handy due to how many places didn't have power. You can do so much with cash.
Battery powered or rechargeable camping fans: I did have one of these, it even had a light but wish I had more.
Larger ice chest: Now we had a few, but they were smaller. We lost everything in our fridge/freezer besides canned drinks, I mean everything. We had just bought grocery's too, lesson learned.
OTC sleeping medication: We had melatonin, and Tylenol pm, but it was so quiet you could hear a mouse sneeze a block over, until the generators turned on. First two are OK options but given its only going to be cool at night, and we knew tomorrow would be hot, we took kratom to sleep. Check your area some states it's illegal, not recommending it but it's what we used. I wish I had stockpiled more kratom, I took it when I got the flu on top of C word to relieve body aches and found out it really helped me sleep and ease pain/stress. Usually cycle this 3 days on max, one day off to prevent habit forming.
This is really for day two + but ill post this here cause I noticed it on day one:
Backup supply of my personal vices or quitting personal vices: I know this may sound stupid but I am fully addicted to caffeine, and nicotine. I picked my poison and know what I signed up for. Caffeine really? yeah really not sure if you know this but for some people caffeine withdrawal can make you really suffer, and I mean really suffer check out decaf. I was in the process of lowering my caff intake to 1 cup of tea a day, and quit soda. Was one month off soda before the storm came in, but had to relapse due to us not carrying high caff tea on supply.
But yeah stock up on your vices so you aren't going through withdrawals during an emergency. Was on 3mg per ml of nicotine and had to dish out 30$ for a disposable vape thats 50mg per ml at a gas station on day two to prevent withdrawals. So I was on way higher dose of nic then usual due to only being able to purchase what I could find, for reference 50mg per ml if you use that in 10 days thats about a pack of ciggs worth of nic per day. So yeah either quit your vice or stock up, I don't advocate hard drugs at all so this isn't for that but this is mainly aimed at coffee/caff use, etc. Instant coffee packs may be great for some people.
Battery powered radio: Can't stress enough how mentally taxing silence can be long term. We had one, but the battery port crapped out. Lesson learned, test your preps.
Backup food for your pet friends: Luckily I was pretty good on pet food but imagine if I wasn't, and this was more severe.
Water situation: Had a decent amount of drinking water, we had running water. If we didn't I would say I wish I had filled up the giant jugs I bought for flushing the toilet/doing dishes or running through a berkey water filter if we ran out of drinking water. I had bought 5 gallon blue jugs specifically for this years back. However I cleaned them out, and didn't refill, Lesson learned.
2nd Day: We were able to cook some stuff on a gas stove, luckily. People at gas stations were stocking up on ice, filling their gas cans up for their generators, and shelves were getting empty at stores with power only on some things though wasn't too bad cause the power outage was scattered some had power, others didn't. Mostly a waiting game at this point, most of the preps I wish I had on this day were the same as day one, but ill toss in some stuff I wish I had. Obtained a portable battery powered radio, the morale boost was real for everyone, even the dogs.
What I wish I had on day two/ and general notes:
BBQ style lighters to light gas stove, we had two but recently tossed em out due to being empty. Realized I had no bics, and only had one box of matches, feels bad man.
Entertainment: Board games like checkers, board games for kids, chess, basic poker set, etc. These would of been awesome and a great way to keep the kids entertained and the adults, the boredom was real. We hit local goodwill's that had power to look for radios, and cheap prep supplies and games, but no luck.
Third day By then reality set in for most people, neighbors who could afford to do so booked hotels or bugged out to places with power. The generators really started up by day three, everyone was buying gas for them and you could hear them in almost every direction. Pretty sure some people had it from the start but noticed them more by day three. A lot of people were sitting outside the front of their homes trying to escape the heat. Ice from most places were completely sold out, so you had to really shop around to find any.
Finding news about the power outage day 1-3 was kind of hit and miss, KHOU news updates were pretty short and it took us some time to know how severe the storms damage actually was, cause we were focused on trying to get stuff done around the house and conserving battery. I believe at one point CenterPoint's actual website went down. Mostly resulted to local news channels, and nextdoor app. We couldn't watch live news and had to rely on when KHOU posted youtube videos.
Private security company's hired guards and they started patrolling certain stores that could afford the security, obviously to deter looters. Traffic everywhere was insane in every which direction during peak hours more then usual, PD presence was pretty high, more then usual.
What I wish I had on day three/ and general notes:
Generator: Pretty obvious why, had no experience with them but wish I did, and wish I bought one pre-blackout when I was more into prepping and took time to learn about them and how to use and maintain them properly.
Ham radio: Or something to pick up on local freqs to monitor radio comms for information regarding the storm and local activity if any. I think this may of been better then waiting on local news to post videos.
Day Four: Buddy had power so he dropped off his generator and gave me quick instructions on how to run it, how far away to place them, etc. By day four the temps really ramped up, and this thing definitely kept us cool. When you think of bartering you think of some post apocalypse stuff, but no. In reality you can barter during any emergency, buddy dropped it off free of charge but was able to offer some booze as a thank you. So even if you don't drink stock up on booze/ciggs to barter, never know what you might trade it for. Times are tough in this economy and I honestly didn't have much money to spare, family had to pool our funds together to get last minute preps to survive this, cause we didn't know how long this would really last. In certain areas they said it could be weeks. However the alcohol was a small thank you that I could afford and he was happy so all worked out.
Gas cans were sold out, and extension cord supply's were looking extremely low at local hardware store. From what I overheard they also completely sold out of generators. Honestly wish I knew more about electrical stuff but my buddy gave me a small crash course in wiring everything. You can't just plug it in and pray for the best. Bought the best gauge extensions cords I could afford for our needs, and the distance and hooked it up.
We ran one bedroom AC unit, fans for the dogs, wired a light, and a charging station. Also don't cheap out on gas cans it's not worth blowing your face off or starting a fire, or having it leak. If you get a generator do your research on how to properly run it, and safely fill it. Crime in this area can be fairly high we've had a few drive by shootings and other not so good police involved things. Read this book along time ago about post collapse security, so I blacked out our windows so when we turned lights on no one knew we had power. You may hear the generator, but from the street we look like we don't have anything going for us. My biggest fear was looters from people who were less fortunate or really down bad. We near a common site for homeless people as well so they foot traffic the area.
Generators are very loud, between that and listening to the radio 12 hours a day, I was beginning to audio hallucinate lyrics that weren't there with the radio off, and suffered from heat exhaustion. That and the fact we had homeless in our area and tweekers who might loot I was running off adrenaline a bit. 24 hours almost that night without sleep, and didn't even feel tired. Slept near my firearm until my family woke up at daylight and when daylight hit I knew we were in the clear and I passed out.
What I wish I had on day fou and general notes:
Knowledge of generators.
Knowledge about electricity/wiring them safely.
Some type of physical alarm bell to put on the door like metal door knob alarm bells so it jingles if anyone enters to alert the dogs, had to keep the door slightly cracked so the wires hooked up to the generator would fit. So we couldn't lock the door, which is probably where my anxiety of tweekers coming in came from.
Day Five: Same shit different day, power came on that evening.
Conclusion: Just cause it doesn't look like societal collapse or WW3 prep your shit for emergency's native to your area or go beyond, idc but prep. They ain't coming to help for awhile, or at all if it's very severe...so it's up to you and your community to pull through. This was a wake up call, thanks for coming to my prep talk.

I feel like this question may be more prevalent than I think, but I just finished my associates in general studies this past semester. I went into college originally for game design, but while I did have fun creating I hated the structure around it and I also saw the little pay as a detriment to my personal goals. I want to own my dream car one day, and be debt free with my wife and kids. I know that seems like just the American dream, but as an adopted kid, I really want to plant my own family and wealth where I am now. There's obviously competitiveness in both fields like software engineering or being a financial analyst, but I have always been a determined person and I'm willing to put in the work on either side. Tech side, I have always loved computers, technology and engineering, while I have been struggling to get myself to code, the aspect of creating and being apart of the future is enticing, as well as the pay obviously. I just recently got more interested in finance, but I have definitely been strategic and efficient when it comes to my own personal wealth as well. I've taken finance/business classes in the past and enjoyed it, and I really like the idea of strategy and analytics when dealing with money. I also like investing, and as I've gotten to college I feel like I've been able to open up socially which has made me realize I really enjoy the one-on-one of creating connections and working with people. However I feel like I'd definitely need to freshen up on my math skills, and I also wonder if it's too late for me to do a major switch like that. I realize anyone of them I choose will take hard work and networking to get me where I want to be, and honestly that excites me.
Does anyone have any similar experience or advice? I also know there are hybrid majors/careers like fintech or more business oriented tech roles and I am interested in those as well. Any advice is appreciated!

Hi! So when I was a kid, my dad used to play this game that was military themed, I’m pretty sure there were like 3 soldiers and you play as either one or all theee (can’t remember). All I remember was that when you need to reload, the game said “RELOAD RELOAD” and my dad remembers you use space bar to reload. He also remembers that the setting was kinda maze-like.
Platform: PC Genre: Shooter, I think first person but not sure Estimated year of release: he used to play it when I was kid so probably before 2003 Notable characters: I’m pretty sure one of the soldiers was named Connor but don’t quote me Detail: it’s a war setting im pretty sure
I know it’s a long shot but I’ve been hearing “reload reload” in my head for years now and I need to find it lol

This’ll be a rather mundane vent on a non-dramatic breakup. I’m posting this as a method of self reflection to help cope.
I (40sM) dated her (40sF) for about six months exclusively, and I suppose this is around the time most relationships either progress or fizzle. Truth be told, I haven’t been thrilled with the relationship for the last few months, so this is likely a blessing in disguise. Still, it hurts.
We met on Bumble, she reached out first, and we had a six hour date the next day. We had a lot of differences - I have no kids (she’s a single mom of 2), I’m into fitness/martial arts (she walks and gardens), I’m a nerd/gamereadetech geek (she’s not any of those things). But we were both introverts, and we laughed a lot together. Since that first date, we were exclusive and spent a lot of time together. I loved her wit, she loved animals, and things seemed really fun at first.
The struggles began early. Even though I appear rather “masculine” (muscly, tattooed, ex Marine)…I’m actually quite sensitive. If you’re into MBTI, I’m an INFJ - A. She is quite clear in telling people that she’s insensitive, doesn’t have time for feelings, and can’t process her own. This should’ve been the first red flag where I cut and run. But I didn’t. I figured we’d talk through any issues that came up. I’ve been through therapy, have read self improvement/relationship counseling books, and I’ve done a lot of self work. She was very clear about the importance of stating issues and concerns clearly, and I like that.
Our relationship followed that standard, typical template of mismatched temperaments - things were great until a conflict. She’d do something insensitive, I’d get hurt, I’d try to talk it out, and she’d get explosively, angrily defensive - and completely unaware (or uncaring) of how that’d impact me. Sometimes it’d happen right away, other times we’d appear to have a calm discussion…only for me to get lashed out at the next day after she’d had time to think. She was blindly focused on being “right”, instead of understanding or compromise. Another red flag.
I wasn’t blameless - I can be overly sensitive, as she liked to tell me, and I enjoy semi frequent communication in between visits. We’d see each other on the weekends, and I wanted to stay connected during the week with texts. She felt put off by that, and would go a day or so without responding. When I brought it up, she’d get angry and say “I just don’t miss you that much during the week - I’m independent and I don’t need consistent communication”. Again, another clear sign of incompatibility. I need to pay attention to these things.
She felt smothered, I felt disconnected. So I pulled back, texted less, and kept my feelings to myself. I supported her through some big changes, and kept quiet about my own wants. Things went GREAT when I did that, as you can imagine. I tried to just focus on enjoying our time together, while pulling myself back when apart. I thought it might be good for me.
I should mention the dynamic of our relationship at this point. It was sorta…one-sided. She left the “honeymoon period” quicker than I did, and I became the driver for things. I also paid for most dates, cooked meals for her, drove her around (because she drove her kids all week)…she enjoyed me “taking care of her”. She introduced me to her friends (at her request), I’d help her with gardening and home projects, and I even helped her with work problems. Our conversations were primarily her venting and complaining. We live apart, and we spent weekends at her place because it’s bigger, has her dog, and it’s more private. My place is smaller, I have cats, and a roommate. I didn’t mind this arrangement - I enjoyed her company, she was affectionate, and we laughed a lot.
She never showed much of an interest in my things, to the point of “yeah, I hate gaming/am not a readethat’s kid stuff”. We did binge GoT, which I appreciated. She never expressed interest in my friends, who are also nerdy gamer friends. She’d offer to meet them if I wanted, but I never pushed it because she didn’t seem enthusiastic. I figured if she wanted to meet my friends, or stay at my place, she’d ask. Because she was always clear about “just say what you want”.
I’m sad, so I’m painting a one-sided picture here. I should note the fun times we had. We went to Vegas for a weekend, did E, and had a great time. I took her house sitting to my family’s beautiful coastal home, and we visited some of my childhood haunts and botanical gardens (she’s a plant fanatic). We took the train to a beach town, and spent a long weekend smoking pot and eating. We hiked, we took a lot of walks, we’d get stoned and watch laser shows. We’d wear pajamas, smoke pot, and binge tv while cooking stupid food.
She also has a lot of lovely characteristics. She’s hilarious and witty, she’s really intelligent about her hobbies/work, she’s very devoted to her friends and family, and she’s beautiful. She’d be considerate in small ways - picking up things at the store, etc. She also had a really busy life - two teens, a full time job, and a tight social/family circle. I never distrusted her, never worried about cheating or any of that stuff. She wasn’t physically affectionate, but would try to be because it’s important to me. She’d compliment me and say nice things.
She wasn’t a bad partner, and neither was I. But months of me keeping quiet about my feelings, recognizing her waning enthusiasm, and feeling dissatisfied in the relationship came to a head this weekend. I had some weird, confusing feelings about feeling taken advantage of, or at least putting in more effort than her - I wanted to process it more, but she wanted to talk. We had, what I thought, was a calm and open discussion. I never said that I don’t appreciate her, and I thought I reassured her. It seemed fine, I left, texting was fine.
Next morning she called me and dumped me. She pointed out all the things she done “for me”, like introducing me to her friends (I never asked for that, and I was generally excluded/ignored at gatherings), including me in her gardening (I don’t care about gardening, I took an interest to connect with her), spending weekends together (I also spent MY weekends with her, at her place, because she was more comfortable there). She got quite mad at the idea of me paying for things and driving, stating “I’ve never paid for any of my meals on a date”. She claimed I never let her into my life, introduced her to my friends, etc. She felt unappreciated, and like I was going to keep score.
I was shocked at her anger. It seemed to come out of nowhere, and if all these things were on her mind…why didn’t she communicate them? Had she asked, i would’ve scheduled a friend meet that week! I would’ve told her not to bother introducing me to her friends if she viewed it as a “favor” to me. Hell, any grievance she communicated in the past was dealt with immediately and decisively by me…so she knows I don’t fuck around.
She said she was done, I didn’t want to end things in an ugly manner so I told her I loved her, she’s a beautiful person, and I hope she finds what she wants. I sent a final text apologizing for any hurt, and other kind things. She sent a LONG, dumping text basically shitting on me. I sent another kind “I’m sorry for any hurt I caused, you’re a wonderful person, I wish you well”. Then I blocked her.
It’s like a gut punch. I know I could’ve handled things better, and she definitely could’ve. It’s clear that she wanted a low maintenance partner, and I wanted a reciprocal equal partner. She needs to do some work on her temper and conflict issues, and I need to be more discerning and aware of red flags early.
Thank you for reading, it helps to write this all down.

My 7 year old is always bored. We must have every toy under the sun. Loads of craft stuff. We have some computer games on the xbox which he is also bored of e.g minecraft. Zillions of books. We have the whole world of play parks etc. I play with him allllll the time, like literally almost every minute we are together. He doesn't have a sibling and he is Autistic.
He expects me to come up with the answers. I know boredom is supposed to be good for kids but it's like he has no imagination, and wants me to be his external imagination provider? I try to encourage him to come up with his own solutions but that tends to disregulate and upset him and lead to meltdowns.
I don't really want to cave in and buy a tablet / switch as it could make school refusal increase and it feels like it wouldn't be a healthy solution.
Is anyone else's child like this? Feel guilty for not giving him a sibling but my mental health and his violence made it impossible. I hate being responsible for coming up with imaginative ideas all the time, I am out of imagination!!!
He says no to sooooo many of my ideas too and we all end up stressed. He doesn't really have friends and doesn't want them as he finds other kids hard. Going out is hard too as he has such strong social anxiety and phobias of flying insects, dogs, bare feet, people noticing him etc etc. He's basically having a hard time.

I run a club at my school for kids to stay after and play magi (mostly commander). It's a fairly poor school, and kids struggle buying the higher end cards (like anything more than a couple bucks). There are a few kids who are getting into deck building, which is great, but other than printing off crappy pictures and sliding them over other sleeved cards, they're really restricted with what they can do. I'm not terribly well versed in the proxy game, so to speak, and other than Bootlegmage (recommended by a colleague) I'm really not sure where to point the kids who can afford to buy proxies. So, what are the easiest to use / cheapest proxy sites I should be sending my students to? TIA

Just finished an adult rookies program and gearing up for a beginner's league, trying to get some ice time under me in actual scrimmage or game play and not just drills. Showed up to the local rink and found myself with a bunch of AAA players, a couple college guys home for the summer, including 2 really good goalies so we were playing 4v4 full ice. In a little over my head 😂
God I had so much FUN. I kind of know where I'm supposed to be, I'm an okay skater but definitely have my baby deer moments including falling trying to get back on bench over the boards lol, I can definitely not keep up with those fast kids, my stick work is terrible and the game moves so fast, but just being out there in the thick of it and feeling the adrenaline and playing honest-to-goodness ICE HOCKEY was amazing. Everyone was so nice, the guys recognized immediately where I was at and weren't playing me as hard, were feeding me the puck, encouraging me when I made a nice pass. I skated hard on my shifts, didn't miss a single one, didn't puke, didn't slam into anyone on accident or flail my stick around. Even had a few assists.
I'm still riding the high. I cannot wait for that league to start.

as a gay, ive found myself with a dillema, while i dont make exact logs, i accounted for over 100 slurs/discrimination acts, and i was wondering, does anyone have a way to avoid these, im a guy who likes history games and unluckily they are filled with these 9yo kids that think homophobia is cool cause "that old guy at school that gets beaten in his house is homophobic" and since fry is a name i use in every platform, i had messeges like "fry would like to get clapped by someone with a fry", "fry likes eating fries and fry juice" and etc. i was wondering, how do i avoid these, im not really a type of guy that would hate them for so, i just stop talking to them as i know slurring at them wont work and will make people look at LGBT as the toxic ppl, so i wanted to ask, if you have any guides on how to answer them

In the last post we talk about how the chaquetrix would be upgrade for the future, or at least what I think we would be a good idea for it. In this post we go even father into how the upgrades to the chaquetrix and Ben effects his children and descendants and how they effect the universe. We talk the a new species made by Ben and the chaquetrix girls, the changeling species.
While Azmuth design the chaquetrix to save species by mating so he design that the first genertation made by the chaquetrix, AKA the kids of the wearer, could mate with both the wearer species and the pure species of their chaquetrix parent. This was done making it so the kids would have three forms, the wearer species form, a hybrid form, and pure chaquetrix parent form. He also design that the parents, no matter how the species normally propagate, would have litters of ten at least. However something happen he didn't plan for, something that happen with the chaquetrix 2 being upgrade into the chaquetrix 2.10. The children of the chaquetrix 2.10 and their descendants inhered omnicores as part of their biology, and inhered the some of the abilities of the the chaquetrix. So when Ben and the chaquetrix girls starting having children, and they had a lot of children, they were creating a new and powerful species, and species that comes in three phenotype. And in order to explain what makes this species so powerful we explain the abilities of the three phenotypes first.
Duotrix: The common form of the changelings, call duotrixes because they have three base forms. A human anodite hybrid form like that of Ben himself, a pure alien form which thanks to the nemetrix upgrade could come from non-sapient species, and hybrid form of the two. So they called duotrix because of they two base species forms and a third hybrid form of the two. They can stay any of these base for as long as they wish and as for they their abilities of these forms, well the alien form has powers of whatever that species but incease beyond what is normal for that species thank to the Potis Altiare upgrade the chaquetrix had. In their "human" form, which is also strengthen by the Potis Altiare upgrade, they are able to perform magic if the learn how to, which most do, in way similar to Gwen. While in hybrid form they have accuess to their alien powers and to a lesser extent their magic powers as well. This is due to the fact that thanks to the omnicore functions most changelings are unable to perform magic in full alien form unless that alien form is something like anodite.
However, this isn't all they can do and isn't all their forms, for while they can't fully transform into other species. They can still scan and store genetics of other species and use those genetics in other ways. But in keep in mind all other transformation outside their three based forms can only last a total of ten minutes. Now the first of these alter forms is their fusion forms, they can combine any of their three based for with the genetics of one other species. Now for their human form this just turns into another hybrid form for their other two forms it can have other changes as mix in this other species. Next is their Omni-Enchanced forms which are similar to their fusion forms but instead of a full fusion they only use the third species to enhanced their based forms. Giving them new features and some new abilities based on what species they used to enhanced themselves. There is also their amalgam forms, in which they take their alien form and combine it with nine other species to create a new hybrid, and "alien", that 1/10 the power of ten species combine. And finally the last way they can use the genetics they store in their omnicore is by making use of the slime-biot powers, giving to them thanks to the chaquetrix being upgrade to have them. To put simply they can morph their limbs, grow new ones, and make tools and weapons by using the genetics store in their omnicore as if they had a slime-biot of their own. They can also regenerate by using this feature as if they had a slime-biot (regrow lost body parts, fix damage ones) and in a way even more thanks to the fact that their consciousness is store in their omnicore, so they can even regrow their heads. And while this end of the transformations they get by other species genetics, it isn't the end of their transformations.
Thanks to inhering omnicores, they also inhered omni-naut and omni-kik which simply just allows them to wear either of said armor in any of their based forms. They also have an ultimate that allows their hybrid and alien form to become an ultimate form, and as for their human form. They lose the ability to do magic in this but they can use the powers of any alien species they have store in their omnicore, they don't transform however so can limit these powers in some way. They also have antitrix forms as well, in these state their human form becomes an osmosian form. Their skin turns grey or pale white, their hair becomes tentacle like, they grow four small horns, and they lose their magic but abosd matter instead. So they get Kevin powers basely, and they use these powers in hybrid mode as well. Their alien form and hybrid forms becomes a antitrix version of that form, causing them to be more aggressive. Then there evos forms which came about from the chaquetrix absorbing nanobots, their human become robotic like and they get the power to turn their limbs into kinds of machines as well grow machines from their body (so Rex's powers), their alien from becomes a more monstrous version of their based alien form and their hybrid form is a mix of the two.
Unitrix: A little less common the duotrixs, only one in every ten changelings is born unitrix, these are frankly just a stronger version of Eunice. They have her powers, but they don't have to touch others they can just scan them, they have evo human mode, and osmosian mode, as well as ultimate mode in which they get the ultimate powers of whatever species they using at the moment. They do store the genetics allowing their slime-biot powers to use them both now and latter, and yes this does mean they can use the powers latter as well. They also have omni-naut and omni-kik armor, but they don't have fusion, amalgam, hybrid, or Omni-Enchanced modes. And yes they can the Potis Altiare upgrade as well.
Omnitrix: Based on the name of these changeling, which only one in a hundred are born, it should be clear what they do. They can become any species, or take hybrid form of any species, and stay in based forms as long as they want. They also have fusion forms, ultimate forms, antitrix forms, evo forms, Omni-Enchaced forms, amalgam forms, omni-naut form, omni-kik forms, as well slime-biot powers, that they can freely use with any based alien and hybrid forms. They can also get new forms by scanning, Note, scanning powers can work on changeling in full based alien forms as well true member of the species. They carelt powerful version of the changeling species because of that.
Other Changeling Powers: Now quick list of powers all three types of changelings have that have that simply less obvious then the transformation powers, and has to do with their omnicores. First all changelings can change their at will, second all changelings do have some control over their looks. If they what they can permanently their looks in the same way you may change the looks of character in video game. For example they can give themselves curly hair or red eyes instead of green, and even make themselves a bit taller or shorter. They also all have an universal translator, the ability to surf the extranet, to record video and audio , to send messages including phone calls and video calls. They can generation and change clothes thanks their uniform feature on their omnicores. And finally and possibly more importantly they can store items, people, and themselves within their omnicores. Causing many changelings to see the inside of their omnicores as mix of their bedrooms and homes.
Changeling Reproduction: Where do new changelings come form? Simple, any offspring between a changeling and a non-changeling will be a changeling, and thanks to how powers work they can mate with just about anything. Now as what kind of changeling the kids will, well that depends, first of thanks to them storing genetics in their omnicore the kids could be duotrixs of any species they have in their, if they aren't unitrixs or omnitrixes instead. If two changelings have kids together, which that haven't done yet as they still see each other as family, the kids will also be changelings as well with a higher chance to get omnitrixes then normal.
And that is all I have on the changeling powers and abilities, and just how far have I though of ahead for the changeling species? Not that far, I only thought of to the time of Ben's great-great grandkids. In this future the changelings are mostly on Earth but there are a high number of them found on Galvan Prime and Petropia as well. Plus some living Primus as well, with that be being listed as their official home planet. Many changelings have join the plumbers thanks to family traditions, with a lot also choosing to become explorers to find new species to increase the power of the changeling species over all.
So what do you think of this idea? If you like you are free to use it

Hiya 👋
How much trouble do you have with finding completely new hobbies or making new habits? After being on medication for a couple months now my life has got much easier. I’ve gotten so much better at my job and also have been getting better at home.
What brings me to my main question is I’m starting to want to be more productive with the free time I’ve been having recently. Usually I’ve been coming home to just play games or watch tv and such but now I want to do more. I have even thought about getting a second job or maybe studying again? What’s hard for me though, is that with my job I already knew what I had to do, I just needed the motivation. Same with doing chores at home. These are things that were ingrained in my mind already, but like when I think about studying(I hated it as a kid) or exercising or practicing guitar, I want to do it but then I get home and I just don’t get that urge like I did earlier in the day and then I just lay down and watch YouTube anyways. Like I’m stuck in the same loop. Any advice?