Enjoying these daily updates, listen to my podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/ai-unraveled-latest-ai-news-trends-gpt-gemini-generative/id1684415169

Sam Altman quashes search engine launch rumors

OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, denied rumors of launching a search engine ahead of Google I/O, stating that the upcoming announcement is neither related to GPT-5 nor a search engine. He described the forthcoming revelation as something that "feels like magic."
However, there are reports that OpenAI is developing an AI voice assistant.

iOS 18 iPhones may soon have ChatGPT

OpenAI will bring ChatGPT to iPhones. The integration is expected to happen with the upcoming iOS 18. This could significantly enhance the user experience and expand the capabilities of Apple's virtual assistant, Siri.
Parallel to negotiations with OpenAI, the tech giant is also engaging with Google's parent company, Alphabet, to integrate the Gemini chatbot into Apple's devices. These ongoing talks, however, haven't led to an agreement yet.

SoftBank’s Arm Holdings all set to come up with AI chips in 2025

SoftBank's subsidiary, Arm, plans to develop AI chips and launch them in 2025. Arm is establishing a dedicated AI chip division and targeting a prototype by spring 2025 and mass production by autumn. SoftBank will contribute to the initial cost of 10 trillion yen ($64 billion).
The AI chip business could be spun off to SoftBank. Negotiations with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (TSMC) and others for production capacity are underway. The move reflects rising demand for AI chips, which has boosted Arm's share price since its IPO in September.

GPT-4o: 2x faster, 50% cheaper, 5x rate limits than GPT-4 Turbo

OpenAI unveiled its new flagship model, GPT-4o (“o” stands for “omni”). It provides GPT-4-level intelligence but is 2x faster, 50% cheaper, has 5x higher rate limits, and enhanced text, voice, and vision capabilities than GPT-4 Turbo. It also matches GPT-4 Turbo performance on text in English and code, with significant improvements for text in non-English languages.
GPT-4o can respond to audio inputs in as little as 232 ms, with an average of 320 ms, which is similar to human response time in a conversation. It is available in the ChatGPT free tier and to Plus users.

TikTok tests ChatGPT-powered search results

TikTok is testing a new search feature that uses AI to generate results for some queries. For certain search terms, like recipes or product recommendations, TikTok will display AI-generated answers at the top of the results. These answers are powered by ChatGPT, and when you click on one of these AI results, it takes you to a page with a full response.
TikTok is also testing "search highlights," which appear at the top of some searches. However, it's unclear whether these highlights are AI-generated.

Meta explores AI-assisted earphones with built-in cameras

Meta is currently exploring AI-powered earphones with built-in cameras. The project is known internally as “Camerabuds;” however, it’s uncertain if the final product will be in-ear earbuds or over-ear headphones. The cameras let the AI take in surrounding information visually, allowing it to translate foreign languages, identify objects, and more.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has reportedly seen several possible designs but has not been satisfied with them. Outside of design, the major hurdle is fitting a camera and batteries in a tiny device like an earbud.

Google announced a wide array of updates across its AI ecosystem

Major headlines were Project Astra, an AI agent that can see and hear users in real time, and AI teammates that can answer questions and organize data within Workspace.
Google also introduced Veo, a high-quality video generation model, and significant updates to Google Search, including expanded AI Overviews, advanced planning capabilities, and AI-organized search results.
The company launched Gemini 1.5 Pro, boasting a massive 2M context window extension, and Imagen 3, the next version of its text-to-image model. Other notable announcements included:

• Gemma 2 updates: New 27-billion-parameter model launching in June
• Google Play: New app discovery feature and developer tools
• Android feature to detect potential scams during calls using Gemini Nano
• Ask Photos: AI-powered search in Google Photos using natural language queries
• Gemini in Gmail for searching, summarizing, and drafting emails
• Gemini 1.5 Pro: Increased input capacity to 2 million tokens
• Gemini Live: In-depth voice chats with Gemini on smartphones
• Gemini Nano: Smallest AI model built into Chrome desktop client
• Gemini on Android: Deep integration with Android OS and Google apps
• Gemini on Google Maps: Generative AI summaries for places and areas
• Tensor Processing Units (TPU): Sixth-generation Trillium chips with 4.7x performance boost
• Project IDX: AI-centric browser-based development environment in open beta
• Circle to Search: AI-powered feature for instant answers using gestures on Android
• Pixel 8a: New smartphone with Tensor G3 chip, starting at $499
• Pixel Slate: Google's Pixel Tablet is now available with or without the base

Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's co-founder and chief scientist, has left the company

Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's co-founder and longtime chief scientist, has left the company. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the news on X, expressing his sadness and gratitude for Sutskever's contributions. Jakub Pachocki, OpenAI's research director, will step up as a chief scientist.
Sutskever's departure comes amidst reports of disagreements with Altman over OpenAI's direction, mainly concerns about rushing AI-powered product launches at the expense of safety. The situation escalated last November when Sutskever and OpenAI CTO Mira Murati approached the company's previous board to express their concerns, leading to a brief attempt to fire Altman. However, Altman was swiftly reinstated, and much of the old board resigned.

Apple unveils AI-enhanced eye tracking, music haptics, voice shortcuts

Apple recently unveiled new accessibility features that will launch later this year. One of these features is Eye Tracking, which enables users with physical disabilities to navigate their iPhones and iPads using only their eyes.
By leveraging the front-facing camera and AI, Eye Tracking allows precise control through a “Dwell Control” feature, eliminating the need for additional hardware.
Another noteworthy addition is Music Haptics, designed for users who are deaf or hard of hearing. When enabled, the Taptic Engine in iPhones plays taps, textures, and refined vibrations synchronized with music audio.
Additionally, Apple has introduced Voice Shortcut, which allows users to create custom voice commands for specific actions on their devices. With Voice Shortcut, users can perform tasks hands-free by simply speaking their personalized commands.

Humane’s AI Pin upgraded with GPT-4o

Humane has upgraded its popular AI Pin product with the GPT-4o model. This upgrade aims to enhance the AI Pin’s performance. The new version runs faster, provides more accurate answers, and offers richer information.

Stability AI seeks buyer amid financial woes

Stability AI has been in discussions with at least one potential buyer recently regarding a possible sale. The company is facing a cash crunch, having generated less than $5 million in revenue during the first quarter of 2024 while incurring losses exceeding $30 million. Stability AI also owes nearly $100 million in outstanding bills to cloud computing providers and other entities.
The reported sales talks came after the company laid off some staff as part of a restructuring process following the resignation of founder Emad Mostaque as CEO.

OpenAI is bringing Reddit content to ChatGPT and new products

OpenAI and Reddit have formed a partnership to benefit both the Reddit and OpenAI user communities in a number of ways:

• OpenAI will access Reddit’s Data API, which provides real-time, structured, and unique content from Reddit. This will enable OpenAI’s AI tools to better understand and showcase Reddit content, especially on recent topics.
• The deal will also enable Reddit to bring new AI-powered features to redditors and mods. Reddit will be building on OpenAI’s platform of AI models to bring its powerful vision to life.
• Lastly, OpenAI will become a Reddit advertising partner.

OpenAI introduces improvements to data analysis in ChatGPT

OpenAI is rolling out enhancements to data analysis:

• Upload the latest file versions directly from Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive. This allows ChatGPT to understand your Google Sheets, Docs, Slides, and Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint files more quickly
• Interact with tables and charts in a new expandable view
• Customize and interact with bar, line, pie, and scatter plot charts in the conversation.
• Work on tables in real-time

These improvements will be available in OpenAI’s new flagship model, GPT-4o, for ChatGPT Plus, Team, and Enterprise users over the coming weeks.

GenZ and millennials optimistic about GenAI use at work: Deloitte Survey

Deloitte’s 2024 Gen Z and Millennial Survey connected with more than 22,800 respondents in 44 countries to explore their attitudes about work and the world around them. One of the key findings was that Gen Zs and millennials are feeling uncertain about GenAI and its potential impact on their careers.
However, respondents who frequently use GenAI at work are more likely to say they feel excitement about, and trust in the technology. Frequent users of GenAI are also more likely to believe it will free up their time, improve the way they work, and improve their work/life balance.
But, conversely, the more a respondent uses GenAI the more likely they are to have some concerns as well.

Enjoying these daily updates, listen to my podcast at https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/ai-unraveled-latest-ai-news-trends-gpt-gemini-generative/id1684415169

The introduction is quite loaded but I will do my best to make it short. TL;DR at the end
So i'm a 17 year old male and one particular interest I have is genealogy and ethnology, i'm from northern Mexico and since I was very young i've known that I partially come from sephardic crypto-jews and when I did some DNA tests and genealogical research it turns out it is true that both of my grandfathers are of almost "pure" endogamous crypto-jewish descent as it was even confirmed by a rabbi in the case of my paternal grandfather. My heritage as of now is mainly composed of 2 ethnicities, nahua (AKA aztec) from both of my grandmothers who are from central Mexico, amounting to roughly 40% and jewish from both of my grandfaghers who are from northern Mexico, amounting to roughly 43%.
I was not raised with any particular heritage so I am very interested in creating an ethnic identity of my own based on my ancestry, however there is a problem with my jewish heritage, halacha (jewish law) dictates one must be born to a jewish mother to be considered jewish, so according to halacha I am not jewish and the law also does not specify what the non-jewish offspring of a jew is ethnically and leaves it to the individual's discretion as long as they stay outside of claiming to be jewish, within the traditional sense it is also considered a binary status as you cannot be "half jewish", you either are or are not. On top of this I am a Jehovah's witness and although we do not worship Jesus, seeing Jesus as the messiah by itself makes my claim to a "half jewish" identity even harder in the eyes of most jews.
I have a lot of respect for the jewish community and I do not want to do something that would hurt others or reopen literally ancient wounds. Most in my situation would likely chose to cling on to the nahua side but there is also a problem with that in my case: it is an uncomfortable truth but here in Mexico your skin color and phenotype defines a lot how people perceive you, by chance all of my external traits are from my eurasian side, giving me an east mediterranean look, being white skinned, dark blonde curly haired and being noticeably hairy, so in order for me to legitimize my claim to nahua heritage I need to also clarify that i'm clearly mixed and also use a european heritage as a basis for my apparience.
So I was thinking of this: upon further DNA research I found out that my relatively biggest eurasian heritage besides jewish is actually hellenic both from residual hellenic ancestry among sephaedic jews and it also seems most of my gentile spanish heritage is from eastern spain where some populations still have a significant hellenic admixture as confirmed by DNA testing, my plan would be that going by ancient logic as in the times when this part of halacha was standardized my eurasian heritage would turn greek as it is the second most dominant ancestry from that side and I cannot be partially jewish, furthermore this way people would accept my claim to a partial nahua identity while holding a eurasian one as the support base to justify my apparience as I can assure you that if I tell them i'm half hellenic iberian they would no doubt believe me, plus I am technically not wrong as I would simply replace my main eurasian heritage identity by the closest to being the dominant one as requested by jewish law, the genes and ancestry were always there, it's just that under regular circumnstances the dominant heritage would be the most influential, but this is not a regular circumnstance.
TL;DR: I am roughly 40% nahua and 43% jewis, however because of halacha (jewish law) I must not claim a "half jewish" identity as that of my own. Should I abandon my claim to a jewish heritage and instead claim the second most dominant eurasian heritage of mine as my eurasian side as it is requested by jewish law or do I hold on to a apartially jewish identity even if some wouldn't like that at all?

Hi! So I used to think for 18 years of my life that my hair was straight or at max had some waves but the truth is I used to wash it really often sometimes 2 times a day with hot boiling water and always blow hot drying it wich caused my hair to be extermly damaged without me knowing.
Then on the day after my 18th birthday I decided to do a buzzcut cuz why not, I had never done it so yeah.
Then to my happiness after about 3 or 4 months when it had grown a bit and was healthy thanks to me barely washing it has it didnt need much I started to realise that even when I was blow drying it it was forming some soft curls so as a test I decided to start air drying it and well now it forms some light curls, something like a 3a or 3b type.
I'm here cuz I have been trying for like 3 months or more to understand a good routine for it and I just can't I'm trying with leave in conditioner and curl cream after, It was looking wet for the whole day so I gradually reduced both. The problem is it actually still looks better If I just let it clean air dry without any scrunching or products and I'm going crazy at this point.
Anyway someone has any good videos/thecnics to try I have been trying different ways, brush or no brush shake no shake scrunch no scrunch idk rlly.
The best they look is after showering then sleep and then gym, at the end the sweat works really well xd.

Here in my country Turkey they are doing a blood test that measures immune response to Canids Albicans from blood. My result came low ststing that my body isnt facing high amount of candida. Yet I have blatant SIFO symptoms
I wanted to ask if anyone ever heard of this test or used it? Quick search on google shows no result about LTT ever being used to detect an infection.
So IDK, maybe I should consider it inaccurate?

She’s showing off a scrub daddy kit.
Cash is yelling in the background. Now he’s on screen with her in a “clean” but stained shirt.
The tv is blaring in the background.
Cash is off screen and back to yelling in the background.
I guess he walked up to her. She asked him what he wanted and then she immediately offered him pancakes.
Cash just screamed ow. She didn’t even pause the live to check on him just yelled “what happened did you step on a letter”
Said they’re gonna go to the trampoline park at 5. Does anyone have a copy of the schedule she posted? I don’t think 5:00 on a school night is time to go to the trampoline park.
She asked for prayers for Colt because he has a test coming up but then didn’t explain about the test.
Now HG is yelling for her and she didn’t even acknowledge him.
I guess Colt’s test is something about math. I genuinely hope he does well and is gaining something from going to school despite constantly missing days and probably being exhausted when he is there cause Judy never lets him sleep.
Colt might get into ABA therapy because of something his school initiated the paperwork. Again, I hope it works out for him and whatever happens with custody she doesn’t pull him out and try to homeschool him.
Someone just asked about established meal times 😂. Who was it. Now she’s saying Cash fell asleep late and slept late so he woke up late so meal time had to be moved back. I have a toddler who thinks sleep is a fun option. You know what I do when she falls asleep late? I still wake her up around the same time everyday so that way those late nights are an exception not the norm.
Saying Colt is aggressive and she knows she’s gonna catch shit for saying that. No shit Joanne. She’s saying Colt got aggressive with Cash yesterday.
The background sounds so chaotic. It’s overstimulating me and I’m in a dark room with no extra noise letting my daughter nap.
She said this is gonna be a commercial live. Whatever that means.
Said she has no motivation today. But said when she’s more motivated chit chatting with “us”. As someone with ADHD I get that. But podcasts and audiobooks help me stay on task. Body doubling videos were suggested because they do work. She said she uses them but idk when she would. She’s always on live “cleaning.”
She just told Cash to say “buy a scrub daddy”.
ZM is in her live talking with her like everything is okay.
She’s back to shilling the scrub daddy kits. She said she uses them everyday.
Said Colt has anxiety about going to the barber that’s why they gave him one at home 🙄. And he likes the way his hair looks. Even the anxiety about going to the barber is true they could’ve at least used scissors and not fucking clippers to cut his hair ?
Just told cash to say “go buy this” again.
Said Colt says kids at school are mean but he says she’s mean when he doesn’t get his way. Way to invalidate your kid telling you he’s getting bullied Joanne.
Said she has to talk about the kit every 45 seconds or she’ll get a violation and she’s already had two because she wasn’t showing it.
Saying she’s tired but needs to clean with her scrub daddy kit.
Cash is still hovering behind her. She told him again to say “go buy this.”
Someone I’m guessing Cash wants her phone. She offered him his iPad or the computer but letting any of the kids have her phone is a hard no today.
Okay sorry yall. I gotta wake my daughter up so she isn’t up all night

I've had ingrown hair growing sideways under the skin of my legs for some time now. Instead of growing out straight, the hairs grown longways under my skin. Some of them have two or three hairs in one follicle. When I try to remove the hair, it tears my skin. I have so many sores and purple things under my skin, I don't know what to do. The doctor said "just give it time" but thick, dark hairs are growing through the sores and they hurt so bad when trying to sleep on that side. I wonder if I can get laser now or do I have to wait for the sores to completely heal.

11/20/2017
Log book of Det. Ryan Snow
Case #2798: The Appalachian Murders
The past couple of days are events I pray no one else ever has to go through what Kate and I had. I had her and Mr. Raines cleared of all charges, having found the proof we all needed to end this case and find the true killer. Kate no longer has to go into witness protection and I had given the police a good enough lie to keep myself from looking insane in the eyes of my co-workers. I know no one will ever know the true story or believe it, but I’m writing it out here. It at least needs to be known written somewhere. Even if my and Kate’s eyes are the only ones that will ever read it written out and forever imprinted in our memories.
The morning Kate had run off to the mountains on her own, I had made my way to the Blackwell home where I was immediately met with Mr. Blackwell charging at me and wrapping his large hands around my neck. He was shaking me and blaming me for getting his daughter killed and not doing more to keep her safe. The police who had been called to examine the scene and read Kate’s letter had to sedate Mr. Blackwell to get him off of me, lying him down on the couch, his head resting on Mrs. Blackwell’s legs. Though the woman was distraught and begging the police to bring her daughter back, she still took the time to shoot that cold, death glare my way. The ice in my chest growing. I couldn’t tell these people that this thing had come after me to get to Kate. I knew it wouldn’t change anything. If anything they’d hate me even more for keeping it to myself.
The sheriff was there and he pulled me away from eye sight of the Blackwells, trying to tell me that this wasn’t my fault. But I couldn’t help but blame myself. I should have done everything I could to keep Kate as far from those mountains as possible.
There were no signs of a struggle in Kate’s room and the letter was definitely written in her hand writing. Her father’s rifle missing from the study, a backpack and some food and supplies gone as well. She had only grabbed one set of clothes from her drawers, showing she did indeed have plans on returning after only one night in the mountains to confront whoever or whatever the killer was.
I told the sheriff to keep any police from going up to the mountains without first allowing me to go up there first to find Kate. He of course argued, telling me that he couldn’t break protocol based on any hunches I may have had. However, I told him that I could get Kate back without her putting up much of a fight, whereas she may struggle with a group of cops who didn’t understand the situation she was in. I was close enough to this case to have built a trust with her after all. I was mentioned in her letter about ending this case for me.
It took a good hour to get the sheriff to eye the Blackwells, Mr. Blackwell beginning to stir from his sleep, and allow me to go to the mountains to find Kate. He didn’t bother to call off the search to the police that had already begun making their way to the mountains, but did radio to tell them to not try getting Kate home without first allowing me to speak to her. He then gave me twenty-four hours to find her to which I told him I’d only need at most ten.
Without telling him about the disturbing scratches on my car, I sped to the mountains, taking the same path Kate had that day she took her friends on their trip. The route, as the sun began to rise was scenic. A drive that may have been a sign of a bright future ahead with a beautiful week in the mountains of nothing but nature, was now a reddening sky of horror. I couldn’t understand how Kate felt, going down the same roads that led to her only friends’ fates to avenge them, but the feeling of guilt did weigh heavy on my chest as I saw the signs of the Appalachian Mountain trails grow bigger on the horizon. Guilt for not doing more to prove Kate was innocent, for allowing Mrs. Mayfield for getting killed right before my very eyes, and for Liam for not being lucky enough to save him.
When I finally arrived to the cabin, there didn’t seem to be any change since the first day I was called to the crime scene, the only thing out of place being Mr. Blackwell’s truck parked precariously near the cabin. The police tape was still up, the cars of Kate and Mr. Woolfe still left where they were, the tires still slashed, the door wide open from when Kate, Ms. Greymoore, and Mr. Woolfe ran out of the cabin upon Mr. Billings was killed by an unknown force. All the bodies had been found and were now being prepared by their families to be buried or cremated. Only one body of the five still roaming around to avenge each and every one of their deaths.
I called out for Kate as I made my way into the cabin. The Ouija board was still on the coffee table, the white line of where Mr. Billings had been found lying face first on the floor with his head bashed open remained on the spot. The planchette was still missing. I kept calling out for Kate as I made my way up to the attic, the door left unlocked, using my flashlight to shine down on the white outline where Mr. Steele had been found completely torn apart. To think Kate had done such a thing, I now realize made me look like a complete dumb ass for believing it.
When I couldn’t find Kate in the cabin, I made my way out the cabin, still calling for her. I called out to her, promising that she just needed to come back home with me and we could solve the murders together. I knew it was a lie and that the sheriff would immediately have her take away to some secluded place where the killer couldn’t find her, but it was all I could think of to try luring her out to meet me. Still, she never appeared.
The sun was soon beginning to set as I tried retracing the very steps Kate and Ms. Greymoore had taken to outrun the killer. I had passed the small shrine of flowers and the pictures of Mr. Woolfe where the boy had been found, his face permanently remaining nineteen forever in the photos of him with Kate and their friends. I kept going, trying my best to follow the same path to the cliff where Ms. Greymoore was found, calling for Kate along the way.
It wasn’t until I found the place Kate had buried her best friend that I found Kate. She was on her knees before the rock where she left her bloody handprint, sniffing as her head was lowered, her dad’s rifle in her hands.
“Ms. Blackwell-“ I began as I took a step toward her. I was immediately cut off as Kate jumped to her feet, raising her father’s rifle at my head. I jolted back, raising my hands up to show her I meant no harm to her. “Ms. Blackwell, it’s me, Det. Snow!”
“Detective…?” She gasped, slightly lowering the rifle, but keeping it on me. “P-Prove it!”
“I’m sorry?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I… I thought I saw Sonja…” Kate breathed between tears, the rifle shaking in her hands, “it… It was wearing her face… It had her voice… How… H-How do I know you’re really Det. Snow?”
“You… Saw Sonja?” I asked as gently as I could with a terrified woman pointing a gun my way. “She spoke to you?”
“Prove you’re Det. Snow!” Kate demanded as she stilled her arms, readying the rifle as she pointed straight between my eyes.
“Alright! Alright!” I kept my hands up, backing up slightly as I tried thinking of how I could prove to her I was really me. “I… I, ah… I have… Had a brother… We went to get ice cream together once and… I dropped a dime and went to grab it… I was five… I followed it out to the road and despite how trafficked it was, I didn’t get hit. I grabbed the dime just as a truck was speeding my way and it swerved just before hitting me… Seeing how close I was to death, I dropped the dime and it rolled into the sewer. My brother called me Lucky Dime since then… Saying the dime was lost to me because it did its job in protecting me… I haven’t seen my brother since I was seven and I haven’t spoken to my parents in…” I looked at my watch. “Five years… No one else calls me Lucky Dime… Not even the people at the station know that was my nickname.”
With this, Kate lowered the rifle, her eyes softening from her furious fear to a more melancholy terror. She looked to Ms. Greymoore’s grave marker, her hand print just barely visible In the approaching darkness.
“It… It looked just… Like her…” She sniffed, “it had her voice… Why did it have her voice… Why did it look like her…?”
“Ms. Blackwell,” I soothed, relaxing now that there was no weapon in my face, “we need to head back, your parents are worried about you and the police are looking for-“
“I can’t go back yet!” She snapped at me as she spun to look at me, tears in her eyes. “That thing is still out there and will kill again unless I end it!” She held up her dad’s rifle as if to show me how she meant to “end it.” “I’m not leaving until I end that… Thing that had the balls to wear Sonja’s face and have her voice!”
“Ms. Blackwell, we will catch the killer, I promise, but right now, we need to get you home before your dad ends up killing a police officer for keeping him from looking for you.”
“I told him in my letter I’d be back tomorrow! I’m twenty-years-old, he can’t force me back home if I don’t want to! I just want to stop this thing before it-“
A howling in the distance cut Kate off. Coyote from what I could hear. If I couldn’t get Kate home, I’d have to get her somewhere safe. I turned to begin talking her down and taking her to one of the other two cabins for shelter. However, when I looked back at her, her face had turned to a bone chilling terror I’d never seen on a person before. She looked like hunted prey that had been found by its predator. She gripped her dad’s rifle to her chest tightly, her hand reaching for the trigger.
“Ms. Blackwell, it’s just a pack of coyote,” I tried telling her calmly, “let’s get to one of the other cabins and-“
“No, no, no,” She stopped me as she stepped back, looking around for where the howling was coming from, “I… Heard that same howling just before I saw Sonja! I thought it was far away, but she… She was right in front of me… She… Something was off, but it looked just like her!”
“Ms. Blackwell, you didn’t see Sonja,” I assured her, “I don’t know what you think you saw, but it wasn’t-“
“Lucky… Dime…”
I froze. My blood turned to ice. The fear on Kate’s face grew as she began backing away, her back hitting the grave marker. I spun around to see a figure in the darkness limp toward us, a scratched and garbled familiar voice coming from it.
“Lucky… Dime…” It wheezed, “You brought her… Back… Give her… To me…”
I whipped out my gun, pointing it at this thing that had his voice. I stepped back to stand directly between this thing and Kate.
“Stay back!” I demanded. “Don’t come any closer!”
“Lucky… Di-“
“Shut up! Stop calling me that! Who are you? Not another step or I’ll shoot!”
The thing stopped limping toward us, its body shuddering in place as it stared us down. I took the safety off of my Glock, ready to blow this thing’s head off if it got any closer or even dared using that voice on me again.
“Kate…” It turned its attention to Kate, a completely different voice coming from it, another male’s voice. “Kate… I’m cold…”
“J-Jasper…” Kate began to sob, “Please, stop using their voices… Please stop!”
“Kate… Kate why did… Did you leave me…?” Another male voice asked. “I… I was in so much… Pain…”
“Shut up!” Kate cried out.
“I thought we… Were friends… Kate…” A female voice. “You said you… Loved me… Why won’t… You let me have… Your warmth…?”
“I said shut up!” Kate screamed as she pointed her rifle and shooting at the creature. She had missed, but the thing still let out an ear piercing shriek as it dodged out of the way of the bullets Kate was shooting. It ran off into the darkness, but Kate kept pulling the trigger of her rifle.
“Stop!” I shouted as I snatched the barrel of her rifle, shoving it to the ground before us. “It’s gone, you scared it off, get to the cabins, I’m right here with you!”
I began shoving Kate back toward where the cabins were, the sounds of that thing screaming out in a symphony of different voices ringing out throughout the woods. I shoved Kate into the first cabin we had arrived to, Cabin #1 I could only assume as I slammed the door shut behind us. It smelled God awful, like the smell of the corpse I found on my first murder case, and it was getting darker as the sun began to sink behind the trees outside.
“Detective, it smell terrible in here!” Kate cried out, covering her mouth and nose, but the tears still falling from her eyes were still visible as they rolled down her cheeks.
I pulled her close and kept her behind me as I took my gun and flashlight out. “Stay close to me,” I ordered, leading the way through the cabin, “do not run off or use that rifle without may say so, understood?”
Kate didn’t answer, but I could feel the heat from her body following after me as I made my toward the smell. It was getting worse as we inched closer to a closet door in a hallway that connected the living room to the kitchen. The door was locked, but after a couple of kicks I was able to get the door to swing open, the smell blasting us in our faces making us gag and nearly throw up on the floor. I fumbled around the sides inside the room to find a light switch that I was able to find to the side of the entryway. A yellow light flickered on, revealing the door led to a staircase. I led the way down the creaking steps, Kate close by as she kept her mouth covered with her shirt.
Once we had made our way to the bottom, Kate dropped her dad’s rifle and let out a scream as we stared at what was waiting for us at the bottom of the steps. In a large pile at the corner of this basement room were nothing but skin and bones of humans and animals covered in maggots and flies. Some of the human bodies being small and child-like in size. The missing people who were never found after vanishing when they came to Cabin #2.
I grabbed Kate’s rifle off the floor and began pushing her back up the stairs, her screaming and sobbing all the way back up to the cabin. I slammed the door shut behind us and pushed Kate to the front door.
“We need to leave,” I had told her, trying to calm her down as we made it outside, “we need to get you home and away from here as soon as possible.”
“N-No… No!” She began fighting me, trying to escape my grasp on her. “No! That… That thing is still out there! You saw it! You can’t say you don’t believe me now! It even called you Lucky Dime! It said you brought me back!”
“I’m not saying I don’t believe you!” I shot back. “I do, I saw exactly what you saw, but it’s way too dangerous for you to be out here while you’re the one it’s after!”
“I escaped it once, I can do it again!” Kate pointed out as she struggled against me while I tried getting her into my car. “I’m not running away this time, I want to kill it!”
“God damn it, Blackwell, we’ll let the police handle it! Just because you have a weapon doesn’t make you safe or ready to handle something like… Like that… That thing!”
“It killed my friends! It wants me! I’m going straight to it so I can blow its head off! It’ll come right for me!”
“I came here to bring you back home, not let you accomplish some stupid ass revenge plot! Get in the fucking car, unless you want to end up like those bodies down that-“
“D… De… Detect… Detective…”
A scratched and moaning voice cut me off. Kate and I both froze at the sound of something approaching. I turned to see a police officer stagger toward us from the tree line. I could barely tell who he was or who he used to be, his head held low and blue uniform covered in blood.
“H… Hel… Hel… Help… Help me…" It croaked as it stumbled closer.
I held up Kate's rifle. "Stay back!" I barked. "Not another step!"
The thing that stood before us wearing the cop like a full-bodied suit stopped in place. It swayed where it stood, blood water falling from its head and down to its chest.
"It… It… It's inside… Inside me…" It breathed painfully. "I… I can't… Help… Me…" Its voice then changed to that familiar voice that made my skin crawl. "Lucky… Dime… I… I'm so… Hungry… Give her… To… Me…"
I pulled the trigger of the rifle, hitting the creature in the head, the rest of it staggering backward from the blow. Still though, it remained on its feet, turning itself to look toward us once again.
"Give… Her… To… Me…" It wheeze, blood and brain pouring from where I had shot it, it beginning to stumble toward us once again. I continued shooting, hitting it in the shoulder, the arm, the leg, the head again, but it just kept coming toward us faster, demanding I give Kate to it.
I was about ready to ram it with the rifle, having run out of bullets, when a voice off in the distance made the creature freeze just an inch before us.
"I'm here! I'm here!" It called out in an almost sing-songy way, using the voice of a little girl. "I'm here! I'm here!"
"I'm… Here…" The creature repeated as it jerked its body to look to where the voice was coming from. "I'm here… I'm here… I'm here! I'm here! I'm here!" It began shrieking in a high pitch wail. It sounded like a mixture of different voices ranging from child, to woman, to man. Keeping flat on its feet, its upper body fell forward onto its hands before speedily crawling off like a spider.
We stood in shaking silence for a moment, Kate digging her fingers into my arm while I was too numb from shock to care about the pain she was unknowingly inflicting. It wasn’t until the radio from my car buzzed to life that jolted us back to whatever reality was at this point. I scrambled to the driver’s side, swinging the door open as I fell inside to grab the intercom to respond to the voice yelling for me over the receiver.
“Det. Snow, what the hell is going on up there?” The sheriff’s scratched voice called out over the receiver when I could barely get my name out of my mouth.
“Sh-Sh-Sheriff…?” Was all I could respond with, still trying to wrap my head around what I had just seen.
“Y-Y-Yeah,” he responded in mock shudder, “what the hell is going on up there? I’ve tried radioing every man I’ve got up there and am constantly being left on red! Do I need to send back-up?”
“No!” Immediately, I returned to full reality, finally understanding the severity of the moment and putting that knowledge into my tone. “Landon, do not send any more men up here, call everyone back immediately! I don’t know what this thing is, but it’s too dangerous! Call everyone back, we’re heading back to the Blackwell house now!”
“We?” The sheriff questioned, skepticism in his voice.
“I found Ms. Blackwell, she’s here with me.”
I was met with statice before the voice of Mr. Blackwell blasted over the intercom.
“Bring my daughter home, right now, you son of a bitch!” Mr. Blackwell demanded. “You bring her home this instant before I decide to kick your teeth in!”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the radio was snatched from my hand from Kate. “I’m not coming home until I kill this thing!” She snapped into the radio. “I don’t know what it is, but I at least know I’m not crazy and that it needs to die before it kills anyone else!”
I grabbed the radio from Kate’s hand, beginning to tell her off when a agonized scream erupted from the intercom. I dropped the radio to cover my ears as Kate did, the scream piercing from my car to throughout the forest around us. The voice screaming and crying for help sounded male and it seemed to echo all around us.
“GIVE HER TO ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH!” A mix of the screaming voice and Mr. Blackwell’s hissed out after a good five minutes of screaming before the radio short-circuited and puffs of smoke flowed out.
After allowing my ears to adjust to the sudden silence, I grabbed the radio once again and tried calling for the sheriff, for the cops with us in the mountains, for anyone. When I was met with more silence, I slammed the radio back down on the holder and cursed loudly, hitting the wheel as if it were the source of all my problems.
After a moment to take some deep breaths, I told Kate to get in the car as I placed her rifle in the back seat.
“Didn’t you hear me?” she shot back. “I’m not-“
“Damn it, Blackwell, we have no idea what we’re dealing with, it can mimic peoples’ voices, and it just ran off like a fucking black widow!” I snapped, stepping out of the driver’s seat to glare down at her. “The last thing I’m doing to leaving you here alone and I’m not staying here another second until I can wrap my head around what the fuck I just saw! So, you either get yourself killed out here while I try talking you down this hero complex high, or you’re going to do what I say and get in the damn car!”
We stood in heated silence, glaring each other down before Kate huffed and stormed over to the passenger side of my car and slamming the door shut as she climbed in. I jumped in after her and began driving away from this nutty nightmare I had found myself in.
We drove down the trail back to civilization in silence, Kate staring out the window and trying to keep her tearful sniffs quiet. I had finally begun calming down and was starting to feel bad for snapping at her. She had only gone there to avenge her friends by killing that thing that had most likely killed a whole bunch of cops to find her. However, I still couldn’t just let her stay to hunt it and I didn’t want to stay out in those mountains with some kind of creature that could take the form and voice of someone I knew. I still couldn’t understand what is was I had even seen.
“Wendigo,” Kate whispered, breaking the silence in the car first. She had said it as if she had just remembered something important.
“What?”
“A Wendigo,” She repeated, turning to look to me with wide scared eyes, “that’s what that thing is! It’s a Wendigo!”
“Slow down, what’s a Wendigo?”
“It’s… Oh, just forget it! You wouldn’t believe me anyway.”
“Ms. Blackwell, I just saw a cop being used as a puppet and then run off at inhuman speed on all fours; I doubt I’m not going to believe a single word that comes out of your mouth now. What’s a Wendigo?”
Kate eyed me for a moment before releasing some of the tension from her face as she took a deep breath and began explaining to me. “They’re a Native American myth; it’s believed they’re the spirits of people who would lose themselves in the woods and would end up eating other people to satiate their hunger. I think that’s what that thing is. They can mimic the voices of people who died and use it to lure people to them, they can take the form of that person too.”
“Why does it want female hearts?” I asked, not realizing I had yet told her what my mysterious caller kept asking for when they called me.
“It… It wants my heart?” she asked shakily.
I cursed to myself before letting out a frustrated sigh. “I think this thing wants hearts, but it only wants female hearts. Why? I don’t know yet. But the only other person to be found after killing someone in those cabins was found with his partner’s heart missing to which he was blamed for taking out of her. Recently, I’ve been getting calls from some… Thing wanting me to bring you back here so it could take something from you. It would have taken Ms. Greymoore’s, but you hid her well enough that only the police could find her in time. Now, I’ve been getting calls asking for you and to get something from you.”
Kate looked to me in shock before a wave of guilt twisted her face in pain. “I… I’m so, so… So sorry, Detective!” She cried out. “I… I had… I had no idea you were being… Harassed by it! Had I known it wanted me back and was demanding you brought me here, I never… I didn’t… That’s why it said you brought me back! Oh, I’m such an idiot!” She pressed her hands to her face, grabbing at her hair between her fingers and tightening them around her eyes.
“No, no, no, stop, stop that!” I ordered, screeching the car to a halt, having to bring it to a crooked stop so I could stop her from hurting herself. I snatched her arms from her head and pinned them to her lap, tears flooding her face. “It’s my fault for not telling you sooner! I was too focused on trying to solve this case with the most efficient evidence I could, but that just kept me looking to you as a suspect. I should have stopped thinking you were the killer the moment I got that first call. There’s no way any of us could have seen… This coming… Except people who probably already believe in that kind of stuff or don’t stop to assume a more rational explanation like a cult… I’m… I’m sorry. But, I won’t let it take anything from you, not anymore. I’m going to get you home and then I’ll deal with this with the rest of the police department. You don’t have to deal with this thing anymore, it’ll be my burden from now on. You need time to finally get some rest and mourn your friends with your and their families. It’s already fucked your life up enough, I won’t let it go on making it worse.”
I stopped her before she could argue with me with a wave of my hand. “Your friends’ deaths shouldn’t be your burden to handle. I know you want to be the one who kills that thing and do right by them, but that’s not what they would want. They’d want you to remember them and continue living. They know you didn’t do it, so stop blaming yourself and stop acting like you’re the one who has to make it up to them. I will put an end to this die trying, but you need to go home and be with people who are happy you still get to live.”
Kate looked down at her hands that I kept down on her lap before nodding weakly and letting out a broken “okay.”
“Good, now let’s get you home before-“
My words were cut off when the honk of a car barreling toward us echoed through the woods. The headlights were fast approaching and I barely had time to grab the gear shift to put us back in drive as the other vehicle hit us, forcing us back and forth in one violent motion. It took me a moment to check myself to be sure I hadn’t hit my head on anything or got whiplash from the crash before I immediately returned my full attention to Kate who was kneeling over holding her head. I gently grabbed her shoulder and pulled her up to examine her head. It didn’t appear to have been busted and bleeding, but she was holding the front side of her forehead.
“Are you okay?” I asked her, prying her hand away from the spot on her forehead, seeing that it was beginning to bruise. “Can you hear me? Blink twice if you can understand me!”
“I… I’m f-fine…” she mumbled as she looked to her hand to check if there was blood on her palm, “I… I think I just… Hit… Hit the w-window…” She then blinked twice in my direction before looking to the car that had rammed us.
I turned my attention as well to the car to see it was a police van, it’s front crushed into the left of my front. I quickly jumped out my vehicle and stormed to the van, yelling at who ever was driving the van to come out and explain what the hell they were doing.
The driver’s side of the van swung open once I was near enough and a man in an orange jumpsuit climbed out, staring familiar daggers at me. The moment realization set in, my mixed emotions of confusion, frustration, and fear turned to fury.
It was Leighton Raines.
“Jesus, you really are a shitty detective.” Was all he said to me before reaching into the can and retrieving a rifle out from the passenger seat.
[END OF PART 1]
Part 6

Hello,
Please delete my post if this breaks any rules - I need some ways of coping with the stress of not knowing my status as of now. Here’s some background for everyone, I’ll do it from the beginning as I don’t know how else to do it:
I’m 26, male, gay. On 14th of April I’ve met a guy and had unprotected sex with him. I was passive. I know he was HIV+ve but he told me he was undetectable. Prior to this for about 3 weeks I was taking PreP daily which I only stopped 3 days prior to meeting him (I had some stuff happening) and restarted it an hour and a half before meeting him.
Fast forward two weeks, I get a high fever, vomiting, aches all over and a massive headache as well as a sore throat and swollen lymph nodes. I didn’t immediately connect it back to him but I started finding out that unfortunately he’s a drug addict a stoner and frequently misses his meds - I am not judging at all so please don’t take it as such but that planted a seed in my head.
When my main symptoms went away (roughly day 15/16) I was left with aching everywhere and a sore throat that had continued on and off since then. It’s almost like the more I think about it the more it happens.
I am now in this IMMENSE black hole of constantly googling stuff related to HIV. I have done a test on day 32 which was a 4th generation test from my finger. This came back negative.
Yesterday, day 36 I’ve noticed white spots at the back of my throat.
I can’t stop googling, researching and finding more reasons as to why I am positive. I keep reading about how prep delays the detection window which is why I don’t trust my negative result.
I am just looking for people to give me some ways of coping with anxiety as it’s taken over my life. I am at work and I can’t stop thinking about it no matter what I’m doing. I keep randomly breaking down into tears. I wake up in the middle of the night and think about having it.
I understand having HIV is not a death sentence - I think it’s the anxiety of not knowing. If I knew I could then start moving on, but for now my life has been put on hold and I’m just paralysed.
I have another test at week 6 (+5days) and I’m already finding reasons as to why it won’t be definitive.
For me, it’s just way too many coincidences for me to not be positive and I just wanted people to essentially tell me what to do, please.

I'm contemplating using an alternative to tools/function-calling feature of LLM APIs, and instead use Python code blocking.
EXAMPLE: (tested)
System prompt:

To call a function, respond to a user message with a code block like this: ```python tool_calls value1 = function1_to_call('arg1') value2 = function2_to_call('arg2', value1) return value2 ``` The user will reply with a user message containing Python data: ```python tool_call_content "value2's value" ``` Here are some functions that can be called: ```python tools def get_location() -> str: """Returns user's location""" def get_timezone(location: str) -> str: """Returns the timezone code for a given location""" ``` 

User message. The agent's input prompt.

What is the current timezone? 

Assistant message response:

```python tool_calls location = get_location() timezone = get_timezone(location) timezone ``` 

User message as tool output. The agent would detect the code block and inject the output.

```python tool_call_content "EST" ``` 

Assistant message. This would be known to be the final message as there are no python tool_calls code blocks. It is the agent's answer to the input prompt.

The current timezone is EST. 

Pros

• Can be used with models that don't have support for function-calling
• Responses can be more robust and powerful, similar to code-interpreter. Functions can feed values into other functions.
• Possibly fewer round trips, due to prior point.
• Everything is text, so it's easier to work with and easier to debug.
• You can experiment with it in OpenAI's playground

Cons

• Might be more prone to hallucination
• Less secure as it's generating and running Python code. Requires sandboxing.

Other

• I've tested the above example with gpt-4o, gpt-3.5-turbo, gemma-7b, llama3-8b, llama-70b.
• If encapsulated well, this could be easily swapped out for a proper function-calling implementation.

Thoughts? Any other pros/cons?

Hi all, this is a post I wish I had read. Many of you have complicated issues that doctors do not help with, and I am not directing this towards you. I am directing this towards the various posters I see asking for advice about their health issues instead of seeking out medical care first and foremost.
I had made several posts here around a month ago about having an incredibly painful clit, to the point I couldn’t work and walk. It was honestly one of the worst experiences I’ve ever been through, that may sound melodramatic but having intense pain in the most sensitive part of your body for a prolonged period of time is.. yeah. This was my primary symptom, with some occasional itching around the labia. I started googling my symptoms (my first mistake, really), and posting on here, and after reading several posts I concluded what I was most likely suffering with was either smegma buildup or a hair down there stuck under the clitoris hood. The itching made some people say maybe yeast infection, but I didn’t have the typical cottage cheese discharge, I didn’t look inflamed down there at all, the itching was very subtle, and clitoris pain isn’t necessarily a common symptom. It was also on and off for months.
A lot of people recommended I examine down there and check under the hood.. but my anatomy makes it incredibly difficult to do so since it’s very in there, it’s also hypersensitive and just thinking about that makes me want to vomit. Also I have never had issues down there before so it didn’t make sense to me it would suddenly have some sort of buildup. I attempted to but the surrounded labia was so sensitive to the touch it made me jolt in pain. It was so miserable.
Long story short the pain got so bad, I went to the doctors even though I didn’t have my insurance figured out yet. (PLANNED PARENTHOOD FOR THE WIN). I was almost sure they’d find nothing since I’ve had issues before and several times doctors never find anything. I was nearly in tears when she was examining down there because I was so terrified of the pain. Luckily she was very gentle. She swabbed me for stuff and I took STD tests. While she was gone and having the samples tested I was lying in the exam room feeling so hopeless and confident she would say they found nothing. To my surprise she walked in, and said “yup, there’s budding yeast” I was so shook because she only swabbed inside my vagina, where I didn’t even have symptoms. I nearly cried in relief lol. She gave me a prescription for fluconazole, and my symptoms completely cleared up and I felt relief and could have sex and masturbate again without pain. It took around 72 hours for them to completely clear up.. anyway.
I am making this post for anyone who may have suffered with the same issue I did and is just trying to figure it out on their own for months without medical help. PLEASE GO TO THE DOCTORS FIRST, Internet forums are incredibly helpful as a LAST resort but not as an initial step. Sometimes the internet unnecessarily complicated what is a very simple issue. That’s all!

Any specific reasons given? I’m writing up a discussion post for a human biology class I’m in where we have to pick a body modification involving the integument (hair follicles included.) I know that Ibn Fadlan and Pliny the Elder both encountered or at least said that Germanic people used lye based soap to bleach their hair, but I’m supposed to give a reason as to why.
I assume it was just to look cool (aside from the practical aspect of getting rid of lice), but I’m wondering if any of yall have any other info on the subject.
Don’t think I’ll be graded too harshly for the reason why, it’s more about the potential health effects of the body modification, but I’m curious to know if there are any other sources explaining this practice.

I had oral sex with a guy, he didn't have any cold sores and as far as he knows he doesn't have herpes. His ex got tested but she said it was negative. I have a small bump? Only one. It doesn't hurt, it doesn't itch, I don't think it looks like it has fluid inside? It's not white or yellow or anything like the usual pictures. I was with him 4 years ago and at that time I went to my gynecologist but she dismissed me saying I should come back when I have penetrative sex or the symptoms come back. She says it could be anything, herpes, fungal infection, pad rash... She can't tell without seeing it. I had bumps a few times in those years although they always looked like a pimple/ingrown hair and were hard, they were never in clusters and looked nothing like herpes. I also often shave down there. This time it looks smaller and softer and again there's only one of it. I don't have cold sores on my mouth though, and we kissed and I gave him oral, but he also gave me oral. It also never popped (nothing could have popped anyway) and it never left a scab or anything. I was also with a few guys after that and they didn't get anything.

Hello everyone. Please I need help and I don't know what to do anymore if anyone has any useful information, if they have been in the same situation or can help me in any way I would be very grateful. I'll explain my situation in detail.
I had unprotected sex more than three months ago. A week later I started itching all over my body (even my hair, everywhere). At the same time I got dermographism, as soon as I scratch myself it leaves a red mark and it swells but it disappears 15min later, I can write on my skin with it. I've also had little white spots on my upper lip and the same thing on my genital area, but they don't itch or do anything.
First of all I did a blood count and it turned out that the number of white blood cells in my blood was very high: 14,000 whereas the normal is between 4,000 and 10,000, which shows that I have an infection. I took the HIV test exactly three months after and it was negative. The syphilis test after a week was also negative. And my liver test (transaminase test) was normal two months after intercourse. And the doctor told me that the white spots on my lip were not herpes, i looked online and i’m not sure if its just fordyce spots. I also took antibiotics as a preventive measure (a third-generation injectable).
But after all that, the itching hasn't stopped, the whiteheads on my lip haven't changed and I have no other symptoms. Now I take an antihistamine for the itching and that's it. I still don't know what I have and what's causing the itching if anyone has any idea what it could be please tell me I'm really freaking out.

This is more so a rant than anything but I just needed to vomit this out somewhere
I (14M) go to an all-boy private school and I feel like it has made me hate myself more sometimes. I know that I’m extremely lucky because of where my parents were able to send me but I feel like it makes me struggle a lot with myself.
I’ve had problems with my gender and my sexuality. I used to think I knew that I was straight and cis but with very few girls my age I’ve talked to (I only have 2 sister, one older and one younger, nearly my age) and it doesn’t help that I’m very introverted, so because basically everyone I meet is a boy it makes me question whether I’m straight or not.
I see girls in shows and movies and I feel like I’d like my body much more if I was one. I wish that I could wear a dress, have more feminine clothes and long hair. I do to an extent, in 2020 (before lockdowns, I just thought it would be cool to do this) I grew my hair out to like a half-mullet, without the shaved sides, I did this much before I started being confused about myself. One of my favourite music artists is someone called will wood and he has a song call I/me/myself about being a trans woman; listening to it I feel like I can relate to it in someway. Another this that relates to it is my favourite show is one called bee and puppycat, the main character is a woman and I feel like she’s what I would look like if I was a girl (brown hair, dress like her, because my fashion sense was half inspired by the show) and every time I watch the show I get these strong feelings of wishing I was a girl.
I do semi-often really wish I had at the very least, a crush. I’ve had one before, while on holidays in the west of my state, but that was probably at least 6 months ago now and I haven’t had a crush since then, even sometimes forcing myself to have one and realising what I’m doing, which then makes me think I did the same with my first crush and makes my even more worried. I sometimes like the idea of having a crush more than having a gf, but that might just be watching movies.
I also feel like I can’t share some of my more “girly” interests with my friends out of fear of being made fun of, my friends aren’t sexist or anything but I’ve been half made fun of because I open my phone with the last thing on there being the subreddit for one of my “girly” interests.
I also procrastinate way too much and almost always stay up late to do homework I’ve had all week to finish. I became worried that it might be rooted in adhd after my friend, who has it, pointed out that I act just like him when he’s off his meds, I took some online tests (Ik your not supposed to self diagnose like that but I took several and they were from places like university and mental health clinic’s websites) and they all said that it was likely that I have it. Sometimes I think that I am just trying to come up with an excuse for laziness.
The whole private school thing puts way more pressure on good grades, the half yearly exams and annual exams are all done in a single block over a few days, which I recently learnt isn’t normal and most schools do them over several weeks so students have more time to study. One thing that fucked me up was hearing somebody say that they were worried because they only got in the second to top class and their parents might be mad, his friend very quickly told him that that was stupid, but I didn’t focus on that.
I didn’t do any study in the half yearlies last year and did terribly, I said I was going to study in the annuals but didn’t and freaked out in the creative writing section of my English exam, a subject that I’ve always found very hard, and another one during the maths, even though I’m usually good at it. The school let me take the exams on my own and they wouldn’t count to my grade, which was good but this year’s exams are this Thursday and the very first one is English, I’ve had almost a perfect repeat of last year this time doing very little study and mainly for subjects I enjoy. I’m doing German this year as an elective but I did terribly in both Latin and French last year, both being my worst subjects by far, and even though I enjoy German much more than I did the other two languages, I’m still worried that I’ll forget everything and flunk German.
Sorry if this felt a bit jumpy from topic to topic but I just needed to dump somewhere

. During te there is a spike in acid lactic and squalene which is determined to disrupt the inner outer root sheath due to sebum , the hair then falls out, in that same composition on the sebum (acid lactic squalene)we have dht the dht normally tells the follicle when to fall out even in normal scalps,but to people who are sensitive , miniaturization happens so that was his explanation on why te could aggravate aga. Due to the mechanism which i just said. Even if te was for 3 months or less some people have multiple resheddings , and some people have shedding of more than 50% of the hair on their scalp so basically to sum it up what he is trying to say is that the transition from anagen to telogen or the shedding of hairs normally happens due to spike in sebum due to inducing an early telogen (squalene anc lactic acid) which carries dht which then signals the hair follicle even in normal scalps to shed , so that transition doesn’t happen unless there is a distrubtion in sebum and te causes that spike , which leads to the contact of dht with the hair follicle , which is a problem if you already have androgenetic alopecia because you made the hairfollicles come in contact with dht earlier than they would have if they continued their normal growth cycle before triggering a shed ,so basically you wasted 2-7 years worth of a growth cycle before that should normally happen and accelerated the miniaturization process because dht doesn’t have an influence in the hair follicle if the hair follicle is still in the anagen phase Not exactly. Every TE is different, but they all share a similar mechanism in which the composition of sebum is altered and the anchor system (the root sheath) is compromised, thus causing the shedding. But when the amount of sebum increases more DHT is pumped.
Idk is this scientific or just speculations from my dermatologist also when i search on google about if te accelerating aga the answer is always yes like here “TE often unmasks male pattern hair loss or accelerates its progression as the hair that regrows after TE is thinner than it was before,”idk man.

Heya, so in the process of swapping out my mainboard I accidentally wired my original BLTouch backwards and burnt it out. it made the fun magic smoke and everything. it still cycles/takes commands so the servo part of it is fine but it doesn't report anything but the OPEN state
so I buy a new one I verified that it's a genuine BLTouch by going on their website & putting in the serial # and all that good stuff & install it. it does it's self test, the light remains red so it doesn't detect any problems
I go through some sanity checks I can deploy and store the probe from the command line, but any time I do PROBE_QUERY it still just reports OPEN like the dead one I even thought I was crazy/misunderstanding how it worked so I tried homing my axis, but before it would home Z it would say "BL Touch failed to verify sensor state" 3 times and then cancel the rest of the homing.
so I thought oh, maybe I killed that pin on my mainboard, so I switched it to one of the spare endstop switches on my board & redid my config, still only reports as open I then went ahead and hooked up a multi meter (set to continuity mode) to the Black and White wires of my BLTouch to see it's output raw. no matter what state the probe is in it has continuity across the 2 pins, the only thing that breaks continuity is cutting power to the printer. I think my BLTouch is bad, right?
any time the probe is stowed it should query/report as triggered? Do I need to return my new probe to Amazon?

*disclaimer - not an IVF patient, but an egg freezing patient.
So I want kids more than anything in the world, am finally in a spot financially that I can freeze my eggs without blowing my savings, but I'm a career changerelatively new in my field (work as a dietitian in a hospital) and know I'm at a minimum ~5 years out from being ready to have kids.
All of the above being said, I've been researching the egg freezing process for the last year, and because I'm young (turned 28 recently) and I know I have time on my side, I recently got my arm implant taken out (March 19) because I know it can artificially deplete my AMH levels, and had my initial ultrasound + bloodwork drawn last week to undergo the egg freezing process.
I fully prepared myself for the possibility that my AMH would come back a little bit on the lower side after being on Nexplanon for ~7 years and only recently having it taken out, but I wasn't expecting the results that I got.
My AMH came back at a 0.5, and my FSH came back at a 16, + I had 5 follicles on each ovary. My doctor didn't say anything about the other hormones they looked at (did mention my Vit D came back a hair low and my TSH was WNL), so I'm assuming everything else looked okay (+ he also mentioned that my uterus and my ovaries both looked good).
We decided to hold off on egg freezing for at least a few more months to give the hormones from Nexplanon a little bit more time for clear out of my system, but I can't tell if I'm being optimistic or am in serious denial about my ovarian reserve, given the expected AMH lab range for my age group is between 2.5-3.0, from what I've gathered.
I see this all of the time with patients at the hospital, so I know firsthand that you can do "everything right" from a lifestyle/health standpoint and still get hit with a life altering diagnosis - but I'm really struggling here. I'm young, I've been pregnant before (it was when I was 20, but still, I can count on one hand the number of times I've had unprotected sex, and one of them resulted in an unplanned pregnancy), I don't drink/smoke/do drugs, I've always been at a healthy weight/exercise regularly and have been pescetarian for ~9 years (was a personal trainer for years + am now a dietitian), and aside from being a neurotic/anxious f*ck, I don't have any health problems or anything in my history that would predispose me to diminished ovarian reserve, at least not as far as I know? (i.e. I've never had an STI, my paps come back normal, I don't have diabetes/high cholesterol/high blood pressure/PCOS, before Nexplanon my periods were normal, etc.)
The one thing I can think of is that my mom struggled for ~3 years to get pregnant with me (+ had a miscarriage before I was born), but she started trying when she was 33, hence why I decided to go through this process as young as I am. My mom also equates her struggles with infertility to stress (she was in a very high-stress job and was under a lot of pressure to stay thin, fashion industry), and when she finally *did* get pregnant with me at when she was 36, it was right after she was laid off + finally had a break from work. She never did IVF or any sort of fertility treatment, and she had me at 37 and my brother at 40.
IDK, I'm rambling now. Just curious if anyone has been through anything similar, or if anyone has any words of wisdom/comfort. I'm just *so* beyond glad I looked into this process and got this news now, because at least I know I have time of my side, and can prepare accordingly if I need to do multiple rounds of egg freezing.