Tl;dr

^{I'm sorry I couldn't make it shorter than 4 paragraphs. This post is simply too long, and I'm going over a lot of factors}
If you don't want to read my spiel on why I believe Chrome Mox can be unbanned, scroll down to "Disclaimer + Request" where I talk about conducting an experiment with it to verify my thought-process.
Simply put, I believe that due to Chrome Mox causing you to neg 1 each time you cast it, it would be pretty safe to unban. Of the degenerate decks in Modern, Chrome Mox wouldn't fix any of their known issues. Ad Nauseum, Storm, Belcher, etc, aren't rogue tier because they are slow. They are rogue tier because they are extremely vulnerable to hate cards that are common in the format, or are just simply inconsistent. Chrome Mox doesn't fix either of those issues. Instead, Chrome Mox would actually help other decks back into the format.
Tribal decks like Humans, Slivers, and Merfolk (I go over Elementals below) would definitely benfit with Chrome Mox being unbanned. Additionally, despite being technically a generic card, it wouldn't be a good inclusion in a lot of decks that are already considered good. It goes against the gameplan of Murktide and Rakdos, and it straight up cannot be used in Creativity, Cascade, and Affinity decks.
It is because of this that I believe Chrome Mox is safe, and would be a healthy inclusion for the format in terms of not just deck diversity, but also in skill due to this card being able to make or break your gameplan.

End Tl;dr

Pretty much everyone seems to agree that Chrome Mox would be way too powerful and would completely ruin the format.
But after having giving a lot of thought, I'm actually pretty confident it won't. Here's my reasoning:

Firstly, here's what it does:

Chrome Mox: (0)
Artifact
Imprint - When Chrome Mox enters the battlefield, you may exile a nonartifact, nonland, card from your hand.
(Tap): Add 1 mana of any of the exiled cards colors.

Unbanning consequences

If this was unbanned, it would see play in the following decks:
• Tribal decks, like humans, merfolk, elves, slivers, and elementals. These are the decks that can capitalize the most on Chrome Mox since they have a lot of redundancy and get a lot of value by getting stuff out ahead of curve.
• 4c Omnath would without a doubt gain some dominance if Chrome Mox were unbanned. The deck runs multiple cards that allows for replenishing of any sort of card advantage lost from playing Chrome Mox. Though, this is less on the power of Chrome Mox and more on the raw power of Omnath. In my personal opinion, whether or not Chrome Mox is unbanned, Omnath should be banned due to the amount of power it brings. If you use any removal on it, you will neg 1 because Omnath replaces itself on ETB, it stabilizes you due to the constant life gain, it allows you to go off even harder with spells due to the mana it gives which is much more free than Chrome Mox, and it can even deal damage without attacking. (Which is niche, but its worth mentioning when trying to close out a game) Combined with the Evoke elementals, and Wrenn & Six to make 4 colors extremely safe, this card is completely absurd.
• Elementals (assuming that Omnath is banned. This is a hypothetical scenario, like the rest of the post) would actually be pretty balanced with Chrome mox. The additional mana allows them to get their threats out faster, and because a lot of their cards actually exile from hand for cost, it would actually create a deck that promotes skillful play, since using Chrome Mox, or any evoke elemental, at the wrong time would set you so far behind that you'd just lose.
• Dredge would definitely love Chrome Mox since it allows you to fire off a turn 1 cathartic reunion, which would definitely be a pretty good plus. However, like one other deck that I'll get to a bit later, Dredge isn't hampered by speed. It, in of itself, is a very speedy deck already, and it also runs gemstone caverns for said fast mana. Turn 1 Cathartic is already pretty common with the deck. The issue that dredge has is consistency. Dredge is inherently a luck based deck. Chrome Mox doesn't provide consistency, it just provides a fast mana in exchange for a card in your hand. Both are appreciated by dredge, but it doesn't solve dredge's problem of being luck based.
• Storm would also quite like Chrome Mox since it allows them to go off 1 turn earlier, and they have a ton of redundancy. I am confident that Storm will actually go up a few tiers too if Chrome Mox is unbanned. But this won't be a bad thing because Storm still has the issue of being very reliant on easy to remove creatures, as well as their graveyard.

Here are decks that would not use Chrome Mox

^{or could use it but it would be better off replaced with a different card}
• Midrange decks are comprised of almost no redundancy. Pretty much every card would much rather be cast. They also want to go 1 for 1 most of the time and slowly gain value with threats like Fable of the Mirror Breaker, Expressive Iteration, or a simple creature threat like Fury or Murktide. Chrome Mox makes this game plan less efficient since it takes two cards out of your hand. (Chrome Mox being played, and the card being imprinted) Midrange decks today would be Murktide, Rakdos, and Jund. At first these decks would likely play with Chrome Mox, but then after a while they would ditch it when they realized that they would rather have another spell to ruin their opponents day.
• Aggro decks, like burn, would hate using Chrome Mox because the issue with aggro decks is that once they run out of steam, if the opponent is still alive, they are at a disadvantage. Chrome Mox accelerates how fast they run out of steam ans even delegate one of the cards in their hand that can do something to instead do nothing. That would cause said aggro deck to be that much weaker.
• Control decks have no use for Chrome Mox since mana ramping in control is generally not needed due to the fact they run a ton of lands anyway. Also, like midrange decks, every card would rather be cast than imprinted. They would more than likely rather see another counterspell or draw spell instead of Chrome Mox.
• Affinity and Hardened Scales straight up cannot use Chrome Mox due to their decks being almost entirely artifacts or lands, or both. The only cards in each deck that can be imprinted is Hardened Scales, Ancient Stirrings, Thoughtcast, and Forging the Anchor if they play it. All of these spells are spells that you would rather cast than exile it for mana ramping. There is also a likelyhood of Affinity running Metallic Rebuke and Emry mainboard to support the Chrome Mox, like they do in No Banlist Modern. Honestly, that would be fine. Affinity won't actually be a crazy deck again unless Mox Opal is unbanned, which it won't be. Additionally, NBL Modern is safe to run Emry because NBL Modern has little removal compared to vanilla Modern.
• Cascade and Creativity decks also cannot use Chrome Mox due to it directly conflicting with the decks combo.
• Yawgmoth would seem like a good candidate for Chrome Mox, but the reason it runs mana dorks is because they can also be sacrificed to Yawgmoth. Yawg can't sac Chrome Mox. So if Yawg did run it, it would probably be a 2 of. But they'd probably be better off with the mana dorks they have already since that is what they would be cutting for Chrome Mox.
• Hammertime wouldn't be able to use Chrome Mox because a lot of the cards in their deck are artifact based. The only cards that could be imprinted are Stoneforge Mystic, Puresteel Paladin, Giver of Runes, Steelshapers Gift, Surge of Salvation, and Sigarda's Aid. All of which are cards that Hammertime would much rather cast than just lose for mana ramping.
With this in mind we ask a question: With Chrome Mox back...

Would anything degenerate happen?

I did leave one deck out, and that deck is Belcher. The reason I left it out is because it would probably be the most unbelievable explanation. Blecher is one of those decks where if it ever sees tier 1 relevancy, then the entire format burns down. So, if Chrome Mox is unbanned, it would enable a whole lot of degenerate plays for Blecher, right?
Well...
Both belcher decks are designed to kill you in one turn, though the method differs between the two.
Belcher is, essentially, just a modified storm deck that tries to get as much mana to both cast and activate goblin charbelcher. As soon as Charblecher hits the field, they win. The earliest they can go off is on turn 2 by using a bunch of mana spells to immediately ramp into Charbelcher. (2 lands, 2 pyretic/desperate ritual, irencraag feat, and belcher) To go off on turn 2 requires a 6 card combo.
With Chrome Mox the earliest they can go off is turn 1... but that requires 7 cards now. (1 land, chrome mox, 1 imprint fodder card, 2 pyretic/desperate ritual, irencrag feat, charbelcher)
The other deck, oops all spells, relies on either charbelcher, or one of the creatures that mills the entire deck to get 4 Vengevine onto the field and kill their oppoent, or they can get Thassa's Oracle back and win instantly if the Vengevines didn't finish the job. With Chrome Mox they can go off on turn 2 at earliest. (Land, Chrome Mox, imprint fodder, Pentad Prism, and either creature that mills their whole library, a 5 card combo) Essentially this deck trades Belcher's speed for consistency. However it now has a super big vulnerability to hate cards that Belcher didn't have. Graveyard hate delegates them to only being able to use Charbelcher as their win condition, and they only run 1 in main and 1 in side.
But thats where we hit a problem. See, speed isn't the issue with charbelcher decks. Charblecher isn't putting up weak results because its slow, it most certainly isn't lacking there. Its putting up weak results because its inconsistent. (Or in Oops' case, extremely weak to hate cards) I watched some streams of people playing belcher and the number 1 reason they lost was because they couldn't find a belcher to combo off with. (The second reason was because the first belcher got answered)
For Oops All Spells, the main reason they lost was because either they got hit with graveyard hate, or they couldn't find a Belcher after getting hit by said graveyard hate.
In a manner of speaking, Belcher is like Tron. If you get all the necessary pieces, you win! If you don't, ugh. Chrome Mox doesn't provide any consistency, it only provides just mana. If it was unbanned, Belcher would more or less be the same as it was before, whether or not it played Chrome Mox. (Which in NBL Modern, it does alongside Street Wraith and Gitaxian Probe which gives it a lot more consistency)
Having read up to this point, you're likely thinking that because Chrome Mox is so common in NBL Modern, that surely it can't be unbanned right?

Observations on No Banlist Modern

So, first, lets assume that Chrome Mox was included in a deck because the card is unironically really good in that deck and not because literally everything is suddenly legal and Chrome Mox is a generic card as seen in a so far unsolved, unsupported, format with Dark Depths being the established best deck.
Despite literally being a subformat of Modern, No Banlist Modern can't be used as a metric for what can be unbanned in Modern.
The reason for this is because, unlike our Modern, NBL Modern has a lot of degenerate decks that would absolutely ruin your day, and Chrome Mox is just there to enjoy the ride. The best deck of NBL Modern is undoubtedly Dark Depths, with UG Emry being a close second. Both run Chrome Mox, but both aren't absolutely busted because of it. They're busted because they're running Oko, Sensei's Divining Top, Deathrite Shaman, and Dark Depths. Cards that should absolutely, positively, never be unbanned in Modern. These decks, even if they didn't use Chrome Mox, would still be the best decks of NBL Modern.
Additionally, the way that NBL Modern plays is nothing like Modern because the "checks" are different. A check is a card that is included in your deck so that it can be used to deal with a certain threat. For example, in Vanilla Modern, Unholy Heat, Bolt, Prismatic End, and Fatal Push are all very common checks. Most decks that can play them do so because they check a good amount of the format. But in NBL Modern, the checks are actually pretty different, mostly delegated to a couple removal spells and instead running more cards like Thoughtseize and Force of Negation. Actual on board removal is run in very low numbers outside of Yorion Piles. Due to this, permanents have a much higher probability of staying on board for several turns compared to Vanilla Modern.
With this idea, we can conclude that even though Chrome Mox sees a lot of play in NBL Modern, it cannot be held to the same standard as Vanilla Modern.
We can also apply this kind of thinking to cards that are banned in Legacy, but fine in Modern. The best example of this is Dreadhorde Arcanist, a card completely unseen in Modern.
The reason for this is because, like mentioned before, the checks in legacy are much different than in Modern. Legacy, just like NBL Modern, doesn't run much in terms of removal, and what little removal they did have was easily dealt with by countermagic which is very common in the format. The same thing also applies to Ragavan and Wrenn & Six.
It is because of these factors that NBL Modern and Legacg cannot be used as a metric to determine whether or not Chrome Mox is safe to unban in Vanilla Modern.

Disclaimer + Request

This, of course, is all completely hypothetical. Given that Chrome Mox has never been legal in Modern, and despite me doing several days of research on the matter, it is still uncertain on whether or not my claim is true.
Which is why I have a request for any LGS who wants to do some science! (If it's allowed)
I would like to conduct a study in a controlled environment where Chrome Mox is unbanned for about 8 months. (Though a year would be more ideal since it would give more time for the format to settle, which would give me much better data) During these 8 months, after each tournament, the organizer (I would be doing this myself if an LGS in my decides to do this) notes the decklist of each person in the tournament, their winrate, their matchups, and whether or not their deck has Chrome Mox in it. (For simplicity, the decklist doesn't have to be noted down. Ideally it would just be like: Player A, Izzet Murktide, /w Chrome Mox, 60% winrate, played against: Cascade WW, Affinity LWW, Jund LL, and UW Control LW-tie)
In addition, because Chrome Mox is pretty difficult to get, for the duration of the study, all participants will be allowed to proxy it.
Also the tournaments where Chrome Mox is legal would essentially be no different than a regular weekly tournament. Pay to get in, get store credit if you go 2-1-1 or better. The literal only difference is that now Chrome Mox is legal.

Expectations of this study

For the first several months, almost everyone is going to be using Chrome Mox. This is to be expected since it is a card never before legal in Vanilla Modern and is generally seen as strong, much like how when Stoneforge Mystic and Jace the Mind Sculptor were unbanned 4 years ago.
Then, over time, the useage of Chrome Mox will gradually go down as people begin to get used to the card and only put it in decks that actually should run it. Other people would likely start making decks that would like using Chrome Mox rather than use a deck that Chrome Mox is weak in but strong in the meta, like Rakdos or Murktide.
At roughly the 8 month mark, the format should more or less resemble the format we have now, except the decks Chrome Mox is good in, Tribal decks, Storm, Dredge, etc, have their foot a bit further in the door and see more representation.

Possible issues

• At the start of the study, if everyone starts playing degenerate decks, the study will fail because the format will be too grueling to actually settle and people will just leave instead. (My biggest fear is doing the study and 90% of the sample size deciding to play only Belcher) This issue would cause all data to be nonconclusive, since the study would have to be aborted soon after it began.
• A lot of stores might have a small player population. If the sample size is too small, the format may never actually settle and instead convey the idea that Chrome Mox would be too warping, even though it might not actually be. To remedy this, a survey could be given out every few weeks to ask how players feel about Chrome Mox and if it helped them win or lose a game. Make sure to not ask how they felt towards the game as a whole, because that will only tell us that they liked the card when they won, and disliked the card when they lost.
• The study length might not be long enough to settle, even with a respectable sample size. It took about a year for Stoneforge decks to settle down. Chrome Mox is seen as a stronger card than Stoneforge, so it is definitely possible it could take even more time to settle, much longer than 8 months, or even a year. I proposed 8 months because I didn't want to scare people off by saying this would take over a year to conduct. But if the LGS is willing to do this for over a year, that would be ideal.
• Magic players could just be stubborn and when they see that Chrome Mox is being unbanned, they just might decide they don't want to even give it a try.

Closer

Good god, this took a while. I worked on this for about 6 days. (not 6 days straight, just on and off researching and typing)
I definitely expect most, if not all, of you to actually disagree with me, and I definitely will be downvoted to oblivion. Some will probably call me a troll even though I am completely serious.
Anyways, this is what I did instead of my calculus homework.
Cheers!

Build Help/Ready:

Have you read the sidebar and rules? (Please do)
Yes
What is your intended use for this build? The more details the better.
Gaming, photo and video editing (only just started getting into video and large photoshop files, hence the RAM question)
If gaming, what kind of performance are you looking for? (Screen resolution, framerate, game settings)
Doesn't matter too much
What is your budget (ballpark is okay)?
As little as possible for a qorking upgrade to match what I've got
In what country are you purchasing your parts? UK
Post a draft of your potential build here (specific parts please). Consider formatting your parts list. Don't ask to be spoonfed a build (read the rules!).
This is my existing PC, the only thing I'm looking to get help with is RAM!
PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor	£149.00 @ Amazon UK
CPU Cooler	Scythe FUMA 2 51.17 CFM CPU Cooler	-
Motherboard	Gigabyte GA-AB350-GAMING 3 ATX AM4 Motherboard	-
Memory	TEAMGROUP Dark Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL14 Memory	-
Storage	Samsung 850 Evo 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive	-
Storage	Crucial MX500 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive	£96.00 @ Amazon UK
Storage	Western Digital Blue 6 TB 3.5" 5400 RPM Internal Hard Drive	Purchased For £140.00
Storage	Western Digital Red Plus 6 TB 3.5" 5400 RPM Internal Hard Drive	£127.04 @ BT Shop
Video Card	Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card	£327.98 @ Overclockers.co.uk
Case	Fractal Design Define R4 ATX Mid Tower Case	Purchased For £140.00
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G2 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	-
Optical Drive	Pioneer BDR-209DBK Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer	Purchased For £45.00
Case Fan	Fractal Design Dynamic GP-12 68.4 CFM 140 mm Fan	£20.11 @ Amazon UK
Case Fan	Fractal Design Dynamic GP-12 68.4 CFM 140 mm Fan	£20.11 @ Amazon UK
Monitor	BenQ EX2780Q 27.0" 2560 x 1440 144 Hz Monitor	£492.00 @ Amazon UK
Monitor	AOC 24G2U/BK 24.0" 1920 x 1080 144 Hz Monitor	-
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	£1557.24
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-06-09 16:37 BST+0100

Provide any additional details you wish below.
At the moment I have this RAM - however I can't find any more of this set in stock. How close to this do I need to get to expand my RAM? do CAS timings need to be matched, or just speed? Is it worth selling my existing RAM and purchasing a 32gb set instead?
NOTE: You do not have to follow this format, but please be sure to answer these questions. Please do not ask to simply be given a build. You are welcome to delete this section.

My 6mo has had basically constant ear infections since the end of April. The first one was like, " Oh, he got an ear infection. That sucks! Let's get the antibiotics and ear drop prescribed by the doctor and desk with it." Boom, done. He was miserable for a few days and then back to his happy, great sleeping self.
We got one week of that, and then BAM. Another infection. But this time, there's nasty green discharge oozing out of one ear. OMFG! Go to the doctor, who takes a swab for culture, and refers us to an ENT. Can't take amoxicillin this time because he just took it for the last infection. They give us a script for a different antibiotic, and the ENT can see us that same afternoon. Great! We get him home and give him his first dose while we wait for the appointment. See the ENT, and he cleans out the discharge with a little suction device, and tells us to stop antibiotics unless he gets a fever or discharge starts up in the other ear, but keep giving ear drops.
We get a call a few days later from our family doctor to tell us the culture came back as strep. But he's feeling better, and the ENT sees us the following week and gives us the all clear. Awesome. That was rough, but at least it's over. That was about a week ago.
Wake up this morning, and the discharge is fucking back. At no point in any of this had he had a fever. With the last two infections , he has been irritable unless we give him pain killers, but this time, he's been his usual happy self except for one night a couple days ago. We haven't even needed to give him Tylenol.
Obviously I called the ENT this morning, so back we go to the doctor today. This is exhausting. I'm worried about his hearing, although he's not showing signs of any issues yet. I don't know if I'm looking for advice. I don't know how to fix this for him. I'm so frustrated.

Hi rails, I'm learning Rails and currently running into a problem that has had me nearly going crazy. Am trying to create an organization at the same time a user registers/signs up by passing nested attributes to Devise. The problem is that the user is created but no matching Organization or Membership is created. What am I missing?
My app models:

• Devise user model
• Organization model
• Membership model

They are related as follows:
```ruby class User < ApplicationRecord # Include default devise modules. Others available are: # :confirmable, :lockable, :timeoutable, :trackable and :omniauthable devise :database_authenticatable, :registerable, :recoverable, :rememberable, :validatable
has_many :memberships, dependent: :destroy has_many :organizations, through: :memberships accepts_nested_attributes_for :organizations end ```
```ruby class Membership < ApplicationRecord belongs_to :user belongs_to :organization end
```
```ruby class Organization < ApplicationRecord has_many :memberships, dependent: :destroy has_many :members, through: :memberships, source: :user end
```
The Devise user registrations controller looks like below:
```ruby class Users::RegistrationsController < Devise::RegistrationsController include Accessible skip_before_action :check_resource, except: %i[new create] before_action :configure_sign_up_params, only: [:new]
# GET /resource/sign_up def new build_resource({}) resource.organizations.build respond_with self.resource end
# POST /resource def create super end ... protected
# If you have extra params to permit, append them to the sanitizer. # def sign_up_params # devise_parameter_sanitizer.sanitize(:sign_up) { user user.permit(permitted_attributes) } # end
def configure_sign_up_params devise_parameter_sanitizer.permit(:sign_up, keys: permitted_attributes) end
def permitted_attributes [ :email, :password, :password_confirmation, :remember_me, organizations_attributes: %i[id name] ] end end ``` And here's the registrations form:
```erb <%= form_for(resource, as: resource_name, url: registration_path(resource_name), class: 'space-y-4 md:space-y-6') do f %>

 
 <%= f.fields_for :organizations do org %> Organization name <%= org.text_field :name, autofocus: true, class: 'bg-gray-50 border border-gray-300 text-gray-900 sm:text-sm ' %> <% end %> 
 
 Your email <%= f.email_field :email, autocomplete: "email", class: 'bg-gray-50 border border-gray-300 text-gray-900' %> 
 

... <% end %> ```

I'm not sure if someone has already made a post about this, but I'm sharing this because I JUST did it after randomly thinking about it due to Meta's switch to Accounts Center. It literally took less than like 5 - 10 minutes to regain access.
Long story short, I've been locked out of my account for about 10 months because of a 2FA (Two-factor authentication) issue. I've gone back and forth with Instagram "support" using the steps in another post, but they just kept giving me the runaround. Here's how I got back in without having to contact them again.
If you have a Facebook account and you have connected it to your Instagram through Accounts Center, go to https://accountscenter.facebook.com . You may be prompted to log in with your Facebook account (I was already logged in). Once you're in you need to follow these steps:

1. On the left panel under the "Account Settings" heading, click on "Password and Security"
2. Then under the "Login & Recovery" heading, click on "Two-factor authentication"
3. There will be a pop-up that shows you which accounts are in your Accounts Center. Click on the Instagram account that you are locked out of
4. Click on "Additional methods" under the "How you get login codes" heading**
5. Click on "Backup Codes" and you should see a set of five different 8-digit codes to use
6. Use one of the codes to get back into your account. DO NOT close the tab/window yet, you may need a second code soon after***

**You can TRY to just change your 2FA settings in Accounts Center instead of using backup codes, but I kept getting an error message that said something like "Try changing your settings later"
***Once I logged in with the first backup code, I was asked to verify my information by sending a security code to my email or phone number and to change my password. After you do that it will STILL ASK FOR 2FA, so use a SECOND backup code to get in. After you're in your account, you can change your 2FA info and set up another 2FA method if you wish.
If you DON'T have a Facebook account connected to your Instagram, you can try to access Accounts Center by going to https://accountscenter.instagram.com instead, but it does require you to log in through your Instagram, so it might not work. You can also maybe try to create a temporary Facebook account and connect them and then follow the steps above, but again, I'm not sure if it will work.
In a way, I honestly just got lucky that I connected my Insta and Facebook long before the permanent switch, so I already had one foot in the door so to speak, but I hope this helps!

Memory Transcription Subject: Bosjin, Zeyzell Planetary Defense Corps
I lined up the xeno in my scope as I laid on a nearby snowdrift, waiting for it to move away from the group of civilians it and its allies had captured. The things had arrived in this town an hour ago were injecting them with what I assumed was their so-called “Cure.” I growled when a crying kit was ripped away from their parent and stuck with a syringe. The parent yowled in fury and leaped at the xeno, trying to clamber up its larger frame and clawing at its eyes. The Kolshian slammed the parent into a wall before raising its weapon.
May Maa scorch whatever twisted essence substitutes for your soul.
I squeezed the trigger, sending a single bullet into its brain. The other xenos whirled their guns around, looking for the sniper. I adjusted my aim and iced what looked like the leader. Xeno blood began to stain the snowy ground. Bullets rained down on my general position, forcing me to back away and crawl to a new vantage point. The filthy things had murdered my entire squad and dispersed their cure over entire cities. I’d been able to scrounge up an old gas mask from a now-destroyed armory, meaning that the things would either have to take the time to capture and inject a single soldier or, more likely, just kill me.
I circled around the group of xenos, using my pure white fur to camouflage myself. I was a phantom, striking quickly before retreating back into the snow. The snow and ice were our turf. We’d evolved to use it to our advantage. The xenos would have to pay dearly for every scrap they took from us. Reaching another secure position, I iced another two xenos before instantly darting away before they could react. That wide vision of theirs did absolutely nothing against a ghost of the snow.
“Predator!” I heard one of them call. “Stand down!”
I ignored it, scrambling a nearby frost-tree, taking care not to rustle the sparkling and brittle leaves. I raised the scope to my eye once more before I paused. One of the xenos was holding a rifle to the back of the kit’s head. Other xenos were doing the same to other civilians.
“Predator!” it called again. “Surrender or we will begin executing your people!”
The wind began to pick up, kicking up snow, making it harder for them to see. It would also distort the direction of my voice.
“You’re going to do it anyway, xeno!” I retorted, clambering down the tree and circling the group once more. Just because it was harder for them to pinpoint me, didn’t mean I was safe.
“You would take that chance, predator-”
The wind began howling, drowning out anything else it was saying. Flurries of snow began to batter the area. I chuckled. Snowstorms this strong were dangerous even to us. These furless xenos wouldn’t last ten minutes. I slung my rifle behind me and unsheathed my knife, edging closer to their position. Some infrared goggles would be handy right now, but I still had the advantage. My eyes, evolved to handle the icy debris, could see better than the unprepared things. I had heard that the Federation used climate-altering technology to suit their exact needs on every planet. The Unity also did such things on occasion, but only on planets without life. Pydoria Rusarth’s climate was more or less the same as it had ever been, ignoring the effects of (mostly) eco-friendly colonization.
The relative unpredictability of this planet’s weather patterns had thrown the things off guard. I paused when the first xeno silhouette came into view. It was raking its gun all around it in a paranoid manner. I snuck up behind it, taking care to stay in its blind spot and freezing whenever its gaze fell on my location. It was a bit undignifying to be crawling along my stomach like this, but the giddiness of being able to ice my home’s invaders made up for it.
I was right next to it. I raised my blade and slashed it across the back of the creature’s knees. It fell with a yelp that was quickly silenced with a cut throat. Leaving it to bleed out, I moved on until I caught sight of a few prisoners with a pair of xeno guards. The wind was screaming now, as if the planet itself was howling its pain and fury at those who dared attack it. I raised my rifle and fired, the gunshot muffled by the wind. One xeno went down and the other was too busy shielding itself against the unforgiving cold to notice.
The prisoners took notice of the fallen xeno and some of them took the opportunity to bolt away. The others turned to the still-living xeno and unsheathed their claws. A single Zeyzell against one of them wasn’t a fair fight. Half-a-dozen on the other hand? I relished the screams of the thing as seven furious citizens piled onto it, raking their claws across its eyes and extremities. This was the fate that all xenos deser-
Something’s behind me.
I whirled around when a patch of snow crunched only to take the butt of a giant gun to the snout. A cruel-looking Kolshian sneered down at me as it shivered from the cold.
“Not so dangerous now, are you, predator?” it mocked.
Its tentacle tightened on the trigger. I closed my eyes, resigning myself to my fate. I flinched when a gunshot rang and…
I opened my eyes. The xeno was looking at a hole in its chest in surprise. It tried to stumble away only for a second shot to rip through its skull. It fell down and I looked behind where it was to see the shape of a Zeyzell. It was taller and it wore some kind of battle armor that I’d only ever seen on… Deathwatch Guards. We were saved! Loud gunshots rang through the area as more of my saviors entered the fray.
I scrambled to my feet and stared at the Guard, my face reflected in its orange visor. They nodded at me before rushing back into the fight and I immediately tailed them. My mood fell a bit when I thought about why they were here. Usually, they stuck around people of high importance, such as politicians. If they were here, then their charges must’ve been killed. I shook my head. That didn’t matter. What mattered was winning this fight. And the next and the next until reinforcements arrived or we fell in battle.
I stared in awe as the Guard expertly dispatched three xenos before they knew what was happening. More Guards appeared, gunning down those who were trying to flee. Normal soldiers rushed to free the prisoners while the Guards worked. A bullet struck one Guard in the shoulder, sending them sprawling before it leapt back up and riddled its attacker with holes, their armor having saved it from anything worse than a bad bruise. Compared to us, these troops were practically demigods.
-------------
Memory Transcription Subject: High Captain Bolhur, Zeyzell Fleet Command
I mused on Edo’s panicked orders to me as we hurtled towards Pydoria Rusarth. The Overseer had redirected the defense fleet to relieve Vajo’s dwindling forces and the xenos had pounced on the chance to attack. The redirected fleet was also on the way, hauling a Shield-class in tow which, combined with the identical ship I was currently standing on, and the thousand ships in both fleets would obliterate the invaders. I allowed myself a small chuckle.
Before the Kolshians stepped in, entire fleets scattered at the sight of these gargantuan warships. They each needed a trio of gigantic reactors in order to power its hundred railguns, nigh-unbreakable shields, and atmosphere scorching engines. The Kolshians might be brave enough to take one of them on, but a pair? Even the Arxur would fall before such power. I did wonder why we didn’t deploy all fifteen of them on the front lines however. With one or two at every major battle, the war would be going better for us.
“We’re nearly there, sir,” my navigator informed me.
“Charge railguns and bring us as close as possible,” I ordered.
I expected to see Pydoria Rusarth in the middle of burning, with every settlement wiped off of the map. Instead, I got the opposite. I gasped at the sheer size of the xeno fleet, much larger than the two thousand we were promised. And under the giant fleet was Pydoria Rusarth, completely untouched, at least from my perspective. Scans showed that not one antimatter bomb had been detonated on the surface. The xenos were occupying it!
I shook off my surprise. The second attack fleet would be here any moment and we needed to help clear a way for them.
“Open fire!” I shouted.
The xenos were caught off guard by our sudden arrival and couldn’t react in time to save themselves from thousands of simultaneous railgun strikes from my wall of ships. My flagship, the Vanguard, immediately followed up with a wave of plasma and kinetics, striking down hundreds more. The xenos adapted quickly however and regrouped closer to the planet, taking out a few of my own fleet. Most of their retaliatory strikes were directed at my own ship. Thankfully the Vanguard’s shields held up and we pressed the attack long enough for High Captain Treuts and the Annihilator to join the fight.
I could practically sense the xenos’ faltering morale as the two fleet-killing dreadnaughts bore down on them. They heavily outnumbered us, but we were the ones with the firepower. I contacted the fleet.
“Treuts, help me punch a hole in this location,” I said, marking the densest concentration of enemy warships in order to cause maximum damage to their fleet. “I want the rest of the fleet to surround the colony and squeeze the xeno formations. The moment we get through, deploy dropships to retake the planet.”
The fleet obeyed, spreading out across the planet, forcing the xenos to thin their own formation to counter, leaving the Vanguard and the Annihilator to fire upon a weaker defensive position. Two hundred railguns fired in tandem, obliterating a slew of xenos and we immediately followed up with a storm of plasma, missiles, and kinetics. Once again, I wondered why we didn’t use these mountains of steel more often. This was among the largest fleet of xenos we’d faced since the Battle of Earth, and only two being utilized to their fullest capacity was slowly but surely pushing the xenos back. I was sure we could spare a few from some of the Core Worlds.
The xenos launched a slew of missiles, most of which were shot down before they could reach us. Those that survived detonated a little way away from our ships. Readings showed a massive spike in electromagnetic radiation. They tried to EMP us.
“Any damage?” I asked.
“Shields took a small hit, sir, but are otherwise fine,” my sensors officer responded. “The hardenings worked. EMPs are mostly ineffective.”
“Sir!” my comms officer called. “The xenos are hailing us!”
“Amusing,” I chuckled. “They wish to beg? Too bad. Ignore it. They should have thought about dying before they came here.”
The xenos’ cries for mercy went unheeded as we pushed deeper into their formation.
-------------
Memory Transcription Subject: Captain Vajartav, Kolshian Commonwealth Fleet Command
Our ultimatum went unheeded as the predators pushed deeper into our formation. As a member of the higher caste, I was given the privilege of not being as easy to spook as the lesser members of the Federation. And yet the sight of the twin giant warships bearing down on us without mercy filled me with terror. They had a seemingly infinite supply of weapons and breaking their shields might as well be the same as trying to batter down a brick wall with our bare tentacles.
“Fine,” I said, hiding my fear. “If they don’t want to listen, then we will just show them. Begin bombardment, two low-population cities.”
“But sir, our forces are still down there!”
“A necessary sacrifice. Do as I say.”
Two bombers broke away and burned towards their targets. Hopefully, this would buy us time for reinforcements to arrive. They should be here any second, but time was a precious commodity at the moment. The predators took notice of the bombers and fired some of their railguns. By some miracle, the bombers were able to swerve out of the way. Well, one of them. The other took a glancing blow and began to flounder in the planet’s gravitational field.
That was fine. A single destroyed city would give the same message.
“BRACE FOR IMPACT!”
I looked up from the feed of the ships and gasped at the sight of another storm of missiles hurtling towards the center of our formation. Towards me. Then the projectiles detonated. An instant later, the ship went dark and the engines stopped rumbling. We were dead in space. About to be literally. The vicious predators started systematically destroying every defenseless ship in their path. They would lose a city, but now we couldn’t send anymore bombers.
Where are those damn reinforcements?!
“Sir! Look!”
The navigator pointed out the viewport and I felt immense relief flow through me. It was a staggering sight, 20,000 warships here to sweep away the disgusting creatures that called themselves sapient. The gargantuan attackers instantly turned and opened fire with all of their railguns, hitting every target. It didn’t even make a dent. The predators realized they were outmatched and burned away from the colony, recalling their fleet as well. Our trap worked. Barely.
Our reinforcements began to envelop the predator fleet. As powerful as those fleet-killers were, they stood no chance against a fleet this size. Today was truly the beginning of the end of the Unity.
-------------
Memory Transcription Subject: High Captain Bolhur, Zeyzell Fleet Command
“Shields are down to 50%!”
“The Annihilator’s shields are almost gone!”
“They’re blocking us from entering subspace!”
Panic and chaos bombarded my eyes and ears as the xeno reinforcements swallowed our fleet. Me and the Annihilator were barely holding them off and that wasn’t going to last for long.
“I want sublight engines and shields at full power! Carriers, create a protective barrier around yourselves and the flagships!”
At most, that bought us a few more minutes of survival before we were claimed by the vacuum of space.
Pydoria Rusarth was lost.
-------------
Memory Transcription Subject: Admiral Ferlinn, Zeyzell Insurgency Command
“Exiting subspace now, Admiral!”
Zeyzell-10 blinked into view in all of its icy glory. The frozen planet orbited its tiny star in an irregular orbit, heating the planet enough for most of the equator’s ice to melt for a short time before swinging back into the frozen zone. That, combined with the high levels of volcanic activity under the frozen seas, was theorized to be how life took hold on a planet otherwise rather hostile to life as we know it. Some scientists even believed that life took hold multiple times before being wiped out by the unforgiving cold before it could evolve any further.
Life always seemed to find a way. Only now, Zeyzell-10 was about to see a tremendous loss of it. The fleet I’d taken to distract the Unity had no chance at taking the planet, but it was large enough to be considered a significant threat. With the Unity’s eyes on me and the fiasco at Pydoria Rusarth that Overseer Noctif was going to deal with, our primary fleet could snatch a few fringe worlds from Edo’s grasp. We would establish a foothold in the now mostly undefended Sectors Nine, Eight, and Seven on the opposite side of the border with the Federation and work inwards from there.
My orders were to make this battle as authentic as possible, up to landing troops if I could. It was unlikely I would even come close to doing so, given that I was now facing down untold thousands of warships and Weapons Platforms, three Shield-classes among them with only a couple thousand of my own ships. Not to mention those giant, hexagonal satellites hanging in low orbit. The giant contraptions were specifically placed to cause as little havoc to the ecosystem as possible while providing the maximum defense to Zeyzell-10. In the end, new weapons were impressive and all but the pinnacle of our quest to build up our defenses was this.
A global shield.
As with any impressive technology, it had its weaknesses and drawbacks. It could sustain heavy bombardment for a long while, but those satellites were vulnerable. If one went down, the entire area around it would go down as well, leaving a hole for invaders to pour through. I had my reservations about destroying even one of them in the unlikely event that I got the opportunity due to the cultural significance they possessed, but Edo’s reign would end in the destruction of our culture entirely if we didn’t put a stop to this.
“The fleet is hailing us, Admiral!”
“Accept it.”
The image of an angry officer appeared in front of me. I recognized her as High Admiral Jannob, the supreme commander of the entire Zeyzell Navy. Traditionally, High Admirals were always stationed in defense of Zeyzell-10, which is why Vajo, and before him Krobag, were put in charge of the war against the Federation. Although they called the shots, Jannob had the last say.
“What is the meaning of this?!” she snarled. “We were not expecting a fleet here! Identify yourselves or you will be fired upon!”
I answered calmly. A new idea came to mind. Perhaps I wouldn’t have to take on the entire fleet on my own.
“Hello, High Admiral.”
Surprise crossed her face.
“High Captain Ferlinn?”
“Admiral Ferlinn, as per the orders of Overseer Noctif.”
“Overseer Noctif is dead, traitor! All because of the xenos! Xenos that you should be fighting instead of your own people!”
“On the contrary, Overseer Noctif is most certainly alive, if a little worse for wear. No thanks to Edo.”
“Excuse me?”
I glanced down as a message from Noctif reached me. She was engaging the Kolshians over Pydoria Rusarth. I ordered my comms officer to send videos of Noctif that had been taken after the assassination attempt. Jannob watched the files with growing joy.
“She’s alive! That’s wonder…ful…” she trailed off as she realized the implications of this.
“Edo was the one who destroyed the Council Chamber. He blamed it on the Federation and used the attack he orchestrated to seize power. Edo is the traitor, not me.”
Jannob fell silent as she pondered the new information.
“Who will you stand with, Jannob?” I asked. “The man who is dooming the Unity, or the woman who only wanted what was best?”
Her eyes flicked back up to me, the now-familiar spark of rebellion shining within them.
“I stand with Overseer Noctif.”
-------------
Memory Transcription Subject: Overseer Noctif, Zeyzell Insurgency Leader
The battered Shield-class was quickly being torn apart by the xenos. Every other ship in its fleet had been destroyed, including another Shield whose wreckage dominated the scanners. I observed the battle from the safety of the middle of my fleet. I was no military officer, but being here in person was important. High Captain Grencop was in charge of this battle, a battle that even I could see we had no hope of winning.
I contacted the dreadnought from my ship.
“Attention Unity dreadnought. This is Overseer Noctif. Hang in there, we are here to help.”
Grencop ordered the majority of his fleet to engage the Kolshians, drawing them away from the dying mountain of metal. The Shield gladly took the opportunity to punch its way through the Kolshians and reach our fleet.
“They’re hailing you, Overseer.”
“Let them talk.”
The High Captain of the Shield-class appeared, pink blood oozing through the fur on his head.
“Overseer Noctif?” he asked in wonder.
“Indeed, High Captain. It looked like you needed help.”
“H-How is this possible?”
“Not important right now, High Captain. Let’s get the hell out of here first.”
He rubbed his wound before flicking his tail in acknowledgment.
“Of course, Overseer Noctif. It’s good to have you back.”
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I have a mare and she has been alone for almost a year and she is doing well. However I felt bad that she doesn't have any company around 24/7, only the dogs and me for a few hours a day. So I got her a goat two days ago. At first she only saw her from her stall and she was a bit nervous. The next day I had her (goat) on a leash and they smelled each other and my mare acted like she acts when she sees other horses and I thought it was normal. Then she hid in her stall. The goat seemed to love her and she wanted to be with her because she is so friendly and quiet. And today we let the goat off the leash because she behaves so well and she follows you everywhere. And she grazed the weeds near my horse on the pasture and my mare didn't seem to mind. But as soon as the goat got in the pasture, my mare wanted to kill her. She chased her around so mad! She hates her!
Do you think she will like her ? Because my goat seems to love her and I don't want my mare to hurt her.

Somehow every time my stupid best friend (no longer btw byeee narcissistic always the victim pathetic dumb fuck who only wants people to be around for validation and shoulder betting), who I knew since middle school btw, is never there when I need them.
No one ever makes time for me and when I look at other people and friend groups I feel like I never met normal people yet. Whenever I'm in a new group I'm looking for another one in no time because everybody is self-centred and feels like they want fans or followers, not friends.
It's not like I ask for a lot. I'm very good at making plans, in fact, I'm comfortable claiming that I'm always the one who needs to make plans because otherwise no one wants to do anything, which I'm also 100% fine with; just chilling and having company, but the relationship with the very same people will wind down and eventually gets to a weird end for no reason.
I always waste my time and energy to set in an empty room studying alone during finals, eating out alone, everything. They just suck the soul out of me and throw me to the dogs.
Why? Is it possible that they're that fucking selfish and oblivious to how their actions affect people or is it possible I actually never met chill down to earth people in a weird sequence of coincidences?
Is that the key? Should I just become a self-centered prick with no regard to anything and always take and take and never give?

In NoTW we obviously hear Lanre's story and how the one eyed monster (Selitos) shrouded Lanre's face in shadow. Now, he did so essentially because Lanre was a very good looking man, ie took away an endearing quality. I think that Kvothe comes across Selitos, or whoever Selitos actually is in the story and is Shrouded in Silence, because of his music.
My reason for this is in NoTW Chapter 48, it says the following about Bast's fears

• "Not the ordinary Silence that comes from a simple absence of things moving about and making noise. Bast feared the deep, weary Silence that gathered around his master at times, like an invisible shroud."

Tisnt an extensive theory, more of a thought really.

I live in Massachusetts, and a few months ago I received a bill from my gas company claiming I owe over $900. I'm not going to get too much into the details (I can if needed) but a tech came out and discovered the gas meters were incorrectly measuring between mine and the second floor neighbors and I was charged the difference (I rent in a three apartment home). After getting no where with the gas company to resolve this bill I took legal action.
I have a scheduled small claims court trial for the amount of the bill in September of this year to dispute this. I have received letters from the gas company stating if I do not pay this bill, they will shut off my service at the end of this month. When I call to explain my situation they do not care and say it must be paid now. The bill was given to me in February and I have been paying my normal monthly bills on-time and have not missed one. I have told them that the bill is being disputed in court but they insist on it being paid now to continue my service.
I have done a bit of research and found this ( https://www.masslegalhelp.org/housing/lt1-pullout-6-utilities ) and followed the recommendations under "Resolve a dispute with a utility company". Also, I have told the gas company to protect my service back when I had first informed them I am taking legal action back around March. I have not heard anything back from the DPU yet.
I am just looking for advice as I have never had any experience with something like this and want to make sure all my ducks are in a row. I obviously do not want my service to be shut off but I fear if I do not pay they will shut it off even though there is a pending court case for this bill. I cannot go 3 months with out hot water but will if it will help my case.
Should I pay it now to avoid having my service disrupted? Should I not pay it and hope the DPU can assist? Or should I let them shut it off in hopes they screw themselves over in the court case?

My environment is using VMware v sphere 6.7. A few months back, I have renewed the SSL cert as it was going to expire. Therefore, I used certificate manager to renew it.
After successfully renewed it, my vsphere web console SSL cert had been renewed but my vcenter appliance management web portal SSL still haven’t reviewed it yet. It have followed the article from the VMware portal https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2108294 the ssl cert still didn’t renew. I am using internet explorer 11 to administer the vsphere and vcenter web portal.
How to resolve the ssl cert in the vcenter portal?

like i trail my SL to break even when rr 1 is reached after that I have a fixed target either I exit break even or full profit I want to know like today I traded and price reached rr 1 then i put my SL at break even after that price started to consolidate and i was watching the chat after sometime i knew price is to hit my SL but i didn't close my Trade and let price hit my SL so I want to know that if was doing the right thing or i should have closed my Trade in some profit

"X2749," Dinyl logged breathlessly as he stumbled through the jungle. "The humans are not as they seem. I repeat, the humans are not as they seem. Our surveillance of their species has been merely skin deep." The offlander leaped through the brush and slid down a muddy incline narrowly avoiding a series of thick tree trunks. The monstrous noises at his back worsened, rising to a fever pitch as the sun set over the planet's horizon.
"Do not attempt to assimilate," he warned as he ran. "They understood I wasn't one of them, maybe even from the beginning. My camouflage has been working at optimal levels. It must be something else– something more primitive and intuitive that courses through them. I deployed the decoys, but they ran right through them– never for but a brief moment have they lost track of me."
He stopped behind a particularly thick tree to catch his breath. They hadn't halted their pursuit, but they had slowed for one reason or another. He looked down at the device on his wrist and noted that many were convening about a 45-second run behind him. Dinyl rested his head against the moist bark of the tree and closed his eyes.
"X2750," he said quietly lifting his wrist. "If anyone can hear this– if a single one of you has your ears on, please for the love of the collective, get me out of here. My ship won't respond to my beacon. My weapons... useless," he breathed. "My gut feeling is that these humans aren't human at all." He steadied himself. "I need to think my way out of this. No ship. Weapons are ineffective. They're faster than me. Somehow, they continue to track me despite the decoys and even invisibility. None of it seems to matter at all."
His eyes wandered skyward. It was dark enough that he could see his home star through the top of the trees. So close and yet so far. He wished more than anything he had never come. It wasn't worth whatever thrill he was seeking.
"X2751," logged Dinyl. "It must be their sense of smell. I cannot think of any other reason. If anyone happens to come across this frequency now or in the future... humans have a sense completely alien to us. As all senses not innate to one's own species, it is difficult to quantify; to define in certain terms. But anything in this universe that is tangible is certain to give off a certain smell. They can follow that smell. It'll lead them in a general direction toward whatever the source is, but they have difficulty pinpointing it. As far we're aware, concepts and philosophies do not give off a smell. But I'm starting to have my doubts about certain emotions... namely fear."
He took several deep breaths in an attempt to quell the terror inside of him. "If I can only conquer my fear. But humans and animals from Earth eat one another. Humans do not eat one another on 99% of occasions. But as I have said, these humans I chose to hunt with... they are different. And I can think of no grizzlier or demeaning fate than to be made their nourishment– to have one's own sacred flesh converted to ape waste. It frightens me to imagine it, so I wish to imagine it no further... however when one's own imagination is as real as the soil under one's feet..."
He trailed off. This wasn't productive. He was only scaring himself further. If fear was indeed a smell humans could follow, they would never lose track of him so long as he imagined their long glistening fangs– their sharpened claws rending his flesh from his bones. On his home planet, brute primal force overcoming science and tactics was a story everyone hated. He wasn't about to let that be the story of his demise. He pushed off of the tree and hurried further into the jungle, pressing the beacon for his ship over and over as he did.

"I don't know, Dinyl, that sounds dangerous. Our ships act funny on Earth sometimes. Not all the time, but enough that I wouldn't go out there. Our people have crashed there before. They don't give the bodies back. Is what you're planning on doing worth it?"

He should have heeded the advice. He knew in his many hearts that it was his own tragic arrogance that led him to this.

"If they get ahold of you, you're dead. They can't be reasoned with. They're still a tier 1 civilization, intergalactic law won't save you. They're basically a protected species. All we can do is ask for you and your ship back, but you know how that goes."

"Dammit all," the alien muttered to himself. He stopped to catch his breath and looked down at the device on his wrist. It seemed he was in the clear– not a single blip on the radar. He could hardly believe his luck. Through his labored breathing, he managed a laugh as he leaned against a tree.
"X2752. I've lost them. Against all odds, I believe I've lost them. Now I've got to put my brain to work. If I can circle back to the lodge, I can fashion an emitter out of their radio tower. It would require minimal modification, and I can probably reach my ship that way. In fact, if my ship is still unreachable then it has been destroyed somehow. In which case, it'll be more work getting back home. But this isn't undoable."
As soon as he finished his log and the words left his screen, the radar returned. A forest of red blips surrounded his position. Dread flooded him. He stared at it for several seconds as though hoping it would go away– that it would display something else. He lifted his eyes from the screen to see hungry glowing eyes in the darkened forest all around him. His shoulders fell. He couldn't fathom how they had surrounded him so quickly and so quietly.
But it didn't matter now.
"X2...753," he spoke in a defeated tone. "Never come to Earth. There is more to humans than we know... Far more."
Writing Prompt Submitted by u/KicKem-in-the-DicKem

Weird matchups recently… I’m high 2400 partner at 1900 vs 2990 and 2330. I’m second seat and We are winning 9-7 right gets turned up I order with q,10,9 trump and a 9, 10 off suit. They take first two tricks with aces of my 9-10 off suit. I take 3rd with my 9 and come back with my 10 partner cannot follow suit and we lose the hand. I get fat fingering but you are playing vs the #3 player. What. The. Fuck.

Saint Cyril, Archbishop of Alexandria, a distinguished champion of Orthodoxy and a great teacher of the Church, came from an illustrious and pious Christian family. He studied the secular sciences, including philosophy, but most of all he strove to acquire knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and the truths of the Christian Faith. In his youth Cyril entered the monastery of Macarius in the Nitreia hills, where he stayed for six years. Theophilus (385-412), the Patriarch of Alexandria, ordained him as a deacon, numbered him among the clergy and entrusted him to preach.
Upon the death of Patriarch Theophilus, Cyril was unanimously chosen to the patriarchal throne of the Alexandrian Church. He led the struggle against the spread of the Novatian heresy in Alexandria, which taught that any Christian who had fallen away from the Church during a time of persecution, could not be received back into it.
Cyril, seeing the futility of admonishing the heretics, sought their expulsion from Alexandria. The Jews appeared a greater danger for the Church, repeatedly causing riots, accompanied by the brutal killing of Christians. The saint long contended with them. In order to wipe out the remnants of paganism, the saint cast out devils from an ancient pagan temple and built a church on the spot, and the relics of the Holy Unmercenaries Cyrus and John were transferred into it. A more difficult struggle awaited the saint with the emergence of the Nestorian heresy.
Nestorius, a presbyter of the Antiochian Church, was chosen in 428 to the see of Constantinople and there he was able to spread his heretical teaching against the dogma about the uncommingled union of two natures in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Nestorius called the Mother of God not the Theotokos, but rather Christotokos or “Birth-giver of Christ,” implying that she gave birth not to God, but only to the man Christ. The holy Patriarch Cyril repeatedly wrote to Nestorius and pointed out his error, but Nestorius continued to persevere in it. Then the saint sent out epistles against Nestorianism to the clergy of Constantinople and to the holy emperor Theodosius the Younger (408-450), denouncing the heresy. Cyril wrote also to other Churches, to Pope Celestine and to the other Patriarchs, and even to monks of several monasteries, warning of the emergence of a dangerous heresy.
Nestorius started an open persecution against the Orthodox. In his presence one of his partisans, Bishop Dorotheus, pronounced an anathema against anyone who would call the Most Holy Virgin Mary the Theotokos.
Nestorius hated Cyril and brought out against him every kind of slander and fabrication, calling him a heretic. The saint continued to defend Orthodoxy with all his powers. The situation became so aggravated, that it became necessary to call an Ecumenical Council, which convened in the city of Ephesus in the year 431. At the Council 200 bishops arrived from all the Christian Churches. Nestorius, awaiting the arrival of Bishop John of Antioch and other Syrian bishops, did not agree to the opening of the Council. But the Fathers of the Council began the sessions with Cyril presiding. Having examined the teaching of Nestorius, the Council condemned him as a heretic. Nestorius did not submit to the Council, and Bishop John opened a “robber council”, which decreed Cyril a heretic. The unrest increased. By order of the emperor, Patriarch Cyril of Alexandria and Archbishop Memnon of Ephesus were locked in prison, and Nestorius was deposed.
Soon Saints Cyril and Memnon were freed, and the sessions of the Council continued. Nestorius, not submitting himself to the determinations of the Council, was deprived of priestly rank. By order of the emperor he was sent to the faraway place Sasim in the Libyan wilderness, where he died in grievous torments. His tongue, having blasphemed the Mother of God, was overtaken by punishment -- in it there developed worms. Even Bishop John of Antioch and the remaining Syrian bishops signed the decrees of the Council of Ephesus.
Cyril guided the Alexandrian Church for 32 years, and towards the end of his life the flock was cleansed of heretics. Gently and cautiously Cyril approached anyone, who by their own simpleness and lack of knowledge, fell into false wisdom. There was a certain Elder, an ascetic of profound life, who incorrectly considered the Old Testament Priest Melchizedek to be the Son of God. Cyril prayed for the Lord to reveal to the Elder the correct way to view the righteous one. After three days the Elder came to Cyril and said that the Lord had revealed to him that Melchizedek was a mere man.
Cyril learned to overcome his prejudice against the memory of the great John Chrysostom (November 13). Theophilus, the Patriarch of Alexandria, and uncle of Cyril, was an antagonist of John, and presided in a council in judgment of him. Cyril thus found himself in a circle antagonistic to John Chrysostom, and involuntarily acquired a prejudice against him. Isidore of Pelusium (February 4) repeatedly wrote to Cyril and urged him to include the name of the great Father of the Church into the diptychs of the saints, but Cyril would not agree.
Once in a dream he saw a wondrous temple, in which the Mother of God was surrounded by a host of angels and saints, in whose number was John Chrysostom. When Cyril wanted to approach the All-Holy Lady and venerate her, John Chrysostom would not let him. The Theotokos asked John to forgive Cyril for having sinned against him through ignorance. Seeing that John hesitated, the Mother of God said, “Forgive him for my sake, since he has labored much for my honor, and has glorified me among the people calling me Theotokos.” John answered, “By your intercession, Lady, I do forgive him,” and then he embraced Cyril with love.
Cyril repented that he had maintained anger against the great saint of God. Having convened all the Egyptian bishops, he celebrated a solemn feast in honor of John Chrysostom.
Cyril died in the year 444, leaving behind many works. In particular, the following ought to be mentioned: commentaries On the Gospel of Luke, On the Gospel of John, On the Epistles of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians and to the Hebrews; also an Apologia in Defense of Christianity against the Emperor Julian the Apostate (361-363). Of vast significance are his Five Books against Nestorius; a work on the Most Holy Trinity under the title Thesaurus, written against Arius and Eunomios. Also two dogmatic compositions on the Most Holy Trinity, distinguished by a precise exposition of the Orthodox teaching on the Procession of the Holy Spirit. Cyril wrote Against Anthropomorphism for several Egyptians, who through ignorance depicted God in human form. Among Cyril’s works are also the Discussions, among which is the moving and edifying Discourse on the Exodus of the Soul, inserted in the Slavonic “Following Psalter”.
Today we commemorate the repose of this great Father of the Church. He is also remembered on January 18, the date of his flight from Alexandria.
(from oca.org)

Somehow every time my stupid best friend (no longer btw byeee narcissistic always the victim pathetic dumb fuck who only wants people to be around for validation and shoulder betting), who I knew since middle school btw, is never there when I need them.
No one ever makes time for me and when I look at other people and friend groups I feel like I never met normal people yet. Whenever I'm in a new group I'm looking for another one in no time because everybody is self-centred and feels like they want fans or followers, not friends.
It's not like I ask for a lot. I'm very good at making plans, in fact, I'm comfortable claiming that I'm always the one who needs to make plans because otherwise no one wants to do anything, which I'm also 100% fine with; just chilling and having company, but the relationship with the very same people will wind down and eventually gets to a weird end for no reason.
I always waste my time and energy to set in an empty room studying alone during finals, eating out alone, everything. They just suck the soul out of me and throw me to the dogs.
Why? Is it possible that they're that fucking selfish and oblivious to how their actions affect people or is it possible I actually never met chill down to earth people in a weird sequence of coincidences?
Is that the key? Should I just become a self-centered prick and always take and take and never give?

I've just stumbled across something recently that has helped me explain the very uncomfortable, hollow, heavy feeling I get in my chest due to my depression.
I was looking into the term "Heartbreak" recently. I can't remember why, but I always used to think people would say it flippantly. Like it was just an over-dramatisation of what they were feeling. But in actual fact, it can be a real medical condition called "Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy".
I read about it in the following article:Link: https://www.livescience.com/why-does-heartbreak-hurt-so-much
"This heart condition is brought on by high levels of stress or extreme emotions".
I was seeing the correlation between someone experiencing heartbreak, and the feelings you can get from depression.
"But when you fall out of love, levels of oxytocin and dopamine drop, while at the same time there is an increase in levels of one of the hormones responsible for stress — cortisol."
As we know, depression gives you lower levels of Dopamine and Serotonin and I've been quite stressed out lately. So it's like I'm experiencing the hallmarks of "Heartbreak" without having been in a relationship. I've never had anyone explain why this feeling occurs, and I know many people experience this uncomfortable symptom, but the above article definitely helps shine some light on it.
It makes you wonder how this relates to why so many older men and women die so soon after their significant other passes on. Their loved one dies, and their heart literally breaks.
The connection between emotion and physical health has never so clearly been shown to me.

Lifted weights for the first time in several months, had the worst doms (delayed onset muscle soreness) of my life in several major muscle groups. Could barely straighten my arms or stretch pectoral muscles etc after without SEVERE post workout soreness. A week later it’s mostly faded away but still a tiny bit tender.
Workout was on a Friday night, fast forward to next Thursday morning (5.5 days later) I go in for CBC, metabolic panel, lipid panel, etc.
AST 225 U/L (ref 10-40)
ALT 86 U/L (red 9-46)
Bilirubin flagged at 1.3 but ref high end 1.2…
For an unrelated work up previously I’ve had imaging done of the abdomen, ultrasound followed by MRI confirmed a hepatic hemangioma 2cm but nothing else noteworthy.
In December I had a CT scan again for unrelated reasons and this again made note of an unremarkable liver except known hemangioma which they see again on the CT.
Of course I’m following up with my doctor but while I’m waiting on next steps any docs out there to put my mind at ease as to have you seen excersise related liver enzymes like this before? Is there a good chance I just overdid my muscles during my workout and it’s making my liver look out of wack? Or should I start worrying?
Also: Male 32 years Light/social drinker (maybe one drink or two on a weekend every couple weeks) 180 lbs, 6’0” Very active with running cycling etc.
Thanks!

I feel like an idiot. My pregnancy brain somehow missed where it said DON'T USE IN TOILETS OR WITH PLUNGER and I followed the other basic instructions. Guess it's time to call maintenance. What a fucking morning.

Hello!
I have a few Apriballs in my Violet game.
I'm looking for the following shinies from any game (Bank, SWSH, BDSP, PLA or SV). I just like collecting shinies so other details don't matter.

Main Wantlist (Gen 1 to 4):

Jynx Elekid Surskit / Masquerain (x2) Lileep / Cradily Cherrim Spiritomb Wooper (Johto) Finneon / Lumineon Mantyke 

Gen 9 / Paldea:

Tandemaus / Maushold (x2) Fidough / Dachsbun Smoliv line (x3) Nacli / Naclstack (x2) Charcadet line (x3) Tadbulb / Bellibolt (x2) Wattrel / Kilowattrel (x2) Maschiff Shroodle / Grafaiai (x2) Bramblin / Brambleghast Toedscool / Toedscruel Klawf Capsakid / Scovillain Rellor / Rabsca Flittle Tinkatink line (x3) Bombirdier Varoom / Revavroom Flamigo Cetoddle / Cetitan (x2) Tatsugiri (x3 - all forms) Wooper (Paldea) / Clodsire (x2) Farigiraf Iron Treads Roaring Moon 

Gen 8 / Galar:

Farfetch'd / Sirfetched (x2) Blipbug line (x3) Nickit / Thievul (x2) Gossifleur / Eldegoss Yamper / Boltund (x2) Rolycoly line (x3) Applin line Silicobra (x2) Arrokuda / Barraskewda (x2) Toxel Toxtricity (Lowkey) Sizzlipede / Centiskorch (x2) Clobbopus / Grapploct (x2) Hatenna line (x3) Impidimp line (x3) Mr. Mime / Mr. Rime (x2) Milcery Falinks Pincurchin Indeedee Morpeko Yamask / Runerigus (Galar) (x2) 

Gen 7 / Alola:

Grubbin line (x3) Crabrawler / Crabominable (x2) Cutiefly / Ribombee (x2) Wishiwashi Mudbray / Mudsdale Dwepider / Araquanid (x2) Fomantis / Lurantis (x2) Bounsweet line (x1) Passimian Wimpod / Golisopod (x2) Sandygast / Palossand (x2) Pyukumuku Minior Komala Turtonator Togedemaru Bruxish Dhelmise 

Gen 6 / Kalos:

Litleo / Pyroar Pacham / Pangoro (x2) Espurr / Moewstic (x2) Spritzee / Aromatisse (x2) Swirlix / Slurpuff (x2) Binacle Tyrunt Amaura / Aurorus (x2) Carbink Phantump (x2) Bergmite 

Gen 5 / Unova:

Lillipup / Herdier (x2) Pansage / Simisage (x2) Pansear / Simisear (x2) Panpour / Simipour (x2) Munna / Musharna (x2) Drilbur / Excadrill (x2) Sewaddle line (x3) Venipede line (x3) Cottonee / Whimsicott (x3) Basculin (White) (x2) Maractus Scraggy / Scrafty (x3) Tirtouga / Carracosta (x2) Archen / Archeops (x2) Zorua (Unova) Solosis line (x3) Ducklett Vanillite line (x3) Deerling (x4) And some more. Too tired to type it out... 

Low Priority:

1 Apriball for 2 of these Rotom (many) Alcremie (need all except except Strawberry & Star) Oricorio (x2) Sawsbuck (Need Spring, Summer & Fall) Squawkabilly (x3 Except Green) 

I am understanding that using a Vermont registration while not living in Vermont can present a legal gray area. Tickets can be given in some areas for having an out of state registration, if you are living in it or using it in a state for a certain amount of time without registering it.
But I couldn't get to the bottom of this in my search - I have found a ton of guides on how to do a new registration with the Vermont loophole (which, again, people generally wisely use to get tagged as a motorhome so they can then register in their state of residence). But I haven't seen any guides on how to transfer registration, if you were already registered, to vermont.
I am assuming I do not need an odometer statement ? Would select "transfer" ; not fill out section 6 ; not pay tax ; not fill out 3b; and include a copy of the out of state registration.
Any advice or knowledge appreciated
-
Registration form - https://dmv.vermont.gov/sites/dmv/files/documents/VD-119-Vehicle_Registration_Tax_Title.pdf
Registration form instructions - https://dmv.vermont.gov/sites/dmv/files/documents/VD-119i-Registration_Tax_Title_Instructions.pdf
Wanderlust guide - https://thewanderlustbus.com/2018/04/22/register-your-bus-without-conversion-in-any-state/#1524378799634-96c1a753-1f71
Be adventure partners gudie - https://beadventurepartners.com/getting-titled-and-registered-as-an-rv-motorhome-in-vermont-without-living-there/