Home depot slim christmas trees

Arduino

2008.07.30 01:59 Arduino

An unofficial place for all things Arduino!
[link]


2016.07.28 20:56 Enter into the abyss *meow* so thy can find salvation in nothingness *meow*

God is dead *meow*
[link]


2015.11.29 10:47 CartsBeforeHorses European Collapse

The world's favorite reality TV show, "European Collapse" chronicles the dramatic, often tumultuous shenanigans of everyone's favorite extended family, the Europeans!
[link]


2023.06.03 22:33 stealthymomma56 Bamboo flooring retailer recommendation

Have Googled Grand Rapids bamboo floor retailers with less than satisfactory results.
Has anyone installed bamboo flooring? Which retailer was used (besides Home Depot or Lowes) and what was your experience?
TIA!
submitted by stealthymomma56 to grandrapids [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:30 greem I was once able to eat a 10 pack of bean burritos, and it was an appropriate amount of calories.

It was around 2000, and I was doing pretty heavy manual labor with extremely long days in the cold at a Christmas tree lot.
I ordered a crunchwrap and a bean burrito today. I couldn't even finish the crunchwrap. The bean burrito is in the fridge for later.
To be a teenager again...
submitted by greem to tacobell [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:24 SwissCheese4Collagen The Nostrils McBeardsley Power Hour: Guess What We Named Actually Gunner? Our new baby's name is...

The Nostrils McBeardsley Power Hour: Guess What We Named Actually Gunner? Our new baby's name is...
***Second attempt, technical difficulties, thanks for your patience***
Happy Fri-Yay, Snarkers, not to be a outdone with Ra!s arrival video earlier today here comes OfNostrils, who has decided to help out in Operation Look At Our Crotch Fruit Instead of The DoCuMeNtaRy. It seems she only misses a Friday when I give her a heads up, I’m just kidding folks. Anyhow, she decided to make Actually Gunner’s arrival vlog stretch into three parts. She still hasn’t updated the intro Actually Gunner Still James to be added, but she has annoyingly, left the birth audio trailing over the intro music theme. It looks like JimBlessa’s template of 4 vlogisodes with Plant 2 but the actual birth week vlog with the recycled footage didn’t do what she thought it would.
Which part is she worried about? Space? Money? Time?
Maybe we should call them Oblivious and OfOblivious
OfNostrils climbs into the passenger seat of the car and does not put on a seatbelt. OfNostrils does have a seatbelt on but he looks over with his serial killer grinch grin as they drive past the hospital entrance. OfNostrils says that she is excited for freedom but exhausted. I feel like I’m just tired of her stating the obvious every 35 seconds at this point. She’s back to stating that so surreal and she can’t believe that they have a little baby in the back of the car. Nostrils says that it didn’t seem like she was pregnant until a week ago because checks notes they did regular stuff up until she had the baby. So were the 5 to 7 vlogisodes where Nostrils had to give her stomach shots just a fever dream, a mass hallucination or what? Is it normal for them high risk baby doctor appointments? Is it normal for her to go to the obstetrician multiple times a year? If these are there “normal winter activities” I have questions. I mean yes besides the fact that they were giving her shots in her stomach and are going to a doctor and to a specialist, they basically ignored the fact that she was pregnant for 8 ½ months like she was 17 and her high school sweetheart knocked her up. But even the depths of their delusion aren’t enough to keep a newborn from actually appearing in the car seat behind you. OfNostrils states that it is so weird they have three kids now, “what are we doing, we’ve got 3 kids”. Just wait a year and ask Kath! what to do. She’ll know.
....that's not how any of this works.
Anyways, OfNostrils has to call to let J16 know they’re on the way back to take control of her temporary buddy team. Before they do that though OfNostrils proves she has zero idea how any of this works she asks Nostrils if they should tell them now meaning us, the viewers. This was filmed on the way home from the hospital with Actually Gunner, which means this footage is from roughly 2 weeks ago. I think she thinks it’s Facebook live. I should stop joking about things like wanting to see what names Actually Gunner beat, because I snark and OfNostrils posts. I kid, I kid. OfNostrils screws her face up to tell us the name, and then doesn’t. I mean we already know that it’s Actually Gunner Still James because she said so on Instagram like literally 2 weeks ago. I guess this tells us how badly TLC messed with the timelines back when she was a kid.
I should stop joking about things like wanting to see what names Actually Gunner beat, because I snark and OfNostrils posts and now we get a little explanation into the name. Apparently, it wasn’t on their list at all so I guess just fuck any of us who may have had a line on this one of the sports apps. I’m kidding, I’m just tired of seeing the betting app commercials. It looks like Nostrils needs to give his wife a refresher on the difference between Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and cable TV, because she wants us to “put our guesses in”. What do I win if I guess right? Thank God I’m not Rumple-fucking-stiltskin otherwise she would owe me Giddy-Up unless Austina volunteered as tribute. But anyways, they looked up a name online, which I’m betting was Gunner and picked it because none of the rest of them fit whenever they were laying on the bed and holding him. Nostrils added that part as they turned onto another road, put at least he was checking on-coming traffic. OfNostrils takes back the fact that she said she would tell YouTube viewers first and says instead that when they tell Nostrils: The Next Generation a.k.a. J16s practice buddy group, though tell everybody. Except, she told everybody on Instagram like that day? I don’t think she knows what she’s doing at this point.
That beard ages the hell out of Nostrils

Nostrils: The Next Generation swarm out to meet their new member, meaning the footage of them sitting then running to the door was edited or staged.
As they drive up the driveway, Nostrils begins singing “taken the little man home”, but the captions have it as “old man home”. He also says “welcome home baby brother”, as OfNostrils wonders how Giddy-Up and Austina will react. Well I mean did you guys tell them Actually Gunner will be coming home from the hospital? I don’t think don’t have a problem with it, they're probably more prepared than you two are. I'd bet Austina would have had the bag packed if it had come down to it. IIRC, Austina practically ripped Actually Gunner out of Nostrils’ arms the second her butt hit the hospital bed, and Giddy-Up seemed pleased. “Aunt Johanna” is going to come out and take the camera from OfNostrils. Austina and Giddy-Up come out to the car and promptly lose their shit that Actually Gunner is home. Perm ends up gathering everybody back inside so J16 can shoot the footage we saw last week of Austina pushing the Doona into the house. They get Austina set up in the chair, use a pillow to prop up Actually Gunner and get to filming the name reveal. Giddy-Up asks why his eyes are closed, OfNostrils says it’s because the baby is sleepy. As OfNostrils tells her daughter that the newborn "wanted to" sit on Austina's lap and also that her new toys were from the newborn, Actually Gunner proves he has impeccable timing and farts on Austina’s lap, showing how much of that he believes. Austina kisses her newly established buddy team member on the forehead and waits to hear what his name is. Giddy-Up is with us and thinks it’s a horrible name, rage quits to his room and is brought back out to the living room by his mother. Of nostrils was laughing about the fact that Giddy-Up was mad that they did this to his little brother. I mean Gunner James doesn’t even make cool nickname letters like GJ is...eeww. At least Edwin would’ve been EJ.
Actually Gunnar gets comfy and lets it all out once he's home.
Giddy-Up was still holding out for Mr. Joel.
What did they expect? They kept asking Giddy-Up what he wanted to name the baby, then ignored it. Of course he's a little salty.
20 bucks says Giddy-Up ends up calling Actually Gunner \"Buddy\" or \"Bubby/Bubba\".
After Giddy-Up gets hauled back out to the living room, like SiAhh when they announced Perm was pregnant with Josie or Jubilee, OfNostrils sits him down and explains that he can call the baby a different nickname if he wants. In swoops Nostrils with Actually Gunner, to say that it if people said Gideon was a bad name then Giddy-Up wouldn’t like it so he should be more kind. OfNostrils, to her credit, soothes her son and asked him about his new sandals. Giddy-Up cheers up, but Nostrils isn’t done with him yet. Nostrils makes it a point to say that Actually Gunner is Giddy-Up’s brother, like Austina is his sister and that Giddy-Up needs say “I love you baby brother”. What kind of new age bullshit is this? Giddy-Up has no problem with his brother, he just doesn’t like the backwater redneck name you picked out for him. Hell, I might even go so far as to say that Giddy-Up and Austina love that kid more than their parents do. Austina doesn’t seem to trust them with him, and Giddy-Up is actually worried about this kid down the road.
Nostrils proves he was the one who was upset Giddy-Up doesn't like the name Gunner. Actually Gunner could care less.
Pushes son to not be girly, wonders why he won't pick up a baby like the daughter who was given a baby doll at birth to carry around. Goes overboard force-coaching his son to connect to a baby that has been asleep the entire day. Fundies, amiright?
Giddy-Up gets a hug from OfNostrils, not-tent. Austina says the baby is “small cute”, more non-tent. OfNostrils asks if the baby is taking a “Paci”, the non-tent continues. Austina pops in to remind us that it was her paci at one point but she’s a big girl now was going to start potty training. She seems super excited about it which is good because usually having a new baby in the house can cause regressions, but Austina's excitement might counteract that pretty well. OfNostrils goes to take her shower and we should finally have new footage from this point on the first half has been a mix of behind-the-scenes of previous footage and just filling in the blanks.
They will send them home and update the labs later, they hope.
No sooner does OfNostrils get settled in for her shower, the screen says “later” and they’re back at the hospital. Actually Gunner has some jaundice and needs to get labs done. They say he will be okay and we end up back at the McBeardsley cabin. The first thing is Nostrils has Giddy-Up in a swaddle that both he and Austina when they were little. Giddy-Up is done playing and is admonished by his mother to use his words. He says “please don’t”,as Austina jumps in. There is a lot of laughing and giggling as Actually Gunner sleeps away in J18’s arms on the other side of the living room. I is Austina’s turn to pretend to be a baby but not before Nostrils proclaims that the wrap stinks. OfNostrils explains that this is because it was in the storage box. I would hope that they're running it through the wash before they start using it for Actually Gunner. OfNostrils heads down the hallway towards where the children are making plenty of noise and smiles as she says it has rained all day and so the kids have been cooped up all day. Both kids are appropriately clothed covered up in beige sweatsuits, I blame Aunt J18. Perm is also there to help with the new baby, no wonder she got to Ra!s birth so late… Anyways, but OfNostrils feels great postpartum and has to keep reminding herself to sit down. But Perm and the J’Buddy Team goes home tomorrow and it will be their first full day with no help. They're having family come over and the weather is nice so it should be good. Whatever floats their boat. Gotta let Actually Gunner soak up his one week is the newest grand baby I guess. She stops to show us her “messy room”, but really the bed isn’t made and there’s a bassinet right next to it. Here we go with the “unreasonable expectations” and fake relatability shtick. “Life with baby” is chirped right on cue. She shows off her lack of bump, then says postpartum three times while looking in the full-length mirror. Did someone tell her that saying that would melt off the baby weight like a magic mirror, or is it just her new favorite word?
She almost called him \"Gun-Gun\", I swear.
Actually Gunner got clued in by Austina about the camera and stays asleep, while Giddy-Up traps Nostrils in his La-Z-Boy.
LiFe WiTh BaBy...tee hee hee
Guest Room is Fundie Speak for TV Room.
Anyways as she leaves her room, the TV room has Perm or Nostrils’ hunting show on, but Nostrils is putting the kids to bed. OfNostrils walks past Austina being swaddled while laughing, to where Giddy-Up is in his bed with his thumb in his mouth. OfNostrils scolds him, tells him his brother needs him to be a good example for him. Giddy-Up is probably thinking his baby brother sleeps too much to be able to pay attention. OfNostrils turns around to see Nostrils has successfully swaddled Austina and tells her she looks like “Baby Gunner”. This reminds OfNostrils that she has more non-tent to get. She suddenly remembers to ask if Giddy-Up said good night to his new baby brother. Giddy-Up jumps up, because No, they didn't as Nostrils lets Austina out of her swaddle and they run in to kiss the sleeping baby in their 14-year-old aunt’s arms. The captions do Actually Gunner when they change his name to “Connor”. Austina scampers off back to the bedroom, but Giddy-Up has to tell the Internet that he does in fact love his newborn baby brother who he has known for roughly a day. Giddy-Up seems tired, like he wants to go to bed. But wait, there’s more. Nostrils has come out to tell Giddy-Up that when Actually Gunner gets bigger, they will share a room. Giddy-Up seems okay with this news, until he learns that Austina will get her own room, to which he replies “and me too”. Maybe he is starting to wish he had another little sister so he could have his own room. Nostrils tells him to take a sip of water as OfNostrils tells him to go get in bed. Giddy-Up gives Nostrils a smack on the hind end as they walk down the hallway, and then Giddy-Up tells his dad they can play Superman. Nostrils says “what!?”, and now I wish I was back on the playground 30 years ago because I could have used that. The word Nostrils as a name goes really well in the “____-says-what” trick. The 90s were simpler time. Anyhoo, Austina is jumping on Giddy-Up’s bed, but Nostrils brings in the water bottle and does the toddler version of last call. Austina is ordered to her own bed where she asks to be wrapped up like a taco, but on the ground. Her negotiation is denied and she must stay in bed. OfNostrils comes over with the camera to tell Austina good night. Austina sees the camera and proceeds to crawl under her pillow. OfNostrils says “I love you. I will see you in the morning. Are you hiding?” Yeah, yeah she’s hiding. She didn’t have the camera in her face when you were at the hospital. Nostrils:The Next Generation, and Tru! learned something while their mothers were in labor and that was, except for an occasional FaceTime, their grandparents/aunts/whoever interacted with them in person didn’t constantly film them for content. To further prove my point, OfNostrils sticks the camera right up in on Nostrils hugging Giddy-Up. For someone so religious absolutely nothing is sacred to her is it?
Everyone wants to play being a baby, but only Giddy-Up gets scolded for his usual soothing method of sucking his thumb. Both McBeardsleys are leaning heavily on Actually Gunner to influence their kids' behavior
Anything would have been better than Gunner and the captions know it too.
Giddy-Up seems to have a very teammate relationship with Nostrils. Austina does Last Call
\"Mom, did Lolly every teach you the word \"P-R-I-V-A-C-Y\"? No? Greaaaat\"
The McBeardsley’s turn off the light and leave the kids bedroom, patting themselves on the back that their children love their new and how well they reacted to him. Well yeah everybody also took care of the baby so the McBeardsleys didn’t have any real change to their schedule, except company. Give it two weeks, when Actually Gunner needs fed and Giddy-Up throws a tantrum because Austina wants to read the book he has. They’re patting themselves on the back after successful 36 hours with two-three additional adult helpers. J18 counts as an adult here even though she just sat and held Actually Gunner like a sentient rocking chair. Nostrils does give her a shout out for helping, as OfNostrils closes window blinds and says they’re getting ready for bed. They say they love being a family of five, but we all know that will only last until the Lord tells them they will love being a family of six better. Perm fell for that one, I wonder how many of her children will.
Alright folks there we have it, Rimmy J's PR blitz It is through its first day, I wonder if J'Obnoxious James will have more of his European stuff to post, you know pay a skosh of rent on the Tontitown TreeHouse for the quarter. I suppose next week's non-tent from the Nostrils McBeardsleys will be when everybody came over to meet Actually Gunner Still James. As always, have a good day and a better tomorrow!
submitted by SwissCheese4Collagen to SnarkyRecapsBySwiss [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:22 W38k_5auce Trying to figure out what to do with these

Trying to figure out what to do with these
I'm cleaning our my grandma's house and she has about 200 VHS tapes still in the plastic. These are a handful of the Disney tapes.
submitted by W38k_5auce to VHS [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:22 Mordomacar House Locations for early Omnicrafting

I just started the game a few days ago (early 40s now) and I've been enjoying the gathering, refining and crafting a lot. I've been procrastinating on buying a house so far, but it's time.
I understand that max level crafters tend to just switch their houses around to get the correct buffs, but I'm quite a bit away from that point in the game and I need house locations that are helpful at the point where I am currently. I started im Monarch's Bluffs and I enjoy how there's a mine very close to the city (and lots of trees right outside the doors), but I haven't explored all the regions yet and wanted to ask around a bit.
The valuable traits of a home would probably be :
Thankful for any advice.
submitted by Mordomacar to newworldgame [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:20 WarHasChanged76 Horny Twink 🥵 VIOLATES Lonely Hosts 😩 & Circle-Jerking Gankers 👯 with a long, RIBBED 🍆 Death Blight Christmas Tree 🎄 Across Soulsborne 👹

Horny Twink 🥵 VIOLATES Lonely Hosts 😩 & Circle-Jerking Gankers 👯 with a long, RIBBED 🍆 Death Blight Christmas Tree 🎄 Across Soulsborne 👹 submitted by WarHasChanged76 to badredman [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:19 Ready-Ad-4549 Adam and Eve Tenet Clock

submitted by Ready-Ad-4549 to mindblown [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:14 Proof_Bumblebee7776 98 year old original hardwood floor restoration

Link: https://imgur.com/a/CtV3Wkl
I tried to cover everything but please let me know what you think and feel free to ask questions!
Background: My father owns a small flooring company and I would help him with jobs when I was a kid. I have some basic knowledge on flooring due to my past experiences but not enough to be considered above average. My partner was recently in the market looking for a house and stumbled upon a 98 year old house in a “up and coming” neighborhood. When we attended the open house the first thing I noticed was how beat up and faded the floors were. Of course, given my upbringing, I’m more sensitive to conditions of flooring. The finish was well beyond its life, you could see the high traffic routes due to the wear and tear, previous botched attempts to spot stain and fix little areas were obvious, some rooms were sun stained and different tents due to having carpet cover them for years, and various deep scratches. Yes it was rough but I knew there was potential. We didn’t have the budget to completely strip, stain, and seal the whole house so we decided to go a simpler and much cheaper route that still made a drastic difference.
Project: I borrowed a Square Buff Floor Sander from father but you can rent one from Home Depot ($75 a day). I purchased a box of 120 grit screen sheets ($40). Started with slowly hitting every square inch I could in each room to break down the old sealer and buff out stains and scratches. Swept up after every round. I did three rounds of all the rooms then a fourth round of high traffic areas and other spots I thought was needed. Next I used a 1.2 Amp CorneDetail Sander ($25) with 100 grit sandpaper ($14 pack) (note: I used 100 instead of 120 because edges and next to walls were a bit rough). I did several rounds on all the edges and other spots the big sander couldn’t hit till it blended with the rest of the floor. Once the sanding was done I swept and vacuumed everything up. Next, I grabbed wide broom and soaked a towel in water and hit the whole floor. Typically would have to rinse the towel after each room. Did three rounds and the floor was prepped for the sealer. It took two gallons of Minwax Clear Semi-Gloss Oil-Based Polyurethane ($50 ea). Went with the water based because it’s easiest to apply and self leveling. Applied just one coat but some floors need two coats. Once applied we waited 24 hours and the pics were taken about 30 hours after completion showing the end result. The working area was about 700~ sq ft. Project took 4 days to complete but could be done in 2 if free all day and night.
submitted by Proof_Bumblebee7776 to HomeImprovement [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:11 EngineeredCoconut Everything you need to know about why tech recruiting is the way it is

I browse the CS and SE subreddits a lot and I comment on a lot of the threads which talk about hiring, interviews, and recruiting. Since I end up repeating similar information across these threads, I figured I should compile all that information into one post.
Some background about me: I've been building software professionally for around 8+ years, and am currently a Senior Software Engineer at a company that has absolutely nothing to do with delivering food to people who don't want to cook. I have done a lot of interviews, been the interviewer for many candidates, and been HM a few times.
I have only worked within the "big tech" scene, so I have no idea how things work at startups, local, small/medium sized, or non-tech companies, so the information in this post is relevant just for tech companies. I will also mostly focus on the entry-level interviews in this post.

What are the goals of the technical interview?

These are some of the high-level goals for the interview:
  1. Be cost effective
  2. Do not use too much engineer time
  3. Do not make a bad hire
  4. Be able to recruit from the largest pool of candidates available
  5. Do not make a bad hire
  6. Evaluate culture fit (mostly through communication skills)
  7. Make a good hire
When you are getting thousands of applicants and conducting hundreds of interviews, you need to be very efficient throughout the hiring pipeline. The interview process has to scale with load.

Why do they always ask for a Bachelors degree when you can learn programming from online for free?

Companies want to be cost effective and avoid making bad hires. Bad hires are expensive.
A Bachelors degree in Computer Science means that various third parties (professors) have already validated a candidate's skills (through tests, projects, exams, etc.) over a 4 year period. This is work the company does not have to do, money saved!
It also standardizes all the applicants. Everyone with a Bachelors degree in CS (or CE, SE) has had the opportunity to learn the same concepts, so we can use a similar interview process to evaluate every candidate.
If I have two self-taught candidates, I have no idea what they have in common. One might have only done React tutorials on YouTube and not know about DSA, and the other might have done the MIT open courseware courses and know about DSA: so they can't get the same questions. Companies don't want to come up with bespoke questions for each candidate, it's too expensive!
A "Bachelors degree in computer science or similar discipline" has been required for all the job postings at all the places I have worked. 3-4 years of work experience as a SE can often offset this requirement.

How many applicants do big tech companies even get?

At most of the places I have worked, most entry level job postings get around 2000+ applications for the duration they are up. This gets cut down by the ATS and the recruiter, but even afterwards we are left with hundreds of applicants. The goal of the interview process is to cut this down aggressively until we get to the 1 person we want to hire.
At Senior+ levels, the number of applicants go down drastically.

Why do they always use DSA/Leetcode questions?

  1. It is fairly easy, quick, and cheap to come up with new questions. Algorithms is a very wide topic, with many possible problems.
  2. When problems are inevitably leaked, we can quickly deprecate and replace them.
  3. They can be asked to every applicant because due to their shared background as BS in CS graduates.
  4. It is language and tech-stack agnostic. We can use the same interview questions for someone who knows Ruby, Java, C, Rust, etc. We don't have to come up with unique bespoke problems for each language or tech stack.
  5. Since DSA is very general, interviewers don't need to be an expert in the interviewee's language choice, since the concepts are agnostic.

Why do you want to recruit from the largest pool of candidates? Why don't you focus on one language and stack?

Big tech companies always want strong generalist engineers because we use a lot of different technologies. My team could be using Go for our services today, but we could transition to Rust or C if need be. We also want candidates to be able to fit into any team if required, and not every team uses the same language or stack.

But Leetcode is not what software engineers do day to day, why don't you interview them on REAL SKILLS?

It is not feasible to interview each candidate on "real skills" because of the volume of candidates we interview. Lets consider some other interview options:
Take home projects:
  1. These questions take a long time to come up with, which means an engineer has to take a lot more of their time away from actually doing engineering work to come up with questions.
  2. When the question gets leaked, it takes a lot of time to replace them because of (1). Leaving leaked questions up for too long can lead to bad hires.
  3. We need to make a version of the question per language per stack for us to be able to recruit from the largest pool of candidates. This is very time consuming.
Building an application/API during the interview:
  1. These questions take a long time to come up with... same as above.
  2. When the question gets leaked... same as above.
  3. We need to match the stack that the interviewee chose, with an engineer who also knows that stack. This is not always feasible due to scheduling.
  4. We do use these kinds of interviews for Senior+ interviews, which are much lower volume.
Debugging a snippet of code:
  1. These questions take a long time to come up with... same as above.
  2. When the question gets leaked... same as above.
  3. We might need to match what the interviewer's stack to the interviewee's stack depending on the complexity.
So that's why we don't use these kinds of other kinds of interviews for entry level interviews.

Can't people just memorize answers and pass the DSA/Leetcode interviews?

Memorizing only gets you so far, and interviewers can usually detect it. It's not like a school exam where you write the correct answer and that's it.
We ask lots of questions about the thought process behind the candidates solution. Someone who simply memorized answers will not be able to able to answer all the deep dive questions. Why did you use a Min Heap and not a Max Heap? Why did you use BFS and not DFS? Can you solve this without sorting?
There's also multiple layers of difficulty to the same problem. If someone solved the problem in 5 mins, I can bump them up to the next level.

Can you even solve the questions you are asking yourself?

It is customary to solve the question you are going to be asking before the interview. So yes, I absolutely can solve all levels of the problem I will be asking. SEs who regularly conduct interviews are generally not too rusty when it comes to solving DSA problems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb0p1-TGjmc is great watch, which touches on this a bit.

How do you decide which questions to ask?

We have an internal interview problem database. We can only pick problems that exist within these database. Periodically engineers will get assigned to remove leaked questions and add new questions to this pool of questions, to keep it fresh.

Isn't there luck involved?

Yeah, luck is always involved. You could practice Tree problems all month and get hit with a Heap problem, while someone else who practiced Heap problems will make it through.
Luck is involved in most things in life, even in non-DSA interviews.

I'm not good at Leetcode and I don't want to practice, what should I do?

There are still many companies which don't use DSA problems in their screening. When I was a new grad I interviewed at a consulting company and their interview consisted of them asking me some OOP concepts, some Java concepts, and a simple problem like FizzBuzz.
https://github.com/poteto/hiring-without-whiteboards has a list of companies which do not use DSA/Leetcode interviews.

I think these interviews are unfair!

That's valid. But like most things in life, the more popular a thing is, the more competition there is for it. It is more difficult and requires more studying and effort to get into MIT than University of Phoenix, the same applies for tech companies.

Are you even making good hires if you are not testing their REAL SKILLS during the interview?

According to our analytics, we are making good enough hires. We have found that people who have good generalist and foundational knowledge are able to learn whatever REAL SKILLS are required quickly, and end up becoming very productive members of our teams.
At one of my previous companies, we did an AB test where one cohort got the regular DSA/Leetcode interview and another cohort got a take home assignment. After 3 years the data showed that the hires from the DSA/Leetcode cohort got promoted to SE2 slightly faster than the hires from the take home assignment set. The increase was not too significant, but it proved that it was not worth spending the extra resources on coming up with take home assignment questions.
Of course we do make bad hires every now and then, but they are rare, and PIPs exist for this reason.

What about all the good engineers you are missing out on because they don't like DSA/Leetcode interviews or are bad at them?

We might miss out on some good engineers, but it does not end up mattering because of sheer volume. For example, if only 5% of 2000 applicants pass the interview, that is still 100 people.
There is probably at least 5 good engineers within that 100. So even if 500 good engineers got filtered out, we can still hire the 1 good engineer we need for that specific open role.
I'm sure MIT misses out on many exemplary students every year as well!

How many candidates actually pass these interviews?

I would say anywhere from 5-10% of the total interviews we do at the entry level turn into offers.

Summary

I hope that explains the reasoning behind why these interviews are the way they are.
I personally think the perfect system would be similar to how it works for med students with medical school. You get your BS in CS and then go to a 4 year "software engineering school" and a government body (similar to the LCME) will hand out out licenses upon completion. Then you do 3-7 years of residency in various domains. The top of the class get placed into the company and domain of their choosing, and the bottom get placed into whatever is available.
/s
Feel free to ask questions, I will try to answer them. I will not argue with you though since that's pointless.
submitted by EngineeredCoconut to cscareerquestions [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:00 JoshAsdvgi The Legend Of Eagleman

The Legend Of Eagleman

The Legend Of Eagleman
By Anna Moore Shaw
IT WAS ON A SUMMER MORNING in the days before Se-eh-ha lost the love of the River People.
Just as the sun came over the eastern hills, the Chief of Cactus Village stood on his brush arbor and shouted, "My people! The gods have favored us.
We have stored enough food to last all winter.
Our families are well fed.
Tomorrow at dawn the warriors will go on a rabbit drive.
Each man must have four arrows.
Get busy and repair your weapons."
The day was a busy one for the people.
The men joked with one another and the village hummed with excitement.
The women were busy roasting wheat, grinding it fine on their metates (stone grinders). Pinole would be good to take on the rabbit drive.
Tall Flowers, a beautiful maiden, took the children to clean gourds at the spring.
"Fill the gourds with fresh water," she said.
The children all loved Tall Flowers and willingly obeyed her.
Everyone worked for this special day.
Before sunrise the hunters departed for their usual hunting grounds near Gagaurke-Slanting Mountain-or Superstition Mountain as we know it now.
Suddenly a young brave whose name was Hick-vick (Woodpecker), cried,
"I have only two arrows instead of four."
"Go home and get the rest of your arrows," ordered the Chief.
"We'll wait for you in the shade of this mesquite tree."
Hick-vick ran back to the village.
When he reached the spring near Slanting Mountain, he stopped to get a cool drink of water.
He was surprised to hear a woman's voice.
"I have some good pinole in this bowl.
Please drink it, you look hungry.
" The young brave eagerly drank the pinole.
Every swallow caused little pin feathers to come out all over his body.
"What is happening to me? I feel so strange," wailed Hick-vick.
Soon he was changed into a huge eagle.
"Ha, ha, ha," laughed the old witch. "I mixed ground eagle feathers in the pinole.
Hereafter you will be Eagleman."
In the meantime the hunters waited for Hick-vick to return.
The Chief grew impatient.
"What is keeping the boy?"
He sent a runner to find out what was detaining him.
The runner started at once.
When he reached Slanting Mountain, he saw a large eagle sitting by the spring.
The eagle had the head of Hick-vick but his body, wings, and talons were those of a huge eagle.
Immediately the runner returned to tell the hunters his discovery.
"Hick-vick has been changed to a big eagle.
I saw an ugly old woman running to the mountain.
She was carrying a bowl," related the runner.
The Chief sadly nodded his head and recalled past events.
He told the young braves about the legend.
"Once the witch was a beautiful maiden.
But she was proud and disobeyed her parents; the gods changed her into an ugly old witch. She lives in a cave on the side of Slanting Mountain, and now and then she comes out to bewitch someone," explained the Chief.
"It means the gods are angry. Let us return to our village at once."

When they passed near the spring they found Eagleman sitting with his bow and two arrows.
The hunters aimed their sharp arrows at the bird, but he deftly caught the arrows with his talons.
He flew to a palo verde tree and alighted on one of the branches, which broke under his heavy body.
Then he flew away.
When the hunters saw this they decided there was nothing to do but to return home and warn their people.
Eagleman fiew over the land until he found a big cave near the top of a high cliff.
There he made his home and hunted for game to satisfy his great appetite.
When all the game was gone, Eagleman started to kill the people of Cactus Village.
Those who escaped him lived in fear and anxiety.
One day Eagleman swooped down on the home of Tall Flowers and carried her away to make her his bride.
The people heard her cries for help, but were powerless to help her.
The village of Cactus went into mourning for their beloved daughter.
The Chief and his counselors held meetings to find a way to kill Eagleman.
"He'll wipe out the whole tribe," reasoned the Chief.
Tall Flowers' uncle remembered Elder Brother, a wise old man. "He'll help us."
The next day a young runner went to the home of Elder Brother on top of Greasy Mountain (South Mountain).
He returned with distressing words.
"Elder Brother is not there. His house is deserted."
The people were deeply disappointed.
Every so often someone would go to see if Elder Brother had returned to his house, only to find it still empty.
Finally, after a year, only a small number of the tribe remained alive in Cactus Village.
A runner went again to Elder Brother's home and was relieved to find him there at last.
"Elder Brother, I've been told to come and ask you to help us," explained the runner.
"What's the trouble?" asked Elder Brother.
"Eagleman has been killing our people and we're unable to stop him."
"Go home and tell your people I'll come after four days have passed," said Elder Brother.
The runner returned to his village and told the Chief that Elder Brother would not come to their aid for another four days.
It was discouraging news.
During those days Eagleman made his regular raids without trouble.
At last the four days passed, and Elder Brother came to the village to give help to the people.
The warriors went with Elder Brother to show him the high cliff where Eagleman lived.
When they arrived, Elder Brother took out some stakes cut from very hard wood.
He drove the first stake into the side of the cliff, using his stone ax.
"Before I climb the cliff I want to ask you to return to your village and tell the people to watch my mountain home.
If they see white clouds floating over Greasy Mountain, it is a sign I have killed Eagleman. But if black clouds appear you will know I've been killed by Eagleman," said Elder Brother.
Elder Brother slowly ascended the high cliff, driving the hard stakes and using them as an isk-liff (ladder).
It was a slow, difficult climb, but Elder Brother was used to all kinds of hardships.
Besides, he wanted to help the people.
When he reached the top of the cliff he found the cave, the home of Eagleman. Cautiously he peered into the dark cave, shading his eyes with his hands so as to see clearly.
A small cry came from the dark cave.
It was the glad cry of Tall Flowers.
"My Elder Brother, you ought not to have come. It's risky," sobbed Tall Flowers.
"I'll risk my life to save you, Tall Flowers.
Stop your crying and tell me, when does Eagleman come home?"
"He generally gets home at noon," answered Tall Flowers, drying her eyes.
They quickly decided what course of action to take, for time was running short.
"But the child will reveal your presence.
He's very much like his father and takes great delight in killing the helpless little insects around here."
"Don't worry. I'll be safe."
Elder Brother took some ashes from the fireplace and made a mark across the child's mouth, rendering him unintelligible.
In the distance they heard a great noise like peals of thunder.
Eagleman was on his way home.
Elder Brother quickly changed himself into a little fly and hid under a corpse which was in one part of the cave.
When Eagleman arrived he dumped his load on top of the corpse, hiding Elder Brother more securely.
His little son ran to his father and exclaimed, "A-pa-pa Chu-vich! A-pa-pa Chu-vich!"
"What is the boy trying to tell me? I command you, Tall Flowers, to tell me."
"There is nothing to tell. No one ever comes here, as you well know."
"But someone is here." Eagleman searched the cave for any living creature but did not find anyone.
He sat down and ate his meal.
Afterwards he put his head on Tall Flowers' lap and took a nap.
Tall Flowers sang a soft lullaby, whistling after each stanza.
Eagleman heard and asked sleepily, "Why do you sing and whistle?"
"Because I'm so happy to see you bring home plenty of meat.
Eagleman finally went into a deep sleep and did not hear Tall Flowers' whistle.
Elder Brother came out very quietly.
With his stone ax he gave Eagleman a hard blow on his head, killing him instantly.
The child met the same treatment.
Elder Brother knew it was not a nice thing to do, but the people's safety was his first concern, and he wanted to make certain of their safety forever.
He cut off the eagle's head and threw it to the east, and his body he tossed to the west
Tall Flowers buried her face against the cliff outside the cave.
Her heart was badly torn but she, too, felt that the safety of her people came first.
So she leaned against the hard cliff to give her strength.
Elder Brother came out after he had made sure his task was completed.
As he started to help Tall Flowers climb down the ladder of stakes, the cliff swayed back and forth.
Eagleman's power was felt even in death.
When the rocking of the cliff stopped, Tall Flowers and Elder Brother descended.
Her uncle welcomed her joyously and took her home.
Meanwhile, the people patiently watched the mountain home of their Elder Brother.
Their hearts were glad when they saw white clouds floating over Greasy Mountain.
Eagleman was destroyed at last!
submitted by JoshAsdvgi to Native_Stories [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 22:00 ThrowRA_LovelessInLA Getting mixed signals from a guy. Could use advice on sorting it all out!

Let me preface this tale with this disclaimer: I am extremely bad at subtle hints, dating, anything relating to emotions and feelings due to my childhood. I'm in therapy and try to take my time and understand, but it's still really hard for me. I also overthink everything. A winning recipe, for sure. /s
Last week, an acquaintance (29M) out of the blue sent me (28F) sexy messages. This guy and I kind of run in similar circles. We chat everyday and I know things about him like pets and siblings, but nothing SUPER personal like hobbies, likes/dislikes, etc. We were just having a casual conversation about what we were watching on Netflix and then all of a sudden he starts sending messages like "I wish you were showering with me" and "work me out." If there were any hints beforehand, I missed them... and honestly, at the time, I thought he was kidding. So I made a joke about the shower comment and he responded with something like "I didn't mean that as a joke." Whoops.
Next day I apologized for being an asshole... and he turned around with "what are you talking about?" So now I'm hella confused. I told him I was confused and he said he was, too. I kind of see a few possibilities here: 1. He was super subtly hinting at things before, I missed them, and have been a bitch unintentionally this whole time. 2. He was drunk (he was not out at bar; he was home at the time, but I'm fairly certain he went to happy hour after work) and doesn't remember saying flirty things or doesn't mean it? 3. Somewhere between those options? I have no idea. 4. I could be TOTALLY WRONG and he isn't into me period.
Well... now he's ghosting me. I know he's been super busy at work this week. I've only sent two messages in a week - Tuesday wishing him luck in his rec league game and Wednesday morning a news article about something we talked about a few days before. No response to either. I'm going to give it until next weekend, because I'm leaving for vacation and his murder trial should be over. I'm planning on sending a typical message to the effect of hoping he's okay and saying we can talk again whenever he's ready. My big question is... do I speak my truth?
I'm flattered by the messages - men normally do not feel that way about me. I am not attractive in the traditional sense. I haven't been on a date in 6 years and no guy has been interested in me like that in a couple years. His feelings and emotions are valid, I get a respect that. But I feel like he's barking up the wrong tree! I'm DEFINITELY not looking to get married tomorrow or anything, but I'm NOT into FWBs, casual sex, hookups, open relationships, whatever. It isn't me. I'm looking more for an equal partnership. A ride or die. A partner in crime. Commitment. Messages like "I wish you were showering with me" or "work me out" makes me feel like we're on two different pages. And, if that’s the case, that's fine! Everyone has different wants and needs. To be clear, I have no problems with flirting, but it feels weird since this is so out of the blue and I was blindsided by this. I would still like to stay friends, however possible that may be.
So Redditors, if you were me, how much, or how little, would you send to this other person? I could: A. Send the text about hoping he's okay and saying we can talk again whenever he's ready only. B. Send the text hoping he's okay and saying we can talk again whenever he's ready + explaining his feelings are valid, I wasn’t trying to be an ass - but I think we’re on two different pages. C. Ignore all together. D. Something else you can suggest that I’m not seeing?
My gut says B, but my track record is awful so that's almost definitely the wrong answer. Overall, I figure worst case scenario, I spill my guts about everything, he still ghosts, and I have a nice beach vacation to forget about it lol. Help a sis out!
submitted by ThrowRA_LovelessInLA to Advice [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 21:59 Ready-Ad-4549 Adam and Eve Tenet Clock

Adam and Eve Tenet Clock submitted by Ready-Ad-4549 to TheSaturnTimeCube [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 21:58 Ready-Ad-4549 Adam and Eve Tenet Clock

Adam and Eve Tenet Clock submitted by Ready-Ad-4549 to tenet [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 21:58 ThrowRA1382 [Landlord US-TX] Prospective tenant wants to put a home Depot pool in the yard.

The pool is 16x10x4, holds around 4700 gallon of water. Something like this https://www.homedepot.com/p/Power-Steel-16-x-10-ft-Above-Ground-Pool-Set-with-with-Surface-Skimmer-56655E-BW-58233E-BW/310711381
This is not an existing tenant, but a new one. Tenant is willing to take all liabilities, renters insurance covering the pool and put up locks on the fence doors that access the yard, which I can put in the lease. This is in Fort worth Texas.
submitted by ThrowRA1382 to Landlord [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 21:55 NorthernFlicker22 Hoya kerrii for $9 at Home depot in Northern colorado

Hoya kerrii for $9 at Home depot in Northern colorado submitted by NorthernFlicker22 to plantwatch [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 21:54 Beginning-Iron3294 I (M30) feeling burnt out in a relationship with my GF (F33), has anybody been in similar situation?

Hello people,
Im 30, my GF is 33,
My GF and I have been together for 8 years, we have met at uni and we are now both professionals.
I have moved from Europe to Scandinavia to where she lives after COVID, I found a good job and we bought a house together, it has been going well, however for the past 6 months I have not been feeling it and my love for her has slowly started going downhill.
I love her family and her family loves me, her little nephews always ask about me if she goes to her parents place, they want their uncle to be there to play with them. Her parents love me, her mother always asks me what I want for dinner when we are coming over (they live 10 minutes away), I help her father with heavy tasks, cutting down trees, lifting heavy stuff, etc.
I believe it started off when 6 months ago I thought she told me that one of her friends father has taken care of (finger to the throat) a litter of kittens in the winter because the mother was nowhere around and they wouldn't survive, so he ended their misery. After a month, conversation steered towards stray kittens and dogs and Ive mentioned that incident, and my gf was sure she never told me this. So I didnt think much of it and just told her not to ask her friend about it or that I have told her, ive explained that I might have heard it somewhere else. New years comes, there are about 11 people, friends of my gf, we are sat at a table and all of the sudden, her friend says ''X, why have you been telling lies that my father kills stray kittens'', I felt so bloody awkward I wish I was taken away by Aliens and probed.
Next incident was when we were sat, again, with her friends, and one of them mentioned going to Amsterdam and not being able to buy weed at a weed store, and I just said in passing that it was strange as my friends and I had no issues when we went, and my GF said ''You have never been to amsterdam'' to which Ive replied, ''How do you know'', and she just laughed.
My love language is definitely sex and intimacy, touching bodies, just being sexual. For my gf its acts of service and quality time. For 8 years that we have been together, everytime I even looked at her I would get a boner and wanted to go at it. Im physically fit, I workout 5 times a week, Im muscular, I have a lot of girls at work try to flirt with me, Im quite good looking. (also very modest)
Now, when it comes to the bedroom, Im always the one asking for sex, most of the time my advances are rejected, so I feel so inadequate because I feel like its the way I look, that I dont look good enough for her to be physical with me. And we had conversations about this, not 1, but this year probably around 3 or 4 times, and I told her what I would like to feel loved. I bought her lingerie, g string, stockings, and Ive asked her to sometimes wear it for me. She wore it twice and I had to ask. When we have sex, it kind of feels like a chore to her, once she gets going she enjoys it and finishes, however, I feel like I have to ask her for sex and it sort of feels forced. Also, I dont receive any oral or hand surprises without having to ask. And when I do its from 0 to 100% rip your sausage off becuase she wants me to just finish and be done with it. Ive also told her multiple times that my things is like when I do with her, start her off slowly and gradually increase the speed and pressure until she squirts.
She went for a weekend to one of the cities to visit her sister and friends, and when she left and I was home alone, I just felt, Idk, I felt sort of ''free''. When she came back, a week ago, I had no attraction towards her. I look at her and I dont get excited like I used to, she could sense that something was wrong and tried to initiate sex but I declined. Like, we kiss, but I feel weird kissing her, I feel like im kissing the wrong person, like Im cheating on my non existent girlfriend with my current girlfriend, and I dont know what to do.
We spoke this morning, Ive told her everything, Ive told her that we had this conversation 6 months ago, and 4 months ago, and 2 months ago, and a month ago, and now. She kept asking me what is it, asking the same questions she has asked me before of what she can change. I brought up the sex stuff and she replied with ''Well, some of my friends have the same issues where one of them wants sex but other doesnt'', and she brings this up every time we talk about this. She did cry also this morning, and when I came back from the gym she was also crying and seemed annoyed. She went to her parents place and I went golfing, when I came I made food and she came back, seemed annoyed at me, didnt say anything, grabbed something and left.
She loves me very much, most likely due to the fact that I do ''everything'' correctly, so theres nothing not to love, I clean up after us, I cook, I clean, I show affection, I shower her with compliments . She kisses me and hugs me, and overall is a good girlfriend. But now, I just feel like we are 2 roommates and Im stayin in this relationship because she is the only ''friend'' I have outside of people I work with.
I dont know what to do, when I was coming back home from a drive today I sort of thought about wrapping my car around a tree so I wouldnt need to go through this, I know I would need to move out, find a new place to stay, and once that is done, all of my friends are back home, so after work I would get home, go gym, come back home and play video games.
After all of the years of being together, when I think about leaving I feel really sad in my heart because of how good of a person she is, I love as the person that she is, its just, I feel nothing.
submitted by Beginning-Iron3294 to relationship_advice [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 21:52 KamikazeGamer1 Tom and Jerry ahh fall, this next thing is a lie: i love home Depot!

Tom and Jerry ahh fall, this next thing is a lie: i love home Depot! submitted by KamikazeGamer1 to Zannyvids [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 21:48 doglaika Kolmar

Can some one explain hes recon drone? Does it have a cone? Or like a big bubble?
I can only spot people on depot and dam maps.
Also what is better, disabling the healing or draining stamina perk in the tree?
Thank you.
submitted by doglaika to CaliberGame [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 21:47 throwaway25633367 planning my escape from teaching (uk)

Hi,
so, as the title says I want to leave teaching. teaching in the UK involves a two-year probation period (ECT)- I am coming to the end of my first one and feel very certain that this is not the career for me. I have missed the resignation date to leave at the end of this academic year so the earliest I can now leave is christmas.
Additional context:
I graduated in 2020, at the height of the pandemic with an arts based degree. I was incredibly burnt out and isolated, so I started working as a supply teaching assistant when school reopened then completed my PGCE last year. I never felt particularly passionate about teaching, but felt somewhat forced and like I had no other options (definitely a bit of sunk-cost fallacy going on). teaching these last two years has had a major impact on my mental and physical wellbeing and now I’m just burnt out in a whole other way. I currently live at home in a HCOL area that I do not like. I did apply for other teaching jobs in a different city that hits a lot of criteria for me (including lower cost of living) but unfortunately didn’t get any interviews. As I am a qualified teacher, I can in the short term work supply whilst looking for another job.
Thoughts on what I could do:
I feel ready to utilise my arts background again. I think a hybrid home/office job would fit me best. A few paths that I think would fit me well:
Essentially, I do see potential, the advice I suppose I am looking for is how to best maximise my time to put me in a good position after leaving. TIA.
submitted by throwaway25633367 to findapath [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 21:46 WorriedAmphibian Is this a good deal?

Is this a good deal?
I am looking at getting this to replace my harbor freight Atlas mower. I like the Atlas mower but it’s batteries are no longer cheaper than the competitors. Is this a good price? Is this a good mower?
submitted by WorriedAmphibian to ryobi [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 21:44 No_Lingonberry_5085 Just a few of my symptoms. Advice or medication recommendations would be appreciated.

Just a few of my symptoms. Advice or medication recommendations would be appreciated.
I’m a 21 year old female. I caught covid for the first time on Christmas in 2020. I have been dealing with these symptoms since may of 2021. Doctors don’t believe me when I tell them I have long-covid, and they continuously blow me off and try to convince me it’s “all in my head”. I haven’t felt genuinely myself and nothing more than “okay” in over 2 years now. None of my friends/family are dealing with this, so I just feel very alone. It’s debilitating. I’ve been trying to hold on and wait this out in hopes that it will end soon, but it hasn’t yet…and I’m afraid it never will. I recently had my license taken away due to seizures/collapsing, I’m on anticonvulsants that don’t seem to be working, I had to quit my waitressing job for obvious reasons, and I had to move back to my home town with my family so I can be monitored. This has taken so much from me. Sorry for the rant, I just don’t know what to do. Any advice or tips or medicines or ANYTHING that can make me feel better would be so appreciated. Thank you in advance.
submitted by No_Lingonberry_5085 to covidlonghaulers [link] [comments]


2023.06.03 21:43 Environmental-Wish53 I Cast Fist

As promised, the second one-shot of the day. This is the idea I had bouncing around in my head this past week. Now, onto the other actual story in a different universe. Tally Ho, Lads!!!!!!
~~~~~~~~~~
Magicians. Wizards. Sorcerers. Witches. Warlocks.
Supreme figures of power and authority. Renowned, respected, and feared across the galaxy. One spell cast from a middling rank alone is enough to collapse buildings. Novice rank figures are enough to cripple medium-sized towns, with Masters and above veritable threats to cities, nations, planets, and solar systems, depending on which rumor you wish to believe.
But above them all is a lone figure so strong, so fearless and brutal, that the mere whisper of their name is enough to cause the most hardened of magic duelists to tremble and quake.
No one knows where this figure came from. His origin is as mysterious and untraceable as the creators of the universe. Multiple divination attempts have been tried to uncover the secrecy surrounding this ominous individual. All have failed. All ended in a magical backlash so severe that it effectively crippled the diviners.
But every so often, when the rumors subside and the promising threat of this thing’s existence slips from memory and disappears into the vast streams of time, a wizard of legendary power steps up to the plate to assert their will over others.
More often than not, those who attempt to do so are stopped well before they can achieve their goals by other likeminded magicians, or independent groups that still fear the storng one's return.
The last recorded incident where the mysterious titan physically engaged with a galactic-level threat happened some two-thousand years ago. The far-reaching effects of that incident have yet to be forgotten by the select few "immortals" blessed, or cursed, with bearing witness to a sliver of such an event.
Such is the gravitas of this Savior.
But in the Year of Our Birth 8962.20 I, alone, bore witness to a fight between the Savior and his foe.
I could scarcely believe what was to come. Gods above, I couldn’t even comprehend the level of power soon to be casually thrown back and forth between the Tyrant and the Savior.
If the galaxy was a building, the terrible impacts and energy emanating from their blows would erase it from existence. Luckily, or perhaps through fate, the Savior set down a mysterious device that formed a protective bubble around me and bade me to stay within, lest I be erased as well.
Gulping loudly at the danger so calmly explained, I sat down and whispered a prayer to my Gods to watch over me and keep me safe from this monumental battle.
If they could, that is.
The Savior squared off with the Tyrant, his imposing suit of armor darker than the void. His helm smooth and perfect, with a visor the color of a raging sun. On his right thigh sat an odd device in the shape of an upside down “L”, if you pointed the long leg down and the short leg behind you.
It sat snugly in a carrier appearing to be made of the same material as his armor, while on his other thigh rested a small pouch with two slim rectangles stuck in a vertical position. Strapped around his waist was a knife sheathed in what looked like the remnants of a dying star, its handle made of a dark organic material the color of rust.
The more I observed the two facing each other, the more confused I became. Where the Savior appeared to be armored like a knight with unusual weaponry, the Tyrant was wearing robes typical of magical types, but there was something odd about the way they moved in thebreeze. Like they were alive.
The Savior’s voice broke my confusion, commanding silence from all so as to be heard.
“This is not the first time I have taken down someone like you.” He said. His voice firm like the mountain.
“It may not be” answered the Tyrant in a voice better served in a musical performance, “but where those insignificant worms were terrified of your mere existence, I have learned that you aren’t any special than that inferior thing hiding behind your shield.”
His revelation appeared to have no effect on the Savior, but that was because he was too far away to see his hand twitch ever so slightly.
Me, on the other hand, I don’t take insults very well. Call it a…quirk of a warrior race. In response to his provocation, I exposed my private bits and relieved myself on the ground.
In his direction…while making eye contact.
Clearly my provocation was more effective as a catastrophic ball of molten plasma struck the shield and exploded. I was unharmed, thankfully, but the ground around me turned into a large pond of boiling, glowing mud.
Yet over the fading sounds of the explosion, I could hear loud barking laughter. I turned to see the Savior doubled over letting out the most undignified sounds imaginable. “Hee”s and “Haw”s and “Haha”s filled the air, causing the Tyrant to grow ever more infuriated, yet still failing to act on the opportunity presenting itself to attack.
“Your disrespect astounds me, cur!” The Tyrant shouted. “You are no better than that savage animal that can’t even relieve themselves properly!!!”
The laughing slowly ebbed away until the tense silence returned.
“Well, I reckon I’ll just have to adjust your worldview. Maybe by smacking you upside the head with this here multi-tool.”
From out of seemingly nowhere, a short-handled shovel with a serrated edge appeared in his hand. Why the Savior called it a multi-tool baffled me as the shape clearly resembled the common shovel, just shorter.
“Ha! What do you think that peasant’s tool is going to do to me? I have conquered planets. Harnessed nebulas. Compressed supernovas into the size of a pebble.” As if on cue, a massive beam of energy was released from his hand.
I watched in slow motion as the beam crossed the distance between them and struck the Savior square in the chest.
Yet not a sound was heard. Nor was any damage seen. The man simply stood there and…absorbed it? I couldn’t believe my eyes! The power of the stars taken as if it was nothing more than a squirt of water.
“Ohhhh. That tickles. Been a long while since someone last shot me with a supernova.” He chuckled. “Not bad for an opening shot. Let’s see how you handle it.”
As fast as lightning, he drew the “L”-shaped object from its carrier and, using both hands, pointed it at the Tyrant. This was when I noticed there was a small lever on the bottom.
“I wonder what that’s fo-“
My thought ended as abruptly as it started when the same energy beam that came from the Tyrant shot out from the end of the device.
Almost as quick as the Savior, the Tyrant formed a shield around his body and attempted to sidestep the beam of power. It seems that unlike the Savior, ol’ Mr. Tyrant is only capable of dishing it out.
“How do you like them apples?” The Savior barked out as the Tyrant barely escaped his death.
“You…you…you absolute cowardly beast! How dare you steal my technique!!!” He shrieked. “Fight me properly, insolent whelp!”
“Oh buddy, I don’t think you want that. I’ve been keeping people like you in line for as far back as your records go.” The Savior brought his fist to his chin as if a solution presented itself.
“How about this, you give up and let me teach you how to be humble, making sure you put your power to good use instead of whatever it is you’re trying, and failing, to do.”
The Tyrant scoffed. “Are you seriously offering me the choice to grovel at your feet and learn humility?!?”
“It’s not a choice. You either give up, or you die.” Any brevity or light-heartedness left his voice. I felt the cold sensation of impending doom creep its way into my bones.
I have been on the receiving end of many threats and fights that easily could’ve ended my life, but this promised something else entirely.
Clearly the Tyrant understood the threat as well for it took him half a minute to formulate a response. A response in the form of a blinding flash of light and loud crashing of metal on metal.
Just as fast as the beam of energy before, the Tyrant crossed the distance and engaged in a brutal assault filled with deadly flurries of a cruel looking bladed weapon wreathed in the shadows of decay.
I watched as the Savior drew his own knife, revealing a glorious light that rivaled the sun. Its edge whipped like a barely restrained flame, reaching out at every opportunity to slake its thirst with the blood of the Tyrant.
Like an instructor teaching an unruly student a lesson, the Savior instantly turned the flow of the battle and expertly put the Tyrant on the defensive. Short, concise movements filled with immense unbridled power threatened to eviscerate the Tyrant’s body.
Beads of sweat poured from what parts of his face were exposed, revealing a smooth-skinned creature with two eyes, a pair of thin lips, and slimy skin.
“You’re one ugly motherfucker, you know that right?” The Savior’s offhand remark instilled a rage in the Tyrant yet to be seen. He let loose a wave of energy that forcibly threw them both hundreds of yards apart.
As they both appeared to size each other up once more, the light grew dim. I looked up and saw a massive meteor appear through a magical portal in the sky.
“Try to stop this, human.” With a single flick of his wrist the Tyrant sent the massive rock hurtling towards the Savior. A human, whatever that means.
I watched the object fly closer to its target and feared that despite the insane rumors surrounding the Savior, this would be the end of him.
I closed my eyes and prayed that he survives, for if he dies, I’ll be on the chopping block next.
I waited for the inevitable shock and awe of the meteor striking the ground, but it never came. I opened my eyes and saw a cloud of dust instead. In the middle of it all stood the Savior, proud and unfazed.
“The gloves are off now, kid.” He shouted ominously. “You wanted a ‘proper’ fight, well...you’re gonna get one.”
Now it was his turn to take the fight to the Tyrant. Almost as fast as his opponent, he shot forward and struck out with his knife, forcing the Tyrant to draw his blade once more and defend himself.
Except the Savior pulled out his “multi-tool” as well, and with a mighty CLANG he struck the side of his face and sent him careening into the nearby trees.
“Told you I’d be giving you an adjustment. Feel like giving up yet?”
I watched in awe as the Savior manhandled the Tyrant like he were a toy. There was no contest as to who would come out on top of this fight. Even with the destructive power wielded by the Tyrant.
“You…ack…you piece of shit. I’ll make you pay for…urgh…that.” The Tyrant drug himself out of the wreckage of trees and attempted to dust himself off. The Savior was having none of it though. He dashed forward once more and started his assault anew.
Using both the multi-tool and knife, he delivered a series of cuts and contusions and blunt force trauma that made me cringe.
He let go of his tool and used the free hand to grab the Tyrant, dragging his battered body back into the open.
With an unceremonious toss, the Tyrant found himself prone and facing towards the sky. The Savior strode over as confident as could be and picked up the creature once more.
“I told you to give up and let me show you how to be humble. I even said I’d make sure you’d put your power to good use. But nooOOoooOOO, you just had to stick to your guns.” He shook his head.
“Whatever. I’d be fine with beating you to a pulp and calling it a day, but you let slip that you know what I am. Meaning you likely know how to find others like me, including my home. You understand why I can’t let that happen, right?”
The Tyrant nodded weakly, fear evident in his eyes.
“Good. That makes this next part easier.” The Savior stood the Tyrant up and dusted him off.
“This will be my parting gift to you. As in, parts of you here, there, and waaaaayyyyy over yonder.” He pointed in the distance.
The Tyrant looked confused for the briefest of moments as he turned to follow the direction the Savior pointed, before the human reared back and swung his fist with all his might.
“I. CAST. FIST!!!”
submitted by Environmental-Wish53 to HFY [link] [comments]