Summary if the bet by chekov

r/sportsbook: free picks bets and sportsbook promos today

2010.09.12 15:58 pejasto r/sportsbook: free picks bets and sportsbook promos today

pick of the day, free sports betting picks, best free picks today, odds today, best sportsbook promos bonus bets, best sportsbooks, free mlb picks, free nfl picks, free nba picks, free college basketball picks, free college football picks, free nhl picks, free soccer picks, free rugby picks, free esports picks, free tennis picks, free pick of the day, free ufc picks, free boxing picks, free f1 picks, free nascar picks
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2011.03.11 03:18 Fragrance Discussions for all Genders

fragrance is an inclusive, adult community for discussing finished retail perfumes and other scented personal and home-care products. • Posts asking for recommendations, shopping advice, and how to wear tips are restricted to the daily thread -- read rules before posting. • See the WIKI for information about how to use fragrance and where to buy it.
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2016.08.01 23:19 SomeRandomUserGuy Cheese and Rice!

That subreddit with no posts and a shitton of subscribers. Taking over reddit, one grain of rice at a time.
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2024.06.01 04:42 _violet_lily [A4A] The Friendly Gift [Friends to ?] [established friendship] [disappearing without saying goodbye] [wholesome] [kind ending] [comfort] [thank you note]

Summary: Your childhood friend has returned to apologize for disappearing without saying goodbye. You have a note that you wanted to give them before they left.
This is my first ever attempt at writing something like this. It's very short, about 550 words.
Feedback is welcome since I am still learning how this creative process works. I can’t really say that it’s finished. I know it says completed scripts but I am unsure.
Script Start
(Typical thunderous rain outside and a knock on the door, door opens)
Hey,
Thanks for waiting…I know it's been an hour since I called and 10 years since…well you know.
I am sorry it's been so long. Can I have a hug?
(hug pull back examining) Wow look at you all grown up!
I'm not crying…you're crying!
But seriously it's been forever. And it's great to see you again
—(asks to take your coat and come in)
Sure yeah thank you…the rain really wouldn’t let up.
It's been like this for weeks now. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it.
—( door close sfx, listener offers hot chocolate)
I would love some hot chocolate thank you.
—(walk a few steps to the kitchen, it’s an apartment, background of cups and pouring, small torch sfx, walking steps toward speaker, hands cup to speaker)
Ah, thank you, after being in the rain… this is the perfect treat.
You’ve always been so perfect…well to me at least.
Almost too perfect actually. *sip*
Ahhh this is the best cup of hot chocolate I’ve ever had.
I bet there are so many best things about you I missed out on. *sip*
Even the marshmallows are lightly toasted, how cool *sip*
Like…what did you do after school?
...
Mmhmm
…oh… *sip*
hahaha no way!....I never would have guessed. *sip*
Did you finally play that cool game you always talked about?
With the character who has cyberware and rides a badass motorcycle…gosh I can’t remember the name…
Which is why I have felt so guilty about leaving you out of my life for so many years.
It’s not as if you did anything wrong.
I just felt…working on myself…was not worth the support of friendship.
It's selfish of me to think that, because of how patient you are. *sip*
I really couldn’t tell you how many times you were willing to help me but I refused.
If only I could relive those days with memories of you…
that would have made this healing process better. *sip*
Like… more rainy days drinking this amazing hot chocolate with you.
—(listener says a kind gesture)
A friendship like ours never goes out of style?
Did you just make that up? Hahahaha
See, this is what I knew I was missing.
Thanks for the Great hot chocolate by the way.
…
Oh...haha I did? Well it's so nice I had to thank you twice.
Is there a secret to your amazing drink?
—(listener tells secret)
Oh you melted milk chocolate chips into it…mmm delicious.
Your talents still have no bounds…that's awesome. (laughs)
Although, I don’t miss your talent for kicking my but during game nights haha
Gosh I missed you.
And I am so so sorry.
(crying a little)
You had a note you wanted to give me?
---paper rustle from note passed to speaker--
You want me to read it…now?
...
ok…
Don't give up on forgiveness.
Forgive yourself
Forgive others
Grant yourself this one kindness.
You are loved and liked and wonderfully made.
Thank you for being my friend.
(speaker puts cup down goes for a long grateful hug)
—listens to the rain a bit and fade out—
END
submitted by _violet_lily to ASMRScriptHaven [link] [comments]

2024.05.31 17:28 matt26128 Theory: Girls only want tall guys because thats what society tells them is acceptable

This is just my opinion, but I feel like without the influence of social media and entertainment that girls would be more open to shorter men. I think it’s because it’s emphasized so much in media and now with dating apps and phones it’s so much easier to filter out what they want. In reality I feel like a guy slightly taller then them is enough, but In their mind the 6ft requirement comes from what they’ve been told by media. They basically feel like they “have to” date a tall man because that’s what seems to be the norm. Sure girls are biologically attracted to taller men, but I feel like for example a 5’2 girl would not mind a 5’7 man, that the height difference is ok. But like I said, it’s just the number that they care about. In reality the guy could be really attractive and she likes how he looks. Until she hears the number. Some girls can’t even tell the difference between a 5’10 and a 6ft man. I have a friend who said a girl was once interested in him until he told her he was 5’11. Literally just because of the number she was suddenly turned off when in reality his height was no issue to her. So in summary, I feel like some girls feel like they have to date a tall man. It’s like for example if a guy likes a shoe brand and wants to buy some shoes, however he’s afraid how he will look if others find out knowing it’s not what’s cool or what’s in style or trending. You ever hear stories of girls liking a short guy but afraid of what her friends will think of her? Again, I don’t think it’s all just what they find attractive, but that they feel like they have to because society tells them so. Girls are pressured into liking tall men by their friends and family, and are raised to believe that bigger=better. They want to be seen in public with a tall man as their “trophy” to say to their friends “oh yeah well look what I pulled.” It’s about status and how they look to others. I’m betting that years ago before social media and phones that girls didn’t care as much and were more open to short guys.
submitted by matt26128 to shortguys [link] [comments]

2024.05.31 16:27 yacht_boy Some Gillette Stadium tips for future attendees (focused on concerts)

I spent so much time searching reddit and other sites trying to figure out the best way to get in and out of Gillette for the Stones last night. With 2 little kids who get up early and a babysitter at $30/hour, getting stuck in a traffic jam for 2-3 hours after the shows just wasn't an option. I have lived in Boston for 24 years and this is the first time I've been to Gillette, largely because of the transportation headaches.
I was surprised at how little concise (heh, this didn't end up being concise) info on the topic exists so I figured I would write it down for the next poor soul trying to figure this out.
So for future stadium-goers, here's a capsule summary of what I learned. This is all based around people coming from the north who want to go home to the north. This is /Boston, after all.
  1. The commuter rail is an option, but it is not a great option. Regular readers of /Boston will be shocked to learn that the MBTA is not efficient. $20 round-trip per person, sells out early and they don't add more trains, last night's train going down experienced over an hour delay, and unless you live very close to South Station you then have to get home late at night. With ubers each way it would have cost the two of us $80-90 in total and taken us nearly twice as long to get home. But if you don't have a car, or live close enough to South Station to make it worthwhile, it exists. The station is a 5 minute walk to the bag check of Gillette, so that part is very easy.
  2. If you're driving, there are a bewildering number of parking options. Gillette is on Route 1, near the intersection of 495/95. You need to make sure your car is positioned to be headed north when you leave, so you want to choose your lot carefully.
  3. There is free parking on the southbound side of Route 1 across from the stadium, but widespread reports of getting stuck in that lot for 90 minutes or more after an event kept us from using it. Also, you'll have to sit in traffic on Route 1 to get there, and you will have to exit southbound on Route 1 then go to 495 and 95 to come back north. Several people reported getting home at 230am after Taylor Swift. If you are fine with this and want to plan on tailgaiting or just napping, there is a delayed-exit lot you can use so you don't have to sit there in traffic. They make you stay 75 minutes after the end of the event before they open it up.
  4. You will likely get an email from ticketmaster offering you the option to pay $50 to park next to the stadium, which is on the north-bound side of Route 1. This is ideal if you are heading north, but you still stand the chance of getting stuck in the traffic jam leaving the parking lot. If you do this, get there very early as traffic on Route 1 in both directions was at a standstill when we arrived at 615pm. There were lots of EV chargers in this lot and many of them were still open at 630 when we walked by.
  5. There is plentiful private parking all around the stadium, at a wide variety of price points. Every homeowner and business within a mile of the stadium is standing outside with a sign. The cheapest I saw was $40. As you get closer to the stadium, it climbs to $60. If you care more about getting out quickly than about saving money, park in a private lot. I believe it gets up to $100 at Rodman Ford, although they donate it to charity. Bring cash, although a couple of people take venmo you can't count on it. A small handful of these places advertise on Spothero and Parkwhiz, but most people aren't doing that. If you want a guaranteed spot, you can buy ahead at one of those sites or at Route One Wine and Spirits but it's probably unnecessary unless you are arriving late.
  6. Somewhere around Rodman Ford, the local authorities take 1 of the southbound lanes of Route 1 and turn it into a contraflow Northbound lane until the exit to 95 a couple of miles up. There is a row of businesses and parking lots on Rte 1 South from the corner of North Street (Papa Gino's on the north side, McDonald's on the South side) all the way to Rodman Ford where I believe you can turn left and get into the contra-flow lane. If you want to tailgate, the lots from Route One Wine and Spirits to Rodman Ford were all very tailgate friendly. No open fires, no kegs. Route One Wine and Spirits was our first pick, but at $85 with fees to pre-pay online I changed my mind. I am not sure exactly, but it looked like they were charging $60 cash if you just showed up. There are several large lots between the liquor store and Rodman.
  7. OK, you've read this far, I'm going to tell you what we did and what we will do again if we go back again. I pointed my GPS to 49 Summer St in Walpole as someone had said they bought parking on parkwhiz there and had a very easy exit. It was sold out online but I figured there would be neighboring businesses selling parking. I drove south down Washington Street in Walpole instead of coming down Route 1. We hit a wall of traffic at the South Walpole United Methodist Church and decided we might as well use their lot. This turned out to be a major win. At $40 cash, it was the cheapest we saw (all others around were also $40 until McDonalds where it went to $50). The money goes to a good cause, there were multiple volunteers there to guide us, it was safe and well-lit, they don't allow anyone to block anyone else in, and they have bathrooms they let you use before and after the show! We could have spent 25 more minutes in traffic to save 10 minutes of walking and paid more for the privilege, but the walk was very pleasant and I will absolutely park there again. Only downside would be if you want to tailgate, it was not tailgate friendly. For that, I would recommend Route One Wine and Spirits or one of the $60 lots just south of it, and get there early to spend less time sitting in traffic on Route 1.
  8. We left at peak rush hour from Roxbury at 5pm and arrived at the church at 6:15pm, just followed google as it re-routed us around traffic. When we arrived, the lot was less than half full. When we left, it was evident they had sold it out. Not sure how long it took to sell out. There were many more $40 spots in people's yards along the way to Route One that were a minute or two less walking.
  9. The walk to the stadium was fine. There is a path from McDonald's to Rodman Ford where you cross Route 1. That path is bordered by the longest wall of poison ivy I have ever seen in my life. You have been warned.
  10. They were enforcing the no bags policy, except for a small clear plastic clutch. There was a privately run box truck in the parking lot that was offering to store purses and bags for a fee. Other than that, security was light, just a metal detector. There were cops and swat teams everywhere, though. If you wanted to bring in a plastic flask, I don't think they would find it. Not that I would encourage anyone to break the law.
  11. We went through security towards the field entrance, then walked up a massive staircase and got into Patriot Place. This was my first time there and I was pleasantly surprised by the options. There was chain-restaurant food at every price point, including places advertising $5 beers and $6 margaritas but also including places like Davios if you want to make a big night of it. We ate at Achilitos Tacos and it was cheaper than eating in Boston. $10 for a taco plate, the two of us ate for under $40 with sodas and chips/guac, including tip. About 10 minutes in line, plenty of seating. On the way back to the stadium, we discovered that we would have to go back through security at the top of those stairs. That added another 10-15 minutes of standing in line. This was the only entrance from Patriot Place to the GA/floor seats.
  12. The show was advertised as a 7:30 start and they meant it. Opening act started on time. Headliner came on at 8:50 and played exactly 2 hours including the encore. Not sure if all bands follow that exact schedule but it's a good bet they stick close to it. Note this was 30 minutes earlier start and end than every other show on the Stones tour to date.
  13. Sound was surprisingly mediocre for the world's biggest rock band. I forgot my earplugs but it was tolerable where we were standing. If I was closer to the stage I would have wanted them. Rear GA had huge light towers that blocked most of the view. Field bathrooms were just portable toilets with a long line. Only booze on the field is Bud Light and Mich Ultra. We bailed on the field during the opening act and went up to the concourse. Much better beer options up there, and real bathrooms.
  14. Edited to add: $14 big bud lights. $16 16 ounce tall boys of craft beer on the concourse, surprisingly good selection. $17 tap of Bissell Brothers. Alcohol sales end when the headliner starts! You read that right. No beer once the show starts, except for a couple of the guys walking around with bud lights on the concourse until they sold out.
  15. We found a spot in standing room on the concourse facing the stage dead center. There is a handrail with a place to put drinks. The handrail spots were gone early but we stood one row back. The top row of seats is at the same level so when those people stood up we had two rows of people in front of us. People were hanging out and talking to each other. Sound was better. We could see the screens. We stayed there most of the show then went back to the field for the last half hour. Standing in the end zone and looking up at the crowd was cool, but the view of the band was still terrible. It was a fun vibe down there, though. Walking off the field and out to the parking lot was completely painless.
  16. Our tickets were GA floor. We stayed through the end of the encore at 10:50pm, walked out the rear of the stadium, and were back at our car 31 minutes after we started walking. This includes about 5 minutes of delays on the walking path where a fellow patron had a medical incident and they had an ambulance crew blocking us. Stopped at the bathroom in the church, jumped in the car, headed north on Washington and it was less than 40 minutes from door to door with absolutely no traffic at all. Home just before midnight!
submitted by yacht_boy to boston [link] [comments]

2024.05.31 12:04 FancyInvestment397 Bovada Review [Updated 2024]

Bovada Review [Updated 2024]
Bovada is one of the most popular gambling sites worldwide. It has entertained online gamblers in the US since 2011, and is best known for its casino and sportsbook betting. It also has a robust casino offering with one of the largest online live dealer lobbies around.
Bovada Review
Pros
  • Tiered Loyalty Rewards Program Redeemable for Cash Bonuses
  • Great Mobile Live Betting Interface
  • Excellent Prop Builder
Cons
  • Lack of Bonuses & Promotions for Returning Players
  • Free Withdrawals Only Available Every 90 Days
  • Demo Mode Not Available on all Games

Bovada Key Details

Country Available: USA
Device Compatibility: Android, Apple & Windows
Available Games: Blackjack, Video Poker, Slots, Roulette, Live Dealer, Craps…
Casino: Yes
Sportsbook: Yes
License: Curaçao
Online Since: 2011
Min. Deposit: $10
Payout Speed: 1 hour – 15 Business Days
>>> Get Welcome Bonus 125% up to $3,750
Overall, Bovada has a lot going for it, but one of the things I love most is it has a welcome bonus for all the main attractions hence, no matter which part of the site you use, a bonus awaits. For example, the Welcome Bonus can be used anywhere — in the sportsbook, racebook, or the casino. And, it’s an enticing offer for the casual gambler, it features a 50% match up to $250 with low wager requirements of 5x Sports, 5x Horses, and 30x Casino.
One of the many things that makes Bovada stand out is its Zone Poker feature. It makes the best use of your time by automatically placing you in another game after you fold instead of waiting for the next hand. Now that’s what I call poker efficiency!

Bovada User Interface

Bovada has an easy-to-use interface with a modern sports theme. My first impression vof Bovada is that the organization of the site is well done. For instance, the five main categories — Sports, Casino, Live Dealer, Poker, and Horses are displayed prominently at the top of the screen. Additionally, the navigation menus are across the top of the home page, in a drop-down menu on the right, and in the footer. Search features are readily available for each casino and sportsbook category.
Bovada Interface
TIP: You can be in the sportsbook and play mini-casino games while you wager on your favorite teams. A pop-up box allows you to play casino titles while remaining in the sportsbook.
The help section provides lots of information, but support methods like email and live chat are hard to find. For instance, after clicking on a help topic, a prompt asking if you found what you need appears. If you select NO, a box appears with email and live chat contacts. The user experience would be better if Bovada made the support options easier to find. Another user feature Bovada lacks is the ability to store or mark favorite games for the casino and a place to store live bets.

Bovada Sportsbook

Bovada has live betting, and you can also bet on all the major sports and sporting events, plus an array of niche sports like darts, cycling, and virtual sports. The sportsbook also has political, entertainment, e-sports, and motorsports betting options.
Bovada Sportsbook
There are dozens of sports to choose from, and the popularity of a given sport depends on the time of the year. The most popular sports during their respective regular seasons are baseball, basketball, and American football.
The prop builder and bet slip help you keep tabs on your wagers. You can also customize the calendar feature to see what is currently live, what is available in the next three or six hours, and what is available tomorrow. There were no contests available at the time of my review. However, there are two sportsbook bonuses. You can use them exclusively for sports or combine them with the casino or racebook.
Right now at the Bovada sportsbook, you can play their free Football Runner Game. Players get points by collecting as many crypto coins as they can while running and jumping over obstacles. The more points you score, the higher you progress up the leaderboard. You can win free crypto, free spins, free bets, and the first-place winner each week will receive an $800 Prezzee gift voucher. Entering is free, you simply need to sign up and make at least one deposit. Leaderboards are refreshed each week, so get in on the action during NFL season!

Available Sports to Bet on at Bovada

Bovada has a large selection of sports betting options. As a matter of fact, the site is excellent for a variety of sports, and it has competitive odds. For instance, these betting markets include:

Bovada Betting Types

I found the following bets and limits at Bovada. The betting types are typical of other online sportsbooks like BetUS and BetOnline. Here is a comprehensive overview of what is currently available.
Limits can double for elite games
5 innings for MLB
https://preview.redd.it/o0l9iv7zgq3d1.png?width=1216&format=png&auto=webp&s=98f1f1bb89efba25ec9451ff88a98ec8feb9f20d

Live Betting Options at Bovada

Bovada also features live betting options for those who like to make decisions during the game. All the current events, the scenarios you can bet on, and the odds display on the screen in real-time.
Live betting odds change in real-time, so if you see something you want to bet on, click it and place your wager quickly. Odds can change in a few seconds.
You can add single bets or multiples to the bet slip before confirming. It is a neat feature and allows you to place exotic/multiples. If combining bets to make a parlay, you can get much bigger payouts, but your chances of winning decrease dramatically. You can also place multiple wagers as single bets.
Bovada does not have the option to watch live games at this time.

Bovada Casino

Bovada has 150+ casino games. You can play slots, Hot Drop Jackpots, blackjack, roulette, baccarat, poker, video poker, bingo, craps, and there is a live dealer platform. Popular game titles at Bovada include:
  • Classic Blackjack
  • Golden Buffalo
  • Reels and Wheels XL
  • Golden Buffalo Hot Drop Jackpots
  • 777 Deluxe
  • Blackjack Early Payout
  • 10 Times Vegas
  • Blackjack
  • American Roulette
  • Year of the Rabbit
  • Mythic Wolf
  • A Night With Cleo
Hot Drop Jackpots are progressive jackpot slot games with huge payouts. They are rare – not every online casino offers them, and they have hourly, daily, and super jackpots with a $300,000 payout. One of the great features of Hot Drops titles is the handy countdown timer that tells you when the next jackpot will drop.
The casino uses well-known software providers Rival Gaming, RealTime Gaming, and Revolver Gaming. A brief overview of the game, how to play, rules, wagers, and also pay tables are viewable by clicking on the game. I like that it keeps track of games you play, but a favorites’ marker would be even better.
Bovada has a few unique titles that can be hard to find at other online casinos. During my review, I found the following games:
  • Andar Bahar
  • Teen Patti
  • Pai Gow

Slots

There are 130+ slot titles from software provider Rival Gaming. Many games have free spins, scatter symbols, wilds, and also jackpots. Variations include:
  • Three-reel
  • Five-reel
  • I-slots
  • Progressive jackpots
  • 3D slots
777 Deluxe is a jackpot slot with five reels and three pay lines. One of the features I like about this title is it has a bonus game. To access the bonus game, you need three bonus symbols. Bonus games are fun because they give you an extra chance to pad your bankroll.
One of the other slot titles I tried is 10 Times Vegas. The design is a classic slot game with three reels and three pay lines. I chose it because the idea of winning a large jackpot is exciting. However, I found the gameplay and graphics to be bland. If you like the classic look, then you may enjoy it. But if you’re looking for something more engaging, I suggest trying something like Golden Buffalo Hot Drop Jackpots. It has six reels and four pay lines and features more opportunities to win with multipliers and bonus symbols that can trigger up to 100 free spins.

Table Games

The table game selection at Bovada is impressive compared to other online casinos. I especially like that both welcome bonuses include all the table games except craps. Incidentally, craps are hard to find at online casinos, so Bovada gets extra points for having the title available.
Surprisingly I found 19 table game variations with instructional guides. Bovada has a great selection of table games compared to other online casinos. In addition to classic table games like roulette, baccarat, craps, and poker titles, Bovada also has the following:

Blackjack

I found seven blackjack titles during my Bovada review. There were no specific blackjack bonuses, but there is a comprehensive guide for each title with details on how to play, rules, pay tables, and a glossary. Blackjack is extremely popular among players, accounting for nearly a third of the casino’s total handle.
I tried these popular blackjack games during my review. I especially like the layout Bovada uses. For instance, everything is easily accessible, and the buttons and features are well organized.
  • Classic Blackjack
  • Zappit Blackjack
  • European Blackjack
  • Perfect Pairs

Video Poker

You can choose between four casino welcome bonuses to play the eight video poker games. Each game features instructions, rules, and also pay tables. If you’re new to video poker, the instructional guides are a tremendous help for learning how to play.
I sampled the following 1-hand and 10-hand games:
  • Bonus Deuces Wild 1 Hand
  • Double Double Bonus Poker 1 Hand
  • Jacks or Better 1 Hand
  • Joker Poker 10 Hand

Live Dealer

If you are craving social interaction, Bovada does that too. The casino has a live dealer lobby that is open 24/7 with table limits ranging between $1-$3,000 — so there is literally a budget for every type of player. At the time of my review, there were no eligible bonuses for the live dealer platform. However, Bovada has one of the largest live dealer platforms I have seen when conducting online reviews. There are 40+ tables where you can take a seat!
Here is an overview of what the live dealer platform offers:
  • 32 Blackjack Tables – Table Limits Range Between $5 – $10,000
  • Five American and European RouletteTables – Table Limits Range Between $1-$3,000
  • Two Baccarat Tables – Table Limits Range Between $5-$2,500
  • Two Super 6 Tables – Table Limits Range Between $5-$2,500
There are dozens of live dealer tables to choose from, but Bovada members love their blackjack tables the most. It is the most popular live dealer game among players at this casino.

Bovada Poker Room

One of the things Bovada is known for is its poker room. There are six poker tournament options, a poker welcome bonus for new players, and also stakes to fit all sizes of bankrolls. What is more, you can even download poker for Mac and Windows.
The poker room is compatible with iOS and Android. In fact all you need to do is use the mobile browser on your smart device, and you are ready to play mobile poker.

Above all, Bovada has some excellent tools to help keep your poker game at optimal levels. I found these special features during my review:
  • Chat feature with emojis
  • All-in percentage feature
  • Select your card design
  • Customize your table theme
  • Change seat positions
  • View hole cards from previous hands
  • Instant Heads-Up Rematch
  • Single session player notes
  • Rabbit Cam
  • Hand history re-player

Types of Poker Games

Texas Hold ‘Em, Omaha, and Omaha Hi/Lo are available in the poker room and have the following betting structures:
  • No-Limit
  • Pot-Limit
  • Fixed Limit
Tip: Select Quick Seat Poker after choosing your poker game to be seated at the next available cash game table.

Poker Tournaments

There are six poker tournament categories at Bovada with hundreds of options for tournament play, including a 150K Guaranteed Poker Tournament and a 100K Guaranteed High Roller Tournament every Sunday.

In summary, here is a sample of the many poker tournaments available:

Zone Poker

After you fold, you automatically move to another table with new hole cards. It allows you to play twice as many hands in the same time. Bovada allows two Zone Poker tables to be in play simultaneously.

Jackpot Sit & Go

The Jackpot Sit & Go tournament is ideal for poker players who are short on time and have a low overall buy-in limit. The format is three-player Texas Hold ‘Em, and buy-ins range from $2-$100.
Each player starts with 300 chips. The tournament is available 24/7, and you can play up to four games.

Knockout Tournaments

When you eliminate someone from a Knockout Tournament, their purse credits to your account. Additionally, there are three types of Knockout Tournaments at Bovada:
  • $5 Knockout Tournaments
  • Knockout Sit & Go Tournaments
  • Progressive Knockout Tournaments

Bovada Bonuses and Promotions

Bovada has a great selection of bonuses and promotions, catering to sportsbook, casino and also poker players. Additionally, there is special bonuses for crypto users. One of the things I especially love are the low rollover requirements for the bonuses. Hence this means you have a chance at cashing in at Bovada, even as a casual player or someone with a limited bankroll.

Bovada Sportsbook and Casino Welcome Bonuses

Sportsbook bonuses at Bovada include the choice between two welcome bonuses. Both options apply to the sportsbook, racebook, and casino.

50% up to $250 Sports Welcome Bonus

When you deposit a minimum of $20, you can claim 50% up to $250 of your initial sportsbook deposit. This bonus has just a 5x rollover—one of the lowest on the market. Hence, this is perfect if you are a casual player hoping to get in on the bonus action. Bovada is also offering players a bonus offer of up to $1,000 if they use the promo code BV1000.

75% up to $750 Bitcoin Sports Bonus

If you are a sports fan who likes to use crypto, this bonus is for you. With this offer, you can claim up to 75% of your first Bitcoin deposit up to $750. It also has a 5x rollover—making it easy to cash in.

100% up to $3,000 Casino Deposit Bonus

Casino players can claim 100% up to $1,000 on their first three deposits! To reach the $3,000 total, you must first match a 25x rollover for each deposit. At any rate, this rollover is higher than the sportsbook, but is lower than most competitors for casino bonuses.
To claim on your first deposit, use bonus code: CAWELCOME100. Then, to claim on the following two deposits, use bonus code: BV2NDCWB.

125% up to $3,750 Casino Bitcoin Welcome Bonus

Once again, if you like crypto, Bovada has an even higher offer. You can claim 125% up to $1,250 for each of your first three Bitcoin casino deposits for a grand total of $3,750. However, there is a 25x rollover to claim this as well. Use BTCCWB1250 to activate your first deposit, and then use BTC2NDCWB for the second and third deposits.

100% up to $500 Poker Welcome Bonus

Card sharks can cash in on a 100% up to $500 welcome bonus for the Bovada poker room. To claim this bonus, make a $20 minimum deposit and enter this bonus code: PWB500. The welcome bonus then releases in $5 increments for every 150 poker reward points you earn.

Refer a Friend Promotion

If you refer a friend to Bovada, and they make a deposit, you can earn a 200% match bonus of up to $200. Rollover requirements are as follows for the promotions:
  • 5x Sports
  • 5x Horses
  • 30x Casino
  • 30x Poker
To redeem, the referral must have a successful deposit of at least $20. If the referred person uses cryptocurrency to make their first deposit, you are eligible for an additional $75. However, the crypto rollovers are slightly less for the poker room and casino.
  • 5x Sports
  • 5x Horses
  • 25x Casino
  • 25x Poker

Bovada Loyalty Program

The Bovada Loyalty program assigns points for making sports bets, participating in poker games and tournaments, racebook betting, and playing casino games. The tiered loyalty club points are redeemable for cash bonuses and range from 1–60 points for every dollar spent. Of course, point assignments differ according to the game played, or the wager made.

Mobile Gaming at Bovada

Bovada is compatible with both iOS and Android devices. But a download is not required. Instead, a reliable internet connection is all you need, and you can access the site directly through the browser on your phone.

When I tested Bovada on my smartphone, the pages loaded quickly, and the game selection and sportsbook features were exactly as the desktop version. I especially like the way the live betting section of the sportsbook looked on my phone. Everything was easy to digest even though it’s on a smaller screen. I was also thrilled to see that all of the casino games and the live dealer casino were available for mobile.
Additionally, I was pleasantly surprised to learn all of Bovada’s poker features are available on mobile. You have full access to all of Bovada’s cash poker games, and you can also access the Zone Poker feature—which means you can play games like Texas Hold’Em and Omaha Hi/Lo on your phone. However, I think the thing I like the most about Bovada’s mobile version is you can play poker tournaments. These include the one-table and multi-table tournaments and the series tournaments like Jackpot Sit & Go’s and the Super Millions Poker Open.

How to Download the Bovada App

If you’re looking for instructions on how to download the Bovada online app, we’ve got you covered. As you’ll see in a moment, it’s very simple to get started.
Unlike some other online casinos, the Bovada app doesn’t actually require a download. Instead, it’s all web-based. Thanks to this, you don’t have to worry if you’ve got enough space on your smartphone or tablet for the software.
To begin using the Bovada app, simply visit the main Bovada website on your web browser. Once there, you’ll be able to open an account and make your initial deposit. Once those steps are done, you’ll be ready to start betting on sports and online casino games from the palm of your hand using a tablet or smartphone. One of the other perks of the Bovada online app not requiring a download is it makes it practically universal across device brands and types. No matter if you’re using the Bovada iPhone app or the Bovada Android app, you should be able to enjoy everything Bovada has to offer as long as your device isn’t more than a few years old.

Bovada Banking Options

Banking methods at Bovada include credit cards, cryptocurrency, digital wallets, player transfers, vouchers, Check by Courier, Match Pay, bank wire, and Zelle. Accordingly, the deposit and withdrawal fees vary. For instance, the first credit card deposit is free, but subsequent fees are 15.9% or more, depending on the card. Vouchers, cryptocurrency, and player transfers are the only banking methods with zero fees.
Cryptocurrency banking is free and fast. Deposits are available almost instantly, and withdrawals are available within 1-24 hours. Bitcoin is the most popular crypto option, with over 90% of crypto members choosing it as their payment method.
Payout times also vary greatly depending on the method you use. Times can range from 1 hour up to 15 days. For example, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin SV, Ethereum, USD Tether, and Litecoin payouts are in your account within one hour after approval. In contrast, check by courier and wire transfer payouts take 10-15 business days. If you use a voucher, there is a 24-hour processing time before you receive your code.

Bovada Customer Support

Bovada has a live chat feature, email, and a help center. The help center is a great tool for finding quick answers, but if you cannot find what you are looking for or need more details—the fastest method is live chat. Email responses take up to 48 hours.
I used the chat feature to ask a question about the live dealer platform and then received a prompt reply. But the chat and email support options are not easy to find. They are in the help center. To access it, select a topic and scroll to the bottom of the page. Finally, you will see a prompt that says, did you find what you were looking for? Then, if you select No, email and live chat support appear.
  • Live chat is the quickest way to contact Bovada. To use the chat feature, you must visit the help center, select any question, and scroll to the bottom. Reply No to “Did you find what you were looking for?” A contact box appears with a chat and email instructions.
  • Emails can be sent to service@bovada.lv and are answered within 48 hours.
  • The help center features many topics. It also has how-to videos and a Bovada Community where you can share feedback and interact with fellow Bovada users.

Safety & Security at Bovada

Bovada is a safe and secure site. It has been online since 2011 and has reputable software providers with years of casino gaming experience.
  • Bovada uses SSL encryption to protect sensitive data.
  • Its license is with the Curacao Gaming Authority.
  • It uses Know Your Customer policies (KYC) to verify account information.
The KYC practice ensures account validity and helps prevent others from accessing your account and banking credentials. The process requires you to answer security questions and receive a confirmation email.

Final Verdict

Bovada is a diverse site with something for every type of gambler. I love the poker room tournament options, the casinos progressive jackpot selection, and the live betting in the sportsbook. Above all, Bovada has hard-to-find titles like Teen Patti and Craps.
The Sports Welcome Bonus is excellent for people that like variety without over-extending their bankroll. Its a 50% match up to $250 and is also available in the sportsbook, on the horses, or in the casino.
Bonuses for returning players and the navigation for customer support need to be improved, but overall, Bovada is a great entertainment platform.
submitted by FancyInvestment397 to bestcasinosusa [link] [comments]

2024.05.31 10:15 tradingwhistleblower Wake up, Neo

Do you remember that scene in The Matrix where Neo realizes that everything is fake, when he spots that glitch in the Matrix by the black cat passing by? That the world around him is just created for him to believe and to follow one path, to stay in that one reality? This is kind of the same thing.
So we're gonna say here, wake up, NEO. We call this unveiling the truth of the brokerage and prop firm industry.
99.9% of people who trade on brokers assume that if they place a trade, that trade actually enters the market. They believe that the trade moves something and impacts something.
Let's say you trade USD/JPY, and you take $30,000 of your hard-earned money or that your parents gave you for your bar mitzvah and put it into a broker.
Then you use that to go 100x leverage on a Japanese Yen trade. It is quite a cool feeling to think that you participate in the international markets, and that you have some sort of impact.
But, dear friends, the truth is, you are not. Most brokers use one thing called B-Book. Here's a summary of what A-Book and B-Book are:
So what went from, "Hey, we're just a broker, and we make money on spreads and commissions, and we kind of all know that this business is not really that great because you have to push people to trade more and more," to, "Hey, we just internalize all of your trades. We know that maybe 97% or 98% of day traders are not really profitable."
Imagine a beautiful business model where you can keep the deposits or trades and never pass them on. That's really nice, isn't it?
The technology your brokers are working with looks for probability detection. It’s built by a couple of 200-iq quant guys who really love statistical models.
They say:
"Okay, if you're from that demographic, that age, trade at this time with this behavior, you are probably not profitable."
They never pass on your trades if you are labeled in their system as not profitable. If you are, in an unlikely way, profitable, they pass on your trades, and you get A-Booked.
But the beautiful thing is that if you get A-Booked, your trades get passed on to another market participant. And maybe this market participant says, "Hey, wait a second. What if that trade is not profitable?" Then this market participant B-Books you.
So nobody ever actually knows who’s a booking. Nobody knows.
Insider rumors suggest that if you, as a broker, send too much profitable traffic to an LP, they will eventually cut your order flow and tell you to go elsewhere.
So if you are a participant in forex or stocks, or let's just call it the national market, you never ever know if your trade actually reaches any kind of liquidity provider. You're basically a single small fish trading against the banks, the algorithms, the big machines, and it's all built for you to fail.
You’re kind of stuck in an endless b-book limbo. Is it fake, or is it just a dream? Nobody knows?
In another episode of this article, we'll also write about prop firms because this is really a dream come true of A-B booking, and market participants are just really betting against you.
It’s you vs the machines all over again.
Stay safe out there, and know that it's all B-Book.
Or that while it all seems fun and games, and you think your broker wants you to win because they have “educational blogs” on their website, they’re making (more) money if you lose.
How to escape?
Well, there’s a link to my telegram link in the description… just kidding.
I guess you find a good mentor (I’m not one of them), spend some time on the charts, and realise that you’re one nervous wreck of an emotional being that is naturally not built to trade.
But I still think you can make it.
Beat the odds.
submitted by tradingwhistleblower to TradingInsiderSecrets [link] [comments]

2024.05.31 07:47 Observing_silver Men don’t wanna marry; because they hate womenkind now.

This is gonna be a rant, because I have kept these feelings inside me for quite sometime and I need to vent it out.
I have been seeing a lots of posts these days related to marriages, divorces and relationships. In many of the posts, some partner cheats and the wife has to be played alimony. I also saw those posts related to Hardik-Natasha divorce. In the comment section, it is filled with comments like- I am not gonna marry. And it is the fault of marriage and whatnot. Women are devils who take half of the property.
2 days back I also fought with my male best friend who said the same things that he fears marrying because his wife may have a past and one day she will leave him.
Men who are saying that they not gonna marry ever {likely in age group of 18-25} don’t realize that they don’t hate marriage but they fear that their marriage will fail. Their thinking is likely from the fact that they have been seeing how their mothers used to serve their fathers in all ways possible and never said a thing for her own pleasure or happiness ; but nowadays women are standing for their own rights and freedom and happiness. They cant stand the fact that we are humans too and not mere slaves.
They don’t wanna live with us because they think we gonna take “their hard earned property”. Buddy, if your relationship and marriages is failing it may because of the fact that you may not be able to satisfy your wife’s needs and wants. I personally believe that if women in married status should be satisfied in every possible way, physically- no violence, mentally- love and support, respect, sexually, and financially. Many times it is the fault of those self entitled in laws who think we are not their daughters but their servants and if we ever raise our voice, then all hell gets loose. If we are satisfied in even 75-80% of the topics, the marriage WILL NEVER FAIL.
BUT the problem is husbands cant satisfy their wives anymore, that’s the only reason a female may go to find love somewhere else. I don’t justify cheating, and a cheater can be both male or female . and also some girls are pure ‘Kaleshi’, I cant defend them aswell.
I personally like the concept of marriage but not in traditional sense, where a women I bound at home doing all the chores and cooking and listening to all the slurs by her in laws and the husband takes no responsibility for his parents behavior , then himself abuses her wife in ways.
I like and respect the concept of marriages because it gives stability in life and also stability to the society. No society can flourish without any stability. But I would appreciate the idea of marriage where the women is loved , supported and respected in the relation. That would be harmonious. It is the devils inside people and the accumulated trauma which makes them abuse the girls in marriage.
Is asking for respect and love in marriage a lot to ask? Some adjustment and compromises should be done by the female too; but why does the burden of compromise always falls on the Girl?
If you have problem with laws which defend women in judiciary, then ask your government to make laws to save you from devilish women, as we are. Males already have atleast 85% Representation in Parliament and close to 90% Representation in State legislatures.
If, you as a male person, isn’t good enough in one way, a female may adjust and even try to find happiness and solutions for problems in marriage. But if a male is abusive and weak and mentally traumatizing, then your marriage is bound to fail.
And people who say in comment section- ‘ All I can hear is that don’t get married.’; buddy, YOU ARENT GOOD ENOUGH to MARRY ANYONE. And any girl who will marry you unfortunately[ obviously your parents gonna arrange her for you, because you scuk] will leave you. Sometimes I pity these boys too, who never had a positive female interaction in life then think the whole womenkind is their enemy. I bet not even your own sister had ever loved you.
You haven’t done anything in society impacting work, and If you cant find love on this Earth, , then what good is your existence in this realm. You definitely don’t deserve any love with these type of ideologies. People who are so starved for love, actually become assaulters in life: because who gonna stop them from doing heinous crimes- government, laws, society, relatives, they don’t care.
{ Sometimes I wanna marry a woman, itna kalesh kon jhelega in ladkon aur unke parents ka, shaadi k baad}
Summary- Men now hate the concept of the marriage , and I hate the fact that the are putting the burden of their hatred on us, womenkind.
submitted by Observing_silver to TwoXIndia [link] [comments]

2024.05.31 06:20 SubjectLocal5498 The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Cricket Prediction Site: Why Cricaza Leads the Game

Introduction
What is a Cricket Prediction Site?
Definition and Purpose
A cricket prediction site is a platform where you can find expert analyses, forecasts, and statistical data to predict outcomes of cricket matches. These sites aim to provide accurate predictions to enhance your viewing experience or aid in making informed decisions if you're involved in betting.
Evolution of Prediction Sites in Cricket
Cricket prediction sites have evolved significantly over the years. Initially, they relied on basic statistical data and fan opinions. Today, they use sophisticated algorithms, AI, and data analytics to deliver more accurate and reliable predictions. The integration of expert insights and real-time data has also enhanced the quality of predictions.
Why Do Cricket Prediction Sites Matter?
Importance for Enthusiasts
For cricket enthusiasts, prediction sites add a layer of excitement and engagement to the sport. By providing insights into potential outcomes, they deepen your understanding and appreciation of the game.
Benefits for Bettors
For bettors, accurate predictions can be a game-changer. These sites offer valuable data and analysis that can help you make informed decisions, potentially increasing your chances of winning.
Introducing Cricaza: The Leading Cricket Prediction Site
Overview of Cricaza
Cricaza is a premier cricket prediction site known for its accuracy, user-friendly interface, and comprehensive coverage of cricket matches worldwide. It combines advanced algorithms with expert analysis to deliver top-notch predictions.
Key Features and Offerings
Cricaza offers a wide range of features, including live match insights, player performance analysis, and detailed statistics. Its user-friendly platform ensures you can easily navigate and access the information you need.
Understanding Cricket Prediction Sites
How Cricket Prediction Sites Work
Algorithms and Data Analysis
These sites use sophisticated algorithms and extensive data analysis to predict match outcomes. By analyzing past performances, current form, and numerous other variables, they generate forecasts that are both accurate and insightful.
Role of Experts and Analysts
In addition to algorithms, expert analysts play a crucial role. Based on years of experience and a deep understanding of the game, their insights add a layer of accuracy and reliability to the predictions.
Types of Predictions Offered
Match Predictions
Match predictions focus on the overall outcome of a cricket match, such as which team will win or whether the match will end in a draw.
Player Performance Predictions
These predictions delve into individual performances, forecasting how well specific players will perform in various aspects of the game, such as batting, bowling, and fielding.
Tournament Predictions
Tournament predictions provide insights into the overall outcomes of cricket tournaments, including which team is likely to win the tournament or advance to certain stages.
Key Features to Look For
Accuracy of Predictions
Historical Accuracy Rates
A reliable cricket prediction site should have a proven track record of accuracy. Look for historical accuracy rates to gauge the site's reliability.
User Testimonials and Reviews
User testimonials and reviews can provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of a prediction site. Positive feedback from users is often a good indicator of reliability.
User-Friendly Interface
Ease of Navigation
A user-friendly interface is essential for a smooth experience. The site should be easy to navigate, with clear menus and accessible information.
Mobile Accessibility
In today's mobile-centric world, having a mobile-friendly site is crucial. Ensure the prediction site offers a seamless experience on smartphones and tablets.
Real-Time Updates
Live Match Insights
Real-time updates and live match insights keep you informed of the latest developments. This feature is essential for making timely decisions.
Dynamic Predictions
Dynamic predictions that adjust based on real-time data and changing match conditions can provide more accurate and relevant forecasts.
Comprehensive Data and Statistics
Depth of Data Coverage
A good prediction site should offer comprehensive data coverage, including detailed statistics on teams, players, and past matches.
Historical Data Availability
Access to historical data is crucial for making informed predictions. Look for sites that provide extensive historical data for thorough analysis.
Expert Analysis and Insights
Profiles of Analysts
Knowing the background and expertise of the analysts can enhance your trust in their predictions. Look for sites that highlight the profiles of their analysts.
Value of Expert Commentary
Expert commentary adds depth to the predictions, offering insights that algorithms alone might miss. This combination of data and human expertise can be invaluable.
Cricaza: A Deep Dive
Cricaza's Unique Selling Points
What Sets Cricaza Apart
Cricaza stands out due to its combination of advanced algorithms, expert analysis, and user-friendly interface. It offers a holistic approach to cricket predictions.
Special Features Exclusive to Cricaza
Cricaza offers unique features such as personalized prediction feeds, interactive user forums, and in-depth match analysis that you won't find elsewhere.
User Experience on Cricaza
User Interface and Experience
Cricaza's interface is designed with the user in mind, offering easy navigation, intuitive design, and quick access to key features and information.
User Feedback and Satisfaction Rates
High user satisfaction rates and positive feedback highlight the effectiveness and reliability of Cricaza's predictions.
Cricaza's Accuracy and Reliability
Historical Performance
Cricaza has a strong track record of accuracy, backed by detailed historical performance data that showcases its reliability.
Case Studies and Success Stories
Case studies and success stories from users demonstrate the real-world effectiveness of Cricaza's predictions.
Cricaza's Community and Support
User Community and Forums
Cricaza fosters a vibrant user community, offering forums where users can discuss predictions, share insights, and connect with fellow cricket enthusiasts.
Customer Support Quality
Cricaza's customer support is top-notch, providing timely and helpful assistance to users, enhancing the overall experience.
Comparing Top Cricket Prediction Sites
Cricaza vs. Competitors
Comparison with Other Leading Sites
When compared to other leading sites, Cricaza consistently ranks high in terms of accuracy, user experience, and feature set.
Pros and Cons of Each
Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of Cricaza and its competitors to determine which site best meets your needs.
User Reviews and Ratings
Aggregated User Reviews
Aggregated user reviews provide a comprehensive view of Cricaza's performance and user satisfaction compared to other sites.
Site Ratings and Rankings
Look at site ratings and rankings to see how Cricaza stands against the competition in various categories.
How to Maximize Your Experience
Tips for Using Cricket Prediction Sites Effectively
Best Practices
Follow best practices such as setting a budget, using multiple sources for predictions, and keeping track of your predictions to improve your experience.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Avoid common pitfalls like relying solely on predictions without your own research or chasing losses.
Leveraging Predictions for Gaming
Strategies for Betting
Developing effective Gaming strategies based on predictions can enhance your chances of success. Consider factors like odds, match conditions, and team form.
Responsible Gaming Practices
Always practice responsible gaming by setting limits, betting within your means, and taking breaks when needed.
Future of Cricket Prediction Sites
Technological Advances in Prediction Sites
AI and Machine Learning in Predictions
The integration of AI and machine learning is revolutionizing cricket prediction sites, making predictions more accurate and insightful.
Future Trends to Watch
Keep an eye on future trends such as enhanced real-time data analysis, virtual reality integrations, and personalized user experiences.
The Growing Popularity of Cricket Prediction Sites
User Growth and Market Expansion
Cricket prediction sites are experiencing rapid growth in user base and market expansion, driven by increasing interest in cricket and advancements in technology.
Impact on the Cricket Prediction Industry
These sites are transforming the cricket predictionindustry by providing more accurate predictions and enhancing user engagement.
Conclusion
Summary of Key Points
Recap of Important Information
To recap, cricket prediction sites like Cricaza offer valuable insights and predictions that enhance your cricket experience. Look for key features such as accuracy, user-friendly interface, real-time updates, and expert analysis.
Final Thoughts on Choosing the Best Cricket Prediction Site
When choosing the best cricket prediction site, consider factors such as accuracy, features, user experience, and support. Cricaza stands out as a leading option, offering a comprehensive and reliable service. Always practice responsible use of these sites to maximize your enjoyment and benefits.
submitted by SubjectLocal5498 to u/SubjectLocal5498 [link] [comments]

2024.05.31 04:45 ThefinancialReporter $2000 per month into savings, what should you plan to do with it to get good returns?

$2000 per month into savings, what should you plan to do with it to get good returns?
To achieve good returns on your investments, consider the following strategies:
https://preview.redd.it/ipswl6rjdo3d1.png?width=602&format=png&auto=webp&s=078197bd9bc7615215d579cfcd42298aaad0409d
  1. Diversify Your Portfolio: Spread your investments across various asset classes (stocks, bonds, real estate, etc.) and sectors to reduce risk.
  2. Invest in Quality Stocks: Focus on companies with strong fundamentals, good management, and a history of profitability. Blue-chip stocks are often a good choice.
  3. Consider Index Funds or ETFs: These provide broad market exposure and tend to have lower fees compared to actively managed funds. They are less risky and can provide steady returns.
  4. Regular Contributions: Invest regularly, regardless of market conditions. Dollar-cost averaging can reduce the impact of volatility and lower your average cost per share.
  5. Reinvest Dividends: Automatically reinvest dividends to benefit from compounding returns over time.
  6. Long-Term Focus: Avoid trying to time the market. Invest with a long-term perspective to ride out market fluctuations and benefit from overall market growth.
  7. Stay Informed: Keep up with financial news and market trends. Understanding the economic environment can help you make informed decisions.
  8. Risk Management: Assess your risk tolerance and adjust your portfolio accordingly. Younger investors can typically take on more risk, while those nearing retirement may prefer more conservative investments.
  9. Regular Portfolio Review: Periodically review and rebalance your portfolio to maintain your desired asset allocation and risk level.
  10. Use Tax-Advantaged Accounts: Maximize contributions to retirement accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs, which offer tax benefits that can enhance your returns.
  11. Avoid High Fees: Be mindful of investment fees and opt for low-cost funds and brokerages to maximize your returns.
  12. Emergency Fund: Maintain an emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses. This prevents you from having to sell investments at an inopportune time.
  13. Educate Yourself: Continuously learn about investing through books, courses, and reputable financial websites. Knowledge can help you make better investment choices.
  14. Professional Advice: Consider consulting a financial advisor, especially if you're new to investing or have a large portfolio. They can provide personalized advice and strategies.
  15. Stay Disciplined: Stick to your investment plan and avoid making impulsive decisions based on short-term market movements.
https://preview.redd.it/9c7rpnaldo3d1.png?width=602&format=png&auto=webp&s=ab0702a01162eea055d1c3e0cba94e81c239e4ab
how do you find good posable funds?
  1. portifolio visualizer
  2. Fidelity fund screener
What is imporetant to evauate? here is an example:
SSO (ProShares Ultra S&P500) vs. SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) vs. FSELX (Fidelity Select Semiconductors Portfolio)
  1. Start BalanceAll three funds started with a balance of $10,000.
  2. End BalanceSSO: $46,092SPY: $28,817FSELX: $86,561Analysis: FSELX significantly outperformed both SSO and SPY in terms of end balance.
  3. Annualized Return (CAGR)SSO: 17.79%SPY: 12.01%FSELX: 26.02%Analysis: FSELX had the highest annualized return, followed by SSO, with SPY having the lowest.
  4. Standard DeviationSSO: 31.95%SPY: 15.65%FSELX: 28.31%Analysis: SSO exhibited the highest volatility, followed by FSELX, with SPY being the least volatile.
  5. Best YearSSO: 63.45%SPY: 31.22%FSELX: 78.14%Analysis: FSELX had the highest best year performance, significantly outperforming both SSO and SPY.
  6. Worst YearSSO: -38.98%SPY: -18.17%FSELX: -35.18%Analysis: SSO had the worst year, followed closely by FSELX, with SPY experiencing the least severe downturn.
  7. Maximum DrawdownSSO: -45.69%SPY: -23.93%FSELX: -40.74%Analysis: SSO had the greatest maximum drawdown, indicating the highest risk, followed by FSELX, with SPY having the smallest drawdown.
  8. Sharpe RatioSSO: 0.63SPY: 0.71FSELX: 0.91Analysis: FSELX had the highest Sharpe Ratio, suggesting it provided the best risk-adjusted returns, followed by SPY and then SSO.
  9. Sortino RatioSSO: 0.96SPY: 1.10FSELX: 1.52Analysis: FSELX also had the highest Sortino Ratio, indicating the best downside risk-adjusted performance, followed by SPY and then SSO.
Summary
  • Performance: FSELX vastly outperformed both SSO and SPY in terms of total return and best yearly performance.
  • Risk-Adjusted Returns: FSELX offered the best risk-adjusted returns as evidenced by the highest Sharpe and Sortino Ratios. SPY was second, and SSO had the lowest risk-adjusted returns.
  • Volatility and Risk: SSO exhibited the highest volatility and worst year performance, making it the riskiest investment. FSELX had high volatility but offered higher returns, while SPY provided the most stable and lower-risk investment option.
In conclusion, FSELX provided the highest returns and best risk-adjusted performance but with significant volatility and drawdown. SSO offered substantial returns with high risk, while SPY was the safest and most stable investment among the three, with lower returns but better stability and risk-adjusted metrics.
What are some strategies in investing in ETF/ index funds?
Three Possible Investment Strategies
  1. Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA)
Overview: Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) is a strategy where you invest a fixed amount of money at regular intervals, regardless of the market conditions. This approach helps mitigate the impact of market volatility by spreading your investments over time.
How It Works:
  • Consistency: You invest the same amount of money, say $100, on a regular schedule, such as monthly or bi-weekly.
  • Automatic Purchases: The investment amount buys more shares when prices are low and fewer shares when prices are high.
  • Long-Term Focus: DCA is best suited for long-term investments, allowing you to accumulate wealth steadily without trying to time the market.
Advantages:
  • Reduces Impact of Volatility: By investing consistently, you avoid the risk of making large investments at market peaks.
  • Psychological Benefits: It reduces the emotional stress of investing, as you don't need to worry about market timing.
  • Simplicity: It's a straightforward strategy that requires minimal decision-making once set up.
Example: If you decide to invest $500 monthly in an index fund, you might buy more shares during a market downturn and fewer shares during a market upswing, averaging out your cost over time.
  1. Using Relative Strength Index (RSI) for Discretionary Investing
Overview: The Relative Strength Index (RSI) is a momentum oscillator that measures the speed and change of price movements. It is used to identify overbought or oversold conditions in a market.
How It Works:
  • RSI Calculation: RSI values range from 0 to 100. An RSI above 70 indicates that a stock might be overbought, while an RSI below 30 suggests it might be oversold.
  • Discretionary Layer: You incorporate RSI into your investment strategy to buy stocks when they are oversold (RSI below 30) and sell or avoid buying when they are overbought (RSI above 70).
Advantages:
  • Better Entry Points: Helps you buy stocks at lower price points on average, potentially increasing your returns.
  • Market Timing: Adds a layer of technical analysis to your strategy, aiding in better timing of your trades.
  • Flexibility: Can be used alongside other investment strategies, such as DCA, to enhance performance.
Example: Suppose you're interested in a stock with a strong fundamental outlook. If its RSI drops below 30, indicating it's oversold, you might decide to buy more shares, capitalizing on the lower price.
  1. Creating a Custom Portfolio from Top Performing Index Funds and Backtesting Stocks
Overview: This strategy involves analyzing top-performing index funds and backtesting individual stocks to create a custom portfolio tailored to your risk tolerance and investment goals.
How It Works:
  • Top Performing Index Funds: Identify index funds that have consistently outperformed the market. Look at their historical performance, expense ratios, and holdings.
  • Backtesting Individual Stocks: Use historical data to test how individual stocks would have performed under various market conditions. This helps in selecting stocks that have shown resilience and strong growth.
  • Custom Portfolio Creation: Combine the insights from top-performing index funds and backtested stocks to build a diversified portfolio.
Advantages:
  • Personalized Strategy: Allows you to tailor your investments to your specific risk profile and financial goals.
  • Higher Potential Returns: By selecting high-performing assets, you might achieve higher returns compared to generic index investing.
  • Diversification: Combining index funds with carefully selected stocks can provide a balanced approach, mitigating risk while aiming for superior returns.
Example: You might start by selecting an index fund like the S&P 500 for broad market exposure. Then, you backtest stocks in sectors you believe will outperform, such as technology or healthcare, adding those that have shown strong historical performance and resilience to your portfolio.
Summary
  • Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA): Focuses on reducing the impact of volatility through consistent, regular investments.
  • RSI for Discretionary Investing: Adds a technical analysis layer to identify better entry points by buying when stocks are oversold.
  • Custom Portfolio Creation: Combines insights from top-performing index funds and backtested individual stocks to create a personalized, high-potential portfolio.
By employing these strategies, you can develop a diversified and well-rounded approach to investing that balances risk and return based on your personal preferences and market conditions.
here is 2000 a month in all of these funds
https://preview.redd.it/80nse16ndo3d1.png?width=602&format=png&auto=webp&s=d1a6aa99afa26e73e7dca73a6beaa717b4795bd4
Here common short falls of why people don't accomplish this:
https://preview.redd.it/kyorxcdodo3d1.png?width=602&format=png&auto=webp&s=45460a81f134602f4113191f7303ac07a78d8701
Here are many common investing shortfalls in the stock market:
  1. Lack of Diversification: Investing too heavily in a single stock or sector increases risk.
  2. Market Timing: Attempting to predict market highs and lows often results in poor investment decisions.
  3. Emotional Investing: Letting emotions like fear and greed drive investment choices, leading to buying high and selling low.
  4. Ignoring Research: Failing to thoroughly research companies and market conditions before investing.
  5. Overtrading: Excessive buying and selling can lead to high transaction costs and lower returns.
  6. Chasing Performance: Investing in stocks or funds based on recent performance without considering long-term potential.
  7. Neglecting Fees: Not accounting for the impact of management fees, trading fees, and other costs on investment returns.
  8. Lack of a Clear Strategy: Investing without a well-defined plan or goals can lead to haphazard and ineffective decision-making.
  9. Ignoring Risk Tolerance: Taking on more risk than one can comfortably handle, leading to panic selling during downturns.
  10. Failure to Rebalance: Not periodically adjusting the portfolio to maintain the desired asset allocation.
  11. Confirmation Bias: Focusing on information that confirms pre-existing beliefs and ignoring contradictory data.
  12. Overconfidence: Believing too strongly in one's ability to pick winners, leading to risky bets and potential losses.
  13. Short-Term Focus: Prioritizing short-term gains over long-term growth, often at the expense of higher potential returns.
  14. Underestimating Compound Interest: Not appreciating the power of compound interest and the benefits of long-term investing.
  15. Ignoring Tax Implications: Failing to consider the tax impact of investment decisions, which can erode returns.
  16. Following the Crowd: Making investment decisions based on popular opinion or trends rather than independent analysis.
  17. Neglecting Economic Indicators: Ignoring broader economic signals and how they might impact the market.
  18. Lack of Patience: Expecting quick returns and becoming frustrated with the natural market fluctuations.
  19. Dividend Neglect: Overlooking the importance of dividends in contributing to total returns.
  20. Speculative Investments: Investing in high-risk, speculative assets without understanding the risks involved.
  21. Falling for Investment Scams: Being duped by fraudulent schemes promising guaranteed high returns.
  22. Not Having an Emergency Fund: Investing money that might be needed for emergencies, leading to forced sales at inopportune times.
  23. Inadequate Research on Fund Managers: Investing in mutual funds or ETFs without understanding the fund manager's strategy and track record.
  24. Ignoring Inflation: Not considering how inflation can erode purchasing power and impact real returns.
  25. Underestimating Volatility: Not preparing for market volatility and the impact it can have on an investment portfolio.
  26. Reacting to Short-Term News: Making investment decisions based on short-term news events rather than long-term trends.
  27. Overestimating One’s Knowledge: Assuming one knows more than the market, leading to overconfident and often incorrect decisions.
  28. Ignoring Financial Statements: Not analyzing a company’s financial health through its balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.
  29. Failure to Set Stop-Loss Orders: Not using stop-loss orders to limit potential losses.
  30. Underestimating the Importance of a Balanced Portfolio: Focusing too much on growth stocks and not enough on stability and income-generating investments.
  31. Not Learning from Mistakes: Repeating past investment errors without analyzing and learning from them.
  32. Ignoring Global Markets: Focusing solely on domestic markets and missing out on opportunities in international markets.
  33. Relying Too Heavily on Financial Advisors: Depending too much on financial advisors without doing personal research and understanding one’s investments.
  34. Neglecting to Read Prospectuses: Investing in mutual funds or ETFs without reading and understanding the prospectus.
  35. Failure to Understand Investment Vehicles: Investing in complex instruments like options or futures without fully understanding how they work.
  36. Not Taking Advantage of Employer Match: Failing to maximize contributions to employer-sponsored retirement plans to take full advantage of matching contributions.
  37. Ignoring the Impact of Currency Exchange Rates: Not considering how fluctuations in currency exchange rates can affect investments in foreign stocks or funds.
  38. Overestimating the Safety of Bonds: Assuming bonds are always safe investments without understanding the risks of interest rate changes and credit defaults.
  39. Not Considering Alternative Investments: Focusing solely on stocks and ignoring other asset classes like real estate, commodities, or peer-to-peer lending.
  40. Misunderstanding Leverage: Using leverage without fully understanding the risks and potential for significant losses.
  41. Falling for Hot Tips: Acting on stock tips from unreliable sources without doing proper research.
The key is to consistently invest
Once you know how to compare funds you always want to use a tax managed account first then work your waist down the line as long as you don't have egregious amount of high interest debt.
Sometimes the biggest step is just to start
It'll probably feel awful but that's OK
You might even find something better later on and that's OK too
Making more money at your job or side hustle that might give you a better ROI in the short term
Back testing is important so you're not caught off guard by the drawdowns and you have a reasonable expectation of value in the future.
Start auto investing just so that you don't have to look at it and freak out if there's a pull back sometimes the investors worst enemies themselves
If you'd like more reports like this you can always follow the financial reporter
submitted by ThefinancialReporter to selfpromotion [link] [comments]

2024.05.31 04:12 TimoVM Why k_rollo's Game Corner strategy is so unreasonably effective

Earlier today, u/k_rollo made a post regarding an effective winning strategy for gen 2's Game Corners. A heated back and forth over the underlying code of the slot machine, additional video evidence and a deep dive later, we've reached the following conclusion:
  1. The strategy outlined within this post does indeed work exactly as advertised.
  2. The reason it works in the first place is due to a bug in the slot machine's underlying code.
  3. Due to this bug, this strategy is effective to an unreasonable degree. Bar any discoveries of new logic glitches, this is by far the most effective way to earn Coins at the game corner.
In this post I'd like to quantify the effectiveness of this strategy a bit more, as well as dedicate a more in-depth analysis of how slot machines usually work in gen 2 and how this bug affects their usual operation.

First, a brief overview on effectiveness of the strategy

The strategy consists of the following:
Finally, we can see how unreasonably effective this is.
Assuming that the player lines up two 7s correctly and stops the final 7 within appropriate distance, there is a 31.3% x 25% = 7.875 of winning the 300 coin jackpot.
On top of that, this holds true whether or not you're using a lucky slot machine. More on this in the next sections.
If you're just interested in knowing the effectiveness of this strategy, you can stop here. The next sections will be a more technical overview on how the slot machine is intended to work and how a simple off-by-one error manages to undermine these intentions.

How the slot machine is intended to work

For this section, I'll be basing myself on the slot machine's code as described by the pokecrystal. This project is a disassembly of the original game's code, the code as described on this page is completely identical to what you'd find on an ordinary Crystal cartridge. I will be focusing mainly on how 7s are handled, since these have a very high payout and have the most logic tied to them, just know that the slot machine's code also manipulates outcomes for other biased symbols, but to a lesser degree.
Unlike what you might expect, the slot machine (usually) isn't a game of skill. Under normal operation, whether or not you'll win is determined mostly by luck.
When you start a new bet, the game rolls for a specific "bias". Essentially, it checks if it should favor a single symbol (or not favor anything at all) and will directly manipulate the outcome. This is most prominent with 7s. As a general rule, if a 7s bias is active, the game will attempt to force a win in your favor. If no 7s bias is active, the game will do its absolute best to prevent you from winning under any circumstance.
To illustrate this, let's zoom in on a rather important function, Slots_StopReel3. This function is responsible for what happens if you attempt to stop reel 3. When two 7s are already lined up, this function can trigger the following effects:
  1. "Immediately" stop the reel.
    1. If 7s bias is active, invisibly nudge the reel a few spaces forwards in an attempt to force a win.
    2. If 7s bias is not active, invisibly nudge the reel a few spaces forwards to ensure the player can't win.
  2. "Slowly" stop the reel.
    1. If 7s bias is active, nudge the reel a number of spaces forwards in an attempt to force a win.
    2. If 7s bias is not active, nudge the reel a number of spaces forwards to ensure the player can't win.
  3. Throw Golems.
    1. If 7s bias is active, throw between 0 and 14 Golems to force a win
    2. If 7s bias is not active, throw between 5 and 8 Golems. Skip over all positions that would result in a win, thereby forcing a loss (This logic is bugged, more on this later)
  4. Have Chansey force a win
    1. If 7s bias is inactive, Chansey is not allowed to appear at all.
By now, the picture should be clear. Whether you have an opportunity to hit the jackpot is determined at the start of the bet. If you have a 7s bias active, the game will do its best to force a win for you. If you don't have it active, the game intends to prevent you from winning the jackpot under all circumstances.
You might wonder how likely you are to get a 7s bias. This is where the concept of "lucky" slot machines comes in.
In summary, this is intended to result in fairly long dry streaks with minor wins, interspersed with short but major win streaks.
One last part to illustrate how manipulative this is set up to be, the game can also manipulate reel 2! Assuming the following is true:
Then there's 31.3% chance that the game will straight up force a Seven in reel 2! Since winning the jackpot is dependent on the presence of a 7s bias, this doesn't actually make you more likely to win.
Now that we have a solid grasp on the slot machine, let's explain why Golem throwing is broken.

Why Golem throwing allows you to bypass the bias mechanic

Back when I gave a short summary on the Golem throwing mechanic I mentioned that, if 7s bias is not active, the game will intentionally attempt to throw Golems to prevent any wins. The code for this is located here. Let's zoom in on what it does and how it completely misses the mark.
  1. First, the game randomly rolls a number between 4 and 7. This number represents the amount of Golems that the game will attempt to throw.
  2. This number is copied to a second register.
  3. The original number is incremented and stored for later use.
  4. The game takes the copied number and uses that to simulate how the reels would look like if reel 3 was advanced by [copied number] spaces. If this would result a win, repeat from step 2 and increment until we find a number of Golems thrown that won't result in a win. Otherwise, continue and throw [original number] amount of Golems
You may have spotted the issue here, the game uses the copied number of Golems to predict whether we'd get a win or not, but the actual amount of Golems thrown is based on the incremented original number.
To give an example, if the amount of Golems thrown would be 5, the game would simulate the reel state based on 4 Golems thrown.
This means that the Golem throwing's check (if 7s aren't biased towards) produces an incorrect result, allowing us to completely bypass the intended bias mechanic.

Conclusion: a comprehensive overview of the strategy

Assume that we have two 7s lined up on reel 1 and reel 2 and we stop the last 7 between five and eight spaces in front of the winning space
This works both on normal slots and lucky slots. Golem throws have the same odds of being triggered (31.3% if no 7s bias) regardless of machine and we don't need to rely on having a 7s bias to force a win.
Furthermore, this oversight is present on all gen 2 games. Altogether, this makes it the single most effective known strategy for legitimately obtaining coins through the slot machine mechanic.
If you managed to reach the end, thank you for reading this more technical deep dive on the mechanics of the gen 2 slot machine. I hope you enjoyed it and will be able to use this explanation to your advantage.
submitted by TimoVM to pokemoncrystal [link] [comments]

2024.05.30 16:44 AlienNationSSB Alien-Nation Chapter 203: Mission Accomplished

Alien-Nation Chapter 203: Mission Accomplished

All Chapters of Alien-Nation
First Chapter of Alien-Nation Previous Chapter [Next]

Chapter Summary:

Amilita and Morsh square off in the hallway. Elias gets comforted by Natalie

No Visitors

The bodyguard slammed the door to the room shut in the stunned nurse's face, and heard heavyset footsteps approaching fast. "Amilita," she greeted the officer, already knowing who it was before she'd even turned to look.
"Is he awake?" She asked as a greeting, pulling up just short.
"He is," Morsh said shortly.
"I need to see him."
The bodyguard just raised an eyebrow. "What, now? You're kidding me, right?"
Amilita looked pained, before finally confessing. "I need to tell him I'm sorry."
"Yeah, you can wait."
Amilita shuffled from foot to foot uneasily, like a mountain trembling from an earthquake deep underneath. There was a lot of pent up emotion threatening to come spilling down from the top. "I let him down."
"You can say that all you want to him when he's calmed down in there." If that was meant to defuse Amilita, it failed, for the Giantess's shuffling only grew quicker and on an uneven keel. "General, you're acting far too agitated."
"I am agitated," she confessed, though without backing off even an inch.
"You're in a Marine Officer's uniform. What was the last person he saw in one of those doing to him? Do you want him to associate you with that?" Morsh finally let the old family friend have a clue as to why she wouldn't be seeing Elias, beyond Nataliska's quite clear orders.
"No, I-" Amilita came up short, her shuffling thrown off as she was rocked by the realization, breaking whatever the officer had quietly been building herself up to saying.
"I get it. You want him to associate the uniform with you as opposed to Goshen, before the memory sets into scar tissue. That's it, isn't it?"
She managed a quiet 'yes.'
"Then wait for him to calm down." Noticing that Amilita seemed to get agitated at the confirmation that Elias was not calm, Morsh decided she may have misunderstood just how much Amilita cared. "Boys can panic. You have to ease them back into being normal, just like how you don't just dump veterans back into civilian life, right? They're doing peace and wind-down rotations on Mars and Venus, I hear." There, that would be familiar ground, and sure enough Amilita nodded thoughtfully.
"Titan, Luna, and Europa, too," the officer confirmed. "It's for them to unwind, slowly forget whatever they went through on Earth, and start receiving good news from Earth. It makes them feel like..."
"Like their service mattered, that it wasn't just a waste of time watching the planet slowly turn red, I get it," Morsh finished for her. "Ya probably feed them the same news that goes out-system, helps the stories line up with the official narrative. They feel like things must have started going better once they rotated out, and then you slip in that they helped turn the tide, give them a medal, and ship them off somewhere else, with a reminder that what happens on Earth is all 'classified', except the good parts. Bet I've got that right, too, huh?"
Amilita must have lost a lot of money on the games soldiers played when phasing between systems. "I haven't really been involved with it or the decision-making on rotating troops out of the system, so I can't really comment."
"Alright, I'm not pressing. I gotta ask, though: Is what's going on in there with him and Nataliska really making you more nervous than everything else going on in your state? With all the Governesses and the generals-"
"They each govern a few million, and each has their own responsibilities that they can leave me out of. Anything to do with me has already been seen to by my office and orders. At this point I've done all I can, except let them yell at me again for something that I never ordered. So yes, frankly, Elias is more important. Even leaving aside my own feelings, we need him. So please, Morsh, I need you to step aside."
Morsh had been nodding along before that last part. She drew in a breath and finally squared off to face Amilita head-on and stared her in the eyes.* So it is going to be like this, is it?*
"Yeah, I'm not letting you near him."
"What?" Amilita seemed to finally have an outlet for all her pent up frustration and anger. As much as Morsh felt she could handle herself, getting into a fist fight with an Officer and an old family friend in a hospital hallway wasn't exactly smart, even if it would probably help both of them feel better afterward.
"The boy's been a pawn for a long time, Amilita, and let me tell you from experience, he doesn't like it. Tends to lash out when cornered," she tapped her forearm, where he'd surprised her with the knife. "Seriously. He didn't take it well when he found out about himself on the datanet, either. Pretty sure he and Nataliska had a little falling out over that, you know. Young love, ups and downs," she chuckled. "She came back after dropping him off and barely came out of her room, whatever he said musta been pretty harsh. He got over it, but I'm pretty sure he blames us for it."
"He should. And you have him in there, with the person he blames for making him a public figure, after you just mentioned he hates it? You have him cornered, and say that leads to bad things? Aren't you the girl's bodyguard?"
Morsh knew better than to take the bait and mention how he was in no shape to fight. Amilita would then claim to be a concerned mother-figure and charge in.
"What, like you didn't play a part in making him famous?" Morsh poked a finger right into Amilita's chest. "I hear he asked you to make sure there was no media at the award ceremony. Instead, there're pictures everywhere of us leaving, practically carrying a sick Nataliska to the car at the event that's supposed to help introduce her to the galaxy. Nive's pretty upset about that. Now, if there's any more shouting, I'll pull Nataliska out of there myself and then you can try explaining what happened."
"Thank you." Her voice carried anything but gratitude, and Amilita seemed ready to press her case the moment any noise went off, and it all rubbed Morsh the wrong way.
"Yeah, you'll get to go on about how everything that happened to him doesn't mean anything or reflect on you, and how you're totally blameless about what your subordinate did. Maybe even promise to find some way to make it all up to him. I dunno, what's above a Service Moon Medal?"
Her words seemed to finally set something off in the Officer, and she stepped up into Morsh's face, who didn't even flinch. "I did what I did out of both a sense of caring and duty!" She snarled. "Your family pushed for a punishment for that private when the boy was hurt, and then Nataliska used that favor he owed for her petition to get him to sell perfumes with her. I only followed through because you were right- one of our own had stepped out of line. When your daughter got rescued by him later, I repaid that favor to you by elevating the award." She finally took a half-step back, as if she realized the words that slipped past her tusks before starting again, this time a bit calmer. "If you say I'm just using him, I want you to bear in mind that while I have been put in a very difficult position and have done my best to do the right thing, your family has only used him to advance yourselves." She finally seemed to finish venting her anger, before turning to frustration. "Do you know how hard it has been to respect his wishes for privacy against needing to provide him security?"
Morsh stared, unimpressed. She'd faced knives that arced closer to her face than Amilita was now pressing hers.
"What's your point?"
"That we both have to accept some blame for Elias's status."
"Fair point," Morsh granted the old family friend a little slack and decided not to rub it in Amilita's face that she'd just made her original point for her. Amilita was definitely being run too ragged. "I'm still not letting you in there, especially with that uniform on. Not until Nataliska and him both say it's okay. I know you wanna charge in there and tell him you had nothing to do with what happened to him. Maybe your heart's even in the right place. But I know she's the one he wants to see right now. Maybe it's a bit storybook-ish, but all her work that went into finding the boy and saving his life oughta count for something in gratitude and him being happy to see her." There weren't any screams or things being smashed against the wall or door, so Morsh figured things between the two had to be going at least somewhat well.
"I went in there and beat his kidnapper senseless! If I'd been even a minute later..." her words sounded tough, but the true fight had already gone out of Amilita. Now she was just being stubborn.
"Something I'm sure she'll explain," Morsh waved a hand. "He wasn't awake for any of that, though, and I've still got my orders to guard this door, and not let anyone through. Clear?"
The giant woman instead changed her angle of approach. "Will the two of them be okay in there?" She was the picture of motherly concern over a son's virtue when left in a room with a girl, and it was enough to make Morsh forget her forbidden desire for a cigarette.
"Oh for Empress's sake, I'm not gonna stand here and touch-tits with you and spend time arguing over whether mine are bigger and which of us cares more about a boy. That's some real schoolgirl stuff. You're angry that this happened, and I get that. You want to protect him, especially now that his luck ran out. That's good and all, but you have a lot of important things you're neglecting by even being here."
"What?" Amilita seemed unsure, and Morsh felt a sudden, almost nostalgic exasperation she thought she'd left behind. Stubborn officers sometimes had to be dragged to see what was right in front of her.
"Look, it's been a while since my time serving on the front, and even longer since I helped put down an insurrection, but a leader disappearing after she's ordered everyone on both sides to lay down arms for a ceasefire tends to get the enemy's backs up. They start expecting a double-cross. So go on back out there, and be seen doing your part. We'll do ours here. You want to show you really care? Make sure he has a home worth going back to, one that hasn't burned itself down thinking you're plotting some way to kick off another mass-arrest of suspects."
Amilita started to say something else before deciding better of it, and finally straightened. "You'll tell him, right? That I was there. That I helped. And that I- that I'm sorry."
Morsh gave a slight, sympathetic smile. "Yeah. Look, the Raktens are sorry, you're sorry. Everyone's sorry, except me, and yet you were ready to pick a fight with me. You know what I think? I think the part he'll need to hear is that when it mattered, you dropped everything and came running. And I'll make sure he gets that."
Amilita let go at last of whatever kept her here, and deflated.
"Thank you."
"We can talk about everything later."
"Let me know if he decides to take some visitors before I finish wrapping up the things I started doing here?"
"Of course," Morsh smiled, and then watched Amilita turn on her heel and march back down the hall.
Morsh flexed her hand, and imagined with regret what Amilita's next words to her would probably be, and what she'd almost certainly be asked to do between then and now.

Mission Accomplished

"Hey, hey..." Natalie was speaking as if to a frightened, wounded animal, which he might as well have been. Humans supposedly awoke in a rather confused stupor. Certainly, he had when he'd fallen asleep in her room in what now felt like years ago. "Elias?"
"Natalie?" He asked again, voice raw. "Is that you? Is this real?"
Natalie hesitated. She should project a calm confidence, right? Not ask exactly what he meant. "Yes, I'm real."
His eyes narrowed, as if she'd failed some sort of test, and his whole body tensed, and then shivered and quaked. "Prove it." He sounded frightened. Cornered.
She reached down to her bag, and slowly opened it, revealing the bloody shirt- and then held a finger to her lips., a human gesture for a secret, then added a wink for good measure, then stuffing it back down into the bag with one hand, making a show of crossing her fingers with the other. Some of the nuance might have been lost, but he seemed to understand the meaning of her gestures just the same, even as his stare went a little unfocused. "That could be a few things. My imagination playing tricks on me. Them using the machine to...I don't know, scrape away at my mind, so it fills in what I want to see, what I want to hear."
"If you could imagine anywhere in the galaxy, why would you want to see here?" She broke eye contact, and then looked up at the blue light tube and plastic flooring. "It's pretty...uh..." 'primitive' or 'inhospitable' didn't do it justice, and she wondered how a word 'hospitable' shared anything with this place. She wondered how 'hospitable' came from hospitals, if these places were so unwelcoming to guests. The ill-fitted clothing he was dressed in was like wax paper, the bedsheet equally thin, and the staff were decidedly rude, even to noblewomen.
"Perhaps, I am being shown here because I expect to be here."
"You think you're imagining everything? Would you expect to see me here, too?" It had been the longest they'd gone without seeing each other all year.
He shook his head slowly, then closed his eyes, bracing himself as if for some invisible blow. His jaw was set and he spoke without looking at her. "I don't know? Maybe wishful thinking. Or someone's given me someone pleasant I'll talk to and confess everything to." He shivered and shook. "And if you are real, you'd know things. And if you're some sort of mirage, a stand in for some horror invading my mind, then you probably also know or at least I'd hear you say the things I'd expect to hear, so-"
"We don't have to talk about anything right now," she had to keep him from being swallowed by his own paranoia.
Elias didn't quite answer her, instead giving a silent, slow nod almost as if resigned to whatever fate she had in mind for him, though she didn't miss the way his gaze flitted over her shoulder and to the door again. Can't take my eyes off you for even a moment, can I?
The two rose together and she patted on the top of the thin mattress for him to sit. He slowly set his hips against its edge, hands down as if ready to push off from it and take his odds trying to run.
"Assuming you're really here, now what?" His voice shook before he swallowed before wincing, as if the action was painful. He still tried to put on a brave face.
"Uh, well, I guess...I don't know?"
"Why are you here?" For a moment he seemed almost as if he wanted to say more, but for once he held his tongue, though she could tell it strained him.
His tone was so far from the at-least-initial gratitude she had subconsciously hyped herself up to expect that she was taken completely aback.
Because I love you, you idiot sprang to mind. Instead of saying that though, she blinked and reconsidered if she'd done something wrong.
Of course, Elias couldn't know about all the things she'd done to find him, though he'd be furious if he did. She'd gone into his room alone, dug around his most prized things, and worst of all tracked his omni-pad after swearing to him she never would. All self-justifications aside about how it wasn't hard to imagine what would have happened to him if she hadn't done all that, he had no way of knowing those things. Then what is with his hostile tone?
There was no joy, just a wariness. Then again, I suppose the last I saw him, I ran away. She'd forgotten that, somehow, he might not expect their next meeting to be anything but with him in custody.
"It's okay," she tried. "Everything's going to be fine." There. That had to be a little reassuring, at least, and true. She could protect him now that they were together again.
Slowly, she turned and tried to embrace him. He tensed up when she reached out, and her hands worked their way around his head, pulling him closer. He seemed like he was on the verge of pushing her off of him until he came to rest on her shoulder. At last, he accepted as neglected fingernails explored and worked their way through his dirt-flecked hair. The response was sudden and a little sad, when he started letting out little breaths that hitched and then took a shaky breath back in. Slowly, he relaxed and settled more weight onto the edge of the bed, and leaned in just a bit more into her.
There weren't words for the validation that the young noblewoman hadn't made some grand mistake, and been played for a fool by an alien mastermind's impossibly manipulative and scheming plot.
Natalie couldn't tell how long it took before his breathing finally started coming easier, but when it at last did she pulled back and tried to get some measure of how awake and alert her alien boyfriend was. She noted first just how tired he looked. Still, from under those ringed eyes, wary green eyes searched hers back. If you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you, she'd heard him say once. Whatever Elias saw in hers, he didn't even try to object when she lowered her hand to his shoulder and gently urged him to lie on the semi-reclined bed.
From where she stood over him, he looked so small. The bed was *much *broader than he was, like it was built for a shil'vati. He seemed so small and vulnerable, with his slender frame, damaged with bruises, scrapes, and bits of smudged-in mud half-hidden by the paper-thin outfit he wore. He was the picture of helplessness, set against an enormous plain-white and sterile canvas without so much as a bed sheet or blanket to hide under.
"Natalie?" He finally broke the silence, voice a vulnerable tremor. "It's really you, right?"
"Of course it is," she cooed. "There, I've got you." He seemed to tense up, until she added: "No one's going to hurt you. Morsh is guarding the door, so let's just take a minute. The rest of the world can wait."
Something seemed to get through to him that he wasn't going to be pressed for information or interrogated further, and at last he seemed to relax a bit, though not completely. "No listening devices?"
"None," Natalie promised. "Amilita didn't even finish setting up her own little temporary office by the time we showed up. We were right behind the ambulance."
With her free hand she rearranged his hair back to the lazy, windswept look he usually wore after hopping off his bicycle and then backed off. He didn't look okay, though, not at all. He just looked distressed, lost, and tired. 
Right then, he needed her to be calm and unflustered, and so she resolved she would be.
"Shhh," she tried, before wondering if this counted as 'silencing a victim.' Too late to take the sentiment back, though. She stretched to reach down to the floor, pulling the bedsheet up onto the bed and over his shins. "It's alright," she reassured herself as much as him, ignoring the way her heart pounded in her chest. "You don't have to talk or say anything right now," she reassured him. "Just focus on getting better, okay?" She could do her part on focusing on his health by not relishing the warmth under her fingertips when he shuffled around slightly from where she was touching. What a strange temptation- a shoulder was hardly anything to be excited about. It wasn't a chest, or a thigh, or the taper of a man's narrow hips, and yet...she forced her mind back to the business of caring for him. "There," she tried. "Is this okay?"
He just nodded and yawned so wide it stretched his odd pink lips, but he clearly wasn't quite ready to 'throw in the towel' on staying awake just yet, not even as the circles under his eyes deepened. Instead he laboriously managed to push himself up just slightly. "What did they do to me?" He finally asked, and Natalie forced herself to not make any kind of motion to put him back to where he'd just been so nicely settled just a moment ago. Besides, she had to answer him, as it certainly seemed important.
"Nothing bad, I promise. Amilita's given me the only medical record they have of your visit here. So far, they assessed you with a...well, it's a 'doc bot' like the Nurse at Talay had, and when Amilita had you healed up like, a year ago when you got hit by that private. Uh..." she tried to remember the details. "Oh, there were some fancy words for bruising and scrapes, but not much else." It had been a humbling reminder that her grasp of English was far from perfect. "Oh, and they put you under to keep you from attacking the ambulance technicians."
Green eyes searched hers warily. "No mind wiper?"
"No mind wiper," she confirmed, trying her best to sound earnest. "I'd never let that happen."
Whatever tension was animating him at last seemed to snap and start some sort of shutdown sequence. His energy was failing, and he yawned again, settling down into the bed, and glancing at the now vacant half of where he lay before meeting her eyes, gaze full of unspoken meaning.
She sucked in a breath and did what her heart told her was right.
She kicked off her white human shoes without untying the complicated knot she'd mastered only a few months ago, and heard their rubber-like bottoms land with a 'flop' against the strange shiny floor. With a deep breath the girl from half a galaxy away slowly brought one leg over the hospital bed's high steel-tube railing, balancing on a shaky tiptoe and hesitating. She had to test if the wide bed would suddenly roll away on her. Natalie had seen technicians guiding patients down the wide, winding corridors by the same plastic handle she was holding to balance herself, and was glad when she didn't accidentally engage some kind of control panel button and send both herself and Elias crashing through the far wall and into the hallway.
What a nightmare of an explanation that would be...
Relieved that there was no sudden disaster, she refocused her attention on the boy she'd basically pushed into bed and then climbed in after, hoping to hold him. Her face was close, she realized, and he was staring at her in confusion. His green eyes kept flicking back and forth between meeting her gaze and trying to guess her intentions by her expression. She hadn't meant to- imply– hadn't he meant-?
If her heart was pounding before, now the rush of blood in her ears was going to make her dizzy.
Natalie propped herself up on an elbow and away from his face, looking down from where her black tee shirt ended against faint purple skin, and contrasted against his alien hues. He similarly got up on one elbow.
Feeling she should make her intentions plain, she slowly slid one arm through the gap, inviting him to lie in her arms so she could hold him the way he'd held her, back when she was so sick.
She experimentally wrapped one hand over his far shoulder until she rested against him in a way that felt protective, though she worried it might also be a bit possessive. At least he can't take off on me again- though that thought lasted only a half second until he decided to start shuffling around. 
Natalie backed off, worried she'd taken things way too far until he grabbed hold of her and pulled himself in close, stopping just short of kissing her. She froze up, completely unsure of what to do, even as his arm curled around. She was supposed to be holding him- and instead, now he was holding her! Except her arm was now pinned between his arm, the bed, and his back.
She had to admit the moment was still nice, even intimate for all of a second before a painful throbbing started from where her arm had its blood flow choked off at the . She wasn't sure what to do about it. She tried tugging her arm free but his torso was surprisingly solid and had her pinned. She finally gave up, resting her head on his shoulder.
The Shil'vati girl lifted a knee to carry the sheets that she'd managed to halfway slip under, using a foot until the fabric met with her free hand. She pulled the soft fabric up and over his paper shirt, tucking it over his shoulder. There, that was better- and she pitied how cold he must be, even if he was radiating warmth.
She was close to his chest, she realized, and a long ear pressed against his shoulder could still make out his own heartbeat. This wasn't comfortable, though, and her arm began to grow sore. How could she tell him that she was when all of this was her own doing? It wasn't natural. She was supposed to be holding him, after all!
Natalie was just about to beg him to sit up, when he unknowingly showed mercy by tossing and turning a bit, perhaps not finding the position comfortable either. Either way her numb hand was freed for just a blissful moment.
Then his hand moved from where he'd left it to around her upper back, pulling himself up against her neck. This was her opportunity! She tried to find a spot to quickly hold him, something that felt natural, only to immediately draw a blank. What was natural, exactly? She'd never held anyone! Still by just the comfort of the proximity, she felt a warmth travel up her body fuse with where he was pressed into her, and she quickly felt herself flushing blue. She kept her mind focused on helping him- what was a good position? Everything about this was awkward!
She could only hope it wasn't too obvious she had never done anything like this before and couldn't find a comfortable spot to put her arm to where it ran behind his back. None of this was going the way she'd imagined. Perhaps it was the stupid design of the bed- there was no depression for her arm to sneak under and wrap itself around him. An obvious design oversight, really.
Has anyone ever been so bad at this? It's supposed to come naturally! She could hardly imagine the humiliation at even asking the DataNet: 'How do I do the most natural thing a girl is supposed to be able to do: Comforting a hurt boy? Am I too weak to even snuggle correctly?'
Natalie decided instead to shuffle higher on the bed, and when he stirred, she pulled his head into the crook of her neck, holding down the sigh of relief as sensation and blood flowed back into her freed arm. Sure, it was trapped between their bodies, but at least it wasn't choked off from blood flow anymore. She thought about trying to find something to do with it before giving up after several agonizingly amateurish attempts.
All her fears of failure slowly faded as his breathing grew deeper and steadier, and he relaxed into her.
The sensation of closeness sent warm tingles up from the base of her spine that turned to shocks when his thumb hooked and slowly ran over the back of the hand she'd given up on doing anything with. She struggled to stay still as he repeated the motion, again and again. She had to give reassurance and hide any hint of shameful excitement at being welcome to stay by his side. She could have jumped for joy if it didn't mean interrupting the moment, but she'd need something to work the nervous energy off.
At last an idea came, and she started to rock him, trying to remember the cadence he'd used back when she was sick in bed. Back and forth, back and forth. She worried she had gotten either it or the angle wrong, because he soon gave her a squeeze around the middle, holding her tight.
She traced her nails experimentally down the back of his neck, and was greeted with a sound that set every nerve on fire when he gasped, and felt him sink into her shoulder just a little more, his hot breath deepening and slowing, until he clenched her back, and his arm released her.
He didn't quite scream, nor did he try to push away the way she feared he might. Instead, he had gone quite still.
"Like that?" She asked softly.
He just nodded, the pressure not at all unpleasant. "'M sorry," he mumbled. "It just...it feels..." he didn't have the word for it, apparently, because he trailed off. "nice. Relaxing..."
She gently ran her long, paint-chipped nails back over the same spot, and she felt the sigh of warm breath against her neck.
Minutes passed, and she quietly whispered his name, slowing down her gentle rocking.
No response aside from his head slowly rubbing against her shoulder, and she smiled to herself.
He was fast asleep in her arms.
She'd done it.
Mission accomplished. She'd rescued the boy, she'd comforted him when he woke up, and now he was fast asleep in her arms, recovering.
Everything would be okay.
All Chapters of Alien-Nation
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[A/N]
This seemed like a good place to pause the chapter due to it being ~30k in length out of the max of 40k that reddit allows, and the chapter being just plain too long. The next chunks are mostly ready. The new job starts roughly in the next week or two, when my paperwork goes through, and I'm sick, all of which has left me with lots of free time.
Archive Of Our Own/"AO3" contains the latest version of Alien-Nation with a lot of added scenes, flow improvements, and so on. (You can also download the story as an ePub for reading on your personal device, if you feel like doing so, though I recommend waiting until Book One is truly finished.)
Link to Archive Version here:
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2024.05.30 10:39 Chi0121 B1675 - Gambling (Advertising Prohibition) Bill

Gambling (Advertising Prohibition) Bill

A
B I L L
T O
Amend the Gambling Act 2005 to prohibit all forms of gambling advertising except for non-commercial gaming.
Bᴇ ɪᴛ ᴇɴᴀᴄᴛᴇᴅ by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1. Amendment of the Gambling Act 2005
(1) The Gambling Act 2005 is amended as follows.
(2) Insert after section 331—
331A. General prohibition of gambling advertising
(1) A person commits an offence if they advertise gambling within the scope of section 332 or section 333.
(2) But subsection (1) does not apply to the extent that the advertisement is to promote gambling where—
(a) the profits of that gambling are wholly and exclusively appropriated for a non-commercial society; and
(b) the advertisement identifies that the gambling is for the exclusive benefit of that non-commercial society.
(3) In subsection (2), profit means—
(a) the aggregate of amounts—
(i) paid by way of stakes or bets, or
(ii) otherwise accruing to the person organising the gaming directly in connection with it, minus
(b) amounts deducted by the person organising the gaming in respect of—
(i) the provision of prizes, or
(ii) other costs reasonably incurred in organising or providing facilities for the gaming.
(4) A person does not commit an offence under subsection (1) by reason only of delivering, transmitting or broadcasting a communication or making data available if—
(a) they act in the course of a business of delivering, transmitting or broadcasting communications (in whatever form or by whatever means) or making data available, and
(b) the nature of the business is such that persons undertaking it have no control over the nature or content of the communications or data.
(5) Where a person commits an offence under this section by causing an advertisement to be displayed or made accessible, they shall be treated as committing the offence on each day during any part of which the advertisement is displayed or made accessible.
(6) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—
(a) on conviction on indictment—
(i) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 18 months,
(ii) to a fine, or
(iii) to both; and
(b) on summary conviction—
(i) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months,
(ii) to a fine not exceeding level five on the standard scale, or
(iii) to both.
(3) Insert after section 332(3)—
(3A) Section 331A(1) applies to anything in the way of advertising which is done—
(a) wholly or partly in the United Kingdom, and
(b) otherwise than by way of remote communication.
(4) Insert after section 333(3)—
(3A) Section 331A(1) applies to advertising by way of remote communication only if the advertising satisfies the test in subsection (4).
(5) In section 333(4) for "(1)(a), (2)(a) and (3)" substitute "(1)(a), (2)(a), (3), and (3A)".
2. Extent, commencement and citation
(1) This Act extends to England, Wales, and Scotland.
(2) This Act comes into force at the end of the period of one month beginning with the day on which it is passed.
(3) This Act may be cited as the Gambling (Advertising Prohibition) Bill.
Referenced legislation
This Bill was written by the Right Honourable Duke of the Fenlands OM GCMG KCT CB MVO, on behalf of the Labour and Co-operative Party.
Opening Speech
Deputy Speaker,
Gambling is now a public health crisis. While we need to do more to help those who are already problematic gamblers or at risk of becoming a problematic gambler, we also need to ensure that the gambling industry cannot easily exploit more vulnerable people in the future.
If you turn on the TV today, it's likely you'll see several adverts for gambling, including the sponsorship of programmes. The theme of such adverts often revolve around community. Tombola adverts in particular are a bad example of this, with players often being shown to be together in person, go-karting and taking part in other social activities. But Tombola is an online casino that does not have a physical space. Its adverts prey on those who are isolated and vulnerable.
Other companies do little to highlight the dangers of gambling. Many will put in a quick line saying "when the fun stops, stop", but this hardly moves the needle on problematic gambling. Yet gambling companies continue to spend £1.5 billion per year on advertising.
In fact, in 2017, our own Gambling Commission described problem gambling as a public health concern. Nearly 2% of the population are problem gamblers or at risk of becoming a problem gambler. That's over a million people. Not only that, but gambling operators make 60% of their profits from the 5% of gamblers who are already problem gamblers or are at risk of becoming a problem gambler. In Victoria, Australia, 2% of suicides are connected to gambling.
The cost to the Government of problem gambling is also substantial. Estimates vary from £200 million to £1.2 billion per year, and these are identified as likely underestimates. Gambling has a substantial cost both socially and financially, and both to the individual and to society as a whole.
I do recognise the benefits that are often associated with lotteries, raffles and associated forms of gambling for the exclusive benefit of charities and similar groups such as amateur sports clubs. The bill as originally drafted creates an exception for "non-commercial" gaming, which is defined elsewhere in the Act. Parliament would be open to review this exception in the future if it is abused. But at the moment, the financial impact on charities by banning gambling advertising would be too severe compared to the risk associated with charity raffles, lotteries, and the like.
This bill will not prevent people from gambling. Those that already do so can continue to do so. But it will aim to reduce the number of vulnerable people sucked into the world of gambling and problematic gambling. Ultimately, this bill must form part of a wider strategy.
Gambling operators can no longer be trusted to run responsible adverts. We have banned advertising for alcohol and cigarettes. It's time we do the same for gambling.
I commend this bill to the House.
Debate under this bill shall end on Sunday 2nd June at 10pm BST
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2024.05.29 14:43 Cyber_Bruno T-Minus: One Year Later and the Relaunch of Cysmic

Soooooo hey. It's been a minute. A little bit ago I wrote some early takes on a few plays of Cysmic. That was neat.
It's been about a year. I've played it more. Well into double digits more.
And after the original Kickstarter didn't live up to expectations, Star Reach Games has been doing some work and is relaunching on Gamefound May 29.
So let's talk a little more about Cysmic.

Stable Foundations

First off, this is a companion piece to my original first impressions. Since writing it, I've continued to enjoy the game multiple times and took it on myself to host games over Tabletop Simulator for new and interested players during the original Kickstarter. Across both playing and often teaching it to others I've had more time to get familiar with the game and how it tends to land. I'm going to come back to this last bit later on.
Additionally, on revisit the first impressions were very concerned with going into mechanics. I want to take this opportunity to take a step higher and look at what really seems to make this game tick as a sum.
The extremely short version of this follow-up piece is that everything I stated in my original piece still rings true for me... mostly, but in a good way. I'll go deeper here, but if you haven't read my original impressions I do recommend it. If you don't have that kind of time, there's a summary at the bottom of it or just "Cysmic is a blast and you should be playing it right now."
Original Impressions: https://www.reddit.com/boardgames/comments/12yhumh/cysmic_first_impressions_its_the_end_of_the_world/
Let's get into the updates.

New Content

I briefly need to add that in the year between new campaigns, Cysmic has apparently added new modes for Co-op, Solo, and a less conflict-heavy “Euro” mode. I’m unfamiliar with this new stuff and can’t talk to them besides what’s on the campaign page. They may shift the nature of this entire section, let alone impressions. I can’t tell you how to value that, but it seems like most of the Cysmic core is still present in these modes. So call me hopeful. Still, the remainder of this review is in the light of the original, more Amerithrashy competitive mode.
There’s more to the new campaign on the level of the product breakout, prices and shipping, etc. that were issues the first time around. I’m not in the position to talk about that stuff, so at most I’ll just advise checking out the Gamefound page to see for yourself. I’m here to talk about the game.

Multi-Use, Multi-Use, Multi-Use - The Labyrinth at the Heart of Cysmic

One of the biggest things that makes Cysmic click is its generous application of multi-use. Discovery Cards are used for combat, resource acquisition, or special actions. Espionage Cards ask you to select between helping yourself or hindering your opponents. Ore is used to both upgrade troops into vehicles and build the ship parts you need to win. Combat can trade casualties. Combat and certain unit actions can advance the planet's destruction. Those ones are obvious, but here's some other things that all find themselves in a delicious tug-of-war on how to best apply themselves:
I'm sure there's more I've missed here. These were just things that hit me off the cuff. All the value poured into the different parts of Cysmic's play also end up giving them value throughout the early, middle, and late game. There's always a use for... everything, and it's on you to prioritize the best order and timing for when to tackle each goal. This syncs in with Cysmic's laissez-faire attitude in what order you want to achieve victory. Want to capture all your blueprints before building each? Go for it. Want to play a lean game of making surgical strikes and building parts immediately? By all means.
Many of these evaluations become apparent quickly, letting the players directly engage in the decision making, one of the major parts that really grips about Cysmic. It's not trying to sneak these things past you or enforce order through an overabundance of rules. It wants you to get into their gravity and sweat it out because when they fall into place you feel like the smartest commander on the planet.

Escape Artistry - How Cysmic’s Race Goals Become Resilient

But things rarely go well, of course. Surrounded by enemies on all sides on a planet with limited resources and is, oh yeah, falling apart tends not to make for smooth sailing. Cysmic didn't set all this up just so people wouldn't be bothered by any of it. Cysmic does offer a lot of ways players can pull out rabbits from their hats, however. The myriad of Bonus Actions on your player board often offer miniaturized or altered versions of playable actions if you can spot them. Maybe you already played your Speakers command card, but one bonus action lets you perform an action of a previously played unit command card. Another bonus action will let you move units. And another will let you resolve a single combat engaged on the board. These are the just a few things Cysmic lets you perform to either mitigate plans gone awry or even leverage as part of their master plans.
And I can't state enough how - through these kinds of actions or from cards or faction abilities - you'll find yourself weaving all these tricks into your turns. You'll need to, but Cysmic's clear and specific ability descriptions make sure you'll be able to easily.
After those two meatier points I feel it proper to I state it once again from my previous review part, because at this point I think it bears repeating:
Cysmic's offers an abundance of options and their respective moving parts, each of which are dead simple to enact. Each overarching goal has 2-3 major means of achieving it, but for every option at your disposal none of them are convoluted or tedious to execute.

No Hard Feelings - On the Take That

Cysmic's traditional competitive mode forces players to obtain blueprints through some form of direct conflict with one another in a series of individual face-offs. While an immediate observation catches this as enforcing player interaction, in practice it also sets a tone at the table for what each player should expect. The mandate of combat takes away much of the sting of the losses. This probably sounds like a pretty banal thing or not even a new concept, but I highlight it because of just how much it did seem to stick out throughout the different groups I've played with. The seemingly small difference in a game that doesn't need combat to win against a game that does feels strikingly more free when it's an inevitability for everyone.
In combat, the ability to influence dice results via the Discovery Cards also turns battles into a resource-driven game of evaluations. I’m afraid to use this term incorrectly, but it’s very much like bidding on your desired outcome. Discovery Cards are quick enough to earn that you will look at combat as a function of “How much is this combat win worth to me right now?”
Anecdotally, I will even go as far to say that combat's chance of pushing the board state further into its own destruction or impacting the race offers a compelling enough spectacle that will at times (for some groups) outshines the combat resolution itself. Even if you know you're about to get smacked, it's often pretty hard to not have a laugh at how it all shakes out.
Players can, of course, play the special, at times very “Take That” actions on Discovery Cards or hinder all opponents through Espionage Cards with little recourse. I still don’t feel qualified to talk about full spectrum balance for a game with as many intersecting points as Cysmic. I will simply state that from experience I’ve seen the most vicious plays only set somebody back two turns until they’re back at full speed again. Two turns has a significant impact in terms of winning the game, but not so much to the players around the table. That's a special needle to thread, and I think Cysmic has accomplished it well.

Orbital Trajectories - The Story of Gameplay

I think this is something common to race games: They tend to easily form narrative arcs at the table. I think Cysmic is no exception here. You'll remember the way your last blueprint's combat resolved in your favor just after amassing the ore to build its part. You'll look back at the game you lost and know exactly when you expanded too far and didn't recall enough troops to get off-world one turn earlier. Everyone at that table is going to remember when a Powermech barreled into a chokehold on the Capital City site just to self-destruct and wipe out all forces on it. I still have friends that have played in our earliest games bring up the wild turns taken and the strategies that snuck by us that netted a win while others were squabbling for resources.
So Much to Do, So Little Time – Analysis Paralysis (and Competitive Integrity) Something I mentioned in my initial impressions and have seen in play over time now – Cysmic’s big mechanical scale can leave some with feelings of analysis paralysis. So fun fact, I’m actually pretty AP prone myself. I consider myself a more competitive person and really enjoy understanding a system to the point where I can exert consistent control on it to secure a victory. So choosing the right actions at the right time is important to me. If left to my own devices I have no issue sitting at a turn for nearly 10 minutes to model it all out.
Cysmic though, really hasn’t flipped that switch. So let me explain why I think that is.
Backtracking a bit to the multi-objective, loose stricture points above, Cymic’s main competitive mode usually has a few high-value moves available at any given time. Identifying and choosing one to go for isn’t opaque. In a way, it’s generally kind of difficult to squander your turn.
So yeah, if you’re playing Cysmic: Grandmaster Tournament Turbo Edition then yes I can see striving for perfection being rough on the AP. But I need to stress this kind of warning is for the perfectionists at a table of perfectionists that are still familiarizing themselves with the game.
I’ve had a few repeat players of Cysmic, and games with them see matured actions that have more nuance and depth than the first timers. Good. I like that. But I’ve also seen a newbie come in and pull out a win. Everyone at the table still enjoyed making strong moves and outsmarting each other. It was still fun.

The Sum of its (Ship) Parts

Cysmic’s different parts come together as an experience I haven’t quite had elsewhere. Mustering forces, capturing enemies, controlling habitats, and acquiring resources to build ship parts all have an innate value and loss or risk that mutates and shifts over time without fully diminishing. The more games you play the more evident it becomes there’s room for long term planning in your actions, and the timing of your actions suddenly becomes the crux of a winning strategy.
These best-laid plans will certainly go awry, however. Your opponents and the planet’s fracturing will see to that. But Cysmic’s freeform structure allows you to tackle each of its goals as best suits your faction’s strengths and the board state gives you the room to constantly progress. You’ll be knocked down, and you’ll get up again.
Personally I think somewhere in the intersection of these core concepts is the true genius in this game. Everything has a push/pull, a risk/reward, and a need for resolution to win. Cysmic provides value in each aspect of play throughout its entire time at the table. This lets the players focus on what they want when they want, but also keeps all of these aspects relevant when the player doesn’t want to focus on them. It all feels so intertwined that it seems almost strange to say the net result is both so open and makes for such a tense race. There’s some chicken-and-egg stuff going on here and I’d love to know how Jason Blake evolved these concepts to merge together so wonderfully. However it happened, I couldn’t be more pleased with the end result.
Cysmic is launching May 29th on Gamefound. Very selfishly, I want to see this indie gem succeed and exist on my table.
https://gamefound.com/en/projects/star-reach-games/cysmic
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2024.05.29 07:13 Successful-Bread-347 Adjusted Phase Shift to Confirm TMS Broadcast Date

Adjusted Phase Shift to Confirm TMS Broadcast Date
Hi all, this is a stupidly detailed and technical post analyzing phase shift research from u/marijn1412 that I stole (with his permission) and combined in the new tapes spreadsheet. We are trying to bolt down some broadcast dates for TMS to assist with the Stasi Archive search and other date searches. If you are not one of the 4 or 5 people here who are into this crazy stuff, all you need to know is that this analysis does seem to be further evidence that TMS was broadcast in September, 1984. September 3,4,17,18,19 and 28 are high probabilities but the song remains very slippery to pin exactly down. Right around the dates where we want certainty, the phase shift signatures start jumping around. As someone recently said, it's like the song is trying to hide from us. A very good bet is still September 28 - there are many songs from this date around TMS on tape N01 and the signature is a pretty good match for this date but this analysis gives us some great second options if that date comes up empty.

Methodology

The goal of this analysis is to identify the most likely airdate for TMS by comparing phase shifts of songs across multiple tapes. Phase shifts occur due to misalignment in the tape head angle during recording and playback, and tracks recorded around the same time exhibit minimal phase differences. Larger phase shifts typically indicate copying from different tapes or sources. Phase shifts are specific to each tape, so in this post we suggest to use common songs on different tapes to establish baselines and adjust phase shifts accordingly. Songs without a 10kHz line (non-NDR broadcasts) are removed from the calculations. By aligning these phase shifts, we can compare songs across tapes to find those with phase shifts closest to TMS (at -0.18), helping us determine the most likely airdate.
The TMS AI was used to crunch the spreadsheet over a couple of hours, and prepared the analysis below and this graph as a summary:
https://preview.redd.it/h030072wta3d1.png?width=535&format=png&auto=webp&s=bf430284387cb9e36a485f6ef84f124671b1d221

N01 Tape

The N01 tape serves as our baseline, so we do not adjust the phase shifts for the songs on this tape. The phase shift for TMS on this tape is -0.18 ms. All other tapes will be aligned to this baseline and we want to find adjusted baselines close to -0.18 ms.

BASF4 Tape

To establish a baseline for the BASF4 tape, we use TMS itself. On this BASF4 tape TMS has a phase shift of 0 ms. Comparing it to the phase shift of -0.18 ms on N01, we find a difference of 0.18 ms. Therefore, to align BASF4 with N01, we subtract 0.18 ms from each phase shift on BASF4. For example, a song with an original phase shift of -0.05 ms on BASF4 would have an adjusted phase shift of -0.23 ms.

Tape 3

For Tape 3, we use the song Serenade of Suicide, which has a phase shift of -0.14 ms on N01 and -0.05 ms on Tape 3. The difference between these shifts is 0.09 ms. Therefore, we subtract 0.09 ms from each phase shift on Tape 3 to align it with N01. For instance, a song with an original phase shift of -0.02 ms on Tape 3 would have an adjusted phase shift of -0.11 ms.

Tape N10

For Tape N10, we use the song Go West, which has a phase shift of -0.20 ms on N01 and -0.02 ms on N10. The difference is 0.18 ms. To align N10 with N01, we subtract 0.18 ms from each phase shift on N10. For example, a song with an original phase shift of -0.02 ms on N10 would have an adjusted phase shift of -0.20 ms.

Tape N14

For Tape N14, we use the song Come Back, which has a phase shift of 0 ms on N14 and -0.14 ms on Tape 3 (adjusted to N01). The difference is 0.14 ms. To align N14 with N01, we subtract 0.14 ms from each phase shift on N14. For example, a song with an original phase shift of -0.27 ms on N14 would have an adjusted phase shift of -0.41 ms.

Method Validation

To validate our method of comparing phase shifts across different tapes, we examined the song "Go West" by The Cult, which appears on tapes N10, N01, and Tape 3. We used N01 as the baseline with a phase shift of -0.20 ms. By comparing the phase shifts of common songs, we calculated the adjustments needed for Tape 3 and N10. For Tape 3, we found a difference of 0.09 ms using "Serenade of Suicide" and adjusted the phase shift for "Go West" from -0.11 ms to -0.20 ms. For N10, we calculated an adjustment of 0.18 ms directly from "Go West," aligning its phase shift from -0.02 ms to -0.20 ms. These adjustments brought the phase shifts of "Go West" on both Tape 3 and N10 into perfect alignment with N01. This demonstrates that using common songs to establish baselines and adjust phase shifts is likely a reliable method for identifying the most likely airdate for TMS across different tapes.

Summarized Calculations

  • BASF4 Tape: Subtract 0.18 ms from each original phase shift.
  • Tape 3: Subtract 0.09 ms from each original phase shift.
  • Tape N10: Subtract 0.18 ms from each original phase shift.
  • Tape N14: Subtract 0.14 ms from each original phase shift.
By adjusting the phase shifts in this manner, we can compare songs across tapes to determine which likely air dates have phase shifts closest to TMS on N01, helping us identify the most probable airdate for TMS.
Tape N01 (Baseline)
Track Likely Airdate Original Phase Shift (ms)
The Riddle - Nik Kershaw 84 11 15 -0.09
Heartbeat [Mendelsohn Mix] [Long Version] - The Psychedelic Furs 84 12 02 0.00
[SNIPPET] Black Leather - Miquel Brown 84 12 02 0.00
Clint [John Peel Session] - Sad Lovers And Giants 84 11 15 -0.09
Alice (Isn't Playing) [John Peel Session] - Sad Lovers And Giants 84 11 15 -0.09
3 Lines - Sad Lovers And Giants 84 11 15 -0.09
? TMS -0.18
Serenade Of Suicide - Screaming Dead 84 09 28 -0.14
[SNIPPET] ? -0.09
Party Boy - Sean Heyden 84 11 28 0.00
She Said Destroy - Death In June 84 09 28 -0.20
Watermelon Man - The Gun Club 84 09 28 -0.20
Eternally Is Here - The Gun Club 84 09 28 -0.20
[SNIPPET] Go West - The Cult 84 09 28 -0.20
Treason - The Teardrop Explodes -0.16
[SNIPPET] ? -0.11
You're The Wish You Are I Had - XTC -0.20
I Can't Pretend - The Barracudas -0.45
No Chance You'll Pay - Private Lives -0.18
Torch - Soft Cell -0.18
And That's No Lie - Heaven 17 84 09 21 -0.25
BASF 4 (adjustment -0.18)
Track Likely Airdate Original Phase Shift (ms) Adjusted Phase Shift (ms)
Sunset Now [Extended Version] - Heaven 17 84 09 22 -0.05 -0.23
Master And Servant [Slavery Whip Mix] - Depeche Mode -0.05 -0.23
»Un Bel Di Vedremo (One Fine Day)« - Malcolm McLaren 84 09 07 -0.05 -0.23
Up On The Catwalk [Extended Version] - Simple Minds -0.11 -0.29
Sunglasses At Night - Corey Hart -0.05 -0.23
Ghostbusters [Extended Version] - Ray Parker Jr. 0.14 -0.04
Twilight Zone - Golden Earring 84 09 03 0.00 -0.18
? TMS 0.00 -0.18
Wot - Captain Sensible 84 09 04 0.00 -0.18
The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight - The Dominatrix 0.00 -0.18
Love Puppets - The Legendary Pink Dots 84 09 17 0.09 -0.09
Hot Water - Level 42 84 08 30 0.00 -0.18
The More You Live, The More You Love - A Flock Of Seagulls 0.00 -0.18
Young Hearts - Silent Running 84 09 20 0.09 -0.09
Living In A World (Turned Upside Down) - Private Lives -0.09 -0.27
Neighborhood Threat - David Bowie -0.09 -0.27
[SNIPPET] ? -0.07 -0.25
Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her - XTC 84 10 18 -0.07 -0.25
This World Over - XTC 84 10 18 -0.07 -0.25
I Remember The Sun - XTC 84 10 18 -0.07 -0.25
[SNIPPET] Train Running Slow On Soul Coal - XTC 84 10 18 -0.07 -0.25
A Forest [Live Version] - The Cure 84 10 18 -0.07 -0.25
Charlotte Sometimes [Live Version] - The Cure 84 10 18 -0.07 -0.25
Tape 3 (adjustment -0.09)
Track Likely Airdate Original Phase Shift (ms) Adjusted Phase Shift (ms)
The Taste Of Your Tears - King 85 -0.02 -0.11
Last Time Forever - Squeeze 85 0.00 -0.09
How To Be A Millionaire - ABC 85 0.00 -0.09
Sunset Now - Heaven 17 84 09 22 -0.14 -0.23
King For A Day - Thompson Twins 85 0.00 -0.09
Cloudbusting - Kate Bush 85 0.00 -0.09
Alive & Kicking - Simple Minds 85 0.00 -0.09
No More Words - Berlin 84 09 05 0.00 -0.09
Julia's Song [Extended Version] - OMD 84 09 06 0.00 -0.09
Still On Fire - Aztec Camera 84 09 07 -0.05 -0.14
Doot-Doot - Freur -0.09 -0.18
[SNIPPET] ? - -
Come Back - The Mighty Wah! 84 09 08 -0.05 -0.14
Tesla Girls [Extended Version] - OMD 84 09 22 -0.11 -0.20
Tension - 10,000 Maniacs 84 09 24 -0.07 -0.16
Native Land - Everything But The Girl 84 09 28 -0.05 -0.14
Serenade Of Suicide - Screaming Dead 84 09 28 -0.05 -0.14
[SNIPPET] No Motive - Play Dead 84 09 28 -0.05 -0.14
[SNIPPET] Refugee - Portion Control 84 09 28 -0.05 -0.14
Tape N10 (adjustment -0.18)
Track Likely Airdate Original Phase Shift (ms) Adjusted Phase Shift (ms)
Go West - The Cult 84 09 14 -0.02 -0.20
Tenderness - General Public 84 09 14 -0.02 -0.20
City Lights - The Beauty Contest 84 09 14 -0.02 -0.20
Deserve - The Wolfgang Press 84 09 14 -0.02 -0.20
Pride (In The Name Of Love) - U2 84 09 15 -0.02 -0.20
Head Is Happy (Heart's Insane) - Aztec Camera 84 09 15 -0.02 -0.20
Backdoor To Heaven - Aztec Camera 84 09 15 -0.02 -0.20
Atmosphere - Joy Division 84 06 25 -0.23 -0.41
Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division 84 06 25 -0.23 -0.41
Decades - Joy Division 84 06 25 -0.23 -0.41
Blue Jean - David Bowie -0.05 -0.23
Never Ending Story - Limahl 84 10 21 -0.02 -0.20
In Flux - Sad Lovers & Giants 84 09 17 -0.09 -0.27
Villiers Terrace [John Peel Session] - Echo & The Bunnymen 84 09 17 -0.09 -0.27
To Life's Reunion - Mecano 84 09 17 0.00 -0.18
Thief Of Baghdad - The Teardrop Explodes 84 09 17 0.00 -0.18
Ghosts - Japan 84 09 17 0.00 -0.18
[SNIPPET] Our Secrets - Comsat Angels 84 09 17 0.00 -0.18
Winter - The Sound 84 09 17 0.00 -0.18
Medicine Show - Dream Syndicate 84 09 18 0.00 -0.18
I Look Around - Rain Parade 84 09 18 0.00 -0.18
This Angry Silence - The TV Personalities 84 09 18 0.00 -0.18
She Loves Me Forever - The Painless Dirties 84 09 18 0.00 -0.18
My Mother The War - 10,000 Maniacs 84 09 19 0.00 -0.18
Wonderland [Extended Version] - Big Country -0.11 -0.29
Tape N14 (adjustment -0.14)
Track Likely Airdate Original Phase Shift (ms) Adjusted Phase Shift (ms)
Recall - Frigidaire Tango 84 07 23 -0.27 -0.41
Emotional Warfare - Silent Running 84 07 23 -0.27 -0.41
[SNIPPET] Emotional Warfare - Silent Running 84 07 23 -0.27 -0.41
Imagine Focus - Under For 84 07 23 -0.27 -0.41
Now I Know - The Comsat Angels 84 07 23 -0.27 -0.41
└ [SNIPPET] Chinese Eyes - Fancy -0.05 -0.19
Another Word - Talk Talk 84 10 03 -0.11 -0.25
Desperate But Not Serious - Adam Ant -0.27 -0.41
Ceremony - New Order 84 04 12 -0.32 -0.46
Falling [Live Version] - Europeans 84 09 05 -0.16 -0.30
Deadly Weapons - Minimal Compact 84 09 05 -0.16 -0.30
Prisoner Of Love - Spear Of Destiny 84 09 05 -0.16 -0.30
It's What You've Got - 999 84 09 05 -0.16 -0.30
Passion - Zappacosta 84 09 06 -0.16 -0.30
[SNIPPET] Julia's Song - O.M.D. 84 09 06 0.00 -0.14
Mothers Talk - Tears For Fears 84 09 06 -0.05 -0.19
Weekends - The Mighty Wah! 84 09 07 -0.05 -0.19
King Midas In Reverse - DCL Locomotive 84 09 07 -0.05 -0.19
Still On Fire - Aztec Camera 84 09 07 -0.05 -0.19
Just Too Easy - Romeo Void 84 09 07 -0.05 -0.19
Where Has My Heart Gone - Me & The Heat 84 09 07 -0.05 -0.19
Decalogue - Stockholm Monsters 84 09 07 -0.05 -0.19
Come Back - The Mighty Wah! 84 09 08 0.00 -0.14
Forest Fire - Lloyd Cole And The Commotions 84 09 12 0.00 -0.14
Mysterious Thing - Icehouse 84 09 12 0.00 -0.14
Original Sin [Extended Version] - The Senate 84 09 14 0.00 -0.14
Remove songs without 10kHz line (to compare only NDR songs)
BASF4
  • "Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her" by XTC
  • "This World Over" by XTC
  • "I Remember The Sun" by XTC
  • "[SNIPPET] Train Running Slow On Soul Coal" by XTC
  • "A Forest [Live Version]" by The Cure
  • "Charlotte Sometimes [Live Version]" by The Cure ​
BASF3
  1. "King For A Day" by Thompson Twins
  2. "Come Back" by The Mighty Wah!
  3. "Don’t Believe Anymore" by Icehouse
  4. "Less Cities, More Moving People" by The Fixx
  5. "Magic [Live Version]" by Powerplay
N01
  1. "Clint [John Peel Session]" by Sad Lovers And Giants
  2. "Alice (Isn't Playing) [John Peel Session]" by Sad Lovers And Giants
  3. "3 Lines" by Sad Lovers And Giants
  4. "Treason" by The Teardrop Explodes
  5. "You're The Wish You Are I Had" by XTC
  6. "I Can't Pretend" by The Barracudas
  7. "No Chance You'll Pay" by Private Lives
  8. "Torch" by Soft Cell
  9. "Hollow Horse" by The Icicle Works
  10. "Gone With The Wind" by Blue Murder
  11. "Shout [Extended Version]" by Tears For Fears
  12. "Charlotte Street" by Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
  13. "Someone Somewhere (In Summertime)" by Simple Minds ​
N10
  1. "Wonderland [Extended Version]" by Big Country

Results by Date

84 04 12

  • Ceremony - New Order (Tape N14, -0.46)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: -0.46

84 06 25

  • Atmosphere - Joy Division (Tape N10, -0.41)
  • Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division (Tape N10, -0.41)
  • Decades - Joy Division (Tape N10, -0.41)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: (-0.41 + -0.41 + -0.41) / 3 = -0.41

84 07 23

  • Recall - Frigidaire Tango (Tape N14, -0.41)
  • Emotional Warfare - Silent Running (Tape N14, -0.41)
  • [SNIPPET] Emotional Warfare - Silent Running (Tape N14, -0.41)
  • Imagine Focus - Under For (Tape N14, -0.41)
  • Now I Know - The Comsat Angels (Tape N14, -0.41)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: (-0.41 * 5) / 5 = -0.41

84 08 30

  • Hot Water - Level 42 (BASF4, -0.18)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: -0.18

84 09 03

  • Twilight Zone - Golden Earring (BASF4, -0.18)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: -0.18

84 09 04

  • Wot - Captain Sensible (BASF4, -0.18)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: -0.18

84 09 05

  • Falling [Live Version] - Europeans (Tape N14, -0.30)
  • Deadly Weapons - Minimal Compact (Tape N14, -0.30)
  • Prisoner Of Love - Spear Of Destiny (Tape N14, -0.30)
  • It's What You've Got - 999 (Tape N14, -0.30)
  • No More Words - Berlin (Tape 3, -0.09)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: (-0.30 * 4 + -0.09) / 5 = (-1.20 - 0.09) / 5 = -0.258

84 09 06

  • Passion - Zappacosta (Tape N14, -0.30)
  • [SNIPPET] Julia's Song - O.M.D. (Tape N14, -0.14)
  • Mothers Talk - Tears For Fears (Tape N14, -0.19)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: (-0.30 + -0.14 + -0.19) / 3 = -0.21

84 09 07

  • King Midas In Reverse - DCL Locomotive (Tape N14, -0.19)
  • Still On Fire - Aztec Camera (Tape N14, -0.19)
  • Just Too Easy - Romeo Void (Tape N14, -0.19)
  • Where Has My Heart Gone - Me & The Heat (Tape N14, -0.19)
  • Decalogue - Stockholm Monsters (Tape N14, -0.19)
  • Original Sin [Extended Version] - The Senate (Tape N14, -0.14)
  • Doot-Doot - Freur (Tape 3, -0.18)
  • »Un Bel Di Vedremo (One Fine Day)« - Malcolm McLaren (BASF4, -0.23)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: (-0.19 * 5 + -0.14 + -0.18 + -0.23) / 8 = (-0.95 - 0.14 - 0.18 - 0.23) / 8 = -0.18875

84 09 08

  • Come Back - The Mighty Wah! (Tape N14, -0.14)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: -0.14

84 09 12

  • Forest Fire - Lloyd Cole And The Commotions (Tape N14, -0.14)
  • Mysterious Thing - Icehouse (Tape N14, -0.14)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: (-0.14 * 2) / 2 = -0.14

84 09 14

  • Go West - The Cult (Tape N10, -0.20)
  • Tenderness - General Public (Tape N10, -0.20)
  • City Lights - The Beauty Contest (Tape N10, -0.20)
  • Deserve - The Wolfgang Press (Tape N10, -0.20)
  • Original Sin [Extended Version] - The Senate (Tape N14, -0.14)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: (-0.20 * 4 + -0.14) / 5 = (-0.80 - 0.14) / 5 = -0.188

84 09 15

  • Pride (In The Name Of Love) - U2 (Tape N10, -0.20)
  • Head Is Happy (Heart's Insane) - Aztec Camera (Tape N10, -0.20)
  • Backdoor To Heaven - Aztec Camera (Tape N10, -0.20)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: (-0.20 * 3) / 3 = -0.20

84 09 17

  • Love Puppets - The Legendary Pink Dots (BASF4, -0.09)
  • In Flux - Sad Lovers & Giants (Tape N10, -0.27)
  • Villiers Terrace [John Peel Session] - Echo & The Bunnymen (Tape N10, -0.27)
  • To Life's Reunion - Mecano (Tape N10, -0.18)
  • Thief Of Baghdad - The Teardrop Explodes (Tape N10, -0.18)
  • Ghosts - Japan (Tape N10, -0.18)
  • [SNIPPET] Our Secrets - Comsat Angels (Tape N10, -0.18)
  • Winter - The Sound (Tape N10, -0.18)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: (-0.09 + -0.27 * 2 + -0.18 * 5) / 8 = (-0.09 - 0.54 - 0.90) / 8 = -0.1925

84 09 18

  • Medicine Show - Dream Syndicate (Tape N10, -0.18)
  • I Look Around - Rain Parade (Tape N10, -0.18)
  • This Angry Silence - The TV Personalities (Tape N10, -0.18)
  • She Loves Me Forever - The Painless Dirties (Tape N10, -0.18)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: (-0.18 * 4) / 4 = -0.18

84 09 19

  • My Mother The War - 10,000 Maniacs (Tape N10, -0.18)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: -0.18

84 09 20

  • Young Hearts - Silent Running (BASF4, -0.09)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: -0.09

84 09 21

  • And That's No Lie - Heaven 17 (Tape N01, -0.25)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: -0.25

84 09 22

  • Sunset Now [Extended Version] - Heaven 17 (BASF4, -0.23)
  • Tesla Girls [Extended Version] - OMD (Tape 3, -0.20)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: (-0.23 + -0.20) / 2 = -0.215

84 09 24

  • Tension - 10,000 Maniacs (Tape 3, -0.16)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: -0.16

84 09 28

  • Serenade Of Suicide - Screaming Dead (Tape N01, -0.14)
  • She Said Destroy - Death In June (Tape N01, -0.20)
  • Watermelon Man - The Gun Club (Tape N01, -0.20)
  • Eternally Is Here - The Gun Club (Tape N01, -0.20)
  • [SNIPPET] Go West - The Cult (Tape N01, -0.20)
  • Native Land - Everything But The Girl (Tape 3, -0.14)
  • [SNIPPET] No Motive - Play Dead (Tape 3, -0.14)
  • [SNIPPET] Refugee - Portion Control (Tape 3, -0.14)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: (-0.14 + -0.20 * 4 + -0.14 * 2) / 7 = -0.1714

84 10 03

  • Another Word - Talk Talk (Tape N14, -0.25)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: -0.25

84 10 18

  • Seagulls Screaming Kiss Her, Kiss Her - XTC (BASF4, -0.25)
  • This World Over - XTC (BASF4, -0.25)
  • I Remember The Sun - XTC (BASF4, -0.25)
  • [SNIPPET] Train Running Slow On Soul Coal - XTC (BASF4, -0.25)
  • A Forest [Live Version] - The Cure (BASF4, -0.25)
  • Charlotte Sometimes [Live Version] - The Cure (BASF4, -0.25)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: (-0.25 * 6) / 6 = -0.25

84 10 21

  • Never Ending Story - Limahl (Tape N10, -0.20)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: -0.20

84 11 15

  • The Riddle - Nik Kershaw (Tape N01, -0.09)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: -0.09

84 11 28

  • Party Boy - Sean Heyden (Tape N01, 0.00)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: 0.00

84 12 02

  • Heartbeat [Mendelsohn Mix] [Long Version] - The Psychedelic Furs (Tape N01, 0.00)
  • [SNIPPET] Black Leather - Miquel Brown (Tape N01, 0.00)
Average Adjusted Phase Shift: (0.00 * 2) / 2 = 0.00
Next Steps
These results can probably be made a lot more accurate if more likely broadcast dates can be found for songs on the tapes analyzed (many are currently unconfirmed). Also if we can find some common songs for tapes N12 and tape AM 1984.09-10 (or possibly even common broadcast dates might even do) it would greatly help, as both have a lot of dates on them we are looking at. But I'll leave that to someone else for now.
submitted by Successful-Bread-347 to TheMysteriousSong [link] [comments]

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Kаtsubеt - the best Live dealer games.

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submitted by Ok_Goose_6799 to igaming [link] [comments]

2024.05.28 18:08 Ranadiel A Deep Dive into the File Remnants for the Original Plans for 2.0 (Datamined Defunct Content)

So there was a recent thread that got me to look back on the original plans for the 2.0 expansion material and I ended up digging through it a bit more than I ever had before. I figured it might be fun to write up a full breakdown of what I was able to gleam from my digging.
Before I begin, I should mention that the information available is spotty and inconsistent in places. For example, according to the TORCommunity database, a lot of these files were added in version 1.3 and 2.0. However, going back to the files that are in those patches (I love you Jedipedia), a lot of those files are not present in those versions. I assume this is internal marking, and is based on the dev's versions and not the live versions. In fact the Sith Warrior dialogues only show up in live in 5.0.0. I have no idea why those dialogues just suddenly popped into existence there.
Generally speaking I have four types of files available to look through.

Overall Plan

So to begin, it should be noted that all of these cnv files are located in the directory cnv.exp.01. This is the same naming convention used for the released Rise of the Hutt Cartel files. This makes it difficult to tell what Makeb's original role in the expansion was. It appears that it was intended to be part of the expansion as there is the following line from the Supreme Chancellor that appears to vary based on whether a Smuggler did Makeb before starting Bothawui.
(Did not do Makeb) "Of course I am. The Voidwolf's defeat is the only reason I can ignore being referred to as "Madame Chance. "
(Did do Makeb) "Of course I am. Your success on Makeb bought you considerable leeway with me--but "Madame Chance" is pushing it. "
Additionally according to TORCommunity's "added in patch" data, the majority of Makeb's cnvs were initially added in 1.3, which was the same patch that most of the other files were added for the cut content.
So in addition to Makeb, the planned planets appear to have been Bothawui (Pub), Ziost (Imp), and Sleheyron (Both). These three planets were intended to have class stories and side quests (no evidence of a world arc, but I don't know if none was planned or if they just didn't get to it). There is no evidence that Makeb was ever meant to have any class stories on it. Additionally, there is one conversation file for Imp Yavin IV. It was early on in development when they stopped working on it since the dialogue is just a summary of what happens in the scenes (e.g., a shuttle crashes), but there are quests and NPCs for both Pub and Imp world arcs, so there was more planned.
So in summary the plan appears to have been something like:
Now before I start on discussing the content from each planet, it is worth mentioning that I have little context for most quests and NPCs, so I'm just going to be putting them in alphabetical order.

Bothawui

The overall setting for this Planet seems to have been that the Republic is going on the offensive and the Imperials are going scorched earth while they get pushed off planet.
Something that is well known (I think) at this point is that Dantooine on live is a modified version of the map that originally made for Bothawui. From the dialogue files that I've looked through, I'm betting the dam in the portion of the map we are on was originally called the Bosnar Dam, which was a set piece for one of the JK missions. Also probably worth noting that the there are multiple mentions of Bothawui being an important source of food, which probably factored into their choice to reuse the area since Dantooine is also a farming planet.
Quests

Ziost

I'm really not sure what the state of Ziost was supposed to be. SW seems to be dealing with Pubs having taken over the planet defense grid. SI and IA seem to be dealing with internal politics. And I have no idea of what BH is up to.
Quests

Sleheyron

Honestly I have less of an idea for Sleheyron than Ziost since Sleheyron is either the least finished planet or the planet with the least files that has slipped into live.
Quests

Yavin IV

I have very little idea on the Pub side of things. There are some clues for the Imp side though. While he lacks a creature file, the Imp quests make mention of reporting to Servant One. So that means Imps were probably here on a mission for the Emperor. My first instinct is reviving the Emperor, but I don't have enough info. General Heskar also made a return. Oh Imps also spoke to Naga Sadow's force ghost as part of their world arc.
Quests

Jedi Knight

So the JK's overreaching plot for seems to have been working together with the Protectors (the rescue team we met on Makeb) in order to help evacuate people.
There are multiple mentions of a place called Talravin, which I'm guessing is where the story would start as the JK helps evacuations there. From reading between the lines, it appears that the JK would be sending the refugees to a new world called New Euphrades...and of course the story finishes with us fighting a Sith in orbit as he is trying to destroy it.
Based on quest names, it seems we were meant to go to Alphelion Six, which does not have a wookiepedia article so I guess it was a new planet, at some point. Since the finale seemed to be New Euphrades, I'm guessing this happened between Bothawui and Sleheyron. Whenever it happened, the Protectors were apparently going to join you there.
Seems that there was an ending choice for the JK between joining the Protectors full time or becoming the Battlemaster. There is a lot of dialogue regarding the role of Jedis, so this seems like a conclusion to that arc as the JK chooses whether to be a protector or a warrior? Scourge also mentions that he had additional visions, but doesn't provide anything useful just kind of says "yeah I totally knew you were going to make that choice" after you made it.
Rough Map
Quests
Notable NPCs

Jedi Consular

The JC's arc seems to be the most clear cut. The JC gets a vision of the galaxy burning because of Torwin Vehls and then sets out to find them and stop them. On Bothawui, the JC discovers that Torwin has the power to give power to others, and this includes giving force sensitivity to non-sensitives (and also to animals).
The JC fails to catch Torwin on Bothawui and must continue chasing after him before he find "the Shrouded Ones," which were something related to the Rakata. "The Shrouded Ones were built to be the end of everything. A solution, to our empire's final problem." Not sure if they were something new or something that already exists given a mysterious name. There are talks about them that makes them sound like they are machines powered by the force, but I'm not sure how that solves the Rakata's final problem or meshes with Torwin's power. Then again the Rakata were evil jerks, so maybe their solution was to just murder everyone so they didn't go down alone?
I feel like there is a good chance that this unused arc is the inspiration for at least part of the current arc since one of the powers Darth Nul is mentioned as having is awakening force sensitivity in those unaware they had it (slightly different, but if anyone starts mentioning Shrouded Ones, we know that is not a good sign).
Rough Map
Quests
Notable NPCs

Smuggler

Trying to describe this plot feels like a fever dream, but maybe that is appropriate for a continuation of the OG Smuggler story. So the Smuggler gets dragged into the story after an attack on Port Nowhere by a criminal gang.
The Smuggler tracks them down to Bothawui where you learn they are the Womp Family and that they have gotten ahold of a Superdreadnaught, which they refer to as a "space mansion." And they aren't just called the Womp Family, they actually are a family. The plot is essentially that a bunch of hillbillies got their hands on a...fully automated aircraft carrier(?) and are now going around launching air strikes on people that tipped their cows. They literally launch an orbital bombardment on the Smuggler at one point. Not his ship or base that he is at. Just the Smuggler after the Smuggler corners one of their members. They are also trying to extort the Republic. I don't know how things ended, but I imagine the dark side ending has the Smuggler getting a larger ship.
Rough Map
Quests
Notable NPCs

Trooper

Trooper is leading the front lines of the battle on Bothawui with a reporter in tow. Had a scene that would have been interesting to see where the Trooper was to get airdropped in a bomb modified to serve as an entry craft. The reporter mentions having enough footage on Bothawui, so I'm not really sure where the expansion long arc was supposed to go from there. Immediately after Bothawui, you are the guest of honor at a party held by the Chancellor, so I guess the Sleheyron mission pops up there.
Rough Map
Quests
Notable NPCs

Sith Warrior

Sith Warrior is the only one of the Imp classes that I have dialog for. On Ziost, the SW is in charge of getting the planetary defenses back after Pubs take them over. However the planetary defenses might only be a distraction because there is dialogue referring to the Sith Warrior saving the Voice who is a necessary component for reviving the Emepror.
The overarching plot seems to be a conflict with Gnost-Dural who seems to be looking into ending the Emperor for good. While the SW is dealing with Ziost, Gnost-Dural prepares to attack the hidden fortress where the Hand resides. The attack starts while the SW is reporting on their success in protecting the Hand. Once here Gnost-Dural captures all of the Servants except for Servant Twelve who goes to the SW for help. Servant Twelve drops the tidbit that if the hand was severed than (in this timeline) the Emperor can no longer revived. Gnost Dural seems unaware of this as he puts the Servants in stasis and carefully probes their minds to get information about the Emperor without hurting them.
Interesting to note that one of the quests is called Showdown on Ossus, so that might have been the inspiration for Gnost-Dural being on Ossus in Jedi Under Siege.
Also there is a dialogue that mentions the Sith Warrior putting down two Dark Council members. Not entirely sure which Dark Council members they were though. Checking the NPC list for all the Sith Warrior locations, the only Darths that are mentioned are Darth Baras and Darth Vowrawn. So I guess they were including Baras. I'm thinking that Vowrawn might have actually sided with Gnost-Dural? There is a line in a conversation during the Hand's Fortress that states, "His source remains a mystery--not even Darth Vowrawn or Zujen Vale knew our location." Zujen Vale is mentioned to be a traitor in a different conversation. So I guess Vowrawn being opposed to the Hand on Rishi might have been inspired by the original plan to make him opposed to the Emperor? And now I have Emperor Vowrawn on live instead. Funny how these things work.
There is also mention of the Sith Warrior making a speech during/after Ziost, which appears to have been about reform and appears to have been directed at the Dark Council. So I guess a LS option to try and put the fear of Wrath into the Dark Council after the Wrath did some house cleaning.
Rough Map
Quests
Notable NPCs

Sith Inquisitor

I have very little idea of what the SI was supposed to get up to. The SI seems to be hobnobbing with the Dark Council on Ziost, but beyond that I'm not quite sure what is going on. You did apparently get your own estate on Ziost though. So neat?
Quests
Notable NPCs

Imperial Agent

At least part of the IA storyline seemed to be focused on cleaning up after Malgus's rebellion as there are NPCs with Malgus in their name. I'm not sure whether that was the focus of the entire expansion or if you stumble onto something else while dealing with "the betrayer's spymaster."
Quests
Notable NPCs

Bounty Hunter

I have no context to make sense of the info I have for BH. An NPC named Zedania seems to be important. I can't tell what his role in the story was though. I think in one mission we are saving him though? So a client I guess? Also someone named Brand that we get a lot of holocalls from, so either an ally or a very mouthy antagonist?
Quests
Notable NPCs

Random Observations and Quotes

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed looking at this what if. If anyone has any questions about what is in the files, I can try to answer, but I can't make promises that the answers to your questions exist in the files.
submitted by Ranadiel to swtor [link] [comments]

2024.05.28 18:04 Mr-Orchard-Guy Is it just me, or does it feel like if a fic summary ends in a yes/no question, is the answer always 'yes'?

I remember coming across a humorous adage once that if a news headline takes the form of yes or no question ("Is Michael Buble the new Frank Sinatra?", "Is the soccer GOAT debate now over?", etc.) you can bet that the answer of the question is 'no'. I'm now wondering if the reverse holds true for fanfics. If the summary of a fanfic ends in a yes/no question, is it a pretty safe bet that the answer is going to be 'yes'? I'm thinking of summaries like:
"Steve and Bucky uncover a terrible truth. Can their relationship survive it?" I'm betting Steve and Bucky will still be together by the end.
"Bulma's party starts at 6. It's 5:58 and there's no sign of action. Can a disaster be averted?" There will probably not be a disaster.
And so on and so forth. I'll openly admit I've had several fic summaries of my own that have included such a question and the answer has always been 'yes', to the point that I'm now wondering if I included such a question in a fic summary and the answer ended up being 'no' whether readers might even feel misled. Is this as common as I think it is?
submitted by Mr-Orchard-Guy to FanFiction [link] [comments]

2024.05.28 09:18 Thin_Hunter_2315 Debunking Six Common Myths About BBBYQ: What You Need to Know

Debunking Six Common Myths About BBBYQ: What You Need to Know
Heya,
There’s been a lot of misinformation circulating about BBBYQ/20230930-DK-BUTTERFLY-1, and I think it’s time to set the record straight. With so much tinfoil and shills out there, it’s easy to get confused about what’s really happening with BBBYQ.
In this post, I aim to address some of the most common myths and provide the facts that debunk them. Additionally, see this as a summary of the findings this community has collectively uncovered through diligent research and discussion.
This isn't tinfoil; it’s all publicly available and verifiable truth. Feel free to look it all up if you don't believe me, I've provided sources where applicable. For all the nay-sayers, consider this your go-to document. If there's enough interest, I might even update it as new info comes along. While I welcome productive discussion in the comments, I will ignore all obvious trolls and shills.
Let’s dive into these misconceptions and uncover the real story behind BBBYQ, shall we?
Myth 1: RC had nothing to do with BBBYQ since he sold his shares on August 18, 2022.
Fact: This is one of the most persistent myths. Many believe that Ryan Cohen completely disengaged from BBBYQ after selling his shares on August 18, 2022. However, recent evidence suggests otherwise.
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/64916203/si-v-bed-bath-beyond-corporation/ (117)
On December 22, 2022, Cohen made a substantial $400 million offer for BBBYQ, as revealed by a recently unearthed lawsuit. This offer, which was ultimately denied by the company, contradicts the belief that Cohen washed his hands of the company post-sale. Cohen’s continued interest in BBBYQ, even after his share sale, highlights his ongoing strategic considerations. Many of us were mocked for believing he would step in to buy the company, especially after the GMEDD interview in November - which was posted a month before his offer to buy the company. The offer was for a lot more than his initial buy of Gamestop, I might also add. Now, with this new information, it’s clear that his involvement and interest extended well beyond the initial sale. The trolls were wrong.
This was already known to the general fans of BBBYQ, of course, but it’s nice to have an ‘official document’ validating our long-held beliefs and internet sleuthing.
Myth 2: BBBYQ is worthless
Fact: While it’s true that BBBYQ has sold a significant portion of its physical assets and intellectual property, this does not equate to the company being worthless. One of the most valuable aspects of BBBYQ lies in its tax offset credits, particularly its Net Operating Losses (NOLs), which exceed a billion dollars. These NOLs can be highly attractive to potential buyers looking to offset taxable income. Additionally, the sale of physical assets doesn’t negate the value of other intangible assets, such as the stock’s loyal fan base.
Furthermore, there is speculation that shorts were unable to buy back their shares (which is what is required to close their shorts) due to the delisting. According to this theory, these short positions might still exist. If BBBYQ were to be reintroduced into the market, it could trigger a massive short squeeze, significantly increasing the stock’s value. This potential for a short squeeze is an additional factor that contributes to the company’s worth.
Once again, we were right, and shills don’t grasp (or pretend not to know) how these things work.
Myth 3: BBBYQ is delisted and your investment is a total loss.
Fact: The delisting of BBBYQ from major stock exchanges does not render the investment worthless. For instance, Twitter was delisted yet it clearly retained substantial value. Delisting primarily affects the liquidity and public trading of the stock, not the underlying value of the company. See Myth 2 for a more though discussion about the worth of the company.
I’ve personally contacted the Swedish Tax Agency, who have confirmed that we shouldn’t mark the value of the stock as a total loss since the company still exists. They even told me to mark it as “konkurs ej färdigställd / bankruptcy not completed” - i.e. they don’t even consider this a bankruptcy (yet). Again - their words, not mine. This might be ‘trust me bro’-info, but you can call them and verify this if you don’t believe me - they’ve told multiple people this. While they might not have more information than you or me, they possess an excellent understanding of laws and regulations, even in the US (where most Swedish investors’ money is located).
Many people in this forum who have consulted tax agencies in their respective countries (including those in the US) or experts in this field have confirmed this as well. The only ones claiming “total loss” are the trolls, who only demonstrate a lack of understanding doing so. If you are one of these people and believe the agencies and experts are wrong, please call them to “correct” them. Please, make sure to also record the conversation; it would be fun to hear you argue against people who actually know their stuff.
Additionally, the stock being gone from your brokerage account does not mean you won’t receive any potential cash or equity in a new company if that happens. Your ownership has been registered. Again, feel free to call your brokerage and verify this - I’ve checked this with mine.
Once again, our diligent research has proved this myth incorrect.
Myth 4: BBBYQ is bankrupt, gone and liquidated.
Fact: This is simply not true. The company is still in Chapter 11, a year after its filing. Chapter 11 is primarily a tool for restructuring rather than liquidation. This form of bankruptcy protection allows companies to reorganise to emerge stronger. Historical examples like General Motors and Marvel Entertainment have shown that Chapter 11 can lead to successful turnarounds. The misconception that Chapter 11 equates to liquidation is a common misunderstanding of financial law. Liquidation (Chapter 7) and reorganisation (Chapter 11) serve very different purposes. The narrative that BBBYQ is finished is not only premature but also misinformed. Also see Myth 3.
Time proved the bulls were right about the potential for BBBYQ’s survival.
Myth 5: There’s no chance of a buyout or acquisition.
Fact: The possibility of a buyout or acquisition still exists. Companies in this state can attract buyers looking for valuable assets or even goodwill. BBBYQ’s preserved NOLs and loyal fan base (as mentioned in Myth 2) make it an attractive target for potential buyers. Essentially, BBBYQ is like a SPAC, holding valuable assets and potential for future growth. Investors should keep an eye on potential buyout news and not dismiss this possibility outright.
Myth 6: GME has nothing to do with BBBYQ.
Fact: This is demonstrably false. Even if we ignore Ryan Cohen as the link between GME and BBBYQ, this myth overlooks other market dynamics, such as the basket theory for instance.
According to the basket theory, stocks like GME (GameStop) and BBBYQ (Bed Bath & Beyond) are part of a larger group of heavily shorted stocks that move in tandem because they are part of a “basket” of swaps. Other experts have explained this concept in greater detail, but essentially: the trading patterns of these stocks often show significant correlations, suggesting that market forces acting on one can influence the others.
Studying the graphs for GME and BBBYQ shows that it is very likely they are in the same basket. Even after Ryan Cohen sold his shares and all visible ties were seemingly severed, both GME and BBBYQ continued to exhibit correlated price movements.
This has been proven to still be in effect; for instance KOSS (Koss Corporation) has shown movement patterns similar to GME during its recent run-up, further validating this interconnected behavior. Given this, it is safe to assume that a re-listed BBBYQ would follow the same pattern and run when GME runs etc.
End note: Time has proven us right, and if we nailed all these points, it's safe to bet we're right about the rest too. Our extensive research and dedication behind this stock clearly outshine the skeptics. So, for those doubting our due diligence, maybe it’s time to reconsider and acknowledge that we know what we’re talking about.
Our track record speaks for itself - stay informed and don’t get swayed by the uninformed noise.
TL;DR: BBBYQ is still in Chapter 11, not liquidated, and retains significant value through its tax offset credits and potential for a short squeeze. Ryan Cohen has shown continued interest in the company beyond his share sale, and BBBYQ’s story is far from over.
There's undeniable proof that we were right, and shills were wrong.
submitted by Thin_Hunter_2315 to Teddy [link] [comments]

2024.05.28 07:56 kaksahi_copy_ninja iOS 18, with AI superpowers, is coming to make your iPhone an AI powerhouse

Apple's WWDC will be its most anticipated event in a decade. Here’s how Cupertino plans to rollout AI-infused features to iPhone. In less than a few weeks, Apple CEO Tim Cook will take the stage to share the company’s AI strategy at what might be the biggest Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in a decade. Big names, including OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google, have all hosted events in the last few weeks where AI headlined the major announcements. It’s time for Apple to make significant generative artificial intelligence announcements and share the progress it has made to keep up with its rivals in Big Tech. As a consumer, keep your eyes open for what the next iOS update, iOS 18, brings to the iPhone. iOS 18, as many believe, could supercharge the iPhone by bringing AI to the center while also introducing major new features and designs.
Here are the notable changes coming to iOS 18.
Voice memo transcription Apple has been working on bringing an AI-powered transcription feature to Voice Memos. This allows the app to automatically transcribe audio to text, making it useful for students and journalists alike. Pixel phones also have the ability to transcribe voice notes using AI through an app called Recorder. While it’s an Android app, it’s exclusive to the Pixel. Although Siri has been around since iOS 5 in 2011, the voice assistant hasn’t improved significantly over the years. This, however, may change with iOS 18, which will introduce a smarter Siri using generative AI technology. Expect Siri to have more natural-sounding interactions based on Apple’s own large language models, allowing the voice assistant to respond to simple voice commands for more complex tasks. If that happens, Siri will finally transition to a more intelligent voice assistant that’s actually useful in daily life. Custom emojis
iOS 17.4 New emojis introduced on iOS 17.4 update
Perhaps the standout feature of iOS 18 could be a new way to create emojis using AI. Apparently, the next iOS 18 update might introduce users to something called “custom emojis.” Simply put, the feature works based on what users are texting. That means the AI will do the heavy work in the background, and just by texting, you could have a new emoji for any reaction. To be clear, this would expand the catalogue of options that Apple currently offers on the iPhone.
Gen AI improvements coming to Apple’s core apps
Apart from a smarter Siri and the Voice Memos app gaining an AI-based transcription feature, Apple is expected to bring the touch of AI to every core application it offers on the iPhone, including Safari, Photos, and Notes. For example, the Notes app is said to gain the ability to record and transcribe audio, as well as generate AI-powered summaries. Meanwhile, the Photos app will reportedly gain the same set of features that Google currently offers, such as Magic Editor. Changes are also coming to Safari, which may have an improved web search. Apple is also working on smart recaps of missed notifications, individual messages, web pages, news articles, documents, notes, and more. Redesigned homescreen
iOS 18 Apple might make icons more rounded with iOS 18.
The home screen on the iPhone has remained largely the same, and although Apple has made it more customizable, iOS 18 is expected to bring the next evolution of the iOS home screen. What’s supposed to change with iOS 18 is how users can place icons freely, rather than being confined to the current fixed, aligned grid. Specifically, iOS 18 will allow users to change the colour of app icons. For instance, they could make all their social networking apps have a blue colour and all their finance apps have a green colour
On-device AI vs Cloud
short article insertMany of the apps and features coming to iOS 18 will be powered by AI. For that, Apple’s own large language models (LLMs) will be running in the background to power the generative AI features. The on-device AI approach that Apple is betting on comes with certain benefits, such as better privacy and faster response times, since the data doesn’t have to be transmitted to the cloud. However, this approach may also make Apple’s AI tools less suitable for tasks like powering a chatbot or features that require heavy AI processing. In that case, Apple may collaborate with OpenAI or Google and use their expertise to bring advanced AI technology to the iPhone and other “i” devices.
Apple may label iOS 18 AI features as a “beta preview
Unlike Microsoft and Google, which continuously release new AI features at breakneck speed, Apple may adopt a cautious approach to how it wants to release AI-powered features to iPhone users. With the recent rollout of Google’s AI search tools having a tendency to produce flubs and fabrications, Apple may be thinking of taking it slowly and using beta labels judiciously. This means the AI features Apple plans to roll out at WWDC next month will come as a “beta preview”. This is another sign that AI cannot be trusted blindly.
Not all iPhones will support Apple’s upcoming “AI features”
Perhaps the biggest question is if Apple will bring new AI features to every iPhone, even as old as the iPhone 11. Well, that’s not going to happen. Apparently, on-device AI may only be available for newer Apple devices, like the latest one or two generations of iPhone, iPad, and Mac. But what about those who still use the iPhone 12 or iPhone 13? For now, at least, it is safe to assume those devices won’t get the latest AI features. However, Apple may try to bring its marquee AI features to older devices using the cloud.
When is Apple’s WWDC?
Apple will most likely give an update on its long-anticipated AI roadmap at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), which will be online from June 10 to 14. Apple often announces new features and updates for its operating systems across devices, such as the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. Cook has already indicated that Apple is “well positioned” in the AI space and he expects how AI can bring “big opportunities across our products.”
submitted by kaksahi_copy_ninja to Techunlock [link] [comments]

2024.05.28 06:56 TomW-CCFC Betaminic Public Betting Strategies Snapshot Excel File for Easy Sorting

Betaminic Public Betting Strategies Snapshot Excel File for Easy Sorting
I captured all the data from the public strategies in the Betamin Builder and put them into an Excel file. It is easier to sort and cut out strategies that way. There is the full sheet and some edited sheets. In the edited sheet, I have removed strategies with high drawdowns and low yields, etc. I also have a summary sheet of the strategies I am following. I tried to add a column with my own rating system by giving different weightings to the various data.
DOWNLOAD EXCEL FILE HERE
https://bettingsystemsguide.com/excel-snapshot-of-betaminic-public-betting-strategies-for-easy-sorting/
https://preview.redd.it/1cx2xdnaj33d1.png?width=1747&format=png&auto=webp&s=7fcc789a617301cfcdc083cea2452aeaee204f93
You can use this to sort and find the kind of strategies you want to follow.
I have used this to review and add to my low drawdown set.
Just looking at this excel file I found another version of a low drawdown set of 10. It makes 18 units profit per month. The drawdown is very low, just 29 units, so you could double unit stakes The ELS is 16 for 12 years of data and 11.21 for the next 1000 bets, so you could bet 2 units on each bet with a 100 unit bank and aim for 36 points profit per month if the historical trends repeat themselves.
https://preview.redd.it/bl1ya77tj33d1.png?width=1899&format=png&auto=webp&s=82aa2eab141c5f5ebd94d7247b14af0711413d13
I am still thinking how to combine this with my current low drawdown strategies. I will probably add some of these to my existing set.
1
Over 2.5 goals
Colossus 05 Against the Trend Overs AL (Updated 2020-07-04)
https://www.betaminic.com/system/strategy/details/263780

2
Away Win
Away weak favourite 41 of 111 leagues 4%+ yields
https://www.betaminic.com/system/strategy/details/793300

3
Home Win
Colossus 01 Home Dog
https://www.betaminic.com/system/strategy/details/6409

4
Favourite
e2
https://www.betaminic.com/system/strategy/details/11086

5
Home Win
Losers Find Win
https://www.betaminic.com/system/strategy/details/946649

6
Under 2.5 goals
Sayar's Under 2.5 (A1)
https://www.betaminic.com/system/strategy/details/138773

7
Draw
empate nos unders
https://www.betaminic.com/system/strategy/details/558314

8
Draw
championnat nul d6
https://www.betaminic.com/system/strategy/details/950516

9
Draw
Draw / Strategie / 3
https://www.betaminic.com/system/strategy/details/441961

10
Home Win
HomeWin/2.00-2.49
https://www.betaminic.com/system/strategy/details/871943

submitted by TomW-CCFC to AutomatedBettingBots [link] [comments]

2024.05.27 23:41 tiskerTasker89 Caesar's Windsor Trip Report (May 24-27)

TL/DR: stayed Caesar's Windsor for 3 nights (Friday-Sunday) while competing in a Master's swim meet. One big win on Saturday made up for losing sessions on Friday and Sunday.
Friday: arrived in the afternoon and hit the tables around 5pm. 2 regular and 1 crapless open and surprised to find $15 minimums. Full 5x odds at Caesar's Windsor and a fire bet.
Played pass line and continuous come bets at table minimum. Start at double-odds (ish) ($50 6/8, $40 5/9, $30 4/10 and press my odds / flat bets if things get going). 6/8 for $60 action (and then down with odds). Plus a $15 hardway each point (on the point or the 8 for points of 9 and the 6 for points of 5).
No luck and took a break for dinner. Met my host and she gave me a $100 voucher for dinner. Used it at Nero's - the steakhouse on site. Great meal and service at the bar (was lucky to find a spot as Paul Anka was playing at the casino theatre that night).
Took another spin after dinner. More of the same - in bed by 10pm (rest for swimming) and down $3000 for the day.
Saturday: After my swimming day hit the tables at around 620 PM. $25 minimums now.
Had a top 5? Top 10? all-time session ... in for $1400.
Highlights: hit a $75 Yo for $1125 (if there are back-to-back eleven's, I bet a $75 Yo).
Another shooter made 5 points (my $5 fire paid $1250 or 250-1)
During this run I got my line bet pressed up from $25 - $30 - $50 - $75. At $75 you can take $625 odds at full 5x odds for points of 6/8 and I collected on 2 of those for an $825 total pay. I also got my come bets pressed to $30 (another sweet spot for full 5x odds) and was able to be "off and on" for $330 a couple of times.
The shooter had a "front line winner 7" during his run so I reset my bets to $30 on the line and $25 come bets. At this point I do place bets for "3" $25 units and come down with odds. He made another point or two.
After the inevitable 7-out, I got the dice. Put the crew $96 across including the point and made 2 points and a couple of other numbers.
Then after a couple of quick point-seven outs I took the money and ran. Cashed out $9600 (+$8200) at around 745 PM. Headed out to a downtown Windsor bar for dinner to watch NHL/NBA playoffs.
Sunday:
After swimming (I just swam the morning session) hit the craps table around 4pm. $25 minimums. Limited myself to a $2000 buy-in and that lasted 2 hours. Didn't rebuy and "chase my gains".
Left Windsor on Monday with a decent trip profit of $3200. Very happy!
Windsor summary comments: I haven't been to Windsor since the Fall of 2023. A couple of downtown bars I remember from previous (recent) visits have closed (Manchester and Dugout) - and the down town core was already struggling. Other bars (Finn's) had early closing hours.
Hit Thyme Kitchen (on Oullette) for breakfast each morning - I highly recommend. A short walk from the casino.
Next to Thyme Kitchen is the Loose Goose pub where I caught the Saturday sports games.
Caesar's Windsor was not as busy I expected given the Memorial Day weekend in the US and the Toronto Blue Jays playing at Detroit. There is no coffee craps (early morning) on the weekend that I saw (as I headed to swimming). Looks like craps tables open at around 10AM based on what I saw Monday morning
No Diamond Lounge or buffet at Caesar's Windsor anymore (which I remember from pre-COVID times). I understand the casino sports pub doesn't open until 4pm, which is also strange / consistent with Caesar's penny pinching under post-takeover ownership.
Thanks for reading and may all your parlays come in!
submitted by tiskerTasker89 to Craps [link] [comments]

2024.05.27 12:04 Yume_Dreamfields [PART 5] Going on a date with the Wizard [M4A] [Fantasy] [Neko Listener] [First date] [Cute] [Romance]

Author notes:
I’m still alive! Been busy with a few stuff, but hopefully I managed to find the time to write part 5. Next update will be for my other medieval fantasy collab series <3
As always, you can monetize with the script, and since English isn’t my first language, feel free to make edits to the scripts to make things sound better, or if you want you can change sfx and such it’s okay too!
If you haven’t read the other parts, I’ll leave you the link below <3
Hope you will enjoy part 5, se you (hopefully) soon with part 6!
PART 1
PART 2
PART 3
PART 4
PART 5 → You're here!
Summary: After accepting the invite from the Wizard, the day has come and you go out together! Chilling together inside a comfy and warm cafe, you watch the snow falling gently, whitening the streets outside. The snowy weather also gives the perfect opportunity to create a cute and unexpected present with magic.
____________
[Action/things happening/Moods] Thinking
[Door opening, bell ringing, door closing]
[Happy] Here we are! I was really looking forward to this moment, since when you accepted my invite. Aaah, it feels so warm in here… it almost makes me want to stay here forever. [Chuckle]
True, my house is warm too, but we don’t have all of these amazing coffee and tea options. Or all of those sweets. In fact, now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I last bought a cake or something. [Excited] You know what? Before we leave, we could get one to bring with us, so we are settled for the next week!
I’ve been focusing so much on research for curse lifting, and you’ve been working hard to assist me with my shop, I’d say we earned it, don’t you think?
[Happy] Great! Well then, for now, let’s just sit over there. It’s near a fireplace, and it’s a little bit more secluded compared to other tables, I think… you might want some privacy, just in case.
[Footsteps]
[Relaxed] Aaah, it’s so beautiful in here. Oh, look, each table has a candle too! This one is… [pause, smelling the candle] ...vanilla, definitely vanilla. What a nice aroma… shall we light it up?
All right! [Finger snapping] It smells so good… don’t you agree? It gives you the same vibes of coming back home after a long journey. Do you… like this place? [Relaxed] It’s been so long since I last came here, it looks so different compared to last time. I can see the owner really cares about this place, it’s so much better compared to the past… Oh, anyway, I took this before sitting: it’s their menu.
[Page turning]
They have so many options! Wait, do they really serve this too?! Pecans aren’t so common here, I’m so happy they made a coffee with pecans too. [Slightly frustrated] Argh… now I really want to have this, but I swore to myself that I would have tried the limited edition one. I guess… [shyly] maybe we’ll come again here, together? It could be, like… a weekly date, or something. You know, like a treat for our hard work and an occasion to spend some “chilling-time” together.
I- [Embarrassed] Yes, I just called it “date” but- I mean- You know, it’s like-- [The more it goes on, the more it gets flustered and no sense] Going out together because- it’s… fun? I mean you don’t have to call it necessary “date” if- if you don’t want to see it as a date. Like, it’s not a “romantic” date. More like an “appointment” date? Or a colleagues date? B-because that’s something colleagues do. Or friends too. Because, yeah, we… are both colleagues and friends. And roommates. And-- friends can sometimes have these “friends date”, and… uh… [whispered] okay, this is so awkward. How do I get out of this mess I put myself in- Please, floor, just swallow me and let me disappear.
Don’t-- don’t laugh at me! [Pause] [Pretending to be offended] Yeah, I can see that you think it’s funny… [Pause] Oh, look! It’s snowing! [Whispering] And perfect timing, thank goodness.
[Chill again] It’s so beautiful from here. It’s the first snow of the year, I didn’t expect it! Though… hopefully we won’t freeze going back home later.
True, it’s enchanting nonetheless. Delicate, too… it reminds me of you, you know? [Chuckle] Now we’re fair. I can’t be the only embarrassed one. [Satisfied sigh].
So? Have you decided what you’re going to order?
[Excited] Ooh, I bet that’s super tasty! I’ll go for the limited coffee with caramel, vanilla and toasted almonds. I’ll go get them, please wait here for a moment.
[Chair moving, footsteps]
I said it without even thinking… but, it really feels like a date. A… “real” date with them… Why am I so nervous? It’s not like it’s the first time we went out together, and we always stay together at home to… [sigh] I must have looked like an idiot. It never happened to me, come on, get yourself together! Just… calm down, calm down. Behave like you always do. It’s just… a date. That’s what I had in mind when I invited them, after all. Saying it out loud, like that, though… well, at least they didn’t mind. That… that must be a good sign. I guess?.
[Pause, sigh]
They… truly look beautiful, leaning their cheek upon the hand like that, while they watch the snow with a dreamy and relaxed expression. I can’t believe how much close we’ve grown. Thinking that a little bit more than a month ago we didn’t even know each other, and now I… can’t imagine going back to my house and not finding them there. I wonder if… is it the same for them. Or maybe… [worried] they’re staying only because they need their curse lifted? We never really talked about it and… I’m not sure I want to know the answer. Not… now. I’m pretty sure, though… I can’t think of anyone else I’d wish to have close to me.
[Footsteps]
[Relaxed] Here it is, this one is yours and this is my coffee. [Sound of cups being put on the table, chair moving]
[Taking a sip]
Aaah, it feels so warm. It’s just the perfect drink for a cold and snowy day like this one. And it’s so sweet too! What about your? How is it?
[Happy] Oh, I’m glad you like it! It really looks delicious.
Are you sure? ...Well, if you insist, I’ll take up on your offer.
[Drinking] Wait a moment-- [embarrassed] isn’t this some sort of an indirect kiss?!
[Cough] [Kind of choking tone] I think it went down the wrong way- [More coughing] But... yes, it really is tasty! [Last cough, but still a slightly choking tone] Yes, yes, I’m okay. All good now, I can’t allow a coffee to take my life [Chuckle]. [Truly all better, hopeful tone] Would you... like to try mine too? Here.
Now that I think about it… this happened already, didn’t it? When they had to take the health potion and didn’t trust me enough to take a sip, so I had to take one first… I hadn’t thought much of it back then. It feels so different now, though.
So? Do you like it? [Pause] I know, right? It’s really delicious!
Are they… blushing? I wonder if they had the same thought. Oh, come on, why is it so awkward… I need to say something! Anything!
Uhm… [cheerful] Oh, have you ever made a snowman?
[Nostalgic, happy] When I was younger, I used to make snow bunny instead. It took less time and effort. I remember seeing a wizard in this village making one and giving it life thanks to his magic, for just a little while, but it was so adorable. I think that was the first time I felt attracted to magic, you know? [Chuckle]
Oh, I thought it was pretty common back then! So you’ve never seen a snow bunny coming alive and bouncing here and there? If you want, we can make one later. If it keeps coming down like this, I’m pretty sure by the time we get home, there will be a thick layer of snow.
[Pause]
Well, yes, it could be anything. A snow bunny, a snow man, a snow cat. [Mockingly] Do you want to make a snow cat? [Chuckle] [Pretending to be serious] No, of course I’m not making fun of you, don’t give me that look! [Laugh] [Happy, chill] But still, wouldn’t it be cute? A white, cute, snow cat. After all, today is our day off. We need to have fun and relax, and what’s a better way to have fun than making things with snow?
[Chuckle] It’s decided then.
[Excited] Oh, and… I forgot to tell you, I’ve heard about a grimoire with a lot of researches related to curse lifting, written by one of the best wizards of the past. The good news is that it uncovers a lot about curses and curse lifting, much more compared to all of the other books, so we will have a greater chance of finding a solution for your case. [Upset] The bad news is… to get it I’ll have to travel to the capital. [Slightly sad] Aw, don’t make that face. [Trying to cheer the listener] It could be your chance and I won’t be away for much. It should be just four days, the capital it’s not that far after all.
[Bittersweet] Oh, as much as I’d love for you to accompany me, I can’t let you do that. It’s getting colder and colder, it’s not the best idea to travel in this weather, plus I need someone to run the shop for me. Especially now that we’re a little bit… short on money, and unfortunately the grimoire is pretty expensive. That’s the second bad news.
[Comforting] No, no, don’t be sorry! And I don’t want your money either. It’s true that I’m buying it to help you, but it’s still something I would have eventually bought as a wizard. I’m sure you know already, but you never stop studying magic even when you’re great at spells and stuff, because when you’ve studied all the magic coming from the past, there is still so much more to uncover in the present. And before researching the present, I must study all about the past. So, don’t worry about it, okay? If you deal with the shop while I’m gone, you’re already helping a lot.
[Encouraging] Hey, it’s all right, I know you can do that. You always make perfect potions, for someone who doesn’t use magic or spells. As for the chanted amulets and spell-scrolls, I’ll deal with them in advance so you won’t have to worry. I think… we should give this grimoire a chance.
[Serious] No, I’m sorry, but… I don’t want to wait for the weather to change, I don’t want to waste precious time. I… [sad] haven’t forgotten about how you truly feel, and I promised to you that I would have worked harder. So please, let me do this. It’s not a problem for me, I assure you! And again… it’s only for four days. All right?
[Relieved sigh] Good.
[Pause]
[Happy] Well then, enough talking about work. Why don’t you choose a cake to bring home?
Oooh, nice, that seems delicious.
What- no, don’t you dare! [Confused, but gentle] I’m can’t let you buy it for us, I’m the one who invited you, so I’ll be the one paying for it.
Huh? What’s that look- hey, no! No, wait!
[Sound of wrist being grabbed, chuckle] Nope, I’m not going to let go of your wrist! Nu-uh. I can’t let you pay, absolutely not. The money you earned with your hard work… you’re supposed to use it for yourself, not for these things. I mean you’ve been helping so much with the shop and at home, and it’s only fair that I give you extras when we have them thanks to you. You’re still working for me, remember? And all of these money you’re saving up, you’re supposed to use them for something you like, not for… these things.
Are you sure? Sigh… [Happy, genlte] You’re always so stubborn, aren’t you? But… it makes me happy, really. Seeing that you care this much… too. Okay, let’s do this: since I’m the one who invited you to this, uh, date… my coffee and your drink too are on me. If you’re absolutely sure, I will accept your kind offer to pay for the cake to bring home. Do we have a deal?
Perfect! I’ll let you go now, and be right behind you. I’ll just grab the empty cups.
[Pause]
[Calling back the listener, with a “warned you” tone] Hey, only the cake.
[Sound of cups and spoons, footsteps]
Here is the rest of what we own them, and… oooh, this cake smells so good! [Excited] Shall we have a slice when we get home? Or maybe later, after dinner. Great! All right, let’s go.
[Door opening, bell ringing]
The snow it’s not going to stop soon… [worried] are you cold? I thought I saw you shivering a little bit. Hm, if you say so, okay, [Hopeful] Would it be a problem for you if we go to another place before going back home? I’d love to show you something, since it’s snowing.
[Happy] Here, come with me.
[Footsteps]
It’s pretty near, don’t worry, I wouldn’t have asked you to go there if we had to walk a lot under the snow. It’s just a minute, more or less.
[Relaxed] The village is so quiet when it’s snowing, it almost looks like a ghost town, don’t you think? But… it still brings out so much beauty. With everything quiet, everything covered in white… if only it wasn’t this cold, it would be perfect. Still, I think it’s better this snowy weather if compared to the suffocating heat of the summer. What do you think? Are you more of a winter person or a summer person?
Heh, I knew that. [Excited] Oh, we’re here!
[Happy] I’ve always loved this park, I remember once when this little lake froze, and thanks to the wizard I told you before, that made sure with his magic that the ice was stable and safe, there were kids skating on it. If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s super fun! I mean, after you go through the first struggling step of falling every few seconds. Well, that phase is also fun, but for those who watch. [Laugh]. Still, if it happens again this winter, I’d love to take you here... and skate with you. [Shyly] ...What do you think?
[Happy] Perfect! This year feels much more colder than the past one, so who knows, maybe we’ll get the chance. But... this wasn’t really the reason I brought you here, actually… come with me.
[Footsteps]
See this tree? It’s a silverleaf willow. While researching to find a remedy for your curse, I found out that this willow’s leaves are used as an ingredient for some kind of curses. Unfortunately, it doesn’t really help much with our case, but… I also found out that at the base of this willow, when it snows, if you use a specific spell, marvelous flowers can bloom. The magic helps transfer the vitality of the silver leaves to the snow that settles on them, and directly to the ground without it dispersing, thus allowing these rare flowers to blossom. Here, look:
[small pause] You first touch the silver leaves, and you let the snow melt upon your fingers. Then you touch the ground underneath, without waiting for too long, and… here the magic makes its trick. Look… it’s blooming.
[Gentle] Isn’t it beautiful? That’s the silverleaf lily. It… doesn’t really have any purpose, and it’s something that wouldn’t exist without the help of magic, but… I personally find it lovely.
I’m so happy it snowed today, so I was able to show it to you! And… here, take it.
[Happy] You know, since it’s the result of a spell, it’s not really going to wither. You can turn it into a pin for your hair, or for your clothes… I think it would look great on you either way.
Of course you can keep it! That’s… the point, after all. [Chuckle] Take it as a “thank you” for the cake. [Shyly] And, maybe also as… [small pause, slightly sad] uhm, no, never mind. I, uh… I think it’s better to go back home now. The sun will set soon, and [Cheerful again] we still have some snow bunny to make! Oh, wait, maybe you wanted to make some snow cat? [Laugh]
Okay, okay, let’s go. Let me know if you feel too cold, you can snuggle up to me if you need to.
[Footsteps]
Kitty?
[Gentle] Thank you for coming with me today. I really had a lot of fun, and I hope it was the same for you.
[Relieved] I’m happy to hear that, kitty. Really happy.
submitted by Yume_Dreamfields to ASMRScriptHaven [link] [comments]

2024.05.27 10:10 BimboJoanOfArc It’s my older sisters birthday today

I may talk about addiction, assault but not sure I just know I have instances of all with my sister.
I don’t want to blast her. I’ve never wanted anything but the absolute best for her. But she has created so much pain in my life what I DO want is her to leave me alone.
My whole life has been tainted by her, we are closest in age in a large family. Looking back, even as an adolescent the things she did were very calculated. I don’t fault her for those though and won’t bring any occurrences before she was an adult up. I used to feel bad for her as a child but looking back today it’s hard. More apathetic towards it. I think she’s maybe a sociopath (I hope that’s not offensive, I have a plethora of mental illnesses myself and don’t think antisocial personality= bad person)
I’m going to give my best of a summary of why we don’t talk. Because I can’t handle writing out anymore. It hurts you know: I invested my life into her and believed her, defended her so vigorously. Childhood she got me into bad stuff. I feel basically groomed to be her professional scapegoat. I was fed info on my parents, every family member was turned against each-other. As teens she got me into dangerous situations and I saw and did many things that haunt me. Most of it was based around keeping her alive and being fought for it. I think I really was starting to realize she was evil at 18, I was being sexually harassed by a family friend who I was living with. (When my family member would leave for work he’d jack off infront of me, I told him to stop and told my family member, then he threatened me and I lived in fear while he continued doing gross stuff like sending me porn.) My sister said she’d come protect me, tell him off. When she came, it was almost like she was trying to seduce him. That’s what I felt like she couldent stop smiling. And this man was fat gross and old. They spend the whole night shit talking about me in the pool drunk. She wakes me up wasted at 4 in the morning to tell me I’m being ridiculous and it’s “his house he can do what he wants” I stayed longer because I thought I had too. Shortly after turning 19 I got the hell out. One of my many ptsds.
Then she got pregnant, I had to help her because now a baby was involved. She fucked me over lies and lies. Then she gets 40k inheritance from a death, our whole life in poverty this could’ve changed everything, helped so many of my family member with their emergency health needs. A year later it’s gone (I forgot to mention she’s been a meth addict since I tuned 20, I am 24 today.) this wouldent matter if she didn’t then make it my parents issue where I currently live.
Let me back it up a bit, a year before now my brother died. She was strung out like dropping a meth pipe at my child nephews baseball game fucked up. I just started a new position days before my mom found my brothers body (me him and my parents lived at home) him and I were both victims of my sister. The year without her at home we soared so high. We were so greatful to not live in fear. Then he died. And the one who made his quality of life so bad showed up. I begged her please don’t go through his stuff while I’m at work. She agreed. Came home to her having destroyed what once was my brothers. She destroyed it, took everything, moved everything away from how he had it. She purposefully did that, because I asked her not too. She didn’t care. She used it for sympathy as she hated my brother. She made up lies about him sexually abusing her (no it’s far from the truth she doesent even remember saying that. Still you don’t fucking say that about your brother, who actually has been assaulted! Especially for me who’s actually been violently raped and had her yell at me she’s wish I’d get raped again. To have a lie about someone who’s so safe to me and now gone, fuck her.) that’s when my anger really began
We moved out pretty fast after that I don’t remember much I was fucked in the head. Back to her getting evicted from her apartment after draining her bank account. My oldest sister was paying her rent because my dad got cancer and she was tormenting us and it all ended in a night of her bringing over strangers with guns and telling my dad she hopes his cancer kills him. My oldest sister knew my parents wouldent kick her out on the streets and wanted to help my dad. So no rent to pay and 40k? No new clothes or amenities? Yes I’m also angry at my parents for enabling this animalistic behavior. But they are old and seem so defeated after my brothers death.
So the past 6 months of living with her, I welcomed her with a welcome basket with a lot of nice things because I wanted things to be civil. I wanted the life I’d built the last few years and not the trauma I grew up in, my parents swore they’d protect me but she is too scary. She’s tried to physically assault me many times since I’ve been here. I’m so non confrontational, I don’t say a word avoid eye contact only leave my room to pee or walk the dogs. I’ve also caught her neglecting my dogs but because it’s my word against hers my parents have gaslit me into staying quiet. They make me feel insane. Like I’m just supposed to hand over her everything, while she has no respect. She’s so dirty. Not like messy like what the hell happened to my floor? I feel so horrible about the dogs but I’m powerless. I feel like she is so aggressive with them because she sees how much I love them and that they are all I have. They aren’t actually my dogs they are my parents but I love there, give them all their stimulation and love and exercise and taught my parents how to be decent pet owners.
Anyways I’m terrified. She’s home alone in my house. I’m doing a job I agreed to well before my parents told me they’d be out of town (they purposefully didn’t tell me till last minute knowing I’d be upset lolll) luckily my other family member is watching the dog she’s most aggressive tords. I’m still terrified I thought that this home we moved into, I’d never have to fear for my life in. The men she sleeps with are so questionable and scary people (her best friend strangled her and her neighbor called the police. Which is awful I wish that guy death. But my sister is VERY violent she’s beat on me, my mom, my dad, her hs bf. And I always told my parents you have to get her help or one day she will meet someone who doesent put up with her like us and she’ll be dead) I’m so scared to what I will come home too. Every time it’s worse she’s destroyed our once nice clean beautiful home.
I don’t want to have this hate in my heart. I’ve tried so hard to let it go but my biggest triggers are the animals, my brother and the drugs. I can’t take it anymore. I can’t take being afraid to use the restroom. I can’t take reliving my childhood but now my only protector my brother is gone. I hade cowarding to her. All I did when I caught her neglecting my dog was spit out “IM CALLING RHE POLICE” and shakily try and lock the glass door after yanking my poor dog from her while she bangs on the glass door. Hiding in my closet with my dog as a 24 year old shaking so hard I can’t open my phone. My parents were gone at church for an hour when she did this. She is my biggest fear.
Still some guilt creeps up on me. I hate this day. For so many years it was so scary because nothing was enough for her. No matter what lengths we went to to make her birthday special. But you know what I have more of that guilt? Anger. Fuck you!!!! This family was so beautiful, it was YOU all along. Sometimes I wish it was you instead of him. But death is to powerful for me I just want you gone from my life and to stop harassing me. I want you to stop harassing everyone! You can do bad things and be the shit person you are without exploiting and torturing us all. Stop walking around the house half naked too none of my rapists are showing up any time soon sorry. We are two adult women living with our elderly conservative parents. It was fine as a teen but the last thing I want to see is that. And I know you’ve stolen enough of mom and is clothes to wear.
If you’re here, I didn’t keep my promise of summarizing it sorry. I’m just - it’s so complex. I’m in such a hell. I’ve prayed a ton to keep my home safe but I bet she’s already starting her bullshit. 27 she is today, the age of my brother when he passed. I hate writing that he passed especially in a post about the women who destroyed our self esteem and personalities. He was too kind though. If he was here I’d put my hate aside for him and be cordial. But he is not here to confide in anymore. His pain got too great and i feel that’s where I am.
submitted by BimboJoanOfArc to Vent [link] [comments]

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