Intro & Disclaimer

Looking at all the new fans incoming and all the questions being asked on here made me want to help out with (hopefully) offering some clarity. Which then led to this idea of doing a series of final roster predictions for each team. So here we are. I sincerely hope the information below is useful for at least some folks. I've tried to keep any contract/financial information to a minimum to keep it as simple as possible. Please let me know if there's anything I can improve for the next chapter.
 
 
Ten teams down, two to go. And what do you know, it's the two teams I support. So today we will look at the Minnesota Lynx and then tomorrow we finish it with the Dallas Wings, hurray!
 

First a quick recap

Before we dive in, a very quick recap of the Lynx's moves this off-season:

• Suspended Jessica Shepards contract for the season due to prioritization (official) and taking a season off for personal reasons (unofficial).
• Traded Tiffany Mitchell and a 2nd round pick to the Sun for Natisha Hiedeman.
• Traded the rights to Nikolina Milic and their 1st round pick to the Sky for Sika Koné and their 1st round pick.
• (re-)Signed Free Agents Alanna Smith, Courtney Williams and Bridget Carleton to 2 year deals.
• Drafted Alissa Pili & Kiki Jefferson.
• Signed a whopping TEN players to training camp contracts. Already waived 3 of those players: Liz Dixon, Mimi Collins and Jaime Nared. That gives us the current roster:

Players
Napheesa Collier (F)	Kayla McBride (G)	Courtney Williams (G)
Alanna Smith (F)	Bridget Carleton (W)	Natisha Hiedeman (G)
Ruthy Hebard (C)	Diamond Miller (W)	Alissa Pili (F)
Dorka Juhasz (F)	Sika Koné (W)	Kiki Jefferson (F)
Camryn Taylor (F)	Olivia Époupa (G)	Quinesha Lockett (G)
Taylor Soule (F)	Kayana Traylor (G)	Cecilia Zandalasini (F)

^{G=Guard W=Wing F=Forward C=Center}

The Good

Having finally seen some very expensive contracts expire this off-season, the Lynx had lots of cap space to work with and even after using a significant amount of it on Smith & Williams they still have plenty of money leftover to carry 12 players this year. With signing both Hiedeman & Williams it seems they have finally addressed their longstanding Point Guard problem.

The Bad

Jessica Shepard sitting out is not great, there's definitely some star power lacking here to compete with the top teams in the league. Cheryl Reeve will be hoping for some young players to make a big jump this year.

My predictions (and why)

100% Locks

Player	Position(s)	2024 Salary	Why
Napheesa Collier	Combo Forward	$208,219	Top 10 player in the league
Kayla McBride	Combo Wing	$208,000	Very reliable veteran, strong 2nd/3rd option on any team
Courtney Williams	Combo Guard	$175,000	New signing w/ protected contract
Alanna Smith	Stretch Big	$150,000	New signing w/ protected contract
Bridget Carleton	Wing	$125,000	Veteran, just re-signed
Natisha Hiedeman	Point Guard	$120,000	New acquisition
Diamond Miller	Wing	$75,792	2023 #2 Draft pick
Dorka Juhasz	Stretch Big	$66,597	2023 2nd Round draft pick who outperformed expectations
Alissa Pili	Forward??	$73,439	2024 First round pick

90% Lock (in the 'I don't really know what they'll do with her but I can't imagine them waiving her' category)

Player	Position(s)	2024 Salary	Why
Sika Koné	Combo Forward	$64,154	They traded for her

Pretty straightforward in my opinion. A star player, a second option, some veterans and a good amount of young talent. Sika Koné is not in camp yet and I wouldn't be completely shocked if they suspend her contract for the season. This leaves us with $196,999 in cap space and 2 open roster spots. There are no glaring holes in the roster right now, other than maybe a true center, so this comes down to do you wanna challenge right now or do you want to build more for the future and that choice ultimately leads me to this.

Remaining Two Spots

Player	Position(s)	2024 Salary	Spot?	Why/Why Not
Cecilia Zandalasini	Combo Forward	$64,154	YES	Experienced veteran with a big WNBA reputation from way back when she played in the league
Ruthy Hebard	Center	$64,154	YES	True center with WNBA experience
Kayana Traylor	Combo Guard	$64,154	NO	See below
Taylor Soule	Combo Forward	$64,154	NO	See below
Kiki Jefferson	Combo Forward	$64,154	NO	Not quite good enoug
Camryn Taylor	Forward	$64,154	NO	Training camp body
Olivia Époupa	Point Guard	$64,154	NO	Training camp body also undersized at 5'5
Quinesha Lockett	Shooting Guard	$64,154	NO	Not quite good enough

So I'm a Hokies (Virginia Tech) fan and Traylor & Soule are former Hokies, both part of that 2023 legendary ACC Championship & Final Four run. If I were choosing this with my heart I would pick them 10 out of 10 times. Unfortunately that's not how this works and I have to use my head. Ultimately this boiled down to youth vs experience and I do think for Coach Reeve experience usually wins out. I will say, Zandalasini is a 100% lock for me as long as she is healthy. Her late 2010s run with the team gained her a lot of fans and she's still balling out overseas every year. I was shocked when it was announced she's coming over and I just don't see Coach Reeve not taking her. Hebard on the other hand is kind of a 90% lock here, I do think Traylor has a small chance. I know Sky fans will probably get mad at me, but I was never the biggest Hebard fan (as a player of course) and I really didn't like how she looked in the Athletes Unlimited games she played a few months ago.

Final Roster Prediction

Player
Napheesa Collier
Kayla McBride
Courtney Williams
Alanna Smith
Bridget Carleton
Natisha Hiedeman
Diamond Miller
Dorka Juhasz
Alissa Pili
Sika Koné
Cecilia Zandalasini
Ruthy Hebard

Starting Line-up (just for fun)

I'll go with experience > youth again:

Courtney Williams - Kayla McBride - Diamond Miller - Napheesa Collier - Alanna Smith

Regular Season Prediction (also just for fun)

Las Vegas Aces: 1st

New York Liberty: 2nd

Seattle Storm: 3rd

Phoenix Mercury: 5th (but with the widest variance of all the teams, could really be anywhere 3rd to 9th for me)

Atlanta Dream: 6th

Indiana Fever: 7th

Connecticut Sun: 8th

Minnesota Lynx: 9th

Chicago Sky: 10th

Washington Mystics: 11th

Los Angeles Sparks: 12th

 
One left to go! Tomorrow, my beloved Wings (and I have thoughts after that preseason win).

Am I in the wrong bc I want nothing to do with my MIL after 8 years of abuse and disrespect?
First post to Reddit so sorry if I don’t get some things right
My husband and I have three young kids we have been together 11 years (since HS).
The last 8 years have been filled with nothing but disrespect and manipulation from his mom and he refuses to see it and now wants a divorce if I can’t “keep the peace” and “get along” with his mom even after I’ve been the “bigger person” for years.
It started when I was pregnant with our first daughter. MIL kicked out my husband who was in college at the time and he refused to let me see her for free of how she would treat me after she found out I was pregnant (I was 20 he was 21) he lived with my mom and I after that. I begged him to let her and I talk bc I wanted to be on good terms.
Since then here are some of the major points that has led me to be done

• Brought uninvited guests to our small elopement knowing we said they were not invited she threw a fit and the day of brought them anyways and told me on the day of our elopement it was like her funeral

-told me she doesn’t have to have my trust to watch our baby, that I have to respect her but she isn’t my friend and doesn’t owe me any respect (I have this in text)
-went behind my husband and my back when we ask her not to do things when she was trusted to watch our children (such as not to give them sugar for XYZ reasons) sent them out when we got there with popsicles
-told at least 4 extended family members I have “mental health issues” for setting boundaries
-came over with strep throat to meet our newborn and we didn’t find out till later bc one of my BIL told us
-our 5 year old came up to me crying asking why grandma was saying bad things about me when she was at their house that day. So she talked bad about me to my young child

• when our 3 week old was in the hospital for a high fever i desperately messaged her for advice since i was in the hospital she was an er nurse at, she REFUSED to message me back but would message my husband (who wasn’t even in the hospital with me so he wasn’t sure what was happening as much)

-has told my husband that “it’s ok as long as OP doesn’t find out” about sooooo many things encouraging him to lie to me about things involving our children
-At 8 months pregnant MIL and her mom (GMIL) kicked us out of the house we were renting from GMIL giving us a week to move out (yes we had everything paid they didn’t care or help) that landed my in the hospital almost loosing my son due to the amount of stress I was under because of them no apology was ever made or acknowledged over the traumatic situation they put us in leaving us to have no house while 8 months pregnant with a toddler. (My mom took us in and my grandparents paid for the moving truck and first 6 months rent in a new place)
-when I was 1 week postpartum with our son she came to meet him, walked in washed her hands and marched over then yanked him from. My arms without even looking at me once. When he started to cry she refused to give him back triggering PPD for me. My husband said “I didn’t see it” so it I guess doesn’t matter but it was horrible for me
-last year my husband BEGGED me to give them another chance for Christmas. So I I invited them over for Christmas but respectfully said that BIL who is extremely unstable, just got out of prison for multiple felonies was not allowed at our house and told them we didn’t want him knowing we’re we lived or around our children. I made it clear I did not feel safe with him around our kids at this point anymore or our house.
This was the last olive branch I told my husband I would extend and the responses I got back are copied and pasted below
FIL RESPONSE “Wow, I guess I will make a stand and say the same goes for you. You of all people should be mindful of how people with mental issues are treated”
MIL RESPONSE
“We will not be coming over you have ruined the relationship between us and our grandchildren. You are a selfish and manipulative B*** and you are never welcome in my home again. Hope you are happy”
At this I told my husband I am done and the children and I would no longer be in contact with them. This has lasted since Christmas however MIL is now pretending she cares and “asking about me” to my husband. I have asked many times for him to not talk about me to her as in the past she has pretneded to care to say that she is sorry and then convinced my husband I’m the one who is mean since I don’t accept her many empty apologies she says things like “I asked how her surgery went so can’t she get over it”
He has a habbit of telling her my hobbies and then all the sudden she’s into the same hobbies and trying to gift me things related to that. Every time she acts up and I say enough she starts to pretend she has good intentions EVERY SINGLE TIME and my husband believes it and then I’m the B word for not wanting to fall for it again (I’ve been through it at least 5times she never has good intentions)
All I ask from him is to keep my name out of her mouth she does not have good intentions and she has had 8 years of chances.
Every time I’m told to “be the bigger person” I’m tired of being the bigger person and her manipulating him to think she will finally be nice to me.
How do I communicate that “dealing” with being treated badly is not ok and I shouldn’t have to be treated badly for years just to keep the peace he wants a divorce now because I can’t “just get along” and tolerate the treatment. That a few months and her “asking how I am” isn’t enough to fix anything and at this point I don’t want to fix it because I’ve never done anything to be treated this way and I’m TIRED. I’ve had 2 major surgeries In 3 months and I just want peace without her involved and her messing up our marriage by trying to pretend she is sorry and wants to be nice yet again
TLDR my husband wants a divorce bc I won’t “just get along” with MIL who treats me terribly for no reason.

I worked my way up from a low level SDA (Store Donation Attendant), to the ranks of corporate at Goodwill. We are pretty much "Changing Lives" on paper, but are exploitative by using immigrant, special needs and ex convict labor. I have witnessed disabled people getting fired for being too slow to meet numbers, and others at corporate get a Lexus on company money.
I hate my job, but lack much of a resume and opportunity as I was one of the people with a criminal conviction they helped.
Feel free to ask anything.

A Bull Case for $IBRX and ANKTIVA from a Medical perspective
A Technical Bull Case for IBRX and ANKTIVA
Buckle up. This is a deep dive. I would not dare insult your intelligence. There have been a couple posts on this stock already, but I feel like none of them do justice to why ANKTIVA, the drug recently approved by the FDA for bladder cancer treatment in concert with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), is a big deal from a technical perspective, as well as a financial perspective. Let me elucidate.
First, some context. In 2020 a study was released by the National Cancer Institute estimating the annual financial burden of cancer treatment to be around 209 billion dollars in the US. Why do we spend so much treating it? Because cancer fucking kills. Heart disease overtook cancer as leading cause of death globally, but cancer is a close second. So, cancer is a big deal. We all probably know someone who has gotten cancer, or maybe even passed away from cancer. Rest in peace.
Of the various types of cancer, speaking only of the US, breast cancer has the highest annual rate of diagnosis, followed by prostate, then lung, and eventually—number 6—bladder cancer, with around 83,000 new cases every year. Around 16840 people die from it in the US annually. Globally speaking, bladder cancer is the 10th leading cause of cancer in the world. Approximately 573,000 new cases a year globally. Around 212000 people die from it globally, on an annual basis.
We don’t want those people to die. Or at least I don’t want those people to die.
So what are the treatment options? Current treatments: There is no cure for cancer—yet. Our best attempt at treating cancer involves a multi-faceted approach with many variables: patient’s age, patient’s overall health, how pervasive is the cancer—more commonly what stage is it in, the mitotic rate (rate of growth) of the tumor, drug allergies/restrictions, chance of recurrence, the list goes on. Chemotherapy as a treatment, for example, is common knowledge at this point. It basically involves flooding the patient’s body with a cocktail of harsh drugs that target and kill dividing cells. Since cancerous cells grow and divide at a much faster rate than other cells, on average, they also die at a much faster rate from chemo. Unfortunately though, the rest of our cells also divide (some a lot, like hair follicles). Chemo does not discriminate, that’s why chemo hurts. There’s a good ELI5 out there.
For bladder cancer, I will just list the various treatment modalities available. Some are done in tandem. Some are done in lieu of. Treatment methodologies can vary widely from patient to patient for the aforementioned reasons, and can change as the disease progresses or regresses. This is not financial advice, and this is sure as shit not medical advice:
TURBT: First line of defense. This is an operation where they go into your bladder with a tool and destroy the abnormal tissue. Usually outpatient. Considered non-invasive. High rate of recurrence post operation.
Cystectomy: This is a radical surgery in which they just cut the bladder out. It’s not uncommon. If the cancer shows signs of invading neighboring tissue or muscle, eg metastasizing, they don’t fuck around. However, this surgery is harsh. ~7% mortality rate flat out. Reduced quality of life. A study showed that your 5-year survival rate post surgery is between 54.5%-68%.
Chemotherapy: Previously described
Radiation: Targeted radiation works similarly to chemo in that it targets cells that divide rapidly. Harsh side effects as well.
Immunotherapy: Our immune system does not like cancer. It would kill it if it could, but often it can’t. Immunotherapy drugs can give our natural immune system the upper-hand. This is known as immunotherapy treatment. One of the best things about immunotherapy treatment: it’s kind of like teaching a person how to fish, as opposed to giving them a fish. It has been shown that your body becomes more naturally resistant to developing cancer in the future, post immunotherapy treatment. That’s great, because cancer often returns (See TURBT). Chemo and radiation don’t have this effect. They work when they are present, but when they are gone, your body is left wrecked, with an often weakened immune system (See Chemo/radiation kill cells that divide), and if the cancer comes back (and it often does), those treatments come back.
So let’s discuss immunotherapy treatments. There are several drugs on the market that are currently used for immunotherapy treatment to fight bladder cancer, and other forms of cancer. The most commonly prescribed is Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, or BCG, and ngl, it’s awesome. Side note, it is our only vaccine against tuberculosis, dating back to 1921. Then, in the 1970s, it was discovered to be an effective treatment for bladder cancer. Originally approved in 1976 for immunotherapy, it was one of the first ever immunotherapy drugs to be utilized, and the first immunotherapy drug to be utilized for bladder cancer. However, it isn’t perfect. For whatever reason, ~30-40% of patients either don't respond to it or become resistant to it%20has%20been%20the%20standard,develop%20recurrence%20of%20their%20cancer). Some studies show an unresponsiveness as high as 70%%20has%20been%20the%20standard,develop%20recurrence%20of%20their%20cancer). So it works great, unless it doesn’t, and then you are one step closer to losing your bladder, and/or the prospect of chemotherapy/radiation on and off, hoping that the cancer doesn’t return.
There are other drugs at this point that are often used in tandem with, or independent of, BCG. Those are: Durvalumab (AstraZeneca), Avelumab (Merck), Nivolumab (Bristol-Myers Squibb), and Pembrolizumab (AKA Keytruda) (Merck). The effectiveness for these drugs are often measured using two primary metrics: PFS (Progression free survival, e.g. how long the patient goes after treatment before the cancer resumes/returns), and their ORR%20is%20the%20assessment%20of,end%2Dpoint%20in%20clinical%20trials) or CR. ORR means overall response rate, or the more impressive metric, CR which stands for complete remission or complete response. ORCR describe how many people basically respond to the drug positively, e.g. cancer shrinks (ORR) or disappears (CR). Here are the results from their own clinical trial papers:
Durvalumab - Clinical trials done in tandem with radiation therapy. CR 54.5%, with 71.5% enjoying PFS after one year.
Avelumab - ORR varied depending on age group, but best performance 25%, with most people having PFS of 5.7 months
Nivolumab - CR rate 21.7% versus 11.8% with chemo alone. A median 22 months PFS, or 52 months if your tumor expresses the PD-L1 protein.
Pembrolizumab and (aka Keytruda) - CR 41%, PFS 42% after 6 months.
Enter ANKTIVA, which hasn’t even been listed yet on the Urology Care Foundation, that’s how new it is - CR 71% median CR duration 26.6 months. 96% of people who had complete remission, continue to have no disease after 24 months. This is when given in tandem with BCG.
So, while ANKTIVA seems to be first in class for bladder cancer treatment, better than Keytruda even, It’s too bad it can’t treat other forms of cancer.... Right?...... We’re about to go super-critical... Immunotherapy drugs are not necessarily cancer specific. Some work with various forms of cancer (see Keytruda). Currently ANKTIVA is in Phase 2/3 clinical trials for the treatment of: Lung Cancer, Colon Cancer, Lynch Syndrome, Ovarian Cancer, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Glioblastoma. ANKTIVA is in Phase 1 clinical trials for: Advanced Solid Tumors, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, annnnd HIV. Many of those dates for estimated completion are really just that, estimations. Could be longer, could be shorter. Given the recent news about their bolstering of manufacturing partnerships for vaccines (see below), and their newly minted fabrication facility going up in New York, I believe some of those to start moving along faster. Plus a proven test case now approved by the FDA in bladder cancer.
Okay well, Phase 2 clinical trials for lung cancer, whatever. What do the results look like for that study? They seem promising, but results for ongoing clinical trials are difficult to ascertain. I wish that I had all the answers, sorry. However, Immunity Bio has a web conference scheduled with the FDA in June to discuss the path to registration filing of ANKTIVA + other drugs as treatment for lung cancer. Given ANKTIVA’s bladder cancer results, I would not be surprised if they move forward with registration.
“+ other drugs”... What do you mean? Like what other drugs? This is where things really start to become truly beautiful. Remember how I mentioned earlier that immunotherapy treatments can often work in tandem? For example, ANKTIVA + BCG. ANKTIVA appears to play nicely with the other existing drugs on the market in-situ, like Keytruda for example. When used together, this is being shown to enhance efficacy. That is because the mechanism by which ANKTIVA and Keytruda strengthen the immune system against cancer is different. Keytruda is known as a checkpoint inhibitor. What is a checkpoint inhibitor? I thought you’d never ask! The purpose of our immune system is to protect our body’s from foreign agents, among other things. But what happens when our own cells go rogue (cancer)? It can be confusing for the immune system to deal with cancerous cells masquerading as healthy host cells. Checkpoint inhibitors work to prevent that from happening in cancerous tissue. ANKTIVA works differently. Instead of shining a figurative spotlight on cancer cells, it simply works by boosting the production of natural killer T cells, but not just any natural killer T cells, specifically engineered natural killer T cells. These are like the god-damn Terminator of natural killer T cells. And they are designed to recognize and target cancer cells. Checkpoint inhibitors are the spotlight, natural killer T cells are what actually do the killing. If ANKTIVA AND checkpoint inhibitors are present, then we have now
made a huge leap forward in fighting back against cancer. That is what the data is showing anyways. All of the other drugs on the market and in clinical trials that I am aware of are checkpoint inhibitors. ANKTIVA is novel, and works well with other checkpoint inhibitors!
On to financials.
Did you see the names associated with those drugs? Let’s take a closer look, $MRK for example, Market cap 324.89 billion. Annual sales revenue, ~60.11B. How much of that is Keytruda (See Pembrolizumab above)? Approximately 20B these are 2022 numbers. That is a whole 1⁄3 of Merck’s sales revenue. Now, now, Keytruda has a long established use pipeline that is true. It is also FDA approved for other forms of immunotherapy cancer treatment, not just bladder.
Let’s do some numbers. What did Immunity Bio bring in last year for sales revenue? A whole 0.62 million. That's right ladies and gentleman, 620 thousand dollars. How much did Keytruda bring in for Merck again? Oh yeah, 20 billion dollars.
How about the other drugs that ANKTIVA seems to best (at least in bladder cancer immunotherapy treatment).
Durvalumab (Imfinzi) - 4.24 billion
Avelumab (Bavencio) - 800 million
Nivolumab (Opdivo) - 1.2 billion
So ANKTIVA passed FDA approval and can now be prescribed. Too bad they have to ramp up production right? Wrong. ANKTIVA is expected to be made available in the US by mid May.
But, but, but, the FDA only approved ANKTIVA for the treatment of bladder cancer when prescribed in concert with BCG. Does ANKTIVA also make BCG? It will probably have trouble sourcing it! Wrong again! In recent news, the Serum Institute of India agreed on an exclusive arrangement with Immunity Bio for global supply of bacillus calmette-guerin BCG across all cancer types.
IBRX executive Chairman Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong has already discussed the ANKTIVA approval at a fireside chat at the Annual Conference of the American Urological Association. That’s right girls and boys, a bunch of pee pee doctors met in San Antonio last weekend, and little old IBRX was on stage sharing ANKTIVA’s newly minted FDA approval for its best in class drug, and discussing the success of its trials.
Positions: I am poor, buuut: 10 Call Contracts 12/19/2025 Strike Price $5.
TLDR; IBRX immunotherapy cancer treatment drug ANKTIVA proves to be best in class among other heavy hitting drugs like Keytruda (MRK), Bavencio (MRK), Imfinzi (AstraZeneca) and Opdivo (Bristol Myers Squibb). Is also in Phase 2 clinical trials for lung cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, and glioblastoma. Scheduled to start being prescribed in the US by mid May. 2023 revenue for IBRX: 0.6 million. Potential revenue once ANKTIVA gets
going, between 50 million and 900 million. Either way, a lot more than 600 thousand dollars. Can be used in tandem with existing drugs for enhanced benefit, so 100% competing with them.

A Technical Bull Case for IBRX and ANKTIVA
Buckle up. This is a deep dive. I would not dare insult your intelligence. There have been a couple posts on this stock already, but I feel like none of them do justice to why ANKTIVA, the drug recently approved by the FDA for bladder cancer treatment in concert with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), is a big deal from a technical perspective, as well as a financial perspective. Let me elucidate.
First, some context. In 2020 a study was released by the National Cancer Institute estimating the annual financial burden of cancer treatment to be around 209 billion dollars in the US. Why do we spend so much treating it? Because cancer fucking kills. Heart disease overtook cancer as leading cause of death globally, but cancer is a close second. So, cancer is a big deal. We all probably know someone who has gotten cancer, or maybe even passed away from cancer. Rest in peace.
Of the various types of cancer, speaking only of the US, breast cancer has the highest annual rate of diagnosis, followed by prostate, then lung, and eventually—number 6—bladder cancer, with around 83,000 new cases every year. Around 16840 people die from it in the US annually. Globally speaking, bladder cancer is the 10th leading cause of cancer in the world. Approximately 573,000 new cases a year globally. Around 212000 people die from it globally, on an annual basis.
We don’t want those people to die. Or at least I don’t want those people to die.
So what are the treatment options? Current treatments: There is no cure for cancer—yet. Our best attempt at treating cancer involves a multi-faceted approach with many variables: patient’s age, patient’s overall health, how pervasive is the cancer—more commonly what stage is it in, the mitotic rate (rate of growth) of the tumor, drug allergies/restrictions, chance of recurrence, the list goes on. Chemotherapy as a treatment, for example, is common knowledge at this point. It basically involves flooding the patient’s body with a cocktail of harsh drugs that target and kill dividing cells. Since cancerous cells grow and divide at a much faster rate than other cells, on average, they also die at a much faster rate from chemo. Unfortunately though, the rest of our cells also divide (some a lot, like hair follicles). Chemo does not discriminate, that’s why chemo hurts. There’s a good ELI5 out there.
For bladder cancer, I will just list the various treatment modalities available. Some are done in tandem. Some are done in lieu of. Treatment methodologies can vary widely from patient to patient for the aforementioned reasons, and can change as the disease progresses or regresses. This is not financial advice, and this is sure as shit not medical advice:
TURBT: First line of defense. This is an operation where they go into your bladder with a tool and destroy the abnormal tissue. Usually outpatient. Considered non-invasive. High rate of recurrence post operation.
Cystectomy: This is a radical surgery in which they just cut the bladder out. It’s not uncommon. If the cancer shows signs of invading neighboring tissue or muscle, eg metastasizing, they don’t fuck around. However, this surgery is harsh. ~7% mortality rate flat out. Reduced quality of life. A study showed that your 5-year survival rate post surgery is between 54.5%-68%.
Chemotherapy: Previously described
Radiation: Targeted radiation works similarly to chemo in that it targets cells that divide rapidly. Harsh side effects as well.
Immunotherapy: Our immune system does not like cancer. It would kill it if it could, but often it can’t. Immunotherapy drugs can give our natural immune system the upper-hand. This is known as immunotherapy treatment. One of the best things about immunotherapy treatment: it’s kind of like teaching a person how to fish, as opposed to giving them a fish. It has been shown that your body becomes more naturally resistant to developing cancer in the future, post immunotherapy treatment. That’s great, because cancer often returns (See TURBT). Chemo and radiation don’t have this effect. They work when they are present, but when they are gone, your body is left wrecked, with an often weakened immune system (See Chemo/radiation kill cells that divide), and if the cancer comes back (and it often does), those treatments come back.
So let’s discuss immunotherapy treatments. There are several drugs on the market that are currently used for immunotherapy treatment to fight bladder cancer, and other forms of cancer. The most commonly prescribed is Bacillus Calmette-Guerin, or BCG, and ngl, it’s awesome. Side note, it is our only vaccine against tuberculosis, dating back to 1921. Then, in the 1970s, it was discovered to be an effective treatment for bladder cancer. Originally approved in 1976 for immunotherapy, it was one of the first ever immunotherapy drugs to be utilized, and the first immunotherapy drug to be utilized for bladder cancer. However, it isn’t perfect. For whatever reason, ~30-40% of patients either don't respond to it or become resistant to it%20has%20been%20the%20standard,develop%20recurrence%20of%20their%20cancer). Some studies show an unresponsiveness as high as 70%%20has%20been%20the%20standard,develop%20recurrence%20of%20their%20cancer). So it works great, unless it doesn’t, and then you are one step closer to losing your bladder, and/or the prospect of chemotherapy/radiation on and off, hoping that the cancer doesn’t return.
There are other drugs at this point that are often used in tandem with, or independent of, BCG. Those are: Durvalumab (AstraZeneca), Avelumab (Merck), Nivolumab (Bristol-Myers Squibb), and Pembrolizumab (AKA Keytruda) (Merck). The effectiveness for these drugs are often measured using two primary metrics: PFS (Progression free survival, e.g. how long the patient goes after treatment before the cancer resumes/returns), and their ORR%20is%20the%20assessment%20of,end%2Dpoint%20in%20clinical%20trials) or CR. ORR means overall response rate, or the more impressive metric, CR which stands for complete remission or complete response. ORCR describe how many people basically respond to the drug positively, e.g. cancer shrinks (ORR) or disappears (CR). Here are the results from their own clinical trial papers:
Durvalumab - Clinical trials done in tandem with radiation therapy. CR 54.5%, with 71.5% enjoying PFS after one year.
Avelumab - ORR varied depending on age group, but best performance 25%, with most people having PFS of 5.7 months
Nivolumab - CR rate 21.7% versus 11.8% with chemo alone. A median 22 months PFS, or 52 months if your tumor expresses the PD-L1 protein.
Pembrolizumab and (aka Keytruda) - CR 41%, PFS 42% after 6 months.
Enter ANKTIVA, which hasn’t even been listed yet on the Urology Care Foundation, that’s how new it is - CR 71% median CR duration 26.6 months. 96% of people who had complete remission, continue to have no disease after 24 months. This is when given in tandem with BCG.
So, while ANKTIVA seems to be first in class for bladder cancer treatment, better than Keytruda even, It’s too bad it can’t treat other forms of cancer.... Right?...... We’re about to go super-critical... Immunotherapy drugs are not necessarily cancer specific. Some work with various forms of cancer (see Keytruda). Currently ANKTIVA is in Phase 2/3 clinical trials for the treatment of: Lung Cancer, Colon Cancer, Lynch Syndrome, Ovarian Cancer, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Glioblastoma. ANKTIVA is in Phase 1 clinical trials for: Advanced Solid Tumors, Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, annnnd HIV. Many of those dates for estimated completion are really just that, estimations. Could be longer, could be shorter. Given the recent news about their bolstering of manufacturing partnerships for vaccines (see below), and their newly minted fabrication facility going up in New York, I believe some of those to start moving along faster. Plus a proven test case now approved by the FDA in bladder cancer.
Okay well, Phase 2 clinical trials for lung cancer, whatever. What do the results look like for that study? They seem promising, but results for ongoing clinical trials are difficult to ascertain. I wish that I had all the answers, sorry. However, Immunity Bio has a web conference scheduled with the FDA in June to discuss the path to registration filing of ANKTIVA + other drugs as treatment for lung cancer. Given ANKTIVA’s bladder cancer results, I would not be surprised if they move forward with registration.
“+ other drugs”... What do you mean? Like what other drugs? This is where things really start to become truly beautiful. Remember how I mentioned earlier that immunotherapy treatments can often work in tandem? For example, ANKTIVA + BCG. ANKTIVA appears to play nicely with the other existing drugs on the market in-situ, like Keytruda for example. When used together, this is being shown to enhance efficacy. That is because the mechanism by which ANKTIVA and Keytruda strengthen the immune system against cancer is different. Keytruda is known as a checkpoint inhibitor. What is a checkpoint inhibitor? I thought you’d never ask! The purpose of our immune system is to protect our body’s from foreign agents, among other things. But what happens when our own cells go rogue (cancer)? It can be confusing for the immune system to deal with cancerous cells masquerading as healthy host cells. Checkpoint inhibitors work to prevent that from happening in cancerous tissue. ANKTIVA works differently. Instead of shining a figurative spotlight on cancer cells, it simply works by boosting the production of natural killer T cells, but not just any natural killer T cells, specifically engineered natural killer T cells. These are like the god-damn Terminator of natural killer T cells. And they are designed to recognize and target cancer cells. Checkpoint inhibitors are the spotlight, natural killer T cells are what actually do the killing. If ANKTIVA AND checkpoint inhibitors are present, then we have now
made a huge leap forward in fighting back against cancer. That is what the data is showing anyways. All of the other drugs on the market and in clinical trials that I am aware of are checkpoint inhibitors. ANKTIVA is novel, and works well with other checkpoint inhibitors!
On to financials.
Did you see the names associated with those drugs? Let’s take a closer look, $MRK for example, Market cap 324.89 billion. Annual sales revenue, ~60.11B. How much of that is Keytruda (See Pembrolizumab above)? Approximately 20B these are 2022 numbers. That is a whole 1⁄3 of Merck’s sales revenue. Now, now, Keytruda has a long established use pipeline that is true. It is also FDA approved for other forms of immunotherapy cancer treatment, not just bladder.
Let’s do some numbers. What did Immunity Bio bring in last year for sales revenue? A whole 0.62 million. That's right ladies and gentleman, 620 thousand dollars. How much did Keytruda bring in for Merck again? Oh yeah, 20 billion dollars.
How about the other drugs that ANKTIVA seems to best (at least in bladder cancer immunotherapy treatment).
Durvalumab (Imfinzi) - 4.24 billion
Avelumab (Bavencio) - 800 million
Nivolumab (Opdivo) - 1.2 billion
So ANKTIVA passed FDA approval and can now be prescribed. Too bad they have to ramp up production right? Wrong. ANKTIVA is expected to be made available in the US by mid May.
But, but, but, the FDA only approved ANKTIVA for the treatment of bladder cancer when prescribed in concert with BCG. Does ANKTIVA also make BCG? It will probably have trouble sourcing it! Wrong again! In recent news, the Serum Institute of India agreed on an exclusive arrangement with Immunity Bio for global supply of bacillus calmette-guerin BCG across all cancer types.
IBRX executive Chairman Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong has already discussed the ANKTIVA approval at a fireside chat at the Annual Conference of the American Urological Association. That’s right girls and boys, a bunch of pee pee doctors met in San Antonio last weekend, and little old IBRX was on stage sharing ANKTIVA’s newly minted FDA approval for its best in class drug, and discussing the success of its trials.
Positions: I am poor, buuut: 10 Call Contracts 12/19/2025 Strike Price $5.
TLDR; IBRX immunotherapy cancer treatment drug ANKTIVA proves to be best in class among other heavy hitting drugs like Keytruda (MRK), Bavencio (MRK), Imfinzi (AstraZeneca) and Opdivo (Bristol Myers Squibb). Is also in Phase 2 clinical trials for lung cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, acute myeloid leukemia, and glioblastoma. Scheduled to start being prescribed in the US by mid May. 2023 revenue for IBRX: 0.6 million. Potential revenue once ANKTIVA gets
going, between 50 million and 900 million. Either way, a lot more than 600 thousand dollars. Can be used in tandem with existing drugs for enhanced benefit, so 100% competing with them.

Hi All,
I’m an experienced web developer and designer, launching a new and unique way of getting a website built - my USP is “name your price” and I’ll build a website based on that budget.
The website - www.yourpricewebsites.com
As I’m keen on building up a strong relationship and showcase of high quality work, this isn’t just a rinse-repeat of the same template. All websites I build will be made by myself, based on your needs.
A few things I offer as part of this

• A variety of site “types” (business sites, e-commerce, blogs for example)
• Logo design and graphics needed.
• SEO optimization.
• Website wording.
• Hosting, domain and setup.

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Enter the request on the website and I’ll be in touch.
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I offer three months hosting and maintenance for free, then it’s $30 monthly after that (or I can provide you the site files).
This is something that I’m very interested in seeing the sort of enquiries I receive and hope to educate others on the progress of this project (seeing as I’ve never seen a web design/development company work this way before).
All the best,
Josh.

Hi All,
I’m an experienced web developer and designer, launching a new and unique way of getting a website built - my USP is “name your price” and I’ll build a website based on that budget.
The website - www.yourpricewebsites.com
As I’m keen on building up a strong relationship and showcase of high quality work, this isn’t just a rinse-repeat of the same template. All websites I build will be made by myself, based on your needs.
A few things I offer as part of this

• A variety of site “types” (business sites, e-commerce, blogs for example)
• Logo design and graphics needed.
• SEO optimization.
• Website wording.
• Hosting, domain and setup.

The way it works:
Enter the request on the website and I’ll be in touch.
I’ll take a down payment to cover the domain, setup and homepage. Then the rest once the homepage is to your liking.
I offer three months hosting and maintenance for free, then it’s $30 monthly after that (or I can provide you the site files).
This is something that I’m very interested in seeing the sort of enquiries I receive and hope to educate others on the progress of this project (seeing as I’ve never seen a web design/development company work this way before).
All the best,
Josh.

Hi All,
I’m an experienced web developer and designer, launching a new and unique way of getting a website built - my USP is “name your price” and I’ll build a website based on that budget.
The website - www.yourpricewebsites.com
As I’m keen on building up a strong relationship and showcase of high quality work, this isn’t just a rinse-repeat of the same template. All websites I build will be made by myself, based on your needs.
A few things I offer as part of this

• A variety of site “types” (business sites, e-commerce, blogs for example)
• Logo design and graphics needed.
• SEO optimization.
• Website wording.
• Hosting, domain and setup.

The way it works:
Enter the request on the website and I’ll be in touch.
I’ll take a down payment to cover the domain, setup and homepage. Then the rest once the homepage is to your liking.
I offer three months hosting and maintenance for free, then it’s $30 monthly after that (or I can provide you the site files).
This is something that I’m very interested in seeing the sort of enquiries I receive and hope to educate others on the progress of this project (seeing as I’ve never seen a web design/development company work this way before).
All the best,
Josh.

Memory transcription subject: Zeel, Security Chief of the Red Sands District.
Date [Standardized human time]: June 3 2138
“This can’t be real right?” I hear from over my shoulder. “I mean, it’s got to be, what’s that phrase, click-bait?” I turn around to the young gojid intern watching the holo-screen over my shoulder. I flick my tail with a firm yes. “It has to be, other wise we need to start a murder investigation.” I blink, briefly reflecting that just a year ago I would have said predator attack without one thought that a fellow sapient could be responsible for a back alley stabbing. “B-but that blurred orange blob on the picture!” She replies, spins bristling. “Also fake.” I reassure my assistant. “Don’t worry Bavik. I watched their other videos. It’s just eye catching headlines and dumb kids looking for fame.” I sigh and turn back to the holo-screen watching the counter tick down. “I-I-I guess.” She replies, no less pointy than before. “I mean, a human actually e-e-ea… ingesting a sapient. That’s crazy right?” I can’t help but scoff, the only reason we had to waist our time on this nonsense ‘investigation’ was because of all the concerned phone calls demanding flame throwers and kicked down doors. Not that anyone even knew where on Skalga they actually where.
“What’s crazy is my pup refusing dinner because it smells funny. It did not!” It was Bavik’s turn to scoff. “And how would you know?” She asks, spines lowering as the mood relaxes. “Cheap! Shot!” I retort, holding back an amused bleat. “Look!” she blurts, pointing a claw at the screen.
[Live stream starting: 3… 2… 1…]

The view window opens on a blue painted wall. Scuffling sounds can be heard as the view wobbles and zooms out to reveal a plain wooden table with a metal dome covering a plate while a napkin, fork, knife and microphone sit off to the side.
“Are we rolling?” “Yeah we’re good. Connects a little slow with the anti-location finder but it’s going through.” “How many viewers?” “Uhhhh, three thousand, five hundred and counting.” “Really!??!! That’s great” “Some of these have got to be exterminators ‘Bonnie’ This isn’t a goo-“ “Oh hush, it’ll be fine. Come on! Sit!”
Coming into view from the left, a human of average height, red hair, and portly build wearing a simple beige hoodie, a baseball cap and aviator style sunglasses across his eyes took a seat behind the table. “Alright, introduce yourself!” The human sighs and gives his head a small shake. “Hi, people of the internet. My name is ‘Clyde’.”
He puts up his hands and makes air quotes while saying his name. Shortly after, a foggy grey furred venlil wearing a decoratively torn pink colored jean-jacket with her mop of head fur styled into a mohawk featuring yellow dyed tips while each ear had several clip-on earrings attached. “And I’m ‘Bonnie’!” she says excitedly, repeating the finger gesture while hopping into frame from the right and tossing an arm around the sitting human. “We’re exchange partners, best friends and partners in crime!” Her tail was swishing rapidly, signing happy, excited, good things and watch close in a blur that made things hard to read.
“Tell our viewers what we’re streaming today!” She bleats, jostling ‘Clyde’ who seemed to be trying not to show a toothy grin at his partners enthusiasm.
“Alright, alright. From the duo that brought you First Ever Venlil Skateboarding.” ‘Bonnie’ holds up her other arm, proudly showing off a wrist cast covered in signatures and doodles. “And Drunk Friend Mystery Tattoo” ‘Clyde’ rolls up his right sleeve, showing off what appeared to be either the side profile of a deformed horse or a very unfortunate dossur. ‘Clyde’ tugs down his sleeve and nervously taps his finger on the table. “What’s in store for our audience today ‘Bonnie’?” The venlil girl nearly bounces with glee and grabs the top of the silver metal dome. “Ven-Steak Dinner!” She yanks off the dome. A puff of hot steam clears away to reveal a slab of freshly seared meat with a sprig of parsley on top. “Ugh why is it purple!?” ‘Clyde’ blurts, jumping at the sight before him. “I don’t know, it cooked up that way. The stuff you eat turns brown.” ‘Bonnie’ says with a shrug while tucking a napkin into ‘Clyde’s’ collar.
“C’mon stick to the script.” She whispers taking a seat of her own. “So, ‘Clyde’, why are you eating genuine venlil meat today?” “Because you’re crazy?” ‘Bonnie’ giggles, swats him with her tail and continues, answering her own question.
“Because we are going to prove once and for all that humans are not ravenous beasts and can control their instincts around us poor meek venlil.” ‘Clyde’ rolls his eyes under the sunglasses.
“And that we don’t even have instincts like that. Really, it’s getting kinda racist.” He looks down at the cooked meal before him, lips curling slightly.
“Now, before anyone runs for the exterminator hotline, well those of you that haven’t fainted or run for cover yet, this is actually-“ “ME!!!” ‘Bonnie’ Jumps into her exchange partners lap, arms spreading to present herself. “Yes, you heard it right! That’s me on that plate. Believe it or not viewers, I borrowed a synthesizer from one of the labs that bought freedom for so many. Took my own cell culture and grew my friend here a lovely meal of grade A, free range, yours truly.” ‘Bonnie’ hops down, tail swishing excitedly and fur ruffled with glee. “So, since this is one hundred percent consensual, technically not illegal and ethically sourced, none of you FED loving traditionalists have any right to freak out!” She wags her finger at the camera, a human gesture she had picked up along with the late 2070’s neo-pop skater fashion sense.
“And much to my regret, I owe this, possibly one legit case of predator disease in the entire galaxy, a huge favor.” ‘Clyde’ chimes in while adjusting the napkin in his shirt, before pausing with a confused look on his half-hidden face. “…wait, I thought the tattoo made us ev-“ “Shh, it’s on.” She interrupts, gesturing at the camera with her tail. “All right good citizens of Skalga, you will now bear witness to history’s first documented expert taste test of ven-meat!” ‘Bonnie’ passes the fork to ‘Clyde’ and sits in her chair, practically vibrating with excitement and bearing a slight bloom across her face.
‘Clyde’ takes the utensils and starts to cut off a piece, his expression going worried and the sawing motion of the knife slowing to a stop half through the cut. “It looks like petrol in puddle.” He says with puzzlement. “What do you mean?” “The juice that’s coming out, it’s all shiny and metallic. What did you cook this in?”
“Nothing! Just the auto chef and some oil like you suggested, didn’t even salt it.” “Yenv- ‘Bonnie’ I don’t think I should eat this.”
“Oh come on, we went through all this effort! Don’t you wanna beat the products for predator channel? They did a fake heart and got over half a million subscribers, the real thing will bury that! Maybe even get us a sponsor!”
‘Clyde’ laughs and nods. “Alright alright.” He finishes cutting through the piece and brings it up to his mouth. The human pauses and sniffs at the shimmering purple seared, orange centered meat, wrinkles his nose and jerks back. “Well, uhm, it has a distinct grease trap aroma, with a hint of, ugh, paint thinner?.” “Is that… good?” She asks, having no context for smells “…No. ‘Bonnie’ I’m not sure this is safe.”
“Oh don’t be such a pup. It’s not like I’m serving you a flying machine.” She replies, playfully jostling her friend.
“That nutjob just wanted attention.” ‘Clyde’ replies defensively. “So do we! Go on, eat me!”
With a grimace, the human puts the piece in his mouth, chews once and immediately groans. “Well? Don’t leave us all in suspense. Are we really the most delicious thing in the galaxy? Are you ravenous for more? Perhaps something fresher? Am I *gasp* in danger?” She says, phoning in a fake fearfulness for the camera. ‘Clyde’, shivers, chews again, and forces himself to swallow. He coughs, pulls a water bottle from under the table to swish and spit into a garbage can beside him. “God, that is the foulest, gamiest thing I ever put in my mouth! UGH!!!” He pushes the plate away and wipes his tongue on the napkin. ‘Bonnie’ leans back in her chair, tail flicking curiosity and the bloom fading. “Really? But.. the arxur keep calling us delicacy.” She glances at the lab grown bit of herself still steaming on the plate. “Arxur don’t know [censored], meat shouldn’t be sour!” He exclaims, hacking a wad of foamy spit into the can again. “Jeeze, you need to lay off the junk food! It’s like you’re pickling yourself.” he scolds, more foamy spittle dribbling down his lips before he can spit again. ‘Bonnie’ whistles and purrs with amusement, offering the sprig of parsley. ‘Clyde’ flicks it away much to her delight. “Well, there you have it viewers, humans don’t even think we taste good. Guess we had nothing to fea-“
‘Clyde’ suddenly gags and claps a hand over his mouth hard. ‘Bonnie’ gasps, her joyful tail wagging coming to a halt as her humans expression turned pale and distraught. “I’m gunna…” ‘Clyde’ suddenly stands, tossing the chair he was sitting in as he bolted out of frame. “PHILLIP?!!” ‘Bonnie’ shouts as she too leaves the room. The camera view suddenly twisting and hurtling towards the floor where it blacks out.

Stream disconnected, standby…
[Memory transcript interrupted, warning, high stress and blood pressure levels detected. Resuming, time elapsed, two hours]
The window suddenly reconnects, showing ‘Clyde’ sitting at the table, cradling the garbage can in his lap, the plate and its contents gone from the room. His face was pasty, sweaty, his sunglasses askew and hat tossed next to the microphone.
“By the great protector!” ‘Bonnie’ bleats from off screen. ‘Clyde’ makes an “Uhh?” in response just before hiccupping and bringing his head over the can. ‘Bonnie’ comes into frame, tail signing reassurances to the camera. ‘Clyde’ relaxes and leans back again, looking rather unhappy. “Well, good news ALL TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND VIEWERS!!! ‘Clyde’ here is totally fine and making a steady recovery.” To which the human gave a shaky thumbs up. “Even better news!” ‘Bonnie’ whistles, tail signaling to fast to read. “Our predator friends CAN’T eat us!” She sidles over to her human and puts a reassuring arm across his slumped shoulders. ‘Clyde’ nods and sits up a little. “So apparently,” he begins after taking a breath, “The chemicals that venlil bodies use to metabolize air and exhale waste gas, the stuff that makes your blood orange like iron makes ours red, is moderately toxic to human biology.” Winded by the explanation, ‘Clyde’ slouches again and sips from the water bottle. “Yeppers! The [no translation available in English] reacts with human stomach acid like vinegar and baking soda, hence the foaming.” There is a brief pause, ‘Bonnie’ glancing at her human and giving a light tail tap to his leg. “Yes, it also causes nausea, vomiting, disorientation, indigestion and a lingering sour taste.” “And yet the arxur have no tummy trouble with any aliens. Why do you think that is ‘Clyde’?” ‘Bonnie’ prompts, her fur puffing excitedly again. “Uhh, if they are anything like monitors and alligators, then the Arxur must have poor taste buds and much tougher stomachs that can probably digest a truck tire. Human in cont ‘hic’ rast have been cooking for almost a million years. It’s far safer bacteria and parasite wise, more efficient for absorbing nutrients and *belch* excuse me.”
“Yes.” ‘Bonnie’ says, taking over the rehearsed lines “And as such they have at an evolutionary level, lost the ability to handle tougher foods like raw meat, bones, roots, bark and anything even slightly expired. So, even against us prey species with our multichambered stomachs and fermenting guts, our hominid friends have comparatively sensitive tummies.” She pats his belly, to which he briefly aims at the can again. ‘Bonnie’ twitches her ears in a concerned way before turning back to the camera.
“So, there you have it Skalgans! We had nothing to fear this whole time. All the running, hiding, mask mandates, exterminator rallies and stressing out was totally pointless. Because…” She drum rolls her paws on the table in dramatic fashion “We’re basically toxic!” “Or there’s something seriously wrong with this one.” ‘Clyde’ chimes in, smiling and giving a slight chuckle at her paw swat retort. “Hey, this means I can get drunk and tattoo you now, right?” “No it does not!” “Course I’ll have to shave you first.” “Ahh, that is not happening!” ‘Bonnie’ blurts, the bloom returning to her face. “Let’s have chat decide. How about it? Follow the link below and donate say… twenty thousand credits to the Thafki rehoming fund and you’ll get to see me ink a naughty word on ‘Bonnie’s’ shaved butt.” ‘Clyde says with a grin, his color starting to come back. Blooming brightly, the venlil growls and whacks the laughing humans arm with her cast and turns toward the camera. “Alright” She says, picking up a remote. “That’s it for the stream, next week we’ll continue our series of vintage Earth TV with… uhh…” “Jackass.” ‘Clyde’ prompts. “Right, we’re going to react to a twentieth century human comedy stunt variety show. It’s all public domain so you can watch live with us. No charge and none of those pesky U.N. restrictions!”
Bonnie and Clyde wave to the audience as the colorful venlil points the remote.
[Stream ended. Have a great paw, friends!]
I put down the holo-pad and rub my bloodshot eyes. What we just watched had my fur puffed, the phones ringing off the hook across several districts and my staff either clamoring to unlock the confiscated exterminator gear, fainted, frozen with dread or chatting rapidly over the outcome of the kids insane experiment. Amazingly, no stampedes where being reported, but the press was still going to have a field day.
After a shaky breath I spin the chair around to face my assistant.
We stare at each other. After a long minute, the bristling gojid quietly says. “Maybe I’m toxic too.” I blink slowly and reply “What’s stunt comedy?” Bavik flicks his ears in ignorance. “We could subscribe and find out?” Turning back to the holo pad, staring at the screen for a moment, I tap the button. Sending the counter up by one. Then throw a few credits at the donation fund. “Crazy kids.” I say with an amused tail flick.

I will put it here “Hello, we noticed that your resume was recommended by several online recruitment agencies, that's why we are writing to you, our job is simple: we just review your favorite hotels, there is no time limit, you can do it at home，We need 50 people over the age of 22 to work on hotel data optimization. You will only have to work about 1 hour a day, there is no time limit and you can organize your time as you wish. I will provide you with 30 minutes of free training before you start. At the end of the training, you will be paid $50-$200 for the training, and your paycheck will be at least $300-$1000 per day, easily over $10,000 per month! If you are interested in learning more, please contact me using WhatsApp: +18452568562 “ Is this a scam?

I got a biopsy done 3 weeks ago that suggests Celiac disease (gold standard for diagnosing is a duodenum biopsy). I’ve been trying to get in touch with the doctonurses because Doc wanted bloodwork drawn to confirm Celiac disease. I finally just had to be a Karen because after she suggested bloodwork via the portal, no one has been in touch with me. I finally just talked to someone today after leaving countless messages. I’ve now been gluten-free for 3 weeks and am afraid my blood test will not be accurate. Advice please? The nurse said you don’t have to be on gluten for accurate results.

This will be my last post here, and I will not interact with the comments, sorry. Sorry for my bad English. Moving onto the context, I am a soft libertarian myself.
Seriously, just stop. Somehow, many don’t realize that. I see people here spending months arguing that free will does not exist and we are just utomata with consciousness being a powerless little guy. Ironically, when they do that, they exercise an unimaginable amount of their very real conscious will to prove something their opponent probable doesn’t even care about. What will you accomplish by convincing someone that we are just unconscious automata? It feels like you are just trying to pour your depression onto others, to be honest.
If you feel like you are seriously depressed, go to the doctor and take some pills or go to therapy. But I am also absolutely sure that the majority of you, dear people, have real life. Go to college, meet interesting people, try new food, try new relationships, if you already have one — great, spend time with your person! Food, journeys, sex — there are so many very simple and very interesting things to do and think about! Your sense of agency will be back, and you will forget about all that depressing (and I can literally feel your depressions through the screen) determinism talk, as if it was a nightmare. This doesn’t apply to determinists who feel positive about life, but there are very few people on this subreddit like that, at least from my experience.
If you feel like you lack control, immediately seek help. This is not a normal state of a human being. But what can be even more real that you convinced yourself into the fact that you don’t have control after listening to Sam Harris or any other podcast guy, probably even someone who just makes money on spitting something about the things he/she/they barely understand. No, meditation does not prove that you lack conscious control. You are saying that you experience something weird after deliberately putting yourself into a situation where there are no external stimuli, and when you are intentionally trying to shut up your your senses? Of course you will! Sorry, but you cannot get anything substantial from such kind of introspection because you already change the state of your mind by looking “inside”. It’s like trying to predict a system from within — you can’t because you or the computer can’t never accurately account for yourself/itself. It would be an infinite unresolved loop. Even more, what about all those people who claim that meditation actually increased their level of control over their thoughts? The funniest thing is that such kind of thinking where there is a separate “observer” is literally quasi-dualism, and I bet that most of you wouldn’t count yourself as dualists, and most didn’t engage a lot with dualist literature in philosophy (which is actually a respected position).
If you fear for your free will or consciousness because of Libet Experiment — stop, it has been debunked. Period. If you want to study more on the topic, read Open Minded by Ben Newell — you might surprised how much conscious control over your body and thinking you actually have! Yes, you are not the author of many of your thoughts, but you are the author of your interactions, actions and volitions. As long as you are mentally healthy, you are in a very real control over your actions. Your genes and upbringing are you.
People who claim that there can’t be any morality without the idea of free will — think about that next time when you read about rapists with wealthy backgrounds abusing poor kids who were sold into sexual slavery. Think about that next time when you visit Auschwitz. You cannot rationalize morality away. Even if you try, some form of it is hardwired into us. Hitler was an evil piece of shit, Epstein was a horrible sick piece of shit, Putin is a sick dude guilty of killing hundreds of thousands because of his own ambitions, and I hope you won’t deny that. You still have these feelings, and if you don’t, you should surely check your thinking. Morality is a lot about reactive attitudes, and they are normal.
If you believe that we cannot change the future — you are a part of the causality itself if you believe in determinism, not someone outside of it. You can change the future if you want, and you cannot escape agency because it already exists within our deterministic reality (if you believe into one). Passive attitude is one of the reasons we see sick evil dudes like Putin staying in power for so long. Take the responsibility and agency, and feel the control you naturally have after leaving the ideas of you being a helpless observer of your actions you deluded yourself into.
For my fellow libertarians: I hope you recognize that society and genes still extremely influence us, and the conservative mindset of a poor guy rising to wealth and power through his own free will is not something that happens often. Retributive-only punishment is not good. Extreme wealth inequality can be explained by very much deterministic processes in our society. The world is not just, and if you genuinely believe in that precious thing we call “free will”, let’s think about the ways we can expand it and make it stronger and more powerful. We still need social changes for our free wills to thrive.
And in the end, I will quote David Hume.
“Be a philosopher; but, amidst all your philosophy, be still a man”.
Go out and live life, or find help and live life. You will not find answers to existential questions. Most likely, you are not a philosophy professor, so you probably lack even the basic logic to operate within the resources that allow you to work on such questions. I hope this was a coherent post! Wish you all good luck and success!

Hi all, back with another dumb question. I've researched this online via the subreddit and Obsidian forum, and explored a few plug-ins and their documentation. Basically, is there a way for any given new note to have some text already pre-populated, when you open the note?
I have made some of my own templates, but I have to select the template first to populate any text. but I want to be able to hit hit ctrl (or cmd) N and have the new note have a couple lines already written out, namely a link back to a specific note. Am I missing something simple? It's easy enough for me to hit cmd + N, then option T enter, but Ideally I'd just like any note I create to already have the desired text in there.

There are many great free project management apps available, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The best one for you will depend on your specific needs and preferences. Here are a few of the most popular options:

• Trello is a great option for those who like to visualize their projects. It uses a Kanban board system, where tasks are represented by cards that can be moved between different lists (such as "To Do," "In Progress," and "Done"). Trello is simple to use and has a free plan that allows for unlimited users and boards.
• Asana is another popular option that is well-suited for teams. It offers a variety of features for keeping track of tasks, deadlines, and dependencies. Asana has a free plan that allows for up to 10 team members.
• ClickUp is a more comprehensive project management app that offers a wide range of features, including task lists, Kanban boards, chat, mind maps, and docs. ClickUp has a free plan that allows for unlimited users and tasks.
• Wrike is a good option for businesses that need a more powerful project management solution. It offers features such as time tracking, resource management, and reporting. Wrike has a free plan that allows for up to 5 users.
• Airtable is a unique project management app that combines the flexibility of a spreadsheet with the power of a database. It allows you to create custom views of your data, such as Kanban boards, calendars, and charts. Airtable has a free plan that allows for unlimited bases with up to 5 collaborators per base.

These are just a few of the many free project management apps available. When choosing an app, consider your team size, project complexity, and budget. You may also want to try out a few different apps to see which one you like best.
source:
https://gemini.google.com/
https://doitify.com/time-management/project-management-tool-gantt-chart/
https://www.openproject.org/
https://monday.com/free-project-management-software
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Hi everyone - my name is Michael and I've been a nurse for a few years now. Fresh enough to remember how nervous I was for the NCLEX, but veteran enough to know it's passable.
As graduation and NCLEX season is approaching I wanted to address everyone who is getting ready to take their NCLEX.
Firstly, congrats to you if you've made it here - you should be very proud. Second, the NCLEX is difficult, but it's not impossible. The test is designed to challenge us. Furthermore, I'm sure you've been told this before, but make sure you're studying. It is vital to keep studying even after graduation (it can be as little as 30 minutes per day).
Study Tips:
1 - Actually study! Studying is necessary to pass the NCLEX, and having a good strategy going into it is vital. Your school might have provided you with a book/free course, however you might want to consider investing in an outside one as well.
2 - Study every day. Studying every day is important to passing the NCLEX. You need to keep up with your studies even if you're taking it a few months out. For example, I graduated in May, but took mine in August. I studied for at least 15 minutes per day the entire summer. It can be difficult, but bringing your study book around with you and just answering a few questions can really help.
3 - Use your resources. Use the resources your school/teachers provide. Additionally, venture out to find other methods from nurses you work with or friends who have taken it before. Using other peoples' experiences is a very easy way to stay on top of things.
4 - Don't panic! The test is designed to be difficult on purpose, but it isn't impossible. It is important to remember that everything you've been working for over the past few years has lead to this. That isn't mean to scare you, it's meant to encourage you. All the knowledge you've accumulated over the past few years is useful and will help you succeed.
5 - Answer properly. By now you know that most nursing exams use "the best answer" not the "right answer". You're probably used to this method of testing, but if you aren't you better get used to it. And if you're used to it then you better get more used to it. The entire test (except for math questions) will be like this and it's important to practice that specific testing style.
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Hopefully these tips can help all the students/new graduates out there feel better and more prepared. I promise you can do it, and you will! Be positive :)!
If you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out.
I have a bunch of nursing student resources and guides here. Feel free to check them out!
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Michael, BSN-RN

Hello all,
I'm a doctor trying to implement a feedback program for junior residents. I want to have a free iPad version of the HappyOrNot kiosks so we can review data in real time. Does anyone know of a free or affordable alternative on the App Store? Anything that takes simple survey data (-2, -1, 0, 1, 2 as possible inputs) and time-stamps it in an excel or google sheets file elsewhere.
Thanks!

I think there are two main reasons 1. Coles first album He sold out and hiphop rejected him for it and while he is undeniable now and ever since some people won’t get over it 2. J cole raps to ONLY his audience black men trying to make it out with little education and the women in those same situations. Since they aren’t well educated he makes his work seem surface level with a nice message so they can actually Grow from it; but the majority of rap fans (which are financially free white boys) think he’s pretentious because of the simplicity (which is ironic because that’s where he hides most of the complexity in the simple shi) Kendrick is the opposite not saying he makes music for white boys but most of the people who would benefit from his message can’t understand it without help and don’t have time to go google lyric meanings
I just listen to born sinner for the first time and I didn’t expect much this album is fucking amazing and no one cares. This might sound crazy but imo it’s up with 4yeo and tpab. it has heavy themes layered in simplicity that go over eggany fantanos head top tier rapping and punchlines and fire beats. When your weakest project u had control over is kod that’s saying something

I have developed a small fantasy app for a motorsport niche which has been a passion project of mine in the previous year.
Here are some stats that might be relevant: - Registered users ~550 (last season ended at 80) - Weekly impressions in the app ~10k - Weekly active users ~150 - Total running cost of the product ~$40/month - Niche Instagram account with ~250k accounts reached in the past month (total of $100 ad spend 3 months ago at the beginning of the season)
Currently the app is purely a fantasy game with a easy-to-play experience, a simple community chat and some mini-league features (aiming for the network effect)
The user acquisition cost at this point is ~$0.8 - but obviusly there is no revenue per user as the app is fully free of charge and I intend to keep it so at least until the end of the season.
I have the following ideas in mind when it comes to growing the user base and expanding at this point:

1. Utilize league aspect to try to promote with sport bars so they can use it to drive customer engagement through giveaways for the best players.
2. Implement a community aspect like feed once there is a certin amount of active users so they can start to engage more deeply. I am aware no to expect all of them to start engaging, but 20-30 early users could spark a small little community.

Would love to hear if any of you have some ideas that could help me grow it into something more interesting for the crowds. There is millions of fans worldwide in this niche, so I am aware that there is an opportunity to capture some of the market.
A disclaimer: I am playing the long game, as I am a devleoper myself so there is no cost associated (other than opportunity cost) with improving the app and developing new features.
Any feedback is more than appriciated!