Intended Major: Data Science / Computer Science (changes depending on the school i'm applying to)
GPA: 3.81 UW, 4.92 W out of 6 (includes courses from middle school 😭 )
UC Gpa since I am applying to a lot of them: 3.90 UW, 4.57 W, 4.17 weighted and capped
Class Rank: Outside top 10% because of some high school courses I took during 7th and 8th grade. Got straight Bs and Cs unfortunately.
SAT: 1450 (750M 700 RW, didn't study at all, trying again in august after studying)
Race: Asian
Gender: Male
Background: middle-class immigrant family.
School: Competitive Public High School
State: Texas
19 APs total (12 taken so far) AP Human Geography- 4, AP World - 5, AP Physics 1- 5, failed Spanish Lang 💀, waiting on all others
Senior year course load - AP Stats, AP Physics C (Mech and E&M), AP Gov/Econ, AP Lit, Data Structures And Algorithms (course after AP CSA, gpa is weighted the same as AP), and Calc III / Differential Equations dual enrollment, APES.
Main Extracurriculars:

1. Created an open-source flight board website/app for a Flight Simulator Multiplayer server that displays information on each flight including departure/arrival times and status. Displays busiest airports and flight routes, and predicts future routes and flight recommendations based on historical data such as ATC availability. Website has 400 users and receives approximately 4.5K visits daily, with a maximum of 1022 distinct users in April. I have also created my own API that gives relevant information such as time remaining and specific departure times that are not shown in the original API that I used to create the flight board.
   
2. Interning at State School’s CS lab this summer and will research and create a final project about how businesses use the data they collect to make future decisions to increase profit. This aligns with my goal of becoming a data scientist and going into the machine learning field, so I thought this would be pretty important.
   
3. Active addon creator for Microsoft Flight Simulator - Developed many addons such as aircraft liveries, realistically modeled airports, and the biggest one being a graphics mod to make the sim look more realistic. ~2500 downloads for all mods
   
4. Computer Science Club: Competed in multiple competitive coding competitions such as UTD Battle of the Brains, A&M Codewars, Lockheed Martin Codequest, Computer Science UIL, and many other online ones such as Devpost and CyberPatriots (did this with my friends for fun, unfortunately didnt win anything). I have also demoed my personal projects in this club and have helped members with learning Python and HTML, since our school’s curriculum is only based on Java.
   
5. Personal Computer Science Projects - Just a couple of projects that I made in the past few years that have helped me improve my understanding of coding. My school only offers Java, so these projects were incredibly helpful when it came to understanding R, Python, and JavaScript. My favorite project is a volunteer log tool that breaks down my total hours based on the number of hours that I have volunteered at my local food packing facility and how many boxes each table can pack. Using this information, I can derive how many boxes I have personally helped make and how many children I have fed through my contributions.
   
6. Created a review guide for AP Physics 1 that compiled the most important formulas and concepts from our lessons and resources. I also compiled an entire mock exam’s worth of MCQ and FRQ questions to test the hardest questions from each unit. On exam day, there were 54 people on the doc, so there were at least 50 people I impacted with this. I have also recently started a tutoring service for people who are struggling with physics and people who are taking Physics in the future (doing it on Saturday and Sunday every week).
   
7. Volunteering at a local food packing facility for ~105 hours. Volunteered at every position including pourer, bagger, weigher, and warehouse crew.
   
8. Volunteering at NHS organized events for 15 hours.
   
9. Completed Harvard’s CS50 course back in sophomore year (my website stated above evolved from my final project for CS50, which was a flight board on command prompt lol)
   
10. Part of the National Science Honors Society and Cybersecurity club at my school.
    

Awards (I am cooked 😔):

1. National Merit Commended (probably gonna get this)
   
2. PVSA silver award
   
3. Computer Science UIL awards
   
4. AP Scholar (probably with distinciton in july)
   

LOR: AP Calc - 8 (maybe 9) /10, did really well in her class and asked a lot of questions. she was also impressed by my resume, but I didn't talk to her a lot personally. I've heard that she writes good rec letters tho. AP Physics - 7/10
Schools:
Reach : UT Austin (Statistics / Data Science), UMich (CS lsa), UC Berkeley (Applied Math, my dream school), UCLA (Stats/Data Science), Purdue (CS or AI major), UIUC (Computer Engineering or CS + Stats), UCSD (data science or Math-CS), UCI (CS), UCSB (CE), UW Madison (CS), Georgia Tech (CS, doing this one for fun lol), USC
Target: Texas A&M Engineering (attainable dream school), UT Dallas (CS), Colorado Boulder (CS), UMD College Park (CS), Penn State (CS), NCSU (CS)
Safety (if I get into UTD rolling then i wont apply here): UNT, Texas Tech, ASU
Notes: I want to settle in the bay area after going to college, and want to become a data scientist (seems more interesting to me than becoming a swe, my opinion might change) at a well-respected company, preferably in the aerospace industry since I've had an interest in aviation since my childhood. I might also do grad school.
Thoughts?

This is really hard for me to talk about because I struggle to understand & accept it and I don’t talk to anyone irl about it which sometimes sucks & makes me feel alone. So I’m gonna try this & see if anyone has anything useful to tell me bc I could really use any advice or support right now that I can get. This might be a long story so I’m sorry in advance.
I’m 22 and I’ve lived with my bf (24) for 3 years. We do everything together and in my opinion we’re very close and alike but in his opinion the love that we have/the love he gets from me is not enough bc about a year & a half into living together, we went thru some money struggles & his loss of a close family member which really affected him and he hasn’t really been completely the same since. But even before that loss, about a year & a half into our relationship, he decided to tell me that he’s decided he’s poly. Which I don’t agree with and I’ve made it clear. And I know the normal thing to do in that situation is go okay, well you need to leave him because you both aren’t on the same page with what you want in your relationship. I just want him to choose me and put me first like i do to him, he means everything to me. He is actually the only family i really have which is why it’s extremely hard for me to leave him. but i can feel him slowly slipping away from me. And i have tried to end things before kind of a lot of times, but we never end up following thru with it bc he apologizes, lies & says he’ll choose me over “being poly” , delete all the dating apps, stop liking naked pictures, or whatever the case may be at the time. Or he has said in the past he would go crazy & they would have to put him in a mental hospital if we broke up, bc he can’t handle another loss after his close family member passed. So obviously i feel guilty. I always just hoped in the back of my mind that one day he would wake up from this bullshit and stop with the “poly” phase and be loyal. But it’s not happening. & he always gets back on the dating apps or whatever else he does and acts like i’m in the wrong for not letting him “be who he is” which is “poly”.
In my opinion it’s one thing if he had made this great revelation BEFORE we started dating but it just makes me feel tricked that he didn’t mention it ever once UNTIL we had been living together for like a year already. Bc if he told me that when I met him I never would’ve dated him and I never would’ve fallen in love with him and moved in with him.
I look at his phone about once every 3-6 months & every time i do i find something new & bad. He always turns it on me saying i’m in the wrong for going thru it but I really wish I didn’t have to do that but if i didn’t i would never find out anything. Bc he claims he doesn’t want to waste my time with telling me about someone who’s just playing with him (like something that’s not serious) bc he hasn’t found any girl willing to go fuck off and be poly with him (i don’t think any girl like that actually exists.) despite his ongoing search for a new girlfriend (or “connection”). but yet i feel lied to bc when i look at his instagram he acts single & he dms so many random girls LUSTFULLY. And it’s so embarrassing. On top of that girls rarely reply to him bc no one wants a random man lusting in their dms. I had no idea this was the type of person he was or i wouldn’t be with him. And when i ask him about it he lies or covers it up saying he’s not like that and he isn’t lustful & that being poly isn’t about sex it’s about forming a connection with multiple people. Well if it wasn’t about sex then he wouldn’t be lusting after random girls in their dms. And btw instagram has been an issue in the past due to me finding out he hearted a pic of a girl he knew, basically a nude or a bikini pic. And the way that situation went was that he said omg i’ll delete my whole instagram and i’m done with it since this is a problem. But i told him no stop saying that shit you know you don’t mean it and you’ll be back on it in 3 days. He’s like no i mean it and yeah then in three days he was back on it. This happened a few times with other apps like tinder and every time i’m like please just save it bc we both know you saying you’re permanently off these apps isn’t true.
I don’t even have instagram anymore ever since i saw the bikini pic bc i just didn’t want to spend my energy anymore feeling like i wasn’t as pretty as the girls he follows or interacts with, so i actually followed thru and deactivated my whole account & haven’t been on it since. (at least a year) other than that i don’t use SM other than reddit & lurking on twitter sometimes & watching tiktoks. I’m not a SM girlie it not that I’m not pretty ( not trying to sound narcissistic) but i’m not an ugly girl i just really prefer privacy and don’t like posting myself online. But seemingly my bfs type is SM wh-res and i’m truly not judging the girls, I’m judging my bf.
This morning i looked at his instagram and found some extremely NSFW dms from him to a few random girls & found message conversations with a girl that’s poly that’s out of our state that he talks to often & opens up to her about things he doesn’t open up to me about, and gives her the nicest compliments that he never gives me, says she’s the prettiest girl he’s seen, sympathies w her over her personal struggles w life & relationships, calls the girl his soulmate & says they share a brain, complains about me not accepting him being poly & going thru his phone and being “threatened” by her & has shared some personal details about my life that i don’t share with people even my close friends. and much more. however he still spins it on me being in the wrong for not accepting him and going thru his phone. he never takes accountability for what he does & always lies about it not being as bad as it is and that i’m reading into things. the problem is i don’t believe what he does is poly i believe it to be CHEATING. I believe it is possible to have an honest poly relationship (not that i want one) but what he does is not honest. he has betrayed me, even tho he has never slept with anyone else while we have been in our relationship, and he has only gone on one date in person with someone else throughout our entire relationship (that date ended up going nowhere). (not that he even takes ME out on dates & if he does make a plan to go to the movies or a basketball game he always ends up inviting our friends along everytime.)
He still treats me with love and care & does a lot of things for me , he supported us when we went through our financial struggles after i got in a car accident & couldn’t work, he is always here for me but doesn’t really let me be there for him. I owe him a lot of rent money from the time that i couldn’t work & he paid rent by himself. He doesn’t hold my debt over my head but he mentioned it to the girl on instagram . which made me feel betrayed.
I told him off about what i found in his phone & took pics of the evidence which ive never done before & sent it to him and i want to know if i’m overreacting to his betrayal or if i’m in the wrong for expecting loyalty from my 3 yr relationship. /:
AIO my bf is emotionally cheating on me with instagram girls and out of state poly girl.
thanks for reading

I have a membership with Anytime Fitness and want to go more because I live in a tiny studio apartment and even if I wanted to, it's impossible for me to fit a treadmill. I'm trying to begin HIIT training because I'll be doing a 5k with some coworkers in September. Not sure if I'll walk it, run it, or do a bit of both, but I want to do my damnedest to try and run as much of it as possible!
The thing is, I have pretty bad social anxiety. I don't know how to use most of the gym equipment besides the treadmill, but that's okay with me because I honestly prefer the treadmill. As a kid, I used to sit with my knees inward often and so even years and years later, I'm ever so slightly knock-kneed. I feel that it's super noticable when I run and that I look stupid when I run, so I always walk the treadmill all the way up to the fastest speed walk I can go, but stupidly enough I'm terrified to break into a run because I'm so self conscious about how my legs look when I run. I know it's stupid to be self-conscious about something like that and that realistically people probably aren't paying attention to me, but I'm hoping someone might have some tips to make gym anxiety more bearable.

GOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING SUPERSTONKERS! HAHA. It's me again. Yeah, i slipped past the defenses again to drop this off so you can all refresh yourselves on the state of FUD and disinformation in this protracted fight against the legal larcenists doing their best to try and get you to sell. Please spread this amongst the holders, the more people know the less power they have over us holders. We don't sell until we get a call from marge, and that's always been the play.
TLDR: This is a set of tactics used by the Alphabet Boys(CIA, FBI, DEA) to control and manipulate us into drama to collapse our communities and movements. And should be read in full by anyone willing and wanting to learn how these things work.
I've come to notice recently, people keep asking me to repost this for the sake of keeping the new people abreast on what needs to be done to protect the holders of GME. Beneath here will be a detailed account on what you need to be aware of in your online interactions, to avoid being taken for a fool!
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1. COINTELPRO Techniques for dilution, misdirection and control of a internet forum
2. Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation
3. Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
4. How to Spot a Spy (Cointelpro Agent)
5. Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

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COINTELPRO Techniques for dilution, misdirection and control of a internet forum..
There are several techniques for the control and manipulation of a internet forum no matter what, or who is on it. We will go over each technique and demonstrate that only a minimal number of operatives can be used to eventually and effectively gain a control of a 'uncontrolled forum.'
Technique #1 - 'FORUM SLIDING'
If a very sensitive posting of a critical nature has been posted on a forum - it can be quickly removed from public view by 'forum sliding.' In this technique a number of unrelated posts are quietly prepositioned on the forum and allowed to 'age.' Each of these misdirectional forum postings can then be called upon at will to trigger a 'forum slide.' The second requirement is that several fake accounts exist, which can be called upon, to ensure that this technique is not exposed to the public. To trigger a 'forum slide' and 'flush' the critical post out of public view it is simply a matter of logging into each account both real and fake and then 'replying' to prepositioned postings with a simple 1 or 2 line comment. This brings the unrelated postings to the top of the forum list, and the critical posting 'slides' down the front page, and quickly out of public view. Although it is difficult or impossible to censor the posting it is now lost in a sea of unrelated and unuseful postings. By this means it becomes effective to keep the readers of the forum reading unrelated and non-issue items.
Technique #2 - 'CONSENSUS CRACKING'
A second highly effective technique (which you can see in operation all the time at www.abovetopsecret.com
) is 'consensus cracking.' To develop a consensus crack, the following technique is used. Under the guise of a fake account a posting is made which looks legitimate and is towards the truth is made - but the critical point is that it has a VERY WEAK PREMISE without substantive proof to back the posting. Once this is done then under alternative fake accounts a very strong position in your favor is slowly introduced over the life of the posting. It is IMPERATIVE that both sides are initially presented, so the uninformed reader cannot determine which side is the truth. As postings and replies are made the stronger 'evidence' or disinformation in your favor is slowly 'seeded in.' Thus the uninformed reader will most like develop the same position as you, and if their position is against you their opposition to your posting will be most likely dropped. However in some cases where the forum members are highly educated and can counter your disinformation with real facts and linked postings, you can then 'abort' the consensus cracking by initiating a 'forum slide.'
Technique #3 - 'TOPIC DILUTION'
Topic dilution is not only effective in forum sliding it is also very useful in keeping the forum readers on unrelated and non-productive issues. This is a critical and useful technique to cause a 'RESOURCE BURN.' By implementing continual and non-related postings that distract and disrupt (trolling ) the forum readers they are more effectively stopped from anything of any real productivity. If the intensity of gradual dilution is intense enough, the readers will effectively stop researching and simply slip into a 'gossip mode.' In this state they can be more easily misdirected away from facts towards uninformed conjecture and opinion. The less informed they are the more effective and easy it becomes to control the entire group in the direction that you would desire the group to go in. It must be stressed that a proper assessment of the psychological capabilities and levels of education is first determined of the group to determine at what level to 'drive in the wedge.' By being too far off topic too quickly it may trigger censorship by a forum moderator.
Technique #4 - 'INFORMATION COLLECTION'
Information collection is also a very effective method to determine the psychological level of the forum members, and to gather intelligence that can be used against them. In this technique in a light and positive environment a 'show you mine so me yours' posting is initiated. From the number of replies and the answers that are provided much statistical information can be gathered. An example is to post your 'favorite weapon' and then encourage other members of the forum to showcase what they have. In this matter it can be determined by reverse proration what percentage of the forum community owns a firearm, and or a illegal weapon. This same method can be used by posing as one of the form members and posting your favorite 'technique of operation.' From the replies various methods that the group utilizes can be studied and effective methods developed to stop them from their activities.
Technique #5 - 'ANGER TROLLING'
Statistically, there is always a percentage of the forum posters who are more inclined to violence. In order to determine who these individuals are, it is a requirement to present a image to the forum to deliberately incite a strong psychological reaction. From this the most violent in the group can be effectively singled out for reverse IP location and possibly local enforcement tracking. To accomplish this only requires posting a link to a video depicting a local police officer massively abusing his power against a very innocent individual. Statistically of the million or so police officers in America there is always one or two being caught abusing there powers and the taping of the activity can be then used for intelligence gathering purposes - without the requirement to 'stage' a fake abuse video. This method is extremely effective, and the more so the more abusive the video can be made to look. Sometimes it is useful to 'lead' the forum by replying to your own posting with your own statement of violent intent, and that you 'do not care what the authorities think!!' inflammation. By doing this and showing no fear it may be more effective in getting the more silent and self-disciplined violent intent members of the forum to slip and post their real intentions. This can be used later in a court of law during prosecution.
Technique #6 - 'GAINING FULL CONTROL'
It is important to also be harvesting and continually maneuvering for a forum moderator position. Once this position is obtained, the forum can then be effectively and quietly controlled by deleting unfavourable postings - and one can eventually steer the forum into complete failure and lack of interest by the general public. This is the 'ultimate victory' as the forum is no longer participated with by the general public and no longer useful in maintaining their freedoms. Depending on the level of control you can obtain, you can deliberately steer a forum into defeat by censoring postings, deleting memberships, flooding, and or accidentally taking the forum offline. By this method the forum can be quickly killed. However it is not always in the interest to kill a forum as it can be converted into a 'honey pot' gathering center to collect and misdirect newcomers and from this point be completely used for your control for your agenda purposes.
CONCLUSION
Remember these techniques are only effective if the forum participants DO NOT KNOW ABOUT THEM. Once they are aware of these techniques the operation can completely fail, and the forum can become uncontrolled. At this point other avenues must be considered such as initiating a false legal precidence to simply have the forum shut down and taken offline. This is not desirable as it then leaves the enforcement agencies unable to track the percentage of those in the population who always resist attempts for control against them. Many other techniques can be utilized and developed by the individual and as you develop further techniques of infiltration and control it is imperative to share then with HQ.
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Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation
Note: The first rule and last five (or six, depending on situation) rules are generally not directly within the ability of the traditional disinfo artist to apply. These rules are generally used more directly by those at the leadership, key players, or planning level of the criminal conspiracy or conspiracy to cover up.
1. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Regardless of what you know, don't discuss it -- especially if you are a public figure, news anchor, etc. If it's not reported, it didn't happen, and you never have to deal with the issues.
2. Become incredulous and indignant. Avoid discussing key issues and instead focus on side issues which can be used show the topic as being critical of some otherwise sacrosanct group or theme. This is also known as the 'How dare you!' gambit.
3. Create rumor mongers. Avoid discussing issues by describing all charges, regardless of venue or evidence, as mere rumors and wild accusations. Other derogatory terms mutually exclusive of truth may work as well. This method which works especially well with a silent press, because the only way the public can learn of the facts are through such 'arguable rumors'. If you can associate the material with the Internet, use this fact to certify it a 'wild rumor' from a 'bunch of kids on the Internet' which can have no basis in fact.
4. Use a straw man. Find or create a seeming element of your opponent's argument which you can easily knock down to make yourself look good and the opponent to look bad. Either make up an issue you may safely imply exists based on your interpretation of the opponent/opponent arguments/situation, or select the weakest aspect of the weakest charges. Amplify their significance and destroy them in a way which appears to debunk all the charges, real and fabricated alike, while actually avoiding discussion of the real issues.
5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule. This is also known as the primary 'attack the messenger' ploy, though other methods qualify as variants of that approach. Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as 'kooks', 'right-wing', 'liberal', 'left-wing', 'terrorists', 'conspiracy buffs', 'radicals', 'militia', 'racists', 'religious fanatics', 'sexual deviates', and so forth. This makes others shrink from support out of fear of gaining the same label, and you avoid dealing with issues.
6. Hit and Run. In any public forum, make a brief attack of your opponent or the opponent position and then scamper off before an answer can be fielded, or simply ignore any answer. This works extremely well in Internet and letters-to-the-editor environments where a steady stream of new identities can be called upon without having to explain criticism, reasoning -- simply make an accusation or other attack, never discussing issues, and never answering any subsequent response, for that would dignify the opponent's viewpoint.
7. Question motives. Twist or amplify any fact which could be taken to imply that the opponent operates out of a hidden personal agenda or other bias. This avoids discussing issues and forces the accuser on the defensive.
8. Invoke authority. Claim for yourself or associate yourself with authority and present your argument with enough 'jargon' and 'minutia' to illustrate you are 'one who knows', and simply say it isn't so without discussing issues or demonstrating concretely why or citing sources.
9. Play Dumb. No matter what evidence or logical argument is offered, avoid discussing issues except with denials they have any credibility, make any sense, provide any proof, contain or make a point, have logic, or support a conclusion. Mix well for maximum effect.
10. Associate opponent charges with old news. A derivative of the straw man -- usually, in any large-scale matter of high visibility, someone will make charges early on which can be or were already easily dealt with - a kind of investment for the future should the matter not be so easily contained.) Where it can be foreseen, have your own side raise a straw man issue and have it dealt with early on as part of the initial contingency plans. Subsequent charges, regardless of validity or new ground uncovered, can usually then be associated with the original charge and dismissed as simply being a rehash without need to address current issues -- so much the better where the opponent is or was involved with the original source.
11. Establish and rely upon fall-back positions. Using a minor matter or element of the facts, take the 'high road' and 'confess' with candor that some innocent mistake, in hindsight, was made -- but that opponents have seized on the opportunity to blow it all out of proportion and imply greater criminalities which, 'just isn't so.' Others can reinforce this on your behalf, later, and even publicly 'call for an end to the nonsense' because you have already 'done the right thing.' Done properly, this can garner sympathy and respect for 'coming clean' and 'owning up' to your mistakes without addressing more serious issues.
12. Enigmas have no solution. Drawing upon the overall umbrella of events surrounding the crime and the multitude of players and events, paint the entire affair as too complex to solve. This causes those otherwise following the matter to begin to lose interest more quickly without having to address the actual issues.
13. Alice in Wonderland Logic. Avoid discussion of the issues by reasoning backwards or with an apparent deductive logic which forbears any actual material fact.
14. Demand complete solutions. Avoid the issues by requiring opponents to solve the crime at hand completely, a ploy which works best with issues qualifying for rule 10.
15. Fit the facts to alternate conclusions. This requires creative thinking unless the crime was planned with contingency conclusions in place.
16. Vanish evidence and witnesses. If it does not exist, it is not fact, and you won't have to address the issue.
17. Change the subject. Usually in connection with one of the other ploys listed here, find a way to side-track the discussion with abrasive or controversial comments in hopes of turning attention to a new, more manageable topic. This works especially well with companions who can 'argue' with you over the new topic and polarize the discussion arena in order to avoid discussing more key issues.
18. Emotionalize, Antagonize, and Goad Opponents. If you can't do anything else, chide and taunt your opponents and draw them into emotional responses which will tend to make them look foolish and overly motivated, and generally render their material somewhat less coherent. Not only will you avoid discussing the issues in the first instance, but even if their emotional response addresses the issue, you can further avoid the issues by then focusing on how 'sensitive they are to criticism.'
19. Ignore proof presented, demand impossible proofs. This is perhaps a variant of the 'play dumb' rule. Regardless of what material may be presented by an opponent in public forums, claim the material irrelevant and demand proof that is impossible for the opponent to come by (it may exist, but not be at his disposal, or it may be something which is known to be safely destroyed or withheld, such as a murder weapon.) In order to completely avoid discussing issues, it may be required that you to categorically deny and be critical of media or books as valid sources, deny that witnesses are acceptable, or even deny that statements made by government or other authorities have any meaning or relevance.
20. False evidence. Whenever possible, introduce new facts or clues designed and manufactured to conflict with opponent presentations -- as useful tools to neutralize sensitive issues or impede resolution. This works best when the crime was designed with contingencies for the purpose, and the facts cannot be easily separated from the fabrications.
21. Call a Grand Jury, Special Prosecutor, or other empowered investigative body. Subvert the (process) to your benefit and effectively neutralize all sensitive issues without open discussion. Once convened, the evidence and testimony are required to be secret when properly handled. For instance, if you own the prosecuting attorney, it can insure a Grand Jury hears no useful evidence and that the evidence is sealed and unavailable to subsequent investigators. Once a favorable verdict is achieved, the matter can be considered officially closed. Usually, this technique is applied to find the guilty innocent, but it can also be used to obtain charges when seeking to frame a victim.
22. Manufacture a new truth. Create your own expert(s), group(s), author(s), leader(s) or influence existing ones willing to forge new ground via scientific, investigative, or social research or testimony which concludes favorably. In this way, if you must actually address issues, you can do so authoritatively.
23. Create bigger distractions. If the above does not seem to be working to distract from sensitive issues, or to prevent unwanted media coverage of unstoppable events such as trials, create bigger news stories (or treat them as such) to distract the multitudes.
24. Silence critics. If the above methods do not prevail, consider removing opponents from circulation by some definitive solution so that the need to address issues is removed entirely. This can be by their death, arrest and detention, blackmail or destruction of their character by release of blackmail information, or merely by destroying them financially, emotionally, or severely damaging their health.
25. Vanish. If you are a key holder of secrets or otherwise overly illuminated and you think the heat is getting too hot, to avoid the issues, vacate the kitchen.
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Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
1) Avoidance. They never actually discuss issues head-on or provide constructive input, generally avoiding citation of references or credentials. Rather, they merely imply this, that, and the other. Virtually everything about their presentation implies their authority and expert knowledge in the matter without any further justification for credibility.
2) Selectivity. They tend to pick and choose opponents carefully, either applying the hit-and-run approach against mere commentators supportive of opponents, or focusing heavier attacks on key opponents who are known to directly address issues. Should a commentator become argumentative with any success, the focus will shift to include the commentator as well.
3) Coincidental. They tend to surface suddenly and somewhat coincidentally with a new controversial topic with no clear prior record of participation in general discussions in the particular public arena involved. They likewise tend to vanish once the topic is no longer of general concern. They were likely directed or elected to be there for a reason, and vanish with the reason.
4) Teamwork. They tend to operate in self-congratulatory and complementary packs or teams. Of course, this can happen naturally in any public forum, but there will likely be an ongoing pattern of frequent exchanges of this sort where professionals are involved. Sometimes one of the players will infiltrate the opponent camp to become a source for straw man or other tactics designed to dilute opponent presentation strength.
5) Anti-conspiratorial. They almost always have disdain for 'conspiracy theorists' and, usually, for those who in any way believe JFK was not killed by LHO. Ask yourself why, if they hold such disdain for conspiracy theorists, do they focus on defending a single topic discussed in a NG focusing on conspiracies? One might think they would either be trying to make fools of everyone on every topic, or simply ignore the group they hold in such disdain. Or, one might more rightly conclude they have an ulterior motive for their actions in going out of their way to focus as they do.
6) Artificial Emotions. An odd kind of 'artificial' emotionalism and an unusually thick skin -- an ability to persevere and persist even in the face of overwhelming criticism and unacceptance. This likely stems from intelligence community training that, no matter how condemning the evidence, deny everything, and never become emotionally involved or reactive. The net result for a disinfo artist is that emotions can seem artificial.
Most people, if responding in anger, for instance, will express their animosity throughout their rebuttal. But disinfo types usually have trouble maintaining the 'image' and are hot and cold with respect to pretended emotions and their usually more calm or unemotional communications style. It's just a job, and they often seem unable to 'act their role in character' as well in a communications medium as they might be able in a real face-to-face conversation/confrontation. You might have outright rage and indignation one moment, ho-hum the next, and more anger later -- an emotional yo-yo.
With respect to being thick-skinned, no amount of criticism will deter them from doing their job, and they will generally continue their old disinfo patterns without any adjustments to criticisms of how obvious it is that they play that game -- where a more rational individual who truly cares what others think might seek to improve their communications style, substance, and so forth, or simply give up.
7) Inconsistent. There is also a tendency to make mistakes which betray their true self/motives. This may stem from not really knowing their topic, or it may be somewhat 'freudian', so to speak, in that perhaps they really root for the side of truth deep within.
I have noted that often, they will simply cite contradictory information which neutralizes itself and the author. For instance, one such player claimed to be a Navy pilot, but blamed his poor communicating skills (spelling, grammar, incoherent style) on having only a grade-school education. I'm not aware of too many Navy pilots who don't have a college degree. Another claimed no knowledge of a particular topic/situation but later claimed first-hand knowledge of it.
8) Time Constant. Recently discovered, with respect to News Groups, is the response time factor. There are three ways this can be seen to work, especially when the government or other empowered player is involved in a cover up operation:
a) ANY NG posting by a targeted proponent for truth can result in an IMMEDIATE response. The government and other empowered players can afford to pay people to sit there and watch for an opportunity to do some damage. SINCE DISINFO IN A NG ONLY WORKS IF THE READER SEES IT - FAST RESPONSE IS CALLED FOR, or the visitor may be swayed towards truth.
b) When dealing in more direct ways with a disinformationalist, such as email, DELAY IS CALLED FOR - there will usually be a minimum of a 48-72 hour delay. This allows a sit-down team discussion on response strategy for best effect, and even enough time to 'get permission' or instruction from a formal chain of command.
c) In the NG example 1) above, it will often ALSO be seen that bigger guns are drawn and fired after the same 48-72 hours delay - the team approach in play. This is especially true when the targeted truth seeker or their comments are considered more important with respect to potential to reveal truth. Thus, a serious truth sayer will be attacked twice for the same sin.
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How to Spot a Spy (Cointelpro Agent)
One way to neutralize a potential activist is to get them to be in a group that does all the wrong things. Why?
1) The message doesn't get out.
2) A lot of time is wasted
3) The activist is frustrated and discouraged
4) Nothing good is accomplished.
FBI and Police Informers and Infiltrators will infest any group and they have phoney activist organizations established.
Their purpose is to prevent any real movement for justice or eco-peace from developing in this country.
Agents come in small, medium or large. They can be of any ethnic background. They can be male or female.
The actual size of the group or movement being infiltrated is irrelevant. It is the potential the movement has for becoming large which brings on the spies and saboteurs.
This booklet lists tactics agents use to slow things down, foul things up, destroy the movement and keep tabs on activists.
It is the agent's job to keep the activist from quitting such a group, thus keeping him/her under control.
In some situations, to get control, the agent will tell the activist:

• "You're dividing the movement."

[Here, I have added the psychological reasons as to WHY this maneuver works to control people]
This invites guilty feelings. Many people can be controlled by guilt. The agents begin relationships with activists behind a well-developed mask of "dedication to the cause." Because of their often declared dedication, (and actions designed to prove this), when they criticize the activist, he or she - being truly dedicated to the movement - becomes convinced that somehow, any issues are THEIR fault. This is because a truly dedicated person tends to believe that everyone has a conscience and that nobody would dissimulate and lie like that "on purpose." It's amazing how far agents can go in manipulating an activist because the activist will constantly make excuses for the agent who regularly declares their dedication to the cause. Even if they do, occasionally, suspect the agent, they will pull the wool over their own eyes by rationalizing: "they did that unconsciously... they didn't really mean it... I can help them by being forgiving and accepting " and so on and so forth.
The agent will tell the activist:

• "You're a leader!"

This is designed to enhance the activist's self-esteem. His or her narcissistic admiration of his/her own activist/altruistic intentions increase as he or she identifies with and consciously admires the altruistic declarations of the agent which are deliberately set up to mirror those of the activist.
This is "malignant pseudo identification." It is the process by which the agent consciously imitates or simulates a certain behavior to foster the activist's identification with him/her, thus increasing the activist's vulnerability to exploitation. The agent will simulate the more subtle self-concepts of the activist.
Activists and those who have altruistic self-concepts are most vulnerable to malignant pseudo identification especially during work with the agent when the interaction includes matter relating to their competency, autonomy, or knowledge.
The goal of the agent is to increase the activist's general empathy for the agent through pseudo-identification with the activist's self-concepts.
The most common example of this is the agent who will compliment the activist for his competency or knowledge or value to the movement. On a more subtle level, the agent will simulate affects and mannerisms of the activist which promotes identification via mirroring and feelings of "twinship". It is not unheard of for activists, enamored by the perceived helpfulness and competence of a good agent, to find themselves considering ethical violations and perhaps, even illegal behavior, in the service of their agent/handler.
The activist's "felt quality of perfection" [self-concept] is enhanced, and a strong empathic bond is developed with the agent through his/her imitation and simulation of the victim's own narcissistic investments. [self-concepts] That is, if the activist knows, deep inside, their own dedication to the cause, they will project that onto the agent who is "mirroring" them.
The activist will be deluded into thinking that the agent shares this feeling of identification and bonding. In an activist/social movement setting, the adversarial roles that activists naturally play vis a vis the establishment/government, fosters ongoing processes of intrapsychic splitting so that "twinship alliances" between activist and agent may render whole sectors or reality testing unavailable to the activist. They literally "lose touch with reality."
Activists who deny their own narcissistic investments [do not have a good idea of their own self-concepts and that they ARE concepts] and consciously perceive themselves (accurately, as it were) to be "helpers" endowed with a special amount of altruism are exceedingly vulnerable to the affective (emotional) simulation of the accomplished agent.
Empathy is fostered in the activist through the expression of quite visible affects. The presentation of tearfulness, sadness, longing, fear, remorse, and guilt, may induce in the helper-oriented activist a strong sense of compassion, while unconsciously enhancing the activist's narcissistic investment in self as the embodiment of goodness.
The agent's expresssion of such simulated affects may be quite compelling to the observer and difficult to distinguish from deep emotion.
It can usually be identified by two events, however:
First, the activist who has analyzed his/her own narcissistic roots and is aware of his/her own potential for being "emotionally hooked," will be able to remain cool and unaffected by such emotional outpourings by the agent.
As a result of this unaffected, cool, attitude, the Second event will occur: The agent will recompensate much too quickly following such an affective expression leaving the activist with the impression that "the play has ended, the curtain has fallen," and the imposture, for the moment, has finished. The agent will then move quickly to another activist/victim.
The fact is, the movement doesn't need leaders, it needs MOVERS. "Follow the leader" is a waste of time.
A good agent will want to meet as often as possible. He or she will talk a lot and say little. One can expect an onslaught of long, unresolved discussions.
Some agents take on a pushy, arrogant, or defensive manner:
1) To disrupt the agenda
2) To side-track the discussion
3) To interrupt repeatedly
4) To feign ignorance
5) To make an unfounded accusation against a person.
Calling someone a racist, for example. This tactic is used to discredit a person in the eyes of all other group members.
Saboteurs
Some saboteurs pretend to be activists. She or he will ....
1) Write encyclopedic flyers (in the present day, websites)
2) Print flyers in English only.
3) Have demonstrations in places where no one cares.
4) Solicit funding from rich people instead of grass roots support
5) Display banners with too many words that are confusing.
6) Confuse issues.
7) Make the wrong demands.
8) Compromise the goal.
9) Have endless discussions that waste everyone's time. The agent may accompany the endless discussions with drinking, pot smoking or other amusement to slow down the activist's work.
Provocateurs
1) Want to establish "leaders" to set them up for a fall in order to stop the movement.
2) Suggest doing foolish, illegal things to get the activists in trouble.
3) Encourage militancy.
4) Want to taunt the authorities.
5) Attempt to make the activist compromise their values.
6) Attempt to instigate violence. Activism ought to always be non-violent.
7) Attempt to provoke revolt among people who are ill-prepared to deal with the reaction of the authorities to such violence.
Informants
1) Want everyone to sign up and sing in and sign everything.
2) Ask a lot of questions (gathering data).
3) Want to know what events the activist is planning to attend.
4) Attempt to make the activist defend him or herself to identify his or her beliefs, goals, and level of commitment.
Recruiting
Legitimate activists do not subject people to hours of persuasive dialog. Their actions, beliefs, and goals speak for themselves.
Groups that DO recruit are missionaries, military, and fake political parties or movements set up by agents.
Surveillance
ALWAYS assume that you are under surveillance.
At this point, if you are NOT under surveillance, you are not a very good activist!
Scare Tactics
They use them.
Such tactics include slander, defamation, threats, getting close to disaffected or minimally committed fellow activists to persuade them (via psychological tactics described above) to turn against the movement and give false testimony against their former compatriots. They will plant illegal substances on the activist and set up an arrest; they will plant false information and set up "exposure," they will send incriminating letters [emails] in the name of the activist; and more; they will do whatever society will allow.
This booklet in no way covers all the ways agents use to sabotage the lives of sincere an dedicated activists.
If an agent is "exposed," he or she will be transferred or replaced.
COINTELPRO is still in operation today under a different code name. It is no longer placed on paper where it can be discovered through the freedom of information act.
The FBI counterintelligence program's stated purpose: To expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, and otherwise neutralize individuals who the FBI categorize as opposed to the National Interests. "National Security" means the FBI's security from the people ever finding out the vicious things it does in violation of people's civil liberties.
_______________________________________________________________________
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression
Strong, credible allegations of high-level criminal activity can bring down a government. When the government lacks an effective, fact-based defense, other techniques must be employed. The success of these techniques depends heavily upon a cooperative, compliant press and a mere token opposition party.
1. Dummy up. If it's not reported, if it's not news, it didn't happen.
2. Wax indignant. This is also known as the "How dare you?" gambit.
3. Characterize the charges as "rumors" or, better yet, "wild rumors." If, in spite of the news blackout, the public is still able to learn about the suspicious facts, it can only be through "rumors." (If they tend to believe the "rumors" it must be because they are simply "paranoid" or "hysterical.")
4. Knock down straw men. Deal only with the weakest aspects of the weakest charges. Even better, create your own straw men. Make up wild rumors (or plant false stories) and give them lead play when you appear to debunk all the charges, real and fanciful alike.
5. Call the skeptics names like "conspiracy theorist," "nutcase," "ranter," "kook," "crackpot," and, of course, "rumor monger." Be sure, too, to use heavily loaded verbs and adjectives when characterizing their charges and defending the "more reasonable" government and its defenders. You must then carefully avoid fair and open debate with any of the people you have thus maligned. For insurance, set up your own "skeptics" to shoot down.
6. Impugn motives. Attempt to marginalize the critics by suggesting strongly that they are not really interested in the truth but are simply pursuing a partisan political agenda or are out to make money (compared to over-compensated adherents to the government line who, presumably, are not).
7. Invoke authority. Here the controlled press and the sham opposition can be very useful.
8. Dismiss the charges as "old news."
9. Come half-clean. This is also known as "confession and avoidance" or "taking the limited hangout route." This way, you create the impression of candor and honesty while you admit only to relatively harmless, less-than-criminal "mistakes." This stratagem often requires the embrace of a fall-back position quite different from the one originally taken. With effective damage control, the fall-back position need only be peddled by stooge skeptics to carefully limited markets.
10. Characterize the crimes as impossibly complex and the truth as ultimately unknowable.
11. Reason backward, using the deductive method with a vengeance. With thoroughly rigorous deduction, troublesome evidence is irrelevant. E.g. We have a completely free press. If evidence exists that the Vince Foster "suicide" note was forged, they would have reported it. They haven't reported it so there is no such evidence. Another variation on this theme involves the likelihood of a conspiracy leaker and a press who would report the leak.
12. Require the skeptics to solve the crime completely. E.g. If Foster was murdered, who did it and why?
13. Change the subject. This technique includes creating and/or publicizing distractions.
14. Lightly report incriminating facts, and then make nothing of them. This is sometimes referred to as "bump and run" reporting.
15. Baldly and brazenly lie. A favorite way of doing this is to attribute the "facts" furnished the public to a plausible-sounding, but anonymous, source.
16. Expanding further on numbers 4 and 5, have your own stooges "expose" scandals and champion popular causes. Their job is to pre-empt real opponents and to play 99-yard football. A variation is to pay rich people for the job who will pretend to spend their own money.
17. Flood the Internet with agents. This is the answer to the question, "What could possibly motivate a person to spend hour upon hour on Internet news groups defending the government and/or the press and harassing genuine critics?" Don t the authorities have defenders enough in all the newspapers, magazines, radio, and television? One would think refusing to print critical letters and screening out serious callers or dumping them from radio talk shows would be control enough, but, obviously, it is not.

Hello Reddit! First-timer here. I’m going to try and explain this situation the best I can so be please bear with me 🙏🏽
My(22F) best friend(20F) who we’ll call Alexandra and I have been close for a bit over four years now.. Sadly her father passed of cancer early this year. Before his passing, Alexandra had just started getting her life on track. She had found her first job and enjoyed though she worked long hours. She had also just started dating one of my bf’s friends but that’s another story. When the diagnosis hit, she stayed as strong as she could for her dad and family. She also decided to go live with her family (which is completely normal) despite that being the cause of many heated arguments between her and her bf who in my honest opinion never really tried to understand what she was going through. For a bit of context, she lives with her mother, older brother, and older sister who has two young children. But soon after losing her dad, she locked herself up in her dad’s room and went no-contact with her other friends and I despite several check-up messages and calls. We were all worried but our worries kind of blew over when she contacted us. We thought she had maybe gotten help or support to try and get a happy and active lifestyle again (that’s all her father ever asked and wanted for her). Unfortunately nothing had changed other than her relationship which had very visibly deteriorated (which only seemed to bring her more grief).
I was all for trying to listen to her pour all the pain and emotion she had bottled up and trying to get her to go on small outings. But the only thing that she would bring up is that no one knew what she was going through and no one was there for her except for her toxic bf. It hurt a bit but I brushed it off thinking that no matter how much I tried to help, I couldn’t put my working student life on hold until she feels better so comparing myself to a guy that does nothing wasn’t going to help. [Side note: Her family lives about 3 hours away and I can only use public transportation to move around] Eventually, we started having regular contact again as long as we didn’t bring up “sensitive”.
Here’s where things get tricky…. A few weeks ago one of Alex’s nephews turned 3 and we (as in our mutual bestie whom we can call Ann) and I were invited. We woke up early to make our way to spend the day with them. We knew we would only stay the day and so I packed my essentials to go spend the weekend with my bf afterwards. During the day, I noticed while in the living room that my phone was low on battery and so I took my charger out so that my phone would last the train ride back. Right after I got it, I was asked to take a picture of the birthday boy and so I put my charger next to where I had been seated. After the pictures, though, my charger was nowhere to be found. I searched for a while on my own before asking Ann and Alex for help locating it. Ann brought me a charger saying that she found it near where I had been looking. I thanked her, charged my phone and put it back in my bag. Fast forward the next evening, I get a text from Alex saying that I have her charger and that she absolutely needs it back. I quickly search my bag for another charger but only found mine and so I told her “ I don’t have yours, sorry”. She answered that the charger Ann found was hers without a doubt because she had left hers near the chimney in the living room. She then insisted she needed it back but failed to tell me where mine could be since I never left the room with it. She simply responded that she didn’t know and would look around but that in the meantime she needed hers. I left it at but the next day she said that they found nothing despite “flipping the house upside down” and that she knows I didn’t mean to “steal” it but she really needed her charger. I kind of got upset after that and told her she needed to further her research to find mine if she was so sure that I took hers. Today, I was greeted on our group chat by “Hey, looked around some more with my sister but we didn’t find anything. You need to get me back my charger though”. She then proceeded to say she needed it because she paid for it with her own money (so did I) and that she couldn’t keep using the non-Apple C-charger her sister had lent her because she thinks it f**** up her battery which is not true but whatever. At this point, not only is she telling me she has backup but she’s basically saying she doesn’t care what situation it leaves me in since mine is still supposedly still missing. I decided to not answer out of fear of angrily saying something I didn’t mean.
Another side note: I live alone and am the only one to have that kind of charger in my entourage that lives nearby. So without one, going and coming from work as well as basic communication for my school and work projects (or anything else for that matter) stops abruptly. Alex on the other hand hasn’t bothered looking for a job or leaving the house (because her mom pays her current bills and feeds her) accept to visit her bf when he isn’t at their home.
So I have been ignoring her all day to avoid this conflict but this has gotten me rethinking how good of a friend she has been to me (this is not the first time this kind of situation arises with her demanding action when it favours her but being much slower
So Reddit, be honest with me am I the A-Hole?

I need some WISDOM.
25m. Been dating my girl for a year and a half. Living together.
If it matters, I’m attractive, fit, a gentleman. Do not watch porn.
My relationship has been ideal. We are great partners that show love, support, and patience. Our relationship is how any relationship should be… except for the bedroom.
For the last year, we have been struggling with sex. When we first started it, it was everyday or even a couple of times a day. But as of the last year it’s been once MAYBE twice a week.
Early on, I realized that I was the one that initiated anything sexual. All the kissing and sex. She was always down, but never started the act. Which was fine bc I chalked it up as her being the reserved, respectful lady she is in every aspect of her life.
As it went on, I slowed down. Not out of anger or hate, but bc I was giving her opportunities to make a move. (Please do not respond with “maybe she’s submissive”. Submissive has sexual tension. This doesn’t).
I was thrown off bc, last May, she sat me down and asked why sex had slowed to once a week. It almost felt like she was complaining ABOUT me. To which I respectfully let her know that she has the same opportunities as me- if she was wanting to make out or do sex so bad, then she can easily kiss or start with me. Again, we are nice to eachother. This convo was healthy.
Fast forward to today. A year later. And it’s still the same. She has initiated maybe twice. But I explained to her how it felt like a double edged sword. When she didn’t initiate, it bothered me. And now that she did initiate, it felt forced bc she didn’t do so until I said. Even more, she only done it those two times after our convo and then drifted back into it being only me.
Now, today, there is no sexual tension between us. There hasn’t been for months. We have sex. But I’d chalk it up as me having a surge of hormones. Again, once a month we have had conversations on where we are at. We have both agreed that our sex life, although it is not dead, it is not sustainable with the level that it’s at. I’ll also add that we have grown SLIGHTLY irritable towards one another.
Now, I feel my eyes starting to wander. I enjoy all the looks and stares I get from women out in public. I look at girls pictures a little longer on social media. I day dream about previous partners.
Please, Do not read this post as shallow. I have tried, I have been patient, I have been considerate. So has she. We have both given our effort for the last year. Sadly, it has only worsened. She TELLS me she wants me, but her actions don’t. She is an angel to me, but we are both learning that sex plays a bigger role than we anticipated.
It doesn’t help that I also understand that if roles were reversed (if I never touched or initiated with her) I would be dumped. Imagine her saying to her friends, “he doesn’t ever initiate sex”.. it would be seen as me not valuing her or treating her right. Or gay (no hate to my gay men out there❤️). Her leaving would be supported. But I’m the one who feels like I’m not being persued. Yet, if I call it quits then I’m immature.
Our lease is up in July and i feel the pressure rising bc I don’t want to sign a lease with someone if it’s going to be a bigger issue down the road.
I love her, she loves me. But we both have admitted that this weighs on our mind too much for too long. It’s a shot to both our confidences. We have also somehow communicated in a healthy way that we can’t keep doing this. I worry because is the constant contemplation an indirect answer?
Her and I both know life is too short to be stressing as much as we do over our relationship. It’s difficult bc two things are true- our relationship is great, but the level of physical attraction is not sustainable.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? Advice? Wisdom?

Hi everyone,
I hurt my back in the middle of last week. It happened at work and it wasn’t caused by any unsafe practice or equipment, merely me setting up some cords. It feels like I’ve pinched a nerve near my tailbone. I have benefits with the company I work for that offers coverage for physio. What I’m wondering is how the incident reporting system works alongside work safe. I just filled out an incident report stating what happened but I’m hoping to not make a work safe claim and just use my benefits for a physio appointment or two. Does WorkSafe have access to the incident reports? Should I be making a work safe claim instead of going through my benefits? I don’t want to turn myself into the black sheep by reporting something that I think can be resolved in one or two sessions of physio.
Any insight is appreciated.

Hi y'all. I'm pretty much at my wits end.
I have a dermatologist appointment today but thought I'd ask around here anyway.
Backstory: I had eczema when I was really really young, honestly so young that the only thing I remembered of it was having a patch of it on my butt and my mom applying cream to it and then never really dealing with it ever again. She thought I had eczema on my face though it appeared as white patches and I vaguely remember this but for at least a decade or more I did not have eczema. My skin was perfect, genuinely so clear I didn't have to use much product on it.
Fast forward to November of 2019; I started taking hormonal birth control and noticed within a few months that I started getting eczema patches (also was having facial rashes but I thought this was due to trying out a new skincare) I went to the dermatologist who prescribed me Triamcinolone 0.1% ointment for my body rashes. I don't ever EVER remember using steroids much. I'd use it one to two days, and would stop when it starts to fade. Anyway my eczema was pretty lowkey in general and in 2021, we adopted a cat. I did notice my eczema worsening slightly ever since getting my cat but was managing with Triamcinolone (I think at this point my dermatologist prescribed me a tub of it I think December of 2021)
Again, I don't use steroid much and when I do I think it's really just for emergencies (my eczema was genuinely such a secondary aspect of my life I don't even remember much of how I managed it other than letting it ride and maybe applying steroid when needed). I remember the tub expired and I hadn't used even half of the ointment. I was also prescribed Mometasone and Fluoccionide? But I never used either of them as I didn't feel comfortable to.
In September of 2022, I caught COVID while overseas and it caused a pretty gnarly flare on the inner side of my elbows. Since I was overseas I just managed with moisturizing but I remember applying steroid when I came home. We adopted a second cat later this year.
Since then I think my eczema HAVE gotten worse, but there was a period of at least 6 months where I wasn't using steroid creams at all because I was either just dealing with it or it was barely there.
Fast forward to 2023.
I noticed a rash on the top of my right hand that I was initially managing with just moisturizing. But I remember having such intense itch on this rash that I kept itching, and at one point I itched with my shirt and it caused it to be infected. It was so gnarly, bright red, oozing, literally would not stop oozing, painful. I went back to my dermatologist 5 days later when I realized that oh this might be worse than just a regular eczema. She gave me Mupirocin and another tube of Triamcinolone (since my previous one expired) as well as a course of Doxycycline. I used the Mupirocin as directed for I think 10 days, and was not yet using Triamcinolone as I was worried about using it when it looked like there were still open wounds on it. I didn't finish my Doxy course because it was giving me horrible stomach pains. I came back to the dermatologist January 3rd and she told me it was OK to use Triamcinolone twice daily up to two weeks.
At this point I was already having eczema rash on my arms as well and some on my back but I don't think I was using Triamcinolone much on them (I'm pretty sporadic with using the steroid, I never really committed to the full 2 weeks)
Now, this is where things became a doozy.
January 5th: Caught strep, had difficulty breathing and had to go to urgent care. I was prescribed antibiotics, Prednisone (20mg, twice daily for 5 days), and Albuterol. I had asthma when I was younger and it's almost like it came back when I caught strep. My eczema was calm during this time and I thought it was because it rained a lot this week but now I realized it may be the Prednisone. Could not remember if I was using Triamcinolone as well on my hand during this time.
Sometime in early February: Went for a run and literally rolled my ankle so bad. Unrelated to everything else but my body sustained injury and looking back at old pictures I was starting to get patches of eczema on my legs.
Then I caught what felt like the flu in mid February and this is the first time my eczema flared to my face. My left eye was half swollen but at this time I thought it was from my sinus being blocked as it went away in a few days (though the rash stayed).
Early March: Got admitted to the hospital from Appendicitis. I spent 3 nights at the hospital and my eczema was literally non existent. No itchiness, just intense dryness but nothing else. I remember my friend noting my face was super dry but my rashes were slowly drying out. To be fair I was in so much pain the first day I was knocked out most the time from the pain medication they gave me and I was on a couple antibiotics due to the infection.
I came home from the hospital and this is when things start to really get insane. I got home, laid in bed, and immediately could not stop itching my neck and body. My face became swollen the next day but I was unable to take allergy meds because I was on antibiotics and had to wait for that course to be done. That eventually settled out.
I figured maybe I was having an allergic reaction to the cats (and thought maybe my mattress too, we had vacuumed it a few times and I suspected it disturbed the dust mites inside). I slept outside and on an air mattress for I think a few days, if not up to a week. The cats were still sleeping with me at this time and I was somewhat itchy but it wasn't the worst. Then I decided I was going to sleep in the bedroom again and this caused the worst flare I had ever ever EVER gone through. My face became so swollen, my left eye swollen again and it was oozing (this had NEVER happened to me before other than my infected hand) I don't know why this oozed since I never scratched my face, and my inner elbows, wrists and top of right hand got so red and puffy. At this point too my eczema on my right hand was starting to spread towards my palm. These areas also got pretty dry especially on my face. I called Teladoc Dermatology and they prescribed me Mupirocin for the oozing, Tacrolimus for the inflammation on my face and Triamcinolone for the body. He told me to apply Mupirocin first until the oozing calms, then stop and apply the other ointments.
At this point I had become SO SO SO terrified of TSW. It was all over my Tik Tok, my algorithm, I couldn't stop thinking and worrying about it and fearing that this flare is because I'm going through it. He told me to use Triamcinolone for twice daily for two weeks, then once daily for two weeks, then every other day for two weeks to help prevent rebound. I only used Triamcinolone twice daily for 5 days, then I did once daily for a few more days and by the time I saw my current dermatologist, I was using it every other day (I essentially tried to taper within the two weeks).
My current derma prescribed me Clobetasol and told me to mix 2oz of Clobetasol with 7.5oz of Vanicream or Cerave and smear myself in it once a day at night for one week, then once a day at night every other day for the second week. It was a very controlled instruction.
BUT I was SO afraid of TSW that I did not do this.
Instead, I took a one week break and I did 3 weeks of Triamcinolone, and even then I did it sporadically. I did about 10 days of once daily and then the second half I did twice daily. When I started doing twice daily was when I finally saw some improvements.
The problem is it has been a week since I last used any steroids and I have rebounded. Although my eczema rash genuinely looks so weird and I am having the dermatologist look at it properly today. My arms are constantly dry, my right hand (the problem spot since December) now have what looks like blisters on them and I never have eczema that look like this even though it's apparently common. The frustrating thing is that it feels like my eczema just keeps spreading. They are full body and it's freaking me out because it looks as if I have TSW even though I don't think I ever used steroids for that long at all, and I was only prescribed it back in 2020.
To be fair I thought I should've committed to the Clobetasol treatment because then we can see if the strongest steroid worked or not but I felt like I was going to flare again anyway and didn't want to use something really strong only for it to not work.
I had an allergy test done and I am allergic to both species of dust mites, dogs, cats, along with some other environmental things. I just don't understand why I am only now flaring uncontrollably like this. I am 95% covered in eczema. Either spots or just straight up long red rash. I am taking antihistamines daily and have been taking Probiotic pills pretty consistently (partly because I was on so many antibiotics back to back). I've been using Hyphocolorus Acid Spray as well.
On Sunday night, I tried to sleep over at my friend's place who did not have cats to test and see if my cats are my main trigger and I kept waking up itching myself, both my arms and legs and my chin and neck started oozing again. Which was INSANE as I did not itch either of them. The oozing on both have mostly stopped (I've only used Mupirocin and Vaseline to help control the infection and moisturize) but I just don't understand.
I'm scared, I have never had eczema become so severe so fast and I'm genuinely so scared. Something feels wrong but I don't know what it is. The way my eczema looks look like a combination of an allergic reaction and just a rash but I don't understand how I can have such an intense allergic reaction towards things I've been around all the time. We've lived in the same place since June of last year and the only thing I can think of is that we had the heater on almost daily in the winter and we found out end of April that our heater is incredibly dusty.
I'm getting my IUD removed next week as well as I'm confident birth control has something to do with my eczema coming back, and I plan to get allergy shots.
I'm just tired, it's consumed my life and it's causing me a lot of health anxiety. I look so genuinely terrible I can't even understand it.

I know im probably just reading into the situation but let me just get it off my chest pls. [WLW][Ages: 25-30]
GF and I have been broken up since 5/10. I went straight no contact since. Well as far as communication 😅I have looked at her socials. I know, boo hoo, I shouldn’t have but I did. I started using instanavigation so I wasn’t looking from my own account. tbh idk if it shows the “stalkee” that a bot account has viewed their story or not but I was all up thru that account like all day so if it shows, she definitely knows it’s me :) This is where idk if I’m flying too close to the sun bc I swear she started posting things for me lol I know how that sounds, believe me, I’ve thought about this rant numerous times before I finally had to get it out. For instance, couple nights before we ended we had a night beach date. She went a couple nights ago and posted a boomerang w the timestamp around the time we went, to one of our songs. She could’ve just wanted to go, right? Wrong! lol no seriously she could’ve obvi but she hasn’t done that in a veryyy long time so why suddenly? So she had her best friend come visit her over the weekend. They went out and looked like she had a really nice time. Great, genuinely love that for my girl but it was hitting in the feels kinda deep. Had I not went prowling for what I wanted to see, I wouldn’t have had my lil feelings hurt nor got fomo, but I’m td on Reddit for a reason. So got my lil feelings in a frenzy, anxiety spiked, tweaking and twitching from seeing literally 1.7secs worth of the side of her head in the club 🙂‍↔️🙂‍↕️ 😂 I HAD to immediately unfriend her on Snapchat and just go ahead and block her on instagram- thru my account, although we weren’t even friends anymore lol I was in shambles seeing her have fun 😂 and I now think that’s so funny bc why would me seeing her happy and living in the moment upset me to that degree? It’s rhetoric- I’m pretty self aware. Anyways, so I periodically check thru the day to see if there’s any changes. I did the unfollowing shit around 7-9am, idk something early in the day. Fell asleep around 8pm and woke up around midnight? idk give or take. Point is, by the time I woke up, she had also removed me as a friend as well. When I unfriended her, I allowed me to “accept friend” bc I we were still friends but only on her end. When she removed me, we’re not friends at all anymore and the “accept friend” button was replaced w “request.” Now you and I have been orbiting the sun together atp but we’re at the end so hang on! Having just admitted I know I’m like being blinded by this shit I’m still so close BUT I have to see if I’m crazy or not! Is my gut right? Are there actually subliminal hints?!! Yall that’s gone thru heartbreak know what I’m talking about!!! To everyone else the shit sounds crazyyyy and hugging a tree would be recommended but to you, YOU KNOW WHAT YOU’RE SEEING and the signs are there 👀 in this scenario, the sign is her looking at my Snapchat every day as well. I would look at her snap score to get a gist of what’s going on. You’re tryna tell me that it’s a complete coincidence that on the day I decided to remove her as my friend, that’s the one day outta the no contact that she decided to look me up? Bullshit amirite? Like cmon man. She had also been looking at snap score to see how frequently I’m using too. How else would she have known that we weren’t friends? She had to be looking for me, ya? Ok so I have it all figured out then right? Who cares about Snapchat scores and blocking on ig in the grand scheme? I swear I don’t but the circumstances make me care 😔 guys am I on to something? Are the hunches plausible? It’s definitely possible, but I more want it to be probable! 👉🏽👈🏽 Open discussion but nicely pls, as I’m only just a girl! :(

Background: I want to create an automation that automatically transfers any photo I've taken to a single folder (Photo Review) in google photos.
I want to free up space on my photo and don't want to store a lot of photos/video. So, every week I'll go over my photos on google drive (via desktop) and choose which ones to keep and which ones to discard.
Progress: I've connected my iPhone to make, and when i take a photo it successfully retrieves the photo. However, I don't know which module to choose so that i can send it to google photos. The google photos module has the following options for media:

• Watch Media Items
• List Media Items
• Get a Media Item
• Download a Media File
• Upload a Media ItemNote: This action can only be performed on albums that were created via the API (using Make).

For my purpose, it needs to upload the media but I'm not sure how to do it via APi.
Any help/suggestions would be appreciated

Like I hear trans people talking about how they used to be Nazis and how homophobic and transphobic they used to be before they came out, and sometimes you kinda see they still haven't really rooted out a lot of those issues. It makes a lot of queer spaces kind of uncomfortable.

A few days ago I broke up with my fiancé after we came back from a trip we were on for a couple days for his birthday. We have been fighting more and more these last few months and every single time we get into an argument, he turns into what I can only describe as a teenager, he becomes incredibly immature and screams at me and gets mad over the most ridiculous things.
I am 5'3 and he towers over me at 6'4 and it honestly scares me when he screams at me. I have told him numerous times to stop reacting like that whenever we have an argument and he always apologizes later but the next time he gets angry, its the exact same blow up pattern where he screams again and behaves like he's 14 years old screaming at his mama.
His mother was living with him before and she had the same problem with him, he would scream at her too. I made a joke to her one day after they had a big fight, saying, "Am I next in line for this treatment?" and she said yes. I should have taken the warning then.
We just moved in together and we've been living together for a month. I'm honestly not happy. He does gross things like takes pictures of his big poops and shows it to me on his phone, he picks his pimples and smells them in front of me saying "smells like cheese", he picks off his nail clippings and throws them on the passenger car side floor so when I go into his car, I see 6 nail clippings regularly. He sticks his hand in his giant dogs mouth when they're playing and lets him lick all over his face after I've just seen her cleaning her behind for 30 mins prior and then he tries to kiss me.
All of this has completely turned me off and ruined the romance for me. We haven't been intimate in 2 weeks because of the amount of fighting and the gross hygiene issues I mentioned. He expects me to cook, clean up after him, do the dishes, do the laundry, make the bed every day, watch his dog when he's at work. He throws his clothes everywhere he takes them off at and I had to tell him numerous times to please put them in the hamper for me to wash.
I work from home and he works 4 hours outside the home then comes home and works remotely for another 2-3 hours then he goes into the garage and smokes for hours. When we broke up after a big fight a few days ago, he said I ruined his life and that now he has to go live in a hotel because I kicked him out. I said I won't live with someone who talks to me so disrespectfully and makes me feel unsafe to be around because of his major anger issues.
His road rage is ridiculous too, he flips people off quite a few times and honks at them and I tell him all the time he's gonna end up getting into a dangerous situation because of it. It just tells me he has a lot of growing up to do. The thought of having kids with this man sounds like a nightmare.
He bought me a diamond ruby necklace and during the break up, he said "I want that ruby necklace back so I can pawn it." he took other gifts he had gotten me over the course of our relationship and pawned those too since leaving my house. He says he wants to work on his anger and stay with me and still loves me but then in the same breath he will say its all my fault that he's in this situation now. Takes no responsibility for how he treats people and somehow always manages to be the victim.
I'm tired but I dont know if I'll regret losing him in a few months when everything is said and done. He said he can take me to court because of "Squatter laws" because I asked him to leave overnight. I own my house, he doesn't and we never signed anything. He has been incredibly rude about money too, he only contributed $750 a month in total (For rent, groceries and all the bills combined) and I paid for everything else. We had a fight about that too because he said that was "way too much". I said good luck finding anything that cheap today out there by yourself.
When we talk about getting married, he says we need to sign a prenup because he never wants to pay alimony and he buries his gold coins in the backyard and would never tell me where they are even if we were to get married. These things are so unromantic to say and makes me not even want to marry him in the first place if he's going to be so selfish about his money already.
Am I making the right decision by breaking up with him or should I try to make this work because he is saying sorry and wants to do better?

I wanted to take a few minutes to highlight a few things I think that don't get talked about a lot, things that I have picked up along the way making cocktails at home. Maybe it gives some others some good ideas, and maybe you'll chime in with your things that made cocktails easiecheapebetter.
Many of these are not original ideas per se. Not claiming credit for any, just advocating for them.

1. Fruit syrups: Whether its about using up excess fruit, making the most of some underripe/overripe/scraps, or just getting a new flavor profile - I am struck with how easy it is to just take most any fruit/berry, combine with equal weight of sugar in a mason jar, lightly muddle and leave in the fridge for 24-48 hours. Then simply strain and keep in fridge. Seems to keep without degradation for at least a week or two. Blackberries for me are always hit or miss on being delicious or bland and sour... but even the ones that don't hit the mark as fresh berries make an awesome berry syrup.
2. Orgeat: "Make and drink" 60-second orgeat from youtube is just an incredibly easy way to make top tier orgeat. It's great because it also allows you to make Macadamia or other nut orgeats with the same format. It costs about the same as 1-2 bottle from liber and co to get started, but you can make almost infinite orgeat.
3. Syrup/Superjuice storage: I love the idea of the "Crew" bottles... storing syrups and juice in Glass containers that are easily cleaned in dishwasher? Awesome. $20 a bottle? not awesome. My solution? "Mason Jar Pouring lids" or whatever they are called. Come in regular and wide: https://imgur.com/a/us7t7tb - I have and use lots of mason jars, but hate pouring from them as there are always drips and a mess on the rim. These things to me are basically everything I wanted from the Crew bottles at a fraction of the price and more versatility. Only thing I don't like is they use a silicone gasket you have to be careful not to lose - I wish they were self sealing like the plastic mason jar "Leakproof" lids. I also love that I can then choose jar size to the specific to the thing I want to store.
4. Prebatch/Portable cocktail/juice storage - Liquor bottles. I save my empties and reuse exactly once. I don't bother cleaning out the bottles - being alcohol they don't get moldy or anything, and then just fill them when needed. Once they've had the second use - I don't feel bad just tossing them in the recycling after.
5. Superjuice/Acid Adjusting - Super juice is great for lemon/limes and just getting more output, stability, etc... but maybe my favorite thing is using that format to make acid-adjusted super mandarin juice, or acid adjusting pineapple juice, etc... the fun that can be opened up by swapping in orange or pineapple for lemon/lime in cocktails is really great. Flavors can change but balance stays the same.
6. Make sugar syrups in jars: I don't like doing dishes. Coupled with the jar storage lids above, I find mason jars about the perfect vessel to make AND store the sugar syrups (I keep both turbinado and lightly processed white cane syrups on hand)... My method is simple: I put the mason jar on kitchen scale and fill about 2/3 with sugar. Then I tare scale and add 50% (2:1 Syrup) to 100% (1:1 syrup) of boiling water from the kettle. Stir with a spoon. For larger granular sugars, particularly in 2:1 ratio, I will often bump temp up again while stirring using microwave. Be careful not to boil or it makes a mess.
7. Infinity rum bottle - Great way to keep the cabinet with some room. I keep one bottle that i just dump the last 1-2oz into. The blend varies and changes over time but it has never been bad, and generally makes a great all purpose tiki/mai tai blend. If your primary spirit is something else besides rum, try it with that. I don't bother tracking or calculating what is in the bottle.
8. View recipes as templates, not specifics. This kind of combines the ideas in #5 and #1 - but have fun and experiment! Use recipes as a template but swap out ingredients to fill the roles, examples - I made an awesome "mai tai" format fall drink https://www.reddit.com/Tiki/comments/1746d9a/apple_of_my_tai/ I also have a lot of fun on a drink that is inspired by the Brazilian roasted-pineapple with cinnamon dessert: Use a daquiri as a template:

2 - Cachaca 1 - Lime-adjusted Pineapple juice .75 - Cinnamon Syrup (optionally add whipped egg white/pineapple foam)

Okay - now I hope to hear your inspiration!
Cheers.

So my 5yr GoldenDoodle suddenly got very sick in December, after many vet appointments and specialists he was sadly diagnosed with Cancer, but with him being so young and my wife and I being fairly comfortable financially, we went ahead with chemo based on the vets recommendation (chemo for dogs is not like for humans, and his quality of life was our main priority). Well in terms of fighting the cancer he's done amazingly well, and is in remission and has had few side effects from the treatment. Cost wise we've spent around $15,000 between diagnosing and treating the cancer. To be clear we are not rich, we both make decent money and had a lot saved up with little debt, and this has wiped the out a large amount of savings. A chunk of it is on a no interest credit card.
The issue is, during this time he suddenly started eating socks, something he hasn't done since he was a puppy. At first he'd pass them without issue and we started to be diligent about picking up clothes and keeping him away from them, but sock-related health issues have already cost us another $2,000 in vet visits and treatments since he's more prone to internal damage with the chemo. We are to the point we have done everything we can to keep socks away from him short of literally locking him in the kitchen 24/7. We keep closet doors closed, gate off the laundry room, we count all our socks every time we do laundry, I even bought a open air muzzle for him to occasionally wear when wandering the house. However we have a newborn and work it's a hectic life, and again unless we lock him away 24/7 mistakes will probably happen.
Here I am again, sitting in an urgent care, waiting to do X-rays and tests since he's experiencing all the sock related symptoms, this time I don't think he's passed the sock and I'll potentially be asked to spend thousands of more dollars on a surgery or tests, and I just don't know when it becomes irresponsible to keep doing this. I love my dog so much, and I have fought so hard for him, used so much PTO and spent so much money fighting cancer, but when do I accept things and let him go? If the sock issues can be fixed how can I justify not doing it when we worked so hard to beat cancer? I'm so tired, mentally and physically.

I watched a really great and long documentary regarding hidden occult symbology a few years back - maybe 4-5 years. If I recall correctly, it was largely pictures and maybe not a ton of talking but was extremely interesting.
A lot of the focus was on symbols and esoteric shapes being mapped out in big cities like Washington DC. It didn't really give a bigger a larger conspiracy, it was just pointing out all the symbology that is right in front of us.
I keep thinking it was called "Hidden in Plain Sight" but I can't find anything using that name.
Does anyone have any recollection of this or a link to it?
I would greatly appreciate watching it again.

My child has non-spastic CP and knows how to walk. Can the school require that they use a wheelchair or other mobility device like an adaptive stroller in common areas (eg. hallways)?
A little more info on walking ability: Walking on a flat surface is easy. Some difficulty on uneven surfaces. Falling is easily overcome. Walking up stairs is possible with assistance. CP makes walking look unstable but falls are rare.
There are a lot of other disabilities involved as well (ie. ID, ASD, etc.)
This is great community, so thanks in advance for your feedback.
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Since backing SC in 2013, I've advocated that profession-based gameplay should be the cornerstone of building the player experience.
After playing the 3.23 experimental mode and watching (for the first time) the CitCon 2023 segment, I can say engineering gameplay doesn't do a thing to make me feel like an engineer.

1. Engineering gameplay is mostly devoid of engineering principles.
2. What seems to be the intended source of "fun" won't work at all scales.

Addressing the second point first, even watching the devs play, it seems the design is leaning into the idea of frenetic action, bouncing from crisis to crisis, being a driver of "fun." On a larger, multi-deck ship like a Hercules, this design can deliver. But what happens to the frenetic feeling on smaller ships like a Connie or Freelancer where moving from crisis to crisis means walking a few meters or simply turning your body a little?
Returning to the first point, with repairing ship components - Resource Management would be a topic for another discussion - CIG has delivered Barotrauma's gameplay in a spaceship. Instead of using a magic wrench to fight flooding and repair equipment in a submarine, we have a magic pistol to fight fires and repair equipment in a spaceship.
Back in 2021, I authored a post on the importance of authentic-feeling profession-based gameplay in which I deconstructed and rebuilt mining as an example. If the mining gameplay mechanic had instead been introduced as part of hacking gameplay - siphoning data off a network while keeping the data flow rate high enough to finish in time but low enough to not alert intrusion detection systems - nobody would have questioned it. Nothing about mining gameplay makes it feel specific to working on large rocks.
Now, like rocks, ship components are non-descript containers filled with numbers, and repairing them entails no more than pointing a magic beam that improves the health number. Where's the engineering?
Instead, imagine if ship components had two, three, or four printed circuit boards (like your computer's motherboard) in them. Conductive lines, called traces, connect bobs and doodads that combine to fulfill some function.
The repair process would entail using the cutting tool to remove the damaged area of a board. The board is scanned, and a mobile 3D printer - maybe a couple of levitating dinner plate-sized discs - prints a replacement patch and inserts the bobs and doodads. The engineer affixes the patch, which fuses into place. They then use an extruder attachment on the multitool - think a plumber's caulking gun - to fill conductive RMC in groves that indicate the trace locations.
Simple enough that doing routine maintenance doesn't become drudgery while being involved enough that performing it in a stressful situation is non-trivial.
Simple additions like a curing time for the 3D-printed patch material could add more engineering flavor to a mission's story.
"Captain, engines are functional again, but I'll need to refurbish the whole thing when we get back to port if we put too much stress on them now."
Imagine now if each quadrant of a board fulfilled some function. This cluster of bobs and doodads together perform power regulation. Another cluster does signal focusing, etc. With this design, an engineer could restore partial functionality in time-sensitive situations.
"Captain, the shields are back online, but someone will have to babysit the power triangle if we run them at more than 50%."
Further, imagine if the actual layout of traces, bobs, and doodads on the board mattered in the context of simple principles: coherence and interference.
Coherence - E.g., to perform the function of power regulation, these seven bobs and doodads must be physically located near enough to one another.
Interference - Bobs, doodads, and traces all generate fields of "interference" in both electrical (current) and thermal domains. Too close proximity impacts wear and tear and can result in failures.
So, we have a tug-of-war between competing objectives on a surface with limited real estate. Factors like total trace length could impact performance, power efficiency, or whatever.
How does this design impact the player experience?
While mining a lucrative field of rocks in the upper atmosphere of a gas giant, an Orion's sensors go down. The engineer finds two traces showing overcurrent damage in adjacent locations on board #3. Repairs are made, but forty minutes later, another failure. More precisely, the same failure. The engineer suspects something about the environment is causing an electrical arc between the two traces.
Knowing there's a lot more wealth to be mined at the planet, the captain contracts a Reliant Sen to survey the upper atmosphere of the giant. The Sen captain delivers a computer simulation of the atmosphere to the Orion's engineer who plugs it into their workbench. Testing reveals that, in this environment, the interference in the "current domain" for traces is exaggerated. So, the board layout needs to be adjusted to move the closest traces further apart; time to play tug-of-war.
Engineering gameplay that makes you feel like an engineer...
For me, too much of too many profession-based systems is being abstracted at too high a level to deliver engaging gameplay. Moreover, abstraction at a high level means the universe lacks fundamental structures that can tie different professions, and players, together.
Imagine in our gas giant example, if the failure wasn't caused by forty minutes of accumulated electrical damage, but by waves of high-energy particles arriving in 40-minute intervals. The Sen pilot may want to investigate the source of the particles, but she'll need an engineer's solution for her ship first. Furthermore, an Orion crew member may think to ask, "If these particles are wrecking our equipment, what are they doing to our bodies?"
Miners, engineers, scientists, and doctors all writing their personal chapters in a larger, authentic, and connected story.
Crossposted to Spectrum.

I think we all agree that HW3's story was disappointing. It didn't have the same levels of dread or mystery that the previous entries had, and instead it chose to try and develop Imojen and Isaac. Sadly, this was to the game's detriment, IMO, as it didn't do the job right.
Think about how the previous entries in the series handled its characters: it did so very minimally, instead choosing to focus on the bigger picture rather than a cast. In HW1, Karen was just the voice of your fleet and not really given any personality. This carried over into HW2, and it worked just fine. In Cataclysm, the captain of the Kuun-Lan might've gotten a couple of epic speeches to the Bentusi and toward the Beast, but he was ultimately just speaking for the player. Even in Deserts of Kharak, characters like Rachel were basically treated like placeholders who you don't need to connect with, and it was more about the conflict with the Gaalsians rather than any individual's drama. Even Rachel's search for Jacob was ultimately a low-priority thing until the Taiidan Carrier became relevant.
But with Homeworld 3, they tried to make a drama story between Imojen, Isaac, and Tiaa'Ma, who was not a very good villainess. It also didn't help that Imojen wasn't a very good protagonist, and the attempt to focus on her came at the expense of the greater picture. In essence, HW3 tried to approach the story in a way it wasn't meant to do. It isn't like Star Trek or Star Wars, both of which were designed to be character-driven. Homeworld does its best when the characters are ultimately just an extension of the player, not when they are protagonists.
I hope that if any other entries in the series are made, the developers will stick to the storytelling that was done for HW1, HW2, and Cataclysm. Essentially, they should not focus on individuals, but on the conflict and setting itself.
My 2 cents.

Hi all, my husband m32, throws random objects (such as dryer balls, plastic planes, paper planes, those sponge or plastic balls) at me when I am absolutely not ready, working, in deep thoughts, relaxing, or just watching a youtube video. He also has a habit of hitting me (playfully according to him), but his hand hurts me on my arms and back. He does these things playfully, but I mean we are NOT 10 ANYMORE. Plus, I don't have any siblings so I am not used to anyone constantly do this to me. And, he has two siblings, and I am guessing he is like conditioned to this behavior..I almost feel like I am his sibling sometimes (weird I know), but I have no idea of how to make sense of this. So, far I have told him to stop (he hasn't), made him promise me that he will stop (he hasn't), lost my effing calm and told him to fucking stop (he has not!). Any advice.
This post might sound funny but it is an actual thing that scares me when I see something like a ball randomly coming towards me and hitting me on my head or chest, or arm for that matter!
I have known him for 8 years, married for an year now. I am not able to change anything so far. Maybe I need to try a different approach (I don't know any psychological way in which I can understand and address this..can't be going to therepist for this for sure..lol).

I have an account on a hookup site and messaged someone claiming to be 23, they immediately sent me a number and asked for me to contact them on WhatsApp and send a picture. Like an idiot I added them on WhatsApp and sent over 2 face pics, they said "sorry hello you okay" and I said "I'm good" then they asked my age and where I'm from so I told them and said, "what about you?" Then I asked what were they looking fo into and elaborated by saying "any kinks? And fwb type of thing?" I also asked for a pic back. Thankfully I didn't get any pics sent from her. I also didn't send anything explicit myself.
Next message I get is from the same number saying "Right (my name) I'm going to be straight I don't know why or how you know my daughter but this stops and it stops right fucking now that's my child and she's only 14 years of age so I will reconsider making your photos and messages viral on a nonce page but I'm not sure I will hold back with going to the police you can't be talking to my daughter like this feller", "sorry if I come across as rude just seriously angry about this right now my child said you asked for a picture what pictures was you on about"
That scared the shit out of me so I sent a link to the profile were I got the number from and they just said "what's that?" Then said that she never gave me her number. This went back and forward with me trying to explain for a few minutes until I decided just to block.
That was a couple days ago and I haven't received anything else yet but part of me is worried that this isn't an underage scam and that somehow I was given the number of an actual child, maybe by mistake or on purpose with the supposed mother saying that she didn't give me her number. Also the pfp on WhatsApp appears to be of a younger woman that I'm now worried does appear to be younger than I thought as I can't remember checking the pfp in the first few minutes of chatting. How worried should I be?

Thus far, $HEGE has grown with very little marketing. However, $HEGE has now planned a huge marketing push that will be deployed to 13 different channels simultaneously at the end of this week including:

• Bitcoin.com Main Page article for 1 week along with Bitcoin.com X posts, Facebook, and Telegram posts
  
• TikTok / YouTube / X influencer calls
  
• London and Times Square ads
  
• Published articles to 8 news outlets and published on their homepage
  
• Cryptocurrency Subreddit Banner Rental for 1 week
  
• Targeted airdrops
  
• DEX Ads
  
• Bitmedia Ads
  
• Solscan Ads
  
• Giveaway contest
  
• Meme contest
  
• Content push (burst of animations / videos / graphics released)
  
• and more!
  

To see the full details of the plan, join our Tg channel and see the pinned Google docs marketing plan link (this is a great example of the kind of transparency the team provides and the kind of quality work the team does).
Lots has been said about $HEGE's strong community and how people get early SHIB and WIF vibes. In another incredible showing of strength, the community donated over $25,000 USD to the project in the first 8 hours of the marketing fundraise (fundraising ongoing until end of this week).
Our current MC sits at about $4-5M. We expect this marketing push to conservatively bring us to $10M MC at which point we will list on a CEX (we have been discussing listings with several exchanges) which should take us up even further.
FOMO is already starting! Get in before it is too late!

🌐 www.hegecoin.com

https://dexscreener.com/solana/ULwSJmmpxmnRfpu6BjnK6rprKXqD5jXUmPpS1FxHXFy

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There are 3 major components to this meme coin

Story
The story is second to none. This meme is not just some random animal picture slapped onto an AI generated background. Instead, it has carefully crafted characters (HEGE the hedgehog being the main one) along with a chapter of a story that unlocks at every market cap milestone (see more at www.hegecoin.com).
Team
The dev and the team are top notch and work around the clock. The dev is also a graphic designer who draws all the images himself. Every AMA roundtable call with other project devs makes it even more apparent how standout dev is.
Community
With a top notch story and a top notch team behind the wheel, it is only natural that a great community will develop. No need to sell you here, the best way to research this is to join our Tg group and see for yourself.