Hi! I just purchased an Aquila X2 with H32 board the previous week. Simply loving it so far. I've already used half a kilo of PLA and no bad prints on stock, thanks to the information provided in this sub and the sticky post.
I have a question about proper bed leveling using the knobs with CR touch and Alex' firmware. So I'll start with that, and share my experience and tips with other new Aquila X2 H32 users further in this post.
Bed leveling question
I don't know if I'm correct, but CR touch feels like a correction for bed warping and improper manual bed leveling through the knobs. Therefore, proper manual bed leveling is still important, but you don't have to do this frequently anymore because CR touch can correct for this.
How can I manually realign my bed manually with the knobs in Alex' firmware? Cause I want to do that 'the stock way'. With stock, it would home using the Z-axis end stop sensor. From there, I just re-calibrate the bed using the A4 paper method. That way I can keep my the springs / silicone bed spacers in the proper working range. But with Alex' firmware, homing the Z-axis would depend on the CR touch sensor and whatever inproper calibration was done to the bed.
Sharing my experience with other new Aquila X2 H32 users
Since everything went well, I've already bought and applied some upgrades after a week of usage. I noticed I needed to calibrate my bed after every print, so I bought the official Creality CR Touch module and silicone bed springs. On recommendation of this sub, I also bought the Creality metal extruder upgrade kit because this part seems to have a high failure rate. I picked the upgrade kit which also included the Capricorn bowden tube, since I want to print with other materials soon with higher temps.
Although the sticky post provided great information for the stock machine, it did lack some information about the upgrades everybody recommends here. At least in text form. I hate watching 15 minute YouTube videos for an answer that could be written in two sentences.
My first and only failed print was after replacing the bowden tube. It failed the PLA extrusion mid print. The tube was probably too long since both ends were cut perfectly round. The stock tube is 40 cm. My tube was cut at 50 cm with the idea to leave some spare to cut off when needed (e.g. the hot-end side of the tube). I had no problems anymore after cutting the tube length back to 40 cm.
When replacing the extruder, my tip would be not to tighten down the extruder gear attached the servo during the assembly process. This should be your last step so you can align the gear with the filament guiding bearing.
Another thing what bothered me is is firmware upgrade process. Yet another long YouTube video. The firmware upgrade is needed for the CR Touch upgrade. The official firmware for auto leveling (Aqulia X2 H32 BLtouch Firmware V5.3.3) sucks. Its unstable and freezed mid print. Therefore I switched to Alex firmware. Although not supported anymore, I love the stock Aquila X2 (non CBL Touch) firmware. Alex firmware is based on the source code of the latest official Aquila X2 H32 V5.1.8 firmware.
With the official Creality CR Touch upgrade, manual calibrate your printer bed and print a mount first before installing the upgrade. The included mounts are not compatible with the Aquila X2. I've printed this mount with X-axis tab. If you want to use the supplied bolts, use a M3 tap for the holes. You can also your own M3 bolts and nuts without a tap. Install the CR Touch upgrade. The CR Touch cable will fit easily through the bigger cable sleeve if you undo all tie-wraps. When accessing the H32 board, route and cable manage the cable around the board to not obstruct the fan.
I think it's good the know that lowest point of the CR Touch sensor lies higher than the nozzle. But the metal pin of the CR Touch will elongate itself when activated so you don't have to worry.
Here's a quick manual text written manual to flash Alex' firmware for tech-savvy users. If you need a step-by-step guide, please watch the videos. The mentioned downloads are the latest available versions. It will probably stay this way since these downloads are not supported by Alex anymore.

• Format a SD card as FAT32 with a cluster size of 4096 bytes.
• Download Alex' Marlin source code for the screen assets.
• In the source code archive, copy the Copy the DWIN_SET (Voxelab Red) folder to the root your formatted SD card. Rename the folder back to only DWIN_SET.
• Download Alex' Aquila X2 for H32 boards for the firmware upgrade. I've chosen BLTouch-5x5-H32.bin (BLTouch for auto bed leveling with the CR Touch upgrade, 5x5 for 25 measuring points, non high-speed HS).
• Create a folder on the SD card root named firmware and copy the download BIN file into that folder.
• Make sure your Aquila X2 is turned off, insert the prepared SD card into the printer base and turn the machine on.
• It will start to flash firmware immediately. If its booting into normal operation mode, your SD card is not prepared correctly. It will show a broken progress bar and come back alive after a short while. The screen might show mangled graphics when flashing is done.
• Turn off the machine to flash the display assets. Remove the SD card, disconnect and dismount the screen from the printer base.
• Unscrew the back cover from the screen to access a hidden SD card reader. You don't have to remove the mount from the display module. Insert the SD card, and reconnect the screen. It's better to not reassembly the whole thing at this point.
• Start your machine. If your SD card is prepared correctly, you will be greeted with a blue screen. When flashing the screen assets is done, the screen will flash orange.
• Turn off the machine, remove the SD card, and turn on the machine to verify the printer is working correctly. Reassembly if everything works fine.
• Do not reinsert the SD card into the printer. That will start a firmware upgrade again. Reformat it to your wishes, do not forget to return to the default cluster size.

After this your printer is ready to be calibrated with the CR Touch module. It's quite easy. I don't know it's significant or necessary, but I did preheat everything to account for thermal warping.

1. From the main menu, go to prepare.
2. Go to preheat.
3. Choose PLA.
4. Wait till everything is preheated.
5. From the main menu, go to leveling.
6. Check leveling active.
7. Go to create new mesh.
8. Choose confirm to save the mesh.

If there's a huge discrepancy between each measuring points, please level your bed using the knobs (and I have a question about that, see later this post). Open the mesh viewer to view this data.

1. From the main menu, go to leveling.
2. Go to mesh viewer.
3. Check viewer show values.
4. Go to mesh viewer.

I don't understand why people here are sometimes asking for Z-offset values. I think that's completely wrong to ask, right? This value is completly specific for each individual printer.

1. From the main menu, go to prepare.
2. Go to Z-offset.
3. Choose home Z-axis.
4. Check live adjustments.
5. Get a piece of typical 80 g/m² A4 paper and place it between the nozzle and bed.
6. Increase / decrease the Z-offset value. The perfect value is the value where there is some slight resistance moving the A4 paper. A microstep up would result in the A4 paper moving freely. Please note you have a few options to move the Z-axis. With microstep up, microstep down and setting a Z-offset value. Please note for the latter you have to push (confirm) the knob to apply the Z-offset value for live adjustments to work.

The next thing for me is PETG printing or OctoPrint. Thanks again for the resources!

Specs: RTX 4090 Strix, 13900k(overclocked with ASUS AI Overclock, typically sits at 5.5GHZ)with a great AIO water cooler, 64 gigs of GDDR5 RAM, and a 1200W PSU (had it for about 4 and a half years. PSU has a watt display and system typically draws between 550W and 700W in average). So hardware shouldn't be an issue.
Games that crash: Final Fantasy XV on 4k (both in 60fps mode and 120 fps mode, both with and without 4k texture pack, on highest settings), Jurassic World Evolution 2 (4k max settings), Sea of Thieves (max settings, 4k, both 120 fps and 60 fps), and Total War Warhammer 3 (4k, max settings) are the first that come to mind. Temps are alright, never had an issue. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

The first murder victim we found in a hotel dumpster. He was wearing a tuxedo and his pockets were stuffed with counterfeit money.
My rookie partner was quick to jump to conclusions. “Must be running a counterfeit operation. His partner didn’t want to share the cash.”
I wasn’t so sure. Someone took a long time to make this fake cash, why stuff his pockets full of it? Most of the homicides we get in this city are angry husbands or drug deals gone bad. This was different.
Other than the body, there was no evidence at the scene.
The second murder happened two days later. It was a retired and decorated military man. He was alone in his study enjoying a cigar. Someone cracked him over the head with something blunt.
Whoever did this was good. There were no signs of forced entry, no signs of a fight. When it happened, it was quick and quiet.
My partner started blabbing again. Damn rookie. “Maybe he didn’t pay a hooker?”
I put him in his place. “Evidence, Marty. We need evidence. You make theories up in your head, you’re gonna start finding answers to that predetermined outlook. Which won’t help us catch who did this.”
Problem was we couldn’t find any evidence. Not even the murder weapon.
The murders were completely different. But I was starting to suspect this was the same guy.
The third murder was the most gruesome. The lengths this guy must have went to plant this body in the hospital.
The area was sectioned off, some cops outside the door making sure nobody disturbed our scene.
The body on the floor was full of holes. The flesh had been dug out of him. It was hard to tell but it looked like his organs might have been removed. Oddest thing was the red clown nose sewn to his face.
Our forensics guy was taking pictures. My rookie partner was finally speechless. He knelt down by the body, looking for evidence.
“Haven’t had this much work since I started,” the forensics guy said between pictures. “First the schmuck at the hotel on Park Avenue, then the Colonel, now this? Overtime’s gonna be great.”
It hit me like a cannon; visions of little red motels and candlesticks. Monopoly. Clue. They were all fucking board games. This sick son of a bitch is telling us this is all a game to him.
But what children’s game had a guy full of holes?
My partner snapped on latex gloves and said, “Looks like somethings been placed inside him.” He started to reach inside the body.
“Wait! Don’t!”
Whatever he grabbed connected the circuit. He began convulsing, electricity shooting through his body. I had to kick his arm hard to break the circuit. I began CPR. His heart had stopped.
“Get an ambulance!” I yelled at the photographer.
Come back to me you stupid rookie. I compressed his chest. We’ve got a psycho to catch. Come back damn it!

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

We have been friends with another couple for a couple of years and have taken a few trips with them. We usually make cabin rental/hitel reservations for all of us. One the last 2 trips, one of them will break the rules of the rental. They have a mostly untrained pitbull that they have obtained fraudulent "service animal" papers so that they can bring it into restaurants and cabins/hotel rooms. One of them smokes in nonsmoking resorts or cabins, the other just shrugs and giggles, "you wouldn't want to see them without smoking". These rooms were obtained under our name and with our credit cards. We have stopped asking them to travel with us and now they want to know why. What would you suggest for an answer?

Hey all, looking for some hotel recommendations in Lagos for July. My first time visiting the Algarve. Looking for somewhere clean and comfortable & with decent walking proximity to a few beaches and the Old Town.
I’ve looked on my own but would love to hear if anyone has personal recommendations. Thanks in advance!

He says in 2006 during a conversation with Artie about women in Hollywood “sleeping with the right famous guys that actually have power:”
(Paraphrasing)
“I know an actress, everyone would know her if I said her name, but I won’t. But she told me herself, right from the horse’s mouth, that there’s a major, major player in Hollywood, movie producer, financier kind of thing, not even a director, gross guy too, old, fat. She tells me she’s really interested in a script and he tells her they need to sit down and have a meeting. He gave her the name of some fancy hotel, so she thinks she’s going to meet him for dinner, a drink, but no. He says come up to my room. She gets there and the fucking guy is in his underwear. Like, hey, where’s my blowjob? It’s crazy. She said she didn’t do it and I believe her.”
That’s basically an exact transcript of the Gwyneth Paltrow/Harvey Weinstein incident. An impossible coincidence for that to not be what he’s referring to, IMO.
What I find very odd, however, is Howard having clearly known this story had Harvey Weinstein on his show several times after publicly acknowledging this story.
Love Howard, but that’s a weird move. Surprised he hasn’t gotten some heat for it.

I've shared fiction here before and it didn't go altogether too poorly, so I'm going to press my luck and do it again. This was written about a year ago, and I'm tired of trying to peddle it to lit magazines. Might as well share it here, know that it met a few eyeballs, and have done with it.
It's relevant to the sub insofar as it's about urban alienation and the working conditions at a small business run by IN THIS HOUSE WE BELIEVE people. (I tried to pitch it as a story of the great resignation with a momentary flicker of cosmic horror.) It's based on a similar job I took on after getting laid off during the lockdown, and the circumstances of the main character's breakup are faintly similar to one I went through several years back (her job sucked the life out of her).
Without further ado:
* * *
It was getting close to midnight, and the temperature outside was still above 80 degrees. We’d locked up the shop at 10:15 and walked over to Twenty, the dive bar on Poplar Street, where a single wall-mounted air conditioner and four wobbly ceiling fans weren’t putting up much resistance against the July heat baking the place from the outside and the dense mass of bodies giving it a stifling fever from within.
Just now I came close to saying it was a Wednesday night, because that was usually when the cyclists descended upon Avenue Brew, the gritty-but-bougie craft beer and sandwich shop I was working at back then. Every Wednesday between March and November, about fifteen to twenty-five Gen Xers dressed in skintight polyester, all packages and camel toes and fanny packs, locked up their thousand-dollar bikes on the sidewalk and lined up for IPAs and paninis. They reliably arrived around 8:00, an hour before we closed, making it impossible to get started on the closing checklist and leave on time at 10:00. The worst of them were demanding and rude, and even the best got raucous and stubborn after a couple drinks. There were nights when bringing in the sidewalk tables couldn’t be done without arguing with them. Most were sub-par tippers, to boot.
After Wednesday came and went that week without so much as a single 40-something in Ray Bans and padded shorts stopping in to double-fist two cans of Jai Alai, we dared to hope the cyclists had chosen another spot to be their finish line from there on out. But no—they’d only postponed their weekly ride, and swarmed us on Friday night instead.
I was the last person to find out; I was clocked in as purchaser that evening. The position was something like a promotion I'd received a year earlier: for twenty hours a week, I got to retreat from the public and sit in the back room with the store laptop, reviewing sales and inventory, answering emails from brewery reps, and ordering beer, beverages, and assorted paper goods. When I put in hours as purchaser, my wage went up from $11 to $15 an hour, but I was removed from the tip pool. On most days, tips amounted to an extra two or three dollars an hour, so I usually came out ahead.
This was back in 2021. I don't know what Avenue Brew pays these days.
Anyway, at about 8:15, I stepped out to say goodbye to everyone and found the shop in chaos. Friday nights were generally pretty active, the cyclists' arrival had turned the place into a mob scene. The line extended to the front door. The phone was ringing. The Grubhub tablet dinged like an alarm clock without a snooze button. Danny was on the sandwich line and on the verge of losing his temper. Oliver was working up a sweat running food, bussing tables, and replenishing ingredients from the walk-in. The unflappable Marina was on register, and even she seemed like she was about to snap at somebody.
What else could I do? I stayed until closing to answer the phone, process Grubhub orders, hop on and off the second register, and help Danny with sandwich prep. After the tills were counted out, I stayed another hour to take care of the dishes, since nobody had a chance to do a first load. Oliver was grateful, even though he grumbled about having to make some calls and rearrange Sunday's schedule so I could come in a couple hours late. Irene and Jeremy, Avenue Brew's owners, would kick his ass if he let me go into overtime.
Danny suggested that we deserved a few drinks ourselves after managing to get through the shift without killing anyone. Not even Marina could find a reason to disagree with him.
The neighborhood had undergone enough gentrification to support an upscale brunch spot, an ice cream parlor, a gourmet burger restaurant, a coffee and bahn mi shop, and Avenue Brew (to name a few examples), but not yet quite enough that the people who staffed them couldn’t afford to live within a ten-minute walk from the main avenue where all these hep eateries stood between 24-hour corner stores with slot machines in back, late-night Chinese and Mexico-Italian takeout joints with bulletproof glass at the counters, and long-shuttered delis and shoe stores. Twenty on Poplar was the watering hole set aside for people like us. It was dim, a bit dilapidated, and inexpensive, and usually avoided by denizens of the condos popping up on the vacant lots and replacing clusters of abandoned row houses.
When we arrived, Kyle waved us over. He didn’t work at Avenue Brew anymore, but still kept up with a few of us. He was at Twenty at least four nights out of the week.
So there we all were. I sat with a brooding stranger freestyling to himself in a low mumble on the stool to my left and Oliver on my right, who tapped at his phone and nursed a bottle of Twisted Tea. To Oliver’s right sat Marina, staring at nothing in particular and trying to ignore Danny, who stood behind her, closer than she would have liked, listening to Kyle explain the crucial differences between the Invincible comic book and the Invincible web series.
I recall being startled back to something like wakefulness when it seemed to me that the ceiling had sprouted a new fan. I blinked my eyes, and it wasn’t there anymore. It reminded me of an incident from when I was still living with my folks in South Jersey and still had a car, and was driving home from a friend’s house party up in Bergen County. It was 6:30 AM, I hadn’t slept all night, and needed to get home so I could get at least little shuteye before heading to Whole Foods for my 11:00 AM shift. I imagined I passed beneath the shadows of overpasses I knew weren’t there, and realized I was dreaming at the wheel.
I was pretty thoroughly zombified at that point. Heather and I had broken up for good the night before, and I hadn't gotten even a minute of sleep. Calling out at Avenue Brew was tough. Unless you found someone willing to cover your shift on like six hours' notice, you were liable to get a writeup, a demotion, or your hours cut if you couldn't produce a doctor's note. So I loaded up on caffeine pills and Five-Hour Energy bottles at the corner store, and powered through as best I could.
I finished the last thimbleful of Blue Moon in my glass. Oliver wiped the sweat from the back of his neck with a napkin and covered his mouth to stifle a laugh at the KiwiFarms thread he was scrolling through. Pool balls clacked; somebody swore and somebody laughed. The TouchTunes box was playing Bob Dylan’s “Rain Day Woman #12 & 35,” and enough bleary 40-something men around the bar were bobbing their heads and mouthing the words to make it impossible to determine which one of them paid two bucks to hear it. A guy by the cigarette machine who looked like a caricature of Art Carney in flannel and an old Pixies T-shirt was accosting a woman who must have been a toddler when he hit drinking age, and she momentarily made eye contact with me as she scanned the area for a way out. Danny was shouting over the bartender’s head, carrying on a conversation with the Hot Guy from Pizza Stan’s, who was sitting on the horseshoe’s opposite arm.
I never got his name, but when Oliver first referred to him as the Hot Guy from Pizza Stan’s, I knew exactly who he meant. Philly scene kid par excellence. Mid-20s, washed-out black denim, dyed black hair, thick bangs, and dark, gentle eyes. He was only truly alluring when he was on the job, because he seldom smiled then—and when he smiled, he broke the spell by exposing his teeth, stained a gnarly shade of mahogany from too much smoking and not enough brushing.
“How’s Best? Marcus still a joker?” Danny asked him.
“Yeah, you know Marcus. You know how he is.”
So the Hot Guy had been working at Best Burger (directly across the street from Avenue Brew) ever since Pizza Stan’s owners mismanaged the place unto insolvency. (Afterwards it was renovated and reopened as a vegan bakery—which incidentally closed down about a month ago.) Danny used to work at Best Burger, but that ended after he got into a shouting match with the owner. I happened to overhear it while I was dragging in the tables and collecting the chairs from the sidewalk the night it happened. It wasn’t any of my business, and I tried not to pay attention, but they were really tearing into each other. A month later, Oliver welcomed Danny aboard at Avenue Brew. I hadn’t known he’d been interviewed, and by then it was too late to mention the incident. But I’d have been a hypocrite to call it a red flag after the way I resigned from my position as Café Chakra's assistant manager two years earlier—not that we need to go dredging that up right now. Let's say there was some bad blood and leave it at that.
Anyway, I was thinking about giving in and buying a pack of cigarettes from the machine—and then remembered that Twenty didn’t have a cigarette machine. I looked again. The Art Carney-lookalike was still there, fingering his phone with a frown, but the girl was gone—and so was the cigarette machine.
I had only a moment to puzzle over this before Danny clapped me on the shoulder and thrust a shot glass in front of me.
“Starfish!” he said. (Danny called me Starfish. Everybody else called me Pat.) “You look like you need some juice.”
He distributed shots to everyone else. Marina declined hers, but changed her mind when Kyle offered to take it instead.
She and Kyle had stopped sleeping together after Kyle left Avenue Brew to work at the Victory taproom on the Parkway, but Marina was still concerned about his bad habits, which Danny delighted in encouraging.
We all leaned in to clink our glasses. Before I could find an appropriate moment to ask Marina if I could bum a cigarette, she got up to visit the bathroom. Danny took her seat and bowed his head for a conspiratorial word with Kyle.
I watched from the corner of my eye and tried to listen in. Like Marina, I was a little worried about Kyle. He got hired at Avenue Brew around the same time I did, just before the pandemic temporarily turned us into a takeout joint. He was a senior at Drexel then, an English major, and sometimes talked about wanting to either find work in publishing or carve out a career as a freelance writer after graduating. But first he intended to spend a year getting some life in before submitting himself to the forever grind.
He read a lot of Charles Bukowski and Hunter Thompson. He relished the gritty and sordid, and had already been good at sniffing it out around the neighborhood and in West Philly before Danny introduced him to cocaine, casinos, strip clubs, and a rogue’s gallery of shady but fascinating people. (None were really Danny’s friends; just fellow passengers who intersected with the part of his life where he sometimes went to Parx, sometimes came out ahead, sometimes spent his winnings on coke, and sometimes did bumps at titty bars.) Kyle recounted these adventures with a boyish enthusiasm for the naked reality of sleaze, like a middle schooler telling his locker room buddies about catching his older brother in flagrante and seeing so-and-so body parts doing such-and-such things.
Marina hated it. She never said as much to me, but she was afraid that the template Kyle set for his life during his “year off” was in danger of becoming locked in. The anniversary of his graduation had already passed, and now here he was trying to convince Danny to contribute a couple hundred dollars toward a sheet of acid his guy had for sale. He wasn't doing much writing lately.
I was the oldest employee at Avenue Brew (as I write this I’m 37, but fortunately I don’t look it), and when Kyle still worked with us I felt like it was my prerogative to give him some advice. The longer he waited to make inroads, I once told him, the more likely he’d be seen as damaged goods by the publishing world. He needed to jam his foot in the door while he was still young.
I could tell the conversation bored him, and didn’t bring up the subject again.
The bartender took my glass and curtly asked if I’d like another drink.
“No thanks, not yet,” I answered.
She slid me my bill.
I missed the old bartender, the one she’d replaced. I forget her name, but she was ingenuous and energetic and sweet. Pretty much everyone had some sort of crush on her. Sometimes she came into Avenue Brew for lunch, and tipped us as well as we tipped her. Maybe three months before that night—Danny witnessed it—she suddenly started crying and rushed out the door. Everyone at the bar mutely looked to each other for an explanation. (Fortunately for Twenty, the kitchen manager hadn’t left yet, and picked up the rest of her shift.)
She never came back. None of us had seen her since. But drafts still had to be poured and bottlecaps pulled off, and now here was another white woman in her mid-twenties wearing a black tank top, a pushup bra, and a scrunchie, same as before. Twenty’s regulars grew accustomed to not expecting to see the person she’d replaced, and life went on.
“How’re you doing?” I asked Oliver, just to say something to somebody, and to keep my thoughts from wandering back to Heather.
“Just kind of existing right now,” he answered. His phone lay face-up on the counter. He was swiping through Instagram, and I recognized the avatar of the user whose album he hate-browsed.
“And how’s Austin been?” I asked.
“Oh, you know. Not even three weeks after getting over the jetlag from his trip back from the Cascades, he’s off touring Ireland.” He shook his head. “Living his best life.”
He’d hired Austin on a part-time basis in September. We needed a new associate when Emma was promoted to replace a supervisor who'd quit without even giving his two weeks. There was a whole thing. I'm having a hard time recalling the guy's name, but I liked him well enough. He was a good worker and he seemed like a bright kid, but he was—well, he was young. Naïve. One day he found Jeremy sitting in the back room with his laptop, and took advantage of the open-door policy to ask why the store manager and supervisors didn’t get health benefits or paid time off. Jeremy told him it "was being worked on," and that he couldn’t discuss it any further at that time. I understand the kid got argumentative, though I never knew precisely what was said.
Irene started visiting the shop a lot more often after that, almost always arriving when the kid was working. No matter what he was doing, she’d find a reason to intervene, to micromanage and harangue him, and effectively make his job impossible. A coincidence, surely.
It’s something I still think about. By any metric, Jeremy and Irene have done very well for themselves. They’re both a little over 40 years old. I remember hearing they met at law school. In addition to Avenue Brew, they own a bistro in Francisville and an ice cream parlor in Point Breeze. They have a house on the Blue Line, send their son to a Montessori school, and pull up to their businesses in a white Volkswagen ID.4. But whenever the subject of benefits, wages, or even free shift meals came up, they pled poverty. It simply couldn’t be done. But they liked to remind us about all they did to make Avenue Brew a fun place to work, like let the staff pick the music and allow Oliver and me to conduct a beer tasting once a day. They stuck Black Lives Matter, Believe Women, and Progress flag decals on the front door and windows, and I remember Irene wearing a Black Trans Lives Matter shirt once or twice when covering a supervisor's shift. None of the college students or recent graduates who composed most of Avenue Brew's staff could say the bosses weren't on the right team. And yet...
I'm sorry—I was talking about Austin. He was maybe 30 and already had another job, a “real” job, some sort of remote gig lucrative enough for him to make rent on a studio in the picturesque Episcopal church down the street that had been converted into upscale apartments some years back. Austin wasn’t looking for extra cash. He wanted to socialize. To have something to do and people to talk to in the outside world. He wanted to make friends, and all of us could appreciate that—but it’s hard to be fond of a coworker who irredeemably sucks at his job. Austin never acted with any urgency, was inattentive to detail, and even after repeated interventions from Oliver and the supervisors, he continued to perform basic tasks in bafflingly inefficient ways. Having Austin on your shift meant carrying his slack, and everyone was fed up after a few months. Oliver sat him down, told him he was on thin ice, and gave him a list of the areas in which he needed to improve if he didn’t want to be let go.
When Austin gave Oliver the indignant “I don’t need this job” speech, it was different from those times Danny or I told a boss to go to hell and walked out. Austin truly didn’t need it. He basically said the job was beneath him, and so was Oliver.
It got deep under Oliver’s skin. He did need the job and had to take it seriously, even when it meant being the dipshit manager chewing out a man four or five years his senior. He earned $18 an hour (plus tips when he wasn’t doing admin work), had debts to pay off, and couldn't expect to get any help from his family.
The important thing, though, the part I distinctly remember, was that Oliver was looking at a video of a wading bird Austin had recorded. An egret, maybe. White feathers, long black legs, pointy black beak. Austin must have been standing on a ledge above a creek, because he had an overhead view of the bird as it stood in the water, slowly and deliberately stretching and retracting its neck, eyeing the wriggling little shadows below. As far as the fish could know, they were swimming around a pair of reeds growing out of the silt. The predator from which they extended was of a world beyond their understanding and out of their reach.
The video ended. Oliver moved on to the next item: a photograph of the bird from the same perspective, with a fish clamped in its beak. Water droplets flung from the victim's thrashing tail caught the sunlight. And I remember now, I clearly remember, the shapes of like twelve other fish stupidly milling about the bird's feet, unperturbed and unpanicked.
Danny peered at Oliver’s phone and observed a resemblance between the bird—its shape and bearing, and the composition of the photograph—and a POV porn video shot from behind and above, and he told us so. Elaborately. He made squawking noises.
“And mom says I’m a degenerate,” Oliver sighed. “Can you practice your interspecies pickup artist shit somewhere else?” Oliver flicked his wrist, shooing Danny off, and held his phone in front of his face to signal that he was done talking.
Danny sagged a little on his stool and turned away. I sometimes felt bad for him. For all his faults, he had the heart of a puppy dog. He really did think of us as his tribe. There was nobody else who’d only ever answer “yes” when you asked him to pick up a shift, and he did it completely out of loyalty.
He was turning 29 in a week. I wondered how many people would actually turn out to celebrate with him at the Black Taxi. Kyle probably would—but even he regarded Danny more as a source of vulgar entertainment than a friend.
Then it happened again. When I turned to speak to Oliver, there’d been a pair of pool cues leaning side-by-side against the wall a few stools down. Now they were gone.
This time it might have been my imagination. Somebody passing by could have casually snatched them up and kept walking.
But a moment later I seemed to notice a second TouchTunes box protruding from the wall directly behind me. I let it be.
Marina returned from the bathroom. Danny rose and offered her back her seat with an exaggerated bow. Before she got settled, I asked if she’d like to step outside with me. She withdrew her pack of Marlboro Menthols from her canvas bag, which she left sitting on the stool to deter Danny from sitting back down.
Marina never minded letting me bum cigarettes from time to time. I couldn’t buy them for myself anymore; it’s a habit I could never keep under control, and was only getting more expensive. Like everything else in the world. About once a month I reimbursed her by buying her a pack.
The air out on the sidewalk was as hot as the air inside Twenty, but easier to breathe. After lighting up, Marina leaned against the bricks and sighed.
“I wish Oliver would fire Danny already and get it over with.”
I nodded. Marina rarely talked about anything but work.
“He sneaks drinks and doesn't think anyone notices he's buzzed,” she went on. “He steals so much shit and isn’t even a little subtle about it. He’s going to get Oliver in trouble. And he’s a creep.”
“Yeah,” I said. These were her usual complaints about Danny, and they were all true. “At least he’s better than Austin.”
“That’s a low bar.”
Three dirt bikes and an ATV roared down the lonely street, charging through stop sign after stop sign, putting our talk on hold.
“Remind me. You’ve got one semester left, right?” I asked after the noise ebbed.
“Yep.”
Marina was a marketing major at Temple. She’d had an internship during the spring semester, and her boss told her to give her a call the very minute she graduated. Her parents in central Pennsylvania couldn’t pay her rent or tuition for her, so she was a full-time student and a full-time employee at Avenue Brew. Her emotional spectrum ranged from "tired" to "over it." She’d been waiting tables and working at coffee shops since she was seventeen, had no intention of continuing for even a day longer than she had to, and feared the escape hatch would slam shut if she dallied too long after prying it open.
She’d considered majoring in English, like Kyle. She went for marketing instead. I couldn’t blame her.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “You’ve been kind of off all day.”
“I’m terrible.”
“Why?”
I gave dodgy answers, but she asked precisely the right follow-up questions to get me going about what happened with Heather the night before.
It was the new job. Before the pandemic, Heather worked as a server at a Center City bar and grill. (That's where I met her; we were coworkers for about a year, and then I left to work Café Chakra because it was quieter and closer to where I lived.) When the place closed its doors and laid everyone off during the lockdown, she got a stopgap job at the Acme on Passyunk, and hated it. Then in March, she found a bar-and-lounge gig in a ritzy hotel on Broad Street. Very corporate. Excellent pay, great benefits. Definitely a step up. But her new employers made Irene and Jeremy look like Bob and Linda Belcher by comparison. It was the kind of place where someone had recently gotten herself fired for leaving work to rush to the hospital after getting the news that her grandmother was about to be taken off life support, and not finding someone to come in and cover the last two hours of her shift.
Heather seldom worked fewer than fifty-five hours a week, and her schedule was even more erratic than mine. At least once a week she left the hotel at 1:00 or 2:00 AM and returned at 9:00 the next morning. Neither of us could remember the last time she’d had two consecutive days off, and it had been over a month since one of mine overlapped with one of hers. She’d spent it drinking alone at home. All she wanted was some privacy.
I’d biked to South Philly to meet her when she got home at 1:30. The argument that killed our relationship for good began around 2:30, when I complained that we never had sex anymore. Heather accused me of only caring about that, when she was so exhausted and stressed that her hair was falling out in the shower. Quit the job? She couldn’t quit. The money was too good. She had student loans, medical bills, and credit card debt, and for the first time in her life she could imagine paying it all off before hitting menopause.
So, yeah, I was cranky about our sex life being dead in the water. Say whatever you like. But at that point, what were we to each other? We did nothing together anymore but complain about work before one or both of us fell asleep. That isn’t a relationship.
She said my hair always smelled like sandwiches, even after bathing, and she was done pretending it didn’t turn her off. I told her she was one to talk—she always reeked of liquor. As things escalated, we stopped caring if her roommates heard us. “You want to be a father?” she shouted around 4:00 AM. “Making what you make? That poor fucking kid.”
We fought until sunrise, and I left her apartment with the understanding that I wouldn’t be coming back, wouldn’t be calling her ever again. I biked home and sat on the steps facing the cement panel that was my house’s backyard. After my phone died and I couldn’t anaesthetize myself with dumb YouTube videos or make myself feel crazy staring at the download button for the Tinder app, I watched the sparrows hopping on and off the utility lines for a while.
At 11:40 I went inside. One of my roommates was already in the shower, so the best I could do was put on a clean Avenue Brew T-shirt before walking to the shop and clocking in at noon to help deal with the lunch rush.
“That’s a lot,” Marina finally said. “Sorry.”
I don’t know what I was expecting her to say. She was sixteen years my junior, after all, and just a coworker. She didn’t need to hear any of this, and I definitely didn't need to be telling her. But who else was there to tell?
She’d already finished her cigarette. I still had a few puffs left. She went inside.
I decided to call it a night.
The second TouchTunes box was gone—naturally. Danny had taken my stool, and regarded my approach with a puckish you snooze you lose grin. I wasn’t going to say anything. I’d just pay my bill, give everyone a nod goodnight, and walk the five blocks back home.
And then Danny disappeared.
One second, he was there. The next—gone.
Danny didn’t just instantaneously vanish. Even when something happens in the blink of an eye, you can still put together something of a sequence. I saw him—I seemed to see him—falling into himself, collapsing to a point, and then to nothing.
You know how sometimes a sound is altogether inaudible unless you’re looking at the source—like when you don’t realize somebody’s whispering at you, and can then hear and understand them after they get your attention? I think that was the case here. I wouldn't have known to listen if I hadn't seen it happen. What I heard lingered for two, maybe three seconds, and wasn't any louder than a fly buzzing inside a lampshade. A tiny and impossibly distant scream, pitchshifted like a receding ambulance siren into a basso drone...
I don’t know. I don’t know for sure. I’m certain I remember a flash of red, and I have the idea of Danny’s trunk expanding, opening up as it imploded. A crimson flower, flecked white, with spooling pink stalks—and Danny’s wide-eyed face above it, drawn twisting and shrinking into its petals.
For an instant, Twenty’s interior shimmered. Not shimmered, exactly—glitched would be a better word. If you’re old enough to remember the fragmented graphics that sometimes flashed onscreen when you turned on the Nintendo without blowing on the cartridge, you’ll have an idea of what I mean. It happened much too fast, and there was too much of it to absorb. The one clear impression I could parse was the mirage of a cash register flickering upside-down above the pool table.
Not a cash register. The shape was familiar, but the texture was wrong. I think it was ribbed, sort of like a maggot. I think it glistened. Like—camo doesn’t work anymore when the wearer stops crouching behind a bush and breaks into a run. Do you get what I’m saying?
Nobody else seemed to notice. The pool balls clacked. A New Order track was playing on the TouchTunes box. A nearby argument about about Nick Sirianni continued unabated.
Finally, there was a downward rush of air—and this at least elicited a reaction from the bartender, who slapped my bill to keep it from sailing off the counter.
“Danny,” I said.
“Danny?” Kyle asked me quietly. His face had gone pale.
“Danny?” Oliver repeated in a faraway voice.
After a pause, Kyle blinked a few times. “You heard from him?”
“God forbid,” said Marina. “When he quit I was like, great, I can keep working here after all.”
“Oh, come on—”
“Kyle. Did I ever show you those texts he sent me once at three in the morning?” The color had returned to Oliver’s face.
“No, what did he say?”
Oliver tapped at his phone and turned the screen toward Kyle.
“Oh. Oh, jeez.”
“Right? Like—if you want to ask me something, ask me. You know? Don’t be weirdly accusatory about it…”
I pulled a wad of fives and ones from my pocket, threw it all onto the counter, and beelined for the exit without consideration for the people I squeezed through and shoved past on the way.
I heard Marina saying “let him go.”
I went a second consecutive night without sleep. Fortunately I wasn’t scheduled to come in the next day.
The schedule. It’s funny. Oliver was generally great at his job, and even when he wasn’t, I cut him a lot of slack because I knew Irene and Jeremy never gave him a moment’s peace. But I could never forgive him those times he waited until the weekend to make up and distribute the schedule. This was one of those weeks he didn’t get around to it until Saturday afternoon. When I found it in my inbox, Danny’s name wasn’t anywhere on it.
As far as I know, nobody who hadn’t been at Twenty that night asked what happened to him. We were a bit overstaffed as it was, and everyone probably assumed Danny was slated for the chopping block. The part-timers were, for the most part, happy to get a few additional hours.
Oliver abruptly quit around Labor Day after a final acrimonious clash with the owners. I never found out the details, and I never saw him again. Jeremy and Irene took turns minding the store while a replacement manager was sought. None of the supervisors would be pressured into taking the job; they knew from Oliver what they could expect.
About three weeks after Oliver left, I came in for my purchasing shift and found Jeremy waiting for me in the back room. I knew it was serious when he didn’t greet me with the awkward fist-bump he ordinarily required of his male employees.
“You’ve seen the numbers,” he said. Business for the summer had fallen short of expectations, it was true, and he and Irene had decided to rein in payroll expenses. My purchaser position was being eliminated. Its responsibilities would be redistributed among the supervisors and the new manager, when one was found. In the meantime, I'd be going back to the regular $11 an hour (plus tips of course) associate position full-time.
Jeremy assured me I'd be first in the running for supervisor the next time there was an opening.
I told him it was fine, I was done, and if he’d expected the courtesy of two weeks’ notice, he shouldn’t have blindsided me like that.
“Well, that’s your choice,” he answered, trying not to look pleased. His payroll problem was solving itself.
I racked up credit card debt for a few months. Applied for entry-level museum jobs that might appreciate my art history degree. Aimed for some purchasing and administrative assistant gigs, and just for the hell of it, turned in a resume for a facilitator position at an after-school art program. Got a few interviews. All of them eventually told me they’d decided to go in a different direction. I finally got hired to bartend at Hops from Underground, a microbrewery on Fairmount.
I’m still there. The money’s okay, but it fluctuates. Hours are reasonable. I’m on their high-deductible health plan. There’s a coworker I’ve been dating. Sort of dating. You know how it goes. In this line of work you get so used to people coming and going that you learn not to get too attached. I walk past Avenue Brew a few times a week, but stopped peering in through the window when I didn't recognize the people behind the counter anymore.

Rookie Performance Evaluation 4

With so many players in the MLB, some of the newest players get lost behind some of the high profile names. We are here today to evaluate every rookie who has played this year and highlight the top performances of the last two weeks and for the entire year. This week Josh Jung murdered some baseballs, Grant Anderson struck out seven in his debut out of the bullpen, and Bobby Miller shut down the Braves (and Nats).

Top Bi-Weekly Performances

American League:

1. Josh Jung (TEX 3B): Josh Jung continues to dominate at the plate, winning back to back AL rookie of the month awards in April and May. Josh Jung ended the month of May by slugging for 5 doubles, 1 triple and 4 home runs. Jung leads all third baseman in runs and batting average and leads all rookie batters in runs (4), hits (61), home runs (12), and RBIs (37). In his last 10 games, Jung had 9 extra base hits. Offensively, Jung is already worth 2 WAR and has only gotten better throughout the year. Jung sees the ball well, hitting 50.5% over 95 mph (top 90% in the league) and has been able to barrel 12.2% of pitches seen (top 81% in the league). Defensively Josh Jung is in the bottom half of 3rd baseman, having negative -2 defensive runs saved and -1 outs above average. Despite his below average defense, Josh Jung has been one of the best third baseman in the majors all season.
2. Masataka Yoshida (BOS LF): The Japanese superstar is doing all he can to keep the Red Sox afloat. Yoshida continues his hot streak, batting .348/.412/.500 in the the last 15 days. After a somewhat slow start to the season, Yoshida has emerged as one of the two big favorites for AL rookie of the year (along with Josh Jung). Yoshida still only has 21 strikeouts and walks on the year through 48 games on the season. Yoshida will put the ball in play and will rarely kill a batting rally with a strikeout. He hardly chases the ball and is top in the league on whiff rate. Yoshida has adapted to MLB pitching very quickly and will remain a superstar for years to come.
3. Logan Allen (CLE SP): The Guardians have a loaded starting pitching staff with the return of Aaron Civale and Triston McKenzie. Logan Allen, along with rookies Tanner Bibee, Hunter Gaddis, and Peyton Battenfield, has shined in the starting rotation. Allen had his best game of the season, going 7 innings against the Baltimore Orioles allowing only 3 hits, no earned runs, and striking out 10. Through 7 starts in the year. In his last three starts, Allen has only allowed 4 earned runs through 18.2 innings. Of the four rookie starting pitchers for Cleveland, Allen has pitched the most innings (39.2) and holds the lowest ERA (2.72). Allen’s next start is scheduled on June 3rd against the Minnesota Twins.
4. Louie Varland (MIN SP): Varland pitched seven shutout innings against the Houston Astros. Varland has pitched back-to-back quality starts in 4 of his last five starts. The only game Varland did not get a quality start was against the Angels, where he gave up only 2 earned runs in 5 innings. Varland primarily throws a 4-seam (42%) and cutter (30%) and goes to his slider (12%) and changeup (12%) to put batters away. Varland hardly walks batters but gives up a lot of hard contact. Nonetheless Varland has pitched effectively, limiting the damage done in most games he has started. Varland's next start is projected to be on June 6th against the Tampa Bay Rays.
5. Ryan Noda (OAK 1B): Ryan Noda powered a three-run home run to snap the Athletic’s 11-game losing streak. In the last 15 games, Noda has batted .256 with 3 home runs and 3 doubles on 11 hits. Noda hits 48.2% of balls 95 mph or higher and barrels 16.9% of pitches. Despite this, Noda ranks in the bottom percentile in whiff rate. Noda whiffs on 36% of fast balls, 42% in breaking balls, and 38% of offspeed pitches. Noda has struck out in 33% of his plate appearances (61 strikeout total) but simultaneously ranks in the top percentile in walks taken (35 walks total).
6. Zach Neto (LAA SS): Despite all the preseason hype for Anthony Volpe and Gunnar Henderson, Zach Neto has quietly emerged as the most consistent bat for rookie AL shortstops. Only 22 years old, Neto was the first player from the 2022 MLB draft to make the majors. Defensively, Neto has been steller. In 44 games, Neto has already racked up .8 defensive war and has generated 2 more outs above average than other shortstops. In the last 15 days, Neto has 11 hits with 4 doubles and a home run. Neto had small injury scare against the Marlins with a finger contusion, but has already made it back into the starting lineup.
7. Grant Anderson (TEX RP): Grant Anderson has only played in one game this season but I figured he deserved a special shoutout. In his major league debut, Anderson pitched 2 and 2/3rd innings out of the bullpen striking out 7 of the 9 batters. Anderson only gave up one hit and earned the win against the Detroit Tigers.

Pitchers	W / L	GS	ERA	IP	SO	BB	H / R / ER	HR	WHIP	HBP	GDP
Allen, Logan	1 - 1	7	2.72	39.2	43	11	41 / 13 / 12	3	1.31	0	1
Varland, Louie	1 - 0	7	3.51	41	39	8	39 / 16 / 16	9	1.15	1	2
Batter	Team	Games	At Bats	AVG/OBP/SLG	HR	RBI	SB / CS	SO/BB	2B / 3B / HR	Off WAR	Def WAR
Jung, Josh	TEX (3B)	52	207	.295/.341/.531	40	37	1 / 2	63K / 14BB	11 / 1 / 12	2	0.3
Yoshida, Masataka	BOS (LF)	48	186	.312/.389/.500	26	31	3 / 0	21K / 21BB	12 / 1 / 7	1.1	-0.6
Neto, Zach	LAA (SS)	44	147	.245/.319.374	15	18	3 / 0	32K / 7BB	6 / 0 / 6	1.2	0.8
Noda, Ryan	OAK (1B)	53	143	.231/.393/.448	28	19	2 / 1	61K / 35BB	11 / 1 / 6	1.3	-0.1​
Relief Pitcher	G	W - L	ERA	IP	SV / SVO	SO / BB	WHIP	H / R / ER	HR	GDP	HLD
Anderson, Grant	1	1 - 0	0	2.2	0 / 0	7K / 0BB	0.38	1 / 0 / 0	0	0	0​

National League:

1. Bobby Miller (LAD SP): The Dodgers #2 prospect has done nothing but impress. In his first two starts on the season, Miller has posted a 1.64 ERA through 11 innings. Miller equally throws a sinker, changeup, slider, and 4-seam fastball. On his fastball, Miller averages 99 mph on his sinkers and 4-seam and sometimes will go to his curveball to strike out batters. In his debut, Miller went 5 innings and only one earned run on 4 hits against the Atlanta Braves. He followed his debut by going 6 innings, allowing only 1 earned run on four hits. Bobby Miller's next scheduled start is June 4th against the New York Yankees.
2. Spencer Steer (CIN 3B): Spencer Steer uses every side of the field. In the last 15 days, Steer has batted .389/.424/.667 with 4 doubles, one triple, and three home runs. Steer currently leads NL rookies in hits (59), RBIs (T28 with Outman), and doubles (T15 with Tovar). Steer has recently returned to his 2022 self hitting 8 home runs on the season and putting the ball consistently in play. Steer has struggled greatly defensively with -8 outs above average at both first and third base and generating -.4 WAR on the season. He ranks in the bottom 1% of outs above average and, when fielding, is completely 7% of plays as expected at both first base and third base. Despite these struggles, Steer’s production at the plate has lead him to be named the National League Rookie of the month for May.
3. Matt McLain (CIN SS): The Red’s #5 prospect made his major league debut after TJ Friedl was moved to the 10-day injured list . In the last 15 days, McLain has the most at bats (57), hits (T21 Steer) and runs (T11 Steer) in the National League. McLain won this week’s player of week and continues to bat .329/.390/.486 in 16 games. McLain is primarily causing damage against fastballs and breaking balls, batting over .400 on such pitches. Defensively, McLain has been stellar. In only 16 games, he has generated 2 outs above average at shortstop and has added 5% success rate at the position off 43 attempts. If McLain can continue his success at the plate, along with fellow ROY contender Spencer Steer, then they can help Cincinnati compete for a relatively week NL Central division (who knows what may happen if the Reds call up fellow shortstop Elly de la Cruz).
4. Corbin Carroll (ARZ LF): Corbin Carroll continues to impress and at this point I feel like I am repeating myself. The 22 year old left-fielder has power, defense, and speed. Carroll has helped the Diamondbacks to take control (or at least tie) in the National League West. In the past 15 days, Carroll has slugged for 4 doubles and three home runs on 15 hits. He leads the national league in stolen bases and has a real shot at joining the 20 / 20 club as a rookie. On the year, Carroll’s slash line is .287/.372/.516. Of all rookies, Corbin Carroll leads in WAR, already accumulating 2.1 on offense. On the defensive side of the ball, Carrol has generated 2 outs above average and has added 2% to the expected fielding average in left field. Expect to see Carroll on these lists for the rest of the season.
5. Patrick Bailey (SF C): Joey Bart was thought to be the replacement at catcher for the San Francisco after the departure of Buster Posey. With everyone’s focus on Bart, Bailey went under the radar. In 11 games, Bailey has batted .333/.350/.564 with 12 hits, of which 3 were doubles and 2 were home runs. In the minor’s. Bailey was praised for his framing abilities behind the plate. If Bailey can continue his success at the plate, San Francisco may be posed well at the catcher position for years to come.
6. Will Brennan (CLE RF) - Although he is not a batter that consistently hits the ball hard, Will Brennan, in the last 15 days, has 12 hits in 12 games including 3 doubles and 1 home run.. He is batting .364/.400/.515 and has been reliable at the plate when batters are at first base. Brennan has a batting average of .318 with a runner at 1st (23 plate appearances) and batting .500 with runners at 1st and 2nd (6 plate appearances). Though Will Brennan did kill a bird on a ground-ball single last week. So… he has that going against him.

Pitchers	W / L	GS	ERA	IP	SO	BB	H / R / ER	HR	WHIP	HBP	GDP
Miller, Bobby	2 - 0	2	1.64	11	9	2	8 / 2 / 2	0	0.91	0	0
Batter	Team	Games	At Bats	AVG/OBP/SLG	HR	RBI	SB / CS	SO/BB	2B / 3B / HR	Off WAR	Def WAR
Steer, Spencer	CIN (1B)	53	204	.289/.358/.500	30	28	1 / 2	47K / 21BB	15 / 2 / 8	1	-0.4
McLain, Matt	CIN (SS)	2	65	.354/.417/.523	13	9	1 / 1	20K / 6BB	5 / 0 / 2	0.9	0.2
Carrol, Corbin	AZ (LF)	54	188	.287/.372/.516	27	24	16 / 2	43K / 23BB	14 / 1 / 9	2.1	-0.3
Bailey, Patrick	SF (C)		39	.333/.350/.564	4	12	0 / 0	11K / 1BB	3 / 0 / 2	0.6	0.2
Bae, Ji Hwan	PIT (CF)	51	149	.275/.329/.360	19	12	15 / 5	40K / 10BB	8 / 0 / 2	0.1	-0.4​

Worst Bi-Weekly Performances:

1. Brice Turang (MIL 2B) - In the last 14 games, Turang is batting only .077/.122/.154. In his last seven games, Turang only has one base hit. In his last 15, Turang only has 3. Turang, on the season, has struck out in 27% of his plate appearances and barrels on only 3.6% of pitches. Turang primarily is struggling in making contact with offspeed pitches, whiffing on 40% of those seen.
2. James Outman (LAD OF) - After starting the season hitting everything out of the park, Outman bat has cooled off immensely. In his last 10 games, Outman only has two singles and is batting .074/.182/.074. Outman hits the ball hard when he makes contact, but has whiffed on 40.4% of pitches seen. Outman has striked out in 35% of his at bats. Outman leads all rookies in strikeouts and 5th in the majors. Defensively, Outman has been above average in furling in the outfield. He is converting 3% more outs than estimated success rate and has created 3 outs above average in the outfield.
3. Anthony Volpe (NYY SS) - Defensively, Anthony Volpe has been phenomenal at shortstop. The Yankee’s #1 prospect is only 22 years old and already has .7 defensive war. Volpe has recently struggled at the plate. He is second among rookie pitchers in strikeouts (68) and 8th in the majors. On the season, Volpe is only batting .192/.270/.355. But when Volpe does get a hit, he hits for power and brings speed on the basepaths. Volpe has 13 steals on the season and has yet to be caught stealing.
4. Karl Kauffmann (COL SP) - Kauffmann made his major league debut on May 19th and has not had a good time. In three starts, Kaufman has posted an 11.37 ERA and earned 3 losses. In his first start, Kauffman went 4.1 innings against Texas and allowed 4 earned runs off seven hits. In his next start, Kaugment again went 4.1 innings against Miami ang gave up 5 earned runs on 6 hits. In his final game, he went 4.0 innings against Arizona and allowed 7 earned runs on 9 hits. In all three games combined, Kauffman only struck out 7 and walked 8. Kauffman is only averaging 90 mph on his fastball and has left too many pitches in the middle of the strike zone.

Shout out to Miles Mastrobuoni as well who is batting .053 in 9 games (19 plate appearances) and for having an ERA of 108.

Pitchers	W / L	GS	ERA	IP	SO	BB	H / R / ER	HR	WHIP	HBP	GDP
Kauffmann, Karl	0 - 3	3	11.37	12.2	7	7	22 / 17 / 16	3	2.29	1	4
Batter	Team	Games	At Bats	AVG/OBP/SLG	HR	RBI	SB / CS	SO/BB	2B / 3B / HR	Off WAR	Def WAR
Turang, Brice	MIL (2B)	53	156	.205/.253/.301	13	12	7 / 3	46K / 10BB	4 / 1 / 3	0	0.4
Outman, James	LAD (CF)	55	175	.234/.323/.469	28	29	6 / 1	70K / 19BB	8 / 3 / 9	0.7	-0.2
Volpe, Anthony	NYY (SS)	58	201	.194/.272/.358	20	24	13 / 0	68K / 21BB	5 / 2 / 8	1	0.7
Casas, Triston	BOS (1B)	48	149	.188/.301/.349	23	16	0 / 0	49K / 25BB	4 / 0 / 6	-0.7	-0.6​

My Early Rookie of the Year

American League:

1. Masataka Yoshida (BOS LF) - See my blurb above
2. Josh Jung (TEX 3B) - See my blurb above
3. Esteury Ruiz (OAK CF) - In 58 games, Ruiz is already at 28 stolen bases. ALthough Ruiz is not hitting for extreme power, his speed is turning almost half of his base hits into what is essentially a double. In most offenses that are not the Oakland Athletics, this would typically translate to more runs and have them take leads early on balls just put in play. Among qualified rookies in the American league, Ruiz ranks 3rd in batting average, T1st (with Jung) in hits, and 1st in doubles. Ruiz does rank in the bottom percentile for hard hit percentage (1%), barrel rate (5%) and walk rate (5%).
4. Hunter Brown (HOU SP) - In 11 games, Hunter brown has a 3.64 ERA and recently overtaken Kodai Senga for the lead in strikeouts for rookie pitchers. Brown struggled in his last start against Minnesota, giving up 5 earned runs on 6 hits. This was after Brown had pitched back-to-back quality starts against the Oakland As (7 IP 2 ER and 6 IP 1 ER).
5. Logan Allen (CLE SP) - See my blurb above
6. Bryce Miller (SEA SP) - The Mariners #2 prospect dominated the league in his first five starts going at least 6 innings in each and allowing only four runs in total. Miller only had one hiccup game in which he allowed 8 earned runs in 4.2 innings against the New York Yankees. Miller's success has been largely in part in limiting walks and throwing many strikes for weak contact. Miller is top in the league in walk rate only allowing walks in 2% of at bats. Miller primarily throws his fastball 68% of the time and goes to his offspeed pitchers to put batters away. Miller is set to start on June 4th against Nathan Eovaldi of the Texas Rangers.
7. Yennier Cano (BAL RP) - In his first 9 innings of the year, Cano did not allow a single base hit. Can has 30 strikeouts on the season through 30 innings of relief. In 5 save opportunities, Cano has successfully earned 4 saves with a 0.93 ERA and a WHIP of 0.59. Cano remains the secondary closer behind Felix Bautista, used primarily to maintain leads in close games and as the set-up man for the 9th inning.

Pitchers	W / L	GS	ERA	IP	SO	BB	H / R / ER	HR	WHIP	HBP	GDP
Allen, Logan	1 - 1	7	2.72	39.2	43	11	41 / 13 / 12	3	1.31	0	1
Brown, Hunter	4 - 1	11	3.61	62.1	74	20	57 / 29 / 25	4	1.24	4	6
Miller, Bryce	2 - 0	6	3	36	31	3	24 / 12 / 12	2	0.75	2	0
Batter	Team	Games	At Bats	AVG/OBP/SLG	HR	RBI	SB / CS	SO/BB	2B / 3B / HR	Off WAR	Def WAR
Yoshida, Masataka	BOS (LF)	48	186	.312/.389/.500	26	31	3 / 0	21K / 21BB	12 / 1 / 7	1.1	-0.6
Jung, Josh	TEX (3B)	52	207	.295/.341/.531	40	37	1 / 2	63K / 14BB	11 / 1 / 12	2	0.3
Ruiz, Esteury	OAK (CF)	57	223	.269/.335/.350	24	24	28 / 5	44K / 10BB	13 / 1 / 1	0.4	-0.9​
Relief Pitcher	G	W - L	ERA	IP	SV / SVO	SO / BB	WHIP	H / R / ER	HR	GDP	HLD
Cano, Yennier	23	1 - 0	0.93	29	4 / 5	30K / 1BB	0.59	16 / 3 / 3	0	3	11​

National League:

1. Corbin Carroll (ARZ LF): See my blurb above.
2. Spencer Steer (CIN 3B): See my blurb above.
3. Kodai Senga (NYM SP): In his last start, Kodai Senga pitched 7 innings of 1 hit baseball against the Philadelphia Phillies. Senga ranks first among national league pitchers in strikeouts and second in innings pitched (behind Ryne Nelson). Kodai Senga strikes out 29.8% of batters but gives up lots of hard contact. Batters are still only batting .125 against his ghost fork and strikes out 59.1% of batters as a putaway pitch. This is primarily because batters have a 59.1% whiff rate on his forkball (66 PA) and his slider (7 PA). Senga is scheduled to pitch on June 4th against the Toronto Blue Jays’ Yusei Kikuchi.
4. Ezquiel Tovar ( COL SS): In 55 games on the season, the Colorado shortstop has accumulated 46 base hits in 55 games. Tovar leads all NL rookies in doubles (16) and is currently slashing .241/.286/.398. Defensively, Tovar has been exceptional at shortstop accumulating 0.9 defensive war. Tovar has 6 outs above average at shortstop and has successfully converted 3% more plays than the estimated success rate.
5. James Outman (LAD CF): See my blurb above.
6. Francisco Alvarez (NYM C): The Mets #1 prospect has taken the league by storm. Alvarez has been above average in framing especially above the zone and has 5 blocks above average. Alvarez however has struggled in maintaining run control having -3 CS above average. At the plate, Alvarez has 6 doubles and 8 home runs on the season in 35 games with a slash line of .252/.308/.523.

Pitchers	W / L	GS	ERA	IP	SO	BB	H / R / ER	HR	WHIP	HBP	GDP
Senga, Kodai	4 - 2	10	3.44	55	70	31	43 / 21 / 21	6	1.35	0	4
Batter	Team	Games	At Bats	AVG/OBP/SLG	HR	RBI	SB / CS	SO/BB	2B / 3B / HR	Off WAR	Def WAR
Carrol, Corbin	AZ (LF)	54	188	.287/.372/.516	27	24	16 / 2	43K / 23BB	14 / 1 / 9	2.1	-0.3
Steer, Spencer	CIN (1B)	53	204	.289/.358/.500	30	28	1 / 2	47K / 21BB	15 / 2 / 8	1	-0.4
Tovar, Ezequiel	COL (SS)	54	187	.241/.286/.396	19	23	2 / 1	57K / 10BB	15 / 1 / 4	0.8	0.9
Outman, James	LAD (CF)	55	175	.234/.323/.469	28	29	6 / 1	70K / 19BB	8 / 3 / 9	0.7	-0.2
Alvarez, Francisco	NYM (C)	35	111	.252/.308/.523	14	19	0 / 0	29K / 7BB	6 / 0 / 8	1	0.3​

MLB Debuts

• 5/19 Karl Kauffmann (COL SP) - u/TEX 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 7 H
• 5/19 Patrick Bailey (SF C) - Mia 0-0
• 5/23 Bobby Miller (LAD SP) - u/ATL 5 IP, 1ER, 4 H
• 5/26 Randy Vasquez (NYY SP) - SD 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 4H
• 5/28 Andruw Monasterio (MIL 2B) - SF 0-1

Pitchers	W / L	GS	ERA	IP	SO	BB	H / R / ER	HR	WHIP	HBP	GDP
Kauffmann, Karl	0 - 3	3	11.37	12.2	7	7	22 / 17 / 16	3	2.29	1	4
Miller, Bobby	2 - 0	2	1.64	11	9	2	8 / 2 / 2	0	0.91	0	0
Vasquez, Randy	0 - 1	1	3.86	4.2	6	3	4 / 2 / 2	1	1.5	2	0
Batter	Team	Games	At Bats	AVG/OBP/SLG	HR	RBI	SB / CS	SO/BB	2B / 3B / HR	Off WAR	Def WAR
Bailey, Patrick	SF (C)	11	39	.333/.350/.564	4	12	0 / 0	11K / 1BB	3 / 0 / 2	0.6	0.2
Monasterio, Andruw	MIL (2B)	3	4	.375/.444/.375	0	0	0 / 0	3K / 1BB	0 / 0 / 0	0.1	0​

The stats I used for this analysis were prior to any games on Friday May 2nd. If you want to see all the rookies I reviewed and their stats as of me writing this I have attached a (google sheet link here)[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1hMB-Eu4fowNgdKSRHoBorhtCOKr8KaTx3kYXfcUvZvc/edit?usp=sharing\]. I am primarily a Chicago Cubs fan so you will likely know more about your team than me, so I apologize if I may have overlooked or underlooked anything. Let me know if there are any memorable moments I may have missed or your own hot takes.

so let's explain the situation, the update dropped, the devs removed 3 awful locations from the game that should have never been added in the first place, HE is extremely Overpowered and still is today.
so i had a Discussion with a guy on the Snap Discord, about how Spiderman can in my opinion, ruin some of the most interesting moments in all of Snap, where both players have to fight over a lane to win, spiderman turns those moments into a 1-2 cube retreat.
then a different guy came and straight up insulted me saying: "this guy is getting an STD over loosing to Spiderman once"
which obviously means he didn't understand anything from what i was actually saying, since i don't mind retreating to Spiderman, i just think it ruins those interesting moments and the battle for the win on turn 6.
so i said
"do you even read what i was saying? i don't mind retreating to virgin-man and giving them 1-2 cubes, i just think its sad how he ruins those games." (since he started with the whole STD i though virginman is just fitting)
and then i get PERMANENTLY banned from the Snap Discord, like for what? Calling a FICTIONAL CHARACTER A VIRGIN? in what world do we live in where that is a justified permanent ban? And i bet the guy who directly insulted me didn't get banned for that.
what happened to a telling that person to stop? a mute? a kick? a temp ban? anything?
that just makes me sad, i was a active member on the Discord, visited it daily, NEVER insulted a single user, had alot of fun on there and now it´s all ruined over calling a fictional character a virgin. crazy.
my Discord tag is BryanPlays#0165 in case this reaches a good moderator who wants to set things right.

In One D&D, every pact boon has a different focus regarding damage. Pact of the Blade is focused on dealing damage with a weapon, Pact of the Chain is focused on dealing additional damage with a familiar, and Pact of the Tome adds Cha to any cantrip you cast, not only Eldritch Blast. And before you say it, I know that the focus of the various pact boons are not just damage, each one of them also has different flavors and other utility stuff, but in this post the main topic will be damage.
I know that Pact of the Talisman is a bit underwhelming, and maybe it doesn't even have a purpose to exist in One D&D, but let's say that I want to add it as an option for One D&D Warlocks. Apart from the d4 to skill checks, at 5th level I already added (since every Pact Boon seems to get an upgrade at 5th level) that the wearer of the talisman gets some temp hp every time they complete a short or long rest. But with the new design of One D&D, this pact boon needs something that is related to damage, so I'm seeking suggestions on what could it be.

Im having a problem with ABL. On start of the G-code I use G29 to level my bed and store it in memory for a print, but when actual printing starts bed is not leveled and have to do it manualy using springs. Any idea what can couse this trouble? One solution is to flesh a new marlin and see if that helps, but I want to leave this option as last one.
My initial G-code:
; Ender 3 Custom Start G-code M140 S{material_bed_temperature} ;Start heating bed G28 ; Home all axes G29 ; Autobed level M104 S{material_print_temperature} ;heat nozzle to default temp set in material settings G28 X Y M190 S{material_bed_temperature} ;Wait for bed to reach temp before proceeding M109 S{material_print_temperature} ;Wait for extruder to reach temp before proceeding G92 E0 ; Reset Extruder

Prolog. Writing solutions for assignments. Your opinion is needed if it is written correctly. What could you advise? Prolog 1. Determine whether a list ends with [0,1]. 2.Sum up the elements of a list of even indexes. 3. Find the smallest element divisible by 4 in a list. 4.Find the least common multiplier of the list elements. (2,8,16) -> 16 5. Find a sublist of a list of length not greater than half of the length of the list and the sum of the elements of which is maximal. 6.Find how many even numbers occur as arguments of a compound predicate. A possible definition of a binary tree is: btree(N):- integer(N); N=nil. btree((N,L,R)):- integer(N), btree(L), btree( R). 7.Find the branch containing the maximal element of a tree. 8.Find the branches the sum of the elements of which are prime. % 1. ends_with_zero_one(List) :- append(_, [0, 1], List). % 2. sum_even_indexes(List, Sum) :- findall(X, (nth0(I, List, X), 0 is I mod 2), Evens), sum_list(Evens, Sum). % 3. smallest_divisible_by_four(List, Min) :- include(\X^(0 is X mod 4), List, Fours), min_list(Fours, Min). % 4. lcm([X], X). lcm([X,YTail], LCM) :- lcm([X,Y], TempLCM), lcm([TempLCMTail], LCM). lcm([X,Y], LCM) :- LCM is abs(X*Y) // gcd(X, Y). % 5. sublist([], []). sublist([XXs], [XYs]) :- sublist(Xs, Ys). sublist(Xs, [_Ys]) :- sublist(Xs, Ys). valid_sublist(L, S) :- sublist(S, L), length(L, LenL), length(S, LenS), LenS =< LenL // 2. max_sum_sublist(L, MaxS) :- findall(S, valid_sublist(L, S), Subs), max_sum(Subs, [], 0, MaxS). max_sum([], MaxS, _, MaxS). max_sum([SSs], MaxS, MaxSum, Res) :- sum_list(S, Sum), ( Sum > MaxSum -> max_sum(Ss, S, Sum, Res) ; max_sum(Ss, MaxS, MaxSum, Res) ). % 6. count_even_in_list(List, Count) :- include(even, List, Evens), length(Evens, Count). even(X) :- 0 is X mod 2.
% 7. max_in_tree((X,nil,nil), X). max_in_tree((X,L,nil), Max) :-max_in_tree(L, MaxL), Max is max(X, MaxL). max_in_tree((X,nil,R), Max) :- max_in_tree(R, MaxR), Max is max(X, MaxR). max_in_tree((X,L,R), Max) :- max_in_tree(L, MaxL), max_in_tree(R, MaxR), Max is max(X, max(MaxL, MaxR)). % 8. is_prime(2). is_prime(3). is_prime(P) :- integer(P), P > 3, P mod 2 =\= 0, \+ has_factor(P,3). has_factor(N,L) :- N mod L =:= 0. has_factor(N,L) :- L * L < N, L2 is L + 2, has_factor(N,L2). sum_is_prime((N,L,R)) :- is_prime(N + L + R), write([N, L, R]), nl. sum_is_prime((_,L,R)) :- sum_is_prime(L), sum_is_prime(R).

Is it better to book a hotel ahead of time or just walk up in the off season? Context: I’m an archaeologist and after every dig season I visit Caye Caulker for a few days in late June/ early July. I haven’t had the opportunity to visit since COVID and am finally coming back! In the past, I just walked-up for my hotel rooms and was always found a decent place for a great rate. This year I’m coming with my wife and I want to make it a great experience for her. We are looking for a decent room relatively close to the Split or a beach. Can I just walk up like I had in the past, or is booking online a better option for a secure room? If so, should I use a third party site or call the hotel directly?

I bought this chip a month ago replacing my 3700x, I did bios update (x470 MSI) and installed a new cooler (DeepCool AK620) made sure it is mounted correctly and applied good thermal paste. I did stress test in cinebench the cpu reaches 4.2-4.3, with 90c temps immediately. Idle temp is 67.
I noticed when I am doing multitasking, like playing a game and watching a stream on the other monitor, my pc’s performance gets hit but I did not pay much attention.
Now that Diablo 4 is out I noticed my temps reach 90 sometimes, I also noticed FPS drops here and there. 1% FPS is consistently at 1-5. I am not sure if it is server issue or an issue with my CPU.
Today I ran cinebench again temp is always 90 and power is 90 at max.
By the way, I removed the side of the case ever since I installed the chip it was worse than this..
Is my chip overheating?

Alrighty, I'll describe my first time travel in japan, what went well, what didn't go well, my overall impression of Japan. We travelled trough quite a few cities, but I'll try to keep it as short as possible as I'm not much of writer. And we've visited quite a few places, so if you'd like more details, comment and I'll go more in-depth :).
A bit about the travelling party. Me(25M) and a work colleague(26M), Lithuanians(Europe) software engineers, reasonably fit and somewhat fluent in english, Omnivores(my colleague is allergic to cheese), our height is around ±185cm.

TL;DR

Cities/islands visited

Tokyo(Shinjuku) -> Osaka -> Nara -> Kyoto -> Onomichi Islands -> Matsuyama -> Hiroshima -> Miyajima -> Kumamoto -> Aso(region) -> Fukuoka -> Nagasaki -> Nagoya -> Takayama -> Magome -> Matsumoto - > Tokyo(Chuo) -> Tokyo(Shibuya) -> Tokyo(Teito) -> Hakone.

Expenses

I was slightly more conservative with my spending so my expenses are on the cheaper side, my colleague spent quite a bit more, especially on food and booze.
Total amount spent: slightly more than 3k euros in japan + 1.1k euros flights back and forth.
Daily food expenses: 30-40 eur or 5k-7k yen.
Average hotel stay: ~60euro
Food: - Breakfast - usually something from a convenience store. Chicken, power gels, chocolate, melon bread(my favourite), - Lunch - something from a convenience store or a restaurant - Dinner - restaurant usually a ramen place

Activities

Museums, castles, shrines, forests, mountains, walks around the city. We did a lot of walking, total around 400km of walking(at leasts that's what google fit shows)
Alright that's a brief summary, now for the more in-depth write up.

My key takeaways

• Japan is a very safe country, I felt safe everywhere, even in the shady parts of Tokyo.
• People are very polite, they'll go out of their way to help you, even if they don't speak english.
• People are very quiet, you won't hear people talking on the phone, or talking loudly in public transport.
• Be polite, if you don't understand or thing that this is not how it should be, don't be rude, just accept it and move on. You are an alien in their country, not the other way around. So please don't ever raise your voice, japanese people are not malicious, they'll try to help you, but they might not understand you.
• If you want to feel appreciated, learn at least the basics on japanese, it's not that hard, and it'll make your life easier. I did it through doulingo, reached unit 14 in a month and that was sufficient to have very simple conversation.

This is it for the TL;DR part. I'll go more in-depth for the rest of the post.

Planning for the trip

We started planning the trip, where we'll go, where we'll stay, what we'll do, expenses, trains, all that you can plan was started to be planned around a month prior to the trip. We created a word doc as our itinerary, that was around 60 pages long. From what I've read on this page about you can't plan everything. Well I believe we did, we might've even over planned :D.
So we booked the following hotels: - Tokyo - Apa Hotel Higashi Shinjuku Kabukicho Tower(04.25-04.26) - Osaka - APA Hotel Namba Kita Shinsaibashi Ekimae(04.26-04.30) - Onomichi island - TOMARIGI Hostel(04.30-05.01) - Matsuyama - Hotel Patio Dogo(05.01-05.02) - Hiroshima - Wholeearth Ryokan Hiroshima(05.02-05.04) - Kumamoto - Hotel Wing International Select Kumamoto(05.04-05.08) - Nagoya - Sotetsu Fresa Inn Nagoya Shinkansenguchi(05.08-05.10) - Magoame - Magomechaya(05.10-05.11) - Matsumoto - Hotel M Matsumoto(05.11-05.12) - Tokyo - APA Hotel Ginza Kyobashi Tokyo Station Yaesu South Gate(05.14-05.17)
Extra things we bought in advance: - Water proof bags - Hiking boots and socks - Bigger backpacks - JP Rail pass, we booked the trains in advance, but honestly that wasn't necessary even during golden week - Bandages for foot blisters, medicine(for headaches, motion sickness, diarrhoea). - Ubigi eSim internet(10GB was plenty for me throughout the trip) - Sun screen(did not use and got sunburned to a point where I was shinning red) - Portable battery

The trip

Day 1(04.25)

We arrived at the Haneda aiport, exchanged some cash to yen(was at a better course than locally), printed out our JR passes(IMPORTANT TO DO SO HERE, only major stations let you print it out) and went to the metro. We took the train to Shinjuku, and walked to our hotel to check-in. We were quite tired, bought some chicken from lawson and went to explore a few places, a few drinks in golden gai district and ramen in a nearby place. Eventually we ended up at rock bar mother. Really cool place, for each drink you can request 2 songs to be played. After that back to hotel, visit the top floor onsen and sleep

Day 2(04.26)

Got up early, travelled to osaka. Left our luggage in the hotel, we were too early for a check in. We went to see Osaka castle(quite beautiful), tried takoyaki there. More city exploring, then we went check-in. After that we went to see the Umeda Sky Building in the evening(we bought the ticket in advance) very beautiful, it was very clear and beautiful. Got back to the city, got some ramen, went to the hotel and sleep.

Day 3(04.27)

Went to USJ, bought tickets(basic, no express stuff) in advance. We went there 30minutes before opening, and there was already a huge line. We went to Nintendo first, the zone looked very nice, but ride it'd say was okay'ish for me. After that the dinosaur rides, minion land, grabbed chinese food for lunch, went to the harry potter zone, at this point the lines got quite long around 1h to 1h 30min of wait time. After that we went to see Water world where they were doing a play, was really awesome, I'd say a must see even if you don't understand Japanese, the acting is very good. After that we went to Osaka aquarium(no lines, thank god), it was beautiful, cute chonks and other sea creatures.

Day 4(04.28)

Trip to Kyoto from Osaka. We went early by metro, to see the bamboo forest(7:40'ish), beautiful, few people. Walked around the park then climbed the mount a fed the monkeys(50 yen for a bag of fruits or nuts), very cute, tried petting the hand of one, didn't go well got an aggressive show of teeth. After that we visited Ryoanji temple, went to nishi market, we we're running a bit late so we took a taxi to Kiyomizudera, we saw the geish district on our way to there, looked interesting. After the temple we went to a bar and got back to Osaka and then after a bowl of ramen to our hotel.

Day 5(04.29)

We went to Nara, took this hiking track saw the deer, bought some food, did the whole bow thing then fed them. One thing to keep in mind is to crumble the cookie and give it in small pieces, otherwise you'll run out of food to give quickly. They might be very "assertive" and try to take it from you, don't be afraid, just stick your empty arm out to get some distance and that's it . They're not gonna bite you. After that we went to see the Todaiji temple, it was beautiful, the buddha statue was huge. Got back to Osaka, got some ramen, went to the hotel, scheduled to send our luggage to our next hotel and went to sleep.

Day 6(04.30)

Got up early, went to Onomichi, rented some bikes and began our cycling journey through the islands. A lot of cool bridges, very beautiful nature. We cycled to north Omishima port, where we transfered to rabbit island pet and fed the rabbits, got back and cycled to our ryokan and straight to sleeping.

Day 7(05.01)

More cycling, more cool bridges, more beautiful nature. We arrived at Imabari, returned our bikes and took the train to Matsuyama. We ate some stree food, relaxed in the open hot springs for feet. Walked around and went to sleep. To be honest I'd say this was the favorite city of the whole trip for me. I liked the vibe, the people, the food, the nature, the onsen, the layout, the architecture. In general, beautiful city.

Day 8(05.02)

Early in the morning visited a public onsen nearby, then went to see the Matsuyama castle, it was beautiful, tried the orange juice there, it was really good, got back to our hotels, got some dango. Packed our stuff, got a taxi and went to the port and took the ferry to Hiroshima. Checked in the ryokan. Took a train to Hiroshima city center, visited the castle and then the nuclear museum. Get the english audio for best experience. It took me around 2hours to walk through everything, read it and take it in. It was very nerve racking, but I'd say a must see. After that we went out to eat some Okonomiyaki, it was delicious, then back to the ryokan and sleep.

Day 9(05.03)

Went to Miyajima island first by train then transfer by ferry. It was very beautiful, the mountain hike was also fun, the view on top was amazing. When we came down from the mountain there was a low tide, so we could go near the Itsukushima shrine. Got back to Hiroshima, went to the city center for a couple of beers, got back to Ryokan and went to sleep.

Day 10(05.04)

First day of the Golden week, wouldn't say that I've noticed anything different, maybe because we were travelling to the far south of Japan - Kumamoto. This is one of those cities that I also enjoyed more than the big common ones, it looked very nice, had a beautiful castle, was not crowded as Hiroshima, Osaka or Tokyo. We rented out bikes, cycled to Honmoji park(the place near Honmoji park is god damn maze, keep you google maps always open or you will get lost) found a place to eat, visited Lafcadio Hearn House and went to our hotel and then to sleep.

Day 11(05.05)

We rentend a car and went to Aso, highly recommend renting a car here, since the public transport is not that good. The drive was very nice, we went to see active volcano crater, luckily it was not erupting, so we were allowed to get close. Then we went around and climbed the other inactive mountain caps. Climbing that was one of the most fun hikes I've had. It was very windy, you could barely see past 5 meters anywhere, because of the fog. There was no smell of sulfur, so it was safe. We visited Mt. Nakadake, Mt. Takadake, overall the place looked like Mordor, the vibes, the weather everything. After that we visited Ayugaeno Falls, the ravines and everything was just majectic. After that we got back to Kumamoto, gave back the car and went somewhere to eat. Car rental cost around ~7k yen in total. So I'd say a good price. After eating, we went to our hotel and then to sleep.

Day 12(05.06)

We went to Fukuoka, by train, walked around the city, visited Tochoji temple, Fukuoka castle ruins, Ohori park and explored the huge ravine type shopping mall. Went to the science museum(big mistake, it's for kids...). After that we tried Ichiran ramen(originated in Fukuoka so we thought it be better). Was the same as everywhere else. It was rainy so we got back pretty early to our hotel and went to sleep.

Day 13(05.07)

We went to Nagasaki, by train, visited the atomic bomb museum, it was very interesting, just as good as the one in Hiroshima. We took a boat ride to see Gunkanjima, though we couldn't get on the island, because of the weather, it was still very interesting to see and hear the history of the island. Explored the Dutch district, walked around the shops, tried some whale meat. It was raining the whole day, so we also got back quite early and went to sleep.

Day 14(05.08)

We got up early and went got straight to the train station, and caught the train to Nagoya. The longest train ride by far. We arrived at Nagoya, checked in our hotel, went to the city center, visited the castle, it was very beautiful, then we wanted to explore the abandoned tunnel near Aichi. Apparently it was closed, we decided we're going to enter through the exit, like rascals, but apparently after we circled around there was a police officer that was guarding traffic through the bridge and wouldn't let us through. So our trip ended there. After comming back to Nagoya we visited the sky scrapper, it had interesting installations on the windows. We had our stay got back to hotel and went to sleep.

Day 15(05.09)

We went to Takayama, by train, one of the most scenic train rides so far. We strolled around the city center, visited the early morning market, bought some souvenirs, tried some white strawberries, mushroom tee and other local cuisine. Visited Takayama Showa Museum, which was 10/10. You could touch almost everything, the museum gave a great vibe, it was like you were in a house of a family that lived there. There was also an old nintendo with mario kart that you could play, put on a old yukata and take photos. Play pachinko(no money needed), watch an old-school movie. We visited a few sake tasting places, I've found a few flavours that I liked. After that back to Nagoya, eat ramen and sleep.

Day 16(05.10)

We sent out our luggage to Matsumoto, caught a train to Nagiso and then hiked the Nakasendo trail to Tsumago and then Magome where we checked in and stayed at the local ryokan. The hike was very nice and relaxing one of the easier hikes I've had, the places we saw we're quite old and beautiful. At ryokan we met people one American and one from Germany, they had a guitar so we chatted a bit, played the guitar and had a few beers. The dinner at ryokan was amazing, looked very traditional Japanese dinner. Was also very tasty, would definitely recommend this place. After that we went to sleep.

Day 17-19(05.11)

Got up early and took a bus to Nakatsugawa Eki-mae station where we travelled to Matsumoto. We left our bags and went to the RubyKaigi conference. Overall good conference, I've learned somethings, but most importantly I've had bit of time to rest and catch up on some sleep, since we weren't exploring new cities. So overall the following 3 days were wake up -> breakfast -> conference -> lunch -> conference -> drinks -> dinner -> sleep.

Day 20(05.14)

Slept in, had breakfast and travelled to Tokyo by train. Left our luggage at the hotel and moved on to explore the Chou region. Walked around the Ginza, Imperial palace, Yasukuni shrine and went to check in. After that it was getting dark, so travelled to Akihabara to experience the anime night life, was quite bright and interesting. Though the amount of requests to visit a maid cafe was too damn high. If your planning to buy a PS5, a new GPU or Nintendo switch, this could be the place, I saw PS5 with two controllers for 60k yen, with a 10% tax refund that is around 370 euros. After some exploration, got back to our hotel and went to sleep.

Day 21(05.15)

This was our Hakone day trip, we bought the 3 day pass for it, so we could use the train, bus, ropeway and boat. Was worth it, even for one day. We climbed Mt. Kintoki, thankfully the weather was great and we could see Fuji. The climb was very nice, the view was amazing, the weather was great, no bears to be seen. After climbing down, we played some golf that was near there. Travelled back to the station were we used the rope-way to get around the mountains, the view was just majestic, we saw the sulfur pits, the stench was, well strong to say the least, but overall enjoyed the experience. We didn't make it time to the boat, so we had to travel back by bus, which wasn't so bad, since the scenery was amazing.

Day 22(05.16)

Explored more Tokyo, so we went to Teito district, went to the Ueno zoo, National science museum. After that we went to Kaminarimon gate, Asakusa shrine and moved to Shibuya next. There we went to the Yoyogi park, Meiji Jingu shrine, paid our respects to Hachiko statue. The last activity was to visit TeamLabs Planets, which were amazing, one most interesting experiences, not gonna spoil any details, overall great experience, would do it again. As it was getting late we got back to Shibuya, walked around more, had a drink and went back to our hotel.

Day 23(05.17)

Last day in Japan was spent buying souvenirs, snacks and other stuff to bring back home. Packing our luggage, to accommodate for the extras, getting to Haneda airport and back to Lithuania.
I'm very happy I had the opportunity to go on such a trip, I enjoyed it a lot even though, I'm quite the couch potato so 3 weeks is a bit much for me, but nonetheless, wouldn't change a thing.

Hey all,
I've been into this hobby for many years now but never had the opportunity to fly internationally with points.
P2 was also always not into the idea of getting new cards, but I finally convinced her to get a c1 venture this spring and she just got her bonus finally. It was SUPER late in the game for us to begin planning our trip but she has always dreamt of visiting Italy so that was sort of non negotiable.
I was able to secure Swiss J from JFK - ZRH for late August yesterday for 56k + $51 via LM. At this point in the season just about every other option was taken including the EK to Milan even in Y (flex plus rate at least). I'm thinking this will be a fun way to start our trip and even though it's a shorter flight I think it'll be worth it! All the other options to get to Venice (her desired starting point) would have been 30k with a stop in Y so it just didn't make as much sense. I'm thinking we can either grab a quick 1 hour flight to Venice from there for 8k LM or cash, or we could spend a few days in Switzerland by taking a train into the Alps and making our way to Italy there. Any suggestions on beautiful train trips to Italy are greatly appreciated!
Then for the return she'll be flying MXP - JFK direct on EK Y for the 38,750. I'm hoping she'll get 48-hour upgrade options here though, as this wasn't the best redemption (again, just accepting that this late in the game we just have to suck it up. Cash price was about $900 one way at the time of booking so it's still better than paying cash).
As for me, for the first week of September I was able to snag QR J to WDH (Namibia) from MXP for just 55k AA miles!! So excited as the first leg will have Q-suites. On the return I also got QR J for 70k AA with a really awesome 14.5 hours in QSuites from Doha to IAD. Not excited about having to transfer from IAD to DCA to get back home to JFK but I'll keep an eye on the direct DOH - JFK and see if something opens up.
I've never traveled that far (especially the return trip) so I'm super excited and a little anxious about handling such an exhausting trip. I'm hoping QR J makes it an enjoyable and not tiring experience.
All in all, it seems like I'm getting an awesome redemption and if P2 can get the upgrade she will too.
Now I need to figure out what we'll do for 16 days in Switzerland/mostly Italy. Thinking only a few days in Switzerland and get to Venice shortly after that. We're not super high energy travelers so if you have suggestions on places to go with chill, relaxing things to do, that's awesome. I know Italy in August is a big no go but we really had no choice with her work schedule so we're gonna do our best. Hopefully starting in Switzerland and then a few days in Venice will get us to September and it'll all work out.
Also we still have about 60k c1 and 55k AA so if there are any hotel redemptions to look out for in Italy lmk!
Thanks for everything, I really appreciate all the help I've gotten from this community!

PTW: Not sure but just in case I put the possible trigger on here. I don’t have much posting experience on Reddit so I hope I’m not committing a bunch of no-nos. Anyways, had a moment AFTER successfully flying. I’m putting a warning on it because I don’t want anyone to add new worries to their fear of flying. If reading about a very emotional moment AFTER flying could affect you, please don’t read!
Short time lurker here!
I stumbled in here just browsing Reddit for some sort of advice or support for fear of flying. I had a flight coming up, several actually, in a week and I’m a 35 year old woman who had never flown and panicked if I even had a discussion about flying. I was to fly from Orlando to Miami, then Miami to LA. So, the pre-flight anxiety was starting and I needed to manage quickly.
I decided to use medication and a flight “care box” as my therapist calls it. It consists of various items and coping mechanisms for managing my anxiety. I had my headphones, music calms me. I downloaded some episodes of my favorite show. I chose a tv show because each episode was 43 minutes long, which helped me manage time during any anxiety over how long I was on the plane. A few game apps, the DARE app, several books, and a sleep mask in case I started to panic I could remove all distractions to re-center myself.
Well, guess what! I managed my anxiety all week just fine. The night before my flight, I was fine. I managed to fall asleep and wake up on time. The way to the airport, I was fine. I made it all the way to the gate, where I finally had a moment to analyze where I was at before the flight, and realized I felt fine. So, instead of taking a full dose of my medication I took half 30 minutes before boarding and decided to take the other half when I got on the plane. I also took half before boarding the second flight.
My experience was…to be honest I think I’m a little shocked. I got on both flights, no problem. I had small moments of anxiety on the flight but nothing extreme. Takeoff didn’t bother me, I actually started laughing the first flight during takeoff. There was a moment where I think the plane was leveling out and it felt like we dipped for a second but it was over so fast that it didn’t freak me out too much. Turbulence didn’t freak me out, and landing wasn’t that rough or anything. The small moments of anxiety mostly came from me nodding off for short periods of time, like seconds or minutes, and having these like little mini dreams or something and then jerking awake in a panic. So, I pulled out all my distractions and stayed awake to put a stop to that nonsense. About 2hrs into the second flight I could tell my anxiety medication had worn off, but I felt fine so I didn’t take any more. After that, I had a few moments of anxiety over how long the flight was. This is where I stopped looking at the time completely, and started watching my tv episodes while doing a jigsaw puzzle on my phone. It might be weird but I just told myself “You have 4 hours left, that’s about 5 episodes, enjoy them.” I also enjoyed conversation on and off with the lady next to me. I even felt comfortable opening the little window cover and taking pics and videos. Landing was fine and overall I felt fine with how both flights went and my experience.
It was after the flights, after getting to my hotel, after fully relaxing that I had some issues. I’m wondering if anyone else has ever had a major moment of “WTF” after conquering their fear of flying?? Part of me felt like I didn’t know who this woman was, like what did I just do? The other part was the fear and anxiety I thought I’d feel on the plane catching up to me, I think. It hit me in my hotel room, hard, that I actually just got on two planes and flew 6+ hours by myself like it was nothing. Who the hell is this woman? Suddenly, after flying for the first time and having no issues, I was panicking. I was thinking of canceling my flight home and just driving. I started shaking and then broke down into full blown tears. I had to talk myself down like “you JUST flew, no problem, and even enjoyed it a little. WTF is happening??” It was the most exhausting, emotional moment I’ve had in a long time. I feel like it’s a combination of a lot of things but also like the after affects of being in fight or flight mode, maybe? It totally killed the joy of having just conquered my fear of flying. Has anyone else ever experienced this?

Accurately measuring temps in a sauna isn't difficult. Humidity, CO2 and PM are another story with current commercial products all designed for lower temps.
Sensiron, TI, Bosch, Winsen, Gaslab and others offer a number sensors that can work well in a sauna environment for measuring Moisture, CO2, PM, VOCs and other elements. Current commercial products however have these co-packaged with electronics that generally cannot tolerate more than about 50-60°c.
Placing the sensor on a wire with most electronics components elsewhere can work well though and is how temperature loggers work.
So… I wanted to put this out there for others with more hardware and software knowledge than I and for this thread, at least initially, to offer a place for sharing ideas, successes and failures.
One goal is to be able to measure this:
https://preview.redd.it/63c7w95ezs3b1.png?width=2322&format=png&auto=webp&s=a5a770a2b4ec7f67be2a91d9c0a826f0f8e2b774
Some more info here: http://localmile.org/thermometers-and-other-measurements/

Guinea Pig or Chinchilla? I'm mostly curious on how they are when it comes to making noise passively, how messy they can be..etc. My Guinea Pig for example loves to kick crap out of the cage and will squeak for something even though there's food hay/pellets/treats, water, toy, etc within the cage. I had a guinea pig for years before and loved Randall but my current Guinea Pig is a troublemaker for sure and I don't feel much of a bond with him.
Recently however, I had thoughts on bringing him in as donation to petco, or whomever and maybe investing into a Chinchilla but I however do not know much on Chinchilla's and have been looking into them a fair bit, what their cage would require, what a room temp should be, food, etc. However I'm curious how crazy can they be throughout the evening and even up at night? Will be squeaking more often than a Guinea Pig maybe? Do they move around much?

My boyfriend and i are on vacation in a different country. Original plan was just my boyfriend and i and one of our friends but other friend decided to bring his new girlfriend (they’ve been together like 2-3 months) along which we were cool with.
We booked the hotel together after our other friend decided to bring his girlfriend, so they did have the option to get their own hotel. Boyfriend and i have been together for 5 years so not having sex during the vacation isn’t an issue.
His girlfriend got here a week into the trip and from the second she got here they have been super lovey dovey and all over each other which i honestly hate but whatever, they’re in the honeymoon phase of thier relationship.
But last night 10 minutes after i laid down to sleep, i started hearing things and realized it was them making out in bed and touching each other. I could hear every little thing. My boyfriend was already asleep. I tried to make it clear i was still awake by coughing, shifting in bed A LOT, even briefly sat up in bed, but it didn’t stop. My heart was racing because i was so uncomfortable about it. Once i heard clothes coming off i got up to go to the bathroom and it finally stopped. I sat up in bed on my phone after to make it clear i was awake and wasn’t able to sleep until i was sure they were both asleep.
I found the whole thing really immature and disrespectful. if they weren’t going to be able to resist themselves they should have gotten a separate room. They both hold high paying respectable jobs and are both almost 30 and my image of them has changed a lot and i really don’t even want to be on the trip anymore with them and i just feel uncomfortable around them. Wasn’t a huge fan of the girlfriend in the first place as i find her very overwhelming and child like (she graduated law school and i would have never guessed if i hadn’t met her before).
Am i overreacting to this? Luckily we get our own hotel in a few days and i can’t wait. Any tips to look this over for now so i can enjoy my trip more?