Looking for a little advice (or maybe thoughts from someone who was/is in this position). My fiancé [33] and I [31] are having a super small wedding in a couple of months with a bigger celebration to come months after that. I’m a little worried that the look I’m going for on the day of will not be the MOST appealing version of myself to my fiancé though.
I have hair just above my shoulders and I’m planning to cut it back to a bob (which I’ve had and really like on me!) and keep it just wavy and down. I’m also thinking about a short dress for the big day and then a long one at our celebration later.
The problem is, I know my fiancé really likes my hair long and when I mentioned a short dress he seemed unenthused.
Pretty much every other day I do whatever I want and wear whatever I want and I know he thinks I’m beautiful (even if he has a different preference) but I just feel bummed at the idea that what may make me feel the prettiest might leave me thinking he’s not super into it the day-of.
Anyone been through something similar? Should I try to aim for more of his preferences, just for that day?

Paramount: Deal Rumors Aside, What About The Operations? Can The Company Turn A Profit?
May 21, 2024 2:41 PM ET
Summary
Paramount Global remains my worst investment, but I still believe in its potential for success.
Paramount's "lack of scale" is not the reason for its underperformance as it spends about as much on content as industry leader Netflix.
Paramount's loss last year was largely the result of one-off writedowns, both domestically and internationally. These losses will not repeat going forward.
Paramount's streaming operation suffers not from lack of scale, but an abundance of overload waste, which may be alleviated under new management.
The sports slate remains best-in-class, and CBS is still the leader in broadcast scripted. CBS Television City in Los Angeles, Ca, USA. JHVEPhoto/iStock Editorial via Getty Images
Paramount Global (NASDAQ:PARA) (NASDAQ:PARAA) remains my worst investment. Let's just get that clear from the start. I said two years ago it was madness not to buy Paramount. That was wrong, wrong, wrong. The fact that I recommended against buying the new Warner Discovery at the same time, and heeding that warning saved a lot of money, makes me feel a little better, but not much.
And no, the fact that Warren Buffett made the exact same mistake as me doesn't help much, either. Mr. Buffett and I are about to part ways, anyway. He is now completely sold out of Paramount, while I am hanging in. Yes, I am still buying. Get all the ribbing out of your systems, and then read on.
Although a few rounds remain to be played in the game, it is no longer inconceivable that none of the various deal permutations that have been put forward for Paramount will pan out, and that it will continue as an independent company. Essentially, Redstone will block a deal with Apollo Global Management, Inc. (APO) and Sony Group Corporation (SONY) and the 'B' shareholders will litigate a Skydance deal to death.
Because so many Seeking Alpha articles are already offering a blow-by-blow analysis of the deal talks - and I absolutely encourage you to read them - I wanted to turn back for just a minute to a more in-depth look at Paramount's actual operations. If it stays independent, can it turn itself around?
Scale Is Not The Issue I'm angry. Usually, when an investment goes wrong, I can manage to be philosophical or even dispassionate about it. Risks of the trade, can't win 'em all, pick your maxim.
But this one is really getting to me. I'm sure part of that is simply the sheer amount of my portfolio that has suffered - I bet a lot more on Paramount than I did on my typical investment, so sure was I that it had the tools needed for success. Fortunately, some of my other media investments have worked out much, much better, or I'd really be hurting. In fact, my Netflix buy has repaired all the damage my Paramount buy has done.
Still, I'm unusually angry, partly because of the sheer amount lost. But it's also that I still don't believe there is anything wrong with Paramount, at its core. It has become quite commonplace to speak of Paramount's "lack of scale" as the reason for its apparent impending demise, or at least subsumption. But I would still argue that that isn't born out by the numbers. Paramount spent roughly $16 billion on content in 2023, the same total as 2022, when $4 billion of it was spent on streaming. That is only slightly less than Netflix, Inc. (NFLX) which leads the industry in market cap and performance, if not in spending. While the gap with other studio peers is larger, I'm not sure spending at Netflix levels equals a "lack of scale."
What's more, a lot of that extra spending by other traditional industry players like Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) and The Walt Disney Company (DIS) is not spending that investors should necessarily cheer. As I've explained before, Paramount's lower spending total is almost entirely accounted for by its far more profitable approach to sports rights; a lot of that extra spending that Disney and Warner are doing isn't particularly profitable or even sensible.
What then, does account for Paramount's underperformance?
Stock Performance That depends on which underperformance you're talking about. First, the stock price. Paramount cut its dividend in spring 2023. That announcement, with its Q1 earnings, was enough to cause half of the past-year decline in a single day. Paramount went from $21 to $16 with the dividend cut and was still at $16 as late as December.
Since then, the other half of the decline has reflected the increasing evidence that Paramount is more or less ready to throw in the towel, and intends to be a distressed seller to another studio or private equity firm soon. More specifically, it is actually Shari Redstone, who exercises control over Paramount through her 77.3% share of Paramount's Class A voting stock, who is ready to call it quits. The perception that she has no leverage and will be forced to accept a fire sale offer has driven the stock lower.
Operations All that, however, merely explains the stock market decline; what is the operational explanation for Paramount's troubles? The company reported a $600 million loss for full year 2023. How is it that one of the Big Five movie studios, with the most popular of the Big Four broadcast networks, the most popular show on cable (Yellowstone) and the only profitable sports slate in American television, can't make money?
Accounting Element First, we need to acknowledge that there are some accounting factors in that 2023 loss. Paramount took a "programming charge," i.e., a write-down of the value of programming assets, of roughly $2.4 billion in Q1 and Q2 last year. That is money that would ordinarily be amortized over a period of years - it's mostly streaming originals, which Paramount usually amortizes over a 4-year period - that instead saw its red ink taken all at once. Had it been amortized normally, Paramount would have reported an operating profit of roughly $1.2 billion, more or less identical to 2022, instead of reporting an operating loss of the same amount.
Still, that write-down reflects the fact that the content isn't performing well, so those losses were always going to happen, and they're quite real; the accounting change is simply a timing issue. So Paramount is operationally deficient, even if perhaps not quite as operationally deficient as this one-time write-down makes it look. We cannot dismiss Paramount's operational issues by putting them down to accounting distortions.
TV Scripted Content Difficulties Paramount did not break down the programming charge, but outside reports have about half of it owing to the integration of Showtime in Paramount+ as a single service. It's not entirely clear which side of the ledger those losses are coming from; one of the less understood things about merging services is that it potentially makes content on both sides less valuable as it is replaced by more popular content from the other side. Showtime's Q1 2023 viewership was very top-heavy, with just two shows, Yellowjackets and Your Honor constituting 30% of all viewership. Presumably, those two shows reduced the value of some Paramount+ existing content while the rest of Showtime's library may have suffered from competition with P+ content.
Regardless of the exact source, Paramount's content is not performing. That's a little surprising considering that, as I said, CBS content is actually quite popular on the linear side. In fact, in the earnings call following the annual report now-former CEO Bob Bakish reported that CBS had the top 16 scripted programs and 18 of the top 20 in the first week of post-strike broadcasts. Paramount has disclosed in the past that CBS content makes up roughly half of the viewership on Paramount+; and this is despite the fact that P+ isn't even the sole beneficiary of CBS content; roughly $600 million per quarter of Paramount's licensing revenue comes from CBS shows as well.
One possibility that I perhaps did not consider sufficiently was the chance that the unique characteristics of CBS would make it harder for that channel to transition to streaming than its other broadcast peers. CBS is the most popular of all broadcast networks, but that popularity owes disproportionately to more elderly viewers; in the demo, it is actually Comcast Corporation's (CMCSA) NBC which takes the top crown.
With elderly viewers both less appealing to advertisers and less likely to make the transition to streaming, it is perhaps not so surprising that CBS is continuing to perform well on linear but having trouble translating that to streaming.
International Shortfall The damage isn't through yet, either. Paramount disclosed that it took another $1.2 billion impairment charge on content in the first quarter. This one has to do with the international side; a few years ago Paramount commissioned 150 new, original international shows and movies to try to boost international growth. Now, Paramount reveals that even international consumers spend no less than 90% of their time streaming Hollywood content; the local originals aren't doing very much for growth or retention.
About the only good thing that can be said about this complete and utter debacle is that it is a one-off; unlike Paramount's US content spending, which is ongoing and therefore must be made more efficient if Paramount is to survive and thrive, Paramount is gradually exiting International production. In fact, to help cover the losses on its international originals it is selling its share in Viacom18, the network that formerly served as Paramount's onshore operation in India, to its partner Reliance for a little over $500 million.
Where Are The Children? Yet another factor is children's programming. While many have essentially written off Paramount's entire cable channel group, and I agree the prognosis for MTV and Comedy Central is rather grim, I have argued that Nickelodeon remains a real asset, as one of the top two children's channels in linear TV. I believed that would be a powerful subscriber acquisition tool, alongside sports, as the streaming transition continued.
It hasn't worked out. Surveys consistently show the Big 3 for parents with children are Netflix, Disney, and the third is Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) of all things. Neither Paramount+ nor Warner Discovery's Max make the cut, despite ownership of top children's linear platforms/libraries Nickelodeon and Looney Tunes, respectively.
The prognosis here isn't entirely grim. Paramount has reported that half of their streaming subscribers touch kids' content regularly, so clearly Nickelodeon does mean something to the subscribers. It's possible it helps with retention, even if it doesn't drive acquisition. Paramount owns the number one brand for pre-school kids, Paw Patrol.
Paramount has shut down the separate Noggin streaming service and will presumably be amplifying the kids content on P+ as a result, so perhaps this trend will yet turn around. With so many other things going wrong, though, the inability to make kids content more central to the strategy is a painful blow.
The Mismanagement Of Streaming I suspect, however, that Paramount's single biggest defect over the past few years has been the competency of its management. In a streaming world, success hinges overwhelmingly on the efficiency with which a content budget is deployed. That efficiency, in turn, requires avoiding the trap of "overload," something cable doesn't have to worry about but which can kill a streaming service.
What Is Overload? In brief, overload is when a streaming service spends money on content that appeals primarily to those subscribers who were already subscribed and intending to remain subscribed, even without that content. Because revenue does not increase with more viewership, such spending is essentially wasted money. I have been arguing for several years that some economic models of streaming profitability fail to take account of this significant element.
Paramount seems to have had a lot of overload in the last few years. Specifically, its single most broadly appealing piece of content is the NFL, which Paramount is an anchor broadcaster for. Because NFL fans are accustomed to spending upwards of $100 a month on cable just to watch the NFL - over 10% of cable subscribers say that the NFL is the only reason they're still subscribing - Paramount's $6-$12 a month fee for streaming really doesn't need anything more than NFL games to attract these 40-50 million fans.
The Earnings Jaw-Dropper And yet, it seems that's where a lot of the extra streaming money has been going. On the Q2 earnings call last year, CEO Bob Bakish, watching the stock price steadily decline, seemed to be eager to reassure he had a handle on the situation and began describing some of the changes he'd be making. It started out well enough, really; he told investors that NFL viewers churn drops dramatically if they also engage with entertainment titles, which is what you'd expect.
But then, he stunned me and I expect just about everyone listening when he said, "we probably need to do less for [the NFL viewer] in the fall, and more outside the fall because we can rely on the NFL." Compounding the almost Looking Glass-feeling, he then went on to reassure everyone he would be "fine-tuning" the content strategy to address that point in the years to come.
It was, frankly, stunning. Both me and I suspect just about every analyst who was modeling Paramount had just assumed it went without saying that of course, any entertainment content targeted at retaining NFL viewers should drop in the other half of the year when the NFL wasn't playing on TV. My own calculations of the profit margin on CBS's NFL deal had always incorporated that.
And while that was bad enough, it also raised the concern that a management team that didn't understand that going in might have put a lot of other overload in other categories as well. Suddenly, it wasn't so hard to see how the best-scripted shop with the most profitable sports contracts was having trouble making money. Double-loading for 50 million households would be a major drag on the financial performance for streaming.
Light At The End Of The Tunnel Despite all of this, I still think there are bright spots in the Paramount picture, even without a merger. Its operations, as well as its merger discussions, don't seem to lack potential.

1: My Usual Paramount Bull Argument: Sports Profits

One thing that continues to go right is sports content. A few years ago, I wrote that Paramount was a strong contender to become a sustainable streaming business because it had the only profitable sports slate in the business. The stock hasn't gone where I wanted it to go, but that is the one part of my thesis that has been definitively borne out. In fact, many now say that it is CBS's sports deals, at least as much as Paramount's film/TV studio, that the prospective buyers of Paramount are after.
I've covered these in other articles already. The March Madness deal runs until 2032 and the NFL deal runs until 2033, although the NFL has an opt out after 2029 that it will probably exercise given the utterly ludicrous bids the NBA is receiving, so the last four years of that deal might have to be chopped off the profit projections. Even so, Paramount can probably generate $1.25 billion a year in profit just off of those two deals for the next six years.
Those are probably the biggest, but it doesn't stop there. Almost every sports deal Paramount has is profitable. For all the flak management has deservedly taken, Paramount continues to show discipline and focus on sports. You won't find Paramount throwing $2.5 billion a year at the NBA's 'B' package, which is more money than the NFL gets for its 'B' package despite having 10x the viewership.
For all its many, many missteps, a Paramount that can just manage to stay afloat long enough for some of these ludicrous sports bets at other companies to blow up may yet find itself with cards to play later in the decade.

2: Recouping Write-downs Via Preferred Conversion

Another small boon has been the official conversion of the preferred shares. The Paramount mandatory convertible formerly trading under the PARAP ticker was capped at 0.85 shares per common share. Given the initial price of the convertible at $100 per share, that effectively means that a preferred share that was carrying a $100 liquidation value has just been converted into 1.1765 shares of a common stock currently trading around $12. A total value per preferred share of around $14.
And they sold for $1 billion, so that's basically $860 million back into the common equity that management was able to get at the peak of the boom. That actually repairs almost all of the red ink from Paramount's doomed international originals push on its own.

3: An End To Streaming Waste

Finally, a lot of the waste in streaming may soon be ending. Bob Bakish was finally fired a few weeks ago, and while I never want someone to lose their job, he frankly had looked overmatched for a while. Bakish was a lifetime cable executive who seemed to be having trouble making the transition to a streaming-world mindset. Frankly, if I knew about it in 2021, the CEO has no business fine-tuning it into the strategy in 2023.
With international originals no longer draining the coffers and overloaded entertainment programming shifted to months of the calendar where it can be more productive, streaming may yet turn the corner.
Investment Summary I recognize fully that each fall in Paramount stock makes my bullish optimism seem ever more out of step. I do believe, however, that Paramount's failures are more failures of execution than lack of scale or structural disadvantage. Paramount CEO Bob Bakish simply wasn't up to the job. Ironically that wasn't what got him fired; Bakish was almost certainly fired for opposing Redstone's plan to enrich herself at the expense of other shareholders, probably the most competent thing he did in the last few years of his whole tenure.
Paramount has everything it needs to be successful; profitable sports contracts, which is just unbelievable in this day and age, a thriving scripted TV operation, and a viable, if recently somewhat mismanaged, streaming service. An end to overload waste, the continued exploitation of its favorable sports slate, throttling back unhelpful international originals and boosting kids content engagement may yet produce a different streaming picture going forward. Should older viewers start to get more comfortable with streaming going forward and following their favorite programs to Paramount+, that would just be icing on the cake.
It's been a depressing ride the last few years, but I'm sticking with Paramount.

Hey all, I am totally new to the tractor game and was hoping for some pointers.
Background:

• I am in Canada
• 5 gently sloping acres, with some small uneven areas and deeper ruts, largely pretty hard packed from years as an equestrian facility.
• Tasks:
  • light grading to fix the above mentioned issues, and to spread gravel to widen a driveway
  • drill some holes for posts, and for tree planting
  • move mulch and dirt around the property
  • break up hard packed areas in order to re-seed (lawn in some areas, probably some taller pollinator mixes elsewhere as I raise bees)
  • cut lawn, and cut some rougher areas

I've been thinking about the B series. The BX seems too small with poor clearance. The L series seems maybe like overkill.
I was thinking about the LA435 loader, BH70 backhoe, and RCK54 mix-mount mower. Not sure about what to use for breaking up soil, or for flail mower, or auger.
The problem(s) I am facing:

• I can't tell if I am looking at the right equipment and will regret the lower HP in the future. It seems like John Deere equivalent tractors have a lot more HP, but I am having trouble knowing if I am doing an apples to apples comparison. What are your thoughts?
• I can't tell if the pricing I am getting is good - I find it insane that I cannot find MSRP for any of the equipment or attachments! Because I have no information, I have no idea how to negotiate the price. Any pointers would be helpful - I'd like to reduce the information asymmetry so I can make better decisions and negotiate from a better position.
• Because there are no published MSRPs anywhere, I have no idea what the pricing difference is between the different models. I am asking the local dealer, and they are nice enough, but I always feel like I am getting answers to only the exact information I am asking for and no real context to help make the decision. i.e. I ask about pricing, and they send a quote that contains everything rather than broken up, and only for one model. So short of asking for every single model and every single implement individually, I feel like after 4 inquiries I am as in the dark as when I started.

Miscellaneous questions:

• Is a mid-mount mower going to do an equivalent job to a dedicated lawn tractor? The pricing I am getting indicates (though I am not 100% sure) that the price of a mid-mount mower is the same as buying a dedicated lawn tractor. Does that sound right? I would think the MMM would be a lot cheaper given how much less complicated it is than a standalone system.
• How can I determine if the backhoe is going to meet my needs or if I should eschew the backhoe altogether and just rent equipment when needed?
• What would you use for breaking up hard packed areas? The soil pulverizer? Moldboard plow? Scarifier? Anyways, thanks for paying attention to this point and any advice you have is greatly appreciated.

I set up JME for my 92yr old mom because Optimum stopped carrying Japanese tv. I set her up with a FireStick on one TV then on the other I created a short cut on her iPhone and wrote instructions on how to Press the full screen button, then press the Airplay button and select the “Bedroom TV” It had been working like a champ, then she called me today and said the full screen button is missing. I believe it’s a JME issue because I can replicate it on my personal iPhone and things like YouTube via Chrome has the full screen button, but when you try and play a video from JME via Cheome the full screen button is missing, and if you don’t go full screen there’s no Airplay option. Where’s the button???

My dad got his right leg amputated a couple of months ago and he just got his left one done last week too (both above knee). He's 63, overweight, and has a comical amount of other health issues (on dialysis, 3 heart valves, ex diabetic, GERD, there's a tube i think in his arm but im not sure what that's related to). My mom and I help him but shes pretty old as well (53) with an existing back injury and i'm 16f + pretty short so im not very strong either. With his one leg it was pretty easy to get him in and out of the car and he could even go to the bathroom alone, but ever since his other leg got cut off life has just been bleak.
I should mention that after his second leg amputation, he spent maybe a day or so in the hospital then immediately left without any physical therapy. He still refuses to get physical therapy even after my mom and I repeatedly beg him to as it would make all of our lives easier. He says its because he doesn't want his job to fire him (he is the sole breadwinner in the house, works remotely, yes i feel horrible that he goes through so much and still works to support us so im working on getting money myself) but I feel like its more than that. He's the type of person that doesn't want to need help, and he got into an argument with my mom at the hospital over her wanting him to do the 10 days in therapy which included him saying she "just wants to send him to the old person home."
Even though its hard for us to move him around, we mostly have no problem helping him all day everyday. I do schooling online to stay at home to help and my mom quit her job when he health started to deteriorate at a concerning rate. I mostly stay in the house anyway since I moved away from all my friends like 2 years ago and I don't want anything to happen if i were to leave. The problem is that every day its an argument that just ends in me and my mom crying. My dad isn't abusive at all but he's very argumentative, and isn't really considerate to the people that care for him, even talking down and yelling at the nurses that care for him in the hospital. I just don't know what to do anymore when everyday I wake up feeling disappointed that there's another day I have to get through when my eyes still sting from the day before. I know I'm not the one suffering the most when my dad literally has no legs, but I guess its just difficult.
Is there anything we should do to help him make do until he can get a prosthetic for his right leg? I think him having at least one prosthetic would make a world of difference, but i know that you need physical therapy to even learn how to walk on them (plus im guessing it takes a long time to get one). Since he refuses therapy/treatment so much would it be possible for the prosthetic to just be something for him to stand on when transferring to the bed or toilet? Or would he still need therapy to even learn how to do that?
Any advice would make me happy and thanks for listening to my sob story :D

I (27f) started working as a teacher in a new school. I have many responsibilities, one of which is yearbook advisor. There is another teacher at the school who often takes team photos and other photos for school events. They have a side business in photography. They charge for students to recieve their photos. Well I do something different. At my last school I took photos for prom for free and just sent digital copies to everyone. I suggested that I do this for my new school. I was told no because it will cut into this other teacher's business. Well a couple coaches found out I take photos and asked that I take their team photos. I told them due to my ethics (which I have always been told that it is unethical to make money off of photos for the school you work at) I take the photos for free, team, individual, whatever they would like. I later edit them and send everyone a folder with digital copies of all of the edited photos. Yes I knew this other teacher took photos. However these coaches came to me, and asked me todo so, without me offering first. The school already had me scheduled to take graduation photos anyways, so I did not think it was a big deal. Well this other teacher started emailing coaches as to why they are no longer using them (several have told me they do not like the way this person takes photos anyways). I am short and sweet with photos usually takes 30 minutes or less to take individual and team photos. The biggest team this year was 13 people. With 4 separate team photo groups. So AITA for taking photos for these teams?

Hello,
I have been living in Paris for 6 years, mainly in the 13th and 14th arrondissements. I am struggling to find a good barber. Every barber I have been to has been horrific - no symmetry, no experience, bad hairlines, poor styling, and so on. I even went on a three-year hair journey to avoid cutting my hair, but now that I'm back to short hair, I am still struggling to find a good barber. I would appreciate any help. This feels like a life or death situation 💀💀

I don't care where you're from. I don't mind if you come with kids. I just want the love to be there. I want good communication. 🥹 I just wanna find my person. It's OK if my person lives all the way in Sweden or whatever.
I don't want to be pregnant. I do not want to give birth. But I'm 1000% open to being a parent through bonus children or adoption. So, don't let that scare you away. Putting this out early to avoid disappointment.
Facts about moi:

• I work with smol humans for a living.
  • You don't have to WANT kids of your own. But, if you don't like kids...you're not for me.
• One of my favorite past-time activities is trying to put together legos high.
  • Listening to music high is also an experience (I do Delta since that’s what’s legal. If you’re anti-weed, then we aren’t a match. I don’t do it allll the time. I’m too broke for that life).
    • Seriously, doesn't music sound different when you're high?
• Green Day was one of my favorite bands. I’ve been listening to them since I was 10!
  • The obsession was real. My ten-year-old self had a binder about the members with all the facts and pictures of Billie (Yes, I was a weird child)
  • Now my obsession is more towards bands like AVOID, Dayseeker, The Used, etc. I'll listen to the same songs over and over until I can't stand it. I even have a Playlist for that.
  • I love going to concerts. So, it'd be cool if you liked them too.
• I love love love traveling.
  • Please don’t be a giant grouch on vacations. Coworkers complain about their spouse being a shitbird on trips. No thanks.
  • I also like staying in, of course! But I’m not a homebody. I struggled during the COVID shutdown. Being cooped up SUCKED. I do not want to beg you to get out of the house. Again, I am NOT a homebody.
• I have a spicy brain.
  • I’m super duper ADHD. Fun times! I’m also like an anxious puppy. Woop woop.
  • The most organized thing in my life is this list
• The Office and Parks and Rec are two of my favorite shows. I also like Bob’s Burgers and Avatar The Last Airbender.
  • I don't watch a whole lot of TV, honestly.
• I talk to myself out loud in public.
  • I promise I'm only a little crazy.

Why you should date me:

• We can listen to emo bands together whenever you want
  • Emo music can mean many things and I’m OK with that.
• You won’t get food poisoning from my cooking
  • I can make more than Hamburger Helper and frozen pizzas. Though, the ranch burger hamburger helper is my fave.
  • The velveeta skillets are better, though.
• I’m suuuper short. So, if you’re insecure about your height, I gotchu. I’ll make you feel tall..or taller!
  • I don’t care about height and it makes me sad that people feel insecure about something they can’t change.
  • I’m a great small spoon…but I guess if you REALLY insist, I can be a jetpack. Buuuuutttt it isn't my first choice.

I (25M) have been raising my niece since she was 1 year old. Her parents, my sister and her boyfriend, went to jail for drug abuse, and I stepped in to take care of her. Over the years, I've grown incredibly close to her, and she sees me as her dad.
Recently, my sister was released from prison and expressed a desire to regain custody of my niece. My parents are supporting her, arguing that my niece belongs with her biological mother. They acknowledge the mistakes my sister made but believe she deserves a second chance to be a mother.
However, I have serious concerns about my sister's ability to provide a stable environment for my niece. She has only been out of prison for a short time, and while she claims to be clean and ready to be a parent again, I’m worried about the potential for relapse and the impact on my niece.
My parents have been relentless in their pressure, constantly calling, texting, and showing up at my place to argue their point. They accuse me of being selfish and holding onto my niece out of spite. The stress and conflict became unbearable, and I felt like they were not considering my niece's best interests, just my sister’s wishes.
In response, I decided to block my parents’ numbers and social media accounts to create some space and peace for myself and my niece. Since then, they’ve been reaching out through mutual friends, accusing me of cutting them off and keeping my niece from her family. They’re making me feel guilty for wanting to maintain the stable, loving environment my niece has known for the past six years.
AITA for blocking my parents and refusing to give up custody of my niece?

I am sorry for another GPA explanation SOP post, but I could use some advice.
I have a very mentally ill parent that resulted in our home environment being very abusive and traumatic and this had a big impact on me growing up and the first two years of university when I was living in and out of home (due to financial difficulty I struggled to afford rent on my own). My first two years of university are TRASH. I mean fail, withdrawal, absent fail etc. I'm a first-gen student and had no idea how to seek help. I have been in therapy for years and I'm very happy and functional now. I turned it around, got almost straight As in my final two years, then got into medical school, now I'm on leave from my MD program (in Australia) to do an MSc in Biomedical Data Science in the US and appy to PhDs as I realized I wanted to focus on basic research not clinical in MS1.
Here are my credentials. I'm applying to bioengineering and neuroscience PhD programs with a very detailed list of labs highly aligned to my interests in cities where I want to live and where my long-term partner can work (Stanford, UCSF, UCB, Yale, Mt Sinai, Columbia, MIT, European Molecular Biology Laboratory).
Grades:
CGPA (including MSc first-year coursework): 3.25
Final Two Years of Undergrad: 3.85
Major GPA: 3.88
Masters GPA: 4.0
Education:
BSc in Genetics from top Australian university
Completed MS1 of MD and going to withdraw in good academic standing (Pass/Fail School) from top Australian university
MSc in Biomedical Data Science from US T10 school
Research Experience:
2 months functional genomics research in undergrad cut short by pandemic lockdown (~15 h/w)
1 year synthetic biology/genetic engineering research in undergrad (~20 h/w)
1 year in-vivo and in-vitro neuro-epigenetics/neural stem cell research during MS1 (~20 h/w)
1 year bioinformatics/computational biology research for master's thesis (~30 h/w)
Publications/Presentations:

• 1 mid-author neuroscience publication in high impact journal
  
• 1 synthetic biology conference presentation in undergrad
  
• Preparing paper submission and conference poster resulting from master's thesis
  

Additional Relevant CV Items:

• I co-founded a biomedical machine learning startup and successfully raised a seed round from VC funds in the Bay Area (leaving this due to wanting to pursue more technical depth in bioengineering)
  
• Worked as a science and technology communications adviser for government (managed investment announcements in bio research)
  
• Received US-based scholarship to study MSc
  

Letters of Recommendation:

• 2 quite strong recommendations from PIs from MS1 (PIs sent to me for input and there is lots of focus on my passion/drive, ability to identify road-blocks and postulate soutions, work ethic etc)
  
• Hopefully strong recommendation from US Masters supervisor PI
  
• Can get a rec from Masters prof who I will be TA'ing for (got 100% in his class)
  

I am just so nervous about my early years ruining my chances to get into a program I really want when I have been busting my ass every minute since I figured out how to get help, especially as an international student. I also have an autoimmune disease that was only recently diagnosed and ADHD diagnosed when I was 21, but I don't want to trauma-dump and include every little reason.

Been playing for 2-3 years now. I've settled in with a traditional penhold grip with the back 3 fingers curled and on top of each other like a stack. Only the middle finger is touching the back rubber. The majority of my middle finger is resting on the paddle, not just the tip of it. I play using the black side which has short pips (DHS 651). The red side which my back 3 fingers are resting on is very smooth. (DHS 6512). The blade is also from DHS. I don't actually know the name of the blade cos it came from ebay some time ago. It's got the number 1007 written in black on the end of the handle. The paddle is also rather heavy compared to other paddles i've used. questions:

1. Should i try using RPB grip like the one Felix Lebrun uses? https://www.reddit.com/tabletennis/comments/1cxb4gu/lebrun_penhold_grip_is_the_future/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
   
2. What playing style are is my paddle for? Offensive? Defensive?
   

I’ll start of my assuring you that this is NOT a troll post, it’s a genuine issue that I have, please don’t make fun of me, I’m already ashamed having to ask this (ok, you can make fun as long as you help). I’m in my mid thirties and I’ve never in my life used a hair conditioner - I’ve never thought I needed it, I just have naturally strong hair that I keep quite short (think buzz cut, letting it grow ~ until it covers the back of my neck, rinse and repeat) and I’ve always kept my skin- and hair-care pretty basic, but ever since I got into Lush I’ve been slowly expanding my routine so now I‘d like to try a conditioner and see if it makes my hair look any better.
I went to a store and got a couple samples (Super Milk, Happy Happy Joy Joy and Retread - all the employee‘s picks, I’ve basically just said I’ve never used one but would like to start and she gave me these to try out after looking at my hair, she said they’re good general-purpose ones). Only later did I realise I didn’t ask how to use them and the website descriptions are not exactly helpful - for all 3 it says basically something to the extent of “use it to condition your hair”.
Literally all I know about hair conditioners is that there are 2 types - to rinse off like a shampoo and to put on and leave it be. How do I use these ones? Do I rinse them off (immediately or after X minutes?), do I leave them on (how long? till morning? till next time I wash my hair?), is there anything else I need to do before or after besides washing my hair with shampoo first? Also, are these good picks or would something else be better? How will I know if they’re working?
Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Hi electricians, I recently bought an older home (built in 1925) that had a fair amount of electrical work done (new circuits in kitchen, mini splits added, new 100 amp panel). Unfortunately it is still on 100 amp service. Shortly after moving in, I was setting up an air mattress with my partner when we noticed the lights flickering when we ran the air mattress pumps, figured it was to be expected since we were running two pumps at the same time on the same circuit. Most of the house is romex, but theoretically there may be some knob and tube in the bedrooms (plaster walls, these seem to be untouched). The whole house is electric everything, there's no gas. Mini splits, heat pump and all electric appliances.
However shortly after that I was shredding some documents (8 page shredder is listed here) in my office when I noticed that the lights upstairs were also flickering on the same ceiling fans (there's like 5 of the same fans through the house). I went downstairs to a different circuit and had the same result. It only appears to mess with the fans, but honestly it's hard to tell since those fans are the only overhead lights in most of the rooms. I just ran a final test where I plugged the shredder directly into the outlet under my breaker panel in the basement (this was where my electrician suggested I plug in the dehumidifier I just bought, dehumidifier was off when I tested the shredder) and had the same issues with the fan light upstairs cutting out.
I'm in the process of getting estimates for a 200 amp upgrade and I had the electrician that did most of the work on the house prior to my purchase come out and he agreed that 1. 100 amps is too little for this home (and that he desperately tried to get the previous owner to do 200 amps) and 2. that it is "difficult" to diagnose "lights are flickering under load". He said it could be the phases (?) or that the lights are just particularly sensitive. Unrelated to it being under load, I did notice at least one instance of sunny weather flickering on the fan in the bedroom. The electrician said upgrading *may* fix the issue, but it might not.
I have a few concerns, but the biggest one being, is this safe? Also should I stop using the shredder / air mattress pumps? Should I contact my power company to check my service neutral? Kind of at a loss on what to do outside of spending a ton of money on having electricians come out.
Apologies in advance if some of this seems silly, new homeowner and I've already run into some interesting issues with this house.
Video Link of issue (Imgur)
Tldr; Ceiling fans lose power for a second or two while using shredder anywhere in house on different circuits

Tuesday, May 21 Good morning! Today's Morning Brief is all about strategists revising their 2024 year-end predictions. Nasdaq record highs: The Nasdaq rose 0.65% to a record close as the S&P 500 gained 0.1% Monday. The week's optimism came on the back of a few revised S&P 500 year-end calls (see both today's Takeaway and the Chart of the Day!). ‌
JPMorgan's succession story: JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon noted that his retirement was both closer than "five years away," his standard stock answer over the years, and that a succession plan was "well on the way." Talk of the CEO's departure moved the stock down 4.5%, despite the bank's good news: It revised its 2024 revenue expectations higher due to two potential rate cuts. The cuts would increase its net interest margin, a key banking metric marking the difference between what banks pay for deposits and what they make from them. ‌ Microsoft's new vision for AI: Microsoft announced its "Copilot+ PCs" on Monday, giving the world a look at how the most valuable company in the world plans to integrate its AI capabilities into consumer computers — capabilities that it hopes will reignite the PC market. Using specialized chips on the devices (no need for cloud processing), the ChatGPT-4o-based system assists users by seeing and analyzing what's already on the screen, integrating a key communication step. The software will be on Surface tablets as well as PCs from the usual suspects: Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Samsung. The stock rose 1.2% Monday. ‌ 'A good position to hold steady': Monday's round of Fedspeak had Fed Vice Chair Philip Jefferson and Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr concurring with a suite of their peers who have reiterated their wait-and-see approach to rates. One month of encouraging data isn't enough for them, and as Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week, three months might be better. ‌
Rising metal prices: Gold and copper hit records Monday as silver hit a 12-year high. Gold has been on a roll of late thanks to demand from central banks and potential Fed rate cuts. And copper, as a non-precious metal, has seen its value spike due to higher demand from machinery and wiring applications. Another picks-and-shovels AI trade, perhaps. What we're watching Morning Brief is written and edited by Ethan Wolff-Mann. For the web version, click here. Follow all the action throughout the day on Yahoo Finance and on the Yahoo Finance app.
Taylor Swift's economic boost is traveling from the US to Europe. ‌ Amid uncertainty around Social Security, here's what financial advisers are telling clients. ‌ Audi furthers EV push into China with new platform agreement.‌ Housing experts revise mortgage rate forecasts for remainder of 2024. ‌ Secondhand Rolex sales surge in 'underdeveloped' US market. ‌ Wall Street's biggest bear flips, raises S&P 500 price target by 20%. What we're reading
Today's Takeaway is by Myles Udland, Head of News. ‌ One of the most notable bears on Wall Street finally flipped this week. Morgan Stanley's Mike Wilson raised his price target for the S&P 500 over the next 12 months to 5,400 from 4,500, a 20% jump amid a market Wilson sees defined by "higher than normal uncertainty." Josh Schafer has more on Wilson's call here. ‌ And in his report, Wilson included a chart that serves as a note of caution to stock market bulls looking for lower rates to power the next leg of this rally. ‌ "[There] is a wide array of return outcomes across history following the start of the cutting cycle," Wilson wrote. ‌ "In many ways, this analysis encapsulates our outlook well — a balanced risk/reward profile in the average/base line view, but the potential for a wide array of scenarios to play out. Once again, get ready for some notable swings in sentiment, positioning and prices."
Interest rate cuts have a complicated history with the stock market The S&P 500's average annual return is around 10%, making the 12-month returns that follow rate cuts, on average, well below this bogey. And with the exceptions of 1974, 1989, and 2019, year-ahead returns for the S&P 500 after rate cuts have typically been well outside this historical average both high and low. ‌ All else equal, lower interest rates benefit riskier assets like stocks, bringing down the return hurdle that makes stocks preferable to something like fixed income. ‌ What Wilson's data reminds us, however, is that rate cuts aren't something the Federal Reserve typically does "just because." ‌ Even the winning years in Wilson's chart are reminders of precarious moments in financial market history — the 1994 bond market crash gave rise to James Carville's famous complaints about "bond vigilantes," and 1998's emerging market crisis and collapse of LTCM forced the Fed to take drastic action to save a single hedge fund. ‌
Go back 18 months and Wall Street expected a recession to prompt rate cuts. Today, the Fed is looking for "greater confidence that inflation is moving down sustainably toward 2%" as the catalyst to lower rates. ‌ Last year's view on rate cuts was in line with history: A negative shock prompts the Fed to move. The current view is anomalous. ‌ Though as Wilson notes, in the current market, what else would you expect? ‌ "The last couple of months have been a microcosm in this respect as economic growth data have once again cooled after a period of strength, while inflation data have been bumpy," Wilson wrote. ‌ "In short, macro outcomes have become increasingly hard to predict as data have become more volatile. We see this environment persisting." The Wall Street consensus for the S&P 500 has been shifting, with three strategists boosting their outlook for the benchmark index. Let's round up the latest changes. ‌ ‌ ‌
Chart of the day BMO Capital Market's chief investment strategist Brian Belski boosted his year-end target to 5,600 from 5,100, noting that momentum in the market is "likely to persist." On Friday, Deutsche Bank chief equity strategist Binky Chadha boosted his year-end target for the benchmark to 5,500 from 5,100, noting robust earnings growth and an improving macroeconomic consensus. Then, on Sunday, one of the biggest bears on Wall Street over the past year joined the crowd. Morgan Stanley chief investment officer Mike Wilson now sees the S&P 500 hitting 5,400 in the next 12 months, up from his prior call that the index would fall to 4,500, driven by solid earnings growth.
As Myles writes in the Takeaway, there are notes of caution in Wilson's "bullish" call. Macro consensus has become "increasingly hard to predict" in the current environment, with the market shifting back and forth between a "soft landing" and "no landing" base case. Investors, he wrote, should be "ready for more rotations." ‌ But as our chart of the day shows, with Wilson no longer calling for a market decline, few on Wall Street see any further "rotations" sending stocks sinking to end the year. ‌ And to JPMorgan ... we are waiting patiently. ‌ — Josh Schafer, Markets Reporter

This is obviously not a blanket question for all women’s clothing, however my issue is with specifically women’s dress. Ladies please help me feel better about this. My wife is a mid 30s mother of 2, I love her dearly, she is an incredible women and an amazing mother. She also is a conservative dresser. She never wears tight fitting provocative, low cut, short skirts none of that. What she does wear a lot are these like mid length and long dresses. You would think these would do great at covering things up but I am Constantly and consistently seeing her underwear. As a mom you are constantly bending down tending to your kids needs, in these flowy mid length dresses, a full bend over is enough to see completely up her dress. When she bends over in the long dress you can see absolutely everything she is wearing or not wearing under her dress if you look down the blouse from the top. I as her husband love it in our house but I know she just wore that out all day. She’s obviously not trying to show people any of that but I know it happens. Here’s the thing, men look, and when they see that, the keep looking and hope it happens again. I have brought it up to her enough times to wear it absolutely infuriates her if I ever bring it up. When I have spoken to her about it Her responses are typically along the lines of, “nobody is looking “ or “I’m a grown woman leave my underwear and clothing up to me” It just happened again at home and since I can’t talk to her about it here I am. Any advice on how I should feel about it or what I can do about it?

Hello, i am flying to argentina for some wisdom teeth removal and couple root canals. I am scheduled to for surgery on Tuesday and i fly back on Thursday morning. Would i experience any discomfort or dry socket flying 2 days after surgery? Its a 9hr flight and im scared im cutting it short. Will i be ok?

My BF and I are in a LDR, and yes I'm on my throwaway. When we are able to see each other it is only for a few days. I have 3 elementary school aged kids and he has 1 toddler, we both share 50/50 with our ex's, and have our kids opposite weekends, so that is how we work it. I also have pets and a small business so driving to him is sometimes much harder. He usually comes here. We live 8 hours apart from each other. Anyway, this weekend is our anniversary weekend. He was suppose to be here from Thurs-Mon morning because he has to get his son from the babysitter at 4pm on Monday. He tells me today that the babysitter has asked for Monday off. Whenever the babysitter is sick, needs a day off, or something happens - like car troubles, it's always left up to him to pick up his son and figure the day out, his schedule is more flexible, but sometimes he feels like he is being taken advantage of because he always picks up the extra slack without any concern for his time or schedule - which is true. Anyway, that is beside the point. So, babysitter says she wants Monday off, and of course it is up to him to figure something out for that day. He says fine. He tells me he'll have to leave Sunday now instead of Monday morning. This hurts and upsets me because 1 - we don't have much time together as it is, 3 days every 2-3 months. This is my first LDR and lately I've been struggling a bit with how lonesome it can sometimes get. Anway, I personally think he should tell the babysitter who is suppose to watch the child M-F 7-4pm and is paid for those days....sorry, I can't, I have plans, you'll need to watch him as scheduled. But he tries "to keep the peace" with his BM and to do this he just says yes to whatever is needed of him. I tell him that I'm hurt by this because I feel as if though our time is being put off because he is making sure everyone else is not inconvenienced in any way and the babysitter gets this day off that she now wants. But what about our time? I just feel like my feelings are not taken into consideration at all when stuff like this happens because he is too busy "keeping the peace" and catering to others so that others do not get upset with him (his BM and family). He tells me I'm just focusing on the negative, I'm not even taking into consideration that he is driving 8 hours here so we can spend time together and since I am just focusing on the negative that makes him feel defeated and hurt. I tell him I'm not trying to focus on the negative, but this kind of stuff hurts. It feels as if though he always tip toes around others feelings and forgetting about mine while doing that. It's like a few months ago when I told him it's kind of hurtful that we are not connected on social media at all - and for the record we were "friends" on FB for a short period but I deleted him because I didn't want to feel like I couldn't post anything or had to be careful with anything I did on social media in order not to hurt anyones feelings. He says he doesn't want to shove our relationship in anyone's face and once again - trying to keep the peace with his BM. But here my feelings are once again just kind of left out there hanging. So, AITAH here??? Am I being too damn sensitive about him having to now leave early so babysitter can have day off and it is left up to him to figure that whole thing out? Like I get the whole working with the other parent and kids...but I would 100% in this case tell my babysitter that they cannot have the day off, and I would also make sure if things were happening like this, that my BD was also making sacrafices in his schedule and life, and it wasn't just me all of the time. But who knows maybe I'm just an AH.