Yes, I know "Why don't you just join the Austin Triathlon Club?"
Well, I probably will but Id rather not drive into Austin for workouts and I'd like to make friends in Cedar Park.
So, Last year I did the Rookie in the Captex and the Kerrville Tri.... I complete the route but had to run& walk the run section. This year I'd like to do the Waco Tri's Aquabike and then Kerrvilles tri's Sprint. I did not buy expensive equipment last year. I used a 30 year old bike for the riding section.
I'm a 59 year old man who can complete 300-400 yards swimming and 10 miles riding NOW but need to start a running program.
I am looking for a workout partner who and help me make my running work outs. I could help you with your swim skills or biking. If you would be doing your first triathlon this summer then I'd help you with what you need to get there. I have taught 2 children to bike and swim. Last year I coached a friend in his riding skills so he could do his first tri.
I'd like to use "The complete Triathletes Training Manual" by Oliver Roberts for workouts.
You can respond to this post or DM me if you are interested.

Brief-ish background (more detail on some of the career description below).Grew up in the southwest. Not very good options as far as schools and career paths post college (it’s all operations and warehouses). Could have probably gotten into better undergrads but as a first-gen student (parents not from US), I didn’t really understand the importance of college choice for career path nor what career paths were out there.
Post graduation I worked at an insurance firm since it was the first role I was offered. Didn’t really like it but stayed about a year.
Worked at an investment management firm as a broker. Stayed for 21 months. The role was a call center environment and was not a good fit for what I was looking for. Struggled to get a promotion. Was ultimately fired
Took a job not long after doing the same thing at another broker. Was there for about 10 months. Was also fired over a weird reason elaborated further below but the broker sold their practice to a larger broker-dealer which I think factored in the decision.
After this I was feeling pretty down and lacking confidence in finding a career in business. I decided to try my hand at Computer Science and studied math and computer science at a local community college. Took a night shift job to cover cost of living after a semester. COVID hit and I decided it was best to not take hard math and computer science classes in an online environment.
After much deliberation, I explored and decided to attend a Masters in Finance program as a mini-MBA. I found a program that would suit me well and still had in-person options. Graduated in a year.
Accepted a job offer at a regional bank (in the S&P 500) working in Corporate Finance; specifically Corporate Profitability Analytics. The role is more data related and has me using SQL, Power BI, and other data related software/programs in addition to Excel. Currently 1.5 years in. Have been doing well and hoping to be able to gain a promotion soon although the company is sort of cheap when it comes to this sort of thing. While I don’t mind my current work, it is niche and not something I find particularly interesting outside of the skillset I’ve been able to gain.
If I weren’t considering applying to an MBA I’d probably start searching for other opportunities, however, I also realize that with my pre-MSF experience, the job hopping doesn’t look good and there will be more benefit to sticking with the company for almost 3 years at the start of the program and having a promotion under my belt.
MBA Info
· Why I want an MBA:
· Short-term I’m hoping to pivot into management/strategy consulting for my longer-term goal of being able to be a leader in my community. I would want to pivot into starting my own non-profit firm where I help members of low-income communities and URM owned businesses grow with the knowledge I gain from my consulting experience. I also think consulting would help with my eclectic nature and help with preventing the need to job hop given constantly being in new environments (probs wont mention this in an application though)
· Why I want one now:
· My current role is pretty niche in the banking industry. I’m afraid of being pigeonholed and the skillset I’m gaining, while desirable, isn’t necessarily one I see that aligns with my long-term goals.
· Target schools:
· Planning to apply through Consortium. Columbia (reach), Tuck, Yale, NYU, UVA, Rochester (safety school). Also open to applying outside of Consortium or changing the schools I apply to if better fit is recommended.
Background
· Work experience (starting from most recent)
· Nov 2021-Present; Corporate Financial Analyst at regional bank in S&P 500*.*
· I work in Corporate Profitability Analytics. While my title is a Financial Analyst, skillset wise, I would say my role is closer to a data analyst. I utilize SQL, Power BI, Excel, and other software to help develop, design and refine models to allow the bank to conduct data driven research in regards to the profitability of the bank. I develop and maintain reports and dashboards to disseminate information to executives and other relevant stakeholders and field questions and concerns related to the information.
· Oct 2020 – Aug 2020; Masters in Finance student at a state school
· This served as a mini-MBA for me. In my previous roles prior to this program, I was a bad fit as the roles were far too customer service oriented and led to me being fired from 2 of the roles and me quitting before I could be fired from another.
· December 2019 – July 2020 Bi-Lingual Fraud Representative at a large Credit Card Company (Capital One/DiscoveAmex type)
· This was a role I took on while I was considering a career switch into Computer Science/Financial Engineering. The role was a night shift and allowed me to work while taking classes.
· Left the role on my own terms as I wanted time to prepare for my Masters in Finance program
· Aug 2019 – March 2019; Math/Comp Sci student at community college
· Attended a local community college where I was majoring in Math/Computer Science as I was considering a career switch during a crisis of confidence. Took math, programming and engineering classes while attending. COVID struck during second semester and decided that taking a STEM heavy course load online was not optimal for me.Around this time, I decided to look into MBA’s and Masters in Finance programs. One MBA program (Rochester) really wanted me to apply there, but overall, I felt the MSF suited me better for my experience and where I was at in life. It would allow me to keep the MBA in the back pocket for any other potential switches.
· Oct 2018 – Jul 2019; Licensed Investment Professional at a Broker-Dealer
· Worked as a Series 7 and Series 63 licensed contractor. The company is large and serves a specified client base but did not have a large broker-dealer segment. Took a hands-on approach in all aspects of wealth and asset management: consulting and educating investors in mutual fund options and other products to help meet financial goals.
· Consistently led entire department in relationship management and engagement metrics: survey responses, survey scores, and new business development through sales referrals to advisory consultants in a fast-paced environment
· Consistently led entire department in operations and efficiency metrics while exceeding accuracy requirements and adhering to legal compliance through attention to detail
· Ended up being fired after a client complained to a friend of his in the Board of Directors that I wouldn’t help them with something that was not possible. The company ended up being bought out by a larger broker-dealer during that same month and they had been letting contractors expire w/out being renewed. I am under the impression they were downsizing regardless. I understand this section is speculative and would most likely omit it from any actual application.
·
· Nov 2016 – Aug 2018; Licensed Investment Professional at a top Broker-Dealer (PIMCO/Vanguard/Schwab type)
· Similar functional duties as other broker-dealer. In addition to those duties, demonstrated leadership and ability to work collaboratively through training and development of new hires, presentation of materials and investment methodology for new hires in multiple meetings, coaching, and mentorship of peers
· Voluntarily cross-trained and developed skills from higher level departments in order to liaison with those departments and assist in their service levels and learn new skills
· Consistently led the department in efficiency metrics such as calls taken and average handle time while maintaining high accuracy
· Ended up being placed on a performance improvement plan without warning and subsequently fired by my manager not long after. This happened after she found out I was looking into other companies as I was feeling dissatisfied with my lack of promotion. I had talked about seeking other roles within the company that would be less customer service oriented and she said she was supportive of that. When I would apply to jobs that were more in line with what I was looking for in the company, I would get great feedback from the interviewers. They would then ask my current manager for feedback and after that I would seemingly get rejected. I understand this section is speculative and would most likely omit it from any actual application.
· Aug 2015 – Jul 2016 Workers Compensation Insurance Adjuster at a top firm (Travelers/Hartford/Zurich type)
· Under minimal supervision interpreted and applied insurance contract policies exercising sound judgment in order to quickly reach outcome of fraud investigation while still maintaining high quality and meeting regulatory audits and requirements.
· Knowledgeable point of reference and correspondence for witnesses, agents, other insurance companies, medical providers, attorneys, and others.
· Utilized discipline, self-motivation and strong organizational skills to properly handle multiple tasks for proper case management of existing claims as a full caseload was often 100+ claims.
· Worked with internal partners on a special project to help conduct and report data driven risk analysis by identifying patterns and industry trends and researching strategies to reduce negative trends; provided qualitative feedback/analysis as an adjuster.
· Consistently led the department in client survey feedback in both number of survey responses and survey scores (never received less than a 9). Won the monthly competition 7 of the 8 months it was in place.
· Left on my own terms. Realized early on into the job that the insurance industry was not interesting to me nor where I wanted to be. Once I received a job offer from an Investment Management company, I put in my two weeks.
· Extra curriculars and other experience:
· I’m a religious individual. During undergrad I was very involved with my church in its ministry and even interned there. Since graduating, I have been heavily involved in youth ministry in poor areas that are heavily minority. I have a particular calling to kids of these backgrounds because I used to from a similar background and know many of them don’t see enough positive male role models who have been able to overcome many of the trappings that growing up in less-than-optimal conditions can provide. In this role, I am able to connect with youth and facilitate conversation about life, faith, and development with them.
· I also serve as a member of the Finance Council and Development Advisory Board of a local church. In these roles I take part in creating and monitoring budgeting and finances of the church as well as developing ideas to raise revenue and seek out potential tithing partners.
· Undergrad school/major:
· State School ranked outside of top 200. Double majored in Political Science and Business Economics
· Chose to attend there due to full-ride scholarships. Did not realize the importance of choosing certain colleges for certain career paths
· Other education/coursework:
· Masters in Finance at state school w/top 50 business program
· Graduated with a 3.5 GPA
· Race/nationality:
· Primarily Hispanic (mixed w/other minorities but not sure how it classifies)
· Sex:
· M
Stats
· GMAT Score: Include breakdown
· 670 (42q/40v). Looking/probably need to retake as it may expire soon. Think I can score 700+ since I took this before taking math/computer science classes at community college
· Undergrad GPA:
· 3.41 for Bachelors. (3.6 at community college)
· Grad School GPA
· 3.5

Okay let me give some back round. I often have dreams of this really strange tower that starts with these pink stairs very deeply hidden under my high school. It towers up with a spiral very high, it’s under no sky it’s just a room. But it’s huge.
The dream I’m about to describe started out as a lucid dream, I was in control, until I fell off the tower.
The dream: I was walking though a park and we run into my old high school. It seems to be COMPLETELY redone, new buildings and super cool, they have there own sonic style restaurant, new football fields, and it’s just very cool.
So my brother and I sneak in, then I’m reminded of the tower under my school. I tell him “hey I’m gonna see if the tower is still here”
I instantly find the stairs, and start realizing the tower is different this time around. I decide to start climbing it. The feeling of the tower was like wax.
Suddenly, the tower starts collapsing in towards me. That’s were I lost control of the dream. As suddenly I’m stuck and only have a small second so realize, that everything around me has caught fire. Then I black out.
It’s instantly I find my little brother uncovering me under the tower. Along with him is my dad. They are relived they have finally found me. I had missing for some time and was probably under a coma until they found me. As I walk out of the tower room I find myself in a bathroom.
The bathroom has 7 sinks. In a pink gift bag by the sinks I find a card
“(cousins name)
Sink 1 : trip and fall
Sink 2: choke
Sink 3: (don’t remember)
Sink 4: earthquake
Sink 5: (don’t remember)
Sink 6: fire
Sink 7: fall of tower
(My name ) will die this way”
So in this card inside a bag by the sinks was á curse by my cousin on me…
I was saddened by this and I decided to keep it to myself. As I’m walking out of the school, I get pulled into a modeling course, I meet very beautiful women and we model dresses.. then I feel weird and walk out of the room.
In the hall a siren goes off, I try to run because I think it’s a fire siren, but then a girl next to me shouts to get down because it’s a earthquake siren. A younger girl next to me it’s struggling so I try my best to use my body to shelter her as the world around us shakes.
After the quake I run out as fast as I can to find my car.
That’s all.
How did I lose control? Why does this green tower always appear? Why do bathrooms have some weird appearance with the tower, in my dreams?

Galatians  

The Gospel of Paul  

Paul can be forgiven for equating the destruction of Israel with the end of the world. Everyone who loves Israel wants to save her, the controversy between the Judaizers and Paul was over how to do it.  
From The Interpreters’ Bible:  
"Introduction  
-1. Occasion and Purpose  
Conservative preachers were persuading the Galatians that faith was not enough to make sure of God’s kingdom. Besides believing that Jesus was the Messiah, one must join the Jewish nation, observe the laws and customs of Moses, and refuse to eat with the Gentiles (2:11-14, 4:10). One must have Christ and Moses, faith and law. Paul insisted that it must be either Moses or Christ. (5:2-6). [Mind you, the congregations were literally segregated at meals according to whether the male members’ foreskins were circumcised; compare with the trouble regarding the allocations between the two groups of widows reported in Acts.]  
Not content with raising doubts concerning the sufficiency of Christ, the Judaizers attacked Paul’s credentials. They said that he had not been one of the original apostles, and that he was distorting the gospel which Peter and John and James the Lord’s brother were preaching. They declared that his proposal to abandon the law of Moses was contrary to the teaching of Jesus, and they insinuated that he had taken this radical step to please men with the specious promise of cheap admission to God’s kingdom (1:10). If he were allowed to have his way, men would believe and be baptized but keep on sinning, deluding themselves that the Christian sacraments would save them. Claiming to rise above Moses and the prophets, they would debase faith into magic, liberty into license, making Christ the abettor of sin (2:17). The Judaizers were alarmed lest Paul bring down God’s wrath and delay the kingdom. They had not shared the emotion of a catastrophic conversion like Paul’s, and they found it hard to understand when he talked about a new power which overcame sin and brought righteousness better than the best that the law could produce.  
Another party attacked Paul from the opposite side. Influenced by the pagan notion that religion transcends ethics and is separable from morality, they wanted to abandon the Old Testament and its prophetic insights. They could not see how Paul’s demand to crucify one’s old sinful nature and produce the fruit of the Spirit could be anything but a new form of slavery to law (2:19-20, 5:14, 2-24). They accused him of rebuilding the old legalism, and some said that he was still preaching circumcision (2:18; 5:11). Whereas the Judaizers rejected Paul’s gospel because they believed it contrary to the teaching of the original apostles, these antilegalists felt that he was so subservient to the apostles as to endanger the freedom of the Christian Movement.  
Actually Paul had risen above both legalism and sacramentarianism ... his faith was qualitatively different from mere assent to a creed (5:6). He was living on the plateau of the Spirit, where life was so free that men needed no law to say ‘Thou shalt’ and ‘Thou shalt not’ (5:22-24). But this rarefied atmosphere was hard to breathe, and neither side could understand him. The conservatives were watching for moral lapses… and the radicals blamed him for slowing the progress of Christianity by refusing to cut it loose from Judaism and its nationalistic religious imperialism.” (Stamm, TIB 1953, vol. X pp. 430)  
Paul’s defense of his gospel and apostleship was the more difficult because he had to maintain his right to go directly to Christ without the mediation of Peter and the rest, but had to do it in such a way as not to split the church and break the continuity of his gospel with the Old Testament and the apostolic traditions about Jesus and his teaching. …  
To this end Paul gave an account of his relations with the Jerusalem church during the seventeen years that followed his conversion (1:11-2:14). Instead of going to Jerusalem he went to Arabia, presumably to preach (1:17). After a time he returned to Damascus, and only three years later did he go to see Peter. Even then he stayed only fifteen days and saw no other apostle except James the Lord’s brother (1:18-20). Then he left for Syria and Cilicia, and not until another fourteen years had passed did he visit Jerusalem again. This time it was in response to a revelation from his Lord, and not to a summons by the authorities in the Hoy City.  
Paul emphasizes that neither visit implied an admission that his gospel needed the apostolic stamp to make it valid. His purpose was to get the apostles to treat the uncircumcised Gentile Christians as their equals in the church (2:2). Making a test case of Titus, he won his point (2:3-5). The apostles agreed that a Gentile could join the church by faith without first becoming a member of the synagogue by circumcision. … They … recognize[d] that his mission to the Gentiles was on the same footing as theirs to the Jews – only he was to remember the poor (2:7-10). So far was Paul from being subordinated that when Peter came to Antioch and wavered on eating with the Gentile Christians, Paul did not hesitate to rebuke him in public (2:11-14). (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 430-431)  
Paul’s defense of his apostolic commission involved the question: What is the seat of authority in religion? A Jewish rabbi debating the application of the kosher laws would quote the authority of Moses and the fathers in support of his view. Jewish tradition declared that God delivered the law to Moses, and Moses to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the men of the Great Synagogue, and that they had handed it down through an unbroken rabbinical succession to the present. If Paul had been a Christian rabbi, he could have treated the Sermon on the Mount as a new law from a new Sinai, which God had delivered to Jesus, and Jesus to Peter, and Peter to Paul, and Paul to Timothy and Titus, and so on through an unbroken apostolic succession until the second coming of Christ. Instead of taking his problems directly to this Lord in prayer, he would ask, ‘What does Peter say that Jesus did and said about it?’ And if Peter or the other apostles happened not to have a pronouncement from Jesus on a given subject, they would need to apply some other saying to his by reasoning from analogy. This would turn the gospel into a system of legalism, with casuistry for its guide, making Jesus a second Moses – a prophet who lived and died in a dim and distant past and left only a written code to guide the future. Jesus would not have been the living Lord, personally present in his church in every age as the daily companion of his members. That is why Paul insisted that Christ must not be confused or combined with Moses, but must be all in all.  
The Judaizers assumed that God had revealed to Moses all of his will, and nothing but this will, for all time, changeless and unchangeable; and that death was the penalty for tampering with it. The rest of the scriptures and the oral tradition which developed and applied them were believed to be implicit in the Pentateuch as an oak in an acorn. The first duty of the teacher was to transmit the Torah exactly as he had received it from the men of old. Only then might he give his own opinion, which must never contradict but always be validated by the authority of the past. When authorities differed, the teacher must labor to reconcile them. Elaborate rules of interpretation were devised to help decide cases not covered by specific provision in the scripture. These rules made it possible to apply a changeless revelation to changing conditions, but they also presented a dilemma. The interpreter might modernize by reading into his Bible ideas that were not in the minds of its writers, or he might quench his own creative insights by fearing to go beyond what was written. Those who modernized the Old Testament were beset with the perils of incipient Gnosticism, while those who, like the Sadducees, accepted nothing but the written Torah could misuse it to obstruct social and religious progress. (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 431-432)  
To submit to circumcision would have betrayed the truth of the gospel because it contradicted the principle that all is of grace and grace is for all (2:5). Perpetuated in the church of Christ, the kosher code and other Jewish customs would have destroyed the fellowship. Few things could have hurt the feelings and heaped more indignity upon the Gentiles than the spiritual snobbery of refusing to eat with them.  
The tragedy of division was proportional to the sincerity of men’s scruples. The Jews were brought up to believe that eating with Gentiles was a flagrant violation of God’s revealed will which would bring down his terrible wrath. How strongly both sides felt appears in Paul’s account of the stormy conference at Jerusalem and the angry dispute that followed it at Antioch (2:1-14). Paul claimed that refusal to eat with a Gentile brother would deny that the grace of Christ was sufficient to make him worthy of the kingdom. If all men were sons of God through Christ, there could be no classes of Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female (3:26-28). What mattered was neither circumcision not uncircumcision, but only faith and a new act of creation by the Spirit (5:6; 6”15). (Stamm, 1953, TIB X p. 433)  
Church unity was essential to the success of Christian missions. Friction between Aramaic and Greek-speaking Jewish Christians in Palestine had to be eliminated (Acts 6:1). The death of Stephen and a special vision to Peter were required to convince the conservatives of the propriety of admitting the Gentiles on an equality with the Jews; and even Peter was amazed that God had given them the same gift of the Spirit (Act 11: 1-18). This hesitation was potentially fatal to the spread of Christianity beyond Palestine. Many Gentiles had been attracted by the pure monotheism and high morality of Judaism but were not willing to break with their native culture by submitting to the painful initiatory rite and social stigma of being a Jew…. Had the church kept circumcision as a requirement for membership, it could not have freed itself from Jewish nationalism.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X p. 433)  
III. Some Characteristics of Paul’s Thinking  
… “the law” of which Paul is speaking does not coincide with “law” in a twentieth-century state with representative government. His Greek word was νομος [nomos], an inadequate translation of the Hebrew “Torah,” which included much more than “law” as we use the term. [When “תורה ThORaH” appears in the text I translate it as “Instruction” – its literal definition - capitalized.] Torah was teaching on any subject concerning the will of God as revealed in the Scriptures. Since the Jews did not divide life into two compartments labeled “religious” and “secular,” their law covered both their spiritual and their civil life. Nor did Paul and his fellow Jews think in terms of “nature” and the “natural law.” They believed that everything that happened was God’s doing, directly or by his permission. The messiah was expected to restore the ancient theocracy with its power over both civil and religious affairs.  
The Gentiles too were accustomed to state regulation of religion and priestly control of civil affairs. The Greek city-states had always managed the relations of their citizens with the gods, and Alexander the Great prepared the way for religious imperialism. When he invaded Asia, he consolidated his power by the ancient Oriental idea that the ruler was a god or a son of God. His successors, in their endless wars over the fragments of his empire, adopted the same device. Posing as “savior-gods,” they liberated their victims by enslaving them. The Romans did likewise, believing that the safety of their empire depended upon correct legal relations with the gods who had founded it. … Each city had its temple dedicated to the emperor, and its patriotic priests to see that everyone burned incense before his statue. Having done this, the worshiper was free under Roman ‘tolerance’ to adopt any other legal religion. … Whether salvation was offered in the name of the ancient gods of the Orient, or of Greece, or of the emperor of Rome, or of Yahweh the theocratic king of the Jews, the favor of the deity was thought to depend upon obedience to his law.  
One did not therefore have to be a Jew to be a legalist in religion. … Since Paul’s first converts were drawn from Gentiles who had been attending the synagogues, it is easy to see how Gentile Christians could be a zealous to add Moses to Christ as the most conservative Jew.  
This is what gave the Judaizers their hold in Galatia. The rivalry between the synagogue, which was engaged in winning men to worship the God of Moses, and the church, which was preaching the God who had revealed himself in Christ Jesus, was bound to raise the issue of legalism and stir up doubts about the sufficiency of Christ.  
Gentile and Jewish Christians alike would regard Paul’s preaching of salvation apart from the merit acquired by obedience to law as a violently revolutionary doctrine. Fidelity to his declaration of religious independence from all mediating rulers and priesthoods required a spiritual maturity of which most who heard his preaching were not yet capable. … Paul’s gospel has always been in danger of being stifled by those who would treat the teachings of Jesus as laws to be enforced by a hierarchy. (Stamm, TIB 1953, X pp. 434-435)  
V. Environment of Paul’s Churches in Galatia  
The conclusion concerning the destination of the epistle does not involve the essentials of its religious message, but it does affect our understanding of certain passages, such as 3:1 and 41:12, 20.  
From the earliest times that part of the world had been swept by the cross tides of migration and struggle for empire. The third millennium found the Hittites in possession. In the second millennium the Greeks and Phrygians came spilling over from Europe, and in the first millennium the remaining power of the Hittites was swept away by Babylon and Persia. Then came the turn of the Asiatic tide into Europe, only to be swept back again by Alexander the Great. But the Greek cities with which he and his successors dotted the map of Asia were like anthills destined to be leveled by Oriental reaction.  
About 278 B.C. new turmoil came with the Gauls, who were shunted from Greece and crossed into Asia to overrun Phrygia. Gradually the Greek kings succeeded in pushing them up into the central highlands, where they established themselves in the region of Ancyra. Thus located, they constituted a perpetually disturbing element, raiding the Greek cities and furnishing soldiers now to one, and now to another of the rival kings. Then in 121 B.C. came the Romans to 'set free' Galatia by making it a part of their own Empire. By 40 B.C. there were three kingdoms, with capitals at Ancyra, Pisidian Antioch, and Iconium. Four years later Lycaonia and Galatia were given to Amyntas the king of Pisidia. He added Pamphylia and part of Cilicia to his kingdom. But he was killed in 25 B.C., and the Romans made his dominion into the province of Galatia, which was thus much larger than the territory inhabited by the Gauls. (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 437-438)  
War and slavery, poverty, disease, and famine made life hard and uncertain. In religion and philosophy men were confused by this meeting of East and West. But man’s extremity was Paul’s opportunity. The soil of the centuries had been plowed and harrowed for his new, revolutionary gospel of grace and freedom.  
Not all, however, were ready for this freedom. The old religions with prestige and authority seemed safer. Most Jews preferred Moses, and among the Gentiles the hold of the Great Mother Cybele of Phrygia was not easily shaken. Paul’s converts, bringing their former ideas and customs with them, were all too ready to reshape his gospel into a combination of Christ with their ancient laws and rituals. The old religions were especially tenacious in the small villages, whose inhabitants spoke the native languages and were inaccessible to the Greek-speaking Paul. To this gravitational attraction of the indigenous cults was added the more sophisticated syncretism of the city dwellers, pulling Paul’s churches away from his gospel when the moral demands of his faith and the responsibilities of his freedom became irksome. This was the root of the trouble in Galatia. (Stamm, 1953, TIB X p. 438)  
VI. Date and Place of Writing  
Some consider it the earliest of Paul’s extant letters and place it in 49 … In support of this date it is said that Paul, who had come from Perga by boat, was met by messengers from Galatia, who had taken the shorter route by land. They reported the disturbance which had arisen in his churches soon after his departure. He could not go back immediately to straighten things out in person, because he saw that he would have to settle the matter first in Jerusalem, whence the troublemakers had come. So he wrote a letter.  
But … [w]e do not know that the trouble in Galatia was stirred up by emissaries from the church in Jerusalem … Moreover, this solution overlooks the crux of the issue between Paul and the legalists. His contention was that neither circumcision nor the observance of any other law was the basis of salvation, but only faith in God’s grace through Christ. … On the matter of kosher customs, as on every other question, he directed men to the mind and Spirit of Christ, and not to law, either Mosaic or apostolic. That mind was a Spirit of edification which abstained voluntarily from all that defiled or offended.  
We may say that the situation [in Galatia] was different – that in Macedonia it was persecution from outside by Jews who were trying to prevent Paul’s preaching, whereas in Galatia it was trouble inside the church created by legalistic Christians who were proposing to change his teaching; that in one case the issue was justification by faith, and in the other faithfulness while waiting for the day of the Lord.  
The letter to the Romans, written during the three months in Greece mentioned in Acts 20:2-3, is our earliest commentary on Galatians. In it the relation between the law and the gospel is set forth in the perspective of Paul’s further experience. The brevity and storminess of Galatians gives way to a more complete and calmly reasoned presentation of his gospel. (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 438 - 439)  
At Corinth, as in Galatia, Paul had to defend his right to be an apostle against opponents heartless enough to turn against him the cruel belief that physical illness was a sign of God’s disfavor … and they charged him with being a crafty man-pleaser … He exhorts his converts to put away childish things and grow up in faith, hope and love…  
Most childish of all were the factions incipient in Galatia, and actual in Corinth … He abandoned the kosher customs and all other artificial distinctions between Jews and Gentiles and laid the emphasis where it belonged – upon the necessity for God’s people to establish and maintain a higher morality and spiritual life… He substituted a catholic spirit for partisan loyalties ... (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 440-441)  
VII. Authorship and Attestation  
If Paul wrote anything that goes under his name, it was Galatians, Romans, and the letters to Corinth. … F.C. Baur and his followers tried to show that the letters ascribed to Paul were the product of a second-century conflict between a Judaist party and the liberals in the church, and that they were written by Paulinists who used his name and authority to promote their own ideas.  
[But] the earliest mention of the epistle by name occurs in the canon of the Gnostic heretic Marcion (ca. [approximately] 144). He put it first in his list of ten letters of Paul. A generation later the orthodox Muratorian canon (ca. 185) listed it as the sixth of Paul’s letters. … While the first explicit reference to Galatians as a letter of Paul is as late as the middle of the second century … the authors of Ephesians and the Gospel of John knew it; and Polycarp in his letter to the Philippians quoted it. Revelation, I Peter, Hebrew, I Clement, and Ignatius show acquaintance with it; and there is evidence that the writer of the Epistle of James knew Galatians, as did the authors of II Peter and the Pastoral epistle, and Justin Martyr and Athenagoras. (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 441-442)  
VIII. Text and Transmission  
Although the epistle was composed neither carelessly nor hastily, the anxiety and emotional stress under which Paul dictated his cascading thoughts have produced some involved and obscure sentences … and a number of abrupt transitions… These have been a standing invitation to scribal clarification. … Paul’s debate with his critics takes the form of a diatribe, which is characterized by quotations from past or anticipated objectors and rapid-fire answers to them. Paul did not use quotation marks, and this accounts for the difficulty in 2:14-15 of deciding where his speech to Peter ends. The numerous allusions to person and places, events and teachings, with which Paul assumed his readers to be acquainted, are another source of difficulty. All theses factors operated to produce the numerous variations in the text of Galatians." (Stamm, 1953, TIB p. 442)  
From Adam Clarke’s Commentaryⁱ :  
"The authenticity of this epistle is ably vindicated by Dr. Paley: the principal part of his arguments I shall here introduce …  
'Section I.  
As Judea was the scene of the Christian history; as the author and preachers of Christianity were Jews; as the religion itself acknowledged and was founded upon the Jewish religion, in contra distinction to every other religion, then professed among mankind: it was not to be wondered at, that some its teachers should carry it out in the world rather as a sect and modification of Judaism, than as a separate original revelation; or that they should invite their proselytes to those observances in which they lived themselves. ... I … think that those pretensions of Judaism were much more likely to be insisted upon, whilst the Jews continued a nation, than after their fall and dispersion; while Jerusalem and the temple stood, than after the destruction brought upon them by the Roman arms, the fatal cessation of the sacrifice and the priesthood, the humiliating loss of their country, and, with it, of the great rites and symbols of their institution. It should seem, therefore, from the nature of the subject and the situation of the parties, that this controversy was carried on in the interval between the preaching of Christianity to the Gentiles, and the invasion of Titus: and that our present epistle ... must be referred to the same period.  
… the epistle supposes that certain designing adherents of the Jewish law had crept into the churches of Galatia; and had been endeavouring, and but too successfully, to persuade the Galatic converts, that they had been taught the new religion imperfectly, and at second hand; that the founder of their church himself possessed only an inferior and disputed commission, the seat of truth and authority being in the apostles and elders of Jerusalem; moreover, that whatever he might profess among them, he had himself, at other times and in other places, given way to the doctrine of circumcision. The epistle is unintelligible without supposing all this. (Clarke, 1831, vol. II p. 361)  
Section VII.  
This epistle goes farther than any of St. Paul’s epistles; for it avows in direct terms the supersession of the Jewish law, as an instrument of salvation, even to the Jews themselves. Not only were the Gentiles exempt from its authority, but even the Jews were no longer either to place any dependency upon it, or consider themselves as subject to it on a religious account. "Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto faith which should afterward be revealed: wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith; but, after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." (Chap. [chapter] iii. 23-25) This was undoubtedly spoken of Jews, and to Jews. … What then should be the conduct of a Jew (for such St. Paul was) who preached this doctrine? To be consistent with himself, either he would no longer comply, in his own person, with the directions of the law; or, if he did comply, it would be some other reason than any confidence which he placed in its efficacy, as a religious institution. (Clarke, 1831, vol. II pp. 366-367)  
Preface  
The religion of the ancient Galatae was extremely corrupt and superstitious: and they are said to have worshipped the mother of the gods, under the name of Agdistis; and to have offered human sacrifices of the prisoners they took in war.  
They are mentioned by historians as a tall and valiant people, who went nearly naked; and used for arms only a sword and buckler. The impetuosity of their attack is stated to have been irresistible…’” (Clarke, 1831, vol. II p. 369)  
From The New Jerome Biblical Commentaryⁱⁱ  
"Introduction  
The Galatai, originally an Indo-Aryan tribe of Asia, were related to the Celts or Gauls (“who in their own language are called Keltae, but in ours Galli”) ... About 279 BC some of them invaded the lower Danube area and Macedonia, descending even into the Gk [Greek] peninsula. After they were stopped by the Aetolians in 278, a remnant fled across the Hellespont into Asia Minor …  
Occasion and Purpose  
… He … stoutly maintained that the gospel he had preached, without the observance of the Mosaic practices, was the only correct view of Christianity … Gal [Galatians] thus became the first expose` of Paul’s teaching about justification by grace through faith apart from deeds prescribed by the law; it is Paul’s manifesto about Christian freedom.  
... Who were the agitators in Galatia? … they are best identified as Jewish Christians of Palestine, of an even stricter Jewish background than Peter, Paul, or James, or even of the ‘false brethren' (2:4) of Jerusalem, whom Paul had encountered there. (The account in Acts 15:5 would identify the latter as ‘believers who had belonged to the sect of the Pharisees.’) … The agitators in Galatia were Judaizers, who insisted not on the observance of the whole Mosaic law, but at least on circumcision and the observance of some other Jewish practices. Paul for this reason warned the Gentile Christians of Galatia that their fascination with ‘circumcision’ would oblige them to keep ‘the whole law’ (5:3). The agitators may have been syncretists of some sort: Christians of Jewish perhaps Essene, background, affected by some Anatolian influences. … (Joseph A. Fitzmyer, 1990, TNJBC pp. 780-781)   END NOTES
ⁱ The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The text carefully printed from the most correct copies of the present Authorized Version. Including the marginal readings and parallel texts. With a Commentary and Critical Notes. Designed as a help to a better understanding of the sacred writings. By Adam Clarke, LL.D. F.S.A. M.R.I.A. With a complete alphabetical index. Royal Octavo Stereotype Edition. Vol. II. [Vol. VI together with the O.T.] New York, Published by J. Emory and B. Waugh, for the Methodist Episcopal Church, at the conference office, 13 Crosby-Street. J. Collord, Printer. 1831.  
ⁱⁱ The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Edited by Raymond E. Brown, S.S., Union Theological Seminary, New York; NY, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J. (emeritus) Catholic University of America, Washington, DC; Roland E. Murphy, O.Carm. (emeritus) The Divinity School, Duke University, Durham, NC, with a foreword by His Eminence Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini, S.J.; Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1990  
  Chapter One  
…  

Tiding of [בשורת, BeSOoRahTh, Gospel] one
[verses 6-10]  

…  

…………………………………………  
How [כיצד, KaYTsahD] was [היה, HahYaH] Shah`OoL [“Lender”, Saul, Paul] to become a Sent Forth [Apostle]
[verses 11 to end of chapter]  

…  
Chapter Two  

Sending forth of Shah’OoL required upon hands of the Sent Forth
[verses 1-10]  

…  

…………………………………………  
The YeHOo-DeeYM [“YHVH-ites”, Judeans] and the nations, righteous from inside belief
[verses 11 to end of chapter]  

...
-16. And since [וכיון, VeKhayVahN] that know, we, that [כי, KeeY] the ’ahDahM [“man”, Adam] is not made righteous in realizing commandments [of] the Instruction [Torah, law],
rather in belief of the Anointed [המשיח, HahMahSheeY-ahH, the Messiah, the Christ] YayShOo`ah [“Savior”, Jesus],
believe, also we, in Anointed YayShOo`ah,
to sake we are made righteous from inside belief in Anointed,
and not in realizing commandments [of] the Instruction,
that yes, in realizing commandments [of] the Instruction is not made righteous any [כל, KahL] flesh.  

“As a Pharisee, Paul had been taught that works of law were deeds done in obedience to the Torah, contrasted with things done according to one’s own will. The object of this obedience was to render oneself acceptable to God – to ‘justify’ oneself. Having found this impossible, Paul reinforced the evidence from his own experience by Ps. [Psalm] 143:2, where the sinner prays God not to enter into judgment with him because in God’s sight no man living is righteous. Into this passage from the LXX [The Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible] Paul inserted ‘by works of law,’ and wrote σαρξ [sarx], ‘flesh,’ instead of ζων [zon], ‘one living.’ This quotation warns us against setting Paul’s salvation by grace over against Judaism in such a way as to obscure the fact that the Jews depended also upon God’s lovingkindness and tender mercies (I Kings 8:46; Job 10:14-15; 14:3-4; Prov. [Proverbs] 20:9; Eccl. [Ecclesiasticus] 7:20; Mal. [Malachi] 3:2; Dan. [Daniel] 9:18).” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X p. 483)  
“Justified is a metaphor from the law court. The Greek verb is δικαιοω [dikaioo], the noun δικαιοσουνη [dikaiosoune’], the adjective δικαιος [dikaios]. The common root is δικ [dik] as in δεικνυμι [deiknumi], ‘point out,’ ‘show.’ The words formed on this root point to a norm or standard to which persons and things must conform in order to be ‘right.’ The English ‘right’ expresses the same idea, being derived from the Anglo-Saxon ‘richt,’ which means ‘straight,’ not crooked, ‘upright,’ not oblique. The verb δικαιοω means ‘I think it right.’ A man is δικαιος, ‘right’ when he conforms to the standard of acceptable character and conduct, and δικαιοσυνη, ‘righteousness,’ ‘justice,’ is the state or quality of this conformity. In the LXX these Greek words translate a group of Hebrew words formed on the root צדק [TsehDehQ], and in Latin the corresponding terms are justifico, justus, and justificatio. In all four languages the common idea is the norm by which persons and things are to be tested. Thus in Hebrew a wall is ‘righteous’ when it conforms to the plumb line, a man when he does God’s will.  
From earliest boyhood Paul had tried to be righteous. But there came a terrible day when he said ‘I will covet’ to the law’s ‘Thou shalt not,’ and in that defiance he had fallen out of right relation to God and into the ‘wrath,’ where he ‘died’ spiritually… Thenceforth all his efforts, however strenuous, to get ‘right’ with God were thwarted by the weakness of his sinful human nature, the ‘flesh’ (σαρξ) [sarx]. That experience of futility led him to say that a man is not justified by works ‘of law.’” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X p. 483)  

[Actually Paul changed his point of view as a result of his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, not as a result of intellectual contemplation. His many failures hitherto had not led him to this conclusion. The description of Paul in the preceding paragraph is a fiction.]  

“In the eyes of the psalmists and rabbis this was blasphemously revolutionary. Resting on God’s covenant with Abraham, they held it axiomatic that the ‘righteous’ man who had conscientiously done his part deserved to be vindicated before a wicked world; otherwise God could not be righteous. … In Judaism God was thought of as forgiving only repentant sinners who followed their repentance with right living …  
The theological expression for this conception of salvation is ‘justification by faith.’ Unfortunately this Latin word does not make plain Paul’s underlying religious experience, which was a change of status through faith from a wrong to a ‘right’ relationship with God… It conceals from the English reader the fact that the Greek word also means ‘righteousness.’ … (observe the ASV [American Standard Version] mg. [marginal note], ‘accounted righteous’).  
But ‘reckoned’ and ‘accounted’ expose Paul’s thought to misinterpretation by suggesting a legal fiction which God adopted to escape the contradiction between his acceptance of sinners and his own righteousness and justice.  
On the other hand, Paul’s term, in the passive, cannot be translated by ‘made righteous’ without misrepresenting him. In baptism he had ‘died with Christ’ to sin. By this definition the Christian is a person who does not sin! And yet Paul does not say that he is sinless, but that he must not sin. … This laid him open to a charge of self contradiction; sinless and yet not sinless, righteous and unrighteous, just and unjust at the same time. Some interpreters have labeled it ‘paradox,’ but such a superficial dismissal of the problem is religiously barren and worse than useless.  
The extreme difficulty of understanding Paul on this matter has led to a distinction between ‘justification’ and ‘sanctification,’ which obscures Paul’s urgency to be now, at this very moment, what God in accepting him says he is: a righteous man in Christ Jesus. Justification is reduced to a forensic declaration by which God acquits and accepts the guilty criminal, and sanctification is viewed as a leisurely process of becoming the kind of person posited by that declaration. This makes perfection seem far less urgent than Paul conceived it, and permits the spiritual inertia of human nature to continue its habit of separating religion from ethics. To prevent this misunderstanding it is necessary to keep in mind the root meaning of ‘righteousness’ in δικαιοω and its cognates.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 484-485)  

-19. I died according to [לגבי, LeGahBaY] the Instruction, because of [בגלל, BeeGLahL] the Instruction, in order [כדי, KeDaY] that I will live to God.  

“… The Pharisees taught that the Torah was the life element of the Jews; all who obeyed would live, those who did not would die (Deut. [Deuteronomy] 30:11-20).” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 488-489)  

-20. With the Anointed I was crucified, and no more I live, rather the Anointed lives in me.
The life that I live now in flesh, I live them in the belief of Son [of] the Gods that loved me and delivered up [ומסר, OoMahÇahR] himself in my behalf [בעדי, Bah`ahDeeY].  

“The danger was that Paul’s Gentile converts might claim freedom in Christ but reject the cross-bearing that made it possible. Lacking the momentum of moral discipline under Moses, which prepared Paul to make right use of his freedom, they might imagine that his dying and rising with Christ was a magical way of immortalizing themselves by sacramental absorption of Christ’s divine substance in baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The church has always been tempted to take Paul’s crucifixion with Christ in a symbolic sense only, or as an experience at baptism which is sacramentally automatic. It has also been tempted to reduce Paul’s ‘faith’ to bare belief and assent to his doctrine, and to equate his ‘righteousness’ with a fictitious imputation by a Judge made lenient by Christ’s death.  
Against these caricatures of ‘justification by faith,’ Paul’s whole life and all his letters are a standing protest. He never allows us to forget that to be crucified with Christ is to share the motives, the purposes, and the way of life that led Jesus to the Cross; to take up vicariously the burden of the sins of others, forgiving and loving instead of condemning them; to make oneself the slave of every man; to create unity and harmony by reconciling man to God and man to his fellow men; to pray without ceasing ‘Thy will be done’; to consign one’s life to God, walking by faith where one cannot see; and finally to leave this earth with the prayer ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.’  
… When Christ the Spirit came to live in Paul … Paul was guided at each step, in each new circumstance, to answer for himself the question: What would Jesus have me do? And the answer was always this: Rely solely on God’s grace through Christ, count others better than yourself, and make yourself everybody’s slave after the manner of the Son of God who loved you and gave himself for you.  
… The phrase εν σαρκι [en sarki] … means, lit. [literally], in the flesh. Someday – Paul hoped it would be soon – this would be changed into a body like that of the risen Christ, which belonged to the realm of Spirit.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 490-493)  
“Christ lives in me: The perfection of Christian life is expressed here … it reshapes human beings anew, supplying them with a new principle of activity on the ontological¹ level of their very beings.” (Joseph A. Fitzmyer, 1990, TNJBC p. 785)  

-21. I do not nullify [מבטל, MeBahTayL] [את, ’ehTh (indicator of direct object; no English equivalent)] mercy [of] Gods;
is not if [it] is possible to become righteous upon hand of the Instruction, see, that the Anointed died to nothing [לשוא, LahShahVe’]?  

“It is not I, he says, who am nullifying the grace of God by abandoning the law which is his grace-gift to Israel, but those who insist on retaining that law in addition to the grace which he has now manifested in Christ.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X p. 495)

  Footnotes   ¹ Ontological - relating to the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being  
An Amateur's Journey Through the Bible

so i have a freind who has become a situation i dont know how to deal with oh yeah btw hes slighty autistic but not enough for it to be a major issues in his life so fist of all to begin.
it first started out on a school trip to another country during which just before my other freinds told me that he at sleepovers before had cried and went home every time. So on the first night at the place were staying after 12 hours of driving he becomes hysterical and cant stop crying and says that he only wants to be in me and my freinds dorm despite him asking to be in other peoples dorm but luckily on of my freinds has a great relationship with the other people so the swap is easy this was the first of many problems. He first losses his phone the next day which was under his coat in the dorm and the next day losses his coat at dinner on the back of his chair the day after that in a park he losses his wallet which at the time i thought fair enoungh but he gets it back 4 months later and turns out he left it on the coach.This is his worst offence through on our way at border control he was in front of me in the queue which was filled with the public as well as our scholl and he says to me after i say go "i forgot my passport on the coach" by the way we had already scanned evething but because i finished early i smuggly watched hime be escourted by an angry teacher and border guard .about a month passes and he sends me a message about his mental health which i help him but then for a solid 2 months goes and hangs out with people who have openly admitted that thay dont like him and in soem isolated instances bully him. Finally i bring you to now about a week ago me him and other freind go camping in a field for a day and night things go well eept for him almost breaking rich freinds sweg way buggy thing(its quite expensive as you can imagine) any way we play hide and seek tig witha blunt bow and arrow he is the hunter and we hide in the bushes 2 hours go by and kid who owns the bow says"where the bow? we narrow it down to freind who says o h yeah i lost it so we go out and try to find and i got very angry at him for making us look for it and him looking sad and not doing anything so i shout "stop looking so fing stupid and try and help us find the bow you fing idiot" (we had been looking for over 30 minutes) 10 minutes later we give up and he calls someone and says things like my freinds arent even helping me look an 1 hour later after him crying and hiding it he finds it in the left corner of the field. during this hour period my freind calls annoying freinds mum and tells her whats happening and i would later find out why he had her number anyway during the night he says i want to go home and later his mum picks him upwith him leaving almost evething oof his and leaving the tent door open while its atleats -1 outside. so my freind has this moms number because annoying freind the day before said you never know i might walk home which for him is possible and is also a 2 hour walk alone at night. reddit i just dont know what to do with hime please help also sorry for the grammar and spellings

I appreciate everyone in this sub Reddit. I haven’t posted anything here yet but I have read a lot. I have been working on a book for the last several months and I have 28,200 words. I would like to share one of my chapters to get feedback.
This is chapter 8
My father was a chief of police and several other members of my family were in law enforcement. I had been raised around and amongst police officers since I was very young and the seeds had been planted in my heart to follow in my father’s footsteps. I dropped out of high school in my junior year because I was utterly failing in my academics and frankly had no interest. I was working at Marvin’s IGA grocery store for most of the time when I was 17. After I turned 18 however, I began to look for a more serious job. My dad had heard that the local jail was hiring and that they would hire at 18 years of age. He explained that the jail was typically the first step on the path on starting a career in law enforcement and that many cops he knew had spent a year or two working at the jail before becoming police officers. In February of 2008 I applied and in early March I began a pre-employment screening process. This consisted of a background check and a polygraph test. I had never been criminally in trouble so the background check went fine. I am sure some of them had heard about my UFO 911 call but it was never mentioned to me if they had. As I walked into the administration side of the Sheriff’s Office, I could feel my heart pounding against my chest. I knew what was waiting for me - a dreaded polygraph test. The room was small, and the only thing between me and the stern-looking lieutenant was a desk. But what caught my attention was the intimidating chair in front of the desk, with various sensors and attachments ready to measure my every physical response. The lieutenant welcomed me, but his tone was stern as he explained that this was a mandatory test for all recruits seeking employment at the facility. The silence in the room was deafening, and the air was thick with tension. I knew that this moment would determine my future, and I could not help but wonder, would I pass the test or fail? I had been previously told what sorts of questions would be on the test. Several of which I knew I would have to lie on. Especially if they asked if I had ever used illegal drugs as I had smoked marijuana with friends by this point. I had been quite a book reader at this point in my life all ready and at one point I had read about how to fool a polygraph test and it essentially went like this. To fool the polygraph sensors, you have to believe your own lies. The sensors are looking for physiological signs of deception, guilt, anticipation anything of that sort. So, you must not view your answers as lies. There has to be an agreement in my mind already that the entire thing is a farce. This man is not really trying to read me, this is simply a round about way of filling out a form in his possession and I am putting the answers as I want them to appear on the form. So, in my heart this is no a question of true or false. It is a question of what I want to appear on the paper. Therefor when a question is asked. I am not lying regardless of what I say, I am simply dictating to him what to put on the paper for me. Another tip I had read was to focus on a particular place on the wall in front of you and concentrate on it. I sat down and said I was ready. He then began by asking my name and what town we were in for a base reading. Next came the questions. Have you ever committed a serious crime that went undetected? A normal response to this question would be to begin to think back over one’s history and to question one’s self to make sure you weren’t missing anything. However, I stared at the wall and decided the answer to that question needed to be no, so I said no. The polygraph examination went on like this until the end. I can’t say I passed with flying colors however. Lieutenant Carter at the end looked at me and told me my lines were strange and did not indicate either deception or truthfulness but were what they would call inconclusive. Which is still passable for I passed my exam although I got a few odd looks from the lieutenant before I left. Not long after this I was being fitted for a jailer uniform and being distributed the equipment I would be using in my new role as Jail Deputy. I had a grand sense of embarking on a noble quest that would lead to untold adventures and a feeling of being a part of something much bigger than myself. Putting on the uniform for the first time went straight to my head as I could almost feel the new powers of authority emanating out from my being. The jail was connected to the main Sheriff's Office by a set of sturdy steel doors, which were operated remotely from a centralized command center. Once inside, there was no way out unless the command center authorized it. Although there were one or two physical keys, they were not kept on the premises and were reserved only for emergency situations where the controls at the command center were inaccessible. As I walked down the corridor towards the "Pod" where I was to begin my work, I couldn't help but notice the thick, grey concrete walls that lined the passageway. The Pod I would be working in for the first few months was known as D Pod. Essentially, a Pod was a hexagonal command center situated on a raised platform, encircled by remotely operated doors that led to various cell blocks. D-Pod comprised of 6 cell blocks and 2 recreational yards. When entering D-Pod, the two largest cell blocks, D-109 and D-130, were situated on the left-hand side. D-109 housed individuals jailed on misdemeanor charges, while D-130 was reserved for those facing felony charges who had not yet gone to trial. Essentially, it was the pre-trial felony block. On the right-hand side, there were four smaller blocks. One of these, D-150, hosted federal inmates who were predominantly Hispanic individuals with immigration-related holds. However, occasionally, unique inmates with charges related to federal crimes, such as crossing state borders to commit a crime, would also be held in D-150. The final two blocks were D-169 which hosted all inmates with sex related crimes and D-170 which held all inmates with Felony charges who had recently been convicted at trial but had not been sent to prison yet. Initially, my job at the jail was titled "Working D-Pod Direct," which involved spending time in the two largest cell blocks, D-109 and D-130, rather than simply standing in the command area of the Pod. As I began to acclimate myself to the environment and interact with the inmates, I noticed a variety of odors that were foreign to me. The persistent scent of sweat and human body odor was particularly revolting. I couldn't help but cringe at the thought of it. As I glanced around at the inmates, I couldn't help but feel a sense of disdain towards them. They had made choices that landed them in jail, and now they were paying the price. While I would be civil and courteous, I didn't feel as though I owed them anything. It was clear that breaking the rules on my watch was not an option. I quickly familiarized myself with the list of inmate infractions and their respective punishments. If an inmate broke certain rules, they could be subjected to lockdown. It became somewhat of a game to try and catch them in the act, and why not? They had committed a crime and their time in jail should not be pleasant or enjoyable. After all, what motivation would they have to not reoffend and come back? Thanks to constantly splitting wood, my arms had become rock-solid. In addition, I had been diligently honing my boxing skills and was eager for a potential altercation. The idea of an inmate attempting to intimidate me was thrilling, and I relished the possibility of a challenge. My father had earned a reputation as a formidable fighter, and now it was time for me to begin carving out my own legacy. As I searched through the bunks in D-109, my eyes caught sight of an inmate's thin, uncomfortable mat resting on top of his metal bunk. I couldn't help but wonder what could be hiding underneath it. My curiosity got the best of me, and I lifted the mat to find small, circular objects made of toothpaste. It was clear to me that the inmate had made these "mints" himself. I immediately located the inmate responsible and demanded an explanation for his actions. He fumbled through a feeble excuse, which did nothing to sway my judgement. As punishment, I stripped him of his privileges to have a mat and associate with other inmates. I then escorted him to E-Pod, on the opposite side of the jail, which served as the lockdown block. While I found the concept of lockdown amusing at the time, it was a truly awful experience for the inmates. They were stripped of all their belongings except for a Bible and confined to an empty cell for 23 hours a day, with only one hour of freedom to take a shower or read the newspaper in the main area of the cell block. I found myself getting a rush from catching inmates breaking the rules. It became a daily goal of mine to ensure that at least one person was placed in lockdown. At the time I thought that the rules were very simple for people who clearly cared little about society, simple dos and don’ts. There were big ones such as “Don’t assault any jail staff”, “No Fighting.”, “Attempts to escape.”, “No sexual activity.” Etc. Then there were the pettier issues, these were the ones I spent my time on. “Leaning on the wall.”, “Storing food after meals have been picked up.”, “Being unsanitary, failing to keep cell clean.”, “Possessing anything not authorized or issued directly to the inmate through jail staff.” The latter rule was very open to interpretation, and was used if inmates had extra of anything. Many an inmate met lockdown due to having an extra roll of toilet paper in those days. A typical portion of my day might go like this. I stride purposefully down the dimly-lit prison block, my boots echoing off the concrete walls. My chest swells with a sense of authority as I approach the inmate's cell. Without a word, I barge in, my hand firmly gripping my baton. "Face the wall!" I bark, my voice carrying the weight of my position. The inmate jumps, fear etched on his face as he turns to comply with my order. I begin to inspect his cell, my eyes scanning every inch for any signs of contraband. My nose wrinkles at the faint smell of sweat and mold, but I push on, determined to maintain control. And then, there it is. An extra roll of toilet paper, sitting innocuously on the shelf. I whirl around to face the inmate, my lip curling in disdain. "What is this?" I demand, my tone dripping with arrogance. The inmate stammers, fear and distress etched on his face. "I-I didn't know," he stutters. "I didn't know we couldn't have more than one roll." I snort in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that? You should have read the handbook more closely." I reach out and snatch the booklet from his hands, flipping through the pages with a sneer. "And here it is," I say triumphantly, jabbing my finger at the relevant section. "One roll per inmate. Did you even bother to read this?" I pull the inmate out of his cell, dragging him along behind me as I stride purposefully down the hallway. "Lockdown for five days," I snap, my tone leaving no room for argument. "Maybe you'll learn to follow the rules next time." I stride out of the prison gates, my uniform crisp and my badge shining in the sun. It's been a hard day, but I've managed to keep the inmates in line, as I always do. The weight of the day's events still heavy on my mind, I pull out a pack of Marlboro reds and light one up. The smoke fills my lungs and I let out a long exhale, feeling a sense of relief wash over me. Driving down the winding country roads, the sun beating down on my face, I can't help but feel a sense of peace. The green pastures and fields stretch out for miles on either side of the road, and I feel like I'm the only one in the world. When I finally get home, I grab a cold beer from the fridge and climb into the driver's seat of my truck. The sounds of the woods and insects fill the air as I crack open the can and start to read a book. The sun slowly begins to set, casting a warm orange glow over the trees. As the night deepens, I feel a restlessness stirring within me. I decide to take my truck out for a spin, driving through the small town I grew up in. The beer has been flowing freely for hours, but it doesn't even occur to me that I might be breaking the law. I revel in the feeling of being an adult, of having power and control over others. It doesn't matter that I've spent the day punishing inmates for petty offenses, because in this moment, I am invincible. The irony of my situation is lost on me, and I continue to drive around, the night stretching out before me like an open road. After I get home and as the night wears on, I continue to drink, the bottles piling up around me. The sounds of the woods outside provide a backdrop to my drunken stupor, and I stumble out into the darkness. The insects hum around me, and the night birds call out in the distance. I feel my stomach churning, and I lurch forward, retching onto the ground. The smell of beer and bile fills my nostrils, and I heave until there's nothing left. As I stumble into the woods, their darkness and isolation seem to envelop me completely. The only witnesses to my weakness are the insects and birds, their chirping and buzzing forming a constant, mocking chorus. No god, no divine presence to judge my actions or offer me solace. I know that I can’t linger here for long. I have to be at work again at 6 in the morning, ready to continue my reign of power.

So when I was young I lived a pretty good life. I had 2 twin brothers and a older sister I didn’t see much. Only reasons I didn’t see her much is because she would live with her mom which was my step mom. We had the same dad and only lived together for about 4 years when I was younger. We lived in a decent house because my dad had a company and made around 100 thousand dollars a year. I didn’t see him much because he was always working. We lived like this for about up till I was 6. His business partner screwed him over. He basically made another company and took all of his workers. My mom didn’t have a job because she would always watch us. We ended up getting kicked out of the house we lived in for 20 years. My dad left my mom too live with another girl named Andrea. My mom had to get 2 jobs so she was gone most of the time. She had started renting out this crappy duplex. I had to watch my brothers and just survive. We didn’t have Wi-Fi, electric, or water. But we was always at our upstairs neighbors. Keep in mind we were not dirty people at all. But our upstairs neighbors We’re. They had bed bugs and we ended up getting them too. Our actually neighbors where the most nicest old couple in the world. They would give us bread, water bottles and peanut butter. I know that don’t sound like a lot but it helped a lot. I don’t think they was in good good shape either. The daily food me and my brothers got was peanut butter sandwiches and had to drink kool-aid. We would never be at the house and ended up staying at the park down the street for hours. The only rule my mom had was don’t get in trouble and be back when the street lights came on. There was a older girl that was our upstairs neighbor. She was about 15 at the time and I was only 8. She would smoke a lot and hang out with gangs. We lived in a very dangerous area. I would go with her and ended up exploring a lot of abandoned places. I would feel really bad and try to bring my brothers but she would always say no because they was only 5. They would usually go with my dad. My dad ended up getting back on his feet and he lived with his girl friend. He took us and he had to live in her basement. I was always a daddy’s boy so me and my brothers went with him. I would always go to my moms still and hang out with the 14 year old named destiny. I knew my mom was trying her hardest. She ended up getting sick and had to blow all of her hard earned money on medicine. When it came to time to Christmas my brother never went to her house. She had spent some of the money she had on some of their Christmas presents. We never really got much but I was so grateful. I didn’t want my brothers to come over there and act spoiled because all they got where a outfit and legos. So I brought the presents to my dads. All I got was a slushee machine that my mom got from the next door neighbors. I also got some clothes that was from good will. My mom started moving in with her wealthy friend and got back on her feet from her. She ended moving in with which ended up being her boyfriend named Andrew. I never went there and stayed with my dad. He got me every thing I wanted. My dad got us our own house that he is still renting out today. Keep in mind my moms boyfriend is wealthy and my mom is living with him. Me and my brother got our own room at his house. My mom stated going to classes and ended up taking care of old people. She makes good money there and I never thought we would be where we are today.

Preface
The old man has finally left… As a Bucs fan I have to just start by thanking Tom Brady by giving me some of the best years of Buc’s football I have seen in my 22 years of life. From eliminating the Saints and retiring Brees to winning the SB the Bucs teams from the Brady era will always be special to me. But saying that this move had to happen as with Brady the Bucs would not be able to rebuild the roster to the degree that is needed.
While a roster top loaded with talent the Bucs are in a huge deficit of depth through the roster even before Brady left. During this season we saw the effect of this lack of depth with the amount of injuries we had throughout the interior of the O-line and through the entire defense. Injuries to Ryan Jensen and Aaron Stinnie forced inexperienced players upfront which led to the biggest problem of the season which was pressure from the interior of the line. While backup Center Robert Hainsey held up and gave the Bucs fans hope for a post Ryan Jensen O-Line first year player Luke Goedeke was a detriment in his first year at guard to the point the Bucs will be switching him to RT for next season. For the defense we saw injuries throughout it from our depleted CB room to our barren safety room to our ravaged EDGE room to our destroyed IDL room… you get the point. Injuries were the main thing that destroyed the Bucs last season and during this offseason the Bucs lost even more depth.
The main positive about the Bucs lost season was GM Jason Licht firing OC Byron Leftwich from his role. While seemingly a good guy Leftwich might have been the worst OC in football last season. Continually calling plays which seemed to be against the players and the team's best interest. At times watching Leftwich call games was similar to spamming the A button in Madden and letting the game decide what play you were calling for you. It was infuriating his constant tirades he would go on about during the season when asked why he never called play action when we were one of the best play action teams in the league. Along with his thought process that the run game has to be dominant to set up the play action game which continually caused 3 and outs as he would call to run plays up the gut and an over schemed passing play on 3rd down. Replacing Leftwich was paramount, and I truly do believe Jason Licht found a good one in Dave Canales coming from Seattle. Canales was the WR coach for the Seahawks from 2010-2017 before becoming QB coach and passing game coordinator from 2018-2023. Canales is a Carroll disciple being part of Carrolls tenure at USC. Canales should bring life to the Tampa Bay passing game and with his already raving reviews of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin it should at least be a fun year for the Bucs.
New Coaching Hires:
Dave Canales (Offensive Coordinator)
Brad Idzik (Wide Receiver Coach)
Skip Peete (Running Back Coach)
Thad Lewis(QB Coach)
George Edwards(OLB Coach)
Notable Arrivals
QB Baker Mayfield
G Matt Feiler
IDL Greg Gaines
S Ryan Neal
RB Chase Edmonds
Summary: The Bucs additions this off season are nothing to write home about. Mayfield joins Tampa looking to win his final opportunity to show he is a starting QB in the NFL he will be in a stiff competition with Kyle Trask who Dave Canales is hyping up. At the end of the day I believe Trask will win the QB competition and be thrown into a sink or swim situation like Sam Howell and Desmond Ridder. While Gaines and Neal are phenomenal value signing with both being immediate contributors on the Bucs defense with Gaines being projected to rotate with Vita Vea along with playing next to the behemoth and Neal seemingly replacing Mike Edwards role at SS opposite of AWJ these players aren’t gamebreakers. Feiler and Edmonds should be nice depth pieces with Fieler competing to be the starting LG. Overall the Buc’s didn’t make any splash signings in free agency but with the limited cap room they had the moves they made were more than fine.
Notable Departures
LT Donovan Smith
S Mike Edwards
RB Leonard Fournette
G Shaq Mason
TE Cameron Brate
CB Sean Murphy-Bunting
K Ryan Succop
Summary: With this offseason the Buc’s ended up losing a ton of starters on both sides of the ball. On offense the Bucs lost their starting LT, RB, RG, TE and K. While Donovan Smith was a liability in pass protection his departure does mean the Bucs will now be shifting All-Pro RT Tristan Wirfs to LT which causes hesitation in people. I believe this move will be fine in both the long and short term for Tampa but it is still something to note. On defense the Bucs lost both starting SS Mike Edwards and NCB SMB. These moves leave the Bucs secondary especially thin at the CB position with Zyon McCollum slotted to start at NCB now.
Bucs Draft Selections
1.19: Calijah Kancey IDL Pittsburgh 6’1 281lbs
RAS Score: 9.60 Draft Grade: A
While some people believed that taking a OT here was a must with the top 4 OT’s all gone before the Jets pick the Bucs were put into one of the most interesting situations in the draft, seemingly picking between defensive players at this point GM Jason Licht stated that at the top of board they had to players one being “The Linebacker who went to the Lions(Jack Campbell) and Calijah Kancey'' with Kancey being BPA after the OT’s were taken. In a draft class with very few true top end talents I see this as a major win for the Bucs taking a top 10 player on the board and a premier pass rusher from day 1.
Kancey from day 1 should be a menace on the interior of the Bucs D-line paired with the best NT in football Vita Vea. Kancey doesn’t just win with his elite first step; he is an extremely refined player in every aspect of rushing the passer. From hand usage, leverage, pass rushing moves and intensity Kancey makes up for his miniscule size and arm length with his athleticism which is otherworldly. The comparison to Aaron Donald is over blown, Kancey doesn’t play with the functional strength that Donald had or the run defense ability that Donald has. Personally, I can see Kancey becoming a in between of Aaron Donald and Prime Sheldon Richardson a pass rushing specialist who will collapse the interior and will develop into a 3-down player as his career and body develop in the NFL.
2.48: Cody Mauch G North Dakota State 6’5 302lbs
RAS Score: 9.32 Draft Grade: B
Mauch is very much a Jason Licht pick. Small school guard with a mean streak and tons of athleticism. Mauch is not just a meme because of his missing front teeth he is a legitimate RG prospect similar to Alex Cappa and Ali Marpet for the Bucs. With how the O-Line is shaping up and Licht seemingly happy to move Goedeke from LG to RT, Mauch makes complete sense to shore up the RG position giving the Bucs a much younger and deeper interior then they had last year where every single projected starter interior lineman was hurt at some point.
With Mauch on tape I can see exactly what Licht loves in his linemen with a player who has aggressive hands and a base when pass blocking. Mauch has shown that he is a coachable player making the switch from TE to O-Line. You can sense the traits and upside that Mauch has over some other guard prospects in this class. I do believe that the Bucs switching to a zone blocking scheme which Seattle runs will aid the young O-Line and play to Mauch’s strength which is his athleticism. Playing beside Ryan Jensen makes this pick a B-B+ for me, a big addition especially if Goedeke is the answer at RT.
3.82: YaYa Diaby EDGE Louisville 6’3 263lbs
RAS Score: 9.87 Draft Grade: A
Diaby is a tale of untapped potential. Playing completely out of position at Louisville Diaby was forced to play with his hand in the dirt. Diaby is one of the most athletic players the NFL has ever seen from the EDGE position with his initial quickness and long arms Diaby should be able to develop into at minimum a role player for Tampa. Playing behind Shaq Barrett and Joe Tryon should help Diaby develop into the premier EDGE player he can be. He shows flashes on tape of just using his superior size and athleticism to overpower linemen and his speed to get past them.
For the Bucs I think Diaby will play a rotational role at the moment similar to Anthony Nelson’s role as a smart rotational EDGE that Bowles will use on unique blitz packages which push JTS or Shaq into a 4-3 stance. I have massive hope for Diaby in this defense as a future foundational piece for the Bucs who will more likely than not have to move on from Shaq Barrett next off season.
5.153: SirVocea Dennis LB Pittsburgh 6’1 226lbs
RAS Score: 7.28 Draft Grade: A+
My favorite pick in the Bucs draft I have Dennis as a top 5 LB in the class. Dennis is a do it all LB who is able to not only tackle well but is able to blitz the passer from the ILB position better than anybody in this class. His biggest deficiency to his game is his lack of experience in coverage but he wasn’t a player who was dominated there either. On film you could see him being put into situations in coverage which he couldn’t make the play. In Tampa Dennis will be mentored by one of the best coverage LB’s in the NFL for over a decade in Lavonte David. And with Bowles coaching the defense Dennis will be able to use his ability to rush the passer from the ILB position to its full effect.
With Dennis I can see this being one of the best picks in the entire draft. Dennis’s fit in Tampa is like a glove and with the situation with Devin White where we aren’t sure if he will be a Buc next season I can see Dennis being put into a starting position next to Lavonte David and like former Bucs Kwon Alexander taking it and never looking back.
5.171: Payne Durham TE Purdue 6’6 253lbs
RAS Score: 6.58 Draft Grade: B-
Durham is a big TE who is good at everything but a master at nothing. Very similar to what the Bucs had in longtime player Cameron Brate. Durham at Purdue was a team leader for the offense he set the tone playing an aggressive brand of football dragging defenders wherever he went with the ball. Durham runs decent routes and has decent hands but was never a player who took the top off a defense. With Durham you are giving Mayfield or Trask a reliable receiver in the passing game and a decent blocker to boot. For his size Durham was able to produce decent YAC at Purdue rumbling his way down the field in a similar way that Jason Witten was able to do for the Cowboys during his tenure.
For the Bucs Durham joins one of the youngest TE rooms in the NFL with last year's pick Cade Otton and Ko Kieft being the only players that seem to have roster spots in that room at the moment. Durham should compete with Kieft to be TE2 for this season, but he should be able to still carve a decent role for himself in Tampa with how new OC Canales uses TE’s. Where each TE has a specific role and was able to contribute with Geno Smith at QB.
6.181: Josh Hayes NCB Kansas State 5’11 189lbs
RAS Score: 4.82 Draft Grade: C
The biggest surprise in the Bucs draft was grabbing Josh Hayes, a prospect most people didn’t even have a priority free agent grade on in the top of the 6th. Hayes for all intents and purposes is a prototypical Bowles NCB. Hayes has the speed to play in the NFL and on tape you can see he has adequate tackling skills from the NCB position which he played in college along with the S position. With Hayes you have to believe that the coaching can turn this player into a solid starter because if not the CB room and S room take a massive hit forcing Winfield Jr into NCB full time.
Hayes' best film in my opinion was for North Dakota State where he was a former teammate of Bucs 2nd round pick Cody Mauch. At NDSU you can see the making of a very good CB prospect with how he is able to play in both Man and Zone coverage. At Kansas State he was never forced to be CB1 or even CB2 at times but he did hold his side of the field down and was able to put up some decent performances as a Wildcat. To me this C grade is more of a “I trust Bowles to develop CB’s/S’s” grade.
6.192: Trey Palmer WR Nebraska 6’0 192lbs
RAS Score: 6.18 Draft Grade: A+
A great value pick for the Bucs with their depleted WR core. Palmer has serious upside as a deep threat and even as a return man for the Bucs. Past Evans, Godwin and Gage every spot in the receiver room is wide open and Palmer seems to have the talent to set himself apart as WR4 by the end of the year. Palmer does have reasons for falling this far in the draft though as he has serious drop issues and apparent character issues which have set him back before. I don’t see this as a big problem in Tampa with Evans and Godwin being locker room leaders and his past season at Nebraska.
With Palmer you can see the obvious talent that is there but you can see the reasons he was drafted in the 6th round even when he has Day 2 talent in this class. And with this talent I can see him developing into a player similar to MVS for the Packers and now the Chiefs. A good deep threat that can blow the top off of a defense and isn’t scared of making plays on contested passes even if they aren’t the biggest receiver on the team by any means.
6.196: Jose Ramirez EDGE Eastern Michigan 6’2 242lbs
RAS Score: 8.10 Draft Grade: B
When you watch Ramirez on tape it’s hard to not like what you see. At first when looking at this pick, I thought about how our EDGE room was already a bit full with Diaby but in hindsight I like the Ramirez pick more and more from a talent standpoint. Ramirez is never going to be the most athletic guy on the team but he makes up for it with his effort, timing and technique. Extremely similar to how Shaq Barrett plays for the Bowles defense Ramirez has a talent for being the first guy to get into the QB’s area with his blend of pass rushing moves and leverage. Ramirez was dominant at Eastern Michigan being one of the best players to ever play for EMU.
For a dart throw pick Ramirez should bring the effort needed to truly succeed in some capacity in the NFL and being mentored by the player your game is most similar to in Shaq Barrett is a plus as well. Ramirez should find a role as a utility pass rusher but I don’t see him playing much at all this season and having to compete against Cam Gill for EDGE 5 on the roster.
Key UDFA’s
Sean Tucker RB Syracuse 5’10 205lbs
RAS Score: N/A
Jeremy Banks LB Tennessee 6’1 232lbs
RAS Score: 8.90
Luke Haggard OT Indiana 6’6 297lbs
RAS Score: N/A
Rakim Jarrett WR Maryland 6’0 190lbs
RAS Score: 7.89
Chris Inzen S Rutgers 5’10 200lbs
RAS Score: N/A
Projected Final Roster
Offense(26)
QB(2)
Baker Mayfield
Kyle Trask
RB(4)
Rachaad White
Ke'shawn Vaugn
Chase Edmonds
Sean Tucker
WR(7)
Mike Evans
Chris Godwin
Russell Gage
Trey Palmer
Deven Thompkins
Rakiim Jarrett
TE(3)
Cade Otton
Ko Kieft
Payne Durham OT(4)
Tristan Wirfs
Luke Goedeke
Brandon Walton
Luke Haggard
OG(4)
Cody Mauch
Matt Feiler
Aaron Stinnie
John Molchon
C(2)
Ryan Jensen
Robert Hainsey
Defense(24)
IDL(5)
Vita Vea
Calijah Kancey
Greg Gaines
Logan Hall
Pat O’Connor
EDGE(5)
Shaq Barrett
Joe Tryon
Anthony Nelson
Yaya Diaby
Jose Ramirez LB(4)
Lavonte David
Devin White
SirVocea Dennis
KJ Britt
CB(6)
Carilton Davis
Jamel Dean
Zyon McCollum
Josh Hayes
Dee Delany
Don Gardner
S(4)
Antoine Winfield Jr
Ryan Neal
Nolan Turner
Chris Inzen
Special Teams(3)
K(1)
Chase McLaughlin
P(1)
Jake Camarda
LS(1)
Zach Triner
Final Thoughts
For what seems to be a retooling/rebuilding year I actually liked what Jason Licht and the Bucs did. For me this draft was easily the best draft they have had since drafting Tristan Wirfs and Antoine Winfield Jr in 2020. With this draft you get an elite pass rushing DT that pairs perfectly next to Vita Vea. Cody Mauch who should be a starter at RG for years to come and fits this team's identity. YaYa Diaby who was a great value pick with Pro Bowl upside at EDGE. SirVocea Dennis who I think can easily become one of the best LB’s in this class and maybe even the league. Then the rest of the draft contained high floor prospects who can contribute to a rotational role in some way or form. Overall, the draft for the Bucs was a massive win in my books.
For this offseason I would also say it was a win if not adequate at worst. As an organization we know we needed to retool the roster and slowly claw ourselves out of cap hell in some way shape or form and using this season to get out of it is a good way to do it. There are 2 ways this season will go for us with us either being a team similar to the Seahawks that is able to dominate a weak NFC South, or we are one of the worst teams in the league and are in contention for Drake Maye and Caleb Williams. Either way I am looking forward to watching this season play out for the Bucs. David Canales should bring life back to our offense and Mike Evans should continue his campaign towards the most consecutive 1000-yard seasons.
Overall, I am happy with this off season and especially the draft that came with it. Let me know what you guys think! This is my first time defending the draft and I hope this isn’t terrible and if it’s not I would love to do this again next year! Go Bucs Go!

Galatians  

The Gospel of Paul  

Paul can be forgiven for equating the destruction of Israel with the end of the world. Everyone who loves Israel wants to save her, the controversy between the Judaizers and Paul was over how to do it.  
From The Interpreters’ Bible:  
"Introduction  
-1. Occasion and Purpose  
Conservative preachers were persuading the Galatians that faith was not enough to make sure of God’s kingdom. Besides believing that Jesus was the Messiah, one must join the Jewish nation, observe the laws and customs of Moses, and refuse to eat with the Gentiles (2:11-14, 4:10). One must have Christ and Moses, faith and law. Paul insisted that it must be either Moses or Christ. (5:2-6). [Mind you, the congregations were literally segregated at meals according to whether the male members’ foreskins were circumcised; compare with the trouble regarding the allocations between the two groups of widows reported in Acts.]  
Not content with raising doubts concerning the sufficiency of Christ, the Judaizers attacked Paul’s credentials. They said that he had not been one of the original apostles, and that he was distorting the gospel which Peter and John and James the Lord’s brother were preaching. They declared that his proposal to abandon the law of Moses was contrary to the teaching of Jesus, and they insinuated that he had taken this radical step to please men with the specious promise of cheap admission to God’s kingdom (1:10). If he were allowed to have his way, men would believe and be baptized but keep on sinning, deluding themselves that the Christian sacraments would save them. Claiming to rise above Moses and the prophets, they would debase faith into magic, liberty into license, making Christ the abettor of sin (2:17). The Judaizers were alarmed lest Paul bring down God’s wrath and delay the kingdom. They had not shared the emotion of a catastrophic conversion like Paul’s, and they found it hard to understand when he talked about a new power which overcame sin and brought righteousness better than the best that the law could produce.  
Another party attacked Paul from the opposite side. Influenced by the pagan notion that religion transcends ethics and is separable from morality, they wanted to abandon the Old Testament and its prophetic insights. They could not see how Paul’s demand to crucify one’s old sinful nature and produce the fruit of the Spirit could be anything but a new form of slavery to law (2:19-20, 5:14, 2-24). They accused him of rebuilding the old legalism, and some said that he was still preaching circumcision (2:18; 5:11). Whereas the Judaizers rejected Paul’s gospel because they believed it contrary to the teaching of the original apostles, these antilegalists felt that he was so subservient to the apostles as to endanger the freedom of the Christian Movement.  
Actually Paul had risen above both legalism and sacramentarianism ... his faith was qualitatively different from mere assent to a creed (5:6). He was living on the plateau of the Spirit, where life was so free that men needed no law to say ‘Thou shalt’ and ‘Thou shalt not’ (5:22-24). But this rarefied atmosphere was hard to breathe, and neither side could understand him. The conservatives were watching for moral lapses… and the radicals blamed him for slowing the progress of Christianity by refusing to cut it loose from Judaism and its nationalistic religious imperialism.” (Stamm, TIB 1953, vol. X pp. 430)  
Paul’s defense of his gospel and apostleship was the more difficult because he had to maintain his right to go directly to Christ without the mediation of Peter and the rest, but had to do it in such a way as not to split the church and break the continuity of his gospel with the Old Testament and the apostolic traditions about Jesus and his teaching. …  
To this end Paul gave an account of his relations with the Jerusalem church during the seventeen years that followed his conversion (1:11-2:14). Instead of going to Jerusalem he went to Arabia, presumably to preach (1:17). After a time he returned to Damascus, and only three years later did he go to see Peter. Even then he stayed only fifteen days and saw no other apostle except James the Lord’s brother (1:18-20). Then he left for Syria and Cilicia, and not until another fourteen years had passed did he visit Jerusalem again. This time it was in response to a revelation from his Lord, and not to a summons by the authorities in the Hoy City.  
Paul emphasizes that neither visit implied an admission that his gospel needed the apostolic stamp to make it valid. His purpose was to get the apostles to treat the uncircumcised Gentile Christians as their equals in the church (2:2). Making a test case of Titus, he won his point (2:3-5). The apostles agreed that a Gentile could join the church by faith without first becoming a member of the synagogue by circumcision. … They … recognize[d] that his mission to the Gentiles was on the same footing as theirs to the Jews – only he was to remember the poor (2:7-10). So far was Paul from being subordinated that when Peter came to Antioch and wavered on eating with the Gentile Christians, Paul did not hesitate to rebuke him in public (2:11-14). (Stamm, 1953, TIB vol. X pp. 430-431)  
Paul’s defense of his apostolic commission involved the question: What is the seat of authority in religion? A Jewish rabbi debating the application of the kosher laws would quote the authority of Moses and the fathers in support of his view. Jewish tradition declared that God delivered the law to Moses, and Moses to Joshua, and Joshua to the elders, and the elders to the men of the Great Synagogue, and that they had handed it down through an unbroken rabbinical succession to the present. If Paul had been a Christian rabbi, he could have treated the Sermon on the Mount as a new law from a new Sinai, which God had delivered to Jesus, and Jesus to Peter, and Peter to Paul, and Paul to Timothy and Titus, and so on through an unbroken apostolic succession until the second coming of Christ. Instead of taking his problems directly to this Lord in prayer, he would ask, ‘What does Peter say that Jesus did and said about it?’ And if Peter or the other apostles happened not to have a pronouncement from Jesus on a given subject, they would need to apply some other saying to his by reasoning from analogy. This would turn the gospel into a system of legalism, with casuistry for its guide, making Jesus a second Moses – a prophet who lived and died in a dim and distant past and left only a written code to guide the future. Jesus would not have been the living Lord, personally present in his church in every age as the daily companion of his members. That is why Paul insisted that Christ must not be confused or combined with Moses, but must be all in all.  
The Judaizers assumed that God had revealed to Moses all of his will, and nothing but this will, for all time, changeless and unchangeable; and that death was the penalty for tampering with it. The rest of the scriptures and the oral tradition which developed and applied them were believed to be implicit in the Pentateuch as an oak in an acorn. The first duty of the teacher was to transmit the Torah exactly as he had received it from the men of old. Only then might he give his own opinion, which must never contradict but always be validated by the authority of the past. When authorities differed, the teacher must labor to reconcile them. Elaborate rules of interpretation were devised to help decide cases not covered by specific provision in the scripture. These rules made it possible to apply a changeless revelation to changing conditions, but they also presented a dilemma. The interpreter might modernize by reading into his Bible ideas that were not in the minds of its writers, or he might quench his own creative insights by fearing to go beyond what was written. Those who modernized the Old Testament were beset with the perils of incipient Gnosticism, while those who, like the Sadducees, accepted nothing but the written Torah could misuse it to obstruct social and religious progress. (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 431-432)  
To submit to circumcision would have betrayed the truth of the gospel because it contradicted the principle that all is of grace and grace is for all (2:5). Perpetuated in the church of Christ, the kosher code and other Jewish customs would have destroyed the fellowship. Few things could have hurt the feelings and heaped more indignity upon the Gentiles than the spiritual snobbery of refusing to eat with them.  
The tragedy of division was proportional to the sincerity of men’s scruples. The Jews were brought up to believe that eating with Gentiles was a flagrant violation of God’s revealed will which would bring down his terrible wrath. How strongly both sides felt appears in Paul’s account of the stormy conference at Jerusalem and the angry dispute that followed it at Antioch (2:1-14). Paul claimed that refusal to eat with a Gentile brother would deny that the grace of Christ was sufficient to make him worthy of the kingdom. If all men were sons of God through Christ, there could be no classes of Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female (3:26-28). What mattered was neither circumcision not uncircumcision, but only faith and a new act of creation by the Spirit (5:6; 6”15). (Stamm, 1953, TIB X p. 433)  
Church unity was essential to the success of Christian missions. Friction between Aramaic and Greek-speaking Jewish Christians in Palestine had to be eliminated (Acts 6:1). The death of Stephen and a special vision to Peter were required to convince the conservatives of the propriety of admitting the Gentiles on an equality with the Jews; and even Peter was amazed that God had given them the same gift of the Spirit (Act 11: 1-18). This hesitation was potentially fatal to the spread of Christianity beyond Palestine. Many Gentiles had been attracted by the pure monotheism and high morality of Judaism but were not willing to break with their native culture by submitting to the painful initiatory rite and social stigma of being a Jew…. Had the church kept circumcision as a requirement for membership, it could not have freed itself from Jewish nationalism.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X p. 433)  
III. Some Characteristics of Paul’s Thinking  
… “the law” of which Paul is speaking does not coincide with “law” in a twentieth-century state with representative government. His Greek word was νομος [nomos], an inadequate translation of the Hebrew “Torah,” which included much more than “law” as we use the term. [When “תורה ThORaH” appears in the text I translate it as “Instruction” – its literal definition - capitalized.] Torah was teaching on any subject concerning the will of God as revealed in the Scriptures. Since the Jews did not divide life into two compartments labeled “religious” and “secular,” their law covered both their spiritual and their civil life. Nor did Paul and his fellow Jews think in terms of “nature” and the “natural law.” They believed that everything that happened was God’s doing, directly or by his permission. The messiah was expected to restore the ancient theocracy with its power over both civil and religious affairs.  
The Gentiles too were accustomed to state regulation of religion and priestly control of civil affairs. The Greek city-states had always managed the relations of their citizens with the gods, and Alexander the Great prepared the way for religious imperialism. When he invaded Asia, he consolidated his power by the ancient Oriental idea that the ruler was a god or a son of God. His successors, in their endless wars over the fragments of his empire, adopted the same device. Posing as “savior-gods,” they liberated their victims by enslaving them. The Romans did likewise, believing that the safety of their empire depended upon correct legal relations with the gods who had founded it. … Each city had its temple dedicated to the emperor, and its patriotic priests to see that everyone burned incense before his statue. Having done this, the worshiper was free under Roman ‘tolerance’ to adopt any other legal religion. … Whether salvation was offered in the name of the ancient gods of the Orient, or of Greece, or of the emperor of Rome, or of Yahweh the theocratic king of the Jews, the favor of the deity was thought to depend upon obedience to his law.  
One did not therefore have to be a Jew to be a legalist in religion. … Since Paul’s first converts were drawn from Gentiles who had been attending the synagogues, it is easy to see how Gentile Christians could be a zealous to add Moses to Christ as the most conservative Jew.  
This is what gave the Judaizers their hold in Galatia. The rivalry between the synagogue, which was engaged in winning men to worship the God of Moses, and the church, which was preaching the God who had revealed himself in Christ Jesus, was bound to raise the issue of legalism and stir up doubts about the sufficiency of Christ.  
Gentile and Jewish Christians alike would regard Paul’s preaching of salvation apart from the merit acquired by obedience to law as a violently revolutionary doctrine. Fidelity to his declaration of religious independence from all mediating rulers and priesthoods required a spiritual maturity of which most who heard his preaching were not yet capable. … Paul’s gospel has always been in danger of being stifled by those who would treat the teachings of Jesus as laws to be enforced by a hierarchy. (Stamm, TIB 1953, X pp. 434-435)  
V. Environment of Paul’s Churches in Galatia  
The conclusion concerning the destination of the epistle does not involve the essentials of its religious message, but it does affect our understanding of certain passages, such as 3:1 and 41:12, 20.  
From the earliest times that part of the world had been swept by the cross tides of migration and struggle for empire. The third millennium found the Hittites in possession. In the second millennium the Greeks and Phrygians came spilling over from Europe, and in the first millennium the remaining power of the Hittites was swept away by Babylon and Persia. Then came the turn of the Asiatic tide into Europe, only to be swept back again by Alexander the Great. But the Greek cities with which he and his successors dotted the map of Asia were like anthills destined to be leveled by Oriental reaction.  
About 278 B.C. new turmoil came with the Gauls, who were shunted from Greece and crossed into Asia to overrun Phrygia. Gradually the Greek kings succeeded in pushing them up into the central highlands, where they established themselves in the region of Ancyra. Thus located, they constituted a perpetually disturbing element, raiding the Greek cities and furnishing soldiers now to one, and now to another of the rival kings. Then in 121 B.C. came the Romans to 'set free' Galatia by making it a part of their own Empire. By 40 B.C. there were three kingdoms, with capitals at Ancyra, Pisidian Antioch, and Iconium. Four years later Lycaonia and Galatia were given to Amyntas the king of Pisidia. He added Pamphylia and part of Cilicia to his kingdom. But he was killed in 25 B.C., and the Romans made his dominion into the province of Galatia, which was thus much larger than the territory inhabited by the Gauls. (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 437-438)  
War and slavery, poverty, disease, and famine made life hard and uncertain. In religion and philosophy men were confused by this meeting of East and West. But man’s extremity was Paul’s opportunity. The soil of the centuries had been plowed and harrowed for his new, revolutionary gospel of grace and freedom.  
Not all, however, were ready for this freedom. The old religions with prestige and authority seemed safer. Most Jews preferred Moses, and among the Gentiles the hold of the Great Mother Cybele of Phrygia was not easily shaken. Paul’s converts, bringing their former ideas and customs with them, were all too ready to reshape his gospel into a combination of Christ with their ancient laws and rituals. The old religions were especially tenacious in the small villages, whose inhabitants spoke the native languages and were inaccessible to the Greek-speaking Paul. To this gravitational attraction of the indigenous cults was added the more sophisticated syncretism of the city dwellers, pulling Paul’s churches away from his gospel when the moral demands of his faith and the responsibilities of his freedom became irksome. This was the root of the trouble in Galatia. (Stamm, 1953, TIB X p. 438)  
VI. Date and Place of Writing  
Some consider it the earliest of Paul’s extant letters and place it in 49 … In support of this date it is said that Paul, who had come from Perga by boat, was met by messengers from Galatia, who had taken the shorter route by land. They reported the disturbance which had arisen in his churches soon after his departure. He could not go back immediately to straighten things out in person, because he saw that he would have to settle the matter first in Jerusalem, whence the troublemakers had come. So he wrote a letter.  
But … [w]e do not know that the trouble in Galatia was stirred up by emissaries from the church in Jerusalem … Moreover, this solution overlooks the crux of the issue between Paul and the legalists. His contention was that neither circumcision nor the observance of any other law was the basis of salvation, but only faith in God’s grace through Christ. … On the matter of kosher customs, as on every other question, he directed men to the mind and Spirit of Christ, and not to law, either Mosaic or apostolic. That mind was a Spirit of edification which abstained voluntarily from all that defiled or offended.  
We may say that the situation [in Galatia] was different – that in Macedonia it was persecution from outside by Jews who were trying to prevent Paul’s preaching, whereas in Galatia it was trouble inside the church created by legalistic Christians who were proposing to change his teaching; that in one case the issue was justification by faith, and in the other faithfulness while waiting for the day of the Lord.  
The letter to the Romans, written during the three months in Greece mentioned in Acts 20:2-3, is our earliest commentary on Galatians. In it the relation between the law and the gospel is set forth in the perspective of Paul’s further experience. The brevity and storminess of Galatians gives way to a more complete and calmly reasoned presentation of his gospel. (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 438 - 439)  
At Corinth, as in Galatia, Paul had to defend his right to be an apostle against opponents heartless enough to turn against him the cruel belief that physical illness was a sign of God’s disfavor … and they charged him with being a crafty man-pleaser … He exhorts his converts to put away childish things and grow up in faith, hope and love…  
Most childish of all were the factions incipient in Galatia, and actual in Corinth … He abandoned the kosher customs and all other artificial distinctions between Jews and Gentiles and laid the emphasis where it belonged – upon the necessity for God’s people to establish and maintain a higher morality and spiritual life… He substituted a catholic spirit for partisan loyalties ... (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 440-441)  
VII. Authorship and Attestation  
If Paul wrote anything that goes under his name, it was Galatians, Romans, and the letters to Corinth. … F.C. Baur and his followers tried to show that the letters ascribed to Paul were the product of a second-century conflict between a Judaist party and the liberals in the church, and that they were written by Paulinists who used his name and authority to promote their own ideas.  
[But] the earliest mention of the epistle by name occurs in the canon of the Gnostic heretic Marcion (ca. [approximately] 144). He put it first in his list of ten letters of Paul. A generation later the orthodox Muratorian canon (ca. 185) listed it as the sixth of Paul’s letters. … While the first explicit reference to Galatians as a letter of Paul is as late as the middle of the second century … the authors of Ephesians and the Gospel of John knew it; and Polycarp in his letter to the Philippians quoted it. Revelation, I Peter, Hebrew, I Clement, and Ignatius show acquaintance with it; and there is evidence that the writer of the Epistle of James knew Galatians, as did the authors of II Peter and the Pastoral epistle, and Justin Martyr and Athenagoras. (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 441-442)  
VIII. Text and Transmission  
Although the epistle was composed neither carelessly nor hastily, the anxiety and emotional stress under which Paul dictated his cascading thoughts have produced some involved and obscure sentences … and a number of abrupt transitions… These have been a standing invitation to scribal clarification. … Paul’s debate with his critics takes the form of a diatribe, which is characterized by quotations from past or anticipated objectors and rapid-fire answers to them. Paul did not use quotation marks, and this accounts for the difficulty in 2:14-15 of deciding where his speech to Peter ends. The numerous allusions to person and places, events and teachings, with which Paul assumed his readers to be acquainted, are another source of difficulty. All theses factors operated to produce the numerous variations in the text of Galatians." (Stamm, 1953, TIB p. 442)  
From Adam Clarke’s Commentaryⁱ :  
"The authenticity of this epistle is ably vindicated by Dr. Paley: the principal part of his arguments I shall here introduce …  
'Section I.  
As Judea was the scene of the Christian history; as the author and preachers of Christianity were Jews; as the religion itself acknowledged and was founded upon the Jewish religion, in contra distinction to every other religion, then professed among mankind: it was not to be wondered at, that some its teachers should carry it out in the world rather as a sect and modification of Judaism, than as a separate original revelation; or that they should invite their proselytes to those observances in which they lived themselves. ... I … think that those pretensions of Judaism were much more likely to be insisted upon, whilst the Jews continued a nation, than after their fall and dispersion; while Jerusalem and the temple stood, than after the destruction brought upon them by the Roman arms, the fatal cessation of the sacrifice and the priesthood, the humiliating loss of their country, and, with it, of the great rites and symbols of their institution. It should seem, therefore, from the nature of the subject and the situation of the parties, that this controversy was carried on in the interval between the preaching of Christianity to the Gentiles, and the invasion of Titus: and that our present epistle ... must be referred to the same period.  
… the epistle supposes that certain designing adherents of the Jewish law had crept into the churches of Galatia; and had been endeavouring, and but too successfully, to persuade the Galatic converts, that they had been taught the new religion imperfectly, and at second hand; that the founder of their church himself possessed only an inferior and disputed commission, the seat of truth and authority being in the apostles and elders of Jerusalem; moreover, that whatever he might profess among them, he had himself, at other times and in other places, given way to the doctrine of circumcision. The epistle is unintelligible without supposing all this. (Clarke, 1831, vol. II p. 361)  
Section VII.  
This epistle goes farther than any of St. Paul’s epistles; for it avows in direct terms the supersession of the Jewish law, as an instrument of salvation, even to the Jews themselves. Not only were the Gentiles exempt from its authority, but even the Jews were no longer either to place any dependency upon it, or consider themselves as subject to it on a religious account. "Before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto faith which should afterward be revealed: wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith; but, after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." (Chap. [chapter] iii. 23-25) This was undoubtedly spoken of Jews, and to Jews. … What then should be the conduct of a Jew (for such St. Paul was) who preached this doctrine? To be consistent with himself, either he would no longer comply, in his own person, with the directions of the law; or, if he did comply, it would be some other reason than any confidence which he placed in its efficacy, as a religious institution. (Clarke, 1831, vol. II pp. 366-367)  
Preface  
The religion of the ancient Galatae was extremely corrupt and superstitious: and they are said to have worshipped the mother of the gods, under the name of Agdistis; and to have offered human sacrifices of the prisoners they took in war.  
They are mentioned by historians as a tall and valiant people, who went nearly naked; and used for arms only a sword and buckler. The impetuosity of their attack is stated to have been irresistible…’” (Clarke, 1831, vol. II p. 369)  
From The New Jerome Biblical Commentaryⁱⁱ  
"Introduction  
The Galatai, originally an Indo-Aryan tribe of Asia, were related to the Celts or Gauls (“who in their own language are called Keltae, but in ours Galli”) ... About 279 BC some of them invaded the lower Danube area and Macedonia, descending even into the Gk [Greek] peninsula. After they were stopped by the Aetolians in 278, a remnant fled across the Hellespont into Asia Minor …  
Occasion and Purpose  
… He … stoutly maintained that the gospel he had preached, without the observance of the Mosaic practices, was the only correct view of Christianity … Gal [Galatians] thus became the first expose` of Paul’s teaching about justification by grace through faith apart from deeds prescribed by the law; it is Paul’s manifesto about Christian freedom.  
... Who were the agitators in Galatia? … they are best identified as Jewish Christians of Palestine, of an even stricter Jewish background than Peter, Paul, or James, or even of the ‘false brethren' (2:4) of Jerusalem, whom Paul had encountered there. (The account in Acts 15:5 would identify the latter as ‘believers who had belonged to the sect of the Pharisees.’) … The agitators in Galatia were Judaizers, who insisted not on the observance of the whole Mosaic law, but at least on circumcision and the observance of some other Jewish practices. Paul for this reason warned the Gentile Christians of Galatia that their fascination with ‘circumcision’ would oblige them to keep ‘the whole law’ (5:3). The agitators may have been syncretists of some sort: Christians of Jewish perhaps Essene, background, affected by some Anatolian influences. … (Joseph A. Fitzmyer, 1990, TNJBC pp. 780-781)   END NOTES
ⁱ The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The text carefully printed from the most correct copies of the present Authorized Version. Including the marginal readings and parallel texts. With a Commentary and Critical Notes. Designed as a help to a better understanding of the sacred writings. By Adam Clarke, LL.D. F.S.A. M.R.I.A. With a complete alphabetical index. Royal Octavo Stereotype Edition. Vol. II. [Vol. VI together with the O.T.] New York, Published by J. Emory and B. Waugh, for the Methodist Episcopal Church, at the conference office, 13 Crosby-Street. J. Collord, Printer. 1831.  
ⁱⁱ The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Edited by Raymond E. Brown, S.S., Union Theological Seminary, New York; NY, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S.J. (emeritus) Catholic University of America, Washington, DC; Roland E. Murphy, O.Carm. (emeritus) The Divinity School, Duke University, Durham, NC, with a foreword by His Eminence Carlo Maria Cardinal Martini, S.J.; Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1990  
  Chapter One  
…  

Tiding of [בשורת, BeSOoRahTh, Gospel] one
[verses 6-10]  

…  

…………………………………………  
How [כיצד, KaYTsahD] was [היה, HahYaH] Shah`OoL [“Lender”, Saul, Paul] to become a Sent Forth [Apostle]
[verses 11 to end of chapter]  

…  
Chapter Two  

Sending forth of Shah’OoL required upon hands of the Sent Forth
[verses 1-10]  

…  

…………………………………………  
The YeHOo-DeeYM [“YHVH-ites”, Judeans] and the nations, righteous from inside belief
[verses 11 to end of chapter]  

...
-16. And since [וכיון, VeKhayVahN] that know, we, that [כי, KeeY] the ’ahDahM [“man”, Adam] is not made righteous in realizing commandments [of] the Instruction [Torah, law],
rather in belief of the Anointed [המשיח, HahMahSheeY-ahH, the Messiah, the Christ] YayShOo`ah [“Savior”, Jesus],
believe, also we, in Anointed YayShOo`ah,
to sake we are made righteous from inside belief in Anointed,
and not in realizing commandments [of] the Instruction,
that yes, in realizing commandments [of] the Instruction is not made righteous any [כל, KahL] flesh.  

“As a Pharisee, Paul had been taught that works of law were deeds done in obedience to the Torah, contrasted with things done according to one’s own will. The object of this obedience was to render oneself acceptable to God – to ‘justify’ oneself. Having found this impossible, Paul reinforced the evidence from his own experience by Ps. [Psalm] 143:2, where the sinner prays God not to enter into judgment with him because in God’s sight no man living is righteous. Into this passage from the LXX [The Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible] Paul inserted ‘by works of law,’ and wrote σαρξ [sarx], ‘flesh,’ instead of ζων [zon], ‘one living.’ This quotation warns us against setting Paul’s salvation by grace over against Judaism in such a way as to obscure the fact that the Jews depended also upon God’s lovingkindness and tender mercies (I Kings 8:46; Job 10:14-15; 14:3-4; Prov. [Proverbs] 20:9; Eccl. [Ecclesiasticus] 7:20; Mal. [Malachi] 3:2; Dan. [Daniel] 9:18).” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X p. 483)  
“Justified is a metaphor from the law court. The Greek verb is δικαιοω [dikaioo], the noun δικαιοσουνη [dikaiosoune’], the adjective δικαιος [dikaios]. The common root is δικ [dik] as in δεικνυμι [deiknumi], ‘point out,’ ‘show.’ The words formed on this root point to a norm or standard to which persons and things must conform in order to be ‘right.’ The English ‘right’ expresses the same idea, being derived from the Anglo-Saxon ‘richt,’ which means ‘straight,’ not crooked, ‘upright,’ not oblique. The verb δικαιοω means ‘I think it right.’ A man is δικαιος, ‘right’ when he conforms to the standard of acceptable character and conduct, and δικαιοσυνη, ‘righteousness,’ ‘justice,’ is the state or quality of this conformity. In the LXX these Greek words translate a group of Hebrew words formed on the root צדק [TsehDehQ], and in Latin the corresponding terms are justifico, justus, and justificatio. In all four languages the common idea is the norm by which persons and things are to be tested. Thus in Hebrew a wall is ‘righteous’ when it conforms to the plumb line, a man when he does God’s will.  
From earliest boyhood Paul had tried to be righteous. But there came a terrible day when he said ‘I will covet’ to the law’s ‘Thou shalt not,’ and in that defiance he had fallen out of right relation to God and into the ‘wrath,’ where he ‘died’ spiritually… Thenceforth all his efforts, however strenuous, to get ‘right’ with God were thwarted by the weakness of his sinful human nature, the ‘flesh’ (σαρξ) [sarx]. That experience of futility led him to say that a man is not justified by works ‘of law.’” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X p. 483)  

[Actually Paul changed his point of view as a result of his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus, not as a result of intellectual contemplation. His many failures hitherto had not led him to this conclusion. The description of Paul in the preceding paragraph is a fiction.]  

“In the eyes of the psalmists and rabbis this was blasphemously revolutionary. Resting on God’s covenant with Abraham, they held it axiomatic that the ‘righteous’ man who had conscientiously done his part deserved to be vindicated before a wicked world; otherwise God could not be righteous. … In Judaism God was thought of as forgiving only repentant sinners who followed their repentance with right living …  
The theological expression for this conception of salvation is ‘justification by faith.’ Unfortunately this Latin word does not make plain Paul’s underlying religious experience, which was a change of status through faith from a wrong to a ‘right’ relationship with God… It conceals from the English reader the fact that the Greek word also means ‘righteousness.’ … (observe the ASV [American Standard Version] mg. [marginal note], ‘accounted righteous’).  
But ‘reckoned’ and ‘accounted’ expose Paul’s thought to misinterpretation by suggesting a legal fiction which God adopted to escape the contradiction between his acceptance of sinners and his own righteousness and justice.  
On the other hand, Paul’s term, in the passive, cannot be translated by ‘made righteous’ without misrepresenting him. In baptism he had ‘died with Christ’ to sin. By this definition the Christian is a person who does not sin! And yet Paul does not say that he is sinless, but that he must not sin. … This laid him open to a charge of self contradiction; sinless and yet not sinless, righteous and unrighteous, just and unjust at the same time. Some interpreters have labeled it ‘paradox,’ but such a superficial dismissal of the problem is religiously barren and worse than useless.  
The extreme difficulty of understanding Paul on this matter has led to a distinction between ‘justification’ and ‘sanctification,’ which obscures Paul’s urgency to be now, at this very moment, what God in accepting him says he is: a righteous man in Christ Jesus. Justification is reduced to a forensic declaration by which God acquits and accepts the guilty criminal, and sanctification is viewed as a leisurely process of becoming the kind of person posited by that declaration. This makes perfection seem far less urgent than Paul conceived it, and permits the spiritual inertia of human nature to continue its habit of separating religion from ethics. To prevent this misunderstanding it is necessary to keep in mind the root meaning of ‘righteousness’ in δικαιοω and its cognates.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 484-485)  

-19. I died according to [לגבי, LeGahBaY] the Instruction, because of [בגלל, BeeGLahL] the Instruction, in order [כדי, KeDaY] that I will live to God.  

“… The Pharisees taught that the Torah was the life element of the Jews; all who obeyed would live, those who did not would die (Deut. [Deuteronomy] 30:11-20).” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 488-489)  

-20. With the Anointed I was crucified, and no more I live, rather the Anointed lives in me.
The life that I live now in flesh, I live them in the belief of Son [of] the Gods that loved me and delivered up [ומסר, OoMahÇahR] himself in my behalf [בעדי, Bah`ahDeeY].  

“The danger was that Paul’s Gentile converts might claim freedom in Christ but reject the cross-bearing that made it possible. Lacking the momentum of moral discipline under Moses, which prepared Paul to make right use of his freedom, they might imagine that his dying and rising with Christ was a magical way of immortalizing themselves by sacramental absorption of Christ’s divine substance in baptism and the Lord’s Supper. The church has always been tempted to take Paul’s crucifixion with Christ in a symbolic sense only, or as an experience at baptism which is sacramentally automatic. It has also been tempted to reduce Paul’s ‘faith’ to bare belief and assent to his doctrine, and to equate his ‘righteousness’ with a fictitious imputation by a Judge made lenient by Christ’s death.  
Against these caricatures of ‘justification by faith,’ Paul’s whole life and all his letters are a standing protest. He never allows us to forget that to be crucified with Christ is to share the motives, the purposes, and the way of life that led Jesus to the Cross; to take up vicariously the burden of the sins of others, forgiving and loving instead of condemning them; to make oneself the slave of every man; to create unity and harmony by reconciling man to God and man to his fellow men; to pray without ceasing ‘Thy will be done’; to consign one’s life to God, walking by faith where one cannot see; and finally to leave this earth with the prayer ‘Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.’  
… When Christ the Spirit came to live in Paul … Paul was guided at each step, in each new circumstance, to answer for himself the question: What would Jesus have me do? And the answer was always this: Rely solely on God’s grace through Christ, count others better than yourself, and make yourself everybody’s slave after the manner of the Son of God who loved you and gave himself for you.  
… The phrase εν σαρκι [en sarki] … means, lit. [literally], in the flesh. Someday – Paul hoped it would be soon – this would be changed into a body like that of the risen Christ, which belonged to the realm of Spirit.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X pp. 490-493)  
“Christ lives in me: The perfection of Christian life is expressed here … it reshapes human beings anew, supplying them with a new principle of activity on the ontological¹ level of their very beings.” (Joseph A. Fitzmyer, 1990, TNJBC p. 785)  

-21. I do not nullify [מבטל, MeBahTayL] [את, ’ehTh (indicator of direct object; no English equivalent)] mercy [of] Gods;
is not if [it] is possible to become righteous upon hand of the Instruction, see, that the Anointed died to nothing [לשוא, LahShahVe’]?  

“It is not I, he says, who am nullifying the grace of God by abandoning the law which is his grace-gift to Israel, but those who insist on retaining that law in addition to the grace which he has now manifested in Christ.” (Stamm, 1953, TIB X p. 495)

  Footnotes   ¹ Ontological - relating to the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being  
An Amateur's Journey Through the Bible

There's been a lot of talk about how certain acts rank on Spotify since that's the app that has the most trackable data so I decided to go through the Weekly Top Artists Global chart week of May 25 to see where kpop acts rank and in which continents they have the most presence.
For reference, I also included the top 10 artists just for comparison:
The columns that go from Total to Oceania mean the # of appearances each act makes while the columns that go from Global Rank to Thailand Rank means the position in which each act ranks
Of course, recent releases have to be taken into consideration like some of these acts have had recent activities and this is just one snapshot of one week

Act	Total (73 countries + Global)	Global	Europe (30 c)	Asia (17 c)	North America (10 c)	South America (10 c)	Africa (4 c)	Oceania (2 )	Global Rank	US Rank	UK Rank	Japan Rank	SK Rank	India Rank	Thailand Rank
Taylor Swift	74	1	30	17	10	10	4	2	1	1	1	37	12	53	8
Bad Bunny	51	1	25	5	10	9	1		2	4	130		124		13
The Weeknd	74	1	30	17	10	10	4	2	3	6	4	108	15	39
Peso Pluma	21	1	1		10	9			4	5
Drake	70	1	30	14	10	9	4	2	5	2	2		31		131
Feid	25	1	5		10	9			6	58
Ed Sheeran	72	1	29	16	10	10	4	2	7	32	3	39	25	111	58
Lana Del Rey	72	1	30	15	10	10	4	2	8	23	10		75		59
Arijit Singh	7	1		5	1				9					1
Shakira	54	1	28	3	10	10	2		10	72	140
BTS	72	1	28	17	10	10	4	2	21	75	125	7	3	70	3
BLACKPINK	40	1	5	16	8	7	2	1	58			40	16	176	11
Jimin	40	1	4	14	8	10	3		69			53	1		4
Stray Kids	31	1	12	14		2	1	1	131			26	64		176
Agust D	23		1	13	2	5	2					113	21		55
FIFTY FIFTY	19	1		13	1	1	1	2	123				23		49
ENHYPEN	18	1	4	13					171			61	39		22
TWICE	15	1		12		2			155			8	40		112
(G)I-DLE	15		3	12								36	8		70
TOMORROW X TOGETHER	14		1	13								72	59		143
SEVENTEEN	14	1		13					136			14	7		73
NewJeans	13			13								28	10		25
Jung Kook	12			11			1					192	38		96
IVE	12			12								22	5		61
LE SSERAFIM	12			12								23	6		68
aespa	11			11								49	4		35
LISA	10			10									130		2
JISOO	10			10									88		46
Red Velvet	9			9								177	43		151
IU	9			9								172	17		130
NCT DREAM	7			7								112	35		85
ITZY	6			6								144	155
TAEYANG	6			6									41		32
BIGBANG	5			5								160	47
TAEYEON	5			5									45
JIN	4			4									128
EXO	4			4									95
NMIXX	3			3								152	66
BOYS PLANET	2			2								22	186
RM	2			2									150
NCT 127	2			2									90		182
TREASURE	2			2								135			21
SHINee	1			1									195
KANGDANIEL	1			1									194
PSY	1			1									2
V	1			1									181
KAI	1			1									179
MONSTA X	1			1									177
G-DRAGON	1			1									170
NCT DOJAEJUNG	1			1									165
BSS	1			1									141
BAEKHYUN	1			1									149
THE BOYZ	1			1									139
DEAN	1			1									136
WOODZ	1			1									122
AKMU	1			1									116
ZICO	1			1									106
pH-1	1			1									110
BIBI	1			1									107
Crush	1			1									103
BTOB	1			1									81
j-hope	1			1									60
DAY6	1			1									72
STAYC	1			1									57
Jay Park	1			1									34

Countries included:
Africa: Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa
Asia: Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam
Europe: Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithunia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine and United Kingdom
North America: Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and United States
Oceania: Australia and New Zealand
South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela

Biden to enforce ban on oil, gas drilling to protect tribal sites around New Mexico's Chaco
The Biden administration is implementing a 20-year withdrawal banning oil and gas development outside the boundaries of Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico.
The action taken by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland in the nation’s No. 2 oil-producing state was announced Friday. It is intended to protect cultural and historic resources that tribal communities consider sacred.
The order will apply to public lands and federal minerals within a 10-mile (16-kilometer) radius.
https://candorium.com/news/20230602100603639/biden-to-enforce-ban-on-oil-gas-drilling-to-protect-tribal-sites-around-new-mexicos-chaco

In New Jersey for context. I received a parking ticket for parking in a designated parking lot, in a designated spot 45 minutes before the lot opened. The lot had a sign that says the forest is open 8A-8P, and there was a sign off to the side that said no parking 8P-8A.
My issue is that I did my research the night before. The Forest website clearly states the forest is open from sunrise to sunset. The town that the parking lot is in has a link to that website as it's only resource online for parking. When I checked the parking lot hours on Google maps, it clearly stated the parking lot was open from 7A-8P. So I assumed from the resources online that parking at 715am would be okay, so I left my home at 6am.
I had to drive about an hour to get there, parked, saw the sign that said the Forest hours, assumed it was old because it did not match any of the information online, and received a ticket 2 minutes after entering the trailhead. As a person from outside of the area, that feels like entrapment in some ways. Was I expected to just drive around aimlessly for 45 minutes? It was the only lot available.
If I plead not guilty (and I have screenshots of the information posted online from the day of) do i stand a chance getting this dismissed? Thanks in advance.
Edit: I spoke to the police offer over the phone who wrote my ticket, and he refused to dismiss it after I explained my case.
Edit 2: I did not see the no parking sign initially, only the forest hours sign. The no parking sign was blocked by a car when I arrived in the lot, but I have no photos of that. Also there were four other cars in the lot when I arrived, with one person getting back into their car looking very sweaty (I assumed they had gotten there much earlier and already completed a hike)

This was just copy/pasted from google docs so apologies in advance for any formatting issues.
​
​
19°28’N 37°14’E
Near Port Sudan, Sudan, Africa.
Another helicopter thundered past in the distance, following the line of the oil pipeline back towards the port facilities.
"That's three in the past hour," Cody observed. "Still think nothing's going on?" "I think if you want to bother Adams again it's gonna be your ass." Keith replied.
"Come on, don't be like that." Cody said.
"Nope."
"Come on, don't be a bitch."
"Nope."
"Bitch says what."
"Nope."
"Got fifty bucks says you won't do it."
"Nope."
"Will both of you shut the fuck up," Eduardo groaned from the back seat of the vehicle. "We're almost done here and you can go harass Adams in person when we get back to base."
"Yeah but I'm curious now." Cody said.
"Well, tell Miles to turn this vic around and we can go."
"What do you say, Miles? You know Adams doesn't check the log timestamps too closely."
"The final marker is literally thirty meters away," Miles said patiently. "I will turn the vic around there and we will drive back to base and you can badger Adams into a stroke on your own time. Until then, watch your sector."
"Uh well, my sector's full of sand, can I have a different one?"
"There's some rocks in mine."
"Like the face of the fucking moon out here, man." Cody moaned.
"Maybe you shouldn't have signed up for a job in the fucking Sudan, genius." Eduardo said.
"Man, I'm just here for the money." Cody replied.
"Well, I'm not here for the weather." Martin said, cranking the wheel around in a practiced motion. The battered white SUV slewed around, wheels spraying dust and pebbles. Cody keyed the radio on his vest. "Base, this is Cody checking in. We're at the outer marker for the southern patrol path, heading back, over."
There was the faint buzz of static.
"Copy that, Cody. Any contacts?"
"No contacts, base. All quiet here. Out."
Martin patted Cody on the shoulder. "Proud of you, buddy. That took real strength."
Cody flipped him off.
The radio crackled again. "Cody, this is base, where did you say you were?"
"Base, this is Cody, we are at the outer marker for our patrol route, heading back your way, over."
"Uh, copy Cody, hang on one second."
“Cody, this is Adams,” a new voice said over the radio. “I need your team to swing west and investigate unauthorized activity near the pipeline in, uh grid square A54-41."
"The fuck this is Cody's team." Keith muttered from the back.
"Copy that, Adams, we'll move to investigate immediately," Cody said crisply. "Any intel on the intruders?"
The radio crackled again. "The uh, number of intruders is unknown at this time."
Miles keyed his own radio. "Adams, who called this report in?"
"The report was forwarded to us by local security forces."
A chorus of groans rose from the interior of the SUV.
"Fuckin' locals." Eduardo said.
"And why isn't local security handling this?"
"Miles, I don't need to remind you that Vericom has been contracted to guard the terminal facilities and pipeline-"
"Yeah yeah, spare me the geopolitics, Adams, I'm just a dumb trigger puller, remember? I'm not asking you why I'm here, I'm asking why the very much armed local security isn't apprehending the trespassers."
"The local security called it in," Adams replied in a tight, angry voice. "And under the terms of our contract we are responsible for apprehending any trespassers in our zone. Is that satisfactory, Mr. Martin?"
"Copy, moving to apprehend. Out."
"Fuckin' locals." Eduardo muttered again as the SUV turned towards the new destination.
"Coming up on the location now." Cody was tapping at the topographical map displayed on his ruggedized tablet.
"Copy that," Miles said absently, maneuvering the SUV around a scattering of larger boulders. Behind him Keith rolled down his window and propped the muzzle of his M4 carbine on the opening.
"Relax," Eduardo said. "Just some lost people."
"Maybe." Keith said, squinting out over the dusty, rolling terrain.
The SUV bounced over the crest of another low ridge, the long dust plume trailing behind it in the harsh midday sun. Miles slowed to a stop. In the far distance there was a glint of light off a moving vehicle traversing the coastal highway. There was no other sign of life in sight.
"Yeah, there's nothing out here." Cody said after a few moments.
Keith had extracted a pair of binoculars from his chest rig and was scanning the surroundings.
"Nothing on this side, boss." Eduardo said.
"Keith?" Miles said.
"Nothing moving but heat haze."
"Cody, call in negative contact. Let's head back to base." Miles said as the SUV rolled forward.
"Copy copy." Cody keyed his radio. "Base, this is Cody, we're at grid A54-41, negative on contact with intruders, over."
"Copy that Cody, we haven't gotten any other reports in your zone, go ahead and head in."
"Thanks very much, base, will do. Cody out."
The SUV bumped and bounced its way back onto the “paved” road. While the main coastal highway was in decent shape, the smaller roads were mostly potholes and washouts held together by cracked concrete and gravel. Although flatter than the surrounding landscape, it was a bold or desperate driver that would risk driving on it at normal highway speeds. This fact most likely saved four lives as Miles had plenty of time to spot the dusty tan plate lying in the road as the vehicle slowly bounced towards it.
“Guys, is that a land mine I’m seeing in the road ahead?” Miles said, pointing. “Directly ahead, maybe twenty yards, just past the two bushes.”
Cody sat up, peering through the dusty windshield. “Slow up, slow up. Shit, I think you’re right.”
“Call it in,” Miles said. “We use this road all the time, what was the last team through here?"
"Dallas' team had outer perimeter patrol this morning." Keith volunteered.
"Base, this is Cody, we've got what looks like a landmine on Route 33, maybe two or three klicks from the coastal highway, please advise, over."
There was a brief hiss of static. No reply.
"Base, do you read, over?"
Static.
“Base, this is a fucking great time for a coffee break!”
No answer.
“Guys, I think this is a no shit situation,” Miles said, putting the SUV in reverse. “Let’s get off the X and back to base.”
Cody slid his AR up into the ready position. Keith and Eduardo already had their rifles out and ready.
Miles executed a hasty three point turn and gunned the SUV back the way they had come.
“How concerned should we be right now?” Keith shouted over the engine noise. “Not the
first time we’ve lost comms with base out here.”
“Could be nothing,” Miles shouted back. “But out here it could be a strike on the port or oil terminal. Not that hard to jam comms and drop a few mines on the roads.”
“Hell, I’m here for it.” Keith shouted.
“I’ll keep trying to raise base or one of the other teams.” Cody shouted.
The SUV bounced and lurched its way back over the route it had taken and finally reached the coastal highway where Miles jammed the pedal down. Cody still couldn’t make contact with base but was able to reach another patrolling team who confirmed that base was incommunicado. As they roared up the coastal highway Cody pointed towards a rising plume of dense black smoke ahead of them. “Looks like shit’s gone down, boys.”
“Fuck,” Keith swore, peering around Cody’ headrest to look ahead. “So much for site security.”
“Guys, we’ve got a roadblock ahead.” Cody said, pointing. A dilapidated cargo truck had stopped and was attempting to turn around. A pair of pickup trucks were just visible beyond it, blocking off the road in a shallow V. Men in mismatched fatigues and headscarves stood atop them holding rifles.
“Are those our guys?” Miles asked, slowing the SUV.
“Fuck if I can tell from here.” Cody said.
“Well I’m not fucking moving up.” Miles said.
“Go around,” Eduardo said, peering out his window. “No ditch here.”
“Go now while the truck is between us and them.” Keith added.
“Hang on.” Miles gunned the SUV down the shallow embankment parallel to the roadblock.
Keith twisted around in his seat. “They’re tracking us”.
Miles glanced in the rearview mirror. The guards were pointing and waving their arms at the SUV. One of them with a pistol in one hand and a radio in the other seemed to be giving orders
“Are we still under the ROE?” Cody asked. “I’d really like to shoot back if they try to kill us.”
“I’m not dying over fucked comms and a misunderstanding.” Keith said.
The checkpoint guards were scrambling into their trucks. One of them ripped off a burst that went wide.
“Fuck it, that’s good enough for me,” Miles said, slamming on the brakes. “Dismount and engage hostiles.”
The men threw themselves out of the vehicle. Eduardo and Cody went prone in the dirt and began firing. On the other side Keith propped his rifle on the vehicle’s bumper and squeezed off several careful shots.
The checkpoint guards had been caught by surprise by the sudden attack. One of the trucks had just roared into motion when the bullets began punching through the windshield. The other was still parked, its crew climbing into the cab when the shooting started. Multiple rounds smashed the windshield into a starred, opaque mess. The driver leaped from the seat and ran for cover behind the truck wheels. Miles shot him in the back and he dropped.
The other truck rolled forward down the shallow incline with a dead driver at the wheel. The guards in the back continued firing over the roof. The back window of the SUV shattered and bullets banged off the steel frame, showering Keith and Eduardo with shards of safety glass. Miles fired at a guard crouched in the truck bed and the man disappeared, then popped back up again when Miles shifted targets. Miles shifted back and fired again, his gun clicking empty on the third shot. He dropped the empty magazine and yanked a new one from his vest. The new mag clicked into place and Miles resumed shooting. A corner of his mind was pleasantly surprised at how easily it was done under fire.
One of the guards on the far truck bailed off the back and fled across the road, disappearing into the ditch on the far side. Suddenly no one was firing back at them.
Miles cautiously rose to his feet. With Keith and Cody covering him, he and Eduardo circled wide around the checkpoint, scanning for any sign of life. Nothing moved but wisps of steam from under the hood of one of the trucks. He waved the others in. They swept the checkpoint carefully. There were six dead guards and a blood trail leading out into the brush.
“Fuck.” Keith said emphatically.
“Fuck me,” Cody said, slotting in a fresh mag. “You guys good?
“I’m good.” Keith said.
“Good here.” Eduardo said, patting himself down.
“I’m ok.” Martin said.
“Fuck,” Keith said again. “Fuckers just opened up on us. These weren’t local security, right?”
“Check the bodies for intel,” Miles said, already rifling through the pockets of one of the shooters. “I don’t know who the fuck these guys were but we’re gonna get grilled about this.”
The three of them methodically searched the bodies while Eduardo held overwatch. None of the bodies had any documents on them. The weapons were gathered and stacked in the back of one of the trucks while the bodies were laid out next to it. Martin retrieved their SUV which proved to have suffered no worse damage than shot out windows and the four of them piled in.
Cody finally got a response on the radio as they neared the base. A rattled Adams responded to their calls by ordering them in to assist with base security. “Radio shack got hit and we’ve been dealing with jamming. We still have two patrols out in the field who haven’t reported in, we need you to assist in maintaining a defensive perimeter.”
“Copy that, boss. Tell base we’re coming in so don’t fucking shoot at us. Already dealt with that once today.”
They dismounted in the central courtyard. The comms building had taken a direct hit from an RPG and was still smoking. Two sheet covered bodies lay beside it. Several of the other buildings had bullet holes and other signs of battle damage.
As directed, the team took up defensive positions on the roof of one of the perimeter buildings. Dallas’ team was on a nearby building overlooking the main entrance. Miles got on the radio and contacted them.
“Glad to see y’all made it,” Dallas said by way of greeting. “Been a real shitshow here.” He pointed towards the billowing black smoke belching out of the wreckage of the oil pipeline terminal. “Probably not getting our contract renewed for this site.”
“So what the fuck happened?” Miles asked.
“Don’t know. We were in the bunkhouse when we heard the radio shack get hit. Whoever it was lit the place up and then peeled out. We had barely gotten outside when the oil terminal went up. Someone said they saw Sea Ports Corporation logos on the trucks but I don’t know if that’s true. All I saw was dust.”
“Shit, you think that’s true? Locals were behind this?”
“Someone with more brains than your average fanatic is. They knew exactly what to hit and exactly how to jam our comms.”
“They mined the roads along our patrol routes too, so either they’ve been watching us or they paid off someone on the inside.”
“Smart.” Dallas said.
“I saw the two bodies by the radio shack. Any of your team get hit?”
“Negative. They were in and out. I think someone in the admin building caught a stray round but that was all.”
“I know Shedge was on shift in comms,” Miles said. “Who was the other?”
“Morris.” Dallas said.
They fell silent for a while.
The two missing patrol teams drove in thirty minutes later in a single shot up SUV. They had come under long range fire from hidden enemies and had evaded out into the desert. One of the vehicles had been disabled, but the team managed to dismount and take cover while the other vehicle moved to pick them up. One team member had been grazed on the leg and another had taken a hit to the chest plate. The uninjured team members joined them on the perimeter defense. No attack materialized.
A convoy of Sudanese military vehicles rolled in late that evening to take charge of the terminal. The PMC personnel were ordered to collect their personal items and evacuate the site. The Sudanese wanted them out, so while the company lawyers argued with the Sudanese administration, all personnel on the ground were transported out to Port Sudan International Airport for flights back to the United States.
Miles, Keith, Cody, and Eduardo caught up with each other outside the terminal. Keith was chatting with two of the airport ground crew in passable Arabic as the others walked up.
“Hey, you guys aren’t going to believe this but apparently there’s been a bunch of foreign fighter types coming through here in the past several weeks.” Keith said by way of greeting.
“Go fucking figure.” Miles said.
“I don’t even give a shit,” Cody said, unwrapping a pack of cigarettes. “In a couple of hours I’ll be on my way back home with a fat early contract termination check in my pocket.”
Eduardo nodded. “We all survived, importantly.”
“Amen to that.” Cody said.
The ground crew members bid Keith farewell and sauntered off towards the terminal.
There was silence for a minute while Cody methodically extracted and lit up a cigarette.
“That was pretty fucking badass though,” Miles said. “Shot our way out of an ambush and drove home.”
“Pretty wild.” Keith agreed.
“Never saw the people I killed before,” Eduardo said. “Returning fire yes, but not securing the bodies. Always gone afterwards.”
“I definitely had that out-of-body feeling you get sometimes under fire,” Cody said. “Like you’re just watching your own body go through the motions while you sit and watch.”
“I never got that,” Miles said. “I was inside my own head but I always knew somehow what to do next. Like even when we swept the roadblock I knew exactly where to turn and where the bodies were going to be. It sounds crazy but I wasn’t really scared of getting shot, I was scared of moving wrong or stepping in the wrong place and I’d break the focus and suddenly I’d have to think through every motion again.”
Eduardo nodded. “I know how that feels.”
Another silence. Cody took a deep drag on the cigarette.
“You don’t think we’ll get fired over this, do you?” Keith asked. “Because I still have bills to pay back home and I don’t need this on my record.”
“I doubt it,” Cody said. “I mean, its completely out of our hands so who the fuck knows really. But its not something you get fired over. You see how fast they’re pulling us out of here, like no operation debrief or anything? Company’s got bigger problems to worry about right now.”
“Like the oil pipeline that got blown up, not about a possible bad shoot in the desert.” Keith said.
“Oil terminal.” Miles corrected quietly.
“You watch,” Cody continued. “In about three days some Vericom executive is going to strap on his golden parachute and take a dive off the top floor because the company stock dipped by sixty cents. Then we’ll all get an email with a big fat non-disclosure agreement attached showing up in our inboxes.”
“You would work for them again?” Eduardo sounded surprised.
“Fuck it, why not?” Cody said. “The pay’s good, and what are the odds that a fuck up like this happens to me twice?”
“Seems like higher odds than before.” Miles said.
“Everybody’s running a little hot these days,” Keith said. “You’ve got the Syrian and Yemen civil wars, the military coup in Turkey, the bombings in Europe, the riots in India, the drug wars in Mexico and southeast Asia, plus that bombing at the Olympics.”
“I still think that one was a false flag.” Cody said.
“Bullshit, that was the work of ISIS scum.” Eduardo replied angrily.
“He’s got a point, Cody,” Miles said. “They grabbed one of the bombers before he could clack off his vest after all.”
“Maybe,” Cody said. “Now the shooting at the Clinton rally, that was a false flag, no question. The FBI practically admitted it. They’re terrified she’ll lose and they need a few martyrs.”
“Don’t know why you pay so much attention to that,” Miles said. “Not like the other guy is any better. Just a pair of narcissistic old fucks getting their rocks off on the American people’s dime.”
“I like to know which side is going to be screaming about a rigged election for the next four years while their savings and civil liberties go up in smoke.” Cody lit another cigarette from the butt of the first.
“You know I hate it when you chain smoke and turn into Alex Jones.” Miles said.
“Brother, you should see me on meth.” Cody grinned.
“I didn’t know you smoked at all.” Eduardo said.
“Only on the way home,” Cody said. “Otherwise I don’t.”
The four of them stood around on the airport tarmac until the encroaching evening chill drove them inside with the rest of the Vericom personnel. Miles’ last glimpse of Sudan was the stark black outline of the western hills as the sun sank behind them. Then night fell and the only light was the harsh white arc lights of the airport illuminating the red and white airliner being fueled to carry them home.
$$$$
News Headlines of the day:
FBI: Philadelphia shooter had ‘strong ties’ to right wing ultranationalist groups.
US economy signals uncertainty as Far East trade war heats up.
British lawmaker shot dead, EU referendum campaigns suspended
Prominent Mexican politician, family among the dead following Sinaloa cartel gun battle.
‘Terrorism is not welcome here’: Sudanese President issues warning following oil pipeline bombing.

Long Island Long Island @ Delaware State Delaware State
Game Start Time: 7:30 PM ET
Location: Alumni Stadium, Dover, DE
Watch: CAA Network
Long Island Long Island

Total Passing Yards	Total Rushing Yards	Total Yards	Interceptions Lost	Fumbles Lost	Field Goals	Time of Possession	Timeouts
0 yards	180 yards	180 yards	0	0	1/2	7:27	2

Delaware State Delaware State

Total Passing Yards	Total Rushing Yards	Total Yards	Interceptions Lost	Fumbles Lost	Field Goals	Time of Possession	Timeouts
0 yards	310 yards	310 yards	0	2	1/1	20:28	3

Drive Summary
away for 55 yards in 156 seconds ending in miss
home for 75 yards in 338 seconds ending in touchdown
away for 1 yards in 65 seconds ending in punt
home for 29 yards in 176 seconds ending in punt
away for 5 yards in 5 seconds ending in end_half
home for 70 yards in 64 seconds ending in touchdown
home for 7 yards in 50 seconds ending in field_goal
away for 0 yards in 0 seconds ending in turnover_touchdown
home for 38 yards in 188 seconds ending in turnover
away for 68 yards in 59 seconds ending in touchdown
home for 52 yards in 76 seconds ending in turnover_touchdown
home for 75 yards in 253 seconds ending in touchdown

Team	Q1	Q2	Q3	Q4	Total
Delaware State	0	7	9	7	23
Long Island	0	0	15	10	25

Game thread
Plays

Game complete, Long Island wins!

Phone Scams: It happened to us!
A person claiming to be Officer Robert Daniels from Customs and Border Protection contacted a staff member in the IPO office and informed her that she was facing criminal charges in Texas (drug trafficking and identity theft) and that she needed to confirm personal information to verify her identity. The person provided the following information to verify his identity as a CBP officer:
​

• Badge #15109
• Telephone #783-503-0955
• Case#

IPO immediately called the UMass Police Department to report the scam. They traced the number to a pay as you go burner phone. Staff also Googled the phone number of the Tuscon, AZ CBP office and confirmed that the phone number was different than the one given by the scammer. When we called the field office, we spoke to an officer who confirmed that they receive phone calls every day about "Officer Robert Daniels" and that it is a scam.
What is was remarkable about this scam is that, when we Googled "CBP 15109", the search results brought us to the Customs and Border Patrol page for Officer Robert Daniels. When we asked about this, the (real) CBP officer confirmed that these scammers are increasingly using sophisticated methods to scam their victims. This scammer was also using high pressure tactics to try to get the staff member's Social Security Number.
Tips to protect yourself from scams (from the UMPD website):
When you get a call from a telemarketer, ask yourself:

• Who’s calling…and why? The law says telemarketers must tell you it’s a sales call, the name of the seller and what they’re selling before they make their pitch. If you don’t hear this information, say “no thanks,” and get off the phone.
• What’s the hurry? Fast talkers who use high pressure tactics could be hiding something. Take your time. Most legitimate businesses will give you time and written information about an offer before asking you to commit to a purchase.
• If it’s free, why are they asking me to pay? Question fees you need to pay to redeem a prize or gift. Free is free. If you have to pay, it's a purchase — not a prize or a gift.
• Why am I “confirming” my account information — or giving it out? Some callers have your billing information before they call you. They’re trying to get you to say “okay” so they can claim you approved a charge.
• What time is it? The law allows telemarketers to call only between 8 am and 9 pm. A seller calling earlier or later is ignoring the law.
• Do I want more calls like this one? If you don’t want a business to call you again, say so and register your phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry. If they call back, they’re breaking the law.

Some Additional Guidelines

• Resist pressure to make a decision immediately.
• Keep your credit card, checking account, or Social Security numbers to yourself. Don't tell them to callers you don't know — even if they ask you to “confirm” this information. That's a trick.
• Don’t pay for something just because you’ll get a “free gift.”
• Get all information in writing before you agree to buy.
• Check out a charity before you give. Ask how much of your donation actually goes to the charity. Ask the caller to send you written informa­tion so you can make an informed decision without being pressured, rushed, or guilted into it.
• If the offer is an investment, check with your state securities regulator to see if the offer — and the offeror — are properly registered.
• Don’t send cash by messenger, overnight mail, or money transfer. If you use cash or a money transfer — rather than a credit card — you may lose your right to dispute fraudulent charges. The money will be gone.
• Don’t agree to any offer for which you have to pay a “registration” or “shipping” fee to get a prize or a gift.
• Research offers with your consumer protection agency or state Attorney General’s office before you agree to send money.
• Beware of offers to “help” you recover money you have already lost. Callers that say they are law enforcement officers who will help you get your money back “for a fee” are scammers.
• Report any caller who is rude or abusive, even if you already sent them money. They'll want more. Call 1-877-FTC-HELP or visit ftc.gov/complaint.

This scam was sophisticated and used high pressure intimidation tactics! If you suspect you are being scammed, hang up! If you fall victim to a scam, contact the UMPD immediately.
Stay safe, UMass!

I've heard the saying that grief is just love with nowhere to go. Right now, I'm still in a state of complete shock and I can't look at his empty bed or crate without bursting into tears. Cookie was in my life for 2 weeks and he changed every single part of it. I've been fostering dogs for a couple of months and I had no real intention of bringing any of them into my forever family until Cookie came along.
Cookie was slow to trust, barking at every stranger with his 15 pound body. It took me 20 minutes to wrangle him into the car the first time we met and by the time I made it back to my car, I was hit with an $80 parking ticket. Not a great start to our time together. But by the time we got home, he was happily accepting treats from me and he learned how to sit within the first 2 hours he was home.
Cookie was an old soul in a 10 month body. His favorite thing to do was nap on the couch, yell at anyone walking past my apartment, then return to napping. He steadily rotated from his bed, to his crate, to the sofa but when it came time for his evening walk, his whole body wiggled with joy and his tail spun around like a helicopter. His oversized ears would flop as he bounded ahead of me and he liked to playfully nibble on my neighbors' dogs every time we saw them.
His bark sounded like a demented goose and no one could believe such a little body could create such a noise. He loved eggs more than anything else in this world. We went hiking together, we sat at overpriced coffee shops together, we went to the pet store together, and we napped on the couch together. I loved watching him run around at the dog park and laughed every time every single other dog there was faster than him but he didn't seem to mind that he was the slowest in the pack (he had stubby little legs and an overly long body). He had issues with separation anxiety but I vowed to myself that I loved this little dog so much I was willing to work through anything with him.
In the two weeks I had him, this dog became my whole heart and my boyfriend's whole heart. From his grumpy little schnauzer face to his gentle nose boops, there was nothing I didn't adore about this dog.
At first, I thought it was just kennel cough. We noticed him sniffling but chalked it up to nothing more than a doggy cold. Then, as the days went on, he started to become listless and want to return inside after his potty breaks instead of go on a walk. He started refusing even his favorite treats and one morning, he refused to eat a freshly cooked egg just for him and we knew something was very wrong. As we were waiting to take him to the vet, his head started shaking.
Cookie was in the hospital for 5 nights and at first, it seemed like things might have been getting better. His fever broke and he was eating a little. But today I got the call that he died last night from a seizure. They said it was distemper and I had suspected that was the case but didn't want to believe the worst. My heart aches knowing that he was an owner surrender and I was so thrilled to finally show him what a true, forever home looked like. We took him everywhere with us and showered him with all the love he could ask for. I had no idea that the last time I would see him was when I was dropping him off at the vet and I can't get it out of my head that he probably thought he was being abandoned again and he died without me or my boyfriend there with him.
I don't know where to go from here. I'm tempted to stop fostering even though my family tells me I should continue because I can still make a difference in other dogs' lives. He never even got to meet my family dogs. Hug your pets a little closer today. I don't know when my heart will be ready to accept another dog into our little home and our little family but I know it will always ache a little for my special little Cookie Wookie Dookie. I just want the world to know that he was here, he existed, and he was loved.

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I've heard the saying that grief is just love with nowhere to go. Right now, I'm still in a state of complete shock and I can't look at his empty bed or crate without bursting into tears. Cookie was in my life for 2 weeks and he changed every single part of it. I've been fostering dogs for a couple of months and I had no real intention of bringing any of them into my forever family until Cookie came along. Cookie was slow to trust, barking at every stranger with his 15 pound body. It took me 20 minutes to wrangle him into the car the first time we met and by the time I made it back to my car, I was hit with an $80 parking ticket. Not a great start to our time together. But by the time we got home, he was happily accepting treats from me and he learned how to sit within the first 2 hours he was home.
Cookie was an old soul in a 10 month body. His favorite thing to do was nap on the couch, yell at anyone walking past my apartment, then return to napping. He steadily rotated from his bed, to his crate, to the sofa but when it came time for his evening walk, his whole body wiggled with joy and his tail spun around like a helicopter. His oversized ears would flop as he bounded ahead of me and he liked to playfully nibble on my neighbors' dogs every time we saw them.
His bark sounded like a demented goose and no one could believe such a little body could create such a noise. He loved eggs more than anything else in this world. We went hiking together, we sat at overpriced coffee shops together, we went to the pet store together, and we napped on the couch together. I loved watching him run around at the dog park and laughed every time every single other dog there was faster than him but he didn't seem to mind that he was the slowest in the pack (he had stubby little legs and an overly long body). He had issues with separation anxiety but I vowed to myself that I loved this little dog so much I was willing to work through anything with him.
In the two weeks I had him, this dog became my whole heart and my boyfriend's whole heart. From his grumpy little schnauzer face to his gentle nose boops, there was nothing I didn't adore about this dog.
At first, I thought it was just kennel cough. We noticed him sniffling but chalked it up to nothing more than a doggy cold. Then, as the days went on, he started to become listless and want to return inside after his potty breaks instead of go on a walk. He started refusing even his favorite treats and one morning, he refused to eat a freshly cooked egg just for him and we knew something was very wrong. As we were waiting to take him to the vet, his head started shaking.
Cookie was in the hospital for 5 nights and at first, it seemed like things might have been getting better. His fever broke and he was eating a little. But today I got the call that he died last night from a seizure. They said it was distemper and I had suspected that was the case but didn't want to believe the worst. My heart aches knowing that he was an owner surrender and I was so thrilled to finally show him what a true, forever home looked like. We took him everywhere with us and showered him with all the love he could ask for. I had no idea that the last time I would see him was when I was dropping him off at the vet and I can't get it out of my head that he probably thought he was being abandoned again and he died without me or my boyfriend there with him.
I don't know where to go from here. I'm tempted to stop fostering even though my family tells me I should continue because I can still make a difference in other dogs' lives. He never even got to meet my family dogs. Hug your pets a little closer today. I don't know when my heart will be ready to accept another dog into our little home and our little family but I know it will always ache a little for my special little Cookie Wookie Dookie. I just want the world to know that he was here, he existed, and he was loved.

All games are obtained by ME. If the game has a region lock, it will be locked to EU region.

Paypal F&F or G&S - fees on you. PRICES IN EURO

Lower rep goes first.

Googledocs https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1x939dac0XlG3tRhyYX_9Lf93usR0uqyVHPCYmB7RRys
Discount at purchase
5% @ €15-29
7% @ €30-59
10% @ €60+
12% @ €100+
15% @ €150+

Game	F&F (€EU)
112 Operator	0.30
112 Operator	0.30
2064: Read Only Memories	0.60
7 Billion Humans	4.50
911 Operator	0.30
911 Operator	0.30
A Little Golf Journey	2.50
A Long Way Down	1.00
Aeterna Noctis	4.00
After The Fall	15.00
Agent in Depth	0.20
Aground	4.00
Alchemist's Castle	0.20
APICO	7.00
Arcade Paradise - Arcade Paradise EP	0.20
Arcade Spirits	0.20
Arise: A Simple Story	2.50
Arizona Sunshine	6.00
Armello	1.20
Aviary Attorney	0.20
AWAKE - Definitive Edition	0.20
Baba Is You	5.00
Back 4 Blood	9.00
Backbone	0.20
Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition	2.00
Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition	2.00
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition	1.00
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition	2.00
Baldur's Gate: Faces of Good and Evil	1.00
Baldur's Gate: Siege of Dragonspear	2.00
Batora: Lost Haven	2.00
BattleGroupVR	1.00
Bean Stalker	2.00
Beasts of Maravilla Island	2.00
Beat Hazard 3	6.00
Ben 10: Power Trip	1.50
Bionic Commando	0.20
Blade of Darkness	3.00
Blaston	1.00
Breathedge	2.50
Broken Age	0.20
Calico	0.20
Calico	0.20
Call of the Sea	1.00
Car Mechanic Simulator VR	1.50
Cats and the Other Lives	0.50
Cave Digger 2: Dig Harder	2.00
CHANGE: A Homeless Survival Experience	1.50
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare	1.50
Click and Slay	0.20
Cobra Kai: The Karate Kid Saga Continues	0.50
Combat Tested	1.00
Control Ultimate Edition	6.00
Cook-Out	1.00
Corridor Z	0.10
Crash Drive 2	1.00
Creaks	1.00
Cris Tales	0.50
Crying Suns	0.50
Cube Escape Collection	2.50
Dagon - The Eldritch Box DLC	0.10
Dark Deity	1.50
DARQ	1.00
Dear Esther: Landmark Edition	-
Death and Taxes	2.50
Death Squared	0.20
Desolate	0.50
Detached: Non-VR Edition	0.50
Devil May Cry 5 + Vergil	6.00
Devil May Cry HD Collection	6.00
Disaster Band	3.00
DmC Devil May Cry	3.00
DOOM 64	1.00
DOOM VFR	3.00
Doughlings: Arcade	0.50
Doughlings: Invasion	0.20
Draw Slasher	0.10
Drawful 2	0.10
Dread Delusion	4.00
Dreamscaper	1.50
Driftland: The Magic Revival	0.10
Epistory - Typing Chronicles	0.80
Eternal Threads	3.50
Euro Truck Simulator 2	5.00
Evan's Remains	0.10
EXAPUNKS	1.00
Expeditions: Viking	1.50
Explosionade	0.20
Farming Simulator 17	2.00
Fast & Furious: Spy Racers Rise of SH1FT3R	1.50
Field of Glory II	1.00
Flynn: Son of Crimson	1.50
Forgive me Father	1.00
Forgotton Anne	7.00
Frick, Inc.	3.00
From Space	4.00
fsongs	0.20
Fury Unleashed	0.50
GameGuru Classic	-
Gauntlet - Necromancer	-
Gauntlet Slayer Edition + DLC Necromancer	1.50
Ghostrunner	5.00
Gift of Parthax	0.20
Gigantosaurus The Game	1.20
Go Home Dinosaurs!	0.20
Golf Gang	0.50
Gotham Knights	15.00
GRAVEN	5.00
Guilty Gear X2 #Reload	0.40
Guns & Fishes	0.20
Hack 'n' Slash + Soundtrack (& Spacebase GIFT)	0.20
Hacknet	0.50
Hamilton's Great Adventure	0.10
Harmony's Odyssey	0.50
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice	4.00
Homeworld Remastered Collection	1.00
Human Resource Machine	5.00
Hyper Gunsport	0.50
Hypnospace Outlaw	3.00
ibb & obb - Best Friends Forever Double Pack	2.00
Ice Age: Scrat's Nutty Adventure	4.50
Icewind Dale: Enhanced Edition	1.00
Impaler	1.50
Indivisible	2.00
Influent	2.50
Into the Pit	1.00
Into the Radius VR	7.00
Izmir: An Independence Simulator	0.20
Jumanji: The Video Game	1.50
Just Die Already	1.00
Killing Floor 2 Digital Deluxe Edition	4.00
King and Assassins	0.20
Kingdom Two Crowns	2.50
Labyrinthine	4.00
Lair of the Clockwork God	1.00
Lake	2.00
Last Resort Island	0.50
Learn Japanese To Survive - Hiragana Battle	0.40
Learn Japanese To Survive! Kanji Combat	0.40
Learn Japanese To Survive! Katakana War	0.40
Learning Factory	3.50
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4	1.80
LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7	2.20
LEGO Jurassic World	1.50
LEGO MARVEL Super Heroes	1.50
LEGO MARVEL Super Heroes 2	1.50
LEGO MARVEL's Avengers	1.50
LEGO The Hobbit + 3 DLCs	2.50
LEGO The Hobbit DLC 1 - The Big Little Character Pack	-
LEGO The Hobbit DLC 2 - Side Quest Character Pack	-
LEGO The Hobbit DLC 3 - The Battle Pack	-
LEGO The Lord of the Rings	2.50
Lighthouse Keeper	0.20
Little League World Series Baseball 2022	0.50
Little Orpheus	2.00
Loot River	3.00
Love Letter	0.20
Lust from Beyond: M Edition	0.50
Magicka	0.50
Maize	1.25
Marooners	0.20
Melody's Escape 2	0.70
Meow Express	0.40
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor Game of the Year Edition	3.00
MirrorMoon EP	0.10
Monaco	0.50
Monument Valley	1.50
Monument Valley 2	1.50
Moon Hunters	0.20
Mordhau	5.00
Mortal Kombat 11	6.00
Mortal Shell	4.00
Mount & Blade: Warband	2.00
Murder by Numbers	0.50
MY LITTLE PONY: A Maretime Bay Adventure	10.00
Nanotale - Typing Chronicles	3.00
NecroWorm	0.20
Neverout	0.20
Neverwinter Nights: Dark Dreams of Furiae	2.50
Neverwinter Nights: Infinite Dungeons	1.00
Neverwinter Nights: Pirates of the Sword Coast	1.00
Neverwinter Nights: Tyrants of the Moonsea	1.50
Neverwinter Nights: Wyvern Crown of Cormyr	1.00
Neverwinter Nights: Darkness Over Daggerford	3.50
Neverwinter Nights: Enhanced Edition	3.50
Newt One	0.30
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl	1.00
Nickelodeon Kart Racers 2: Grand Prix	0.50
Nightmare Reaper	6.00
No Straight Roads: Encore Edition	4.00
Non-Stop Raiders	0.50
Orbital Racer	0.10
Orbital Racer	0.10
Out of Reach: Treasure Royale	0.10
Pandemic: The Board Game + Mutation + Roles & Events	4.00
Pathfinder: Kingmaker	4.00
Patron	2.50
PAW Patrol The Movie: Adventure City Calls	2.50
PAYDAY 2	1.00
PAYDAY 2: F*ck Cancer - Big Mike Mask	-
Perfect	0.50
Pikuniku	0.50
Pilgrims	0.30
Pill Baby	0.20
Pixplode	0.10
Pixross	0.20
Planescape: Torment: Enhanced Edition	1.50
Planet TD	0.20
PlateUp!	7.00
PLAYNE	5.00
Police Stories	1.00
Praey for the Gods	3.00
Princess Farmer	2.00
Project Arrhythmia	1.00
Project Chemistry	1.00
Propnight	2.00
Quadrata	1.50
Radio Commander	0.20
Railway Empire	1.00
Rayon Riddles - Rise of the Goblin King	1.00
Red Faction: Armageddon	0.50
Remnants of Naezith	0.30
Renowned Explorers: International Society	0.50
Rescue Party: Live!	1.50
Rise of the Slime	2.00
River City Girls	4.50
Roarr! Jurassic Edition	0.10
RPG Maker VX	0.20
RUMBLE	4.50
Rym 9000	0.10
Sable	1.50
Salt and Sanctuary	3.50
Sands of Aura	3.00
Say No! More	0.20
SCP: 5K	5.00
SHENZHEN I/O	2.50
Shing!	-
Shooty Fruity	1.00
Slinger VR	0.10
Small World 2 + Be not Afraid + Cursed + Grand Dames	2.00
Songbringer	0.30
Songs of Iron	3.00
Soul Axiom Rebooted	2.00
Soul Searching	0.20
Soulblight	0.10
Soulflow	0.20
Soundfall	4.00
Space Crew: Legendary Edition	0.50
Splendor	1.50
Stacking	0.10
StarCrossed	0.30
State of Decay 2	9.00
Staxel	2.00
Steel Rats	0.20
Stick Fight: The Game	2.00
STONE	1.50
Strange Brigade	1.50
Strange Brigade	1.50
Street Fighter V	2.50
Strider	0.50
Stygian: Reign of the Old Ones	0.30
Sunlight	0.20
Superfly	0.20
SUPERHOT VR	7.00
Supraland Six Inches Under	5.00
Swords and Soldiers 2 Shawarmageddon	0.20
Syberia - The World Before	4.50
SYMMETRY	0.20
System Shock 2	0.40
System Shock: Enhanced Edition	0.40
Takelings House Party	0.50
Tales of the Neon Sea	1.00
Tannenberg	1.25
Teacup	0.50
Teacup	0.50
Telefrag VR	0.10
Terra Alia	2.50
The Almost Gone	1.00
The Amazing American Circus	0.10
The Amazing American Circus	0.10
The Anacrusis	0.50
The Blackout Club	2.00
The Citadel	2.50
THE GAME OF LIFE 2	5.00
The Hong Kong Massacre	2.00
The Inner World	0.30
The LEGO Movie - Videogame	1.00
The LEGO NINJAGO Movie Video Game	2.00
The Mortuary Assistant	7.00
The Smurfs - Mission Vileaf	6.00
The Textorcist: The Story of Ray Bibbia	0.50
The USB Stick Found in the Grass	0.10
The Wizards - Dark Times	2.00
Them and Us	2.00
Ticket to Ride	0.50
TIS-100	2.00
Titan Quest Anniversary Edition	3.00
ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove	0.10
Trombone Champ	8.00
Turbo Golf Racing	3.50
Ultra Street Fighter IV	1.50
Until You Fall	3.00
Vagante	1.20
Vault of the Void	5.00
Verdun	1.50
Vertigo Remastered	1.50
Visage	8.00
Wanderer	1.50
Warhammer 40,000: Gladius - Relics of War	2.00
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus	1.00
Warhammer: Vermintide 2	2.00
We are alright (Wszystko z nami w porządku)	0.10
West of Dead	0.30
while True: learn()	2.50
White Day: A Labyrinth Named School	1.75
Winkeltje The Little Shop	4.00
Worms Rumble	1.00
WRATH: Aeon of Ruin	1.00
Wytchwood	4.00
X-Morph: Defense Complete Pack	0.20
X-Morph: Defense Complete Pack	0.20
XEL	0.40
Yoku's Island Express	0.50
Yonder The Cloud Catcher Chronicles	3.00
You Can Kana	3.50
Zenith MMO	6.00
Zombie Army Trilogy	2.00
Zombie Driver HD Complete Edition	0.10

Barter
SGS flair
IGS flair

"Then I shall show you. The end of your journey. The demise of human history that will redo this planet. The moment my great undertaking is completed!"

Goetia

♫ Shikisai ~The Time of Parting Hath Come~ ♫
This thread is a collaboration with InverseFlash and rsthethird, who helped with feat-gathering, as well as Proletlariet, who helped with formatting. Thanks!

Background

Beast I. One of the Seven Evils of Humanity, possessing the principle of "Pity".
The King of Mages, Solomon, gathered 72 demons in his life that he fashioned into "a system to promote reason in humans"--a sort of magical logic network. After some time, the demons gained self-awareness and merged into a collective being.
This being, the amalgamation of the 72 Demons, became known as Goetia.
When Solomon died, the demons were sealed away inside his corpse. The awakened Goetia at first assumed Solomon's identity. Through his eyes, they witnessed the extent of human suffering that Solomon, for all the king's vast power, had failed to address. They became disillusioned with their host, and hatched a plan to remake the world without its imperfections by travelling back in time.

Source Guide

Hover over the feat to view the story chapter the feat is from.
Relevant Scaling:

• List of Servants
  • If I name a character, it can be found here. I will not be linking a respect thread for every individual character mentioned in this thread due to the sheer number of Servants/characters Goetia and Demon Pillars interact with.
• Mash Kyrielight
• Beast II - Tiamat
• Beast VII - U-Olga Marie

Some terms:

• Rayshifting: Chaldea's method of time travel. It works by transforming the time traveler's body into 'Spiritrons', and then sending them backwards in time. Spiritrons being a form of energy/particle formed from a person's soul
  • Full Definition/Description can be read here
• Sheba: An observational lens that can sense the near-future, and could give Chaldea detailed information from inside of a bubble that absorbed all forms of normal radiation
• See the Fate Franchise Hub Post for a more extensive list of Fate related terms

Elements of Goetia's in-game profile and Fate/Grand Order material IV entry (translated by castor212) are freely quoted in this thread to help explain abilities that might not show up explicitly in the series very often.

King of Mages - "Solomon"

"Plead for help. Raise your mewling voice. For it is the time for you to drown in the sea of anguish! Behold this festival of flame that set ablaze the altar, rendered in its resplendence!"

♫ The Time of Coronation Hath Come ♫
Prior to revealing himself, Goetia posed as King Solomon while possessing his corpse..
Controlling Solomon granted Goetia a variety of abilities, namely the class container of "Grand", which allowed him to outclass any normal Servant by virtue of this.

Physical Feats/Power

• Manifested himself after his own death via his own will, and therefore doesn't need to rely on any sort of magical energy support like normal Servants
• Mordred claims his power exceeds that of a dragon, with Shakesphere going on to say he has 'infinite' magical energy, although he's likely exaggerating
• Tamamo-No-Mae claims that, even if she got all nine of her tails and became "a great demon strong enough to destroy the multiverse" that "[Solomon] is a threat threat enough to rival" her in that state
• When comparing him as Solomon to the Beast of the Seventh Singularity (later revealed to be Tiamat), the Lion King flips around the idea of who might be more of a threat to humanity
  • Kingu/Enkidu later claims that Tiamat is on par or superior to him
• Command spells wouldn't work on Solomon
• Engages with an extensive fight with Mash, hurting her with an attack
• Takes a blow from Mash that 'reaches the core of [his] body'

Clairvoyance

It has been said that Solomon's clairvoyance can see through the past and the future.
Because Clairvoyance is a skill furnished on the flesh, Goetia can also use it.

• Claims that he can 'see everything' and 'all possible futures', but cannot track things which exist outside of time
• [Limit] Even with his Clairvoyance, he didn't foresee the appearance of the Beast of the Seventh Singularity, Tiamat
• Goetia used Solomon's clairvoyance to perceive all human suffering in the past, present, and future
• Solomon sent one of his rings over 3,000 years into the future to act as a catalyst for his own summoning as a Heroic Spirit, putting into motion the events that would lead to Goetia's defeat
• Solomon used his Clairvoyance shortly before turning into a human with no powers to foresee the Incineration of Humanity in 2018 from 2004
• Gives him an unobstructed view of the past and future, as well as x-ray vision

Magecraft / Magic

Offensive

• Solomon/Goetia can summon any of the 72 Demon God Pillars at will, described as him projecting them out from his inner world to the outside world
  • Summons four at once that defeat Kintoki, Tamamo, and Shakespeare. Implies that he can summon far more of them
• Anderson is astonished at how badly he's hurt blocking just a single one of his attack spells
• A second spell rips Anderson into hundreds of pieces and then burns him into a crisp
• Goetia incinerates all living things on the planet at once just with his gaze, a feat characters in the story assumed he would need a powerful technique to accomplish

Utility

• Uses magic similar to a Rayshift to transport himself to the London Singularity
• Generates a field around himself that passively blocks Sheba's ability to observe him, as well as Romani's ability to communicate via hologram
• His field blocks Chaldeas' ability to Rayshift Fujimaru and Mash out of London
• Likely broke the seal binding Tiamat out of existence, though Ishtar notes that human mages might have done it
• Inserts images into Mash and Ritsuka's heads while they're mid-Rayshift
• Has a countermeasure that prevents using magic to predict his actions
• Has the ability to hasten his magical incantations, create magical constructs, and make magical territories via Solomon's class skills
• Goetia has nine of Solomon's 10 Rings. If all 10 were brought together, Solomon/Goetia would invalidate any magecraft used by mankind against him and put them under his control
  • Reference of what can be accomplished with magecraft

Evil Eye

Curse

• Solomon has become a walking curse, such that saying his name or looking him in the eye will remove a person's soul and imprison it
• By just looking at him, Mash begins to quake in fear for reasons she can't explain. Her soul might have been imprisoned in the false reality forever if a friend's out of character behavior hadn't tipped her off
• Tamamo with two of her tails believes she'd be vulnerable to the curse
• A person who's been afflicted with the Evil Eye has trouble remembering Solomon's appearance, and even video recordings of him are covered in static
• Even a drawn picture of Solomon can inflict the Evil Eye without special anti-curse precautions

Prison

• To escape, the soul must complete a set of trials within seven days, or death ensues
• Only the soul is imprisoned in the false reality, while the body remains behind. The soul experiences time at a much longer rate in the false world than the body does in the real one with seven days for the soul being equal to one for the body
• The prison's trials drag in fragments of the souls of the prisoner's acquaintances to serve as obstacles, it can do this even to heroic spirits, who have superhumanly powerful souls

Beast I - Goetia

"Well, I will rid myself of the title "King of Mages.”
"There's no more need for deception. I had no name, but if you want to call me something, call me this:"
"I am the one who shall attain true wisdom, as was desired of me. I am the one who shall devour you to reach a new height, and create a new planet."
"I am the one who shall gather 72 curses, and set flame to all of history. I am the Ritual for the Incineration of Humanity."
"I am Goetia, the King of Demon Gods."

♫ Shikisai ~The Time of Parting Hath Come~ ♫
The form Goetia takes after he abandons Solomon's corpse partway through the final battle.
His body is a central core surrounded by the 72 "Demon Pillars" that comprise him.

Collective

General Power and Information

• Hid in Solomon's body for three thousand years in Ars Paulina without any adverse effects due to the passage of time
• Is a "living summoning spell" that hid itself in Solomon's corpse and later gained a will of its own and physically incarnated as a Beast
• Describes himself as a higher-dimensional being that no longer requires flesh or blood. Due to being Solomon's familiars, he shared in Solomon's Clairvoyance
• Due to being an amalgamation of the 72 Demon Gods, which each have individual personalities, Goetia's personality will mirror that of someone who interacts with him on a surface level
• His existence is fixed, meaning he's immune to 'instant death' effects as well as temporal effects, like the paradoxes generated by incinerating human history
• A weakened Beast VII, or the Foreign God, is stated to be the most powerful thing Chaldea has faced since Goetia, with her magical energy being called a "third class planet" to Goetia's "second class planet"

Physical Feats

• Moves so fast he appears to teleport next to Solomon, before bloodying him with a barrage of punches and bombarding him with energy projectiles from his arms
• [Weakened] Ritsuka has trouble blocking his blows with Mash's shield, but can do so long enough for Goetia to die due to Ars Nova
• [Weakened] Knocked back by a Command Spell amplified punch from Ritsuka

The Beast Class
The entire space of Solomon's temple gives Da Vinci the same Beast Class reading she saw from Tiamat.

• Goetia's Beast Class Skill, Nega Summon, allows him to negate through "invalidation, invincible, absorption, reduction" any attacks or Noble Phantasms generated by Heroic Spirits, although this skill was nullified by King Solomon's actions at the end of the Final Singularity
• The Evils of Humanity, or Beasts, are summoned in a chain, meaning that Goetia's manifestation heralded the appearance of other Beasts

Individual Demon Pillars

Power

• Demon Pillars give off more magical energy than Servants or Phantasmals
• Demon Pillars are weaker while outside of Solomon's Temple, due to their cells dying off
• Demon Pillars have a "Spirit Core" like Servants, as well as innate magical energy, which can be used to fuel other spells (such as one to create pancakes) if defeated
• Require groups of Servants to defeat under normal conditions
• They have comparable power to Kingu during the Babylonian Singularity
• A Demon Pillar is compared to the energy output of a Servant empowering themselves with a Holy Grail
  • The corpse of a Demon Pillar can become a source of magical power similar to a Grail if fused with a servant, and possessing a strong will not to die

Strength

• Eight Demon God Pillars wrapping around the Chaldea building deal catastrophic damage to it and nearly destroy it
  • Reference of how large Chaldea is, the building's size can be compared to hallways connecting the structures in it
• Groups of them tear through the stone and marble of Solomon's throne when called to Goetia, reducing it to ruins
• Erupts out of the floor in a metal observation room, then attacks and absorbs a number of researchers

Damage Output
Demon Pillars attack in a number of ways:

• Various forms of spontaneous explosions that can cover multiples of meters
• Energy blasts that erupt from the ground
• Large storms of smoke that cover the battlefield
• Lasers, presumably fired from their eyes

These attacks are threatening to a variety of named servants:

• An attack from four Demon Pillars oneshot Kintoki, Tamamo, and Shakesphere
• Hurts and sends Robin Hood and Helena Blatvasky flying
• Spits out flames hot enough to burn Oda Nobunaga^FGO
• Draws blood on Fergus Lily, hurting him, although he's defeated in the overall fight against Astolfo, D'Eon, and Fergus
• Bloodies Wu Zetian with an attack

Durability
Favorable Interactions

• One takes a bullet from Francis Drake and continues to fight Mash, Ritsuka, and allies, although it loses the overall battle
• Li Shuwen has trouble injecting them with chi attacks, mostly due to their size
• Robin Hood's 'Yew Bow' and Elizabeth Bathory's weaponized singing don't do anything to them
• Tesla's Noble Phantasm, 'System Keranos', doesn't appear to do much to them, neither does a combined attack from Tesla and Edison's Noble Phantasms
• Lancer Li Shuwen breaks his spear on one
• Cursed Arm and Serenity have no means of harming them, even with Serenity's poison
• Oda Nobunaga's special attacks and bullets have no effect on Demon God Pillars
• Takes a hit from three bullets fired from EMIYA Alter and doesn't seem bothered by it moments later
• A Demon Pillar in its humanoid form take a blast of magic from the Queen of Sheba and is fine
• Takes fire produced by Chacha's abilities and fights Ritsuka, Okita, Nobunaga, and Hijikata, although it ultimately loses the fight
• A recreation of the Demon God Pillars gets bombarded with meteors from outer space by Astrea's Noble Phantasm, and continues to fight with Grey and Astrea, with Astrea commenting it was just as strong as the originals

Limits

• A suicide Noble Phantasm release from Arjuna kills twenty-eight of them
• Altera destroys one with Teardrop Photon Ray
• Mordred destroys one with Clarent Blood Arthur
• Bedivere takes out three pillars with an activation of his Noble Phantasm
• Okita Souji slices apart several pillars
• Edmond Dantes was able to take out a pillar by himself
• Ritsuka and his allies (in this case EMIYA Alter and Artoria Alter) were able to kill a Demon God Pillar
• One is defeated by Gawain, although Ritsuka notes it seemed particularly weak

Powers
Immortality

• The 72 Demon Gods are all part of the same magecraft ritual associated with Solomon, so as long as Solomon exists, they'll continue to exist even if destroyed
• After Mash kills Flauros, he instantly re-appears, with Mash describing this as an entirely new separate entity being born, and not some form of regeneration or resurrection
  • Vlad the Impaler runs out of stakes to hit them with due to how fast/often they were doing this
• Killing all 72 at once would be required to actually kill them for good
• Creating new demon pillars to replace fallen ones does draw away power from the center of Solomon's Temple, giving Chaldea entryway to the center of Ars Paulina
• Nightingale claims that killing them for good would require destroying all of Ars Paulina
• Even after escaping the Temple of Time and losing their proper immortality, individual demon pillars live for over 3,000 years to plot against Ritsuka

Other

• Demon Pillars can fuse with Heroic Spirits, even against their will
  • When Phenex did this with Scheherazade,, the two could trade places and transform into one another
  • A Heroic Spirit temporarily integrated into Goetia's hivemind via this process gained access to information he could use to calculate out events related to the Incineration of Humanity
  • Merging with a Heroic Spirit gives a Demon Pillar protection from its skills, such as Scheherazade's inability to be killed by Kings
• A number of Demon God Pillars were able to escape the Temple of Time's destruction while leaving ripples in space-time, this being an extradimensional space outside of time
• A number of Demon God Pillars demonstrate the ability to possess humans
• As of the events of Lady Reines' Case Files, Ritsuka has killed so many Demon Pillars that just inserting information about him into facsimiles of them cause them to get significantly weaker

King of Humans - Goetia

"The Demon Gods have burned away. My temple is destroyed. My grand plan for the Incineration of Human Order dies with me. But, I will at least deny you this final victory. Let us begin... Master of Chaldea. I shall annihilate you, and all you've achieved, with my own hands."

♫ GRAND LAST BATTLE ♫
Despite Ars Nova ending Solomon's spell that bound the 72 Demons together, Goetia manages to linger long enough for one last fight. However, in this weakened state he can be defeated by a punch from Ritsuka.

Noble Phantasms

Ars Almadel Salomonis: The Time of Birth has Come, He is the One who Masters All

"Then I shall show you. The end of your journey. The demise of human history that will redo this planet. The moment my great undertaking is completed! Third Noble Phantasm, deploy. The Time of Birth has Come, He is the One who Masters All. Now, burn up like trash!"
"Ars Almadel Salomonis!"

• Rank: EX
• Type: Anti-Unit/Anti-Human Order Noble Phantasm
• Range: ?
• Maximum target: ? person

Goetia's third Noble Phantasm. The "" of original sin. A belt of light that announces mankind’s demise.
Goetia is able to manipulate this belt of light in order to collect, accelerate and converge portions of it, travelling through the timestream or otherwise influencing it.
Singularities
For his plan to work, Goetia needed to make cause and effect stop working, so he can set fire to multiple periods of time in history at the same time.
He enables this by destabilizing human history with Singularities. These are turning points in human history that he's sent Holy Grails (powerful magic artifacts) to change important historical events.
Reference of what Holy Grails can do
Creation

• Singularities are key turning points in human history that have been interfered with, causing aberrations in the timestream. Goetia's Incineration of Humanity involved seven primary Singularities
• Resolving individual singularities will not fix the timestream. Only resolving all seven will set things right
• Solomon caused some Singularities by sending his Demon Pillars to different eras to directly alter historical events
  • These Demon Gods were embedded in King Solomon's descendants and activated like sleeper agents all at once in 2018
  • Goetia hid his Demon Pillars inside of the magic circuits passed down generationally by mages so he could seed them at specific points in history
• Solomon sent one of these grails directly backwards through time to Babylon, and and removing it is especially necessary to keep human history from burning
• Goetia's singularities had such a profound effect on human history that it rippled to other timelines, and caused singularities to still pop up after he was defeated

Structure/Attributes

• Singularities are cut off from the rest of the timeline, existing apart from the past or the future
• Singularities are immune to time paradoxes, so Ritsuka and Mash fighting soldiers in the past doesn't have any adverse affects
• Singularities are bound to a specific area, which can vary between the size of a city to the entire United States

Incineration of Human History
Once human history is destabilized, Goetia 'sets fire' to every moment of it and lets it burn. The energy is then collected as "Spiritrons" (magical energy) and raw heat.
Of course, this has catastrophic affects on the timeline.

• Chaldeas lost its ability to sense the future, or detect the outside world - this was because there was no more outside world to detect, as Goetia's Incineration of Humanity destroyed the timeline
• Despite being able to Rayshift to different points in time, Chaldea can only travel between Singularities because the rest of the timeline has been eradicated
• The Incineration of Humanity also affected The Land of Shadows, a realm described as being sundered from the mortal world
• The Incineration of Humanity burned all biological matter on Earth across all points in time as fuel to reset the universe
• Goetia needed to create Singularities to in order to weaken "the strength of human history" enough to carry out the Incineration of Humanity. Singularities break up the timeline into fractured chunks, allowing for the paradox necessary to incinerate matter during all points in its existence

Bands of Light
Finally, this energy is then channeled into Goetia's temple, and refined into bands of light that he can control and release at will. Either as weapons, or as fuel to for his ultimate goal: time travel to the creation of the Earth.

• Each Singularity Ritsuka and company travel to have a series of light bands encircling the sky present. These are around the size of North America
• These bands of light are the manifestation of Goetia's Noble Phantasm locking the rotation of the planet in place for the Incineration of Humanity
• Each individual band of light has comparable heat output to Artoria Alter's Holy Sword. The Noble Phantasm manifests hundreds of millions of them at once
  • Respect Artoria Alter
• Ushiwakamaru Alter claims the band of light are the only thing that could destroy Tiamat's corrupted ocean
• One of the Demon Pillars claims it could be used to incinernate all the Heroic Spirits summoned to fight in the Temple of Time
• The bands of light could burn away the outer layers of the planet. Mash says nothing on Earth could match their energy output
• Manifests as a beam of light from the sky that clashes with Mash wielding Lord Camelot. While Mash is able to block the attack, it still vaporizes her through her shield
• After Goetia is defeated, the bands of light start to release their energy into the atmosphere with nobody to control them. Da Vinci says the effect of this would be like a supernova
• The magical energy circulated between the Trees of Emptiness, and channeled into the Atlantis Lostbelt to summon the Foreign God had already built up to the same level of power as the Bands of Light prior Chaldea entering it
• [Limit] Even if they were collected and used to attack Chaos, the Bands of Light wouldn't be able to destroy it
  • Chaos is a mechanical being whose core is an entire star, otherwise known as a Dyson Sphere

Ars Paulina: The Time of Crowning has Come, He is the One who Begins All

• Rank: A
• Type: Anti-World Noble Phantasm
• Range: 999
• Maximum target: ? person

A Reality Marble that Goetia fabricated by amplifying the remains of King Solomon, forming a magical workshop in "void space" that exists outside the normal flow of time.
Reality Marbles are essentially self-contained dimensions that 'paint over the world' in a given area. Here's a better schematic explaining what they do.
Physical Structure and Location

• His temple resides outside of time, and can only be found by tracking back its location from the Seventh Grail
  • Da Vinci and Romani have no methods to track Goetia returning to his temple
• Chaldea pinpointing its location by analyzing Goetia's Seventh Grail also opens a back door for Goetia to locate him in turn, and it begins to pull him out of the timeline to itself
• Described as a "miniature model of the universe" containing no other celestial bodies, about the size of a cell when compared to the universe proper
  • There's still sort of celestial background present inside of it
• The temple lacks a concept of time. This property facilitated the Incineration of Humanity
• A recreation of the Temple is too cold for normal life to survive in it

Properties

• The route to the throne itself is blocked by a swirling tempest of "incalculable" amounts of magical energy, with Da Vinci believing Chaldea had to destroy areas around it to have a chance of getting through
  • The throne is accessible after Mash and Ritsuka remove this magical energy tempest via a fissure in space a kilometer long
• The temple has a similar composition as the Greater Grail of Fuyuki. It is made up of of Solomon's magic circuits, which form a small self-contained universe
• The throne is a giant magic summoning circle with planetary magecraft at its core

Ars Nova

• Rank: D
• Type: Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm
• Range: -
• Maximum target: 1 person

Goetia: Light Band Convergence Ring

• Goetia prepared his endgoal feat from the Incineration of Humanity as a 'virtual Noble Phantasm' due to not knowing the purpose or how to activate the original
• This ultimate feat, which he would use all the energy collected by Ars Almadel Salomonis to accomplish, would have him travel 4.6 billion years into the past to the birth of the planet, where he would then change the starting conditions of the world so that death did not exist, with him supplanting the planet with his own body

Solomon: The Time of Parting has Come, He is the One who Lets Go of the World

• By having all his ten rings present between those worn by Goetia and himself, Solomon can recreate the legend of him giving all his rings back to God
  • Activates as Solomon slowly becoming engulfed in a pure white light while chanting
• After using it, everything related to Solomon is wiped from existence and rendered inert. This includes Goetia himself as Solomon brought the Demon Gods together, as well as Solomon's rings, and Solmon's ability to be summoned as a Heroic Spirit
• Although this doesn't instantly kill Goetia, the Demon Pillars that make him up finally start to die for good, and start separating from the collective

Individual Demon Pillars - Unique Abilities

While it's likely that Goetia possesses all these abilities as the composite of all Demon God Pillars, some of his components developed wills of their own and gained unique abilities before and after his destruction at the hands of Chaldea.

Flauros

• Flauros can change his shape between a human form, Lev Lainur, and his true Demon Pillar form^FGO
  • Some other Pillars can also do this, but they are more obviously inhuman
• Lev has a spell similar to a Command Spell, controlling Caligula's actions^FGO
• Helped create SHEBA under Goetia's guidance, which is a failsafe to detect and act against Demon Pillars that go rogue from Goetia's collective, SHEBA is an observational lens that can sense the near-future, and could give Chaldea detailed information from inside of a bubble that absorbed all forms of normal radiation
  • Had enough intelligence to react to the threat of the Salem Singularity and summon a Heroic Spirit to it by using itself as a catalyst

Andras

After separating from Goetia, Andras gained a self-awareness and will to live, and escaped from the Temple of Time near-death, but died afterwards. Even then, its 'vindictive desires' remained as a corpse that could maintain a being by fusing to a Heroic Spirit, summoning and doing so with Chacha and Hijikata to create a singularity-like space.

• The space created by Andras is completely disconnected from the past or future, and time inside of it doesn't progress, having carved the space out of time itself, or at least travelled to an existing space like this
• Nobukatsu used him in a ritual to summon a demonic castle where nothing inside can die, so that he and Nobunaga can live forever inside. It disappears when Andras is defeated
• Summons waves of corpses to fight Ritsuka and allies

Bael

• Somehow hacked into Ritsuka's Rayshift coordinates, which made all of his servants rayshifted with him go off in random directions and himself to spawn in hundreds of feet into the air
• While believing itself to be the heroic spirit Moriarty, Bael somehow fights Chaldea and disappears like a Heroic Spirit, only to re-appear as a demon pillar
• Learned how to fuse together Phantom and Heroic spirits, though Phantom Spirits cannot normally be summoned as complete entities
  • Fused together being from multiple legends to create Hessian Lobo, granting it composite abilities such as the Invisible Man's invisibility
  • Fused Moriarty with Der Freischütz, giving his weapon supernatural accuracy on the 7th shot, something that could even apply to objects as large as a meteor to make it strike Earth
  • Moriarty uses this method to absorb the defeated Sherlock Holmes

Phenex

• As the Demon God of Death, he isn't detected by Chaldea's scans for life because he's technically dead
• Despite being killed by Ritsuka and his allies, re-appears later in the body of a nearby corpse, transforming back into its demonic form
• Constantly regenerates from being attacked by D'Eon, Fergus, and Astolfo
• Endures Caladbolg's vortex, which destroyed a floating island big enough to house an entire forest and a mountain
• [Limit] Is hit with Wu Zeitan's Noble Phantasm, and still fights while being afflicted with it
  • The attack works by keeping Phenex in "state of both life and death", allowing Phenex to finally be weakenedand then killed
• Despite all of the above, it still has enough strength to try and attack Scheherazade, although it's killed with one last burst from Fergus' sword

"Huh, who would have known? ...Tragically short, and yet, strangely fascinating... So, this is what human life is..."

I have been a state employee for the past 12 years. Generally, I like my job and love the flexibility it offers, but I am not satisfied with the pay. After 12 years of work, I am currently earning $70,000 per year (recently promoted from $62,000). Considering I live in a smaller city in the Pacific Northwest, this wage falls on the lower end of what is considered livable, especially if I want to own a house and support a family. Recently, I started exploring positions in the private environmental consulting field and was surprised by the salary ranges I came across. As a result, I decided to submit a few applications, and to my astonishment, I received interview offers for almost every position I applied to. I have already received one job offer from a large consulting firm, which would pay me $83,000 per year. The people I interacted with during the interview process were fantastic. My potential direct supervisor seemed friendly and easy to work with. Although the work appeared to be faster paced, everyone on the panel, including colleagues at my level, assured me that working over 40 hours was rare, and any extra hours would be compensated. There are three major factors to consider. First, I am planning to negotiate for a higher salary. To me, $83,000 doesn't seem sufficient. What if I can convince them to offer $88,000 or $90,000? Second, this job is hybrid, requiring me to be in the office or field 2-3 days a week, whereas I am currently working remotely full-time. Lastly, this job is located 1.5 hours away (3 hours round trip) from my current residence, and I have no plans to relocate in the near future. Currently, I can walk to my job. What should I do? I am feeling significant pressure at this stage of my life to provide for my family. I want to earn a wage that will adequately support them, but I also value maintaining a healthy work/life balance. I have no idea what it's like to work in the private consulting field. Please help! If anyone has made the switch from a state job to private consulting, I would greatly appreciate hearing your opinions. TLDR: Should I continue with my low-paying state job or accept a much higher-paying consulting job with potential downsides? *Please refrain from focusing solely on the commute. While it is indeed a major factor, I would like to gain a general understanding of the switch rather than solely focusing on this specific situation.