These games will be happening on Fridays at 1830CST, and will be streamed on Twitch. These games will also have the ability to be altered or improved by the chat, so there is a strong chance of interaction with the chat itself. They can do things such as fill your pockets will rocks, generate encounters, or even making it easier to find rare loot. Sometimes games may need to be canceled for real life issues, but that's just the way of it, isn't it? Additionally, this usually means there are 4 games on overage every month, each lasting anywhere from 3-4 hours. This game will be using the Veil Rider Game System, which is unlike DnD, and may be a good change of pace for you. Players who join in will receive a free copy of the Player Manual, as well as an invite to the server which we will meet in a call and play the game together. This game is currently in progress and you will be coming in after a few months of playing, and will meet up with the party as they conduct a route refuel and patrol. Due to this game being aired, there is art getting made for it as we play along with it, whether that is art of the races themselves, NPCs or of the players. Please contact me via this messenger on reddit, or preferably on discord at guardbrosky.

I’m halfway into the free trial period of roon and I have not had much luck smoothing out the playback to a listenable standard. My output is a USB dac from HRT, model “Music Streamer ii”. I know this isn’t a high quality dac but it has always delivered quite reasonable sound without stuttering while using Tidal or playing files off my HD. Now that I’m playing through Roon, it doesn’t matter whether I’m streaming or playing from HD, I get constant glitches every few seconds. MQA is the worst, but even the FLACs with higher and lower sampling and bits still stutter. When I play through the 3.5mm output the playback is smooth but the sound quality is far below that of the dac, ao it’s not worth it to use this output seeing as I have good quality speakers. I’ve tried resetting SMC and NVRAM. I’ve checked activity monitor and internet speed all is fine. Can anybody advise me on which setting I should focus on adjusting to try to smooth this out? My core is a Mac Mini 2014 and this is also the device that is connected to my dac and stereo. I merely use a tablet to control playback and adjust settings. Hence I can run the Roon Core app instead of having to open the full UI app on the streaming device. Right now if I can’t stop the chop, my options seem to be to run the sound out of the 3.5mm output, to upgrade to an expensive dac (without guarantee that playback will be smoother), or to go back to playing direct from Tidal and losing all the benefits of controlling my system from a tablet. The first two options aren’t attractive at all. Any other ideas or experience with this?

Imo, public debates are mostly pointless these days, at least political debates are. The debaters come in with idea's that they've thought about for (hopefully) some time, and debate them in front of thousands to millions of people. Even if one of the two people change their view, it's extremely unlikely they will admit it, as they have everything to lose. Even if both people are anonymous, as long as they know they are being watched, most will still stick to their pride and their ego's and refuse to admit they are wrong.
As for the viewers, most people have their minds made up on the subject long before they watch a debate. The only people watching debates these days are to watch their favored person "destroy" the other, or for entertainment. Very few people I feel actually watch the debates with open minds or to have their minds changed. In fact, I feel as though spectators don't even hear their the other speakers opinion, usually just yelling it out or whining before a full thought can be stated. It just creates a bigger mob mentality of people saying they're wrong. Maybe it's because most debates are watched online, or on TV, and usually we're surrounded by people with similar opinions to ourselves. Maybe debates are useful if they're in person and you're forced to listen to both sides instead of ignore the screen when the other guy talks.
I feel like, at least nowadays, private one on one discussions are WAY more important, as we are forced to hear what the other has to say, and there is no outside person listening in that will harm your ego if you admit fault. Now I know, most people still won't they're wrong even in these one on one sessions. However they WILL be forced to listen, and even if they won't admit it, they are forced to admit to themselves that they may be wrong, and that could at least change their actions moving forwards. I realize that is the purpose of debates, but I don't think debates really work that way these days.
Anyway, feel free to change my view, I'm open to being wrong about this, maybe it matters more than I think, which is why I posted here in spite of this belief. Thanks for reading!

Feminists, feminist allies, progressive people, I would like to connect with you. Straight or queer, I don’t mind. It’s so hard to meet progressive people and I’m getting a little lonely. I’m 33 and a cat mom. I love taking walks, connecting with nature, watching tv shows and reading. I want to take up painting, pottery and cycling. Please feel free to message me if you want to connect 😊

Feminists, feminist allies, progressive people, I would like to connect with you. Straight or queer, I don’t mind. It’s so hard to meet progressive people and I’m getting a little lonely. I’m 33 and a cat mom. I love taking walks, connecting with nature, watching tv shows and reading. I want to take up painting, pottery and cycling. Please feel free to message me if you want to connect 😊

Hello there, mysterious stranger! I am here to hopefully find new friends, as well as, new chats. Long term would be preferred, of course, but you have to start somewhere.
A little bit about myself: Avid movies and TV shows watcher. You too? What, you don’t say?!. Movie genres, that I like, are all over the place. Favorite genre, though, horror. Slasher films, Halloween especially, that would be my top one favorite slasher series, but I also enjoy stuff like, The Exorcist, Christine, etc. Psychological horror is cool also. Hereditary and Midsommar, I'd recommend both for that kind of horror aspect. But, outside of horror, I would say movies like The Terminator, Terminator 2, Dumb and Dumber, Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, Mob movies, strong 2nd favorite, like The Godfather Series, Goodfellas, Casino, etc.
Shows wise, it's all over the place, but I like True Crime shows, Drama shows, Animation, etc. Specifics wise, some would be The Twilight Zone (Original), The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, 1899 (Does it matter to complain about a Netflix show ending on a cliffhanger? That's what I thought), King of the Hill, South Park, Beavis and Butthead, The X-Files, much much much more.
Obligatory enjoyer of video games. I currently have an Xbox Series X, as well as, a custom PC. At the current moment, I’m switching between GTA Online on the Xbox, and then, Forza Horizon 5 on PC. I do have various other games on both Steam and also the Epic Games Launcher. I have TONS of games alone from the Epic Games Launcher, because of the free games, every Thursday, so maybe we can find something?
If you wish to try to chat, feel free to send a chat message (If those work?). A normal message works also, if chat messages are bugged and etc. I do have Discord also, but would prefer we've been talking for a while, before moving onto there, personally. Bye!

Hey hey, just a chill guy from Eastern Europe looking for a buddy with which to play video games or watch stuff, talk about anime, history, politics (optional), working out and to share pet pics! Or rp if you're into that, I enjoy creative writing a lot!
But ya, my main hobby is playing video games, and I'd appreciate a proper gaming bestie a lot! We could play co-op games, stream games to one another and so on!
These days I'm playing Helldivers 2, TWW3 and many RTS games and Vermintide 2! There's also Ror2, Roboquest, Avorion aand ofc i have manyyy other games, so feel free to ask!

AI-Driven Automation - Data Processing and Analysis for Business Intelligence

Introduction

In today's data-driven world, businesses are increasingly relying on Business Intelligence (BI) to make informed decisions. AI has become a game-changer in this field, automating data processing and analysis to deliver deeper insights and enhance decision-making.
This article explores how AI automates these processes, the benefits it brings, and its future trends.

Understanding AI in Business Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Business Intelligence (BI) refers to the use of machine learning algorithms, natural language processing, and other AI technologies to collect, process, and analyze data. This allows businesses to extract meaningful insights from vast amounts of data efficiently and accurately.

The Role of AI in Data Processing

Data Collection

AI automates the data collection process by gathering data from various sources such as social media, transactional databases, and IoT devices. Automated data collection tools can continuously gather real-time data, ensuring that businesses always have up-to-date information at their disposal.

Data Cleansing

Data cleansing is a critical step in data processing, ensuring that the data is accurate and usable. AI-driven data cleansing tools can identify and rectify errors, remove duplicates, and fill in missing values. This process not only saves time but also enhances the quality of the data.

Data Transformation

AI automates data transformation by converting raw data into a structured format suitable for analysis. This involves normalizing, aggregating, and summarizing data, making it easier to analyze and interpret. AI algorithms can handle large volumes of data and perform complex transformations quickly and accurately.

Data Integration

Data integration involves combining data from different sources into a unified view. AI can automate this process by mapping and merging data from disparate systems, ensuring consistency and accuracy. This unified data set provides a comprehensive view of the business, enabling better analysis and decision-making.

The Role of AI in Data Analysis

Descriptive Analytics

Descriptive analytics involves analyzing historical data to understand what has happened in the past. AI can automate this process by using algorithms to identify patterns and trends in the data. Visualization tools powered by AI can present these insights in an easily understandable format, such as charts and graphs.

Predictive Analytics

Predictive analytics uses AI to forecast future trends based on historical data. Machine learning models can predict customer behavior, sales trends, and other critical business metrics. These predictions help businesses anticipate changes and make proactive decisions.

Prescriptive Analytics

Prescriptive analytics goes a step further by providing recommendations on what actions to take to achieve desired outcomes. AI algorithms can analyze data, predict future trends, and suggest optimal strategies. This helps businesses optimize their operations and improve performance.

Real-Time Analytics

Real-time analytics involves analyzing data as it is generated, allowing businesses to make immediate decisions. AI enables real-time processing by continuously monitoring data streams and providing instant insights. This is particularly useful in scenarios where timely decision-making is crucial, such as fraud detection and customer support.

Benefits of AI in Business Intelligence

Enhanced Decision-Making

AI enhances decision-making by providing accurate, data-driven insights. Automated data processing and analysis reduce the risk of human error and bias, ensuring that decisions are based on reliable information. This leads to better outcomes and a competitive advantage.

Increased Efficiency

AI automates time-consuming data processing tasks, freeing up employees to focus on more strategic activities. This increases efficiency and productivity, allowing businesses to analyze larger volumes of data in less time.

Cost Savings

By automating data processing and analysis, AI reduces the need for manual labor and minimizes operational costs. Additionally, the insights gained from AI-driven BI can identify cost-saving opportunities and optimize resource allocation.

Case Studies of AI in Business Intelligence

IBM Watson's AI Capabilities

IBM Watson uses AI to automate data processing and analysis, providing businesses with actionable insights. Watson's AI capabilities include natural language processing, machine learning, and data visualization, enabling companies to make informed decisions and improve their operations.

Google's Data Processing with AI

Google leverages AI to process vast amounts of data from its search engine, advertising platforms, and other services. AI algorithms analyze user behavior, predict trends, and optimize ad targeting, helping Google maintain its market leadership.

Challenges and Considerations

Data Privacy and Security

Implementing AI in BI raises concerns about data privacy and security. Businesses must ensure that they comply with data protection regulations and implement robust security measures to protect sensitive information from cyber threats.

Implementation Costs

The initial cost of implementing AI-driven BI solutions can be high. Businesses need to invest in technology, infrastructure, and training to fully leverage AI capabilities.
However, the long-term benefits often justify the investment.

Google's Data Processing with AI

The future of AI in BI looks promising, with advancements in machine learning, natural language processing, and real-time analytics. Businesses can expect more sophisticated AI tools that offer deeper insights and more accurate predictions. Additionally, the integration of AI with other technologies such as blockchain and IoT will further enhance BI capabilities.

Conclusion

AI is revolutionizing business intelligence by automating data processing and analysis. From data collection and cleansing to predictive and prescriptive analytics, AI enhances decision-making, increases efficiency, and reduces costs. While there are challenges to consider, the benefits of AI-driven BI make it a valuable investment for businesses looking to gain a competitive edge in today's data-driven world.
For more insights into AIM[L](mailto:contact@htree.plus) [a](mailto:contact@htree.plus)n[d](mailto:contact@htree.plus) [D](mailto:contact@htree.plus)ata Science Development, please write to us at: [contact@fxis.ai](mailto:contact@fxis.ai)[](mailto:contact@htree.plus) FxisAi
[#AIBus](mailto:contact@fxis.ai)inessIntelligence #DataProcessing #Automation #PredictiveAnalytics

My actual study time was really closer to two weeks because I took a few weeks off to travel and be distracted. (Recently laid off) I spent 4 hours in the hospital the day before the exam with excruciating back pain. Sitting for so long testing with that level of pain was one of the more miserable things I've done, but I wanted to get it over with. I had 30 minutes left to spare and took a 5 minute and 8 minute break.
I spent a total of $584, exam was $425 with membership. Membership was $159. I did not pay for the local charter. I did not pay for any study materials.
I did take the exam online. I know in person is recommended and I expected to do it that way but the earliest date available was mid June and I wasn't waiting 4 weeks to take it. I barred my husband from the room and from making any noise at all. He was good about keeping the cats away from the door. I cleaned everything out of the bedroom that I possibly could. I used a laptop but used an Ethernet cable for Internet. I set my laptop up on a clear plastic tote so it would be eye level. I paid a lot of attention during the exam to ensure I only looked at the screen and didn't go out of view even for a second. I drew all of my blinds and curtains closed. I kept water and some light snacks in my bathroom (separate room) in case I needed it during breaks. The proctor never interacted with me. Not once. It was a bit unnerving but extremely smooth process and I'm grateful as I had a lot of anxiety around testing online.The worst part was having to wait 25 hours and 38 minutes (who is counting?) after the test had ended for my results.
Background: I have severe ADHD but I am a very good test taker. I'm one of those sick people that finds these things fun. I have passed the financial licensing exams series 7, 63, and 66. If you are familiar with them, the series exams had more content to learn, but the PMP questions were very similar in structure and difficulty to the 63 and 66. Overall I thought the PMP was easier but I had less professional experience when I took the series exams. I took a lot of AP exams back in high school. I'd say this test was harder question wise than any of those but again, less content to cover. I'm a senior scrum master for tech teams with years of experience. I've never worked as a formal project manager in waterfall but I am extremely good at what I do. I mentor many other scrum masters and know agile inside and out. I didn't study for the agile part of the test at all. I took about 60 agile practice questions for reassurance and amusement but only got three wrong so figured I was good. I also have a bachelor's degree in business (years ago) so a good chunk was just a refresher.
I didn't spend any money on materials so here's what I did to study.
I started with Oliver Lehmann's free exam. I do think it was harder than the PMP but I wanted to get a baseline before doing anything. I reviewed all of the questions afterwards and wrote down the topics I really needed to focus on. I scored a 68% the first time through.
I started reading the PMBOK guide you get when you pay for the exam. I downloaded it on my Kindle and would read it when I had the attention span to do so. I read the first 50% of the entire PDF they give you but wish I would've started halfway through as it probably would have been more useful for me. It was taking too long and I was getting antsy so I stopped reading it.
When I didn't have the attention span to read, I binge watched David McLachlan's YouTube videos. I went through the 7th edition PMBOK video three times. First for content, second to check any weaknesses, third to review. I also cast the questions to my TV screen and would pause the question before he read it, answer it myself, then watch him go through it. If I saw any videos of areas of weakness he posted I'd go through them. I went through 60 of his agile questions but the rest of the time I was going through the waterfall ones. I can't give you a count. It was a lot. I did the larger question videos too. This helped the most out of anything I did.
I borrowed a lot of exam prep materials from the library but didn't end up opening any of them at all.
Finally I used this subreddit. Whenever I saw someone post a question they didn't know I'd go through it. So thank you all! I paid a lot of attention to what others were using and what I knew would work for me. I also had a friend who took it a few days before me and we would send each other practice questions or talk about it almost daily. It helped keep me accountable and motivated even when I started slacking off.
Maybe I was over confident but I did get sick of studying and just scheduled the exam for a few days later. I didn't feel 100% prepared but I did feel like I was solid enough to have a good chance of passing. Clearly I should have studied more on the business environments part lol.
Good luck to you all! It really is a beast of a test and frankly I never want to do that again.

So, we found this little (2 weeks maybe) pigeon in the street, really in bad shape and took him home to take care of him (we also bring him to the vet since he lost an eye due to a wound, probably it was a cat or something).
Since it's blind from one eye and the vet agreed with us it would die in a matter of seconds if released, we decided to keep him (I will use male pronouns but I don't know we never make a test to see if its m or f).
My bf have resqued a lot of pigeons in the past but they were always fully recovered by him and then being released. Since this isn't the case I really need some tips.
We live in a small appartment, I will buy a cool place for him to rest and the majority of time we agreed on keeping him free and live with us while doing stuff like watching tv etc.
Can you link me a good bird house (if this is the name) on amazon or something? We live in Italy so it better be shipped here and we cannot build one.
How do you guys do to keep everything clean in the house? I see a lot of videos of owners who do enjoy the company of their pigeon while playing nintendo switch on the bed or things like that but since it's different from a cat or a dog with the poop, how do you manage to keep everything clean?
Now it's been a month and I can see how this little cutie it's becoming kinda more affectionate to us. He likes grooming while standing on our hands or shoulder. He do some silly stuff and call us for the food moving a little bit both his wings.
If you have more advices feel free to write down in the comments.
btw I gave him a little plushie to sleep with and it's adorable
thank you and sorry for the nonsense if there's any, english is not my first language and this is my first pigeon and bird ever!

Hi there!
I am after something to attach to my 75" loungeroom TV to be a base for torrents, Bluetooth my Sony soundbar to, and play content at 4k.
I 'daily' run a chromecast for Netflix, Disney+ and such, but i am sick of having to torrent and thumb drive to the TV and hope the format works in the in-built player.
As for other uses; I have a beast gaming pc, so don't need a mini pc to do anything too crazy on the gaming-front (although some older emulation would be nifty, but not a huge deal breaker)
I wouldn't mind being able to do some spreadsheetwork from the lounge and using my big ol' TV to get a better look at everything.
Oh, I also live in Australia if that affects anything.
Thanks! 😊🙏

Just a brief introduction before we get into the dream. I am 17(m) and I regularly have extremely vivid dreams where I'm fully engrossed and believe 100% that what I'm experiencing is reality. I wake up daily either sad or relieved that what I had experienced in the night wasn't real. As you can imagine this makes dreams either blissful or horrifying, depending on the contents. Another thing to note is that this is probably the third dream I've had where someone has been trying to eat me.
So basically the first thing I can remember was that I was with 2 of my buddies and we were riding Hogs (Yes, large pigs) down the highway at 120 mph+. Extremely fun and exhilarating as we passed by car after car at extremely high speeds. After a while, we take a turn to the left and start taking a trail through the most beautiful valley. The sun is shining down with a yellowy and orangish tint. The grass around me is swaying in the wind all across these countless hills. Truly one of the most beautiful scenes of nature I've ever seen, I couldn't have predicted what would happen next. We eventually come across a small town with a tavern and a bunch of people sitting, drinking, and watching something happen in a pit. I forget what was going on inside the pit but I don't recall it being anything bad, a soccer match perhaps? (That's what my mind is leaning towards anyway). Overtime me and 1 buddy of mine get to know the people of the town a bit better and the town leader (I wouldn't call him the mayor, he was more of just a leading figure in their community than a mayor, but I'll call him that anyway for convenience). (Something to note is that the mayor is a tall and strong man, probably about 7 feet tall and heavy, I couldn't tell you how heavy tho) The mayor was extremely hospitable to us and even showed us a place to stay with another person who also seemed to be traveling along and staying for a while. (I don't know exactly where my third friend went, however, I'm quite certain he stayed on the road and continued towards our original direction). The traveler (As I'll call him) was around 6ft 70kg and black in skin color. He was a kind, quiet fellow. However, he didn't really wanna make too much eye contact with me (which will make sense later on). I didn't think too much of it at the time. The day passes by without much else happening and I fall asleep in the same room as the traveler with my friend there alongside me, and we wake up in the morning. The next morning we are sitting at the bar when all of a sudden the mayor walks out of the back and right past me with two rather fancy antique cheese knives in each hand. I could feel the dread build up inside me for a split second. (I thought he was coming to kill me) I quickly become slightly relieved after he walks straight past me, however, that was short-lived as he shouts something to someone else and sticks him with both knives right in the chest. It was horrifying to witness the breath and life get sucked out of that man right before my very eyes, it was so real. There was also a sound effect of a deep "bumm" sound the second he stabbed him, only adding to the severity of the moment. I was about to start fighting the mayor but before I did, I realized everyone in the town was on his side. They started chanting and all looked at me and my friend as though they were going to kill us next. It was at this moment I realized all these people were cannibals luring victims into their town to kill and eat. I instantly became disgusted as I had eaten some of their meat the prior day. I was scared and began to run, however I didn't get far before eventually being taken down and captured. (This was the last thing I remember before being ported back at the start of when I first came across the town). I had died but it was as though I was given a second chance to try and survive this encounter (This had never happened to me in a dream before, I had never died in any of the dreams leading up to this point). I walked through the town and into the tavern keeping a cool face despite knowing full well what was going to happen the following day. I got back to the part where the mayor introduced me to the traveler, I looked at him with disdain as I realized he had sided with the cannibals. This is why he couldn't look me in the eyes, he was too ashamed of the fact he knew what would happen to us. I'm dreading going to sleep in this tavern as I know that these people are trying to eat me ("What if they get me in my sleep" is what I was thinking at the time). To my surprise the event didn't wait for the next day this time, it was happening now, just as I had sat down at the bar. I watched the mayor rush past me again and try to stab the same man. I caught on faster this time and stopped him. This time I was ready to fight back properly. To my surprise, the traveler stood up and helped me and my friend, however, the sheer number of the people was too much and they took him down. I was with my friend and while they were jumping the traveler we ran. I'm sorry, I knew we couldn't win, so we ran. I'm sorry. Eventually, the mayor catches up to us and we have a little scuffle, I throw a pizza box clumsily at his face as I scramble to put anything between me and the two knives. Eventually, I make it outside the tavern however the scenery is different. Now I'm in the driveway of a house inside a large neighborhood. The neighborhood was upper-class with beautiful trees and trimmed hedges. I stopped worrying about the cannibals as I heard voices in the distance shouting at me. I was instantly relieved as I soon saw who was coming, it was simply a gang of teens looking to fight, this put me at ease knowing I wasn't facing a 7-foot man armed with knives and his entire town but instead a gang of teens riding bicycles. For some reason I knew where these kids were from, I recognized their voices, and I knew what school they went to despite them wearing disguises. I walked up to the first guy and drop-kicked his hip which sent him to the ground, I shouted for the others to come fight but they ran away. I shouted back at them saying how I knew who their teacher was and shouted a name back at them (I forget the name). All of a sudden I'm no longer in the driveway but instead lying down staring at a large TV out in the open air. The TV had Wallpaper engine on it with all of my wallpapers, I remember a specific one which was Ornstein from DS1, if you know who that is. Alongside me was no longer my friend, but my youngest sister. She was whispering something in my ear as a song played loudly in the other. I wish I could remember what she was trying to tell me as maybe it was the answer as to why I was having this dream. I woke up shortly after with a depressed and horrified, yet relieved feeling as I realized that dream wasn't reality.
The wallpaper I remember seeing
https://preview.redd.it/9g51ro29di1d1.png?width=259&format=png&auto=webp&s=33840eedbf13dbb2e00274c0c66a3a89d2e53e36
This was the song I was hearing loudly in my other ear 11:15-11:47 https://youtu.be/rbw_n0LWpfo
The weird thing is I haven't listened to this song in about a year. I dont know why I was hearing it so vividly.
I guess I made this post because I just want to know why I'm having these dreams. I have a few guesses but I'm curious what you guys might have to say.

Talk about anything and everything. Book clubs, TV, current events, sports, personal lives, study groups, etc.
Our rules are still enforced, remain civilized.
Also; I'm once again asking you to report any uncivilized behavior. Help us mods keep the subs standard of discourse high and don't let anything slip between the cracks.
We have updated the sub in many areas, read our wiki for details about our rules and submission requirements, and check out our Political Theory library for foundational texts of various ideologies.
If you have any suggestions for additional theory feel free to mention it in the comments below.
When in debate or on main posts, if there's a work listed in our library that addresses the topic at hand you now have the ability to source it directly with help from automod. It keyword based, the structure must be as follows:
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Promote your live streams for the week!
Every week on Monday 12:00 AM PST a new thread will be automatically pinned.
Feel free to promote your upcoming live streams for that week. All posts outside of this thread related to self-promotion will be removed.
Let's keep it simple! - username - date/time - category (vintage/contemporary/etc) - description - link to stream or profile

ISO: From Alice in Wonderland, I'm looking for Blacklight White Rabbit and Cheshire Cat, The Caterpillar, Cheshire Cat chase, and any unopened sodas.

I'm also looking for anything DND or Critical Role, any version of Elton John, Enid Sinclair from Wednesday, Reeses cup.
Free shipping at $50
Ten dollars off on orders of $60 and over
https://imgur.com/a/y7XTiJI
Ad Icons:
FS Smokey Bear- $25
Target Glow in the Dark Noid- $20
Clue Miss Scarlet- $15
Animation:
JSA Autograph Ian Corlett Goku & Nimbus- $75
Opened Bakugou Soda(common)- $5
Opened Bakugou Soda(chase)- $40
Opened Ochaco Soda(chase)- $40
One Piece Luffy- $10
Lyra Heartstrings- $10
Dorbz Elroy Jetson- $10
DC:
Glow Shazam- $15
Selina Kyle Chase- $15
Scarecrow Impopster- $10
Rock Candy Batgirl- $10
Disney:
Chase Stitch Ornament- $25
Blue Moana- $10
Hannah Montanna- $10
Peter Pan Mermaid- $5
Marvel:
Eternals Deviant- $10
Glitter She-Hulk- $5
Dr. Strange- $5
EE Steve Rogers shield prototype- $10
Target Captain America- $10
Civil War Captain America- $10
Collectors Corps Valkyrie- $10
America Chavez- $35
Gorr's Daughter- $10
What If? Starlord Tchala- $15
Captain Marvel chase- $15
Captain Marvel- $10
Funkoshop Glow Ms. Marvel- $15
Hot Topic Diamond Ms. Marvel- $15
Amazon Spiderman:- $15
Pocket pops- $2 each
Opened Mantis soda(common)- $5
Opened Winter Soldier soda(common)- $10
Chase Loki Ornament- $25
Chase Rocket & Groot Ornament- $25
Movies & TV:
Wyatt Earp- $15
Witcher Jaskier chase- $20
Princess Bride Westley chase- $50
The Boys Queen Maeve- $40
Star Wars Facet R2D2- $10
Funkoshop Indiana Jones- $10
300 Leonidas- $10
300 Queen Gorgo- $10
300 Xerxes- $10
300 all three together- $25
Music:
Diamond Elvis- $15
Diamond Michael Jackson- $20
Iron Maiden Eddie chase- $25
Chase Britney Spears- $20
Jimi Hendrix- $10
Amy Winehouse- $10
Others:
Anniversary Freddy: $35
Farmer Freddy(slight damage)- $15
Mark Hamill- $35
Bayonetta Weapons- $5
Gold Vinyl:
Axl Rose chase- $35
Tom Brady Chase- $40
Lebron James Chase- $20
Giannis Antetokounmpo Chase- $15
Kawhi Leonard chase- $15
James Harden chase- $15

/LonghornNation Daily Off Topic Free Talk Thread

Today: 5/20/2024

Last Thread

Current Austin Weather: 79° and Clear

Seven Day Forecast:

5/19	5/20	5/21	5/22	5/23	5/24	5/25
93°, Clouds	93°, Clouds	96°, Clouds	95°, Clouds	94°, Rain	98°, Rain	99°, Rain

Your go-to place to talk about whatever you want. From the dumb shit aggies do on a near daily basis, to the latest whatever happening wherever. What ya got?

Here's a look at upcoming Longhorn Sporting Event(s):

1. 5/20 University of Texas Women's Golf vs NCAA Championship Stroke Play
2. 5/20 University of Texas Men's Tennis vs NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships
3. 5/20 University of Texas Women's Tennis vs NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships
4. 5/21 University of Texas Women's Golf vs NCAA Championship Match Play
5. 5/21 7:30 PM University of Texas Baseball vs Texas Tech
6. 5/22 University of Texas Track & Field / Cross Country at NCAA West Preliminaries
7. 5/22 University of Texas Women's Golf vs NCAA Championship Match Play

Trending on Reddit

/All

1. THE DENVER NUGGETS HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED FROM CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENTION
2. This restaurant covered up the "No Tip" option with a sticker to force tipping
3. 'No sign of life' at crash site of helicopter carrying Iran's president, others
4. TIL a number of people, including a group of Swedish researchers, tried to replicate the experiment shown in the documentary Super Size Me(2004). None of them were able to get the same results as the documentary creator.
5. 'No sign of life' at crash site of helicopter carrying Iran's president, others

/CFB

1. /CFB Donates $18,000.00 to Toys For Tots & Children's Hospitals, thanks to the 8th annual Holiday Drive!
2. [Brian Stultz] SOURCE: (Auburn RB) Brian Battie is still in the ICU. He’s able to move his hands but doctors are unable to figure out much brain functionality he will have at this moment.
3. [Dellenger] "On the brink of a historic settlement, discord exists. Big East commissioner Val Ackerman “strongly objects” to a $70M tab her league may owe in damages & seeks a new plan to the one NCAA/P5 “orchestrated,” she writes in letter obtained by @YahooSports."
4. Georgia WR Sacovie White arrested for reckless driving
5. What place in the US has the most potential to host a FBS football program?
6. NIL-related lawsuit: Fanatics sues Marvin Harrison Jr. for breach of contract from his final year at Ohio State, claiming his failure to fulfill his contractual obligations caused potential damages in the “millions of dollars.”

/LonghornNation

1. [5/19/2024] Sunday's Sports Talk Thread
2. [5/19/2024] Sunday's Free Talk Thread
3. #1 Texas Rowing 🚣‍♀️ sweeps the Big 12 Championship for the 9th year in a row! 🤘
4. Texas Men’s Tennis Defeats Wake Forest 4-2 To Advance To NCAA Championship
5. [Post Series Thread] ⚾ #25 Texas sweeps Kansas, 3-0, in its final regular season series as a member of the Big 12.
6. Softball Regional LHN Stream
7. Longhorn College fantasy league on Fantrax

LonghornBot: you can get a list of commands you can give for the bot by commenting ".help". You will receive a private message with the commands.
This thread was programmatically generated and posted on 5/20/2024 12:00 AM. If you have any questions or comments, please contact brihoang or chrislabeard

Ok, so there’s been a lot of talk in the media recently around the fact that Australians are experiencing a loneliness epidemic. In 2022, 1 in 7 Australians were experiencing isolation and loneliness and the plethora of mental health conditions that comes with it.
I moved to Australia from a 2nd/3rd world country back in 2008 and after living both in Sydney and Melbourne I have yet to call someone a friend who was born here, hell even an acquaintance would be a stretch (I have lived here 16 YEARS!). All the people I call friends are people born overseas. Now this is not for lack of trying let me assure you. I have held full time jobs since day one, went to UNI for a bit and also TAFE. I like hanging out with people and generally think of myself as a social person. I am always nice and easy to approach, in fact I am always approaching people at work and having chats and sharing a lot about my life, hobbies, family and interests etc. Now, that is usually as far as it goes with Aussies i.e: a quick chat around weather, footy, traffic or some popular media frenzy everyone is experiencing right now. I don’t know anything about the people I have worked with or have “hung out” with other than what TV show they watched, what they think of a certain footy team or what they think of the weather. The best they will offer you is to join them for some beers/alcohol down at the pub after work where everybody gets inebriated and goes home with no memory of what happened the day after.
Nobody has ever invited me to hang out with them on a day off or for lunch or dinner at their place. In fact when I have offered something of that nature you usually get an eerie silence followed by a fumbled answerejection/excuse like I had grown horns all of a sudden and suggested we parley with the devil and sacrifice some babies on an altar afterwards. You cannot approach someone and have a friendly chat without them assuming you want to fiddle with their child or get in their pants. I have tried to be friends with at least 3 different people at work recently who share the same interests and hobbies as me but no luck, you would think a common hobby would bring you closer to someone beyond the “Good Morning How’s it going mate!” level of recognition.
Why are Australians so stand offish, cold and disinterested in pursuing a relationship/friendship where there is ultimately no sexual attraction on offer? No wonder there is a loneliness epidemic going on and people are suffering. I notice that everyone is all too happy to go home have a drink by themselves or their partner and watch Netflix/Stan until they pass out ready for the next day’s work again. Nobody hangs out after 5pm, it’s as if at 5pm all oxygen supply outside gets cut off and you suffocate to death if you went out. If you do venture outside after 5pm there is literally nothing to do except for cold empty streets with the odd pub/restaurant. Everyone is at work until 5pm and after 5pm there’s nothing to do. There are no night markets, there are no lit up parks (none of the parks have any lights just pitch-black darkness like my soul!) overseas a lot of people/communities hangout at parks after dark and the government install light poles for people to enjoy the cool fresh air of a park after a hot sunny day.
Has it always been this way or is this a fairly new development? Is this the Australian dream in the making for the past 200 years? I’m not complaining as I am not lonely and have plenty of family and friends, but I keep trying and after 16 years of trying I am yet to claim that I actually have an Aussie friend. I have tried assimilating, but it looks like all the doors are locked from the inside and the keys have been thrown away.
In the great and timeless words of Ali-G “Is it coz I is black?” (I am actually central Asian)

I relied pretty heavily on this sub in the early days of postpartum and I derived a lot of joy from chatting with people. But I dont know about you guys... things have felt different since the Cathy Chan situation. I don't feel as safe commenting or sharing stories or asking questions as I once did. Every time I go to comment, I think "what if OP is just a man who is baiting women into sharing information about themselves? What if they're secretly getting off on this?" I used to have this, "who cares if there are creeps?" attitude. Apparently, me.
I was out of town with a friend for a concert and I had to pump before dinner. He went to go look for a restaurant somewhere close to where we parked the car and I climbed in the backseat and started to pump. I don't have a hands-free (i know I'm insane) so I started it up and just kind of draped my shirt over my hands. AS SOON AS I STARTED two wealthy looking guys got out of their nice car that was parked in front of mine, started smoking and watching - watching, like TV - me pump through the front windshield. Smoked a whole cigarette, just two dudes having a great time. I couldn't move. My flanges weren't even aligned correctly on one side but I knew I couldn't move an inch or fix them because I'd be even more exposed. I just stayed frozen, pumping nothing and waited for them to get bored and leave.
Not sure what the point of all this is. Maybe its just - I feel pretty normal about pumping until I have to have any interaction with the outside world about it. It feels like a chore similar to brushing my teeth until someone comes along and makes it weird. Makes me wish I could just hide at home with it, but with a vacation coming up, I know I'll have two straight weeks full of situations like this. 6 more months to goal.

Curious to hear thoughts and ideas about what others think is missing in the today’s poker industry. Feel free to bring up anything that comes to mind.
I’m a software engineer and part time poker player. As I’ve become more experienced, putting in a lot of volume on the tables online and live, as well a lot of time studying over the years, I’ve definitely started to notice inadequacies across different aspects of the poker industry. I’d like to start working on solutions that address these gaps at some point, but I wonder if others have similar opinions, or if there are other pain-points and opportunities they believe to be more important or impactful.
Feel free to dm me if you’d rather not comment here. Appreciate all perspectives folks might have!
Teasers:

• Something that just seems obvious but nobody is really doing it, or maybe a select few are doing it but not very well. Maybe it’s something that businesses in other industries do for their customers?
• Easier way to record hand histories? Online poker has this covered for the most part. For live poker there are some products out there but the process is still super manual. What if you had an automated way of recording hand histories and the ability to load those hand histories into a sim with a single click.
• Stats related to results/performance. I personally wish that TheHendonMob.com offered better sorting and filtering options related to live tournament data. For instance I can see the 2024 Money List and the All Time Money list for the world, as well as the US, but I can’t look at the 2024 money list for a given state or city. There’s an all-time money list for the state, but what about this year? What about stats related to specific card-rooms? We can see the biggest earners for live tournaments in one place, and stats for online wizards on a different site, but what about a database that combines both so we can see who ranks the highest across all formats?
• Sources of information. I use PokerAtlas but the process for targeting upcoming tournaments is often times tedious and inefficient due to a lack of available search filtering/sorting functionality, as well as the fact that many big tournaments far off in the future aren’t posted for a certain venue until the start date is approaching in the next couple weeks.
• Player recognition. Some players want the lime light, and want to be recognized for their accomplishments while others prefer to remain in the shadows. Would you appreciate being recognized publicly for major accomplishments?
• Availability of real data insights. MDA has been growing recently, especially with the rapid advancements in AI. Do you wish there were more free/low-cost data insights available? I know I wish there was more data related to live poker. Chewy is working on a software product that processes and analyzes data from hands played on live poker streams to derive data driven insights but a lot of players conceal certain tendencies when they’re live.
• Retail products that just don’t seem to be available. Anything at all. I always have a backpack or a crossbody because playing 8+ hours is a regular thing for me, and I also hate having a bunch of stuff in my pockets. Maybe some people want a kangaroo pouch on their sweater where they can securely carry all their stuff without having to have a bag. Don’t think I’d wear a sweater with a kangaroo pouch personally, but maybe others would, maybe a secret pocket somewhere in your hoodie, pants, hat, tube sock etc to hold your cash would be nice to have? Money-clips, or cool rubber bands? Better card protectors? Stylish articles of clothing that cover your neck/face to protect against live reads?
• Seems like the vast majority of poker apparel brands are failures. Imo most of them are super cringe, and have “I’m a degen” written all over them. Do you wish there were some quality, and perhaps subtle clothing lines that you could where in your daily life and at the poker table? Something that was like the Nike of poker.
• Gaps in learning material/resources. There are a ton of products out there, but we’ve all run into scenarios where we were either overwhelmed and not even sure where to start, or the material just wasn’t organized in a way that felt effective.
• Issues you have to deal with on a regular basis when it comes to the casino, card room or online platform you use to play? Do the reward systems suck? How about the marketing? Does the website look reasonable or does it look like Craigslist, and is it updated on a regular basis?
• A supplement or drug that enhances focus and reduces anxiety?

Some of the commenters during Sunday's Stream mentioned the global campaign to bring federal lawsuits and petitions against videogame publishers who intentionally sabotage the functionality of videogames when the servers shut down. They wanted Ludwig to do a Mogul Mail about it. I wasn't 1 of those commenters, nor am I a representative spearheading this initiative, but I am somewhat familiar with what's going on and wanted to explain it here to see if others are interested. So what is going on?

The Crew

The videogame "The Crew", published by Ubisoft, was recently destroyed for all players and had a playerbase of at least 12 million people. Due to the game's size and France's strong consumer protection laws, this represents one of the best opportunities to hold a publisher accountable for this action. If we are successful in charges being pressed against Ubisoft, this can have a ripple effect on the videogames industry to prevent publishers from destroying more games.

Source
More about "The Crew" Specifically
This includes both physical and digital versions of the game, by the way, as the game cannot function without pinging to the now offline servers, making it completely nonfunctional.

The Petition

Official government petitions have been introduced to prohibit the practice of intentionally rendering commercial videogames inoperable when support ends. Currently, petitions for the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia have been launched and will soon be open for signing. Plans are also underway for the European Union, but will unfortunately be delayed due to processing times. Further government petitions may be started later with enough assistance.

You can go to the website https://www.stopkillinggames.com and click "take action here" to sign a petition for your country. Depending on the country you're in, you may have to have actually owned the game "the crew" in order to sign, but regardless it's important to understand this increasingly prevalent issue and bring awareness to it.
Here's a video about the initiative from its founder

Erasing Videogames and History

This ties into another videogame-related issue. Most videogames cannot be legally obtained anymore.

Only 13 percent of classic video games published in the United States are currently in release (n = 1500, ±2.5%, 95% CI). These low numbers are consistent across platform ecosystems and time periods. Troublingly, the reissue rate drops below 3 percent for games released prior to 1985—the foundational era of video games—indicating that the interests of the marketplace may not align with the needs of video game researchers. Our experiences gathering data for this study suggest that these problems will intensify over time due to a low diversity of reissue sources and the long-term volatility of digital game storefronts.

Video about the study.
But Nintendo has like 20 N64 games available on Nintendo Online so....

A Symptom of a Wider Problem

Videogame companies are doing what all companies have been trying to do for years now: stop you from owning anything, and requiring you to rent everything.
Ubisoft’s Director of Subscriptions Phillippe Tremblay said: “...gamers are used to, a little bit like DVD, having and owning their games. That’s the consumer shift that needs to happen. They got comfortable not owning their CD collection or DVD collection. That’s a transformation that’s been a bit slower to happen in games.” Source. Video talking about it
They don't want you to own your games. They want to be able to take away the thing you "purchased", destroy it so it no longer works, and force you to buy something new.
GamePass
Gamepass is literally exactly what the corporate overlords are trying to push the entire industry toward: rentiership of all videogames. "Games as a Service" is a fraud.
It's not just videogames
Whenever you "buy" an ebook or movie from, say, Apple, Amazon, Google, etc., or a videogame from Steam, Sony, etc., you don't actually own that piece of digital media. You are renting the product and getting a perpetual license. That license can be revoked at any time for any reason by the company and you will have the thing you "bought" revoked.
This has happened a lot over the years. For example: Telstra.

...[Telstra] announced it would shut down the service in June. Customers were told that unless they moved over to another service, Fetch, they would no longer be able to access the films and TV shows they had bought.
This isn’t simply a case of Netflix removing Friends from the service when a content agreement runs out. These were films and shows people had bought with the expectation they could watch them whenever they wanted – indefinitely.
Vicki Russell posted on X last week saying she was being asked by Telstra to pay $200 for Fetch to retain access to what she said was $2,500-worth of purchases.

Source, fantastic video talking about article
Microsoft Book Store
In 2019, Microsoft shut down their ebook store, erasing all customers' books from their devices. Fortunately, Microsoft offered a refund for the books purchased. Something they did to not raise customer ire, not because they were legally required to do so.
They are able to completely erase the books the customers "bought" because of Digital Rights Management (DRM)

"One of the things that I think people don't realize that's crucially important is that DRM and related software tools are embedded in all sorts of devices that we buy," Aaron Perzanowski, the author of The End of Ownership: Personal Property in the Digital Economy, tells NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro.
"Your car, your smart home appliances, your home security system – all of these systems have software that allows for this kind of control over how the devices are used, and I think we're going to see these same sorts of situations crop up in the context of physical devices that are being used in people's homes."
"As this technology has been deployed what we've seen is that the big beneficiaries of DRM have not been copyright holders. They have been technology companies like Amazon, like Microsoft, who are able to control these ecosystems to make it harder for consumers to switch over to new platforms."

Source
Sony
TV Shows "purchased" through the Play Station store were slated to be erased according to an announcement in December 2023. However, do to the immense and justified backlash, they reneged for now.
Apple
Apple can remove a movie from the App Store and, in some cases, make it impossible for you to access your "purchased" version if you don't have it downloaded. Source
Amazon
In 2020, a Class Action Lawsuit was filed against Amazon for this very reason. "Caudel v Amazon"

The plaintiff claimed that Amazon misleads customers about the reality of what it means to “purchase” a video through the site. Allegedly, the company is aware that customers will believe that purchasing a video gives them unlimited access to it because that is the usual understanding of the word “buy.”

The case was dismissed out of the California Federal Court due to lack of standing). Source.

These Terms of Use expressly state that purchasers obtain only a limited license to view video content and that purchased content may become unavailable due to provider license restriction or other reasons.

AKA: You don't own anything.
Source
More on the lawsuit. The legal filing. Dismissal
This phenomenon is part of what is known as "rentism", "rentier capitalism" or "techno-economic rentiership". It goes far beyond just movies and videogames, but this is getting a bit far afield from what one might expect from a standard Mogul Mail, so I won't dive deeper into that aspect of the subject, but you can google those terms and phrases to find some fun reading.

I forgot to tie this into the "Right to Repair" but this post is getting too long.

Can't even fix the stuff you own. Do you even really own it?
Tractors.
Ludwig, if you're reading this, please do a Mogul Mail about this topic; at least the videogame stuff. You can use all of these sources I've compiled and you don't need to credit me for the compilation. I don't care. This is important and more people should know.