Hi everyone! I got hired on as an MSC a week ago, I’ve worked my first full week and I’m already thinking about bailing.
The GM started late last year and since then, the majority of the employees (around 80%, with more talking about quitting) have quit.
She is incredibly abrasive and difficult to work with. My very first truck shift was Thursday and it was a disaster. Besides me and the ROM, there were only 3 associates scheduled. One was brand new and another one was really unhelpful, very slow process time—they were also not open to any constructive feedback we’d give them.
The next day, the GM was very upset with me because truck wasn’t “100% done” along with a laundry list of other items that had been given to us to complete (conveniently on her day off). It was my third day, I’m still orienting myself and figuring out where everything is… when I explained this, and said the other staff are new too, she said “it’s not that hard to put things away, and the fact is no one cares. I’m not sure why you thought I wouldn’t be upset.”
Multiple other members of the management team have cried over the last few days, once even in front of me. The district manager loves this GM, so I don’t know what kind of person she is either…
I’m a very hard worker and very competent and teachable, but I’ve cried every day for the last three days. My feet are throbbing and I’m limping from massive blisters.
This manager changes the schedule mid-week without telling anyone, doesn’t take breaks (and pressures other people to do this—managers aren’t even allowed to take our allotted 15s and I’ve worked 9+ hour shifts with nothing but a 30min break), uses gratis as loyalty/credit card incentives and not for training, makes us sign off on trainings we didn’t actually complete to “save time,” etc.
Thoughts? Is this normal? Should I jump ship now?

Demographics: Enough red flags to paint Michael Jackson's love

• Gender: Male 🚩
• Race/Ethnicity: Indian 🚩
• Residence: India 🚩
• Income Bracket: Needed a full ride 🚩
• Type of School: Private anti-feeder, class size 120 with no T20 admits 🚩 in school history except for 1 kid who went to Berkeley a few years back

​
Intended Major(s): Economics and any quirky versions thereof
​
Academics: I put the mid in mid-year report

• GPA (UW/W): School doesn't report but
  • Got two Bs 🚩 in Freshman year and
  • Two more 🚩 in Senior year (mid-year report was deadass 37/42)
• # of Honors/AP/IB/Dual Enrollment/etc.:
  • 8 IGCSEs for 9th and 10th,
  • 7 IBs for 11th and 12th
• Senior Year Course Load: Full IB Diploma with 4 HLs

​
Standardized Testing: Very hot actually

• SAT I: 1540 (780RW, 760M). Gave it once in 10th grade.
• AP: Self-studied for all of these and travelled to a different state to give the exams (bro is a tryhard)
  • Microeconomics: 5
  • Statistics: 5
  • English Literature: 5
  • Human Geography: 5
  • World History: 5
  • Environmental Science: 5
  • Comparative Gov & Pol: 4
  • English Language: 4
• Other:
  • IGCSE: A* on all 7 exams. Apparently it's normal for people to give like 10+ of these.
  • TOEFL: 116
  • GED: 90%+ in all subjects. Not sure why I tried giving it but eh.

​
Activities: Tried having so many spikes I became a starfish

1. Founder, Convalescent Plasma Donation Platform. Used the dating app concept to connect convalescent plasma donors with critical COVID patients via website. Helped 700 patients. Was interviewed on national radio.
2. COVID Vaccination Officer, Local Hospital. Completed registration, verification, and vaccination for like 5000 people. Changed things up for efficiency and helped increase vaccinations by 530%.
3. Youth Ambassador, United Nations Thing. Too specific not to get doxxed.
4. Director & Club Pres & Core Team*,* two student run orgs, one of which was a UN Organisation charter initiative. Oversaw like 180 members, managed 4 social media channels with 120k impressions, and other generic student organisation fluff.
5. President, Model UN Club & Conference. Oversaw 180 students. Organised 9, won 30+, attended & chaired 80+ MUNs. Hosted 1k dels overall, other organising stuff for the school conference.
6. Debate. Broke at 9 international tournaments as part of Team India. Won 16 national invitationals. Chaired a few debates, training a few teams here and there.
7. School Student Council. Introduced free sanitary napkins for all who needed them and fixed the student dispersal system. Did 70+ competitions in school, won 40+, helped organise a bunch. Curated 10-20 events a year.
8. Independent Writing & Student Editor. Published 50+ poems and 2 books onto Amazon. Curating school stuff. Copywriting here and there.
9. Independent Research. Published a purely theoretical research paper in econ all by myself. No help apart from my school's econ teacher proofreading it. Received honourary award from London Journals Press (this one sounded like a scam to me).
10. Internships. Collaborated with Indian govt ministries. Redesigned logistics and streamlined stuff at like 3 companies.

Awards/Honors: Ohhh boy

1. Rollins Alfond Scholar ($280,000 Scholarship) finalist. Yes I really just put an early college result as an award. Fight me.
2. Major-specific olympiad. Will get doxxed if I mention.
3. IGCSE School Topper for all of my subjects.
4. Runner up at a sustainable business pitch competition.
5. Finalist for a community service award. Again, will get doxxed.

​
Letters of Recommendation
English teacher: 10/10. She helped me live and get through the hellhole that was high school. Spent more than half my time in 12th grade in her office.
Econ teacher: 10/10. She's like a second mum to me in school. Helped me with the research project and saw me get through a great deal of adversity in school.
Math teacher: 6/10. I was his worst student but he was still nice to me sometimes.
Counsellor: 8.5/10. She saw me do a lot of things around school and get treated pretty badly.
​
Interviews
Rice: 4/10. Had the interview in the middle of a party. Will not elaborate.
Georgetown: 6/10. She rescheduled 5 times and read off of a list of questions.
Dartmouth: 10/10. Went on for almost two hours. Still in touch with the dude.
Yale: 20/10. Was literally a phone call but went on for like three hours. Dude said it was it longest interview ever. No script, just random ass stuff about my family, my grandfather, my experience with dance, my sexuality, etc. We discussed a bunch of books as well. Also got technical for econ.
Imperial College London: 7/10. Very technical.
Ashoka University: 6/10. Bleh. The guy was super hostile and simply tried to argue with me over geopolitics.
​
Essays
Wrote most of them last-minute because of IB deadlines and mocks and everything sort of clashing together in one big mush. Personal statement was maybe a 9/10. Wrote about my school blazer, an old handkerchief, and shiny silver Jordans.
​
Decisions: Certified bruh moment.
Rejections:

1. Dartmouth ED
2. UC Hicago EA (Deferred to RD -- Rejected)
3. NYU ED2
4. MIT EA (Deferred to RD -- Rejected)
5. Brown
6. Caltech
7. Columbia
8. Duke
9. Georgetown
10. Harvard
11. Imperial College London
12. JHU
13. Northwestern
14. Princeton
15. Rice
16. Stanford
17. Tufts
18. Notre Dame
19. Oxford
20. UVA
21. Vanderbilt
22. Yale

Waitlists:

1. Penn (the ivy)

Acceptances:

1. Ashoka University
2. Rollins College with 32k Dean's Scholarship. Still couldn't afford it lol
3. University of British Columbia
4. UC Berkeley (got in early!!!) with Regents nomination. Didn't get Regents :(
5. UCLA
6. King's College London
7. CORNELL WITH A FULL RIDE!!! COMMITTED AS HELL!!!!!!!!

​
Additional Information:

• Crapshoot. It's all a complete crapshoot. If not for Cornell, I would've been absolutely screwed.
• I'm 5'4. Hence the petite in the title.
• (For legal reasons, this and the entire rest of the post is a joke) My time in school gave me pretty lasting trauma. I did the best I possibly could and still never got recognised, never got to address an audience formally. Organised everything. Literally half the things that happened on the student side were my brainchildren. I came up with so much of it and got literally no credit. They would always find someone else. Someone more likeable. I had the worst self esteem of my life in school. Also faced an absolute truckload of bullying due to my eye condition (amblyopia) at this school in 3rd grade because I would have to wear eye patches. Got physically bullied into depression in 6th grade because I was labelled gay. I'm so glad I'm leaving this place. The funniest part is I'm the only kid to ever get into an ivy from my school and certainly the only ever to have a full ride to the US, and yet the head boy still says the school "won't touch you [me] with a ten foot pole". It still makes me cry because I poured my heart and soul into this place, I did literally everything I could for their silly events and initiatives. Man. It just hurts. It's come to the point where this year my juniors would come to me for help with pretty much everything but request me not to tell anyone they asked for help because it would "ruin" their reputation with the administration. I love and know this place like nobody else, and it doesn't love me back.
• I love Cornell. Committing to Dyson AEM. GO BEARSSSSSSSSS

Hi, English is not my first Language btw :)
I 18F am currently living with my mother (38). She used to physically abuse me from the age of 9-15, but it stopped when I turned 16. There was and still is some mental abuse, but regardless we have developed quite a good relationship. I have come to terms with the fact that she may be mentally scared due to moving to another city at the age of 18 and experiencing bad situations, while raising me (she got me when she was 20) and my brothers (14M and 10M) on her own.
She is the strongest woman I know and I love her a lot, but the mental abuse makes it really hard for me to want to keep living with her.
Due to that I have to decide between my mental health and my educational career.
And the reason why is that I planned on starting my IBDP in august and major in CS after.
But that will not be possible if I choose my mental health, since I will have to switch to something called „Ausbildung“ which is what I would call paid Vocational Training. It will be in the banking field, a field that I‘m not really fond of (But it doesn’t matter right now).
If I do that, I will have the money to move out (I’m aware moving out will definitely not be easy).
Btw, I have high functioning depression which makes living with my mother harder, but wouldn‘t hinder me if I lived alone.
I really don’t know what to do.

Gooood evening ladies and gentlemen. I'll try to keep my post as short as possible.
Few years ago I used Mi Band 4. I liked it, it was my first band, it was enough for my limited physical activities - occasional running and walking.
Then I went on to Amazfit Verge that I have been using for over a year now and for how cheap it was I am quite satisfied, but I am getting more active, I stopped going on a runs and I actually started going swimming few times a week and bought a bicycle which I use about 8 times a month. I also use an elliptical. It's time to leave Verge.
I need something that can track my swimming, elliptical and bicycle trainings. I immediately thought about going back to Mi Band since I know it's waterproof and can track swimming activities and has overall around 100 possible activities. I think elliptical and cycling is also available, although I am mainly using Strava and my smartphone for tracking cycling, so I just need the Mi Band 7 to sync with Strava.
How reliable is Mi Band 7? I am not some professional athlete, I just want to have my activities tracked reliably, mainly swimming and elliptical. I also liked using sleep tracking feature in Mi Band 4 although I don't know how reliable it was. I should also mention that I don't have budget for anything more expensive like FitBit or any Galaxy bands, that's why I am leaning towards Mi Band 7, although if it's not worth the money I will just wait and get money for something more expensive. I looked over this subreddit and I see that Mi Band 7 PRO is a pile of stinking hot shit so I know to not bother with it. I am just a casual user.
Any opinions from people using the band for any of the mentioned activities would be appreciated, also any opinions in general.

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Despite experiencing persistent pain in my shins while running for more than 5 minutes, I have continued to push through and achieve a 25-minute 5K. However, I am aware that this pain may hinder my performance and potentially lead to injury during my desired recruit training for the Royal Marines, which is why I am determined to address the issue before my start date in September 2026.
To ensure I am in optimal physical condition for the rigorous training, I am considering seeking medical advice from my NHS doctor, although I am hesitant due to concerns about the impact it may have on my record. Regardless, I am committed to doing whatever it takes to address this issue, including undergoing surgery if necessary.
If it turns out to be compartment syndrome, I am eager to learn if this would prevent me from joining the Royal Marines, or if there may be a waiting period before I am eligible to apply. While I hope the pain is just from sore shins and that I am not simply being a "wimp," I am determined to uncover the root of the issue and take the necessary steps to address it.

Toronto Maple Leafs (44-20-10) at Ottawa Senators (37-33-5)

Canadian Tire Centre

Comment with all tables

Watch, Listen and Talk:

TV
Listen	TOR - OTT
Other-Away	Preview - Boxscore - Recap
Other-Home	Preview - Boxscore - Recap
GameCenter	On NHL.com

Projected Lineups

	Left	Center	Right		Left	Center	Right
	Brady Tkachuk	Tim Stützle	Claude Giroux		Calle Jarnkrok	Auston Matthews	Mitch Marner
	Alex DeBrincat	Shane Pinto	Drake Batherson		Alexander Kerfoot	John Tavares	William Nylander
	Mathieu Joseph	Ridly Greig	Dylan Gambrell		Michael Bunting	Sam Lafferty	Wayne Simmonds
	Patrick Brown	Mark Kastelic	Austin Watson		Zach Aston-Reese	David Kampf	Timothy Liljegren

	Left D	Right D		Left D	Right D
	Jake Sanderson	Artem Zub		Jake McCabe	T.J. Brodie
	Erik Brannstrom	Jacob Bernard-Docker		Mark Giordano	Justin Holl
	Tyler Kleven	Nick Holden		Morgan Rielly	Luke Schenn

	Goalies		Goalies
	Mads Sogaard		Ilya Samsonov
	Cam Talbot		Matt Murray

In-Game Updates

Injuries

	Player	Date	Injury	Status	Details	Return
OTT	Julien Gauthier	01 Apr 2023	Illness	OUT	Gauthier (illness) is day-to-day and is not expected to play Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports.	02 Apr 2023
OTT	Derick Brassard	30 Mar 2023	Lower Body	OUT	Brassard had surgery on a broken fibula Saturday and will miss the remainder of the season, per Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.	13 Apr 2023
OTT	Travis Hamonic	30 Mar 2023	Lower Body	OUT	Hamonic sustained a lower-body injury Thursday and won't return to the game versus Philadelphia.	04 Apr 2023
OTT	Thomas Chabot	29 Mar 2023	Upper Body	OUT	Not Specified	13 Apr 2023
OTT	Jakob Chychrun	24 Mar 2023	Hamstring	OUT	Chychrun will be out of action for 2-3 weeks due to a hamstring injury, TSN 1200 Ottawa reports.	08 Apr 2023
OTT	Parker Kelly	14 Mar 2023	Kneecap	OUT	Kelly suffered a broken kneecap and will not return this season, TSN 1200 Ottawa reports.	15 Sep 2023
OTT	Alex Formenton		Contract Dispute	OUT		13 Apr 2023
OTT	Joshua Norris	16 Feb 2023	Shoulder	IR	Norris had successful surgery on his shoulder a few weeks ago and will be ready for the start of training camp, Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen reports.	15 Sep 2023
OTT	Anton Forsberg	23 Mar 2023	Knee	IR	Sprain	14 Apr 2023
--	--	--	--	--
TOR	Noel Acciari	28 Mar 2023	Neck	OUT	Acciari (neck) will not play this weekend, according to coach Sheldon Keefe, Joshua Kloke of The Athletic reports.	04 Apr 2023
TOR	Erik Gustafsson	25 Mar 2023	Personal	DTD	Gustafsson (personal) is still away from the team, Mark Masters of TSN reports.	unknown
TOR	Bobby McMann	22 Mar 2023	Knee	OUT	McMann will "miss some time" with a knee injury, David Alter of Sports Illustrated reports.	04 Apr 2023
TOR	Ryan O'Reilly	04 Mar 2023	Finger	IR-LT	Surgery	04 Apr 2023
TOR	Rodion Amirov		Head	IR-NR		15 Jul 2023
TOR	Nicholas Robertson		Shoulder	IR-LT		01 Jul 2023
TOR	Mac Hollowell		Kneecap	OUT		10 Apr 2023
TOR	Victor Mete		Lower Body	IR-LT		06 Apr 2023
TOR	Jake Muzzin	22 Feb 2023	Neck	IR-LT	Not Specified	15 Sep 2023

Thread Notes:

• Please keep it civil
• This thread is completely bot-generated, unfortunately it can only be as accurate as the sites it pulls data from
• For streams, please check /NHLStreams

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my favorite part of the first john wick film was that it stayed as realistic as it could be. Through its action scenes, it's asking: "What if, in theory, there REALLY WAS this guy with insane reaction and skill going against the mob?". The people Wick goes against are clearly trained and skilled, just he's ridiculously more reactive and skilled than them. What (I think) makes John Wick badass is that there's no unrealistic superhero-power type shit helping him, he's just good at what he does.
I still found JW2's action entertaining, but when I watched it for the first time, I found myself immensely disappointed at how it started to seem like a typical action movie. "Cool" action hero practically asking to get into shootouts with bad guys that can't aim. How many times is John a static target, is shot at, and missed? The fact that it's happened enough times for me to notice is terrible. The museum scene is immaculate, however - it's the only part I find to be of the same quality as JW1.
JW3 sucked. The story stopped being believable, the action went from unrealistic-believable to just unrealistic-unbelievable. Bad-aim-bad-guys, ninjas, ninja dogs, tungsten plot-armor (tbf this happened in JW1 when John was captured). The throwing knives scene was fun, though I wish they had Yayan in that scene instead of at the continental.
JW4 was good. I still hate the bad-guy stormtrooper aim, ninjas, archers, and extreme cases of plot-armor, but the action scenes are at least creative - creative enough to be more entertaining than JW2 and 3's action scenes. I thought the club scene was overhyped and overrated, and I will continue to meatride the Red Circle.
EDIT: The only reason why I posted this here is because it doesn't seem like many other people share the same opinion I do, I barely found anything related on Google.
If anyone happens to know any movies with action scenes like John Wick (2014), Nobody, and Upgrade, please drop it in the comments :)

https://twitter.com/DesignerDanF/status/1642248172000145408?t=8WTNgxqGwqMX7SgvzvRPyA&s=19
Hey LoR folks, I know you all want to hear more about the specifics of rotation and that's coming (there's a lot to talk about)
However, there's something important about rotation that seems to be less obvious, and worth emphasizing. Thread: (1)
Rotation was a LOT of up-front work for the team. Lots of game design work, analysis, engineering, visual design, UX, and more. We also knew it would upset some players in the short term.
This is important, because it proves something that's very good news: (2)
Rotation makes zero sense for us to do if we weren't betting on the long-term future of the game. Why spend all that extra effort if we weren't planning on many future expansions coming out? (3)
No matter how you feel about rotation, it's key to recognize that the only reason we would do it is because we believe in LoR's future.
There will be growing pains, but I believe LoR is going to be an even better game in 5 years than it is now.
See you in the game. :) (4)

-Position: LB or RB
-H/W: 6'2 194lbs
-Perks: Skilled Dribbler, Poacher, Threaded Pass
-Perk Benefits: Inside the box +15 finishing, +10 shot power, +15 volleys, +10 heading. While dribbling +15 reactions/dribbling/ball control/agility/balance. On through pass +30 vision, +15 long pass/short pass.
-Perk Traits: flair (through pass), flair (dribble), flair (shoot) inside box, boosts weak foot (shoot) inside box, boosts weak foot (through pass), power header inside box, swerve (through pass).
-Why is the OVR so bad? The algo weights defensive stats for a defensive build, and we've created a striker. Therefore OVR appears low.
-Why use RB/LB position? Strong base defensive, physical, and pace stats. We then use points and Perks to reach level 95+ stats in critical striker categories (finishing, agility, reactions, shot power, etc). It creates an incredibly powerful, fast, and balanced build.
-Special thanks to the spreadsheet and data mining for perks by: https://www.reddit.com/FIFA/comments/105qulz/fifa_23_pro_clubs_guide/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Future content? I created some radial plots comparing build stats with perks points included if anyone's interested.
Looking for a club? Check out our club "Milthy Filfs", div 1 currently, though the Fifa gods may relegate us soon.

After several years of neglect, my Kickstarter 25th Anniversary Myst book stopped working. I was hoping this would have been a tutorial on how to replace the battery, but replacing the battery didn't fix my book. I was not able to find many specs on the internet about the book's internal workings--apart from its battery ratings and a Reddit post with a response from someone remembering they had seen another Reddit post about what the book looked like inside: https://www.reddit.com/myst/comments/enmtb1/opening_the_collection_book/
For people who want to know a little bit about what's going on inside, keep reading. If you don't want to see it "disassembled" click away.
The linking panel and all its electronics are a separate assembly from the rest of the book. They are attached with three horizontal strips of double-stick tape. It took a substantial amount of prying on the side with the USB port to get this assembly detached, but it may have been difficult just because I really had no idea how it was attached. https://imgur.com/a/roIV2Vy
Flip over the linking panel assembly, and you see there's no good way to get inside without ripping paper. I damaged it as little as I could, using an Exact-O knife to slice and separate the paper. https://imgur.com/a/bYx1GQ4
My book just wasn't even charging anymore, so I knew that at least the battery was dead (first bad sign). Found a replacement battery on Amazon from EEMB with all the same specs except slightly more mAh (which is the charge capacity). https://imgur.com/a/vpX0r9o
I didn't take pictures past this point, but I cut the old battery from its leads. I first tried connecting the electronics directly up to a 3.7V DC source but got nothing (second bad sign). I proceeded anyway with cutting off the connector that came with the new battery and soldering the new battery leads to the old battery leads. With battery connected up, I plugged the book into my computer to charge. And the charging icon never came on.
I guess this is a cautionary tale to let others know that once your book dies, there might not be anything you can do to get it working again. I didn't tear up the back of the panel any further to see the rest of the electronics because I'm not sure I would know what to do with them anyway. The damage done so far is obviously irreversible (bent up/torn paper) but it would have been easy enough to fix up, had I gotten the book working again.
I'm pretty sad there couldn't have just been a way to replace battery easily. I'm open to suggestions if anyone else has experienced this and succeeded.

Hi all, I'm wrapping up Madden for the year and I am selling my entire PS account. After selling off most of my team I am currently at 17.5mill (with 2 pending sales). I also have 3 LTDs and 350k training.
This is a great deal for anyone who is trying to optimize their $$$ for the sugar rush prompt or for buyers who are looking to sell in bulk. I will only deal with individuals with amazing rep (since this cannot be split into multiple transactions). Looking forward to hearing from you soon!
Asking Price: $350 (OBO)
​
https://www.reddit.com/MCSRep/comments/gf7cez/ueham95_mcs_rep_profile/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

I've been digging in to the history of the draft for the last few weeks, for fun, and I've come across really really interesting draft picks over the years! If people still keep reading, I want to make one of these a day, each day, until the draft. This is day number 7, so it's time to mock the...
Cincinnati Bengals
Mike Ferrell called Andre Smith the best high school o-line prospect since Orlando Pace. Rivals.com had him at the top tackle. He was considered to be the very best run blocker of a generation. He was *cannot miss* talent. He went to Alabama and became the fourth ever true freshman to start on the Alabama line. One service named him an all-American. His sophomore year, when Saban showed up, he won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy and was named first team all-SEC, and was a Playboy All-American. His junior year, he won the Outland Trophy, was named a unanimous All-American, and only allowed 6 QB pressures on 334 passing plays, in a season where he was only penalized twice. He made John Parker Wilson look good. He caught a pass. He was mocked at #1 in the draft the entire year.. Other than a QB needy team grabbing Stafford, nothing is stopping him from going 1st overall, right?
But the 2009 NFL draft rolls around, the Bengals grab Andre Smith at #6, and the next day, all of Cincinnati media acts like he’s an existential threat. Every headline is about the crazy risk that the Bengals took, as everyone offers crazy guesses what will happen.
What happened? How did we get here?
First, Smith got suspended from his bowl game for his contact with an agent. Back in a time when playing bowl games seemed to matter. Uh oh! He did some damage control, made the now foregone conclusion to declare for the draft, and hoped that people didn’t remember that on draft night. After all, he’s supposed to be a generational tackle.
Then the combine happened. Dude came in at 332 pounds, admitted he was out of shape, ran a 5.32 40 (incidentally, I’m in shape and I run a 5.34 40, neither here nor there)… and decided to run it without a shirt for some reason. Kind of an all-timer. You can see it here. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1718615-andre-smiths-40-yard-dash-is-still-the-best-40-yard-dash. Why without a shirt? Why not? Despite his supposedly herculean strength, he kind of bombs the bench press (according to a lot of keyboard warriors who wouldn’t get close to his scores– and often lost in the noise is that having longer arms makes it harder to put up big bench press numbers– Smith was such a good college lineman in part because of his crazy long arms). He interviews poorly. He’s pretty obviously out of shape. So, he leaves.
And the responsible person he told that he was leaving… uh… well, he didn’t tell anyone he was leaving the combine early. The national story is “where’s Andre Smith? Did a UFO take him?” Far too late, he turns up later saying he left the combine early to prepare for his Pro Day. But he was a punchline and then he was missing, and that was the national narrative.
AL.com, which is obviously very pro-Bama, said that the question wasn’t if his draft stock fell, but by how much. BleacherReport had him now, not at 3, but at the third lineman in their final mock. The Guardian mocked him as the third lineman, and their writeup began “whoever takes Smith is taking a gamble.” Kiper put him at 13th, saying that he can’t manage his weight, which an LT needs to do. McShay mocked him to the Niners at 10th, saying that it would take a great coach like Mike Singletary to keep Andre motivated. (Can I please have McShay’s job?) Andre’s sure looking like he’s out of the top-10.
Then stories started coming out that he was pushing the scales to 370 between seasons. And then the long-awaited Pro Day happened, where he was going to shut everyone up. He didn’t– he didn’t leave half way through and he kept his shirt on for his 40. But he didn’t really do better beyond that.
Draft night happens and by then everyone knows Stafford is going to the Lions first. Then the Rams, who desperately need linemen help, are up. And they take Jason Smith, who’s never done a three point stance before, and he’s out of the league in four years. It was kind of unthinkable before the combine that Andre could fall even this far, but here we are. People are wondering about his character, his physical ability, how much he cares, his personality, everything.
But the Bengals snag the man at 6th! Despite everything that’s happened, they go “big man block good” and they decide to make it work. And are repaid in kind when Smith– well– holds out a month for more money and misses training camp. He failed to stay in game shape in the holdout, and broke his foot in a non-contact play before the season ever began.
He went on to have a meaningful career, he was the starter by his third year, went to a second contract with the Bengals, and started most of their games for five years in a row. Not the expectation at Bama, but better than the lineman taken above him. But the unbelievable saga of the combine, the jokes, the bad pro day, the slide, and the injury were an incredible spectacle and probably one of the most memorable Bengals picks in the last few decades.
Honorable mention: I think I’m going to bring up 1999 like four times this series– but the Bengals turned down 9 draft picks, including two firsts, in order to take the third QB off the board, Akili Smith. And while it was a reasonable pick at the time, the Bengals traded the farm to get Ki-Jana Carter, who suffered a career-altering injury just three plays into the first preseason game. Steve McNaire was one of the next picks.
Day 1 - The Cardinals make an unconventional pick at 8th
Day 2 - Falcons GM Norm van Brocklin likes movies
Day 3 - The Ravens select a QB off of some unique criteria
Day 4 - The Bills find that the three rules for a QB is that you don't get them wet, get them cold, or feed them after midnight
Day 5 - Jimmy Clausen
Day 6 - The Bears lose a Carla-Jean-Moss-amount in a coin-flip

So I’m to be an officer soon (Choosing Between USNA or West Point)… I lost my dog tags given to me by my father recently unfortunately (2 months ago). NOTE: (don’t take offense) THIS IS 100% Custom/Personal but at the same time I don’t want my dog tags to look bad, for example, These personal customized dog tags is that they’ll be Both are Gold, In the 5-Lines to be Engraved; would it look favorable to have my initials in it (R.J.L.D) and rank LIEUTENANT, in those 5 Engraved lines and what else? Again this is to be personally customized soley for me but @ the same time I actually will be an officer (I know there aren’t gold dogtags (only Black-only for special ops)) but at the same time why not. Much thanks and if so, I don’t mean this post to be ‘offensive or annoying etc’ to anyone, as both my father and uncle served in the military and soon to be so willingly likewise myself.

PREVIOUS MOVIE IN THE UNIVERSE- Trinity: The World's Finest
Direct Sequel to The Flash
This is Movie #10 of my ongoing DCEU rewrite that takes inspiration from what we got but makes it more authentic to the ethos of the characters, at least according to me. Sorry it took so long to write this movie. In anticipation of the new DCU, I will be wrapping up my DCEU redone posts as soon as I am done with my Phase 1. We are nearing the end of Chapter 1 of my DCEU rewrite and things are starting to heat up. A direct sequel to my Flash pitch, also directed by Robert Zemeckis. So, without further ado, let's get into:

The Flash II

We start with an establishing action scene. In MONTREAL, metahuman ROSCOE DILLON aka the TOP leads a heist on a bank. As the robbery happens, Roscoe induces vertigo in the people causing them to fall to their knees. He asks the bank teller to get him cash from the vault, when the bank teller presses the silent alarm, Roscoe shoots him. The bullet is about to kill him when all of a sudden, red and yellow blur whizzes into the room. The Bank teller is moved out of the way and safe and the bullet lodges harmlessly in the wall. As the civilians look on, BARRY ALLEN aka the FLASH stands triumphant in a brand-new super-suit. The Flash and the Top engage in a trippy battle . We see Barry’s desire for heroism and his mentality of rushing head long into trouble. Since coming to his own and moving past his guilt in the last movie, he has now replaced it with an unending sense of responsibility. He wants to save everyone so that no kid has to go through the pain that he went through after his mom’s murder. Barry, in this movie, will have to learn that some things are beyond his control and learn to slow down and live his life. Barry is often depicted as the most balanced member of the Justice League, in this movie, he will learn to become that.
On Comms, CISCO RAMON, and CAITLIN FROST guide him through the fight. Barry handcuffs Dillon with a zip tie and leaves him for the law enforcement as Caitlin informs him about a train going off the rails in MONTEREY, MEXICO. Barry runs to Monterey and helps evacuate all the people in the train. As he is struggling to move all people, the train comes to a grinding halt as SUPERMAN pushes against the head of the train bringing it to a grinding halt. Barry evacuates the remaining people and shakes hands with Superman. Barry lets him know that he is a big fan. Superman asks him to keep up the good work. Barry nods and is about to ask something but blanks in his starstruck awe. Superman simply smiles and says, “Until next time, Mr. Flash” before doing a quick tongue-in-cheek salute gesture and he flies away. Barry looks up in awe at Superman as he flies away and murmurs, completely star-struck, “Cool..”
Through comms, Barry and Cisco geek out over the former meeting Superman! Caitlin rolls her eyes and DR. HARRISON SLATE chuckles as Cisco complains that Barry did not get Superman to sign his suit. Suddenly, the Star City satellite picks up activity. Cisco lets Barry know that LEONARD SNART aka CAPTAIN COLD and his partner HEATWAVE aka MICK RORY are breaking into NATIONAL BANK in CENTRAL CITY. Barry runs in to stop them but Cold plays into his overzealousness and uses his own run-first-think-later mentality against him as a way to trap him and then escape. Leaving Barry in a block of supercooled solid, Barry struggles to escape it, cops surround the building. The CCPD Chief, DAVID SINGH asks ‘The Flash’ to step out and surrender even as JOE WEST tries to reason to Singh that the Flash is on their side. Singh says that ever since the speedster has arrived on the scene things have been more and more complicated. Barry tries to vibrate to generate enough electricity and heat to melt the ice. Finally, just before Singh is about to unmask Barry, he is able to generate the electricity and an electricity shock is sent into the block that melts the ice and frees Barry. Barry runs away, barely escaping law enforcement.
# The Flash: Into the SpeedForce
Barry arrives late at his job at Keystone PD as their new CSI. He holds 2 coffee cups. He spills some of it as he climbs up the stairs, hurriedly greeting everyone, He gets to the annex where his lab is. He is met by the other CSI working there, AUGUST HEART. Barry hands one of the coffees to August. Heart and Barry talk for a bit as they get called to a crime scene. They arrive at MERCURY LABS, a private research lab run by Stagg Industries. There, Barry meets DET. PATTY SPIVOT, a young recruit who quickly rose through the ranks. Barry and Patty have instant chemistry. They laugh and joke while solving the case together. Barry asks Patty about what was stolen. Patty tells Barry that the object stolen was an circuit stabilizer made of a Lithium-Eternium alloy, the latter being an extremely rare Kandahqi metal. Barry says that he thought there was barely any Eternium left in the world. Patty says that that is probably why the board was stolen. Barry looks around but he deduces that the robbery does not appear to have been committed for financial gain. There were other Eternium based chips there that weren’t stolen. Patty theorizes that maybe the burglar panicked and escaped, but Barry doubts that. Barry looks at the CCTV footage and finds nothing. It was there one second. And then it was gone. He asks Patty to slow down the video. As she does, he barely catches a glimpse of a yellow blur and a weight sinks in the pit of his stomach. Patty asks if he is okay. But before he can respond, they get a call from August. August was sent to investigate another robbery on the other end of town in an illegal underground street racing outfit. Heart mentions that one of the people there were killed. This shocks Patty and Barry. They ask if there were any evidence. August shakes his head. Then looking kind of unsure, he adds that there was a witness, however, but they won’t be able to believe what that young man has to say, he is probably traumatized and so not making any sense.
Barry and Patty arrive at the scene as August is still clearing out the scene. Barry walks up to the young boy- a shock of red hair and freckles. A kind smile. But a completely abrasive attitude. Barry talks to the boy. He tells Barry that his name is WALLACE but his friends just calls him Wally. Barry calls him Wally which the boy immediately cuts off because Barry is not his friend. Shaking it off, Barry asks the kid what he saw. He hesitates before saying that he thinks he saw something or someone like the Flash…“a speedster moving faster than sound…except-.” Before Wallace can complete, Barry finishes the sentence, “except he was yellow and red.” August and Patty look at Barry, eyebrows raised in intrigue. Barry asks what was stolen. Wallace says that the speedster stole a new mix of liquid kryptonite and nitromethane. Barry asks who produces that mix and Wallace retorts saying that he isn’t a snitch.
Cut to STAR Labs in Central City. Cisco, Caitlin, IRIS WEST, MALCOLM THAWNE and Joe discuss the situation with Barry when Dr. Slate arrives. Barry’s mental health is in ruin. He was clearly working on moving forward from his survivor’s guilt and leaving his mother’s death in the past. But with her killer back, Barry is living his nightmare. They discuss the Mercury Lab break in with Slate. Slate explains Mercury Labs in Keystone City and S.T.A.R. Labs in Central City were rivals until the particle accelerator accident crippled S.T.A.R. Labs. Since then, Mercury Labs has been working on a project involving tachyon particles that use Eternium-based Microboards and the team deduces this is the Man in the Yellow suit's target. They wonder what the man might be building. Cisco opines out loud that Eternium is a good conductor of kinetic energy and that this could be related to the speedforce since the man is a speedster. Mal asks if he is a speedster then why would he need a speed device.
Barry sits alone ruminating on all that is happening when Iris comes and sits next to him. Iris asks him what is bothering him. Barry says that he feels blindsided. Iris encourages him to do what he is best at. Barry thinks she is talking about his superpowers. But Iris corrects him and tells him to use his CSI skills.
Barry races to Keystone PD. He reassembles his old conspiracy board from his mother’s murder. He places new information and old and tries to piece together what the man in the yellow suit is building.
Meanwhile, Iris and Mal have dinner where they talk about what Barry is going through. Mal talks about the kinship he feels with Barry having grown up in an orphanage. He then mentions how he always wondered why Iris chose him over Barry given the long bond between them. Iris says that Barry was always so occupied with his past, he never even gave the future a chance. But that is not the case with Mal. He always thinks about the future.
Cut to KCPD. Barry is asleep on a pile of papers when Patty walks in. She asks Barry what is happening. He tells her part of the truth without giving away that he is the Flash. He talks about his mother’s murder and how he thought he was insane for years until the Flash showed up on the scene. Seeing the Flash Barry realized that speedsters like that are possible. He thinks the new mystery speedster is the same one who killed his mom. Barry and Patty talk and start piecing stuff together to try and make sense of the different “robberies” . They eventually figure out that all these parts are parts that were used by SAMANTHA SCUDDER to build her experimental quantum device. Patty asks Barry about the device, since he was the CSI that handled the case. Barry says that he found nothing of interest, brushing aside the question. Patty can feel Barry hiding something which annoys her a little. Barry excuses himself and heads to the STAR Labs.
At STAR Labs, Barry discusses with Cisco, Caitlin and Slate. They realize that the man in yellow wants to combine a tachyon generator with Samantha Scudder’s quantum portal device. Slate says that together, hypothetically, it can help someone travel in time. They realize his plan. Cisco runs diagnostics and says that the only piece missing is a frequency stabilizer of which there exists only one. In the Central City Mercury labs. Barry races to Mercury Labs.
At Mercury Labs, a physicist is going about his daily systems checks when a speedster in yellow comes and kills several guards. Luckily the physicist locks himself with the tachyon device in a quantum flux chamber. The yellow speedster attempts to get inside the chamber but fails. Barry arrives just as the man in yellow sends a speedforce lightning at the glass. Barry tries to stop him, but Barry gets tossed aside. The liquids in the room start levitating and windows crack as the two speedsters duke it out. Barry lets loose and chases the other speedster who is faster than ever. Barry demands answers for his mother's murder but the man in the yellow suit taunts him, that he will have to catch him first and speeds off again. The two end up in a stadium and start fighting. Man in the Yellow Suit taunts Barry and says that he will wipe Barry out as well as everyone who knows his secret. He says Barry shouldn’t have told his secret to friends and that they will die because of him. Before leaving, he tells Barry it is his destiny to lose to him, just as it was also destiny for Barry's mother to die that night. He says that in two days’ time, all his plans will finally come to fruition and nothing Barry does can stop him. By the time Cisco, Caitlin and Mal (whom they called) arrive at the stadium, Barry is clutching his knee and crying.
Next day, Barry goes to visit his father, HENRY ALLEN and confesses that he finally found the man who murdered Nora, but he got away, twice. Distraught, he tells his father it is now his fault that he is stuck behind bars. Henry tells him not to blame himself; that the murder has dominated Barry's life for fourteen years and he hasn't been able to truly lead his own life. Henry has also worked out that Barry is in love with Iris but never told her. Barry tells him that it doesn’t matter because she is with Mal. And he is starting to like Patty. He says that he is afraid he might screw even that up. He tells his son not to let the killer take any more of his life from him.
Exhausted, Barry goes to a bar and tries to get drunk, but he cannot be due to his high metabolism. Patty, who was at the bar, sees Barry and approaches him. The two of them talk and Barry talks about how conflicted and confused he is. Without going into details about his situation, he explains his emotions to her. Patty empathizes and gives him some advice. Barry and Patty’s heart to heart leads to them sleeping together.
Barry wakes up in the morning to a sleeping Patty. He sees the Man in the Yellow Suit through the window. Barry is petrified but fights through it and launches into action. Barry runs through town looking for the man in yellow but comes up with nothing.
At the CCPN, Iris is assigned to a new senior reporter ARTURO RODRIGUEZ, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and mentor of Lois Lane, who wrote about the “No Man’s Land” crisis in Gotham over twenty years ago and first reported on the Batman. Rodriguez tells Iris about the new expose he is working on- a story on Dr. Harrison Slate. Rodriguez tells Iris about Harrison, saying that 15 years ago Slate lost his wife in a car accident following which Slate turned into a recluse. The only people he has met since then have all ended up dead or missing in a short time. All except two employees at STAR Labs-Cisco, Caitlin; Barry and Barry’s friends including Iris. Recently, Slate met with the former head of Mercury Labs, DR. SIMON STAGG, just months before Stagg’s personal top-secret research was robbed by someone who was evidently a metahuman (Rodriguez reveals that he has a source in the CCPD) and Stagg has been “missing” since. Dr. Christina McGee who took his place in the Lab launched a full-blown search for Stagg, but it was as if he had disappeared from the face of the Earth. Iris calls his theory outlandish, but Rodriguez asks her to just talk to Barry.
Barry makes his way to STAR Labs. He is a beaten man. Exhausted physically and emotionally- stretched to his limits. Slate says that they need to trap the man in yellow. Barry suggests they use the device from Mercury Labs that the villain was unable to procure to create a trap for him. Slate, Caitlin and Joe talk with the head scientist of Mercury Labs, Dr. CHRISTINA MCGEE at the police station, trying to obtain the tachyon experiment as bait. The scientist refuses; believing Slate is looking for an advantage in the market again especially because Mercury is in shambles right now after the last director, Dr. Simon Stagg disappeared a few months ago. But after Barry pleads, she relents and hands over the device.
At S.T.A.R. Labs, Caitlin and Cisco work on the trap- an energy field containment device. Caitlin opens up to Cisco how insane her life has been since Ronnie was vaporized in the particle accelerator accident. He feels a weird deja vu working in the basement lab. She suggests that it might be because the last time either of them were down there was when her late husband, RONNIE RAYMOND was still alive and was tinkering with building the cold fusion reactor. The basement lab used to be his. Cisco reminisces about how much of an inspiration Ronnie was to him. Barry enters and help them build the trap. The three of them talk and we further explore the deep rapport and dynamic between the three friends. Barry opens his heart and shares his thoughts and fears. Cisco and Caitlin support him.
Barry arrives at the KCPD forensic lab late to find Patty waiting for him, working on the robberies. Barry tells her that he figured it out. And he thanks her for her help. She explodes at him in anger. She tells him that he is too busy chasing whatever phantom he is chasing to live a life. He left her this morning without a word. He solved the mystery of the robberies and did not say a word. He apologizes and says that he got preoccupied. She says that he can talk to her when he is ready to be honest and all there. Barry sits there alone as Patty walks out.
At the West residence, Joe is asleep on the couch as Iris looks at all the evidence that Rodriguez gave her regarding Dr. Slate. Mal walks in to find her buried in newspaper clippings and pieces of information. She learns that Barry’s mother’s killer is back and taunting him in order to get some tachyon device. This suddenly clicks for Iris as Stagg was researching a tachyon flux converter when he disappeared. Iris immediately calls Barry, worried.
At Jitters Cafe, Iris tells Barry about Rodriguez’s theory. She tells him that ever since Dr. Slate arrived at Central City, everything changed. Barry needs to make sure Slate isn’t working for the enemy. Barry laughs it off and calls Slate his mentor and like a parent. He convinces Iris that Slate is a good man. Iris asks Barry if he is convinced that he wants to hunt down Man in the Yellow Suit. Barry says yes. Barry spills his heart to her. Tells her how the night his mom died; time stood still for him. He tells her that he has spent every day since then trying to move beyond his guilt and gain a semblance of power over himself. But now that he has that power, he feels emptier than ever before. He can run into a burning building and save thousands of people. But who will save the little boy who had to see his father get wrongly arrested for killing his mother the same night he saw something inexplicable rip her apart. He chased that lightning all his life. Now he has this lightning inside of him. But has no idea what to do with it. Iris touches Barry heart and tells, “But you do. You always have.”
Barry goes back to STAR Labs where the trap has been completed. Cisco tells Barry that Dr. Slate has gone to get amplifiers from the remains of the particle accelerator tube. Barry tells Cisco and Caitlin about what Iris told him regarding Slate. Barry says that Arturo must be mistaken because Slate is a good guy. Cisco talks about his strained relationship with his own family and how Slate and Ronnie were the closest things he had to a father and a brother.
At CCPN, Iris takes all of the research that Rodriguez gave her and goes to tell Rodriguez that his hunch is wrong. Iris finds his office empty. She checks with the desk who say that he never reported for duty. Iris is confused because Rodriguez never misses work. Iris gets worried. She hurries to him home where she finds the place ransacked. She finds a not on his desk with an address for a house in Keystone City.
Meanwhile Slate retrieves amplifiers and comes out of the elevator to find Joe waiting for him in the central atrium of the lab. Joe voices his concern that Barry should stay out of the next stage of the plan as he is too close to this foe, but before he can finish, Barry entering from the other room, dismisses their concerns. Joe says that Mal has recruited a taskforce of loyal SWAT officers to provide them with backup and they will be there any minute. He asks Barry if Cisco and Caitlin are ready, and Barry says that they are. Slate says that then it is time to get started.
The trap is activated, and the tachyon prototype is set in the heart of the trap. They wait for the Man in the Yellow suit. Cisco has been releasing pulses from the tachyon device to draw his attention. Suddenly, the speedster arrives, and Cisco activates the trap; encasing him in a force field. Barry, hiding behind some equipment is paralyzed over seeing his mother’s killer so up close. Slate, Mal, Joe and the task force inspect their captive while Caitlin and Cisco remain in the control room to keep the trap running. In the chamber Joe attempts to interrogate the villain over Nora Allen's murder. The villain ignores him, but speaks to Slate; acting pleased they can meet face to face. The two trade barbs over knowledge of the other. When Slate points out they created the trap based on the villain's similar nature to the Flash, the villain laughs; claiming he is quite the reverse of the hero.
Iris arrives in Keystone and knocks on the door. The door is opened by none other than Patty Spivot.
Back at STAR Labs, suddenly Cisco notes a fluctuation in the barrier and tries to warn Slate; just as the barrier drops for a second. The villain quickly grabs Slate, pulling him into the force field and proceeds to violently beat him. Joe has no option but to break the field generator to save Slate from the attack. The Man in the Yellow suit takes out the task force, flashes over to Mal and stares into his frightened eyes but strangely spares him. The villain then speeds over to Joe and chokes him. Seeing Joe getting choked, snaps Barry out of PTSD and he speeds in and takes The Man in the Yellow suit outside flying out of the building in a tornado of red and yellow electricity, Caitlin and Cisco run outside to watch the fight. The fight is not going well for Barry as the man in yellow continually beats on him. The man in yellow reveals that not only did he kill Barry’s mother but that he is the one who brought the Rogues together. Before he can kill Barry however, he is speed starts sputtering out. Barry is surprised as he sees a second of worry in Reverse Flash eyes. He tells Barry that "their race is not yet done" and that he will see him soon, he then speeds away with the tachyon device. Cisco and Caitlin run over to help Barry.
Patty and Iris talk, both having introduced themselves to each other. Patty immediately recognizes Iris as Barry’s bestfriend. Patty says that Barry has talked a lot about Iris to her. Iris unfortunately cannot reciprocate which makes Patty a bit crestfallen. Patty attempts to change the topic and Iris says that she was following a lead about her lead-reporter Arturo Rodriguez. The name causes Patty to sit up.
She says that a week ago, Barry came to her with some case files about a string of mysterious robberies in Keystone and Central City. She helped Barry put the evidence together and came to the breakthrough that everything stolen were parts that Samantha Scudder used in her mirror device. Even though Barry told her that he caught the culprit, when she called CCPD, they hadn’t. She did not know what Barry was doing, but she had to figure out answers for herself. So she contacted an old college friend Naomi Singh who helped her hack into ARGUS database. She read through the research of Sam Scudder. And realized that all of the original plans for the quantum mirror device was given to her by Dr. Harrison Slate. Not only that, a day after her death, Slate paid off cleaning crews cleaning up the fight scene between Sam and the Flash to get access to her tech. This caused Patty to look further into Slate and realized that Barry was working with Slate. Thinking that Barry was a dirty cop who Slate is controlling, and that’s why Barry lied to her about the arrests, she was making a case against Slate to free Barry. She says that now that Iris knows this what she needs to know is why Iris is working for Slate. Patty pulls a gun on Iris.
Continued in: PART II