Best isopods for leopard gecko

So what is the best way to achieve this challenge? Hit a zombie with a weapon throw 35+ meters out. I've tried and either its not crediting me for accomplishing it OR im not far enough which is crazy to think.. I've chucked pikes and hammers and whatever else while aiming 2 or 3x higher than the projected lowest trajectory dot... AND getting damage hits.. but no challenge completed. What gives?

I've just started playing this game and I think I accidentally ruined the level scaling for myself by managing to defeat the five lynel in that ruins place for the majora mask. I have basically no armor and now black and silver enemies are everywhere, but I've put hours into my current game and I don't want to start over. Can anyone help by telling me how to get the earliest/best defense armor I can find right now? In terms of story, I've done very little so far, basically nothing. It's getting a little frustrating trying to explore and play the game and being one-shot by literally everything because I managed to beat a few strong enemies one-on-one. What can I do? Thanks in advance for any help!

I'm looking into downsizing my current build (5900x + 3080 Ti) into one of these cases. I'm reading that the T1 is better for air cooling, and the A4 for water cooling.
In that case, how large is the difference in an optimally cooled A4-SFX (meaning, the best AIO on the market - the T30?) vs. an optimally cooled T1 (whatever air cooler is best per the pinned post)
Additionally, what's the approximate temp difference between a h100i Pro XT and the T30, assuming the same fans?
Thanks for the help, sorry if the questions are stupid or confusing.

Going to Europe this summer. Talking to my current card provider and they say their will be extra fee's for international use. Told me I need a card that has no fees for internal use but there seem to be a lot of choices. Is there any best option, or ones I should stay away from?
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Thank you

TLDR: My boyfriend refuses to have sex with me because of his ED problems. No matter what I try, he will not budge. We fight all the time, and he gives me empty promises over sex. When he's not feeling nice, he blames me for all our sex problems even though I've been nothing but supportive. Will he ever go back to the person I fell in love with, or should I just ditch everything and fly back home (originally started as an LDR, but I moved across the country for him).
This relationship has so much heartbreak in it for me, but I genuinely love him as a person, and I really thought he would be the man I would marry. He is a great human (most of the time) which makes me feel that much more disgusted with myself that I can't be happy without sex. He provides for me now that we live together, we go on cute dates/ vacations sometimes, we have similar interests, and above all, he is my best friend. He is my rock. He comforts me when other things in my life get hectic. That being said, our sex life is atrocious.
I have to skip a lot of detail on how our long distance relationship went. We met on a videogame of all things when we were 15/16. We had never been in a relationship, and we were virgins when we started dating. We met in person 4 years after our relationship began. Not by my choice. Anyways, I thought when we met it would be full of loving, passionate sexual things. It was not. He knew I was a very sexual person before he even asked me to be his girlfriend. We were always sending each other pictures and videos of the ahem.. spicy variety haha. We always flirted with each other, and he even asked me for sexy video chats and phone calls. So, when we met, and he had zero interest in fucking me, I was surprised to say the least. Anyways, we went on cute dates, had our first kiss, watched movies in the hotel, etc. All was great until I tried initiating sex. He was not getting the hint. I was very shy, so I backed off the first couple times I tried. Eventually, I gathered up the courage and flat out asked him to fuck me lol. He happily obliged, but when we tried, he gave up after about 2 minutes because he said he couldn't stay hard enough. I thought I felt something, but I guess he no longer had an erection. He felt really bad, but I just comforted him and gave him a handjob/blowjob instead which he loved. He didn't reciprocate, but I didn't really care because I just liked making him feel good. We tried to have sex again a couple days later, but he couldnt keep it up then either. For the rest of the trip I just did things to pleasure him.
A few more visits went by, all of which had zero real sex. He for whatever reason just couldn't do it. He was really upset about it and called himself a failure despite me comforting him. He basically became sexually abstinent. I really think this impotence made him hate sex or even the thought of it because he shows no interest at all in even touching me let alone anything more intense. He barely even kissed me for god's sake. He would never make out with me, feel my body, pleasure me (not like he did in the first place). It was really awful for me because physical intimacy is very important in my happiness. I hate that it is, but I can't help it. I would try to talk to him about trying again, but it always ended up in a fight. He always gets so defensive when I ask him for more sexy times. During year 4-6 of our LDR relationship, I just gave him head and asked him to kiss me. I even offered him my dildo to use on me because I really needed something back y'all. If blue balls can happen to women that has been me up until this day lol.
The dildo seemed to ease the pressure on him, but he still refused to try real sex. He never offered to dildo me after I gave him blowjobs until I started literally crying for him to give me loving attention. I had to initiate everything, and even when I did he wouldn't get the hint. It really just sucked the fun out of it for me, but I desperately wanted that connection with him. He told me to keep trying, so I kept initiating even if he rejected me or didn't understand what I was doing. It was rough. I started crying a lot more, and bothering him about it. I think that really made him hate sex more because he started saying things like "all you want is sex", "why can't you love me without sex", "I don't care about sex so why can't you do the same?". He even blamed his problems on me gaining a bit of weight. I did gain like 30lbs during the LDR because of a multitude of problems going on in my life. Ever since he blamed my weight, it really destroyed my confidence. He has since taken that back, and tells me everyday how perfect I am, but I don't believe him. How can I? He claims he just never thinks about sex anymore, and that's why he doesn't touch me or care about my needs.
I ended our relationship around year 6 because he wasn't treating me right. The breakup lasted about 4 months. It was hell for me because I missed my best friend, and I was so angry with myself and him for sex being the reason things ended. I just wanted to be loved.. he still talked to me everyday which made me miss him so desperately. He said he would fly over to see me, and try his hardest to love me how I needed. He promised he would put more effort into sex because he didn't want to lose me. Stupid me let him do it because I was still hopelessly in love with him. I really thought he would stay true to his word.
From that point on, he did start initiating more. We still couldn't have real sex, but atleast he was showing interest in my body and my feelings. He really started putting effort into pleasuring me, and it felt mostly right to be with him. I was still sad I couldn't have more, but I really genuinely love this man despite the hardships. During year 7 of LDR I had a falling out with my family and needed to move out. He offered to let me come live with him and his family. I was hesitant because our sex life still made me upset, but he reassured me that we could practice sex all the time now that we can see each other everyday. I fell for it... lol.
I moved across the country. Many things changed from that point. He didn't practice sex at all with me. He started barely kissing me again, he never initiated anything, he acted like he had no idea I wanted to have sexy times. We fought a lot. At this point, I was MAD. I was soooo done with all his lies. I gave up my comfy job, my puppies, my friends, my whole life because he said he would be everything I needed. He knew I trusted him, and he just shit all over me. During our fights he would blame me even more for our relationship failing. He said if I didn't want sex, none of this would be happening.
I'm just so frustrated and honestly suicidal now because he just amplifies my depression. Now that I'm stuck out here with no money and no way to get back he kinda just treats me however he feels he can. When he's feeling nice and loving during sex fights he apologizes and tells me to keep initiating even though he rejects me when I do that 90% of the time. When he's feeling defensive and mean during sex fights he will blame me for everything and tell me to go back to where I came from. It's disgusting... He will always apologize and tell me he's the problem the next day. I feel like he's definitely manipulating me now that I live here, but I'm not sure why. What's the point 😔
If he doesn't like sex, and he hates me for wanting it, why did he let me move here? I'm so torn up because I just can't let go of the person he used to be I guess. I'm also very forgiving and compassionate. I know he hates himself for not being able to have sex with me. He would cry and punch the wall because he saw how much he was neglecting me. I try to understand, and forgive him for his awful behavior, but I really don't think I can take anymore or else I'll be dead. A couple fights ago, I said I would give him until the end of the year to make our sex life better. He agreed. Then he continued to be a crappy partner, so we fought again. This time he added that he would work harder at sex only if I also put effort into losing weight for my "health". That really gave me the ick and ever since that happened, I can't even look at him the same. I no longer give him blowjobs. I rarely ever cuddle or spend time with him. He asked me why that is, so I just snort and say "gee I wonder why". He doesn't know what I mean by that. Just what the hell.
To make things worse, he has a ring in his nightstand for me, and I just don't even want marriage anymore. Why can't I let go of him? I am so fucking pathetic. He's a sociopath I swear. He will treat me so well when I'm not asking for sex, but as soon as I want to do anything slightly sexual he gets all weird. Then if I press too hard it turns into a fight where we are both threatening to jump off the balcony and crack our necks to escape this hell. What happened to my sweet boyfriend I fell in love with 😔
I've suggested trying different positions, getting ED medication, riding him if he's scared of being on top or whatever. Anything you guys can think of to fix this I've most likely already done it 🤷‍♀️ I've even asked him if he's gay or asexual to which he denies. Not my proudest moment, but this is so abnormal.

I'm hoping to trap some crawfish while on vacation, I have leftover catfish carcasses after filleting them last night. Other than those for bait, what do y'all recommend? And what are your MUST HAVES for a good ol' crawfish boil? What brand of seasoning is the best, and what type of sausages do y'all like to use?

In 2020 I started getting tension headaches from being on my computer a lot more due to an IT job i had. I started straining my eyes and getting dry eyes so I got glasses. I was fine for a month until I got nausea and headaches. I got fired from my job. I couldn't look at a computer screens, TVs, small monitors, etc without getting headaches. I don't understand why but phone screens are ok for me.
I've tried out things like using a blue light filter, adjusting the FPS rate thing, different laptop screens, taking medication for the headaches, etc and I still get the headaches.
Yesterday because my phone seems to be ok to look at I set my phone on a tripod, opened up the camera app and started using my laptop through looking at my phone and had 0 headaches.
While I was excited that i could somehow start using my laptop again still it was a bit awkward because in order to read smaller bits of writing I would have to zoom in and out which was annoying. It's definitely something which I gotta get used to but ngl I would like to get the best alternative.
Is there something which I could use to help me use the laptop by not looking at it directly to avoid the headaches?
I feel like it's a shot in the dark although I would be appreciate any help. Thanks

https://brewyork.substack.com/p/off-field-disappointment?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
For nearly a decade, Citi Field offered a great craft beer selection, for a major mainstream venue. In particular, Aramark, on behalf of the Mets, operated a couple kiosks called Empire State Craft, which featured a rotation of 16-oz cans exclusively from New York microbreweries like Newburgh, Bronx, Gun Hill, Five Boroughs, Queens, Ithaca, and Oyster Bay.
Beginning in this 2023 season, the Empre State Craft kiosks are no more, replaced with branded stands of Coney Island and Dogfish Head (both owned by Sam Adams) and Montauk (sold to a weed company last year).
Brooklyn Brewery is likely now the best resort, along with Sloop and Garvie's Point, both of which appear to require a bit of a scavenger hunt.

We have a 2yo daughter and We opened our first business a year ago which she spent most the time at running while I worked 50 hours a week and since then the stress and never seeing each other really took a toll on us. We’ve been on a roller coaster for a year now. Last night she told me she found an apartment and that she doesn’t want to be selfish because she knows that I’m not happy anymore. She’s right, I’m not. I’ve been the only one fighting and putting effort in for about a year now. We had a good calm talk about how she was going to be able to afford a place in her own as I take care of everything and I agreed to help her in any way, we agreed to share our daughter whenever each other would like her. We both just want happiness and the absolute best for our daughter. She says she needs to figure out why she’s so unhappy and feels like she needs to leave to see if our marriage is the problem. Honestly, I agree with her but at the same time I don’t want her to leave. Yes im unhappy because I feel so alone and like my feelings for her don’t matter anymore but I’m afraid of how unhappy I’ll be without her. I guess what I’m asking is, am I the selfish one for not wanting to let her go to find her happiness? Do I suck it up and keep fighting for her? Or do I let her go and see where the road take us?, maybe we’ll find our way back together 8 months from now. I’m just so torn up and I honestly don’t even know what the right thing to do is. I have no one, I have my daughter and my wife. Am I just scared to be alone?

Hi there, I've been looking into switching my four cats from a diet of commercial wet and dry food to a raw diet, but I'm completely new to all this and have a few concerns.
Firstly, the country I live in doesn't have any commercial raw food companies and it's too far from the US to get pre-made meals delivered, so I'm going to have to make all my cats' food from scratch.
Secondly, the only types of meat the supermarkets near me (even the butcher's!) sell are chicken, pork, beef, and seafood (I saw many types of fish, squid, octopus). I'm always wary of feeding my cats fish due to mercury concerns (though I know that some recipes include fish for omega-3 and other nutrients), so I'm limited only to the first three meats. Not many organs are offered either. I believe only chicken liver and gizzards as well as cow tongue were readily available in the supermarkets I looked through. I'll actually have to purchase chicken hearts online and get them delivered because I can't find any in-person stores that sell them.
Unfortunately, it's not feasible for me to simply look for more diverse proteins in ethnic supermarkets since I live in a less populated area and all such stores are located in the cities (which takes me about 1.5 hours to get to). However, I know that only feeding my cats protein from one type of animal, even with the proper supplements, will end up being unbalanced.
I'm deeply interested in the PMR diet, but due to the lack of access to different proteins, I decided the recipe from Hare Today would be my next best choice. But since it's all chicken-based, I want to occasionally replace the chicken thighs with another type of meat (while providing the required RMB with chicken neck, ribs, or wingtips) and the chicken liver and heart with another animal protein for variety. Except I'm scared that I'll mess up the ratios and supplements and my cats will become horribly malnourished.
I'm not sure if it's safe to feed cats pork, which leaves me only with beef as an alternative protein... But The Little Carnivore writes that it's not enough to ONLY give your cats chicken and beef, so I'm at a strange impasse.
In short, I have two major questions:
1) How would I go about replacing the chicken in Hare Today's recipe with other meat while maintaining the same nutritional ratios? 2) Would it be less than ideal if I can only offer my cats chicken and beef for protein?
Many thanks! And if anyone has suggestions on how to make this situation work better, I'm all eyes.

Fourth and final part at the same time tomorrow.
Series Page - Read 10 weeks ahead on Patreon - Read the story so far on Royal Road
*
Chapter Twelve - The Blacksmith's Boy (Part Three)
Clouds. Black, moving, twisting like rope. His head ached. His blood was hot as flame. Fire flashed in the clouds, and the old stormtower gleamed. The Old Man stared back at him from the gloom, eyes carving at his skin. You could have warned me. He taunted him. Smoke bled around his shoulders, and his skin melted away. Cal tried to look away, but it was too late. The fire was on him, and the sky filled his eyes with black water, smothering his breath.
*
He gasped, pain searing down his spine, and choked on his own breath, spluttering.
‘Get him up.’
‘I’ve got him.’
Lokk’s voice. Cal felt a hand curling underneath one of his arms, lifting his aching jaw off the floorboards. Pain shot down his back again, and he cried out, eyes spinning. Then there was another hand beneath him, and he was lifted groaning away from the floor. They lowered him carefully into a chair, and he fell against it, skin stinging, panting through gritted teeth.
‘What happened to him?’
‘Had a wolf at ‘im, by the looks of it!’
‘Don’t be a fool! No wolves in these woods.’
‘Believe in magic, but not in wolves?’
Cal groaned again.
‘Shut it, all of you!’
Cal blinked again, and the Innkeep’s rosy cheeks coalesced into the air before his eyes, looking down at him worriedly. Lokk was at his shoulder, wide-eyed, his mop of lank hair hanging loosely over his forehead. Someone had put the door to, and it was suddenly very quiet. Cal took a breath.
‘What happened, boy?’ The Innkeep asked him. Beyond his shoul-ders, Cal could see the faces of a half-dozen patrons, blinking back at him with wide eyes. All except Old Godry, who looked mildly irritated. Outside, the storm wailed helplessly against the thatching, and thunder rumbled against the hills, more distant, now. Cal held his breath, craning his ears. But the footsteps were gone. He swallowed.
‘There were…’ He hesitated, glancing towards the door. ‘I… fell.’
‘Down half the Teeth by the looks of it!’ Lokk pointed at his arms. ‘What were you doing out in this?’
Cal blinked, looking down. His arms were crisscrossed with dozens of bloody cuts, and his shirt was hanging off him in strings. He frowned, shrugging, and then winced as fire raced over his skin, and fell back against the chair, gasping.
‘Thought… Thought I had time to get back.’
‘Damned fool.’ Carel told him, appearing beside her father. She had a pail of steaming water under one arm, and a bundle of rags in the oth-er. ‘Got to clean those before they rot.’
‘I’m fi-’
‘That’s enough talking.’ The Innkeep told him. ‘Or I’ll want coin for the cloth.’
Cal thought better of arguing.
‘Saw a fair few mugs go over.’ The Innkeep turned towards the rest of the room, smiling reassuringly. ‘I’ll fetch a new barrel. This one’s on the house.’
A few grumbles of approval from the assembled regulars. They were all watching him. He could feel their eyes on him, prying, poking. Sen-sible boys know better than to go wandering in a storm. They’d always thought the Blacksmith’s stray was cracked. Same as his master. Godry seemed to have let his irritation go at the promise of free ale, but Cal spotted the butcher’s brute of a son, Petr, sneering back at him over the rim of his mug. He lowered his eyes. They thought him mad. Maybe they were right. Behind his eyes, the shadows were still chasing him through endless trees, clawing at his heels. But the door stayed closed, and there was no sound beyond it but the storm. Maybe he was losing his mind.
‘Quite the show, that was.’ Lokk grinned as his father went off to find the barrel. Carel rolled her eyes, pulling up another chair and set-ting about dampening the cloth. ‘Barely seen you in weeks, then you show up all bloody an’ panting like a wolf that’s got in with the chick-ens? You always knew how to make an entrance.’
Cal grunted. He didn’t feel like explaining himself. Wasn’t sure he could, even if he did.
‘Scared off the new folk, too.’ Lokk nodded towards an empty table in the far corner of the room, scattered with discarded mugs.
Cal blinked. ‘What?’
‘Had some of Solen’s new hands in tonight.’ Lokk told him offhand-edly, scratching his chin. ‘Quiet lot. Must have given them quite the fright. Saw themselves out sharpish.’
‘What did… hnngg.’ Cal clamped his teeth together with a groan as Carel pressed one of the rags against his bloody forearm.
‘Stay still.’ She told him, wiping the cloth slowly across his skin. It felt like someone was stripping his flesh with a wood plane. Cal clenched his jaw, forcing himself not to yelp. Lokk lounged idly against the bar beside him, sweeping his loose hair back from his forehead un-tidily.
‘Interrupted Godry, too.’ His friend went on, clearly unperturbed by his suffering. ‘Old goat hates being interrupted.’
Cal grunted again. The little clump of patrons seemed to have lost interest in him, now, turning back to their mugs as the Innkeep moved deftly through the tables, a little cask under his arm. Petr and his father were sitting glowering at no one in particular. Forley and his young wife Priss looked taken aback, and not the least bit shaken, by the un-expected turn of events the evening had taken, but the dour-faced min-ers beside them (whose names Cal did not know) seemed to have paid Cal’s entrance no heed at all. Old Godry was sitting patiently, firelight knotting over his scarred cheeks, waiting for his cue. Soon their mugs were full again, and the foolishness of the Blacksmith’s stray was quite forgotten. The Innkeep set the empty cask down somewhere behind the bar, and went off to find another barrel. Cal gritted his teeth as Carel went on with her work, eyes watering, and watched the villagers blur indifferently by the fire.
‘You weren’t finished, Godry.’ Albin, the butcher began, taking a long swig from his mug. ‘’bout to tell us how the wizard farted out his storm to save the savages.’
Cal saw Forley roll his eyes. ‘You know damned well where we were! Tell us about Arolf!’
Albin scowled, opening his mouth to retort, but Godry regained his composure in time to step in.
‘Aerolf, Forley.’ He corrected patiently.
‘Aerolf, then.’ The young shepherd agreed, rolling his eyes. ‘What happened next?’
‘Well, like I was saying, old King Talor’s already met his end, but them Northmen weren’t done yet. That beast Aerolf most of all.’ Godry began, lowering his voice and eyeing his audience conspiratorially. ‘He had a score to settle, see. This weren’t the kind of man to let a woman run from him, you understand.’
‘Serves him right.’ Albin grumbled. ‘Couldn’t keep her in his bed, even with a sword on her.’
The two miners snorted in agreement, and Petr just kept scowling. Cal flinched as Carel drew her rag over a particularly deep cut. He caught her eye reproachfully, and she smiled slyly.
‘Oops.’
She was very close, he realised, and he could feel the heat of her against his cut-thread skin. Another night, he might even have enjoyed it.
‘So there they was, dead King and all. Could of had the throne for hisself, right then.’ The old miner continued gravely. ‘But he was more animal than man. Mad as a beast, they say, big as a bear, covered head to toe in blood, cut up like an old buck. And this beast had a taste for blood.’
The little circle of villagers leaned a little closer in their seats, eye-ing Godry eagerly. Cal realised he was listening along with them.
‘So off he goes, bloody magic blade in hand.’ Godry held out his hand like a blade, scowling at them over the fire. ‘He finds that place where old King Talor locked up his pretty young daughter. And what’d’you think he does when he finds it?’
‘Kills her.’ Forley whispered.
‘That’s right, boy.’ Godry nodded, dropping his arm. ‘Heard it said he clawed the tower door open with his bare hands. Dragged her out in-to that garden, butchered her right there in the grass, threw her off that big rock of theirs like an old ham. This weren’t a man you run from. If he couldn’t have her, no one could.’
‘How’d they kill him, then?’ Albin asked, frowning.
‘Well, see now. Northmen ain’t the only one with monsters.’ Godry said craftily, raising one patchwork brow. ‘Dekar’s a sharp one. He’d realised what was afoot, by now. Rallied the King’s Men, drove the scum back out of the King’s hall. Weren’t a man amongst them left standing, save the ones in the garden. But for Aerolf and them, he saved his best killer.’
‘The Bloodless.’ Forley murmured.
‘The Bloodless.’ Godry agreed. ‘Biggest woman you’ve ever seen. Big as a wagon, skin like blue snow. They say there’s nought but ice in them veins, and if you cut her, she don’t bleed.’
‘And I’ve got rocks for balls.’ Albin snorted.
‘Might as well, for all the good they do you.’ Godry snapped back at him. ‘But the Bloodless finds the traitor. Right there in that garden, all covered in the Princess’s blood. Cuts Aerolf down, throws him from the walls after her, him and his magic sword. Almost killed that Stonesplitter dog, too, whilst she were at it. Weren’t no easy thing though; gets her head cut open like a peach for its trouble. Should’ve died, right there. Would’ve, if not for those… other types Dekar had took up with.’
‘‘Least the traitor was dead.’
‘Aye, that he was. That Heartspire’s taller than a mountain. Say there weren’t nothing left of him but mulch, once he got to the bottom. Him and the princess both.’
‘Makers have mercy.’ Forley murmured, making the sign of the Nine over his breast. Even Albin took another mouthful of ale.
‘Weren’t no mercy. A beast don’t deserve none.’ Godry said sober-ly, following Forley and drawing a circle over his chest. ‘If he couldn’t ‘ave her, no one could.’
Cal barely heard them. He felt drained, as though the cuts had bled the weight from his bones. He floated just above his chair in a haze, and the roomed blurred and swayed as if through shallow water. Carel went about her work quietly, carefully, and the pain of it washed over him in raw waves, until the pail of water at her feet was stained an ugly pink.
‘Dekar had a plan though!’ Forley whispered excitedly, his rever-ence forgotten. ‘Tell ‘em, Godry!’
‘That he did, Forley.’ Godry smiled, his scarred face contorting gro-tesquely. ‘See, that Dekar’s sharp as a carving knife. Took up Taylor’s magic sword, led the King’s Men himself. But that weren’t all. Had some of his men kept back, from down West. Big men. Hard men. Came on the Northmen camp in the dead of night. Surrounded ‘em.’
‘Weren’t just any men, I hears it.’ Albin grumbled.
‘Here we go!’ Forley snorted.
‘Said it yourself, Godry. Dekar took up with them religious types.’ Albin shot back, frowning indignantly. ‘Everyone knows it.’
‘Religious? Masks don’t keep the Makers.’ Forley spat. ‘Ain’t noth-ing but bandits dressed up like monks.’
Cal blinked.
‘Brothers ain’t got no Gods save the Darkness.’ Priss murmured qui-etly. ‘You say Nine, I say eight.’
‘All the same.’ Albin was saying, folding his arms over his mug. ‘Brothers are useful, and good old Dekar didn’t sniff at them like you do.’
‘That’s enough, Alb.’ Godry interrupted. ‘He’s still our King, even all the way out here.’
Cal opened his mouth, straightening in his seat, but Carel pushed him back down again tutting.
‘Sit still.’
‘But-’
‘Hardly our King anymore, anyways.’ Albin spat. ‘Not like it used to be. Valia’s for the lowlanders.’
‘You sounds like a Northman.’ Forley scowled.
‘Or one of the Elahi.’ Priss added. Albin bristled, and Godry jumped in just in time.
‘Doesn’t matter. All Dekar’s hard men never got to the Northmen camp.’ The grizzled old smelter went on. ‘Seems old Isandur weren’t done yet.
Cal gritted his teeth. His head ached, and his mouth tasted like smoke.
Albin spat at his feet, sneering. ‘Isandur my arse.’
‘Let him be, Alb.’ Forley told him.
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as the butcher and his son fixed Forley with their most angry of looks. Then Godry cleared his throat noisily, and Petr shoved himself to his feet and stalked off to-wards the bar, snatching up their empty mugs as he went.
‘But Isandur is a crafty one, and no mistake. Showed up just in time, as always. What he wanted from it, no man can say. Them Chosen are scheming sorts, what ones is left. Us mortals couldn’t guess what they’s thinkin’.’ He paused, nodding knowingly. ‘Storm-tamers, they call ‘em. He spoke the words, and the sky opened. Biggest storm you’ve ever seen. Caught Dekar’s men as they came. Scattered ‘em like wheat in a gale.’
Petr aimed a crooked smile at Carel as he passed, and she lowered her eyes. Cal barely noticed. He no longer heard Godry. The room around him seemed very far away. Was he awake? Or was he dream-ing?
‘Northerners took the chance. Fled faster than the wind what chased them. Them that were still on the rock, them what murdered and killed our King?’ Godry went on, shaking his head sadly. ‘Them he called the wind itself for, and carried them away before Dekar could get at them. Aerolf’s brother, among them. King of the North, he goes by now. Couple of other Northmen, too. Stonesplitter cut almost in half by the Bloodless’ blade.’
Albin spat on the floor, and the miners scowled. No right-minded Valian liked this part, magic or not. Cal ground his teeth.
‘That Chosen bastard let the King get his throat slit, then shows up to save his killers.’ Albin cursed.
‘Makers know why. Not been seen since.’ Godry agreed. ‘Back they went, anyway, back to the rest of the savages as they fled like dogs. Storm was so heavy, river banks burst behind them, flooded half the valley.’
Cal’s heart was pounding in his ears, and his skull was ringing. Out-side, the wind whined over the thatching, howling at the broken clouds.
‘Don’t matter how many men Dekar had. Or how many Brothers. Ain’t no one swimming in mail.’
Cal forced his eyes shut. Black Ones. A storm. Falling.
‘Cal?’
He opened his eyes, blinking into the firelight, and found Carel look-ing down at him worriedly.
‘Does it hurt?’ She was asking softly.
‘What… no, I’m fine.’ He told her, blinking again. ‘I need to…’
‘Stay here.’ She told him, lifting up the bloody pail. ‘I need more cloth.’
She turned on her heel and disappeared. Cal’s head spun.
‘… already scared off the new folk with all these tall stories.’ Albin was saying. ‘Storm’s just a storm. Forge boy knows.’
Cal blinked, lurching unsteadily to his feet. Asking questions, the Innkeep had said. His vision blurred unsteadily, and the room stared back at him, wobbling like a top.
‘Cal, you need to sit down.’ Lokk told him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Cal blinked. His eyes stopped spinning, and the ache in his head had vanished. The wind had moved on overhead, and the air was thick with smoke and heat. The little group of patrons were eyeing him curiously. All save the butcher.
‘Listen to him boy, before you hurt yourself.’ Albin sneered back at him.
‘Come on, Cal. Ignore him.’ Lokk murmured in his ear.
Cal swallowed, meeting the swarthy butcher’s eye for a moment. Then he let himself be steered backward, slumping into his seat like an empty sack.
‘Must have lost more blood than I thought.’ Lokk told him, pulling up a chair beside him and tutting. ‘Want to pick a fight with Albin as well as that storm?’
‘What?’ Cal mumbled, blinking. The butcher had gone back to his drink, and the other villagers had gone with him, grumbling amongst themselves about the practicalities of storm-tamers and treacherous, magical old men. He took a breath. ‘I wasn’t. I-’
‘Sure looked like you were. You know Alb. Just his way. Didn’t mean anything by it.’
‘Lokk, when did the new folk leave?’
‘What? Oh… I told you. Right after you turned up. Spooked ‘em good, you did, all bloody like a fresh ham…’
‘Where did they go?’
‘How should I know? Had my hands full peeling you off the floor. Why d’you care, anyway?’
‘Lokk, I need to…’
‘Oh, no you don’t! You aren’t going anywhere. Need to rest.’ His friend told him, pinning him to his chair by his shoulders. ‘Look like you fell down half the Teeth face first.’
‘I…’ Cal began, lowering his voice. His head was clearing, and the room was no longer spinning like a leaf. Beside the fire, the other pa-trons were still bickering emptily. The storm had passed, and the ache of it was clearing from his battered skull. ‘I didn’t just fall. Something was chasing me.’
‘What are you talking about? You crack your head, too?’
‘Lokk, listen. There were…’
‘Let go!’
They both looked up at the sudden commotion from beside the bar. Carel had just made it out from behind it with a fresh pail of steaming water before Petr had cornered her, bulky shoulders blocking the way forward like a stubborn bullock. He had one meaty hand curled around Carel’s wrist, and she had her eyes fixed on the floor. Cal was on his feet before Lokk could say anything.
‘Let go of her.’
The big youth let go of Carel’s wrist, and the pail fell abruptly back to her side, spilling steaming water across the floor. She looked at it distantly, frowning.
‘Or what, you little shit?’ The butcher’s son grumbled throatily, turning slowly around to facing Cal, glaring down at him with rheumy-eyes. His words had the imprecise edge of drink to them, and his breath smelled of sour ale. ‘Gonna throw yourself down a fucking hill at me?’
‘Just leave her be, Petr.’ Lokk added from Cal’s shoulder.
‘Mind your own business.’ The big youth snorted, still glaring at Cal darkly. ‘Sit down before you hurt yourself, stray.’
He began to turn back to Carel. Lokk put a hand on Cal’s shoulder, and Cal ignored him.
‘Leave her be.’ He said again.
‘Or what?’ Petr snarled back, lurching around again, wiping spittle from the corner of his mouth. ‘Going to bleed on me?’
‘It’s fine, Cal. No harm done.’ Carel said quietly from beside the bar, eyes still on the ground. ‘Sit down, let me finish with your cuts.’
‘You heard her. Be a good little foundling and sit down like she says.’
Cal swallowed. Petr was nearly a head taller than he was, and his arms were thick, corded with miner’s work. But there would be no avoiding it now, and he didn’t have the patience to let it be, that night. The big youth was drunk, and spoiling for a fight. Cal glanced back over his shoulder, but the other patrons were bickering loudly beside the fire, oblivious, or indifferent, or both. The Innkeep was still in the back somewhere, tapping a new barrel. Strike first. Strike hard. Cal shifted his feet slightly, readying himself. His head had cleared, and his pain was far away. The moment of calm was on him. A blink in time. The room faded away, vibrating with stillness. There was only his breath. In, and out. He waited.
‘Nothing to say? Suppose a dead whore can’t teach her cunt son any manners.’
Cal moved quickly, uncoiling like a bowstring. He burst forward off his hind leg, bunching his fist towards Petr’s slab of a jaw. The butch-er’s son had no chance to react. How could he? Cal moved with the ease of a seasoned brawler, hard limbs whipping like clubs. Lokk’s arm slipped from his shoulder. He was already halfway across the distance between them before Petr could even blink.
His boot splashed, skidded, slid. The water. Cal blinked, lost bal-ance, and slid wildly into Petr’s chest. His head thudded into the other boy, and he staggered back, confused, dazed. Petr blinked down at him, cogs turning slowly in his ale-slowed mind. Then a broad grin spread across the big youth’s jaw.
‘Should’ve listened, stray.’

Below I've outlined what I believe are the 9 skills that define a balanced athlete. There are definitions for them as well as a few sentences of why I believe that skill's development is important (through a volleyball lens). This won't be a crazy peer reviewed paper, so keep that in mind. Anyone who wants to build a complete workout or may not know exactly what area in their athleticism is weak should be able to get something from this. This post is a bit long so if you don't want to read it all, you can just skim through the skills and give feedback as to whether I missed anything.
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​

1. Strength

Strength is the ability to create force. Think strongmen or power lifters. As a volleyball player, you will want a leaner physique as excess muscle will only slow you down. Getting a good strength to weight ratio through callisthenics is an excellent way to improve this area and also free. Do keep in mind that avoiding a bulky frame doesn’t mean you should shy away from lifting weights. Squatting 1.5x your weight is the target range I see for a lot for jumpers training vert. Deadlifts are also an important exercise for strengthening the glutes which do 40% of the work jumping! They will give you no results without weights. Strengthening your fingers and entire arm will help you set from longer distances when needed, overhead pass better, give you a great block, and improve the occasional joust so don’t forget to train them as well.

1. Speed

Getting from point A to B in as small a time frame as possible. For sprinting there are 4 phases: Start, Acceleration, Driving (top end speed), and Deceleration. I believe a player should focus on accelerating and decelerating since the court is small enough that your top speed isn’t AS important as how fast you can get to it or hit the brakes. Acceleration carries over well for improving your jumping ability in a hitting approach too. You will be able to add more momentum into your jump with good speed. Being able to decelerate fast will allow you to get back in position quickly among other things. It is very beneficial to be able to stop on a dime at will.

1. Power

The ability to create maximal force in minimal time. This is especially important for jumping high, hitting hard, serving, etc. You will want to train explosively while gaining strength AND speed as these will affect how much power you can produce. An MMA middleweight will be able to produce more force in their punches and kicks than someone with say, 20-30 lbs of extra muscle if they lack power. Same reason why someone at your local gym who might squat or curl the most wouldn’t necessarily be the best jumper or throw the hardest.

1. Agility

The most relevant characteristics of an agile individual are nimble feet, the ability to change directions while maintaining speed, and the ability to move quickly from one movement pattern to another. Moving to either pin for a block or getting behind a pass in a split second and adjusting your platform accordingly. Chasing down a bad pass and diving to keep a rally going. Transitioning from defence to offence and vice versa. I personally like to associate agility with quick reflexes as well. All of this won’t amount to much if you can’t process the information fast. This skill is priceless to any athlete.

1. Balance

The ability to perform movements with precision and grace; maintaining equilibrium. Balance may not seem like it’s that important at first. It’s not like situations arise in a game where you need a gymnasts level of balance. Although, if you can improve your mid-air stability and overall coordination, you will have way more control over your body. Balance is something you will need to have in order to use your power correctly. If you are leaning too far left or you begin falling backwards when hitting, the result will be a weak hit or even one out of bounds. Recently I have been training a lot with single leg balance while closing my eyes to train this (try this on your toes if it’s too easy). The core also aids in balance off the ground so train it as well .

1. Mobility

Another aspect of fitness that few actively train. Essentially it is flexibility in motion. Remaining strong at the upper levels of your flexibility is key for avoiding injuries and strength in unconventional positions. Sinking low for passes or getting a full range of motion in your arms will increase your longevity and effective playing range. Stretching dynamically and statically are great for gaining mobility and warming up. I’ve started static stretching only after exercise though as I have heard that doing it prior to activity can actually decrease performance and even increase injury!

1. Game Sense

Sports IQ and adaptability. Adaptability is how well you adjust to different scenarios or environmental changes. It sucks having knowledge of tactics if you can’t put that knowledge to use deceptively or in a timely fashion. Watching high level games and learning as much as possible. Playing with better players than you. Having a good coach training you. Memorising various plays and knowing when to employ them. These are all ways to deepen game sense. The mind is your greatest tool.

1. Stamina

Specifically anaerobic capacity which is the maximal work performed during maximum-intensity short term physical effort. Volleyball has a lot of situations where you will be standing or shifting at one moment, and the next you will be exerting a lot of effort. You will want to train high intensity intervals, maximal effort sprints. This will train your body to withstand lactic acid and slow its accumulation. Sprints will help develop acceleration too so they are a great addition to anyone's training.

1. Accuracy

One of, if not the most important skill to have in volleyball. Whether you are a setting, passing, or hitting you will need it. What good is all of the above if you can’t keep the ball in the court or serve receive well? Proper technique (which could probably be its own category) is a key component for gaining better aim while also keeping your body safe. No further explanations needed.
​
Hopefully I was able to get my point across coherently. This is my first time trying out a higher effort post, so let me know what needs improvement. I based it off an article (The Ten Components of Complete Athleticism) and I added or removed categories until I felt like I covered the main tenets of athleticism. Wikipedia was also a resource that I used. Did I miss any points that could have been added? Or was there a part that I was wrong in that needed correcting? Maybe even a tenth athletic skill I had failed to think of... All feedback is encouraged. All edits were to the formatting and spelling.

So I'm currently an AQS for the last 4 years working for a major utilities company. My current role doesn't actually involve a huge amount of traditional QS work such as Tender and contract set up as this is handled by another team, designs are all handled by another team, I mostly deal with pricing up budget cost projects and fixed cost projects, handling weekly and monthly invoices for dozens of subcontractors, filling invoices for any recharges, creating purchase order for procurement, accrual and CVR data etc but we dont use many systems, literally everything almoat is excel, ive created so many templates, pivots tables i probably ha e nightmare about excel..
I've landed a QS job within major infrastructure projects, I won't mention the employer. But it will be varied work, and I guess I'm looking for tips as I know I'm probably going to be expected to be more in line with what a QS should do...don't get me wrong, I understand the fundamentals of it all, but it feels quite daunting that I might be expected to know stuff that I simply don't. What's the best way to go about this?

The question is pretty straightforward. I feel like I want to breakup after this long relationship despite owning a house together and what I thought was building for a future.
However, I'm simply not happy anymore. I've tried and tried to get myself refocused and make it work. She hasn't done anything in particular to cause this, it has just built up from years of fighting/arguing. I just feel the need to escape. If anything, I've been a mediocre partner at best, myself. I've tried working on being better but I seem to come up short everytime.
I just feel terrible for leaving after all this time simply because I'm not happy. I've gotten very close to ending it but she convinced me every time to stay. This is after years of her threatening to leave if I didn't become a better partner with every fight.
Any advice?

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Whatsapp/Telegram: +44 759 388 2116 (Telegram: multistorecourses)
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Contact me if you are interested in Iman Gadzhi Courses by chatting me on +44 759 388 2116 on Telegram/Whatsapp.
I have all Iman Gadzhi courses (Agency Navigator, Agency Incubator, Copy Paste Agency).
Iman Gadzhi’s courses are one of the best products on how to start a marketing agency and how to grow it.
Iman Gadzhi - Agency Navigator includes over 50 hours of step-by-step training covering EVERY aspect of building an agency from scratch. This is almost a plug & play system with enough success stories to back it up! Signing clients, running Facebook ads, building out your team, on-boarding clients, invoicing, sales... this course has everything covered for you.
The courses of Iman Gadzhi include the following:

1. Agency Navigator course Core Curriculum
   
2. Financial Planner, Revenue Calculator, Outreach Tracker & More Tools
   
3. Websites Templates, Funnels, Ads & More
   
4. Template Contracts, Sales Scripts, Agreements, Live calls & More
   

The core concepts in Iman Gadzhi’c courses include:
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If you are interested in Iman Gadzhi’s courses, contact us on:
Whatsapp/Telegram: +44 759 388 2116 (Telegram: multistorecourses)
Reddit DM to u/RequestCourseAccess
Email: silverlakestore[@]yandex.com (remove the brackets)

Contact me to get Iman Gadzhi - Agency Navigator by chatting me on +44 759 388 2116 on Telegram/Whatsapp.
I have Iman Gadzhi - Agency Navigator.
Iman Gadzhi - Agency Navigator course is one of the best products on how to start a marketing agency.
Iman Gadzhi - Agency Navigator includes over 50 hours of step-by-step training covering EVERY aspect of building an agency from scratch. This is almost a plug & play system with enough success stories to back it up! Signing clients, running Facebook ads, building out your team, on-boarding clients, invoicing, sales... this course has everything covered for you.
The topics inside Iman Gadzhi - Agency Navigator course include:

1. Agency Navigator course Core Curriculum
   
2. Custom E-Learning Platform For Agency Owners
   
3. Financial Planner, Revenue Calculator, Outreach Tracker & More Tools
   
4. Websites Templates, Funnels, Ads & More
   
5. Template Contracts, Sales Scripts, Agreements & More
   

The lessons in Iman Gadzhi - Agency Navigator will teach you how to:
- Starting Your Agency
- Finding Leads
- Signing Clients
- Getting Paid
- Onboarding Clients
- Managing Client Communication...
...and much, much more!
To get Iman Gadzhi - Agency Navigator contact me on:
Whatsapp/Telegram: +44 759 388 2116 (Telegram: multistorecourses)
Reddit DM to u/RequestCourseAccess
Email: silverlakestore[@]yandex.com (remove the brackets)

I've been playing this game for around 3 years now and their are some things that they can add to the game that would make it better.

1. Sign and Trades
2. Coaches and Staff
3. Minute Adjustments
4. Instead of the best player being a 77 overall, it is a 97 just like 2k. I think that would just make the game less confusing.
5. Rising Stars game and Suspensions (To make the game fun)