I've been feeling inspired by u/Still_Performance_39 's Introduction to Terran Zoology series, and have been chewing on a few ideas for the past few weeks. I decided to finally try to write a story of my own. I warn you, I have not written fiction since I was a small child, so I make no promises.
Special thanks to u/Still_Performance_39 and Parisito from the Discord for both proofreading and critiquing my initial draft. I hope some of y'all enjoy!
Memory transcription subject: Professor Sellek, Capitol University, Venlil Prime
Date [standardized human time]: January 4, 2137
I feel my spines bristle against my chair as anxiety flutters in the pit of my stomach. Glancing around the crowded lecture hall, I see I am not the only one showing more than a little outward unease.
This “emergency meeting” had been called with little warning, and no indication whatsoever of its purpose. What little I could gather was from the specializations of my colleagues who had also been asked to attend. Professors from across the full spectrum of environmental and biological sciences, offworld development and terraforming, engineers, geneticists, and my entire ecology department, as well as more than a few that I did not recognize. We were packed into the large amphitheater like civilians in a bunker during a raid, a low constant drone of unintelligible chatter permeating the air.
The susurrus dies almost immediately as the doors leading to the stage all but slam open, the Dean of Sciences barely keeping pace with an older human marching purposefully towards the lectern. Thankfully, there is no visible panic at the predator’s sudden appearance, though most do startle or noticeably withdraw. We are all academics and intellectuals here; our conclusions should be based off of evidence, with no room for bias. Their empathy tests are empirical proof that they are much more than the heartless beasts the Grays have proven themselves to be. In the months since they had begun integrating into Venlil society, there had not been a single case of human-on-prey violence that was not in self-defense. That’s not to mention that after Cilany’s revelation of many Federation species’… problematic pasts, Gojids included, many of us really had no room whatsoever to judge the humans for their inherent nature any longer.
That is not to say I didn’t feel at least a momentary instinctual fear response myself. I doubted if I would ever entirely get over my response to the intensity of those binocular eyes. Their gaze seemed to carry an actual physical weight when they focused on you. I remind myself that one of the things that separates us from non-sapient creatures is our ability to overcome our baser instincts, and I firmly suppress the shudder that runs through my body, keeping my spines at least relatively relaxed, willing my breathing and racing heart to slow.
I take a moment to study the human as he begins setting up at the podium, pulling notes out of a rather well-crafted looking briefcase that would not have looked out of place in the possession of any of my colleagues. His fur… his hair, that is, covering his head and most of his lower face, appears to be an equal mix of black and grey, the remaining visible skin is creased heavily in places, which I knew in their species implied someone getting up in years. His eyes are shockingly blue, like the sky on a cloudless day, and his skin a light tan, contrasting against both his hair and the black artificial pelts he is wearing.
He taps the microphone twice before clearing his throat, his voice a low bass rumble. “Good afternoon, everyone. I apologize for the wait. My name is Anton Kovacs, professor of ecology from… well, what was up until very recently the University of Zurich. I must apologize at the start, for I have an idea that some of the topics we need to discuss today may be sensitive, and are quite likely to fly in the face of much of what most of you have believed and been taught your entire lives. That said, however... quite frankly, time is of the utmost essence, and we do not have the luxury to dance around.”
I swallow heavily, releasing a breath I did not realize I was holding. A fellow ecologist? Fascinating. We knew, of course, that the humans had a robust scientific understanding. They had developed FTL technology completely independently, after all. But to think of predators studying the natural world for anything other than dietary purposes was a novel concept for me… And I realize with a start that it shouldn’t be. My own natural bias is revealing itself yet again. They consume flesh (I feel my stomach do an uncomfortable flip) but they are nothing like the Grays. Up until recently, we had all only had a sample size of one to draw from. We must endeavor to start fresh, from first principles, or we can not truly call ourselves scientists. New data requires new observations, leading to new understanding.
Professor Kovacs takes a sip of water, before continuing.
“To start, I need to confirm what I already suspect. I wonder if any of you might have enough common understanding with myself for this concept to translate properly: Does the phrase ‘[trophic] cascade’ mean anything to anyone present?”
Translator technology is well-engineered to allow the collective species of the galactic community to communicate with very little difficulty. We’ve had generations to smooth out the wrinkles. Even if certain ideas or phrasing do not have a direct translation in our native language, the translators are usually able to at least stitch enough of the underlying intended idea into something understandable. This is especially important in academic setting, where the concepts you are working with may be abstract or incredibly complex.
However, that isn’t to say it is perfect. For instance, ‘cascade’ has a few possible direct translations of course. Oddly, though, ‘trophic’ is just a blank, without enough of a shared conceptualization to translate, so I am left confused. I glance around at the other occupants of the lecture hall and see them all quizzically staring as well. I wonder curiously what concept could be so alien as to fall outside of my translator’s purview.
Professor Kovacs eyes the room for a moment, taking in the blank looks, before sighing. “Oh dear. I was afraid of that.”
He rubs his fingers across his closed eyelids for a moment, before opening them and glancing around the room again. His eyes in that moment seem tired, determined, I might even say sad if he weren’t a pred-… Stop, Sellek. They feel emotion, they have mirror neurons, stop demonizing them. Still, I cannot help but suppress another small shudder as his gaze momentarily passes over me.
He takes another small sip of his water, before straightening his posture and speaking into the microphone again.
“Well, buckle up everyone. It’s time for a crash course. Because if we cannot come up with a plan for a truly colossal feat of terraforming and ecological restructuring, and I mean quickly, then I am afraid that the Gojid Cradle is already a dead world… It just hasn’t realized it yet.”

I’m interested in diving into romance books because I got hooked on reading romance stories in one of the mobile games I’m playing, Winked: Episodes of Romance. I’ve never actually explored this niche too much, although I had read a few back in my teenage days. It was fun tbh, especially when the tension builds up slowly only to erupt in the last few chapters.
Now, I’d like to find something that has the similar narrative as Winked. In essence, you play from a girl’s perspective and the first part of the game is basically a tinder simulator. You get to swipe left and right with both guys and girls, and if you match, you can start chatting. Then you chat with the matches and eventually go on dates that are short romance stories for themselves. Of course, you occasionally end up having a “naughty” story, but I wouldn’t go into too much detail about it… let’s just say that part is quite amusing as well.
Based on this, I’m looking for a romance book with the similar dynamics to what I described above. Because of work and other hobbies, I don’t have that much time to devote to reading, so books with slow, build-up plots wouldn’t work for me because I’d probably lose track of the story. Instead, something with short, successive stories that unfold independently on one another, while still having some sort of consistency with the main plot would be perfect. The best example I know of (even though it isn’t a romance book) would be the first Witcher book in which Geralt completes a succession of small missions that each have a separate and unique story.
Shoot your recommendations :)

I had never fallen in love before; the idea disgusted me. But when I first saw her, I found out that mythical butterflies do, in fact, flutter in one’s belly. I always thought that our society just had an unhealthy relationship with soda pop, but there they were.
She was beautiful! She wasn’t the cookie-cutter beauty that your fashion magazine manufactures; her eyes twinkled naturally like store-bought moissanite. Her bushy, deep dark eyebrows looked like they'd been shampooed with brand-name self-care products. It wasn’t just her pink glazed donut lips or her flowy dark hair that stole my heart; it was her essence. She glowed like those aftermarket LED headlights on my nightly drive back home. And those eyes… those dreamy eyes!
I started cleaning on Friday afternoon as soon as I got home from work. Charlene, my desk mate, had misplaced my favorite pen and became gradually paler as she silently watched me erupt into a volcano without having to pay a subscription fee. It was given to me by my late father, a stickler for rules who failed his “how to show empathy” class up until the very last second of his miserable life. He stared hauntingly into my eyes as he drew his last breath. Her eyes were different; they smiled when she did and rolled when we bantered that one time I cornered her in our local convenience store. She was buying tampons, and I snuck behind and whispered, “bloody murder!” She was startled at first, jumped even, but her face softened as her glassy green eyes laid on me. I felt those damn butterflies again, practicing rain dancing as my heart exploded in my chest. She joked around that she was getting them as earplugs to drown out her noisy neighbor. I told her a shovel would work just as well. It was courting at its finest.
I woke up early on Saturday with the morning light and gingerly started cleaning the kitchen floor. Armed with my favorite dirty cleaning rag, I got down on my knees and found every nook and every cranny. My momma called me on her new iPhone to remind me about my aunt Vicky’s birthday later that day. She was upset that I wasn’t coming. I told her that I had plans with a mortician and whether I should put in a good word for her, but she didn’t find that funny one bit, so she lashed out like I knew she would. Her yell pierced through the phone like a messy SWAT raid, and after that, I heard as much as I cared to listen. She said something about how I always find a way to disappoint her. She reminded me of how that mouth of mine caused me to lose my previous job. Somehow it always comes back to money with her, and it used to make me cry, but this is her insecurity — not mine. Ever since I could remember, she was always keeping face around her more successful older sister who married into wealth. She dragged me to beauty pageants as early as five, and then to modeling castings after that, but I guess I was not good enough to be her golden egg.
The second time I officially met her was in the barely maintained suicidal elevator of our building complex. The maintenance date on the sticker had long expired, and every time those doors closed, it truly was a gamble of whether my laziness was worth the odds of me falling to my death in there. She had forgotten about me and our mesmerizing tampon talk at the nearby store, but I took no time to remind her of our lovely first encounter. “Ah!” she said, like a cliched mad scientist who had just solved aging, pointing an accusatory finger to the heavens. I asked her if she "took care" of her neighbor and extended her a wink. She pouted her juicy lips and started thinking for a bit while I mind surfed down her long, thick dark hair. Then suddenly, I saw excitement and joy building up inside of her and exploding out her bright, hypnotizing eyes. She tried to contain it and with a muffled chuckle, she said, "I won't say a thing, but don't you go looking in the rubbish downstairs!" Somehow, the conversation turned to famous serial killers and crime shows, so I did the thing and asked her to watch some series together sometimes.
The first time we did was last Saturday. I out-thrifted my local thrift stores and was fashionably late. She greeted me in sweatpants that failed to conceal the contour of her hips, and she coughed quite a bit before telling me that I smelled nice. I raided my momma's vanity earlier that day for brand-name perfumes and accessories. She always has the latest stuff. I told myself that I wouldn't overdo it, but I overdid it. She took a good look at me as I was heading out, fixed my hair, and asked, "Who's the lucky man?"
My gorgeous neighbor lived in apartment 31B, the one with the off-red door, and it was disgustingly perfect. I thought that since we lived in the same building complex, her place wouldn't be so different from mine, but it was. I don't think it was even the layout that made it better. It was the furniture arrangement, the attention to detail as if she had her masters in color theory. It was her. She gave me the tour, and I was amazed at how every room looked like someone's pinned Pinterest board. The whole place looked staged for viewing, but the way she flowed through her space made me realize that this was her norm. It was so clean that I started to wonder if she did kill her now eerily quiet neighbor. It wasn't until we sat down on the couch together, and she wrapped us in her silky vanilla blanket, that my anxiety flew away. But those damn butterflies persisted. I sat beside her, far enough to be cold but close enough to fill my fantasies and ask myself what this was. It came as no surprise, then, that we had an awkward goodbye when it was all over, and I stood at her door not knowing what to say or do. She held onto the door and said, "Next Saturday then?"
By the time Saturday evening arrived, it had been hours of me mindlessly cleaning and endlessly rearranging my furnitures around. The same anxiety that I felt at her place came back raging, and no amount of YouTube or Pinterest made me feel any better. But then, there came a knocking at the door. I wasn't expecting her this early, so naturally, I freaked out like a bomb had gone off in my head, and I started running all over the place, getting dressed like a chicken with its head cut off. I smeared perfume all over my body and opened the door with unrepentant puffy messy hair. It was momma. She looked fancy. She was rocking this beautiful light blue cocktail dress with cape sleeves. It screamed, "I overpaid for this dress”, and I wanted to puke—I loved it!' She gave me this 'check me out' look before she pranced in without any invitation. She saw how tired I looked and asked me if I ate anything, but she must have noticed the change in my apartment and didn't bother to let me answer. There was this glimmer in her eyes when she asked, 'Well, well, you smell nice! Who's coming over?'"
I swear I'm better than this, but in that moment of pure exhaustion, I just let my guard down and told her the truth—that I was having a girlfriend over to watch a show. I knew instantly that I'd messed up as soon as the words left my mouth. Her eyes blinked at a thousand miles per hour, like she was looking for the least hurtful way to explode, but there's nothing kind about her outbursts. She yelled, "You're missing out on your aunt's birthday to watch a show with a friend??" I watched her face get redder with anger and felt tears at the ready, edging the corner of my puffy eyes, and I felt the kind of muffled anger that a 30-year-old adult woman would have to explain to her mother what adult choices made her happy, but I couldn't say anything. No matter how angry I was, I couldn't tell her to just let me be. I let out a weak but defiant "Yeah?" And she unleashed on me about just how much she was disappointed in me. She slammed me about how little I cared for my family, so I yelled back at her, saying that I didn't care about a who's who party where we must rent out a fancy dress to be welcomed. "I bought this damn dress!" she yelled in pure anger, oblivious to the point that I was making. I retorted that she was doing a good job hiding the price tag to return it later then, and that's when the palm of her hand found my face. I stumbled onto the ground, and in an attempt to regain balance, I held onto the big standing mirror behind me and dragged it to the floor with me.
I sat on the floor and finally justified crying; a bit of blood painted my right hand. Her left hand covering her mouth, she fumbled a reactionary apology and made her way to the door avoiding the pieces of glass on the floor. She stumbled out in tears just as my green-eyed neighbor was about to knock. She looked back at my fleeing mother in shock and ran to the kitchen to get me a wet paper towel. When she finally joined me on the floor, my face had turned red, but my tears had dried. It was then that I saw this piece of broken mirror shattered perfectly in half, but not separated. You could see the crack going all the way down.
The reflection was of both of us, each of us on different sides of the crack. She was perfect. I would have written a sonnet from the cadence of her hips. I would have written a haiku on her lips, but we were from different worlds, and I was tired of expectations. I was tired of having to validate what my happiness should look like.
So, I reached in.

Hi, welcome back to my new post, in this blog post, we will share with you the deep details of the birth chart calculator reading method with a deep explanation with the help of an example. So let’s start.

What is a Birth Chart?

A birth chart, also known as a natal chart, is a snapshot of the positions of celestial bodies such as the Sun, Moon, planets, and other astrological points at the exact moment of an individual's birth. It is considered to be a symbolic representation of the unique energies and characteristics that were present at the time of your birth, which can provide insights into your personality traits, life path, relationships, and various aspects of your life.
A birth chart is typically represented as a circular diagram divided into twelve sections called houses, each representing different areas of life such as career, relationships, home, and more. The planets are plotted within these houses, indicating their specific positions in the zodiac signs at the time of your birth. The zodiac signs represent different qualities and characteristics associated with each planet.
Interpreting a birth chart involves analyzing the relationships and aspects between the planets and other significant points in the chart. It can help astrologers understand your strengths, weaknesses, talents, and challenges, providing a deeper understanding of your potential and life experiences.
By examining the birth chart, astrologers can provide insights and guidance regarding various aspects of your life, including personality traits, career choices, relationships, health, and overall life patterns.

History of Birth Chart Calculator

The history of birth chart calculation can be traced back thousands of years to ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece. These civilizations developed various forms of astrology and celestial observation, which laid the foundation for the birth chart calculation we use today.
One of the earliest known systems of astrology is Mesopotamian astrology, practiced in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) around 2000 BCE. They believed that the positions of celestial bodies had an influence on human lives, and they created birth charts to interpret these influences. These charts were primarily focused on predicting events and offering guidance for kings and rulers.
In ancient Egypt, astrology was also highly regarded. The Egyptians associated certain gods and goddesses with specific celestial bodies and believed that these deities influenced human destinies. Birth charts were used to determine an individual's connection to these deities and their potential life paths.
The Greek civilization made significant contributions to the development of astrology and birth chart calculation. The most famous astrologer of ancient Greece was Claudius Ptolemy (2nd century CE), who wrote the influential book "Tetrabiblos." Ptolemy's work laid the foundation for much of Western astrology, including the calculation of birth charts based on the positions of celestial bodies.
Over time, different cultures and astrologers refined the techniques for birth chart calculation. The advent of computers and modern technology revolutionized the process, making it much faster and more accurate. Today, birth chart calculators are widely available online, enabling individuals to generate their charts easily by entering their birth details into specialized software or websites.
It's important to note that astrology and birth chart interpretation are based on symbolic and metaphorical associations rather than scientific evidence. While astrology has been an influential aspect of many cultures throughout history, its practice and acceptance vary among individuals and communities.

How do you Read a Birth Chart?

Reading a birth chart involves interpreting the various elements and symbols present in the chart, such as the positions of planets, zodiac signs, houses, and aspects. Here are the key steps to reading a birth chart:

1. Obtain the birth chart: To read a birth chart, you need the individual's exact birth date, time, and location. This information is used to calculate the positions of celestial bodies at the time of birth and generate the chart.
   
2. Identify the planets: The birth chart will show the positions of the Sun, Moon, and planets at the time of birth. Each planet represents different aspects of a person's personality and life areas. For example, the Sun represents the core essence and identity, the Moon signifies emotions and nurturing, and Mercury represents communication and thinking processes.
   
3. Observe the zodiac signs: The planets will be located in specific zodiac signs in the birth chart. Each sign has its unique characteristics and qualities. The interaction between the planets and signs provides insights into how the planetary energies express themselves in different areas of life.
   
4. Determine the house placements: The birth chart is divided into twelve houses, each representing a specific life area. The placement of planets in these houses indicates where certain energies and influences are focused in an individual's life. For instance, a planet in the 7th house may indicate a significant emphasis on relationships and partnerships.
   
5. Analyze aspects: Aspects refer to the angles formed between planets in the birth chart. They indicate the relationships and interactions between planetary energies. Common aspects include conjunctions (planets close together), oppositions (planets across from each other), trines (120 degrees apart), and squares (90 degrees apart). Each aspect carries its own meaning and influences how the planetary energies interact.
   
6. Synthesize the information: To gain a comprehensive understanding, you need to analyze and synthesize the information from the planets, signs, houses, and aspects. Look for patterns, themes, and connections within the birth chart. Consider how different elements interact with each other and how they may influence different areas of life, such as career, relationships, and personal development.
   
7. Interpretation: Finally, interpret the birth chart based on your knowledge of astrology, symbolism, and personal experience. Consider the strengths, challenges, potentials, and life patterns indicated by the birth chart. Remember that birth chart interpretations are subjective, and different astrologers may offer varying insights.
   

It's important to note that reading a birth chart requires a deep understanding of astrology and its symbols. If you're new to astrology, consulting with an experienced astrologer can provide more accurate and personalized insights into your birth chart.

The Planets in a Birth Chart

In a birth chart, the planets represent different energies, qualities, and aspects of an individual's personality and life experiences. Here are the main planets and their significations in astrology:

1. Sun: The Sun represents the core essence of an individual, their ego, vitality, and sense of self. It represents one's identity, purpose, and self-expression. The Sun's placement indicates the primary focus of a person's life and the areas where they seek recognition and fulfillment.
   
2. Moon: The Moon represents emotions, instincts, intuition, and the subconscious mind. It reflects one's emotional needs, nurturing qualities, and how they relate to others on an emotional level. The Moon also influences one's habits, memories, and reactions to situations.
   
3. Mercury: Mercury represents communication, thinking processes, learning, and intellect. It governs how one communicates, gathers information, and processes thoughts. Mercury's placement indicates the style of communication and the areas of life where intellectual pursuits are emphasized.
   
4. Venus: Venus represents love, relationships, beauty, and harmony. It governs one's capacity for love, attraction, and artistic expression. Venus also influences one's values, social interactions, and desires for pleasure and aesthetics.
   
5. Mars: Mars represents energy, passion, assertiveness, and action. It governs one's drive, ambition, and how they assert themselves in the world. Mars influences physical energy, courage, and the pursuit of goals and desires.
   
6. Jupiter: Jupiter represents expansion, growth, abundance, and wisdom. It governs one's beliefs, values, and aspirations. Jupiter also influences luck, opportunities, and the areas of life where one seeks personal and spiritual growth.
   
7. Saturn: Saturn represents structure, discipline, responsibility, and limitations. It governs one's sense of duty, self-control, and the lessons they need to learn in life. Saturn also influences long-term goals, career, and the areas of life where one seeks stability and achievement.
   
8. Uranus: Uranus represents innovation, change, individuality, and liberation. It governs unconventional thinking, originality, and the desire for freedom and personal expression. Uranus also influences sudden events, breakthroughs, and areas of life where one seeks to break free from conventions.
   
9. Neptune: Neptune represents spirituality, imagination, dreams, and illusions. It governs one's intuition, creativity, and the desire for transcendence. Neptune also influences the subconscious mind, idealism, and the areas of life where one seeks inspiration and spiritual connection.
   
10. Pluto: Pluto represents transformation, power, and deep psychological processes. It governs one's desire for growth, regeneration, and personal evolution. Pluto also influences intensity, hidden motivations, and the areas of life where one experiences profound transformation.
    

These are the traditional planets used in astrology. In addition to these, some astrologers also consider other celestial bodies like Chiron, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto as significant influences in a birth chart. The specific placements, aspects, and interactions of these planets in the birth chart provide a more nuanced understanding of an individual's personality and life experiences.

The Houses in a Birth Chart

In astrology, the birth chart is divided into twelve houses, each representing different areas of life and experiences. The houses indicate where specific energies and themes manifest in an individual's life. Here's a brief overview of the twelve houses and their general significations:

1. First House (Ascendant or Rising Sign): The first house represents the self, physical appearance, personality traits, and the way you project yourself to the world. It reflects your self-image, personal identity, and how others perceive you.
   
2. Second House: The second house represents personal resources, values, self-worth, and material possessions. It relates to finances, earning potential, possessions, and your attitude towards money.
   
3. Third House: The third house represents communication, learning, siblings, neighbors, and short-distance travel. It reflects your intellectual pursuits, social interactions, and the way you communicate and express your ideas.
   
4. Fourth House (IC or Imum Coeli): The fourth house represents home, family, roots, and emotional foundation. It relates to your upbringing, family dynamics, sense of belonging, and your private life.
   
5. Fifth House: The fifth house represents creativity, self-expression, romance, children, and hobbies. It reflects your artistic talents, love affairs, playful activities, and the way you seek pleasure and joy.
   
6. Sixth House: The sixth house represents health, daily routine, work, service, and responsibilities. It relates to your work environment, habits, wellness, and your approach to maintaining a balanced lifestyle.
   
7. Seventh House (Descendant): The seventh house represents partnerships, relationships, marriage, and significant others. It reflects your approach to committed partnerships, collaboration, and your desire for balance and harmony in relationships.
   
8. Eighth House: The eighth house represents transformation, shared resources, sexuality, and deep connections. It relates to inheritance, joint finances, intimacy, and psychological growth.
   
9. Ninth House: The ninth house represents higher education, travel, philosophy, spirituality, and expansion of consciousness. It reflects your beliefs, higher learning, spiritual pursuits, and the quest for meaning and truth.
   
10. Tenth House (Midheaven or MC): The tenth house represents career, public image, reputation, and aspirations. It relates to your professional life, achievements, ambitions, and the way you are perceived in the public sphere.
    
11. Eleventh House: The eleventh house represents friendships, social networks, group associations, and aspirations. It reflects your involvement in communities, friendships, social causes, and your hopes for the future.
    
12. Twelfth House: The twelfth house represents spirituality, subconscious mind, isolation, and hidden matters. It relates to your inner world, dreams, psychic abilities, self-reflection, and areas of life that are hidden or unconscious.
    

The interpretation of the houses is influenced by the planets and signs that occupy them and the aspects they form. The specific placements and interactions of planets within the houses provide further insights into an individual's life experiences and areas of focus.

Reposting because a couple months have passed and I've seen discussion on it in other posts:
One of the main reasons for construction in the game is storing items. Everything from clue items, armor sets, to toys. But for a long time the skill has been completely lackluster and devoid of true purpose in this game. Short of a rework which I hope will be included in the 2022 roadmap, I would like to see an update similar to how the aquarium was released, but with more use for storage. Many of you may think that we have enough bank space to play the game and you're right, but the use of more storage will be to give collectors, the feeling you get when you complete an achievement. Every time one of these POH storage boxes gets filled it gives a little shot of dopamine, adding more is good for the game and good for the players who are always seeking more sources for their addiction.
I am of the opinion that there should be an update to the current POH to include many new items. And if possible also create two new rooms, one called 'Armory' which would store many items that aren't really costumes, and display hall, which would be a rework of the current skill/quest halls to allow more storage per square room. This would allow us to collect many more cosmetics that are untradable, and even some that are tradable and we'd just like them not to take up our bank space.
Before any of that though some things a little out of date, for examples;-The cape rack doesn't include the new Zuk capes, it'd be nice if it included 1 of each type IN ADDITION to the kiln capes (so you can have both and not either or)-In the armor case we are unable to store different sets of castle wars armour. We should be given space to store one of each set.-Similarly it'd be nice to be able to store one of each team cape rather than just a single one.-The clue tab is lacking all the clue rewards, namely the 3a/2nd age items.-You cannot store both pants and skirts
Moving onto the armory here's a small compellation of items I have off the top of my head that we have little to no use for in an end game's bank but would be fun to collect.
Weapons rack:

• Ceremonial swords: Currently there are a total of 50 ceremonial swords, all purely cosmetic versions of iron->rune swords. It'd be nice to be able to collect these and not waste 50 bank spaces!
• Necromancer's staves: There are currently 18 different skeletal and necromancy staves.
• Limitless staves: There are 7 limitless staves, similar to other clue items they should be storable in the POH.
• Penance trident: Reward from Barbarian assault, but nobody would buy it. We already have the other penance gear in the armor case so why is this being excluded?
• Greater Runic staff: Maybe some irons still use this? I'm unsure if it's still part of new iron journeys or not. But it'd be nice to be included.
• God staves: We already have the capes on the cape rack.
• Staff of Armadyl/Camel staff: Two difficult to obtain items, which would be nice to have in storage.
• Staff of light/Ancient staff: There are a bunch of loyalty point recolors for both of these items, similar to the Robin hat and top hat which both have space to store one of each.
• Mage Training arena weapons: We have Infinity in our magic wardrobe, it'd be nice to also store one of each wand/book.
• Demon slayer crossbows: No real use, we have the demon hunter set already in the armor case.
• Ivandis flail
• Dung weapons chaotic/gravite
• Ports weapons: We already have the armor
• Attuned crystal weapons

Armor case:

• Achto: We can store port armor but not Achto?
• GWD1 gear: Non degradable, why not?
• GWD2 gear: would be nice to collect
• Slayer mask and it's components
• T85 tank boots/gloves: No real use nowadays, would be nice to have them in the bank. Also having t90 boots alongside would fun.
• Gemstone outfit
• Dragonstone armor
• Spirit shields
• Attuned crystal armor

Other random items:

• Flippers
• Mudskipper hat
• Gnome scarf/Goggles: Would be neat to have these in our costume room fancy dress box
• Crab helmet
• Crab claw, Crabclaw and hook, and Pirate's hook
• Pogo stick
• Robin, Treasure map, Pinata's, etc
• Task set
• Jewelry box to hold ASR, Vigour, DKS rings and their upgrades, Lotd, blood necklace set, Dungeoneering necklaces, Dragon rider amulet, Shark necklace, Leviathan ring, Seren's symbol just to name a few.
• Scriptures need to be added to the bookshelves
• Book of death should be added to the bookshelf
• BA insignia's should be added somewhere
• Blood essence ^

Finally I think it'd be amazing if we could have a display hall. These can be single rooms chained together to make a hall displaying many things in the game, from armor sets (for example the wilderness armor), to heads mounted on the wall (the skill hall/quest hall aren't really enough to display everything.
Extra idea from u/ J00stie to allow us to store partial set pieces rather than require the entire set.And to build off of his idea it'd be nice to store multiples as well, so instead of having a giant clue tab taking up hundreds of spaces, you can just have them all in your poh.

I know it's going to sound very strange or too phantasmal, but I'd still like to share these thoughts to see if others have come to these conclusions.
​
I've had some highly realistic dreams since 2019 where I've glimpsed events that have happened such as the war in Ukraine , earthquakes in turkey or the coronavirus however the most startling were some kind of monologues that talked about humanity and its relationship with every others spirituals humanoids in the cosmos as well as what I could call the occult elite. This may sound very egotistical but it's really not my intention so please don't judge .
First of all, the universe is full of highly-developed humanoid life, a great number of which have a very human-like appearance, evolve on much higher vibratory frequencies and are, by our standards, magical and supernatural, nor are they susceptible to aging in the same way as the inhabitants of the earth. This is a universe of paradisiacal qualities, with ethereal cities and domains that remind me of Star Wars or mythological legends. Conflicts do exist, but in the vast majority of cases they are settled either through diplomacy or malicious conspiracy, unlike military wars on Earth.
The thing is, it was explained to me that these entities, contrary to what they claim, don't believe so much in the all is one, and perceive humanity as a kind of strange exception. Basically, the type of soul that earth's inhabitants have is truly unique and an extreme minority. Magical and supernatural creatures are the vast majority, numbering in the trillions, while humans are an extreme minority.
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People often claim to be starseeds and incarnate non-humans beings and this is very possible because the type of consciousnesses/souls/beings that humans have are rarities . Organic portals or spiritless humans exist and and are significant part of humanity futhermore they are a creation of these aliens
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The cosmic/Magical beings perceive humanity as an exception, an anomaly, even dangerous. Similarly, when one of these entities reproduces with a human, the offspring will never have a human soul, but will be, from a spiritual point of view, entirely alien/interdimensional or a new kind of "alien" spiritual being : think of the nephilim of the Bible or the hybrids of the greys, which are basically entirely otherwordly .
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Some are fascinated by the human soul because it's a kind of cosmic portal, and despite their high densities, immortalities, magical powers and stellar civilizations, they lack certain things they believe humanity possesses.
There's a status quo in the cosmos which is basically that nobody really wants to help humanity because they're afraid Humans become a danger and many species parasite on the human soul/bodies . Human essence and its soul energies as well as children's blood are the most precious commodities.
There is the term occult elite which is basically the managers of the planet , these entities have rivalries and even if they despise millitary conflicts they can be extremely vicious and vindictive and these managers are regularly changed with conspiracies and spiritual invasions . In short, humanity hasn't been free since the dawn of time. Many celebrities , royalty , elites and mythological heroes and even a surprising number of more ordinary people are not human souls but extra-dimensional entities who use human avatar bodies and reincarnate through time in influential positions with privileged genetic bodies and free access to the superior worlds . They play the roles of corrupt politicians, brainless divas and superficial bankers but in truth they are entities who roleplay as humans , they travel in the astral and have very open access to higher realities and regularly practice all forms of sorcery as well as living a double life in spiritual realities . However those who become too problematic whether in the occult elite or on other density/planets are also sent as prisoners to live as ordinary humans so for example being too empathetic with the masses may force you into a ordinary existence. In this way the person realizes the luck of his past lives and his non-human nature and will never again dare to take sides with humanity or cause trouble to the hierarchy or in his native world.
These entities reincarnate through time and compete in their cosmic super-societies ( think of the new-age galactic confederation ) however some are more altruistic leaders with humanity while others are diabolically cruel and despise humanity with passions . The thing is, no one wants humanity to achieve physical immortality and become a cosmic, creative race that exists in the paradise that is the universe (I'm really talking about a cosmos similar to Star Wars, Narnia or an ultimate fantasy world that really does exist in higher vibrational frequencies). The spiritual war is that almost all the immortal beings that exist in the cosmos don't want to share their lives, which are honestly, perfect and Elysian, in comparison with humans, who they see as a spiritual form strange to all the others, even enemies of the cosmos . So every time a human civilization reaches too great a degree of sophistication or esoteric understanding and psychic ability, they undergo a big reset, their inhabitants are harvested and they start all over again. In my dreams, it was clearly stated that human history had been falsified, and that some centuries ago, more advanced and more peaceful civilizations existed on earth (on the contrary, certain eras of the past were less millitaristic than contemporary humans, and the number of spiritless humans was much rarer).
​
To get to the Cabal in fact, it was stated that most people who experience the Mandela effect, and this is also the case for most people who remember their past lives and have particularly sensitive psychic/intuitive abilities, are not human souls, even if they think of themselves as human, but are "Starseeds or crystal/indigo children" who are not rare but make up almost the entire cosmos.
Different groups have dominated the earth with avatars, and power transitions can be more or less cordial. The last reset was particularly violent, and the inhuman elites of that era who had refused to cooperate with their superiors were forced to reincarnate as ordinary people when another group, now known as the Iluminati/Deep States took power. What I was also told, and which is found in many channelings and legends, is that alien civilizations also use the earth as a prison, sending their criminals as ordinary people, because Humans live entirely abominable, hellish and sadistic lives compared to all other humanoids in the cosmos. But anyway, if you're a non-human soul, you'll get off this realm sooner or later.
Basically, human souls are strange muggles according to the status quo and those who own the cosmos and the multiverse don't want to share it with them out of fear, contempt or whatever, even if they desire certain things that humans have, and spiritual warfare is to parasitize and prevent humans from becoming dangerous. The trillions of spirits in the cosmos are either complicit, neutral or at war with humanity, which means that there may be other planets with enslaved human populations, as in Jupiter Ascending.
However, if you experience the mandela effect, there's a good chance that you're not human and that you're profiting in the long term from the enslavement of humanity, and that you even have a spiritual family somewhere that isn't really empathetic to humans.
P.S :
My use of immortality may be misleading, but it's more in the sense of not being sensitive to death by age and having a perfect extra-dimensional consciousness in the sense that death is more like being banished to our original realm . In other words, if you manage to kill an extraterrestrial, even if its body is lying at your feet, its consciousness/spirit will simply be banished to its original reality (4/5/6/7th density ) without any loss of memory, trauma or any other significant loss, so it may well return to our reality at a later date by materialization or creation of a human avatar . It's as if every time someone kills you, you wake up in your own bed with no memory loss or trauma, just like in a video game . it will always be the same entity with the same personality, desire and will without real change and they can live "millions" of years with the same true spiritual identity unlike humans traumatized by death who change personalities and incarnations without real choice and lose their memories of their true personalities after decades of existence
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Exploring the Realm of NFT Marketing

Since the inception of modern technology, our perception of marketing and advertisement has taken a complete 360, especially since the introduction of NFTs. Nowadays, companies have started amalgamating NFT marketing strategies and services into play, which has led to an increase in returns, but the question that still boggles is – how?

What are NFTs?

Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital assets transformed into unique, indivisible units using blockchain technology. By assigning distinctive identification codes and metadata, NFTs stand apart from other tokens, allowing for their authentication and ownership verification.
NFTs have gained prominence due to their ability to be bought, sold, and traded for monetary value, cryptocurrencies, or other NFTs.
The perceived worth of an NFT is determined by the market demand and the subjective valuation of its holders. As an example, imagine creating a token representing an image of a banana on a digital exchange. While some individuals may be willing to pay exorbitant amounts, valuing the NFT in the millions, others may consider it utterly worthless.
It’s important to note the distinction between NFTs and cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are also tokens, but the key difference lies in their fungibility. Two cryptocurrencies originating from identical blockchains can be exchanged on a one-to-one basis since they possess similar values and properties. However, even though two NFTs may appear identical on the surface, they remain non-interchangeable. Each NFT carries its unique identity and cannot be substituted with another NFT, adding to its individuality and scarcity. At this point, we are sure that you know what does NFT mean? So now, let’s take a look at how they are created.

How to create an NFT?

The surge in popularity of these unique digital assets within the cryptocurrency realm has been remarkable, attracting billions in trading volume and garnering widespread attention through endorsements from renowned personalities. With NFTs taking center stage in mainstream media, it’s the perfect time to explore how to make NFTs and become part of this innovative trend. Creating your NFTs is a straightforward process that begins on dedicated platforms. These NFT platforms provide you with the ability to mint and upload your artwork directly onto a blockchain. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the necessary steps involved in crafting an NFT –
Figuring out the purpose of creation (what you want to create)
NFTs are commonly associated with digital art, which can take the form of an image, an audio composition (like a song), or even a brief video clip (such as an animated GIF). The primary objective is to generate an exclusive piece of digital media that can be sold, similar to the process of selling a painting in an art gallery. Creators derive value from NFTs due to their uniqueness, offering something that cannot be possessed elsewhere.
Choose an appropriate Blockchain
Numerous blockchain networks exist, each touting itself as the ultimate choice regarding scalability, distinct attributes, or capabilities. However, it’s essential to go beyond the buzzwords, rebranding, and marketing hype. When selecting a blockchain platform for development, it’s crucial to consider the characteristics that genuinely hold significance.
In all honesty, answering this question isn’t straightforward. The decision is influenced by numerous external factors, including the quality of documentation and the robustness of the community supporting the platform.
Set up your NFT wallet
When selecting a blockchain, it is essential to have a compatible digital wallet for storing your NFT. To set up a wallet, download the crypto wallet app, choose a username and password, and keep your private keys and recovery phrase offline for backup. This ensures the security of your NFT by aligning the blockchain and wallet and taking necessary precautions to safeguard your access to it.
Picking an NFT platform
With the increasing number of NFT platforms available, it’s important to note that the top-tier ones go beyond just NFT creation. They provide comprehensive marketplaces for listing and selling NFTs. These platforms offer a range of services that cater to the needs of creators and collectors, ensuring a seamless experience throughout the entire NFT lifecycle. By utilizing these full-service marketplaces, creators can showcase their NFTs to a wider audience, and potential buyers can explore a diverse collection of unique digital assets, fostering a vibrant ecosystem for the NFT community.
List the NFT for sale
Listing an NFT for sale is easy and usually free on most platforms. After creating and storing your NFT in your wallet, select the platform and set the desired price and duration for the sale. Fill in the sale details and create the listing by signing a few transactions in your digital wallet, which may involve paying transaction fees on your chosen blockchain. We now know what NFTs are and how to make NFT. Now we’ll talk about how NFTs can be used as a tool in marketing and the essence of it.

Why use NFT for marketing?

Investors possess numerous motivations for desiring to acquire assets that have been tokenized into Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). Several benefits associated with investing in NFTs comprise the following:
NFTs give a chance to all
Tokenized assets offer accessibility to all, allowing seamless transfer of ownership worldwide. By converting assets into NFTs, ownership becomes more efficient and easily transferable, enabling anyone to engage in investment opportunities with ease.
The blockchain secures ownership
Leveraging blockchain tech enhances asset security and transparency, providing investors with a more secure ownership experience. Blockchain technology protects an investor’s assets by digitally signifying ownership. Additionally, it brings greater transparency to asset ownership, ensuring a transparent and accountable record of ownership transfers.
Increases customer engagement
NFTs are powerful tools for companies to enhance customer experiences and broaden their reach. They provide a fresh avenue for brands to engage with a larger audience. NFT holders with a vested interest are more inclined to support the business. As the company thrives, the value of its NFTs appreciates, further incentivizing investor loyalty and engagement.

What is NFT marketing?

NFTs are continuously evolving and have become essential for businesses to succeed. However, the challenge lies in effectively marketing one’s business to achieve desired outcomes. In such situations, it is wise to consider engaging marketing services from a reputable company to establish a leading position in the industry. The opportunities offered by NFT advertising are, reaching a wider audience, fostering trusted relationships, and boosting revenue by leveraging popular platforms and emerging trends. Now, let’s take a look at five ways how NFTs can be used for marketing –
Gaming
Games have emerged as prime platforms for NFT marketing, especially with popular titles like Fortnite, featuring intricate graphics and customizable avatars. This opens up opportunities to create and trade NFTs in the form of digital pets, avatar skins, and other virtual gaming assets. Since Fortnite and similar games accept cryptocurrency for in-game purchases, gamers are inclined to invest in these NFTs. Consequently, promoting NFTs within the game and establishing an NFT-centered business model can lead to substantial success. As NFTs gain mainstream traction, the gaming industry possesses a unique advantage to capitalize on this trend and reap its benefits.
Selling tickets
In recent years, the way people purchase goods has undergone a significant transformation. For instance, you can now acquire a ticket for your preferred concert or sports event using Bitcoin and NFTs. NFTs are becoming the go-to virtual tickets for various events like workshops, trade shows, and expos. Their unique and captivating content makes them highly appealing, attracting audiences effectively. Crafting an NFT for a music or sports event can generate immense enthusiasm among devoted fans, resulting in long ticket queues.
Fashion and garment industry
The fashion industry and NFTs might appear unlikely bedfellows, but they have the potential to form a perfect union. The fashion industry is primed to leverage the success of NFTs in gaming. Gucci collaborated with Christie’s to auction an NFT that fetched $25,000, while Burberry joined forces with Mythical Games to introduce their own in-game NFT called Shark Blanco. NFTs and the metaverse offer fashion brands and designers a colossal opportunity to create, market, and sell digital apparel to millions, even billions, of users who desire the latest fashion trends for their virtual personas.
Pre-ordering of products
Companies and entrepreneurs strive for increased pre-orders, benefiting their cash flow and providing a measure of public interest. Gary Vaynerchuk’s innovative employment of NFTs in pre-orders is an exciting example. Gary Vee presented an irresistible proposition for NFT enthusiasts in his latest book, Twelve and a Half. During a specific timeframe, every twelve books purchased resulted in receiving one of Gary’s highly sought-after NFTs. This strategy proved immensely successful, leading to such overwhelming pre-sales that the book’s release date had to be postponed by a fortnight.
As NFTs revolutionize the digital landscape, businesses seek innovative ways to leverage this trend for marketing success. At Skytrust, we understand the power of NFTs and their potential to transform your brand’s reach and customer engagement.
As a leading NFT marketing agency, we specialize in helping businesses navigate the dynamic world of NFTs and create impactful marketing strategies. Our team of experts will guide you through the entire process, from conceptualization to execution, ensuring that your NFT marketing campaign stands out in the crowd.
Whether you’re in the gaming industry, fashion and garment sector, or any other industry looking to harness the potential of NFTs, our tailored solutions will help you achieve your goals. We’ll collaborate with you to develop engaging NFTs that captivate your target audience and drive customer loyalty.
Be with Exploring the Realm of NFT Marketing, your trusted NFT marketing agency, to guide you through this exciting digital frontier. Contact us today to discover how we can help your brand thrive in NFTs and achieve unprecedented marketing success.

You literally have all the redpill taking points.
1 man is a good father and decent husband.

1. quits his job for morals.

3 wife divorces him immediately and takes kids.
4 wife won’t let him see kids.
5 father is dedicated enough to gain the system, going disguise as a woman to see his kids (and excel further than most men would just to see them)
6 wife goes on dates with another man ( fairly quickly after everything ) and brings the kids to meet him.
it Literally has all the signs of being redpill dogma, and it’s a great movie (that makes fun of women too). Y’all are dumb, too young to have seen the movie, or both.
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sidenote: the other man is also a chad. How are you guys so blind
Edit: should prob correct This to conservatives instead of redpill, since redpill has that essence of being a douche

Look at these articles:

Artificial intelligence could lead to extinction, experts warn
Artificial intelligence could lead to the extinction of humanity, experts - including the heads of OpenAI and Google Deepmind - have warned.
Dozens have supported a statement published on the webpage of the Centre for AI Safety.
"Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war" it reads.
But others say the fears are overblown.
Sam Altman, chief executive of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, Demis Hassabis, chief executive of Google DeepMind and Dario Amodei of Anthropic have all supported the statement.
The Centre for AI Safety website suggests a number of possible disaster scenarios:

1. AIs could be weaponised - for example, drug-discovery tools could be used to build chemical weapons
2. AI-generated misinformation could destabilise society and "undermine collective decision-making"
3. The power of AI could become increasingly concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, enabling "regimes to enforce narrow values through pervasive surveillance and oppressive censorship"
4. Enfeeblement, where humans become dependent on AI "similar to the scenario portrayed in the film Wall-E" Dr Geoffrey Hinton, who issued an earlier warning about risks from super-intelligent AI, has also supported the Centre for AI Safety's call.

Yoshua Bengio, professor of computer science at the university of Montreal, also signed.
Dr Hinton, Prof Bengio and NYU Professor Yann LeCun are often described as the "godfathers of AI" for their groundbreaking work in the field - for which they jointly won the 2018 Turing Award, which recognises outstanding contributions in computer science.
But Prof LeCun, who also works at Meta, has said these apocalyptic warnings are overblown tweeting that "the most common reaction by AI researchers to these prophecies of doom is face palming".
'Fracturing reality'
Many other experts similarly believe that fears of AI wiping out humanity are unrealistic, and a distraction from issues such as bias in systems that are already a problem.
Arvind Narayanan, a computer scientist at Princeton University, has previously told the BBC that sci-fi-like disaster scenarios are unrealistic: "Current AI is nowhere near capable enough for these risks to materialise. As a result, it's distracted attention away from the near-term harms of AI".
Oxford's Institute for Ethics in AI senior research associate Elizabeth Renieris told BBC News she worried more about risks closer to the present.
"Advancements in AI will magnify the scale of automated decision-making that is biased, discriminatory, exclusionary or otherwise unfair while also being inscrutable and incontestable," she said. They would "drive an exponential increase in the volume and spread of misinformation, thereby fracturing reality and eroding the public trust, and drive further inequality, particularly for those who remain on the wrong side of the digital divide".
Many AI tools essentially "free ride" on the "whole of human experience to date", Ms Renieris said. Many are trained on human-created content, text, art and music they can then imitate - and their creators "have effectively transferred tremendous wealth and power from the public sphere to a small handful of private entities".
But Centre for AI Safety director Dan Hendrycks told BBC News future risks and present concerns "shouldn't be viewed antagonistically".
"Addressing some of the issues today can be useful for addressing many of the later risks tomorrow," he said.>
Superintelligence efforts
Media coverage of the supposed "existential" threat from AI has snowballed since March 2023 when experts, including Tesla boss Elon Musk, signed an open letter urging a halt to the development of the next generation of AI technology.
That letter asked if we should "develop non-human minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us".
In contrast, the new campaign has a very short statement, designed to "open up discussion".
The statement compares the risk to that posed by nuclear war. In a blog post OpenAI recently suggested superintelligence might be regulated in a similar way to nuclear energy: "We are likely to eventually need something like an IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] for superintelligence efforts" the firm wrote.
'Be reassured'
Both Sam Altman and Google chief executive Sundar Pichai are among technology leaders to have discussed AI regulation recently with the prime minister.
Speaking to reporters about the latest warning over AI risk, Rishi Sunak stressed the benefits to the economy and society.
"You've seen that recently it was helping paralysed people to walk, discovering new antibiotics, but we need to make sure this is done in a way that is safe and secure," he said.
"Now that's why I met last week with CEOs of major AI companies to discuss what are the guardrails that we need to put in place, what's the type of regulation that should be put in place to keep us safe.
"People will be concerned by the reports that AI poses existential risks, like pandemics or nuclear wars.
"I want them to be reassured that the government is looking very carefully at this."
He had discussed the issue recently with other leaders, at the G7 summit of leading industrialised nations, Mr Sunak said, and would raise it again in the US soon.
The G7 has recently created a working group on AI.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-65746524

President Biden warns artificial intelligence could 'overtake human thinking'
WASHINGTON − President Joe Biden on Thursday amplified fears of scientists who say artificial intelligence could "overtake human thinking" in his most direct warning to date on growing concerns about the rise of AI.
Biden brought up AI during a commencement address to graduates of the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. while discussing the rapid transformation of technology that he said can "change the character" of future conflicts.
"It's not going to be easy decisions, guys," Biden said. "I met in the Oval Office with eight leading scientists in the area of AI. Some are very worried that AI can actually overtake human thinking in the planet. So we've got a lot to deal with. It's an incredible opportunity, but a lot do deal with."
Scientists, tech execs warn of possible human extinction
Hundreds of scientists, tech industry executives and public figures – including leaders of Google, Microsoft and ChatGPT – sounded the alarm about artificial intelligence in a public statement Tuesday, arguing that fast-evolving AI technology could create as high a risk of killing off humankind as nuclear war and COVID-19-like pandemics.
"Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war," said the one-sentence statement, which was released by the Center for AI Safety, or CAIS, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization.
Biden met May 5 at the White House with CEOs of leading AI companies including Google, Microsoft and OpenA to discuss reforms that ensure AI products are safe before released to the public.
"It is one of the most powerful technologies that we see currently in our time," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked about the extinction fears of scientists. "But in order to seize the opportunities it presents, we must first mitigate its risks, and that's what we're focused on in this administration."
White House launches $140 million in new AI research
The so-called “Godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton last month left his job as a Google vice president to speak freely about his concern that unexpectedly rapid advances could potentially endanger the human race. Others portrayed Hinton’s assessment as extreme and unwarranted.
Asked at a recent panel when asked what was the “worst case scenario that you think is conceivable,” Hinton replied without hesitation. “I think it's quite conceivable," he said, "that humanity is just a passing phase in the evolution of intelligence.”
The White House unveiled an initiative last month to promote responsible innovation in the field of artificial intelligence with the following actions:

1. The National Science Foundation will fund $140 million to launch seven new National AI Research Institutes. This initiative aims to bring together federal agencies, private-sector developers and academia to pursue ethical, trustworthy and responsible development of AI that serves the public good.
2. The new Institutes will advance AI R&D in critical areas, including climate change, agriculture, energy, public health, education, and cybersecurity.
3. A commitment from leading AI developers to participate in a public evaluation of their technology systems to determine if they adhere to the principles outlined in the Biden administration’s October 2022 Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights.
4. The initiative includes new Office of Management and Budget (OMB)] policy guidance on the U.S. government’s use of AI systems in order to allow for public comment. This guidance will establish specific policies for federal agencies to ensure that their development, procurement, and use of AI systems centers on safeguarding the American people’s rights and safety.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/06/01/president-biden-warns-ai-could-overtake-human-thinking/70277907007/

Experts are warning AI could lead to human extinction. Are we taking it seriously enough?
Human extinction.
Think about that for a second. Really think about it. The erasure of the human race from planet Earth.
That is what top industry leaders are frantically sounding the alarm about. These technologists and academics keep smashing the red panic button, doing everything they can to warn about the potential dangers artificial intelligence poses to the very existence of civilization.
On Tuesday, hundreds of top AI scientists, researchers, and others — including OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and Google DeepMind chief executive Demis Hassabis — again voiced deep concern for the future of humanity, signing a one-sentence open letter to the public that aimed to put the risks the rapidly advancing technology carries with it in unmistakable terms.
“Mitigating the risk of extinction from AI should be a global priority alongside other societal-scale risks such as pandemics and nuclear war,” said the letter, signed by many of the industry’s most respected figures.
It doesn’t get more straightforward and urgent than that. These industry leaders are quite literally warning that the impending AI revolution should be taken as seriously as the threat of nuclear war. They are pleading for policymakers to erect some guardrails and establish baseline regulations to defang the primitive technology before it is too late.
Dan Hendrycks, the executive director of the Center for AI Safety, called the situation “reminiscent of atomic scientists issuing warnings about the very technologies they’ve created. As Robert Oppenheimer noted, ‘We knew the world would not be the same.’”
“There are many ‘important and urgent risks from AI,’ not just the risk of extinction; for example, systemic bias, misinformation, malicious use, cyberattacks, and weaponization,” Hendrycks continued. “These are all important risks that need to be addressed.”
And yet, it seems that the dire message these experts are desperately trying to send the public isn’t cutting through the noise of everyday life. AI experts might be sounding the alarm, but the level of trepidation — and in some cases sheer terror — they harbor about the technology is not being echoed with similar urgency by the news media to the masses.
Instead, broadly speaking, news organizations treated Tuesday’s letter — like all of the other warnings we have seen in recent months — as just another headline, mixed in with a garden variety of stories. Some major news organizations didn’t even feature an article about the chilling warning on their website’s homepages.
To some extent, it feels eerily reminiscent of the early days of the pandemic, before the widespread panic and the shutdowns and the overloaded emergency rooms. Newsrooms kept an eye on the rising threat that the virus posed, publishing stories about it slowly spreading across the world. But by the time the serious nature of the virus was fully recognized and fused into the very essence in which it was covered, it had already effectively upended the world.
History risks repeating itself with AI, with even higher stakes. Yes, news organizations are covering the developing technology. But there has been a considerable lack of urgency surrounding the issue given the open possibility of planetary peril.
Perhaps that is because it can be difficult to come to terms with the notion that a Hollywood-style science fiction apocalypse can become reality, that advancing computer technology might reach escape velocity and decimate humans from existence. It is, however, precisely what the world’s most leading experts are warning could happen.
It is much easier to avoid uncomfortable realities, pushing them from the forefront into the background and hoping that issues simply resolve themselves with time. But often they don’t — and it seems unlikely that the growing concerns pertaining to AI will resolve themselves. In fact, it’s far more likely that with the breakneck pace in which the technology is developing, the concerns will actually become more apparent with time.
As Cynthia Rudin, a computer science professor and AI researcher at Duke University, told CNN on Tuesday: “Do we really need more evidence that AI’s negative impact could be as big as nuclear war?”

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/30/media/artificial-intelligence-warning-reliable-sources/index.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThere%20are%20many%20'important%20and,that%20need%20to%20be%20addressed.%E2%80%9D
Given these, is mankind about to go completely extinct due to AI randomly launching nuclear weapons like how it did in Terminator series very soon? Why or why not?
P.S. There is this comment as well:

People are going to say no because it would be inconvenient, but I don't see what's stopping AI from ending all life in the next couple of years. Alignment is an unsolved problem, and an unaligned AI will most likely try to kill anything it sees as a threat to its mission.

https://old.reddit.com/artificial/comments/13xsbnt/is_ai_going_to_cause_the_complete_extinction_of/jmjzpmo/?context=3

Hi! My LO is 26 months. She has been a fantastic sleeper her whole life; she started sleeping through the night at 2.5 months, so we never sleep trained her. We have been slowly transitioning her from her crib/nursery to her new room/queen bed. She is jacked about her new bed (princess sheets) and loves hanging out in the room during the day, but freaks out at night. We had been doing bedtime in there and then going back to crib for the past 3 weeks to ease her in. Two nights ago we tried keeping her there but she managed to open a door for the first time in her life so we brought her back to crib. I bought door locks and last night, I bit the bullet and kept her in there all night.
She screams bloody murder and hyperventilates if left in there alone. I ended up going back in the room and lying next to her, but she took it as invitation to chat and play. I laid there silently but every few minutes would say “it’s time for bed, let’s lay down and close our eyes.” She eventually fell asleep at 10 (2.5 hours later), but woke up at 1:15 and 2:00 am screaming for me. Each time, I went in, reassured her, laid down next to her, and left when she fell asleep. She then woke up at 6 and I went in and laid down next to her again until 7 when we just started our day (she normally sleeps to 730-8).
This morning, I made a big deal about her sleeping in Princess bed all night (that’s what she calls it). We FaceTimed my parents who also clapped and congratulated her. She was very proud of herself in response.
What can I do to help / not have to be in there for 2.5 hours and reduce nighttime wake ups? I’m EBF my newborn so time is of the essence; I lucked out last night with timing. I can’t handle pure CIO, but am open to gentler measures.
PS I’m still mad Crate and Barrel Kids because her furniture was supposed to be here in March, and now I’m doing this transition with a newborn instead of two months before her due date.

I won’t call Kevin again yet. He's the type to tell me he's busy if I need something from him, even though I go out of my way to help him and take care of him every single time he needs me. I stop at one of the red lights in (City name redacted). At least Kevin lives here too, just a few minutes away from Lucky’s mom’s house.
If Kevin isn’t home, I’m going to be enraged, depressed enough to cry, or both. Kevin doesn’t even really lock his door. He never locks it behind us when we walk inside – people like me can’t help but notice things like that. If he isn’t at his house, maybe I can just walk in, take his drugs, and leave.
I called him earlier in the day, so he will definitely suspect that I was the one who robbed him, but what is he going to do?
I’m homeless right now, and I’ll be back in treatment soon – and hopefully not in the cess pool of fraud, corruption, and death that addiction treatment in Orange County has become. I wonder what could possibly be in the little lockbox Kevin keeps in the closet. It is probably a treasure chest full of various drugs and opioids.
I arrive at Kevin’s house and pull into the driveway. I knock on his front door. No answer. I ring the doorbell. No answer. My heart starts to race. My head hurts, I’m nauseous, I’m sweaty. I’m full of anxiety. I can’t stop thinking about dope. I feel like I’m stuck in a cave that is collapsing all around me. I need to get out, right now.
I knock again, loudly, a few more times. I count to 10. Still nothing. I feel a flash of heat and near-panic. My stomach churns, as if threatening to cramp. I need opiates, right now.
Desperation overtakes me. I turn the doorknob. It opens. I walk in the house, my instinct telling me to creep in. I suppress my instinct and walk in casually.
“Kevin?” I yell, from the bottom of the stairs that are right by the front door. I listen for a second. All is quiet. It wouldn’t be good if I am caught sneaking around if he is here, and it isn’t going to matter if I yell a few times before I steal his drugs if he isn’t here.
Junkie feet carry me up the stairs. My ankle hurts with every step – worse since I am in withdrawal.
"Kevin?” I call out. If he isn't here, I’m robbing him. I can't stand this motherfucker, and while I'm not quite the thief I used to be, I'm still an opportunist, and this is a damn good opportunity. Maybe stealing all this kid’s fentanyl is exactly what he needs in order to be able to quit.
That’s right, Lonnie. You’d be doing him a favor by robbing him.
I peek in the first bedroom at the top of the stairs. It’s the guest bedroom I slept in 5 nights ago. It feels like it has been an eternity since I was last here. Time moves more slowly in the realm of opioid sickness. Nobody is in the guest bedroom.
I peek into the office that sits across the hall. I don’t see anybody there. I would search the office, since he might have the lockbox in here, for now, but he might be sleeping in the bedroom.
"Kevin? Marissa?" I call out. Saying her name reminds me of the fact that he is dating her. She is so young and innocent. I can’t believe he got her addicted to these powerful soul-stealing drugs. I would never associate with Kevin if he didn't have so many different uses. He is not a person to me: he is means to the various ends that I have in mind when I contact him. This isn’t Kevin’s house; it’s a house with fentanyl in it.
If I find that carfentanil, I’m going to have a decision to make. It might be so strong that using it would cause changes to my opioid receptors that I would never recover from. Injecting even one drop could kill me. Carfentanil is also identified as a biological weapon since even accidental inhalation of an almost imperceptible amount can be deadly - or so, the police say. The amount of carfentanil that Kevin has could keep me incapacitated and out of pain for at least a year. Finding that bottle would be a curse.
I find myself standing in front of the double doors to the master bedroom.
"Yo, Kevin!" I shout out. Last chance before I go on a little scavenger hunt. I put my ear close to the door. I hear the bed creaking. Somebody is in there.
“Who the fuck is in my house?” Kevin yells from behind the door.
“It’s Lonnie. I tried to call you 3 times,” I shout out the lie, with conviction in my voice.
“How’d you get in here?” he asks, as the double doors to the master bedroom swing inward and open. He is wearing an angry frown, basketball shorts, and no shirt. I try not to look at his pale, untoned stomach.
“Your front door was open. I need some of that furry, bad. I’ll give you (exorbitant price redacted) for half a gram, right now,” I say.
“Say no more. I’ll grab it,” he says, flashing a smile at me, and then running over to his closet. I am suddenly relieved that he is here, and that I do not have to steal from anybody today. Stealing always catches up to me.
“I’m going to go downstairs,” I say.
As I trot downstairs, my sickness starts to subside, since the gorilla in me knows that he will be fed soon. I go into his downstairs bathroom and get a Q-tip, and then run to my car to get a syringe. By the time I get back to Kevin’s couch, he is there.
“You got that hundred?” he asks.
“I’m sending you a Venmo right now,” I say, unlocking my phone, opening the Venmo payment app, and sending him the money, which takes 10 seconds.
“Check it,” I say, nodding at his phone. He watches his phone for a few seconds. A chunk of Furanylfentanyl sits on a scale on the coffee table between us. I eye it hungrily, waiting for Kevin to say the word.
“You’re good,” he says. I pick up the chunk of furanylfentanyl, which is enough to kill 20 opioid-naïve people twice over. I move to the kitchen table, prep the shot, and point the loaded syringe at my arm.
“You know I hate when you do that here,” Kevin says, from the couch.
“I know,” I say, injecting myself in the forearm, quickly.
“1,” I say, capping the syringe.
“2,” I say, putting it in my pocket.
“3,” I say, diving onto the floor.
“4,” I say, feeling a smile creep across my face.
“When does it hit?” he asks.
“5,” I say, laying down on the floor.
“Now,” I add, closing my eyes.
There is a moment of emptiness that is only perceptible if you’re looking for something and find nothing instead: the non-sensations of a barren organism that is completely devoid of any meaning, pleasure, will to live, or basic comfort.
My heart skips a beat – did I miss the vein?!
A weight crushes my chest, like a meteor of light just collided into it. I am unable to breathe as every ounce of pain becomes washed away by the tidal wave of raw pleasure that spreads instantly from my brain and into my spinal cord, transforming my entire body into light as the furanylfentanyl clings to the opioid receptors all over my body. I lay on the floor, mentally clinging to the tightness and pleasure in my chest, wanting it to stay forever.
The rush fades, and I find myself breathing again, unfortunately. I open my eyes and get up from the floor.
“How was that?” Kevin asks, a semi-curious look on his face.
“Awful. You should never do it,” I say, scratching my nose. Kevin laughs.
“I hate needles, anyway,” he says. I laugh twice as loud as he did and begin to pace.
“So did I. So did every IV drug addict. I’ve never met anybody that was like ‘I always loved needles! I just thought stabbing myself looked fun!’. No way. People always start with a habit of sniffing the drugs, just like you.
“They meet somebody who injects the drugs in front of them, just like I am. The person shooting up says: ‘don’t do it, it’s fucking awful’ as they stick the needle in their arm, just like I am. I can understand how this is hypocritical, but it’s truly something I wish I never tasted. You never, ever forget the rush. It becomes the climax and focal point of your life.
“It is a hyper-pleasurable experience that carves itself into the ridges of your memory-scape. It is a traumatic pleasure. You put the needle into your very bloodstream; the chemical you slam into yourself alters your genetic expression. The experience is more intimate than any other experience imaginable. It changes you forever. It haunts you in your dreams. If you give yourself to it for even a moment, The Needle will never let you go,” I say, moving back to the floor. I need to enjoy this shot, before my tolerance skyrockets again, and my body becomes immune to the euphoria.
“Why do you do it, then?” he asks.
“Because I’m hopelessly addicted,” I say, laying down flat on my back again.
“Didn’t you quit before? Weren’t you sober for a year right before we met?” he asks.
“I’ve spent plenty of time sober. I’ve spent more time off opioids than time I’ve spent addicted to them since I found them 10 years ago – but injecting makes it a whole different ballgame. You are injecting a disease into yourself,” I say.
“I don’t think that’s true,” he says.
“Yeah, that’s the fucking conundrum, right there. Did I get the disease when I shot it up, or did I have it before I injected the drugs? Was I born with the disease, or did the drugs cause the disease? We’re both doing the same drugs. How are you able to function and I’m not?” I ask. (author's note: I no longer believe in the disease model of addiction)
“That’s not a conundrum at all. You COULD function, but you’re not. You COULD get sober again, but you’re not,” he says. I start to laugh sarcastically.
“You must be Nancy Reagan’s son – I can just say no! If it’s that easy, why don’t you stop, then?” I ask.
“Why would I stop?” he asks.
“Why wouldn’t you want to stop?” I counter.
“Sounds like you’re projecting. You obviously want to stop. You should stop, then,” Kevin suggests. I laugh at him again.
“Yeah, I’m going to,” I say. He laughs again as well, but the laughter we are exchanging is not friendly and humorous – it is malicious and hateful; borne of the cruel misery that is the flipside of the Heavopioid experience.
“No, seriously, I’m going to stop. In fact, I’m going to call my boy Sean right now, to set up a naltrexone implant and get my opioid receptors blocked,” I say.
“You can’t get a naltrexone implant, that would kill you. You were sick as shit before you did that furry. Your skin was glistening with dope-sweat, your pupils were as big as dinner plates. I saw it myself,” he says.
“I can fake the drug test at the intake appointment and ask the doctor to prescribe me naltrexone pills to ensure a smooth transition and minimize side effects. He will prescribe me oral naltrexone pills gladly, thinking I am being a responsible patient that will take the pills and therefore be safely acclimated to the naltrexone by the time I get the implant.
“Once I have the naltrexone pills, all I need is a small handful of xanax. Take a small handful of xanax with the naltrexone and black out for a night. Wake up, no opioid withdrawal. Tada!” I exclaim, putting my hands out in wonder, still laying on the floor.
“You’re talking about doing an ultra-rapid opioid detox, which is a medical procedure that is done in a hospital, without the supervision of a medical doctor?” he asks, before laughing harshly.
“I’ve done it a bunch before. It’s awesome, actually. Well, one time, it was fucking hell. Twice, actually. It was legitimately the worst thing I’ve ever experienced – an 8-hour terror attack that makes a ‘panic attack’ feel like child’s play. But other than those two times, it’s been all gravy,” I say.
“You’re kidding me. You’re seriously talking about doing an ultra-rapid opioid detox at home with nothing but xanax and a naltrexone pill. That shit could kill you,” Kevin says.
“Not really. Xanax has a really high lethal dose limit by itself, you know that,” I say, referring to the facts that it takes a lot of xanax to kill a person when xanax is taken alone, and that Kevin is a drug nerd like me.
“Yeah, the median lethal dose of xanax alone might be high compared to other drugs, but if you’re blacked out while you’re in severe opiate withdrawal, you don’t even know what’s going on in your body. You could have a heart attack, a stroke. You could break the temperature regulation system of the hypothalamus-” I interrupt him with a laugh.
“I know exactly what’s going on: a bunch of awful, painful stuff that I don’t want to be any part of,” I say. I hear footsteps coming down the stairs.
“What are you guys talking about?” Marissa asks, walking into the living room. She looks worse every time I see her; her youth and beauty are being stolen by Kevin and the drugs he should not be providing her with.
“This kid thinks he’s a doctor. He’s going to wind up killing himself,” Kevin states.
“What?” she asks, walking to the couch to sit next to Kevin.
“It’s not that dangerous. Doctors do it all the time, it’s called ultra-rapid opioid detox. I do it a little bit differently, but it’s the same idea: anesthetize the patient-”
“Himself, he means, when he says ‘patient’,” Kevin interrupts, looking at Marissa.
“Yes, I am both the unlicensed medical provider and the patient in this case. I anesthetize myself with a small handful of xanax while taking a naltrexone pill at the same time. The xanax kicks in, and I black out.
“While I am asleep, the naltrexone clings to my opioid receptors and antagonizes them. This puts me into ‘precipitated withdrawal,’ which is essentially a condensed version of withdrawal from opioids that is triggered by the naltrexone – a hyper-withdrawal, if you will. The hyper-withdrawal reverses the effects of physical dependence on opioids: my natural opioid-producing system, the endorphin system, kicks into overdrive to offset the presence of the naltrexone and get me out of hyper-withdrawal. At the same time, the anti-endorphin system, which pumps out the pain-creating chemical, dynorphin, in response to continuous opioid use, shuts down.
“To put it simply, over the course of a blacked-out night, I go through the equivalent of 7-10 days of withdrawal. I wake up feeling like I’m 10 days clean. Then, I can take another naltrexone pill, which guarantees me another 36 hours clean. It ends the constant and overwhelming war with myself over whether or not I should use opioids. I make one decision to take one naltrexone pill in the morning, instead of having to re-commit to my decision not to use opioids every time I feel depressed or anxious, which is every second at the beginning,” I say, standing up now.
I want to quit again so badly. I want to be free again.
“You have to feel like absolute garbage from starting naltrexone in the middle of a serious habit like that,” Kevin says. I scoff.
“Of course, I feel like garbage! It’s almost unbearable. My brain and spine and gut are overwhelmed by some of the most basic pain-causing chemicals in the biological world. I am quite literally saturating my system with anti-endorphins. Despite the pain, the benefit is simple and incredible: naltrexone speeds the process of return to chemical balance, or homeostasis, in the brain. Opioid painkillers get us high, but they also depress our respiratory, cardiovascular, and nervous systems.
“Our bodies adapt to the constant presence of external opioids by producing chemicals like dynorphin that stimulate us in ways that have the net effect of pain-creation. These pain-creating chemical responses keep us awake and breathing when we’re nodding off – but they also keep us awake and restless when we try to quit opioids, since our brains don’t shut down their production right when we stop ingesting external opioids.
“For example, suppose I start sniffing oxy when I’m 15. My brain starts to notice a ton of painkilling chemicals floating around. It starts to produce these pain-creating chemicals, to offset the painkillers and keep us in equilibrium. Our brains are always seeking to keep us in homeostatic equilibrium – continual regulation of body temperature and blood pressure are two other examples of this equilibrium.
“I skip the oxy for a day. My brain still has the pain-creators floating around, because the human brain is a prediction and adaptation machine that has learned to anticipate an over-abundance of painkillers in my system, and so continues to over-produce the pain-creators as a proactive, predictive response.
“Naltrexone is an extremely powerful pain-creator. There is a huge spike in pain creation unleashed onto my brain by the naltrexone, on top of the already excessive amounts of pain-creators that are being pumped out constantly by my brain to offset the ever-present painkilling fentanyl. This is like a tidal wave of pain-creators hitting the brain.
“Taking naltrexone when you’re already saturated with pain-creators almost feels like swallowing electricity, or fire, or panic. It feels like your entire body is setting off red alarms. Your heart races, your stomach cramps, your guts scream and contract in agony, your skin singes itself with icy-hot sweat. Your brain is telling you to lay there and die but at the same time won’t let you get comfortable for even one second.
“This discomfort cannot be understated: the clouds of heaven would feel like plywood on the street in a Boston winter. Precipitated withdrawal feels like being surrounded by all your worst fears, memories, and nightmares made real and standing all around you, sticking you with cattle prods to get you to jolt,” I say, barely able to avoid a shudder.
“That sounds awful. Why would you do that?” Marissa asks.
“Well, that only happens when you’re conscious during the process. That’s where the small handful of xanax comes in,” I say.
“You’re doing some dangerous shit to your brain by doing that. Creating that much stress and pain in your nervous system has to be ridiculously stimulating to your body. Have you ever been active during the blackout?” Kevin asks.
“Yes, but those are long and frightening stories. The goal is to reach the point where I just barely black out instead of taking enough xanax to be blacked out for a whole day, going grocery shopping and throwing fruit around and making smoothies at 3:00 AM and insulting strangers and crashing cars and whatnot,” I say. Marissa and Kevin start to laugh – at me, not with me.
“Yo, this is funny. You’re wild. So how many extra xanax do you have to take to inhibit the excitatory signals being sent in your brain by the dynorphin and the naltrexone together? I haven’t ever really thought about precipitated withdrawal. It seems like it would be a whole different animal,” he says.
“I used to take 5 xanax bars, but I woke up in the middle of a panic attack despite 5 xanax bars during one of my previous procedures, so now I take 10 xanax bars. It knocks me out for about 8 hours. I wake up in dizzy, disconnected discomfort, but it gets easier as the day goes on. The second naltrexone after waking up is a different story, though. That brings on a fresh batch of symptoms, though nowhere near as intense. I like to take xanax the second night, too.
“I get vicious rebound anxiety from taking so many xanax in such a short period of time. I have to be very careful not to pick up a xanax habit after I induct onto the naltrexone,” I say.
“That sounds like a lot of pain and work,” Kevin says, raising his eyebrows at me.
“It’s worth it. When I come out on the other side, free from this hellish, soul-sucking poison, I feel great. Well, kinda. I don’t sleep for a while. But I do bounce back, and much sooner than I would otherwise.
“When I have 1 month clean on naltrexone, it feels like I have 10 months clean. This is crucial, because when you have only been clean for 1 month, you typically still feel like shit – if you had a serious habit, anyway,” I say.
“I can’t believe you actually do that. You’re a dumbass,” Kevin says.
“It’s actually pretty smart, in some ways. The shocks to the endorphin system of the brain keep it operating smoothly, which in turn keep the immune system and dopamine system operating smoothly. Did you know that William S Burroughs actually recommended going on and off of heroin for the sake of longevity?” I ask. Kevin laughs, loudly this time. He looks at Marissa, smiling.
“You hear that? Longevity. It’ll keep us alive longer,” he says.
“Naltrexone has the potential to be a miracle drug. If you take a low dose of it every day, you can prevent your opioid tolerance from building up. Combine 0.1 MG of naltrexone with 10MG of oxycodone and patent it, you’ve got a billion-dollar pill. That low dose of the artificial, pain-creating naltrexone will prevent your brain from ramping up its’ own pain-creating response to balance out the painkilling effects of the oxy.
“In essence, that would prevent opioid tolerance and therefore the need for increasing daily dosages. You might be able to prevent addiction entirely. I’ve experimented with using naltrexone to diminish tolerance and had some success. It does lessen the painkilling effect a bit, but I’m sure a seasoned pharmacologist could think of a decent opioid potentiator to add to the combination that would increase the painkilling effects of the medication without further side effects,” I say.
“Holy shit. It can prevent tolerance buildup? Can you get me some naltrexone?” Kevin asks.
“Perhaps, but you need to read into it, first,” I say.
“You’ve really piqued my curiosity. Thank you,” he says, pulling out his bag of furanylfentanyl.
“Ah, some hellish, soul-sucking poison. Great idea. I haven’t slept for days, and I need a nap,” I say. Marissa giggles.
“I don’t think you’re going to quit,” Kevin says.
“You’ll see,” I say. I pull the syringe out of my pocket and start walking to the kitchen, to get more water for my next shot. Another shot will knock me right out, and I won’t have to deal with any of this. For a little while, anyway.
“Seriously, I’m going to be free from this shit. Free from these goddamn pills and powders that handcuff my brain and put it in a straightjacket. No more turning my own body and mind into a prison. I hate living like this. I’m going to quit, and I’m going to be playing college basketball soon,” I say, though after I say it, I feel exactly how I feel after I tell a lie.
“Then quit. It isn’t that hard,” he says. I hear the unmistakable sound of somebody sniffing powder through a straw, and it sounds vaguely like weaselly laughter.

So this is a weird crazy story/summary of life this far. I (28M) feel like I have been living my life with an absurd amount of masking. I set out on a spiritual awakening journey when I was 18 and started college, the first time I had ever been truly alone and truly started feeling that deep sense of loneliness. Which is what kicked in my spiritual awakening, by asking questions about who I was, why was I here and why did I have such a deep unexplainable yearning for "home" which was not "physically" attainable. Not a yearning for home in the sense of being with my family, but a deep, deep cry out from what I felt was my soul essence.
Fast forward through some heavy years of partying, clubbing/going to shows, drugs and alcohol. At 23, I met who is now my wife and the mother of my/our amazing daughter and through the 5 years we've been going through this human experience together, we both got a lot deeper and a lot more "serious" about expanding and opening up our spiritual bodies. We were kind of forced into delving DEEP into it because our first true "interactions/dates" were so deeply rooted in spirit that we (very fortunately) discovered/realized that we are cut off the same soul cloth and are infact soulmates/twin flames or whatever floats your boat for descriptions regarding life partners.
We have learned and discovered a lot about ourselves as well as a newly found perception of the outter world (largely influenced emotionally, spiritually, mentally by Ram Dass, Jack Kornfield, Dale RamDev. . . Spiritual Adepts/teachers, guides etc.) This absolutely transformed a lot of our inner and outer world (through disciplined routines and practices) for the better in a very beautiful way. Then in 2021 we moved to Idaho on an instinctual as well as an impulse decsion to be closer to my wife's side of the family out there, and our intuitive feeling of needing to go to the northwest part of the country. When we got there we were almost instantly met with extreme adversity and complications with my wife's health, our marriage, and life as a whole. So needless to say it was not the "change" we had in mind. Though we now see it all as the change/step that was necessary for self discovery and growth personally, together and as a while family unit. In late 2021 I was waiting for an orientation class for a new job and had to wait until the next class (2 weeks out) so while waiting two weeks, we needed money to eat and keep life running so I decided since I had a drill and basic tools I'd to do some side work/odd jobs (honey do list kind of things) to bring in whatever cash I could. This ended up blowing up in a beautiful way and I ended up quitting that new job on orientation day to set off and fully jump into the possible opportunity of working for myself. Now almost 2 years later and I'm still doing my own thing (bathroom remodels, tile, carpentry and flooring) and it's been amazing.
We also recently moved back home to Colorado and since we've been back it's been a struggle for a miriad of reasons, but the one struggle that I've found myself dealing with the most and is the heaviest emotion, is my own personal sense of validation. I actually just (today) realized that I have been chasing external validation for as long as I can remember (about 3-4 years old) While thinking about the current slump that I'm in I started thinking about what makes me "feel okay/feel like me" and most of those things are (now) related to my work. Building things for people, fixing things, repairs, custom furniture, etc. And then being validated by a "good job, we are so happy!" Kind of thing from my clients. Thinking further back before this and it's all been an ongoing search for validation through my external world. My party phase, the validation came from my knowledge of drugs, artists, previous party stories and a whole bunch of unhealthy methods and vices. Before that, through the beginnings of highschool getting into heavy drug use (psychedelics, weed and cocaine/stimulants) and partying I was a hardcore WoW gamer (big time raider in a progressive guild that sought to be the best in the game) and always sought out to be the best in my guild (for whatever role character I was playing). Seeking validation through being the best gamer. Before that I was obsessed with skateboarding, from age 9-16 or 17 I would strive to be the best skater in my school, at the skate park (within reason) and from my parents. I was small town sponsored (nothing really fancy, just discounted apparel/gear and occasionally a free board) And before that, but also mixed in through the years until about 20, I was huge on drawing mythical/fantasy creatures and characters and was pretty damn good. But looking back at all the "phase of interest transitions" I see one common goal. External validation through an attempt to prove myself in an outward expression/skill.
I was also looking back at the overall "emotional neglect" that I got from my parents (mom and step dad, bio dad left the picture when I was about 1, 1/2 ) And not to say that they were absolute assholes or anything like that, but they were very young (I was 2 and my mom was 18 when she met my step dad) and learning life for themselves. So I know that they didn't "intentionally" emotionally neglect me or invalidate me. But I wasn't good at the things they wanted me to do (playing tee ball/baseball as a toddleyoung kid) because my step dad was a huge baseball guy. And because I wasn't into or good at the things they wanted to see me do, I found my own interests, independently and amongst my friend group. However this caused parental tension because I was (in their eyes) becoming a hoodlum. Never got the acknowledgement or 'parental praise and proudness' from skating, drawing, playing WoW (step dad played too), obviously not for partying and doing drugs, but not even now. Not even as a 28 year old married man running my own business and father to a beautiful 3 year old daughter. Most of my side of the family disagrees with "entrepreneurship/self employment" because it isn't as "stable" as a corporate box job. - According to them, even though they've all been laid off at some point or another from corporations that are "never going anywhere, we have job security for life".
Sorry, tangent rants aside! I am now facing an immense amount of emotional pain/flashbacks for the lack of validation I have within myself. I am able to see and recognize the immense amount of growth I've undergone and the fact that I didn't die from drugs and partying and pushed through all of that to get where I am now. And I see that I have a shit ton to validate my own worth, I understand the growth that I've undergone and will continue to go through, but I absolutely struggle with giving myself credit, feeling okay with where I am. I can't help but feel like I'm not doing enough and always feel like there is something to do.
This morning I recognized that as an issue of control, and when I don't have the ability to control my volume/standard of output with "things to show" whether it be through work, hobby projects or anything else where I can do/build/repair something for someone. I get extremely depressed. And only really feel 'okay' when I'm doing things. I see this as a trauma wound that has deepend through my years and has gone essentially completely unacknowledged within myself. Until our TRUE spiritual journey began 5 years ago. I do not want to be mentally controlled or enslaved to the inner ego narrative that I'm not doing enough, but I have no idea how to truly accept myself. Accept who I was, who I am and who I'm becoming. I feel like I've just gotten so good at distracting myself by staying busy and constantly seeking validation through helping others that I have no idea who I actually am. I feel like I've been living the biggest lie ever and I've deceived everyone in my life but mostly myself. When I truly sit and think about what I truly enjoy for myself, I can't think of anything. Aside from the cliche of 'being with my family' (wife and daughter) which does truly bring me happiness. But I can't live in or hold on to "those moments" forever. And outside of them, or doing something for someone to give me that pat on the back, I do not have a damn clue who I am.
And I know that who I am is a culmination of everything I've done and am becoming. But that's still only validated through the external. And I know ram Dass would tell me to just let go and release the inner narrative to what is and just be in/of loving awareness. But, he too struggled with identity. Struggled with feeling like a phony and seeking external validation through experiences or services.
So if you made it this far, and have either evolved passed this state/level of emotional consciousness and awareness or you too are feeling the same. I'd love some tips, tricks suggestions or anything for how to help get through this obstacle of the human experience.
And because it was pretty long, and I jump around in here, if there's anything anyone wants further detail or clarification on, I'd be more than happy to attempt to fumble a rambling story again.

Hello! 10th grade student in ontario. This essay is worth 30% percent of my grade and i want to do my best! Please tell me what you think and what you would rate it. I am writing this argumentatively using supportive opinion paragraphs made of subtopic-point-proof-analysis-conclusion method.
** I am worried abt grammar, use of semicolons, and the line "Nature versus nurture is an enduring debate dating back centuries, argued by many famous scientists and philosophers in history - notably Plato and Descartes, who believed that behavior was inbred and organic to human structure. Correspondingly, it can be argued that personalities cannot be inculcated in a person but are innate. " in particular.
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Nature Versus Nurture
Nature versus nurture is a long-standing debate over the true determinant of how personality is formed and how the human mind works, with nature being the winning force, shaping the fabric of human disposition. In relation to this, the book And The Mountains Echoed, and the television shows Hannibal and Better Call Saul illustrate the following ideas: primal and intrinsic characteristics are unaffected by external influences; personalities cannot be inculcated in a person but are instead innate; people revert to their base instincts when pressed. These ideas prove that in the discussion of nature versus nurture, nature reigns supreme, wielding its power over the fundamental genetic traits that mold humanity and define the very essence of human existence.
To begin, primal intrinsic instincts are unaffected by external influences. Regardless of the strength of the influence or environment, a person’s true nature and hereditary traits will be impervious to change. A compelling example of this can be found in the television show Hannibal, whose title character is a brilliant psychiatrist and a cannibalistic psychopath (Hannibal). Hannibal began experiencing homicidal inclinations at a young age, indicating his nascent psychopathy, which fully manifested when he willfully ate his sister’s remains after her death ("Digestivo"). Despite later being adopted by his loving uncle, studying fine arts and medicine, and living the rest of his adolescence in the lap of luxury, Hannibal’s urges were ineffaceable, and he used his anatomical knowledge as a tool to kill and consume more people ("Oeuf"). Despite genuinely loving his sister and mourning her after her death, Hannibal could not deny himself his inherent psychopathic urges and consumed her. Though he eventually left his home to pursue his studies and escape growing suspicion from local authorities, changing careers from surgery to psychiatry and experiencing different environments, he remained unchanged and guiltlessly continued murdering and cannibalizing peers and strangers alike. Although Hannibal’s love for his sister was genuine and he was well cared for by his uncle, his surroundings and influences could not suppress his innate psychopathy and character, exemplifying the power that nature exerts over fundamental human traits.
Nature versus nurture is an enduring debate, argued by many famous scientists and philosophers in history - notably Plato and Descartes, who believed that behavior was inbred and organic to human structure. Correspondingly, it can be argued that personalities cannot be inculcated in a person but are innate. Human personalities are passed down through generations through genetics and are unshaken by outside pressures. This can be observed in the case of Pari in the novel And the Mountains Echoed. Pari was an Afghan-born girl who was adopted away from her village by a wealthy family and taken to France, all at a very young age (Hosseini 90). Pari’s adoptive mother was a rebellious, troubled, and romantic woman, as well as a talented poet; traits she tried to instill in Pari, who rejected the influence and grew into a humble and family-oriented individual, aligning with the characteristics also exhibited by her biological brother (Hosseini). Though Pari had no memory of her childhood in Afghanistan or of her birth family, she still developed personality traits similar to them due to their passing down through her genetic lineage, leading her to develop her identity and resist her adoptive mother’s attempts to alter it. Pari’s experience supports the claim that personalities resist external influences because they are formed from inherent and natural traits, which hold the most power over the formation of human temperament.
Finally, people revert to their base instincts when pressed. An individual’s base characteristics and natural traits will present themselves in moments of stress or when making snap decisions, often overriding learned behaviors and other external factors and influences. Jimmy "Slippin’ Jimmy" McGill, from Better Call Saul, is a perfect example of this: a clever scam artist turned corrupt criminal lawyer. Jimmy strived to be a law-abiding citizen and uphold a moral code (Better Call Saul) but often manipulated courts, clients, and evidence if he felt it necessary, resorting to immoral schemes and deception when pressed, as he learned to do during his time as a con artist ("Fall"). Jimmy’s instinctual responses to challenging situations voided his attempts to improve himself, instead proving his unchangeability to his loved ones, who correctly believed he could not overcome his nature. Jimmy’s inability to truly alter his innate instincts demonstrates the sheer strength of nature.
As evidenced in Hannibal’s, Pari’s, and Jimmy’s experiences, base characteristics are unaffected and unsuppressed by external influences, as are personalities, and these fundamental character traits always rise to the surface in a person when pressed, thereby proving that nature, thanks to its power over the underlying genetic features that shape people, overpowers external factors and reigns triumphant in the age-old debate between nature and nurture. Humanity is formed by the hands of nature, with biological factors predominantly molding human disposition and the way the human mind functions.
​
WORKS CITED
Hannibal. Created by Bryan Fuller, NBC, 2013-2015.
“Digestivo”. Hannibal. Created by Bryan Fuller, NBC, 2013-2015.
“Oeuf”. Hannibal. Created by Bryan Fuller, NBC, 2013-2015.
Better Call Saul. Created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, High Bridge Productions, 2015-2022.
“Fall”. Better Call Saul. Created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, High Bridge Productions, 2015-2022.
Khaled Hosseini. And the Mountains Echoed. Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd, 2018.

once our chemistry lecturer and his friends were in a chem lab during their PG, they wanted to know what chloroform smelled like and smelled it taking turns(one after another), he said the smell was very "sweet", so they smelled it again and again (I don't know what a sweet smell is, maybe something like vanilla essence), college was complete so they went back to their rooms for an afternoon nap
when they woke up, it felt like they slept a lot and it was evening, he was feeling weird and his family called in to check why he didn't go to college even though he did, he then knew something was wrong and went to check on his friends, they were confused too. After a while they got a doubt and asked someone what the date was, then they realised that slept for 26 fuckin hours
fuckin legend

Written by Russell Kirkland
This discussion of "Taoism" in classical China will begin with the observation that there was actually no such thing, at least not in the sense that is commmonly accepted among non-specialists. Both in Asia and in the West, many scholars, and their students, have ignored the many advances in Taoist studies since the 1970s, and have continued to cling to outdated stereotypes of what Taoism was/is. In particular, they often cling to simplistic notions about "philosophical Taoism" that now seem unable to withstand critical analysis, in light of recent advances in textual and historical research. The concept of "philosophical Taoism" is, to a large extent, a modern fiction, which has been developed and embraced by people around the world for specific and identifiable social, intellectual, and historical reasons.
Current research reveals that the so-called "Taoist school" of classical times was actually "a retrospective creation": it began as the reification of a Han-dynasty bibliographic classification, and it took its present form in post-Han times, i.e., in the third century CE.
The importance of these facts is that we need to press non-specialists to re-evaluate their commonly accepted ideas of what "Taoism" is. For most of this century, there has been nearly universal agreement among philosophers, historians, and the general public — in Asia and in the West — that "Taoism" could simply be equated with a set of ideas that are embodied (or are perceived to be embodied) in the Tao te ching and the Chuang-tzu. Current research has begun to demonstrate that that common understanding is far too simplistic.
To begin with, it is now clear to most specialists that those two texts were not, in fact, the expositions of two great philosophers, but rather the product of a prolonged period of accretion. That is, each contains ideas from a variety of minds generations or even centuries apart, not to mention different geographical regions. The Chuang-tzu probably originated in scattered jottings of a man named Chuang Chou ca. 320 BCE, and was developed into its present form over the following 500 years. The earlier layers of the Chuang-tzu were apparently composed by someone who had never seen the Tao te ching. For its part, the Tao te ching dates only to around the beginning of the third century BCE, i.e., to several decades after the Chuang-tzu began to be compiled. But once again, there is no evidence that the Tao te ching's compilers were aware either of the ideas of the fourth-century writer Chuang Chou or of the text that eventually came to bear his name. Though the provenance of the Tao te ching is still the subject of debate, one current line of research suggests that it may have emerged from the re-working of oral traditions of a community in the southern state of Ch'u. So far, research has been unable to shed virtually any light upon the identity of its compiler or redactor. And I certainly do not expect to establish that identity here. But what is, in fact, possible is to examine possible evidence of that redactor's familiarity with another ancient text, a text of which few today — even among scholars of Chinese thought or religion — have ever heard. That text is a brief work, about one-half the length of the Tao te ching, entitled the Nei yeh (or "Inner Cultivation").
There is little doubt that the Nei yeh is several generations older than the Tao te ching. It seems to date to some time in the second half of the fourth century BCE. That is, it may have been compiled by a contemporary of Chuang Chou, though again there is virtually no data as to the compiler's identity. The Nei yeh fell out of general circulation when it became incorporated into a larger collection, the Kuan-tzu, sometime before the middle of the second century BCE. After that, it was seldom noted by Chinese scholars or philosophers until the 20th century, and even today its thought and significance have barely begun to be explored.
For instance, though it has never, to my knowledge, hitherto been noticed, the influence of the Nei yeh on Chinese thought was profound and extensive. For example, it is here that one first encounters comprehensible references to the personal cultivation of such forces as ch'i ("life-energy"), ching ("vital essence"), and shen ("spiritual consciousness"). The cultivation of such forces became a central theme in certain versions of modern Taoism, as well as in Chinese medicine. But there is also evidence that the Nei yeh may have profoundly influenced the Tao te ching. In this essay, I attempt to identify basic thematic differences between the Nei yeh, the Chuang-tzu, and the Tao te ching, and to suggest certain interpretive strategies for understanding the relationship among them.
The primary difference between the Nei Yeh and the Tao te ching is signalled by the title of the former. Nei means "internal," and in ancient times yeh meant in one sense "cultivation/production" and in another sense "what one studies." Thus the work's title refers directly to "Inner Cultivation" or "Inner Development." Its contents provide the reader with instruction and advice for applying oneself to a task involving what is inside oneself. That is, it teaches the reader how and why to practice certain specific forms of biospiritual cultivation. In fact, unlike the Tao te ching, the Nei Yeh is concerned with virtually nothing else besides biospiritual cultivation.
The Teachings of the Nei Yeh
The teachings of the Nei Yeh are quite distinct from the ideas that most non-specialists associate with "philosophical Taoism." Its teachings will sound more familiar to people acquainted with the traditions of modern Taoism that focus on the cultivation of ch'i. The Nei Yeh indeed begins with the assumption of a powerful salubrious reality called ch'i, "life-energy." In the Nei Yeh, ch'i is present both within all things and all around them. Within each being, ch'i is centered in the "essence," ching — which Roth describes as "the source of the vital energy in human beings [and] the basis of our health, vitality, and psychological well-being." But the central focus of the Nei Yeh's teachings have to do more with how the individual manages his/her hsin, the "heart/mind." The "heart/mind" is the ruling agency in the individual's biospiritual nexus, i.e., in the entire personal complex of body/mind/heart/spirit). The Nei Yeh's principal teaching is that one should make sure that one's "heart/mind" is balanced and tranquil, without excessive cogitation or emotion. If one can maintain a tranquil "heart/mind," then one will become a receptor of life's salubrious energies, and will be able to retain them; without tranquility, those healthful energies will leave, and one's health, and very life, will become threatened.
In the Nei Yeh, the specific nature and identity of life's desirable energies are still some-what vague. One key term that it uses is shen, "spirit" or "spiritual consciousness." "Spirit" involves perception and comprehension: it is the basis for all higher forms of awareness. According to the Nei Yeh, the practitioner must align his/her biospiritual nexus with the unseen forces of the world in order to attract "spirit" and receive it into one's quietened "heart/mind." One's ability to succeed in this endeavor is called te. Te has often been dubbed a key concept in "philosophical Taoism," but the meaning of the term in the Nei Yeh hardly resembles any of the common descriptions of the term as it is used in the more familiar Taoist texts. In the Nei Yeh, the term te does retain the generic meaning of "the inner moral power of an individual," and even the archaic (Shang-dynasty) concept of te as "a proper disposition toward the unseen forces." But here, te is clearly not a force that is intrinsic to our natures, as many modern descriptions of Te in "philosophical Taoism" would have us believe. Rather, te, like "spirit," is something that we acquire when all elements of the body/heart/mind are completely peaceful and properly aligned. Here we can discern the full meaning of the traditional Chinese explanation that the word te meaning "inner power" may be understood in terms of the homophone te which is the common verb in both classical and modern Chinese for getting or acquiring. In the Nei Yeh, te may be termed "the acquisitional agency," for it is not just what we attract and receive, but that whereby we attract and receive the higher forces of life (e.g., ch'i and shen). What is more, in the Nei Yeh one is told that one's te is something that one must work on each and every day. (Once again, such teachings vary widely from the concept of what Te means in common notions of "philosophical Taoism.") The practitioner builds up his/her te by practicing daily self-control over his/her thought, emotion, and action. One who succeeds at these practices can become a sheng-jen, a "sage." The "sage" is described as being "full of spirit" and "complete in heart/mind and in body."
One might well ask what role the concept of tao plays in the Nei Yeh. The way the term is used in the Nei Yeh does not always coincide with the way it is used in the more familiar texts. In the Nei Yeh, the term tao is actually quite vague: it is sometimes used rather indiscriminately to refer to the salubrious forces of life that the practitioner is working to cultivate. For instance, one passage reads as follows:
The Way is what infuses the structures [of the mind] yet men are unable to secure it. It goes forth but does not return, it comes back but does not stay. Silent! none can hear its sound. Sudden! so it rests in the mind. Obscure! one cannot see its form. Surging! it arises along with me. We cannot see its form, we cannot hear its sound, yet we can put a sequence to its development. Call it "Way."
One also encounters a line that is virtually identical to passages in the Tao te ching: "What gives life to all things and brings them to perfection is called the Way." But otherwise, the term tao is seldom identified in the terms that are familiar to readers the Tao te ching or the Chuang-tzu. In the Nei Yeh, the term is generally used as an equivalent of its technical terms for the spiritual realities that the practitioner is being instructed to attract and retain by means of tranquillizing the heart/mind.
Thematic Contrasts between the Nei Yeh and the Familiar "Taoist Classics"
Clearly, the Nei Yeh has a specific and identifiable focus, articulated in terms comprehensible to the careful reader. But it is also clear that if we are intellectually honest, the teachings of this text are quite distinguishable from those of the more familiar texts of classical Taoism. For instance, while terms like te and tao appear frequently in all the texts, they are used in different senses in different texts, as well as in different passages of the same text. Neither term is thus a "basic concept" of some general philosophical system: each term carried a variety of meanings among the people who developed "Taoist" ideas across ancient China. We should thus beware the common tendency of assuming that certain teachings of the Tao te ching and Chuang-tzu were in any sense representative of a coherent ancient Chinese school of thought, much less normative for identifying "Taoist" beliefs and values in general.
Secondly, it should be noticed that the portrait of the Taoist life in the Nei Yeh is in some ways quite dissimilar to that which we generally encounter in the Tao te ching and Chuang-tzu. For instance, the key to life in the Nei Yeh is one's diligent effort to attract and retain spiritual forces named ch'i, ching and shen. While each of those terms does occur here and there in both the Tao te ching and the Chuang-tzu, seldom in those texts do we find the specific teachings that are so basic to the Nei Yeh.16 In particular, it is hard to think of passages from either of the more familiar texts that suggest that the thing called tao is a force that can come into or go out of a person, or that one it is necessary to engage in specific practices to get the tao to come or to keep it from going away.17 In the more familiar texts, the term tao generally seems to suggest a universal reality from which one can never really be ontologically separated.
In addition, the practices commended in the Nei Yeh are much more clearly physiological in nature than we are accustomed of thinking of Taoist practice as being. Indeed, one of the reasons that some of the teachings of the Tao te ching have become domesticated in Western culture is that the public believes those teachings to involve no regular, definable practices that involve one's physical existence. According to such beliefs, the Taoist life is essentially stative: it never involves specific practices that carry historical or cultural baggage, and certainly never involves any work.
It should also be noted that the Nei Yeh never presents the spiritual life in terms of "practicing wu-wei." Here, the Taoist life is not a stative life of "just being," or of "being spontaneous," but rather a very active life of specific practices, practices that must be carefully learned and properly performed if one is ever to come into possession of such elusive forces as tao. In this framework, the Taoist life involves personal responsibility, dedication to a life of constant self-discipline, and conscientious daily practice. Moreover, this practice involves the purification and proper ordering of one's body as well as one's "heart/mind." It would be excessive to say that the Nei Yeh teaches a "Taoist yoga," but it clearly does assume that the spiritual life involves practices that also have physical components, even extending to moderation in eating. I thus refer to such activities more broadly as "biospiritual practices."
Neither the Tao te ching nor the Chuang-tzu are so clearly focussed upon biospiritual practices. While they do contain passages that allude to such practices, their writers (or at least the editors) have many other teachings to convey, teachings that are generally absent from the Nei Yeh. For instance, as Rickett observed long ago, the concepts of yin and yang are nowhere seen in the Nei Yeh. Modern beliefs egregiously exaggerate the centrality of those concepts in the Taoist tradition. In reality, the concepts of yin and yang were never specifically Taoist. The terms do appear in the Tao te ching and the Chuang-tzu, though in quite minor roles. But the world of the Nei Yeh is a world quite devoid of yin and yang.
Other differences between the Nei Yeh and the more familiar texts seem not to have been remarked upon by other readers. For instance, there are few teachings in the Nei Yeh involving issues of government. Though modern conceptions commonly associate Taoism with the life of the individual rather than with social or political concerns, such was never really the case. Social and political concerns always played an important role in Taoism, from classical times into the later imperial period. The Tao te ching, for its part, contains dozens of passages discussing the problems involved with ruling a state. Indeed, some respected scholars have long characterized the Tao te ching as "a handbook for rulers." Such a characterization is actually something of an exaggeration, but the point here is that the Nei Yeh displays little interest in issues of government.
In addition, the Nei Yeh differs from both the Tao te ching and the Chuang-tzu in that it never critiques or ridicules the beliefs or practices of Confucians. Once again, there is a common misconception that "Taoism" arose as a reaction against Confucianism, and that Taoists always clearly differentiated their teachings from those of the Confucians. However, there is nothing in the Nei Yeh that criticizes Confucian teachings. In fact, there are clear and unmistakable continuities between the teachings of the Nei Yeh and certain elements of the teachings of the 4th-century Confucian known as Mencius. What is missing from the Nei Yeh is the Confucian emphasis upon saving society by reviving within one's personal life the principles of proper moral/social behavior known as li. The reader of the Nei Yeh is taught how to align him/herself with the forces at work in the world, because doing so is necessary for one's personal well-being. There is little trace of a belief that one is responsible for changing society. On the other hand, those who held such beliefs are neither faulted nor mocked. So while sections of both the Tao te ching and the Chuang-tzu were composed by opponents of Confucianism, such sentiments are not found in the Nei Yeh.
Another theme conspicuously absent is the idea that the ideal society is a small-scale community without civilized technology or complex socio-political institutions. That idea is most familiar to the modern audience from the 80th chapter of the Tao te ching, though there are other examples in the Chuang-tzu. Several scholars have recently begun referring to such ideals as a distinct "phase" or "voice" of early Taoism, to which they refer as "Primitivist." But as some of those scholars have already noted, the Nei Yeh is completely devoid of such ideals. Thus, the Rousseau-esque idea that Taoism consists of a rejection of civilization in favor of simpler ways of living is inaccurate. It would seem that a person could follow the teachings of the Nei Yeh within nearly any social context, and that it never occurred to the text's compilers that any one type of social setting might be preferable to any other. The Nei Yeh does not, therefore, provide the antidote to the Industrial Revolution that Westerns have sometimes claimed to find in "philosophical Taoism."
So if we have here a form of Taoism that is fundamentally disinterested in social issues, would it be correct to say that it is basically more concerned with our place in the universe? Well, in a certain sense, yes, but it is important to note that the Nei Yeh is also unconcerned with many of the cosmological issues with which modern readers are often so fascinated. For example, there is no real discussion of cosmogony in the Nei Yeh. Other Taoist texts sometimes discuss the origin of the world, in terms that sometimes seem to combine poetry with philosophy. But the Nei Yeh contains no such passages. It alludes to no "Non-Being" from which "Being" comes, and it posits no eternal reality ontologically prior to, or separate from, the present world — no "noumenon" to contrast with the "phenomena" of life as we know it. The closest thing to a cosmogonic passage in the Nei Yeh would seem to be its opening lines:
[The vital essence (ching) of all things — This is what makes life come into being: Below, it generates the five grains, Above, it brings about the constellated stars. When it flows in the interstices of Heaven and Earth, It is called "spiritual beings"; When it is stored up inside [a person's] chest, He is called "a sage."]
But here we are clearly dealing with a life-force that operates within the world, a force of generation that is spiritual in nature, and can be localized either within independent spiritual beings or within a person who successfully collects and stores it. But there is no suggestion here of any noumenal reality that has an ontological existence separate from the reality of which we are all a part. "Being" does not come from "Non-Being," and the composers show no interest in constructing any cosmological theories. These facts are brought home most clearly when we encounter the term tao in the text, for as noted earlier, in the Nei Yeh the term tao clearly refers to a transient reality that a person needs to attract and to retain. It is not some universal transcendent that one attains by developing some "mystical gnosis" qualitatively distinct from normal experience.
Nor is there any discussion in the Nei Yeh of the theme of "change." There is little trace, for instance, of the notion that there is un unchanging cosmic force beyond the world of change. Nor is there a poetic image of a sagely person who blissfully flows or drifts along with life's ongoing processes. The latter idea may be present in passages of the Chuang-tzu, but there is nothing like it in the Nei Yeh, any more than there is in the Tao te ching. In the Nei Yeh, one neither transcends change nor adapts to it: there is, in fact, no mention of life as a process of change or flux. Rather, the Nei Yeh teaches that there is a salubrious natural force, or set of forces, that are elusive: they are not ephemeral — they are enduring — but they do not stay in one place unless a person has transformed him/herself into an efficient receiver and receptacle for those forces. A good analogy for them might be radio waves, which are constantly flowing around and through us, but can only be held and put to use by a device that is properly tuned. To extend this metaphor a bit more, the Nei Yeh seems to suggest that we are radios that were all properly designed, and were originally fully functional; but now we experience interference in the form of excessive activity in the heart/mind, and we need to re-tune ourselves to eliminate that interference and begin functioning properly again. For these reasons, it would be correct to say that the Nei Yeh requires self-corrective activity, just as the other Taoist texts do, but that the Nei Yeh's model for understanding and practicing self-correction is fairly unique.
The Nei Yeh also gives the lie to yet other misconceptions of Taoism, including some held by thoughtful philosophers. One such misconception is that Taoist teachings are deeply iconoclastic, antinomian, even revolutionary. According to this view, the basic thrust of Taoism is to jolt the individual into a realization that he/she should reject traditional beliefs and values, condemning them as the artificial constructs of an oppressive society. This interpretation of classical Taoism is not just the conceit of 1960s Hippies who saw it as a condemnation of "establishment culture." Generations of Westerners — Americans in particular, perhaps — have read the Tao te ching, and parts of the Chuang-tzu, as a post-Enlightenment gospel of individual freedom, freedom from the uncomfortable aspects of "Society" in general, and of Western culture in particular.
One version of this modern concept of Taoism can be seen in certain recent analyses by the respected philosopher Chad Hansen. Hansen seems to perpetuate the notion that Taoism is essentially an attempt to undermine acceptance of "convention." He argues that the Tao te ching and Chuang-tzu both begin from a "linguistic skepticism (which) arises against a background assumption that language is a social mechanism for regulating people's behavior." Speaking of the composer of the Tao te ching, Hansen says, "His political and practical advice is almost invariably the reversal of conventional political and moral attitudes. He reverses conventional values, preferences, or desires..." Why? "All learning of distinctions comes with dispositions to prefer one or the other... (But) trained discriminations are not a constantly reliable guide to behavior. Culturally motivated preferences based on those distinctions are, on the whole, unreliable. And they control us in insidious, unnatural ways." While Hansen may be partly or wholly correct in his assessment of the role of culture in forming individuals' dispositions, it is dubious whether that assessment was present in the minds of the Taoists of classical China, particularly in the mind in the compiler of the Tao te ching. Most of Hansen's "Daoist theory of knowledge" is woven from certain themes in Chuang-tzu, where such issues do indeed seem to be addressed. But such intricate treatment of "knowledge," "language," "convention," etc., are not found in the Tao te ching, which addresses concerns that are quite distinguishable from those of the compiler(s) of the Chuang-tzu, especially a variety of moral and political concerns. And in the Nei Yeh, there is no trace of any critique of the relationship between culture and knowledge or desire. The Nei Yeh does not critique "conventional society" and urge us to reject it, nor does it critique language, nor does it urge us to beware socially-inculcated valuations.
There are yet other distinctive features to the teachings of the Nei Yeh. For instance, unlike the Tao te ching, it has nothing to say about issues of gender. There are several passages in the Tao te ching that commend a "feminine" attitude or behavior, such as humility or yielding. Such passages appear to imply that what is wrong with our normal attitudes and behavior is that they are excessively "masculine." Such ideas, however, are seldom seen in texts like the Chuang-tzu, and they are likewise absent from the Nei Yeh. The compilers of the Nei Yeh do teach that there are attitudes and behaviors that we should forego, but there is no gender imagery associated with them.
In this connection, one might ask whether the three texts share the same intended audience. Were any or all of them intended specifically for men? Well, one may infer that when the reader is given advice presumed useful for achieving political goals, the reader was presumed to be male, since, in ancient China, political participation by women was not an option (except for a spouse or immediate family member of a man who held a position of authority). As mentioned earlier, the Nei Yeh is comparable to most sections of the Chuang-tzu in that the reader is seldom assumed to be someone attempting to engage in political rule. It is also true that in ancient China women seldom achieved literacy, so one could argue that any written text was intended only for men. But such reasoning ignores other possibilities, such as that of a family or group that included both men and women, all interested in learning how to live from a text that few of them could actually read themselves. One should also note that the Nei Yeh (like much of the Tao te ching) is composed largely in verse, and that some scholars believe that certain sections "may have been borrowed from some early Taoist hymn."28 We must bear in mind that though ancient China did produce some written texts, it was still largely an oral society, in which most people of either gender acquired and dispensed information and advice primarily, if not exclusively, by word of mouth. The Nei Yeh is almost certainly a text containing teachings that originated in an oral tradition. And there is little in the content of those teachings that would seem to be either more or less practiceable by members of either gender.
Another distinctive feature of the Nei Yeh is that it seems to lack the idea of "Heaven" (T'ien) as a benign guiding force in life. Both the Confucians and the Mohists shared some version of that idea, reflecting more generally held beliefs that dated back to at least the end of the second millennium BCE. Today such ideas are not generally associated with Taoism, for Taoists, by modern definition, believe in an impersonal reality called "Tao" that transcends all other realities, including "Heaven." Such is not entirely the case, of course. Several chapters of the Tao te ching speak of "the Way of Heaven" (T'ien-tao or T'ien-chih-tao), a beneficent force that seems to have will as well as agency. But there is little trace of such ideas in the Nei Yeh.
Finally, we should address the issue of morality. Are the teachings of the Nei Yeh concerned solely with internal self-cultivation? Is there any evidence that the practitioner is ever to give any thought to anyone other than him- or herself? This is a key question, because virtually all modern interpreters, Chinese and Western alike, have accused Taoism of being inimical to the idea that a person should be concerned about others:
{Taoism pictures the person as a wanderer in the void, and perceives his happiness to lie in drifting with the stream, unanchored by the network of demands and responsibilities....[In Taoism, the] happiness one is concerned with is one's own, logically independent of the happiness of others....[The] follower of the Way is necessarily a loner....}
Elsewhere I have attempted to demonstrate that such accusations are wholly inaccurate, at least in regard to the Tao te ching. That text enjoins the reader to practice "goodness" (shan), which involves extending oneself toward others impartially so as to benefit them. In the Tao te ching, the Taoist life is one in which one achieves self-fulfillment as one is selflessly benefitting the lives of others.32 Do we find such ideals in the Nei Yeh? I can find little evidence of them. There are a few passages for which one might be able to make an argument that the reader is to think of providing benefits to others, but none that seems clearly to express such ideals. Certainly, as compared to the Tao te ching, the Nei Yeh lacks any clear moral concern, and does in fact give the overall impression that "the happiness one is concerned with is one's own."
Conclusion
It is clear that the Nei Yeh is quite distinct in content from either the Tao te ching or the Chuang-tzu, despite the texts' many similarities. The Nei Yeh, we should recall, was earlier than the Tao te ching, and could even be interpreted as an example of "the earliest Taoist teachings." The Tao te ching shows clear evidence that its compilers were deeply concerned with the social and political issues that concerned members of other schools of thought, particularly the Mohists and Confucians. One could thus reasonably even characterize the teachings of the Nei Yeh as "original Taoism," and the teachings of the Tao te ching as "applied Taoism." Though the Tao te ching may have, in some sense, emerged from the same general tradition that produced the Nei Yeh, its compilers were interested in the issues of living in human society as much as, if not more than, they were interested in the practice of "inner cultivation." Further attention to the differences among the assumptions and concerns of all these texts should provide greater insight into the divergent communities that produced such materials, and of the divergent models of the Taoist life that they envision.

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• Marlo Hampton Sizzles in a Completely Sheer Halter Dress & Gucci Gloves (Marlo Hampton Instagram/Bravo)
• Inside RHOA star Kandi Burruss’ $6K-a-night luxury Turks & Caicos villa where she celebrated 47th birthday with co-stars (The Sun U.S. exclusive)
• Kim Zolciak-Biermann Completes Parenting Course Amid Messy Kroy Biermann Divorce: Details (US Weekly)
• Kim Zolciak's Husband Kroy Tells Police He's Living Under Same Roof With Estranged Wife Due to Dire Financial Situation (Radar Online exclusive)
• Peter Thomas Blasted By Former Bar One Miami Employee Who Claims His Establishment Owes Her $1400 In Unpaid Wages (The Jasmine Brand)

NEW JERSEY

• Teresa Giudice slams ‘RHONJ’ fans saying Melissa Gorga made her ‘squirm’ at reunion (Page Six)
• Teresa Giudice, 51, displays her toned figure in a cut-out swimsuit while in Puerto Rico (Teresa Giudice Instagram/Daily Mail)
• 1 minute video: Does RHONJ's Danielle Regret Dishing Melissa Gorga Cheating Rumors? She Says... (E! exclusive)

ORANGE COUNTY

• Vicki Gunvalson, Tamra Judge and Shannon Beador tease their forthcoming reunion on "RHOC" (Page Six Star Snaps)
• Look Back at Heather Dubrow's Designer Reunion Dresses (Bravo Style & Living)

NEW YORK

• Dorinda Medley relaxes on the beach on Memorial Day (Page Six Star Snaps)
• Bethenny Frankel is a ray of sunshine in smiley face sweats and pink bunny slippers as she stops by Today show in New York City (Daily Mail)

BEVERLY HILLS

• ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Star Erika Jayne Is Not Dating Lawyer Jim Wilkes II (US Weekly)
• This Is What a Sunday Barbecue Looks Like in Kyle Richards’ Backyard (Alexia Umansky Instagram/Bravo)

MIAMI

• Lisa Hochstein blasts Lenny for not spending ‘substantive time’ with their kids (Page Six exclusive)

BRAVO

• It’s Not Just “Shade,” It’s Colorism: A Deep Dive Into Colorism On The 'Real Housewives' Franchise (Dr. Chanda Reynolds for Essence)
• 4 minute video: Bravo Backstory: Who Is Raquel Leviss? (Bravo Digital Original)
• Vanderpump Rules' Scheana Shay Finally Got Her Happy Ending (Sarah Ellis for Elite Daily)
• Vanderpump Rules star Scheana Shay teases her toned midriff in sexy all-black for afternoon out in LA with husband Brock Davies (Daily Mail)
• Ariana Madix’s Practical Phone Case Is from the Same Brand Blake Lively Keeps Wearing When On-the-Go (People)
• Brock Davies: Raquel Leviss sent Tom Sandoval postcards with lightning bolt (When Reality Hits with Jax & Brittany podcast/Page Six)
• Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos Say Daughter Lola Got Them Hooked on Scandoval (People)

TORONTO

• “Someone needed to bring the drama”: Real Housewives of Toronto star Kara Alloway on her new book about reality TV (Courtney Shea for Toronto Life)

CHESHIRE

• Joe Sealey: ‘My dad is an ex-Man Utd goalkeeper - but I want my football legacy to be owning a club' (Daily Star UK exclusive)

NAIROBI

• I’m a millionaire mum & my birth was so luxe – my room was posher than a 7* Dubai hotel & there was a fancy menu (The Sun U.S.)

GQEBERHA

• ‘Real Housewives’ eager for more airtime (Herald Live)

Links to this week's episode discussion posts:

• VPR S10E17 🍸
• VPR S10E17 - "Pumped Up Edition" 🍸
• RHONJ S13E17 🍝
• RHOA S15E4 🍑

David Shade’s Manual – Advanced Sexual Techniques and Practical Hypnosis

LINK DOWNLOAD: https://healingcourse.net/david-shades-manual-advanced-sexual-techniques-and-practical-hypnosis/
David Shade’s Manual. In this one book you will obtain the top level field tested advanced sexual techniques to give women incredible pleasure. This is the really advanced stuff. This book is for the man who is serious about pleasing women sexually and learning how to be a better lover.
What is the longest amount of time that a woman can come? 20 seconds? 40 seconds? Actually, you can make your woman come continuously for as long as you want.
How long do you think it takes to master Tantra? Actually, your woman in the first night can enjoy total peace and continuous ecstasy, and she can enjoy it for as long as you want her to.
Did you know that every woman has the natural ability to ejaculate? All women have paraurethral Skene glands. Learn how you can teach your woman to squirt, and her orgasms will be much more powerful.
All women are multi-orgasmic, some just don’t know it yet. This book teaches you how to give your woman as many orgasms as she can stand. In fact, you can teach her to have an orgasm on command!
How good would ‘better than an orgasm’ feel? Learn how to use Chakra Energy techniques to bring her pleasure to new heights that can only be described as ‘beyond pleasure.’
Plus, this book covers simple practical hypnosis. With hypnosis, you can make Anything your woman’s reality. Absolutely Anything. Just think of the possibilities.
Understand what it means for a man to be so personally and sensually powerful that a woman would become ruthlessly sexual and would reflexively and happily surrender herself completely to him to do with her as he pleased, and why that brings her true fulfillment.
Table Of Contents

• A Truly Unique Way to Give a Woman an Orgasm (That chapter will blow your mind)
• Thinkoff
• The Deep Spot
• Spanking
• Getting Her to Pose for Pics
• Slip in the Back Door
• Behold the Power
• Fantasies into Realities
• The High Paid Hooker
• She’s a Virgin Again
• What is reality?
• Hypnocharged Tantra
• The Remote Control Egg
• A Complete Script
• Her First Vaginal Orgasm
• The Welcomed Method
• “She Won’t Let Me Hypnotize Her”
• Instant Orgasm on Command
• The Rape Fantasy
• Does She Remember?
• Like in a Dream
• Cuming Continuously
• The One Hour Cum
• Time Distortion
• Sleepnosis
• Learning to Squirt (Female ejaculation.)
• Dating the Bisexual Woman
• The Seven Chakras (Bring her orgasm to… beyond orgasm)
• Slide in the Back Door
• Assorted Tips
• Viagra Field Test Report
• The Nipple Orgasm
• The 10 Count to Orgasm
• Now She Loves to Go Down (If you like BJs, you’ll love that chapter)
• Sequential Training
• The Elroy Pattern
• What Women Must Have
• Expanding her Envelope of Sexuality
• BE The Man
• Essence of a True Master
• Super Responsiveness
• You Don’t Need to “Hypnotize” Her
• Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
• Threesomes
• Denial
• Anticipation and Vulnerability
• The Erotic Mind
• The Energy Orgasm
• Foursomes, Moresomes, and Orgies
• How to Identify the Really Worthy Ones
• The Consumation
• Product Recommendations

Hi,
I just built a new computer trying to stay within budget (~$600) and in between building a computer with a good gaming performance but also some machine learning capabilities. After some research this is my list:

1. MSI B550M PRO-VDH WiFi ProSeries Motherboard
   
2. Kingston NV2 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe Internal SSD
   
3. ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3050 Twin Edge OC
   
4. Apevia ATX-ES600-RGB Essence 600W ATX
   
5. TEAMGROUP T-Create Classic 10L DDR4 16GB Kit (2 x 8GB)
   
6. AMD Ryzen™ 5 5500 with AMD cooler.
   
7. Cooler Master MasterBox MB320L ARGB Micro-ATX
   

Everything powers-up as I can see all the fans working, RGB lights, etc. The MSI motherboard doesn't show any diagnostics lights, i.e., none of the LED for CPU/VGA/BOOT etc. are on. Everything seems fine but there is no video, nothing. I don't see the BIOS screen. Of course, first instinct is to do a BIOS update. However, personally, I don't like to update the BIOS if I don't have to. From the S/N on the motherboard I see the manufacture date is March 2023. According the MSI the compatible BIOS version for Ryzen 5500, 7C95v2A , is March 2022, so one year before.
From this I am assuming that the motherboard does have an update version that should support my current CPU also, as I mentioned, there is no LED diagnostic light for the CPU. According to the MSI compatibility site and maketecheasier.com, all the parts are compatible with the disclaimer that the BIOS version should be 7C95v2A which, in my case, is one year older than the manufacture date.
I tried different monitor cables, monitor, unplugged and replugged the video card, RAM memory, etc.
I am far from being a PC expert but I have put together a few computers over years, I thought I was gonna get the RGB cables wrong, but I was not expecting having no video at all. I don't have spare parts to test much. My nuclear option is to do the BIOS update via Flash BIOS button but I think it is an unnecessary risk given the manufacture/BIOS version dates.
​
I would appreciate any advise, specially if someone has the same set up.
​
Thanks!