1guy 2 hammers

MLW is about to host it's most popular event of the year in the Battle Riot on June 1st in Atlanta. So I figured as an MLW fan and because people have been curious here I'd give a breakdown on MLW for those curious in jumping in.
Satoshi Kojima and Shigeo Okumura aka CozyMAX - Japanese legend and representing New Japan has been the face of the company this year. Kojima is the heavyweight champion and first ever man to win it twice. He's also the tag champion with CMLL representative Shigeo Okumura. Okumura being the long time worker in CMLL and liason for Japanese talent in Mexico. He's really been pushing himself and doing the best work I've ever seen from him getting his first real shot in the US. So despite Kojima's age he's been a great face for the company in a year after losing Jacob Fatu and Alexander HammerStone
Místíco and the feud between Cesar Duran and Salina de la Renta - Místíco is a legend from Mexico who for a long time was mostly known for his failure of a run as Sin Cara. As the current MLW Middleweight champion though he's proven exactly why he's a legend. He's having great matches with the roster of MLW/CMLL imports. He's doing so representing Cesar Duran (Azteca Lucha) which many of you may know as Dario Cueto from Lucha Underground. Cesar Duran has been feuding with Salina de la Renta (Promociones Dorado) in a feud I would best describe as two people hating each other because of how similar they truly are. The two have been doing their best to sign different CMLL talent to beat each other with and show superiority. Consistent talent to understand the current alignment is Cesar Duran represents Místíco, Magnus (Cousin of Místíco and you may have seen recently in AEW/New Japan), Virus (longtime CMLL trainer and legend), and Averno (Longtime rival to Místíco and recently converted from Promociones Dorado). Representing Salina is Star Jr (Young and grown quite popular to the MLW crowd he's been the number 2 luchador to Místíco who he will be facing for the belt at the Battle Riot event TV tapings), Barbaro Cavenario (Amazing luchador also caveman), and Jesus Rodriguez (you probably remember as the ring announcer Ricardo Rodriguez). I expect these two to continue to feud as a good excuse for MLW to showcase CMLL Lucha.
Return of CONTRA - Contra after dying a couple years ago with Mads Kruger leaving to reinvent himself on the indies as Krule has returned. Mads Krule Kruger has returned promising Contra to return to its former glory and more than likely he probably will as the company looks to be building him up as the next world champion. Ikuro Kwon from the original group has also returned following Kruger. The faction is also promising new members in probably the classic MLW method of introducing MLW's next top guys as faction members first. They've been feuding with the Second Gear Crew which you may know from GCW as the Crew has become the de facto top face faction working closely with CozyMAX.
World Titan Federation (WTF) - The poorly named WTF was the top heel faction of 2023 and the beginning of this year but now has been scaled back some. Being represented by Mister Saint Laurent who is ok standard annoying heel manager the group showcases lots of the great younger heel talent in the company. Joshua Bishop who is the same mold as Jacob Fatu, Alex Kane, and Alexander HammerStone is a young talented big man and probably has a good future in the company. Zayda Steel is the main female representative in the group she is probably a future women's champion for the company. Brett Ryan Gouslin who is best described as Ken from the barbie movie who you desperately want to see get punched; he's a great midcard heel. The group also represents Steph de Lander, Tom Lawlor, and Davey Boy Smith Jr when they're not working in Japan or Steph de Lander case of GCW.
Bad Dude Tito - The New MLW National Open weight champion made MLW his American home after they made a relationship with New Japan. He looks to be a top guy in the company after being consistently good in the promotion
Alex Kane and the split of Bomaye Fight Club - Alex Kane had a rough beginning of the year losing the belt to Kojima and that's continued with the former top dolla being a thorn in his side and stealing his group. While AJ Francis I was pretty trepidations about joining MLW has actually shown to be doing quite well similar to his current TNA run. He's stolen Bomaye Fight Club from Kane who only has the Giant known as Mr Thomas continue to have his back. This has been a nice midcard feud
Matt Riddle - The controversial figure has been in MLW due to his star power but MLW doesn't seem to want to push him into any big title picture. He's currently feuding with fellow freelancer Sami Callihan. Riddle is a solid worker but that's all they're really using him for right now especially after losing the New Japan television title.
Featherweight division - the still young division has some solid foundation in 2024 with current champion Janai Kai and face of the featherweight division Delmi Exo. Kai has been a dominant heel champion ever since making her shock debut and destroying Exo for the title. Exo has been the underdog Babyface trying to get the title back. Basic Good vs Evil storyline that's been working well. Helps they have good talent also helping with the division in Zayda Steel, Notorious Mimi, and Tiana James. They also have a relationship with TJPW which has had Maki Itoh, Miyu Yamashita, Hyper Misao, etc make appearances for the promotion.
Death Fighters - Finally the face faction of Raven, Jake Crist, Matthew Lloyd, and AKIRA are a new strong babyface faction. Originally calling themselves the Answer in response to Raven former faction the Calling turning on him and AKIRA. These four have dismantled the Calling and set themselves as solid babyfaces for MLW.
This is a basic outline of the faces and stories of MLW hopefully for those interested I've maintained your interest but also have you a good background for the promotion as I said MLW Battle Riot is on June 1st and if you're interested MLW is part of the Triller+ package (fka as FITE) with the TV tapings released on YouTube as tv specials.

Hi All,
I could use some advice playing against my friend's seraphon. He usually runs coalesced and I have been having a hard time figuring out how to get enough damage done. I think I also misplayed a few things last game as well. I don't currently have any varanguard but I'm planning to pick up the new box coming out.
It feels like I don't have enough hammers. I also need to avoid targeting the seraphon warriors. They are a massive tarpit. In this game I tried to give my knights levitate and demonic speed to jump over the warrior screen but I didn't get enough distance on the charge. Honestly the knights look scary on paper but they never seem to do the dmg output I need. I also misplayed my warriors pretty badly. They should have deployed on the left and pushed into the middle. In this game they just ran uselessly after my knights. I also pushed the knights up too fast. It feels like Slaves want to be aggressive but the serphon units are usually castled up pretty tightly with the warriors in the front.
Any general advice on how to approach fighting serphon?
Thanks!
My List:

• Army Faction: Slaves to Darkness
• Subfaction: Cabalists
• Grand Strategy: Control the Nexus LEADERS Chaos Lord on Karkadrak (170)*
• General
• Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
• Command Traits: Death Dealer
• Artefacts of Power: The Conqueror’s Crown Chaos Sorcerer Lord (120)**
• Mark of Chaos: Slaanesh
• Spells: Chaotic Conduit, Hoarfrost Chaos Sorcerer Lord (120)**
• Mark of Chaos: Slaanesh
• Spells: Daemonic Speed, Levitate BATTLELINE Chaos Chariot (80)
• Mark of Chaos: Slaanesh
• Chaos War-flail and Lashing Whip Chaos Knights (440)*
• Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
• Standard Bearer
• Hornblower
• Doom Knight
• Cursed Lance Chaos Warriors (360)*
• Mark of Chaos: Nurgle
• Aspiring Champion
• Standard Bearer
• Hornblower
• Ensorcelled Halberd Splintered Fang (100)* OTHER Chaos Chosen (460)*
• Mark of Chaos: Slaanesh
• Exalted Champion
• Icon Bearer
• Skull Drummer
• Ensorcelled Banner: The Banner of Screaming Flesh Ogroid Theridons (150)*
• Mark of Chaos: Slaanesh
• Thorakon
• Banner Bearer
• Charge-caller
• Goroan Great Axe CORE BATTALIONS *Battle Regiment **Andtorian Acolytes TOTAL POINTS: 2000/2000

Seraphon List:
2 units of 20 spear warriors
2 stegadons, 1 bastilladon, 1 carnasour,
3 kroxigors, 3 Aggradon Lancers, star priest, slaan starmaster,
Spawn of Chotec

(Trigger Warning: There was a lot of reload scumming. A lot.)
I finally beat classic mode. I wanted to share my experience and maybe spark some discussion! : )
The Team I Began With:
Began with a Litten, Frigibax, and a Klefki. Litten has an amazing IV spread and is pretty bulky. I'm sure we all know how strong Incineroar can be so there isn't much to explain there. Frigibax is a pokemon that I have never used since I haven't really played the mainline games since Sun & Moon, but man I fell in love instantly. Dragon Darts singlehandedly saved me money by taking Poketrash out between the main fights. The IV spread for him was decent and with his nature being +Speed -Sp.Atk combined with a Soul Dew I got later in the playthrough he usually just took out everything. Not to mention he is reasonably bulky and has a great ability in Thermal Exchange.The Klefki may be a weird choice when there are options like Tinkatink, but my Tinkatink had a very skewed IV spread and less than desirable nature, so for that reason I took the much bulkier Klefki. I figured its more about the typing's immunity to Dragon than the damage output itself.
Getting to, and past, level 20 wasn't too difficult thanks to having Dragon Darts as an egg move early on. From there I needed to grab some coverage Pokemon.
The Team I Caught:
As the run went on, I realized I had really strong late game mons, but nothing that would make taking out a variety of types easy. So, first I caught a Lotad and covered my grass and water needs. Luckily, he had a good IV spread and helpful moves. Next came a Pikachu, I wasn't sure how I felt about getting a Raichu since regardless of how good the IV spread is, the final stage BST isn't much to write home about and it wasn't crazy fast enough to make 100% use of a decent Attack stat. I ended up needing it more at certain times than I thought I would've. Lastly, came Ursaluna, who I have just now realized...IS A DAWG. Oh my stat spread, and with Payback to capitalize on the slow speed stat. Thanks to helping add some more coverage with Arm Hammer and High Horsepower, and being pretty tanky, it played such a pivotal role. (Before Ursaluna, I had caught a Marowak out of desperation, but that was a no-no since I knew there was no way it was going to do anything for me.)
My Luck, and the Battles:
Now, there are some glaring issues on my team. Namely, one fighting type could likely end my run (assuming I cared more about my "dignity" than the completion of the run and decided not to reload). Gym leaders tended to cater to my strengths as I dealt with multiple Water-type and Grass-type leaders, and the only tough battle as far as type matchups was with Roxy, around 50-70 I believe.
My rival, Ivy, in this case, wasn't too abrasive either. A Primarina that was almost always a Water Tera-type made the Fairy threat less, well, threatening. The rest of her squad was pretty lackluster, but had decent coverage I had to be a bit careful about. The Rayquaza was annoying, but much easier to get around than in my past attempts. Level 55 and 145 were probably the ones that required the most retries.
For the Elite Four, I got dealt the Kanto hand. Which at first I thought, "Yes! I'll have a breeze against Lance, and Agatha shouldn't be so bad either. Not to mention I have a decent type matchup against the Water-types and Ice-types from Lorelei!". This was all true. What I forgot was Bruno. Remember how I said that one Fighting-type could probably wipe my squad. Yeah. Hariyama would always swap on when I would set up for the Onix and was too tanky to be done with quickly, but I needed my Ludicolo (who had Zen Headbutt, crappy move for a special attacker to have by the way) to stay alive to take care of the rock snake. Needless to say, I spent the bulk of the reloads on this fight.
The champion, Blue, wasn't too much of a problem. A bit annoying here, a bit annoying there, but what really did it was his very diverse type pool. With a Mewtwo that would always set up Future Sight attacks, and a Gyarados that would always swap on whenever Incineroar would be present to nullify the Future Sight, I had an aggravating, but in reality not too bad of a time.
The last fight: Eternatus. I haven't played Sword and Shield so I didn't know the move pool going into the fight, but I did know he had a lot of Boss Bars (the segmented health). I reloaded a total of three times against Eternatus. The first three attempts ended in a Dynamax Cannon wiping my Baxcalibur and Flamethrower throwing my Klefki to the side. Then arose the true MVP of my team, Ursaluna. This game has spiked my interest in the newer generations more than anything has before. I haven't played them because: 1. I don't own a switch / 2. I didn't like the fight mechanics from Sun & Moon, and so on (I have since changed my mind, but I still don't like Z-moves). / 3. The art style hasn't been as appealing to my nostalgia-loving self as HG/SS. Anyways, that's irrelevant. The point is: Ursaluna is top-10. This may not be founded in any truths, but the stats people, the stats! It took two major hits from Eternamax Eternatus and dropped a health bar every time it hit a High Horsepower. The impact was most evident pre-Dynamax though. After a Fake Out from Incineroar, I switched in Ursaluna, and one hit was all it took to force the Dynamax. Best part is that I kept swapping in a second Pokemon that either had a weakness to Eternatus or was a threat and so it kept ignoring Ursaluna.
The Reload Scumming:
I know this is a point of contention in the community, as it is in any Souls-like or Rogue-lite game that encourages a challenge. I probably reloaded 50+ times. The game is hard and reloading while having Serebii pulled up in the tab besides PokeRogue helped make sure I learned either what I didn't already know (i.e., everything from the newer generations like moves, pokemon, abilities, etc.) and what I did wrong. In my view, completing the game is a challenge regardless of if you reload, or choose not to. The reload is simply quicker. You don't have to go through 144 levels to try another combination of moves, and swaps. At the end of the day this is a fan-made game that we're all meant to have fun in. Whether one person's definition of fun is different than the other's is perfectly fine. In saying this, I would like to thank the developers and everyone in the community for helping create and sustain such a cool medium of Pokemon that we hadn't seen until now.
Thanks for taking the time to read and share your thoughts! I don't know many Pokemon fans in real life so I figured it would be worth discussing with the community here.

Having played Hades 2 close to 50 nights and enough to unlock most things (except the most grindy stuff) i wanted to share my thoughts on the game thus far and what i hope to see in future patches. I am 100% sure a lot of you will have a different experience with the game and that is fine.
What i like about the game:
Melinoë feels great to play as. Her animations are smooth and i enjoy the sprint mechanic. At first i really missed additional dashes but after about 10 or so nights i prefer it the way it is.
Love the new power up system. I enjoy grinding for the parts and trying out different cards for different weapons.
The boons are amazing, again at first i thought they were all worse than Hades 1 but they are just as strong as in Hades 1. You can chunk 2k damage with the axe or electrocute your enemies so fast with the sister blades. If you want to be a tank that barely takes any damage you can do that too. I find a lot of the combinations of boons to be very interesting.
New weapons are great! (except one, you know which)
The story, characters, voice actors (narcissus is my favorite) and art are amazing, love it.
Bosses, enemies and NPCs - amazing.
Love that we can choose to go up or down, great for variety.
And so much more!
What i would like to see improved
Omega moves. It's not that they are weak but more feel awkward to use and doesn't weave into combos the same way an attack into special does. Additionally with 2 of the vows reducing your magick to 0 combined with some of the best boons that "prime" your magick you are locked out of the omega moves on higher "heat". You are also locked out of the boons and aspects that only affect your omega moves. It also feels bad when you get a hammer and it only improves your omega moves. Would love to see some changes here.
The moon boon. Why is the moon boon forced to show up in EVERY run?? I've never been happy to see that boon and will always reroll it because most of the time i can't get the moon boons to fit into any combo and i feel like they don't add anything to my current build. Would love for her to be just like any other god, if you want her to show up you equip the keepsake.
The umbral flames (weapon). The attack is slow and easy to miss and the special is just as difficult to use. This weapon also heavily rely on you to use magick and that means you need to not pick up boons that prime your magick or "waste" rewards by taking magick rewards. Clunky weapon and by far my least favorite. Would like to atleast have aspects that make the weapon less frustrating.
The aspects. I feel like most of them doesn't add much to the base weapons and it doesn't affect your combos or playstyle in any major way. It doesn't help that like half of the aspects only affect the omega moves. Would love to see aspects that change the way you play with the weapon.
Keep up the great work SG, can't wait for the story to conclude!

A PREFACE: This is an essay written by former commissioner of Major League Baseball, A. Bartlett Giamatti, and it is something I always read following the conclusion of one of my team’s (across various sports) seasons, and I’d like to introduce it to all of you, in hopes that some of you may pick up this tradition for yourselves.
I find it’s a good way for me to appreciate and reflect on the experience of following a team over an entire season and beyond, and more broadly to examine why, despite the inherent futility in wrapping up so much of our emotional well-being in something we ultimately can’t control, we do precisely that anyway.
I will post the essay in its entirety here. Even though it was originally written about baseball, I believe the underlying themes can apply to any sport. Since it is a bit lengthy, I’ve highlighted the three most important and universally-applicable paragraphs. Despite this, I encourage you all to read the whole thing. Even if not for its own sake, at least do it in order to properly give those three paragraphs their intended rhetorical and emotional weight.
Without further ado…
"The Green Fields of the Mind”
”It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone. You count on it, rely on it to buffer the passage of time, to keep the memory of sunshine and high skies alive, and then just when the days are all twilight, when you need it most, it stops. Today, October 2, a Sunday of rain and broken branches and leaf-clogged drains and slick streets, it stopped, and summer was gone.
“Somehow, the summer seemed to slip by faster this time. Maybe it wasn't this summer, but all the summers that, in this my fortieth summer, slipped by so fast. There comes a time when every summer will have something of autumn about it. Whatever the reason, it seemed to me that I was investing more and more in baseball, making the game do more of the work that keeps time fat and slow and lazy. I was counting on the game's deep patterns, three strikes, three outs, three times three innings, and its deepest impulse, to go out and back, to leave and to return home, to set the order of the day and to organize the daylight. I wrote a few things this last summer, this summer that did not last, nothing grand but some things, and yet that work was just camouflage. The real activity was done with the radio--not the all-seeing, all-falsifying television--and was the playing of the game in the only place it will last, the enclosed green field of the mind. There, in that warm, bright place, what the old poet called Mutability does not so quickly come.”
“But out here, on Sunday, October 2, where it rains all day, Dame Mutability never loses. She was in the crowd at Fenway yesterday, a gray day full of bluster and contradiction, when the Red Sox came up in the last of the ninth trailing Baltimore 8-5, while the Yankees, rain-delayed against Detroit, only needing to win one or have Boston lose one to win it all, sat in New York washing down cold cuts with beer and watching the Boston game. Boston had won two, the Yankees had lost two, and suddenly it seemed as if the whole season might go to the last day, or beyond, except here was Boston losing 8-5, while New York sat in its family room and put its feet up. Lynn, both ankles hurting now as they had in July, hits a single down the right-field line. The crowd stirs. It is on its feet. Hobson, third baseman, former Bear Bryant quarterback, strong, quiet, over 100 RBIs, goes for three breaking balls and is out. The goddess smiles and encourages her agent, a canny journeyman named Nelson Briles.
“Now comes a pinch hitter, Bernie Carbo, onetime Rookie of the Year, erratic, quick, a shade too handsome, so laid-back he is always, in his soul, stretched out in the tall grass, one arm under his head, watching the clouds and laughing; now he looks over some low stuff unworthy of him and then, uncoiling, sends one out, straight on a rising line, over the center-field wall, no cheap Fenway shot, but all of it, the physics as elegant as the arc the ball describes.
“New England is on its feet, roaring. The summer will not pass. Roaring, they recall the evening, late and cold, in 1975, the sixth game of the World Series, perhaps the greatest baseball game played in the last fifty years, when Carbo, loose and easy, had uncoiled to tie the game that Fisk would win. It is 8-7, one out, and school will never start, rain will never come, sun will warm the back of your neck forever. Now Bailey, picked up from the National League recently, big arms, heavy gut, experienced, new to the league and the club; he fouls off two and then, checking, tentative, a big man off balance, he pops a soft liner to the first baseman. It is suddenly darker and later, and the announcer doing the game coast to coast, a New Yorker who works for a New York television station, sounds relieved. His little world, well-lit, hot-combed, split-second-timed, had no capacity to absorb this much gritty, grainy, contrary reality.
“Cox swings a bat, stretches his long arms, bends his back, the rookie from Pawtucket who broke in two weeks earlier with a record six straight hits, the kid drafted ahead of Fred Lynn, rangy, smooth, cool. The count runs two and two, Briles is cagey, nothing too good, and Cox swings, the ball beginning toward the mound and then, in a jaunty, wayward dance, skipping past Briles, feinting to the right, skimming the last of the grass, finding the dirt, moving now like some small, purposeful marine creature negotiating the green deep, easily avoiding the jagged rock of second base, traveling steady and straight now out into the dark, silent recesses of center field.
“The aisles are jammed, the place is on its feet, the wrappers, the programs, the Coke cups and peanut shells, the doctrines of an afternoon; the anxieties, the things that have to be done tomorrow, the regrets about yesterday, the accumulation of a summer: all forgotten, while hope, the anchor, bites and takes hold where a moment before it seemed we would be swept out with the tide. Rice is up. Rice whom Aaron had said was the only one he'd seen with the ability to break his records. Rice the best clutch hitter on the club, with the best slugging percentage in the league. Rice, so quick and strong he once checked his swing halfway through and snapped the bat in two. Rice the Hammer of God sent to scourge the Yankees, the sound was overwhelming, fathers pounded their sons on the back, cars pulled off the road, households froze, New England exulted in its blessedness, and roared its thanks for all good things, for Rice and for a summer stretching halfway through October. Briles threw, Rice swung, and it was over. One pitch, a fly to center, and it stopped. Summer died in New England and like rain sliding off a roof, the crowd slipped out of Fenway, quickly, with only a steady murmur of concern for the drive ahead remaining of the roar. Mutability had turned the seasons and translated hope to memory once again. And, once again, she had used baseball, our best invention to stay change, to bring change on.
”That is why it breaks my heart, that game--not because in New York they could win because Boston lost; in that, there is a rough justice, and a reminder to the Yankees of how slight and fragile are the circumstances that exalt one group of human beings over another. It breaks my heart because it was meant to, because it was meant to foster in me again the illusion that there was something abiding, some pattern and some impulse that could come together to make a reality that would resist the corrosion; and because, after it had fostered again that most hungered-for illusion, the game was meant to stop, and betray precisely what it promised.
”Of course, there are those who learn after the first few times. They grow out of sports. And there are others who were born with the wisdom to know that nothing lasts. These are the truly tough among us, the ones who can live without illusion, or without even the hope of illusion. I am not that grown-up or up-to-date. I am a simpler creature, tied to more primitive patterns and cycles. I need to think something lasts forever, and it might as well be that state of being that is a game; it might as well be that, in a green field, in the sun.” — A. Bartlett Giamatti
16-1-1 in 2024, +62 GD and 89 points total. A remarkable season by all accounts, even if it ultimately didn’t receive the external validation of a trophy.
But, in any case, it is time to close the book on 2023-24. The countdown to 2024-25 begins.
COYG ❤️

I really wanna hear everyone's opinions so here's mine

1. Operation ground and pound
   
2. Cry thunder
   
3. Highway to oblivion
   

7.Ashes of the dawn

1. The game
   
2. Black winter night
   
3. Valley of the damned
   
4. Three hammers
   
5. Soldiers of the wasteland
   
6. The last journey home
   

Id like to hear what you think

Hello all!
I have recently been getting back into bowling after 14 years. I use to bowl in a league when I was a kid (8-9 years old) then stopped as I prioritized other sports over bowling. My buddy has been inviting bowling recently and I am starting to catch the bug.
We have been going a lot and I am in the market to purchase a new bowling ball. I average around a 140-150, with a straight throw with a little curve at the end. I am now in the process of learning how to throw a proper curve.
I have gone to my local pro shop and he has recommended some balls mid level balls and I was wondering if anyone has advice on which route to pursue? For reference I will be throwing a 14 during my learning phase!
The following balls have been recommended;
Hammer - Scorpion low flare or Black widow 3.0
Storm Phase 2
Ebonite GB5
Roto Grip Optimal Idol
I am also open to hearing other suggestions!
Thanks in Advance :)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crggr227jg8o
Louise Cullen BBC NI Agriculture and Environment Correspondent Published 19 May 2024, 11:38 BST Updated 2 hours ago The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (Daera) has confirmed a major fish kill in a river in County Antrim. It said more than 1,000 brown trout were killed due to slurry in the Four Mile Burn, a tributary of the Six Mile Water river. The incident happened at Newmills, near Doagh, and is thought to be farm-related. The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) contacted the Antrim and District Angling Association (ADAA) on Friday, informing them an incident had been reported. In a video posted on social media, the ADAA said several of their members had walked three miles along the river and counted “hundreds of dead fish from last year’s crop, and perhaps thousands from this season’s crop". The group has called for Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Andrew Muir and the NIEA to “get a handle” on pollution incidents in the Lough Neagh system, which members say have left it “in tatters”. Dead fish in river IMAGE SOURCE, ADDA Image caption, Dead fish in Four Mile Burn, a tributary of the Six Mile Water river Mr Muir's party colleague, Alliance environment spokesperson John Blair MLA, said it was time for fines for polluters to be increased. "It’s immensely disappointing such occurrences are still happening, particularly when they take place in the catchment area of Lough Neagh," he said. He said increasing fines and penalties was "the only way polluters will learn and stop acts which risk our environment and its rich biodiversity”. In a statement, a Daera spokesperson said the NIEA deployed water quality inspectors to the area to confirm the report and assess the environmental impact. A joint investigation, with Daera Inland Fisheries, is "ongoing", they added. The department said the source of the pollution had been identified and the NIEA engaged with the owner of the premises involved throughout Saturday afternoon to identify the cause and to prevent further discharge to the river. "From the assessment of the impact on the fishery, a major fish kill has been confirmed, with 1,109 brown trout of varying ages being killed," it said. Anglers said they feared hundreds of young salmon had also died in the incident. "It's just devastation" John Mitchell Image caption, John Mitchell said the river has been completely wiped out President of the ADAA, John Mitchell, told BBC News NI that he believes the incident was due to agriculture. "It’s just devastation, the whole tributary is dead," he said. "We have a problem in Lough Neagh with the green algae, this is what is happening, these tributaries have to be kept clean and unfortunately they’re not. "All the tributaries have to be kept clean and feed into the main river to keep the river clean, and keep Lough Neagh clean. "This is where it starts and if it’s not clean here, it’s not going to be clean in Lough Neagh. "The problem is not Lough Neagh, it’s the feeder streams and the rivers running into Lough Neagh that’s causing the problem, which is coming from agriculture," Mr Mitchell said. John Ash Image caption, John Ash said more needs to be done by the farming community and the government to prevent such incidents from recurring John Ash from the ADAA explained how damaging the pollution had been to the fish population. "Three generations of fish have been wiped out in one go. It’s sad for us, we work very hard to generate a place where the fish can spawn every year and breed," he said. "These pollution incidents are hammering the salmon population and ultimately our dollaghan (brown trout) population. In one fell swoop they are wiped out and it’s the reason why Lough Neagh is the way that it is." He added that more needs to be done by the farming community and the government to prevent these kinds of incidents from recurring. "Agricultural foulage is a big problem, and it’s not the farmers’ fault – farmers need to farm. But there seems to be a huge amount of slurry left over and the government needs to step in and do something to help the farmers get rid of that slurry," Mr Ash said.

hammer has gone out on my aap01 gen 2 and is only shooting full auto hos tapped it out of box. im going to be upgrading the hammer set to the cowcow steel hammer what else should i upgrade for build longevity.

Now that we're all submitted and not competing, what are your tricks to get the earliest possible spot in line? This may also help those that got poor results for next year, and show off the ridiculousness that this can create.
I submitted for two different accounts in the same household, and I ended up at #1700 and #5000.
For me:

1. Multiple devices: Desktop, work laptop
2. Wired, not wireless connections
3. Multiple ISPs: One device VPN'd to work/business network
4. Multiple browsers (Chrome and Firefox), observe which is fastest/consistent on the clock. Firefox browser was awful, ended up using Chrome only.
5. Pre-hover the submit button, hammer the mouse left-click in the last 2-3 seconds before the button lights up
6. Reboot all devices to clear recent updates, running fresh, etc.
7. Make sure your computer time clock is synced with a time service

So I recently started picking Magic back up after a hiatus due to the pandemic and the fact that I REALLY can't stand The One Ring (not because it's annoying but because it is in too many decks). By the time I left, the scam elementals were a thing but weren't as bothersome as they are now. With MH3 coming up, I jumped back in online and played my pet Esper Control deck as I build it for every format if possible. It is an old "draw go" list that I will provide here:
4 Flood Strand 4 Polluted Delta 2 Hallowed Fountain 2 Watery Grave 2 Raffine's Tower 1 Celestial Colonnade 1 Hall of Storm Giants 1 Castle Vantress 1 Sunken Ruins 1 Mystic Gate 1 Drowned Catacomb
4 Snapcaster Mage
4 Opt 3 Fatal Push 2 March of Otherworldly Light 4 Counterspell 3 Kaya's Guile 4 Archmage's Charm 2 Cryptic Command
3 Prismatic Ending 2 Damn
2 Teferi, Time Raveler 2 Teferi, Hero Of Dominaria
Sideboard: 2 Kataki, War's Wage 2 Shark Typhoon 3 Spreading Seas 2 Fracture 1 Kaya's Guile 2 Path to Exile 2 Supreme Verdict 1 Vindicate
The main idea behind the deck was to be instant speed all of the time with modal cards to cover my bases. I own this list in paper. A lot of it's cards were dedicated to stopping Hammer Time as that was my biggest challenge at the time. I took this list on xMage just to see if it still holds up and it is miserable. The two games I played I ran into an Orzhov scam deck that ripped 5 cards out of my hand by turn 2 or 3. After that I ran into a Gruel Prowess deck that I didn't know used it's graveyards once it emptied it's hand. That wasn't as annoying as I could just Kaya's Guile them I just was not aware of the gameplan. However today I saw a spoiler for a card that helps against scam so it will be an instant 4 of in my sideboard. I am aware that Leyline Binding is a thing, I just don't have copies or another land to reduce it's costs. Now I do still have an old Gruel Tron list (I'm a dinosaur) and fetchless Boros Burn list that I would like to update but for now I'll ask for advice on my Esper deck. What would you guys suggest be an improvement on the overall list? It doesn't have to be the best deck in the world but something fun that can at least win matches.
TLDR; I'm a returning modern player that needs help updating their esper control list for modern if possible.

Hey guys! So I made it back into the United States from a work trip to London via advanced parole! The side benefit of having an entry with inspection is amazing of course and just traveling out of the country for the first time in 22 years was just something special! I highly recommend if anyone can do it, to do it! Especially if you don’t have legal entry. Doing it now before the next election is critical imo.
I had another post where I described my timeline and experience. One thing I’d add is you will need to have nerves of steel when coming back. Everyone’s experiences are different but for me, the airline I was using refused to let me board until I had to call my company’s lawyer who then had to get the director of passenger operations from JFK to call the airline to validate the document.
This honestly scared me off from doing advanced parole ever again. But now I got put on another project that needs me to attend regular calls with the Japanese team of 2 clients and a Hong Kong team of another client. So I began thinking this might be a great opportunity for me to visit Tokyo to either meet them in person or at least be in the same timezone for a couple weeks where we can have a few dedicated sessions and really hammer out the project.
So for people who’ve done advanced parole multiple times, especially through work, I wanted to get your thoughts and experiences. And had some questions.

1. How long did your advanced parole take? Mine was surprisingly fast. biometrics in October 2023 and my original advanced parole approved at the end of December. I never received that one so I had to do an emergency request to not jeopardize my trip.
   
2. How long was yours issued for? They told me daca recipients only get single entry for one month.
   
3. Were you questioned or had any issues on your return home?
   
4. Did you get your employer to cover the fees? Or did you pay out of pocket. I had my employer cover it the first time mainly to add more credibility to my case. That this is truly for work. Does it weaken your case if you apply by yourself and pay for it? Or do you just need the letter from the employer? Mainly cuz my Boss will not approve paying for this again due to limited budget.
   
5. Do you have any tips for explaining to airlines how you’re able to return to the United States? The airline questioned my document and basically said it was not legitimate due to them not being familiar with it and USCIS made a really bad typo in the body (United Stales lol). If I do this myself, I will not have the company lawyer who can pull strings again at JFK. Unless I try to get the contact info of the person who talked to the airline and confirm if he can help me.
   

Thanks!

I'm not sure how much more of the Dwarf questline there is - my current quest is 'Hammer Time' to Gain 500 Steel and Have 2 Copper Foundries of at least level 3. But my steel and copper are capped and no longer even show on the Settlement Resources tracker, which now shows the mats for Fairies. Is there anything I can do besides skip every quest calling for steel/copper collection? That's pretty frustrating!

As the flames currently are, I find them to be a completely terrible and un-fun weapon to use. I'd avoid them completely if not for the fact that I need to use them to complete testaments.
Here are some ideas I've had to improve the base weapon and or aspects:

• The base attack should be what the omega attack is now. The omega attack should be similar to the hammer upgrade that turns the special special into a straight line shot with increased damage. Then the attack cycle resets.
  
• The special needs a reduced dash delay. It feels bad to watch enemies wind up a hit while spamming dash only to dash after getting hit.
  
• The omega special is, in my opinion, too similar to what the base special is. I'd turn it into the fire attack that Hecate does that grows in a circle around you, hits twice, and maybe does some damage over time by lighting the enemies on fire (like burn)
  
• The aspect where you can detonate attacks with your special is actually okay if some of the above changes are actually made. As the weapon is now I think the aspect should have the attack auto detonate after 2-3 seconds.
  
• I'm not sure what to do about this, but not being able to aim at the enemy I want to feels very bad as well.
  

I haven't used the other aspects so I'm not sure what I would suggest for them.
Curious what you guys think.