Hi!
My name is Dylan and I’m a 21 year old single guy from northeastern Illinois in the US.
I’m seeking some kind of close connection with someone in their 30s and up! With friendship being the main thing, however, I’m definitely open to things getting a bit spicier than that, whether that’s something where we remain friends yet can be flirty or romantic such as a friend with benefits for example.
I like to say upfront that I will always be mindful and considerate of your feelings and boundaries, especially concerning anything flirty or more intimate that we might get into. It’s important to me and we’d never have to do anything we weren’t comfortable with or ready for.
Physically I'm 6ft tall, I'm average/slim build, and I'm white/Caucasian with hazel eyes and dark brown hair. I wear glasses too.
I don’t have any preference on body type for whom I find attractive. Everyone is beautiful in their own way. I’m also attracted to people older than me as well, hence being so open to meeting people.
I’m currently living at home, trying to get a job at a warehouse but long term career goals so far is to do something in the electrical field/trades such as a fire alarm systems technician as I’m good with technical things like that. I’ve got older parents and I live on a main road in a small farm house so I’ve been feeling pretty lonely most of my life. I’ve listed some interests of mine below!
Now that we've established who I am and what I'm looking for, here are a few interests of mine to get to know me better!
• Fall/Autumn season
I had to list this one because I just adore the fall and everything that comes with it. My birthday is in October too so it's always been my favorite month. I much prefer fall and winter over a muggy humid summer. In the cooler seasons there's always ways to warm up.
• Candles and Incense
I love scented candles and incense and stuff like this!! I feel like you don't find guys into this stuff that much but I definitely am an exception. Right now I’m burning a citrus and sage one from Yankee Candle! Smells so nice.
• Technology
I'm good at fixing electronics and I'm quite nerdy in that aspect. So if something breaks I can fix it ;) I'm also good with my hands and quite inclined mechanically and quite the nerd.
• Music
I love genres such as classic rock, alternative rock, psychedelic rock, gothic rock, heavy metal, punk, post punk, hardcore, etc. My current favorite bands are The Cure and Joy Division/New Order. But I like tons of older and newer bands as well. such as: Bauhaus, Velvet Underground, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Type O Negative, Nirvana, Rush, Pink Floyd, Janis Joplin, the Wipers, Spacemen 3, Meshuggah, Megadeth, Buzzcocks, MC5, Stooges, 13th Floor Elevators, Screaming Trees, Green Day, Alice in Chains, Asylum Party, My Bloody Valentine, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Jefferson Airplane, etc.
• Cooking and Baking
I like to cook and learn new recipes, as well as bake fun things too! It's always nice when the house feels nice and cozy and smells good. I appreciate the simple pleasures in life, a cozy cup of tea and music or a movie in bed or sitting outside is so nice!
• Animals
I love animals of all types, and I currently have an older cat which I adore to death! We rescued her from the local shelter. She's the sweetest thing. (I think I love her more than anyone in the house lol, she just makes me so happy) :) I also don't kill insects or bugs, I catch and release them outside.
• Art
I enjoy art, both creating it from time to time such as drawing, and admiring other peoples work. There's just something so fun about it and seeing things so beautiful.
• Houseplants
I love houseplants and really anything nature related and also spiritual such as crystals and rocks. I love to help my mom in caring for all of our plants and also gardening outside when its a good growing season. Its fun! I also like cottage core and goblin core type vibes and enjoy sitting out on the deck burning incense, its peaceful :)
• Photography
I recently got a DSLR camera, a Nikon D5500 and a D200 and I've really been enjoying taking photos of my cat and nature landscapes! This includes closeups, photos of trees, the fields, etc. I've been working a lot on composition, long exposures, getting nice blurred backgrounds, depth of field, etc. It's interesting to me.
That’s me! I hope you get a good taste of what I am like and if any of this catches your interest I’d love to hear from you and we can get to know each other further. Thanks for taking the time to read my post, hope to hear from you soon.
Me: https://ibb.co/mqNwyRp https://ibb.co/YdxZtcH https://ibb.co/NLLmpvt https://ibb.co/4pT04Kk https://ibb.co/sF4q4TR https://ibb.co/Kj21Tmp https://ibb.co/Hh0n7wN

When I first started playing Kokomi’s banner was up, and wow were people calling her trash. But a five star Barbara didn’t seem so bad to me as a newbie, so I pulled for her. She ended up being incredible, and is still one of my most valuable units!
When Yae’s banner came out I was so hyped! I loved her design. But they doomposted the HECK out of her. I didn’t care though, I pulled her C2R1, because I knew I loved her. And she has become a monster since then, easily one of the most valuable units to use with dendro.
When Shenhe came out, damnit there was a lot of anger and bellyaching. But I got her anyway. And now she makes any cryo unit absolutely devastating.
And yes, Dehya just came out, and everyone hates her kit and thinks she’s useless. And sure, she doesn’t do as much damage as other characters - but being honest? I pulled her C1R1 and she tends to find her way into almost any party I create. Her ability to throw down a fire field any time with her skill is pretty darn cool, and she ends up always being welcome in dendro comps revolving around other elements.
And if you’re keeping up with leaks and rumors, you’ll know people are trying to talk smack about Baizhu too. That’s how I know he’s gonna be one of my favorites.

Hi!
I've been working on this project for a couple of weeks to make computer-to-ChatGPT programming easier. My basic thesis is that we can now completely rethink "hard" programming problems by leaning on ChatGPT for more than just user-to-chatbot use-cases.
So I've created HardConversations, which is an open source tool to generate a statically-typed client based on pre-defined questions you want a program to be able to ask to ChatGPT; you define the input and output types so you don't have to worry about parsing natural-language answers. (Right now it only generates code in Go, but other languages could be added fairly easily).
I have a big example use-case below to showcase the concept, or you can read more and see some simpler code examples on Github.
I'd love any feedback or thoughts. I have a lot of ideas on improvements to make, at this point it's more of a proof-of-concept than anything. (Also, parts of this will probably be improved immensely once plugins take-off more. And I also really want to add images as a possible data-source).

Example

Let's say you work for a recruiting agency. Your company has a database full of resumes of potential job candidates. Clients come to you with job descriptions. You are tasked with building an automated tool that does all of the following:

1. Find the 3 best candidates for a job description. Candidates can live anywhere, but we should prefer candidates that live in the same state as the job.
2. Parse the candidates contact info from their resume.
3. Automatically send an email to the candidates with a description of the job and an invitation to apply. Ideally the email will be personalized based on the candidates resume.

Let's see how HardConversations can help us solve these problems.
We can define the details of the "conversation" that our application wants to have in a YAML file to make answering these questions easy. We need to give some instructions about the conversation to give some context, and then we define the various types of questions our application can "ask." We will "ask" these questions by calling functions. These questions are going to be directly related to the 3 requirements above.
We also need to define what the input and output should be for each of these questions. For example, if we want to parse candidate info from a resume, we can have HardConversations make sure the answer is returned from ChatGPT as a Go struct called Candidate, which has fields for Name and Email.
Putting this all together in a YAML file looks like this:

version: 1 conversations: - path: "./autorecruiter" instruction: Given a list of resumes, you are able to determine which ones are the best fit for the job description. questions: - function_name: RankResumes prompt: Return just the IDs of between 1 and 3 resumes in a comma-separated list, ranked from best to worst fit for the job description. Do not include resumes that are not a good fit. input: "string" output: "[]int" - function_name: GetCandidateInfo prompt: "Return the candidate info from the resume" input: string output: github.com/troylelandshields/hardconversations/samples/recruiteresumes.Candidate - function_name: GenerateRecruiterMessage prompt: Generate a message to send to the candidate about the job; mention what you like about their resume and why you think they would be a good fit for the job. input: "github.com/troylelandshields/hardconversations/samples/recruiteresumes.RecruiterMessageRequest" output: github.com/troylelandshields/hardconversations/samples/recruiteresumes.Email 

Now that we've defined this "conversation", we want to be able to write an application that can use this functionality. We use the hardc CLI to generate libraries from this YAML file by executing hardc generate -f path/to/file.yaml.
Now we have an auto-generated, statically-typed client that we can create like this:

aiRecruiter := autorecruiter.NewClient(openAIKey) 

However, that's not all we need for this to work. We need to provide the resumes as a data-source that ChatGPT can utilize to find the best candidates.
To do that, we can add a "source provider" that HardConversations can use to add more contextual information to the conversation with ChatGPT, as needed.

// resume.ResumeProvider will return a list of resumes from the same state as the job. aiRecruiter.AddSourceTextProvider(db.ResumeProvider{}) // we also want to provide out-of-state resumes, but with slightly less preference, so we'll weight them a little less. aiRecruiter.AddSourceTextProvider(db.OutOfStateResumeProvider{}, sources.WithWeight(0.95)) 

Now, we can match resumes with jobs. Let's say we wanted to do it in a web-service. It would look something like this rough outline:

func HandleNewJob(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) { // get new job details from the request; description and state var jobDetails Job json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&jobDetails) // add the job state to the context so it can be used by the resume provider ctx := context.WithValue(r.Context(), jobStateKey, jobDetails.State) // create a new thread for this "conversation" thread := aiRecruiter.NewThread() // ask ChatGPT to rank the best fitting resumes; the provided sources will be used as contextual info resumeIDs, _, _ := thread.RankResumes(ctx, jobDetails.Description) for _, id := range resumeIDs { // get the resume from the database resume, _ := db.LookupResume(id) // ask ChatGPT to parse the Candidate details from the unstructured text of the resume candidate, _, _ := thread.GetCandidateInfo(ctx, resume.Text) // ask ChatGPT to generate a personalized message that we can send to the candidate personalizedMessage, _, _ := thread.GenerateRecruiterMessage(ctx, RecruiterMessageRequest{ Candidate: candidate, ResumeText: resume.Text, }) // ... send email message } } 

Solving any single one of these problems in software may have been pretty difficult. Interfacing with ChatGPT in a statically typed way through the client generated by HardConversations, however, we were able to get a working version up-and-running very quickly, and now we can iterate from here to continually measure and improve its success metrics.

I’m 22 M. For around 12 years now, I’ve dealt with severe depression, and previously struggled with social anxiety. Though the anxiety mostly disappeared in college, the depression has not. I don’t entirely understand the reasoning behind it. I have great friends, I’m going to be pursuing a career in a field I love, have a supportive family, and a furry little ball of joy to follow me everywhere I go and loves me more than words can describe. And yet, almost every night, I cry over my life and what I feel I lack.
I think a lot, but not all, of it stems from my past relationship experience, or lack of. I’ve never so much as had someone take any interest in me let alone reciprocate how I felt. All but one person I pursued lead to being ghosted and most often some big falling out happening that kicked me down and made me feel worthless. I really desire a romantic connection with someone, and some days I feel worthless because I’ve hardly been paid even so much as a scrap of attention. Sometimes people flirt or give me a look, but most often when they learn about the person I am they run. It feels like a vicious cycle. Because I don’t love myself people don’t want to love me but because people don’t love me I don’t know how to love myself.
But it’s not just because of my lack of romantic experience. Some days I feel inadequate and unfit to be in my field because I make so much as one little mistake. I compare myself to others and how they seem to be doing far better than I am, even though they aren’t. When I’m feeling lonely, thoughts about my insecurities and loneliness often attack me like a bear. So, I guess, if I were to have any advice to ask, it’s what can break this cycle? I can’t bring myself to love me and what I have, despite me wanting to constantly support others in my life who feel even in any way similar to how I do. What gives? I’m in therapy and that’s helping a little, but I need something I specifically can do.
Sending this off now and heading to bed. There’s more I did not talk about and if I remember it in the morning I’ll make edits.

i’m going to get straight to the point with my timeline
1st year college signed with d2 school in florida. kicked off team for partying and drinking in the fall. spring semester go to a small d2 school and redshirt. don’t like it
second year play at junior college. successful year. couple of looks d1/3. end up getting kicked out at the end of the year for a poor gpa
third year transfer to another junior college. find out 3 days before first game that i’m academically ineligible
fourth year transfer to a powerhouse d3 school. dream is made. end up not making grades and getting kicked off the team
i end up getting certified in personal training and graduating with a BS Exercise science. I decide to persue my masters and graduate early. fast forward to now i’m 26 fresh out of grad school with a masters in sports science and human performance working in medical sales (spine).
I feel like i’m on the right path and i don’t party. i’m in shape, social, and am very good with people
however i am haunted by my failed lacrosse career. every day i think “i could have been this, could have played division 1” but i just see myself as a failed person. i can’t help but watch videos every time i’m in the gym of highlights almost bringing myself to tears because i wasted my career away drinking and smoking weed.
i always daydream of maybe getting an mba and figuring out some way to step on the field one more time on the ncaa level. however it’s hard to put my life on a pause to play lacrosse when i’m trying to build a career and become successful.
i’m being eaten alive by this thought every single day. being a lacrosse player was my identity and i loved the sport. now i’m just a waste of talent

Hey everyone,
​
I'm currently in the first year of my M.Sc. by thesis. I'm studying a topic I love with an incredible advisor who I have worked with since my undergrad. I am in a very niche field, so it's fantastic that I found an advisor who is also in my area of study that I get along with at my school.
​
I just got word that my project has received all the government funding we applied for last fall, which is so exciting because my research topic almost never receives large funding amounts. My advisor told me that if I wanted, this funding would likely give me the opportunity to transition directly into a PhD come September without needing finish my M.Sc. We had discussed this as a possibility before, and I would be thrilled to extend my current research project for a few more years as it's really a passion project for me. I always knew I wanted a PhD and would likely pursue one with this advisor, so the pieces are really just falling into place.
​
However, now that the decision is actively upon me it feels really huge and nerve wracking? In theory I know I have the qualifications for this. I have 5 publications to my name already, have received significant levels of governmental funding for this project twice now, am a Council Member and Trustee for an international science society in my field, I have a bunch of industry connections and a great support system. But despite all that I can't help feeling like I'm not prepared or qualified? It feels like everything I've done up until now has been pure luck and this will be the last straw that finally drops the charade and proves it to everyone.
​
I know that in reality this probably isn't true. If anything this is the right decision for me to make and it's something I've wanted for a long time now. But I'm more scared than ever that I'm going to fail, even though I have no reason to believe that. A PhD just feels so so big. I'm 22 for god's sake! That's so young to do this, isn't it? I don't know. My brain is just going haywire with impostor syndrome right now and wondering if I can really do this even when logically I KNOW I can.
​
I feel bad even saying this to my other friends in academia because I have honestly had more (measurable) success than they have so far (publications, scholarships, funding, etc.) and I don't want to seem ungrateful. I am SO grateful for the opportunities I've received and the successes that I have earned. I worked hard for all of it and in theory it is all now just falling naturally into place. But I'm still overwhelmed.
​
For anyone else who made this switch (or just anyone who did a PhD in general, bonus points if you were young) - how do you deal with this type of impostor syndrome? Does it ever go away?
​
TLDR: Suggestion of transitioning to a PhD before finishing my M.Sc. has triggered a lot of impostor syndrome. Would really appreciate any advice!

I am a 43 year old UX designer with 8 years in the field. I have made decent money (but only the last few years.) Before that I was mired in student loan debt and earned miserably low wages all my life. I always wanted to be an artist and musician but have taken care of myself/lived alone and paid all of my own bills with no help all of my life. Consequently I have always been too exhausted from working to do much else.
I am wrapping up a contract and have some money saved and am considering taking a few months off to start an online store for stickers, coloring books, digital downloads, etsy type stuff, and illustrations and see where that takes me. I've also been taking guitar lessons. It's slow going. It's hard to keep up steam for any of it and find myself facing a real conundrum.
I could continue working in UX which pays well but I am totally burnt out on and sick of office politics and endless zoom meetings and corporate mandatory fun events/circle jerks and getting up too early and taking shit off an incompetent middle manager-OR pursue an interest i should have developed long ago if I wanted to be successful at it. I can draw and paint and make characters, etc but the trouble is I don't have a developed aesthetic or style that's recognizable. So that would take a while.
Has anyone else ever done something similar? How did you motivate yourself? It sounds so romantic on paper but when I stand there and face it I feel lost. Would love to hear experiences from other professionals who shifted gears or started their own biz

Hey all, I would really like advice on this. I'm a junior in high school, and I'm looking to major in something in STEM, but I'm just not sure what yet. I have a very wide range of interests, such as chemistry, biology, math, space, and physics (not 100% sure because I find AP Physics 1 kinda boring, but I don't know if that's the teacher, the material being boring [some have said alg physics is uninteresting, idk] , or that I just don't love physics. Anyways, I digress). If I'm being honest, I haven't done my due diligence on careers yet, but I'm looking at maybe astrophysics, engineering (idk the specific field), chem/biochem, and maybe medicine???
Now this brings me to my dilemma. An opportunity for a eng internship has opened up near me, and I don't know if I should do it or not. It is in electrical engineering, which I don't think I'll get into, but I've been told that any eng internship will look great on a resume and provide a good experience (feel free to comment on that). Also, my area is pretty opportunity dry for these kinds of things, so its a little rare. The problem is, I have no clue if I am going into eng. I have kinda found myself leaning slightly more towards theoretical sciences (like discovering stuff), but idk about the job opportunities there/if it is practical to spend my time pursuing that. I wouldn't want to waste my time doing an eng internship if I don't go into eng, because 1) I think it might look bad if I go into an eng internship, spend my junior year summer doing it, and not pursue it (not demonstrating my passion????) and 2) I might be able to do research at a nearby college by begging a professor to let me on (this is a maybe if they'll let me, but I'm not talking out of my a**\ bc people at my school have done/do it). Any advice would be appreciated on what I should do.
This was long, but really, thank you if you read all of this. Constructive insight would be phenomenal!!!!!! Let me know of any clarifying questions.
Edit: also, the app deadline is coming up pretty soon, so I won't be able to take time and explore if I love eng. I have explored a little, but not enough

I grew up towards the end of the free range child era and with that comes a lot of stupid close calls stories. I just found this sub and it brought some of those memories back, so I thought I'd share!
Story #1
My parents bought a house at the very edge of a developing subdivision. Backing right up to our backyard was a cow field full of black angus steers. I assume those boys have long since been bought off the shelf at the meat section of a grocery store. Anyways, from time to time, a cow would figure out it could slip between the barbed wire and end roaming our neighborhood. A favorite past time of mine was to play cowboy and "herd" these thousand pound animals back into the pasture. I was probably 9 or 10 at the time. It's a wonder I never got my ass trampled.
Story #2
Well after a few years, the cows were moved and the pasture was opened up for further development. This meant that there were multiple construction sites wide open for us kids to explore with reckless abandon. My brother and I loved to play in the "quicksand" that formed after a heavy rain.
Let me explain. These construction sites were incredibly muddy due to the leveling that had to be done prior to houses being built. After a heavy rain, the mixture of mud and sand and water would form, well, quicksand. And I mean the real deal. If you stood in this stuff, you would sink. I recall one particular time where I managed to sink in as far as my waist and was having an absolute blast while my brother played rescue hero pulling me out. I remember the mud was like a suction cup once it had you. You couldn't pull someone straight out, you had to pull yourself horizontal and let someone else drag you out with a rope. We thought it was so cool, just like on TV! Yeah, it's a miracle, I tell you.
Story #3
As the development on the neighborhood continued, so did the placement of vital infrastructure. Namely sewer pipes. Yeah, you know where this is going. Miles of massive concrete pipes stretching underground in total darkness? "Sign me up!" Said kid me.
My brother and I would wander that sewage system on the days the workers had off. We were smart enough to leave a trail so we could find our way out again...just not smart enough to not crawl around in a sewer in the first place.
Story #4
On one of the few occasions I stayed in my own backyard, I happened upon this bush with nice, pink flowers that my mom had planted. My lil ADHD ass loved to pick leaves and crumble them up in my hand. Don't know why. My eyes set on my newest victim and I plucked one of the long, pointy leaves to crumble. It produced a clear, sticky sap that wouldn't come off my hands, so I did the most logical thing and licked it to clean it off. Yeah, kids are gross.
Well, to my horror and amazement, this sap was the most blood curdlingly bitter taste that my little taste buds ever did taste. So what did I do? I immediately found my brother and we competed to see who could lick the most bitter sap. What was the plant, you ask? Why, it was oleander, of course.
Story #5
I loved catching creepy crawlies in the garden. As a young kid, you could catch me tearing up the weed guard in mom's garden to see if there was anything cool living underneath. On one such occasion, I remember seeing, out of the corner of my eye, a little, white, wiggling worm.
I turned to stare at my latest find. I'd never seen anything like it. The way this worm danced in and out of the mulch, the way it's two heads flickered. I reached for it, wanting a closer look. Suddenly, there was a flash of white and then it came into focus. It wasn't a white worm. It was the flickering tongue of a cottonmouth viper. Fun fact: they're called cottonmouths because the inside of their mouths are white! They open their mouths and reveal the white inside when they feel threatened.
Story #6
Somehow surviving my adolescence, I ventured down to the beach for vacation one year. It was the evening, my parents were chilling in the spot they'd claimed, and I was screwing around by the tide. About 13 or 14 now, I considered myself quite the photographer. I picked up just about any critter I found to snap a selfy with. Crabs, sea urchins (yeah as if those weren't bad enough), and of course...shells.
I was amazed when I found this perfectly intact, cone shaped shell. It was so pretty, just like the ones sold in the gift shops! Oh, and there was a funny little snail guy inside! I peered at my new friend and took absolute delight in the little leg he prodded my hand with before I eventually tossed him back into the sea.
I found out years later. Yeah, cone snails don't have legs.
So that's all I got for now. I survived to adulthood, somehow, and now I'm a homebody with anxiety. Who woulda thought!

I am a 43 year old UX designer with 8 years in the field. I have made decent money (but only the last few years.) Before that I was mired in student loan debt and earned miserably low wages all my life. I honestly feel like I've wasted my life. I always wanted to be an artist and musician but have taken care of myself/lived alone and paid all of my own bills with no help all of my life. Consequently I have always been too exhausted from working to do much else.
I am wrapping up a contract and have some money saved and am considering taking a few months off to start an online store for stickers, coloring books, digital downloads, etsy type stuff, and illustrations and see where that takes me. I've also been taking guitar lessons. It's slow going. It's hard to keep up steam for any of it and find myself facing a real conundrum.
Should I continue working in UX which pays well but I am totally burnt out on and sick of office politics and endless zoom meetings and corporate mandatory fun events/circle jerks and getting up too early and taking shit off an incompetent middle manager-OR pursue an interest i should have developed long ago if I wanted to be successful at it. I can draw and paint and make characters, etc but the trouble is I don't have a developed aesthetic or style that's recognizable. It's hard giving myself the time, patience, and opportunity to do that when I feel like I should already be there, you know? It makes me sad and feels daunting to start over in that way. But I hate feeling trapped in the life I currently have. I feel dead inside.
I guess it takes faith which I feel short on lately. Faith that I could ever become successful and make as much money as I do with my day job.
Has anyone else ever done something similar? How did you motivate yourself? It sounds so romantic on paper but when I stand there and face it I feel lost. Would love to hear experiences from other professionals who shifted gears or started their own biz

I am 22f with severe ADHD. I graduated high school at 17 and I have since tried to go to college at least once a year since. I struggle immensely with school, I have a hard time learning, studying, and honestly just staying motivated. I don’t really have the patience for school but it means a lot to me and I have tried my best to work for it. I am in school full time and work full time. I have worked in the medical field since I was 18, but I grew up taking care of my disabled mother so I have a lot of experience. I briefly worked as a surgical tech in an apprenticeship program. I absolutely loved the job, but the program was AWFUL. It was reported and no longer exists. With an apprenticeship, you don’t gain certification so I can’t really use my experience anywhere else. I found an 11 month program that ends with a cert that is roughly $5000 with the whole works. This is an insanely cheap program with great results. It is an hour and a half away so the drive would suck but it’s doable. I would have to take a year off school to complete it. With ADHD comes RSD. I already feel like a failure for not completing school, it will take me almost 3 years to complete my bachelors from this point but I will be making significantly more while I work on my degree. I am going for geology and I love my major and future career, but I feel like this program is too good to pass up. The people in my life seem to be torn on which I should do, any help?

Hi--I'm looking for hotels that have two room suites that aren't $1000-2000 per night for just 3 people. Someone in another post mentioned the Lola and all I can find online is something called Roami at the Lola which looks like an apartment or condo building.
I'm aware of/sensitive to the short-term rental problem in New Orleans so I don't want to stay there if it's a collection of STRs masquerading as a hotel. Really not excited about Courtyard by Marriott so I would love to find something a little funkier or boutique-like if such a thing exists.
Traveling in late September if that makes a difference.
Thanks!

Ayaka has always been a love/hate character for me.
There's things about her that I really enjoy, but then other things I just don't like. I'm not a big fan of any Alternative Sprint, and I've always seen Ayaka sold as a "Burst DPS".
That said, I decided to take the plunge on Ayaka this time. She's more than proven herself in the Meta, and I have a C2 Shenhe begging to be played. While I could run Ganyu, Aimed-Shot combat isn't my preferred play-style.
So, I pulled Ayaka, got Mistsplitter, and slapped some high-end gear on her. I watched multiple YouTube videos on her best Teams, then added Kazuha and Kokomi to the mix. I was now set out to go freeze everything in Teyvat to see what all the hype was about.
After playing for a few days and getting her talents up to level 8, I started to feel regret. The Team just felt bad, was cumbersome to play, and there's so much that just can't be frozen. Plus, Kokomi's uptime is dependent on timing her burst, which made it feel rigid.
I get that the DPS potential is there, but I just wasn't having fun.
Then, I made one very simple change that fixed everything.
I dropped Kokomi and slotted in Layla, opting for Mono Cryo.
Now, it didn't matter if enemies could be frozen. Layla would keep me from being touched by anything. Plus, she's outputting off-field damage, and generating tons of particles to ensure every burst is up on Cooldown.
All of a sudden, I'm having a BLAST playing Ayaka, and the rotations are smooth as ice. Damage isn't an issue because Shenhe has everyone cracked-out, and there's so many individual instances of Damage.
Because of Layla, the Team just feels complete and comfortable. For people with boomer hands like mine, she's the perfect companion for Ayaka.

I'm 21 and have arthritis, depression, and many more things but those two are what affects me the most currently. I go to therapy, I cannot afford medication for my arthritis currently even with medicaid and another insurance (as of 2021), I need to get a rheumatologist again and see what my options are, that's on my to do list.
I love creative outlets, love drawing, but I can't do that full time. I would like to find a job where I could manage with both my depression and arthritis, on bad days. If my depression gets bad enough and I'm burn out enough, I will quit jobs immediately. It's a very bad habit and I'm making an effort to fix it. The current job I have is as an office assistant, which I like and it's nearby, but I'm only getting 8 hours a week, they can't offer any more hours.
What options are out there for someone without a college degree (went to college, never finished but would like to go back), and has mental + physical health issues? I'm all ears to also potentials. Currently I'm in a course to become a peer support specialist and hope that that will bring positive change into my life. I have experience with customer service jobs, food service jobs, babysitting, etc. I'm also trying to learn programming to see if I can get into a field that way, or add certifications to my resume.

https://www.codesports.com.au/afl/inside-the-rebuilding-of-anthony-mcdonaldtipungwuti-and-his-emotional-return-to-football/news-story/a8d2deb2f7ebeb5dc07863bc4351e753
It was meant to be a beer and pizza night for two mates – retired Bombers Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Patrick Ambrose – catching up for the first time in months. But it turned out to be the first step on one of the AFL’s most emotional 2023 comeback stories.
McDonald-Tipungwuti was in the middle of a camping trip full of self discovery and cultural connection around Australia.
Far from the madding MCG crowds, he hit the road with his ute, his caravan, his blue heeler, Drover, and at times his mum Jane, and took in Alice Springs, Darwin, Katherine, Broome and his childhood home on the Tiwi Islands.
On this mid-September 2022 night he was over in Perth catching up with his former teammate Ambrose, who had retired from the Bombers in late 2021.
McDonald-Tipungwuti reluctantly pulled the pin on his career in May 2022, just after his 29th birthday, having lost his spark and passion for the game after a few personal challenges and a series of injuries and fitness issues.
The two agreed to have a few beers, share some pizza and sit back in Ambrose’s loungeroom and watch one of the AFL finals matches.
As Ambrose recalled this week: “We walked down to get a pizza near my house and one of my neighbours is a mad footy fan. He was saying to Walla (McDonald-Tipungwuti), ‘You are too good to retire mate, what are you doing?’ Walla only had one slice (of pizza) when he usually would have had a bit more. I was having a beer and usually he would never turn down a cold beer. But he wouldn’t have a beer that night.
“We were watching the footy. Walla was watching it so closely that I had the feeling he was planning something.”
By the end of the night, McDonald-Tipungwuti confessed to Ambrose: “Yep, I’m going to make a comeback.”
Six months on, Ambrose was sitting in the same spot in his lounge room during round 1 watching from afar as McDonald-Tipungwuti brought the red and black faithful to its collective feet again at the MCG.
In his first AFL game in almost 600 days, he came on as Essendon’s sub and kicked what will be one of the most emotional goals this AFL season. “It was awesome,” Ambrose said. “He has definitely come a long way in a short time.”
Just like his outback adventure in the second half of last year, McDonald-Tipungwuti’s return to football hasn’t been an easy road.
He has worked hard to get himself back into the AFL system, even if insiders maintain he still has a significant pathway ahead to become a match-fit contributor regularly.
Despite already losing six or seven kilos, he knows he needs to lose more. Quad soreness meant he wasn’t able to back it up against Gold Coast last week.
The club is unsure when he will be right to go again, but has backed him and the conditioning staff to keep doing the work to ensure he is back as soon as possible.
As Essendon general manager of football Josh Mahoney said this week: “He still has got a valuable career ahead of him if he keeps doing the work, not only as a player (for Essendon) but also as a role model for other players.”

RETIREMENT

FOR Dyson Heppell, the measure of McDonald-Tipungwuti’s happiness has always been his cheeky smile. When it beams, he’s at his best.
It’s been that way since the pair were Gippsland Power teammates in 2010, dreaming of what the game might one day do for them.
“He was always bouncing around with a smile on his face,” Heppell said of the young McDonald-Tipungwuti, who arrived in Melbourne from the Tiwi Islands as a teenager.
So, when Heppell watched first-hand Walla’s cheeky grin vanish in the early stages of last year, he knew there was a problem.
As McDonald-Tipungwuti wrestled with his future last May, he stayed a few nights at Mahoney’s house. “He had lost the passion for training and for trying to work his way back, and it is such a hard game when that happens,” Mahoney said.
“The night before it all happened, we had gone for a walk and we talked through a lot of things.”
Mahoney arrived home from the Bombers’ Tullamarine base the following day to find McDonald-Tipungwuti seated at the kitchen table waiting for him.
“He was sitting there and said that he wanted to have a chat,” Mahoney said. “It was sudden, but it got to the stage where it was the right decision for Anthony to step away from the game.”
An emotional McDonald-Tipungwuti publicly retired the following day in a tearful address to his teammates.
When his facade broke and the tears began to flow, he was consoled by his then skipper Heppell.
His career looked like being stuck forever on 126 AFL games and 153 goals, with a highlight reel of run down tackles and instinctive goals almost the parting gift for the fans.
“It probably didn’t cross my mind at that time that he would ever be back,” Heppell said.
Ambrose agreed: “I could tell he was burnt out … he needed to somehow get the fire back.”

ROAD BACK TO FOOTY

SOMETIMES the best way to find yourself is to hit the road and reconnect with your past.
McDonald-Tipungwuti packed his car and left on a road trip around Australia that took in indigenous communities, meeting and connecting with elders and friends, learning about his past and preparing for his future. He didn’t expect the road would lead him back to AFL football.
But those close to him insist he would never have played AFL game No.127 without the lessons of that road trip.
“He was doing a big lap of Australia with (his dog) Drover and his mum,” Ambrose said.
McDonald-Tipungwuti has spoken recently about what the trip around Australia meant to him and how he was able to find himself.
Wherever he went, the message was the same as the one that Ambrose’s neighbour gave him – at his best he was too good not to have another crack at AFL football.
As Essendon’s post-season was mired in controversy and change, the whispers started to reach his former teammates that Walla was reconsidering his future.
Heppell sent him a few text messages to try and “sniff” out an answer.
“He is pretty limited in his text (responses), he doesn’t like to give away too much,” Heppell said. “You are sometimes lucky to get one back from him.”
There was also another possible suitor in Fremantle.
Dockers coach Justin Longmuir had liked one of his Instagram posts, a connection which led to an informal meeting.
But the pull of Essendon was strong, and the plan offered up by the Bombers new coach Brad Scott was too good to knock back.
There were no guarantees but the communication lines were open.
“There were different people (at Essendon) keeping in contact with him in different ways,” Mahoney said. “But it wasn’t until he got back (to Melbourne) that he started to talk a bit more about the potential of playing football again.
“Brad had been appointed coach at that stage and was keen to talk to him and to see if there was any chance he would consider coming back to Essendon.”
The Bombers were prepared to offer him a spot on the list, a one year deal on limited figures, with the AFL open to allowing McDonald-Tipungwuti to return to Essendon.
Mahoney added: “The meeting with Brad was as much about the new coach wanting to understand where Anthony was coming from, his background, his decision making and Brad explaining to him how he was going to coach him, and what he wanted from him.”

‘HE BLEW UP PRETTY QUICKLY‘’

HEPPELL didn’t know what to expect … but was pleasantly surprised when McDonald-Tipungwuti turned up to his first training session in November last year two weeks earlier than expected.
And, while he was still in sore need of shedding some kilos, he threw himself into it from the first Monday he turned up and completed a tough Friday running session that week.
“He blew up pretty quickly,” Heppell said. “I expected that to be the case, but he loved it.
“He was out there with the boys, chatting with them. It was like us saying to him, ‘Mate, we don’t expect you to be flying overnight. But you need to keep training and keep up the consistency of training’ – and that’s what he has done.”
Scott and the Bombers ensured Tipungwuti wouldn’t be left on his own as he worked slowly – and sometimes painfully – to improve a fitness base that was a long way off AFL standards.
Heppell maintained he needed a football in his hands and to be around his teammates.
“It was a conscious decision made by Brad and the high performance staff that allowed him to not miss a session that we wanted him to do through the pre-season,” Mahoney said.
“The decision was made that he would do all the fitness drills (with a footy in his hands).”
The Bombers know he has a fair way to go – and must keep on top of his dietary issues – if he wants to turn one comeback game into a sustained run of matches.
Incremental gains have been important, with Heppell saying one moment at the tail end of the season convinced him of Walla’s intent.
“He has been smashing sessions off the back of training by himself, to try to drop that weight and get himself in better nick,” Heppell said.
“Usually, you have to push him through the door and help him do it. He would be trying to dodge that extra session wherever he could, with his cheeky smile.
“For me, there was a moment that showed a different side to him. I had a crook foot and was cross training by myself. He was watching what I was doing and he jumped into my session off the back of his own. He wouldn’t have done that in the past.”

THE MOMENT, THE FUTURE

McDonald-Tipungwuti never believed he could have played in round 1, let alone score an emotional last-quarter goal in the Bombers’ big win over Hawthorn.
But he got there … just.
It was a risk, given it would have been a stretch for him to play a full game if a teammate went down with a first-term injury. But the Bombers were prepared to take it.
Heppell didn’t even know he was coming on the field, until he heard the roar of the crowd.
The red and black faithful knew it was a significant moment. The connection between McDonald-Tipungwuti and Essendon fans has always been tight.
That’s partly because of his backstory as the kid from the Tiwi Islands who overcame a tough start to life before making his mark in the AFL.
No one knows how long this comeback story will run for, but the fact that he is smiling again is the most important part, according to those closest to him.

I have been in the autonomous industry for almost 7 years now working hands on with autonomous vehicles. However, I do not have an engineering degree or coding experience. I've never been in management either. What's out there for someone like me that's in the middle? I'm trying to make the next move in my life but every job I'm seeing in the field is asking for an engineering degree or experience in coding, etc that I've never done.
Edit: for background before I got into the field I was pursuing a degree in management/HR. I love the technology and what it's capable of but where I'm at in life undertaking a whole new degree is not feasible. I don't want to leave the industry but I'm not seeing growth potential with my current skill set unless there's something I'm not noticing.

Title says the main dilemma, we are not in a relationship, but I'm not sure how else to describe it other than there being "unspoken feelings" between us. I work in the medical field, he is an unmarried/single doctor that I work with, I'm an MA. I'm actually applying to medical schools this year, so of course, I don't plan on initiating anything, and I'm sure he wouldn't think of doing that either.
I work with this man every single day almost, and I'm with him for every single patient he sees. We basically spend the entire day together, and so we have gotten to know each other pretty well. I have found that a lot of women are attracted to him; he actually looks a lot younger than his age, and even his patients (haha) comment on how sweet and attractive he is. So you can probably already imagine how hard it is to not develop *some* type of attraction to him, especially with me spending so much time with him. The reason I feel like I'm in love with him though, is because I essentially have never felt the way I do for him towards anyone else; I don't generally find people sexually attractive, he's genuinely the first person that I have emotional AND sexual attraction towards. Moreover, he's on my mind 24/7, my dreams almost always include him, and I look forward to seeing him everyday; he genuinely gives me something to look forward to and makes the most mundane things enjoyable. Interestingly enough, he has expressed to me that he looks forward to work knowing that I'll be there with him.
At first, I really thought it was work related only, and that because of my quality of work it made his quality of life easier. Over time though, I've noticed that if we don't work together one day, he'll usually message me that day, or over the weekend, to tell me something about my positive about my quality of work (which he tells me nearly every day, and I therefore already know), starting a conversation. Even during his patient encounters, he always finds a way to relate to me or include me in his conversations with his patients, sometimes seeming like he's mainly focused on me rather than the patient at some points. Keep in mind, he has excellent bedside manner, so for him to be doing that is a little odd, and it's just another thing that makes me feel like he has feelings for me. This is a big one; he has mentioned marriage as a topic of conversation several times here and there, and has even gone so far as to give me the advice that I should choose my spouse carefully, etc. Nothing he has ever said or done has felt predatory to me, he does not go out of his way to touch me or anything, he doesn't ask me weirdly personal questions at inappropriate times, we just genuinely have a very good emotional connection. Funnily enough, we actually have opposing viewpoints in a lot of different fields of thought, but that has somehow brought us closer, as it only has fueled more conversation and understanding between us, rather than building a wall. I find that extremely rare in anyone, the ability to overlook differences in viewpoints and actually have thoughtful discussions. He actually, even in his position of power and with all of the knowledge that he has, confides in me for advice, sometimes even related to work. He has shown that he trusts me and my judgement, and has also gone out of his way to show his support a countless number of times. This means a lot to me; I come from a very abusive immigrant family that rarely ever show their support for anything that I do. I haven't had any positive male figures in my life, and I realize that this plays a role in my attraction towards this man.
I guess I'm posting on here because I'm a little ashamed at how emotionally attached I've become to this man who I realistically can never pursue a relationship with. I also want to understand if, from an outsider perspective, it seems like I'm reading a little too much into his actions, or if he also seems to have some kinds of feelings towards me as well. What's interesting too is that when I first met him, he seemed very sad that he is unmarried and would express that he felt as though he had outgrown that possibility (we come from the same cultural background and he is valid in feeling that way in terms of societal acceptance), but now he mentions sometimes without being prompted to, how he would be if he had a wife and children. Anyways, I'm curious to see what you all have to say, and I'm open to criticism if need be.
TLDR; I've never been emotionally/sexually attracted to someone before, until I met my 44M work superior. I feel like he's expressed in several discrete ways that he has feelings towards me/cares about me and my future, but he's also a generally nice and caring person. I work with him nearly every day, think about him all of the time, etc. We have been told that we have good chemistry at work and we complement each other. I've never looked forward to being around/seeing someone as much as I do with him, and he reciprocates my energy. There isn't a real power imbalance, I am financially independent and he can't affect my position in my job, and he actually confides in me about how to handle certain situations at work, as well as emotional and practical situations. I feel like I'm in the wrong for feeling this way, but part of me wishes I could actually be with him. What would be the best course of action in this scenario?

Recently, my husband got fully sober and quit smoking weed. He is also weirdly Christian and only when he’s sober. I didn’t even know it was like this until several years after we got married. It’s insufferable, and I feel it being shoved down my throat.
All I’ve heard today is about Jesus’ love and how gay men have a weakness in their sin for being gay. From him. My brother is gay and lives with his boyfriend, planning to get married and does drag. Supposedly he loves my brother, more than me cos I don’t just give my brother money when he asks?? It just devolves into a typical argument with a Christian fascist. He’s not that far gone like gonna be protesting things, but it’s enough I want to leave.
But I feel I cannot leave because I don’t have a lot of support or help with my three children on my own, financially. What my career field was wouldn’t even cover daycare. And I fear he’ll just disappear and never pay a dime of child support. My mom won’t help and often chastises me for not sticking things out or handling things better? I will also lose my health insurance and my access to therapy and meds immediately. All my meds cost 400$ without insurance.
I feel stuck and need to get out. But it feels like I will never be able to support my children and give them everything they need, not to mention be healthy enough for them if I do leave. But I can’t live with someone who believes these things and goes against most of my fundamental values.
I wish I had seen and known he would be like this. I miss him smoking weed and being more on level with my views.
This is so hard and I’m so stuck.

I know Hamilton is famous for their field and pilot watches, but I wanted to find some background as to why their divers seemingly aren’t as highly regarded or talked about as much? Compared to other brands in their price bracket, at least.
For reference, I’m getting a bonus this year and want to treat myself to my first Swiss watch, and I’m looking for a wear-anywhere/any-occasion piece. The Khaki Navy Scuba (40mm) ticks all my boxes in terms of looks, my budget, brand, and American history, but I wanted to do my due diligence before pulling the trigger.
I’m also interested in the Khaki Field for a lot of the above reasons, but I’m worried it might look a little too rugged/military for any dress-up occasions I might have. At the same time, the Khaki Field seems more loved/talked about than the Navy—I’m not sure if that’s because of specs, history, or something else.
Which brings me here!

TL; DR: Should I pick a career path that I'm more interested in with a potentially good outlook, or one that I'm (possibly) less interested in, but has more job opportunities and a seemingly better future?
Hello, I am trying to decide between electrical engineering (EE), or computer science (CS), and I have been stressed out over this for about a year now. I plan on starting college in the summer. I'm 23 and in South FL now. This will be a long post, just a heads up. I'd say this is one of those passion vs opportunity debates with myself, but I'm passionate about both fields.
General interests
I will start by saying that I find software very interesting. I think many fields of CS are interesting; robotics, cybersecurity, video game development, AI, and networking are the ones I'm interested in the most.
However, I find the fields of EE interesting too, perhaps a bit more than those of CS; power and energy, telecommunications, controls, nanotechnology, also robotics, etc... I find essentially all the fields of electrical engineering interesting, as opposed to only some from computer science. This lack of interest in some of those CS fields is notably due to my lack of information in regard to what they teach. I am still learning and conducting research about what algorithms, data structures, computer architecture, etc. consist of. It all seems almost as interesting so far.
Now, going off that alone, it would make sense to say that I should just go for EE since I seem to like more fields of it than CS and have a stronger interest in them in general, but I start to have my doubts on whether it's worth it when I hear so many people say that it's difficult to find jobs for example, unless you are in a certain geographical location. South FL apparently doesn't have many opportunities for EEs from what I've heard, and what little research I've done for that. I'll leave a link for this as well. Now I am willing to relocate, but I think having that as an option and not a necessity would be better on the nerves. Relocating isn't easy you know.
With CS, jobs are everywhere, and I wouldn't have to worry about my location because I could work remotely (I'm sure I could as an engineer, but I think it's a lot less likely) ...
Outlook
Another thing I'd like to point out is that I've read articles and forums that have discussed the future of EE that have also said that it isn't growing. I will link them towards the end.
Actual work
While I don't think I'd enjoy learning what I would in CS nearly as much as I would in EE, I can’t say for sure because I’m not too familiar with CS subjects. I do know that I'd feel awful about not learning about electromagnetism and other cool physics. On the other hand, I'd also feel bad about not learning some cool cybersecurity, networking, or AI related topics taught in CS.
Honestly, I don't think I'd enjoy coding all day as a job either. I love coding, but I think I'd rather do it on my own free time, along with cybersecurity, networking projects, and video game making. I've never had to code or do these things for 8 hours a day, so how would I know? This is a similar mindset to not knowing whether or not I'll enjoy CS curriculum and work can be said for EE work as well. I've never had to design, develop, and test electrical equipment before.
If I don't end up picking EE, I'll likely reluctantly choose CS, but then I may end up loving those fields that I'm unfamiliar with in CS just as much as the EE ones... I just don't know... I'm sorry, as you can see this is really stressing me out and I'd just like some help please. I am not fond of uncertainty and I'm often indecisive as such. If you are still reading all of this, then I really appreciate you!
My plan at the moment is to just go for computer engineering (CPE) actually, and just see which classes/subjects I like from there, since I'm told often that it is a good mix between CS and EE. The only reason I wouldn't choose CPE to completely major in is that I have heard that it is better to specialize in one over the other, than to be a jack of all trades. I do think CPE is cool by itself though, so I may end up sticking with it the whole time. I also feel like I may "miss out" on some classes that CS or EE would teach that go into more depth and detail that CPE wouldn't...
If all else fails, I'm becoming an electrician or carpenter. I can't deal with this mess of stress, lol.
That is the end of my stress rant. I hope you all have a wonderful, amazing, and fulfilling year.
Related links:
(Please mind the clickbait headlines)
"Electrical Engineering is dead; long live the past?"
https://lateblt.livejournal.com/325098.html
"U.S. predicts zero job growth for electrical engineers."
https://www.computerworld.com/article/3017196/u-s-predicts-zero-job-growth-for-electronics-engineers.html
“Engineers: Employment, pay, and outlook.”
https://www.bls.gov/careeroutlook/2018/article/engineers.htm
“Occupational Outlook Handbook: Electrical Engineers”
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/architecture-and-engineering/electrical-and-electronics-engineers.htm
"State map data for Electrical Engineers" (Site updated February 21, 2023)
https://www.mynextmove.org/profile/state/17-2071.00?from=profile
"Electronics and Electrical Engineering Jobs on the Decline—Can They Be Saved?"
https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/embedded-revolution/article/21255051/electronic-design-electronics-and-electrical-engineering-jobs-on-the-declinecan-they-be-saved
Final thoughts
Maybe EE is declining, but it could be only temporary, maybe it will jump in demand in the future. Just like this CS "bubble" could only be a temporary thing; although I think it's easier to see how CS careers such as AI, cybersecurity, and software development will continue to grow in the future, with the increase in tech and computers everywhere.
I think the same thing is being said about CS, about it becoming more difficult to find work, because of AI; it’s already making art, music, and small programs, and many other things. It’s only a matter of time before it starts doing more complex things, and people are afraid of losing their value.
With CS though, again, it's easier to see why it's likely going to continue to be in demand, with the rise of cyber threats, internet of things (IoT), cloud computing, data science, etc., and you still need people to understand the AI and its work.
It does make sense to say from a general perspective that EEs will be needed as well for future robotics, green/sustainable energy solutions, biomedical engineering, etc.
However, while there are many people that claim that EE is still, or will be, in-demand in the future, I've yet to see any compelling evidence or points brought up as such. I have loved the world of computers since a young age. I am also passionate about physics, and have been since an even younger age, so all of this is coming from a desperate heart, but I must use logic and reasoning as well.