Never played a Diablo game in my life. Started playing Diablo 4, and now I can’t stop! I had never even heard of Diablo but xbox was advertising a “Server slam” download for it. I was desperate for a new game to like, so I downloaded it immediately 😂. I’m so very pleased with this game. Being on console we don’t get a lot of dungeon crawler games that I enjoy. But I’m in love with this game. crazy to think I would’ve never discovered it if xbox didn’t have an ad for their server slam. I picked the necromancer class by the way, but I’m wondering if I should play sorcerer instead. :)

Online Casino Games: Providing an overview of popular online casino games

Online casino games have gained immense popularity in recent years, offering players the excitement and thrills of traditional brick-and-mortar casinos from the comfort of their homes. Here are some popular online casino games you can explore:

1. Online ids: Online Cricket id are one of the most important part of cricket betting games. They come in various themes, with different paylines and bonus features.\
   
2. Blackjack: Also known as 21, blackjack is a card game where players aim to get a hand total closer to 21 than the dealer without going over. It involves strategic decision-making and card counting techniques.
   
3. Roulette: This classic casino game features a spinning wheel with numbered slots. Players place bets on where they think the ball will land. Bets can be placed on individual numbers, groups of numbers, colors, or odd/even.
   
4. Poker: Online poker offers a wide range of variations, including Texas Hold'em, Omaha, Stud, and more. Players compete against each other, aiming to make the best hand and win the pot.
   
5. Baccarat: Baccarat is a card game where players bet on either the player's hand, the banker's hand, or a tie. The goal is to have a hand closest to 9. It is a straightforward game with simple rules.
   
6. Video Poker: Video poker combines elements of slots and poker. Players aim to make the best hand possible using five cards dealt on the screen. Various versions, such as Jacks or Better and Deuces Wild, are available.
   
7. Craps: Craps is a dice game where players bet on the outcome of the roll or a series of rolls. It involves a wide range of betting options and has a lively and exciting atmosphere.
   
8. Live Casino Games: Many online casinos offer live dealer games where players can interact with real dealers and other players through a live video stream. Popular live games include live blackjack, roulette, baccarat, and poker.
   
9. Specialty Games: Online casinos also offer a variety of specialty games such as bingo, keno, scratch cards, and virtual sports betting. These games provide a different type of entertainment and betting experience.
   

Each game has its own rules, strategies, and odds. It's important to understand the game mechanics and betting options before playing. Many online casinos offer free play or demo versions of games, allowing players to practice and familiarize themselves before wagering real money.

I'm a relatively new player who's about to start a curse of strahd campaign soon. I know I want to play an artificer, but I'm conflicted on which would be the better build. We're going to be starting at level 1 and our dm is letting us each start with one additional feat
Build 1) All-Rounder Battlesmith This build is a Giff, not because it works particularly well but I already felt I got everything I needed without needing to pick a more optimal race (And hippos are fuckin' dope)
---Level 1---
My feat will be Quandrix initiate. Quandrix initiate gets me guiding bolt at level 1, which has much valued radiant damage. I also have cure wounds for some heals, fire bolt and catapult (which will come into play at level 2)
---Level 2--- Infusions:
Replicate Magic Item: Alchemy jug
Repeating shot
Enhanced defence
Mind Sharpener
Now that I can just make oil with the alchemy jug I'd planned to use catapult to throw it at enemies for 3d8, then use fire bolt for even more damage
---Level 3 (Where this build really gets online--- I'm going to choose the battlesmith specialist for that sweet sweet steel defender. I'm going to have him spam help on me to help me hit my shots with my crossbow, which will now use my int modifier. I also get shield, and at this point I'm fairly beefy
---Level 4--- I take the sharpshooter feat. With the help spam the -5 hit isn't all that bad
This build is fairly tanky, has heals, gets great damage options, and has guiding bolt to deal with the plenty of undead we'll be facing. However limited spell slot availability makes it's heals limited, and I'd also have to be cautious about where I use shield or guiding bolt or else I may run out of important options.
Build 2) Poisoner Alchemist This build wants variant human for the juicy Poisoner feat, which is pretty much the bread and butter for this builds flavor. For the extra feat I'll take healer to go for a sort of doctor theme. I'll also be taking a proficiency in medicine, because what good is a doctor that doesn't know their craft?
---Level 1--- My cantrips are firebolt and spare the dying. My 1st level spells are catapult, cure wounds and purify food and drink
---Level 2---
Infusions:
Replicate Magic Item: Alchemy jug
Returning weapon
Enhanced Weapon
Replicate Magic Item: Bag of Holding (since this build will be carrying a lot of random potions, poisons and vials to hold them)
My plan is to have the alchemy jug create basic poison, and use that as the 50GP of materials to create potent poison via the Poisoner feat and for flavor we could say he distilled it into a purer form or something. Then I'll coat a dagger with my bonus action and throw it at a high priority target and have it return with the returning weapon infusion. Then I'll have enhanced Weapon for something stronger like a rapier or crossbow. Worse comes the worse I don't have my poison on me, I can still catapult and firebolt a jug of oil for some burst damage
---Level 3--- I go alchemist and make potions to stow away for later use. I can also use the other potion options for buffs if need be, I'm bound to have random stuff on hand since you can make one for free once per long rest
---Level 4--- I take elemental adept: fire. Now my two main damage types, poison and fire won't be resisted so I can keep my damage output more consistent
This build seems less tanky and lower in dps, but has significantly better healing. I can use healers kits to heal, cure wounds, healing word, or just carry around a fuck ton of potions I make. Unfortunately I do have to forego being a hippo to make this build work, but the flavor for this build seems more interesting using poisons and medicine.
Thoughts?

honestly i'm at my wits end and my family and i are in desperate need of help. we no longer know what to do and the police only push my sister away further.
tw:mention of sa
relationship context:
me and my sister grew up like most siblings. we would share secrets, fight, use them against each other, make up, and repeat. we didn't end up getting close until i was in the 12th (16) grade and she was in 9th (15). she opened up to me about her s/a and i helped support her in telling the family, defending her to my family and helping set her up with counsellors.
she was talking to one of my ex's friends so we would all hang out sometimes as a little double date. once me and my ex got in a fight after he cheated on a girl with me and i told her, so we broke up. that weekend my ex (17 almost 18) and his friends (grade 11, so 16) brought my sister and another 9th grader to his place. they both lied to my face. i called him and he called me crazy for insulating anything and essentially gaslight me to the grave despite my sisters location saying she was there. after this incident i shared to my sister my experiences of s/a and emotional abuse from my ex and shared i wasn't comfortable with them hanging alone. privately she pretended to be very empathetic but continued to hangout with my ex for the rest of the month, to even end up dating secretly. she still denies dating and states he was into her but after reading instagram dms it's quite clear they dated and it was reciprocated. as a result of my low self esteem, daddy issues, and a plethora of mental health ones i got back together with my ex to end up being s/aed multiple times after.
tdlr ^: she got with my abuser and rapist
since then, she's never fessed up or properly apologized for getting with my abuser. during arguments she claims that i'm "mad he picked me over you" that "i deserved getting s/aed" since i got back with him, that i've committed in the past for attention and that she wishes i was to get s/aed again. this is just some of the things said and i know having a close relationship with my sister would help, but i physically can't.
since this, my sister sneaks out all of the time. she's stolen the car without her learners. invited 30+ people to the house while my mom was in another continent twice. skips school everyday, failing all her classes, smokes weed and drinks. steals money/clothes/alcohol from my mother and i. she's ran away numerous times as an excuse to sleepover at friends places, and despite seeing and hearing her mom sob for her to come back home she ignores her. she also called the cops on us saying she's afraid of the family yet also threatened to stab me.
i live across the country for school but i come down for reading weeks and currently my summer break. my poor mom who came to Canada in hopes of securing safety and liberty has received nothing but heartache and sorrow and i have no idea how to help. my mom tries to enforce consequences like taking her phone, to only have my sister lock herself in the washroom and say she was going to kill herself. my mom has told her not to go out and that she's grounded, in which case my sister just leaves as the police state she's old enough to do whatever. she's in counselling as well and was shortly put in rehab for her marijuana use which she hasn't stopped.
my mother tells me i'm the only reason she's happy as i'm in university to become a doctor but i'm only here 4 months of the year. we don't know what else to do.

The 30 Yard Dumpster provided by Dumpster 4 Rental RS in Riverside is a versatile and convenient option for large-scale waste removal projects. With a capacity of 30 cubic yards, it is ideal for projects such as construction, renovation, and landscaping. The dumpster's dimensions are approximately 22 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 6 feet tall, making it spacious enough to accommodate bulky items and debris. Its durable and sturdy construction ensures that it can handle heavy loads, making it suitable for disposing of concrete, bricks, and other construction materials. The Dumpster 4 Rental RS team provides prompt delivery and pick-up services, ensuring a hassle-free experience for customers.

Context: got offered a job with a salary 3x what I currently have. Mostly remote work and occasional on site.
Problem 1: Contract was just sent today. Just a list of entailments it no job description. Now requires me to have it returned by 3 PM (It’s already 1PM at the time of writing)
Problem 2: The immediate supervisor was already pushing me to attend training today and give him my credentials to gain access to their portal. He was messaging me as early as 5 AM.
Problem 3: Supervisor also requiring me to pick up the hardware in their Ayala office ASAP.
Problem 4: All are on a short notice. The worst is they are “requiring” me to start tomorrow, June 9.
I’m leaning towards not accepting the deal since the toxic procedure tells me something is not right - that I’ll not be happy or last long with how they deal with things.
Any thoughts on this? Appreciate any advise you can give :)

This piece recounts the first time I drank an ancient plant medicine called Ayahuasca. It comes from Amazonian tribes who consider it a sacred plant medicine with healing powers and, given what a hugely beneficial impact it has had on my life, I am very comfortable describing it as medicine.
One Saturday, in the spring of 2016 I was greeted by the medicine man himself with a big hug, let’s call him Blu. I came into his kitchen to be greeted by several women with slightly comical homemade, feather headdresses and couldn’t help but think I’d walked into a kid’s birthday party. In the garden, there was a small festival tent set up which had a hay bale altar with easter decorations.
The ceremony had around 30 other participants and 10 shamans. In the middle of the tent stood the medicine man’s wife, Sun who was very much the master of the ceremony. She had the most daring headdress, flowing orange robes and a rattle in her hand. She spoke to us with warm, friendly humour telling us that we would know the medicine had kicked in once her singing started to sound good!
She advised that each experience is unique and we should try not to have huge expectations, sometimes nothing at all happens the first time. Having waited five years for this day I was quietly confident that this would not be the case for me and boy was I right!
We went around the circle introducing ourselves and explained what we were hoping to get out of the ceremony. Focusing on your intent during a psychedelic experience is meant to help you get what you are looking for.
During my turn, I expressed my desire to regain my self-confidence and passion for the opportunities and women in my life to whom I never seem to be able to fully commit.
Once we had all shared, we learned that it was time to drink.
My heart was filled with profound forbearing and excitement as I went up to receive a small glass of harsh-tasting, brown liquid which certainly tasted like medicine!
I had a basic camping mattress and a duvet laid out for me which I snuggled into before pulling on my eye mask. I was on my back trying not to think too much about the medicine, whether it was working or maybe wouldn’t work while I meditated for an hour.
The shamans started singing and shaking rattles. One of the female shamans, Nubia had an incredibly beautiful soprano voice that stood out from the others. It was while listening to the song of the shamans that I started to feel a warm flow of energy along my limbs. I tried to dismiss it at first, thinking it might somehow be related to my fasting for 40 hours prior.
When I moved my eye mask to let some light into my eyes I saw the tent roof overlaid with a flowing grid of beautiful, metallic, geometric grids with multi-coloured light flowing through the lines. The Individual elements of the grid reflected every colour of the rainbow like oil on water’s surface and I started to feel joyful, like a child rolling through leaves on a warm autumn day.
Nubia started singing to us again and it was like nothing I’d ever heard. It was so beautiful and mesmerizing I didn’t want her to stop.
I could hear the people around me, some giggling and some vomiting or, purging medicine into their buckets. I checked myself, asking if should I purge but I felt a gentle presence speak inside of me saying: ‘No, you’re fine. Just relax.’

They call this presence Mother Ayahuasca. The reason people drink the brew is to speak with and receive her guidance.

My eye mask was back on my face and I turned into the fetal position with the duvet pulled over my head I felt exceptionally comfy with this strange yet familiar presence as I started to explore the un-intimidating hallucinogenic world within my mind. She showed me complex pictures of flowing energy with multicoloured lights in perfect alignment while I was gently gliding along, watching the beautiful colourful spectacle.
It was around this time that Sun asked into the ceremony if anybody would like a second dose. I slowly sat upright and looked around. I checked myself. Truthfully, I was enjoying the experience. I was slightly nervous that having more could take me to a deeper, darker place however I had mentally prepared myself for the full immersion experience.
The presence told me: ‘It’s okay. You can handle it. I’ll be gentle.’
So I pulled on my shoes, got up and slowly walked over feeling slightly wobbly. I was worried Sun might tell me I’d had enough but when I sat in front of her, she gave me a big smile and beckoned me towards her. The second dose was about half the previous one and tasted familiar, not quite as harsh.
After I got up I walked out of the tent into the house. Sitting in the small toilet I saw the walls gently rippling with energy and recognized the phenomenon from previous psychedelic experiences. I’ve experienced mild, LSD-induced hallucinations before but nothing quite as mesmerizing as watching bright sparks of colorful energy emerging from objects and pictures.
Snuggling back under my duvet I listened to the rattles and felt myself floating deeper into the kaleidoscopic universe seeing my own body curled up but instead of my skin and flesh, I saw myself as streaming veins of energy. Millions of thin fibre optic threads pulsated with warm healing energy which outlined my body.
I felt myself lying on the floor in the jungle with mystical symbols and ineffable tribal figures around me. I felt like I was in a different, timeless dimension however I was surprisingly lucid and could snap out of it to check myself with ease. At some point I had to giggle as my boring pragmatist made the smart-ass remark, ‘You’re not lying in the jungle. You’re in a garden less than 100 meters from the Thames estuary!’
I had my eyes closed for most of the afternoon. I was seeing ever richer patterns. When I opened my eyes the patterns were still there but they were overlaid on the reality in front of my eyes. I could change them with the blink of an eye or bring back shapes I had seen previously.
I started thanking this entity for showing me all this beauty and felt the urge to reciprocate. I revealed some personal memories but they looked so very different. It seemed like they had a photo filter applied that filled the memory with golden light as they came alive with breathtaking beauty, streaming with colourful energy. I visited various life moments and it felt like entering into a photo and suddenly being there on that day!
I was there sitting in our garden at home. Once again I was a chubby baby covering my face with baked beans. I was actually there! I was picking the baked beans off my face and pushing them, one by one into my mouth.
They say that Mother Ayahuasca is a deep ancient spirit and I always imagined her as a deeply serious, majestic queen. I started wondering what she might look like… and so she appeared.
She was stern but not an old woman. Aya was young, perfectly matched to my age and exceptionally beautiful. She had long, smooth brown hair and big beautiful eyes filled with power and inspiration. As I looked closer at her exquisite face I realized that her features were constantly changing complexion. Her skin cycled from Amazonian to Latin to Nubian to Oriental and Mediterranean. She was outlined by swirling rainbow-coloured curls of light. The rest of her naked body only came into being when I directly looked at it. I realize that she was not one woman but a combination of every beautiful woman I’ve ever felt attracted to. I wanted her. She wanted me. We kissed and whirled around as we floated through my Entheoverse. My body of swirling rainbow energy flowed into her and hers into mine and this is how we made love passionately.
I had visions of us being on a summer weekend getaway in a stylish city. We lay in luxurious hotel rooms and I remember a cream-coloured clock on the wall, with Roman numerals but no hands to tell the time. I was dressed smartly as I led her by her hand into classy restaurants that had champagne poured, waiting by our table. It was like we were on a never-ending date, teleporting from one experience into the next, eloping while taking our time to enjoy each other’s energy, and passionately loving one another.
Afterwards, she lay in my arms and I asked what else she could show me and she replied; ‘What else would you like me to show you?’ I wasn’t prepared for this and my mind went a bit blank realizing that I could do anything, go anywhere in space and time I wanted.
I asked her; ‘Can you help me find my confidence?’
There was no clear answer. Instead, I had the random idea to become the temple stem of my friend Julio’s glasses. I looked at him from the bit next to the hinge and I could see him put the glasses on in the morning, and take them off at night and in the reflection of his right eye, I saw him coming home and watched his beautiful daughter jumping into his arms. Then I saw on his eyeball the reflection of me walking into the room and a felt warm glow spread through me.
Next, I visited my baby nephew sitting in my brother’s living room, in his red chair. I crossed my hands on my chest like he does and saw my brother and his wife smiling at me giving me warm hugs but more than seeing their faces while they hugged my body I could feel the way they felt when they put their arms around me and press me to their chests.
I saw all my brother’s smiles and happy faces as we jollied about, trying to make each other laugh as we do. I visited all my closest friends, took in their smiles and one by one, as I hugged each of them, I could feel their love for me.

Later I realized that Aya was indeed trying to give me confidence by showing me how much the people in my life care for me

I visited the girl I had just started dating called Anna whose raw energy I find simply irresistible. I came into her new apartment that I’d never visited before. She was standing in sexy lingerie by a floor-to-ceiling window looking down onto the busy Tottenham Court road. I remember her turning her beautiful face as I approached, touching it with ten fingers and kissing her lips passionately as we erupted into rainbow swirls of energy.
I also visited my ex-girlfriend Jo, whose body and spiritual mind I still loved but whose soul is too damaged by the fear of rejection and tough mental armour I never managed to vanquish.
She was asleep in our white room in LA that she had so carefully decorated and I spooned my energy into her little body. She woke and we cuddled and kissed and I said I was sorry it didn’t work out between us and she replied; ‘It’s ok. I wasn’t ready for you…’
I asked Aya if we had made the right decision to stop forcing it and just be friends and felt her nod wisely.
At some point, I remember all three of us lying in bed together but instead of feeling like the king of the world, I felt like a greedy pig.
One of the underlying themes of the whole journey was how slowly gently and unhurried everything felt and I think the lesson I was meant to learn was that it’s ok to not settle right now — I thought I just haven’t found the one, the right woman to share my life with…
Aya kept giving me gentle advice throughout. I asked her about the stimulants I love such as cannabis, coffee and alcohol but instead of the stern telling-off I was secretly hoping to receive she told me; ‘You know they don’t serve you when you abuse them but they are also a part of what shaped you… Take care of the beautiful body you have been given.’
She repeated many times; Take care of yourself more… take care.
I asked Aya how I could find the power to harness my mind which has always been blessed and cursed with a distracting imagination and to keep my lack of attention from killing my dreams.
Instantly, I saw an unreal version of myself.
I was standing in something like a black shiny display window, straight out of a Mercedes advert. This guy was not merely a little bit better than I am now and I realized that the version staring back at me was my best self!
That guy is sharp, he is determined, and he dresses immaculately. That guy knows exactly what he is doing. When he enters the room, people notice his presence from the invisible halo that brightly surrounds him.
I asked Aya, how I could become him and the answer became clear. That guy works. He knows exactly where his energy comes from and all of a sudden I understood — The confident image he projects comes from the love he feels for himself which makes him look loved and successful in other people’s eyes. There is no room for distraction because that guy knows his worth and knows his purpose.
She gave me such a clear image of myself. I can still see myself standing motionless in the black, shiny shop window with rainbow-coloured fibre optic strains lighting the air that gently flowed around me.
How long I lay like that is impossible to say but I guess it was around 5–6 hours but it felt like an eternity of journeying into myself.
But it wasn’t all just warm energy and neon colours. I distinctly remember at some point realizing, it was time to go to the toilet. Afterwards, I walked back into the garden and found the Ewok-faced little terrier yapping at me. I laughed at him as I noticed the blue silver and chrome energy swirls around his head and ears. I couched down to see if I could pacify him but I suddenly became aware that his barking must be interfering with other people’s experiences. I turned to hurry into the tent as one of the shamans came out, to tell off the dog saying; ‘What’s wrong doggy, he’s alright!’ As I walked into the tent there were certainly more people sitting upright than when I had left and I read some irritated expressions on people’s faces, at least three people got up and walked out.
I lay down in shame but all my friend’s energy avatars ran up to me saying ‘It’s fine!’ as they doggy piled on top of me. It made me feel better. I felt them warm the cold shame out of me and I began relaxing again. I played around as before but the energy had markedly changed, it didn’t feel as light-hearted anymore. It was heavier and more serious. I was feeling the effects of the medicine becoming even stronger so I decided to sit up but when I opened my eyes, I saw Nubia hit the deck at my feet on a hastily arranged bed after having just purged into a bucket. I could see vomit in her black wavy hair as I started to think, ‘…oh dear if even the shamans are starting to falter, I’m in trouble.’
I didn’t know what to do. I tried to lie back down again. I asked Aya to help me, as she had several times previously when I’d gotten a little bit frightened but this time I could not sense her presence and I knew why. I had to go through this for myself.
It felt like I was sitting in a shopping trolley, rolling down a steep hill toward darkness, realizing as it picked up speed and bucked to and fro that this had been a bad decision, a dangerous idea and the only way it would end would be for the momentum to collide with suffering.
I needed help so I weakly put up my hand and within a few seconds, one of the shamans sat down next to me. She was wearing a white feather dress and occoured to me like an angel. She helped me sit up and as soon as I was sitting upright I began to retch. She passed me my bucket which I gratefully barfed into…
After I purged I felt better. My angel asked me if I felt okay again and I asked her to stay with me and hold my hand for a while longer, which she did. I gently leaned over and rested my head on her feathery bosom and felt a sense of peace and strength flow back into me. I saw my energy self, the swirling electrons of light curling my limbs as I sat cross-legged, hunched over like a bear cub being cradled by his mother bear.
She helped me lie back down and I started to return to my technicoloured dream state. I asked Aya if we could make love again and she said ‘Of course’ but it felt different, when I opened my inner eye to see the face of the person I was entangled with I saw my own. Aya had taken on my form and this might well be the strangest thing I’ve ever written but I was exceptionally attracted to myself and I realized that this could be how girls who are in bed with me see me. I could feel the burning desire a girl feels when we make love. It felt strange but also good.

They said Ayahuasca show you not what you want to see but rather what you need to see at any specific point in your life.

I visited countless friends, some people no longer in my life becouse we have grown apart and even those whose who have passed away. I visited my German grandparents and told them how much I loved them.
While I cuddled Oskar, the dog I grew up with, and played with him in our garden I looked up to see my dad approach us with tears in his eyes. I knew what he was going to say. When he told me that my grandmother had died I didn’t run away in confusion as I had on that day, instead, I went to hug my mom and for the first time, I empathized with the pain she had felt in that moment of hearing that her mother had passed.
I visited my friend Keith whose passing I have always felt a slight responsibility for since I know he read my travel blog and went to Costa Rica a month after I’d been there where he swam out to sea and drowned. I hugged him tightly and cried gently but he grabbed me firmly by the shoulders and said; ‘It wasn’t you! It wasn’t you…’
I visited my old school friend Alex who I had not been close to but whose misfortune to be on flight 447 still touched me. I told him and his beautiful fiance whom I’d never met that I was so sorry for them having been so frightened when they died but instead of me comforting them, they hugged and comforted me as I lay there silently crying for the people I missed. But it was not painful. Quite the opposite, it felt cathartic, like I was letting out the pain and healing myself.
At some point, while it was still light out Sun said “OK, I know that some of you are still on your journey but we will start having some food soon so if you want to share what you experienced now is the time.” I listened to some of the reports.
Several people said that they had a very rough ride because they had tried to fight it. One girl even said she was convinced she was dying. I felt very lucky and grateful for my gentle, warm ride through my multi-coloured Enthenoverse and wondered if I would ever return…
When it was my turn I said that I had finally been able to see how my friends and family see me and why they think I am awesome which will give me the confidence to finally believe that I am awesome (that got a laugh :). I also shared my new appreciation for how profoundly beautiful my life has been up until now and hoped that it will give me the strength to stop comparing myself to others, to focus on my own path and become my best self.

10 weeks later

My life has undeniably changed over the last 10 weeks.
The following day I drove back to my rented shepherd’s hut in a nature reserve and had an exceptionally rich experience walking through the marshes. The sun was shining and everything seemed so intensely beautiful. I was moved just by watching something as simple as a male and a female bird fly across the water in perfect sync. It made me well up emotionally.
I’ve cried a lot recently and I believe it’s a good thing. I cry on most days.
Usually, it happens when I see someone doing something kind and for a brief moment I get overwhelmed and shed a tear. But again, they are not tears of pain they are usually tears of joy and I feel like I have become much more in touch with my emotions.
It feels like bringing Aya’s female spirit into my awareness has tripped a switch in my brain making me more feminine, hence a more complete human being. I’ve also started to care more about my appearance. My mum commented recently that I looked different and she is right. I’ve been working out more. I get my hair cut more frequently and I’ve even gone and bought new clothes that dress me with more style, even when it’s not particularly necessary.
My work attitude has also changed. I find myself a lot more productive and capable of operating at a higher level while enjoying the entire experience so much more!
I honestly feel more in control of my life. I feel focused on who I am, who I can become and what I can achieve. Previously my decisions in life seemed more vague and fuzzy.
Above all, I feel the happiest that I have felt since childhood. The last 10 weeks have been almost like a too-good-to-be-true dream for me.
I’m also positively influencing the people around me. My grandfather wrote me the following sentence after my most recent visit.
You have this mysterious gift of raising the spirits of people both just by being there and by your gift of empathy.

Epilogue

I have indeed had more Ayahuasca ceremonies since I first wrote this and even though there was a 4 year gap between my 4th and my 5th experience I have felt the effect compound over time. I will be publishing more of my trip reports over on medium and would appreciate your supporting me by following me over there where I also publish contant whihc is not just psychedilic in nature. https://medium.com/@hi_niels

Hey guys I'm gonna be sharing my routine with you all this helps my mind as well as my overall health and makes manifesting super fun

1. So basically I affirm as soon as I wake up because this one is subconscious mind is more susceptible to new ideas and thoughts and it carries out that idea throughout the day so it's important that you already planned that seed as soon as you wake up because everything all the forces of nature are going to carry out that whatever that whichever is that you want to manifest or the experience that you want to try and for example you may want to use a blanket affirmation which is an affirmation that covers everything all your desires are saying that you want to manifest I don't know a relationship some money and maybe like moving friendships whatever you would just affirm everything it's already mine or I usually get it all anything along that nature because it covers everything and it's one big affirmation that just covers all your desires in general

2) another thing that I do is working out now you can even work out like 10 minutes a day and it's going to make significant Health changes it's been proven multiple times through scientific studies that it helps your brain as well as your body by replenishing your cells and signaling like new neuron centers which make you have a better mindset and overall have a better easier manifesting Journey because you're everything lines up as within so without not to mention this has helped me with my mental health like by a million not even going to lie it just helps me have be in the present moment and just understand and have more creativeness and like just be a happier person in general I don't know it has soooo many great effects .
3) I also do breathing techniques I do the wind Puff as well as the 478 or sometimes like if I'm not feeling them I just do deep breathing even if it's like for a minute or two which can make significant brain changes because as well going as well as like exercising going back to that it helps you stay in present moment as well as not develop long-term diseases and just not over think in general
4) I'm staying in present moment also because if you guys are familiar with Dr Joe dispenser he does mention that when you stay in present moment you will leave that energy to the quantum field and now there's more room for possibilities sometimes as humans we want this control to make sure that everything is under control but the only controller I need to know is that we are the Creator or nothing else and that everything else around us just works to get us our desires because at the end of the day everything is just atoms and energy.
5) just remembering /affirming that anything can change at any given moment and that nothing is set in stone ,never falling into the ilusion of life.
6) gratitude journaling as well as any type of journaling is really really good like for instance you can use a journal to document how you feel which just helps you understand and get to know yourself better I'm a type of Journey that you can do is a gratitude journal or you just put everything good that happens throughout the day you'll be surprised that there's just always more great things to be thankful for and if you're mine picks up on old like there's good thing happen even if it's small it's going to create in your own thought pattern which is going to form a new belief and your subconscious mind which is going to form a new principal which is going to bring you a new reality so that's that as well as like journaling when you sometimes just feel cloudy like you don't know what to do ask write down the question I have and whatever comes to mind that's like going to be very beneficial and it just helps you to like not be all over the place and just be more conscious and live in a more aware type of State
7) last techniques now with this I usually sleep with sublimjnals but if I'm feeling it I visualize or do robotic affirming these aren't needed because the fact yiu found this law is more than enough but they do help saturate the mind
If you guys have any questions feel free to ask I'm here :)

Hello everybody, Scathus here with a new deck guide. Some background if you’re not familiar with me: I am high elo player and deckbuilder. Some of the previous decks that I have innovated or taken a serious part in innovating include: Sentinel Control, Feel the Minah, Ekko Zilean, Teemo TF Monke, Tristana BW Prize Fight, among others.
Today, I’m bringing you a deck guide for Jax Ornn in eternal. While I was not the deck creator, as the deck has seen play since its buffs a few months ago, I was the first to make an actually functional list this patch. Both I and my teammate infinipatrons have crested over 1000 lp each with the deck, and I think it’s one of the best decks in the game to climb and also to take to the Runeterra Open.
Deck Code: ((CUDACAYBAIAQMAQ4AEDAYCABA4AQSAQGAADBCBAGAECAQCYMAQAQEAIGAEDAMGYBAYABQAIGAELAEAIBAECQCBQBDA))
Runeterra.ar link

The Deck at a Glance

Ornn Jax is a classic big midrange deck that looks to forge a weapon and overwhelm the opponent with efficient stats and keywords. You will usually look to build up a few powerful weapons over the course of the first 4 turns, before putting the pressure on the opponent and looking to end the game with a giant leveled Jax or Ornn. We also have a variety of efficient Frejlord Combat Tricks, which we use to swing the board in our favor.
Remember: the power of the deck lies in the weapons more so than the units. If your opponent spends a ton of resources to kill a 7/6 Jax - guess what? You now have 1 mana 4/3 quick attack overwhelm weapon to put on whatever you want. This makes your deck much more resistant to traditional removal than other big midrange decks.

Card Analysis

• Jax
  • Generally the best card to be in your opening hand. While he’s essentially just a 2 mana 3/2 with quick attack, he has an extremely cheap weapon that is perfect for forging. Try to keep Jax alive at least until he levels so that his weapon gets overwhelm - it makes it much better to transfer to Ornn or a different unit. Jax’s champion spell is extremely strong and you can use it to completely blow out trades, especially if you are playing into a deck that struggles to pop barrier. If you keep Jax alive until the late game, he will become an enormous overwhelm unit that will threaten to end the game by himself.
• Ornn
  • The primary wincon against a lot of decks. A leveled Ornn will almost always end the game on attack immediately - very few decks can survive it. He is also too large for any deck without hard removal to answer, and even if he is killed, he has already doubled your strongest weapon with his play effect, giving you value. Generally speaking, you want to get overwhelm on Ornn - either the fishawack improvise weapon or leveled Jax’s weapon - but any large weapon will do.
  • Don’t forget that you can play Ornn without copying a weapon to take a big weapon from hand - useful if you have the bone club in hand but haven’t yet played it.
  • Try to level Ornn before attacking with him. This is usually done by playing bone club on a 3 attack unit, getting a huge forged weapon, or fish fighting with Ornn after you play him. This is not always possible, of course.
• Weaponmasters (Combat Cook and Innovative Blacksmith)
  • Your other sources of weapons besides Jax. Both are powerful - Blacksmith gives you constant healing while Cook forges his weapon for free. I will discuss improvisation below in its own section to help you figure out what’s best for which circumstance.
• Forge Cards (Weaponsmith’s Apprentice, Favored Artisan, Hearthblood Mender)
  • These cards make your weapons bigger, obviously. Apprentice and Artisan are two useful early units that give your weapons value and can be used as chump blockers later on. Hearthblood Mender is probably a top 10 follower in the game. He has an absolutely insane play effect and good base stats and is therefore a decent choice to put a weapon on.
• Ruthless Raider
  • An odd card out, but I promise that she’s vital to the deck because this card is the best cheap target for a giant weapon. The tough+overwhelm combo means that any large statted weapon will be extremely powerful on her. She is also a good target for the Bone Club.
• Bone Club
  • Big weapon go brr. Use this on Ruthless Raider or leveled Jax to have a big overwhelm unit that guarantees an Ornn level up. However, don’t be afraid to discard it without Parts Made Whole - it’s not playable in every matchup.
• Combat Tricks (Catch!, Troll Chant, Battle Fury)
  • Efficient combat tricks - go out and win combat. With Battle Fury, you do the normal thing: show lethal on the attack and then battle fury an overwhelm unit/unblocked unit for lethal when your opponent taps out of a response. Battle Fury can force games to suddenly end very well.
• Interaction (Entrancing Lure, Fish Fight)
  • Fish Fight is 2 mana slow kill anything in this deck, which is obviously very strong. It is also the only way to get weapons off your units without them dying, which is useful if you want to swap a big overwhelm weapon onto somebody else.
  • Lure is obviously best on a quick attack unit, but can be used to pull any backline unit to its death. If you have, try to develop on your attacking turns to bait your opponent into playing important cards/tapping under a response.
• Parts Made Whole
  • You don’t always have to discard a weapon - discarding a Time and Dedication from Artisan is also fine, along with any other cards that might not be useful. Discarding Jax’s weapon when you have another Jax in hand is also a common play, since he always brings the weapon back on summon.
• Bellows Breath
  • Aka Ornnvalanche. Use this to beat aggro when they overextend or to clear out chump blockers for a strong attack. Remember that it pings twice rather than deals 2, so it doesn’t deal any damage to tough units.

Mulligan

You NEED to find a weapon in this deck. If you don’t draw one of your 9 weaponmasters or bone club by turn 4, you will be extremely sad. Therefore, I would strongly recommend looking for a weapon in mulligan. If you have a weapon, I would then look for early forge cards. Jax+Weaponsmith’s Apprentice is your classic power curve and I would almost always keep those two cards together. I rarely keep combat tricks unless I have Jax and I want to keep him alive. Into some slower matchups where you know you need a strong wincon, it can be okay to keep Ornn (but only if you already have a weapon!).

Improvising

When you play a weaponmaster, you will be presented with a choice of two different random weapons from a pool of eight. One of the hardest things about this deck is picking the correct weapon for the correct circumstances, so I will go through all the different weapons here to help you out as much as possible.

• Fishawack (+2/+0, overwhelm)
  • Good when: you have Ornn in hand, you have a lot of forge in hand
  • Bad when: you already have leveled Jax, oppenent is a spell-based deck rather than unit-based
• Pot o’ Pain (+1/+2, impact)
  • Good when: you need a good blockeunit to trade up with
  • Bad when: you need a more aggressive keyword
• Pan o’ Pain (+2/+0, tough)
  • Good when: this is the best weapon imo. It beats any ping or removal based deck and scales insanely hard with forge.
  • Bad when: another specific option is more compelling under the circumstances
• Shepherd’s Authority (+3/+2, can’t block)
  • Good when: you really need to pressure your opponent who plays few units (Karma, Ryze)
  • Bad when: almost every other instance. I rarely take this weapon because forge renders the stat buff pointless very quickly.
• Combat Reel (+2/+1, refill one spell mana on attack)
  • Good when: you have a lot of combat tricks in hand, you plan to discard the weapon anyway, you don’t really care about keywords
  • Bad when: A more relevant choice is presented to you
• The Fix-Em 5000 (+2/+0, quick attack)
  • Good when: you want to be aggressive, you have entrancing lure in hand
  • Bad when: playing into a removal deck/need a good blocker
• Upcycled Rake (+1/+0, scout)
  • Good when: you have Ornn in hand, you’re okay with throwing away a unit
  • Bad when: you need a blockekeyword
• Sandworn Amulet (+2/+1, Fearsome)
  • Good when: you’re playing into Bandle City or Aggro decks
  • Bad when: You are playing into other midrange or big decks

Matchups

The eternal meta is pretty open, but I will put some of my thoughts and mulligans for the common matchups that I have seen.
As for the specific mulligans, assume that what I say is in addition to the generic mulligan I specified above.

• Timelines (BC) - Very Favored
  • Mull: normal.
  • We were already very favored into this deck before the nerf and will continue to be. Even if they hit early timelines, our units will generally be bigger and higher quality. They have no way to destroy equipments and no way to stop Ornn from killing them.
• Timelines (Jax/Vi) - Very Favored
  • Mull: normal.
  • This is our deck but worse. Not much else to say. Don’t get in burn range and you can’t lose.
• Annie Jhin - Favored
  • Mull: Early units, Innovative Blacksmith, Bellows Breath
  • This used to be a very bad mu but we have so much healing now and a 5 mana boardwipe. If you draw Innovative Blacksmith or Bellows Breath, they basically can’t close the game unless they really pop off with stuns.
  • If you’re going for lethal, try to open attack to play around stuns.
• Poppy Ziggs - Favored
  • Mull: Early units, Innovative Blacksmith, Bellows Breath
  • This is basically the same as Annie Jhin, except they play for units rather than stuns and burn. Just look for healing and board wipes.
• Ezreal Seraphine BC - Favored
  • Mull: Orrn + Weapon
  • Don’t let your weapon be hexbliterated if possible, so always try to keep combat tricks to stay above 6 hp.
  • They can’t deal with Ornn at all.
  • Don’t forget they can kill weapons at fast speed with Puzzling Signposts, so don’t commit too hard to a single weapon if possible.
• Nasus Thresh/Nasus Akshan - Favored
  • Mull: normal, but you can keep Bellows Breath if you have a functional hand.
  • You can easily wipe their board on 4 with Bellows Breath, but make sure it happens before Thresh comes down and gets value.
  • After Thresh comes down, slow down the game and stop him from leveling as much as possible. You can chill until Ornn comes down, they rarely run Vengeance and therefore can’t get rid of him.
  • If Nasus isn’t a 10/10 on turn 6 exactly, your units will generally be bigger and better.
  • Akshan Nasus is significantly weaker than Nasus/Thresh, but note that they are more likely to run things like Vengeance.
• Karma Sett (SI) - Favored
  • Mull: Aggression - Jax in particular.
  • This deck is too slow to win. The stuns and recalls are a bit annoying, but they fold under a swarm of high statted units. Sett rarely gets value in this deck.
• Plaza Guardian Spam (Ez/Samira/Seraphine) - Favored
  • Mull: Normal
  • You basically pop off around the same turn. It really depends on how many plaza guardians they can vomit out on turn 6 or 7. They struggle a bit to kill your bit units since they generally only run 2 copies of disinintigrate.
  • Try to open attack where possible to play around stuns.
• ViktoAphelios - Favored to even
  • Mull: Normal
  • This is very reliant on their draw and some RNG. Viktor can take over the game if he gets lucky, but also can do nothing. He’s easily killed with your interaction, though.
  • Obliterates are very bad for you. Generally speaking, they only run starshaping and don’t maindeck them, but you should still be careful about going too all in on an equipment.
  • If you can get a wide and big board, enough for a strong open attack, Targon/PNZ can’t deal with it.
• Timelines (Frejlord) - Even to mildly unfavored
  • Mull: Normal
  • This would be a completely free matchup, except that you instantly lose to buried in ice. You have to play very carefully around it starting on turn 6 and 7 because it not only kills your board, but also your weapons. Of course, if they don’t draw the card, you win for the same reason that you beat other timelines decks.
• Sett Trundle - Unfavored
  • Mull: Aggression
  • This has all the negatives of Frejlord Timelines, but also has ionia stun and recall tools that make you sad. The best way to win is try to rush them down as fast as possible to force them to overextend their mana and lose.
  • They rarely run avalanche, so I wouldn’t play around it.
• Ryze - Extremely unfavored
  • Mull: as much early aggression as possible
  • If the Ryze player is even slightly good, he will stun and recall all your big units until they assemble the 5 exodia pieces. Thankfully, a lot of ladder Ryzes are terrible, but still.
  • Their recall even destroys equipments - can it get any worse?

Let me know if there’s any other matchup you would like to know about in the comments.

Conclusion

And that’s the guide! Let me know in the comments about any questions or concerns you might have, and I’ll be happy to answer them as they come it.

“Pete knows what he saw, Martha!”

“Bunch ‘a frightened children ain’t exactly the--”

A door slammed shut.

Clark Kent, only a young boy, squeezed his eyes shut until it hurt and pressed his hands against his ears until his temples throbbed.

One step after the other. Heavy. Crunching grass.

“You think I’m an idiot, Martha?!”

“Now, I never said that.”

The pained look on Clark’s face softened -- softened, so it could be remolded into a whimper while the rest of his body stiffened.

“He ain’t done nothing wrong, all I’m saying is--”

“All you’re saying is that you’d rather not talk about it!”

“There’s nothing to talk about!”

Then why wouldn’t they stop talking! All of these voices, the thousand-million voices screaming at him, and all Clark could hear were the two arguing over him! Him!

A long, creaking groan. Wood shuddering.

“CLARK!”

The word, his name, knocked the other two sources of dismay from his head, an instant of soothing comfort before the pain took hold again and even more intensely, now as if he were pressing his head against a bass booster. “Pa!” Clark cried out, only to regret it as quickly as he had acted on the impulse.

“CLARK!”

His father called for him again and, judging from what should have been the imperceptible way the wind whistled, began dashing around in search of him; it took nothing less than an eternity for Pa to finally find him and one thunderous thwump after the other to finally lay eyes on him.
Pa pulled down the last barrel of hay -- Clark had stacked some around himself in an attempt to muffle the noise -- before breathing a sigh of relief; little did he know, it was a veritable wind storm to his son. “Remember…” he made sure to whisper, his small crisis finally abetting, if only a little. “This is all you. You’re inside your own head and that’s making it so much worse. You are the one in control.”
Clark’s only response was a strangled noise and to curl up further into himself.
To that, Pa felt his own throat tighten. “So open your eyes, son, get on back to the rest of the world… I’m right here.” He extended his hand, gently nudging Clark.
Again, no response and, again, Pa’s throat tightened, twisting and winding until the strain became too much to bear, and finally snapped loose under the pressure.

“DAMNIT, CLARK!”

He burst out, the sudden snap of tension giving each word a trembling quality as it all came pouring out. And then Clark flinched, like all boys do when they’re scared or hurt or both, and the dam was suddenly closed again, sealed with a silent promise.
“Son, I--” Pa stammered, his voice the sort of wreck so mired with cracks and creaks that it was a miracle it held together at all. “I didn’t--”
It was then that Clark finally stirred, hands at last unwrapping themselves from around his head, which peaked up ever so slightly to look out beyond his hay-fort at his father. “I’m sorry,” he said, voice so small that Pa struggled to hear it.
His body screamed a thousand different things to say, but he knew that just was the last thing Clark needed right now. So, fighting back to the calm, measured tone he had managed just a scant few moments ago, Pa said, “You best not be sorry, you ain’t done nothing wrong,” and pulled his son out from his refuge.
“Seriously?” Clark seemed dumbfounded by the statement, so much so that he even resisted the tug, if only for a passing second. “You seen what’s happening back there?” He jabbed a finger towards the house. “It’s all me. Literally. They’re arguing about me. ‘Cuz I-I’m some sort of freak or something!”
Pa was quick to correct him. “You ain’t no different from any other boy I ever met.”
He was met with a piercing glare from his son.
“You know what I mean, aside from your gifts--”
“How the hell’re these supposed to be gifts!” Clark threw up his hands in his best attempt at exasperation, but even an ear without super hearing could hear how his throat stiffened with each word.
Pa smiled, shrugging. “Able to race the car, leap the barn in a single bound…”
“But I don’t want to do any of that!” he said, voice finally breaking. “And w-when it comes with stuff like… this…! I just wanna be Clark Kent: Pete and Lana’s friend. Your and Ma’s son. Not some freak!”
“Clark--!” A cross of anger and dread flared in Pa’s voice, and he caught himself from pulling Clark into a hug. Swallowing hard, he instead summoned the warmest smile he could, ruffling the boy’s hair.

“You are my son, but you are so much more than that too.”

🔻 🔺 🔻 🔺 🔻
DC Next Proudly Presents…!

SUPERMAN: HOUSE OF EL

The Return of Superman - Part 3, Moving at Super Speed
By JPM11S
Edited by ClaraEclair & Deadislandman1
< Next>>
🔻 🔺 🔻 🔺 🔻
To say silence hung thick in the air would have been an understatement, because even silence was something more than being frozen in a single, inescapable instant: Kal-El staring down the man clutching his throbbing hand, the man’s friend looking on flush-faced, and the rest of the establishment bracing for whatever happened next. It was a rare thing that Jon Kent found himself slipping into Bullet Time on accident -- a state of heightened awareness where the world seemed to grow still around him -- and an even rarer thing that it should happen when a bright red cape wasn’t slung around his shoulders; simply put, as an instinctual reaction to being threatened, there needed to be, well, something that could threaten him, and there weren’t very many things that seriously could: Kryptonite, which Jon was confident wasn’t in play, and being yelled at, which he couldn’t have even known.
It was then that it dawned on him, so obvious that the muscles and tendons along Jon’s arm tensed in anticipation of slapping himself upside the head before he stopped himself -- a small thunderclap born from his own embarrassment was likely to only make the feeling worse. ‘Just an adrenaline rush…’ Jon explained to no one but himself. ‘Because… you know… watching dad do… that.’ The recently appeared doppelganger of his father had broken a man’s finger to “teach him a lesson” -- something his father most certainly would not have done; what he would have done, and what Jon was currently doing, was take a deep, relaxing breath, easing the stress away so that he could “hit play” on the rest of the world.
It came as something of a mild surprise when… nothing happened; Jon panicked, doing a double take as the terrible thought sprung into his mind: What if this was something else, some time-weapon unleashed just then on the city? Or what if he had failed to slow himself down? Would he be forced to wander the world a waking ghost? Jon shook his head, knocking such silly notions from his mind -- and also getting the attention of Natasha Irons.
“Something up?” she asked, broken from her spellbound trance.
Jon blinked. “Nope. Nothing.” The Ace ‘o Clubs could be a little rough around the edges, so what didn’t even qualify as a minor scuffle at the bar hardly registered with many of the patrons, who merely kept about their business as if nothing had happened -- because, to them, nothing had. Jon shook his head again, chidding himself for thinking that a cursory glance in that general direction had been any real indication of interest; his own bias, he supposed.
Kal-El returned to the table, his sheer weight and size making it known despite the fact that Jon’s attention had been elsewhere. No one said anything, and it took the visitor from another world a few passing seconds to realize that fact -- like they were all waiting for him to do something.
Kal looked up, a look of restrained puzzlement on his face.
Lois’s lips went thin. “What was that?”
“What was… what?” Kal-El’s eyes darted across everyone’s face, searching for an answer.
Irons nudged him gently.
“Wait, really?” he almost recoiled, tilting his chin up and cocking his head, confusion finally overtaking him. “I--”
“Was wrong.” Lois finished the sentence for him. “The hell were you thinking?!”
Jon and Natasha exchanged looks.
Kal-El shrugged it off. Literally. “The way I see it, a broken finger or two isn’t going to impede him in any real way, while also being something he’s not going to just forget.”
“So that makes it alright?!” insisted Lois, leaning forward.
“...yes?” he answered. “Though I feel like that’s… not the answer you wanted.”
“That’s not how we do things here.”
At that moment, with just how each word was frozen in a block of ice, Jon could have swore his mom had spontaneously developed Frost Breath; ironically, that was what inspired him to finally intervene. “You know, mom,” he explained, “In class, the professors always talked about how different all these cultures were from each other: food, clothing, language, medicine, you get the idea… Their sense of justice, how they handled punishments and such… that was one of the big ones too. Judeo-Christian morality versus something like Hammurabi's ‘an eye for an eye.’” He paused, making sure his mom was actually listening. “So, you know, on Kal’s Earth, maybe that was perfectly acceptable. Heck, there’re a lot of people here who would agree with him.”
Lois stopped to consider her answer, though it seemed more an imitation of the action than a genuine attempt. “He’s here now, and that wouldn’t make it right if he wasn’t.”
“Listen, I’m really sorry if--” Kal-El raised his hands in apology.
“No, no,” Jon waved him off, gaze never breaking from his mom. “You can’t just force your values onto another culture.”
“Like he forced that guy’s finger back?” she countered, rising to the bait. “Seems like that’s exactly what you’re talking about.”
“If I was talking about him right now, sure, but I’m talking about you,” insisted Jon. “You’re just doing the same thing you’re complaining about him doing.”
Lois lowered her chin, motioning towards herself. “So, wait, I’m the one who’s done something wrong here?”
“The both of you, yes.”
“So you’re saying it was perfectly alright?”
“I just said it wasn’t.”
“Oh, so you’re not judging him based on your own values?”
Jon shook his head, grinning. “You’re trying to distract from the point!”
“No, I just think the entire argument is flawed, since by criticizing someone like that, you’re inherently impressing your own values on them,” she explained. “You know, the thing you’re taking issue with.”
“But you’re from the same culture as I am: he isn’t.”
“He isn’t sitting right here, yes…” Kal-El groaned.
Lois and Jon kept going like he wasn’t.
“He’s impressing his own cultural values on someone from another.”
“Right, and I agree, but I’m taking issue with you right now, because--”
“Because it’s time for this conversation to end,” Irons finally interjected, much to the audible relief of Kal and Natasha, whose shoulders visibly relaxed. “Seriously, I think I speak for all of us when I say I can hardly follow what you two are going on about.”
“We’re saying--” Jon and Lois began in unison, only to be cut off with a raised hand.
“We’ll manage without it,” he chuckled.
There was a brief lull in the conversation, a time where the most activity was Jon’s eyes scampering about the place and the beat of Kal-El’s fingers against the table. Eventually, Jon’s gaze locked onto something or, more accurately, the lack of something.
With his mouth hung open just slightly, Jon asked, “Hey, did anyone notice Mr. Bibbowski?”
“Yeah,” Natasha spoke up, glancing around the table. “Didn’t you guys’s see?”
She took the blank stares as a no.
“Didn’t you guys catch the sign-note-thing?”
More blank stares.
“Okay, seriously, two of you have literal super senses and the other two are, like, super geniuses.” Nat waved her hands around. “You know what, doesn’t matter. I’m getting off topic. Bibbo’s in the hospital. The sign was about raising money.”
“What?” Lois pressed, immediately leaning forward. “What’s wrong?”
His gaze a million miles away -- or, more accurately, only a few -- Jon answered first. “Lung cancer. He’s in Metropolis General. Room 414.”
Irons chewed his lip, then looked up directly into Jon’s eyes. “First thing tomorrow, you pay him a visit, ‘kay?”
“But I was just going to now…?” Jon cocked his head. “What don’t I know about?”
🔻 🔺 🔻 🔺 🔻
In retrospect, the thought that Kal-El would need somewhere to stay really should have occurred to him sooner than it had -- well, that might have been putting it a little too generously: had occurred to him at all. To be fair, though, it wasn’t every day that you met your deceased father from another world, though, also to be fair, he dealt with weirder things on a regular basis.
The Fortress of Solitude, Superman’s icy abode at the top of the world and one of the scant few remaining pieces of Krypton, seemed the most logical place to house Kal while they worked on returning him -- and everyone else -- back to the proper Earth, and it seemed that Jon wasn’t the only one who thought so. Following their malaise-laiden departure from the Ace ‘o Clubs, it was the immediate destination of the not-so-merry band, traveling up across the globe to it’s frosty doorstep, where they needed Jon to heft the Fortress’s giant, golden key above his head and unlock an equally gargantuan front door. The key was made of Supermanium, a metal forged by Clark from the heart of a dying star, and weighed an incalculable millions of tons, the only security measure needed despite it sitting out in the open.
Jon slotted the end of the key bearing the Crest of El into the groove, turning it to trigger the rumblings of icy shards as they peeled back to reveal a wall of blinding, cleansing white light. The group took a step forward, entering into another world -- almost literally: born of materials not of Earth and minds born far from it, the Fortress resembled something best described as an alien, crystalline landscape. The ground was a maze of large, roughly hexagonal spires with smoothly shorn tops, each of which peaked at a slightly different elevation and tapered off in the distance to create a sheer drop; at the edge of that cliff sat a circular array of crystals gently pulsing with light and humming just barely above perception. Placed around what was assumedly the central chamber of the Fortress, judging from the hewn hallway entrances at the perimeter, were trophies and mementos from Clark’s decades-spanning career as Superman, items ranging from the mundane, like Lex Luthor’s shrinking ray, to the absurd, such as psychic sand from the dimension of Quarm, to the profound, like the precious Bottled City of Kandor, a shrunken Kryptonian city rescued from the clutches of the vile Brainiac many years ago.
Kal-El loosed a low whistle. “Wow,” he said, eyes flitting about the place, jumping from the looming pillars that came together to form an arched ceiling, to the large, gaping voids dotted around where the spires didn’t conjoin. “It’s so… clean.”
“Come again?” Jon quirked a brow.
With a flutter of his cape and a look that Jon almost mistook for melancholy, Kal-El raised several inches above the ground and began drifting between the various exhibits on display. “Clean. See, I… I live in my… Fortress of Solitude, so--”
Jon finished for him. “Like a dirty room.”
“Exactly,” Kal looked up from the display and flashed him a subtle smile. “Like a dirty room.”
Lois, unable to fly and wearing shoes ill-begotten for her husband’s arctic-O.S.H.A.-violation, carefully stepped across one hexagonal tile to the next until she finally approached the black-suited Superman. “Little lonely living at the top of the world, no?”
“It is called the Fortress of Solitude.” There was a slight edge to his voice, though Lois could tell it wasn’t one pointed towards her. “Maybe, I wanted to be alone.”
Lois cocked her hip, rested her hand on it, and considered for a long moment pressing deeper, giving in to the gut screaming at her that this was the thing to pick at. Her heart, though… her heart counseled now was not the time, and she had long since learned the wisdom of always following her heart. “If you’re looking for solitude, we might have brought you to the wrong place,” she suggested instead.
In the same manner Jon had not a moment ago, Kal quirked a brow. “What do you mean?”
“A thousand apologies.” From across the room, a voice not unlike his carried, though distorted to an almost unnatural bass and strained with what was best described as someone fighting hard against a thick accent. “If I had been expecting guests, I would have prepared something for you all to enjoy.”
The comparisons to Clark and Kal-El didn’t end with just the man’s voice; while his face and form were the same general shape, his skin was ashen and craggy, like a smooth stone. With every step forward he took, the mass of rippling, coiled muscle underneath his purple-blue Superman t-shirt strained against their confines. “Ah, I see we have another visitor, unless my brother decided death didn’t suit him.” He inclined his head, placing a large hand over his even larger chest. “For now, you can call me Bizarro.”
Natasha, a gleaming smile on her face, chimed in. “We’ve been working on choosing a name!” she said, bounding towards the behemoth and wrapping herself around one of his hulking arms.
Bizarro returned the affection as best he could. “It was Nat’s idea. We were watching Space Trek: Pathfinder one night and--”
“And I was there too,” Jon interjected.
“And Jon was there too,” he chuckled. “But one of the characters was searching for a name and, considering the circumstances, it seemed appropriate that I do the same.”
Floating over towards Bizarro, Kal-El dragged his sight up and down the man, the doppelganger of his enemy from another world, eyeing him with a mix of reservation and curiosity. Eventually, Kal paused on the Crest of El worn on his chest. “You’re not like mine.”
Bizarro nodded. “In one key respect, yes. I’m not as--”
“Dumb.”
“Slow,” he finished, correcting him with a side-eyed glance. “While Jon was working a case with the Flash, Mister Allen devised a way to ‘speed up’ my thought processes.” (Author’s Note: See The Flash #19!) Bizarro paused for several more long moments, looking at Kal like he had to him not a second ago before shaking his head, seemingly perishing the thought. “You’ve met me,” he said, smiling. “Have you had the chance to meet our other housemate?”
Kal cocked his head. “Other housemate?” He threw his eyes behind Bizarro, expecting someone else to enter the chamber, but no one came. “Another reformed villain?”
“Your cousin,” Jon interjected, taking a step forward. “Kara. She got here only a few months ago.”
The spark of joy on Kal’s face lived up to its description: appearing in a bright instant, only to vanish as soon as it came, replaced now by a deeply furrowed brow, emphasizing the lines on the man’s face. “How’s she taking the adjustment? Losing one world, then another, I can’t--” Kal cut himself off when he saw Jon’s eyes widen slightly and his mouth open in response: he didn’t need to wait for the correction he was about to receive. “She’s not from another Earth like me… Where is she? I’d like to meet her.”
Lois shrugged. “She’s busy in National City right now, if I remember correctly, but--”
Irons stepped behind Lois, his hulking form framing her. “But we’d like to wait a minute and figure out how to break the news to her first.”
“No,” Kal said, every muscle in his powerful body visibly tensing, rearing. “She needs my help! You don’t understand what it’s like! You’re not like her! None of you, not really. Only I can understand.”
With a withering look, Irons replied. “You’ve never even met her, how can you know better than her own family?”
“I am her family,” asserted Kal, beginning his ascent into the air. “I helped my Kara through this once already, I can do it again.”
“And you’re the problem! You know how much she’s going through right now?!” Irons shouted up at him. “You died! The person she was sent here to protect! Dead! And now here you are in the flesh and blood! She’s got a lot to process already without that!”
There was a lengthy bout of silence between Kal and everyone else, only coming to an end when the otherworldly Man of Steel asked, “And who’s going to stop me if I try anyway?”
Jon swallowed.
🔻 🔺 🔻 🔺 🔻
To be continued in Superman: House of El #4, Don’t Call her Supergirl!

I have a Ender 3 v 1 that i have had about a year and a half. I have printed hundreds of prints on ti but last fall prints started failing like crazy on it. I mostly print petg but also print pla sometimes. I quickly got into modding this machine since i got it as a christmass present in 2001. I have done the following upgrades on the machine.
4.2.7 silent board
glass bed then a pei bed recently
sprite pro extruder
sprite HF hot end with copper heat break
Sprite HF nozzle nickel plated copper hot end
dual z axes upgrade (creality's version)
i first upgraded the bed springs and now have a solid mount for the bed using locking washeres and two sets of leveling wheels using this post https://www.reddit.com/ender3/comments/r20r7c/ender_3_v2_solid_bed_and_what_it_took_to_get_me/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
This works great BTW
​
I had installed klipper on a raspberry pi 4 and am not running it on a sonicpad.
​
I also added a cr touch at some point
​
Anyway i am getting horrible first layers for months now and a few months back i picked up a ender 3 s1 regular for a very cheap price and have been using it instead with my sonic pad. I am now attempting to get the original ender 3 winch is almost a s1 now by way of upgrades working so i can have two printers to bang out a bunch of projects i currently have. My bed mesh with a new pei sheet i bough with a bed magnet to adhere it is horrible. I am probing it and getting a variance at printing temps of almost 1 mm. My logic is telling me my bed is very warped especially when doing a 9 x 9 prob and one square is a variance of over .5 mm from the next one or previous one. Can anyone recommend a better bed for an ender 3 and one that maybe has a better heater. I would like to keep this printer in operation since i have spent so much in upgrade and it also was my first printer.
​
I also and looking to do a lack enclosure on this machine along with my s1 and then print out a voron 0.2 ad eventually get a k1 max or a bamabu labs x1 carbon with ams. but i still want this printer available for production. I just don't want to give up on it.
Thanks in advance for any advice.

The report named, Machine Vision Market Analysis, Size and Forecast 2023-2028" has been added to Fortune Business Insights' database of market research reports. The market has been thoroughly and accurately analysed in light of a variety of criteria, including growth factors, difficulties, limitations, developments, trends, and growth prospects. This research will undoubtedly be a useful tool for market players to create strategies that work in order to strengthen their market positions. This research provides in-depth analysis of the market's shifting dynamics and new trends.
The Machine Vision Market size will grow from USD 8.39 billion in 2021 to USD 14.18 billion in 2028 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.8%.
Get A FREE Sample Research PDF Here: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/enquiry/sample/machine-vision-market-105188
Additionally, it provides a futuristic perspective on various factors that are likely to boost Machine Vision Market growth in the years to come. Besides, authors of the report have shed light on the factors that may hamper the growth of the Market.
The report offers valuable insight into the Market progress and approaches related to the Market with an analysis of each region. The report goes on to talk about the dominant aspects of the market and examine each segment.
TOP KEY PLAYERS:
· Cognex Corporation (U.S.)
· Basler AG (Germany)
· Omron Corporation (Japan)
· Keyence (Japan)
· National Instruments (U.S.)
· Sony Corporation (Japan)
· Teledyne Technologies (U.S.)
· Texas Instruments (U.S.)
· Intel Corporation (U.S.)
· ISRA Vision (Germany)
· Sick AG (Germany)
· FLIR Systems (U.S.)
· Optotune AG (Switzerland)
· USS Vision (U.S.)
· ViDi Systems SA (Switzerland)
· Bosch Rexroth (U.S.)
· Euclid Labs (Italy)
· Allied Vision (Germany)
The Machine Vision Market segmented by company, region (country), by Type, and by Application. Players, stakeholders, and other participants in the global Market will be able to gain the upper hand as they use the report as a powerful resource. The segmental analysis focuses on revenue and forecast by region (country), by Type, and by Application for the period 2023-2028.
Read More On The Machine Vision Market Report Here: https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/machine-vision-market-105188
Major Table Of Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Executive Summary 3. Market Dynamics 4. Competition Landscape 5. Machine Vision Market Segmentation 6. Machine Vision Market Regional and Country Analysis
About Us:
Fortune Business Insights™ offers expert corporate analysis and accurate data, helping organizations of all sizes make timely decisions. We tailor innovative solutions for our clients, assisting them to address challenges distinct to their businesses. Our goal is to empower our clients with holistic market intelligence, giving a granular overview of the market they are operating in.
Contact Us:
Fortune Business Insights™ Pvt. Ltd.
US :+1 424 253 0390
UK : +44 2071 939123
APAC : +91 744 740 1245
Email: [email protected]

My partner and I will be heading off to bicycle the Dalton Highway soon and we'll need to carry approximately 10 days worth of food. It's 500 miles with 33,000ft of elevation gain. I'm 6', 185 pounds, and my partner is 5'9, 140 pounds. Based on online calorie calculators set to "Very Active", I'll need 3400 calories a day and my partner will need 2600.
Based on previous experience, I'm pretty sure those are low estimates for 50 miles and 3,300ft of elevation gain per day with 100lb bicycles.
We will have the opportunity to stop at one restaurant in Coldfoot, AK and pig out, but otherwise there are no resupply opportunities whatsoever.
We're struggling to balance the calories needed against storage volume and total weight. We are limited to shopping at Walmart, as we're flying in from overseas and picking up all our food in Anchorage before heading to Deadhorse.
Here is a breakdown of our planned calories per person so far
Dinners, 840 calories total:

• 440 pasta side or ramen
• 120 dried meat sticks
• 200 dried butter
• 70 dried vegetables

Breakfast, 530 calories total:

• 140 tortilla
• 360 peanut butter,
• 90 Nido powdered milk (in coffee).

Snacks/lunch 1870 calories total:

• 420 bars
• 1120 mixed nuts
• 260 peanut m&ms
• 80 raisins

Total calories for everything: 30,685 per person for 10 days, so 3,068 per person per day. As there is an 800 calorie requirement difference between the two of us, I'll just eat more nuts per day because that's the easiest place to make up the gap and my partner doesn't really like nuts.
Are we going to be starving the whole time running this big of a deficit? I'm assuming we will both be burning closer to 4,000+ calories a day. Any suggestions on replacements? I haven't done the math on the protein/carbs/fats breakdown, but I figure with a lot of our calories coming from nuts we'll be pretty solid on that front.

Hello everybody, Scathus here with a new deck guide. Some background if you’re not familiar with me: I am high elo player and deckbuilder. Some of the previous decks that I have innovated or taken a serious part in innovating include: Sentinel Control, Feel the Minah, Ekko Zilean, Teemo TF Monke, Tristana BW Prize Fight, among others.
Today, I’m bringing you a deck guide for Jax Ornn in eternal. While I was not the deck creator, as the deck has seen play since its buffs a few months ago, I was the first to make an actually functional list this patch. Both I and my teammate infinipatrons have crested over 1000 lp each with the deck, and I think it’s one of the best decks in the game to climb and also to take to the Runeterra Open.
Deck Code: ((CUDACAYBAIAQMAQ4AEDAYCABA4AQSAQGAADBCBAGAECAQCYMAQAQEAIGAEDAMGYBAYABQAIGAELAEAIBAECQCBQBDA))
Runeterra.ar link

The Deck at a Glance

Ornn Jax is a classic big midrange deck that looks to forge a weapon and overwhelm the opponent with efficient stats and keywords. You will usually look to build up a few powerful weapons over the course of the first 4 turns, before putting the pressure on the opponent and looking to end the game with a giant leveled Jax or Ornn. We also have a variety of efficient Frejlord Combat Tricks, which we use to swing the board in our favor.
Remember: the power of the deck lies in the weapons more so than the units. If your opponent spends a ton of resources to kill a 7/6 Jax - guess what? You now have 1 mana 3/3 quick attack overwhelm weapon to put on whatever you want. This makes your deck much more resistant to traditional removal than other big midrange decks.

Card Analysis

• Jax
  • Generally the best card to be in your opening hand. While he’s essentially just a 2 mana 3/2 with quick attack, he has an extremely cheap weapon that is perfect for forging. Try to keep Jax alive at least until he levels so that his weapon gets overwhelm - it makes it much better to transfer to Ornn or a different unit. Jax’s champion spell is extremely strong and you can use it to completely blow out trades, especially if you are playing into a deck that struggles to pop barrier. If you keep Jax alive until the late game, he will become an enormous overwhelm unit that will threaten to end the game by himself.
• Ornn
  • The primary wincon against a lot of decks. A leveled Ornn will almost always end the game on attack immediately - very few decks can survive it. He is also too large for any deck without hard removal to answer, and even if he is killed, he has already doubled your strongest weapon with his play effect, giving you value. Generally speaking, you want to get overwhelm on Ornn - either the fishawack improvise weapon or leveled Jax’s weapon - but any large weapon will do.
  • Don’t forget that you can play Ornn without copying a weapon to take a big weapon from hand - useful if you have the bone club in hand but haven’t yet played it.
  • Try to level Ornn before attacking with him. This is usually done by playing bone club on a 3 attack unit, getting a huge forged weapon, or fish fighting with Ornn after you play him. This is not always possible, of course.
• Weaponmasters (Combat Cook and Innovative Blacksmith)
  • Your other sources of weapons besides Jax. Both are powerful - Blacksmith gives you constant healing while Cook forges his weapon for free. I will discuss improvisation below in its own section to help you figure out what’s best for which circumstance.
• Forge Cards (Weaponsmith’s Apprentice, Favored Artisan, Hearthblood Mender)
  • These cards make your weapons bigger, obviously. Apprentice and Artisan are two useful early units that give your weapons value and can be used as chump blockers later on. Hearthblood Mender is probably a top 10 follower in the game. He has an absolutely insane play effect and good base stats and is therefore a decent choice to put a weapon on.
• Ruthless Raider
  • An odd card out, but I promise that she’s vital to the deck because this card is the best cheap target for a giant weapon. The tough+overwhelm combo means that any large statted weapon will be extremely powerful on her. She is also a good target for the Bone Club.
• Bone Club
  • Big weapon go brr. Use this on Ruthless Raider or leveled Jax to have a big overwhelm unit that guarantees an Ornn level up. However, don’t be afraid to discard it with Parts Made Whole - it’s not playable in every matchup.
• Combat Tricks (Catch!, Troll Chant, Battle Fury)
  • Efficient combat tricks - go out and win combat. With Battle Fury, you do the normal thing: show lethal on the attack and then battle fury an overwhelm unit/unblocked unit for lethal when your opponent taps out of a response. Battle Fury can force games to suddenly end very well.
• Interaction (Entrancing Lure, Fish Fight)
  • Fish Fight is 2 mana slow kill anything in this deck, which is obviously very strong. It is also the only way to get weapons off your units without them dying, which is useful if you want to swap a big overwhelm weapon onto somebody else.
  • Lure is obviously best on a quick attack unit, but can be used to pull any backline unit to its death. If you have, try to develop on your attacking turns to bait your opponent into playing important cards/tapping under a response.
• Parts Made Whole
  • You don’t always have to discard a weapon - discarding a Time and Dedication from Artisan is also fine, along with any other cards that might not be useful. Discarding Jax’s weapon when you have another Jax in hand is also a common play, since he always brings the weapon back on summon.
• Bellows Breath
  • Aka Ornnvalanche. Use this to beat aggro when they overextend or to clear out chump blockers for a strong attack. Remember that it pings twice rather than deals 2, so it doesn’t deal any damage to tough units.

Mulligan

You NEED to find a weapon in this deck. If you don’t draw one of your 9 weaponmasters or bone club by turn 4, you will be extremely sad. Therefore, I would strongly recommend looking for a weapon in mulligan. If you have a weapon, I would then look for early forge cards. Jax+Weaponsmith’s Apprentice is your classic power curve and I would almost always keep those two cards together. I rarely keep combat tricks unless I have Jax and I want to keep him alive. Into some slower matchups where you know you need a strong wincon, it can be okay to keep Ornn (but only if you already have a weapon!).

Improvising

When you play a weaponmaster, you will be presented with a choice of two different random weapons from a pool of eight. One of the hardest things about this deck is picking the correct weapon for the correct circumstances, so I will go through all the different weapons here to help you out as much as possible.

• Fishawack (+2/+0, overwhelm)
  • Good when: you have Ornn in hand, you have a lot of forge in hand
  • Bad when: you already have leveled Jax, opponent is a spell-based deck rather than unit-based
• Pot o’ Pain (+1/+2, impact)
  • Good when: you need a good blockeunit to trade up with
  • Bad when: you need a more aggressive keyword
• Pan o’ Pain (+2/+0, tough)
  • Good when: this is the best weapon imo. It beats any ping or removal based deck and scales insanely hard with forge.
  • Bad when: another specific option is more compelling under the circumstances
• Shepherd’s Authority (+3/+2, can’t block)
  • Good when: you really need to pressure your opponent who plays few units (Karma, Ryze)
  • Bad when: almost every other instance. I rarely take this weapon because forge renders the stat buff pointless very quickly.
• Combat Reel (+2/+1, refill one spell mana on attack)
  • Good when: you have a lot of combat tricks in hand, you plan to discard the weapon anyway, you don’t really care about keywords
  • Bad when: A more relevant choice is presented to you
• The Fix-Em 5000 (+2/+0, quick attack)
  • Good when: you want to be aggressive, you have entrancing lure in hand
  • Bad when: playing into a removal deck/need a good blocker
• Upcycled Rake (+1/+0, scout)
  • Good when: you have Ornn in hand, you’re okay with throwing away a unit
  • Bad when: you need a blockekeyword
• Sandworn Amulet (+2/+1, Fearsome)
  • Good when: you’re playing into Bandle City or Aggro decks
  • Bad when: You are playing into other midrange or big decks

Matchups

The eternal meta is pretty open, but I will put some of my thoughts and mulligans for the common matchups that I have seen.
As for the specific mulligans, assume that what I say is in addition to the generic mulligan I specified above.

• Timelines (BC) - Very Favored
  • Mull: normal.
  • We were already very favored into this deck before the nerf and will continue to be. Even if they hit early timelines, our units will generally be bigger and higher quality. They have no way to destroy equipments and no way to stop Ornn from killing them.
• Timelines (Jax/Vi) - Very Favored
  • Mull: normal.
  • This is our deck but worse. Not much else to say. Don’t get in burn range and you can’t lose.
• Annie Jhin - Favored
  • Mull: Early units, Innovative Blacksmith, Bellows Breath
  • This used to be a very bad mu but we have so much healing now and a 5 mana boardwipe. If you draw Innovative Blacksmith or Bellows Breath, they basically can’t close the game unless they really pop off with stuns.
  • If you’re going for lethal, try to open attack to play around stuns.
• Poppy Ziggs - Favored
  • Mull: Early units, Innovative Blacksmith, Bellows Breath
  • This is basically the same as Annie Jhin, except they play for units rather than stuns and burn. Just look for healing and board wipes.
• Ezreal Seraphine BC - Favored
  • Mull: Orrn + Weapon
  • Don’t let your weapon be hexbliterated if possible, so always try to keep combat tricks to stay above 6 hp.
  • They can’t deal with Ornn at all.
  • Don’t forget they can kill weapons at fast speed with Puzzling Signposts, so don’t commit too hard to a single weapon if possible.
• Nasus Thresh/Nasus Akshan - Favored
  • Mull: normal, but you can keep Bellows Breath if you have a functional hand.
  • You can easily wipe their board on 4 with Bellows Breath, but make sure it happens before Thresh comes down and gets value.
  • After Thresh comes down, slow down the game and stop him from leveling as much as possible. You can chill until Ornn comes down, they rarely run Vengeance and therefore can’t get rid of him.
  • If Nasus isn’t a 10/10 on turn 6 exactly, your units will generally be bigger and better.
  • Akshan Nasus is significantly weaker than Nasus/Thresh, but note that they are more likely to run things like Vengeance.
• Karma Sett (SI) - Favored
  • Mull: Aggression - Jax in particular.
  • This deck is too slow to win. The stuns and recalls are a bit annoying, but they fold under a swarm of high statted units. Sett rarely gets value in this deck.
• Plaza Guardian Spam (Ez/Samira/Seraphine) - Favored
  • Mull: Normal
  • You basically pop off around the same turn. It really depends on how many plaza guardians they can vomit out on turn 6 or 7. They struggle a bit to kill your big units since they generally only run 2 copies of disinintigrate.
  • Try to open attack where possible to play around stuns.
• ViktoAphelios - Favored to even
  • Mull: Normal
  • This is very reliant on their draw and some RNG. Viktor can take over the game if he gets lucky, but also can do nothing. He’s easily killed with your interaction, though.
  • Obliterates are very bad for you. Generally speaking, they only run starshaping and don’t maindeck them, but you should still be careful about going too all in on an equipment.
  • If you can get a wide and big board, enough for a strong open attack, Targon/PNZ can’t deal with it.
• Timelines (Frejlord) - Even to mildly unfavored
  • Mull: Normal
  • This would be a completely free matchup, except that you instantly lose to buried in ice. You have to play very carefully around it starting on turn 6 and 7 because it not only kills your board, but also your weapons. Of course, if they don’t draw the card, you win for the same reason that you beat other timelines decks.
• Sett Trundle - Unfavored
  • Mull: Aggression
  • This has all the negatives of Frejlord Timelines, but also has ionia stun and recall tools that make you sad. The best way to win is try to rush them down as fast as possible to force them to overextend their mana and lose.
  • They rarely run avalanche, so I wouldn’t play around it.
• Ryze - Extremely unfavored
  • Mull: as much early aggression as possible
  • If the Ryze player is even slightly good, he will stun and recall all your big units until they assemble the 5 exodia pieces. Thankfully, a lot of ladder Ryzes are terrible, but still.
  • Their recall even destroys equipments - can it get any worse?

Let me know if there’s any other matchup you would like to know about in the comments.

Conclusion

And that’s the guide! Let me know in the comments about any questions or concerns you might have, and I’ll be happy to answer them as they come it.

COINTELPRO Techniques for dilution, misdirection and control of a internet forum - Reposting

​
Reposting this, long read but relevant for the coming deluge of 💩
_______________________________________________________________________

1. COINTELPRO Techniques for dilution, misdirection and control of a internet forum
2. Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation
3. Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
4. How to Spot a Spy (Cointelpro Agent)
5. Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression

_______________________________________________________________________
COINTELPRO Techniques for dilution, misdirection and control of a internet forum..
There are several techniques for the control and manipulation of a internet forum no matter what, or who is on it. We will go over each technique and demonstrate that only a minimal number of operatives can be used to eventually and effectively gain a control of a 'uncontrolled forum.'
Technique #1 - 'FORUM SLIDING'
If a very sensitive posting of a critical nature has been posted on a forum - it can be quickly removed from public view by 'forum sliding.' In this technique a number of unrelated posts are quietly prepositioned on the forum and allowed to 'age.' Each of these misdirectional forum postings can then be called upon at will to trigger a 'forum slide.' The second requirement is that several fake accounts exist, which can be called upon, to ensure that this technique is not exposed to the public. To trigger a 'forum slide' and 'flush' the critical post out of public view it is simply a matter of logging into each account both real and fake and then 'replying' to prepositined postings with a simple 1 or 2 line comment. This brings the unrelated postings to the top of the forum list, and the critical posting 'slides' down the front page, and quickly out of public view. Although it is difficult or impossible to censor the posting it is now lost in a sea of unrelated and unuseful postings. By this means it becomes effective to keep the readers of the forum reading unrelated and non-issue items.
Technique #2 - 'CONSENSUS CRACKING'
A second highly effective technique (which you can see in operation all the time at www.abovetopsecret.com) is 'consensus cracking.' To develop a consensus crack, the following technique is used. Under the guise of a fake account a posting is made which looks legitimate and is towards the truth is made - but the critical point is that it has a VERY WEAK PREMISE without substantive proof to back the posting. Once this is done then under alternative fake accounts a very strong position in your favour is slowly introduced over the life of the posting. It is IMPERATIVE that both sides are initially presented, so the uninformed reader cannot determine which side is the truth. As postings and replies are made the stronger 'evidence' or disinformation in your favour is slowly 'seeded in.' Thus the uninformed reader will most like develop the same position as you, and if their position is against you their opposition to your posting will be most likely dropped. However in some cases where the forum members are highly educated and can counter your disinformation with real facts and linked postings, you can then 'abort' the consensus cracking by initiating a 'forum slide.'
Technique #3 - 'TOPIC DILUTION'
Topic dilution is not only effective in forum sliding it is also very useful in keeping the forum readers on unrelated and non-productive issues. This is a critical and useful technique to cause a 'RESOURCE BURN.' By implementing continual and non-related postings that distract and disrupt (trolling ) the forum readers they are more effectively stopped from anything of any real productivity. If the intensity of gradual dilution is intense enough, the readers will effectively stop researching and simply slip into a 'gossip mode.' In this state they can be more easily misdirected away from facts towards uninformed conjecture and opinion. The less informed they are the more effective and easy it becomes to control the entire group in the direction that you would desire the group to go in. It must be stressed that a proper assessment of the psychological capabilities and levels of education is first determined of the group to determine at what level to 'drive in the wedge.' By being too far off topic too quickly it may trigger censorship by a forum moderator.
Technique #4 - 'INFORMATION COLLECTION'
Information collection is also a very effective method to determine the psychological level of the forum members, and to gather intelligence that can be used against them. In this technique in a light and positive environment a 'show you mine so me yours' posting is initiated. From the number of replies and the answers that are provided much statistical information can be gathered. An example is to post your 'favourite weapon' and then encourage other members of the forum to showcase what they have. In this matter it can be determined by reverse proration what percentage of the forum community owns a firearm, and or a illegal weapon. This same method can be used by posing as one of the form members and posting your favourite 'technique of operation.' From the replies various methods that the group utilizes can be studied and effective methods developed to stop them from their activities.
Technique #5 - 'ANGER TROLLING'
Statistically, there is always a percentage of the forum posters who are more inclined to violence. In order to determine who these individuals are, it is a requirement to present a image to the forum to deliberately incite a strong psychological reaction. From this the most violent in the group can be effectively singled out for reverse IP location and possibly local enforcement tracking. To accomplish this only requires posting a link to a video depicting a local police officer massively abusing his power against a very innocent individual. Statistically of the million or so police officers in America there is always one or two being caught abusing there powers and the taping of the activity can be then used for intelligence gathering purposes - without the requirement to 'stage' a fake abuse video. This method is extremely effective, and the more so the more abusive the video can be made to look. Sometimes it is useful to 'lead' the forum by replying to your own posting with your own statement of violent intent, and that you 'do not care what the authorities think!!' inflammation. By doing this and showing no fear it may be more effective in getting the more silent and self-disciplined violent intent members of the forum to slip and post their real intentions. This can be used later in a court of law during prosecution.
Technique #6 - 'GAINING FULL CONTROL'
It is important to also be harvesting and continually maneuvering for a forum moderator position. Once this position is obtained, the forum can then be effectively and quietly controlled by deleting unfavourable postings - and one can eventually steer the forum into complete failure and lack of interest by the general public. This is the 'ultimate victory' as the forum is no longer participated with by the general public and no longer useful in maintaining their freedoms. Depending on the level of control you can obtain, you can deliberately steer a forum into defeat by censoring postings, deleting memberships, flooding, and or accidentally taking the forum offline. By this method the forum can be quickly killed. However it is not always in the interest to kill a forum as it can be converted into a 'honey pot' gathering center to collect and misdirect newcomers and from this point be completely used for your control for your agenda purposes.
CONCLUSION
Remember these techniques are only effective if the forum participants DO NOT KNOW ABOUT THEM. Once they are aware of these techniques the operation can completely fail, and the forum can become uncontrolled. At this point other avenues must be considered such as initiating a false legal precidence to simply have the forum shut down and taken offline. This is not desirable as it then leaves the enforcement agencies unable to track the percentage of those in the population who always resist attempts for control against them. Many other techniques can be utilized and developed by the individual and as you develop further techniques of infiltration and control it is imperative to share then with HQ.
_______________________________________________________________________
Twenty-Five Rules of Disinformation
Note: The first rule and last five (or six, depending on situation) rules are generally not directly within the ability of the traditional disinfo artist to apply. These rules are generally used more directly by those at the leadership, key players, or planning level of the criminal conspiracy or conspiracy to cover up.
1. Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Regardless of what you know, don't discuss it -- especially if you are a public figure, news anchor, etc. If it's not reported, it didn't happen, and you never have to deal with the issues.
2. Become incredulous and indignant. Avoid discussing key issues and instead focus on side issues which can be used show the topic as being critical of some otherwise sacrosanct group or theme. This is also known as the 'How dare you!' gambit.
3. Create rumor mongers. Avoid discussing issues by describing all charges, regardless of venue or evidence, as mere rumors and wild accusations. Other derogatory terms mutually exclusive of truth may work as well. This method which works especially well with a silent press, because the only way the public can learn of the facts are through such 'arguable rumors'. If you can associate the material with the Internet, use this fact to certify it a 'wild rumor' from a 'bunch of kids on the Internet' which can have no basis in fact.
4. Use a straw man. Find or create a seeming element of your opponent's argument which you can easily knock down to make yourself look good and the opponent to look bad. Either make up an issue you may safely imply exists based on your interpretation of the opponent/opponent arguments/situation, or select the weakest aspect of the weakest charges. Amplify their significance and destroy them in a way which appears to debunk all the charges, real and fabricated alike, while actually avoiding discussion of the real issues.
5. Sidetrack opponents with name calling and ridicule. This is also known as the primary 'attack the messenger' ploy, though other methods qualify as variants of that approach. Associate opponents with unpopular titles such as 'kooks', 'right-wing', 'liberal', 'left-wing', 'terrorists', 'conspiracy buffs', 'radicals', 'militia', 'racists', 'religious fanatics', 'sexual deviates', and so forth. This makes others shrink from support out of fear of gaining the same label, and you avoid dealing with issues.
6. Hit and Run. In any public forum, make a brief attack of your opponent or the opponent position and then scamper off before an answer can be fielded, or simply ignore any answer. This works extremely well in Internet and letters-to-the-editor environments where a steady stream of new identities can be called upon without having to explain criticism, reasoning -- simply make an accusation or other attack, never discussing issues, and never answering any subsequent response, for that would dignify the opponent's viewpoint.
7. Question motives. Twist or amplify any fact which could be taken to imply that the opponent operates out of a hidden personal agenda or other bias. This avoids discussing issues and forces the accuser on the defensive.
8. Invoke authority. Claim for yourself or associate yourself with authority and present your argument with enough 'jargon' and 'minutia' to illustrate you are 'one who knows', and simply say it isn't so without discussing issues or demonstrating concretely why or citing sources.
9. Play Dumb. No matter what evidence or logical argument is offered, avoid discussing issues except with denials they have any credibility, make any sense, provide any proof, contain or make a point, have logic, or support a conclusion. Mix well for maximum effect.
10. Associate opponent charges with old news. A derivative of the straw man -- usually, in any large-scale matter of high visibility, someone will make charges early on which can be or were already easily dealt with - a kind of investment for the future should the matter not be so easily contained.) Where it can be foreseen, have your own side raise a straw man issue and have it dealt with early on as part of the initial contingency plans. Subsequent charges, regardless of validity or new ground uncovered, can usually then be associated with the original charge and dismissed as simply being a rehash without need to address current issues -- so much the better where the opponent is or was involved with the original source.
11. Establish and rely upon fall-back positions. Using a minor matter or element of the facts, take the 'high road' and 'confess' with candor that some innocent mistake, in hindsight, was made -- but that opponents have seized on the opportunity to blow it all out of proportion and imply greater criminalities which, 'just isn't so.' Others can reinforce this on your behalf, later, and even publicly 'call for an end to the nonsense' because you have already 'done the right thing.' Done properly, this can garner sympathy and respect for 'coming clean' and 'owning up' to your mistakes without addressing more serious issues.
12. Enigmas have no solution. Drawing upon the overall umbrella of events surrounding the crime and the multitude of players and events, paint the entire affair as too complex to solve. This causes those otherwise following the matter to begin to lose interest more quickly without having to address the actual issues.
13. Alice in Wonderland Logic. Avoid discussion of the issues by reasoning backwards or with an apparent deductive logic which forbears any actual material fact.
14. Demand complete solutions. Avoid the issues by requiring opponents to solve the crime at hand completely, a ploy which works best with issues qualifying for rule 10.
15. Fit the facts to alternate conclusions. This requires creative thinking unless the crime was planned with contingency conclusions in place.
16. Vanish evidence and witnesses. If it does not exist, it is not fact, and you won't have to address the issue.
17. Change the subject. Usually in connection with one of the other ploys listed here, find a way to side-track the discussion with abrasive or controversial comments in hopes of turning attention to a new, more manageable topic. This works especially well with companions who can 'argue' with you over the new topic and polarize the discussion arena in order to avoid discussing more key issues.
18. Emotionalize, Antagonize, and Goad Opponents. If you can't do anything else, chide and taunt your opponents and draw them into emotional responses which will tend to make them look foolish and overly motivated, and generally render their material somewhat less coherent. Not only will you avoid discussing the issues in the first instance, but even if their emotional response addresses the issue, you can further avoid the issues by then focusing on how 'sensitive they are to criticism.'
19. Ignore proof presented, demand impossible proofs. This is perhaps a variant of the 'play dumb' rule. Regardless of what material may be presented by an opponent in public forums, claim the material irrelevant and demand proof that is impossible for the opponent to come by (it may exist, but not be at his disposal, or it may be something which is known to be safely destroyed or withheld, such as a murder weapon.) In order to completely avoid discussing issues, it may be required that you to categorically deny and be critical of media or books as valid sources, deny that witnesses are acceptable, or even deny that statements made by government or other authorities have any meaning or relevance.
20. False evidence. Whenever possible, introduce new facts or clues designed and manufactured to conflict with opponent presentations -- as useful tools to neutralize sensitive issues or impede resolution. This works best when the crime was designed with contingencies for the purpose, and the facts cannot be easily separated from the fabrications.
21. Call a Grand Jury, Special Prosecutor, or other empowered investigative body. Subvert the (process) to your benefit and effectively neutralize all sensitive issues without open discussion. Once convened, the evidence and testimony are required to be secret when properly handled. For instance, if you own the prosecuting attorney, it can insure a Grand Jury hears no useful evidence and that the evidence is sealed and unavailable to subsequent investigators. Once a favorable verdict is achieved, the matter can be considered officially closed. Usually, this technique is applied to find the guilty innocent, but it can also be used to obtain charges when seeking to frame a victim.
22. Manufacture a new truth. Create your own expert(s), group(s), author(s), leader(s) or influence existing ones willing to forge new ground via scientific, investigative, or social research or testimony which concludes favorably. In this way, if you must actually address issues, you can do so authoritatively.
23. Create bigger distractions. If the above does not seem to be working to distract from sensitive issues, or to prevent unwanted media coverage of unstoppable events such as trials, create bigger news stories (or treat them as such) to distract the multitudes.
24. Silence critics. If the above methods do not prevail, consider removing opponents from circulation by some definitive solution so that the need to address issues is removed entirely. This can be by their death, arrest and detention, blackmail or destruction of their character by release of blackmail information, or merely by destroying them financially, emotionally, or severely damaging their health.
25. Vanish. If you are a key holder of secrets or otherwise overly illuminated and you think the heat is getting too hot, to avoid the issues, vacate the kitchen.
_______________________________________________________________________
Eight Traits of the Disinformationalist
1) Avoidance. They never actually discuss issues head-on or provide constructive input, generally avoiding citation of references or credentials. Rather, they merely imply this, that, and the other. Virtually everything about their presentation implies their authority and expert knowledge in the matter without any further justification for credibility.
2) Selectivity. They tend to pick and choose opponents carefully, either applying the hit-and-run approach against mere commentators supportive of opponents, or focusing heavier attacks on key opponents who are known to directly address issues. Should a commentator become argumentative with any success, the focus will shift to include the commentator as well.
3) Coincidental. They tend to surface suddenly and somewhat coincidentally with a new controversial topic with no clear prior record of participation in general discussions in the particular public arena involved. They likewise tend to vanish once the topic is no longer of general concern. They were likely directed or elected to be there for a reason, and vanish with the reason.
4) Teamwork. They tend to operate in self-congratulatory and complementary packs or teams. Of course, this can happen naturally in any public forum, but there will likely be an ongoing pattern of frequent exchanges of this sort where professionals are involved. Sometimes one of the players will infiltrate the opponent camp to become a source for straw man or other tactics designed to dilute opponent presentation strength.
5) Anti-conspiratorial. They almost always have disdain for 'conspiracy theorists' and, usually, for those who in any way believe JFK was not killed by LHO. Ask yourself why, if they hold such disdain for conspiracy theorists, do they focus on defending a single topic discussed in a NG focusing on conspiracies? One might think they would either be trying to make fools of everyone on every topic, or simply ignore the group they hold in such disdain.Or, one might more rightly conclude they have an ulterior motive for their actions in going out of their way to focus as they do.
6) Artificial Emotions. An odd kind of 'artificial' emotionalism and an unusually thick skin -- an ability to persevere and persist even in the face of overwhelming criticism and unacceptance. This likely stems from intelligence community training that, no matter how condemning the evidence, deny everything, and never become emotionally involved or reactive. The net result for a disinfo artist is that emotions can seem artificial.
Most people, if responding in anger, for instance, will express their animosity throughout their rebuttal. But disinfo types usually have trouble maintaining the 'image' and are hot and cold with respect to pretended emotions and their usually more calm or unemotional communications style. It's just a job, and they often seem unable to 'act their role in character' as well in a communications medium as they might be able in a real face-to-face conversation/confrontation. You might have outright rage and indignation one moment, ho-hum the next, and more anger later -- an emotional yo-yo.
With respect to being thick-skinned, no amount of criticism will deter them from doing their job, and they will generally continue their old disinfo patterns without any adjustments to criticisms of how obvious it is that they play that game -- where a more rational individual who truly cares what others think might seek to improve their communications style, substance, and so forth, or simply give up.
7) Inconsistent. There is also a tendency to make mistakes which betray their true self/motives. This may stem from not really knowing their topic, or it may be somewhat 'freudian', so to speak, in that perhaps they really root for the side of truth deep within.
I have noted that often, they will simply cite contradictory information which neutralizes itself and the author. For instance, one such player claimed to be a Navy pilot, but blamed his poor communicating skills (spelling, grammar, incoherent style) on having only a grade-school education. I'm not aware of too many Navy pilots who don't have a college degree. Another claimed no knowledge of a particular topic/situation but later claimed first-hand knowledge of it.
8) Time Constant. Recently discovered, with respect to News Groups, is the response time factor. There are three ways this can be seen to work, especially when the government or other empowered player is involved in a cover up operation:
a) ANY NG posting by a targeted proponent for truth can result in an IMMEDIATE response. The government and other empowered players can afford to pay people to sit there and watch for an opportunity to do some damage. SINCE DISINFO IN A NG ONLY WORKS IF THE READER SEES IT - FAST RESPONSE IS CALLED FOR, or the visitor may be swayed towards truth.
b) When dealing in more direct ways with a disinformationalist, such as email, DELAY IS CALLED FOR - there will usually be a minimum of a 48-72 hour delay. This allows a sit-down team discussion on response strategy for best effect, and even enough time to 'get permission' or instruction from a formal chain of command.
c) In the NG example 1) above, it will often ALSO be seen that bigger guns are drawn and fired after the same 48-72 hours delay - the team approach in play. This is especially true when the targeted truth seeker or their comments are considered more important with respect to potential to reveal truth. Thus, a serious truth sayer will be attacked twice for the same sin.
_______________________________________________________________________
How to Spot a Spy (Cointelpro Agent)
One way to neutralize a potential activist is to get them to be in a group that does all the wrong things. Why?
1) The message doesn't get out.
2) A lot of time is wasted
3) The activist is frustrated and discouraged
4) Nothing good is accomplished.
FBI and Police Informers and Infiltrators will infest any group and they have phoney activist organizations established.
Their purpose is to prevent any real movement for justice or eco-peace from developing in this country.
Agents come in small, medium or large. They can be of any ethnic background. They can be male or female.
The actual size of the group or movement being infiltrated is irrelevant. It is the potential the movement has for becoming large which brings on the spies and saboteurs.
This booklet lists tactics agents use to slow things down, foul things up, destroy the movement and keep tabs on activists.
It is the agent's job to keep the activist from quitting such a group, thus keeping him/her under control.
In some situations, to get control, the agent will tell the activist:

• "You're dividing the movement."

[Here, I have added the psychological reasons as to WHY this maneuver works to control people]
This invites guilty feelings. Many people can be controlled by guilt. The agents begin relationships with activists behind a well-developed mask of "dedication to the cause." Because of their often declared dedication, (and actions designed to prove this), when they criticize the activist, he or she - being truly dedicated to the movement - becomes convinced that somehow, any issues are THEIR fault. This is because a truly dedicated person tends to believe that everyone has a conscience and that nobody would dissimulate and lie like that "on purpose." It's amazing how far agents can go in manipulating an activist because the activist will constantly make excuses for the agent who regularly declares their dedication to the cause. Even if they do, occasionally, suspect the agent, they will pull the wool over their own eyes by rationalizing: "they did that unconsciously... they didn't really mean it... I can help them by being forgiving and accepting " and so on and so forth.
The agent will tell the activist:

• "You're a leader!"

This is designed to enhance the activist's self-esteem. His or her narcissistic admiration of his/her own activist/altruistic intentions increase as he or she identifies with and consciously admires the altruistic declarations of the agent which are deliberately set up to mirror those of the activist.
This is "malignant pseudoidentification." It is the process by which the agent consciously imitates or simulates a certain behavior to foster the activist's identification with him/her, thus increasing the activist's vulnerability to exploitation. The agent will simulate the more subtle self-concepts of the activist.
Activists and those who have altruistic self-concepts are most vulnerable to malignant pseudoidentification especially during work with the agent when the interaction includes matter relating to their competency, autonomy, or knowledge.
The goal of the agent is to increase the activist's general empathy for the agent through pseudo-identification with the activist's self-concepts.
The most common example of this is the agent who will compliment the activist for his competency or knowledge or value to the movement. On a more subtle level, the agent will simulate affects and mannerisms of the activist which promotes identification via mirroring and feelings of "twinship". It is not unheard of for activists, enamored by the perceived helpfulness and competence of a good agent, to find themselves considering ethical violations and perhaps, even illegal behavior, in the service of their agent/handler.
The activist's "felt quality of perfection" [self-concept] is enhanced, and a strong empathic bond is developed with the agent through his/her imitation and simulation of the victim's own narcissistic investments. [self-concepts] That is, if the activist knows, deep inside, their own dedication to the cause, they will project that onto the agent who is "mirroring" them.
The activist will be deluded into thinking that the agent shares this feeling of identification and bonding. In an activist/social movement setting, the adversarial roles that activists naturally play vis a vis the establishment/government, fosters ongoing processes of intrapsychic splitting so that "twinship alliances" between activist and agent may render whole sectors or reality testing unavailable to the activist. They literally "lose touch with reality."
Activists who deny their own narcissistic investments [do not have a good idea of their own self-concepts and that they ARE concepts] and consciously perceive themselves (accurately, as it were) to be "helpers" endowed with a special amount of altruism are exceedingly vulnerable to the affective (emotional) simulation of the accomplished agent.
Empathy is fostered in the activist through the expression of quite visible affects. The presentation of tearfulness, sadness, longing, fear, remorse, and guilt, may induce in the helper-oriented activist a strong sense of compassion, while unconsciously enhancing the activist's narcissistic investment in self as the embodiment of goodness.
The agent's expresssion of such simulated affects may be quite compelling to the observer and difficult to distinguish from deep emotion.
It can usually be identified by two events, however:
First, the activist who has analyzed his/her own narcissistic roots and is aware of his/her own potential for being "emotionally hooked," will be able to remain cool and unaffected by such emotional outpourings by the agent.
As a result of this unaffected, cool, attitude, the Second event will occur: The agent will recompensate much too quickly following such an affective expression leaving the activist with the impression that "the play has ended, the curtain has fallen," and the imposture, for the moment, has finished. The agent will then move quickly to another activist/victim.
The fact is, the movement doesn't need leaders, it needs MOVERS. "Follow the leader" is a waste of time.
A good agent will want to meet as often as possible. He or she will talk a lot and say little. One can expect an onslaught of long, unresolved discussions.
Some agents take on a pushy, arrogant, or defensive manner:
1) To disrupt the agenda
2) To side-track the discussion
3) To interrupt repeatedly
4) To feign ignorance
5) To make an unfounded accusation against a person.
Calling someone a racist, for example. This tactic is used to discredit a person in the eyes of all other group members.
Saboteurs
Some saboteurs pretend to be activists. She or he will ....
1) Write encyclopedic flyers (in the present day, websites)
2) Print flyers in English only.
3) Have demonstrations in places where no one cares.
4) Solicit funding from rich people instead of grass roots support
5) Display banners with too many words that are confusing.
6) Confuse issues.
7) Make the wrong demands.
8) Compromise the goal.
9) Have endless discussions that waste everyone's time. The agent may accompany the endless discussions with drinking, pot smoking or other amusement to slow down the activist's work.
Provocateurs
1) Want to establish "leaders" to set them up for a fall in order to stop the movement.
2) Suggest doing foolish, illegal things to get the activists in trouble.
3) Encourage militancy.
4) Want to taunt the authorities.
5) Attempt to make the activist compromise their values.
6) Attempt to instigate violence. Activisim ought to always be non-violent.
7) Attempt to provoke revolt among people who are ill-prepared to deal with the reaction of the authorities to such violence.
Informants
1) Want everyone to sign up and sing in and sign everything.
2) Ask a lot of questions (gathering data).
3) Want to know what events the activist is planning to attend.
4) Attempt to make the activist defend him or herself to identify his or her beliefs, goals, and level of committment.
Recruiting
Legitimate activists do not subject people to hours of persuasive dialog. Their actions, beliefs, and goals speak for themselves.
Groups that DO recruit are missionaries, military, and fake political parties or movements set up by agents.
Surveillance
ALWAYS assume that you are under surveillance.
At this point, if you are NOT under surveillance, you are not a very good activist!
Scare Tactics
They use them.
Such tactics include slander, defamation, threats, getting close to disaffected or minimally committed fellow activists to persuade them (via psychological tactics described above) to turn against the movement and give false testimony against their former compatriots. They will plant illegal substances on the activist and set up an arrest; they will plant false information and set up "exposure," they will send incriminating letters [emails] in the name of the activist; and more; they will do whatever society will allow.
This booklet in no way covers all the ways agents use to sabotage the lives of sincere an dedicated activists.
If an agent is "exposed," he or she will be transferred or replaced.
COINTELPRO is still in operation today under a different code name. It is no longer placed on paper where it can be discovered through the freedom of information act.
The FBI counterintelligence program's stated purpose: To expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, and otherwise neutralize individuals who the FBI categorize as opposed to the National Interests. "National Security" means the FBI's security from the people ever finding out the vicious things it does in violation of people's civil liberties.
_______________________________________________________________________
Seventeen Techniques for Truth Suppression
Strong, credible allegations of high-level criminal activity can bring down a government. When the government lacks an effective, fact-based defense, other techniques must be employed. The success of these techniques depends heavily upon a cooperative, compliant press and a mere token opposition party.
1. Dummy up. If it's not reported, if it's not news, it didn't happen.
2. Wax indignant. This is also known as the "How dare you?" gambit.
3. Characterize the charges as "rumors" or, better yet, "wild rumors." If, in spite of the news blackout, the public is still able to learn about the suspicious facts, it can only be through "rumors." (If they tend to believe the "rumors" it must be because they are simply "paranoid" or "hysterical.")
4. Knock down straw men. Deal only with the weakest aspects of the weakest charges. Even better, create your own straw men. Make up wild rumors (or plant false stories) and give them lead play when you appear to debunk all the charges, real and fanciful alike.
5. Call the skeptics names like "conspiracy theorist," "nutcase," "ranter," "kook," "crackpot," and, of course, "rumor monger." Be sure, too, to use heavily loaded verbs and adjectives when characterizing their charges and defending the "more reasonable" government and its defenders. You must then carefully avoid fair and open debate with any of the people you have thus maligned. For insurance, set up your own "skeptics" to shoot down.
6. Impugn motives. Attempt to marginalize the critics by suggesting strongly that they are not really interested in the truth but are simply pursuing a partisan political agenda or are out to make money (compared to over-compensated adherents to the government line who, presumably, are not).
7. Invoke authority. Here the controlled press and the sham opposition can be very useful.
8. Dismiss the charges as "old news."
9. Come half-clean. This is also known as "confession and avoidance" or "taking the limited hangout route." This way, you create the impression of candor and honesty while you admit only to relatively harmless, less-than-criminal "mistakes." This stratagem often requires the embrace of a fall-back position quite different from the one originally taken. With effective damage control, the fall-back position need only be peddled by stooge skeptics to carefully limited markets.
10. Characterize the crimes as impossibly complex and the truth as ultimately unknowable.
11. Reason backward, using the deductive method with a vengeance. With thoroughly rigorous deduction, troublesome evidence is irrelevant. E.g. We have a completely free press. If evidence exists that the Vince Foster "suicide" note was forged, they would have reported it. They haven't reported it so there is no such evidence. Another variation on this theme involves the likelihood of a conspiracy leaker and a press who would report the leak.
12. Require the skeptics to solve the crime completely. E.g. If Foster was murdered, who did it and why?
13. Change the subject. This technique includes creating and/or publicizing distractions.
14. Lightly report incriminating facts, and then make nothing of them. This is sometimes referred to as "bump and run" reporting.
15. Baldly and brazenly lie. A favorite way of doing this is to attribute the "facts" furnished the public to a plausible-sounding, but anonymous, source.
16. Expanding further on numbers 4 and 5, have your own stooges "expose" scandals and champion popular causes. Their job is to pre-empt real opponents and to play 99-yard football. A variation is to pay rich people for the job who will pretend to spend their own money.
17. Flood the Internet with agents. This is the answer to the question, "What could possibly motivate a person to spend hour upon hour on Internet news groups defending the government and/or the press and harassing genuine critics?" Don t the authorities have defenders enough in all the newspapers, magazines, radio, and television? One would think refusing to print critical letters and screening out serious callers or dumping them from radio talk shows would be control enough, but, obviously, it is not.

I just wanted to make a list of trades where teams sold away their future for one star player and show how "successful" those teams are. Win-now trades can work but they are usually smaller in scale or did not include an overpay. I am not someone who is against trading in general but trading for superstars hasn't worked for the past 5 years. Trading Poole and Kuminga or even Moody might make the team better, just for all the hindsight people who wanted us to trade for a single-star player. I think especially when the star player is older the trade makes even less sense considering the player will have to play a lot and is more injury prone(and is not getting better). Although these types of trades are what star players want, star players are consistently wrong on what they think will make the team better(Steph didn't want GP for example, Luka wanted Kyrie, Lebron wanted Russ, the list goes on and on)
Clippers: Clippers get Paul George and trade Shai and 7 first-round picks
Clippers don't make it past the second round. They have some of the highest potential in the league but never can realize it because they traded away their future for a single player(which makes a team inherently more injury prone by shortening the number of players on the roster and being more reliant on a single player). Also shows how giving up on a young player can backfire(Shai is arguably more valuable than PG right now)
Timberwolves: Rudy Gobert for 4 first-round picks(one being Walker Kessler) and 4 solid role players
Timberwolves ended up being the 8th seed. The trade for Gobert was an overpay and shows how a superstar might not fit as seamlessly as one might expect. People were saying this fit made sense considering they needed a defensive big but in reality, Rudy's defense did not offset how bad he made the team offensively
Brooklyn: A lot of superstars in FA but still fits the point
Brooklyn was a hypothetical team. Yes Harden, KD, and Kyrie is the best trio in the NBA, but they hardly ever could play together due to injury. That isn't a fault of luck but rather roster construction
Dallas: Kyrie for Dinwiddie DFS and 3 picks
This trade just ended up being a complete disaster. In trading for Kyrie, the Mavs became worse on defense. Yes they had a good star duo but trading for a good starting lineup can completely deplete other aspects of the team such as depth and defense
Buns: KD for Bridges + Multiple picks
This trade ended up pretty well and made sense. Let's be honest, the buns were not going to make the finals so they had to make this trade for KD. However, it still shows how trading for one star can backfire, particularly in the depth department. KD and Booker had to score 30+ a game for them to have a chance to win and likely next year they won't even be fully healthy by playoff time
Lakers: Abomination of Russ trade
We all know what happened here. The only way they actually became better was by trading Russ for younger players(ironically)
Lakers: Trade for AD
This one had the most success however lead to zero success after the bubble ring. In retrospect, this trade was good for both the Pelicans and the Lakers but the Lakers title has a big * because of it being in the bubble + it literally being one of the statistically easiest titles won of all time(3rd place and this stat doesn't even account for differences in the bubble)
What star trades have worked?
Cavs: Trade for Donovan Mitchell
This doesn't fit the archetype of examples I have used. This trade was for a long-term young star who still had room to grow. Also wasn't an overpay, you only lose Lauri and 5 picks which are mostly second rounders
TLDR: Superstar trades have not worked for multiple teams including the Mavs, Lakers, Buns, Brooklyn, Dallas, Timberwolves, and Clippers. Trading for star players who are young or without an overpay can work while trading for older ones and giving up multiple good young players and picks does not. These are just examples off the top of my head and there are probably many more. Just made this post because people are being annoying about hindsight and saying that we should have traded everything for a single star player when likely it would be an overpay in this year's market and wouldn't necessarily make the team any better. Also saw some people saying we should trade for Dame or something when we've seen this trend of trading for a star player who is a liability on defense, not a good fit, or straight-up old not working. Dame possibly is the worst fit you could ask for for this team and the asking price would be way too high

/LonghornNation Daily Off Topic Free Talk Thread

Today: 6/8/2023

Last Thread

Current Austin Weather: 76° and Clouds

Seven Day Forecast:

6/7	6/8	6/9	6/10	6/11	6/12	6/13
90°, Rain	95°, Rain	97°, Clouds	97°, Clear	99°, Clear	102°, Clear	100°, Clouds

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

Recent Longhorn Tweets

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

1. 6/9 University of Texas Track & Field / Cross Country vs NCAA Outdoor Championships
2. 6/10 University of Texas Track & Field / Cross Country vs NCAA Outdoor Championships
3. 6/10 5:00 PM University of Texas Baseball at Stanford
4. 6/11 University of Texas Baseball at Stanford
5. 6/12 University of Texas Baseball at Stanford (if necessary)

Trending on Reddit

/All

1. TIL Neil Armstrong completed almost all required coursework towards a master's degree when he joined NASA in early 1960s. A semester short, he returned to USC after his moon landing in 1970 to give a one-hour seminar on the technical aspects of landing Apollo's lunar module to receive his Masters
2. post malone being a great guy to his fans!
3. Biden vetoes measure overturning student loan forgiveness plan
4. TV at different speeds
5. Got a parking ticket last month. Went to court and got it dismissed because I was parked legally. This month, got another one by parking in the same spot, issued by the same officer. smh

/CFB

1. Arizona President on TV deal: “We’re not going to get a Big Ten deal. We're not gonna get an SEC deal. But if we finish 3rd in this sweepstakes, I've never thought that winning the bronze medal was a great aspirational goal. But if we win a bronze medal, I think we'd all declare victory.”
2. [Thamel] Sources: The Big 12 is exploring starting a bowl game in Mexico in the postseason of 2026, with the site targeted to be Monterrey.
3. [McMurphy] AAU membership “not a requirement,” to join Big Ten, sources told @ActionNetworkHQ . “Maybe (AAU status) is a preference, but solid academics are measured variety of ways,” source said.
4. [McMurphy] For second consecutive season, Appalachian State has sold out its entire season ticket allotment
5. [Kirk Bohls] Texas AD Chris Del Conte's name has come up as a potential candidate for USC job, but he says, "I have no interest in any other job. Who you work for matters. I work for an incredible president who is taking Texas to new heights. I'm blessed to be here."

/LonghornNation

1. [6/7/2023] Wednesday's Off Topic Free Talk Thread
2. [6/7/2023] Wednesday's Sports Talk Thread
3. Memorable Radio Broadcasts?
4. We gotta beat these Nerds....
5. The Stanford Super Regional is Set! 🤘🏻
6. Michael Huff is on the 2024 ballot for the College Football Hall of Fame! 🤘
7. [6/6/2023] Tuesday's Sports Talk Thread

LonghornBot: you can get a list of commands you can give for the bot by commenting ".help". You will receive a private message with the commands.
This thread was programmatically generated and posted on 6/8/2023 12:00 AM. If you have any questions or comments, please contact brihoang or chrislabeard

/LonghornNation Daily Sports Talk Thread

Today: 6/8/2023

Last Thread

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

1. 6/9 University of Texas Track & Field / Cross Country vs NCAA Outdoor Championships
2. 6/10 University of Texas Track & Field / Cross Country vs NCAA Outdoor Championships
3. 6/10 5:00 PM University of Texas Baseball at Stanford
4. 6/11 University of Texas Baseball at Stanford
5. 6/12 University of Texas Baseball at Stanford (if necessary)

Feel Free to talk about anything sports related, Texas related or otherwise
This thread was programmatically generated and posted on 6/8/2023 12:00 AM. If you have any questions or comments, please contact brihoang or chrislabeard