hi all, moving on to the background investigation phase/waiting to hear about scheduling a poly, medical, and in person interview for a TS/SCI.
last week, i had an unfortunate falling out with my college friend group. essentially some former “friends” decided some of us were lame and not good enough to be around anymore because we were taking time to apply for jobs and get our life together before college ended. we found out about a group chat where they said horrible things about us for months, essentially making fun and planning to purposely exclude us. that being said, i’m not planning on being friends with them going forward. the issue, however, is some of them were my former college roommates. one currently still is, but i decided it’s best to go home and move the rest of my stuff out before our lease expires as i have a better support system there.
So…. yeah. How do i go about this? Is this even worth mentioning to an investigator going forward? I maturely confronted those involved and they at least acknowledged their truly mean behavior. nonetheless, i’m worried this could become problematic if they are interviewed.

Last weeks have been a crazy ride.
My dad has always been an extrovert, when he started posting photos of his travel abroad doing fun things like trying a punk haircut or jump from a plane I was not taking it seriously, naively thinking he was having a midlife crisis, having lost a mother and had a couple rough months. However his messages began to be religious, he was seeing the ghosts of my family, he introduced us to his angel, a girl he found wandering the paradise with a guy called Gabriel. He told all his friends his stories with her and announced us that he was going to marry her and not work anymore handing all his business to me (Ido not work with him). I really began to wonder wtf was going on.
I did some research and found out the girl is a prostitute and that was the reason we were starting to see my father’s bank account being emptied, he was living in 4-5 stars hotels making extravagant plans of buying a boat to sail the Atlantic and pacific to escape the end of the world, this is when all the sailing he had done was on a small lake.
We started to try to talk to him about coming back but every time he rejected our attempts aggressively. I was starting to be angry at my him so I decided to start investigating what was going on. It didn’t take me long to find out that my dad is bipolar. It hit me, I always felt that my dad was hiding something from me, I don’t blame him maybe he wanted to protect us.
Knowing that, I took the first flight and made plans with my dad. However when arriving there I didn’t find him. Only after two exhausting days did I find him, after visiting all the hotels were he had been thrown out and the police, he had lost almost everything and was looking really bad and drunk.
I was glad to find him but I knew that the most difficult part was coming, I had to convince him to go back. I spent countless ours trying to talk him into coming with me, at first he was almost ready to follow me but as the time went by he started to oppose me. I tried everything, even made all my family and half is friends call him to convince him, but nothing.
I came back alone, as the situation was getting serious we had to make a decision. We called the judge and the judge called is psychiatrist. It turned out the psychiatrist was in contact with him all along, but he was confrontational and he had stopped taking his pills. The decision was fast and an order to hospitalize him in my country and put him in guardianship was signed. The order was carried out abroad and he was hospitalized yesterday. The plan is obviously not to leave him there alone and to get him back here asap. I’m just afraid that my dad is intelligent and may seem lucid to some foreign naive eye. If he is released then we will not be able to do anything for him.
I’ve never wanted this but I think it’s for his good. Maybe he will thank me one day, maybe he will hate me.

It's a Holiday weekend so super busy no matter where you go. That combined with great weather and it turned into a nightmare of mass crowds. Today my mom and I decided to take my 2 boys to the zoo. Kids and I were sitting right outside as my mom rented an electric scooter for her to get around easier. She was taking a long time so I took my boys to the carousel so the rest of this is from my mom's telling of the story.
She goes inside and waits in line for around 15 minutes waiting patiently. She gets up to an employee and got super lucky they had 1 scooter left. She asked the employee to pull it out of the parking space and outside. As this employee is driving the scooter out a man came up to her.
He's yelling and ranting at this poor employee I need that scooter, this lady doesn't need it I do, I want it, I don't care if she's waiting and it's first come first serve I need it more. This poor lady trying to explain everything to him even that my mom had been waiting and apologize but this dude keeps pushing her and being nasty until she was in tears.
Right after this encounter my mom checked on the employee and stayed with her for a while. She was working 9 am to 11 pm shifts to come back at 8:30 am the next day, had upwards of 4000 people coming and going and struggling keeping the gift shop clean and stocked.
Y'all I was so shocked this is our first male Karen story and I missed it! But I am kind of glad I moved away from the door and left down the path. I don't tend to have a filter but i do have a great mouth on me. I would have ripped this man a new one and I'd probably be the one kicked out 😂
TL:DR: Employees are humans too don't be an ass and act entitled to what's not yours then like a spoiled brat when you don't get your way.

I'm a firm believer in the cliché love story. I yearn for a deep, passionate connection that transcends boundaries, entwining our hearts in a tapestry of shared dreams.
My entire adult life has been consumed by school. Growing up, I was told that if I worked hard in academics, everything would fall into place, but what they didn't mention was how long it would take and what I would be giving up. Now, I have a PhD and work an amazing job, but I'm still missing the most important piece: you.
If what I've written sparks something in you, keep reading. If you get to the end and still like what you're hearing, reach out so we can finally embark on our journey together.

Basics

• Late 20s.
• Live in the US but grew up in Canada. Been in the US for 7 years.
• PhD, educated, but not snooty about it. I have degrees in English literature, education, and technology.
• Passionate about my work, but not a workaholic. I am fiercely protective of my work/life balance.
• Not religious.
• Non-smoker, non-drug user.
• I want children someday.

Appearance

• 6'1".
• 190lbs.
• White.
• Dark brown hair, a beard, and piercing hazel eyes.
• I go to the gym at least once a week. I lift and take care of myself, but I'm not obsessed.

Interests

• Anything and everything nerdy.
• Tabletop RPGs, D&D.
• Video games. Will you be my Minecraft girlfriend?
• Movies and TV series, especially fantasy, horror, sci-fi, drama, and romance.
• Music. Mainly heavy metal, but I like a bit of everything. Tell me about your favourite bands.

What I'm looking for

• Age is not a factor, but I am looking for someone who isn't too far into their journey. I've been in school for so long that I feel like I am behind other people my age, so I would prefer someone younger than me who can relate to where I am in life.
• University educated, attending, or planning to attend. I don't care what your major is as long as you're passionate about something.
• Nerdy, introverted, and shares my interests.

Dealbreakers

• Being divorced or having children from previous relationships. I am looking to build something new with someone who is in a similar situation to me.
• Religion. I was raised in a religious home but do not practice. I strive to be a good person on my own accord. I consider myself agnostic.
• Child-free. I want to have children.
• Asexuality. Physical intimacy is very important to me, and touch is one of my primary love languages.

I apologize for any offense here, but I want to be honest so as to not waste anyone's time.

Please read before you reach out

If you made it this far and want to chat, please send me a message with:

• Your age
• What you look like
• Your educational and career goals
• Your hobbies and what you do for fun

Our life together is one message away.

We have a young son with a number of developmental problems and are trying to find the right next direction to proceed, before we start down a path of more invasive testing.
The geneticist we’ve been working with feels it’s unlikely to be caused by a single gene disorder and our insurance won’t cover WGS, so we ordered 100x sequencing from nebula. We don’t have full parental data, so can’t run a trio.
I have a decent background in genetics and the various company offerings, but thought nebula was still having sequencing run by the broad, so assumed that I might have poor analysis, but I would at least have a good quality sequence file to work with using other tools. Some of the comments here suggest otherwise…
Has anyone had a good experience with nebula? Especially with 100x sequencing? Any recent experience with turnaround time at this depth?
I know the pitfalls of short reads, so I know there are things we may be missing, but at this point we’re just hoping we can find a direction to look instead of visit after visit with specialists and no answers.
If you’ve gone down this path, is there another provider we should have chosen?

Hello everyone, sorry for my bad English. Now I’m in times when I don’t know what to do. Here is my story me 23M and my girlfriend 19F having a 2 year relationship. We meet back to school 4 years ago and we were good friends. 2 years ago I invited her for date and things come out in good ways. First year was very great we never had any problems. First problem came when my brother found himself a girlfriend, later I found out she had conflict with her brother. She hated my brothers girlfriend because she can’t greet to her (to me same) and atc. but what can I do if she is stupid? I said it to my brother talk to her but it didn’t help. She is just stupid I can’t help her. Then she said she is using my brother, yes I talked to my brother about that but he have to find you. Then came the second problem, my girlfriend (it was not her fault) had problem with her sister. Who was the main problem? By my gf mother, me and my gf, because I’m using her (I don’t know how the hell), her mother also declared she (my gf) is ruining her life (with no reason, everytime before she said that, she will not go to her promotion, also she will move somewhere else from house and divorce because everyone is destroying her-and it was just one stupid problem). Then I had birthday and also was invated my brothers girlfriend, from that also problem came because from that reason my girlfriend didn’t wanted to came to my birthday and then it is also my fault. Then at november 2022 my father said shit thing to her 2 times, I discused it with my father do never say something to her like that. I talked about that also with her. My father agreed she was to our house 3 times and troubles didn’t came back with my father. At new year also problem came, she got into conflict with her mother with some little shit thing also about her sister, who was again the bad one? She (who didn’t do anything wrong) and me (who wasnt been there) so again shit thing were said by her mom that I just use her and I’m destoying her( my gf). But question is how the hell? 1,5 went by and we didn’t had normal conflict, I was messeging with her every day, every free time I had I was with her, we went out I paid, when she was ill I cared and was also with her, when she get into conflict with her mother and cried wiped away her tears, I never cheated or talked to other girl. So how the thing come out? Her mother messeged me to come help with my gf because she is crying hard, I just wondered me, The bad one? Who is “destroying” her. I love her more that anything I came that night but it hurt a lot. In january my gf starter to blame me, in her opinion because I planned that we could build house near my parents because we didn’t have to buy space, in summer she agreed now it was problem, I said okay we can think about something different so we can be happy, it was also problem that I wanted after school work in our shop and she wanted to move somewhere else from here, she said why I don’t want any other option, I said okay we can discuss out something. In end of February her mother get also in conflict now with her husband, she felt at night with car. I thought if she hates me some much maybe if I help her now, she will hopefully change, so I went with my gf to find her and we found her, she was greatful. I thought now thing will get right. I started to help to her sister with things so she also will stop hate me without reason. One day I went with her mother and she asked me why she don’t want to go to us (my gf). I said because she ( my gf) hate my brothers gf and my father and only my mom not. One week later my gf started to act strange. I found out she is writing with other male friends. To one of them she wrote how much I’m destroying her and that my family hate her because she said true about my brothers girlfriend(she didn’t said anything), I found it out when I was with her, it destroyed me I couldn’t say anything to her. Only thing was in my head, why me? When I’m giving her everything. Then about one week later she also get into conflict with her mother, because her mother claimed my mother is talking shits about her family. And how? because her friend is not talking that much to her so my gf mother for sure my mother said something shit about my girlfriends family. But no evidence, no examples what she said just claims. My gf mother started care about my gf (before everything was my gf fault in her life, she hated her) and started to talk shit about how bitch my mother is and how much my family want to destroy her family. I didn’t knew anything at that time about that. In April I had difficult times I was had lot of at university. I wrote just with my girlfriend everyday sometimes I was her, yes I was not too happy like before because I was extremely exhausted and tired from university. Then from that she got angry and said that I’m scum because of my family and I didn’t trust her because I first time I said I don’t believe my mother could say anything bad about her family because she always loved her. She said she need time I gave her I also was at her graduation and she invited me out, we also went out, messaged daily. One week ago she started me from no reason ignore. Next day I wrote if she want to get out she said we will discuss, at day nothing and next day also I said if she don’t want just say I’d don’t ignore me. Then she wrote I blame her for everything and she will ignore me. And here I’m. I’m destroyed mentally, I don’t know what to do I would like just to die. I love her so much I also had everything planned to move where she will be next year. What to do please help

Time to get excited about Yes again.
I tried to keep this review succinct, but had a hard time with it. If you're not a Yes fan, honestly, just move on to another thread.
Certainly there are Yes tropes that are activated again on Mirror to the Sky, but that's not a bad thing. The band sound particularly inspired, like they have something to prove. In a sense perhaps they do. But when you're heralding one of the most, if not THE most important progressive rock bands of any generation, the pressure is on.
Some of you following me know my affiliation with Yes's membership and with their artful product as a whole. This is my dedication to their latest effort.
TLDR; just get the deluxe edition. You would be doing everybody a favor. And you will honor it more. And let's be honest, us Yes fans... we want a good album. Well here it is. Side one is immaculate, and the title track, well, you need to find out for yourself. Believe me I want to talk more about it, but it's something you need to experience first hand.
I'm writing this in real time, listening to it. That's how I roll.
Comparisons to Magnification and Going for the One have been tossed about, and are well fitting. But honestly this is one of the more original Yes recordings I've heard in a while. The closest match would be the splendid Oliver Wakeman recordings that were released as outtakes from Fly From Here.
The whole album is upbeat and downright catchy. One track even has an AOR feeling to it, which is most welcome on a band that produces material that is as serious as it is. Howe is more subdued, but also a lot more intelligent in what he's placing on this album. Sure, I wouldn't mind hearing a ripping solo ala Siberian Khatru live, but let's be honest he's older than all of us on this Reddit. I'm cutting him some slack. Not unlike an aging major league pitcher on the mound, one cannot throw the fastball they once had, so they get more creative and still maintain their relevancy in the game.
Mirror to the Sky is a very intelligent composition. The whole album that is. Frankly it's better than it ought to be.
Particular attention made by me to the drummer Jay Schellen for obvious reasons. He's very good, tasteful, and suits the mood of the album.
Not hearing much on time signature changes, but the tempo changes are most welcome. Some very creative chord progressions can also be found.
For my money, Sherwood never sounded better on the bass. On a Yes album at least.
I'll be honest: Davison may be my least favorite singer in the Yes lineup, but he has improved demonstrably here. There are times where he sounds like he's really putting in the effort, which is welcome for any frontman singer in a rock outfit. I'm not seeing the Anderson rip-off as much, in fact he sounds more like he did on Glass Hammer. And there's a real treat in one of the songs where he sings lower than his usual tenor throughout.
As a unit, Yes are challenging themselves more here than on The Quest and certainly more than Heaven and Earth. It's almost like the band as a unit were biding their time releasing some of these ideas to the public.
I was worried this was going to be the Steve Howe show, and to some extent it is. That said he should get props for the production quality, right down to mic placement. And if you pay attention to Geoff Downes he has very selectively chosen some wonderful textures on his keyboards, something that even our good friend Rick Wakeman was sometimes amiss in doing with consistency. Downes really does provide a good backdrop for everyone's contributions; I'm a bigger fan than some towards his work, and his playing is certainly most welcome here.
The orchestrations are very well placed, very smart, particularly the title track. At times it felt like I was listening to Wobbler. I realize that is a strange compliment. Going further, Cut From the Stars is reminiscent of Starcastle. Again, not a bad thing.
Honestly, I think this release has something for most everyone. It is better than The Quest and much better than Heaven and Earth. I'm still partial to Fly From Here, but this is a very close cousin.
Criticisms? Some of the lyrics are banal, but that's not the first thing I look for in prog rock personally. Also Billy Sherwood could have been employed more with backing vocals. Yes started off as a vocal operation, I wish they would revisit that.
With this release Yes has truly mastered the transition from one idea to another. Yes is known for doing this; clearly they haven't lost the touch.
And of course the entire listening experience is an optimistic one. At times delightful without ever being vapid. We all could use a little bit more of this nowadays...
And hey, even the bonus tracks are good! At the very least interesting.
So as a whole: Mirror to the Sky, certainly the title track, is downright emotional. Go get it.
I could go on but I want to play it again. A part of me wants to express this is their best release since Going for the One... I won't commit to that until I hear it several times, but Mirror to the Sky is certainly enough to attract long time fans and maybe even generate some new ones.
-EDIT- The deluxe edition is a gorgeous ensemble, I have to say it is worth the extra money at this point. The interview book was an interesting read, and the sketches are beautiful. The Rolling Stone quality photo-portraits make even Steve Howe look handsome.
The 5.1 surround is a nice touch and sounded very... personal, if that makes sense. Almost intimate. Howe did a nice job producing it but I'll always feel the guitars deserve to be turned down a little. I would have enjoyed hearing more Downes (when he's up front he sounds great) and even Davison's vocals were surprisingly in the back at times. That said when he is in the spotlight he does not disappoint. And the vinyl playback is superb.
Would like to hear feedback on this release from the rest of bandcamp Yes.

Hi, my husband and I hoping to adopt two kittens from our local shelter in June (have to wait until they're fixed first per shelter rules.) I never like the cat littler my grandparents used it never really helped with smell. Do any of yall have recommendations on cat littler that is good with odor control and isn't super dusty?

Hey Sportsfans — it's time for Week 9 of baseball Power Rankings: It may be Tuesday, but still thought about how much we dislike your favorite team 8 Days a Week. Also pool side blackjack is now my favorite part of Las Vegas. John Fisher, please ignore.
Every voter has their own style / system and the only voting instructions are these:

"To an extent determined individually, you must take into account how strong a team is right now and likely to be going forward. You must, to some degree, give weight to the events and games of the previous week."

TRANSPARENCY: This link will show you who voted each team where and has added neat statistics!
New Voter Chance: Are you a fan of the Dodgers? Why? We have a new voter oppening. Please see the info in threa ddetails that will be posted shortly and a link added here. when up.
If something is a little messed up, feel free to pester me let me know.
Total Votes: 28 of 29. So close.

#		Team	Δ	Comment	Record
1		Rays	0	Everyone's favorite myliobatiformes played another good week of baseball with the return of Tyler Glasnow. The Rays took an exciting series against the Dodgers after recharging during a weird mid-series rest day against the Blue Jays. Wander Franco is making his case to be starting SS in the All-Star Game, just make sure you don't accidentally vote for one of his brothers. It's still super weird to watch the offense carry while the bullpen struggles, but with guys coming back it should be f--, wait, Fairbanks is hurt again.	39-17
2		Rangers	+1	Series wins against both the Pirates and Orioles the last week has the club holding the 3rd best overall record in the majors. Go Stars. We're still having fun.	34-19
3		Braves	-1	3-4 last week and we started this week off with a loss against the Oakland "Triple A's" which is not good Bob. On the VERY brightside, we saw Soroka pitch from an MLB mound for the first time in almost 3 years. He pitched well and we need him to perform as we are absolutely depleted by injuries. Riley is starting to come to life. We hold a 4 game lead on the scond place MARLINS. Our division doesn't want to take advantage of our recent struggles, that's fine by me.	32-22
4		Dodgers	+1		33-22
5		Orioles	-1	A few weeks ago, I said if the Orioles can go at least .500 in May then they are for real. They wrapped up a winning month yesterday and have three games to go. They continue to play well, even though they lost the series against the Rangers, and seem to play better away from Camden Yards. They did, however, send Grayson Rodriguez down this week to AAA. He just has some stuff to figure out. He was getting crushed in his past few starts, and it was the right move to make. This solidifies the fact they need a frontline starter if they are going to make a serious push to get to and make noise in the post-season.	34-20
6		Astros	0	Jose Abreu finally hit a home run. All is right with the world. Unless the world's name is Lance McCullers Jr., who had another discomforting setback and we have no idea when we will see him this year. I still blame his hair. Anyway, our other Jose hit a grand slam at MMP this weekend. Where have we heard that before?	31-22
7		Yankees	0	It certainly would’ve been nice to take 2/3 from Baltimore, but it’s very hard to be mad at the Yankees’ month of May. Since May 1, the Yankees are 18-9, a huge turnaround from a .500 April. As we enter the dog days of summer, the top of the AL East is tightening up, but the Yankees don’t face either of the teams ahead of them again until July. The Yankees have to keep playing at this pace, and a Stanton (and maybe Rodon??) return could seriously help that.	33-23
8		D-Backs	+1	The Diamondbacks had a decent week, barely missing out on a sweep of the Phillies before dropping a series to the Red Sox. The offense gets on base but has been allergic to driving in RISP, and the starting rotation continues to be a merry-go-round, as none of the rookie pitchers on the team seem to be able to string together several good starts in a row without getting blown up once or twice.	31-23
9		Blue Jays	+1	The Jays' first series win since May 14th pulled us out of a bad-vibes tailspin the likes of which this fanbase hasn't seen since, well, the last time everybody freaked out over a losing streak. The usual suspects' continued confounding slow starts (Manoah, Kirk, Varsho, etc) have dropped us 10 games back from TB, last place in the best division in baseball. And YET, hope springs. Berrios (3 or fewer ER in 8 of his last 9 starts) finally appears to be pitching to the level expected of him when he was signed, and is pumping out quality starts along with Gausman and Bassitt. Kikuchi has slipped as Kikuchi does but has been very solid for a #5. We don't have the depth to send Manoah down for some needed alone time, but he's pushing it. Vladdy has been scuffling, Springer is heating up, and Bichette is an MVP candidate. With a little bit of lucky regression to the mean with abysmal RISP numbers, this team is just a few turns away from being very good. As long as we don't have to play too many games vs AL East teams. That should be fine.	28-26
10		Twins	-2		28-26
11		Mariners	+4	Just what the doctor ordered - 6-1 in the homestand so far. Some momentum is just what this team needs before two big series with teams they're chasing for playoff spots. If the M's can handle business over the next week, they'll be right back in the thick of it. Bryce Miller, do your thing. Up next: 3 vs. Damn Yankees, 3 @ Globe Life ParkFieldStadiumGardensArenaDomewhatever they're calling it these days	28-26
12		Red Sox	-1	Scoring four runs total while getting swept by the Angels isn't a great look. This team is in many ways aggresively mediocre, always making sure that every win streak is followed up by an equally painful gut-punch. This is mainly due to the reliance on the offense to carry us to victory (2-17 when scoring <=3 runs), when the bats get cold, you're safe to turn off the game. Whitlock returning from injury and Bello/Sale both stepping up their game in May (2.74/2.42 ERA respectively) are good steps towards this team becoming Actually Good™ though. We'll see what June brings us...	28-25
13		Brewers	-1	Taking two of three from the Astros was nice. Barely avoiding a sweep from the Giants was not so sweet. Milwaukee has some issues with hitting in "close" situations. The Brewers either lose after having multiple opportunities to tie it up, or get absolutely blown out.	28-25
14		Angels	0	Did I travel out of state and all the way to Anaheim just to watch the team get swept by the Marlins? Perhaps. Was that objectively worse than what the Reds voter is going through? It's impossible to say.	29-26
15		Mets	-2	The Mets, who I proclaimed to be "good at baseball" last week, ended up dropping 2 of 3 against the Cubs and doing the same against the Rockies. I just don't know what to believe anymore. The only thing I know for sure is that Francisco Alvarez has got that fucking dawg in him, he's GOATed, he's him, he's on fleek, he's poggers, he's a proper legend, he's got an .885 OPS, he's a top bloke, he's got swag, he's fresh, he's Gen Z Mike Piazza, he's lit, he's making me feel old because he was born after 9/11, he's Francisco Alvarez.	27-27
16		Gigantes	+4	The Giants won yesterday, but strictly talking about last week, they went 5- 2 on an extremely acceptable road trip without any off days. Defeating two competent teams like the Twins and Brewers should feel good. On both losses, they gave up 7 runs, on every win they gave up 3, 1, or 0 runs. So, they threw two games out of 7 – that’s allowed. In the bad news department, Joc, Joey, and Thairo all not expected back until June 6th. I think we’re okay with more Bailey Patrick and this also means another look at unpredictable slugger David Villar. Slater continues covering for Joc. Let’s look a the numbers: 13th in MLB in Run Diff (+6 spots), 12th in RS / G (+6), 15th in RA / G (+2), 23rd in Bullpen ERA (+5). All of that is good and especially the bullpen is promising recently. The Giants continue at home vs the Pirates and wrap the homestand with 3 against our orange and black brothers in Baltimore.	28-26
17		Pirates	-1	Would I have been happy to learn on Opening Day that the Pirates would be around .500 at the end of May? Yes. But if you told me they got there after starting 20-8 I would be pretty disappointed. Here's hoping the pendulum swings the other way in June.	26-27
18		Marlins	+3	Yet another appearance of sweepy, the meme that was promised. After a rough series against the rox, we sweep the angels to settle into the third NL wild card spot. Our starting pitching is coming along after a bumpy start to several of our starters. Eury perez is gonna be a stud, just wanna remind yall. Also, shout out to Jorge Soler, who has been crushing baseballs the last week and change. In other miami sports related news, boston is the first city ever to lose two game 7s at home in both the NHL and NBA playoffs in the same year. Go Heat and go Panthers!	28-26
19		Phillies	-2	After losing 2 to the Diamondbacks and going down 5-0 in the 3rd game, the Phillies season looked as bleak as it could in late May while only being 4 games under .500. However, the team rallied and Trea Turner tied it in the 9th before going onto win it in 10. Then, they went down to Atlanta and split a 4 game series. It could've gone far worse. The Phillies most pressing need is now seemingly a 5th starter who isn't a guaranteed loss, as this week they trotted out Dylan Covey, who hadn't started a game since 2019. He got 2 outs and gave up 7 runs. He took the spot of Bailey Falter who, after a surprisingly productive 2022, started the season 0-7. Falter is the far better option, but Dave Dombrowski will likely be looking to upgrade until Andrew Painter can finally return. This week, the NL East road trip continues with their first 3 games against the Mets and 3 in Washington. Here's hoping June Schwarber shows up again this year.	25-28
20		Padres	-1	My Dad tells me it’s ok that the Dad’s lost 2 / 3 to NY; the Dodgers lost 2 / 3 to the Rays! The Pads aren’t in the same stratosphere as the Dodgers right now, though. 5 games under .500, 10th in the NL standings, 3 games out of the last wildcard slot. Of course there’s quite a bit of time to change it, there’s plenty of time to go on a run, or a slow and steady good month to gain ground. With every day that passes however, that goal becomes a bit harder to reach; I don’t think Pads fans were hoping for a wildcard spot by the end of this season, but that’s the position the team has to get to before even thinking of catching LA. The Padres are 4th in the NL West, and only a half game out of last.	24-29
21		Cardinals	-3	2-2 @ CIN; 1-2 @ CLE; 0-1 v KCR; another struggle week for the Cards. The fandom's been a bit kneejerk because of two good weeks before this. Their mistake. I'll say it a third time, the Cards playing at or beyond their expected level doesn't change the rotten FO. Yeah Marmol's pretty close to being fired, that's not a fix when the problem is John Mozeliak.	24-32
22		Tigers	+2	The most fun part of this past week has been watching the resurgence of Akil Baddoo. His energy is infectious and adds an exciting dimension to the lineup. As we head into the last few days of May, Baddoo has sported a .302/.405/.508 slash and a 155 wRC+ this month. Although he's still been hitting mostly in the 6 hole, if this keeps up he might find himself much higher in the order real soon. This week: 2 more vs. TEX and 3 at CWS.	25-27
23		Guardians	0	The Guardians won a series this week. I would like to see them win some games by more than one run, but it's clear this season, we have to take what we get.	24-29
24		Cubs	-2	Another terrible week for the Cubs, as a promising series win against the Mets was followed up by an embarrassing sweep against the Reds. The starting rotation was terrible, and the bullpen was somehow worse. Fans have had enough of David Ross, and Jed Hoyer is starting to come under pressure. Barring a dramatic turnaround, the Cubs will be sellers for the 3rd trade deadline in a row	23-30
25		Reds	+1	Okay guys, I’m here to be calm this week. I have been told by my wife’s attorney, Tom, that they are “aware” of my online activity regarding our impending divorce, so today let’s have a nice, calm, relaxing, perfectly fine, good old fashioned talk about Reds baseball. The Reds are just sorta middling. They’re not great but they’re not horrible. Unlike my marriage. Our starting pitching has resgressed, just like my marriage, and it’s very unfortunate to see, because our bullpen has been quite reliable unlike my wife. We still can’t hit home runs for some reason, but overall unlike my marriage the Reds on the upturn. There, are you happy Tom? I didn’t mention all the crap that’s been going on lately. I didn’t mention how I had to leave the Motel 6 I was at because I found a used needle in the bathroom, and by the way Tom, I know that you’re trying to use that as evidence that I can’t take care of my kids. I don’t even know who’s needle it was, it was like wedged behind the toilet. Believe me, I only found it because I dropped my phone while using the toilet. It wasn’t even visible, I had to like get on my hands and knees and crawl behind the toilet to grab my phone. So it puts the image in my head of some heroin addict or whatever sitting behind a toilet at a Motel 6 trying to get high, which honestly that just seems like an even worse situation than the one i’m in. Do I think it’s a coincidence that the day after I left the Motel 6 because of this, you’re requesting a drug test from me before I can see my kids? Huh Tom? How did you know about this incident Tom? The only people that know are the Motel 6 staff I notified, I don’t think any police showed up, so either you questioned them like i’m some criminal, or you’re following me. I know you’re reading this Tom, you’ve made several references to my posts on the baseball power rankings insinuating it’s me writing them, and yeah Tom you’re right it is me, can everybody in the comments give praise to Tom for being a regular Sherlock Holmes? Yeah everybody come on, Congratulations Tom! You’re the man! I’m gonna let you go home and fuck my sister, oh wait Tom I forgot, YOU ALREADY ARE. When you get home tonight tell Caitlin her brother says hi. Alright, I think I got that out of my system. Anyway, I think once more of our prospects are called up, probably around June or July, we may get hot and finish more closely to .500 than initially thought, and if this division stays like it is, and those prospects can deliver on their promise, it's entirely possible we could be in contention for the division. But a lot of this is gonna depend on if our Starting Rotation can get things back under control. Also we swept the Cubs so lol.	24-29
26		Nationals	-1	Week after week, I expect this Nats team to take a nose dive. I expect them to crumble and slip into a double-digit losing streak but it just isn't happening. They lead the NL in batting average (.267), are third in OBP (.330) and have the lowest strikeout rate in MLB. They still have their own troubles, but this team is alive (4 games out of a WC spot)	23-31
27		Rockies	+1	I don't have time to write a real blurb this week so you don't have to print this. Actually, you probably don't read these, I'm not sure anyone really reads them anyways besides the Reds guy's life breaking down, and this will probably get printed regardless.	24-31
28		White Sox	-1	Liam is back. I can't overstate how great that is to hear. He is one of the best people in the game and it's nothing short of amazing for him to be pitching in May. If you missed it, it was recently revealed that he had stage 4 lymphoma, not an early stage. He started treatment just over 3 months ago! Nothing on the field matters for this team, but at least there's that silver lining.	22-34
29		Royals	0	As of the time that this blurb is being written (Monday at 11:39 AM), only two teams in the majors have a record below .400. Yup, the Royals are there with the A's. I suppose the positive is that the team figured out that they can get rid of useless players in Hunter Dozier, but they still have a lot more work to do.	17-38
30		Atléticos	0	The A's have given up 10+ runs in a game 7 more times than they've won. It's a mix of bad roster building (the bullpen), under-preforming vets (Ramon Laureano 74 wRC+, Tony Kemp 38 wRC+), injuries (Seth Brown and Paul Blackburn are just now returning), and no fans in the stands since 2019. It's soul crushing to watch and the national media's constant condecention toward this particular poor team and it is even more annoying this year.	11-45

I'm playing the Tier IV realm with Megacities and the two Artisan Kings. One started nearby and hated me from the start - typical stuff, no big deal. The other is further away and our starting relationship was semi-decent, like maybe -75 or so. I tried declaring Friendship but the very next turn he declared Rivalry, as the "Presence"-type AIs seemingly do literally every time.
And now this game has reached the point of absurdity - we're friends with the same players, his Rivalry never got him a single extra grievance (apart from the one he fabricated), and since I have some extra cash (but not enough to run another extra army yet) I've been gifting him some gold. He's now at +800 relations... and is still keeping that useless Rivalry. And I bet if I declare war on him, the other AIs will side with him instead of me so I'm basically gonna have to genocide everyone on this "Good" playthrough.
The complete lack of counterplay to Rivalries (to my knowledge) leading to that type of situation (it's the first time I get it this extreme, but I've had "Rivals" at 250-300 relations several times before that already) feels completely asinine to me.

https://wordpress.com/comment/sysdfree.wordpress.com/12525
Then after I wrote the above, I click here "new post", reddit.com scripts allowed, nothing happens, not until you allow google.com scripts.
The price to pay for freedom of expression is for google and its allies (guess who) have recorded the milisecond you clicked and who you are before you type a single character.
It is in reddit, it is in wordpress.com, it is on Russian State Television/News RT... it is nearly f...ing everywhere.
Hey dumbass, can you build the facebook package of zstd without google's code? Try again!
Let's say I am a state agency, N.Korea or something, and I want this code published by a software company, as free code, but both mega-corps refuse to take sole responsibility for it, but if it is split so either piece is not responsible entirely, between 2 mega-corps, then it flows. And zstd is born and promoted to take over the linux world by surprise. The author? He is granted asylum and protection in exchange for a filthy living and retirement, in the tropical coast of .... N.Korea.
Do you trust such code?
Oh... yes it is faster. By 3% of full multiprocessing mode? But not as good as xz, but still fast.
Ok, let's throw xz down the can, and switch to this new marvel from our beloved friends in the N.Korean superempire.
Thank you Kim, I knew you were always behind this zstd code, I just knew it.

Dear Ex you texted me today about practical stuff, and you put me right back. I heard today you werent doing so well your self.
Dear Ex i hope you will look back at us, and see us for all the good we were together. With our whole future ahead of us, and our paths striking again.
Dear Ex i hope you know im doing my best trying to forgive you for leaving me.
Dear Ex i hope you realize that you had everything you ever wanted right in front of you.
Dear Ex i hope that one day, i myself can look back at us one day, not feeling my entire being, being rippe apart.
Dear Ex i hope you get everything you deserve in this world, even if im not in that story line.
Dear Ex i hope when you see me again, you will see that i was right about there being a me before you, a me with you and there gonna be a me after you.
Dear Ex i love you.

I’m currently exploring stoicism as I feel like I could use a life philosophy to guide me throughout the life. To begin with, I started reading the book How to live a good life by William Irvine and I like and agree with most of the parts, but this one specific part dealing with current modern psychology approach surprised me.
So basically according to the author, we dont need to share our negative emotions with others as we are able to deal with them on our own even though we’re being told something different by modern psychologists. I dont agree - as for the emotions linked to anxiety, depression and sadness (over loss in family, not over bad grade at school!), sharing it with people you trust brings such a huge relief for the soul. My dad never shared his emotions with anyone and acted as a “stoic”. Well, he committed a suicide after all. In my opinion, due to the fact that he was alone for his burden and never asked for psychological help (professional or from his closest people). I didnt like the undermining of talk therapy from the author either.
Another part I dont agree with is the mention about delayed sadness. You need to process emotions properly (and once again Im talking about very powerful emotions) in order to let go, because it may eventually come back. After the death of my father, I neglected the emotions as I had to take care of mom and I was pissed at him. Now, 1,5 years later it all came back in even more powerful form and I’m dealing with “stating an opinion” on the event after all this time.
I’ve been thinking that emotional openness works very well for most of the people (because of my own experience and interest in this topic) and now the philosophy that seems so attractive to me in all the other aspects says quite the opposite. This whole part in the book seemed kind of toxic to me tbh
Could anyone clarify the concept for me or add their own comment on this matter please? I was reading the part before going to sleep very tired, maybe I was just easily triggered as It’s a very personal and up-to-date topic for me or I just didnt think it over properly and it’s more complicated.

When she was 11, my daughter was a big fan of doing my face up using my wife’s makeup. She’d spend a considerable amount of time getting everything together, put a hairband on me to keep my hair out of my face, and then she'd just going to town to make me look like the prettiest bearded man you ever did see!
She was surprisingly good at it, too, even though she’d later admit she had no idea what she was doing (my wife would playfully offer advice, and my daughter would respond, in the more adorably annoyed tone, that she didn’t need help). She would also sternly tell me, “Daddy, don’t move/stop moving/stay still!” if I wasn’t still enough, which would make me smile and, in turn, test her patience further.
​
I've always held those makeover sessions very near and dear to my heart; I absolutely HATE the feeling of anything on my face, but that apprehension would always fade away when I knew my daughter was having fun, the way she'd smile or giggle when I said or did something in response to a brush or pencil or what-have-you tickling my face. Even when she'd tell me to stop moving, there was that smile on her face. My daughter having fun meant I'd be having fun, too, and I absolutely did.
She’s turning 22 in a little bit, and we recently reminisced about the makeovers. Something I never fully considered is how much those moments meant to HER, too, as she told me that those were some of the many best memories she's ever had with me, and that they were a highlight of her weekends.
​
I guess my point is that we, as dads, have countless moments with our children that we hold very near and dear to our hearts, but that our children will also feel the same way. Love, cherish, and make many great memories with your little ones!

Hello!
I don't do fandom RPs very often, but I've loved the ATLAverse for years and years and I've always wanted to try writing an original story in it. Hopefully some of you will be interested!
Some things about me - I'm 25, I live in Central Europe and I've been writing and roleplaying various fantasy things for over ten years now. I write over Discord, in third person, and I'll say right away good grammar and generally skilful use of language is very important to me - I'm looking for someone who can keep a consistent fairly literary style. Post length doesn't matter that much as long as it's at least a few good paragraphs per post. Another important requirement is that you are over 18.
I also want to make it clear that I play characters of different genders depending on what I feel like, and I have no intention of imposing anything on my partner in that regard. I'm fine with having romance in the story if it feels natural for the characters, but I don't really do stories with romance as the focus or prerequisite. No arranged marriage plots to be found here.
As for the premise, I haven't figured out anything specific yet, partly because I want to brainstorm as much as possible with my partner. I'm not looking to be a GM, nor am I looking for one - ideally we would both contribute to the plot and to the character roster, rather than just one of us driving the story forward and the other passively experiencing it. I want this to be a story about our original characters, maybe with just the occasional cameo from some existing ATLA/LOK characters if it really feels justified. It'd be fun to place it somewhere between the two shows, or maybe during/after LOK if we want the freedom to make some airbender characters; I think I'd prefer that to going back to Roku's times or earlier, but I probably could be persuaded.
If you're interested, send me a chat message or a DM, and please include a sample of your writing. It can be anything at all - any out-of-context paragraph will do, just so that I can see if we'd be compatible. Of course I can send you a sample too.
Hoping to hear from you soon!

TIRED OF BEING A STEP MOM
Hi, just really need to vent… my boyfriend and I have been together for six years. He has an 11 year old and we have a four year old together. Bio mom is not in the picture. She picks up her son when she wants to. I have taken over things like taking him to school and doctors appointments. I’ve tried my best to make sure he doesn’t feel left out. I think our relationship is fine. He calls me mommy and talks to me more than he does with his dad. I’m tired of being financially responsible for him though. I don’t expect my bf to buy clothes and toys for my daughter. I buy it for her and I’ll buy things for him too. We went to LEGOLAND and my daughter wanted something and as soon as I was about to buy it, the son asks me to buy him something too to be fair. I don’t see how it’s my job to make it fair but I do so anyway. You reap what you sow right? Anyway, their dad cheated on me over a year ago and now I’m at the point where I feel like why do I need to do anything for you or your kid? Anyway I made plans with a girlfriend who has a daughter, which is to go to an amusement park this upcoming Thursday. I told my boyfriend about it and he flipped out, trying to guilt trip me for not taking his son. I explained that it’s a play date for our daughter and that we can take both kids together another time. He said he doesn’t want to be with someone that doesn’t accept his son? I don’t understand this need to guilt trip me for wanting to spend quality time with my bio kid? It’s not like it’s me and the dad are taking out just one kid. I’m giving him the opportunity to spend quality time with his son. I don’t understand why I have to continue to sacrifice and be selfless for a kid that’s not mine. I’ve done what I can. I have always done wit his parents wouldn’t do! They don’t even know his doctors but I’m the bad guy??? Ugh how do I let this relationship go?! I’m trying to hang on by a thread just so my daughter can be happy and have both parents in the same household but I’m tired of being with a selfish little boy. He makes me feel like I’m ugly and that I’m so lucky to be with him. We’re having dinner with friends and they say I look Hispanic, he goes yeah idk if that’s a good thing. ?!?!?! Like what does he really think of me? Am I just a caretaker for him? I toook them to Hawaii for their birthdays and I didn’t throw one for my daughter so I said I’m going all out for her this year instead, he said did anyone ask you to do anything for us?…?
Tl;dr: bf tries to guilt trip me for wanting to hang out with my daughter.

Hello! My name is Graeme and hope to chat with you soon. Personally I'd like to find someone in the US that we eventually will be able to meet up. Granted I'm not in a position to move for a while, but while knows how it'll go right? I may make that leap for someone, if they're that right someone ya know? Anyway let's get on with it shall we?
If I had to describe myself I would probably say that I'm a sarcastic and antisocial introvert.
Some of my hobbies: Video games (pc mostly, some switch) I've played tons of them just ask and I've probably heard of it if nothing else. Favorites include stuff like LoZ, Hollow Knight, Diablo, and Stardew Valley. Animes/TV, can't get enough One Piece, Futurama, or Adventure Time. Currently watching Yu Yu Hakusho but I'm just about to finish it so if you've got any recommendations on what I should watch next lmk. DIY projects, just starting to do 3D printing. Cooking, although I'm not very good at it, lol. I just got back into reading and I'm currently reading the 2nd Witcher book. And I do of course enjoy doing some outdoors stuff at times like hiking/camping and golfing.
If you enjoy movies I can watch just about anything. It's hard to find something that I go to watch and I just turn off, lol. But my top three movies would probably have to be: Interstellar, Life's Aquatic with Steve Sizzou, and There Will Be Blood. And of course I love all the classic stuff like Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Lord Of the Rings, and Harry Potter. It seems like the HP movies are the most rewatchable things I've ever seen idk why. Any time I see any of them come on I know I can flip that on. Even if I don't actually watch it, lol. I also just love Wes Anderson, Taika Waititi, and Quentin Tarantino films in general.
Ideally you'll be as lame and introverted as I am. If you drink and smoke, that's fine by me. Personally I don't. So ya know... all the weed would be yours if that's your thing, lol. I'm not too particular about appearances, but I will say I'm not into large gals or ladies that are much older than myself. Sounds shallow to say, but I'm just not. Don't ever let that get you down though, be the best you that you can be right?
As for myself, I'm 5'10", 155 lbs averageish build would like to try to get more in shape though. Brown eyes and hair (what little I have of it). I have a pic on my profile if you're curious.
That's mostly it about me really. Just a nerdy sort of dude that's been alone for far too long and trying to get out there. If you think you'd be interested of course lmk, maybe tell me a bit about yourself, and maybe we can jam out on some game some time to get to know each other or something. If you read all of this kudos to you and if nothing else; Good luck on your search!

I was hired at my firm three years ago coming in on zero industry experience. I was previously a high school teacher- and salary negotiations don't exist in that field. I have received a handful of raises that are essentially cost of living adjustments and a raise for getting registered and that's it. I don't really know if I'm being underpaid.
For a little context I am an "analyst" on an institutional consulting team at a Big 4 firm. A majority of my job is spent putting together monthly and quarterly performance reports for all of our institutional clients and doing a little bit of actual analysis. We manage somewhere between $10B - $15B. Teams that manage this much are pretty rare in my neck of the US.
What should I be worth? Is my value just vibes based? I'm good at the job- the financial advisors I work for like the work I do. Personally I'm bored of the job and I think my talents are being wasted as an analyst. I think I would thrive if I transitioned to a more client facing position. But if that's not on the table then I can at least ask for a raise. Is there a guide I can refer to and see what salary I should ask for?

My roommate and I have been watching horror movies a few nights a week, and we need some more to watch. We’ve see all the basic mainstream horror films, so we’d like something more unique with crazy twists or just overall a good watch. All the typical ghost and slasher films are too predictable and boring nowadays, we need something a little deeper. I’ll list off some of the films we have watched and rate them just so you have an idea of what we’re looking for. I’ll also reply to your comment after we’ve watched the movie to let you know our thoughts. Thanks in advanced!
Malignant 9/10 Super Dark Times 7.5/10 Annihilation 9.5/10 Pearl 7/10 Summer of 84 8/10 Nope 6.5/10

I have a 5 yr old pit bull that my bf adopted a few months before we met.
A little background, my bf was a truck driver and our dog was his "truck dog" so they were always together for a while.
After he stopped working that job he moved in with with me, and he still did most of the dog care while he was getting another job (he keeps his food where I can't reach it, I'm short so that's not hard).
He recently starting working in garbage collection, good money but he's gone at least 12 hours most days. As a result, I'm taking our dog out for his potty breaks during the day.
Here's the problem: he won't poop when I take him out. He'll pee no problem, and he otherwise doesn't have any behavior issues with me.
He'll cuddle with me after my bf leaves, and he's getting better at listening.
I'll take him out a few times, but he refuses to poop. He'll pee fine, but no poop.
After peeing he'll just sniff for as long as I'll let him, and try to mess with the local stray cats ( he's on a good harness so controlling him when he sees another animal or a stranger is no issue for me).
I'm not sure what I can do here, my bf is understandably exhausted when he gets off, but our dog won't poop for me so he still takes him out when he gets back.
Is this just a time thing?
My bf says he has normal, healthy poops, especially since we just swapped his food, so I doubt it's a health issue.
I'm worried about our pup, and I'm low key worried he's just gonna poop in the house when I'm not looking.
Does anyone have any tips?

I'm a firm believer in the cliché love story. I yearn for a deep, passionate connection that transcends boundaries, entwining our hearts in a tapestry of shared dreams.
My entire adult life has been consumed by school. Growing up, I was told that if I worked hard in academics, everything would fall into place, but what they didn't mention was how long it would take and what I would be giving up. Now, I have a PhD and work an amazing job, but I'm still missing the most important piece: you.
If what I've written sparks something in you, keep reading. If you get to the end and still like what you're hearing, reach out so we can finally embark on our journey together.

Basics

• Late 20s.
• Live in the US but grew up in Canada. Been in the US for 7 years.
• PhD, educated, but not snooty about it. I have degrees in English literature, education, and technology.
• Passionate about my work, but not a workaholic. I am fiercely protective of my work/life balance.
• Not religious.
• Non-smoker, non-drug user.
• I want children someday.

Appearance

• 6'1".
• 190lbs.
• White.
• Dark brown hair, a beard, and piercing hazel eyes.
• I go to the gym at least once a week. I lift and take care of myself, but I'm not obsessed.

Interests

• Anything and everything nerdy.
• Tabletop RPGs, D&D.
• Video games. Will you be my Minecraft girlfriend?
• Movies and TV series, especially fantasy, horror, sci-fi, drama, and romance.
• Music. Mainly heavy metal, but I like a bit of everything. Tell me about your favourite bands.

What I'm looking for

• Age is not a factor, but I am looking for someone who isn't too far into their journey. I've been in school for so long that I feel like I am behind other people my age, so I would prefer someone younger than me who can relate to where I am in life.
• University educated, attending, or planning to attend. I don't care what your major is as long as you're passionate about something.
• Nerdy, introverted, and shares my interests.

Dealbreakers

• Being divorced or having children from previous relationships. I am looking to build something new with someone who is in a similar situation to me.
• Religion. I was raised in a religious home but do not practice. I strive to be a good person on my own accord. I consider myself agnostic.
• Child-free. I want to have children.
• Asexuality. Physical intimacy is very important to me, and touch is one of my primary love languages.

I apologize for any offense here, but I want to be honest so as to not waste anyone's time.

Please read before you reach out

If you made it this far and want to chat, please send me a message with:

• Your age
• What you look like
• Your educational and career goals
• Your hobbies and what you do for fun

Our life together is one message away.