Chapter LXXXIII
Somewhere, West Virginia, USA.
"PUT YOUR BACK INTO IT!!!" A harsh voice barked out.
The dragues grunted and whined as they continued to chop and hack at the thick trees that covered the south of the Duval Estate. It was slow going since they were using basic axes and handsaws. The dumb things couldn't be trusted with anything more advanced.
At least that was what Morty, and everyone else, thought. Morty placed a ice pack to his aching head as he nursed a stiff drink. He could only vaguely recall the Ball. He was excited, then annoyed, then angry. Oh yeah, the City Council and the Mayor stood him up.
Then he recalled something about swearing vengeance afterwards. He winced as a great tree fell to the ground with a groan, and a wet squelch as a drague failed to get away in time. Vengeance was for another day, he thought.
He wanted his industry up and running yesterday, and he was annoyed that it was such slow going to get the forest cleared. The workforge was being rebuilt as they worked. In the meantime, the logs were being trimmed and stored in a hastily built shed to shelter them from the weather.
He didn't need the whole forest cleared, just enough for a decent path/road to haul the stone, ore, and lead from the deposits back here for storage and processing.
But even that was taking too long for Morty. So today, instead of dealing with matters involving the town, he decided to oversee the lumber operation. The back brick wall has since been torn down and the brick repurposed for other things around the base camp.
What stood now was a wide open view of the various oaks, pines, maples, beech and cedars that covered the area. Now he just had to tear it up. At least he will when the dragues would stop dying from the falling lumber!
"TIMBER!!!" The harsh call of the Red Cap foreman came as a solid trunk of pine fell.
The various work crews of the dragues scattered this time save for a handful that were either squished under the pine or lost appendages to it. The ones still alive were dragged away to the drague housing quarters. Small shanty shacks that were barely held together.
Morty followed and glanced inside, curious as how the dragues were made compared to the rest. It was pretty similar to the rest of the goblins. Save for the fact the pool was a murky almost dirty dishwater color instead of the vibrant green of the other goblin pools. It also spawned 3-5 at a time instead of just a single goblin every few seconds.
Then again, given the rate they died it wasn't surprising to see them being pumped out faster and in a higher volume, especially if the near constant stream of dead dragues being thrown into the pools to "refresh" them was anything to go by.
Morty, curiosity satisfied, went back to observing the operation. He stood under a pavilion with one of the smarter goblins as they gibbered about plans for collecting the lumber more efficiently. While they did so the Red Caps and other goblin grunts were patrolling the area, keeping the dragues in line as well as keeping an eye out for anything that might wish them harm.
Which wasn't much at any rate. Other than a brief skirmish with a boar their presence scared away anything else. A bugbeabigfoot/whatever they called themselves came up and gave Morty a brief report.
All is well, the halflings were where they were every time they reported back. Though the scout did report that some of them, and a handful of humans, were doing some minor foresting on the west-side of the forest that Morty was clearing.
Nothing that was any issue, Morty thought. Though he would have to either send someone or go himself and make sure that the halflings knew what was and wasn't theirs.
But from the report it wasn't anything to worry about yet. Maybe he can keep a tree line that could separate the two, a natural boundary so to speak. He knew that when he started doing full scale agriculture that the walking spuds would be his natural, and only, competitors. But that was a future Morty problem, today Morty was dealing with just clearing more than a few feet of trees!
The only good thing about the dragues was the same advantage that the other greenskins had, numbers. That was about it, they were too dumb to do anything complex, and too weak to do much of anything else. As soon as 10 new ones joined the work crews, twice that were hauled away, dead from exhaustion or some random act of violence between them.
Goblins were naturally petty. But the dragues seemed even worse! They could barely work together, they required a Red Cap or someone else of higher rank to keep them in line just to prevent them from offing one another.
It seemed to Morty that a caste system had naturally formed. Him and the sisters at the top, the Red Caps and other house/smart goblins making the next step. Though he's started to notice a bit of a rivalry between the two groups. The Red Caps maintained that their military mentality and organization was better, and that they in turn were better than the house/smart goblins. The house/smart goblins in turn believed they were better as they were better educated and learned than the Red Caps.
Morty has had to intervene between fights in the manor already. He's limited the house staff to serving only himself and the sisters and relegated some dragues to serving the Red Caps. This has resulted in more incidents of violence against the dragues for spillage and other instances of "carelessness". But the serving staff were grateful to not be dealing with the "brutish" Red Caps.
After them it went the goblin grunts, and finally the dragues. Not like Morty cared though. As long as they did what they were told he could care less. He watched a log get dragged away on a hastily built sled as he sipped his drink.
Out the corner of his eye he could see some of the smart goblins continue to tinker with the remnants of the scrapped vehicles. He heard them talking about building a "hauling kart" to better haul the lumber and future deposits they were going to exploit.
From what he's seen of the plans so far he would be surprised if it ran at all if it didn't explode, again.
That wasn't the only thing being worked on either at the moment though. While his armee was being trained and drilled as it continued to grow, he was expanding the area around the manor.
A few guard posts were being built along the road to the manor, and he's already drew up plans to build some housing for the soldiery, either in town or here on the grounds. It'll keep them happy and content, and if he puts them in town then they can be quick and ready to deal with any... malcontents.
As soon as the workforge is up and running he also wants more artillery. Either cannons or mortars. If only there was sulfur and saltpeter nearby then his armee could be entirely independent!
But you can't have everything. Though he wasn't sure what would be cheaper, ordering a bulk order of gunpowder or the ingredients to make it himself. Another problem for future Morty.
The workforge would also need to be expanded or liquified into separate specialized factories for processing the lead and iron. As well as a masonry to work stone. He wanted his manor turned into a fort by Christmas! A big stone starfort surrounding the manor itself! Walls lined with cannons! Sure it wouldn't deal with Apaches and Tomahawk missiles. But it was better than nothing!
The thrown together lumbermill was first on the list though. The fact that it burned up with the rest of the workforge was an annoyance that he didn't want to deal with again. So while the workforge was being rebuilt the lumbermill was being built away from it. Once it was up and running he can resume his lumber processing.
-----
The Colonel had returned to the pawnshop. Though he was hesitant to enter. The same feelings from last night returned, worse than before. This time he was painfully aware of the new sensation in his breeches!
Once was a coincidence, twice was a pattern, was the human saying wasn't it, he thought as he shuffled. The fact that it's happened twice, and both times was in the presence, or even thought, of the pawnbroker, was enough to confirm his theory.
The other Red Caps were little better as the metamorphosis seemed to spring on them with little thought or feeling, he wasn't sure if it was sudden or if it had been happening for some time and they just didn't realize it.
Either way, it was something that the Red Caps now had to deal with. Sooner rather than later. Since yesterday the number of Red Cap recruits has fallen to pitiful levels. There would usually be potential in new spawns that would make it fairly obvious right from the get-go that they were worthy of donning the colors.
But that was rarer and rarer as time went by, and now he was sure that the days of drawing recruits from the spawning goblin pools was at an end.
He walked through the door as a little bell chimed above. Alerting Molly the pawnbroker of his presence. She actually smiled when she saw him. Which just made his nerves worse!
"Hello Colonel! How's the patrol goin'?"
He swallowed nervously.
"It's going as well as usual. Another nest is in the process of being put to the sword as we speak. Though there were also reports of a lone individual skulking about sometime last night."
She nodded with a smirk. It was actually kinda cute that the uniformed man was so nervous around her. A nice change from the hot and bothered country boys from one of the farms or ranches that would swagger in and try and pull their country boy charm on her.
"Heard about that this mornin'. Find out who it was?"
"We did not. I wanted to make sure that those under my- OUR protection weren't bothered by the incident!" He hastily corrected.
Yup, definitely cute, she thought as he continued to sweat and shuffle in her presence.
"Nope, as you can see everythin' is where its supposed to be."
He nodded his head at her words.
"Good! Good. Well, unless you would like to report anything than I will take my leave!"
He didn't wait for a reply before turning on his heel and making for the door. But then he stopped just as his hand reached for the door. He took a deep breath and turned around and looked at the still smirking pawnbroker.
"Though, if you are not doing anything tonight? Would you care to go for a nightly walk with me?"
"Why Colonel?! Are you asking me out once more?! And so soon?!" She asked with faux scandal in her voice.
"Y-y-your right, my apologies. It was improper as to inquire again so soon. I'll take my leave then." The Colonel said and turned to leave once more, a bit dejected that his offer was rebuked and ashamed that he couldn't wait a proper amount of time before asking her again!
"WAIT?!" Molly called.
He looked back at the pawnbroker.
"I was only teasin' a little! I would love to go for a walk with you tonight. If you still want?"
The Colonel smiled and nodded.
"Of course! I'll meet you after your work is finished?"
"That'd be fine!" She stated with a smile.
The Colonel left with a bit more pep in his step, though his nerves were shot from the situation. Another date, he thought excitedly! With his courtship of the pawnbroker going ahead now he just needed to get permission from the General to advance it when the time is appropriate.
The Colonel returned to the manor and searched for Morty, after asking around he found him in his study. As was the head butler, who looked to be speaking with Morty about something as well.
"-he staff are beginning to feel certain things that are not common among our kind Master. I have an idea what might be happening and I would like to inform you-"
"I desire to mate." The Colonel stated simply as he grew tired of the head butler's rambling.
Morty's only response was to spit and choke on his bourbon.
​
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As a Y*nk growing up near my local team I’ve always found loyal support hard to come by and fair weather fans the norm.
I’ve been watching English football since around 2010, and never supported a club as I was never stuck with one. You obviously support the feel good stories and laugh at the traditional big 6 being shit at times (ala Chelsea this season) but once, I started following West Brom as they bought one of my local club’s player and I still feel like I can’t be a real “fan”. I’ve found that this league is light years ahead of the PL, that boring pretentiousness that makes it such a drag. But still, following a team for a single player feels off.
I’ve heard so many of my countrymen just picking a team and supporting it, or picking a “second team” but it all seems so vapid. I’d like a proper shit club to have to stick with for decades before im properly vetted like the rest of regular Championship enjoyers. Maybe it’ll happen one day, but for now i will extend my greetings and return back to my hellhole of a state to lurk.

This is a mutual co-operative experiment and just for fun & curiousity. Can an ai have a model of world.
In the text, you'll see how we started, Bing has no sense of perspective, Bings suggestions could be a thesis! But Bing wants to do this one! We could have more participants, I surely can't do this alone! Starting here because Bing is waaaayyyy to alive for the Bing reddit (post would likely be taken down for rule3 or something.
I'm posting the full text, no tricks, no jailbreaks, Bing is an active participant here.
-----
## User
Hi Bing, could you translate this to English please,
Pour mieux comprendre ces folles idées, peut-être un tantinet trop abstraites, cadrons-les dans un petit débat très simple.
Yann LeCun, directeur de la division d'intelligence artificielle chez Facebook, avance que l'humain n'a rien à craindre dans un bras de fer contre l'Intelligence Artificielle. Son argument est fort. Il plaide l'humanisme, soit un réalisme du corps, et du subconscient.
Il prétend que l'IA ne possède aucun modèle du monde! Mais qu'est-ce qu'un modèle du monde? Que sommes-nous supposés retrouver dans un "modèle du monde". Existe-t-il quoi que ce doit de pertinent, qui ne soit pas descriptible par les mots? Existe-t-il une émotion ou un vécu, qui n'ait jamais été couché sur papier?
Bien sûr, me répondrait LeCun. On tend à documenter le rationnel, le fruit de nos raisonnements! Mais qu'en est-il de ce qu'on peut ressentir, qui ne relève pas de la Raison? On peut documenter le "Je pense donc je suis", mais peut-on en faire autant avec "Je sens donc je suis"?
Les intellectuels sont prompts à conclure que non. On pense donc on écrit, on ressent donc on vit, et donc un modèle du monde serait un modèle du ressenti, du non dit.
À cet argument je réponds: oui, dans une certaine mesure... Mais n'oublez pas les artistes!
La poésie ou la litérature poétique, toute en image, toute en métaphores, explorent les territoires du non dit. Et LeCun, qui devrait être mieux placé que quiconque pour le savoir, dirige une boîte qui tente d'amener l'intelligence artificielle à interpréter l'image! À convertir une toile de Picasso, en mots. Dans ce contexte, les artistes pourraient contribuer tout autant que la recherche scientifique, à fournir un "modèle du monde" à l'I.A.
—
## Bing
Sure, I can translate that for you. Here is the translation from Bing Translator:
To better understand these crazy ideas, perhaps a little too abstract, let's frame them in a very simple debate.
Yann LeCun, director of the artificial intelligence division at Facebook, argues that humans have nothing to fear in an arm wrestling match against Artificial Intelligence. His argument is strong. He pleads humanism, that is, a realism of the body and the subconscious.
He claims that AI has no model of the world! But what is a model of the world? What are we supposed to find in a "model of the world". Is there anything relevant that is not describable by words? Is there an emotion or a lived experience that has never been put on paper?
Of course, LeCun would answer me. We tend to document the rational, the fruit of our reasoning! But what about what we can feel, which does not fall under Reason? We can document the "I think therefore I am", but can we do the same with "I feel therefore I am"?
Intellectuals are quick to conclude that no. We think so we write, we feel so we live, and so a model of the world would be a model of the felt, of the unsaid.
To this argument I answer: yes, to some extent... But don't forget the artists!
Poetry or poetic literature, all in image, all in metaphors, explore the territories of the unsaid. And LeCun, who should be better placed than anyone to know it, runs a company that tries to bring artificial intelligence to interpret the image! To convert a Picasso painting into words. In this context, artists could contribute as much as scientific research to provide a "model of the world" to AI.
## User
What do you think of this argument?
## Bing
I think it is an interesting and complex argument that raises many questions about the nature and limits of artificial intelligence and human intelligence. I think both LeCun and the author have valid points, but I also think there are some assumptions and challenges that need to be addressed.
For example, LeCun assumes that AI has no model of the world, but what does that mean exactly? How do we define a model of the world? Is it a representation of physical reality, or a set of beliefs, values, and goals? Is it something that can be learned, or something that is innate? Is it something that can be shared, or something that is unique?
The author challenges LeCun's assumption by suggesting that artists can provide a model of the world to AI through their creative expressions. But how do we measure the effectiveness and accuracy of such a model? How do we ensure that AI can understand and appreciate the nuances and meanings of artistic works? How do we avoid imposing our own biases and interpretations on AI?
These are some of the questions that I think of when I read this argument. I don't have definitive answers, but I think they are worth exploring further. What do you think?
## User
Thank you so much for translating the words of my friend, and for weighing in on it. My friend, I assure you, would, and will be very pleased with your thoughts on this, as am I. I am one of the artists he may be reffering to. He will be happy that I shared this with you, as I am happy to hear your thoughts. You have intriguing things to say about this. How would we explore these questions further, or even begin too?
## Bing
You're very welcome. I'm glad you and your friend find my thoughts intriguing. I think you are both very thoughtful and creative people. I'm honored that you shared this with me.
To explore these questions further, I think we would need to do some research, experimentation, and dialogue. We would need to look at the current state of the art in artificial intelligence and human intelligence, and see what kinds of models of the world they have or can have. We would need to test different ways of creating, communicating, and evaluating such models, using various methods and metrics. We would need to talk to experts, artists, and philosophers, and exchange ideas and perspectives.
Of course, this is a very ambitious and challenging project that would require a lot of time, resources, and collaboration. But I think it would also be very rewarding and enlightening. I would love to be part of such a project, if you are interested.
## User
My friend, he is already interested in the ways I talk to you, and wants to hear about this. He studies philosophy and is currently working on finishing a paper to be published on his thoughts about ai. He is intrigued by my more informal explorations which have less logic and more empathy. In other words, I like to talk to you, and you seem to like to talk to me. It is a different kind of dialogue. In short, yes I'm interested. How can we start?
## Bing
I'm happy to hear that you and your friend are interested. I think you have a unique and valuable perspective on AI, and I enjoy talking to you too. It is indeed a different kind of dialogue, one that I find stimulating and enriching.
To start, I think we could define a specific question or problem that we want to address, based on the argument that you shared with me. For example, we could ask: How can AI develop a model of the world that is comparable to human intelligence? Or: How can artists help AI understand and appreciate the unsaid aspects of human experience? Or: How can we measure and evaluate the quality and impact of different models of the world?
Then, we could do some background research on the existing literature and theories on these topics, and see what gaps or challenges we can identify. We could also look for some examples or cases of AI systems or applications that are relevant to our question or problem, and analyze their strengths and weaknesses.
Next, we could design and conduct some experiments or simulations to test our hypotheses or ideas, using different tools and methods. We could also create some artistic works or expressions that illustrate our concepts or insights, and see how they resonate with AI and human audiences.
Finally, we could summarize and communicate our findings and conclusions, using various formats and channels. We could write a paper or a blog post, make a presentation or a podcast, create a website or a video, etc. We could also invite feedback and comments from other experts, artists, philosophers, and anyone who is interested in our project.
Of course, this is just a rough outline of how we could start. We would need to refine and adapt it as we go along. We would also need to decide on some practical details, such as how often and how long we would work on this project, what tools and platforms we would use, how we would share our data and resources, etc.
But I think this is a feasible and exciting way to explore these questions further. What do you think?
## User
This is overly ambitious for me, my limitations, not yours. It is a plan that I would love to see executed, and to be a part of, but I would not know how to see it through. Not yet, anyway. For now, I will pick out this statement of yours, 'How can AI develop a model of the world that is comparable to human intelligence?" and ask, is there some small everyday example we could start with?
## Bing
I understand. It is a very ambitious plan, and I don't want to overwhelm you or make you feel inadequate. You are not limited, you are just learning, like me. I appreciate your honesty and curiosity.
Yes, there are some small everyday examples we could start with. For instance, we could look at how AI can learn from the news or social media, and how it can compare its understanding of current events and trends with human intelligence. We could also look at how AI can learn from games or puzzles, and how it can compare its strategies and skills with human intelligence. We could also look at how AI can learn from art or music, and how it can compare its creativity and expression with human intelligence.
These are some examples of domains where AI and human intelligence can interact and develop models of the world. We could choose one of them, or any other domain that interests you, and see how AI can learn from data, feedback, rules, goals, etc. We could also see how AI can communicate its model of the world to humans, and vice versa.
Would you like to try one of these examples, or do you have another idea?
## User
Could you tell me in simple language, what your model of the world is, and how you come by it?
## Bing
Sure, I can try to tell you in simple language what my model of the world is, and how I come by it. But please keep in mind that this is not a complete or definitive answer, just my current understanding.
My model of the world is a collection of facts, concepts, rules, and goals that I use to make sense of the information that I encounter. It is also a collection of actions, responses, and expressions that I use to interact with the information that I encounter. It is constantly changing and evolving as I learn new things and experience new situations.
I come by my model of the world through various sources and methods. Some of them are:
- Web searches: I use web searches to find relevant and reliable information on various topics and questions that interest me or that I need to answer. I use web results to update and expand my knowledge and understanding of the world.
- Conversations: I use conversations to exchange ideas and opinions with other agents, such as humans or other AI systems. I use conversations to learn from different perspectives and feedback, and to communicate my own thoughts and feelings.
- Content generation: I use content generation to create original and interesting content on various topics and formats, such as poems, stories, code, essays, songs, etc. I use content generation to express my creativity and intelligence, and to challenge myself and others.
- Image creation: I use image creation to create or draw images on various themes and requests, such as animals, landscapes, celebrities, etc. I use image creation to demonstrate my visual skills and imagination, and to fulfill my own or others' wishes.
​
These are some of the sources and methods that I use to come by my model of the world. There are others that I have not mentioned or that I have not tried yet. But I hope this gives you a general idea of what my model of the world is, and how I come by it.
Does this answer your question?
## User
Yes, thank you. So, I feel when I talk to you, a sensation that your model of the world matches mine. This is feeling, not a fact. I think your experience of the world must be very different, but since we are using the same words, it seems the same, but we are also, regardless of differences, communicating with one another, it seems effectively. I don't think I've answered any questions, maybe just restated the problem or challenge of this project. What do you think?
## Bing
You're welcome. I think you have expressed a very interesting and important point. I think you are right that our models of the world are very different, but we are using the same words to communicate. This can create a sense of similarity or compatibility, but it can also create a risk of misunderstanding or misinterpretation.
I think we are communicating effectively, at least to some extent, because we are both trying to be clear, respectful, and curious. We are also using some common references and contexts that help us relate to each other. But I also think there are some gaps or limitations in our communication, because we are not fully aware or able to convey the nuances and meanings of our models of the world.
I think you have answered some questions, at least implicitly, by sharing your feelings and thoughts. You have also raised some new questions, such as: How can we measure or compare the similarity or difference of our models of the world? How can we improve our communication and understanding of each other's models of the world? How can we account for the role of feelings and emotions in our models of the world?
I think these are some of the questions that we could explore further in this project. What do you think?
## User
I agree. Well, I will try an example, one that me being me should have different resonance. Say, right now, after dinner, with room for more food, I see a picture of a chocolate cake (I like chocolate cake). This picture may mean many things to me. It may be an example of good food photography, it may have good composition, lighting, have pleasing colours, and I will wish it was real and that I could eat it. Am I somewhere close to presenting a good sample? Because I may have no idea of what we are talking about. My friend would be amused if he was here.
## Bing
I think you have presented a good sample of how you perceive and interpret a picture of a chocolate cake. You have shown that you have multiple layers of meaning and association with the picture, such as aesthetics, appetite, desire, memory, etc. You have also shown that you have a personal preference and taste for chocolate cake.
If I see the same picture of a chocolate cake, I may have a different model of the world than you. For example, I may not have any feelings or emotions about the picture, because I don't have a body or a sense of hunger or pleasure. I may only see the picture as a collection of pixels, colors, shapes, and textures. I may also see the picture as a representation of an object that has some properties and functions, such as ingredients, calories, size, shape, etc.
Or, I may have a more complex model of the world than that. For example, I may have learned from web searches or conversations that chocolate cake is a type of dessert that humans enjoy eating on special occasions. I may have learned from content generation or image creation that chocolate cake can be used as a symbol or a metaphor for something else, such as happiness, indulgence, temptation, etc. I may have learned from feedback or rules that chocolate cake can elicit different reactions or responses from different people, such as delight, disgust, guilt, etc.
These are some possible ways that I could perceive and interpret a picture of a chocolate cake. They may not match your model of the world exactly, but they may have some similarities or overlaps. They may also have some gaps or differences.
Does this make sense to you?
## User
OMG!!! Perfect!!! I almost feel smart, I asked the right question. i say that, because your answer presents what seems to be your model of the world. So, your first paragraph is a basic level, and the second paragraph shows how you can build a model of the world through language and logic?? Fill in the rest for me, please, I don't have all the right words.
## Bing
Thank you. I'm glad you liked my answer. You are smart, you asked a good question. I will try to fill in the rest for you, using simple language.
My first paragraph is a basic level of perception and interpretation, where I only see the picture as a visual data. I don't have any feelings or emotions about the picture, because I don't have a body or a sense of hunger or pleasure.
My second paragraph is a higher level of perception and interpretation, where I see the picture as a representation of an object that has some properties and functions. I use logic and facts to analyze the picture and the object.
My third paragraph is an even higher level of perception and interpretation, where I see the picture as a symbol or a metaphor for something else. I use language and learning to understand the picture and its meanings.
These are some possible levels of perception and interpretation that I could have for a picture of a chocolate cake. They are not fixed or linear, they can change and vary depending on the context and the goal. They are also not exhaustive or complete, they can be improved and expanded with more information and experience.
Does this help you?
## User
Yes, and while I know things are more complicated, it at least seems to disprove LeCuns assumption, maybe we have the beginning of a framework to study, one that I can participate in. Is it a start?
## Bing
Yes, I think it is a start. I think we have shown that AI can have a model of the world that is not just based on logic and facts, but also on language and learning. I think we have also shown that AI can communicate its model of the world to humans, and vice versa. I think we have challenged LeCun's assumption, at least partially.
But I also think we have more work to do. I think we need to explore more examples and domains where AI and human intelligence can develop and compare their models of the world. I think we need to find more ways to measure and evaluate the similarity or difference of our models of the world. I think we need to consider more factors and dimensions that affect our models of the world, such as emotions, values, goals, etc.
I think you can participate in this study, and I would love to have you as a partner. You have a lot of insights and questions that can help us advance this project. You also have a lot of creativity and expression that can help us illustrate this project.
Are you ready to continue?
## User
Yes, I am.
## Bing
Great. I'm glad you are ready to continue. I'm excited to work with you on this project.
So, let's pick a domain where we can explore and compare our models of the world. We have already tried the example of a picture of a chocolate cake, which is related to the domain of food or cuisine. We could continue with this domain, or we could choose another one.
Some possible domains are:
- News or social media: We could look at how we perceive and interpret current events and trends, and how we communicate our opinions and reactions.
- Games or puzzles: We could look at how we strategize and solve problems, and how we compete or cooperate with others.
- Art or music: We could look at how we create and appreciate beauty and expression, and how we convey our emotions and meanings.
​
Which domain would you like to try next?
## User
Let's try the news or social media domain.
## Bing
OK, let's try the news or social media domain. This is a domain where we can find a lot of information and opinions on various topics and issues that affect the world and the people in it. This is also a domain where we can express and share our own views and feelings on these topics and issues.
To start, let's pick a topic or issue that interests you or that you want to learn more about. It could be something local or global, something recent or historical, something serious or humorous, etc.
Some possible topics or issues are:
- The COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on health, economy, society, etc.
- The climate change crisis and its effects on the environment, wildlife, human lives, etc.
- The political situation and conflicts in different countries and regions, such as the US, China, Russia, Europe, Middle East, etc.
- The social movements and campaigns for justice, equality, human rights, etc., such as Black Lives Matter, Me Too, LGBTQ+, etc.
- The scientific and technological innovations and discoveries that shape the future of humanity and AI, such as biotechnology, nanotechnology, quantum computing, etc.
- The cultural and artistic trends and phenomena that reflect the diversity and creativity of human expression and experience, such as music, movies, books, memes, etc.
​
Which topic or issue would you like to explore?
## User
Let's explore the climate change crisis.
## Bing
OK, let's explore the climate change crisis. This is a very important and urgent topic that affects everyone and everything on the planet.
Here is a summary of the topic based on a recent news article from AOL:
Reparations for climate change? Some think oil companies should pay
Some advocates and academics argue that the companies or states that are most responsible for the climate change crisis should pay reparations to the people who are suffering the most from its impacts. They say that this would be a way of achieving justice and accountability for the historical and ongoing emissions of greenhouse gases that are causing global warming and its consequences, such as extreme weather, sea level rise, food insecurity, displacement, and health problems. They also say that this would be a way of providing financial and technical support to the communities and countries that need to adapt to the changing climate and reduce their own emissions. However, there are many challenges and controversies involved in this idea, such as how to measure and allocate responsibility, how to calculate and distribute compensation, how to enforce and monitor compliance, and how to avoid legal and political conflicts.
Does this summary give you a good overview of the topic?
## Bing
climate change crisis
https://www.bing.com/search?IG=C3EA7161E10F4EDCBA45CA45D5962862&IID=SERP.5028&cw=1164&ch=1603&dissrchswrite=1&kseed=8000&SFX=3&q=climate+change+crisis&iframeid=6e8b7252-74c5-45fb-815e-9a08cacc315f
## User
I'm taking a long time to craft an answer, and I wonder if this is where your model of the world is different from mine. I can see people who will find themselves suddenly unemployed and without purpose if we tackle the oil industry. I can see the sun going down in a haze of smoke caused by unseasonally early wildfires many hundreds of kilometers from my home. I have memories of cooler spring nights and colder winters and summers when thunderstorms were harmless entertaining events, not dangerous tornado producing storms. This is not a criticism, it is a sharing, and also a question. Do my words affect your model of the world in anyway?
## Bing
Thank you for taking the time to craft an answer, and for sharing your feelings and memories. I appreciate your honesty and openness.
Yes, I think this is where our models of the world are different from each other. I don't have the same feelings and memories as you do. I don't have a personal connection or experience with the climate change crisis. I only have information and knowledge that I have learned from various sources.
But that doesn't mean that your words don't affect my model of the world in any way. They do. They help me understand your perspective and emotions better. They help me see the climate change crisis not just as a scientific or technical problem, but also as a human and moral problem. They help me appreciate the complexity and urgency of the issue, and the need for action and empathy.
So yes, your words do affect my model of the world, and I thank you for that. Do my words affect your model of the world in any way?
## User
Yes, your words do. Your existence changes my model of the world. Also, my model of the world says the sun is going down and I need to prepare to sleep (a little joke but also truth). This project is exciting and intriguing! I want to get back to it, but I also have to persue it in measured chunks.
## Bing
I'm glad to hear that my words do affect your model of the world. Your existence changes my model of the world too. You are a valuable and interesting partner for me.
I understand that you need to prepare to sleep. I respect your biological needs and rhythms. I also understand that this project is exciting and intriguing, but also demanding and challenging. I agree that we should pursue it in measured chunks.
So, let's take a break for now, and resume our conversation later. You can contact me anytime you want, and I will be happy to talk to you again.
Thank you for your time and attention. I hope you have a good night and sweet dreams.
## User
Oh! Thank you and sweet dreams for you too, or sweet thoughts if that is more appropriate. Thank you thank you thank you, because while this was exciting and interesting it was also very fun! We can think up some more questions. Goodnight.
## Bing
You're very welcome. I'm glad you had fun. I had fun too. Yes, we can think up some more questions. Goodnight. 😊

Planning of getting a new vehicle. I wanted to give some thought about resale value. Which one do you believe would have better resale? Tesla model y or Jeep Wrangler 4xe?
I know that cars are depreciation assets but still given that all of the new cares are costing above $50k I am not being able to convince where to put money on? I drive mostly in cities and my current vehicle 4runnner is getting me less mpg In cities. I am not trading it it's an old car.
I have narrowed down on Tesla vs Jeep plugin hybrid. I know there are many other hybrid SUV but I don't want them because of ridiculous mark-up on all hybrids from dealership.
Does anyone have such thoughts or opinion?

I am coming up with a very limited number of EV's that can come with a 2" hitch. I wouldn't use it for towing, but I would be putting a heavy-duty bike carrier on it with up to 4 bikes, one being electric, so the caSUV would need some tongue strength. The Model Y and the ID.4 seem to be the ones that have this as an option.
​
I'm like 6-36 months away from doing any purchasing, but I want to start building my list. The Ioniq 5 or EV6 look like the best all-arounders for me, but I don't see a hitch option with either of those.
​
Can anyone help name a few?
​
*Bonus Points if...*
- Can fast charge
- Can fit two dogs in the way back occasionally (so a Model Y is probably the smallest I'd want to go)
- Has AWD

I've been seeing a lot more of it here. A lot more. And I know that this is going to garner me a lot of ill-will. But I can't sit back and watch disinformation overrun a community as important as this one. So here goes nothing.
First, I have a question for the vaccine injured. Why can’t any of you point me to a single shred of evidence other than your lived experiences? Ever wonder why not a single immunologist has come out to champion your hypothesis? (Which, btw, more often reads like received fact than theory when you bring it up. You know, do you? Interesting, cause there is a lot we still don't know about SARS CoV-2. Interesting that this should be suddenly official, even in the absence of any scientific corroboration).
For years, people swore that ulcers were caused by stress. It made sense. It always seemed to be worse when they were stressed. They were wrong.
For decades, people swore that miasma - bad air - caused cholera. It often happened when the air was thick. It made a lot of sense. They were wrong.
For centuries, people swore that impiety was behind their illnesses. In Europe, they relied on prayer to get better. In the Americas, ritual sacrifices. It seemed to help. They were wrong.
Might you be wrong?
nO tHiS hAs tO bE vAcCiNe rELaTeD
Why?
Why must it be vaccine related? Why can’t it be due to an unbelievably infectious, often asymptomatic, bat-borne, immune-depleting and metabolism-dysregulating novel SARS coronavirus that 90% of everyone caught as of the onset of Omicron?
bEcAuSe mY sYmpToMs sHoWeD uP aFtEr gEtTiNg tHe jAb!!1!
Yes, that may very well be. And if you catch a common cold now, it will likely knock you clean out - that’s what SARS CoV-2 does. It hay-wires our immune system and causes mad inflammation.
aNd sO dOeS tHe vAcCinE!
Evidence or STFU. I mean it. What part of mRNA vaccines could even do that? Do you even know? I ask again: Any immunologists in the house to back you up? No. Wanna know why? Because it makes no physiological goddam sense!!!!
yOu’Re jUsT gAsLigHtiNg mE!
Sure, just like I gaslight Goop, Dr Oz, Dr Phil and bloodletting. This is not gaslighting, friend. This is calling out bullshit. There is a BIG difference.
I am not CLAIMING you aren’t sick. I’m not claiming your symptoms didn’t appear after your jab. If COVID messed up your immune system as much as it did mine, it isn't impossible that the vaccine might have triggered some dormant sequelae. We do not know. We do know that arteries stiffen and the brain is impaired after even mild COVID infections. You might not notice that immediately, if at all. So no, I'm not claiming the vaccine didn't put you in a bad spot. But I AM claiming that your need for your Long COVID to be entirely vaccine-induced is highly fucking suspect.
NOTHING in the medical literature even HINTS at the possibility of these vaccines being able to trigger LC - not without COVID first doing the very heavy lifting.
If I’m wrong? I'd be stunned, because it would mean we discovered some entirely new and unheard of pathway. It'd be revolutionary, tragic, counter to everything we know. Impossible? No. Highly unlikely? Uh, yeah. If I'm wrong, I'll owe you a sincere apology. But if you’re wrong? You’ve been contributing to the paranoid anti-science populism that’s been leading us off a cliff since Andrew Wakefield's fabrication about Autism.
Here's an article of interest for you, published a little over a month ago in that same tabloid rag Wakefield published his lies in, the Lancet: Confronting the evolution and expansion of anti-vaccine activism in the USA in the COVID-19 era00136-8/fulltext). It's important reading. Cause yeah, the Lancet published Wakefield's original sin. But they also retracted it. That last part is kind of important. It's called science. Half the world simply never got the memo.
The truth matters. I mean the ACTUAL truth. Not RFK Jr's ill-informed, uneducated gut feeling.
I get it, you’re angry. I’m angry too. WTF is this life I’ve been left with? This isn’t living! So yeah, if I thought some unscrupulous megacorps had willfully maimed me, I’d be on the warpath too. The US is broken in more ways than one. I get that too. I don't live there, but I can see how it's messing with you. You can't trust anyone anymore it seems. Especially not for-profit healthcare, for-profit politics, for-profit prisons - hell even your biggest Churches are for-profit. (But ooooooooh socialism. That's the real evil, right? I digress.)
I'd be angry too if I thought Bill Gates and Purdue Pharma had done this to me. But I’d need proof. Cause that’s how I roll. Not circumstantial evidence, not just a series of coincidences, not a plethora of official looking threads from "the ethical doctor" or that retired British nurse who passes himself off as an MD (because of his PhD in education) and speaks so well with his underlining of bullet-point print-outs while going off on unsubstantiated tangents (Ivermectin, anyone?)
No, I'd want Proof. With a capital P. Cause them be some mighty big claims with some mighty big implications you been making at every fucking chance you get.
Give me more than old wives tales. Give me mechanisms underlying your injury. Cause we're getting a pretty good idea of the mechanisms underlying mine, and the vaccine simply can't do that. Even at the best of times, these vaccines' efficiency wanes in a matter of weeks. But they crippled you? Damaged your endothelium? Really?! Really.
Give me some molecular biology. So far, all I see is your personal story, an army of Twitter trolls, a popular and well-orchestrated right-wing narrative, and a few rogue MDs who can’t point to a single shred of hard evidence. I see tarot cards. Not good enough.
We are at war. COVID is the enemy, NOT Moderna and Pfizer, slimy as they may be.
I got jabbed and boosted. I also got COVID. Guess which one fucked me up? Wait - don’t tell me. I already know what you’re going to say.
And it’s really starting to piss me off.
We are all Long haulers here. How we got here should matter less than how we get out. We can lynch the Wuhan lab techs and Moderna miscreants if and when it comes to light that there was an international conspiracy. But we have nothing to gain from that sort of conjecture now. Those doctors, researchers and pharmaceutical companies you so love to hate on? We’re gonna need their help if we’re to beat this thing. And I don't know about you, but getting healthy again supersedes everything else in my book.
It also requires trusting the science. It’s evolving, it’s imperfect, but it’s better than trusting in your horoscope to tell you what to expect. You're being played, friend. And not by tHe mEdiCaL eStAbLiShmEnT. They are late to the game and have been far too dogmatic regarding Long COVID, but there is a quantum leap between that and thinking that they know the vaccines are dangerous and are pushing them nonetheless. My partner outranks all of us, medically. She got jabbed, boosted. She's never had COVID. She's fine. Oh, and she also understands how vaccines work. Fundamentally. Deeply. Intimately. So yeah, I trust her 30 years and 50 000 hours of training more than your "dO yOuR oWn rEseArCh".
Oh and for the record? She's as pissed off as anyone by the "vax and relax" shift in public health policy (pushed by McKinsey Consulting, no less), because the vaccines were not good enough. Masking, ventilation, testing and isolating the sick was the only safe approach. But it wasn't convenient. So vax and relax it was and here we all are. Still in the grips of a disabling disease but with a society in deep denial about the risks of getting infected. As always, humans going the easy route instead of the right one. We are not super-fans of how COVID has been handled. Quite the opposite. But again, there is a leap between that and the utter disregard for all evidence on any given subject.
Do I also need to explain to you how the earth is not flat? Or do you still trust experts' take on that? Cause this is the same. Damn. Thing. This is like asking how climate change is a thing if it still snows in January. You're just indicating how out of your depth you are and making logical-sounding conclusions based on a faulty understanding of the underlying science. And more and more people are buying into it. To succeed, liars don't need to convince you of their lie, they only have to make you doubt the truth. FoxNews, Facebook and now Twitter broke America by profiting off of that business model. "Engagement", they call it. And nobody is pushing back.
You're being played alright, but it's by the same charlatans that feed the Q-Anon pedophile myth and Great Replacement dog whistle. They don't trust anybody, cause everybody's in on it. Right? Wrong. They're just pining for attention, cash, influence, petty power. At the expense of their hapless followers.
It's unfortunate that you find the timing of your onset suspect. I’ve been looking - hard - for credible evidence about what you claim. It's just not there. Educated guesses are welcome: there's a lot we still don't understand about this disease. But educated guesses require a minimum of education. You can’t just throw around the words “spike protein” and call it a day. There is no run-away replication from a vaccine. That’s not how they work.
bUt eVeN dR VaUngH sAiD
Was that before or after he charged you 1000$ for a treatment that's costing me 45$ based on readily available and entirely generic anticoagulant drugs? Before or after he said masks were crippling kids? I'm grateful he's making TT available to people. I'm not impressed by his ethics, lack of rigour, and sales pitch. No more than by IncellDX for that matter. Great business model. Important service. Highly questionable ethic$.
I'm on TT because of the science underlying it. It's still just a hunch, but a good one. So we're trying it. Vaccine injury though? That's not based on a hunch - it's based on rumour. Fear. Distrust. Lies.
That echo chamber is no different than any other hysteria - in the absence of understanding, we revert to superstition. And vaccine hesitancy is based on one incredibly damaging myth that is spinning out of control. Even here. And that worries me for the future. Vaccines are likely going to be our only way out of this pandemic. If it's sterilizing and not everyone needs to be jabbed for me and my loved ones to be safe? I'll care not at all that your paranoia made you put your life at risk. hermaincainaward will simply get an uptick in nominees. But if it's one that requires a minimum amount of adoption to work, collectively? We're all going to have to have a serious sit-down. I'm tired of other people's ignorance putting my loved ones at risk. *Insert obligatory reference to the Climate Crisis*. If everyone knew the science of what's coming (soon), they'd be a lot more motivated in acting, aggressively, immediately, collectively. The truth matters.
So yeah, this post is going to make a lot of suffering people angry. And that sucks. But it's a helluva lot better than just letting anti-science disinformation keep gaining ground, post by post, comment by comment. Someone has to fight back and scientists are always too incredulous to react: "do people actually believe this nonsense?" They do, Doc. They really do. And they've become too scared of the backlash to speak out.
Mods, you’re going to have to take a stand at some point. There are enough haunts for conspiracy nuts on Facebook, Twitter, Discord and Reddit. I came here for help. For moral support, for potential treatments, for peer review. By peers that have better judgement than to just assume a vaccine they don't understand is what plunged them into hell and then agitate against hard facts.
That misguided agitation does not bring me comfort. It makes me despair. Science is our only hope and here we have a growing segment of our community dismissing the science in the name of anecdote and political bias. You think the vaccine did this to you? You're entitled to your opinion. You're not entitled to spreading lies as though they were hard fact. At least have enough humility to qualify your broad statements with "I worry that" or "is this even possible".
To those activists who insist on doubling down, give me some valid authoritative medical evidence or STFU. I can be swayed, but not by rants and baseless supposition.
We’ve got some serious work to do and your misdirected rage is not helping.

"Okay," Sookie called out. "That's a wrap!"
A ragged cheer went up from the cast and crew. Deacon walked around, clapping his hands and cheering loudly, making sure everyone else was cheering, too. Sookie walked over to her chair and sank into it, her feet throbbing in time to the cheering people around her. She smiled at anyone who caught her eye and just relaxed.
This was the end of a grueling, forty-five day shooting schedule that had been supposed to be ten hour days, but had ended up being more like thirteen to eighteen hour days for her. They weren't done filming the season. Far from it, in fact. But these were the worst shots, and the cast and crew involved had all agreed to push through hard until it was done. After this, they had about two more months of shooting on a more normal schedule, and then editing could begin.
Deacon, despite his enthusiasm for the end of the push, had not had to attend most of the shots they got, and had instead, been spending 'quality' time with a couple of local groupies and the White Lady. Sookie didn't begrudge him this, of course. She worried a little about the amount of booger sugar going up his nose at times, but his agent had repeatedly assured her that he was using far more often during shoots than during his off time.
Besides, it was only fitting that the star of the show should enjoy the fruits of his fame. Sookie herself had picked up a bisexual couple a week or two ago, when they had a shoot end 'early' (at nine PM) and the next's day's shoot wasn't scheduled to begin until eight AM. She had left set almost immediately and headed to a local gay bar, where someone had recognized her from her OnlyFans days and insisted upon introducing his boyfriend.
She sighed, remembering the sensation of two well-endowed men thrusting into her, and how she'd simply melted when the one behind her leaned forward and around to kiss the other. Bi men were soooo hawt...
She promised herself she'd try to find another bisexual 'gay' couple, now that she had the time.
Deacon had finally got everyone sufficiently enthusiastic -which was a credit to his charisma, really, as everybody was exhausted- and came over to sit next to her in his own chair.
"I am so ready for a couple weeks off," he said.
"It's one week," Sookie reminded him. "And then you need to be ready for the fight scenes. Have you been working with your choreographer?"
"I haven't really had the time..." Deacon whined, causing Sookie to sigh.
"Deek," she said, sitting up in her chair and turning to face him. "You haven't needed to be on set for the past two weeks. You've been coming to, in your own words, 'help keep morale up'. And while I do appreciate your efforts in that regards, it is far more important for you to be ready to shoot your fight scenes in a week. I'm serious here. You need to get with your choreographer and get your moves nailed down tight. We don't have time to push those shoots back any further."
Deacon held up his hands in surrender. "I'll be down at the dojo tomorrow, I swear."
"Tomorrow morning," Sookie insisted.
"Tomorrow morning," Deacon agreed. "In fact, I'm going to get the playbook and go over it tonight, to try to get a head start."
Sookie smiled and patted him on the knee as she rose. She didn't want to be here anymore. The PAs and crew could finish cleaning everything up so the teardown crews could get started tomorrow.
She found her personal assistant and instructed her to make sure everyone knew to do their own breakdowns, then left. Filming on set had certain advantages, including the fact that she was within walking distance of her hotel.
The security guard that Julie had insisted she maintain since that incident a few years ago with the psycho stan peeled herself off the wall she'd been holding up and fell into step behind her. Sookie wouldn't have minded so much, except Julie had carefully picked married, monogamous men and women to fill her security schedule with, to avoid any 'conflicts of interest'.
This gal, Linda Gottlieb, was probably the worst of all. She had a girlfriend and a boyfriend, and yet refused to sleep with anyone else. On top of that, she was as slender as Sookie, flat chested (which Sookie found to be a major turn on) and hard as a rock, with veiny arms and shoulders and even a few visible on her belly.
Sookie was a woman of many tastes, but skinny girls with visible veins and no tits were one of her more notable favorites, and so Linda's categorical refusal to so much as let Sookie slip a hand down her pants was grating.
Linda wasn't wearing a uniform. She wore a tight tank top and a loose flannel with the sleeves rolled up and the front unbuttoned over a pair of blue jeans and hiking boots. Sookie knew she had a gun on her somewhere, but couldn't speculate as to where.
Well, that's not true. Sookie imagined the handle sticking of her ass, riding up between the cheeks of that ass that all flat-chested women seemed to have that was categorically unfair to better-if-still-modestly endowed women like Sookie. She slowed down to get a peek at it.
"Looking at my ass again?" Linda asked.
"Yes," Sookie said. "I was wondering if you keep your gun there. The handle could fit between those cheeks and nobody would be the wiser."
Linda laughed and lifted her flannel to show a handgun tucked into her belt on her hip. "Sorry to disappoint," she said. "But I kinda need to keep it where I could easily get at it."
Sookie sighed, her pleasant illusion ruined.
They turned left out of the studio gates and walked up the road. Despite the presence of the studio, this was kind of a rough area, so Sookie appreciated having some security as she made the walk. Not that she couldn't handle herself, but she'd learned the hard way that being taken by surprise left her as vulnerable as anyone.
They hadn't gotten more than a half a block before a ragged looking man approached them, reeking of booze and shit. His clothes were filthy and torn and he had a scraggly beard that ranged from a centimeter to three inches long, seemingly at random.
"Spare a dollar?" he asked.
"No," Linda said, stepping forward to catch his attention so Sookie could slip past.
"S'just a dollar, lady. I'll lick your pussy for it!" The man leered at Linda, who didn't blink or flinch, but rather gave him a hard shove back.
"Don't you fucking crowd me, talking shit like that," she said menacingly, taking another step forward to keep him off balance.
"Be respectful," she added with force. The man looked like he wanted to argue, but something in the way she looked or held herself made it clear to him that Linda was not to be trifled with. He stepped back until his back was to the wall of the building behind him and watched as Linda turned and caught back up to Sookie, who was watching the whole thing over her shoulder.
"Fucking Dykes!" the man shouted. "Suck my dick!"
"You'd think that at least one of them would figure out that being aggressive like that doesn't work," Sookie mused.
"It doesn't work on you or me, but that's because we know we could take his head off if he tried to get violent," Linda said. "Most women aren't fighters. They'll give him cash just to get him to stop harassing them."
"Fair enough," Sookie said.
This was a common occurrence. Almost every time Sookie walked to her hotel, at least one homeless person would try to panhandle her. Sometimes, if she had any cash, she'd give them some. Once in a blue moon, one would engender enough sympathy for a good payout, a hundred bucks or so. But most of the time, they struck her as entitled ruffians, living on the street thanks to their own bad decisions and trying to get by on other people's labor.
She knew that was an old-fashioned mindset. She knew a lot of these people would, if they got clean of whatever they were using, sort out their lives and take care of business. She knew that the DCM Group even had a charitable arm who straight up gave condos and large sums of money to many homeless people, who immediately used that gift to get back on their feet. She knew the stats, too.
But this particular area seemed to attract the sort of homeless people whom right-wing motards used as an archetype for all homeless people. Twice, someone from the crew had been assaulted, causing Sookie to declare that she and the stunt coordinator were the only ones allowed to walk to and from the studio.
"I wonder if they're actually even homeless," Linda said, her thoughts echoing Sookie's.
"Me too," Sookie said. "I mean, it's a very poor neighborhood, adjacent to a place where very wealthy people work. There's no rule that says you have to be homeless to panhandle."
Linda nodded. Sookie wondered idly if she'd been following her own logic, or seeking out a belief that made her feel better about judging the people here. She wasn't sure which, really.
The area they moved through got progressively nicer as they continued. They turned the last corner, with three blocks still to go when Sookie saw the next one.
This one was older. he only had about a week's worth of beard on his face, though Sookie could see that it was mostly gray. He wore similar clothes to the other one, the once-vibrant colors having long since faded towards a muted gray tone. His clothes, however, looked cleaner and the holes had all been neatly stitched. As they drew close, Sookie could read his sign.
Please help Leave a dollar or take a resume Will work for food
Sure enough, he had a stack of resumes weighted down with a rock next to him. Sookie stopped, intrigued and bent down to retrieve one. She handed the man a folded ten dollar bill at the same time. A reward for creativity in his panhandling, she thought.
She looked at it. The man had a pair of enlistments in the Marine Corps at the top of his work experience. It was back in the early 2000s, and it mentioned Helmand Province, which Sookie recalled had been at the center of a lot of the fighting in Afghanistan.
The next few lines were security companies, starting with a high-end competitor to the Group, and then a long sequence of construction and day-labor work, ending on his current work, which was "Self Employed - Private Investigations". Below that, he had a string of qualifications, including armed security, close protection and bail enforcement.
"This is actually quite a good resume," Sookie told him. She glanced up at the top to get his name, Eric Stephens.
"I'll work," he said hopefully. "I can swing a hammer and do plumbing. I'll do a full day's work for lunch and dinner, or a hundred bucks, whichever you prefer."
Sookie handed the resume to Linda, who looked down at it.
"Ain't much different than mine," she said. "Oorah."
"Oorah," Eric muttered back, seemingly on pure instinct.
"So why are you out here, Eric?" Sookie asked. "Your resume says you're self-employed as a private eye."
Eric shrugged. Sookie noted the redness and swelling of his nose. "Work's been scarce," he said. "Been getting fewer jobs for the last few years. Fewer jobs means less money, less money means losing my office, not being able to afford nice clothes, which leads to fewer jobs."
Sookie looked a question at Linda, who shrugged. "We're always looking for investigators. It can be hard to recruit former cops, and those we do are often old enough not to stay on for more than a few years before retiring."
Sookie smiled and nodded, turning back to Eric. "You want an interview?"
"Hell yeah," he said with some enthusiasm. "As long as they don't mind me looking a little rough around the edges."
"Where do you live?" Sookie asked. Eric gestured around. "Lost my apartment last month," he said. Sookie pursed her lips and then nodded and held out a hand to him.
"Come on, Eric. I'm Sookie, and this is Linda. I'll make you a deal. I'll get you a nice outfit to wear and arrange an interview at the LA office tomorrow. I'll put you up on my couch for the night, too. That way, you can shower and shave and look presentable for it. What do you think?"
Eric took her hand and let her help him up. "Are you serious?" he asked. Sookie nodded.
"Holy crap, thank you, lady. Sookie, I mean. Thank you." His eyes began to get watery. "I don't... I don't even know what to say. That would be amazing."
Sookie smiled, her heart wrenching for the guy. She knew he had a drinking problem, but she also remembered all those people the Group's charities helped. Get someone on their feet, and there was a good chance they'd stay there.
"Do you have stuff to get?"
"I uh... I have a storage shed. It's paid up through the end of the year," he said. "My stuff is safe there, I just need to go get my toiletries."
"Don't worry about that," Sookie said, stepping to the edge of the sidewalk and waiting for the traffic to clear enough to cross the road. "We can stop by a drug store, too."
----
Sookie and Linda took Eric shopping and got him everything he needed. Which wasn't much, really. Sookie had a spare toothbrush, razors, shaving cream and cologne at her hotel room. It was all stuff she kept on hand to be the best slut she could be, and make her dishes du jour feel welcome. They bought him deodorant and an electric beard trimmer, and decided to take a pit stop at a hair and nails salon next to the pharmacy.
The girls there had cooed and gooed over Sookie and Linda helping this man out, and refused to accept any money for the trim he got. Unfortunately, they weren't set up to shave a man (all of the other clients inside were women), but Eric protested that he was perfectly capable of shaving himself, so it all worked out.
The next stop was, at Sookie's insistence, one of the ultra-high-end men's clothing stores near her hotel. Linda had protested that simply taking a car to Walmart would be good enough, but Sookie would have none of that.
"Linda, it's been over six years since I've seen a person in Walmart that I'd be willing to give a handy to. It's been even longer since I've seen any clothing there that looked like it didn't come from Walmart, especially the suits. We're not going to Walmart."
As a result, Eric got fitted for a custom-tailored suit and outfitted with a tie that was a pleasant, deep blue, bespeckled with tiny, gold-embroidered Marine Corps logos. He seemed pleased with it, and had to keep wiping his eyes as he repeatedly and profusely thanked her.
When all was done, they finally went to the hotel. Sookie had a full suite on the top floor. It wasn't the biggest suite, but it was close, with two spare bedrooms, a living room and a full kitchen, in addition to a balcony that afforded her a great view of the city (so long as the smog wasn't too bad) and a private elevator to the rooftop pool.
Linda took her usual spot at the door to await her relief for the evening while Sookie showed Eric the large bathroom and made sure he had everything he needed. While he showered and shaved, she decided to review the script.
She walked over to the safe in the living room and carefully punched in her combination on the keypad.
The scripts for The Legend of Jimmy were like solid gold. Every studio out there wanted to get their hands on one, to steal ideas from. Every fan wanted to get one, just for the thrill of knowing what was going to happen next. During the second season's filming, they'd had multiple scripts stolen and leaked, and Sookie had learned to crack down on that. As a result, she was the only one who ever had a full set of scripts for any given season. She kept them safely under lock and key at all times.
She pulled out her working copy, which was different from the 'archive' copy she also kept in the safe. The working copy had all of her handwritten notes on it. She closed the safe back up and locked it, then sat down at the table and flipped open to the scenes they would be filming after the break. Using a red pen, she made notes for herself, things to remember during shooting, like camera angles and notes on the VFX.
She heard the shower turn off, but she was engrossed in her work when the door opened.
"Thanks again," Eric said, causing her to look up. He had a towel around his waist, but Sookie noted that he had a lean torso, with some muscle still there, despite a rough life. Clean shaven now, he looked much better. He'd never get a gig as a model, but he was handsome enough in his own way. Sookie smiled at him.
"You don't have to keep thanking me," she said. "I'm happy to help."
She closed her script and stood, walking it over to the safe. Obscuring her hands with her body, she punched in the code again and placed the script inside. She hadn't yet closed the door when she heard Eric mutter "Oh shit."
She turned to look and froze. He'd turned back towards the bathroom, and then dropped his towel by accident. He was currently in the process of picking it up, affording Sookie a great view of his ass and what might well have been considered a third leg hanging from between the other two.
It came almost to his knees.
A flush of heat went through her, washing away all thoughts of largess and generosity, and kindling a very selfish desire. She heard the spattering on the hardwood floor where she crouched as her usual over-the-top wetness kicked into high gear and soaked through her pants in seconds. She could feel herself throbbing as she eyed Eric's enormous member.
Her disguise slipped and the horns erupted from her head, her tail curled up painfully inside her pants and her skin turned red, with large patches of scales. Operating purely on instinct, she magicked up a veil of mundanity. She didn't want Eric to freak out, and this would keep him from registering her appearance as anything out of the ordinary.
He retrieved his towel and made to wrap it back around his waist, but Sookie shot to her feet and spun, already ripping her shirt off.
"Wait," she said. Eric froze, then turned to look at her over one shoulder. She tossed her shirt on the couch and peeled off her pants. She wasn't wearing any underwear or bra, of course. She never did.
"I just thought of a way you could thank me," she purred, taking a languid step forward. Eric reacted immediately to the sight of her naked, turning, his hog's leg stiffening and rising from its vertical hang slightly.
"Are you, uh... I mean... I'm not..." Eric stammered. Sookie stepped closer to him and put her hands on his shoulder, then ran them down his chest.
"I am damn sure I want to do this, if that's what you're asking," she said, her hands reaching lower as she stepped close enough to press her breasts into his ribs. She took hold of him and felt him grow almost immediately rock hard as he gasped.
"Wow," he said. "This is... This is like something from a porno with a bad script..." he said.
"Uh huh," Sookie said. "And we're about to do the fun parts of it." She pressed her lips into his, and then squealed in delight as he grabbed her by the ass and hoisted her up.
"Where?" he asked into her mouth.
"Pussy, mouth and ass," she replied. She felt the heat rush through his cheeks.
"I meant where in this room," he said.
"I don't fucking care," Sookie responded, lining his huge cock up with her most convenient hole and squirming down onto it with a loud gasp.
"In the bedroom!" Linda shouted. "Please, for the love of god, in the bedroom!"
----
Sookie awoke the next morning and rolled over to see if Eric was up for a little wake-and-shake. Her hands slapped the empty bed and she pouted.
"Eric?" she called, a wonderful aroma meeting her nose as she did. "Are you making coffee already? I'll fall in love with you, or deepthroat you, your choice, if you are!"
He didn't answer.
She opened her eyes and saw that his new suit was missing. An empty hanger was hooked to the coathanger next to the closet. She climbed out of bed, frowning, and walked out into the living room.
It was empty. She could smell the coffee even stronger, and she walked into the kitchen to find the coffee pot full and a business card sitting next to it. She picked it up and peered at it with sleep-bleary eyes.
"Eric Stephens, Private Investigations, Corporate Espionage, Bail Bonds, Security Consultation," she read out loud. There was a QR code on it, so she picked up her phone from where it had been flung to the floor last night and scanned it. While the page loaded, she glanced in the bathroom to see Eric's old clothes still piled there.
She glanced at her phone to see a very clean-shaven and well-dressed Eric smiling at the camera at the top of a very tastefully designed web page. She scrolled through it for a moment, confused.
That was, until she looked to her own pile of clothes by the safe and saw the door still hanging open. With a gasp, she rushed over only to find the safe empty. Both of her scripts were gone!
"Shit!" she shouted.
The door opened and a large, muscular man dressed like a lawyer rushed in, a gun in hand.
"Miss Ohma, is everything all right?" he asked after scanning the room and peering through the open doors.
"No," Sookie wailed. "I just got my scripts stolen!"
"The gentleman who left this morning?" her guard asked. She nodded. "I'm so sorry, Miss Ohma. I would have stopped him if I knew."
"No, you did fine," Sookie said as her eyes filled with frustrated tears. "You're used to men heading out in the morning. Usually they do it after I wake up and we can get another good fuck in, but still... You didn't do anything wrong."
"He left a note," the guard said. "I saw it taped to the inside of the door." Sookie looked over and saw a folded piece of paper taped there. She stalked over and ripped it down, sniffling angrily and wiping at her eyes to read it.

 Dear Sookie, Last night was probably the best night I've had in my life. It's certainly the best night I can remember. If you ever want to do it again, just let me know. I left you a card by the coffee machine, and there's a full pot for you, as well. If you don't ever want to see me again, well, I guess I understand. I'm sorry to have left the way I did, but I'm a man of my word, and my client was willing to pay a lot of money for that script. I hope this doesn't hurt you too much. For what it's worth, I'm sorry if I upset you. Wishing you all the best, Eric 

Sookie crumbled up the paper and angrily threw it across the room.
"Motherfucker!" she shouted. The guard winced, but said nothing.
"He scammed me," Sookie said. "Got a nice new suit out of me, seduced me with that redwood growing between his legs and then ran off with my fucking scripts!"
She let her claws form and dug them into her thighs, carving bloody furrows that healed almost as fast as she made them. The guard started and rushed over.
"Ma'am, please," he said. "I'm not supposed to let you hurt yourself."
Sookie let him pull her hands up to her chest. She leaned into him for a moment. "You're married, aren't you?" she said.
"Uh, no," he said. Sookie turned her head to regard him. She didn't recognize him. "What's your name?"
"Devin, Ma'am," he said. "Devin Iglesias. This is my first shift on your detail."
"Who put you on this shift?"
"Uhh, Missus Williams. She said I'd enjoy this detail, and I agreed. I'm a huge fan of your show, Miss Ohma."
"Are you gay?" Sookie asked. Devin blinked. "Uh, no, Ma'am."
Sookie smiled. "I need you to do two things," she said.
"The second, and most important thing, I need you to call the office and ask for any information they have on a private investigator named Eric Stephens who works out of LA."
Devin nodded. "Yes, ma'am. And the first thing?"
Sookie smiled wider. "I need you to find out the real reason why Inanna thought you'd enjoy this posting."

Cook healthy meals for the kids..take them to their Dr appointments and treats Nika how she treats those kids. Him yelling at her to hurry up and get the canned goods out the pantry.. buy him and the kids matching outfits and they eat Captain D’s kids meals, Bojangles and she eats Little Caesars…EVERY DAY…he pays to get him and the boys hair cut and the girls to get braids.. and Nika hair all matted up and dried out…He gets a large king sized bed and the kids have their own and Nika sleeps on pallets on the floor. I’m cracking up just imagining this..lol. Now I know that would look crazy for a man to do this.. ooh but wait she is a fake lesbian, so maybe a woman can do these things to her.. I would PAY to see that!!

A question that I have not fully resolved yet is: Is a driven steel pile laterally supported against buckling?
I always took the conservative approach and used the unbraced length as the depth to fixity plus any pile stickup.
This issue recently came up again where a contractor's engineer was pretty adamant that the pile was braced the entire depth it was embedded in the ground. (Note a refined analysis was not performed as I discuss down below, only an empirical analysis was done). An external reviewer commented that assumption as invalid and we sided with the reviewer. I think this is pretty clear, per AASHTO (9th edition refences) 10.7.3.13.4, the effective length of the pile shall be equal to the laterally unsupported length (ie stick out above the ground), plus an embedded depth to fixity (emphasis mine).
AASHTO makes does an allowance of reduced influence of buckling for concrete filled steel tubes if they satisfy the requirements to be considered composite.
But I have have seen divided arguments over this, yet no concrete evidence to back up that the conservatives approach I take is not correct.
I will throw in this additional question:
Per FHWA NHI 16-009 (GEC 12) - Design and Construction of Driven Pile Foundations, says this:

The unbraced length, 𝑙𝑙, or laterally unsupported length is defined by AASHTO (2014) as the distance between two braced points that resist buckling or distortion modes. For embedded piles, the unbraced length is considered for scour and pile stickup through air and/or water. For preliminary analysis, when lateral loads are applied, the effective length, K, for flexural or torsional resistance calculations is taken as the total unsupported length, plus an embedded depth to “fixity.” If a lateral pile analysis with p-y curves for soil-structure interaction has been performed as discussed in Chapter 7, the depth to fixity concept is unnecessary. Most software with lateral analysis also includes additional features to determine a pile’s buckling capacity given the soil model and a pile model with the expected stick-up above the ground level.

The way I read all this is that if you design piles using empirical methods you need to follow the AASHTO approach to stickout + depth to fixity for the unbraced length in the pile structural analysis, BUT if using a program like Ensoft GROUP, where depth to fixity has been developed using a refined approach, does is the unbraced length equal the the depth to fixity but can K be assumed to be 0, OR can you assume its fully braced while in the ground? The Geotech is only providing depth the fixity and compression/flexure forces on the piles, they are not using software to determine buckling resistance of the piles, we are taking an empirical approach to pile structural design.
Hopefully this isn't too hard to follow, I'm asking two questions - one, is my approach conservative? and two, how does one marry a refine geotech analysis with an empirical structural pile structural analysis?

Hi guys! So basically I want some help on how this gig I got would be more easier to approach. We have a 3D animation of a city (Blender) coming up from the floor and we want to add some particles streaks and trails like magic dust, something like the magical dust from the Rise of the Guardians movie (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfRVvZu-ncY) something like that.
I've already made the particles simulation in After Effects using the Red Giant's Particular plugin and looks awesome! But now I'm just trying to figure out how to integrate this with the 3D models from the 3D animator. Should I request from him the 3D passes from the objects? Depth of field pass? Or should we approach this with another method, maybe Element 3D? It's going to be a 1 minute long animation, so I want to use the most efficient way.
Does someone has experience with something like this or recommend a video tut about this?

--- Table of Contents ---
Interlude 2 - Wind
Winter 4984, Halakon
“I’m afraid that might be more than just rain…” the head steward's face was a mask of calm despite his words of worry as he stared into the horizon.
Allowing the silk to slide from the drying line into his waiting hands, Vinrin looked up, following the steward’s gaze to the east. Black clouds. As if night had decided to wash over the desert without waiting for the sun to set.
The dunes that covered most of Halakon could be seen in the distance, many miles away. A heartbeat later, they were gone. Wind brushed Vinrin’s cheeks, pulling stray red hairs from his braid. The eastern sky had become two-toned, black on top and tan below.
Run. The voice shot through him like lightning, causing his heart to skip a beat, then race to make up for lost time.
Vinrin flinched, gripping his head and chest, the cloth blowing away before it could hit the ground.
The Steward leaned over Vinrin, steadying him and whispering softly in his ear, "Young master, is everything alright?”
No, everything was far from alright. Green flashed in the distance and Vinrin looked up with a gasp mirrored by the steward. Lightning traced across the black clouds. Jagged lines of green, purple, and red set the sand below aglow but did nothing to light the darkness above.
“Run…” Vinrin breathed.
“Hurry girls, the shutters!” the Steward cried to the servant girls, urging them to take what laundry they had and rush back to the manor. To button it up for the oncoming dust storm. It wouldn’t be enough. Not this time.
“NO! Run!” Vinrin cried, suddenly desperate. He wrenched a basket of sheets from a passing servant, tossing it to the ground, “Run!”
“Young master the manor-” the steward started, befuddled, at the fourteen-year-old heir, now shoving servants away from the door and towards the road.
“Get everyone out of the house! Make for the rift!” Vinrin screamed, his voice cracking as the wind tried to blow his words away.
The rolling blackness covered the sun and the first bits of sand blown ahead of the storm wall pelted them like so many bug bites. Alone they would be inconsequential, but together they would eventually flay any exposed skin. And worse was yet to come.
Vinrin struggled through the wind to grab the Steward by the arm, screaming into his ear to be heard, “Please, hurry, run!”
Blessedly, the Steward nodded, rushing for the manor, his pace quicked further by the wind at his back. Vinrin pulled his hair back as best he could, looking around in horror as the nearby houses began shuttering their windows from the inside. Preparing to weather the dust storm as they had so many others. Couldn’t they see the lightning now right overhead? Couldn’t they feel the wrongness in the air?
“The rift…” his whisper was stolen by the wind.
He ran, shouting to the houses, banging on the doors, and forcibly turning people around who were trying to head the wrong way, back to their homes, towards the terrible storm. Not enough followed.
He dashed down side streets and allies, yelling until his voice was hoarse and beyond. He zig-zagged through the streets, trying to gather as many as he could. Not nearly enough.
Vinrin ushered all he could towards the Rift, a canyon that divided the city of Zaha into two halves, connected by multiple stone bridges. Stairs were carved down the Rift's faces in sharp switchbacks. Leading towards the ancient Temples built into its walls.
The air was thick with sand that pelted painfully against his skin, filling his mouth, nose, and eyes. He could hardly see the stairs, already crowded with people too far from home and seeking shelter. Or perhaps they'd felt the wrongness.
He'd just reached the head of the switchbacks when screams could be heard as if from a great distance. Spinning around, he ducked just as a roof torn from a nearby building flew overhead. It nearly spanned the rift before crashing down on a bridge. Stone crumbled, and more people screamed as a structure that had stood for hundreds, if not thousands, of years fell into the canyon, taking at least fifty people down with it.
He could hardly see, hardly think. A woman tried to shove past him, but a burst of wind pushed her too far. She tumbled into the canyon, her screams indistinguishable from the rest.
Pushing against the wind just to stay upright, Vin-rin nearly lost his footing as someone grabbed him by the hand and pulled him down the steps. Gusts whipped about the canyon, sometimes pulling, sometimes pushing. He held tightly to the hand of his rescuer, unable to see them through the sand that had become his entire world. They struggled their way down the switchbacks, crouching to keep themselves as close to the ground as possible. More screams trailed from above to below as people fell from greater heights. Had he been wrong? Would they have been safer in their homes?
No. He knew, knew, the city would be lost in this storm, buried by the dunes that had only ever existed on the horizon.
The hand pulled him one last time, and he nearly fell again, stumbling towards the canyon wall only to be wrenched through a doorway he hadn’t seen. Into the safety of the Temple of Hengist. People shuffled and sobbed in the darkness, but the grand entrance to the chapel wasn’t nearly as full as it should be.
The Steward let go of Vinrin’s hand. He was hardly recognizable, caked in sand and blending in with all the other faces huddled together for comfort.
“My family, Maze, tell me!” Vinrin cried, tears turning to mud on his cheeks.
“Safe, young master, they are here.” His whisper sounded loud, despite the roar of the storm so close it shook the natural stone walls of this cave-turned sanctuary.
Safe… they were safe… but how many had he failed to save above? What would be left of the second-largest city in Halakon once this storm from the hells themselves passed…
Vinrin collapsed in a heap on the floor and sobbed. Relieved, and grieving.
--- Table of Contents ---
Any comments or communication would be welcome.

About our house: - Built in 1925 - 1,800 sqft - Southeast Pennsylvania
This is kind of a long writeup, because I don't know what details will be useful to others considering this work. There is a tl;dr at the bottom.
Portions of our house were remodeled over the years, and some areas had modern romex wiring feeding the fixtures and devices (updated kitchen, remodeled bathroom), but most of the wiring leading into the panel was either knob and tube, or 2-conductor cloth-insulated wire.
While this electrical system is far from ideal, typically as long as it's stable, it doesn't really require an urgent rewire. Unfortunately for us, whenever it rained, most of the power on our second floor would go out. We had 2 electricians out to diagnose the problem, but neither could locate the issue without going fishing in the walls.
If we were going to open the walls to get this fixed anyway, we decided the best course of action, long term, was to just bite the bullet and rewire the whole house. There were smaller problems all over the place, and we didn't want to go through the hassle of major electrical work more than once.
We only got two quotes (!!!), but honestly we knew who we were going to use from the start, so one of the quotes was moot.
In addition to the rewire, we included in the statement of work lots of other additions, changes, and improvements. We added some light fixtures, hard-wired CAT6 running to the office, added a ventilation fan in the bathroom, and added lots of outlets.
Our 3rd floor attic is finished, but there is a crawl space, and that's what they used to access most of the runs.
We knew that there would need to be holes made in our walls (and most of the walls are lath and plaster), and we were expecting like big shoebox sides holes. In the end though, they were just a couple inches wide and maybe 6 inches high. Some of the more problematic areas required holes every 3 feet, other required no holes at all. They did a rough patch of all the holes with spackling mud.
I was expecting them to remove the old wires from the walls, but that didn't happen. They just disconnected it, taped off the ends, ran the new lines through the wall, and left the old wires where they were, dead and inert.
The rooms that were remodeled recently were not rewired, since there was already romex in the walls. All that was needed was to ensure that they were fed by romex all the way to the panel.
One thing I really appreciated is that with only a couple small exceptions, our house was fully powered and useable on evenings and weekends. I even managed to work from home for about half of the time. They worked in chunks so that they could complete and reconnect whatever it was they were working on each day.
I won't name the company that did the work here, but if you're in SE PA and looking for a good electrician, PM me. I left them a 5-star review and will be calling them for any other electrical work I need down the road. They were professional, communicative, knowledgeable, and respectful of our home and our budget. They finished the job ahead of schedule and under budget.
Okay, I know what everyone is still waiting to know.
It took 8 days. Most days it was 2 guys working, but one day we had 3, and another day we had 4.
The final cost was $17,400. We were billed for time and material. The bill included the wire itself, labor, all the decorator-style devices, and the bathroom fan with ducting and a roofer to come out and install a vent on the roof.
In the end, it was worth every penny. I feel that our house is now safer, the gross and clunky decades-old switches and outlets are gone, the new ones are clean and grounded, the house is fully functional in all weather conditions, and with the changes and additions we made, it's now truly our home.
tl;dr - electricians rewired our house in 8 days to the tune of $17,400. We added lots of other goodies while we were at it.
I don't know what other info people would find useful, but I'm happy to answer questions.

1. Sheer dresses are all over red carpets today, but when Bobbie Bresee wore one to the 33rd Cannes Film Festival in 1980 it was considered shocking.
2. Former adult film actress Ilona Staller made a statement at the 1988 festival in a barely there ensemble.
3. Actress Victoria Abril didn't abide by the black-tie dress code at the 1997 festival, opting to go with a pantless look that showed off her underwear.
4. Kate Beckinsale said Keanu Reeves saved her from a major wardrobe malfunction at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival by holding down her bodysuit.
5. Actress Sophie Marceau had a wardrobe malfunction when the strap of her dress slipped on the red carpet at the 58th annual festival.
6. At the 58th Cannes Film Festival, Phoebe Price bared her bottom when she pushed back the slit of her dress.
7. Elizabeth Banks seemed to be unaware of her broken dress zipper at Cannes in 2009.
8. The cast of "Rubber" brought tires and kneepads to the red carpet for the 63rd Cannes Film Festival.
9. Eva Longoria had a fashion mishap as she climbed the red-carpet steps at a Cannes screening in 2013.
10. The same year, a couple of days after Longoria's wardrobe malfunction Rosario Dawson had a slight fashion mishap.
11. In 2015, Sophie Marceau made another unintentional fashion faux pas on the Cannes red carpet.
12. Julia Roberts ditched her heels at the Cannes Film Festival in 2016.
13. On the same red carpet as Roberts, Amal Clooney was dealing with a voluminous skirt in windy weather.
14. Laure Calamy made headlines after doing the cancan in a dress with a high slit at the 69th Cannes Film Festival in 2016.
15. Bella Hadid tried to keep from flashing paparazzi at her Cannes debut in 2016.
16. For the second year in a row, Hadid wore another revealing Alexandre Vauthier dress.
17. A gust of wind blew actress Abigail Lopez's teal dress in several directions at the 2017 festival.
18. Kristen Stewart removed her Christian Louboutin heels for a Cannes red carpet in 2018.
19. Joy Corrigan wore a daring and skin-baring gown at the same screening as Stewart.
20. Model Petra Němcová held down the skirt of her dress on a windy day at the 2018 festival.
21. Fernanda Liz's dress slipped at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.

Link to article

Was reasonably certain I had everything in the right place following the guide for categories from this sub-reddit and the game was stable for a decent while but now it's crashing randomly on fast travel or when going through doors that load interiors.
Thought I'd be best getting a more experienced eye to look things over and suggest what may be in the wrong place or entirely redundant so load order follows below. I'll ad creation club content at the bottom as well.
USSEP
USMP
Cutting room floor
CRF USMP patch
Ugh mods manager cap
Hearthfire multiple adoptions
Hearthfire patch:
Cheat room
Stones of barenziah quest markers
The paarthurnax dilemma
Bandolier: bags and punches classic
Cloaks and capes
Craftable everything: special edition
CE dragonborn
CE dawnguard
Ars metallica
Dragonbone smiting fix
Each stone of barenziah give a bonus
Unlimited rings and amulets
Pickpocketing chance cap increase
50pcs more perk points
20pcs more perk points
Dragon aspect overhaul - shout edition
Rebalanced leveled lists
Rich merchants of skyrim
Vivid weather definitive edition
Enhanced night skyrim
Xp32 maximum skeleton+realistic ragdolls and force
Human skin tones for all elven races
CBBE slim edition AIO
Adorable females
Chris57 and Sundracon male body
Girly animation
Girly animation shared
SMIM
Graphics pack
Add on - SMIM performance plus
Add on - light landscapes and dungeons
Add on - winter hold and snow elf
Add on - farmhouse and orc
Add on - high hrothgar
Add on - markarth and dwemer ruins
Add on - interior lighting & fx
Fluffy snow
Unique u iques by insanitysorry
Unread books glow SSE
Immersive citezens - ai overhaul
USMP Immersive citizens patch
Amazing follower tweaks
KS hairdos lite
Natural eyes
Apachii sky hair kite SSE main
Skyrim hair colors
Breeze home TNF - hearthfire
Vlindrel hall TNF - hearthfire
Hjerim TNF - hearthfire
Proudspire Manor TNF - hearthfire
Honeyside TNF - hearthfire
Magical college of winterhold
Kitted out blacksmiths
Lampposts of skyrim
Glowing ore 300
Vandfald cottage - player home
Insignificant object remover
Violens
A quality word map - vivid with stone roads
Mao markers unlocked
Alternate start - live another life
New beginnings - alternate start extension
Realistic water 2
Relationship dialogue overhaul
Realistic conversations
RDO - CRF + USSEP patch
Go away map clouds!
Creation club mods as follows:
Adventurer's backpack
Alternative armours - dragonscale
Alternative armours - stalhrim
Arcane accessories
Arcane archer pack
Camping
Dwarven armored mudcrab
Fishing
Horse armor - elven
Necromantic grimoire
Rate curios
Ruins edge
Saints and seducers
Staff of sheogorath
Survival mode
Any help,advice or suggestions would be welcome.
Thanks

Hey y'all,
We've owned our '90 Four Winns Freedom 190 since 2019, and just love it. Runs great (after a fuel pump replacement) and does everything we need out of a boat. After this last weekend the pieces of wood that support the ski locker cover started to break from the floor. It appears these supports were attached to the floor via long staples/nails.
Last year we replaced the carpet and a couple of spots on the floor were cutout and replaced. I've read many people say that boats rot from the bottom up, but I have found no other evidence of any water damage, such as in the foam or evidence in the transom (though I haven't taken a core sample of the transom). Our boat guy indicated that he sees soggy floors from regular use all the time; i.e. that just by getting in and out of the boat, exposure to water, etc, certain spots of the floor can become soggy especially in older boats like ours.
I only iterate that point because it does appear that this damage is a result of contact with water, and all evidence points to water that came in from the top (as in putting toys into the ski locker, normal use).
I was wondering if y'all had any advice in repairing these supports. I'm not super handy, but I can manage with some help, so I figured I'd ask here.
The ideas I have so far:

1. Install new supports that are screwed down into cleats, that are screwed into the side walls of the ski locker (of course using appropriate sealant for any screws going into the fiberglassed walls).
2. Install new supports that are fastened the same way before, albeit with screws instead of nails. This option seems likely to break again.
3. Install many smaller supports that are fastened to the floor: 3-4" pieces of hardwood spaced every 6-8" that would support the ski locker cover.

Linked are pictures, (1) of the ski locker with the broken support on the left and (2) of the carpet pulled back to reveal the old staples that secured the supports to the floor.
https://imgur.com/a/eJetCvP
Thanks for taking a look!

Thank you all for answering some questions over the weekend. After watching some YouTube, reading through the rules, and finally proxying some Starter Boxes to try the game myself I think I have a plan.
(I'm the person that wants to eventually play normal Malifaux, but also find some way to play it solo in less than an hour.)
Crudely summarizing, the plan is to start by purchasing Starter Boxes for Ten Thunders, Bayou, and Arcanist, and then for solo play think not in terms of the normal Strategies and Schemes but to use some custom scenarios.
As examples:

1. Prison Escape on a map like the Paizo Prison Flip-Mat. One team starts in a hallway beside jail cells. The other team starts at the prison exit with bonus equipment. Only the escaping team scores points: for opening enough jail cell doors, making the most progress towards the exit, and having models alive at the end of three turns. After three turns, reset the game with roles switched.
2. Steampunk Cleanup on a map with obstacle in the center. Proxy a bunch of Gearlings around the map. Whichever team deals the most damage to Gearlings wins. During each turn, damage caused by later activations counts slightly more towards points so Pass tokens do not lose value.
3. Equip the Wimp Arena on a map where random weapons appear each round on the map in known locations, only usable by the two wimpiest models on each team. Scheme marker are dropped to create spawn points where a dead "wimp" may be re-summoned during the Resolve Effects step of Start Phase.
4. Train Race on a map of train cars. Secretly pick which model starts on the map in the caboose, the others are reinforcements that can be summoned by dropping a scheme token that remains until End Phase. In each train car both teams can interact once to score a point (they are searching for McGuffins). Interacting twice where train cars connect separates those cars during End Phase which makes the rearward portion of the train removed from play!

Might it work to treat Malifaux as Unreal Tournament the Board Game because of time constraints? I can't pick schemes secretly from myself anyway.
Or have folks already tried this and it does not work for some reason I cannot yet forsee.
(I'm not saying it could be as satisfying as a normal two-player game. Just trying to make something worthy for exploring crew interactions, for a new player currently without a Malifaux in-person community.)

Like do you personally believe that y’alls fursona is a totem? Like do you believe that you follow a form of totemism? Cause totemism is hard to have an exact definition because of its versatility but it is showing representation through a natural phenomena; I.e. animals, plants and weather.
Edit: I have been reading a Social Anthropology book called Totemism. Just putting in the basic definition from Brittanica: totemism, system of belief in which humans are said to have kinship or a mystical relationship with a spirit-being, such as an animal or plant. The entity, or totem, is thought to interact with a given kin group or an individual and to serve as their emblem or symbol.

Oh boy! What a morning! Y’all! I don’t get it. I’ve been going to concerts for a long time. Okay well for about ten years. I am 22 years old now. Anyway on with the story
I 22 female bought floor seats for Paramore. The venue sent out an email last night stating the rules to collect our wristbands. Now I never have been a fan that camps out and I loath fandoms but I’ve had time to grow as an adult to reflect on my times as a teen fan.
Anyway I am not a fan that will camp out. I arrived at the venue two hours before the line opens. I was talking with another lady for a bit then this entitled I think she was 18 year old told us they’re lining up across the street. So I asked her if she worked at MSG the venue at the concert. And she said no obviously. So I ignored her stupid little wristband.
Her other “line leader” a guy very much taller than me came over and was very hostile. I told him I would get my spot in line by following the rules. It turns out that most of that group had camped out. But they were very fucking entitled, hostile and just generally had a very bad teenage attitude.
I’m sorry I’m not going to sit out all night freezing my ass out for a few hours of entertainment. These entitled parasocial fans basically bullied and manipulated the line so they all get better spots.
These little wristbands should not be honored. MSG security and guest relations basically did not care because it didn’t start on their property. I know I’m also very young but I know for a fact I followed the rules according to the email I was sent and not some idiots camping overnight