my brother g is 14 years old. he's only 3 years younger than me and has adhd. i 17(ftm) have major depression, anxiety, and ptsd (all diagnosed ofc).
my little brother's life has always been better than mine from the get go. i am jealous with, in my opinion, good reason. his parents are together, neither abuse him, his extended family is positive and loving, and he generally has had a better family life growing up. as one of his 3 siblings i can't say the same. all of our lives have been worse in comparison yet he gets the most sympathy. my oldest brother has a drug addicted deadbeat dad that tried using him for money/rides and was abused by my father before being torn away from his friends to move states, my step brother has an over bearing mother who cares more about materialistic things then his interests, and i was sexually and physically abused by my dad and others from 4 up.
despite this me and my siblings are rarely given attention or get to choose activities. we used to have family movie and game nights yet could never pick the movie/game. it was always "oh that movies not appropriate for your brother" or "that game will be too hard for your brother!". this meant he got to pick everything every time and we couldn't ever play games/watch stuff without including him which meant never getting to do that stuff without adjusting for him. he was always slap happy but never was really punished. where my brothers and i were pit in time out or grounded for even accidents he hit on purpose daily and was only scolded. eventually we were told to stop being tattle tails and that it didn't hurt that much. if we ever retaliated or even just pushed him away or ran away to avoid being hurt we were yelled at cause he'd cry. he always got new clothes, back packs, toys, and games while i got hand me downs and told to enjoy what i had. while he'd get $50 lego sets i would get $10 dolls that scared the crap out of me and a guilt trip for not enjoying it. his interests were always looked out for with birthday parties, gifts, and conversations. we all had to watch his favorite tv shows. meanwhile, our parents couldn't tell you what each of us liked past things from several years ago. they always complained we were too complicated or didn't know what we liked when they were the ones not listening when we'd try to talk to them about things. my oldest brother stopped playing with all of us and participating in family activities first. then my step brother who was only over for half the week stopped. when i didn't want to play with him or engage with the family any more i wasn't allowed to say no because nobody else would hang with my youngest brother if i left. i was there to distract and keep him happy while my brothers all got to enjoy their time.
things stopped for me faster than my other siblings. my step dad always liked his own kids better but it hurt a lot more to be second priority to both your bio dad and step dad. where i was told to get my own snack/drink or that i was too heavy to pick up at 7-8 years old my step brother and little brother got that treatment into their teens. my step dad never asked for quality time with me or my interests. instead i was chided for not understanding sarcasm like his sons or ignored when wanting to do something he found boring. several times he laughed when my things got ruined because i "always ruined" his kids stuff. it was only ever on accident i damaged anything any of my family members owned.
i was a "prodigy" and "gifted" as a child so i was always made to do extra homework and get good grades. my brothers got to slide by with barely passing d's and threats by teachers of summer school while i was scolded for a c+. i remember my mom telling me i wasn't allowed to watch a movie i hadn't read the book for. i liked reading but this made it into a chore. my brothers of course had no such restrictions on what they could watch/play. even today my parents are upset that im not going to college when my oldest brother lives with them and plays video games any time he's home from work. i graduated a YEAR early under stressful and unexpected circumstances. even them instead of being proud of me for getting through it despite my mental illness' they were upset i hadn't done enough. my youngest brother meanwhile just barely made it through this year and yet complained he was asked to do his homework. he was still allowed to hang out with friends and play games all day despite having all f's at one point!
my little brother also made many jokes at one point that his dad hit him/left him because he thought it was funny. my parents had "talks" with him for months until finally my step dad yelled at him. it sucks that he got to make fun of such an experience when me and my oldest brother were abused by my dad. even now i suffer daily from ptsd. even if he doesn't make the jokes now he still makes fun of me for having a dick head dad knowing it hurts me and gets away with it. he never has to take responsibility for anything and gets to scream at my parents, hit me, and leave giant messes for others to clean without any consequences.
im just so done. i feel so overlooked and discussing this with my parents even with my therapist present has earned me defensive responses and at some points them simply walking away from me. am i just a bad kid?

Hi guys. I'm building a bookstore in rural Massachusetts and am doing a lot of the work myself. In the coming weeks I'm installing brand new wood flooring, and after that the next stage is to build shelving for the entire store.
The space is 20 feet wide and 90 feet long, 100% open with no interior walls or rooms. For that reason, I think continuous built in shelves mounted directly onto the wall would look incredible - think each row literally being 90 continuous feet long, totally flush, totally level. My thoughts with this is that I'd use large L brackets (we're talking 8x12 brackets rated for 600 pounds of weight) and simply float them down the whole length of the store, basically times 6.
How would you go about doing something like that? It's a one story building, but I'm concerned that this could put enormous strain on the walls and that it might actually be potentially dangerous to load up both of the walls with 10,000 pounds+ of weight. On the other hand, the building was built in the 1960's and is in incredible shape, steel beams / 2x10 construction etc.
To that end, I've also considered just building extremely simple bookshelves out of the same material - as wide as possible, each unit identical, all of which would still be pushed up to the wall and mounted to the wall for safety's sake (but would obviously be held up by the floor, rather than the studs, as the shelves in the first version would be).
This seems like a lot more work to me, and a lot more potential for messing things up (having to build every single unit exactly identical versus simply lining up all the L brackets to be level which would be pretty easy with a laser level). I also think the floating shelves - and I say floating realizing that you'd be able to see the L brackets, although the books would probably hide that - would look a lot better.
I'd love your thoughts / opinions on this. Thanks.

Hello! I just wanted to make this post cause I’ve been on decapeptyl for almost a month now and I have some doubts.
I got my HRT a few weeks ago and the doctor prescribed me decapeptyl every three months and estradiol valerate in oral tablets. I got my shot from my mom (she’s a doctor so she knows) and that same day started estradiol as the doctor said. 4mg a day (I take the two pills at once at the same time).
Afterwards (like a week after) I gradually started feeling super tired and without any energy basically, and like the second week I feel like my body hair started growing A LITTLE more slowly (I used to shave my legs like every two days and it seemed like I could wait 4 days after the shot). And my cheeks got a little bit rounder and fuller. But then this week I started noticing a higher libido, more body and facial hair and I think my voice got a little bit deep and my brow bone became more pronounced. But three weeks seems very little even if I had higher testosterone to change me like that, and the last “masculine” trait that I had from male puberty was facial hair at like 17/18 years old, after that my body stopped changing. I’m 21 now.
Then I read here and on the internet that decapeptyl causes a high peak on testosterone levels at the beginning before dropping, and for this they give cyproterone or another anti androgen to help with that. But my doctor gave me nothing, only the shot and the estradiol. Could this be related to my perceive changes in my brow bone or voice? Or is this is just paranoia and my really bad gender dysphoria kicking in? I mean when I think about it with logic I don’t think is possible for my brow bone to change in three weeks, and more likely after puberty when the bones of your face and body are done developing. What do you think about this?

Thought I contribute by starting a thread about the team's logos (plus the ELF's own). As always: Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder so share your opinion, so here is mine:
It is almost impossible to rank 1-17 so I put them in buckets:
TOP TIER:
-) ELF: I just think it is very well designed and the colors are fantastic. Is it a fraudulent copy from Major League Baseball and NBA? Yes. Does that matter? No. It is a great logo.
-) PANTHERS: I love it, it comes closest to a NFL team's logo. Has the name in it and a well drafted Panther head, strong colors as well
-) VIKINGS: A difficult motto (a head of a Viking) perfectly executed as a logo. Clean, clear, immediately recognizable
-) THUNDER: I like the name dominantly sitting on top with the bold shooting down.
GOOD ONES:
-) DRAGONS: I liked the original one better but what's not to like about a Dragon head as a logo?
-) SEA DEVILS: I think it is a very cool and recognizable, compact logo. What I don't like is the "water-mouth" across it
OK-ish:
-) CENTURIONS: Nice try but I hate that it is looking towards the left instead of towards the right. Also the face-mask could be more simplistic.
-) MUSKETEERS: I like the concept and it looks clean, but it misses an "it-factor" and the non-colored version is meh.
-) KINGS: Reminds me of something cartoonish from Disney and the colors are lame, but it's not bad as such.
-) SEAMAN: The idea is ok but can anyone remove the football please??? Also the lines of the "S" should be thicker / more dominant and the anchor should be more simplistic
NOT QUITE:
-) RAIDERS: Looks unrecognizable in white and has to much going on in black. I doubt people even realize that this is a wing/sword-combo.
-) GALAXY: Too much stuffed into that Galaxy. Less would have been more. Clear downgrade from the original one. (I hope they use the white version on their helmets. Last year's version was almost unrecognizable on TV)
-) ENTHRONERS: Too simple. Not creative. At least it is not ugly.
-) GUARDS: People tell me Swiss folks like that kind of style. Well. I think the flag looks like randomly patched on and the face + helmet + speer is too much stuff overall. Too complex for a sports-logo IMHO
-) FIRE: This could be so much better. The "F" is way to slim, the "fire" not aggressive. Rather reminds me of a dude with long hair standing in the wind
-) SURGE: Looks like a fat yellow edgy worm. If that's a "surge" nobody should be scared. Any electrician around to boost that up?
OUCH! :
-) RAVENS: I liked the logo when it came out but now realize it is completely useless. What's there except for the name: 2 eyes and a bird's beak (mouth)? That's it??? Seriously?
-) LIONS: My eyes get cancer just by looking at this unrecognizable bunch of lines on which 2 pots of colors where spilled upon.
What's your take?

Hit the streets with the Koenigsegg Gemera and 2022 McLaren GT in our newest update:
TBA: Promo Image

[New Cars]()

2023 Koenigsegg Gemera

Car Class: Hyper

Level	BP	TSD	ACL	NOS	PR
Stock		7,530	10,000	9,203	908
3★	60
4★	45
5★	45
6★	60
7★	60
8★	85	8,573	13,780	11,735	1,153
+ 1 TP
+ 2 TP		9,811	14,558		13,353
+ 3 TP			14,947	14,163
+ 4 TP		11,049	15,336	14,972

Earnable in: Special Event: Under The Hood (7 day event)
Starting Window: June 7^th 17:00 PST – June 21^st 17:00 PST
Delve into mysteries and high-speed heists with the Koenigsegg Gemera as you and your allies fight back against Paradyne Industries. Unravel the plot in Special Event: Under the Hood!

2022 McLaren GT

Car Class: Super

Level	BP	TSD	ACL	NOS	PR
Stock		4,350	6,600	5,475	677
3★	60
4★	30
5★	40
6★	50
7★	50
8★	75	8,367	10,960	9,664	987
+ 1 TP
+ 2 TP		9,141	11,923	11,230
+ 3 TP			12,405	12,013
+ 4 TP		9,916	12,887	12,795

Earnable in: B.R.A.V.O.: McLaren GT (7 day event)
Starting Window: June 13^th 17:00 PST – June 28^th 17:00 PST
Bust racers as part of an elite police task force with the 2022 McLaren GT in the newest B.R.A.V.O. event!

Flashbacks

Slot 1:
Starting Window: June 19^th 17:00 PST – July 5^th 17:00 PST

• Winter's Shadow – Bugatti Bolide
• Utter Madness – Chevrolet Corvette Stingray (C8)
• Pursuit Legends – Pagani Zonda Cinque
• Proving Grounds: Ferrari Roma – Ferrari Roma
• Proving Grounds: Mercedes-AMG A 45 S 4MATIC+ – Mercedes-AMG A 45 S 4MATIC+
• Crew Trials (Royals): – Ferrari Testarossa

Slot 2:
Starting Window: June 25^th 17:00 PST – July 12^th 17:00 PST

• Drift Macabre – Hennessey Exorcist Camaro ZL1
• Neo Future – Nissan Fairlady 240ZG (Neon Future)
• Eclipse – Polestar 1 (NFS Heat)
• 25^th Anniversary – Bugatti Chiron
• XRC: Chevrolet Corvette C8 Z06 – Chevrolet Corvette C8 Z06
• Breakout: BMW M3 (G80) – BMW M3 (G80)

New Wraps

• 'Marked Improvement' Wrap Unlocked by: Completing B.R.A.V.O: McLaren GT Special Event.
• NAIDOC wraps - In collaboration with special guest-artist Vandal Unlocked by: Mission: 40sec Airtime
• 3 NAIDOC week celebration wraps 'Koalafied', 'MalleeEmuWren' & 'Welcomes Warratahs'

The following are predictions based on in game data:

Underground Rivals Schedule:

Neon Nights
Start Date: Monday, June 5th 2023

Driver	Speedster	Breakneck
Lamborghini Countach LP5000 Quattrovalvole	Lamborghini Sián	Hennessey Venom F5
Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 427 C2	Hennessey Exorcist Camaro ZL1	Bugatti Centodieci
Volkswagen Golf GTI	Ford Mustang GT	Ferrari Enzo

Jetstream
Start Date: Monday, June 12th 2023

Driver	Speedster	Breakneck
Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-R	Ferrari F50	Koenigsegg Jesko
Mitsubishi 3000GT VR-4	Chevrolet Camaro Z/28	Hennessey Venom GT
Ford Fiesta ST	Nissan Skyline GT-R BNR32	Koenigsegg CCX

Limit Break
Start Date: Monday, June 19th 2023

Driver	Speedster	Breakneck
Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT	Dodge Demon Revenant	Koenigsegg Gemera
BMW M3 (G80)	Ford Shelby GT500 (Snoop)	Koenigsegg Regera
Subaru Impreza WRX STI	Dodge Challenger SRT8	Aston Martin DBS Superleggera

Undertow
Start Date: Monday, June 26th 2023

Driver	Speedster	Breakneck
TBA	TBA	Koenigsegg Gemera
Chevrolet Camaro SS (1967)	Beck Kustoms F132	McLaren P1 GTR
TBA	TBA	TBA

UPCOMING PROMOTIONS AND EVENTS:

Double Rep Promotion

• Double Rep Promotion TBA
• Double Rep Promotion TBA

Tuner Trials All Access Pass

• All Access Tuner Trials TBA
• All Access Tuner Trials TBA

Replay Races

• Koenigsegg Jesko June 12^th – June 14^th
• Ferrari F50 June 14^th – June 15^th
• Nissan Skyline 2000 GT-R June 15^th – June 16^th
• Koenigsegg Regera June 19^th – June 21^st
• Dodge Demon Revenant June 21^st – June 22^nd
• Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT June 22^nd – June 23^rd
• TBA

Start and End are always at 00:00 UTC!
This update will be available for download Tuesday, 6^th of June 2023 23:00 UTC.
Note:
We apologize for any errors and ambiguities. EA is not in a position to issue decent patch notes. The names of the cars are so often wrong, sometimes you just have to guess.
NOTE: Made under usage of YT post by u/Tar-Ton

It's one of those days where almost everything I say, I sound like an asshole so bare with me. Each one of these rants get downvoted to oblivion anyways.
I started at 17 with woodworking to be able to get started in carpentry so that I could move out or make some decent money long term not knowing how to use a drill, read a tape measure and being sheltered from even doing my oil change . 95% of what I did was sanding although I would every blue moon be allowed to do something (use the miter saw, nail something, use the drill or impact, etc.) before they ran out of business. After that I would apply for anything that would teach me anything about the trades. I would work as an cabinet installer. Was paired with the other installer. I'm 130 pounds so I can't really be the guy who carries the REALLY heavy shit. Which he would throw a tantrum over. Yell at me whenever I would try to ask to help or to try to learn how to do something. I would be sent to pretty much stand around and clean most of the time. Boss sees me not doing anything and after I come in 10 minutes late. 4 weeks into the job I'm fired. I go months without a job and hundreds of applications later get hired with a handyman. They're stressed out because they don't know what they're doing really but do everything from plumbing to remodeling to cabinet installs to framing. Me not knowing shit with other people who barely know shit with long hours. They can't teach me and don't have the time to really teach me. 3 weeks in am let go. more months without a job . But still research on YouTube and buy tools so am slightly more useful. Get hired again for a framing contractor, am still new but I know how to use all the basic hand tools but grow MUCH faster due to researching everything before hand. Journeyman keeps fucking with me. Making up rules last minute to get in my face and yell at me. "Teaching me" by doing exactly what I was doing before but faster before going back to his leisurely pace doing whatever he was doing. Try to make me feel like shit whenever I couldn't lift something and general dickhead behavior. He tells me to carry more than I can, I get hurt and fed up with the BS I quit after I finished that day; 5 weeks in. 5 months later am now at 300 applications, have called or emailed everywhere within 15 miles and waiting on the pipefitters union because enjoy stick welding. From reddit to friends/family it's "you should show up early and be 100% perfect. You can't even keep a job because you're a fuck up". "You're not meant for this. Just quit already" I gave this everything I fucking had. I see people I know making more than me working at gas stations or Walmart who have a chill workplace while making friends and meaningful relationships. All of them have surpassed me. I relied on my close group of friends outside of work which is gone to shit and almost 2 years in am not any closer to moving out. If anything I'm more broke now. All I've gotten from this trade is stress, tools and pack a day smoking lmao.

Okay, so I am following up on this old thread. [Suggestion] A case recommendation for the XG17 portable monitor. : ASUS (reddit.com)
It is tough to find sleeves for the ASUS XG17-inch portable monitor. I had purchased the Solo New York 15.6" sleeve, and while I enjoyed it, I found it bulky. It definitely has more padding but at the cost of being able to fit in some bags seamlessly.
The dimensions of the ASUS XG17 monitor are funky @ 15.7 x 9.9 x 0.4 inches. I measured my XG17 using measuring tape and mine was 15.6" x 9.8" x 0.4" inches. I stumbled upon a Razer Blade 17 2022 sleeve on Etsy by a brand called CushCase. They have more color options on their main website. Shipping took two-ish weeks since it was in USPS limbo for quite some time. The beautiful thing is the sleeve fits this monitor. Razer Blade 17 Canvas Sleeve - Pioneer Special Edition CushCase. Bonus, anyone into bags like ManyBaggers or Carryology Facebook group stuff, this sleeve has an orange interior lining version for that high-vis vibe lol. They also have a cheaper variant, Razer Blade 17 Laptop Sleeve Case - Everyday - Made in UK CushCase, which is at a lower price using a basic Canvas with no liner color customization.
There's no in-your-face branding, and it's slim enough to help fit into bags better while offering simple protection. I didn't like the options available on Amazon since they looked ratty and cheap. I highly recommend it.
​

G'day Cucks and Cuckettes. Looks like the market has transitioned back into Kangaroo mode. Let's bounce into this bans post.
​
​
Highlights
- Shoutout to all those that attended the annual meetup. A special mention to u/MooCowLevel who now has a hat trick of solo sub meetups. Your dedication outshines your loneliness.
​
- u/lionsforlambos has won their head-to-head bet.
​
- u/Yevgeny_Trouserkoff popped their betting cherry with a win.
​
u/limpcrayon survived their perma ban bet head to head. Well played.
​
​
New Bets
- u/ewanelaborate has taken the opposite of u/PowerBottomBear92's one month bet. Mike will risk 1 month and Power's will be increased to a 2-month ban
​
- u/raegrog bet WR1 to hit $2.05 the week of 22-26 or 2 weeks in the sin bin. Well played.
​
- u/MaximumGirth343 called the floor for LMG taking a ban for 3 months if it trades under 6 cents before this post goes up.
​
- u/Tenconeslater has bet IVZ to hit 25c by July 1st or a years worth of wakaing alone
​
- u/Nevelo and u/AltruisticCurtains have gone head to head. The not-so-bearish Curtains bets that the XJO does not close lower than its March low of 6898.5 at any point between now and 1st Sept or a 1-month ban.
Hairy Beary Nevelo countered that XJO closes lower than that, with the additional condition that XAO also goes below 7000, between now and the 1st of Sept or a 1-month ban.
​
- u/witchdoc86 bet WA1 $6 party by the end of the week. That looks like 2 weeks for you.
​
- u/Moon-Runner bet on 50 cent wakas by September or a 3-month ban.
​
- u/houli_dooli is keeping the ban bet lights on with SYA back to 20c before 30 June or 1-month ban.
​
- u/CluelessAboutHeaps has bet old fave ZIP to finish red today or a 2 month time out.
- u/Particular_Love_8811 continues their loe affair with BOQ tipping it to end day $5.50 or higher or a 2 week ban
​
​
Bans
- u/joshhyy12 will serve a 1-month ban.
- u/Zealousideal_Ad642 should have stuck with the confusion and taken the opposite side. Since you joined in that's a month for you too.
​
- u/ImaDegenAndProud thanks for the reminiscing. That's a ZIPtacular month for you.
​
- u/BrettoStevens will be back with the black lung after 2 months of living down the mine.
​
- u/Neither_Storage7619 that's a month in the sin bin for you.
​
- u/theres_a_crisis that's a 2-month ban for you.
​
- u/ChalkyAus that's a month for your failure
- u/ne14tennis has lost their WBT perma ban bet. We bit you adieu.
​
​
Tick - Tock
- u/ok_rub_9490 owes us some proof of ANL
​
​
TL;DR
Ο Λόου λέει να πάρεις έναν συγκάτοικο, αλλά μοιράζομαι ήδη με 17 σκυλιά

Hello, everyone. This is my very first time posting on reddit ever. I've been occasionally reading on here and I'm confident enough to talk about BK.
My husband and I filed Chapter 7 back on April 17, 2023 and received our discharge on July 29, 2015. I prepared the paperwork myself because we couldn't afford an attorney.
Now, here we are getting ready to file Chapter 7 again next week. I'll be preparing the documents again. Here's our issue.
We got evicted on May 1st of this year and had to move out on the 10th before the landlord could file for Writ of Possession.
My husband sold a big ticket item online for his manager on April 27th. From what I was told, the item would've retailed for $1,300, but it sold for $900 due to some blemishes. He gave his manager $600, keeping the remaining $300. We used that to get a moving truck, a storage unit and gas for my husband to get to and from work. I was wondering if I have to list that in my schedules, seeing that his boss kept 2/3 of the profit. I read that anything sold before filing BK must be disclosed. Could they go after his boss for the $600? Should we exempt the entire $900, even though my husband received $300 from the sale? The LAST thing I want to do is commit Bankruptcy Fraud, accidentally or otherwise.
My husband also sold out washer and dryer for food and gas money. They wouldn't benefit us any way because we're living in am extended stay, which is way more expensive than our old apartment (also, because the storage unit is not big enough).
We also know that we're surrendering the car that's up for repossession with less than $300 in equity
I never thought I'll be doing this again. I tried going back to work, but I'm physically disabled and finding it hard to hold down a job. I haven't worked on over five years.
Thanks for reading and I'm so sorry about my dissertation-like post. 😂
Thanks in advance for all your help and replies.

I've had a few ASUS ZenWifi ET12s for a few months now. I sadly have a situation where the ZenWifi is too tall, and I have to lay it on it's side.
The rest of my mesh network is great (2.5G ethernet backhaul), but devices connecting to the "on the side" unit always have a much weaker connection.
I decided to try to mod it to attempt to change the antenna assembly to be "right side up" when the unit is on its side.
DISCLAIMER - if you try to follow my mod below, be prepared to void your warranty! Also be sure to follow regulatory laws in your area - some countries/jurisdictions don't like you messing with radio hardware!
First thing - I noticed there are ZERO teardowns/internal info on this unit around. I decided to post pics of my exploratory surgery to help anyone who might be like-minded in the future.
First - to open, remove the bottom rubber ring. This exposes the screws. https://imgur.com/t8O8U7D.png
Next, simply pull (with some force) on the clear plastic top - the whole cover slides right off. https://imgur.com/aAu8HME.png
Once out, you can see that the top assembly is held on by 4 screws (two on each side) and the antenna cables https://imgur.com/1x7eLZZ.png
Wireless Radio board side view https://imgur.com/4RWkknN.png
CPU/chipset board side view https://imgur.com/rRc1eB6.png
There is a plastic port cover covering the ethernet side. It pops right off (held on with some middle clips) https://imgur.com/5aKmHvM.png
Pic with the Ethernet cover removed (a bit blurry, sorry) https://imgur.com/aPVYbRH.png
Pic of the other side for completeness https://imgur.com/E3IoyOS.png
The clear plastic cover is held to the inner plastic cover via plastic clips. I have some good iFixit removal pics, and they helped easily pop these one side at a time. https://imgur.com/lXuI6Xu.png
Inner plastic is held with clips to the 4-screw assembly below it. once both Inner plastic and outer plastic are removed, you can see the default antennas. https://imgur.com/Y1DJcr5.png https://imgur.com/rx4ZcfX.png
Bottom of Wireless Radio heatsink https://imgur.com/EG3zSgv.png
Here's the best shot - the wireless board and all the antenna connections. There are the 8 default connections (CON01-CON08) and a hidden, unconnected CON09 connector, and a spot for a CON10 connector (but there is no connector soldered for CON10.) https://imgur.com/NIbVM2J.png
A bit closer examination shows these are U.FL IPEX Male connectors https://imgur.com/mKLoJDI.png
Now - next steps. The factory cables are super tight and no slack to remove the factory assembly and reconnect. I decided at this point to buy new cables and make an RP-SMA breakout board.
First, I did a 3D-print design for the new breakout board on Tinkercad - matching the antenna layout/spacing/azimuth as closely as possible. Links:

• https://www.tinkercad.com/things/dOdeUCFnVTw
  
• https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:6057492
  

Printed it - it turned out pretty well: https://imgur.com/9jVtXzL.png
I next bought the following from Amazon:

• 2x Right-angle RP-SMA to U.FL IPEX cables (12in - 5 count) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B098QG9VXF
  
• 4x Small dual-band RP-SMA antenna (2-pack) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B1PN4QXV
  
• 2x U.FL IPEX Male to Female extension cable (in case the 12in cables were to small for some..) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P85J34J
  

I first added the 8 RP-SMA mounts to the 3D-Printed board: https://imgur.com/9Eiiajc.png
Then I drilled a hole in the ET12 top to help route the cables a bit easier. (avoid the circuit board, of course!) https://imgur.com/Mpb0smp.png
Final assembly done: https://imgur.com/xwC2mJs.png https://imgur.com/hUjik5w
I've been running this for a couple weeks now, and signal to this unit is much improved. All and all, really happy with it now!
Hope this helps someone else!

Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US:
​
$600-800 USD, but can do up to 1000 if necessary
Are you open to refurbs/used?
​
No, want to buy new
How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life?
​
Doesn't really matter to me, I'll be using this at home. I just need something simple but effective
How important is weight and thinness to you?
​
I prefer bigger laptops
Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A.
​
Like a bigger laptop, my current is 17" diagonal
Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run.
​
Just gaming, I mainly use Steam
If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want?
​
Mostly the fallout games (mainly New Vegas, 4, and 76). I like nice video quality but it doesn't need to be perfect
Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)?
​
Please no touch screens, looking for something simple but does the job. DVD drive would be nice but not necessary
Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion.
​
I appreciate the help!!

Hey Everyone!
Let’s go….
Newly Covered Today:

1. Interesting news about the currency in one of Cardano’s biggest metaverse projects. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1664240389610704896
2. Messari has released an article on operational decentralization in proof-of-stake crypto. https://messari.io/report/evaluating-validator-decentralization-geographic-and-infrastructure-distribution-in-proof-of-stake-networks
3. The Bureau of Labor Statistics has MASSIVELY revised their figures on Q4 of 2022. No surprise, the numbers were much worse than they told us. https://twitter.com/FrogNews/status/1664253845399130113
4. Looks like DAOs are getting a little hesitant about fee switches due to possible legal/tax implications. https://twitter.com/FrogNews/status/1664253845399130113
5. We even have Arctic block production. https://twitter.com/Laponia_pool/status/1664226409466740737
6. Questions are being raised regarding the blockspace consumption of dApps still on Plutus v1. https://twitter.com/matiwinnetou/status/1664385383122051073

Previously covered, but still interesting:

1. IOG wants you to know about the advantages of native tokens on Cardano. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1654077799697727488
2. Cardano Movies! https://twitter.com/coc_space/status/1653862307439542275
3. We really need to primary some members of the U.S. Congress. https://twitter.com/BradSherman/status/1653928972026093569
4. Wow! Not surprised at what’s being said here back in November. Just surprised it’s being said publicly. https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1654239504574853120
5. Here’s the longer video of that FDIC meeting for context. http://fdic.windrosemedia.com/index.php?category=Systemic+Resolution+Advisory+Committee
6. Looks like Western Alliance is up next. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1654133106037739522
7. The weekly development update from IOG is out. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1655248376194105347
8. It’s not hard to make a meme coin on Cardano. https://twitter.com/nmkr_io/status/1654923697885532160
9. Still a crazy amount of mark-to-market losses that haven’t been absorbed by the system. https://twitter.com/BillyM2k/status/1655207860572422144
10. Warren Buffet gives a not too comforting answer to a question about the status of the dollar: “America…we’ve got everything going for us…but…you can’t print money indefinitely as debt.” https://twitter.com/GRDectestatus/1655203348033810439
11. …and then everyone remembered what fee markets look like in busy times. https://twitter.com/CryptoStylesUSA/status/1654711146673479680
12. …same for Bitcoin. https://twitter.com/MatthewPlomin/status/1655320093084057600
13. Cardano hit 94% load. https://twitter.com/SebastienGllmt/status/1655624561789112321
14. he MEV game is getting out of control over on Cardano’s biggest competitor chain. Convince me this shouldn’t just be called “theft” or “fraud”. https://twitter.com/0xNox_eth/status/1655615309695586306
15. Cardano Native Assets are vastly superior to BRC20 and ERC20 tokens. https://twitter.com/TheOCcryptobro/status/1655673557710692352
16. Rumor: SEC is going to make a move against Binance. Will the DOJ also? https://twitter.com/AP_Abacus/status/1655546961968103425
17. At the end of Q3 of last year, 722 banks reported unrealized losses greater than 50% of capital. https://www.federalreserve.gov/supervisionreg/files/board-briefing-on-impact-of-rising-interest-rates-and-supervisory-approach-20230214.pdf
18. Wyoming is inching closer to a state stablecoin. IOG’s significant presence there may turn out to be a huge advantage. https://cowboystatedaily.com/2023/05/09/wyoming-stable-token-a-multibillion-dollar-opportunity-as-officials-wrestle-with-how-to-make-it-happen/
19. Paypal disclosed almost $1 billion in customer crypto in its latest 10-Q. https://blockworks.co/news/paypal-discloses-1b-crypto
20. MiCA is shifting the balance of crypto investment to Europe. https://twitter.com/paddi_hansen/status/1655883224726241281
21. Today (May 10) will be a joint hearing of the Agriculture and Financial Services Committees on Crypto. The CLO of Kraken will testify. https://financialservices.house.gov/
22. This is a legit point about centralized L2s: the best ones are called Coinbase, Kraken, and Binance. https://twitter.com/el33th4xostatus/1655845787593502720
23. There’s already a new version of Lace Wallet out. https://twitter.com/lace_io/status/1656347737355608066
24. A nice thread on the many strengths of Cardano. https://twitter.com/TobiasIlskov/status/1656388178369212416
25. Remember, lobster traps are a thing. https://twitter.com/TheCardanoTimes/status/1656064744225120257
26. Today (May 11 at 1pm EST) there will be a Messari Cardano Analyst call with Charles & Frederik. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1656272372452954112
27. I think we all love it when they start making our case for us. https://twitter.com/WatcherGuru/status/1656379837823561730
28. Ethereum is lamenting many of its poor design choices that Cardano already fixed. https://twitter.com/moo9000/status/1656215016016683008
29. Drunkenmiller says this is the broadest asset bubble he’s ever even studied let alone seen firsthand and we’ve only had a few soft landings since 1950. https://twitter.com/Stephen_Geigestatus/1656416819312222219
30. Live footage of meme coin investors accepting their ROI. https://twitter.com/KaylerSmithTV/status/1656130092966264834
31. Here’s the Messari call from today with both Fred & Chaz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouUhWwF74MM
32. People really seem to be enjoying the CF’s Blockchain Education Alpha Program. https://twitter.com/andreassosilo/status/1644263843743293451
33. The US Chamber of Commerce brief in the Coinbase case is calling out the SEC for acting “unlawfully”. https://twitter.com/MetaLawMan/status/1656737447756038177
34. About that whole self-custody thing we’ve discussed… https://twitter.com/BitcoinMagazine/status/1656706653801136132
35. The SPO poll on K and minFee starts today (May 15)! You should redelegate if your stake pool doesn’t vote the way you would vote! https://cardanofoundation.org/en/news/entering-voltaire-poll-experiment-live-on-mainnet/
36. There are also a series of forum topics for discussion of the various options in the Cardano.org forums. https://twitter.com/Lovecoach_nic/status/1657700010148896770
37. Coinbase spotlights Empowa! May be the first time they’ve ever given such a spotlight to a Cardano project. Tides are turning. https://twitter.com/coinbase/status/1657081243518005254
38. Wow. Leaked “Key Messages” document for the joint committee meeting in the US House last week. Best part: they basically complain about separation of powers in point three. https://twitter.com/EleanorTerrett/status/1656362002577772544
39. Dr. Vanishree Rao on ZK-Rollups. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1657778843854274560
40. Here’s a new Decentralized Identity article from IOG. https://iohk.io/en/blog/posts/2023/05/11/atala-prism-pioneering-digital-identity-with-decentralized-solutions/
41. There are reasons we’re in a hard capped cryptocurrency like Cardano. https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/15/business/argentina-interest-rates-inflation/index.html
42. What is a dRep? This video is for you. There will be additional categories of default dReps that vote abstain or no confidence on every vote. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1658034085401337857
43. The US Dept. of Justice is officially saying they are targeting exchanges. Great. Great. https://www.ft.com/content/5aac457e-cc80-44ae-ac40-9b51d9b601a3
44. Wow! Ledger just made what is possibly the greatest PR blunder in the history of crypto. Trezor will be poppin’ bottles tonight. https://twitter.com/Ledgestatus/1658458714771169282
45. People are claiming that the hysteria is a misunderstanding of cryptography. But, that’s not what’s going on here if Ledger plus one of the other two shard custodians can reconstruct your private key without having to use your private key. https://twitter.com/nimuepool/status/1658517533836574720
46. The Ledger Recover FAQ seems to support this understanding as it suggests you use a brand new device for recovery. https://support.ledger.com/hc/en-us/articles/9579368109597
47. Wow. Unfortunate timing for this. https://twitter.com/Ledgestatus/1658095051375800321
48. Ken Kodama will be doing a Japanese language interview on CardanoSpot on May 18. https://twitter.com/Emurgo_Ken/status/1658838077136162828
49. The stake pool operator poll on network parameters of K and minPoolCost is live. See the results here. The re-delegation phase will begin on May 25th. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
50. Cornucopias dropped some new in-game footage. As expected, Solace is beautiful. https://youtu.be/j5iwNsQVMDQ?t=1846
51. Wow….the Ledger shards are encrypted with “a master key that is contained in all devices”. Wut? https://twitter.com/P3b7_/status/1658809445965606913
52. Sadly, the Ledger CEO seemed to be denying exactly the above just a day ago. https://twitter.com/_pgauthiestatus/1658508082941403144
53. Here’s why 340 ADA minPoolCost promotes multi-pools. https://twitter.com/ArmySpies/status/1659387255537176581
54. Numbers are emerging on the benefits of K=1000 over K=500. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1659398551917727744
55. Here’s the latest on the Stake Pool Operator poll. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
56. Rep. Tom Emmer is trying to help crypto by cutting crypto assets out of the definition of a “security”. He creates a new non-security asset category called “investment contract asset”. https://twitter.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1659291641281146886
57. Prof. Wadler (co-inventor of Cardano’s Plutus) has been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society joining the likes of Einstein, Darwin, Hawking, and Isaac Newton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLOm-dWje-M
58. Huge amount of voting for economic self-interest by multi-poolers in the SPO poll. Earlier today (May 21), 84.73% by stake of the vote for K=500, Min Cost 340 ₳ was multi-poolers. Only 15.6% of the vote for K=1000, Min Cost 170 ₳ was multi-poolers. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
59. Large pools also voted heavily for economic self-interest with the K parameter. 70.02% by stake of the vote for K=500, Min Cost 170 ₳ was pools with delegation over 35 million. Only 30.57% of the vote for K=1000, Min Cost 170 ₳ was pools over 35 million. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
60. Apparently Cardano has its own wiki now! Probably better given our previous treatment by the big wiki group. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1660383700243329024
61. Rep. Tom Emmer is getting some reactions on the bill he sponsored with Rep. Soto. https://twitter.com/GOPMajorityWhip/status/1660329932495486977
62. You’re really gonna hold up a debt ceiling deal because you hate crypto so bad? https://twitter.com/gaborgurbacs/status/1660248530135515138
63. Looks like a few big multi-poolers have voted in the poll since yesterday. Pretty easy to predict what they didn’t vote for. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
64. Reports coming in that DCG has defaulted on the payment owed to Genesis. https://twitter.com/AP_Abacus/status/1660671386388504577
65. Ledger Recover would allow governments to confiscate crypto assets by subpoena? Called “not a real concern in the end.” Really? https://twitter.com/TheBTCTherapist/status/1660677064700178436
66. Frederik Gregaard on DeFi and regulation. https://twitter.com/F_Gregaard/status/1660655806709211137
67. Don’t Forget, the May Cardano 360 will be on May 25th. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660621805017608194
68. Here’s the daily check-in on the status of the SPO Poll. We have surpassed 590 pools voting (as of May 23). https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
69. The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong has decided to get our hopes up with a proposed regulatory framework for crypto exchanges that could mean more trading for coins like Cardano. https://apps.sfc.hk/edistributionWeb/gateway/EN/news-and-announcements/news/doc?refNo=23PR53
70. Here’s an IOG thread on the latest out of Atala Prism and Self-Sovereign Identity. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660904360925188097
71. Here’s an IOG article on Cardano native tokens. https://twitter.com/InputOutputHK/status/1660975383997448193
72. The difference in decentralization between Cardano and Bitcoin is still…laughable. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1660979639907500033
73. Ledger is finally caving (a little) to the backlash. It’s reported that they will focus on open sourcing parts of their code and only release the “Recover” firmware after that open sourcing is finished. https://twitter.com/NFTherdestatus/1661026174779420672
74. Looks like the Hong Kong announcement yesterday might have been a hint of what’s coming. https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1661391542504902664
75. The Cardano Layerverse is coming to life. https://twitter.com/TobiasIlskov/status/1660697833115385856
76. Wow! Incredible! Thank you for voting in favor of decentralization, 1PCT! https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1661460222203002880
77. Federal Reserve report debunks claim that crypto is not useful to people in the US. https://twitter.com/SebVentures/status/1661063483369177108
78. The SPO phase of the poll is over. Nearly 800 pools voted. Now it’s your turn to see how your pool voted and re-delegate if you think they voted against decentralization and for their own pocketbook. https://adastat.net/polls/96861fe7da8d45ba5db95071ed3889ed1412929f33610636c072a4b5ab550211
79. The May Cardano 360 is out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_bCa_xCoxA
80. Charles dropped an update today. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfL2U2hAGWw
81. Sen. Cynthia Lummis declares her opposition to the 30% tax on bitcoin mining. https://twitter.com/SenLummis/status/1661803569341759495
82. Lots of volume being transacted on Cardano recently! https://twitter.com/cwpaulm/status/1662929296329981952
83. Recent subpoenas to the Python Package Index don’t bode well for those hoping to store seed phrases with third-party custodians. https://twitter.com/_jonasschnelli_/status/1662531840606093312
84. Transaction volume is looking very interesting right now. https://messari.io/charts/cardano/txn-vol
85. JPG Store has now launched Android and IOS apps. https://twitter.com/jpgstoreNFT/status/1663281982262919170
86. It’s true. Cardano is straight killing it on the security leg of the trilemma.https://twitter.com/cardano_whale/status/1662987243655684096
87. Just checked. Yep. The centralization in ETH is still staggering. https://twitter.com/StakeWithPride/status/1663222056870350848
88. There’s a documentary about a 2022 Plutus hackathon in Argentina. https://twitter.com/LarsBrunjes/status/1663111319732535297
89. Pavia is testing NFT gating. This could get very interesting. https://twitter.com/Pavia_io/status/1663153213988823040
90. Marlowe is on mainnet! You can now code Cardano smart contracts in javascript or blockly via Marlowe! This is an amazing leap forward. https://twitter.com/marlowe_io/status/1663480828016435200
91. Don’t forget! We are still in the re-delegation phase of the CF Poll. See how your stake pool voted! If they were voting for their pocketbook instead of decentralization, you should re-delegate! https://twitter.com/Cardano_CF/status/1663564854572244994
92. Wow! Cardano projects are doing big things these days! https://twitter.com/CardanoCrocClub/status/1663468916843114498
93. The CCP has dropped a white paper on how it will develop Web 3 including NFTs and the metaverse. https://twitter.com/milestones_nft/status/1663458500922712064
94. Lace is now open source! https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1663953642045714433
95. Binance is back and apparently they don’t care if someone had that ticker first. https://twitter.com/pool_pm/status/1663809731603906560
96. Summon is now allowing for multichain swaps of ADA & ERG. https://twitter.com/N8iveToEarth/status/1664038846563225600
97. Charles did a Twitter Space with World Mobile. https://twitter.com/IOHK_Charles/status/1663984094252810283
98. Here’s an easy infographic on CIP-1694 Voltaire governance from IOG. https://twitter.com/Hornan7/status/1664007623799185409
99. Apparently, Cardano sushi is a thing! https://twitter.com/Allison_Fromm/status/1663841386074976257
100. This kind of sums up the problems with central bank behavior over the last 20 years. https://twitter.com/JeffWenigestatus/1664012650781585409

~Army of Spies

For context, my partner has been no contact with most of her family besides her Aunt since basically she was 17. And for good reason. She was outed in high school, and ended up being kicked out of her home for about 6-7 months til her graduation couch hopping with friends and eventually her Aunt.
Fast forward to the last few weeks. Her Aunt calls my partner up and makes this huge plea on her Dad's behalf that "he's changed" and that she should "give him another chance". I'm strongly against this, but I also recognized it wasn't my call so I voiced my concerns and then just supported whatever my gf wanted to do.
Her Dad plans a trip to come and see her. And my gf asks me to come with her for moral support, so I do. The initial part is very awkward, but it's w/e. Her Dad legitimately seems to be trying. He even compliments and acknowledges me as her partner. Says we make a lovely couple.
Convo carries on for a bit, but then he makes a comment about how there's "accepting churches" now, and we need to save our souls by joining one.
I kinda freeze up because I have trauma from being forced through conversion therapy. My gf squeezes my hand and says that we're good. And I say something flippant about how I'd rather worship the devil, at least he never hurt me. Not an ideal thing to say to your future father in law who takes religions super seriously, I know. But I wasn't fully me when I said it. It was an automatic quip.
My gf laughed, and then her Dad got irate and started yelling. Things escalated and somewhere along the line he pulled a knife and stabbed me in the stomach. I also got socked in the face. And I distinctly remember hearing the words "dyke succubus".
One very expensive hospital visit and minor surgery later, we were "safe". We're handling the legal stuff + talking with police. And back to absolutely no contact with anyone in the family.
My gf is bereft, but she's also somewhat upset with me because she thinks I unfairly blame her Aunt for this. Tbf, I do. You don't say someone's changed when they've been a raging bigot for 45+ years and you know what they did to their own child. You especially don't be complicit in endangering someone who's already been irrevocably traumatized by the man.
She wants to reach out and stay in contact with Aunt. But she's respecting my wish right now for a complete black out on all communications with her family. We've heard one of the vms that Aunt has left, and she was super apologetic.
This is a pretty hard line for me. But I feel like an asshole. (And on a less important note, like a bad sub because I'm putting my foot down unconditionally here despite it being against her very clear wants).

First Mecha-Meier Pov let's GOOO~!
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Memory Transcription Subject: Elias Meier, Un Secretary General
Date [Standard Human Time]: October 31, 2136
FUCK THIS!!! FUCK THIS STUPID FUCKING FACTION FOR ALL IT’S WORTH!!! THEY ALL THINK THAT THESE BROADCASTS ARE SUPPOSED TO MAKE ME FEEL SYMPATHY FOR THEM??!! AFTER WHAT THEY DID TO US!? WHAT DID THEY DO FOR US?!
EVERYTHING WE WANTED TO DO FOR THEM! EVERYTHING WE PROMISED THEM! AND THEY THREW US AWAY AND TRIED TO SNUFF US OUT BECAUSE WE DIDN’T FIT INTO THEIR DISGUSTING AND IDIOTIC WORLDVIEW?!?!?! MY PEOPLE’S LIVES OVER THEIR STATUS QUO?!?!?! BECAUSE I WAS THE TARGET OF A RELIGON THAT WORSHIPED A FUCKING FALSE GOD?!?!?!?!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!
…..
…..
Everything after that simply went blank…
When I woke up from my haze, I found myself in a smashed-up telecommunications room of the Hyper-1… I… I went berserk… I was heavily panting, and my vision was still shaky… everyone else in the room was gone… they fled at the moment of my outburst… I didn’t know how much time passed… but I needed answers…
There were so many questions that I had… What did humanity as a whole think of it all? These videos had quite the impact on me… what impact would they have on everyone else? Wait… what would the Arxur think of the fact that they ate races that were omnivores, or “predators”? Surely there would be a massive outburst at the revelation…
I needed answers as to the population’s response to it all…
…
U.N. subordinates turned away from me as I walked on the way to my office, no doubt terrified from my rampage in the telecommunications room… I should call maintenance to fix that up… and give them a promotion right after…
I stepped out of my elevator into my office and found Isif waiting for me on one of the chairs before my desk…
“Ah Isif… I was… curious about a few things, and I wanted to ask, how are the Arxur handling this development?”
He was surprised by my choice for a conversation starter, but he seemed to quickly recuperate, however, he was still unnerved by my general appearance… “Uh… not good at all, There’s a massive amount of unrest within the dominion… My forces haven’t fared much better… To know even more truth… and to think a week ago I was feasting upon a Krako-”
“Do not pity that filth…”
He looked at me with surprise… I continued, “Krakotl, no matter how much of victims they are, are not allowed to have made victims of us… they do not deserve a second chance in the galaxy we intend to create… none of those extermination fleet filth do…”
He shuffled in his seat in discomfort, “Right, right… right.” I took a seat in my chair and began to pull up a report of the response to the broadcasts… I was truly astonished at the results…
There was apparently some actual empathy for this filth… 17% were calling for vassalization of all federation's states… 36% for their utter annihilation, and 47 abstaining… this data was collected minutes after the videos were revealed to us… I looked into the poll and saw it was posted by general jones on the re-established internet. She presented two bare bones options…
This was a horrible presentation of options… there weren’t enough choices…
There needed to be a compromise on the course of action humanity takes against the federation…
…
…..
That’s it…
I go about contacting Jones to present to the populace a yes-or-no poll on the course of action I suggested we should take. It was a plan that took into the course of action we would take with multiple situations presented to us from the Xenos… Vassalization or extinction based on the general response we received from them…
“Isif? What do you think of this course of action humanity takes?” I presented to him the screen on my holopad… he took it and began to read through the details of our foreign policies when it came to federation Xenos. He seemed surprised…
“You… actually are willing to spare them if they meet these demands?”
"The answer to that question truly lies in the population’s response to it…". The poll was set up by Jones… I closed the tab and turned to face Isif…
“Isif?... I hate that I can feel empathy… I hate it so much now more than ever…”
Isif’s eyes widened in disbelief in horror… “Meier… I understand your anger but do NOT say that!” Isif slammed his claws on my table. I was surprised by this course of action from the Arxur. “If not for empathy you wouldn’t have gotten as far as you have… without empathy you would be just as bad… as us… and I don’t want you to lose yourselves to this rage of yours…”
I stood up and met him face to face… he stared into mine for as long as I stared into his…
…
“Believe me Isif… I don’t like that this is what I’ve become… but I have no choice… they deserve the monster I am now…”
“Meier… you are blinded by rage, and I won’t stop you from avenging your fallen humans… but, while you’re blinded now, what will happen when you finally come to see?”
…
I don’t like it.
…
But I understand.
The data from the poll began to flood my holopad, as I heard the notification and reopened the tab to take a good long look at the numbers. I smirked… 92% approval…
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Prev: Nature of Abandonment (10/?) : NatureofPredators (reddit.com)
Next:

Link to Part 1
Link to Part 2
Link to Part 3
Link to Part 4
Link to Part 5
Link to Part 6
Link to Part 7
Link to Part 8
Link to Part 9
Link to Part 10
Link to Part 11
Link to Part 12
Link to Part 13
Link to Part 14
Link to Part 15
Link to Part 16
Link to Part 17
Link to Part 18
Link to Part 19
Link to Part 20
Link to Part 21
Link to Part 22
Link to Part 23
Note: This story is meant to be read after completing DDLC Plus. All credit for the original DDLC and DDLC Plus characters and world goes to their creator. Some concepts like the Universal Constructor are also borrowed from other series (most notably the original Deus Ex), though its use in this story is my own idea. My original characters in this story will deliberately not be named and their descriptions will be kept vague, so anyone reading this who wants to see themselves in one of the original characters can more easily do so. I'd welcome any feedback and will post more parts as I write them. I hope you enjoy the story. This chapter took a bit longer due to the challenges inherent in writing poetry and trying to write something that I thought sounded like the various characters. As with previous installations, here is a custom dialogue to go with it: The Poetry Festival
Credit for Sayuri's character design goes to user Hoeruko who made the design a number of years ago and originally posted Sayuri in this thread: The next doki fusion, Sayuri, is here.
Here is Part 24 of Digital Reality. The Literature Club finally gets to put on the festival. Will their words have an impact on any of the MES engineers? Will they get Monika back?
Part 24: Digital Poetry
The Literature Club members all stood together in the club room and waved a greeting to the group in the MES conference room.
“Hi everyone!” Sayori began, “On behalf of the Literature Club, thank you for joining us today. I’m Sayori, and this is Yuri, MC, Natsuki, and our newest member, Sayuri. Though our club president Monika isn’t here right now, we’ve all written poems to share with you today.”
“Don’t forget the cupcakes,” Natsuki added, “I don’t usually share it, but you should have my recipe for the best cupcakes ever in the packets you have. I made some for us to share here, but since we don’t have a way to send them to the real world, I figured sharing the recipe was the next best thing!”
The MES engineers flipped through the packets on the table in front of them.
“A cupcake recipe?” asked Rea Vorte with surprise, “You can’t just make cupcakes appear in the simulation?”
“No,” Natsuki replied, “Knowing what we now know about our world I know why you would think that, but I’ve always made my cupcakes with a recipe and ingredients.”
“Interesting,” Ro Teether said, “I would not have expected the simulation to go into that level of detail.”
“I think the original script contained an event in which the characters can bake cupcakes, so that may be where it comes from,” replied Ive Laster.
Paula Miner sat silently, looking intently at the recipe page. After a few moments she looked up.
“I’m by no means an expert baker, but reading through this recipe it does look like it would work,” Miner said, glancing from Laster to Natsuki, “Your secret ingredient is rather interesting, too.”
Natsuki smiled, “That’s how I’ve always made them.”
“By the way, since we’re on a two-way connection, can they see us?” Miner asked.
“Sort of,” the FXI President replied, “They’ve told me when I’ve been connected to the system that I appear as a fuzzy silhouette to them.”
“Yeah, we can’t see you exactly, but we know you’re there,” Sayori confirmed.
Miner nodded slowly. “Very well. We’ll need to chat about this cupcake recipe more later. Please continue.”
“Okay!” Sayori said, “We’ve each written a poem that we’re going to share with you today. There’s no particular theme that connects them all, but with everything that we’ve learned in the past week we thought that writing was a good outlet for our thoughts and emotions.”
“MC has agreed to start today’s event by sharing his haiku, entitled ‘Poem About Poetry’,” Sayori continued.
MC stepped to the front of the group. He looked down at his piece of paper and then back up at the group as he began to speak.
“I’m far from as good of a writer as some of the other members you’ll hear from today, but that just means that the quality can go up from here,” MC said in a self-deferential tone, “This is a poem I wrote about the creative process of writing poetry.”
He winked at Sayori as he began to read.
“What is poetry?
Far more meaningful than just
Simply random words”
Natsuki grinned. “Wow, you didn’t take my advice about not just throwing random words on a page, you literally wrote a poem about it!”
“Haiku is an interesting choice,” Teether said, “It shows an understanding of syllables and structure, and I find it very ‘meta’ that you would choose to create a poem about poetry.”
MC nodded, “My past poetry has been accused of being nothing more than twenty random words on a page, so I’m poking fun at myself a bit.”
“Well done, MC,” Sayori said, “That was a fun poem! Next up will be Yuri, with her poem called ‘The City.’”
Yuri stepped to the front of the group. She glanced to the side, looking slightly nervous. After a few moments, she seemed to gather her thoughts and looked toward the group. “My poem is not as straightforward as MC’s haiku, so I would prefer not to share the meaning until after you have had the opportunity to consider it for yourselves.”
She started to read, her voice becoming stronger and more confident with each word.
“A city stood in the distance.
Shining lights, soaring towers.
A beautiful and magnificent place.
A place of honor and achievement
When viewed from afar with detachment.
Though upon arrival
The city unveils its truth.
There is no honor here.
Glowing lights
Are cold and artificial.
I thought I knew this place
But it treats me as a stranger.”
Yuri looked around the club room after she had finished speaking. An enigmatic smile of satisfaction crossed her face.
Sayori spoke up first. “Yuri, it seems like your poem could be about changes in perspective over time. Like going back to visit a neighborhood you’ve moved away from. You know things aren’t as they once were, but you still kind of feel lonely when you find that things have changed.”
Yuri nodded. “That’s part of it. We’ve all experienced a significant change recently as we’ve understood our world, and I struggled to find a way to describe what I was feeling. Places that had been familiar to me suddenly appeared different with the knowledge that this is a simulation.”
“So the AIs can not only write poetry but use metaphors and explain their meaning,” Teether observed, “Fascinating. Ive, you never told me that the entities in VM1 were capable of creativity like this.”
Laster shrugged, “Other than Monika, they were tied to the script until recently. Based on Monika’s behavior, we knew that at least she was capable of taking initiative and making changes to the world, but she was the only entity able to do that. The script included poetry, but we’ve never tasked the entities with creating original content.”
“This isn’t because of anything that the FXI team did, right?” Teether asked, “I know you mentioned that they were responsible for all of the entities gaining elevated access permissions. They didn’t extend the script or anything?”
“Yes and no,” the FXI CTO replied, “We restored files to the VM and added the ‘monitor kernel access’ permission to all of the characters, but we didn’t do any scripting. This is all them.”
Miner glanced between the FXI President and the FXI CTO with suspicion but said nothing.
Sayori took the pause as an opportunity to continue. “Thanks, Yuri. Natsuki will be next with her poem, ‘My Friends.’”
“Okay, time for my poem!” Natsuki said, “Mine is a bit more upbeat than Yuri’s.”
“Some come from near
Some from afar
Each shines bright like a star
They’re my friends
That’s who they are
Old or new
Many or few
Friends are important
To me and you”
Natsuki smiled at the group, “You all inspired this poem. And by you all I mean both you all here in the club and our new FXI friends. You’ve made the literature club a place that I’ve enjoyed and a place of friendship.”
“I liked your poem, Natsuki,” Sayori said, “I’m glad you feel that way about your friends.”
A look somewhere between exhaustion and frustration came across Paula Miner’s face. “This is all well and good, but are we gathering any useful data from listening to an AI read a cute little poem like this?”
Natsuki glared at Miner and opened her mouth to offer what was certain to be a sarcastic retort, but Sayori pre-empted her.
“Are you not enjoying our poetry?” Sayori asked, sounding disappointed.
“The poetry is fine. I’ll even say it’s impressive for AI-generated content,” Miner replied, “But though your poems are interesting, we’re here to do a job, not study literature. And we need to gather useful data to justify our own jobs and this project’s existence. So tell me, Ive, are we getting useful data from this?”
Laster tapped a few keys on his laptop. “We’re recording this session and logging all data. It looks like there may be some interesting patterns of activity, but we won’t be able to say for sure until we analyze what we’ve got.”
“I’d imagine that you’re likely getting a lot of useful data,” the FXI President chimed in, “You’re not only gathering the data logs from VM1, but you can pair them with the recordings to understand what happens in the system when the AIs are allowed to interact and create on their own. I don’t know what your project goals are, of course, but in terms of AI research I’d think that there’s something you can get out of this.”
“There also may be something useful for our efforts to stabilize our connection to VM2,” Teether added, “If we can understand how entities operate when freed from a script in VM1, it may give us some clues as to how we might be able to interact with VM2.”
Miner considered for a moment and then nodded. “Perhaps you’re right. Ive, let’s just make sure we’re logging everything for future analysis.”
As the conversation once again died down, Sayori continued. “I’ll go next. My poem is called ‘A New Day’ and it’s about my journey with some personal challenges.”
She took a deep breath and began to recite her poem.
“Storms tried to block out the sun
The world was dark and gray.
It’s so hard to have any fun
When the clouds won’t go away.
But you never stopped trying
To shine through the darkness
Even when I was crying
You showed me kindness
It’s a new day now
Though the clouds aren’t gone
The sun shines somehow
I find the strength to carry on”
Sayori blinked away misty eyes as she finished reading. The other club members surrounded her in a group hug as she stepped back from the front of the room.
“That was a wonderful poem, Sayori,” MC said, “You share your feelings so well.”
“I liked that poem quite a bit,” Laster chimed in, “It’s got a great message of perseverance and hope even in challenging times.”
Sayori nodded. “I’ve been through a lot, but things are getting better now. My friends have been a huge source of support through all of this.”
“I really like your writing, Sayori,” Sayuri added, “Your poem is easy to read but the more you think about it, the more you feel the emotions you’re trying to convey.”
“Thanks, everyone. I appreciate your kind words,” Sayori replied, “And now for the finale of our festival I’d like to introduce our newest member, Sayuri, and her poem ‘What Remains.’”
Sayuri stepped to the front of the group. “I’ve been reading through classic poetry recently. Poems like Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’ inspired me to write this one about what will stand the test of time in a time when so much is digital.”
Sayuri paused, looking around the room, before closing her eyes and reciting her poem from memory.
“Ancient monuments that still stand
Classic portraits and landscapes grand
Such works are the legacies of the past
Physical objects that will last
But what will tell of this new age?
When are stories are gigabytes, not a printed page
A digital reality, its purpose completed
Leaves little trace if it’s deleted
If all that remains is a dusty drive
Will the future know we were alive?”
Sayuri opened her eyes as she finished. Both the club room and the MES conference room were silent as both groups took in her words.
“Wow, Sayuri,” Yuri said, breaking the silence, “That was incredible. I really loved the images you created with your words.”
The FXI President glanced around the conference room. Paula Miner’s expression had softened, and she appeared to be lost in thought. Ro Teether continued to look excited and intrigued by his observations of the Literature Club. The FXI CTO wore a satisfied smile. Ive Laster looked relaxed and relieved. And Rea Vorte was looking down at the conference table and shaking her head. Her expression was difficult to read.
Miner looked up at the screen showing the Literature Club. “I never thought an AI would generate content that would make me feel anything. But I have to say this has given me some things to think about. Ive, can you please confirm that we’ve logged all the data from this session?”
Laster nodded. “Yes, we’ve got everything. If this is the last big data gathering session we have before decommissioning VM1, I’d say it’s a pretty good one to go out on.”
“If this is truly AI-generated content, this seems like a new level of sophistication,” Teether mused, “It’s one thing to be able to generate text, but to be able to convey this kind of emotion and explain the meaning of metaphors is not a capability I’ve ever seen in AI.”
“It’s a little scary,” Rea Vorte added, “I don’t know that I like the idea of AI this sophisticated. Especially after what we saw Monika-”
“Let’s refrain from speculation,” Miner said, cutting Vorte off, “We can talk more about system capabilities later.”
“You think we’re scary?” Sayori said, looking sad, “We just wanted to share our writing with you. We just wanted to show that we’re not that different from you. We have feelings, emotions, and desires just like you do.”
“You’ve got my vote, for whatever it’s worth,” the FXI CTO said with a smile, “I’m not big into poetry, and I certainly had my concerns about sophisticated AI when I first encountered all of you. But the more I’ve interacted with and observed you the more I see how similar you are to us.”
Miner glanced sideways at the FXI CTO but said nothing.
“Can we please have Monika back now?” Natsuki asked.
Laster turned to Vorte, “Rea, please move Monika’s file back to VM1 by COB today. Let’s discuss how we can best move the entire simulation after we’re done here.”
“Thanks, Ive!” Natsuki said with a smile, “Sayori did a great job leading the club in Monika’s absence, but it will be good to have her back.”
Vorte looked up at Laster. Frustration was evident on her face. “Like I said before, let’s discuss that offline after we’re done here.”
Laster shrugged. “Fine. I’m not blaming you if there’s a problem by the way. If there’s an issue, we’ll work on it together.”
“Great job, everyone,” the FXI President said to the Literature Club, “We’re going to log off from VM1 now, but I’m sure we’ll talk again soon.”
The Literature Club members waved to the group in the MES conference room as the club room faded from the projection screen to be replaced with Laster’s desktop.
“I think we have a lot to discuss, and it’s going to take some time to unpack the implications of everything that we just saw,” Miner said, “I was skeptical of the value of this presentation at the start of this meeting, but I’m hopeful that we have gathered new and useful data from this session. Let’s all take a break for a bit and reconvene at six, which gives us an hour break. I want to discuss this further. Ro, can you please order in some dinner for the group? I think we’re going to have a long night.”

Only my second PP cycle and the temp rollercoasters are killin me. Not sure whether I should really consider myself safe or not even though CM had a shift to non-fertile.

I did the math and if I work 40 hours a week and the hourly pay is 17 I get 680, and since you get paid every other week that means my paycheck would be 1,360(correct me if im wrong). I'v been scrolling on this sub and seen people only getting any where from 200-600 bucks only which kinda hurts me inside because thats like nothing. How much is yall paychecks because man I don't wanna work 8 hours a day and not even make at least a band when it's time for your pay check.

Currently a sophomore as read from the title. I would be happy to get into any of the uc's, but mainly looking to get into davis, since I live close. Unfortunately, I'm about to get my 4th B. I know it's not the end of the world, but I'll try not to get anymore. Should I start thinking about sat/act prep this summer, or even beginning it? I feel like 15 minutes a day would be very beneficial. Also, when it comes to EC's, I literally have nothing, I simply do nothing. I made a quick little google doc of a "summer plan" cus I realized I have to get my game together. It just consists of resting for a week, exploring fields of study i might enjoy, finding a skill, practicing that skill and learning about it, searching for programs and internships and all that stuff now so i can be ready next year, and stuff like that. Hopefully I'll stick to it. I know a lot of people get a college admissions coach/counselor they pay hourly, but I don't know how good that would be. Also, I'm first gen, and half spanish, so those demographics should help, but I don't want to "rely" on them in anyway or even count them as a factor. I've also been thinking about community college. I've been seeing a lot of videos of people transferring to ucb, ucla, or other prestigious schools from CC. they also say they've saved a lot of money, and overall it was a great decision. I honestly might take that route if I have to, I have no shame in it at all. I've seen hundreds of tiktoks on college admissions as well, so I actually know a lot about them. basically just centering your application around one thing and utilizing your schools and knowledge in that thing to benefit others or do creative, interesting things, and also creating a strong passion project, as well as top tier essays. kind of a "formula" to getting into prestigious universities. also, my school offers 17 aps. i'm planning on taking 5 junior year and maybe 6 senior year. i know taking anymore than that would just be stupid, i would only do that if i was a genius who needed minimal study time to get A's in ap classes. i've taken 1 so far, ap euro. 12/17 offered isnt the greatest, right, because it's relative to how many your school offers, but still, the people that do take like 15+ aps end up staying up until 2 am daily studying, and that cannot be good for you during your teenage years. i just feel really behind rn, cus the school i go to is top 400 in the nation, and there have been harvard, stanford, a lot of ucla and ucb admits, and usc admits in the senior class, so the people around me in my sophomore class also are pretty sweaty academically and when i see the stuff they've been doing, im like wow. speech and debate state champions, national math competitions, and stuff like that. honestly tho, i know it's good to work hard and do crazy stuff ike these if your dream is to go to a crazy university, but the majority of these people have had these ideals pushed into thier mind since they were like 5 as a result of their parents, mine weren't really so pushy and more open, so who knows honestly