My config
Creality CR-10 v1
raspberry pi 5 SKR mini 3 v3 SKR tft touchscreen Currently using an old volcano hotend. no idea on what version but could be a 1.0 Looking to add a BL touch Brand new in the box Raspberry Pi 5 I REALLY wish there was a way to just connect it to the PC as it might make it easier. As it is, I need to get new cables for the 7 inch screen I picked up as well.
Some background on me. I used to have a lot of computer and electronic skills but thanks to some brain damage about 2 years ago, most of that knowledge and skillset is gone. This swap from the stock CR10 to the new board and screen is the biggest project I've tried since then. I'm struggling with the physical installation but think I'm getting closer.It might actually be done as I tested powerup and it seemed to work, but says no printer attached. The case fans also don't seem to work so I'm not sure if its a wiring issue or something else. I know NOTHING about Raspberry Pi, SSH, programming, etc. but I was able to get the OS loaded
My goals.

1. Get the SKR updated with current firmware and anything else I need. Keep in mind that I plan on adding a BL Touch which I have.
2. Successfully print.

Future considerations.

1. Replace the hot end with a direct drive extruder. Recommendations are welcome.
2. Anything else people can recommend. I have the parts for frame support but install is waiting until I get the SKR to work.

hey guys, just recently downloaded arch, now sometimes my login-page just doesn't load when i logout with the hotkey for that. When i just close my laptop and it goes back from hibernating it never loads, what could be the case?

I began with a Glock 17, then moved on to a CZ P01. I heard that a metal gun would be better for home defense in case I had to shoot with one hand and the Glock might jam. I recently purchased the Dan Wesson PM7, which I really like and appreciate its accuracy. Now, I'm looking for another 9mm pistol for target shooting. I considered the VP9L, but someone mentioned that its trigger isn't great. I also thought about waiting for the P320 X5 Legion, but I don't want to pay the 'evil tax'. Alternatively, I could go with the P226 Extreme, which has an SRT, or the PDP, which might be available next year and has received a lot of positive reviews. your recommendation?

Regarding: LENOVO LEGION Y540 / Legion Y540-17IRH Laptop
Dear all,
I have tried literally everything I can think of to get my tpm.msc to recgonize a security chip with no resolve.
I will mention them in this text just in case it could help anyone: Adding tpm 2.0 in device manager through legacy hardware, enabling IPTT and secure boot in BIOS, resetting factory settings in BIOS. Double check security boot was enabled and correct, installed whynotwin11 to see if tpm 2.0 was recognized. Updating drivers, scanning drivers, install BypassTPMCheck, Change "Boot Mode" to "UEFI.
Is there anything else I can try or is it safe to say it is a motherboard issue?
Thanks in advance!

Ever-shifting Short Seller Claims

The short sellers attacking RILY in 2023-2024 have been relentless (currently 57% of float sold short per FinViz), with an ever-shifting list of wild accusations.
It's sickening to watch them compile a never-ending list of baseless wild theories and claims to support their short positions, which are demonstrably false. But as each is proved false, they pivot to new claims, and/or change the goalposts.
The sheer volume of shifting claims makes it hard to track how despotic they are with their "platform," and how many falsehoods they've spun. Even for someone who watched it in real-time, for almost a year

Compiled & Debunked

Sunlight kills vampires. To that end, I've compiled a list of (i) claimants (ii) claims (iii) reality (iv) definitive source proving reality.

Why Did They Target RILY?

One of the most vocal short sellers, Nate Koppikar (who also introduced Marc Cohodes to the "opportunity") has a fund Orso Partners. Based on their SEC registration document, this is their investment thesis:
"The Account’s investment objectives are to achieve capital appreciation primarily by identifying and selling short marketable equity securities of underfollowed and complex companies with misleading or corrective disclosures through a research-intensive process. The Account employs a short-biased investment strategy with an emphasis on primarily small to mid-cap companies that are underfollowed and complex (i.e., companies with market capitalizations of less than $5 billion which the market does not yet have a wellformed bull and/or bear perspective)."
RILY fits their description. The icing on the cake was the relatively large market cap, and the relatively small float. Given extremely high insider ownership (32.9% of shares per the proxy), and limitations on when and how insiders can trade, the "free float" of the stock (i.e., the shares that regularly trade) is very small for the size of the company. Moreover, the setup would only get better - given insiders have consistently used their free cash to buy additional shares hand-over-fist (further reducing the float).
That meant, with relatively small amounts of capital, the short sellers could shove around the stock price. That ability to move price opens another profit avenue - taking large derivative positions (buying puts, and selling calls), and shoving the price (or allowing it to drift up) to profit all along the way. It looked so good, the stock has been the highest-shorted on the US indices for several months. Even after the release of the 10-K, shares remain "hard to borrow" with elevated borrow fees.

Debunked Claims

The claims made by vocal short sellers could fill a book. Most were outrageous and fanciful when they were proposed. Virtually all have objectively debunked. This isn't a comprehensive list, as their claims are too numerous and varied. But it paints an illuminating picture.
With a track record this poor, one would expect the short sellers to exit - rather than continuing to spin new narratives. Perhaps the continued attacks are their exit strategy to avoid bankruptcy... Well, #Bullish.
With the highest short interest of all US stocks (albeit likely decreased from the highs of ~76% of the float), I think this is more than ripe for a return to fair value - or well above, if a short squeeze occurs.
Note: this sub disallows image posts. There is a similar post in the RILYStock sub which contains virtually all source images for the claim in the comments (too many images to embed in the post). The source images are illuminating.
Note that the list below deliberately excludes three types of posts/claims from the short sellers:
A) Juvenile personal attacks and attempts to character assassinate and dox a long list of people (RILY CEO, RILY new hires, RILY clients, Marcum the auditor, Marcum's lead audit professional, any firm or individual publicly posting a bull thesis on RILY, etc.).
B) Those that make no objective claims, but simply exist as a product of malicious degeneracy (like pictures of roasted pigs in ovens labeled Bryant Riley the CEO, photoshopped pictures of the CEO in prison chains next to convicted felons, video of an obese woman barely able to walk being gored by a bull labeled Mrs. Riley the CEO's wife, etc.).
C) Those that are impossible for short sellers to know, and impossible to objectively verify (e.g., Marc Cohodes claiming a single RILY trader front runs the CEOs personal short trades in front of clients taking following the firm's bullish advice on those stocks, to guarantee profits).

Claimant	Claim	Reality
1) Wolfpack	Wolfpack “RILY will record investment losses of up to ~$700 million in 2023” FALSE 10-K	FALSE
2) Wolfpack	“new loan to CORZQ will work out just as badly as the last and end in default (again) before June 2023”	Repaid in fullFALSE , early, on 1/6/2024.
3) Wolfpack	“The coupon rate on RILY’s seven issues of baby bonds ranges from 5% to 6.75%, which we believe to be far too low to compensate investors for the existential risk that accompanies these securities.”	Full redemption FALSE of May 2024 came early. Far more than sufficient cash to cover debt payments.
4) Wolfpack	“According to our analysis, 4 of RILY’s largest 7 corporate borrowers with outstanding loan balances of $295.3 million are at a high risk of default, or in the case of CORZQ, is already in default.”	Core Scientific IncExela Technologies Arena Group Holdings FALSE a. . repaid early and in full ($111MM of the “risk”) b. repaid term loan in full ($55.8MM of the “risk”) c. debt retired in full ($99MM of the “risk”). Publicly disclosed in the most recent 10-K for each company (search for "Riley" in the filing)
5) Wolfpack	“RILY’s NAV is Far Below the $1.1 Billion Minimum NAV Requirement That Is Required for the Nomura Credit Agreement Putting RILY at Risk of Collapse in 2023”	is in full compliance FALSE RILY with the Nomura credit agreement. Moreover, reflecting the strength of the relationship, Nomura even granted a no-fee extension when the 10-K filing was delayed. Also see 10-K for current status.
6) Wolfpack	“Over $200 Million of the Goodwill and Intangible Assets on RILY’s Balance Sheet is Attributable to its Telecom Rollup, which is Centered on Dial-up and DSL Internet:” - criticizing them as dying businesses with no value	extremely valuableFALSE Segment is . From just 2020 to 2023, the communications segment has returned over $212.2MM in adjusted EBITDA.
7) Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear) + Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Various	RILY committed fraud with loans and closing the FRG acquisition. "The fact $RILY closed the FRG deal while hiding the Kahn loan - an all PIK defaulted loan backed by $FRG shares - is a Hall of Fame worthy act of fraud. I thought after Enron/Sarbox we couldn't have something like this happen in US markets."	FALSE A law firm led an internal investigation, and an independent external investigation both found “The review confirmed what the Company previously disclosed: that the Company and its executives, including Bryant Riley, had no involvement with, or knowledge of, any of the alleged misconduct concerning Prophecy.” “The results of the independent investigation confirmed that the Company and its executives had no involvement with, or knowledge of, any of the alleged misconduct concerning Mr. Kahn or any of his affiliates. This independent investigation was conducted subsequent to the Company's February 22, 2024 disclosure of the internal review performed with the assistance of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP as outside counsel.” Also see 10-K
8) Marc Cohodes (AlderlaneEggs), ParrotCapital, Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Various	The 10-K will never be filed. They can't produce audited financials.	Audited 10-K FALSE was filed. Delay was due to Audit committee fulfilling its responsibilities and proactively conducting investigations (internal and external).
9) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs) + Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear) + Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate) + ParrotCapital	Sullivan and Cromwell knew about Massive Fraud, and did a "sham investigation"	Sullivan and Cromwell FALSE is one of the most respected law firms, in the US and worldwide. "Sullivan & Cromwell continues to lead all law firm advisers in announced and completed global deals in 2023, according to Bloomberg and LSEG. The Firm advised on global announced deals totaling more than $345 billion, representing a 12.1 percent market share, per Bloomberg, and on completed global deals totaling more than $431 billion, representing a 16.9 percent market share, per LSEG." They're not compromising themselves for a relatively small client.
10) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs), Nate Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear), Bill Abbate Jr. (JrAbbate), Parrot Capital	Marcum is enabling Massive Fraud	MarcumFALSE is a respected audit firm, and 13th largest by revenue. "Marcum LLP advanced into the Top 15 in the 2023 Vault Accounting list of top-ranked accounting firms. Marcum climbed six levels to the No. 13 ranking overall and earned a ranking of 14 in prestige. The Firm also won Top 20 rankings across all Practice Area, Quality of Life, and Diversity categories, including several new classifications added this year."
11) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	Nomura is enabling Massive Fraud	NomuraFALSE is a global financial services company, and the oldest brokerage firm in Japan. They operate in a highly regulated industry. They're not putting themselves on the line for a relatively small client.
12) Parrot Capital	"The list of $RILY enablers is massive: Marcum LLP, Sullivan and Cromwell, Seeking Alpha, Holbrook Holdings, $AX Axos Bank, Many, many more."	FALSE There's no global conspiracy whereby these companies - all respected law firms, auditors, banks, and media outlets - are collectively colluding to enable RILY to commit fraud. Requires only two brain cells and one functioning synapse to know there's no grand collusion cabal between these disparate companies.
13) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs), Jonathan Weil at WSJ	Franchise Group shares used to secure Kahn loan: "It is unclear whether Kahn pledged the same shares twice—to both Prophecy and B. Riley."	stated by the company UCC search FALSE As , Simple disproves this. UCC # 202302295747
14) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	“Bryant Riley is on the Road, telling people the ‘audit partner at Marcum left’ and that ‘I have made mistakes’ “	hit the 5yr SEC ruleFALSE Marcum audit partner was working on the audit the whole time; the original audit partner had , so he was never working on this year’s audit.
15) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	"So it turns out James La Rocca was Fired by MarcumLLP If nothing was wrong with prior $RILY Audits, why is he gone? This will be great in discovery of what exactly went on.	hit the 5yr SEC ruleFALSE Marcum audit partner was working on the audit the whole time; the original audit partner had , so he was never working on this year’s audit.
16) Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear)	“So Bryant Riley did disseminate MNPI back in March” in response to Cohodes claim that he told people the Marcum partner left	5 consecutive yearsFALSE Cohodes claimed Bryant Riley was telling people the Marcum auditor left. Koppikar called that disseminating MNPI. Cohodes statement was false (and thus Koppikar's derivate claim is also false). A different auditor worked on RILY, as Marcum follows the SEC rules; the lead auditor can only serve the client for . As such, Koppikar’s derivative claim of disseminating MNPI is false.
17) Koppikar (TheFriendlyBear)	“He appears to still not be familiar with the voting interest model of consolidation… why is a life science and tech partner signing an extremely complex investment company / broker dealer audit ???” i.e., auditor is unqualified	Marcum is a highly respected auditorFALSE The auditor is fully qualified. ; they don't hire unqualified people, or assign them to clients they're unqualified to audit. RILY is continuing to use Marcum as the 2024 auditor.
18) Marc Cohodes (AlderLaneEggs)	"Now that the $RILY dividend is going away, this omission is serious stuff"	reduced 24Q1FALSE The dividend did not go away. It was from $1.00/share to $0.50/share, to allow them to opportunistically allocate capital. 23Q4 and

There are too many source images for the claims above to embed in a reddit post, and this sub doesn't allow images in comments. Images can be seen on a version of this posted to a sub that discusses RILY in the comments (~55 images). All claims can be sourced on the various social media venues and websites utilized by the short sellers. Other sources include: https://wolfpackresearch.com/research/rily/ and here https://friendlybearresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/RILY-Analyst-Day-Questions-12_11_13-Final.pdf and https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2cpgaejc45gocvoqb1ngg/corner-office/how-b-riley-garnered-the-biggest-short-interest-of-2023 and https://www.wsj.com/finance/how-an-unremarkable-deal-became-a-big-threat-to-a-small-investment-bank-f819a169 . https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/304196 form ADV. This is not financial advice. All claim summarizations reflect my interpretation of the short seller claims, and should be verified against original sources, along with all counters.

,,To the angel of the church of Ephesus write: Thus says He who holds the seven stars in his right hand, and who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks: I know your works, and your labor, and your patience, and that you cannot bear evil, and you have tried those who they say they are apostles, but they are not, and you have found them false; And you endured a lot, and you have patience, and for my name you worked hard, and you did not stop. "
Rev. 2:1-3
Here, in the second chapter, we have the revelation of Jesus that John wrote to the church of Ephesus. Ephesus is a city that was driven to idolatry and the glorification of false gods, and the symbolic meaning of saying Ephesus is "desired".
"Write to the angel of the church of Ephesus" this angel is the preacher of the church in Ephesus and we have seen that before, otherwise the meaning of the word angel in Greek is herald and that is in fact the purpose of preaching "the announcement of news or revelations" that arrived as we have seen in the first chapter from the Lord Jesus Himself.
Based on the record, "The secret of the seven stars that you saw on my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches; and the seven lampstands which you saw are seven churches."
Rev. 1:20
we can say that this was an encouragement to the preacher in the church in Ephesus and to all the other preachers who preached the revelation of Jesus Christ, the Revelation sent through John. The same is the case with the preachers today and this is an encouragement to them because they are proclaiming the word of God and not their own science and exactly that's why Jesus addresses everyone and says that he holds them in the right hand of his power and authority, "Thus speaks the One who holds the seven stars in his right hand"
This speaks of the great importance of preachers who should convey the revelations of God recorded in the Bible and that is why they are called "stars" and the church is called "golden luminary".
,,and what walks in the middle of the seven golden candlesticks: "Since Ephesus was under the influence of false gods, the preacher and the church to which Jesus addresses should be of good material, and Jesus himself is in the middle of the church and He knows what is happening because He sees everything and everything knows.
The "seven golden candlesticks" say that Jesus spoke to seven addresses, and here we are talking about seven churches, and sent to the churches that are in Asia: to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea"
Rev. 1:11
These were local churches that functioned independently of each other but were united in the love of Jesus Christ and each had its own preacher and the head was the Lord Jesus:
,,...and Christ is the head of the church, and he is the savior of the body."
Eph. 5:23
At the center of those churches was the Lord Jesus and even today it should be the Lord Jesus Christ and not a man because the Lord is the savior, it says:
"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."
Matt. 18:20
"I know your works" clearly says that Jesus knows what is happening in the church and, of course, what the preacher and church members are doing because it further says, "I know your works and your labor". The members of the church in Ephesus worked hard and tried to would do something for the Lord. In addition to the work they had and the effort, another quality of the members is mentioned here, and your patience". Although they lived in difficult and dangerous times, the church in Ephesus was patient and resisted the pressures that were definitely there lived differently from other Jews and did not want to continue living the way they were probably recommended by the rabbis and tradition, but lived according to the new higher standards of Jesus Christ, and that bothered the religious leaders a lot,, And you endured a lot, and you have patience, and for my sake you labored, and you did not stop."
We further read that false apostles came to them with their teachings, but they did not receive them before checking and when they saw that they were bringing another doctrine, they did not receive them into their church, and that you cannot bear the wicked, and you tried those who say that they are apostles, but they weren't and you found them false". And they could recognize them because they were true believers, they knew what it means to be a disciple of Jesus who works for the Lord. It is written about them:
"And this was known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear entered all of them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was glorified. And many of those who believed came and confessed and told what they had done. And many of those who cast spells, gathered their books and burned them in front of everyone; and they calculated and found that they were worth fifty thousand groschi. Thus the word of the Lord grew healthily and prevailed."
Acts 19:17-20
The apostle Paul warned about false apostles, but it was necessary for the church in Ephesus to know God's word well in order to recognize the real ones from the false apostles. Paul warns:
"Take care, then, of yourselves and of all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has appointed you bishops to shepherd the church of the Lord and God, which he acquired with his own blood; For I know this that after my departure grievous wolves will enter among you who will not spare the flock; And among yourselves there will be men who will speak perverse doctrine to turn away the disciples after themselves."
Acts 20:28-30
And the apostle John writes about this:
"Kind! Do not believe every spirit, but try the spirits to see if they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world."
1 John 4:1
And we read about who those false prophets were in the sixth verse.. But this is what you have that you hate the actions of the Nikolini, which I also hate." so there were the Nikolini who were a "sect" founded by a man called Nicholas, who was probably from Jerusalem. Misconceptions practiced by the Nicolaitans: they tried to divide the church into priests and laymen, that is, into those who rule and those who are submissive. This was already a practice that was applied in some churches because the apostle Jovan writes:
"I wrote to the church; but Diotrephes, who wants to be the oldest among us, does not receive us."
3 John 1:9
and secondly, they taught and practiced that a sin after conversion is not a sin, and the apostle Paul fights against this, saying:
"So what are we going to say? Shall we remain in sin that grace may multiply? God forbid!"
Rom. 6:1
Here we see that Satan tried to corrupt the church in Ephesus, but the church recognized the false teaching and rejected such teachings, and that is why the Lord Jesus praises them and adds, "which I also hate". Here the church harmonized its way of life and glorifying God with the will God's, and that is exactly what God wants each of us to do, because we received God's revelation in advance, and everything we need to know is said there.
"Because I believe in God that it will be as I was told"
Acts 27:25

Hi Ya'll,
I recently graduated OCS and I have been bombarded myself in real life over what to expect with OCS. For context I went from basic training straight to OCS, and even graduated with honors. From the time of writing this post, it has officially been a month since I graduated. So here is a list of common questions I get and I hope I can settle some anxiety for all of you future 2nd LTs.
Warning: The cadre at OCS do read these reddit posts, so I won't be able to post answers to tests or events.

1. I haven't received a welcome letter, or a packing list. Where can I find it?
   • Fort Moore Officer Candidate School (army.mil) I would download and print the packing list and the ISAP. The ISAP acts more or less like a syllabus from college. It will give a rough understanding of the rules, regulations, and requirements for you to pass.
2. Is everything on the packing list required?
   • Yes. Try your best to follow the packing list to the letter. It is almost entirely dependent on the cadre and of course weather does play a part in their decision making. Some things you'll find you didn't really need or use throughout your cycle. For example, my cycle didn't use 550 Cord almost at all, but I used it to build a hooch, and secure sensitive items.
3. What if I don't have of the required equipment on the packing list?
   • When it comes to military equipment, try your best and bring what you can. I was never issued an IFAK before OCS or after. The cadre understand they have some coming from basic and those in-service. So if you have it, bring it. If not, bring it up to your cadre and they'll schedule time to get it issued to you.
4. Anything not on the packing list you recommend?
   • I would recommend the following: hand soap, bathroom spray, travel vacuum, wet-wipes, clipboard with compartment, pillow, very bright headlamp, multitool, and laminator. Hand soap because for some reason OCS had a hard time procuring it. Travel vacuum because you'll likely have 2 or 3 vacuums available to your platoon and having your own saves time. Wet-wipes to dust everything down. Clipboard with compartment for Land Nav as you'll be running with maps, marker, protractor, and your points so its best to have something safe and secure. Laminator for your papers because its Georgia and your papers can get wet. The pillows at OCS have this weird plastic cover on so if you want a better night sleep, get a better pillow. The headlamp is just in case, some classes inform the lumen limit while others don't, Land Nav is DARK so if you can find a lighthouse out there, do it. The multitool is just useful to have especially if you are out in the field.
5. Where can I find somethings on the packing list I am missing?
   • Luckily there is a company called Commandos who helped us out the entire time. They have an OCS purchasing list you can take advantage of. They even deliver that weekend at the footprint.
   • Visit: https://commando-military-supply-9d5038.printavo.com/merch/ocs-packing-list/
6. I saw you can bring your laptops? Is it required for classes? Can I opted in for a tablet or iPad?
   • You can bring a personal laptop primarily for recreational use after the duty hours. OCS will provide you with a government laptop that you'll need to use your CAC to access. Tablets and iPads are not considered laptops and will be confiscated like a phone. If the majority of your class as issues with the laptops, then the cadre may allow the use of your personal laptops.
7. What is your day-to-day look like?
   • Mostly on a non-physical or FTX event coming up you'll follow the following schedule: 0500 - wake up. First formation is at 0600, then you conduct PT until breakfast. After breakfast you will head to the classroom and stay there until lunch, return and stay there until dinner. After dinner, it will be the end of the duty hours and you'll roughly have 2 hours for personal time.
8. What are the most important categories/test to focus on?
   • Treat everything important. Every test you do not pass can put you at risk of being recycled, and it is up to you to catch up. For example while everyone is studying for tactics, you'll be studying tactics and history if you failed history. So save yourself the hassle and take every test seriously. The big 3 recycle event have been historically, Army History (70% to pass), Land Nav (4 points or more to pass (day and night)), and the 4-mile run (need to run in under 36 minutes regardless of gender).
9. How many retests or chances do you get?
   • You get 2 tries at everything before recycle. You get 2 tries again at the same test then you can be dismissed. For example: You are part of Alpha company. You failed history twice. You get recycled into Bravo company. You failed history twice again. You can be dismissed.
   • If you happen to pass history but fail Land Nav twice, then you'll be recycled into Charlie. If you fail Land Nav twice then you can be dismissed.
10. What is a recycle? What does it look like in OCS? Can you get dismissed?
    • A recycle is when you failed something twice and you get "recycled" into the next class. A recycle can occur for other reasons such as illness or injury. You can also be recycled for improper behavior or being "peered out". Every class starts up in a like a month (I heard they are changing that for even further out). So even though the cycle takes about 12 weeks to complete, if you get recycled you can expect more like 16 weeks or more. We had someone at OCS you has been with it for a year. You get recycled for repeat offenses, or do something majorly bad such as breaking the law, then you can be dismissed.
11. What is being peered out mean?
    • Throughout the cycle you are put into a platoon and then a squad. Your squadmates eventually all sit down and fill out a form to give the cadre who is the weakest link in the squad. Usually squads kick out the person they do not like. We had to kick out one person because they didn't mesh well within the squad and wasn't very kind. He would then get replaced with someone else who got peered out. Luckily after that one person got kicked out, the squad improved and we tried our hardest to keep it together. We still needed to peer someone out, but we kept tabs with them and invited them to a lot of our squad functions nonetheless as my squads grew to love and respect each other as a family.
    • If you do get peered out, unfortunately you get a spot report, moved to a different squad, and are at risk of being recycled if peered out again. Stay humble and help out whenever you can. I got the most respect from my squadmates as I stayed up late with them to help them with their STX lanes.
12. What is personal time like?
    • You essentially use personal time to workout if the PT wasn't enough, clean yourself, and prepare for bed. Yes if you have time, you can contact family and friends (when you get your phones), and if you have the time, play games. I don't recommend playing games as it distracts you from the mission of graduating.
13. What are the different phases like?
    • You are separated into 3 phases. Black, Blue, and White. You immediately enter black phase upon arrival with a traditional called "Gold to Black". Which is more or less a physical smoking session. During Black you are expected to run everywhere, not be able to drink coffee, have your phone confiscated (and given back on Sunday), and have less personnel time. Blue you get the ability to drink coffee again, and you have your phones returned and used only during personal time. During blue you get the ability to visit and explore the base (Fort Moore) and shop around. During white phase you get the ability to explore off-base (Columbus) and you get to wear civilian clothes. White phase if you leave off-post, you need to be in uniform, and on-base you can be in civilians.
14. Can you use your personal vehicle?
    • Yes, but you can only drive it during White Phase
15. How can I keep in contact with my family during black phase?
    • I recommend that you download WhatsApp or some other social media on your laptop and have your family members on it.
16. Can I visit the gym on base?
    • Yes during blue phase you can visit the gym. Rule regulates that you leave the footprint in uniform and change into appropriate PT uniform once at the gym and conducting PT.
17. What is the DFAC like?
    • The DFAC is better than basic training and offers snacks like cookies, granola bars, ice cream, and soda. They have a salad bar and the usual cycle of foods. They do have a "short-order" line which serves fries, burgers, hot dogs, etc. To stay in physical shape, I recommend eating your fruits and a side salad every meal. Drink juice, Gatorade, or water only. I only drank soda and the burger after an intense physical requirement like a long-run or a ruck march to regain my glucose and caloric levels.
18. Does Amazon deliver there?
    • Yes you can have other things delivered to the footprint. However, the Cadre are going to inspect it for food and other contraband. Just ask the cadre for the delivery address. It may take like 2 weeks for them to deliver it.
19. Any final advice?
    • Be helpful and noticeable amongst your squad but try not to bring attention to yourself from the cadre. Take everything seriously and give yourself proper rest and proper nutrition. OCS is not hard, but it can be if you let it get to you. OCS is designed to test your competency, commitment, and character. I luckily had an amazing squad, and I had a blast with them.

I want this to be an open forum so don't be afraid to leave anymore questions below. If the answer you are seeking is not above, then write the question in the comments, and I will try my best to answer you before you are sent off. Best of luck, thank you for your service, and be the best leaders your soldier's deserve.

For the past few months I have been looking for a device to replace my old late 2013 macbook pro 15 inch with dgpu. While the laptop has served me well and I honestly wouldn't mind using it for a bit more, the weight is getting a little bit frustrating. As someone who also is into Linux and has owned a lenovo thinkpad x1 carbon before, I would love to go back to these kind of laptops. I do however have a few requirements that I can't seem to all find in one thinkpad in the used market.
These being :
A bright, high resolution, color accurate screen. this is the most important one since I am a fashion and portrait photographer.
Good keyboard since I also write. Decent batterylife altough I'm not too concerned about that. reasonable weight
I have found a thinkpad t14 gen 1 with a 4k screen and the intel cpu for bout 350 on local used market. seems like a good deal but I have a few final questions considering 4k on a 14inch screen. Is this actually a good choice or will it just be a battery drain? anyone who has experience with these devices?
Other recommendations of models that fit the spec also welcome

Product: SONY Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones
OS: Windows 11, Linux Ubuntu 22.04, iOS 17.4.1 (Lenovo IdeaPad s540 w/ Windows 11, a Dell Precision 5570 w/ Linux Ubuntu 22.04.4, and iPhone 15 on iOS 17.4.1)
I have WH-1000XM4 wireless noise cancelling headphones and they just randomly stopped being able to connect. I work in tech and so I am fairly tech savvy, but I am at a loss here. I have tried on 3 devices with 3 different OS (Windows 11, Linux Ubuntu 22.04, iOS 17.4.1). I am being told by customer service that it is likely the headphones that are the problem, but I honestly cannot believe the insanity of this--although they are 1-2yrs old (conveniently out of warranty...) I have barely used them and they basically stay on my WFH desk in their case. I use them when there is construction going on outside or noisy neighbors, but today I really needed them on a zoom meeting to be conscientious to those around me and my $350 headphones basically randomly stopped working correctly. I went through Restart and Initialization, but when I do, nothing happens (no flashing light as described or like in pairing mode).
Has anyone else solved this? I have Bluetooth on on all devices, my headphones literally say "fully charged" when I turn them on, and the pairing light flashes--they just aren't found (they ARE found by the ubuntu laptop, but cannot be assigned to output bc their device type is "unknown"--I see some possible fixes for this but it is a work laptop so I generally try to avoid downloading ephemera software--I am mostly looking for a Windows and iPhone solution right now).
Has anyone encountered this and solved it WITHOUT buying new headphones? If I have to buy new headphones they WILL NOT be SONY.

WEEKLY COVID STATEWIDE REPORT FOR MAY 21, 2024
TOTAL NEW COVID CASES REPORTED WEEK (Sun-Sat) OF: 02/04-02/10: 6,191 (VDH corrected from 5,663) 02/11-02/17: 5,432 (VDH corrected from 4,814) 02/18-02/24: 4,978 (VDH corrected from 4,494) 02/15-03/02: 3,891 (Figure is estimated from VDH data) 03/03-03/09: 3,134 (VDH corrected from 2,843) 03/10-03/16: 2,118 (VDH corrected from 1,909) 03/17-03/23: 1,764 (VDH corrected from 1,591) 03/24-03/30: 1,667 (VDH corrected from 1,449) 03/31-04/06: 1,255 (VDH corrected from 1,273) 04/07-04/13: 1,232 (VDH corrected from 1,113) 04/14-04/20: 1,151 (VDH corrected from 1,029) 04/21-04/27: 991 (VDH corrected from 899) 04/28-05/04: 885 (VDH corrected from 782) 05/05-05/11: 830 (VDH corrected from 730) 05/12-05/18: 903 (preliminary figure) Counts reported after 4/30/24 are incomplete
VDH's reporting of the numbers above (Sun-Sat) is by illness date.
COVID CASES SINCE LAST REPORT BY DAY This runs report day to report day, not Sun-Sat Case numbers are from the previous day unless indicated otherwise Previous week's cases day count in parentheses after this week's day count Report covers 05/15/2024 to 05/21/2024

Wed: 166 cases (162) Thu: 186 cases (138) Fri: 169 cases (180) Sat: 158 cases (149) Sun: 103 cases ( 91) Mon: 85 cases ( 51) Tue: 218 cases (157) 

As counts reported after 4/30/24 may be incomplete, I will not be computing percentages as accuracy can not be guaranteed. I will post what the 13-week graph shows.
Total new cases reported (Wed-Tues): 1,085 (928 previous Wed-Tues) 7-day average of new cases: 155.0 (132.6 last report) Cases per 100,000 Population: 1.747 (1.494 last report) Some Figures and Percentages are usually slightly rounded by VDH
The 13-week graph has been posted. Curve shows a +16.92% increase. This may or may not be accurate due to voluntary reporting. But cases seem to be have been increasing for the past two weeks.
REPORTED DEATHS PER WEEK Week of: 04/21-04/27: 1 (VDH corrected from 5) 04/28-05/04: 3 (VDH corrected from 2) 05/05-05/11: 4 (VDH corrected from 3) 05/12-05/18: 0 (preliminary figure)
The VDH death rate is never put out completely up to date due to delays in death data, which can run months. The death data above has been corrected to current reported deaths from VDH sources and is always subject to change.
The larger updated death chart covering more past weeks had not been updated when I posted, so it was not uploaded. Sometimes it seems they update it late, or even later in the week.
CURRENT POSITIVITY RATE AS OF MAY 17, 2024 CDC Region 3 7-Day Positivity Rate: 1.9% (was 2.2%, -13.64%) US National level is 3.2% (was 3.3%, revised, last week). Highest is Region 9 (AZ, CA, HI, NV) at 6.5% These are preliminary figures which the CDC may revise next week.
Tests this week were done on 1,395 samples, which is low. A low sample rate can cause the Positivity Rate to report lower.
Region 3 has the lowest Positivity Rate in the U.S., but low sampling numbers may cause a correction next Friday.
HOSPITALS
NOTE: COVID-19 hospital reporting requirements expired April 30, 2024. Data is incomplete after this date.
After more thought, I am changing the Weekly's Hospital report. The only graph that has meaning now is the ER visits. All others are corrupted by a lack of reporting (and labeled as so). I saw one report on X/Twitter that in one State, 91% of hospitals were voluntary reporting. By the next week it dropped to just over 50%. So bed counts, admissions, etc., are all guesses and may lead to the wrong conclusion. But it seems hospitals are still required to report how many Covid people they diagnosed. I noticed it tracks with the Covid rates for the past several months quite closely.
VDH reported an increase of +9.7% in ER visits last week that were diagnosed as Covid (0.34% of visits). Corrected last four weeks are now listed as 0.37%, 0.34%, 0.31% and 0.34% of ER visits. Graph posted. This graph has no special wording on it about the end of hospital reporting, so it is now the only hospital chart that is accurate week-to-week.
The stopping of formal reporting, has made, for now, the hospital admissions and bed count graphs inaccurate. So while watching them and hoping of more info, I am not going to post them in the future unless reporting is restarted in the Fall. For example, this week Covid bed use dropped by -16.7% which conflicts with the increase of ER visits. The admissions chart is basically empty.
You can look at all the charts here.
FINAL NOTES
My best guess is we bottomed out a couple of weeks ago, and are starting to see a slow increase in cases (+9% to +15% in the past week). We'll have to watch the ER chart, Positivity data, and wastewater to try and get an idea of what is going on in Virginia.
LAYOUT
First up is the total number of new Covid Cases for last week based on Sunday to Saturday. As the corrections VDH is putting in a week after the initial release makes following a trend impossible, I have stopped computing in this area as it would probably be incorrect.
Next is a listing of the cases from the last report to this one. It usually runs from last Wednesday to Tuesday, but could move based on holidays.
Reported deaths are next, which are based on Sunday to Saturday for the weeks listed.
The CDC Region 3 7-Day Positivity Rate is next, which at the moment just confirms or changes what the CDC put out Friday. They do another run on Monday nights taking a second look at things.
Hospital information for last week is next.
VDH's main summary page is located here. You can see all the latest trends at the link above - most graphics are interactive
EXPLANATION OF FIGURES ABOVE
Total New COVID Cases Reported Week (Sun-Sat) Of: cases reported for last week running Sunday to Saturday.
Reported Deaths Per Week: Number of deaths reported in the week (Sunday-Saturday) to VDH by dates listed.
Covid cases since last report by day: The previous 7-days since VDH's last update listed by day.
7-day average of new cases: Average number of daily COVID cases over the last 7-days
Cases per 100,000 population 7-day average: Within 100,000 people, how many were positive for COVID on a rolling 7-day cycle.
CDC Region 3 7-Day Positivity Rate (if included): The last state average percentage of PCR coronavirus tests performed that are positive. The lower the better.
Hospitals: Hospital information for last Sunday-Saturday.
Data from VDH, CDC

Hi, I've been having a lot of trouble with getting this game to be playable on my laptop since launch day and I don't know what else to do so I'm reaching out for some troubleshooting advice and help if anyone would be so kind.
My current setup is an AMD Ryzen 5 7520U, with 16GB of RAM (15.2GB usable), using Windows 11 (not in S mode) as the operating system. I have a Toshiba Canvio 4TB external hard drive with the Steam version of the game installed on it like all of my other PC games. My AMD drivers are up to date at version 24.5.1 too. Aside from that I'm not sure what else I should specify about my laptop/setup but if more information is needed let me know. I just got into PC gaming this year and so far it's been great for Guardians of the Galaxy, GTA V, several Assassin's Creed games, and even heavily modded Skyrim and Fallout 4,
My current issues: - The game is stuttering or lagging to the point where everything looks and feels like it's in slow motion. I can't even rotate the camera or move around without extreme delay and stuttering. This caused issues with combat and timing in the intro level and I couldn't even attempt to sneak through the village at the beginning of the game. - There are blue and white flashes coming from different light sources like torches that keep randomly popping up (like a lighting/texture glitch?) and it is apparent as soon as I load in the game since the main menu is pausing every few seconds and the tall grass is flickering blue. - These issues are happening in gameplay and during cinematics.
"Fixes" I've tried: - Adjusted all in-game graphics and display settings to match several different "optimized" lists I've found listed in this subreddit, as well as Steam Communties, and other gaming websites. Most of the time I've set these to low or medium specific layouts or layouts specific for low end PCs but I've tried high and very high several times too. -Adjusted V-Sync, anti-aliasing, frame generation, dynamic resolution scaling and upscale methods in different capacities - Disabled full-screen optimizations, and ran the program as an administrator - Switched between windowed, full-screen, and exclusive full-screen modes with the aforementioned different "optimized settings". - Disabled Steam overlays, and I don't think I have GeForce Experience or Nvidia as far as I know. But I haven't deleted the folder containing the PSN overlays just in case I do decide to try Legends mode but if that's the only fix I'll give it a shot. - Turned off Windows Defender and whatever default anti-virus was on my laptop. I don't have MalwareBytes and never even heard of it until people started suggesting to disable it in other support threads so that can't be it either.. - I've restarted my laptop in between different major setting changes - Quit or turned off unnecessary background processes and apps And that's pretty much everything I can remember.
I'm sorry for such a long post that may sound negative but I've tried to be as specific as possible so I don't waste anyone's time. It's just like every solution that worked for someone else isn't doing anything at all to affect gameplay for me and I'm almost ready to give up on playing this game. I just don't want to though because I keep seeing how praised it's been and how beautiful it can actually look and play on low end systems and even the SteamDeck. I don't want to assume but I'd hope my laptop is just as capable as a SteamDeck if not more. I just don't want to miss out on this amazing experience everyone else seems to be having. I've waited for years to get into this because I don't own a Playstation and didn't plan to pick it up for just this game and now that I finally have a chance it's not working properly. Could anyone, please, help me figure this out and what's going wrong or what I'm doing wrong?
Thanks for your time!

So I've been radio silent, but I'm kinda back now. This is the beginning of my rewrite for this fic. Unfortunately I'm gonna take a bit to make the next part, this is due to me being part of the ficnnap. So future parts are gonna take a while to get going, hopefully I'll be functional enough to sit down during the summer and write a bunch.
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the fic. Any feedback would be nice :).
<<================================>>
Welcome to the XCOM archives, what would you like to search for?
Search: Psionic Imprints, Class Administrator - level 9
Please input access code: ******************
Access Granted... What Psionic Imprint would you like to view?
Search: Board Member Elias Meier, Director
Beginning playback of Imprint... standby...
`Psionic Imprint Subject: Elias Meier, Exhausted Director'
Date [standardized Human time]: June 27th, 2136
Humanity learned it was not alone in the year of 2015, when it was viscously attacked by a hostile alien force intent on colonizing Earth. But humanity fought back, with the formation of XCOM. For the first time in the entirety of human history, Humanity stood as one. And we won, barely and not without consequences. Countries fell apart, or were briefly colonized; or in the case of Advent, for a couple decades.
Of course there was also the aliens that were invading. After some time it was found out that all of them of them were enslaved, controlled and distorted by the Elders.
Or Ethereals if you wanted to be pedantic. God I have had enough of pedantic people.
After a few tense decades, the aliens had slowly filtered into human society. The Vipers forming Sisterhoods, Mutons forming tribes, Sectoids getting into everything, Andromedas forming a haven for their people, and Chryssalids... once thought to be a dying race, surging back to life in 2077 and becoming a horrendous problem for everybody. There were a couple others but I couldn't be bothered to remember them.
Ding a little ring tone sounded, reminding me of my wretched job. I groaned, and waved my hand. I heard a dial up sound, as the system connected. Finally it connected, and one of the voices I dreaded hearing started speaking.
A monotone male voice, the voice of an emotionless thing created by XCOM to make death. "Hello Meier. I have a report, Wraith unit sent to System Gliese-832c has returned. A sapient alien civilization has been discovered. It is not what we expected though."
Wonderful, great even... God this is gonna be a whole thing to handle.
"Explain Odin, I will have to schedule a meeting about this new discovery."
"I have sent a data packet to your computer, which you would see if you looked at it sir"
How the fuck has he developed sarcasm? Has he always had this quirk or did he create it just to personally fuck with me?
I sighed and spun my chair around, away from the great view of my office window. The office I was trapped in was decently sized, the large desk with two 57 inch monitors on each side. The room was 10 feet tall, and 20 feet from door to window, and 12 feet wide. There was a seating area with two couches and a coffee table. A large drink cabinet flanked by two busts on pedestals, and a foyer sitting on the opposite wall flanked by tall standing plant pots with ferns. The entrance was double doors that looked like wood, but were actually plasma and explosive shielded metal doors.
On the left monitor was a display of the planet baring alien life. It was tidally locked, and was inhabited by... sheep, literal fucking sheep. Course they had paws instead of hooves and had no nose but still, literally just fucking sheep. They were apparently called Venlil. They had a decent population, and were part of a larger federation with an unknown number of species. They were at war with 7-8 feet tall nazi space crocodiles, and were deathly afraid of anything "predatory".
I glanced at a small box that appeared, it was an addendum by Dr. Valhen regarding the Venlil. It was a hypothesis regarding their physiology.
Experimental Codex Simulations put them at a 21.53% chance of surviving to a century with current physiology. Likely hood of genetic modification to weaken species at 71.89%.
The addendum pointed out the knocked knees, and the absence of a nose being the most likely areas of modification. I quirked an eyebrow up. I know Dr. Valhen had experience tearing open modified aliens and modifying people at an extreme levels. But still this had to be stretch.
"I have done my own calculations sir, and I have come to the same conclusion as Dr. Valhen sir." I stared pointedly at my monitors before sighing and rubbing my face.
Hmmm whom do I trust more? The mad scientist that walks around in several different metal bodies, or the psychopathic Codex who was created to be unnaturally good at killing. Hmmm good question... how about neither and say fuck it.
"OK Odin. Would you kindly contact the rest of the board and notify them about an emergency meeting?"
"Of course sir, I have already notified them about the scheduled meeting."
... Fucking prick. Oh well if I'm going to be sitting through a meeting I'm going to atleast drink some of the piss flavored water called vodka to pretend I can get drunk.
I stood up and walked over to the drink cabinet. A small round drone that was more of a floating camera came out of the ceiling and followed me. I opened up the cabinet and selected the highest proof alcohol I could find. After popping the bottle and grabbing a shot glass I walked back to my desk. Sitting down as an encrypted channel lit up my right side screen. I pressed on it and poured a shot, the small camera drone hovering in front of me just beyond the desk. The right monitor lit up as 6 people connected.
The Heads of Military, Research and Development, and Diplomatic Affairs were all in the meeting. Dr. Tygan and Dr. Shen heads of R&D, General Zhao and General Kelly heads of Military, Ms. Clark and Mr. Freeman heads of Diplomatic Affairs.
Dr. Tygan didn't look a day over 30, even though he was older than myself. His white coat looked immaculate, and his glasses clean. But his posture and eyes spoke of a man who was debating falling over asleep or shooting someone in the face. Dr. Shen had safety gear on, his clothing stained by machine fluids and sweat. He looked more alive in his 40's than Tygan, and behind him was a scene of a bustling space yard. General Zhao was prim and proper, his posture rigid and his face completely neutral. General Kelly looked to be in a ships captain quarters, his General uniform replaced with a mandatory protective jumpsuit. He looked like he was just woken up, a steaming cup of coffee sitting before him. Ms. Clark and Mr. Freeman looked... normal, they had proper uniforms on and looked like they had been working for a while but still had plenty of energy.
I shot the glass back then looked back at the drone, which had moved to be above the monitor. "So... I have received a report from Odin, and it is the reason for this meeting. Have any of you received the report as well and viewed the contents?"
Dr. Shen squinted at something behind the camera, before bending back and nodding. "Yeah I glanced at it, doesn't really affect my operations honestly. Besides I doubt that they could even get close to the OCDM. That thing can wipe out all kinds of stuff. "
Ms. Clark palmed her face, an exasperated look on it. "Could we not immediately discuss killing these new extraterrestrials? For all we know they number in the hundreds of species, or dozens. Not to mention we do not know the full extent of their technology. They could be much more powerful than us for all we know!"
General Zhao spoke up, a dismissive look to his face. "I have already run through some of the internal information of the Wraith unit. It appears that they have relatively the same level of technology as us. In fact they are actually inferior in some areas. For instance they practically have no cybersecurity. We could shut down their whole planet with a button press."
Ms. Clark groaned as she put her face in her hands. Mr. Freeman just leaned back looking tired. He raised a hand, a ding from the system notifying that he had a question. "Have we attempted to secure a direct access to their network? The more we know about these aliens the better. For all we know they have plans on dealing with "predatory" aliens. We could be signing the death certificate of humanity if we don't investigate more."
Clark looked up with shock and anger. "Yo-you can't be serious Mr. Freeman?! We haven't even attempted communication with these people and you're already planning on spying on them?! We should talk to them first, not just assume they are gonna be murderous!"
Everyone else on the meeting glanced around, the unsaid thing hanging in the air. Clark was very new to the board, and had grown up in New Russia. One of the European countries with the most amount of aliens. Everyone else had either only interacted with aliens as acquaintances, or killed them. Not to mention that XCOM was literally formed with the intention of pushing an invading alien empire off Earth. It had a long and bloody history with aliens, not to mention some of the things that it had done to aliens in service to Humanity.
General Kelly just sighed as he took a long sip of his coffee. Putting it down he crossed his hands in front of him. "We're getting off track people. We need to decide our course of action moving forward with these Venlil and their allies. I would recommend sending a civilian science vessel alongside two Avengers and a Hammer. The Hammer ship can operate in Stealth mode in the alien system, while the Avengers act like Cargo Ships. This allows us to put on a good face while still ensuring that our assets will be protected."
There was nodding across the board, everyone seemed to reluctantly agree on something for once. Then they all stared at their cameras, obviously waiting for myself. I sighed and poured another shot. "I concur with Kelly's plan, but I would also like to have Mothership Valhala on standby with Fleet Alpha. I would like you Kelly to command it, if you are too busy General Zhao will command instead."
Kelly and Zhao looked shocked by what I said. But they both donned neutral faces quickly afterwards. Zhao raised a hand, the system dinged signaling that he had a question. "May I ask why you are requesting this? Last time I actively commanded was for Operation Living Mausoleum and we all know how that turned out."
I shot back the glass and pointed at the camera. "That Operation was fucked from the very beginning. There was jack shit you could've done to prevent the casualties that occurred. Not to mention that you can't compare yourself to the Commander, he was inhumanly good at what he did. Hell from what I hear the man could practically see into the future. So quit it, stop beating yourself up over it. You're one of the greatest generals I've ever had the pleasure of working alongside with."
Zhao's face briefly clouded with a dark brooding look as I talked. But when I finished it lit up in surprise. He must still be beating himself up over that shit operation. I still remember reading the reports and feeling afraid about the future of XCOM. But thankfully Valhen managed to control the damn thing, and Diplomatic Affairs quelled the fires that had started from it.
"This meeting is concluded. Get back to whatever you all are doing." One by one the channel sent quiet. Tygan just stared into space, a vacant look on his face. "Tygan? Tygan!" He jumped in his seat, finally coming to. He took off his glasses and rubbed his face. "Tygan... it's getting worse... you really should reconsider your stance."
He looked up, a fire in his eyes. He put his glasses back on, tapping his fingers as he did so. "Well I won't. I'm not gonna stoop down to Valhen's level of depravity. The procedure is completely experimental and for all I know it's a miracle that I'm even still alive. I am almost 200 years old. If my mind is finally failing then so be it. I have played God long enough."
He left the channel right afterwards, only for another person to appear. It was Dr. Valhen and she had no camera feed. All I could see was a noise graph. "Meier... I would like to... make a... request- demand... I would like to attend the mission."
I slammed the shot glass on the table. "Absolutely not, I don't care what you're reason is. My final and only answer will be no. So kiss my ass, and go back to cutting apart death row inmates and war criminals."
…After a few seconds of silence and the graph not moving, it started laughing. That laugh told me more than enough. "Oh Meier, naughty naughty Meier... keeping me away from the new toys? How cruel of you... forgive me... I will honor your request..."
She... it left the channel. I closed it up, and spun my chair around. The window allowed me to view the Appalachian Mountains in all their splendor. In the distance I could see the camo fields of ships shifting as they moved about. I stared at the bottle before corking it and walking back to the cabinet.
This is gonna be an absolute shitshow. For all we knew we are boldly striding towards a war that will be the end of humanity once and for all.
End of Imprint
[Next]

Okay so I may have jumped down a rabbit hole on this. So time to share everything I have found out about tomorrow's (potential) announcement.
Firstly, ESM is not a first-time customer at the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas. They have been there in years past. However, they were there last year and only made one announcement: a partnership deal to distribute Mia & Cody in Europe: source.
While this conference is a networking conference, there are many announcements that tend to come from it seeing as there are large names in industry there from other TCGs such as Pokemon (coincidentally across from the ESM booth), all the way companies such as Sony Entertainment, game development studios, and more. If you want to make an announcement to gain traction as a relaunching TCG (or something else), this would be a top place for it.
ESM has been very intentional putting IPs on the ad sent out. For instance:

• 3 IPs on the ad are no where on ESM's website
• 7 (out of 17) IPs are not listed on the ad

By not putting every IP on the ad and specifying that this is an event named "Cocktails and Announcements", it can be safe to assume each one of these IPs will be getting an announcement. This is typical business, you would not be putting a recognizable logo of an IP you are in control of on an ad if you are not talking about it. It's as simple as that.
Furthermore, ESM spent money on their booth. A lot of money. In 2022 it was reported that booths could cost upwards of $8000 for the weekend for a 10x20 booth. On the map it shows ESM's booth this year is likely larger than a 10x20. Probably double the size of that. So you can imagine how much that would cost the company on this front. As an added bonus, some of ESM's neighbors? Pokemon, Sony Entertainment, BBC, Crunchyroll, SEGA, Ubisoft, and Paramount.
If we really want to get nitpicky, there's a lot of circumstantial stuff indicating that there will be an announcement regarding Chaotic. ESM shared this ad on LinkedIn and only one person who was not an ESM employee re-posted it: Bryan Gannon.
More to note, ESM posted an ad on their LinkedIn for the 2023 show with a noticeable omission of the world "announcements" from their ad (replaced with press conference) which makes sense since there was only one announcement: the aforementioned partnership deal for Mia & Cody: source.
Lastly, it was also pointed out by Scarotic on Discord that ESM has three fairly new divisions:

1. Epic Distribution
2. Epic Production
3. Epic Licensing

All of the above new divisions would be essential to make a relaunch work.

To be clear, a lot of this is hopium and in no way a guarantee. It wouldn't be shocking to me for instance if the word "soon" is used. The only thing that appears to be a near certainty is that we will be getting news on Chaotic. The news also will likely be good given Bryan Gannon reposted the advertisement and no company would announce something bad there.
This would also closely align to u/CodemasterHardrock's post in the past which can be found here.
We will ultimately find out tomorrow what this is and if it brings any significant news on the continuation of Chaotic. My theories?
Worst case: ESM reassures that Chaotic is still on their radar and that they are actively seeking partnership to continue the TCG and/or show.
Best case: ESM announces that Chaotic will be continuing with an exact date on when/how/where to expect the continuation.
The most likely case is probably something like ESM announces Chaotic will be continuing with a generalized "year" (i.e. 2025).
No matter what, it's not like anything bad could come from it given that the game at the moment is already well, gone.

Hi All,
I am having an old laptop (ASUS M515DA) which I use for my personal purpose. This laptop consists of 1TB HDD, as it is super slow. I am thinking to buy SSD (m.2 nvme) as I have checked it has m-key nvme slot. I check amazon, and I found few great SSDs but when I checked reviews, got to know there are cases of shipping faulty SSD and Amazon is not taking care of it at all.
If I would be in Delhi, I would have went to Nehru Place to get it upgrade. But I have no idea, where can I find a similar place in Hyderabad, or any genuine place where I can get it upgraded. My budget is 3-3.5k.
My purpose with this laptop is basically personal project (basic web dev, low level programming), also, I will be dual boot this laptop with Ubuntu and Windows.
PS: I live nearby Kondapur RTO.

https://amzn.to/4bK814q

I got a ticket in '21 for no seat belt in Louisiana. Hurricane Ida hit and my house was in shambles. We evacuated and had to live away from our house for weeks. In dealing with the fallout I forgot about the ticket and my license was suspended 6 months later. When I realized this, I payed the ticket immediately.
I then went through the difficult process of dealing with the OMV. They were still affected by COVID and getting in touch with a person was difficult. I can't remember what happened because it was 2 years ago, but I really thought I had taken care of everything with the OMV. I thought my license was reinstated and I could drive. Looking through my records now I can see a charge on my bank statement to the OMV of $17 for reinstatement (it should have been $100). I have no recept or other information of the payment.
Fast forward to this year, I got pulled over for a speeding ticket, and the officer said my license was suspended (still from not paying the seat belt violation). I was shocked. He took my license and gave me 2 tickets (speeding and driving while suspended) but let me drive 3 blocks to my house. I got in touch with the OMV and this time had a super easy time getting my license reinstated and I could see it was valid on the LA Wallet app.
This is where I did something really stupid. I tried to pay both tickets and realized I had to go to court for the Driving While Suspended charge. I went in expecting to plead not guilty and explain to the judge what happened, but that day the judge wasn't hearing anything other than a plea. The young lady in front of me tried to tell her story but the judge said she would have to plead not guilty to have her case heard.
There were so many things going through my head. I had so little time to think, I thought I was in traffic court and I didn't think this was a serious crime. I had yet to find in my records I had paid $17 to the OMV for the first attempt to reinstate. I thought the only penalty was going to be a fine. I just wanted to get it over and done with. So I plead guilty. I paid my fine and went on living and driving thinking this was finished.
This weekend I got a letter from the OMV saying because I was convicted my driving privileges are suspended for a YEAR. Not being able to drive for a year is devastating to me and my family. I had NO idea this was going to happen.
My question is what should I do now? Is there any one I can talk to to have my plea reversed? Should I get a lawyer (I'm really scared of having a large financial burden because of lawyer fees)?
I know hardship license exists but I'm scared of the driving restrictions. I have a job working self employed with a nonprofit. My job is weird. I drive to at least 5 different locations a week. I have conferences and service trips I go to in different states. I have to schedule to meet with people for donation purposes at random times. Not to mention driving kids to school, Dr visits, psych visits for my son's ADHD. But should I give up and go this route and try to work my life around it?
Sorry I know this is an information dump, but I'm not sure what info is relevant. I need help and I really don't know what I'm doing. At least some pointers in where to get started would be helpful. I'm trying to meet with someone from the DA's office today to see if they could help (a friend knows someone there). But if that doesn't help, I want to know what to do next.
TL; DR: Made a dumb decision and plead guilty to to driving while suspended instead of waiting to explain my case to the judge. Didn't realize the penalty and now a seatbelt violation has turned into a year suspension from driving.

In my case, my entire life has essentially been a neverending nightmare. I've been an isolated hermit for 15+ years, but no matter how far back you go, I've always been trapped in an extremely toxic environment. I happen to live with my deeply narcissistic and equally depressed/suicidal mother, and that makes for about as much of a hellishly codependent death spiral as you can imagine. All my life I've been inflicted with pretty much every variety of stress, abuse, and agony. There's nothing left of me at this point. It's unfathomable to think how I could ever move past all this pain. In all likelihood, I never will. I also have no one in my life who can help me, and I'm too weak/broken to help myself. I'm totally and utterly alone. Forsaken of any/all hope for a life worth living.
Truth be told, I'm not sure if I've ever felt this suicidal before. I just really don't want to be here anymore. I've utterly and comprehensively failed at everything possible in my life. Worse, I can't bear to see the joy present in other people's lives, and how it inevitably (and very painfully) contrasts on the abject shame/misery that's been forever present in my own. It's just impossible to cope with how unbelievably awful my life's been like. I feel completely deformed and disfigured beyond repair. All these years of misery, and I have absolutely nothing to show for it. Less than nothing, in fact. Even homeless junkies have experienced more richness to their lives than I have.
It really makes me want to tear my own head off just knowing and being reminded of everything I've missed out on and/or fucked up in my shitty little life. I've never had crazy/wild times with friends, never took exciting risks that paid off, never met someone and fell in love. I've just never lived at all. Instead I've just been a worthless corpse rotting away in a corner. I honestly can't bear the shame/regret of having fucked everything up so catastrophically badly, while also being deprived a healthy environment to grow up in by the horrendous pair of narcissists/abusers that were my parents, and also my older brother as well for that matter. The weight of the past, and all the endless trauma that comes with it, is downright excruciating, and suffocates every last inch of my potential, and the possibilities I might have for enjoying whatever remains of my dismal existence.

I work in a large consulting firm and the notice period here is 90 days. I’m currently serving my notice period because I’m about to move abroad soon. I have completed half of my notice and asked my manager for buy out for the remaining period but my request was refused. As per the agreement, it is as per the employer’s discretion to shorten the notice or accept money for the remaining period of notice.
Since I’m moving abroad, I cannot serve any more than 45 days, which I already have. Manager is threatening me of legal consequences. I know what I should have served complete notice but I’m helpless here as I cannot postpone my plans.
Can a lawyer please answer the below questions:

1. I would like to know what are my rights if I don’t want to work anymore for this firm and just return their assets?
   
2. If they are not agreeing to take their assets, what can be done in that case?
   

I only have their laptop and ID. I have completed the knowledge transfer and there are no pending tasks on my plate.
Some help on this would be appreciated. Thanks.

Front of case jutting out maybe .5 - 1 inch. Seems to do better for EMF and thermals. Just my 2 cents with
Cooler Master Q300L V2

Howdy there folks! This question would normally go to my cousin who's an audio engineer but it seems his luck finally ran out.. Anyway! I've got a new Tacoma that I'm installing an upgraded system in. The exhaust on the vehicle is very loud, among other factors, but I've got 2 types of deadening material. 1 is aluminum faced and 1 is not. Which should go on first? Or maybe just the aluminum in some spots and the other type in other spots? I've heard the aluminum faced stuff also helps w keeping the cab cool, and this truck in particular is black on black on black, with a very small amount of air space. If it's 50 outside and even partially sunny, the inside will be at least 85°-90° if the AC isn't on.. So yeah. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Vehicle in case it's necessary to know:
2023 Tacoma TRD Off Road double cab. The exhaust is a downward dump, near the center of you cut the truck hotdog style, and almost even with the back of the cab, maybe 5 inches more towards the bed.