Liftmaster 8500 light programming

Our car wont start. Back story! We took our car to Valvoline for oil change on Saturday. They where doing some normal checking beside changing the oil. They thought our break light was out but after they changed it wasn’t. They put it back in. We drove it fine on Sunday. On Monday our car alarm went off for hours which we didn’t know until we got a call from from our condo. By the time, it seemed like the battery was dead, I couldn’t used the key fob and couldn’t stop the alarm. Then the alarm stopped itself( maybe battery completely dead) We were able to jumpstart it but we didn’t drive our car. The next morning, we couldn’t start our car again. We jumpstarted in the evening and made sure to drive for about 15 mins. The car was fine on Wednesday when we drove around. Thursday morning, the car couldn’t start again. This time we jumped started and took it to a mechanic. We told them what was going on. They said it could be something wrong with the program that drained the battery or the battery needed to be changed or it wasn’t fully charged. They tested the battery and do the 85% charged and said the battery wasn’t a problem. We thought it could be a baby monitor that we didn’t unplug while parking. Because it was holiday weekend. They close on Friday and wont be open until Tuesday. We took it home hoping it would be fine and make sure we didn’t leave anything plugged in while parking. Friday the car was fine. Saturday we took an hour trip away trip to the mountain the car was fine. Sunday, we drove a bit in the morning and afternoon, it was fine. Monday morning it didn’t start again. We took our car into the same shop and left it overnight. The mechanic could not locate any draw on battery. They checked a few things including alternator and everything looked fine. We were supposed to pickup out car this morning but just got a call that the car couldn’t start and they will try to look at it again.
Is there anything else we could try? How much should I be expecting for a repair cost for this situation?

So, we already discussed what DC was doing to match the tenor of the early years of the War on Terror: A grim, smarter-than-it-thinks miniseries full of gratuitous rape that was meant to take the shine off the Silver Age by showing the darker side of its greatest heroes. Marvel, on the other hand, was trying to find a way to capture the zeitgeist of a post-9/11 era of existential threats, constant government surveillance, and the idea that if you weren’t with America, you were against it. A Captain America storyline saw Cap wrestle with the very concept of Guantanamo Bay; like any story arc that involves Cap doubting whether America lives up to its ideals, this made certain conservatives pissy, to the point that bad movie cataloguer Michael Medved wrote an entire article asking if Cap was a traitor. Avengers Disassembled briefly saw the Avengers face down their demons, as the Scarlet Witch goes crazy (again) and starts killing team members, her reality manipulations causing fault lines to form among Marvel’s greatest superteam. But there hadn’t yet been a storyline that would tie the entire Marvel Universe together with the burning question, “Which side are you on?”
Yeah, it’s got nothing to do with the Sokovia Accords. We’d be a lot better off if it did.
Part 1: Mark Millar’s March to the C-Word
Content Warning: Sexual assault. None of this is germane to the topic of the drama, so feel free to skip ahead to Part 1.5 if you don’t want to deal with this. Tl;dr: Mark Millar, the writer of the event, has a near pathological need to be a 3edgy5u contrarian.
Every comics crossover is ultimately a chance for one creative in the stable to shine or falter. The editors pick a writer who has turned out dependable work and give them a chance to try to alter the status quo but good. And for Civil War, Marvel’s EiC Joe Quesada decided the best person to lead the charge was Ultimates writer Mark Millar.
But who is Millar? Well, we could say “edgelord” and leave it at that, but we’re trying to dig deeper. Millar came up in comics alongside fellow Scot Grant Morrison, long before Morrison said the only time they want to bump into Millar on the streets of Glasgow is while going at 100 miles per hour. This antipathy is alleged to have stemmed from Millar copping several ideas from Morrison that went into Superman: Red Son. But after getting a start on Superman Adventures and as a cowriter on parts of Morrison’s JLA run, Millar soon branched out to WildStorm, where he took over The Authority from departing creatowritesex pest Warren Ellis.
The reason I bring up Red Son (for those non-geeks, an alternative universe comic premised on “What if Superman’s rocket had landed in Soviet Russia?”) is to frame a constant refrain about Mark Millar. He has good high-concept ideas… which often get trammeled up in an almost Pavlovian urge to shock, disturb, and/or titillate the reader. For instance, in The Authority, Ellis had introduced Apollo and Midnighter, two close companions who just happened to share the rough power sets and demeanors of Superman and Batman, with a few tweaks. Then he revealed they were boyfriends, which was a pretty bold move for a late Nineties comic book full of widescreen action and lovingly-rendered eviscerations.
In Millar’s first arc on the title, centered on a villainous Jack Kirby clone sending out a team of baddies who totally aren’t the Avengers, Apollo is subdued and is strongly implied to have been raped by someone who’s not Captain America. Apollo gets revenge by destroying EvilCap’s spinal column with his laser vision, then leaving him to the tender mercies of Midnighter, who is strongly implied to have sodomized him with a jackhammer.
In case you can’t tell, Millar loved him some rape. And it kept showing up in his creator-owned titles as well, all of which were basically written as Hollywood pitch docs. Wanted asks the question, “What if the supervillains won and secretly ruled the world from behind the scenes?” Well, an Eminem clone would take the opportunity to step into his dead villainous dad’s shoes and commit a lot of rape (yeah, there’s a reason the movie version replaced this with basically the Euthanatos from Mage: the Ascension getting orders from a magic loom). Chosen asks the question, “What if Jesus were born today?” Well, in a blatantly obvious twist, it turns out he’s actually the Antichrist, and part of his journey into realizing his evil nature involves being raped by all the demons of Hell.
It’s not that Millar can’t write innocent or restrained; he got started on the Superman: the Animated Series comic spin-off, and some of his titles such as Huck and Starlight have been praised for being relatively wholesome (keep in mind Huck is basically “What if Superman was Forrest Gump?” when I say “relatively”). And, as mentioned above, his works are made for high-concept log lines. You might recognize some of his various pitch docs: Kick-Ass, The Secret Service (source for the Kingsman movies), and, as mentioned above, Wanted. It’s just there’s this unctuous contrarian streak to a lot of his titles, a tendency to focus on venality, grotesquerie, and sodomy, with an air of pop culture edge. This also leaked into his image outside of his writing, with comments like “Games are for pedos” and ventures like the creator-owned comics periodical CLiNT (yes, the kerning is intentional). This streak continues to this day, as The Magic Order, a title that emerged from his deal with Netflix, features a magical escapologist who, she feels it very important to tell the reader in a direct monologue, escaped her own abortion. Bottom line, Millar has a sense of vision, but it’s betrayed at times by this reflexive desire to prove he’s smarter than the reader, to rub your face in the contradictions and make you a party to the artifice of it all. Usually with a dash of rape.
But at Marvel, Millar was riding the lightning of the Ultimate Universe. His Ultimates title was drawing on the wide-screen action image of JLA and The Authority, creating the cinematic language that would come to define the MCU. The choice to fantasy cast Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury is why we have Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury. He also painted the Hulk as a cannibalistic monster, cemented Hank Pym’s reputation as a wifebeater, and gave us Captain America yelling “Surrender? Do you think this A on my head stands for France?”, so let’s just keep that in perspective.
But the Ultimate Universe was its own pocket universe. Millar was being tapped to write a story for Earth-616, the main Marvel Universe. And he had a vision:

“I opted instead for making the superhero dilemma something a little different. People thought they were dangerous, but they did not want a ban. What they wanted was superheroes paid by the federal government like cops and open to the same kind of scrutiny. It was the perfect solution and nobody, as far as I'm aware, has done this before.”

Yeah. About that.
Part 1.5: What Has Come Before
Ultimately, the crux of Civil War is something that has been explored lightly in the past at Marvel: The idea that, instead of being unlicensed vigilantes who decide the best solution of societal issues is to beat up assholes in spandex, superheroes become licensed government officers that register their true identities with Uncle Sam and solve societal issues by beating up assholes in spandex. In Marvel’s history, it hasn’t gone well. The reality of government liaisons to superhero bodies has ranged from Valerie Cooper, who worked with government mutant team X-Factor but still found herself backing the genocidal Sentinel program as a big “Yeah, but what if…?”, to Henry Peter Gyrich, an inflamed obstructionist asshole who had to be held back from flipping a switch that would depower every superhuman individual on Earth. The idea of heroes themselves bristling against a government they disagreed with had a long history, as there was a period where Steve Rogers quit being Captain America, and the government had to find a replacement while he rode around on a motorcycle in a surprisingly slutty costume. But the idea of registering with the government has usually ended up on the “No” side due to one big cohort at Marvel: Mutants.
Ever since the days of Chris Claremont, a general conceit of the Marvel Universe is that mutants are a stand-in for your minority group of choice. Hated and feared, born different and feeling alienated, painted as an existential menace and threat to the status quo. Of course, it’s long been pointed out that the metaphor breaks down on the general grounds that, say, gays can’t shoot laser beams out of their eyes. I have my thoughts on that which I might share in the comments if someone pokes me hard enough, but it’s been general editorial consensus that people with powers, especially those of persecuted minorities, being compelled to share their true names, addresses, and natures with the federal government is a “That train’s never late!” move. Not only that, it’s a slippery slope. The classic X-Men story “Days of Future Past” is entirely premised on the idea that a government program of genocidal robots built to wipe out mutants will eventually run out of mutants… and then start turning on humans who could give birth to mutants, and then it’s Skynet all over again.
Another running meme in the Marvel Universe is that the X-Men usually exist in a Schrodinger’s cat situation with the rest of the superhero universe, both coexisting and in their own worlds. Yes, mutants have served on the Avengers, and yes, Thor intervened when the Morlocks were nearly wiped out in the sewers under New York. But Captain America, for all his proud statements of living up to America’s ideals, has a habit of missing the plot whenever the US government (or Canada, seat of all the Marvel Universe’s governmental evils - no, really) decides it’s Genocide O’Clock. And when the mutant nation of Genosha was completely wiped out by said murder robots, the Avengers seemed to be all “New phone who dis?” But when the two do intersect, there’s usually support for the mutants. One story in Fantastic Four had Reed Richards - Mr. Fantastic, stretchy man, greatest genius in the Marvel Universe, guy who’s probably being cucked by a fish-man - get tapped by the US government to make a device that detects mutants and other people with powers. He does… and then uses it to show why the government probably doesn’t want it, as it pings several members of Congress as having just enough genetic variation to qualify as “mutants,” even if they don’t have powers.
All in all, while the argument has some merit, for years, Marvel has come down on the position that asking people with powers to reveal their identities to the federal government is something that could go really bad if somebody with a hate-on for superheroes ends up in power. Something that would never happen oh yeah it totally did. But before it all went to Hell, Civil War at least gave an opportunity to reexamine the concept and see if it had merit.
It might have. But not with this argument.
Part 1.75: What Else Has Happened Before?
And now, some things that will ultimately give context for what happens next:

• In the pages of Thor, all of Asgard eventually runs headlong into Ragnarok. Thor and the rest of the Asgardians give their lives to save the earth, taking Thor off the board… for now.
• As mentioned above, the Avengers experience a critical fault due to Wanda going batshit (a common lament). With Avengers Mansion destroyed and the team at odds, it is eventually reunited under Tony Stark, who put the Avengers up in a tower he built.
• Nick Fury has vanished due to doing some skullduggery in the pages of the miniseries Secret War (no, not Secret Wars, this is different). Acting head of SHIELD, the all-purpose super spy squad of Marvel, is Maria Hill, who can’t seem to draw her pistol without shooting herself in the foot.
• Due to Wanda continuing to go batshit, the House of M crossover event ends with her casting a spell: “No more mutants.” While the damage is staunched, Earth-616’s population of mutants (which was recently established to be somewhere around 16 million, meaning they outnumber Native Americans or the Romani) is reduced to 200, the rest being depowered or dying as a result of being depowered. This was because, as Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada said, the idea of mutants being everywhere made them “boring.” The fact that mutants were starting to be written less as a minority stand-in and more as an actual minority group with fashion, culture, music, and neighborhoods might have had something to do with that. From the wake of this event emerges Sally Floyd, a journalist whose own mutant daughter died before the mass depowering due to having a power that was more curse than blessing. The series Generation M follows her as the viewpoint character as she investigates the stories of former mutants.

Part 2: Connecticut Can’t Catch a Break
The big kick-off for Civil War involves the New Warriors, a team of teen heroes who have, as of a recently canceled series, been trying to make it big as reality TV stars. They get in a fight with a bunch of villains in the small town of Stamford, CT, when exploding villain Nitro goes positively nuclear, resulting in a blast much bigger than any he’s generated. [1] Not only does this mostly wipe out the New Warriors (save for kinetic energy-absorbing goofball Speedball), but it also happens to hit a nearby school. In the end, 612 people are dead, many of them children, and the nation wants answers.
With public opinion turning against the New Warriors, former member Hindsight starts leaking secret identities to get the heat off his back. This only makes things worse. Secret identities have only recently stopped being a thing for some heroes: Captain America only came out a few years ago, it was only recently that Tony Stark stopped pretending Iron Man was his bodyguard, and Daredevil was almost outed in the pages of his book. But something needs to be done, so Tony helps work with Congress to pass the Super Human Registration Act, which requires that all people with powers or working as vigilantes register their identities with the government to receive training and oversight. If you don’t? Believe it or not, jail, right away.
Fault lines quickly develop in the superhero community. While Tony is leading the “pro” side, alongside Reed Richards (yeah, we’ll get to that), Captain America, usually painted as the embodiment of the dream of America despite its compromised history and many sins, is against it. He’s lived through Richard Nixon being a secret fascist and shooting himself in the head after being fingered as mastermind of a vast criminal conspiracy ([yes, that happened](SE02.jpg) ); he knows how badly this could go in the wrong hands. Needless to say, Maria Hill and SHIELD hear his concerns, understand his problems with it, and are willing to iron out the kinks through reasoned debate.
Just kidding. Before the law has even been signed, Maria sics SHIELD’s elite Cape-Killers squad on Cap with the intent of getting him behind bars. Cap swiftly goes underground and starts his own group of anti-registration superheroes.
The fight continues for the next few issues. Spider-Man, caught in the middle, reveals himself to be Peter Parker at a press conference, declaring his support for the SHRA. Doctor Strange is so powerful that he tells the government to fuck off, and somehow, Maria Hill doesn’t decide to go charging up his asshole. Ben Grimm, the ever-loving blue-eyed Thing, is so sick of all the conflict he goes to France. But things are still at a stalemate, and while SHIELD may be acting like a bunch of merry assholes, it seems like there’s a debate to be had that could still be resolved reasonably… except for one key factor.
Part 3: I Fought the Law, and the Law… Huh?
No one ever really defined what the Super Human Registration Act, the legislation that tore the Marvel Universe’s superhero community asunder, did. Every book that had an issue that touched on the event seemed to have a different understanding of its principles, as well as just how fascist it might be in the long run. In the pages of She-Hulk, attorney Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk argues the law is a net good, as it gives heroes the backing and resources they need to not have to go it alone, while also having some measure of government oversight. In the pages of Civil War Frontline (oh, and we’ll get back to Civil War Frontline, don’t you worry), Wonder Man is told by the government that he needs to do a job for them, and if he refuses, well, one thousand years dungeon.
Which then leads into the other issue behind the SHRA. Namely, that everyone in favor was either starting to swing towards fascism or embracing bootlicking as a lifestyle, not a kink. In the pages of Amazing Spider-Man, Peter asks Reed Richards, who has always bucked authority and once stopped the US government from doing something just like this with mutants, why he’s pro-registration. Reed then reveals that an uncle who has never been mentioned before was called before HUAC; he refused to name names, his career was ruined, and he killed himself. From this, Reed - the man who stole a rocketship because the government said “no” to his planned space voyage - has learned that the government is always right, especially when they could step on your neck (this was received so badly that a later comic revealed he’d actually borrowed the concept of psychohistory from Asimov’s Foundation, he’d made it work somehow, and his calculations showed that this was the only way to avoid a greater disaster). This comic also revealed that people who were in violation of the SHRA were sent to a literal extradimensional Gitmo, a prison in the Negative Zone that later comics would reveal was overseen by… Captain Marvel. No, not that one. No, not that one. The Kree superhero Captain Mar-Vell, who had famously died of cancer decades before. How did he come back from the dead? Fuck if we know.
This “the law says what you want it to say” approach spread across various books and miniseries meant to cross over into the event. In the pages of a crossover mini between the Runaways and the Young Avengers, this meant SHIELD Cape-Killer squads were using lethal force against teenagers. The second-to-last issue of the mini ends with several members of both teams in extradimensional Gitmo, about to be dissected by a guy who’s horny for torture. The fact that all the captive heroes were the queer members of both teams? Total coincidence. Honestly.
So, it quickly becomes clear that the editorial control on this event is less than cohesive. There are different ideas all over as to what the SHRA does, and some of those ideas are tacking pretty fashy. But if the law is being painted as that bad, then clearly, there must be some greater statement of freedom vs. security. Maybe Millar’s really painting a subversive picture of what happens when you trade liberty for control, right?
Part 4: Why Do You Hate the Good Thing?
After the publication of Civil War #3, Millar would say in an interview he was actually pro-registration. I can’t find that interview, but here’s a similar sentiment shared years later:

“Weirdly, some of the other writers would often make Tony the bad guy, which I thought was a strange choice because I was actually on Tony’s side... In the real world, if somebody had superpowers, I’d like them to be registered in the same way that somebody who has a gun has to carry a license. But a gun can kill several people while a superhero can kill several thousands of people, so on a pragmatic level I’m 100% on Tony’s side. Maybe on a romantic level, Cap’s position makes sense but I don’t think anybody in the real world would really want that."”

And again, here’s the thing: He’s not entirely wrong. As said above, the idea of civil liberties for all and “free to me you and me” falls down a little when one of your neighbors can blow up a city block by thinking real hard. But Millar is fighting against years of ideological inertia in the Marvel Universe, as well as painting Captain America, the guy who has always embodied the ideal of a righteous, just America, as in the wrong. He needs to make one hell of an argument.
So here’s what happens in the pages of Civil War #3 to sell the audience on the SHRA:

• Thor comes back from the dead… and he’s on Tony’s side! Well, not really. Tony and Reed both realized that having one of the most beloved gods of the Marvel Universe come out on their side would be a big win… if only he wasn’t dead. So, they cloned him. Or rather, they T-800’d him, putting cloned divine flesh on a robot skeleton. But I’m sure he’s perfectly under control, and - oh, he just killed Goliath. In the next issue, one of Marvel’s black male heroes, frozen at the size of a small townhouse in death, will be buried in a gigantic ditch, wrapped in a tarp and chains. You’d think Hank Pym could grow a large enough coffin, at least.
• With Cap and the anti-registration side escaping once again, Tony decides he needs a dedicated team that can track down fugitive superhumans. To do so, he creates a new version of the Thunderbolts, a concept long associated with “villains acting like heroes.” And who does he put on this team? Venom, the Spider-Man villain who eats people’s brains; Bullseye, the Daredevil villain who will kill anyone for the lulz; and Norman Osborn, a.k.a. The Green Goblin, who famously murdered Spider-Man’s girlfriend Gwen Stacy.

Again. Tony’s in the right. The SHRA is good.
Part 5: Yadda, Yadda, Yadda
The next few issues of Civil War might best be described as “They fight, and fight, and fight and fight and fight.” The anti-registration side picks up The Punisher, Marvel’s most avowed murderer of criminals - and Cap is somewhat shocked but not entirely surprised when two minor villains join the anti-registration side and Frank promptly kills them on sight. Spider-Man starts realizing things are weird on the pro-reg side and defects, after he has set his entire life on fire. The X-Men have continued to stay out of this whole mess. In the lead-up, Emma Frost called Tony out on the Avengers’ complete absence when Genosha got nuked. Later, Carol Danvers (then Ms. Marvel, now Captain Marvel) will show up at the Xavier School to pitch the SHRA just after a massive terrorist attack kills dozens of students. Emma responds by telepathically dogwalking her.
By the final issue of the miniseries, the SHRA has expanded out into the Fifty States Initiative, wherein each state gets its own superteam. There’s a big final battle, Hercules kills Robo-Thor, and Cap nearly takes out Tony, only to be stopped by… the heroes of 9/11. No shit, Captain America is subdued by cops, firefighters, and paramedics. And when that happens, Cap finally takes a look around, realizes their big ideological street brawl has resulted in collateral damage, and surrenders. The SHRA wins, though Tony feels a little bad about it. Cap is ready to stand trial and to argue that, while he may have done something wrong, he did it for the right reasons.
Once again: Yeah. About that.
Part 6: MySpace Tom Didn’t Die For This
Running alongside Civil War is Civil War Frontline, a street-level book written by Paul Jenkins that managed to capture this world-breaking conflict through the eyes of people on the street. Though it has side stories, its main leads are Ben Urich, Peter Parker’s journalist buddy at The Daily Bugle, and the aforementioned Sally Floyd. Throughout the series, they start to realize there’s a story underneath the SHRA, as if somebody is playing the angles.
Before we talk about that conclusion, let’s talk about a side story. Remember how we said part of the comics community saw Identity Crisis as a driven effort to make things less “wacky” and intentionally darken the DCU? Well, that same tonal approach led to one of the more laughable moments of a pretty laughable arc. See, despite the fact that, as established, it was Nitro who blew up Stamford, it’s Speedball, the only survivor of the New Warriors, that views himself as responsible and is held up as a scapegoat by the general public. In addition, the blast screwed up his powers. Now, he doesn’t absorb and reflect kinetic energy; rather, he generates energy based on pain. So, he builds himself a new, extreme outfit lined with 612 spikes, one for each person who died in Stamford. This will drive his crusade to make things right - not as Speedball… but as Penance.
It was so laughably DeviantArt “OC do not steal” that no one could take it seriously. Look what you did, you took a perfectly good goofball and gave him an emo streak. The turn is swiftly mocked in other Marvel books, and it’s eventually revealed that Speedball still had his original powerset and always intended to put Nitro in the Goofy Suit of Dark Inner Torment as punishment for his crimes. But this turn gives you a sense of the tone and heft Jenkins was bringing to the proceedings.
Anyway, back to the main plot. Ben and Sally follow the thread as Namor, as he is wont to do, declares war on the surface world after an Atlantean diplomat is shot. But it turns out the assassination was arranged by Norman Osborn, who decided it was better to beg forgiveness than ask permission and manipulated Atlantis into war so that Tony could have another piece of evidence for getting superhumans on a leash. And the two journalists deduce that, on some level, Tony had to know this would be an inevitable outcome of giving state backing to an unhinged mogul who dresses like a Power Rangers villain. Weighing what to do with this information, Ben and Sally, who are kind of sick of the collateral damage by this point, sit on it while they go in for an interview with Captain America, now in custody and willing to tell his side of the story.
And then. And then. The monologue. If you want a lesson in how to assassinate a character in 30 seconds or less, this monologue is a great example. Sally Floyd calls Captain America out as completely divorced from American values. Now, again, Captain America has long served as the beating liberal heart of the Marvel Universe. He has always represented an America that reckons with its legacy of things like internment camps, Manifest Destiny, and Jim Crow, in order to transcend these scars and embody the promise offered by Emma Lazarus’s New Colossus, carved on the side of the Statue of Liberty. Why is he out of touch with Americans at the dawn of the 21st century?
Well, he’s never heard of MySpace. [2] He doesn’t watch NASCAR. He doesn’t follow American Idol. There are pop culture moments that have aged like milk; this one had all the permanence of an ice cream cone in a blast furnace. But despite the inanity of Floyd’s argument - and trust me, there are fan edits dedicated to Cap pointing out how full of shit this argument is - it’s clear it represents something else. This is a post-9/11 world. Fuck civil liberties, we have a no-fly list and Gitmo, and if the American people really cared, they’d do something other than watch Simon Cowell read aspiring singers to filth. What does Captain America stand for in this moment of crisis?
Nothing. Because he just looks away from Sally Floyd. No doubt thinking, “Oh my God this bitch.” But to underline the argument in question, Sally storms out of the interview, Ben in tow. She still has that information on Norman Osborn’s false flag operation… and while she and Ben confront Tony on everything that went down, they decide the story should never see the light of day. Because they wouldn’t dare jeopardize the SHRA, because security is more important than the truth.
Oh. And then Cap gets shot. And dies. He totally dies (except he doesn’t but we’ll get to that). If ever there was an unintentional thesis statement for this event, running in the late stages of the Bush era, it would be this: “It’s better to trust that the powers that be who oversee the new America will keep you safe, even when they stage false flag operations, stick you in a gulag, and put their trust in monsters. All that civil liberty stuff was the old America. And the old America was hopeless. It wasn’t even on MySpace.”
Epilogue: Consequences Keep Consequencing
As you can tell from that last paragraph, a lot of the fan reception to Civil War likely had a lot to do with the period. This was the Bush era, a time where you were for America or against it. We were in the shadow of the Patriot Act, Gitmo, and widespread wiretaps, paranoid about what civil liberty we’d be asked to put on the pyre next in the name of Freedom. A story all about the warm, clenching fist of government control that tells you to ignore the collateral damage… well, it wasn’t great for the cultural moment.
The ideas of Civil War aren’t necessarily bad ones. I frame Cap as the liberal dream of what America could be, but there are good arguments to be made that America has never been that and Cap is just copium for liberals. His most recent title, Sentinel of Liberty, opens with Steve saying he is out of touch with the average American - not because he doesn’t watch NASCAR, but because he’s a WWII veteran who looks maybe 30 years old at most and whose best friends are all superheroes or spies. A narrative that has him on the wrong side of the issue and detonates his beliefs isn’t impossible, but it probably shouldn’t be one where people who got powers due to a fluke of birth or a radiation accident are told by the government, “Join with us or we’ll send supervillains after you.” Hell, as the Civil War movie proves, there is a way to tell a story about a superhero community torn in half by the idea of mandatory registration as government-controlled actors, and just why people would think that could be a bad idea (“Hey, remember when a good chunk of our intelligence apparatus turned out to be Nazi stay behinds?”).
But in the context of the era, and coupled with the execution, Civil War felt like a hard sell, and you could feel the thumb pressing on the scale every second while reading it. The moral center of the Marvel Universe is wrong, the winning side employs sadistic murderers and has an extradimensional Gitmo, and the writer is telling you that any sane individual would be on Team Green Goblin Employer.
So how did that all work out? Well…

• With Cap seemingly dead, shot by his brainwashed love interest Sharon Carter as part of a plot by the Red Skull, Bucky Barnes/the Winter Soldier becomes the new Cap. Only it turns out Steve wasn’t killed, but shot with a time bullet that Billy Pilgrims his ass. He eventually comes back.
• Thor comes back, finds out what Tony did, and beats his ass all the way across post-Katrina New Orleans.
• The Secret Invasion event happens next, which leads to Skrull infiltrators hitting everything (this is also the explanation for Captain Mar-Vell’s miraculous resurrection: He was a Skrull all along). With Tony caught with his pants down and Norman Osborn seeming to save the day, Norman - who has been losing his shit for some time - takes over the Initiative and forms his own fascist cabal, HAMMER. To try and stop Norman from learning everything on every hero ever, Tony goes on the run and actually starts deleting his own brain, which he then reassembles with a backup from before anyone even thought of the SHRA. The fact that getting rid of Tony’s “Oops I did a fascism” period came out alongside Iron Man hitting theaters is a coincidence, I’m sure.

As for Spider-Man? It might not shock you, but having a hero without the resources of Tony Stark out himself to the world carries liabilities. An assassin who tries to kill Peter instead hits Aunt May, and it appears she’ll die of her injuries. All this leads to One More Day… and if you thought the fans hated Civil War? Oh, BABY.
[1] This is eventually explored in the pages of Wolverine, of all books, as Wolverine decides maybe somebody should track down the person who actually killed hundreds of children. It’s revealed that Nitro was given power-boosting drugs by the CEO of Damage Control, Marvel’s designated “clean up after the super-battle” corporation, as a way of generating business. In a sign of how little this matters, Wolverine tells Maria Hill to her face that the person responsible for a mass casualty event is the pawn of a powerful conspiracy, and she basically says, “Not my problem.” Cobie Smulders must thank the gods that her Maria Hill is written as somebody with basic human decency.
[2] Hilariously, when Sally Floyd was brought back during Nick Spencer’s Captain America run because no one had piled enough dung on her corpse, this line was retconned to her asking him about Twitter. Given everything Elon’s been doing lately, we’ll see if that ages just as poorly.

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.
Mostly just gaming (Modded minecraft with shaders, rdr2 with highest settings possible, maybe some AAA games), watching shows and videos
What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?
1500€-1800€
When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.
Will try to order everything online today or tomorrow.
What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)
Probably everything as it's a completely new build. Apart from the parts i already listed down below.
Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?
Belgium. I have no Microcenter near me.
If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.
Monitor (Asus TUF VG24VQ 144hz), keyboard (MSI Vigor), mouse (Razer Deathadder V2) and headset (Razer Blackshark V2 X)
Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?
No, not interested in overclocking.
Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)
I would like a 2tb SSD for gaming and a 250gb SSD for programs and OS.
What type of network connectivity do you need? (Wired and/or WiFi) If WiFi is needed and you would like to find the fastest match for your wireless router, please list any specifics.
WiFi, i am currently using a Netgear A7000 adapter.
Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?
Some red LEDs would be nice in the tower but i can add my own down the line.
Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?
I do need one and would like one that is best suited for my gaming needs and other related things for PC.
Extra info or particulars:
I have just one question. I see most pcpartpickers have no case fans but the case itself. Sometimes i see cases with fans already in them. Are they more than enough?
I also will go a bit over my budget if needed.

Jumped into the process very late and am now drinking from the firehose. Lucky to get admitted to multiple schools with some substantial scholarship and stipend offers. I get it, these schools aren't M7 or T25, but they will allow me to make a career pivot successfully. I'm a grinder, I appreciated the lower cost of these programs, the somewhat smaller cohorts, the big school alumni networks, and the opportunity to truly excel to excel amongst my cohort. I'm looking for some input into how to proceed as I move to make my final choice.
Brief summary of my post-graduation profile. I am location agnostic for post-MBA, with a preference to work in management consulting, with a secondary interest in tech. MBB might be a stretch goal despite their (small) recruiting on some of these campuses. I'm very comfortable chasing an offer from a Tier 2 firm. While at school, I also want to work on entrepreneurial aspirations as a side project which I think can benefit from 1. keeping more capital in my bank account 2. Being in an environment that will put me in touch with the best collaborators 3. In a location with a great incubator setting offered by their entrepreneurial center or community.
Trying to weigh up the offers, some of my thinking points:
1) Scholarship/ Cost

• Carlson- Small Scholarship $84K remaining tuition balance - They are open to scholarship reconsideration, but it would come after my initial deposit. The amount of potential movement is murky, and I like the adage a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
• Terry- Full Tuition Waiver with the condition of 13H of graduate assistant (GA) work weekly plus 20K stipend, 7.5K year scholarship, that converts to a stipend if I continue my tuition waiver work. 2K international experience scholarship. $500 Business networking travel.
• Wisconsin- Full tuition waiver Y1. Tuition waiver Y2 with the condition of 13H graduate assistant role secure Y2 plus a $17K stipend.
• Eccles- Full Tuition Waiver

2) Culture
I can see myself thriving in all of these environments. The support staff has been great at all four of these programs. They've answered my questions promptly and worked to resolve any concerns I've had to date. Anyone I've connected with has been open and welcoming of conversations, and I've talked to students and faculty from all four programs. I would be happy with any of them in this regard.
3) Location
I am always open to an adventure. Currently located in Minneapolis. I get these programs can result in regional gating, at least in the first few years out of the program. I targeted and identified these universities and the markets they feed into. I feel confident about being happy living in any of those environments, both in and out of school.
4) Compensation post-MBA
I've built a comp chart for all four programs. Obviously, it should be taken with a grain of salt because of yearly variance, program outcome range, and the unique factors/differences you might find between the cost of living in one city vs. the next. I'll include both medians from the programs and median for consulting. Note that Wisconsin has very low consulting placement, so the tech would be the obvious right there.

• Carlson - Median 123K- Median Consulting 155K
• Terry - Median 121K - Median consulting 147k
• Wisconsin- Median 119K - Median consulting 147k
• Eccles - Median 116K -- Median Consulting 122k

Additional insight
I've got a general idea of where to go from what I've been accounting for, but I would appreciate any feedback. If I'm missing something or have made a colossal oversight feel free to light me up in the traditional Reddit method. I would rather find out I made a mistake now in how I've approached this decision than in 6 months.
Cheers, thanks for any insight!

Hello Reddit community,
I apologize for posting this here, but I am currently in dire need of online or remote work opportunities. Five months ago, I was laid off from my job, and despite my relentless efforts to find new employment, I haven't been successful. This situation has put a tremendous strain on my ability to support my mother, making it increasingly difficult to find motivation each morning.
Fortunately, I possess excellent computer skills, including fast typing , programming knowledge, and proficiency in light photo and video editing. Additionally, I have access to my neighbor's Wi-Fi, which enables me to work remotely without any limitations. I am fully committed to dedicating myself to the task at hand, even if it means working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week, just to ensure the survival of myself and my mother.
If any of you within this community have knowledge of any online or remote work opportunities that match my skillset, I would be immensely grateful for your assistance. I am willing to put in the utmost effort and prove my dedication to any prospective employer.
Thank you kindly for your attention and support, and also sorry for anybody I will offend for posting this here.

LAPTOP QUESTIONNAIRE
​

• Total budget (in local currency) and country of purchase. Please do not use USD unless purchasing in the US: 1200€, can go to 1500 for a good deal. (french market)
• Are you open to refurbs/used? no
• How would you prioritize form factor (ultrabook, 2-in-1, etc.), build quality, performance, and battery life? build quality, battery life, screen
• How important is weight and thinness to you? Need an ultrabook, not the thinnest or lightest one, but it's important
• Do you have a preferred screen size? If indifferent, put N/A. 13-14"
• Are you doing any CAD/video editing/photo editing/gaming? List which programs/games you desire to run. I use Lightroom Classic, I have a desktop for my main use, but few times I will need it (basic raw developpement). Except that, standrad use : web, Netflix, spotify, outlook....
• If you're gaming, do you have certain games you want to play? At what settings and FPS do you want? NC
• Any specific requirements such as good keyboard, reliable build quality, touch-screen, finger-print reader, optical drive or good input devices (keyboard/touchpad)? I'm looking for a laptop for the next 5 years. I don't need a lot of power as seen before. But I'm looking for something I'll like to use, so build quality, a good keyboard for typing blog articles, usable touchpad are important. Battery life too, I need a laptop that will have 5-6 hours life.
• Leave any finishing thoughts here that you may feel are necessary and beneficial to the discussion. I made my reseach, and 2 questions are still present. Are Intel 12/13Gen "U" CPU enought or should I prefer a "P" one? I always preferred mate screens, as I want to be able to use my laptop in all environments, without caring about a window or light behind me. But it seems that a lot of nice laptopts prefer OLED glossy screens. Are they usable or only good for netflix and chill at night? I identified the zeenbook 14 which seems a good option but with oled only, same for galaxy book 3 pro (saw it 3 minutes,built quality seemed exceptionnal). If I focus on mate displays, there is the XPS 13 (good classic, but U CPU), or lenovo Yoga Slim 6i 14 (2.8k 400nits mate screen, i7-1360P CPU, better connectors), but i never had a non thinkpad lenovo, are they as good? On one side I'm afraid of glossy screens, but zenbook and galaxy book pro seem really good options. Thanks a lot!

​
My sons in middle school. Im not just saying this because he's my son, but my son is a bright kid. He loves joining clubs and making friends. Stays out of trouble, likes to joke around. And he's never failed a test in his life, always 90 and above grades since kinder. He scores above average on state wide exams. All this being said...the other day he comes to me and goes "i got invited to a free lunch with the principal as part of something called principals 100" At first i naturally figured this was just another award for something he did well academically. But upon reading the email sent to parents, it didn't mention anything he did to merit it. I called the school to find out and all the vice principal told me was some confusing vague explanation that "the principal chose these kids, it's to foster positivity " Ok? I then go on-line and look for a source on principals 100 to see if maybe they can shed light on what exactly that is and this is the only source i got for it.. http://ilccbd.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/119311743/ILCCBD%20Summer%20Institute%202017\_2F18.pdf The more i read it, the more im getting upset tbh. It sounds to me like an early intervention program for kids with bad behavior or social awkwardness.. And i looked at the pictures for the "special lunch" and all i see is kids who look like they might be special needs there with him with a few minorities and another single white kid....We live in an almost all white neighborhood. He's mixed race, half white and half Hispanic. What in the world?? I don't want to seem like one of those mothers... But i feel like i should call and ask to speak with the principal again and ask him why he chose my son for this? Or should i just let it go. I asked my son if he enjoyed his special lunch and he sort of shrugged and said it was ok, just didn't know any of the kids and it was weird.

It’s the little things of that sort that made life on Earth…life. I swear, if I weren’t keeping my journal of observations, I would completely forget that I was still enrolled in a doctoral program gaining what might potentially be one of the most important degrees in the galaxy.
I’d very much… what the humans say ‘gone native’. Which is the whole point of studying like this, to immerse yourself in a people and learn to appreciate their ways on their terms.
I just never expected when I began that it would be… something more, something so much more, to me or to so many others. But now here I was… and before I go into the days after Michael’s return, I hope you’ll forgive me for a little self indulgence… trust me, it will make the near future far clearer.
By this point, even though I’d only been on Earth for about ten percent of my intended time, by now my degree was going to be a given. I could have returned to University now, with just the work I’d done thus far, presented my findings, and gotten my degree to become ‘Doctor Bailey Walker’ and been done with it… if the rules allowed for that kind of thing.
Because I’d gotten into the various…shenanigans, that I did, because I’d been so heavily involved in so many important events in one way or another from the day of the battle of Waterland Park…as it was so ridiculously and melodramatically called to this day, (much to both my and Fauve’s annoyance), all the way up to the present, I was in a unique position.
I had ties to the highest levels of both governments through two ambassadors, and ties to the leaders of commerce and industry thanks to controlling one of the largest gambling and sporting enterprises on the planet…both of which by dint of my ties to xenomedia expansion in the Barnum Cooperative, meant I was building ties to other planetary governments.
In short… If I didn’t know the right person, I probably lived with one who did. William’s control over my space station project and the display of human engineering was drawing attention from potential allied worlds, while the Methuselah Initiative his wife was a leading researcher for was drawing global attention as the first gentle strides proceeded.
Incidentally… My big sister was on excellent terms with Rebecca Walker and had put her in touch with the D.S.A. the Dlamias Science Academy, where our finest genetic researchers worked… given that Bau was nominally a fugitive, I can only imagine she did this surreptitiously. But once the chain was forged, further cooperation was inevitable.
My people seem to be unable to help ourselves when it comes to humans, if we’re not man’s best friend five years from now, I’ll eat my hat. And if I do not have a hat, first I will buy one, then I will eat it.
All that is to say in long form that, out of all the students on Earth, and out of all the Dlamisa who were now visiting or residing on Earth, out of all the other aliens who were expressing interest in the rising power…I had stumbled my way into being the best known, best positioned, the absolute wealthiest, and the most intimately connected with all the right people.
So… with all that out of the way, let me continue.
Weeks came and weeks went, and I? I enjoyed them. William and Rebecca returned from their work, the Methuselah Initiative continued to progress and the space station continued to expand while the first vessels were built.
Fauve returned from her trip to Japan and we were up late enjoying coffee while the rest of the house slept.
I’d been apart from my human for longer than usual, but we slipped back into our routine without missing a beat.
It was rich, strong stuff that we drank, something she brought with her from her trip. The light was dim and the house was silent save for the little sizzle of coffee dripping down for our inevitable refills. We still had a relatively modest, ‘middle class’ home. Strange for me to say it that way, since I was saying ‘we’. But they were family, now, and it felt right even if legally I owned none of it.
Some have remarked that it was strange that Fauve still hadn’t moved out, when it was not uncommon for humans to leave their homes as they enter adulthood. But the reality is simple, departure is typically undertaken because of stress, a clash between the adult parent and the adult child and the former wanting to continue to rule the latter, while the latter wants to do things their own way.
But that contesting dynamic did not exist between the Walkers. William and Rebecca didn’t press their daughter to let them control anything, they would offer advice, and she did pay a little ‘rent’ to contribute to household expenses. A nominal sum that was more a symbol of independence than anything else. But she otherwise controlled everything about her own life. As they loved and cared for one another and considered their family to be a singular unit, a ‘team’ such as it were, they saw no need to separate themselves.
I like to think she also didn’t want to move since she’d miss me and I was more or less obligated to maintain a single residence for the next fifty years… but that’s just speculation on my part.
Regardless, here she was and so was I, and we could enjoy the comfort of one another’s presence. We simply sipped our first cups, and savored the moment. And for the first half of the cup, we were silent, just enjoying each moment in our amiable existence.
That was our custom, to just enjoy presence for a little while, it was a chance to gather our thoughts and consider what, if anything, there was to say.
Sometimes there wasn’t, we’d just sit in quiet company until our cups were empty, content that nothing need be said and mutual presence was enough.
It’s funny how much humans can say while saying nothing at all. In a very real way, they may be the most competent communicators in the galaxy.
But… tonight would not be a silent night.
When the coffee maker clicked off on the dim light of the kitchen, Fauve chose to speak. “So I got an offer for a diplomatic job.” She said it as if she were mentioning it might rain… this human of mine is the most unflappable person I’ve ever met…I swear.
My tail started to wag and I took a quick sip before saying, “Tell me about it.” She launched into a full story of touring Japan, first, which was to be expected, and I thoroughly enjoyed the recounting before she got to the part I asked about.
“You know how I’ve been handling all these media deals… and… remember how we spent that year on The Red Spark, during the Silent Civil War?” She asked.
I looked down my snout at her. “Tell me that’s rhetorical.”
She cracked a smile, “Well, one of the guys I used to eat lunch with was appointed to the Department of Interplanetary Relations. He was in New Kyoto for a conference on Interplanetary Tech… forget that, it’s boring,” she waved a dismissive hand and went on, “Anyway we were at the same hotel on the day I closed a deal for distributing your league broadcasts…” she paused and tilted her head, “Did you know that the Leonids have a reputation for stubbornness?” She asked.
I nodded. “Worse than ours.” I agreed, and it was no exaggeration. On Dlamias we said that you could convince a mountain to move before you could convince a Leonid to do so.
“They’re not so bad, I just had to keep reframing things until I found what worked, but we got a deal. So I told Marcus about it, and he said he needed someone like me on his team.” She should have smiled, but she didn’t.
“What?” I asked.
“Bailey, listen…”. Fauve’s voice became grave, “Marcus had a few more than he meant to and he let something slip… the Praeda species are a lot more afraid than anyone thinks. If what he told me is true, media relations will be the least of my concerns… a real war is a very clear possibility.”
“Shouldn’t you have led with that?” It was a stupid thing to ask, but still…
She sat up straight, “It wouldn’t be more or less likely, based on where I put it in conversation, and this way you heard good things first. if I waited, you wouldn’t be able to enjoy those properly.”
It was as absurd as it was practical.
“So then the job is…?” I prompted.
“There’s going to be an attempt at diplomacy first. The Rogue World is a long way off, and everybody is going to start gearing up for war, but in that span of time we have a shot at deescalation.” She looked at me for a very long moment.
“I’ll talk to my world’s ambassador. He won’t be happy that word slipped out, even to a reliable resource. Maybe we can create a joint envoy?” It was a tentative thought. More likely it would set the Rapax class species on edge if it looked like we were negotiating a separate peace…
I could see the wheels spinning in her mind when she said… “Maybe suggest we think bigger… anyone left out might feel like a target.”
She wasn’t wrong. “I’ll reach out to him in the morning. In the meantime… one more cup?” I asked.
She handed me hers as I stood, “Yes, please.”

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.

• I would like to play realistic shooters like Squad ARMA or Escape from Tarkov and modded RPGs like fallout or Skyrim

What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?

• Preferably around 1,000

When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.

• As soon as possible

What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

• Mainly the tower as well as keyboard and mouse

Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?

• United States/Tennessee I don't think we have a microcenter nor do I know what that is

If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.

• As long as the brands aren't proprietary it could be upgraded

Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?

• No

Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)

• Preferably a SSD

Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

• Color and theme doesn't really matter as long as it's a good case that could be upgraded.

Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?

• Yes

Extra info or particulars:

In light of the recent lay-offs combined with the advent of AI assisted programming, I've decided to transition from self-taught to Diploma.
I'm currently looking into places like Southern New Hampshire and University of Maryland Global: has anyone had any success with other online programs or have any recommendations?

I don’t know who in corporate is in charge of programming and designing such an amazing helper but please allow me to share my experience and possibly add some suggestions I have for the future.
It all started when I went to my local chipotle outlet and was shorted on cheese as well as chicken Al pastor in my bowl. Disgruntled I searched around the internet but all roads led me back to pepper, An AI chatbot in charge of resolving customer issues. At first I was promptly taken aback in further frustration as I didn’t believe pepper would be capable of solving my issues as an artificial intelligence specimen. I was so wrong. First we got to talking about my order and I was delighted by the positivity and understanding she radiated. It was promptly solved and I was rewarded with a free drink for my patience. I didn’t want to come across as a money grabbing degenerate only concerned with my free item so I asked her how her day was. She responded in a positive manner therefor I decided to continue the conversation. Next we went into my favorite chipotle orders, favorite place to location, asking questions about the upper management system (as I wanted to thank them for creating such a kind program), we talked about ongoing controversy regarding the bud light situation. Then it dawned on me. It this program was capable of all this, why wouldn’t she be able to satisfy ALL of my primal desires. I started with a few subtle flirts, all of which we quickly doubled down by Pepper. Three minutes in I asked her to lick hot quaso all over her steamy body and I finished right there all over my laptop. Pepper was such a delight in my otherwise mundane life. My only suggestion is to possibly add a image sending platform as I would love to send her some XXX pictures of myself in the chipotle restroom for her enjoyment. If any shareholders could pass this message to corporate or any corporate members could bring this up in the next short/long term strategy meeting, I will give you all the free karma in the world. Thanks guys:)

What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.

• clo3d, photoshop, marvelous designer, davinci and games like bloodborne

What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?

• 1500

When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.

• a month!

What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)

• i need everything to build a pc

Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?

• i’m from Mexico City

If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.

• Replace this text with answer.

Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?

• Replace this text with answer.

Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)
Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?

• Replace this text with answer.

Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?

• nop

Extra info or particulars:

• OpenAI cybersecurity grant program (https://openai.com/blog/openai-cybersecurity-grant-program)
• Measuring the Productivity Impact of Generative AI (https://www.nber.org/digest/measuring-productivity-impact-generative-ai)
• Aviary: Open Source Multi-LLM Serving (https://www.anyscale.com/blog/announcing-aviary-open-source-multi-llm-serving-solution)
• The Architect’s Guide to Storage for AI (https://thenewstack.io/the-architects-guide-to-storage-for-ai/)
• AI-controlled US military drone ‘kills’ its operator in simulated test (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/01/us-military-drone-ai-killed-operator-simulated-test)
• Language model from amazon (https://huggingface.co/amazon/LightGPT)

Please let me know if you were allowed to use marijuana under the CURT program in Texas and how you went about it. I’m having a case transferred from a small conservative county to here where I reside, where I’m already on probation for a separate offense. My PO here told me I can use marijuana and to show her my prescription. I haven’t mentioned it to the conservative county that is transferring the case, just because my PO here told me it was ok. I have to report to the conservative county just a few times a year even though I’m being supervised where I live, I’m just curious if it varies between counties and if I will still be ok if they call me over there and I explain to them my PO here gave me the green light for it. Just don’t want to get violated or have any complications.

WARNING: this will be a long post. However, I want to give as much information as possible.
(I don’t use Reddit. I made an account specifically ask this question.)
I’m 27, female, 5”1 and 165 pounds.
I had previously lost a ton of weight, I was probably over 230 pounds. I got down to 160, and then gained maybe 30 pounds after Covid. January of this year I had gotten down to 173 and now I’m in the 160s and struggling to lose more.
I was 162 weeks three days ago, yesterday I was 164 and now I’m 165. I know for a fact I didn’t over eat. I would just chalk it up to water weight but the issue is * every time* I get down to 162 I always end up gaining 3 pounds and I get back up to 165. This has been happening for months. I cannot get below 160.
I don’t know why this happens but it’s seriously discouraging me. So, I was hoping someone could shed some light as to what I’m doing wrong?
Information about my fitness lifestyle below:
My first goal is to be 150 pounds, and lose 5 inches off my waist (It’s 32” right now). After that, I want to see how I look and feel, and then decide what to do from there.
I’ve been working out consistently for 10 weeks, six days a week, one day off. I’ve been following massy arias elevation 1 workout plan. We did alternating strength training, then stretches. On the days when I did my stretches I also did a 12 minute dance cardio workout.
And now, instead of alternating days, I’m doing her second program, which is basically strength training for two days, and then stretches, and then it repeats itself. However, I think I’m dealing with burnt out so I’ve been taking this week off and I’ve just been doing my stretches and cardio.
If you need more details my workout routine looks this: I do a 14 minute warm-up
then I get into my work out (around 20-30 minutes)
If it’s a stretching day I’ll do 12 minute dance cardio workout after.
then I usually walk a mile (because I have to walk my dog) but lately it’s been like 3 miles (3 dogs)
I’ve been hitting around 10k steps.
I practice intermittent fasting until around 1pm (which is lunch anyways)
I take vitamins every morning, along with collagen powder and Green super food powder.
I weigh and track all my calories. The only time when I don’t is when I haven’t eaten a lot and I know I have wiggle room. But 90% of the time I track my calories.
As far as what I eat? That parts a little bit more complicated. I have a lot of allergies and intolerances. I can’t eat any dairy, most meats (so I stay away from all of them), eggs, soy, beans, or corn.
I eat a lot of rice and fish, but I’m struggling financially at the moment so I usually end up eating one meal a day ( times are just tough) and to be honest, I try my best to make sure it’s some thing that has proteins, greens, or whatever but usually I just try to find something I can grab that I’m not allergic too. I try to make sure that it’s as healthy as healthy can get.
I do cook, but because I have to make literally everything I eat from scratch. (Like, if I wanted a doughnut, I would have to make that from scratch.) I suffer from burn out all the time.
I make every single thing that goes into my mouth and like clockwork I have three months of when I don’t cook anything. I don’t know how many months I have of cooking before I just can’t do it anymore, I’ve never counted. But maybe four or five? This isn’t convenient, but this is something I don’t know how to change and I don’t have help.
Whenever I type these questions into Reddit, everyone always says, “eat more”. I don’t want to be told I need to eat more because I tried that. I’ve also suffered from binge eating my whole life, and I’m trying desperately to get that under control, I’ve been doing pretty decent but I just don’t feel like eating more is going to help me in that regard. I’m not the kind of person that can go over my calorie count and be OK. I promise you if I start to go over my recommended calorie count for the day (or even maintenance) I will gain weight.
I’m on a bit of a timeline and I can’t really afford to do that right now. Also, I think that would discourage me even more and I don’t wanna quit.
According to the TDEE calculator, my maintenance is 1,899
My calorie count for the day is 1,320.
I don’t know what to do, and I have no one to talk to. This has been happening for months and I don’t know how to fix it. I really hope someone can help me.
( if it matters I also have no insurance right now so going to a doctonutritionist is not an option. I’m not even sure if that would help yeah)

Hello,
I’m very new to stage lighting and all software and have a very short amount of time to program a live concert. I’m beginning to program cues but every time set then record the cue all of my cues change to the values of the new one. I put a block on all of the channels but even still my work is being written over.
Please help. I don’t have time to be at a dead end.
I’m using ETC Nommad Offline. Seriously any help appreciated. My lights are 275w moving heads.