well what is it then? a dolphin? going by that logic,is a dog fetus not really a member of the domestic canine species like it's parents,just because it may look like a domestic(housecat)cat fetus or some other species very early on in it's development?
i bet the same people who advocate for human abortion would protest against the spay abortions that are performed on dogs, because they generally seem to believe an unborn human baby holds little to no value but other species unborn offspring do. (and i actually have seen them getting upset about abortion for other species,and unnecessary cruelty towards post birth offspring of them aswell. the hypocrisy astounds me. )
they care more about non human species, over their own flesh and blood kin.
that's why you get dehumanizing terms applied to the baby by pro abortion people so often, like "clump of cells" or "parasite" or "product of conception" or "pieces of children" or "womb invaders" "crotch goblins" and other such ridiculous things.
why is it so hard to just value life irregardless of level of development or species? why is some extreme cruelty permitted,but not others? that simply just makes no sense to me.

(Kind of long nor am I good at explaining stuff, so I apologise for that)
I (22F) am autistic. This in itself is not an issue of course, except in one place. Socially I struggle a lot (which is very typical for someone with autism.) but my issue is that… I can’t seem to hang on to any kind of friendships long term? I’ve basically had a new set of friends every year since I’ve left school (in uni now), and none of those people I’ve been able to keep in contact with, as the usual outcome is that they’ll ghost me and I’ll be on my own again. The only one I do have has been kind of toxic in the past couple years to the point I was willing to give up our friendship entirely.
That friend has a whole host of their own problems, which is not their fault and I won’t go into as it’s not my place. But for a while, I was expected drop everything and it was incredibly draining with their toxic, but self destructive behaviours.
And I did, because I do love my friend and appreciate the friendship I’ve had with them, but I don’t necessarily have the mental space to be able to deal with their problems as well. This has also made me feel like I can’t talk to them about my problems because I don’t want them to have to worry about my issues with theirs.
As a result, I don’t have a support network to talk to, and any time I’ve had a friend and tried to talk about it, that’s the point they usually become distant to me or blank me entirely.
(Not close with my family so no luck there either)
Thing is, I want to have a positive relationship, someone so I can actually talk to without the fear of being continuously left alone. For so many people to leave, there must be an issue with me, right? My best guess is that my autistic quirks freak them out too much (I have desperately tried to mask it to avoid it) but also, I don’t know what it is exactly that does that. I want to improve socially, but how do I do that when there’s no communication as to what’s wrong?
I have a feeling my current group don’t really like me either, they never say my name, invite me to hang out or even really acknowledge me in passing. Chances are, we won’t be staying in contact after we’ve left for this year.
Admittedly, I cry often over the fact I have no one, and that will probably continue until I figure out how to get rid of the problem. I also have high-functioning anxiety, so that doesn’t help at all.
I really want to be able to hang out and laugh with friends, hell, I even want to get in a relationship. But the last person I really liked, blanked me after we met in person. (Context: we met on the uni group chat and spoke/called every day over the summer) I have a feeling this was because I freaked him out over my quirks, or because I was burnt out at the time and didn’t have much passion for hobbies.
So… what could the issue be that I need to fix in order to have a heathy relationship with anyone or what’s any advice people have when it comes to making friends? (Platonic or otherwise)

Note: this isn't my story. I'm a GMAT tutor who collects success stories that I think are useful. I wanted to bring this one back. If people find this one helpful, I'll bring back other old posts as well.

Summary

Tried Manhattan, didn’t like it. Tried Target Test Prep, liked it more, but realized that he needed to apply it to Official Guide questions to improve on his score.
He highly recommends using an error log and taking regular practice tests, but not wasting the official GMATPrep ones (so using Manhattan CATs instead).
[Editor's note: if you're looking for an error log, I created an error log app.]

Original

from 570 to 740 – My 4 Month Journey : GMAT (reddit.com)
I’ve always been a very passive Reddit reader (my first ever post), but I’ve relied on reading your stories and tips so much the past few months that I wanted to share my story and hopefully give back.
My Background

• Native English speaker
• Non-Quant background

My Journey
At the recommendation of a friend, I started with the full suite of Manhattan books on 7/15. Prior to starting studying material, I took the first Manhattan CAT, scoring a V29 V44 (590). I came to find out that the Q44 was a fluke and I should have scored quite a bit lower. My next Manhattan CAT, after two weeks of studying exclusively Manhattan materials 5+ hours per day, fell to a 570. I was understandably frustrated and demoralized.
Seeing the fall in my quant score was perplexing and led me to realize that my quant foundation was very weak. After making it through the majority of the Manhattan All the Quant series, I quickly decided that I would need to build my quant foundation from ground zero. Based on all of your recommendations, I turned to TTP and never looked back.
As all of you know, TTP can be grueling. Single chapters can take days to weeks with hundreds of problems per chapter, but it’s more than worth it if you have the time and commitment. I continued taking Manhattan CATs during my TTP and Manhattan verbal studies as to not extinguish my official CATs (highly recommend this strategy), and slowly but surely, my CAT scores were rising, but almost all on the Verbal side. Again, I was really confused and since my TTP test scores were relatively strong (75% to 80% on the hard tests) and I felt my quant conceptual basis was strengthening.
Having completed most of TTP, I took my first in-person exam (V31 Q42 600). Again, absolutely crushed and demoralized. I started questioning again whether I could get to my 700+ mark. After sulking for a few days, I hopped back on the horse and started tuning my studies with other sources. This is when I realized TTP is a tool, not a solution. TTP questions can be incredibly difficult, but they ultimately do not precisely simulate GMAC official questions. Equipped with everything that I learned through TTP, I started hitting the OG guides hard. I logged my errors, revisited weak topics, and by the end, I could answer every question (at least quant) without fail. This was probably a function of memorization, but memorization is somewhat beneficial on the GMAT as you can refer back when solving similar questions. This is really when I saw an inflection in my Quant score, going from a Q42 on my 9/1 live test to a Q49 on my 9/19 CAT.
My biggest takeaway was how beneficial the OG guides are… once I had the foundation to utilize them properly. Slugging away at OG problems when you don’t understand them is simply a waste of your time and a waste of the problem.
When it was all said and done, I managed to swing from a 570 Manhattan CAT on 8/2 to a 740 official score on 11/13. It was rough, I questioned whether I could get there several times, but I promise, all of you are more than equipped to do the same. The GMAT is a ridiculous test that, in my opinion, tests how bad you want it. If you want it bad enough, I promise that all of you will get to where you want and/or need to be.
Tips and Learnings

• If you’re severely struggling with OG questions at a certain level or on a certain topic… stop. Go back and reinforce that topic or practice the same topic at a lower difficulty. You’re likely lacking conceptual knowledge, and by hacking away at problems, you’re not learning and simply wasting time + problems. If you’re anything like me, you’ll remember the problem/answer and it will fail to serve its purpose once you’re actually ready to solve it.
• Resetting GMATPrep exams can be very useful when your initial performance was poor. I received a few repeats, but overall since my first takes were relatively poor, the majority of the questions were new. When you do receive a familiar question though, penalize yourself on timing (wait an extra X seconds before submitting), otherwise, you’re cheating yourself on timing simulation. A few seconds here and there make a big difference across the entire test.
• Don’t neglect verbal, especially if you’re coming from a non-quant background. This was probably my biggest mistake early on. Not having the quant foundation, I was placing 95+% of my time towards quant because I knew its where I could make the biggest dent in my score. But once I started hitting consistently in the Q47+ range, I should have started weighing my studies more equally. At Q47+, you’ve proved to schools that you can handle quant work, now focus on scoring big and upping your Verbal, which is a heavier weight in your composite score. Going from V39 to V43 is going to be a lot more effective use of your time than Q47 to Q51. Balance is key to big scores, and you won’t get there by neglecting verbal.
• ERROR LOG… ERROR LOG… ERROR LOG… there is no better way to identify your weaknesses. And don’t simply log your errors, log your struggle problems as well. If a question took you too long yet you still got it right, log it. Timing on difficult problems is ultimately how you secure higher scores, so you should consider taking 2.5+ minutes to solve an error.
• I know everyone says this, but read sentence correction for meaning. You’re never going to learn every rule or idiom that the GMAT tests, and even if you do, that doesn’t account for all the exceptions. By reading for meaning, equipped with basic grammar rules, you’ll be more than good to go.
• You’re going to have ups and downs. It will feel like a setback, but use these opportunities to understand why you’re struggling. Often it’s something as simple as a single topic or two. This is where the error log comes in handy as you can narrow down quickly and start seeing patterns.

Materials

• Manhattan Prep All-The-Verbal/Quant (didn’t use Quant much, but relied on Verbal)
• TargetTestPrep (main Quant prep resource)
• GMAT Official Guide 2020
• GMAT Official Verbal Guide 2020
• GMAT Official Quant Guide 2020
• GMAT Advanced Question Guide
• Erica Meltzer’s The Complete GMAT Sentence Correction Guide
• PowerScore Critical Reasoning
• GMAT Official Practice Questions Sets #1 and #2 (the extra questions you can buy for the online practice system)
• GMATClub Quant CATs – excessively hard and not always realistic of live testing questions, but a great challenge when you want a push
• GMAT Hacks Challenge Problem Set – a great resource of GMAT realistic quant problems, especially the Extreme Challenge set. It’s not extreme by GMATClub standards, but they’re realistic of actual Q49+ problems.

Please forgive the awful Brexit pun, it is tangibly related and it made me chuckle so I'm keeping it.
I have decided to put the future of this sub to a vote. I made this sub as a library just to collect my stories in one place, after my first attempt to do so using Google Docs failed miserably. I never expected to get a follower beyond my wife wolf_kisses and other family members, but as of this post, 816 of you wonderful people have followed my incoherent ramblings. I have made several friends on my year long journey here and in writingprompts and it is just so painful to contemplate letting all of those relationships wither, just because of the greedy, malicious actions of a certain Reddit CEO.
So I leave it to you, dear readers, to decide. If the sub stays alive, we will adopt a strict no-gilding policy, but continue the stories and comments. If it dies, then I will close and delete this subreddit permanently on the night of June 30th.
No matter what happens, I will be posting the WalkVerse stories on my WattPad account, self-publishing through Amazon, and throwing printed pages from a cargo plane over a crowded public area.
Please vote here whenever you get a chance.
Tl:Dr: Pretty much this

I’ve been paying all of my bill late for the last 6 months and I just keep getting father and farther behind. About two months ago, I needed to take out two payday loans to pay rent. And now every paycheck I get is $350 short to pay those off. I was supposed to get my tax refund last week but it’s nowhere to be found and that was going to help get me back on track. I’m lucky if I can afford to eat one meal a day. I have a really good job, making about $1,300 a paycheck, my rent is $985 but comes to about $1175 after utilities and since I’ve had to pay late every month, it’s $1375. I’m always $200 short and if they didn’t charge the late fee, I’d be to totally fine. My job is about an hour away by bus and I work about 40 hours a week. The hunger pains are starting to make it really hard to function day-to-day. I used to Doordash for grocery and gas money, but my car stopped working a few weeks ago. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I’m looking around to see if I can rent a room in someone’s house, but I haven’t had much luck. If I don’t pay rent by the 15th, they’ll file for eviction. I don’t know what to do. I just need advice. I can’t get any other payday loan to pay rent, it’s just going to screw me over even more.

Throwaway for obvious reasons. I am so sick of the oil and gas companies. They are literally suckikg the life out of this beautiful planet, killing everything on it... and for what? A peice of worthless paper? I can barely go a day without thinking about learning how to build a bomb, then going to every building they have, and just... giving them the same treatment they are giving to the world. They have practically paid off every government they can. They control practically everything they can. They destroy and kill. Their sole purpose is to fuck this world for the best profit. I don't know what to do anymore and everyday I get angrier and angrier with what they are doing. No protests, no complaints to the government feels like it is doing a thing and it makes me sick.

I have been working out and trying to slightly look out for my nutrition. I am already a well controlled T2, but I wanna lose weight and improve my physical performances, but here is the issue :
Being limited in the amount of carbs i eat (cause, diabetic, especially T2) + Ideally not eating too much Fat + Burning maybe 1000-1500 calories a day = I need some calorie intake as to not be in a ridiculous deficit like 1000-1200 calorie deficit.
Here's a quick overview of macro I eat daily : • about 170g carbs (20g breakfast, 40-60g lunch, 60g dinner, 10-30g in snacks) • about 275g protein, depending on the amount of snacks I need. • about 110g of fat
So roughly 30/50/20%. Im not too worried about fat to be honest and as a T2 diabetic, I try to not have extra carbs if I dont need them since I can't just correct my medication based on my immediate intake (and well I find T2 to be finicky due to the pancreas unreliably working)
This puts me in a situation where I have a pretty big protein intake that feels excessive for my weight .I weight 98kg and I probably eat 250-300g of protein simply to avoid going too low and closing the caloric deficit cap, I am not even really doing any weight lifting, mainly 12km of cardio. I do find myself having to eat a few snacks to prevent lows, and I do go for snacks that are 10-15g of carbs with maybe 20-25g of protein so they last longer.. and they do prevent lows... by a hair !
So is it just me, or my protein intake is excessive? Any tips?
PS : Sorry if this seems scattered.

as stated in the title already, I'm looking for a team to scroll 15 30 minutes a day same as me to build a YouTube Shorts Channel from the Scratch -
TikTok - Instagram - Snapchat everyone has a unique algorithm, so it's close to impossible for just one person to stumble across some gems that people would be interested in watching.
strategy is to find such clips, contact the owner, get the permission to use the clip and eventually split the revenue between the channel and the owner of the clip.
now I do understand this is a blow in the dark, but what I do understand is, it's highly possible with just slight understanding of fair use & algorithm.
if you're interested in the idea, my DMs are open.

I’ve been playing this game since it came out on Xbox in 2017. I’ve seen my fair share of changes (some for the good & mostly for the bad) but I was a strong advocate for the EMT ever since it came into existence. Before PubG, I was putting a lot of time into Battlefield 1 & I have been putting time into Battlefield 2042 recently; I mention that because I would mainly run medic because I like being a team oriented player. The same thing applied with PubG and the EMT gear letting me act as the team medic.
I’ve stuck with this game through every single change that they’ve made, but this nerfing EMT to the point that it is completely useless might be the final kill shot for me to finally close this chapter of gaming for me.
I understand EMT was a little overpowered, but instead of making it useless, they could’ve just met somewhere in the middle as far as nerfing goes. Maybe 5 second revive instead of the previous 3 seconds & the now 8 seconds.
Also a side note, they realized they spent time making tactical gear that nobody ever uses (other than EMT) so they just decided, “if no one is going to use the things we spent time making, we’re gonna force everyone to use them now.”
I know I’m not important, I’m just another number in the player pool, but I know I’m not the only one that feels the same after reading the patch notes.

I met who I think is my tf approximately two years ago, we joined a group of a singer who was going to come to our country and there we met, we never spoke but for some reason when the other spoke in the group we wanted to call each other's attention
A few months later, the day of the concert arrived and we met there.
I felt like I wanted her close, and when I went home she kept spinning in my head, until the other day.
a week later she sent me a message (we are long distance) and that's where our story began, with many things in common, feeling at home, our hearts exploding with love, you know
two months later i developed rocd (relationship focused ocd) and it was devastating, that inspired me to start therapy because i didn't want to lose someone so beautiful for not facing my traumas
A few months later we had our first separation, it was extremely painful, but we got over it and after a month we slowly came back.
About two weeks ago we broke up again, and in the first few hours I felt my heart being ripped out of my chest, but after a few hours, I took things a little differently.
I had a more grateful, and more objective perspective on how the separation was necessary for both of us to heal.
The thing is, I have a classmate who entered this year, I found her very attractive but if I say that she had spoken two words, I exaggerate, because I learned that it is normal to be attracted to others and that is not why you have to act accordingly, so that to take care of my relationship, I avoided it (I repeat, I have ROCD)
There came a point after the separation in which this attraction became unbearable because it generates so much guilt and I resist so much (I'm 17 years old) that it just became more difficult to ignore.
Finally, a friend told me to let myself feel and flow, that's what I did
the next two days i had nausea, crying with nostalgia, frustration, chest pain, ringing in my ears, she's just not my girl
Also, I feel that I'm disloyal to my tf, and I'm afraid of hurting her if I do something, also, this girl's thing seems nothing more than attraction, I don't feel love, I don't want to feel it either, I just want my tf and peace
I am missing many things but it is already very long, if you have questions ask them

Can somebody explain to me how I earned 10% with this eToro commodities transaction? Doesn't add up. It was a roller coaster ride though throughout. I'm going in again.
Commodity: Nickel
Invested: $500
Units: 0.24
Open: 21219.50 (30-May)
Close: 21442.00 (09-Jun)
P/L ($): $52.43
P/L (%): 10.49%

I'm working in a service based company but not WITCH. I work at client office. I'm not developerI really damn hate my current client. The workload is insane & learning is nearly zero. Recently a new project started in client office & unfortunately I am put into this new project and it has to be completed within 4 months while the project looks like it cannot be completed even in 18 months. But they are forcing us to complete within 4 months & there is no extension of deadline.
I asked my manager & HR to release from my current client but they are giving 100 reasons but not releasing.
Please tell me some non-backfiring & safe ways to get released from this client and go back to bench. Can I say to my client manager directly "I cannot complete these tasks my potential is limited please replace me". Will this work?
I don't wish to resign from vendor company as I still have hopes that I can find good client next time and my promotion can happen in after next 5 months.

Hello to you, fellow ingrates.
Year 6 of DABR Defends the New York Giants from Criticism has arrived.

Season Recap

tl;dr: The Giants had their most successful season since 2016, and arguably since winning the Super Bowl in 2012 (if the draft spot/playoff success is the measurement) and went into draft night with the latest selection they've had since 2012, the first outside the top 11 since 2016.
Giants fans didn't really expect to win that many games this year. There were still some hopefuls for Daniel Jones but most people had come to terms with new GM Joe Schoen and new HC Brian Daboll pretty much setting up to replace him, declining his 5th year option.
It was the first year of this regime, they hadn't really been able to fix up the roster fully, etc. Most Giants fans I know were expecting a 4-7 win season, not sniffing the playoff race. Ha.
It all started week 1 vs Tennessee. It was honestly a story Giants fans have gotten familiar with. Look absolutely horrible in the first half of the game, but somehow struggle back into it in the second half, only to be dramatically disappointed at the end of the game. After Daniel Jones threw a red zone interception with just under 9 minutes to go, we thought that was pretty much it.
But then with 4 minutes left, Saquon Barkley rips off a 33 yard run, Daniel Jones converts a 4th and 1, and the Giants score a TD to pull them to just a 1 point deficit. Most Giants fans are thinking "okay he's gonna kick it, play for overtime, I respect that, we didn't think it would be that close anyways."
And then we see the offense staying on the field...uh oh. The offense wasn't exactly clicking on all cylinders to that point in the game, having been shut out in the first half. If we don't get it, the game is pretty much lost. Daboll calls a shovel pass, Saquon gets it, it looks like it's completely doomed...I'm thinking "here we go again, his first game and the media is already going to be all over him for going for it"...but Saquon fights his way in! Giants take the lead for the first time in the game. We're feeling good, Daboll's huge balls in that situation giving us some confidence.
Then the Titans methodically work the ball down the field (along with a couple of assists from Austin Calitro and Darnay Holmes), setting up a 47 yard field goal for Randy Bullock to win the game.
Now, I'm thinking, "of course this is what happened, they gave us some hope, now it's going to get ripped away from us, just like always. Story of the last few years at times."
...and then Bullock missed the kick. That was the start of what turned into a magical first half of the season, the Giants getting off to a 7-2 start, all 7 wins coming by a 1 score margin (though the Bears and Texans games were a bit cleaner than the final scoreline suggests), and 5 of them really coming down to big time plays in the last 5 minutes of the game.
The Titans story, taking the lead with 3:38 left in the 4th quarter and Julian Love sacking Baker Mayfield to force 4th and 15 the next drive against Carolina, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Xavier McKinney batting down Aaron Rodgers' passes in London, Love intercepting Lamar Jackson to set up the game winning score against Baltimore, McKinney and Love stopping Christian Kirk at the 1 yard line on the last play against Jacksonville.
All of those games are games that go against us in previous years. But this year was just different. And somehow through it all, there were Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones as well. Saquon was the focal point of the offense early in the season, Jones being efficient in a heavy, limited, play action focused passing attack.
All thoughts of the Giants earning a top pick and replacing Daniel Jones pretty much went out the window by week 4, and hope for Jones maybe finally becoming the QB he was drafted to be started to blossom in some parts of the Giants fanbase.
Things came crashing down a bit the next 4 weeks. Awful losses to Detroit, Dallas, and Philly, with a tie against Washington in there too that many Giants fans felt they deserved to win capped off a 1-4-1 stretch where the Giants simply did not look good. They looked more like what we expected the team to look like coming into the year. The playoff spot was no longer guaranteed, at 7-5-1. But a flexed SNF game against Washington would pretty much decide the season.
And the Giants took that win against Washington and ran with it. A close loss against the Vikings that was probably the best passing attack game of the season to that point, a dominating win against the hapless Colts that locked the Giants into the playoffs, and a surprisingly tight and scrappy game between the Eagles starters and the Giants backups gave Giants fans some hope headed into the playoffs. We didn't expect to win a Super Bowl, but the matchup against the Vikings seemed winnable.
And winnable it was, as in classic 2023 Giants fashion, they took a lead about halfway through the 4th quarter, and a couple of clutch plays on defense by Cordale Flott and Xavier McKinney ended the game.
Then we went to Philly and got absolutely ass blasted, ending our season.
That left the Giants with the 25th pick in the class, entering an offseason with a lot of business to take care of.

Free Agency Recap

The Giants had a lot more room to operate in free agency this year than last year, and Schoen was relatively creative in how he wanted to go about it.
The first step in that process though was figuring out the status of his pending free agents; most notably, the two who led the way on offense most of the year: Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley. The Jones negotiations were tense, Jones asked for the moon and the team was not having it. Eventually (literally right before the tag deadline) they settled on a 4 yr, 160m extension with 82m fully guaranteed and a boatload of incentives that could push the value up to almost 200m. That allowed the team to tag Saquon Barkley, whose extension talks are reportedly still stalled, as Barkley declined an offer worth almost 14m during the Giants' bye week, and continues to find the Giants' offer(s) unpalatable.
Speculation is that Barkley is seeking more guaranteed money from the Giants (greater than the sum of 2 franchise tags), but Barkley's camp is not leaking much (reportedly because Saquon doesn't want them to). And according to most reporters, Saquon is too competitive to actually sit out the season, removing his last bit of leverage.
Possibly the biggest addition of the Giants' free agency period was actually a trade: The Giants traded the Chiefs' 3rd rounder (acquired for Kadarius Toney) for TE Darren Waller. This is a huge move because the Giants were dead last in explosive pass play rate by a WIDE margin. Only like 6 individual team seasons since 2010 had fewer explosive passing plays than the 2022 Giants. That's something that Schoen and Daboll immediately set out to fix, and Darren Waller is one of the best explosive pass weapons in the league, leading all TEs in explosive pass plays this season despite playing just 9 games this year. Reports out of OTAs are that the Giants are expecting Waller to basically fill a "WR1" role for them; not necessarily in alignment but being the focal point of the offense, high target share, etc.
Schoen and Daboll followed that addition up with two more explosive pass play options: retaining Darius Slayton, and adding Parris Campbell to the room. Slayton is a solid WR, he's good for 600-700 yards when he gets run. His hands are inconsistent, but he makes up for it often. Campbell finally broke out having a healthy season for the Colts this season. I think Campbell is mostly insurance for Wan'Dale Robinson, who is coming off of a torn ACL, but if healthy should get primary run in the slot.
The Giants' other two main moves came on the defensive side of the ball, adding LB Bobby Okereke to a LB room that comprised of: Jarrad Davis, Micah McFadden, and Darrian Beavers (coming off a torn ACL). Much needed improvement in that room. The Giants also added Rakeen Nunez-Roches and A'Shawn Robinson to the DL room to improve the depth there; Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams were playing too many snaps, and the Giants were really bad against the run last year.
In the process though, the Giants lost both of their starting centers from 2022, Nick Gates and Jon Feliciano, as well as S Julian Love, who had been a consistent staple of the defense the last few years.

Draft Needs

The Giants roster was in much better shape this year than last year, but the team still had a number of problems:

1. CB was still a HUGE need for the Giants, and one that had not been properly addressed yet. Adoree' Jackson had another very good year in 2022, but the spot across from him had been a mishmosh of misfit toys: Fabian Moreau had a nice little run, but struggled down the stretch. Nick McCloud got a lot of run at CB2 after being claimed on waivers from the Bills. Cordale Flott had been drafted as a nickel defender but got some run there. And the slot position wasn't much better, as Darnay Holmes continued to be a liability there. This position needed reinforcements. I've been a relatively vocal minority in the Giants fandom saying this has been the BIGGEST need the team had for a couple of years now (basically aside from the one year that we had Bradberry and Jackson both on the team).
2. Despite adding Slayton, Campbell, and Waller, WR was still something the team needed. Specifically someone who could develop into a WR1 type player. The Giants WR room is relatively deep, but just adding Campbell and Waller and running back last year's group didn't feel sufficient. The team clearly was putting an emphasis on speed, separation, and yards after the catch ability.
3. Center was a massive need. The Giants basically didn't have a center on the roster who had played meaningful NFL snaps. Ben Bredeson could move to center if needed, but it wasn't that solid of a plan. And in what seemed like a good center class, this seemed like a good way to solve that problem.
4. LB. The LB2 spot currently will be either Jarrad Davis, Micah McFadden (who basically lost the job last year to Jarrad Davis), or Darrian Beavers (who tore his ACL last year). I think that says it all.
5. RB: Saquon is on the tag, so you feel okay here, but the team has been seeking a solid compliment for him for a while. They were in on a few of the RBs last year and the value never lined up, and Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell didn't really cut it last year. They don't want to run Saquon into the ground early in the year like they did last year, so having a compliment for him is big.
6. S: Losing Julian Love is a tough one. He played a lot of snaps and wore a lot of hats for this defense last year, especially with McKinney missing time with a hand injury. The team likes Jason Pinnock, and drafted Dane Belton in the early 4th last year, but more depth and competition here would be very welcome.

So let's get into the picks:

1.24: Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland

Seems like maybe Schoen agreed with me!
It was a lot harder to try to predict what the Giants would do this year, just by virtue of having a later pick. But the general consensus among the beat seemed to be that the team wanted to get a CB or an offensive playmaker with that first pick. I was a little skeptical of CB being an option, seeing how many mocks had all 5 of the top CBs off the board, but that often left WRs available.
So right after the Jets took Will McDonald at 15, if you looked at the board, only 1 CB had been taken and no WRs had been taken. That felt pretty good for the Giants.
Then Forbes and Gonzalez come off the board, and the top 4 WRs come off the board from 20-23.
That left the Giants feeling a little antsy. They had one guy they really wanted left, and negotiated a trade up one spot with the Jaguars to secure their guy: Deonte Banks.
This pick is perfect for what the Giants want to do on defense. Wink Martindale's reaction should say it all, if you go watch the Giants' behind the scenes videos on the draft process.
Banks is a tall, long, and athletic corner, which are all important traits for Wink's press man heavy defense. He's super fluid and smooth in his hips. He tested absolutely crazy. He also plays with a swag that I think Wink and Giants fans will come to really appreciate. He plays confident, he plays fast in terms of processing, and he plays physical.
He still has some development to go, I'm not saying he's going to be a top CB in the league from day 1. He wasn't a super ball productive corner, but that's not something Wink necessarily needs. It will take some time for him to get comfortable with the complexity of route runners in the NFL. But the tools are all there, and the Giants get a perfect scheme fit.
Banks will come in and immediately be the starter at CB across from Adoree' Jackson, and the trickle down effect that will have on the Giants depth chart at CB will be tangible.

2.57: John Michael Schmitz, OC, Minnesota

As this pick was coming up, Schoen and Daboll were discussing who to pick, and basically said "okay we're either going with Schmitz or (we'll get to that later ;) )".
Then the Bears traded up to the pick before the Giants pick. And Joe Schoen said "oh fuck." Daboll tried to calm him down and said "well I guess we're getting ."
Then the Bears took Tyrique Stevenson (good pick!), leaving the Giants the choice between the two players. And the Giants went with Schmitz.
Full disclosure: I was not a huge JMS fan in the draft process. I thought he was super solid all around, but he wasn't really impressive to me, there weren't a lot of overwhelmingly positive reps or traits in my eyes. I thought he was maybe a little heavy footed, especially in pass pro, and his testing kind of backed that up, and I didn't really see full unlocked power either.
I was probably a bit harsh on him in terms of the grade though. Like I said, he's a super solid player. There's relatively little to really complain about. He's smart, he's experienced, and he made few mental mistakes. His snaps were consistent. He is pretty strong though not crazy so. His anchor is really good, and he plays nasty and competitive, which is something the Giants are definitely looking for. It helps he had a really good Senior Bowl week too.
Was Schmitz my favorite center in this class? No. But he was for many people, and for some good reasons. Schmitz will come in and immediately start at center for the Giants, bringing the dead snap with him. If he can be the 3rd best player on this unit (behind Andrew Thomas and hopefully Evan Neal taking a step forward this year and being healthy), it'll be an immensely calming and steadying presence that should raise the OL play of the whole unit.

3.73: Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee

So you may be wondering: Who was Player X?
Well immediately after drafting Schmitz, Schoen looked around the room and pretty much said "what if we can still get ?" He decided that the price he was willing to pay was the Giants 4th round pick. And he and everybody else in the room started calling.
That included Brian Daboll, who leaned over and said "hey should I text [Rams HC Sean] McVay?" Schoen said "yeah sure go for it." And Daboll officially negotiated the Giants trading up from 89 to 73 to select Player X: Tennessee WR Jalin Hyatt
Hyatt is a really fun player to watch. The speed blows you away on tape. It's the kind of speed that even if you're not throwing it to him all the time, defenses have to take note when he comes on the field and play him differently. He's not necessarily slippery or elusive after the catch but (and I'm scared to frame it this way but I'm doing it anyway) the speed and acceleration gives him credibility there, the way that Odell was such a YAC threat on slants just getting to full speed and outrunning everyone.
He's a little high cut I think, and that leads to a little bit of trouble with crisper routes. He wasn't asked to run a very complex route tree at Tennessee, though I do think he has the skills to improve in that sense. The biggest concern for me is just how quickly we can get him up to speed beating press and playing through physicality. When he has room to work, he can beat CBs in a few ways, but NFL DBs will knock even very good WRs off their routes at times. And that follows through to contested catches.
The Giants' WR room is so crowded it's hard for me to say exactly what Hyatt's role will be starting out. The Giants started last year trying to use different WRs in different ways on a game to game basis. Then the wheels fell off obviously, with Shep, Wan'Dale, and Toney being hurt and Golladay stinking and all that. So I wonder if we see a return to that.
Hyatt can be a threat in a lot of ways, end arounds, screens, etc in addition to the obvious "go long" situations. Just how many reps he can carve out will be fun to track in training camp.

So the Giants come out of the first 3 rounds with 3 players who were commonly mocked to them at 25. Pretty good business! But let's get into day 3:

5.172: Eric Gray, RB, Oklahoma

The Giants traded away their 4th round pick to get Hyatt so they went 99 picks without making a selection.
Like I said earlier, the team has been looking for a compliment to Saquon Barkley for a long time, and they find it here with Eric Gray.
Schoen said he sees Eric Gray as a 3 down back. And you can definitely see why. He caught 88 passes over the last 3 years at Oklahoma and only dropped 2. He's also strong and physical, willing to pass protect. That physicality carries over into his running style, he runs hard and is willing to run through guys. He's bursty in short areas and has pretty solid vision in my opinion.
He's a compact guy, just 5'9 207. He's not super slippery or elusive, and he's not really a home run hitter. But in terms of finding a backup RB on day 3 to feed some of those tough yardage carries to and keep Saquon fresh, you could do worse than Eric Gray for sure.
The Giants ran a fair bit of "Pony" type formations in 2022, using 2 or even 3 RBs at times. The competition between Gray and Matt Breida for the true RB2 spot will be fun to see. Breida brings a little more explosiveness to the table, but Gray will certainly give him a run for his money. And depending on what happens with Saquon Barkley's contract situation, we may see even more of Gray down the line.

6.209: Tre Hawkins, CB, Old Dominion

When asked about what is different this year from last year, what improvements or what has gotten easier now that he's been in the chair for a full year, Joe Schoen talked a lot about really getting a good handle on what his coaches look for in players. And he singled out Wink in that respect because him and Daboll have worked together so much.
The Giants selection of Tre Hawkins really highlights that. Like with Deonte Banks, Hawkins brings a ton of physical traits. He tested through the roof. He has the length that the Giants look for. He's also super physical in both phases, run and pass, which Wink loves. ODU let him just play press man, so he's comfortable doing that.
He's a little slim still, so his frame needs some reworking, but that's common with CBs and especially ones from outside the P5 schools. He also has a lot of technique and FBIQ stuff to clean up. His footwork is messy, he's not always patient enough with his punch. His ball skills still leave something to be desired. He's still learning to read routes and manage space both in man and zone.
I figure Hawkins will come in and be a depth player and core STer for the Giants. If his play strength holds up against NFL scrutiny, he can definitely be a day 1 punt gunner. Wink has started calling Jerome Henderson the best DB coach in the league, so it'll be fun to see what Henderson can do with a ball of clay like Hawkins. Even if he ends up just being a STer and CB5 type guy, that's still a pretty good pick in the 6th round like this.
Also, sorry Patriots writer :)

7.243: Jordon Riley, DL, Oregon

Beating a dead horse at this point, but this is another pick Schoen highlighted as an example of his understanding of what Wink is looking for.
Obviously Riley is a flawed prospect, it's the 7th round. He was a 6th year senior who spent time at 4 different schools, starting at UNC, then going to JUCO for a year, then Nebraska for 2 years where he barely played, and finishing his college career at Oregon. PFF lists him as having just 534 career snaps in college despite the 5 years he spent at the P5 level. He wasn't very productive, partly because he barely played and partly because he's just not very good. He's not a good athlete.
What Riley does have, though, is size, strength, and knockback power. And that's what Wink is looking for in a depth NT. He eats blocks, stuffs up lanes, and just is hard to move.
Schoen put it this way:
"It’s hard to find these guys. When you get into the seventh round, you are looking for guys that maybe it will be hard to get at different areas. And another guy we spent time with, big run stopper in there, 6-foot-5, 330.
You walk out to practice, and there’s this 6-5, 330-pound guy, who piques your interest right there. Again, some of these guys in different schemes may not have the production, the tackles, the sacks. But for what Wink looks for in terms of size, length, knock-back — he possesses those traits.”

7.254: Gervarrius Owens, DB, Houston

Last pick in the draft and the Giants go back to the DB room. They took two CBs already, but some depth/developmental guys at safety would help. Enter: Gervarrius Owens.
Owens is a former CB turned S from Houston. The CB in him flashes to me on tape, I thought his ball skills as a safety were good. He's athletic enough to play pretty much any safety spot, including that single high spot that teams find difficult to fill. He's super physical and willing to play downhill and tackle. He's super experienced, he was a team captain and 4 year starter for Houston.
He makes a lot of mistakes, however. The angles he takes to the ball in both phases are super inconsistent. He missed a ton of tackles in college, so that technique needs to be worked on. The ball skills turned into PBUs rather than INTs; Wink won't mind that but some of them were like "he really should have just caught that."
Owens is another guy like Hawkins who looks primed to earn his roster spot on special teams and provide solid depth for the team's DB room. Wink likes to play 3+ safety sets, especially when he feels like he has a good group there. And the Giants' S room right now is basically Xavier McKinney and a bunch of question marks, so it's entirely feasible that Owens can come in and beat Dane Belton, Jason Pinnock, and Bobby McCain to earn playing time early on.

UDFAs

The Giants UDFA class included a few notable names. 5 total players who got 100k+ in guarantees:

1. Bryce Ford-Wheaton, WR, WVU: The Giants gave Bryce Ford-Wheaton a LOT of guaranteed money for a UDFA: 236k, which is the full season PS salary plus 20k. BFW was one of "my guys" this year I was hoping for the Giants to get. He's got the size and athleticism to be really good, but he's a little one note right now. In a crowded WR room, I kind of doubt he'll make the roster without some injuries (or Wan'Dale/Shep being on PUP) but like other late rounders/UDFAs, if he can find some value on special teams, he's a fun upside swing.
2. Dyontae Johnson, LB, Toledo: Another guy who got a lot of guaranteed money. The Giants needed some reinforcements at LB and clearly didn't find them in the draft. Super productive in college, very instinctive player, but I'm not sure if he can run with the league. He'll compete with the Giants mishmosh of LBs to play on special teams.
3. Ryan Jones, TE/FB, East Carolina: The Giants have been searching for a kind of H-Back type for a while now. Last year they brought in Jeremiah Hall from Oklahoma, that didn't stick. Andre Miller, who was a WR at Maine, seemed like he was getting run at that spot in camp last year, but a broken arm ended his season. Chris Myarick ended up taking some of those reps. Ryan Jones kind of fits that mold as well.
4. Habakkuk Baldonado, EDGE, Pittsburgh: The Giants' pass rusher depth is...not great. Behind Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari, it's Jihad Ward, Oshane Ximines, and Tomon Fox. And Ojulari missed a lot of time last year. Baldonado could potentially come in and earn a spot over Ximines/Fox. He's got good play strength and power and fits what the Giants would need as more of an edge setter and run defender to give Thibodeaux/Ojulari a rest rep before letting them loose to rush the passer.
5. Gemon Green, CB, Michigan: Another tough and physical corner. I don't think there's really a spot for him on this roster with the additions of Banks and Hawkins, and I think he's not quite the athlete the Giants look for at CB, but as a last resort/STer he can potentially get somewhere.

Final Takeaways

I did this last year because it was Schoen's first year here, but I like the idea of doing it every year. What can we learn from the way Schoen drafted this year that we can file away and learn for the future? What can mockers learn from this to inform them of who makes sense for the Giants.
And it's pretty similar to last year:

1. Athleticism. Once again, pretty much every player the Giants drafted, and the UDFAs generally, were excellent athletes who tested well. The main exceptions being JMS (who was still a solid athlete) and Jordon Riley this year; where the exception last year basically was just DJ Davidson. This team has faith in its coaching staff and wants to give them players they can work with.
2. Scheme/Roster Fits. I talked about it a lot with the defensive picks, but every single one is a "Wink Martindale" guy. What does Wink want for his system? This can be a little dangerous considering Wink was in the running for a HC gig last year, and another strong year might finally get him the HC job he has been looking for. If he leaves and the scheme changes, these players need to be able to match the new scheme too. But it's clear that the FO values the input of the coaching staff and there's really clear communication there. This also applies to the offensive side of the ball, where it's super clear that the team wanted more speed on offense, which pointed to Hyatt a little bit.
3. Youth. This one is a little less applicable this year as they did draft a few older players, like JMS and Riley, even Eric Gray who turns 24 in November or Tre Hawkins who turns 23 over the summer. But Banks just turned 22, Jalin Hyatt will turn 22 in late September. It feels like maybe they felt more attached to the age stuff when they thought this was a full on rebuild, but now that they're hoping to be a playoff team again, they need some more instant contributors.
4. Aggressiveness/willingness to trade. This is a newer one, as last year the Giants only traded back. But this year the Giants traded up twice, giving up 3 day 3 picks in the process. Schoen is not afraid to make trades in either direction. Up to secure guys he really wants (Banks/Hyatt), or down if there's nothing there. Schoen talked about having trades lined up in both directions with the first round pick, he had a trade down ready if there was no one he wanted left.

The Giants went into the 2022 draft clearly rebuilding, 5 picks in the top 81 and making 11 selections. This year, the team came into the draft with 10 picks and came out with just 7. Clearly the team thinks the depth is improving and wants to focus on building the championship contender they are looking to be.

31M 5'6" 155lbs Asian No drugs some alcohol no medical issues except ringworm infection
I've been battling a ringworm infection and wanted to kill the fungus using a 10% bleach solution. In hindsight I think the water from my bathtub would be hot enough to kill it without bleach, but I didn't think of it at the time.
I think I made a huge mistake by using very hot water (from the bathtub) instead of cold water. I soaked 9 cups hot water with 1 cup bleach, and let it soak for 15 minutes in the bathroom with the exhaust fan on. When I went to dump it out, the chlorine smell was pretty strong. I tried not to breathe it in, but definitely did breathe in some of it.
I thought the gas would be gone after dumping out the bleach, but it occurred to me a few hours later that I should open some windows.
I don't feel anything acutely, but did I cause long-term damage to myself?

Can someone that purchased Bionic Turtle's package for FRM part 1 2023, check and tell me the number of tests it has for a particular chapter?(let's say chapter 11 of Quant, non-stationary time series)
I have the 2020 package, I was wondering if it's worth it to pay 400$ to get the updated 2023 version?

Quiet week for new music, but here is this week's post nonetheless, feel free to comment anything I missed and I will add it up into the post:
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For my fellow Spotify users please checkout my playlists, I update them throughout the week as new releases come out:
https://open.spotify.com/use31vaskecpuaa2umvuorlfq5devg4?si=bf13c7ab7c574eac
​
Pop Punk:
Weatherworn - Happy Accidents (EP)
The Carolyn - Harmful History (EP)
Midnight Kids - Four (EP)
Grant Kemp - GK (EP)
Jimmy Eat World - Telepath (Single)
PUP - How To Live With Yourself / Smoke Screen (Singles)
Calling All Captains - Unlike Me (Single)
Bowling For Soup - 1985 - BFS Version (Single)
The Maine - blame / how to exit a room (Singles)
The Front Bottoms - Punching Bag (Single)
YUNGBLUD - Lowlife (Single)
jxdn - Elevated Heartbreak (Single)
Boy Destroy - Weak (Single)
Sounds & Scenarios - Pink Lighter (Single)
Ali Reyis - Texas Heart Shot Everything (Single)
The Dangerous Summer - Come Along (Reimagined (Single)
Thru It All - superstitions (Single)
Story Untold - Remedy (Single)
Still Talk - St. Banger (Single)
Pushing Veronica - FORGET YOU (Single)
ROST - Lost Boy (Single)
Acid Snot - Amsterdam (Single)
McFly - Power To Play (Single)
​
Other (Metalcore, Rock, Alternative etc)
DOUX - NU BALANCE (Album)
Slipknot - Adderall (EP)
Glass Casket - Glass Casket (EP)
Gloomchild - Those Who Are // Not Washes Away (EP)
Anberlin - Lacerate (Single)
Slow Joy - Wildflower (Single)
Craig Owens - Baby, You Wouldn't Last A Minute On The Creek (Single)
Underoath - Let Go (Acoustic) (Single)
Teenage Wrist (feat. Softcult) - Still Love (Single)
IMMERSE - Everything (Single)
alt. - FRIENDINTHEDARK (Single)
Cemetary Sun - Heart of Stone (Single)
Off Road Minivan - The Breakdown (Single)
Outloved (feat. Ocean Sleeper) - Tourniquet (Single)
XO Armor - Isla [Nublar] (Single)
Colony Collapse - Frozen (Single)
CROSSED HEARTS - RIGHT NOW! (Single)
Black Stone Cherry - What's Love Got To Do With It (Cover)
Dirty Heads (feat. Monsieur Perine) - Island Glow (Single)
Last Ditch (fea.t Boundaries) - ROT (Single)
Wolves At The Gate - Heathens (Cover)
Ghost Heart - Transatlantic Motor Tongue (Single)
Thirty Secodns To Mars - Life Is Beautiful (Single)
What Lies Below - Lunarhaze (Single)
Straight Shot Home - Developer (Single)
noahmadethiss - In The Absence of Passion (Single)
Elyne - DOOMED TO DISSAPPEAR
Present - Kill the Moth (Single)
Rain City Drive - Cutting it Close - Reimagined (Single)
Throw The Fight - Lost Without You (Single)
Shadow of the Throne - Hear Yourself (Single)
Oaths - Lights / Before I Fall (Singles)
Lies We Sold - Cracked Open (Single)
Main-de-Gloire - Can You Feel My Heart (Cover)
Novumora - Good Grief! (Single)
Jonathan Young - Kiss the Girl (Single)
Lost in Prague - Siren Song (Single)
Alive In Stone - Midnight Angel (Single)
Echoes - Decode (Single)
Ludo - all the things i should let go (Single)
Skywalker - Headspace (Single)
Seeing Things - Switchblade (Single)
Nik Nocturnal (feat. For The Fallen Dreams) - Devour (Single)
Darknet - pulse... [flatline]
​

M.
The first time that we hung out, you asked me if I had any relationships that I would like to erase with the procedure used in the movie, “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.” At that point, I hadn't. Now, I have. Ironically, that relationship for me is the one I had with you.
Today is your birthday. I have debated whether I should message you to let you know that I’m thinking of you. I know that you have had a difficult year and a half or so and I have a lot of compassion for you, but I also need to have some compassion for myself. I am going to practice compassion for myself by keeping that door closed and refraining from sending you a message today.
I am letting go of you today. I’m tired of wondering whether our relationship ever meant anything to you or whether you were just trying to get over your ex- fiance. We had some good times together, but ultimately our relationship made me feel inadequate and unworthy of love. I'm done feeling that way. The love that you still have for your ex that prevented you from being emotionally available for me is your cross to bear, not mine.
I know that you try your best to be a good guy and I have no hard feelings towards you. I hope you’re having a great birthday. I hope you're surrounded by people who care for you. I wish the best for you.
Goodbye,
E.

I'm very disappointed in myself and Apple Notes. I don't know if it was me, or the app that lost my note data somehow, but this is the second time it happened, and the worse loss, so I need to find another note taking solution.
The first time, I had been working in a note, and somehow I highlighted the entire thing, in a hurry, not paying attention, deleted it. Could not find a way to get it back. It wasn't a big problem, but scared me to find out there wasn't a way to get a backup version of the note. So, I reminded myself to be more careful.
Recently, I had been taking a note related to a real estate transaction, closing day I was in and out of the note all day. I granted my wife access because I wanted her to be able to access the information. I always make a habit of clicking the done button whenever I finish writing a note to save it, and then close the app, and I always click the button on side of phone so the screen is locked before I put it in my pocket just to make sure nothing is accidently done.
I opened my phone at dinner, and went to open the note, and it wasn't there! I quickly realized that at the top of the list was an empty "New Note" that was shared with my wife. I asked her about it, thinking maybe she deleted it somehow, she said she hadn't even opened it up as she did not know that I had shared it with her. I went to my iPad to see if I could capture it, I opened the note, and the data immediately disappeared when it automatically synced. I didn't even have time to take a screenshot. I could not find any way to find any versioning of previous notes so at least I could find stuff saved previously. Nothing. All gone. I was crushed.
So, now I'm on the hunt for a new Notes app. One that I can use across my windows PCs and Apple products that has the ability to backup previous versions. I will cruise this sub and see what people have previously suggested to try and catch up with what's being recommended.

Hi, I accidentally made a mistake and booked 3 seat reservations for Paris > Amsterdam on the wrong date, August 17, as I was meant to book August 13.
I used the Eurail/Interrail Seat Reservation Service, however, when I click 'Change Reservation' it prompts me with: "Non-changeable. Unfortunately, this railway carrier doesn’t allow us to change this reservation. If you still need help, feel free to contact us." Is there anyway I can change this reservation?
I have opened a support ticket with Eurail but I don't have much hope. This cost $111USD so I'm a bit annoyed at myself rn.

My son is 10 months old and I’ve only been able to trim his nails a handful of times because he absolutely refuses to let me hold his hands or feet to file them. I have one of those battery operated nail files so luckily we haven’t had any injuries from nail trimming attempts but I couldn’t even imagine trying to clip his nails with actual nail clippers. He probably would’ve lost a finger by now since he doesn’t sit still. How do you all do it? People always comment on how sharp his nails are but I literally can’t get close to trimming his nails. Any advice would help, TIA!

But I'm writing a Dead Space fan story called Dead Space: Struggle, which is about an engineer on the USG Ishimura before and during the outbreak. I'm posting this here so I can get a lore check, to make sure it's pretty lore accurate. Something I especially would like checked out is about the tram and the malfunctioning door. I wrote those parts in to explain the broken tram and door in the first game (I don't remember if they ever actually explained it). This is going to be a four chapter story on Archive of Our Own. Here it is:
Chapter One: Distressing Atmosphere
The engineering deck was eerily quiet. A little to quiet for Stevens, who was an engineer on the USG Ishimura. As Stevens was working on a light, he mumbled, "I'm not no damn electrician,". Then he heard something behind him, which sounded like heavy footsteps.
"Hey Stevens, Temple said he needs you." a voice said.
The voice was unexpected, which scared Stevens and caused him to jump off the ladder. "Jesus, Colt! I could've killed myself!" he yelled at his fellow engineer standing behind him.
"Sorry, Stevens. But Temple said he needs someone qualified to check the fuselage, and everyone else is doing other things." Colt said, apologizing to Stevens for scaring him. Stevens then finished fixing the light, then put the ladder away. He followed Colt to the Ishimura's fuselage, to make sure it was running correctly while the ship was doing a planet crack on Aegis VII. They'd arrived only a couple days earlier, but were able to start the planet crack fairly quickly. As Stevens inspected the fulselage, the lights inside the room flickered.
"What the hell?" Stevens asked Colt, who was standing right beside him.
"Ain't sure, but it's definitley creeping me out." Colt replied, wondering the same thing. As Stevens finished the inspection, the lights flickered again. "Jesus, power's fluctuating everywhere." Colt stated as he checked the power to the ship. "Wonder what Temple and the chief are doing."
As soon as the both of them were done talking, they proceeded to walk to the main room of the engineering deck, where another engineer was sitting and inspecting monitors.
"Hey Robinson, what's with the power fluctuations?" Stevens asked as they entered the room.
"I dunno, been happening here too." Robinson responded.
"Alright then, we're heading to the bridge to check it out." Colt told him. Then, Stevens and Colt walked out of the room and headed towards the tram station for engineering. When they got to the tram station, they passed second engineer, Jacob Temple, on his way from the tram.
"Hey, Temple." Stevens and Colt both told Temple.
Jacob nodded in response, and continued to walk to the engineering deck. As the two engineers entered the tram, they were met by a crew member onboard.
"They've brought it onboard," the crew member was saying to himself.
"Brought what onboard?" Stevens asked.
"The holy relic, which will bring about our convergence!" the crew member replied.
"Fucking unitologist," Colt muttered to himself, "How come ya'll can't just leave your religious bullshit at home?"
As Colt finished talking, the tram stopped moving. The lights also flickered and turned off.
"What the hell?" Stevens asked. Stevens proceeded to check where they were. Coincidentally, they were right infront of the tram repair station, but not close enough to the flight deck station. Then, out of nowhere, there was a thump from the top of the tram. Colt looked up at the ceiling of the tram, wondering what it was. As Colt looked at Stevens, something burst through the ceiling.
"Take my body! Make me whole!" the crew member yelled as whatever fell through the ceiling proceeded to slaughter and kill the crew member. As it was doing that, Stevens and Colt were trying to pry open the door. When they finally opened the door, the creature started to attack them.
"Get the hell out of here!" Colt yelled to Stevens, as he pushed him out of the tram. The last thing Stevens would know of his friend, was his screams as the creature impaled him and pulled him into the tram.
Stevens hit the floor with a loud thump, and instinctivly got up and ran. As he ran, he saw the door which led to the tram repair station and tram station. He decided to make a run for it and got through the door. When he got through the door, he hit the control panel, causing the door to malfunction and erratically open and close. When the creature got to the door, it turned away and jumped into a vent in the floor. Stevens wondered what the hell was going on, and collapsed to the floor, thinking about Colt. He then got up and decided to make his way to the bridge, whichever way he had to.

My old boss, who I only worked with for 6 months, left the company for another job. He emailed me the other day asking for me to send him a POA I drafted a few months ago. I don’t think this is appropriate? I no longer work for him and I’m a little ticked off at the idea of sending someone my work for them to update it and pass off as their own. This guy was a major micromanager and I wasn’t upset when he announced he was leaving the company. So it’s not like we have a close personal relationship or anything. I also don’t need him as a future reference, as I have plenty of other folks I could use.
I also feel like if I send it to him, what’s to stop him from asking me for other docs I’ve drafted? I would never, ever ask an ex-colleague to send me something that I could update and pass off as my own work. I could see maybe reaching out to get a mutual contact’s email address or phone number, but basically asking someone to do their job for them seems way over the top to me. What do ya’ll think? Am I overthinking this?