https://archive.is/1DQJp
From 9 a.m. Saturday, when families began making their way to the Second Congregational Church’s front lawn, to the unveiling of Greenfield’s 12th bee sculpture, “Fearless,” outside the Greenfield Fire Department’s new station on Main Street at 12:30 p.m., more than 1,000 people of all ages stopped by this year’s Bee Fest — the largest attendance the event has seen since its inception 14 years ago, according to its founder Sandy Thomas.
“It’s off the charts, we’ve never had this many people. We clicked in [counted] 500 just a few minutes ago, but its got to be more than that now,” Thomas said at 10:30 a.m. “These people came from Wrentham specifically for this because they’re new beekeepers, they heard about it and they just came. It’s wonderful, they keep coming and they want to learn about bees.”
The roughly three-hour festival honored the Rev. Lorenzo Langstroth, the sixth minister of Second Congregational Church who is known as the father of modern beekeeping. Langstroth patented the bee hives with movable frames in 1852, a design still commonly used by bee keepers today, according to Franklin County Beekeepers Association President Art Canterbury, who manned a bee education table with a live beehive demonstration at this year’s festival.
Canterbury engaged with curious festival-goers, educating them on bees and beekeeping, and answering questions ranging from best beekeeping practices, to general inquiries about the nature of bees and their colonies.
“My grandfather kept bees and I worked with him when I was a little kid. Now it’s just the easy attachment to go right back to and enjoy it and develop it,” Canterbury said. “This community loves the idea of bees in general and pollinators like to have that exposure and understanding of the bees [...] The colony of bees itself is a super organism. Everything that they do is for the colony. There’s not a bee in there that’s only doing something for itself.”
Children, many sporting elaborate bee costumes, marched through the farmer’s market for the Pollinators Parade and took turns swinging at a bee pinata. Families also centered around the beehive painting station, putting their unique marks on beehives that will be used at apiaries across Franklin County. Thomas said since bees are capable of sensing color and design, the practice of hive painting could make it easier for bees to find their hives.
The festival also featured a silent auction of bee-related products, bee-related games for children, a pollinator plant giveaway table and a 214th birthday cake for Langstroth. Katie Rozenas-Hanson and Rick LeBlanc of the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture Resources also operated an informational booth, where they distributed sunflower seeds and informed the public on best practices for planting pollinator plants at home. Rozenas-Hanson said she was pleased to see how effectively the festival engaged children.
“This event is so wonderful because it’s evolved from a festival that’s mainly for the general public, to being really kid-focused and having a bunch of free activities for kids to do to engage with bees, learn about beehives and best apiary practices — I just can’t think of a better event for them to go to,” Rozenas-Hanson said.

** Sculpture unveiling**

Bee Fest wrapped up with the unveiling of the city’s 12th bee sculpture “Fearless,” depicting a bee dressed in a firefighter’s uniform, in front of the new fire station on Main Street. Before the unveiling Fire Chief Robert Strahan announced that the department will begin moving into the station this week before a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 10.
Designer Rachael Katz, an artist and owner of The Greenfield Gallery, produced the original “Beatrice” bee sculpture prototype. Over the past three years, her first 11 bee sculptures have been installed along Main and Federal streets, at Court Square, and at the John W. Olver Transit Center. She said that while the other bee sculptures took identical forms with unique decorations, she and the sculpture’s painter Andrew Easton wanted to give the “fearless sculpture” a unique character and form.
“For most of the other bees, the form just served as a canvas, and the artists painted images upon it. And this one we really wanted to make a character in and of itself — it’s not decorated with pictures of fire engines, it’s an actual character [...] it’s our firefighters, they’re there for us. They’re heroes and they charge into danger and it just seemed right to honor them,” Katz said.
Easton, who said he spent roughly 160 hours painting the “fearless” sculpture, put significant work into not only painting the bee, but arranging various elements, such as the oxygen tank on its back and its “343” fire helmet, which he said was a tribute to the 343 New York firefighters who were killed during 9/11.
“This is a special honor for us. There is a personal story that goes along with this bee, and we are humbled to have it at our new headquarters,” Strahan said.
Mayor Virginia Desorgher, who joined Strahan and the artists as they removed the tarp from the Fearless sculpture, said she was pleased by how the annual festival has evolved and grown over the years.
“It gets better and better every year, there were more people from out of state this year than I’ve ever seen,” Desorgher said. “It’s very exciting.”

Hello,
Here is the issue I am having and, as far as I can find, there is no solution to this elsewhere online.
I am trying to learn how to get physics (namely, collision & spring controller) up and running for some AMVs I am trying to make for Youtube. The character, the rig, and the animation were all made in Blender and exported (.FBX) then imported to UE5. Working on building an animation BP for the Skeletal Mesh, which has the animation sequence incorporated in.
Building the BP has been fairly straight forward, and in the BP preview viewport, the model appears to be affected by the spring nodes as expected, and desired.
Problem is, when I actually hit “play”, the resulting effects are not as I expected. Namely, the rotation of the spring bones is not working. Moreover, it appears as if that, when Playing the scene/level, the model is using the default settings of the spring controllers, with no consideration for the changes in the parameters I have made from the default settings.
How exactly do I solve this? How do I make the “Play Level” environment obey the changed/updated parameters within the animation Blueprint?
Below is a link to a video demonstrating: Full disclosure, I haven’t gotten to learning clothing simulation, but the character’s materials are just random neon colors. I also did my best to try and scroll through the sidebar settings to show what they are, at least the ones that are expanded by default.
Thanks in advance
https://youtu.be/xZfrjhDV-V8

Hi fellow ADHDers,
I somehow got my ass out of bed to bring myself to do the things I am supposed to do this weekend. The motivation hasn't really kicked in yet (still waiting for it), but I ended up making a menu/ checklist that I feel may be useful for me when I am in a frozen state like this. Wanted to share it, in case someone else finds it helpful. If there are other strategies you use, please let me know!
This is to be used in situations where I know I need to do something but I just don't know how to get my brain to do it.
Task paralysis menu/ checklist

• Task pairing: Can I find another task that requires less cognitive effort (like walking, cleaning, watching a TV show that I have watched a 10000 times before so I don't really need to pay attention to it)? Can I start doing that task, along with the task I am dreading to do (cuz it requires more mental effort).
• Material pairing: Is there anything materialistic I like that I ALREADY have? The tricky part here is, that my brain is going to want to buy something new at this point. Like a new notebook, new pens, etc. So, the already have part is important, otherwise I'm going to spend two hours + money to buy "more stuff I think I need to start my task". For me personally, I like to write on pen and paper. So I will sit down with my favorite pen and notebook, and that will bring me into the "zone" when I've to read a paper, make a presentation, etc. Again, my primary "task" becomes using "my favorite pen and paper" and I can use the dreaded task in order to complete my primary task. Having dedicated materials for dedicated types of tasks can also help.
• Change of location: Is there a location that my brain likes? I personally like coffee shops but it can also be a spot in your home that you like more than other spots. It can also be your bed (or any other place you feel comfortable)! The goal is to get your brain to bring its guards down and make it feel safer, if you're stuck in a frozen state like me. Going to the coffee shop also exposes me to other people and a more stimulating environment, and caffeine also helps. I am also forced to sit in one place.
• Brain dump: If the mental paralysis is too much to even fathom starting a new task, it is usually because I have a ton of tasks in my mind that need to be done. First, I do a brain dump. Just dump every goddamn thought on my head, from the biggest to smallest ones. Once I have them all in front of me, I can hopefully start prioritizing them or at least see if I am interested in doing one more than others. Sometimes, tasks get meshed in my head along with feelings, so this activity helps me to separate tasks (things I can control) from emotions/ feelings and things I generally have no control over (e.g. shame about not having done that thing two weeks ago).
• Mental isolation effect: If it feels like me versus the world right now, can I bring myself to just me, and cut the rest of the world out, just for sometime? I can make myself feel shitty enough on my own, I don't need a high school acquaintance on instagram (who seems to be living the life) to make me feel worse. Just disconnect. The world is not out to get us, and the world is not moving ahead without us. We are okay. Meditation has helped me to mentally isolate (but hasn't helped so much with the inaction and feeling "frozen"). I guess this also goes back to making our brains feel safe first, before we ask them to do things for us.

I am no expert, but I made a list for myself, so I am sharing it here. :)
ADHD sucks.

How to Make Pot Brownies: A Step-by-Step Guide

Making pot brownies is a popular and enjoyable way to consume cannabis, combining the delightful experience of eating a sweet treat with the effects of cannabis. Here's a comprehensive guide to help you create delicious and potent pot brownies.

Ingredients

For the Cannabis-Infused Butter (Cannabutter):

• 1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter
• 1 cup of ground cannabis (decarboxylated)

For the Brownies:

• 1 cup of cannabis-infused butter (cannabutter)
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 cup of packed brown sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 cup of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 cup of chocolate chips (optional)
• 1/2 cup of chopped nuts (optional)

Tools

• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Saucepan
• Fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth
• Mixing bowls
• Whisk or electric mixer
• 9x13 inch baking pan
• Spatula

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Decarboxylate Your Cannabis

Decarboxylation is the process of activating the THC in cannabis, making it psychoactive.

1. Preheat the oven: to 240°F (115°C).
2. Prepare the cannabis: Break down the cannabis into small pieces using your hands or a grinder.
3. Spread on a baking sheet: Place the cannabis evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
4. Bake: in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to ensure even heating. The cannabis should turn a light brown color.

2. Make the Cannabutter

1. Melt the butter: In a saucepan, melt 1 cup of butter over low heat.
2. Add decarboxylated cannabis: Stir in the decarboxylated cannabis and simmer on low heat for 2-3 hours. Make sure the mixture doesn’t boil.
3. Strain the mixture: Use a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth to strain the cannabutter into a clean bowl, removing the plant material. Let it cool.

3. Prepare the Brownie Batter

1. Preheat the oven: to 350°F (175°C).
2. Mix sugars and butter: In a large mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, and 1 cup of cannabutter. Mix well until creamy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla: Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla extract.
4. Combine dry ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder.
5. Mix wet and dry ingredients: Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until well combined.
6. Optional mix-ins: Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts if desired.

4. Bake the Brownies

1. Prepare the baking pan: Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan or line it with parchment paper.
2. Pour the batter: Spread the brownie batter evenly in the prepared pan.
3. Bake: in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs.
4. Cool: Allow the brownies to cool completely in the pan before cutting them into squares.

Dosage and Consumption

• Dosage: The potency of your pot brownies depends on the strength of your cannabis and the amount used. Start with a small piece and wait at least 1-2 hours to gauge the effects before consuming more.
• Storage: Store pot brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week or in the refrigerator for longer shelf life.

Tips for a Perfect Batch

1. Consistent Mixing: Ensure all ingredients are well-mixed for even potency.
2. Temperature Control: Avoid high temperatures when making cannabutter to prevent degrading the THC.
3. Patience: Wait for the brownies to cool completely before cutting to prevent them from crumbling.

Enjoy your homemade pot brownies responsibly and remember to label them clearly to avoid accidental consumption. Happy baking!

We are looking for people to join our competitive group. We are looking for an adult to expand our group long term. We only play Official vanilla US Main. Weekly wipes where we grind hard and are competitive on the server.
Requirements:

• 28+ NA/EU Adult and act like it
• 2k+ hours
• No Ego, No negativity

We are looking for people who do not tilt when dying, who grind hard, are all about team progression, and do not have egos. We are a long term team and have together for several years. All of us play hard and put in several hours each wipe. There will be a tryout period where we play together and see how you mesh with the group and maintain resolve on very high pop server. We are quality players over quantity. We are big on communication and transparency.
Who We Are:
Been playing together on rust for 4 years. And play to win. Play smart. We are a medium sized group vs very large groups. We are all 30+ adults. We are all laid back chill dudes who grind hard. We play to win and to be the best, making every decision count. We are very competitive on this server. We are a sweaty group looking for others who are of similar mind.
Message me on discord if interested:
Discord: rustystoic

I’m 38, male, straight, I’d say I’m fairly attractive, tall, have a good job, good friends, but also typically don’t mesh well with a lot of other men in my life. In therapy. I spent 11 of the last 13 years in 2 relationships. The first, 3 1/2 years, I was immature, she probably was as well to relationships, and ended naturally. The second was 7 years, firey and big at the start, as it was falling apart we pandemic bonded and it became a mess where we grew apart and by the time the world opened up again we felt like different people who fought a lot. She was diagnosed with a number of things she ignored and was physically violent, and I’d say emotionally violent as well. I feel grateful to have broken off from that time in my life, it ended last August.
Been single about 9 months and feel ready to date again. I like having that close relationship and intimacy and my friends even before those two relationships would refer to me as a “relationship guy”. I want to be married and have someone to travel the world with, as well as our own neighborhood. It’s important to me. Again, I’m happy with where I live, what I do for work, what my friend circle is, for the most part, and my financial security. I’ve gone out with friends and met new people but they are so often coupled already or there is no spark when talking about dating.
So I’ve joined Hinge. Out the gate I’ve matched with a variety of women and maybe it’s a paradox of choice, maybe it’s me, but I feel so hesitant to spark something up. I matched with one woman who is attractive, my type, has a good job in a cool industry, but I feel like I can’t get out the words to progress it. The obvious answer is “well I’m not ready”, but I feel ready to date again outside the staring at an empty Hinge chat window. I’m trying to separate the emotions of Loneliness, which I have on that personal level, sex drive, which I’m not the type to casually sleep around, and a drive for companionship on a deeper level.
I feel burnt by my last relationship pretty bad. I feel maybe afraid to make the same mistakes again. To pour another long stretch of years into something I shouldn’t. I’ve got friends who have been with partners who are amazing for years and I feel like an immature fuck up, and that I’m not prioritizing the right things in relationships. I feel like maybe I don’t even know HOW to date correctly. I feel lost on the big picture. But again, I want it. My friends want me to date again. My therapist has been encouraging me to date again. But I’m choking at the thought.
Half of this I know was me finding space to write these thoughts out. I appreciate it. But if you have thoughts, a kind word, anything, I’d love to hear it.

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Patreon Official Subreddit Series Wiki Royal Road
The Grand Dining Hall. Local time: 1210
Emma
The dining hall was, for all intents and purposes, the den of gossip.
[Grand Dining Hall. Add: Alternative Designator - DEN OF GOSSIP]
This was proven true by the incessant and rampant whispers, most of which were eventually hidden under privacy screens.But some of which were allowed to permeate through the air like a foul and sickening stench.
“What’s he trying to prove?”
“Usurpers. Tepid-blood minor nobles thinking themselves bigshots in their ill-gotten castles. This is all they know — power through brute strength.”
“Do you think this could be some sort of a roundabout statement for the House Choosing Ceremony?”
“Could be, or maybe the newrealmer is rubbing off on him. I heard those savages live in hunting-packs that deal exclusively in violence.”
“Poor Lord Ping… the man’s been dealt so many blows both to his ego and integrity. He truly is the victim in this upstart’s rebellion.”
“Let us hope the pious Ping prevails over his undeserving trials and tribulations. The man’s a saint, a pious soul that must hold fast for those of us adherent to the eternal truths.”
“Or perhaps we should wait and see how things develop. I, for one, wish to side neither with the narrow-minded bull nor the aggressive upstarts.”
“Lord Qiv may prove to be the more suitable candidate for class sovereign… but only time will tell.”
“Never in my wildest of imaginations would I have ever considered that the one to threaten our position, our place, our image, and our very survival in this sky of feral drakes to be you — Prince Thalmin.” Ilunor managed out incredulously, breaking me out of my long-range acoustic reverie. Though unlike his prior confrontations with myself, his current voice lacked the same intense vitriol. Instead, that was replaced with what I could only describe as a genuine sense of disappointment, as if confronting a friend who knew better than to commit to a dumb decision.
“That’s an understandable statement to make, Ilunor.” Thalmin replied uncharacteristically calmly, as if he hadn’t even registered the Vunerian’s assaults. Or at least, that seemed to be the case, until he shot the deluxe Kobold a predatory side-eye. “Because creatures that lack honor, integrity, and personal dignity, often conflate sacrifices and risk-taking, for foolishness and idiocy. For within the heart of a Nexian, lies only compromise for the sake of convenience. Whether that be the convenience of survival, the convenience of continuity, or the convenience of the status quo, you will sacrifice everything to maintain it — even if it means allowing your honor to remain sullied and trodden when there exists a pool to cleanse away that shame.”
Thacea’s eyes grew wary with concern at that statement, one of the few instances I’d seen her genuinely worried about an Ilunor-Thalmin interaction. In fact, even I didn’t dare to interrupt, especially after both parties had shot death-glares towards our elven waiter as he arrived with the lunch platter.
“Restraint, Prince Thalmin.” Ilunor responded with a deep and calculating breath. “This isn’t the adjacent realms, this isn’t Havenbrockrealm.”
“Oh that much is very clear to me, Ilunor.” Thalmin interjected with something just short of a growl. “In Havenbrockrealm, we would sooner slash, stab, flay, or lash our enemies in fair and open combat, than reduce ourselves to cowardly attempts at assassination or retreat with our tails between our legs at the earliest signs of defeat.”
Ilunor took another breath, placing a small hand atop of his snout. “I… empathize with your desires to follow through with what you believe is a morally sound decision.” The Vunerian responded in a surprising display of maturity. “However, and this goes for you as well, newrealmer—” He paused for a moment, taking the time to glare at me before shifting back to Thalmin. “—we are not acting as independent actors anymore. For better or for worse… which, mind you, I still strongly believe this is very much for the worse in my case… we are now a peer group. And as such, the actions we take and their resultant fallout, should represent the interests of us all.”
“These are bold claims.” Thalmin began with a restrained snarl. “Even bolder when considering your actions the week prior. If the measure of a man were dictated by his words alone, then I would be inclined to acquiesce. However, considering the measure of a man extends beyond the weightless chatter of an exhaled breath, I feel far more inclined to reserve such actions for those far more deserving of my respect.” At which point, the lupinor turned towards both Thacea and I, following that up with a dip of his head. “I apologize, Thacea, Emma, for conducting myself in the way I did.”
Thalmin took a moment to pause, side eyeing Ilunor as he acknowledged him once again. “Whilst his character may sully his words, there is some truth to them. I have, admittedly, overstepped my bounds in committing to an action which undeniably affects the group. However, I genuinely hope you understand the reasons behind my otherwise brash decision. For I must stand on principle, lest I decide to stand at all.”
“Given the crap Auris Ping pulled last night, I’m inclined to agree with you, Thalmin. More than that, I would’ve gladly taken your place and dueled him the good old fashioned way if I could. Besides, the look on his face when you chose him to be your dueling partner? It was just priceless.” I offered with a snide grin. “In all seriousness, I’m really not in a position to chastise anyone on the issue of just gunning it with your gut instinct anyways. Heck, the entirety of last week was one long drawn out escapade for my sake, which came at the expense of the group after all.” I chuckled nervously. “So… yeah, this is incredibly tame by those standards, Thalmin.”
“Whilst… unexpected, and indeed a risk, I can understand the reasons behind it, Thalmin.” Thacea nodded uneasily. “However, I do not advise any of you to make a habit out of this.” She commanded, making an effort to make individual eye contact with each and every one of us.
Thacea’s group-mom vibes were definitely showing at this point, which was probably for the better. Given the group seemed to be a magnet for this sort of thing, it was good to have an anchor of sorts.
Sure thing, mom. Was what my gut instinct screamed at me to say.
But instead, I decided to tone it down a notch.
“As you command, princess.” I dipped my head in acknowledgement, garnering a look of abashed confusion from Thacea, and just plain-old confusion from the other two.
“In any case… I… believe you wished to discuss matters outside of classroom priorities, Emma?” Thacea quickly attempted to shift past that little bit of prodding, which I obliged with an affirmative nod.
“Yep. Well, it’s more of a small change of plans that I think is worth discussing with you guys. So, you remember how I was planning on deploying an infil-drone on Mal’tory after the end of class right?”
All three nodded, urging me to continue.
“Well, since Mal’tory was a no-show, and with Larial taking the reins instead… I think it’s best if we stick with the plan anyways, just swapping out Mal’tory for Larial. I honestly don’t see any other way we can continue the library’s questline, or any other way to find evidence to support the Auris Ping-Mal’tory hypothesis we have going on. I know it’s a huge gamble since there’s no way of knowing if she’ll even head to Mal’tory’s office after class. But honestly? This is our best shot right now.”
“I concur, Emma.” Thalmin announced with a nod.
“Given her proximity to the professor’s orbit, we may in fact gain a greater bearing on his actual state. Which in itself may prove useful.” Thacea offered, more or less acknowledging my change of plans implicitly.
“We don’t seem to have any other choice, earthrealmer. So a shot in the dark is better than stowing your wand.” Ilunor acknowledged in a rare display of solidarity.
“It’s settled then. I’ll deploy the drone right after class is dismissed. Then, we wait and see what the drone comes up with.”

The Grand Concourse of Learning. The Hall of Light. Local Time: 14:00 Hours.
Emma
Mana field perception was, as one would expect, dry, bland, and utterly nonsensical.
Throughout most of it, the lesson was taught as if it was referencing something obvious, something mundane, something so typical that a lot of the topics were all but overlooked as ‘self evident’.
A lot of what was taught reminded me of a mix between perception-theory, and situational awareness training. However, instead of relying on your eyes, ears, heck, even your nose or sense of touch… it was instead relying on something completely outside of the human experience.
“Mana field perception, is at its core, a subject that is inherent to the sapient condition. However, the extent to which it is appreciated, understood, and most important of all — applied — varies exponentially. To an untrained mind, and an untempered soul, the world feels tepid.”
The apprentice paused, gesturing to Sorecar, who answered his cue by pulling out a massive painting of a beautiful mountainscape that seemed to play through a closed animation loop; the effect was like a high-definition e-ink display.
“To a trained mind, but an untempered soul, the world feels… distant, unaccommodating, and frustrating to emotionally comprehend.” Larial continued, prompting Sorecar to pull out yet another painting. This one, the exact same as the first, with literally no differences between them.
“To an untrained mind, but a tempered soul, the world feels… unpredictable, erratic, and frustrating to logically put together.” Once again, another painting was brought out. This one, just like the previous two, looked completely identical.
“But to a sufficiently trained mind, and a tempered soul, with enough time invested into both theory and practice… the world becomes open, expansive, and above all else… it becomes rich with sights and sensations that would be impossible to feel with the physical form alone.” Larial concluded, just as Sorecar pulled out what looked to be yet another identical painting.
The EVI’s analysis concluded that there were absolutely no differences between the four paintings. Moreover, the mana radiation signatures for each were likewise exactly the same.
It was only after slipping a note towards Thacea with a question written in High Nexian did I finally get my answer.
‘What’s the deal with these paintings? They’re all identical.’
Thacea quickly slipped me a blank piece of parchment in response.
Though it didn’t remain blank for long, as words and sentences started appearing on it; mirroring Thacea’s furious ‘note taking’ in her own notebook.
‘They’re artisanal pieces imbued with the purposeful manipulation of the subject’s aura, mana-field, and the surrounding mana. They were brought out in order to demonstrate the different degrees of mana-field perception by exaggerating the most common shortcomings found in those training in the magical arts. The first piece was, similar to your memory shards, lacking in any mana-fields or auras. The second and third pieces demonstrated a failure to imbue one or the other of the two fundamental tenets of mana-field perception. The fourth piece is representative of a perfect balance of both tenets, and is an exquisite work of art that completely outshines the first. It radiates beauty, whilst the first is flat and lifeless.’
It took a moment for me to really register all that. Longer still, as I eventually became fixated on that last line in particular.
Flat and lifeless… is that what the world is like from my eyes?
It was around that time that a thought hit me, and a realization truly sank deep into my very being.
The world that Thacea, Thalmin, Ilunor, and the rest of the magical beings across the interdimensional plane experienced… was one that I was utterly blind to.
It’d been referenced before.
In fact, it’d been drilled into me time and time again by the likes of Ilunor that I was lacking in something fundamental.
But up until now, everything was either circumstantial, or outside of my general focus. So much so that I never was able to digest the implications of it.
However, as much as a pit formed in my stomach, growing tighter by the second as Larial went on and on about the ebbs and flows of mana, so too did a very human resolve suddenly dawn upon me.
“I’m going to see what you guys see one day.” I wrote down on Thacea’s magic paper.
“How?” Was the message I received back.
To which I only had one thing to reply with.
“The same way we overcame all of our other shortcomings.” I wrote cryptically, garnering a look of confusion from Thacea as she read the note, to which I only had to point at my armor for added effect.
By once again defying nature. I thought to myself.
If we weren’t born with the ability to ‘see’ this beauty, we’d find a way to break it down into its fundamental components, dissect it, analyze it, and then reinterpret it for ourselves.
The class continued on after that exchange of notes, as we touched upon what Ilunor had so eloquently described on that second day of the grace period:
One: that manastreams were everywhere around us.
Two: that manafields generated by living organisms were akin to rocks that not only parted those streams, but at times, interacted with them.
Three: that using manafields, one could make out the presence of other manafields through the manastreams, and thus detect and extract information as is pertinent to the context of the situation.
And while Ilunor would’ve blabbered on and on about the ability to see and sense the emotional state of others through the manastreams, what Larial seemed to be focused on instead were the practical applications of this natural ability. Namely, she focused on exactly how to detect a spell being cast, what sort of spell was being cast, and most importantly — she focused on how it all tied back to Light Magic.
“In summary, only when one is proficient in the detection and analysis of manafields, can one finally start to dissect the intricacies of a manafield during spellcasting. And only once one masters the detection of spellcasting, can one even hope to begin the process of dispelling. The first step of which is to know exactly what a manafield looks like during spellcasting. Is there anyone in the class that can tell me what that looks like?” The professor asked, looking around, before picking one of the many raised hands.
This one belonged to Qiv.
“Yes, Lord Qiv?”
“Influxes and effluxes, Professor. One will see the influx of ambient mana through the manastreams into a manafield, and the potential efflux of mana through a manafield back into the manastreams in the form of a controlled mana-construct.”
“Very good, Lord Qiv! Five points! Now, hold your thoughts on that latter part, because that ties into my next question!” Larial responded with a giddiness and chipperness that seemed to be lacking in every other class up to this point. “The fundamental means of detecting a spell being cast is by looking out for a point of influx, and a point of efflux. Influx being the more difficult of the pair to detect, for what you have to look out for is mana is being funneled into a manafield. A weak spell being cast, will incur less disruptions in a manastream. However, the opposite is also true. As the more powerful the spell, and the more powerful the mage, the greater the rate of influx, as the amount of mana needed to fulfill the requirements of the spell increases. Paradoxically this would mean it will be easier to detect a powerful spell before it is cast, as the reduction in the concentration of ambient mana will be more palpable as a result. Efflux however, is rather straightforward, and will be the primary vehicle through which Mana-field Perception will be taught. As it is through efflux that we can ascertain the most useful details of a spell, or as Lord Qiv so eloquently puts it — the mana-construct. Does anyone know what this next point may be referring to?”
Surprisingly, and out of a clear bias towards Qiv, Larial once more called him up.
I couldn’t blame her though.
The man, despite being a certified bully and teacher’s pet, was one of the few students who didn’t openly doubt the apprentice’s capabilities during the start of class.
“Yes, Lord Qiv?”
“The mana-construct refers to the skeleton of a spell; the arrangement and unique form it takes before manifesting into a proper spell.” The gorn-like lizard responded confidently.
“Outstanding, Lord Qiv! Five points! Now, whilst a mana-construct is indeed a vital step in the process of spell casting, its manifestation is rarely the point in time in which a spell can be intercepted — save for those who have mastered the art of Light Magic. As a result, a spell can be halted before it even has the chance to form. To most however, the mana-construct acts as a cue to prepare. It is a signal that demonstrates the irrefutable start to a spell. And as a result, it provides major structural clues as to the form of Light Magic that must be employed to combat it. Which leads me to my next point.”
The apprentice once more paused, as she manifested literally nothing visible to the tune of more than a dozen mana radiation warnings.
“When broken down to their basic components, every spell is a complicated meshwork of mana, channeled and contained within a dynamic pattern that continuously evolves throughout the duration of a spell. Because unlike artificing, the casting of magic evolves with unpredictability and thrives on organic change. No offense to you, of course, Professor Pliska.” The apprentice turned towards Sorecar worryingly, who simply responded with a bellowing laugh.
“None taken, my aspiring understudy!”
With that, Larial continued, her hands moving through an empty section of air that everyone seemed to be focused on; as if manipulating a hologram that I wasn’t privy to. “However, in spite of this unpredictability, the goal of Light Magic and Mana-field Perception in particular is to untangle the aforementioned meshwork of mana. For every spell is a puzzle and a series of knots to untangle. Your goal in this class, if I am to be reductive, is to untangle the complex mesh that comprises a spell, unraveling it to a point in which it can no longer maintain its form — collapsing it and thus, rendering it inert.” The apprentice emphasized this by miming what looked to be tiny little motions with her fingers, before pulling both hands backwards, garnering a series of affirmative nods from the crowd. “And with that, we now reach the conclusion of today’s class.”
“Or more accurately, the leadup to the climax of this class.” Sorecar quickly chimed in with a wave of his hand, prompting the room to change once more. Section upon section of the front of the classroom’s floor was dragged down into the impossible void, only to be replaced just as quickly by an elevated stage resembling that of a fencing strip. “Will the aspiring duelists please rise and approach the stage?” Sorecar turned back towards the crowd, prompting both Thalmin and Auris to stand, the pair giving each other some strong side-eyes before both marching up and towards the front of the class.
From there, with not a single word exchanged, they took their places, Thalmin at the far right, and Auris on the far left.
“The purpose of this demonstration is simple.” The apprentice began, as Sorecar began moving towards both Thalmin and Auris, insisting them to pay attention. “It is to show that even in spite of the complicated principles behind Light Magic, that there exists far simpler, far more basic principles that can achieve similar means. A precursor to more contemporary methods; spell-breaking. A maneuver that involves overpowering the structure and flow of a spell using a concentrated burst of pure mana irregardless of the type. However, unlike traditional dispelling seen in contemporary Light Magic, spell-breaking oftentimes requires a user to concentrate a disproportionately larger amount of mana in order to properly break a spell. It is thus highly inefficient, and as a result becomes rapidly impractical upon encountering spellcrafts of sufficiently advanced tiers. This demonstration will be aptly limited to a simple barrier-spell for the likes of the reciprocator, so as to not overburden the initiator with this simple task.”
The apprentice quickly passed on the torch to Sorecar, who quickly took center stage with a few steps.
“Now, as this is not a traditional duel for dominance, nor is it a sporting duel for the purposes of victory, I will explain the narrow context by which this duel will be held.” Sorecar continued, his hands clapping together, generating an empty and resonant CLANG in the process. “To our right, is our initiator, who will be demonstrating the principles of spell-breaking in an active capacity. To our left, is our reciprocator, who will be taking on the role of demonstrative spellcaster, casting only barrier spells for the duration of this short demonstration. Remember, there is to be no additional spells cast or demonstrated outside of these parameters. Is that clear?” Sorecar paused, making sure to meet both of the opponents’ gazes with his empty helm.
“Yes, professor!” Both parties shouted simultaneously, barely containing their frustrations beneath a veneer of calm and restrained fury.
“Then we shall begin on the count of three.” The apprentice continued, taking the reins over from Sorecar, as she stood just a few steps away from the stage’s combat-lines. “One.” She began, as Auris began moving into position, practically grinding his booted hooves into the stage, and taking on the posture of some unknown martial art. “Two.” Thalmin reciprocated by taking a more aggressive posture, as if positioning himself to leap towards the bull in a ravenous rage at the drop of a hat.
“Three.”
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 225% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 350% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
Nothing seemed to happen.
At least, not to my eyes.
Within a matter of seconds, all I witnessed were two mana radiation warnings timelogged as only a few seconds apart from one another.
No physical effects were evident to me. Nothing, except for the flinching of a few muscles, and the waving of arms. As if they were conjuring make-believe magic spells, without the added special effects that came with it.
Ironically, this was how I was expecting most Nexians to react to the reveal of laser weaponry. Silent, invisible, but otherwise omnipresent and deadly threats.
Though despite the lack of any physical effects I could discern, there were certainly more than enough context-clues to go by when it came to exactly what had just occurred.
Auris’ features had more or less swelled up into a fury. His nostrils flared just short of snorting out fumes, and his teeth were bared clearly holding back a few choice words for the now-grinning Thalmin.
“Again.” He demanded, and barely a second after a nod of approval from the apprentice, came two more mana radiation warnings.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 300% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 425% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
Once again, no noticeable physical effects had manifested. Though judging from the bewildered and shocked expressions of the crowd, something was definitely happening within the invisible world that was accessible through mana-vision.
“Again!” Ping announced, barely garnering approval from the apprentice this time, as things took a sudden enough turn that even I could notice them.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 400% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
It started with that ‘barrier’ again.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 500% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
Followed by Thalmin overpowering it.
However, instead of letting things go, Ping instead pushed towards a frenzied series of attacks.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 375% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
As one—
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 400% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
—after another—
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 400% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
—after another—
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 400% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
—after another ‘barrier’ spell seemed to actually be causing Thalmin some pushback now. His movements now resembled someone attempting to dodge invisible projectiles, yet Auris made no moves to actually fling anything at him, only maintaining his prior stance.
Though of course, this came with the same expected response.
As Thalmin retaliated with his own attacks. Or rather, one, very large attack that truly outclassed what Auris could currently muster in his furious state.
ALERT: LOCALIZED SURGE OF MANA-RADIATION DETECTED, 550% ABOVE BACKGROUND RADIATION LEVELS
This spell that mildly shook the room seemed to be enough to ‘break’ the sudden incursion, prompting both Ping and Thalmin to turn towards the apprentice — the former blasting steam from his snout and the latter slashing his tail in the air — for yet another round of fighting, only to have Sorecar step in, placing a hand on both of the duelists who were barely a foot away from each other now.
“Wonderful! Excellent! Put your hands together for our introductory duelists, everyone!” The professor quickly coerced both of the parties to face the class, actively grabbing them by the small of their back, and thus effectively entrapping them with his iron grip — forcing them to face the class who cheered on with a series of applauses.
Not a second later, the pair of them bowed, though it was unclear how much of this was Sorecar’s doing, and how much of this was done out of their own will.
“In any case, seeing as both of our aspiring duelists have gone above and beyond in their demonstration, and seeing that this is merely a demonstration, and not a challenge—” Sorecar emphasized that last point, forcing the pair to sweat in his over-shoulder grip. “—I believe it would be prudent to award them each a fair share of this duel’s fifty points.”
“Given the enthusiasm shown, I am inclined to agree, Professor Pliska.” The apprentice quickly nodded, prompting the armorer to quickly push both of them off-stage, and back towards the staggered raised steps of the lecture hall.
“Twenty-five points for both of our duelist’s groups.” Larial reiterated, and with a final round of reluctant applause, barely overpowering the incoming band marking the end of class… the apprentice made her final statement. “This concludes this week’s first lesson. Considering the house choosing ceremony coming up this weekend, along with the Elaseer school supply shopping trip to town… I am inclined to grant this class some clemency. No homework will be required. So please, enjoy the rest of the day, and prepare yourselves for what could be the most decisive day in your academic career here in Transgracia. Class dismissed!”
No sooner were those words uttered did my eyes quickly turn towards my HUD, and a flash of commands came through without a second of delay.
INFIL-DRONE01a ACTIVE, STATUS: NOMINAL. OBJECTIVE: PRIORITY TRACKING AND RECONNAISSANCE OF SUBJECT A109. MISSION PARAMETERS: TRACK, OBSERVE, MAP, AND RETURN-TO-BASE WITHIN PREDETERMINED PARAMETERS. CONFIRM COMMAND Y/N?
“Command confirmed.” I replied vocally, prompting the newly-printed replacement drone to pop out of its docking bay, before charting a course parallel to that of the apprentice.
The drone’s signal was lost just as the apprentice left the room through that dark threshold behind the lectern, at which point, the entire class began shuffling out to the tune of the encroaching band.
Only time would tell what would come of this mission.
But hopefully, we'll get our answers sometime later this evening.
However, instead of blending right into the crowd, or more specifically… being ignored by said crowd, quite a few eyes managed to find their way onto our group. Moreover, the chatter seemed way too interesting to ignore.
“You were right, Cynthis… perhaps there is something about this mercenary prince after all.” A female voice spoke from an all-girl group, eliciting a series of giggles, which were promptly silenced by a privacy screen the moment Thalmin craned his head around.
“Lord Auris Ping has yet again demonstrated his integrity. Let us ensure his pure-hearted determination is lauded this evening, lads! The fearsome strikers shall band together with the most pious of intent!” A tortle-like-turtle jeered, moving strategically to position themselves around Auris Ping’s group, as the expected schmoozing began in full.
“Newrealmer.” Ilunor began, generating a privacy screen in the process.
“Yes, Ilunor?”
“How long do you expect your insect to take in its dastardly escapades?”
“Last time it took a good few hours. So, given this probably isn’t a one-and-done deal, I’d say… maybe three to four hours at the least this time around?” I offered.
“Well then. Splendid. I shall be off, and return within that time frame.”
“Wait wait wait wait. Hold up. Where do you think you’re going?” I inquired firmly.
“I have my own life to lead, newrealmer. Now please, I shall return to our group’s escapades in due time.”
“Where, Ilunor?” I reiterated.
To which the Vunerian could only sigh in response. “The student lounge. Top floor today, if I am to be interrogated for every ounce of information…”
“Then let’s go. Together.” I proclaimed, garnering a few looks of surprise from both Thacea and Thalmin. “Perhaps it’s time we start getting a feel for the lay of the land. We’ve been cooped up in our own little world for far too long, maybe, just maybe, we should all expand our horizons just by a little bit.”
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(Author’s Note: The much anticipated round two between Thalmin and Auris has concluded! And following its conclusion, we also get quite a few reactions to Thalmin as a result of his daring display of magical prowess! We also get a pretty hands on demonstration of Light Magic this time around! This is perhaps one of the more hands on class, and indeed one of the more straightforward classes so far! Moreover, the end of classes marks not only the beginning of the little spy drone adventure, but also a little peak into exactly what Ilunor has been up to! I hope you guys enjoy! :D The next Two Chapters are already up on Patreon if you guys are interested in getting early access to future chapters!)
[If you guys want to help support me and these stories, here's my ko-fi ! And my Patreon for early chapter releases (Chapter 81 and Chapter 82 of this story is already out on there!)]

I have no idea how common this experience is, but for all my life, I have never known anyone in my family to repair or replace a torn screen door or screen window. You know, those wire meshes whose whole purpose is to keep bugs and detritus outside your house from getting inside your house? A tear in a screen defeats the purpose of the screen.
But I don't fix it. I guess it's because the screen still mostly works. It keeps out all the bugs who specifically don't go near that hole, but if there's ever a beetle or something in the house, there's never a question about how it got in. I look at a tear in a screen, I recognize that it makes the screen inherently worse at the only thing I want it to do, but I feel no strong desire whatsoever to fix it. I just accept it as a kind of broken and shitty thing that I live with now, and if I really don't want to deal with it I can just open a different window or door instead.
I legitimately don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand, it's slightly insane to see a problem, identify it as a problem, have the ability to solve the problem, and then just refuse to do anything about it forever. On the other hand, is it really a problem? Does a torn screen door actually impact my life very much? I think there is nobility in "anti-fussiness"--a conscious decision to accept things as they are, not as an ideal standard I want them to be. The main things I want in my house, like the breeze, the sounds and the scents of outdoors still make it through just fine whether the screen is whole or not. I guess it just becomes a cost-benefit problem then. Does anyone else have this conundrum?

Hello, I had a couple of quick questions... as one might expect.
Due to player backstories meshing, I have decided to add an artificer-adjacent bbeg to a typical high fantasy world. And I was considering having them be collecting all the rights to mines across the world, everything from metals to crystals, for building an army of automatons. Also due to a player asking to bow out of the game, I have had the idea that the BBEG is "borrowing" other artificers for their collective knowledge.
I know in BG1 there was the Iron Plague weakening iron tools and making them break frequently. But, I don't see my PCs having that issue.
How would you make the PCs feel the effects of an metal scarcity? Bonus question: What would the world look like if magic item sellers suddenly started dissappearing?

I have a bunch of tech already available and some ideas what I want to do in the future, but no experience to put it all together. If this sub is not the correct one please guide me in the right direction.
Things I have:

• Desktop PC in the office, mostly used for games and general media consumption (via streaming).
• Mesh Network across the whole apartment for stable wireless connection.
• Raspberry Pi 4B connected via LAN to the router, no wireless module. The PI has a base setup (Raspbian) but does not do anything currently.
• Pixel 8 smartphone + old LG smartphone (Android 10 I think) not in use anymore.
• Various bluetooth speakers without smart functionality.
• Old-ish TV in the living room that allows limited casting of YouTube, Netflix & Prime video.
• Laptop connected to the TV via HDMI. It's setup to autostart in Steam Big Picture mode for game streaming. I control BPM via Xbox controller. I also have a wireless keyboard & mouse combo connected to the laptop.
• WiZ smart bulbs allowing changing of light temperature & brightness.
• Dreame vacuum robot.
• Google Home setup which currently includes the light bulbs & the vacuum.

What I'm thinking about, but have not really looked into further:

• Home Assistant. I'm aware it exists, but currently I have no need to switch from the google ecosystem yet. Open to it though
• Some use for the Pi. PiHole, RetroPi, server of some kind? Can it run PiHole + other things in combination?
• Some use for the old phone. Can it be used as a display / control panel for some other stuff?
• A way to make the couch experience with TV & laptop more fluent. If I want to stream something that the TV does not support (let's say Twitch) I have to switch the input to HDMI, leave big picture mode, use keyboard & mouse to open the browser and watch it that way. Ideal setup would be controlled all via phone (casting) or controller.
• A way to connect multiple audio devices (TV, bluetooth speakers, maybe PC speakers) to all play the same music and control them on one central place.
• Google Pixel tablet for media consumption. I saw that the base station includes a speaker & the tablet allows casting, might be interesting.
• More smart lights. I saw IKEA has some things but it looks like they have their own locked down ecosystem.

What I don't want / need:

• Voice commands, rather use an app.
• Large-scale media storage.

If you guys have any ideas how my plans could fit together or anything else that might be interesting to me feel free to share them. If there's any other wild projects I could do I would also be interested, I'm new to the whole world but curious.
Edit: Also I'm renting so I can't really pull any wires through the wall or install new switches etc.

Me and my ex broke up roughly 2 months ago following an argument where I had brought up her ex in an argument, we were on ok terms for a few weeks until she hadn't responded to me one day and I suppose I couldn't deal with it any longer and I blocked her, in the following week my friend had posted me and a different ex on their story and I feel like this upset my most recent ex. I want to send the following note to her along with some gifts, is it a bad idea?
"Happy Birthday [redacted] I hope you went well on your exams. I'm not sure how you will find this letter so I do apologise if it is unwelcome. I have gotten you some gifts, first of all ’ve returned your car keys which I never had the chance to give back to you, I'm not sure how you’ve managed without them, I've tried making a pineapple garland for you, i have also included a shell you once had given to me, they sit in my car and it reminds me of you every time i see them.
I am the most excited about the peso’s and Nepalese rupees I have found. Of course it's [redacted] birthday too so I have gotten him a necklace that I think he’d like.
Once again, I apologise if this is not received well and do know that you don’t have to respond. I just wanted to get you something for your birthday.
I am sorry for everything.
-[redacted]"
to explain the note, they are actually my car keys but she always had a joke pretending they were hers and would steal them from me (I have new ones btw), she loves everything pineapple related, the shell is self explanatory and she is half Mexican and grew up in Nepal. the necklace is for her twin brother, they are very close.
Is this a bad idea? Is the note too much? is it overbearing? are the presents too much?
as stated in the letter I don't expect a response, I would actually rather I didn't get a response. I just hopes it makes her happy.

TLDR: This is my first impressions of the Peak Design backpack 30l, chosen for its dual use as a camera and travel bag. I sought a modular solution after using the Thule DSLR backpack 32l. Positive aspects include a sleek design, modular packing, easy-sliding zippers that can double as side access pockets if you pack stretically, comfortable carry with 7-8 kg weight, and good capacity with compression zippers. Negatives are the dangling zipper pull, uncertainty about zipper appearance in its uncompress state and sternum straps' effectiveness, the bag's height and weight, and a weak bottom magnetic pocket. I will further explore the top access pocket and internal mesh pockets, which have been criticized for being too small and camera-centric.
If you have any questions or things you want me to check out, please leave a comment. Also: I am not affiliated with Peak Design. I just want to give back to this community I have learned so much from since I stumbled in here six years ago.
Who is it for, and why did I choose this?
As many have pointed out on this sub, this backpack is quite heavy, tall and expensive. If that is a dealbreaker, then this backpack is probably not for you.
I came from the Thule DSRL backpack 32l, a bag I felt it had too many compartments and pockets and were too tall when packing the rolltop out. It was a nice and sturdy backpack, but the side access did not work very well when sliding the back to the side in order to get your camera out or back in. I sold The Thule DSRL backpack 32l and my Thule Subterra 40L and got the peak design 30l. I wanted a dedicated cameraback, that also could be used as a travel backpack only, and in hybrid mode for both as well.
That beeing said, getting a cameracube for your current backpack could be more than enough if you plan to only bring a camera every now and then, and a lot cheaper than getting a Peak Design bag. I see my purchase as an investment for prossional work, traveling and work. I am recently doing more traveling at conferences and meetings for work that requires a more sleek looking backpack.
So all in all this versitily and ecosystem seemed like a good fit for traveling, and for film and photagraphy gigs as a dedicated camerabag as well as fitting into more formal settings for conferences and meetings.
What I think this bag gets a bit to much critisism for compared to the 45l is the lack of side access zippers. The large zippers easily slides to the sides witch can double as side access pockets if you pack your bag strategically. I like this now, but it will be interesting to see if it will feel cumbersome in the long term.
I think the criticism of the shoulder straps are individual and something you would have to try out your self. When I packed it up to a total weight of 8kg/17,7Ibs (7.3kg /15.4ibs plus a 0.7dl/2.3 oz water bottle) and did a 11 km/6.8 miles test walk, it never felt heavy on the shoulders with the sternum straps attached. Some of the pressure from the weight also distributes into the back, giving a three point pressure on the chest, shoulders and the back. But the straps are thin though, and I wish they would have made them a bit wider like on my subterra 34 that is equally thin, but wider.
What I like so far:

• Sleek looking
• Keeps its shape even when empty
• Minimalist and modular packing philosophy - I like less pockets rather than a lot of them.
• Every zippers easily slides compared to every other backpack I've used.
• The main compartment zippers doubles as side access pockets of you move it onto the sides, due to how easily the zippers slide.
• Comfortable to carry over longer distances (in my short term experience) with 7-8kgs /15,4-17,7Ibs of weight - the variable being a water bottle.
• Packs a lot more than I thought it would.
• The expansion zippers can be used to compress the entire bag down - if you haven't fully packed it out in 33 liter mode. Be careful doing this as it is not advertized and I do not know if the zippers will endure it in the long term or if you stuff it in 33 liter expanded mode and try to compress it down.
• Grab handles on all sides are very nice for putting the bag into over head bins.
• Very nice top grab handle.
• Very easy to tuck away the shoulder straps.
• The fact that you can get a hip belt as an accessory for carrying heavier loads.

What I dislike

• The zipper pull from the compression zipper dangles arround on either side either if compressed or uncompressed - solved by not zipping it all the way down. Feels like a designflaw.
• I am not sure what I think about the look of the zippers in its uncompressed state.
• The sternum straps seems like a good idea on paper, but not sure if it is a nice in the long term.
• The backpack is a bit tall for my frame - but an OK compromise in order to use the same packing cubes and camera cubes as the 45l
• As others have pointed out, the bottom magnetic pocket really seems like a missed opportunity. It would have been nice to have stronger magnets or even a zipper in order to put in stuff like a rain jacket, rain cover, etc for quick access. Now it seems so unsafe for storing stuff it is more or less a useless pocket.
• The dangling straps from the shoulder straps - many other backpacks av straps holders for this very purpose.
• Heavy compared to non camera-bags
• Tall compared to other bags

What I will further explore in order to make an informed opinion.

• The top access pocket
• The mesh pockets inside the main compartments
• The lack of large tech pocket compared to the 45l
• The lack of bundled hipbelt.

These pockets have been criticized for being too small, too camera gear centric, and unaccessible. I will try find a use case for them over the course of the next weeks and months and get some real world experience using them.
I do not think a hibbelt is a necessity for all users, but for camera gigs with longer walks I will need it.
Edit: Some formatting, typos and added American units

My fiancé had a habit of lying to me since day one and I discovered another lie on Thursday, three days ago. It caused an argument and so much frustration, depression, anger, and disappointment in me. He promised again and again that he was done lying and I would believe him, only to be stabbed again in the back when another lie came out a week or a few weeks later. He kept trying to say it was my fault that he would lie to me and that I was overreacting. No apology involved. He also told his mother about the argument even though we discussed in the past that it was not right to do because he only would tell a small portion of the story and of course, he makes himself look like the victim and I'm the one in the bad light. Plus she almost caused us to break up back when we were just dating because of him running to her after fights and she would give him terrible advice to leave me because of the one-sided stories she would hear. Last year when that happened, he would pretend to be all loving and happy with me but then run to his mom if we had the slightest of arguments. For example, if we set some boundaries for ourselves and he wasn't consistent with them, I would confront him. He would tell his mother a terrible version of it and she spun up that I was abusive. So they would talk behind my back like this over lies while he smiled in my face. That's when I knew he could put on such facades and lie so easily. I should have left then, I saw the signs, but I was a fool. There was a part of me that suspected this would happen one day, not the ghosting because never in my dreams would I have imagined him being this evil, but I had a feeling this might not work out. I mean I was always questioning my reality and him especially when he would lie and tell me I was imagining things while swearing on his life, my life, our future unborn children, his parent's life, and on Jesus that was telling the truth. Only later find out he was actually lying and I wasn't imagining it. I mean I gave him my trust again and again, which was so hard for me to do in the first place, and he just kept shattering it even knowing how much it hurt me. So I told him I needed some space for the evening and I said I don't know if I can keep doing this (which he took and ran with even though I said it in the heat of the moment when I was hurt, we have both said things like that before in arguments and didn't mean it) and I asked him to get a hotel just for the night, which he did. The next day, I go into work and I receive one single text telling me I made one small thing into a huge deal. He would try to gaslight me at times and he was HUGE at twisting the role and playing the victim. I responded with the reasons why it was not okay for him to keep lying to me because it hurts me so much and why it wasn't just "one small thing," because behind that lie, so many other issues were there too. I didn't get a response. He usually would text me all day everyday and would be so loving and attentive so it was odd. So I went home that day expecting him to be there to talk about it. I arrive home and his truck isn't there. I walk inside and all of his stuff is moved out and gone. He put a photo of the two of us face down on the table and smashed our Bonsai that we called the Bonsai of Love because it was supposed to resemble our relationship. I called and called and texted and texted yet no response. I was begging him to come home to talk. I apologized for getting upset the night prior and that I just want him back home with me. I just couldn't understand how he could do this. It was all delivering too so I wasn't blocked. It wasn't until 10pm when he blocked me after I texted asking why hasn't he blocked me if he's really done? That was me trying to find hope in the situation that maybe he would return and that's why he didn't block me. Well after that, I was blocked. His mother also removed me from the family group chat. It made me wonder if he was just sitting back and laughing at my pleads for a response and possibly even sharing my distraught and sad messages to others. I suspect his mother played a huge role again because again, she almost caused a break up last year because of getting involved and turning him against me with the knowledge he shared, just enough knowledge to make me the villain. It has been two days and I have been ghosted by my fiancé. He also did this the day of my best friend's wedding rehearsal (I'm her maid of honor) and her wedding was yesterday (which he ghosted them for as well). Imagine how hard it is giving a speech for your best friend and her lovely fiancé, now her husband, when you were just horribly ghosted from your own a day prior and are now single. His empty chair was taunting me the whole time too, it was so hard especially with the love songs but I had to pretend to be happy for them. He was such a coward that he never even gave me an explanation or an apology or a goodbye. He ghosted his ex in the past when leaving her yet he at least gave her a phone call. Our relationship was much, much more serious and significant than that was too (theirs seemed more like a high-school type relationship) yet I still received nothing. We lived together, were engaged, spent every second together when we weren't at work, we had so many vacations planned (a weekend away to Lake George next week and an Alaskan cruise next month), on each other's insurance plans & phone bills & renters insurance & even pet insurance, we had a retirement plan set up, we were so close, things were so good because we meshed so well together. Yes, we argued here and there but every couple does, especially those that spend so much time together but his lies were what caused the most distress especially because the negative impact carried on for so long. I have my own issues as does he but he always said we would work through them together and that I never have to worry about him leaving. I would always put him and his needs before me. I would wake up a lot earlier than I have to in order to make him breakfast and lunch for his work day before I started getting ready for work myself and I would just throw something together sloppy, real quick for me. I was so good to him. Again, I do have my flaws and we argued at times but most of the time things were so wonderful. And what really blows my mind is that just days prior to this, he was telling me he wanted our wedding to be in October, we were both planning to move to Colorado and have been getting interviewed for jobs, how excited he was, he would tell me daily again and again that he loved me so much unconditionally, was fully committed to me for the rest of my life, and that he would never leave me. Then he did this. After so much time together, after I brought him into my home, my life... he couldn't even give me the respect or decency to communicate to me. I thought God brought this man into my life, the one I thought I was waiting for. Now I can't help but feel angry at God. He would call me his best friend, soulmate, his entire future. He promised away his life to me like I did mine. I guess it never meant anything to him. How could you treat someone you claim to care for and love like this? It is hard because I know he loved me, I do think if he didn't have his mother in his ear, he wouldn't have done this. But either way, he did do it. He is awful and she is just as bad. I hope karma comes their way. He knows I have abandonment issues and trauma yet he did this without any remorse, it seems. I'll never know.
What kind of monster... I just can't wrap my head around it. No closure. My friends and family are just as shocked and tell me it will hurt for now because it really is mourning a loss but it is a blessing in disguise. That I wouldn't have been happy in a marriage full of lies and distrust. All I know is that I am hurting really bad still. I am hoping I feel better soon. I have never experienced this kind of treatment or hurt before.
tl;dr My fiancé moved out without my knowledge when I was away at work for the day and he has since ghosted and blocked me without any communication. This was two days ago. What do I do? I miss him and our relationship. But I don't think he's coming back. How do I cope?

My fiancé had a habit of lying to me since day one and I discovered another lie on Thursday, three days ago. It caused an argument and so much frustration, depression, anger, and disappointment in me. He promised again and again that he was done lying and I would believe him, only to be stabbed again in the back when another lie came out a week or a few weeks later. He kept trying to say it was my fault that he would lie to me and that I was overreacting. No apology involved. He also told his mother about the argument even though we discussed in the past that it was not right to do because he only would tell a small portion of the story and of course, he makes himself look like the victim and I'm the one in the bad light. Plus she almost caused us to break up back when we were just dating because of him running to her after fights and she would give him terrible advice to leave me because of the one-sided stories she would hear. Last year when that happened, he would pretend to be all loving and happy with me but then run to his mom if we had the slightest of arguments. For example, if we set some boundaries for ourselves and he wasn't consistent with them, I would confront him. He would tell his mother a terrible version of it and she spun up that I was abusive. So they would talk behind my back like this over lies while he smiled in my face. That's when I knew he could put on such facades and lie so easily. I should have left then, I saw the signs, but I was a fool. There was a part of me that suspected this would happen one day, not the ghosting because never in my dreams would I have imagined him being this evil, but I had a feeling this might not work out. I mean I was always questioning my reality and him especially when he would lie and tell me I was imagining things while swearing on his life, my life, our future unborn children, his parent's life, and on Jesus that was telling the truth. Only later find out he was actually lying and I wasn't imagining it. I mean I gave him my trust again and again, which was so hard for me to do in the first place, and he just kept shattering it even knowing how much it hurt me. So I told him I needed some space for the evening and I said I don't know if I can keep doing this (I know I shouldn't have said it but we have both said similar things in the past during arguments and never meant it) and I asked him to get a hotel just for the night, which he did. The next day, I go into work and I receive one single text telling me I made one small thing into a huge deal. He would try to gaslight me at times and he was HUGE at twisting the role and playing the victim. I responded with the reasons why it was not okay for him to keep lying to me because it hurts me so much and why it wasn't just "one small thing," because behind that lie, so many other issues were there too. I didn't get a response. He usually would text me all day everyday and would be so loving and attentive so it was odd. So I went home that day expecting him to be there to talk about it. I arrive home and his truck isn't there. I walk inside and all of his stuff is moved out and gone. He put a photo of the two of us face down on the table and smashed our Bonsai that we called the Bonsai of Love because it was supposed to resemble our relationship. called and called and texted and texted yet no response. I was begging him to come home to talk. I apologized for getting upset the night prior and that I just want him back home with me. I just couldn't understand how he could do this. It was all delivering too so I wasn't blocked. It wasn't until 10pm when he blocked me after I texted asking why hasn't he blocked me if he's really done? That was me trying to find hope in the situation that maybe he would return and that's why he didn't block me. Well after that, I was blocked. His mother also removed me from the family group chat. It made me wonder if he was just sitting back and laughing at my pleads for a response and possibly even sharing my distraught and sad messages to others. I suspect his mother played a huge role again because again, she almost caused a break up last year because of getting involved and turning him against me with the knowledge he shared, just enough knowledge to make me the villain. It has been two days and I have been ghosted by my fiancé. He also did this the day of my best friend's wedding rehearsal (I'm her maid of honor) and her wedding was yesterday (which he ghosted them for as well). Imagine how hard it is giving a speech for your best friend and her lovely fiancé, now her husband, when you were just horribly ghosted from your own a day prior and are now single. His empty chair was taunting me the whole time too, it was so hard especially with the love songs but I had to pretend to be happy for them. He was such a coward that he never even gave me an explanation or an apology or a goodbye. He ghosted his ex in the past when leaving her yet he at least gave her a phone call. Our relationship was much, much more serious and significant than that was too (theirs seemed more like a high-school type relationship) yet I still received nothing. We lived together, were engaged, spent every second together when we weren't at work, we had so many vacations planned (a weekend away to Lake George next week and an Alaskan cruise next month), on each other's insurance plans & phone bills & renters insurance & even pet insurance, we had a retirement plan set up, we were so close, things were so good because we meshed so well together. Yes, we argued here and there but every couple does, especially those that spend so much time together but his lies were what caused the most distress especially because the negative impact carried on for so long. I have my own issues as does he but he always said we would work through them together and that I never have to worry about him leaving. I would always put him and his needs before me. I would wake up a lot earlier than I have to in order to make him breakfast and lunch for his work day before I started getting ready for work myself and I would just throw something together sloppy, real quick for me. I was so good to him. Again, I do have my flaws and we argued at times but most of the time things were so wonderful. And what really blows my mind is that just days prior to this, he was telling me he wanted our wedding to be in October, we were both planning to move to Colorado and have been getting interviewed for jobs, how excited he was, he would tell me daily again and again that he loved me so much unconditionally, was fully committed to me for the rest of my life, and that he would never leave me. Then he did this. After so much time together, after I brought him into my home, my life... he couldn't even give me the respect or decency to communicate to me. I thought God brought this man into my life, the one I thought I was waiting for. Now I can't help but feel angry at God. He would call me his best friend, soulmate, his entire future. He promised away his life to me like I did mine. I guess it never meant anything to him. How could you treat someone you claim to care for and love like this? It is hard because I know he loved me, I do think if he didn't have his mother in his ear, he wouldn't have done this. But either way, he did do it. He is awful and she is just as bad. I hope karma comes their way. He knows I have abandonment issues and trauma yet he did this without any remorse, it seems. I'll never know.
What kind of monster... I just can't wrap my head around it. No closure. My friends and family are just as shocked and tell me it will hurt for now because it really is mourning a loss but it is a blessing in disguise. That I wouldn't have been happy in a marriage full of lies and distrust. All I know is that I am hurting really bad still. I am hoping I feel better soon. I have never experienced this kind of treatment or hurt before.
tl;dr My fiancé moved out without my knowledge when I was away at work for the day and he has since ghosted and blocked me without any communication. This was two days ago. What do I do? I miss him and our relationship. But I don't think he's coming back. How do I cope?

Essentially I've made a system in Godot that takes the advantages of Multi-Meshes (combining all meshes of the same type into a single draw call for improved CPU performance) while mitigating the disadvantages (unable to separate/cull individual meshes, which harms GPU performance). Note: written in C#.
It is recommended to know a bit about how Multi-Mesh instancing works; this isn't a full tutorial. Not that I won't answer questions about it either :)
The way it works is:

1. "Objects" are de-coupled from Meshes. So I essentially have my own RendObj class that doesn't inherit from Node3D. These can request an ID from the MeshManager. It makes it simple to keep the "logic" separate from the actual rendering method, to swap in whatever I want.
2. The MeshManager has a Dictionary of (not to be confused with MultiMeshInstance2D or MultiMeshInstance3D) so that for every Mesh type we can track a Multi-Mesh each.
3. The reason for tracking IDs is that we want to be able to only send visible meshes to the Multi-Mesh each frame. That means if there are 5 objects and 3 are visible (object 2 and 4 are invisible) it will look like:

TrackedIDs = [0,1,2,3,4]
VisibleIDs = [0,1,3]
And then on the MultiMesh object, VisibleInstanceCount = 3.
So far it's straight forward. Just keep adding/removing elements from the VisibleIDs list.

1. Because this changes dynamically, we need to update the buffer size in the MultiMesh. So to keep things simple, the default size is set to 4 (set via MultiMesh.InstanceCount, which can be different to VisibleInstanceCount luckily). Each time we want to go beyond the current InstanceCount, we clear all buffers, double the capacity, and then set the new instance count to that capacity. So it goes 4, 8, 16, 32...

This also means having to track the positions of objects locally, as when the buffers are cleared we lose all data.

1. For performance reasons, we're going to set the Buffer array directly on MultiMesh rather than use SetInstanceTransform() on each. Therefore we need to:

Create the transform:
Transform3D transform = new Transform3D(Basis.FromEuler(new Vector3(0, rotation, 0)).Scaled(scale), position);
And then put that into a list of arrays:
return new float[] { transform[0][0], transform[1][0], transform[2][0], transform[3][0],
transform[0][1], transform[1][1], transform[2][1], transform[3][1],
transform[0][2], transform[1][2], transform[2][2], transform[3][2] };
Later we'll unpack all of these when we're doing an UpdateAll. They will get "added" to the giant MultiMesh Buffer array.

1. The last piece of the puzzle is the actual culling. There are two ways:

Firstly, we cull by what is behind the camera. While not as effective as doing a frustrum cull, it's just easielazier to not have to deal with objects popping on the side of the screen. There might be an easy way if anyone knows!
There is a method in Godot on the Camera3D for checking if a position is behind the camera. But I found it faster to replace it with the Godot method where you use the Mathf Dot product.
To get even better performance, I replaced it with System.Numerics.Vector3 Dot.
Quick performance comparison:
Camera IsPositionBehind() - 1.16ms on 16,384 objects Godot Mathf Class - 0.51ms C# Maths - 0.07ms
For those wondering "is this due to marshalling / C#-C++ overhead?" The answer is probably no - the Godot Mathf class is in fact re-written for C# as far as I can tell. I understand that IsPositionBehind will be slower because I think it does use C++ AND in the other two methods I am caching as much as I can before looping through them. But I honestly cannot see a reason why Godot Mathf would be considerably slower than using C#.
The actual maths is:
Get the transform of the camera: camera.GlobalTransform.Orthonormalized() Get the Vector3 "eye direction:" -cameraTransform.Basis[2].Normalized(); Compare: System.Numerics.Vector3.Dot(eyedir, diff) < 0 (this tells it to HIDE the object).
The second test is to simply test the distance. Again, using System.Numerics.Vector3 LengthSquared instead of Godot's math helped. Caching the camera transform data into System Numerics variants is important to avoid many conversions.
By combining multiple of these, you can have a mesh that only shows in the far distance and others that only show up close to get the benefits of LODs.
Final Words
I kind of threw this together, so I'm sorry if it doesn't make complete sense. Feel free to ask anything!