Layout:
— Individual Team News + Stone’s Cold Takes
— Miscellaneous/Other NFL News
— Restaurant of the Week - Washington D.C.
Arizona Cardinals:

• Released WR DeAndre Hopkins and he listed out info about what he wants in his next team:
  
  • Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert
  • He wants stable management and a great defense
• Some folks in AZ were upset with Hopkins because he sat out the last couple of games
  
• S Budda Baker says he will be at camp when its time for him to be there
  

After some decent news the last couple weeks for this organization there wasn’t really anything great from this week besides maybe the fact that if WR DeAndre Hopkins was a distraction to the team he now no longer is one. It will be interesting to see how things play out this year.
Atlanta Falcons:

• FB Keith Smith was arrested on traffic charges
  
  • Driving with a suspended license he claims was a misunderstanding
• K Younghoe Koo didn’t ask for money from RB Bijan Robinson to give him his number but asked him to pick a charity at some point down the road to donate to
  
• Will have joint practices with the Dolphins
  
• Signed:
  
  • WR JJ Arcega-Whiteside

It sounds like the situation with Keith Smith should get resolved rather quickly and was more of a misunderstanding than anything else. It will be fun for this young team to have joint practices with Miami and it will be a good way for their defense to get an initial test from an elite offense. I am sure the Dolphins won’t reveal all of their tricks but either way they will have to worry about guarding an elite offense with elite playmakers.
Baltimore Ravens:

• QB Lamar Jackson expects a more pass-heavy offense under new OC Todd Monken
• WR Michael Thomas separate his shoulder and could require labrum surgery
• WR Rashod Bateman who just played just 6 games was on the field for OTAs on Monday
• Waived Daelin Hayes
• S Kyle Hamilton excited for expanded role with the team
• Tony Jefferson is retiring and joining the team as a scout
• Signed:
  
  • DL Angelo Blackson
  • QB Josh Johnson

It is crazy to think about how just about a month ago the news around the Ravens was all negative and that it seemed like the relationship with Lamar was fractured. Now here we are and Lamar seems about as happy as can be and is excited about the offense that is being installed under new OC Todd Monken. It will be exciting for him as well to have WR Rashod Bateman back who I still think can be a key playmaker on the team. It appears the Ravens could be set for big things even in a tough division.
Buffalo Bills:

• No surprise, QB Josh Allen is hyper-focused and wants to win a Super Bowl
• S Damar Hamlin is back out working out on the field
• WR Stefon Diggs did not attend OTAs
• EDGE Von Miller guarantees he will play by week 6 but is not rushing anything
• Signed:
  
  • S Dean Marlowe
  • Joel Wilson

Great to see the that S Damar Hamlin was back out practicing. I know it has been some time since his collapse on the field but it still feels like yesterday that I was watching that game in complete shock at what I had witnessed and worry for him and his family. WR Stefon Diggs being absent at OTAs is not a big deal to me. QB Josh Allen has a lot of other guys he needs to get familiar and work in with anyways and a lot of star players don’t attend OTAs to either get rest/recovery or to do their own workouts with their private coaches. I imagine he and Kincaid will be deadly this year and who knows they may even have WR DeAndre Hopkins joining them as the Bills were one of two teams that inquired and had talks about a trade for him.
Carolina Panthers:

• TE Hayden Hurst is recovering from sports hernia surgery
• QB Bryce Young is taking most of the first team reps

Not too much news here other than what we saw and heard from OTAs about Bryce Young getting to take most of the 1st team reps. It appears that he looked good and his teammates were saying great things about him. It is tough to judge any quarterback though in the offseason because no matter what folks always say their young or new quarterback is looking amazing and things are progressing nicely. I will say though I have heard the most good things coming out from camps about him and Anthony Richardson of the Colts.
Chicago Bears:

• QB Justin Fields excited about the growth WR Chase Claypool had over offseason
• Got permission to begin demolition of Arlington Park racetrack

Good news for Chicago fans who are excited for their move. It seems that things are proceeding nicely with the process of moving to a new stadium. Also, great to hear that Chase Claypool may be able to make more of a difference this year. It would be hard to be less effective than what he was last year for this team. I still believe he can be a major impact player like many expected him to be when he entered the league. It will be key for him to become Fields’ go to receiver over some of the other talent they have on the team.
Cincinnati Bengals:

• Want to sign WR Tee Higgins and LB Logan Wilson to long term extensions
• Have made their initial push for QB Joe Burrow

This team has a lot to do in terms of contracts that they need to get figured out. The team view Tee Higgins in very high regard and so does Joe Burrow as they should. They also really want to get Logan Wilson signed. However, what will come out to being the biggest of the contracts they do this offseason is that of Joe Burrow. What will continue to make things tough here is the longer it takes for Justin Hebert to get his deal done because Burrow will likely be the last of the 4 quarterbacks to sign his because it is presumed he will get the most money and has an agent who like to wait til the last minute.
Cleveland Browns:

• WR Elijah Moore feels good now that he feels wanted with his new team
• EDGE Za’Darius Smith is excited to be facing the Ravens this year

All good news for Browns fans so far. The team is looking good and their appears to be a lot of good vibes coming out of practice. WR DeAndre Hopkins is even considering coming to Cleveland for the chance to play with his old QB. Also, WR Elijah Moore is looking crisp and at least for the moment it appears he is much happier. It will all depend on if he actually gets the ball thrown to him during the season though.
Dallas Cowboys:

• HC Mike McCarthy is keeping offense in Dak’s language despite the changeup in play callers

Not too much news here which is good for this franchise because they are almost always the center of attention. The main thing I took away from this week was just that things seems to be going well with McCarthy and Dak working together on the offense but that there have been some growing pains at least initially getting used to new systems as expected.
Denver Broncos:

• Waived Hunter Thedford with injury settlement
• Released K Brandon McManus
• K Brett Maher worked out for the team
• QB Russell Wilson has lost a lot of weight this offseason
• HC Sean Payton excited about what S Kareem Jackson can do to help team
• RB Javonte Williams was limited in OTAs starting on Thursday
• Signed:
  
  • T Cam Fleming to a 1-year $4m deal
  • DT Tyler Lancaster

It appeared to shock just about everyone when the news broke about K Brandon McManus getting released because he had become a fan favorite over the years in Denver. QB Russell Wilson has lost a lot of weight and it is evident just from seeing him this offseason. I didn’t think his weight was the issue hindering him last year but hopefully he can feel he is playing at a healthier weight. What I think most Denver fans were excited to see was RB Javonte Williams back on the practice field. He is going to end up being the real difference maker this year and whether this team competes with the top of the AFC or not will largely depend on him making the rest of the offense’s life easy or not.
Detroit Lions:

• Former WR Calvin Johnson was at OTAs this week after having been away from the organization following a rough falling out post-retirement
• RB David Montgomery said that losing with the Bears “sucked the fun out of the game”
• WR Jameson Williams says that he didn’t know about the gambling policy; HC Dan Campbell feels he is miles ahead in terms of his talent already
• Traded an undisclosed draft pick for K Riley Patterson
  
  • Signed a 1-year $2.35m deal
• RB David Montgomery and LB Malcolm Rodriguez left practice due to injury
  
• Team has done their homework on free agent WR DeAndre Hopkins
  
• NFL is investigation another Lions player about league gambling rules violations
  
• Signed:
  
  • OL Germain Ifedi
  • Max Pircher through international player pathway program

A lot of news here. Let’s start with the bad news. It appears that they may be having more penalties come down on their team/players due to the league’s gambling policy as their is an ongoing investigation into a 5th player from the team. Also, David Montgomery and Malcolm Rodriguez left the field with injuries. It is still early though and they appear to be minor injuries so hopefully it won’t affect them in the long term. Now some good news. It sounds like WR Jameson Williams is progressing nicely and the team got a new kicker in Riley Patterson from the Jaguars who should help the improve there. Lastly and maybe the biggest news is that Calvin “Megatron” Johnson was at OTAs hanging out with coaches and players. Many are hoping those good vibes carry over into the season.
Green Bay Packers:

• Signed:
  
  • WR Jadakis Bonds
• Cut TE Nick Guggemos
  
• Will host the 2025 NFL Draft
  
• HC Matt LaFleur is please with Jordan Love but still need to work on a lot of things
  

Exciting news that Green Bay will get the draft in 2025! I was thinking they would try and stick to more southern states but they clearly are willing to go North with Detroit and now Green Bay being the hosts of the next two. HC Matt LaFleur appears to be being honest with everything and trying to temper expectations a bit with Jordan Love taking over. This could be to help take pressure off of Love and also just be the flat out truth that with any young quarterback it is going to take some time.
Houston Texans:

• Appears DeMeco Ryans may not be too sure about pursuing Jadeveon Clowney
• HC DeMeco Ryans expects the o-line to be a strength for this team
• Currently it is a QB competition between Davis Mills and CJ Stroud
  
  • Other teams have been inquiring about QB Davis Mills

I am not surprised about DeMeco Ryans hesitancy about pursuing Jadeveon Clowney. First of all he just may not want to reveal his cards to others in the league about what he is thinking. The other thing is that he is one that likes for his defense to have an identity and a really good work ethic. I am not saying that Clowney can’t fit that mold but it just makes the selection process for what Ryans wants on defense that much more thorough. The other news that surprised some but something I mentioned a couple of weeks ago is that QB Davis Mills will compete with Stroud for the starting job and is viewed as a desirable QB to other teams around the league. I know his stats haven’t been the best but I am not sure any of the young quarterbacks would have done well with what the Texans organization has been the last couple years. At the end of the day CJ Stroud will end up being the team’s starter due to draft status and probably will be the more talented, better option.
Indianapolis Colts:

• No timetable for Shaquille Leonard to resume practicing
• QB Anthony Richardson was running a similar offense to what Jalen Hurts has run in Philly and was very impressive (splitting 1st team reps)
• Signed:
  
  • TE Kaden Smith

Overall things seems to be good for the organization. The main thing we are all waiting on is when Shaq Leonard will be able to get back out there and start practicing. It makes sense not to have him practicing now since things are optional anyways. The hype has been there for QB Anthony Richardson thus far and it appears he may be closer to starting right away than a lot of people thought.
Jacksonville Jaguars:

• Traded K Riley Patterson to the Lions for an undisclosed draft pick
• RB Travis Etienne looking forward to doing some fine-tuning this year
• Signed Brandon McManus

Not too much news out of Jacksonville other than the change at the kicker position. Things got busy and they were able to trade K Riley Patterson to the Lions rather than release like the reports had said prior. Then they went out and got a proven veteran in K Brandon McManus who had just been released from the Broncos squad. This team is going to be interesting this year and will go as far QB Trevor Lawrence can take them. Does not hurt to have the veteran kicker for the big moments that could be coming for this organization.
Kansas City Chiefs:

• HC Andy Reid is not a fan of the kickoff rule change hinting at the NFL getting closer to being flag football
  
  • TE Travis Kelce is not happy about it either
• QB Patrick Mahomes addressed contract saying he cares more about Super Bowls
  
• LB Nick Bolton doesn’t think the defense gets enough credit
  
• QB Patrick Mahomes says that it has been a smooth transition to new OC Matt Nagy
  
• HC Andy Reid feels fullbacks have been phased out of the NFL and that the Chiefs will not be using one
  

HC Andy Reid who normally is pretty quiet and doesn’t get too involved was in front of the media a lot this week it felt like. First, he is not a fan of the new kickoff rule and it appears most coaches are not. Second, he talked about how the team will not be using a FB because they are being phased out of the NFL and he feels that the TEs they have on the team can play the role when needed. Overall it seems things are going well for the Chiefs and things could be a going a lot better here soon as they appear to be a top option for WR DeAndre Hopkins and one the few teams that had trade talks before he was released.
Las Vegas Raiders:

• Former QB Tom Brady reached an agreement to be a minority owner of the team
• QB Jimmy Garoppolo had to have foot surgery after signing with the team and there is not timetable for his return - believe he should return before the season
  
  • Things could get interesting depending on how situation with Jimmy G works out
• WR Davante Adams is not happy about the current QB situation with the Raiders
  
  • Adams and team have been sued by the photographer he shoved last year
• Will have joint practices with the 49ers
  

It appears there is never a dull week with the Raiders. The news this week about Jimmy seem to add context potentially to what Davante Adams’ comments were about recently. With Tom Brady recently joining the ownership group here it makes us all wonder if the injury is not cleared up is there a way for him to un-retire once again…only time will tell.
Los Angeles Chargers:

• Signed:
  
  • RB Austin Ekeler to a new deal for this final year that added on up to $2m in incentives

Big news here getting the deal done with Austin Ekeler even if it still only keeps him around for 1 year. Thankfully now he should be semi-happy for that one year before he can go out and chase a big contract if he wants to.
Los Angeles Rams:
Not much news here really. Sounds like Matthew Stafford has taken Stetson Bennett under his wing and started to work with him and help him learn more about the transition to the NFL compared to college.
Miami Dolphins:

• WR DK Metcalf challenged WR Tyreek Hill
• Will have joint practices with the Falcons
• QB Tua Tagavailoa is wearing a camera on his helmet to help HC Mike McDaniel see what he sees on the field

I loved seeing Tua wearing the helmet cam. I had not thought about it before but it should be great for him to be able to show McDaniel exactly what he is/was seeing out on the field to add context and allow McDaniel to better coach him and understand what is going on. I think this should be something all quarterbacks do and especially the top ones because it could gives coaches that much more information and a better understanding of how to help young quarterbacks in the future.
Minnesota Vikings:

• Signed:
  
  • WR from the XFL Lucky Jackson
• DC Brian Flores wants defense to develop an aggressive identity but not reckless
  
• RB Dalvin Cook could be a June 1st cut
  

All signs appear to be pointing towards RB Dalvin Cook getting released. In other news it will be good for the defense to develop the aggressive mindset that Brian Flores wants and should bring in the attitude from Miami that wad established during his time there that was so effective and led to them winning games.
New England Patriots:

• Got docked 2 days of OTA workouts for violating offseason rules and HC Bill Belichick was fined $50,000 dollars
• Placed LB Raekwon McMillan on injured reserve due to partially torn ACL

The Patriots seems to always be up to something. It sounds like they were penalized the 2 days of OTAs and fined because of a meeting that Joe Judge held that lasted more than the permitted amount of time. Other tough news came when Raekwon McMillan got injured.
New Orleans Saints:

• TE Foster Moreau is participating in OTAs
• Being in New Orleans has given QB Derek Carr a breath of fresh air
• Former HC Jon Gruden is working with the team and Derek Carr

What a story. TE Foster Moreau finds out he has cancer in a physical with the team a couple months and gets ahead of things and is now practicing with them at OTAs. Interesting story here about former HC Jon Gruden working with the team because during his time with the Raiders many said that he and Carr did not get along. This team has a big opportunity to take over the NFC South and is probably the bet setup to do it with the team they have.
New York Giants:

• Rookie WR Jalin Hyatt wants to get to 190lbs as his playing weight
• TE Darren Waller is happy to somewhere where his opinions are valued
  
  • QB Daniel Jones is enjoying working with TE Darren Waller
• HC Brian Daboll will not speak on contract situations despite currently Barkley situation
  

It seems that everything is going great except the Saquon Barkley situation. There isn’t much new insight into it either after HC Daboll refused to speak on anything contract related. In good news it seems like TE Darren Waller is really enjoying being with the team and working with QB Daniel Jones. This is a team to me that is going to play inspired football like they did last year no matter what is going on because their HC.
New York Jets:

• QB Aaron Rodgers had minor calf strain
• WR Allen Lazard went down during OTAs but supposedly was just a shot to the groin
• Worked out P Matt Araiza
• Chuck Clark was happy to be traded because felt disrespected by the Ravens
• HC Robert Saleh is confident a deal will get done with Quinnen Williams
• Will have joint practices with the Buccaneers

I imagine Jets fans held their breath when they saw Aaron Rodgers get injured as well as Allen Lazard. The good news is that those are not going to be issues in the long run. However, it reminded us all that QB Aaron Rodgers is not a young guy anymore and there is always the possibility that he like any other player in the NFL can get hurt. Hopefully the deal with Quinnen Williams can get done sooner rather than later. I am looking forward to the joint practices with the Bucs because they have a solid defense and it will be fun to hear how they fare in the early phases of implementing a lot of things from both Nathaniel Hackett and Aaron Rodgers.
Philadelphia Eagles:

• OL D.J. Fluker worked out for the Eagles
• DL Jordan Davis has made major strides this offseason will take on a larger role

Jordan Davis is going to be a key piece for the team this year in my opinion so it is great to hear he has made major strides. He is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to his sheer size and the more he can be weaponized the better.
Pittsburgh Steelers:

• Signed:
  
  • EDGE Markus Golden to 1-year deal
  • LB Toby Ndukwe
• Easy decision for QB Mitch Trubisky to sign extension
  
• Started contract talks with OLB Alex Highsmith
  
• Released Tae Crowder
  
• Want to play a regular season game in Ireland
  
• WR Allen Robinson has been very impressed so far by QB Kenny Pickett
  
• QB Kenny Pickett had his car stolen with his playbook inside of it
  

Great move to get Markus Golden. He can be dangerous in this defense and is only one season removed from a double digit sack year. Also, good to see that Robinson and Pickett appear to be getting along. I am curious to see who shakes out to be the #1 receiver on this team but have a feeling it will end up being Pickens because of how good he was last year and the chemistry he and Pickett already have. A QB likes it when his receiver makes life easier and bails him out. Pickens has already done that on multiple occasions for him.
San Francisco 49ers:

• QB Trey Lance just wants a chance to compete and never considered being traded
  
  • Raved about this time working with QB Patrick Mahomes
• QB Brock Purdy expected to start throwing next week, be able to go from gripping a towel to an actual football
  
• QB Sam Darnold will push to start come week 1
  
• Levi’s will officially get the Super Bowl in 2026
  
• LB Dre Greenlaw has a thumb procedure and will miss most of the OTAs this offseason
  
• Will have joint practices with the Raiders
  

It is official the 49ers will host the 2026 Super Bowl! After speculations and rumors it finally became official this past week. Also, there was a lot of good QB news this week with all 3 of the QBs on the roster. Sounds like Brock Purdy is healing properly and as expected, Trey Lance is looking really good in OTAs along with Sam Darnold. Once again this offseason no one is sure who will be starting for the team come week 1.
Seattle Seahawks:

• WR DK Metcalf challenged WR Tyreek Hill
• CB Tariq Woolen had arthroscopic knee surgery and it out til training camp
• Signed:
  
  • CB Artie Burns

Good news for Seahawks fan that Tariq Woolen will be back around training camp time after his procedure. Other than that there was not much news here. They got a solid rotational/depth player in Artie Burns though.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers:

• Video of QB Baker Mayfield making an overthrow went viral on social media
• Will have joint practices with the Jets
• WR Chris Godwin feels like he has a lot of his explosion back
• Team wants to see more consistency out of LB Devin White before offering him the contract he wants

Great to see that Tampa has joint practices with the Jets. They have a tough defense and it will be good for Baker and the offense to get some work against that defense early on. The Bucs have some great weapons on the offensive side of the ball to really compete with those top defenses and if they can all stay healthy this team could be a dark horse team to watch. Overall this should be a good all around team.
Tennessee Titans:

• QB Will Levis is putting pressure on Tannehil and Willis in OTAs this far
• S Kevin Byard is skipping OTAs

Interesting to see that S Kevin Byard was not at OTAs after earlier this offseason it was rumored he was asked to take a pay cut. Definitely a situation to watch. The main news that came from OTAs is that QB Will Levis appears to be looking good and some folks think he could be putting pressure on Tannehill early on and moving himself up the depth chart.
Washington Commanders:

• HC Ron Rivera said that DE Chase Young understands them not picking up his 5th year option
• New OC Eric Bieniemy has been getting on young QB Sam Howell holding him accountable
• Trademark application was denied due to someone else already having pending applications for the name but the team is confident this issue will get resolved
• It has been good for QB Sam Howell that QB Jacoby Brissett has been in the building
• TE Amani Rodgers tore his ACL and is out indefinitely
• Released Nathan Gerry
• Jamin Davis limited in OTAs after knee procedure
• Financing needs to be adjusted in order for the Josh Harris bid to be accepted
• Signed:
  
  • XFL LB Ferrod Gardner

Feels like a lot happened with the Commanders. First off, I think QB Sam Howell is in a great spot to learn and develop this year with mentors like Jacoby Brissett and then his OC Eric Bieniemy. They will hold him accountable like has already been happening and help bring out the best in him. Now it definitely is an organization surrounded by distractions. First off the trademark application for the team’s name was denied and they hope to get something figured out but could lead to another name change. Also, the team is still working through the Josh Harris bid and there need to be some adjustments in order for it to get accepted by the other NFL Owners and the league. These distractions even though they may not always be good for the team they probably do help a young quarterback because he is not the only thing to talk about at this point in the offseason.
Miscellaneous/Other NFL News:

• Many believe that Thursday Night Flexing is to cater to Amazon but really could be the future of how deals get done
  
  • Teams have to have 28 days notice and this is currently just a 1 year move
• RB Jeremy Hill who has not played for the past 5 seasons officially retired siting injury issues leading to his retirement
  
• NFL injury data shows that turf fields are significantly worse for players than grass fields
  
• The Pat McAfee Show will be taking over Max Kellerman’s the time slot on ESPN
  
• Commissioner Roger Goodell’s lobbying convinced teams to vote in favor of the new kickoff rules
  
• Dr. Timoth Kremchek, the Cincinnati Reds' physician since 1996, says he sees an "epidemic" of youth injuries on artificial turf
  
• RB Adrian Peterson will be hanging it up if he’s not back in the NFL this season
  
• After Goodell’s retirement the NFL could change the structure of management for the NFL combining a traditional CEO with a Commissioner of Football
  
• Possible a team will play 3 back to back games in Europe in the future
  
• Devin McCourty will be joining NBC’s Sunday Night Football crew as an analyst
  
• Officially approved emergency 3rd QB rule
  
• Investigating further violations potentially of league gambling policy
  
• DirecTV will still distribute Sunday Ticket to bars and restaurants
  
• S Tony Jefferson announced his retirement
  
• Announced growth of global market program
  

​
Restaurant of the Week: (Washington D.C. - TACOS 5 DE MAYO)
Don’t really have a great picture of this place but that may be a good thing. Often times I find that the places least advertised and that are holes in the wall is typically where you get the best Mexican food. This place is about a 10 minute drive from the stadium and probably closer to 15-20 minutes on game days depending on the time you go. Personally I recommend the Tacos Al Pastor. Those are basically a marinated pork taco that is slightly spicy with some sweet pineapple flavor in it. You cannot go wrong with Tacos Al Pastor and are by far my favorite. The other thing to keep an eye on is the Pupusas. While Pupusas are from El Salvador this place actually does a pretty dang good job of making them. For those that don’t know what Pupusas are they kind of resemble a stuffed pancake but are made of corn in most cases stuffed with either just cheese, cheese and beans, or cheese and pork. My order here would be 3 tacos al pastor and a cheese and bean pupusa. Enjoy!

I, female 23 and married to male 33, however he really has nothing to do with this story. It’s my sister in law Female (35) who we’ll call SIL for this story, because I’m not typing sister in law every time I reference her. I’m tired lol.
I recently had my first child. It was amazing and fantastic, he was a NICU baby so I’m extra cautious. I probably annoyed family by not inviting them over to see the baby (I never arranged a date but Easter happened when he was around four months old, so they all saw him there; however I did not offer for anyone to hold him and no one asked.
SIL has had two children already and was pregnant with her third. I have known Anna since I was 12 and she was getting married to my older brother and knew she came from a very conservative family. She has always breastfed with a cover around our family, however at the Easter table I breast fed my child. I will say he latched right away, I was somewhat restricted view from my place at the table in my grandmothers house anyway. He was quick to latch, due to having so much practice- my point being Minimal time my whole boob was exposed (maybe 30 seconds at most). When I said “oop someone’s hungry, baby do you want some milk” her youngest child (boy 6) asked “how does someone only eat milk” and I answered “it’s kinda like a protein shake”.
I would like to add SIL is expecting another baby and I assumed that she would feed her baby as normal in her home without covering (maybe I assumed wrong).
She didn’t say anything at the time about home openly breastfeeding (which I was a little shocked at) but frankly I’m not feeding my child with a cover over his head in my own home. I will cover out of respect for others in two places (church, and then the one time I went to a family funeral). I invite anyone who disagrees with my policy to eat a meal with a blanket over their head.
She also corrected me when I made her child wash his hands before sitting down to eat (we do family style buffet line) and made him take the dinner roll he touched on a separate plate instead of putting it back on the main serving tray (her kids are ALWAYS SICK).
Anyways queue to this weekend. We have always grilled out on Memorial Day as a family for as long as I can remember. This year my mom had already bought all the steaks and all the food before they announced they had “other plans as a family”, which is the same excuse they used a few years ago after they didn’t come to Christmas due to wedding drama after I got married (I chose very small very private and frankly would’ve eloped in Europe if my parents had let me).
So, am I the asshole for ruining events by breastfeeding my child?

https://manabox.app/decks/_F71blZISSe6q53y0Xzm7Q
Hey guys!
So I’m thinking of buying the bits for Aether Recommission Elementals - but I’ve got some elementals I’m thinking could make the cut (they’re in the maybeboard in the link):
Tunnel Ignus: Being able to vial this onto the field in response to a fetch and crack - seems pretty decent, especially if the opponent was gonna shock themselves - 5 damage is a fair bit. This also is great in elementals mirrors in response to risen reef triggers as it just forces them to fill their hand with lands.
Unsettled Mariner: Can be fetched by harbinger, and gives all our permanents and us Ward 1 essentially - which could save us from burn strategies or hand disruption/scam.
Voice of Resurgence: Pitch card for solitude, and fills our board with accumulating blockers/attackers which forces our opponents to deal with it. Maybe too low power, but still potentially a powerhouse?
Incandescent Soulstoke: Pitch to Fury. Buffs all our elementals, which is very relevant with Thunderkin Awakener being able to reanimate stuff with higher toughness, such as fury and solitude etc.. It also can just put cards from our hand into play, much like Vial, and then they’re in the GY for recommission - also for things like Thunderkin it’s a free reanimation.
Lightning Skelemental: I love the idea of this card - 1 toughness means we can reanimate it with Thunderkin, and then when it connects it just disrupts opponents hands so much. The mana cost is a bit much, but with the Creature Type specific lands it’s not terrible? I think maybe it is a bit weak and easily dealt with, but it does force the opponent to deal with it as it’s gonna just keep threatening to come back.
Thoughts?

Hello, fellow Survivors,
just a quick summary of subjective experiences that may help other players to make the jump.
Mostly due to the numerous tales of overabundant wolves, I'd been hesitating to try Stalker. I've accumulated over 250 hours on Voyageur, slowly learning mechanisms, nuances, strategies and maps.
Well, I made the jump. And it was quite the ride - but for different reasons than anticipated.
On Voyageur, I like to start in Milton (because I won't be coming back here for a long time) and progress to ML, but for Stalker I decided to do it the other way around to have some basic gear before attempting Wolf Town... aaand promptly almost froze to death. Wound up with hypothermia, a raging blizzard outside, no torch yet and a total of four sticks in a pitch-black dam and was still not warming up.
Fast forward to my ninth day, I'm all but done with Milton, have a moose hide curing and literally the only things I still don't have are hacksaw, hammer, maglens, some best-in-slot clothing upgrades, arrows, backpack and the (soon to be made) satchel.
Here's what I've learned:
Wolves
They're not everywhere, but there's definitely more of them and their aggro radius is increased. Stop and listen regularly. Having the different anti-wolf routines down pat will play a big role in making your Stalker run enjoyable - you will acquire a stalker on a regular basis.
Approach any known/potential wolf spawn only if

• you've got a torch out and it's not too windy
• you've got a weapon or flare already in hand
• you've sneak-scouted and found the area to be clear

When in doubt, blindly toss a stone as a distraction
As far as anti-wolf routines go:

• If a stalking wolf isn't in the way of where you want to go, Walking the Dog is still the easiest and most resource-efficient method. Just keep an eye on the distance and be ready to escalate if it gets too close to charge range.
  • You can often reroute a Walk by circling around a building or a large boulder.
  • Keep in mind that, once your current escort gives up, you're fair game again to the others - you don't want to be hip-deep in an (up until now indifferent) wolf pack if that happens.
  • Stalking wolves are easily distracted by rabbits or deer. This can also be used for hunting.
• Having a torch out is an efficient, fairly reliable and cheap anti-wolf shield. Dropping it to aim a weapon (even a stone) at them will reliably chase them away once. Throwing it at them or, in a pinch, charging them with a torch in hand also works. Zaknafein made a great video about this, watch it.
  • Once scared by the aim trick, their AI becomes unpredictable for short while, so if you're staying in an area (i.e. for harvesting) and suspect that you've recently scared that wolf, it'd be safer to just shoot it. (Tossing torches might also work, haven't tested that yet extensively enough). I've had a recently scared wolf charge me straight past a harvesting fire despite aiming at it. (Does anyone in the community have more input on that?)
  • If you stumble across a wolf at point-blank range behind a ridge or corner, it will attack if it's already inside the torches "scare radius". Throwing the torch might help. Avoid crossing corners too closely if you can, try to go around ridges, or toss a stone, or stop, crouch and listen just before the top.
• In regards to all of the above, a red flare is just a super torch. I always keep two at hand in case I desperately need to use torch tactics in bad weather. There's a rumor that regular wolves reaction to marine flares is unreliable, haven't tested that yet.

Overall, they're actually not too much of a pest - mostly, they're only trouble if they're blocking a chokepoint or an area you want to work in / explore in-depth. Acquiring the habit of torch-walking will greatly ease your troubles (and save matches, to boot.)
The Cold
The weather on Stalker is undeniably harsher, which is especially noticeable since you start with less / worse clothing and it takes longer to find what you need. Especially early game, you'll find yourself freezing more often than you're used to. It's OK to take some cold damage, but plan your treks so you can warm up occasionally to bleed off frostbite/hypothermia risk and your condition doesn't get too low to survive a wolf struggle.
Fire behaviour is one of the biggest changes - a Voyageur-honed intuition of what constitutes a "decent" fire no longer applies. Always double check external temperature vs fire output and make sure you're actually warming up before doing anything time-consuming. Get in the habit of carrying more fuel.
Loot
Loot is definitely more sparse - getting decked out fully will take more time and hitting more loot spots. I'd suggest to no longer fully clean out one map after another, but try to quickly hit major loot spots until you're decked out for Summit & Ash Canyon, then doing those before returning and exploring at depth.
Overall, if you explore quickly, you'll still quickly wind up with more than you carry and find yourself leaving sub-par finds behind.
Misc Tips
Craft the Improvised Crampons (5 x scrap metal, 2 x leather, needs a work bench) as soon as you can, but definitely before Summit/AC, they'll make your life much easier.
Keep an eye out for moose markings and try to bag one early, the satchel is invaluable. Big game hunting is easier with a rifle than with the bow, but the latter will still work.
While you're still exploring quickly, clothing that hast to be repaired with something other than cloth can be a pain, only use it if you truly can't find a viable alternative. Later on, you can get into the habit of always having some of the appropriate hides curing in your regional base.
Learn to manage your Everyday Carry.

I am not that well versed in 40k lore, but i was wondering if there was any loyalist chapter that is disconnected from the imperium of man, like an exiled chapter, that in order to keep their chapter equipped they cobble themselves together using worn out equipment from other chapters?
I like the idea of a chapter of marines covered in deeply battle scarred armor and equipment covered in jerry rigging and make shift repairs in order to keep themselves in the fight again the enemies of man. Does something like this exist in the lore?

My girlfriend of almost 2 years is choosing to come to Texas with me once I get out of the marine corps in July. For context, she’s going into junior year of college and she has to participate in a nursing program for her future career plans. In said nursing program once she chooses a school and program(she already got accepted into a program at her current university) then she has to stay there for the duration of the program before moving on somewhere else. Dilemma is that she’s willing to go from having her parents pay her way for everything to paying her own way and paying student loans and all of the extra expenses she has to if she comes with me instead of staying for 3 more years. I’m worried if the relationship goes belly up she’ll hate me and say I fucker her life up by letting her come with me and not telling her to stay and possibly try long distance for 3 years. Need some advice. Let’s hear it. Ps* her parents aren’t on board at all and think she’s making a dumb decision throwing away free college and free life in general to leave the house before she’s graduated. She wanted to leave primarily because of me but also had stated that she wants to get away from her hometown and house because she feels suffocated and like she’s never enough. Anyways, if she moves she will have to pay for her nursing program herself rather than having her parents pay for it as well as any other living expenses. Granted we will be living together so I will be primary bread winner at least until she gets a career in nursing so for a couple years at minimum so she can focus on her studies. They thinks it’s idiotic to leave and pay her own way right now when she has the opportunity of free living at her finger tips but that could cost her more mentally to stay than it ever might financially if she goes with me. Don’t most college students have to pay their full college in student loans all 4 years or more most of the time anyways? Not everyone’s parents have the money or the want to do that for their child. She already has 2 years paid for by her parents so what’s their issue with her paying the second half and showing them that she can be an independent adult in the real world and lift the burden off their shoulders? Seems like a win win situation for all parties to me. Thoughts?

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Fuck this show. Fuck this show for making me get my hopes up that Bill Hader could pull off a crime drama/dark comedy well enough to earn my approval. What a colossal waste of potential. This show could’ve been like a West Coast version of Fargo or Dexter, but that possibility was destroyed so that Bill could make a mediocre comedy and a horrible crime drama. Where do I even start with the mistakes that this show makes?

1. The inadequate and lazy way that Bill made the gunfights in the show. People stand around for 3 seconds, pointing their guns at someone but never pulling the trigger until they eventually get killed. What? Who the Hell stands around for 3 seconds during a fucking gunfight?! If anything, a realistic gunfight would have people shooting their guns much more frequently than just only shooting when the plot calls for them to shoot. This screams “I’m too lazy to edit and block a gunfight scene to look well done” so Bill just depends on his audience having no desire to see realistic and well directed gunfights in a TV show. If I had a dollar for every time someone in this show did something during a gunfight that only a 2-year-old monkey with a gun would do, I’d have enough money to buy myself a steak dinner at Applebee’s.
   
2. The extreme over dependence on deus ex machinas to move the plot forward. I understand that comedies often use this trope, but this show is meant to exist in reality, and it’s not meant to be a pure comedy show. When SO MANY PLOT IMPORTANT SITUATIONS THAT I CAN’T EVEN COUNT occur because of random bullcrap that would only occur if you were playing Fallout: New Vegas with the Wild Wasteland park equipped (and then modded to operate at 300% efficiency), your writing does not come across as creative or good, it just comes across as contemptibly lazy. If Bill’s goal was to make me laugh by doing this, then he failed. All it did was make me see him as a writer who isn’t willing to put in the work to write plot threads that have at least a reasonable chance of playing out in real life.
   
3. The comedy and drama in this show was NOT balanced well. I don’t care what anyone else says: this show was clearly 2/3 comedy and 1/3 drama, yet had the audacity to call itself a half comedy, half crime drama show. Also, some of the comedy was just juvenile and cringeworthy. Some scenes felt like I was watching The Office, but not in a “Lol that’s hilarious!” way, but a “If someone said something like that or did that in front of me, I’d stare at them for 3 seconds with my eyes full of confusion and contempt before walking away and never speaking to them again” way.
   
4. Too many side characters got 0 meaningful conclusions or follow ups; they just popped up, filled a role, and then went “poof” with no explanation as to why we aren’t seeing them again when we know how important they can be to the main characters’ lives and arcs. Characters like Albert, Lily, Sam, and Katie were interesting to watch, but to have Bill just make them suddenly disappear out of thin air and get no realistic or satisfying conclusion to their part in the story was irritating and a bad writing mistake. Where the Hell did Albert go after Barry got arrested? Did he seriously not get AT ALL involved in the investigation that occurred after Barry got arrested, or try to meet/talk with Barry after he got imprisoned? It would’ve been nice to see more of him.
   
5. Barry didn’t get enough action in this show. I know that Bill’s intent wasn’t to glamorize murderers, and I support that, but at least show us and remind us semi-frequently that Barry is a skilled and deadly killer. Having him only kill people with IQs of 14, or people who are distracted, or having him get ready for a big fight just to have the potential fight scene be stopped by something, only serves to make us not fear Barry, and leaves any desires to see a good and well written/directed action scene unsatisfied. We know that Barry’s dangerous, but we don’t see him as this very powerful force that we should see him as. A series like this should make you fear Barry, but I found myself only slightly unnerved by him. Just hire good quality stunt coordinators and stunt doubles if you’re unable to do fight scenes. You have the money for it, Bill.
   
6. Hank and Fuches had no real backstory, and Barry’s backstory felt insufficient and shallow. No in depth look at his childhood? Not really telling us his reason for joining the Marines? Come on, one vague flashback in Season Four isn’t enough!
   

For anyone wondering why I stuck with the show for so long, despite disliking it, it’s because I had hope; very large amounts of hope. I had hope that Bill could redeem his writing and directing skills in my eyes by creating an amazing final season and/or episode, but the finale proved my fears that my hopes were being raised for something that would ultimately disappoint me.
That’s all I have to say. Yes, the show did have good messages, cinematography, acting, and symbolisms, but these (at least for me) didn’t make up for the overall poor quality that the show had. I’d rate this show a 4/10. Please do better in the future, Bill.
TL;DR I didn’t like this show because Bill Hader wrote it very lazily and focused too much on trying to make the show funny

• Hank was never willing to admit Cristobal's death was his fault. Even though the situation was kind of out of Hank's direct control and he was operating on fear, his dishonestly lead to Cristobal leaving and being shot. And he does not want to admit that all he is doing is putting on a brave face and is using positivity as a mask to mask his own pain and guilt around the subject.
• Fuches is still putting on a character to try to compensate for his overall lack of any other positive qualities. He knows he is a grifter. He knows its an act. But yet he keeps doing it. (I think it might also be implied that he never actually served with Barry's dad and that they are connected some other way, maybe also through crime) He also clearly wants to tell Barry something but never actually does. He is withholding information/his feelings for whatever reason.
• Sally admits to lying to John about why they moved so much and comes clean about Barry and in a way herself (even though what happened to her was self-defense). But I also think those ending scenes where Sally pretty much becomes the next "Gene" (kind of) is an indication that she is lying to herself about just how much that situation affected her. She lies to John about her being ok (and instead deflects with her show). This also kind of runs along with her theme throughout the show of putting up facades to mask the fact she never truly healed from the abuse she faced at the hands of her mother, her ex-fiance, and now Barry.
• Barry never actually takes responsibility for anything he does and instead continues to lie to himself saying his actions and new life absolved him from his past sins. And even when he does eventually die at the hands of Gene: he only really admits to wanting to turn himself in as he is desperately looking for his family (probably more as a bartering chip to get Gene to give him information). He is never brought to justice nor I think really learns anything. He also lied to John the entire season about who he was as a person and what the world was like. He only takes responsibility when he feels he gains something from that (which ultimately isnt taking responsibility at all)
• Gene frequently bends the truth or outright lies to get what he wants. He tells his son he has a new phone number, he clearly does not since Sally managed to contact him seemingly pretty easily. He left out details on purpose when talking with the DA since it would have made him look bad (which later made him take the fall for a crime he never committed). He told the actor that Barry was actually a good guy more or less when the promise of fame was put in front of him again. And he took credit for making Barry what he was (Which ultimately backfired). The stuff he said about the kidnapping and Barry actually murdering people was true. He did kill Janice. But the other lies he told ultimately discredited the truths he did tell.
• The documentary made about Barry ultimately lied about almost every single detail about the Moss case minus the major points like Barry being a Marine, Gene and Janice dating, Sally and Barry dating, and Sally and John getting kidnapped. All of the other details are heavily changed to actually do what both Gene and Jim were originally afraid of: Glorify the killer. Barry never saved Sally or John. Fuches was the guy who saved John and Sally was saved by a pillar she fell behind. Barry only got there after the action. I do not think Gene and Hank have ever been in the same room together at any point in the show. Barry was not fresh out of the military when he joined acting school. He was doing hits with Fuches and had been out of the force for sometime. And Barry was the one who showed interest in Sally, not the other way around (for the most part). Hollywood did what it does best: be dishonest and twist the truth to make a box office hit.

​
And to add some bigger things into this:

• The only reason Cristobal even died in the firs place was because both Cristobal and Hank were not honest about their feeling with each other and where they stood in the relationship. Cristobal never told Hank about his wife or the fact he was still married to her. Cristobal would lie to himself about how much things really bothered him. Hank would always try to put aside his feelings for Cristobal which resulted in him never sticking up for himself or telling him just how much he was hurting post-Bolivia. He lied by omission about his dealings with Barry and about what was going on with the Chechens. He lied about the sand venture. He even lied about him wanting/not wanting to be involved with the mob
• Sally and Barry's entire second life is a massive lie given how they are on the run and had to make up new personas for themselves
• The Abe Lincoln plotline
• Both Fuches and Gene make a living off of lying and smooth-talking people into doing what they wanted
• Barry lied by omission to everyone in the show about who he was

This is a little late, but I heard the hometown from Monday today and it absolutely made my blood boil. I’m specifically talking about the story about the woman passing through El Paso. I wrote in for my own hometown (fingers crossed or the right person reads it) because it is literally about my hometown and portrays it in the most negative light with completely made up facts.
I thought I’d share what I found because her story sounded very made up and after fact checking I found some major discrepancies in her story.
Here is my evidence: Firstly, between El Paso and Las Cruces there are no BBQ restaurants near a Chase Bank. There’s a chase bank in El paso near a famous Dave’s but it is across an incredibly busy four lane street. being in Texas, El Paso is definitely not known for its BBQ. We have a few fine establishments but nothing remotely close to a Chase Bank that may have qualified as worth stopping at. I went thru and checked every Chase bank in the area and surrounding bbq restaurants, and no such restaurant matches their description.
The most famous/highly rated bbq joint outside of El Paso between here and Las Cruces is Rolling Smoke in Anthony, NM, which is nowhere near a bank.
Secondly, placing a rose on the windshield of person has not been substantiated as a tactic of human traffickers. From my research, it has been widely agreed that it is an unsubstantiated claim and a news story from 2021 about people getting freaked out in Coshoton at a Walmart after a woman who had just gotten engaged decided to share leftover roses from her engagement with strangers by placing them on her car.
El Paso is not number 1 in the world for sex trafficking. There are no statistics I could find that suggested this.
There’s something fundamental you need to understand. El Paso is on the border with Juarez, Mexico. We are in the midst of a migrant crisis. Many people are coming into El Paso for immigration purposes. For a time there were close to tens of thousand sod migrants struggling to survive in our downtown. Migrants are often smuggled/trafficked into El Paso by coyotes, who work on behalf of the cartels to help people illegally cross into the United States.
I’m spite of this current crisis, El Paso has and continues to be one of the safest cities in the United States.
It’a beautiful border town that embraces a Mexican heritage, and is a mix of desert and mountains. The food is wonderful, there’s so much beauty here and it does have its flaws but it’s still home and I will defend it to no end.
For thorough research and not fear mongering about sex trafficking, I highly recommend the You’re Wrong About episode which dives into what sex trafficking is and isn’t.
TLDR: I’ve found substantial evidence that the rose on the windshield story was embellished (no such restaurant she described exists and I felt the need to defend my hometown of El Paso) and the writer made up facts such as El Paso being the number 1 place in the world for sex trafficking.

As I’ve live-posted about my vaginoplasty recovery, a lot of people have asked me about what hospital I’m at and how I chose this program. Now that I’m at home, I wanted to answer those questions publicly.
First off, I want to let you all know that I’m not the kind of person who does a bunch of research into my medical care. I often see people on this, and other trans-related subreddits, having super complex discussions about injectable hormones versus oral hormones or advances in surgical techniques and what’s happening in other countries for their medical advances. My mom is a nurse and I have had great medical care throughout my life, and so I just generally trust my medical professionals. I also want to acknowledge that there’s a HUGE level of privilege that allows me to do that. I’m white, middle class, have good health insurance, live near a major regional medical center, and have a great support system.
I live in Salt Lake City, Utah. It’s a bit like Austin, Texas, in that it’s a blue island in a red state. I could talk more about the general experience of transitioning here, but this post is focused on my surgical endeavors. It’s also home to the University of Utah Hospital, which is a teaching hospital with incredible amounts of funding and serves as a major regional medical center for the Mountain West (Idaho, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada). The UofU has offered vaginoplasties since 2018.
When I was considering the surgery, the UofU does online webinars where they talk about the different GC surgeries they offer. They have separate seminars for HRT, MTF bottom surgeries, FTM bottom surgeries, and maybe also top surgery webinars. I attended only the MTF bottom surgery webinar. They offer the webinars pretty regularly (maybe quarterly?). I didn’t personally think that the webinar was that helpful, because it mostly covered information that you could find out online, like the differences between procedures. The most helpful part in theory was hearing from previous patients who had gotten surgery there, but sometimes us queer folks can be a bit on the awkward and weird side and I felt like the particular person who spoke at my webinar was not helpful to hear from at all. She treated the webinar like it was a private appointment with her physician and was asking for dilation tips and the webinar manager kept having to be like “you should ask your physical therapist at your appointments” and it wasn’t easy to get any sense of what the recovery was like or what the aesthetics were or how sex was or anything.
Still, the convenience and in-network for my insurance made UofU a great option. I did have some reservations about the newness of the program and I had more questions and if I’m being totally honest here a lot of them were about aesthetics. I’m vain enough to want a pretty vagina.
The first step was a consult. I met with a PA for several hours and she answered all of my questions and gave much more in depth information about everything. It was exactly what I hoped that the webinar would be, but better because it was private.
After my consult, it became apparent that I’d have to delay the surgery. A good friend was getting married in Hawaii, since his now-wife is Hawaiian and all of her family is there. I couldn’t get the time off from work for that trip, plus surgery. I decided to delay my surgery a year so that I could be there for him.
During that year, two acquaintances had a vaginoplasty at the UofU, so I was able to get the inside scoop from them. They both reported very positively about the care they received, the appearance afterward, and their sexual experiences. One of them offered to let me see her real-live vagina, which I felt awkward about following up on so I said no, but I think I would have liked to see it and shouldn’t have let that hold me back from her generous offer.
After my year delay, I did the consult again with a different PA and once again got my questions answered and this time, the program had implementeda new part of the consult where they showed pictures of previous patients. They showed after photos from around the 3 month mark and a couple of photos from right immediately after. I thought that was the best part of the entire consult, and definitely the most reassuring. The vaginas all looked super natural, and I was fully confident in my decision to go forward at the UofU.
Meeting with the surgeons in advance wasn’t part of the consult process. I asked if I would meet them and they said surgeons aren’t usually met until day of, but that if it was important to me to meet them they could get that set up. It wasn’t important to me, so I didn’t bother. My questions had all already been answered.
Then the next two months were getting approval from my insurance. The biggest hurdle I had was getting all my letters lined up because I actually don’t regularly see a mental health provider. My mental health has been very good due to a career switch to a job I love and transitioning, so my mental health providers were a couple years old so it took some reaching out but they were happy to do my letters without seeing me for a new appointment. I did have to kind of call and email quite a few times on all providers to get those letters submitted. I just turned the letters over to the UofU and they handled my insurance approval.
I got the approval in January, and I signed up for the first available date with the surgeons that I wanted, which was the end of May. There are two teams of surgeons who do vaginoplasties at the UofU, and my friends both had Dr. Agarwal do theirs and she’s the head of the whole program, so I wanted her to do mine.
Between January and May, I just had two appointments. One was with PT to do some pelvic floor exercises to strengthen the area in advance and the other was another follow up with the PA where we reviewed surgery prep and I got a whole packet of info- what medications to discontinue and what I could eat the day before surgery etc.
Then I just showed up on the morning of surgery and you all know the rest.
I do want to note that while I publicly posted that I have BCBS insurance, starting in July of this year the UofU may be out of network for BCBS. Gap coverage may still exist.

I was thinking about what you would want most if you were trying to pitch a no-hitter. The number one factor is probably stuff on the day, but you also have to consider the offense they faced. What are some of the no-hitters that came against the best teams?
The most obvious example is probably Don Larsen's perfect game. The lineup he faced had five Hall of Famers (although three of them are late in their careers) and he shut them all down.
The 1996 Colorado Rockies had a great offense that hit bombs and stole bases, but they were no-hit twice. First was Al Leiter, then Hideo Nomo, who deserves a special shoutout for doing it at Coors Field.
The 1996 Seattle Mariners had two Hall of Famers and a young Alex Rodriguez, but they were no-hit by Dwight Gooden.
The 2018 Boston Red Sox were 17-3 when Sean Manaea no-hit them.
Just a few weeks before they would enter their legendary postseason run, the 1998 Los Angeles Dodgers were perfecto'd by Tom Browning. They are not exactly the best offensive team here, but they won it all that year.
Are there any other good examples that you all know of? Also, how much does facing a worse offense actually help?

We are heading into pride month again, and corporations are already facing backlashes for supporting us. But we know Rainbow capitalism is all about the money. I just want to remind you before you see a really hot shirt, or a fantastically gay bag, to take your time and figure out if it's someone really worth supporting, or if they're just trying to capture your money this month.
https://www.opensecrets.org/
This site lets you search people, orgs, and corporations, and see how they're spending their money politically. If they say they love you, but dump their money into the orgs and politicians that oppose us, pay attention.
For Example (I'm in Texas), the new "Y'all means all" bag from HEB is pretty popular here. This is what HEB's donation profile looks like:
https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/heb-grocery/summary?id=D000042670
As you can see a lot goes to Democratic candidates, but some also goes to Republican candidates. Notable Mauro Garza, and Save America. (for transparency, Mauro Garza does represent the district where HEB headquarters is located, so from that perspective it makes sense that they support him to keep him friendly to their goals).
This year, more than ever, it's important during this pride month, that we support those organizations that have been and remain supportive of our cause, and call out those that are just here for the bucks.

REPOST

https://www.reddit.com/pettyrevenge/comments/13u0cvt/neighbors_son_gets_memorial_day_revenge/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
TL/DR: IT guy is harassed by a Karen boss. Finds another job. Before he leaves he rigs a scandalous email to be cc'd to entire dept over Memorial Day.
Neighbor's son, *Garth* graduated college about this time last year and got his first, fulltime career job at a company. He's in the IT dept of a branch office and does IT things. Total number of employees at this office is around twenty. Some are sales, some work in the office. Karen is the office manager. When Garth first started, there were three IT people. They had an office in the basement away from the rest of the employees. This suited Garth just fine; he's a quiet, introverted young man. Highly intelligent, but he's not a social person. Would rather spend his time off gaming than live interaction. As you can imagine, he's not a big kid, maybe a buck-fifty after eating a big steak for dinner.
The other two IT people eventually move on to other jobs and corporate doesn't replace them. Now Garth has three times the work without receiving a raise. Garth voices his concerns to Karen about workload and callouts, and he gets the standard feeble corporate responses and condescending lecture. I don't know why he didn't quit then, but he stuck it out hoping to eventually be recognized for his worth, etc.
Whenever I spoke with him he'd say how bad it was working for Karen, but his saving grace was he was in his solitary office most of the day and did not have to have much contact with her. Until one day back in February. He got a phone call from Karen telling him to come upstairs.
Upon arriving, he's directed to start moving furniture around. Garth takes a look around and tells Karen his job does not call for moving heavy objects. Karen gets loud and calls his manhood into question in front of everyone but Garth does not budge.
Life changed for Garth after that. Karen had decided to make work miserable for him. She started repeatedly writing him up for whatever she could think up.
Here comes the petty revenge. Garth starts snooping and discovers that Karen is having an affair with a married co-worker. Their work phones are synced up to the computer system, which Garth has access to. Garth has created a mass corporate email with various screenshots of the sexting. He rigged it to be sent out today - from her own email account.
The beauty of it all: Garth walked in Friday and tendered his resignation to corporate HR. He left his ID card and whatever else on Karen's desk. Karen made a big deal of shouting to Garth as he was leaving to, "Not let the door hit him in the ass on the way out!"
When the email is sent out, they may well suspect that Garth was the perpetrator, but they'll never be able to prove it. I can only hope Garth's revenge is sweet and spectacular.

I was just thinking how a lot of times, when it comes to missions/episodes, it's usually Tendi/Rutherford or BoimleMariner. Obviously Mariner and Boimler will be in SNW, not just because their characters don't require that much makeup, but also the show kind of makes them soulmates (whether you see them as romantic or platonic, said romances with other characters are put on the back-burner to their relationship). That being said, I think in season four there will be some more mixing up of friendships and missions to show new character dynamics. Mike McMahan said that Tendi, Mariner, and T'Lyn will be like the three musketeers or stooges so I wouldn't be surprised if there is some comedy and maybe some fun combat scenes involved. Meanwhile, since Boimler is part of the Bear Pack now with Shaxs and Rutherford, there might be some scenes/episodes where he is hanging out with them. Which I think is good for Boimler to have a male jock friend like Shaxs, since previously before taking Tendi's advice to try new things, he had kind of an unhealthy "Me vs. Other Girls" attitude towards jock guys (either because of envy or being bullied by more athletic guys in high school, maybe a combination of both). Does that mean that the Warp Core Four's friendships will completely dissolve? I don't think so since I think they will still hang out and care about each other, but maybe McMahan wants to expand the characters' social circle and since he said something about the main four characters not being in any romances (which will, again, probably be more about the love lives of minor or supporting characters) the main focus will be on friendships. Which makes sense since despite LD having it's own traumatic or dramatic moments, it is at its core a comedy so romances of the main characters would only be at the very end to prevent the show from being a soap opera since main characters' romances can very divisive in the fandom.

10th Edition is showing a major step towards a Primaris-Firstborn merger, with Rubicon crossing characters and Primaris scaled versions of older units, and the seeming disappearance of Primaris and Firstborn keywords in the unit rules.
Primaris and Firstborn models have major visual differences, though, in both the armour patterns, the variation of the patterns within a unit, and the decorative details attached to the armour and weapons. I think a clear example of what I mean is the new Primaris scale Sternguard Veterans, which each have the same MkX pattern of armour, besides one helmet (in the preview, anyway), and a noticeable fewer trinkets. Some of this is to probably accommodate for chapter specific upgrade sprues. Comparatively, the old Sternguard kit had both more armour and decorative variation.
If GW does plan on merging the Primaris and Firstborn fully, effectively offering replacements or equivalents for old SM units with new and larger models, how would you speculate GW to handle older canon armour variants? ie. Mk3-8 patterns, as well as Cataphractii and Tartarus Terminators, which despite having relatively new models, are suddenly made awkwardly short next to the newer 40k Terminator models, which are supposed to represent both Firstborn and Primaris marines wearing Terminator armour.
I can’t see this making total sense unless they upscale their Horus Heresy ranges too, which would be a little bit odd since the Mk3 and Mk4 kits are not old at all, or at least creating upgrade kits that have torso, legs, and helmet options for older patterns in the Primaris scale.
Let me know what you think!

A Review of Golf Courses in Austin Texas
As in the title, this is a review of the golf courses in Austin. However it is not about course conditions, difficulty or enjoyability, this is strictly a review on the turtle sightings on each course which is why we all play.
Here are the parameters. 🐢indicates zero turtle sightings and a low potential for turtles.
🐢🐢2 indicates zero or few sightings but a potential for more turtles
🐢🐢🐢indicates some turtle sightings with a potential for more.
🐢🐢🐢🐢 indicates a large quantity of turtle sightings and a potential for variety.
🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢 indicates a large quantity, healthy habitat, and a variety of species.
Lions: 🐢🐢 Sadly, there were no sightings in the peak of Spring to Summer. However, the back nine has 5 holes with water. Sadly, most of which seems quite still.
Roy Kizer & Jimmy Clay: 🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢 These municipal courses offer the widest variety of wildlife peacre than any of the other courses. Not only will you witness graceful dives of the local sliders and softshells that live here, but also turkeys, deer, ducks, and snakes. The cost per round for both of these adjacent courses are certainly worth a herpetologists playthrough. Although these may not be the best courses for total quantity of turtles, they certainly support the variety to keep a turtle gazers focus off of their tee shots and on the banks of a pond for some sweet sunbathing shell lads/lasses.
Terravista: 🐢🐢🐢 This course unfortunately has the pitfall of a deceitful scorecard. Many of the holes claim to have water but these are not exactly reliable. However, this course has some decent ponds/lakes that sustain a year round population of turtles. Miss the fairway on hole 12 with your diver and your ball will roll gently down the slope towards the pond where many skittish terrapins reside who would enjoy a strawberry or a leaf of cabbage.
Forest Creek: 🐢🐢🐢🐢🐢 This course is the best turtle friendly course in the area. 6 holes featuring water hazards and all of them were a smattering of sunbathing friends. The species varied across all the usual suspects but the star of the show was the large amount of Texas Spiny Softshell Turtles. There were 2 of those softshells that were the size of a large pizza and this was truly a delightful sighting. If you like to golf, this course is perfect for you to “shank” one near the bank to get a closer look at all these amazing turtle bros and lady bros.
Hancock: 🐢🐢🐢🐢 This historic course is only a 9 hole and it is smack dab in the middle of Austin but this course had it all. 5 holes had water features that has consistent depth and life surrounding it. This course also was home to 3 different species that were visible including a very large Snapping Turtle and a few Texas Spiny Softshell turtles. The only reason this course does not get the fifth turtle is for the sheer quantity since the water available is more limited.
Lago Vista: 🐢 The score card indicates 5 holes with water features but there is only 1 real hole with a water feature. This is a man made pod with a fountain that is small enough for a gimmick but too small to support a turtle population that would make this course worth it. Golf wise, we know this course is lacking by all measures but turtle wise it is just as poor.
Riverside: 🐢 This course has only about 3 real holes with water features on them indicated by the scorecard. Sadly, having played this course before and after rains, these features are mostly dry as a bone or not sustaining enough water to entice the habitation of our shelled friends.
Star Ranch: 🐢🐢🐢 This course has 6 holes that have water feature and there were some decent sightings of turtles. The sightings were extremely limited to Red Eared Sliders and the quantity was lacking on some holes all together. The potential however is high since there are some larger bodies of water that are consistent and support other life. Sadly, the hard shell truth is that this is a very pricy course and the turtles were less populous as they could have been.
Crystal Falls:🐢🐢 This course indicates 13 of 18 holes that have water features. Sadly, this is incredibly misleading. This course is stacked in a fun area of Leander geographically with some fun elevation changes that could allow for some decent lakes, ponds, and running water. Sadly, most of the water indicated on the scorecard are there as a potential for vernal rainfalls and not really an accurate depiction of consistent water. I recently played this course this spring and even after consistent and decent rainfall for the year, the standing water was scarce. Turtles were seen at some of the ponds and lakes but for this course to receive a higher score, the rain fall and standing water would need to be more consistent to support the diverse turtle species and awesome quantity that the hill country can sustain.
Courses that I have not played to review but will be adding as soon as I can play them. Shadow Glenn, Avery Ranch, Falcon Head, Mo Willy.
If you have suggestions for particularly Turtle featuring courses, please comment.
Edit: formatting

Tyler
Cassie had taken over the discussion from there on, entering the formal interview stage of the chat with Miu'Kin, as was her right as first wife. She was the arbiter in the end, and she had a veto that Miu'Kin needed to clear before she could get the thumbs up or down from Tyler to formally join the marriage. Cassie didn't give the other woman any slack either, she might not be a warrior, but a mother needed her own kind of spine, and even with Nara on hand, Cassie wanted to make sure the children were safe with Miu'Kin as a guardian too.
"What would you do if there was a threat to the children while the rest of us are away Miu'Kin?" Cassie asks, close to the end of her intended questions.
None of them had expected Miu'Kin's eyes to blaze.
"A threat? To the children! What kind? I might not be a battle princess but by the goddess's shell I won't-" Miu'Kin stops, a small jet of flame coming from her nostrils. "Err.. I uhm. I'm sorry. I get... passionate about protecting those who can't protect themselves. My first year working in a daycare, someone who claimed to be an Orega Girl tried to kidnap one of my charges, a sweet little boy... I uh. Killed her with my bare hands. I don't remember it. I saw red, forced her outside, sealed the nursery and triggered an alarm and then proceeded to beat her into a paste. I don't remember any of it, but I uh... apparently finished her off beating her with her own arm after ripping it off. No one's ever threatened the children of that nursery again and I haven't worked there in over a decade."
Matroika leans in. "...I want to call bullshit so badly, but you're such a sweetheart I actually believe you."
"It was in the news a whole bunch. My name was redacted because of the possible organized crime angle, to try to prevent retaliation, but you should be able to search Heart Shell Nursery kidnapping attempt or something similar and it'll pop up."
"I'm on it girls."
Tyler pulls out his communicator and does a little search, and sure enough, exactly as Miu'Kin had described it. He quickly passes his communicator around, letting the girls all look for themselves.
"Well I'll be damned!" Matroika looks up from Tyler's communicator, clearly reassessing the other woman. "For such a demure gal, seems like you can bring that Apuk fire when it counts. She's got my vote girls. Seems like a perfect fit to me!"
Cassie coughs delicately into her hand. "I didn't realize we were at the voting stage yet, but I suppose we can have the discussion now."
Miu'Kin moves to stand. "Would you like me to wait outside the privacy field?"
Cassie shakes her head and motions her to sit down. "No, unless one of the others would like you to, I don't think that's necessary. Nara?"
Nara makes a show of considering things for a few moments. "I say yes to welcoming Miu'Kin as our new sister."
Cassie looks to Elyria. "What about you Elyria?"
"I say yes! Miu'Kin's a sweetheart and she can protect the children with all that Apuk ferocity where it counts? Sounds perfect for us." Elyria beams over at the other woman.
Cassie nods. "Well I see no reason to dissent from my sisters, I say yes. I think Miu'Kin will be a fine addition to our family. Tyler?"
All eyes now focus on Tyler who strokes his chin for a moment before smiling over at the lovely redhead, putting a shiver down her spine.
"I don't see why not. Miu'Kin, would you do me the honor of marrying me?"
To her credit, Miu'Kin, clearly a bit over stimulated, manages to squeak out a "Yes!" before she passes out, thankfully being caught by Matroika before she can hit the table.
"Heh, guess she got a little overexcited, not that I can blame her, getting to marry our hubby should be exciting!"
Caring Conquests apparently had people pass out frequently enough that a nurse was kept on staff, and Miu'Kin's back on her feet before too long, the shy beauty boldly taking Tyler's hand and nearly passing out again as the Sarkins head down to Caring Conquests' legal office and sit through another intense round of paperwork. True to Bey'Tor's word, the second round of Miu'Kin's fees for the matchmaking service are waived, and in what felt like no time at all, the Sarkins, plus one redhead, are standing on the sidewalk in the warm sunshine of a late morning on Serbow.
Tyler stretches before taking Miu'Kin's hand again. He'd decided that since it was theoretically her wedding day, he'd be giving her some special attention above and beyond what he tried to normally give his wives. They'd do a ceremony with the skipper back on the Tear of course, but for now... he gives Miu'Kin's hand a squeeze, savoring the warmth radiating from her as she looks over at him with a shy smile, clearly doing her best to suppress just how giddy she is about the whole thing.
"So Miu'Kin, since you're local to the capital, care to give us the tour?"
"I... I can do that! Yes! I'd love to! Anywhere in particular that any of you would like to go?"
Tyler pulls his communicator out. "Well we have a list we can go through and you can tell us what you-"
"Hey sir!"
Tyler looks up at a distinctly male voice calling out to him and finds a small group of Marines and sailors, many of them with their spouses, disembarking off an airbus. The man who'd called out to him, one of the senior petty officers from the squadron, races up and visibly resists saluting Tyler since they're out of uniform for once.
"What's up Petty Officer Tywin? Seems like quite a crowd."
Petty Officer First Class Scott Tywin nods. "Some of it's intentional, some of it's happenstance... this ad for this matchmaking service got sent out across the comm net an hour ago and a lot of us had been talking about adding Apuk gals to the family... hard to beat Caring Conquest's reputation from checking their reviews, a discount's just icing on the cake. We're also here to support Mark."
Tywin points to a man that Tyler recognizes as Mark "Tiger" Ayako, a Marine NCO and naval aircrewman.
"Oh? What's going on with Staff Sergeant Ayako?"
Tywin grins just as wide as he can. "Mark fell in love with the Apuk at first sight. Hell, at first description. Then he did some research and that was it. So we're something of a bachelor party and escort to make some Apuk girls extremely happy today. Not sure if they can shake out a battle princess from this joint, but I'm sure Mark would make any Apuk gal they match him with feel like a queen regardless."
"Hah." Tyler can't hold the laugh back. "How many girls is he intending to marry?"
"As many matches as come back good really. Plus one or two. There's a couple gals back on the Tear waiting for the Apuk to soften Mark up a bit before making their move themselves. So what brings you out here si- Oh."
Tywin looks twice at Miu'Kin and realizes it's not Nara or one of the other Sarkin girls.
"I take it you're a happy customer sir?"
"Something like that Tywin. This is Miu'Kin, my new wife."
Tywin nods cordially to Miu'Kin. "Pleasure to meet you ma'am, and congratulations to both of you on your wedding."
Miu'Kin bows her head slightly to Tywin, but keeps her peace, trying to hide a sudden bout of shyness beneath demure good manners, something Tyler suspects is part of her normal coping strategies.
Tywin looks over his shoulder at the group heading towards Caring Conquests, there was a small group of women lagging behind who were clearly Tywin’s own wives.
"Alright, gotta get back to the family! Enjoy the rest of your day boss!"
And in a flash the last of the small mob of Marines and sailors are inside as Tyler grins like a maniac.
"Hell just off that crowd I bet I'm going to get a very happy text from Bey'Tor. Seems like you're not the only happy blushing bride in the Capital city today Miu'Kin... and seems like the Tear is going to be getting a strong Apuk expat population."
Cassie chuckles into her wing. "At the rate things are going, Apuk might even equal or out number the Horchka. An interesting development for sure. Now... where should we be off to? Perhaps we could do a little shopping as well, to help Miu'Kin prepare for her move up to the Tear?"
Miu'Kin nods eagerly. "Oh that would be really lovely of you! I would quite enjoy company as I shop... and I must say I've ah. Never been to space before. Never mind made an extended trip to deep space or anything like that. So any of your experience you'd be willing to share with me, I'd greatly appreciate it."
"Of course, that's what family's for!" Cassie answers for the group, flexing her wings a bit and letting herself stretch, unintentionally emphasizing her gravid stomach... which lets loose a growl worthy of a grizzly bear. A blushing Cassie rests a hand on her stomach. "Oh dear. Seems I'm a bit peckish. Please excuse me."
Tyler shakes his head. "We haven't eaten anything but some snacks since this morning and you're eating for three dear, maybe we should all get some lunch. Miu'Kin? Care to recommend a local place?"
"Of course! One of my favorite places is actually nearby!"
Miu'Kin happily trots along, hand in hand with Tyler, and eventually points over at a building in the distance.
"That's the place!"
"Huh!" Tyler peers a bit closer with an axiom boost to his vision. "Well I'll be damned, looks like a tavern straight out of a roleplaying game mixed with a greasy spoon diner from back home. I love the look, the Apuk really nail some aesthetics that really appeal to me. That said... I can't read Cindertongue, Miu'Kin, what's the name of this place?"
"Oh! Sorry! It's 'Flame Charred With Love: Apuk Family Style Dining'!"
That got everyone's attention.
Cassie's wings ruffle just a bit. "Apuk family style cuisine? Ooh! That sounds lovely. As a fellow carnivore I know I enjoy Apuk food."
"Hell I'm down for any kind of home cooking. Nara says she isn't much of a cook but I've devoured every Apuk dish she's made me." Tyler notes, remembering some excellent meals.
"Bit rich for us omnivores sometimes, but I suppose that's what making a salad back in orbit is for." Matroika chuckles.
"Four carnivores in the family does make life hard when you like vegetables as more than a garnish, you're not wrong, darling."
Miu'Kin nods. "Well I'm a pretty good cook! I even know how to cook with vegetables. Just give me your favorite recipes! Between Nara and I we'll keep everyone fed! I think you'll like this place though, it's Apuk home cooking just like Mama..."
Miu'Kin freezes dead in her tracks as she reaches for the door.
"...Oh no."
"What's wrong, honey?"
The term of endearment melts Miu'Kin just a bit as she tries to compose herself.
"I eat here so often that I kinda spaced why I eat here. My uh. My mother owns this place, she's usually on shift. Some of my sisters and other mothers work here too, you could call it a family business. Working at the diner as a waitress was my first job."
Tyler shrugs. "So? This is good, I was hoping to get a chance to meet your mother at least before we left the planet."
"Sure, but I just... it. Okay. If you're sure. It can. Family."
Miu'Kin looks into Tyler's eyes, and finding only reassurance and a smile there, takes a second to steel herself and pushes through the heavy wooden door to the jingle of a bell.
"Come on in folks, we got a table ready just for you!"
An older Apuk woman with silver in her red hair and smile lines carved into her caramel skin calls out from where she's tending a spit in the middle of the mostly open kitchen, a smile on her face big enough that you could probably see it from orbit if she went outside. Then she actually looks to see who had just come through her door.
"Oh! Hey sweetie! Who are your fri-" The woman, Miu'Kin's mother it seemed, eyes actually focus on Tyler properly now, and drop down to where Miu'Kin's still firmly holding Tyler's hand. "-riends?"
Miu'Kin swallows loudly. "Uhm, Mom. This is my new husband, Tyler, and his other wives."
For a second. One brief second. Every noise in the restaurant ceased.
The live fish in the tank, clearly marked as food, stopped moving.
A waitress nearly dropped a plate.
Diners looked up from the booths.
Deeper in the kitchen, a few other older Apuk women, presumably sister wives or sisters of Miu'Kin's mother, all stick their heads out to see what in the shell is happening.
Then all hell breaks loose in the way only a family with up to a hundred-odd mothers-in-law can.
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