So, I have an out-of-state driver's license that expires early August 2023. RMV appointments are booked out plus they are like $115 to get that new license. If I don't get an appointment to open up before August, my license will expire which might mean I have to retake the road test which I do not want to do (please correct me if that's wrong). I was trying to rush and get a REAL ID because of the new flying enforcements but found out it got pushed to 2025 (again lol) so now I'm not in any hurry.
I'm thinking about just renewing my out of state license (it's online, they'll mail to me, I can use my parents address and it costs like $36). I didn't bring my car up here so I don't actually use it to drive unless I'm flying to visit family in other states.
My question is would renewing my out of state license affect my residency stuff with taxes and all that? Cause this past tax season I had a bunch of states for taxes and I'm not trying to do that anymore. Do I have to have an MA license to be considered a permanent resident?
Just for context I'm a grad student who has lived here since August 2022 and is going to be here for four more years at least.

Decided to rank the NBA cities that used to have teams by how much they deserve an expansion team again. There are a surprisingly large number of teams here. My criteria was

• City size
  
• Prior team history/story
  
• If the city/state has another big sports team already
  
• If the team would be close to another NBA city
  

1. Seattle Supersonics- won a championship, went to the finals, most people agree on this.
   
2. Vancouver- Only had a few seasons before being moved, plus Canada deserves another NBA team so they're not all rooting for Toronto. West Coast/East Coast rivalry would be cool even though 90% of Canadians live in the East.
   
3. Baltimore- Baltimore won a championship in 1950 and the team doesn't even exist anymore. I think by NBA rules if it came back it'd be able to claim that championship which would be cool.
   
4. St. Louis- St. Louis also won a championship before they moved to Atlanta. Plus the city lost the Rams in 2015 so adding another sports team might ease the pain.
   
5. Rochester- Rochester is the smallest of the theoretical New York teams but it did have a pretty long history with the Kings and they even won a title. .
   
6. Omaha, Nebraska- Nebraska doesn't have a major sports team so it'd be neat to get one there.
   
7. Pittsburgh- Pittsburgh is on the other side of the state from Philly which would make for a neat rivalry for their insane fanbase.
   
8. Cincinnati- Also on the complete other side of the state from the other sports team in the state, the Cleveland Cavaliers. I'd put it higher on the list if it wasn't from the cursed sports state of Ohio.
   
9. San Diego- California doesn't really need another NBA team but San Diego lost a team twice which has to sting.
   
10. Kansas City- Kansas City is already home to a popular NFL team and Missouri doesn't have an NBA team despite having had one for over a decade previously.
    
11. Tampa Bay- Florida already has a couple NBA teams (though it is a pretty large state) and their history with the NBA was short and very weird so I put it further down on the list despite the city's large population.
    
12. Buffalo- Buffalo has an entire team planned back in the 40's when the league was getting off the ground which got cancelled after being approved. Then they lost a team to San Diego. Ouch.
    
13. Tri Cities, Illinois/Iowa- Now the Quad cities, while they don't have the largest population it'd be cool to have a team officially represent multiple cities and states.
    
14. Providence, Rhode Island- Would be kind of cool to see the smallest state get a team.
    
15. Syracuse- Would be cool to have a NBA team in the same city as the national champion basketball team.
    
16. New Jersey- Only reason this one is so far down is because the team barely moved when they went from NJ to Brooklyn anyway.
    
17. Fort Wayne Indiana- The city already has a G-league team there, why not add a regular team?
    
18. Waterloo, Iowa, Waterloo isn't a big city but Iowa doesn't have a big sports team anyway so hell with it.
    
19. Sheboygan, Wisconsin- This is a really small city (about 50,000 people) already pretty close to another NBA team, the Milwaukee Bucks.
    
20. Anderson, Indiana- Anderson is a really small city (55,000 people) very close to Indianapolis already, would be pretty awkward.
    

Thoughts? Did I miss anything?

Last winner: 6/8 vs. Chicago Cubs: Reid Detmers picked up his first win of the year, transforming into the pitcher we all knew he could be for a 5.2 inning, one run, and 8 K effort in the 3-1 powered by a massive Jo Adell homer. But who contributed most on this stressful night?
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I just hope that people see this post, that they might start spreading the news before it’s too late. Something big is coming, something ancient, something older than any of us could have ever imagined. It might be too late. I don’t know what will become of me, of the people I love that I might never see again, by the time you are reading this. But I implore you to listen and take this story seriously, because it could save your life. Or not. I don’t know yet how deep this goes. If it’s true, if what I think is true…God help us. Nothing can save us now.
I’ll start at the beginning, because you need to understand how long this has been happening, and the implications of what is possible now that it’s getting worse. Over winter break, I went to visit my friend from high school, Jackson, in Vermont. He goes to Bennington College, studies Social Sciences with a minor in Linguistics. Smart guy. He used to write my papers for me in English class, and I would pay him back in six packs. That’s always how it was: him, studious and put together, and me itching to get outside. I was constantly on the move, biking through the forests behind my house, trail-running, building a treehouse for my little brothers, you name it. I wanted to get my hands dirty, get into nature. I guess that’s why I opted out of college, and went for camp counselor positions and summer gigs until I secured a conservation job with a park near home. Nature is important to me, and I want to do my part as the generation that has a responsibility to heal the world.
The outside was what called me to Bennington, aside from the fact that I missed my best buddy. I don’t remember when it was first brought to my attention, but I became aware of murmurings of Bennington’s rocky past online about a few months before I was set to visit Jackson. Being an experienced outdoorsman, I wasn’t afraid; on the contrary, I was rather excited to get out there and prove my worth to Jackson and his college buddies, who were far less athletic than I am. Looking back, I’m kicking myself for being so cocky. I can’t believe I ever thought of my best friend in that way.
From what I could see on the internet, Bennington College’s history was a long and often sinister one. There were videos about people vanishing into thin air: a girl wearing a red parka went for a hike alone and was never found, an experienced man leading an outdoor expedition disappeared in the woods, a woman fell into a stream, doubled back to the campsite to change her clothes, but never made it to the site, a man on a bus disappeared from the vehicle at a stop but left all of his luggage, a teenage boy was waiting in his mother’s truck and when she came back, he was mysteriously gone…I wish I could say these stories deterred me from poking my head somewhere where it didn’t belong.
Instead, I only grew more curious. What was going on in this so-called “Bennington Triangle?” I was in a unique position to investigate this phenomenon for myself. Many people hear about strange occurrences and the intrigue piques their interest, but they never have the chance to see it for themselves. But I could. I knew I could hold my own out in the wilderness—it was literally my job! Besides, I was a strong, slightly stubborn young man, built steadily, and I could protect myself well. What could possibly happen to me out in those woods, much less to a group of young college-aged men? The people who went missing most likely made one fatal mistake that cost them their lives, or maybe it was all just a big coincidence. Either way, I was about to find out for myself.
It was halfway through December when I left to meet up with Jackson. I got there on the last day of classes, and Jackson told me he would be busy until later in the day. I assumed he was cramming for a final, and I told him it was no big deal, I would meet up with him and maybe meet some of his buddies later. Besides, I had some plans of my own.
The most famous missing persons case in Bennington went cold, and is still unsolved to this day. The case is a tragic one, and I didn’t want to be insensitive by going around asking for information or throwing around names. Everything I needed, I found online. Paula Welden was the name of the girl in the red parka that went missing. Allegedly, she left campus one day to go on a hike by herself. She left the campus around 3pm and hitchhiked to an entrance to the Long Trail, a trail that runs for almost 300 miles from Massachusetts all the way to the Canadian Border. She wasn’t dressed to be outside for long, but as the story goes, she never made it back from the trail.
There was one sighting of her, however, that particularly interested me. A man reported that he had seen her running around, rather erratically, in the bottom of a gravel pit near the entrance to campus, and I wanted to see if there was anything left of the pit. Because I’m experienced with many different kinds of natural phenomena, I initially wondered if there wasn’t a natural explanation for her distressed behavior. I thought maybe there might be an insect nest or an infestation of small animals at the bottom of the pit that she might have disturbed, so I decided to check it out in my free time.
After the RA checked me in and I tossed my luggage into Jackson’s dorm, I packed a small backpack with essentials: water, sunscreen, energy bars, mini first aid kit, some rope, a utility tool, a flashlight, and a lightweight jacket. Then I headed out towards the pit.
The first thing I noticed was how much smaller the pit seemed. According to the eyewitness description of the incident, Paula was running up and down the side of a deep gravel pit, but what lay in front of me now was something much more shallow. I walked down into the center of what was left of the pit, but I could easily see over the edges. The small, dark fragments of rock crunched and ground together under my hiking boots, and the slowly sinking midday sun bounced off of the remnants of white snow around me. It was an unusually sunny day for winter, and the snow was, curiously, letting up for my visit. But the good luck for me ran out here—there seemed to be nothing to investigate at this location. My hopes of finding any evidence of insect or pest infestation that could have disturbed the girl were dashed, maybe buried several feet underground.
I lingered awhile, kicking at the bits of gravel in the small pit. I watched the small rocks scatter over the rest of the gravel, hitting up against the edge of the pit and rolling back down a few inches. I turned to go, but stopped. Maybe it was a trick of my eye, the sun reflecting harshly off of the snow and glinting in my sunglasses, causing me to not see clearly. I walked to the edge of the pit and kicked some more gravel at the side. The small rocks skipped across the uneven surface of the gravel pile, and scattered up the edge of the pit, farther than gravity should allow them to travel. I kicked more, and it happened again. My heart started beating faster.
I crouched down and picked up a small stone. I rolled it gently across the gravel, softly enough that it started to slow when it reached the incline of the side of the pit. I watched, astounded, as the rock slowly rolled uphill about a foot before coming to a stop. I gave a shout of excitement and jumped to my feet.
As I stood up straight I nearly fell back down. In an instant, my hearing seemed to go and I felt an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia. I spun around, thinking someone must be behind me, messing with me, but the sensation of closeness stayed pressing at my back. I spun around again, searching for an explanation. My head was fuzzy. I heard my footsteps, overwhelmingly loud, and I couldn’t hear anything else, almost as if my range of hearing was limited to my immediate surroundings. Like I was trapped in the pit. As soon as those words flashed through my head, the claustrophobia overwhelmed me, pushing up against the very air around my body. The silence built up inside my ears until all I could hear was my muffled footsteps, my desperate breathing, and the blood rushing faster and faster through my body.
I lunged for the edge, clambering up the side as fast as I could. Instantly upon passing over the edge the sounds of the late afternoon bore down on my ears. I stumbled and covered my ears, the chirping of the birds and rustling leaves almost too loud for me to bear.
It’s not that I was scared. Obviously, I was a little shaken up. As I hastened back towards Jackson’s dorm, I tried to rationalize what had just happened to me. Maybe I hadn’t drank enough water and I simply became dizzy. Maybe it was altitude sickness. Maybe a strange bug had bitten me and I temporarily lost my bearings. Nothing quite made sense. I tried to push it from my mind and focus on having a good first day, because soon I would be meeting Jackson’s college buddies.
When I got back to the dorm, Jackson was waiting for me. Fresh from the shower, his hair was damp and he was putting on a clean t-shirt. Pulling me into a hug, he expressed his excitement over my visit, asked me about my flight, what I thought about the campus—all the preliminary niceties. Internally, I breathed a sigh of relief. Even if he noticed, he didn’t pry and try to ask me about my slightly shaking hands, my pale face, or the vague disconnectedness with which I answered his questions.
That night eased my worries slightly. I ended up meeting Jackson’s group of friends and, together, we ventured into downtown Bennington. We hit a few bars and chilled at some of the many breweries in town. Live music, good company, and many, many beers did wonders on my nerves. By the end of the night, I had completely forgotten all about my encounter in the gravel pit. Jackson’s friends were nice guys, and I was too busy feeling proud about my best friend coming out of his shell in college. When he left, I had my doubts, but it was crystal clear that Jackson was really coming into himself at this school.
The festivities continued for the next few days: the guys were stoked to be done with their final exams and excited to connect with Jackson’s old friend, so we spent our time drinking and hanging out, bumping music and generally having a blast. It was almost enough for me to forget about one of the very reasons I was excited to be in Bennington in the first place.
It’s been a few days since that incident. I had even almost started to feel better about the whole thing. Maybe it was a mistake to poke around in old history, and maybe I should just focus on living my own life and fulfilling my own passions, working to heal nature as best as I can. But now Jackson and his friends want to go on a hike, and I’m starting to feel that same claustrophobia creeping back in. What the hell is out there, and why do I feel like I shouldn’t be messing with it?
Jackson chose the hike, not me. It was like him; he was the researcher, he was the one who looked at details, so he suggested we hike on the Long Trail. It intersected with the Appalachian Trail, and maybe I wasn’t paying attention when Jackson explained this to me, because it didn’t raise any alarms about the missing persons cases. Paula Welden went missing on the Long Trail, sure—but she wasn’t with a group of capable college guys like I was.
We packed some backpacks, crushed a beer or two for celebratory sakes, and set off on the trail. I let myself feel excited as we stomped through the trees, Jackson and his friends decked out in their matching red Bennington shirts from graduation. The hike was long. It was tedious. I don’t know when I first started noticing the weird aspects around us until about an hour in. The others didn’t pay any mind to these things, but I saw them: leaves drifting in the air with no breeze, snowflakes trapped in patches of sunlight, floating but unmoving, and that tree. It was a towering douglas fir, half-dead and reaching for the afternoon sun with bare branches. Each time I looked over my shoulder to check for hikers behind us or glanced ahead to see what awaited us, it was there. At first I assumed my eyes were playing tricks on me. After all, we had been hiking for a few hours.
Only when we stopped for a breather and Jackson pointed at a nearby stream did the weird things become too much for me. We were hiking on an incline, and we were exhausted, but when Jackson knelt beside this stream, it was flowing uphill. By then I was a little panicked. I freaked out, telling them that we needed to head back. Who cares if we hadn’t reached the halfway point yet? Was there even a halfway point? It felt like we had been walking for miles!
One of Jackson’s buddies opened up a map of the trail on his phone, and it was blank. He had service and bars, but the map was just…gone. Shocked with sudden fear, we immediately turned and headed back down the path. The sky darkened within minutes of us retracing our steps. Somehow, night was falling, despite us beginning the hike only a few hours prior. I tried to point it out, pulling Jackson aside when we slowed our pace to pass around a bottle of water. But Jackson was terrified and unfocused, and when I asked him what was wrong, we realized that one member of our five-person group was missing. How had we not noticed?
So, we made a U-turn and headed back up the mountain. Twenty minutes later, we found his torn university shirt. I turned the red fabric over in my hands, panicked and bewildered. When I looked up to scan our surroundings, I saw that same Douglas fir directly to my left. I was shocked, and the rest of the group must have noticed. We looked at each other and saw the panic rising on our faces. What the hell was happening?
I only had one goal at this point: we had to get down the mountain to call for help.
We decided to do our best to follow the trail on the way we came up, but only once daylight broke; it was difficult to make out the trail in the dark cover of the night, so I insisted it would be too dangerous. Someone could fall and get seriously injured, we could all get separated in the dark, or worse. So we did our best to hunker down and build a makeshift shelter to wait out the night, but it wasn’t easy. I can only describe the sounds we heard as otherworldly. Despite the lack of animals in the woods, nature seemed to be alive around us. The clicking of bugs kept me wide awake, but the noises were louder and deeper than I had ever heard. The baying of giant wolves, so close I imagined them coming up directly behind us. The snuffling of something in the underbrush, but from a cavernous creature larger than any moose could ever be.
Where had these animals been in the daytime? Why did it feel like they were surrounding us now?
I don’t know how I ever fell asleep, but when I awoke in the morning, the sun was beating down on us. From the sheen of sweat on my forehead to the dreadful pit in my stomach, I could tell something was horribly wrong.
When I scrambled to my feet and glanced around the area, I realized that only Jackson and I remained at our site. It was us, the clothes on our backs, and the demure amount of leftover supplies in our pockets: keys, gum wrappers, half-eaten power bars, and anything else that was ultimately unhelpful. We had been stranded on the forest floor, us against nature, as if something had swooped in from above and whisked Jackson’s friends under the pitch-black cover of the night.
I frantically took in our surroundings, peering into the bushes and pushing through thorny shrubbery. There were no tracks, no drag marks. Not even broken branches. I told Jackson we had to get out of there, and fast. I knew we needed to find the closest trailhead and book it down the mountain. Jackson ran so fast he nearly chipped a tooth on a steep hill. He was trying to keep up with me since I was faster by a long shot. All that sports stuff in high school paid off in the moment, so I almost felt bad leaving him in the dust. I called back over my shoulder to him every minute or so, making sure he was there.
He stuck with me for the most part. His t-shirt got torn by overhanging branches at one point, leaving a nasty scrape almost as red as the decimated fabric. I found myself struggling to remember if he was wearing that shirt to begin with, back when we started.
Then I decided I was losing it. It was like a fight against nature, Jackson and me against the blaring sun and sloping trail. Eventually, Jackson starts glaring menacingly at the passing scenery, cursing loudly and deliriously at everything surrounding us.
When we stumbled upon a trail marker, we barely had enough energy to celebrate. While we caught our breath, I tried to calm Jackson down. Something told me that cursing out Mother Nature wasn’t the best idea right now. Whatever was sicking the elements on us wouldn’t appreciate the nasty things he was saying about them. But he was terrified, and nothing I said could slap any reason into him. I had to lead us to safety, get us out of here.
Suddenly, I heard a sound in the distance. But unlike everything else we had heard so far, this one was man made. Jackson heard it too, and started yelling about a helicopter. He made a break off to the left, towards the sound, and I bolted after him. Somehow, he burst out into a tiny clearing.
Ripping off his red Bennington shirt, he started calling out and waving it in the air like a rescue flag. He jumped and shouted, but as the helicopter got closer, the unbelievable happened. The clearing started shrinking, tree branches reaching from either side to close the gap and obscure us from the view of the pilot. Jackson screamed in fury, cursing the forest like never before.
Then the chopper must have been lowering down towards the treelike because the wind picked up, blowing in circles around us like the blades were inches from our heads, faster and faster, more violent by the second.
The brush beneath our feet blew up in the air along with the topsoil and dead leaves, obscuring our vision. We could hear each other gasping for breath, trying to keep the debris out of our eyes and coughing. I flung my arms out into the space around me, calling for my best friend and reaching out for his hands. But then I felt something shift. The decaying leaves around me smelled stronger. The wind became more vicious. The earth trembled beneath my feet, and I thought I felt something looming above me, breathing down my neck but also looking straight into my unseeing eyes.
Then it clicked. Jackson's red shirt, the gravel pit, Paula's erratic behavior, the other missing hikers...something was picking these people off, luring them deeper into the woods where they were sure to never be seen again. Did the color red cause whatever it was to literally see red, like a sick, twisted joke? Like a giant bull in front of a matador? What kind of creature could it be? Such a stealthy hunter, a commanding presence that made man tremble at the sensation of its mere aura...I couldn't even think about it without snapping my mind.
Before the flurry of leaves and moist earth settled back onto the ground, I knew Jackson was gone. I knew the chopper hadn’t seen us and that I was on my own now. I tried not to panic as I felt like every hidden eye in the forest was staring me down, sizing me up. I took off blindly, but where to, I didn’t know. After what seemed like hours of desperately sprinting, I saw a pile of rocks in the distance. Shelter, I thought, and decided to rest there for a minute to get my wits back about me.
Then I had an idea. With what little juice I had in my phone and whatever cell service luck would afford me, I knew I had to send out a warning. For some reason, I didn’t think about myself. I didn’t think about dying, disappearing, or whatever had happened to my friends. If the nature around me would be the thing to end my life, so be it. I had decided to dedicate my life to nature long ago: to save it from my fellow man, to preserve its beauty, and to keep it out of the wrong hands, the people that wanted to use its power for evil and to bring about the harm of those around them. I know it sounds ridiculous to be thinking about when my life was at stake, but I knew it was what I needed to do.
From my makeshift hiding spot in the rocks, I began furiously typing my story with what little battery I had left on my phone. When my hands started cramping, I used the voice option. I didn’t care. I just had to get my story out there.
For an hour , I’d been trying to put it all down in words. I couldn't believe my luck, that my battery hadn’t run out yet.
I had almost gone to the end when I felt the same creeping silence begin to close in on me. It was as if the forest was falling silent around me, and that silence was racing in on all sides, but it was different from when I was in the gravel pit. There was more to the sensation this time, not just the sinking, breathless feeling and the loss of hearing.
Somewhere deep within the forest, but at the same time, only miles away, I heard an awful rumbling sound, something I’ve never heard before. Nothing like the helicopter, not even the giant animals I was convinced I had heard in the night. I can't even think of a word to describe it, but it filled me with a frantic kind of dread that I’ve never felt before. I feel it in the ground. My entire body wants to run as fast as I can, but it’s like I’m glued to the ground. I taste metal in my mouth like maybe I bit my cheek or the dirt from the wind or I bit on a rock, I spit and I can’t get it out. I’m going to open an app and copy and paste it so people can know while I still can type I’m shaking so hard they have to know.
And the smell I’m smelling it’s like fruit that’s gone ripe, but it keeps getting more ripe, a sickly sweetness that keeps building mixed with the smell of the richest earth imaginable.
This is happening now, I’m smelling this now and It’s it’s like I’m trapped under the shadow of some thing bigger something that’s taking the shadow away from the trees and I can’t see the shadow of the trees anymore and the ground around me is trembling. It’s like I can hear the trees calling out to whatever it is, that’s walking towards me or flying I can’t tell, everything is stretching and growing out towards me. No behind me above me something is coming. I’m I feel better right I feel better than I have in days or however long I’ve been out here I’m not thirsty anymore. I’m not hungry anymore. I feel fuller stronger smarter. My mind is overloading. I’m thinking of 1 million things like I don’t know if I can speak anymore it’s like, it’s like I’m fruit like I’m a ripening on the vine and this giant wings beating above me and the smell is too much I

This is Bard's Response:
​
There are many real-world examples of the positive benefits of cryptocurrency in action. Here are a few:

• Reducing transaction fees: Cryptocurrency transactions can be much cheaper than traditional bank transfers. For example, a Bitcoin transaction typically costs a few cents, while a bank transfer can cost upwards of $25. This can be a major benefit for people who live in countries with high fees, or who need to make frequent small payments.
• Eliminating intermediaries: Cryptocurrency transactions do not require a third party, such as a bank or credit card company. This can save users time and money, and it can also give them more control over their finances.
• Increased transparency: Cryptocurrency transactions are all recorded on a public ledger, called a blockchain. This makes it very difficult to counterfeit or double-spend cryptocurrency, and it also provides greater transparency for users.
• Improved financial inclusion: Cryptocurrency can help to improve financial inclusion by making it easier for people in developing countries to access financial services. This is because cryptocurrency transactions do not require a bank account or credit history.

These are just a few of the many positive benefits of cryptocurrency. As the technology continues to develop, we can expect to see even more benefits emerge.
Here are some additional examples of how cryptocurrency is being used to improve people's lives:

• In Venezuela, where the economy is in crisis, people are using cryptocurrency to avoid hyperinflation and to make international payments.
• In Kenya, people are using cryptocurrency to save money and to access financial services that were previously unavailable to them.
• In the Philippines, people are using cryptocurrency to send remittances to their families back home.

These are just a few examples of how cryptocurrency is being used to make a positive impact on the world. As the technology continues to develop, we can expect to see even more ways in which cryptocurrency can be used to improve people's lives.
​
Now my question for Buttcoin is as follows: Was anything Bard just said actually true? Because I'm 90% sure that everything Bard said was either a lie, misleading, or should have the world's largest asterisk next to it.

Hello everyone! So a little background: I’m a recent graduate with a 3.1 GPA and 2 years of research experience on top of a 1 year clinical experience internship. I didn’t get into any of the phd schools I applied to nor the fully funded masters program I applied to. I did however, get into an unfunded PsyD program at a public university ( not for-profit). They are a newer program with no outcome or internship data and accreditation on contingency. I’m having a hard time justifying the amount of debt I’ll be getting into (100k in tuition not including living costs). This has made me consider taking a year off to make myself more competitive for other funded programs. My overall goal is open my own clinic overseeing other counselors specializing in immigrant and Latinx based therapy. I have done a lot of research on psyD vs phd vs masters but it would be a lot more helpful to gain some more insight from people in the field or who have gone through a similar process as me. Any insight is helpful.
Edit: Also a big thing for me is time. I don’t want to potentially waste a year trying to be competitive for other programs and possibly not get into a program vs having already started a doctorate program.

SUNDAY 11 JUNE 2023 (GMT +7)
Atlanta United vs DC United
9th in the league and unbeaten in their last five league games (W1 D4), Atlanta United will face the challenge of 11th-place DC United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta tomorrow. The visitor has been inconsistent of late, recording 2 victories, 2 draws, and 1 defeat in their last five league games. Last time out, Atlanta steals a point on their visit to Los Angeles courtesy of a brilliant performance by their goalkeeper Brad Guzan who produced 8 saves in that game. That is their fourth draw in a row and they will be looking to get back to winning ways in this game in front of their supporters. Meanwhile, DC United manage to claim all three points on their visit to Miami to beat Inter Miami thanks to a 90th-minute winner from Christian Benteke. That is their first win in the last three league games and Wayne Rooney’s side will take confidence from that performance to try to keep the momentum going in this game. However, in the last four meetings between the two sides, it was Atlanta United who dominated with them winning all of those games. But Atlanta will be without the services of three players for this game, with Amir Sejdic, Erik Lopez, and Osvaldo Alonso on the sidelines. That injury situation is still better than their opponent DC United as they have a lengthy injury list at this moment in time, with Luis Zamudio, Russell Canouse, Luan, Mohanad Jeahze, Nigel Robertha, and Martin Rodriguez all out of action. All those leads to me backing Atlanta United to get back to winning ways in this game.
Prediction: 55 – 45
Montreal vs Minnesota United
Saputo Stadium in Montreal will host the game between Montreal and Minnesota United this Sunday. Two teams are only separated by one point in the table with the visitor Minnesota United having a one-point lead over the host at the moment. The visitor is without a win in their last three league games (D2 L1) and in their last game, they were to forced to settle for a point when they entertain Toronto at home. They even nearly lost the game if not for an 89th-minute equalizer from the substitute Kervin Arriaga. As for Montreal, they lost their last two league games but those two games were on the road. At home, they are pretty solid. They won all of the last five games at Saputo Stadium in all competitions, scoring nine goals while conceding none in the process. That positive record at home will surely breed confidence for Hernan Losada’s side and they will be determined to end their three games losing record against Minnesota United in this game. To make it more interesting, Minnesota United holds the second-best away games record in the league with 12 points collected in 9 games (W4 L5). However, they lost four of their last five games on the road (W1) and that is something that can be used to boost Montreal’s player’s morale ahead of this game. Montreal’s recent excellent record at home will be the key differential in this game where I expect the home side to claim all the three points here.
Prediction: 55 – 45
Charlotte vs Seattle
Just recorded two consecutive defeats in the league against Philadelphia Union and Columbus Crew, Charlotte FC will have another tough challenge this weekend when they entertain Seattle at Bank of America Stadium. Seattle is 5th in the league at the moment, but could only win one of their last five league games (D1 L3). In their last game, they were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Portland despite controlling 61% of ball possession. They could also only manage to produce 1 shot on target throughout the match and that is the homework for their manager Brian Schmetzer to solve ahead of their visit to Charlotte this Sunday. In the meantime, Charlotte lost four of the last five games in all competitions (W1). They also lost their last home game against Nashville where they got beaten 2-1 in that game due to the last-minute goal scored by Nashville’s player. This game will be the second meeting between the two sides at MLS and Seattle won the game in a reverse fixture last year. The home side will be without the service of Hamady Diop, Enzo Copetti, Kamil Jozwiak, and George Marks in this game as they are still recovering from their injuries. Meanwhile, the visitor will be missing their top scorer Jordan Morris and their midfielder Ethan Dobbelaere through injury in this game. Jordan Morris’ absence in this game will be a big blow for Seattle as he is their top scorer in the league with 9 goals scored from 15 appearances. Without him, Seattle will have weaker attacking forces and that is good news for Charlotte to take the initiative to attack from the beginning of the match. It will be tight but I think Charlotte will be the one to take the three points from this game.
Prediction: 55 – 45
New England vs Inter Miami
Without a win in their last six games in all competitions (D3 L3), New England will welcome the visit of Inter Miami at Gillette Stadium this Sunday. The visitor has been out of form in recent weeks but they grabbed the headline as they manage to sign the superstar, Lionel Messi. The departure of their manager Phil Neville is expected after the England man could only record five wins from 11 league games at the start of the season and then proceed to lose five straight league games. Inter Miami then turn their hope to the interim manager Javier Morales to improve their situation ahead of the arrival of Lionel Messi next month. On the other side, New England has been struggling in recent weeks, and last time out they hold NY City to a 0-0 draw on their visit to New York. Despite failing to win any of their last five games in the league, New England remains in 6th position and they will be determined to try to hold that playoff spot. There is no fresh injury concern for Bruce Arena’s side for this game and he could go with the same starting XI on their visit to New York last week. Meanwhile, Inter Miami will be missing their defender Kamal Miller as he will be serving his suspension and at the moment, he is the only confirmed absentee for them in this game. It is hard to separate these two sides at the moment and I think in the end the spoils will be shared here.
Prediction: 50 – 50
Orlando vs Colorado
Two teams in contrasting form, Orlando and Colorado, will face each other at Exploria Stadium in Orlando this weekend. The home side is unbeaten in their last five league games (W2 D3) while the visitor is failed to record a single victory from their last six league games (D1 L5). Colorado manages to stop their five games losing run in the league when they hold San Jose to a 0-0 draw at home last week. However, that point came at a cost of a red card for their player Moise Bambito and in that game, Colorado’s player Connor Ronan failed to convert a penalty in the 70th minute. Those bad moments are not an ideal momentum to help boost their confidence ahead of their visit to Orlando who in their last game, Orlando manage to record a solid 3-0 victory over New York Red Bulls. One thing really interesting from Orlando this season is that they hold the best away games record in the league but at home, they could only collect 9 points from the last 8 home games. A game against a struggling side like Colorado really presents them with a great opportunity to improve their record at home and continue their climb up the table. Moreover, they have more motivation to end their winless record against Colorado which stretches to four games in all competitions now (D3 L1). Abdi Salim and Luca Petrasso remain out for Orlando in this game while the visitor will miss Moise Bambito and Max Alves through suspension for this game. I’m expecting Orlando to continue their unbeaten with a win over a struggling Colorado side here.
Prediction: 60 – 40
Toronto vs Nashville
Nashville’s impressive run of form continues as they manage to extend their unbeaten run to seven games in the league when they record a victory on their visit to Dallas last week. An own goal from FC Dallas midfielder Nolan Morris and Hany Mukhtar’s 10th goal of the season was enough to seal their four consecutive three points in the league. Those positive run of results put Nashville 2nd in the league at the moment and they will be keen to at last stay there in the remaining games of the campaign. Meanwhile, Toronto FC themselves are currently unbeaten in their last three games in the league (W1 D2) with their last two games in the league seeing them record back-to-back draws against Chicago Fire and Minnesota United. That positive run of results put Toronto in the 22nd position in the league at the moment. Interestingly, Nashville has failed to beat Toronto in the last four meetings in the league (D2 L2). That will ultimately boost the confidence of Bob Bradley’s side ahead of this game. Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi have a combined 5 goals scored between them in the league so far and will be relied upon by Bob Bradley to attack Nashville’s strong defense that boasts the second-best defensive record in the league. It will be tight and both teams have the qualities to hurt each other here. I think a draw would be the likeliest outcome from this close contest.
Prediction: 50 – 50
DISCLAIMER:
1. This prediction content comes from a third party and is for reference only. I am not responsible for any wins and losses generated by members using these tips.

Hi! I’m currently a 23 y/o guy living in Florida with my 22 y/o girlfriend. I’ve always been intensely fascinated with Japan, namely the culture, geography, food, language, etc.
I realize that Japan isn’t always all it’s cracked up to be, but it’s been a lifelong dream of mine to move there one day. I have a bachelor’s of science in interdisciplinary social sciences, and plan to get several years of experience in medical sales / research & development here in the states. Many of the companies available to work for here also have positions available in Japan, so I’m now realizing that my dream could be feasible after 5+ years working here. My starting salary would likely be around 60-80k before commission, and has a lot of room to grow over the years. My gf also has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, but may not need to work if my salary could allow us to live comfortably.
I’m currently a beginner with learning the language, but plan to stick with it daily & hope to reach N1 / N0 within the decade (conservatively). My girlfriend is not learning it yet, but has a knack for language and would likely pick it up quickly if she’d like to learn.
We plan to eventually have kids (or adopt), though likely not for several more years.
My main question is - what would life be like for us, assuming I’d support us with a decent salary working for a western company in Japan? It might be a short-term or long-term move, depending on how we like it when we can begin making trips there.
I’m mainly interested in: how housing is for renting / buying in either Tokyo or Osaka, lower & upper schooling system for children, general cost of living for a couple / family, and overall quality of life for two white Americans living in a major Japanese city.
This is my dream, but I’d want to make sure my gf (future wife) would be happy & comfortable as well. I’m unfamiliar with how foreigners are treated, how our social lives could grow, etc.
I would greatly appreciate any tips or info, not exactly looking for specifics on moving but rather the feasibility of living there for an extended period of time. I’ve done quite a bit of research but would like to hear realistic scenarios.

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Cover Art <<Previous Start Next >>
Mordecai was simply giving into temptation with this second boss. He had wanted to save it for later development, but he also wanted to play with this idea now. And he felt that it would be a nice surprise. So for the first time Mordecai turned his attention towards the technically hostile organisms occupying a part of the dungeon.
“Wait, really? You’re going there? Ewww.” Came Kazue’s mental voice when she realized where his focus was shifting. Mordecai smiled at her response, but kept his attention on his search. He was being picky in a way, but he didn’t want to create something completely mindless. His small constructs might have very simple minds, but they did have minds.
Most of the auras he encountered were far too weak to even consider, despite the size of some of the creatures. There was a certain amount of strength developed from the mind; physical vitality alone could create large amounts of spirit but it took a mind and will to focus it and make it strong.
Of the auras that had a little something more to them, most of them tasted of little other than basic hunger. Those were not what he wanted. No, what he wanted was … there. It wasn’t much, not yet, but there was the slightest hint of curiosity, of hunger turned beyond physical satiation. That would do quite nicely. He could make an offer to a creature like that, a promise to help fulfill this new sensation. He didn’t offer safety or food, he offered stimulation and experience.
There was a sense of confusion at first, and Mordecai couldn’t be happier. If it could be confused, it could learn. The primitive proto-mind briefly stilled, then hesitantly reached back towards the connection to accept. Mordecai’s sense of the creature sharpened and solidified as it became one of his inhabitants, and he mentally grasped it to draw it to the boss room where his avatar awaited, and he opened his eyes to examine what was to become his newest boss.
A gelatinous mass of fluorescent colors shimmered in front of him. If the child-sized ooze didn’t glow slightly, he’d have considered it iridescent instead with the way its colors flowed and shifted. The surface of the creature had a texture that was constantly changing between smooth and crinkled, with occasional bits briefly becoming solid. And floating in the very center was a nearly invisible tiny sphere of crystal. “Oh, you are beautiful.” He murmured to it as he walked around and examined it. “You have the best integration of living crystal and slime I’ve seen yet. I would like to see something.” He stepped up close to it and raised his hand over its surface. “Just a quick poke. Relax and let your reflexes happen, I won’t hurt you and you can’t do any real harm to me.”
Once it acknowledged him, Mordecai used his middle finger to jab at it swiftly. The surface gave slightly before rapidly hardening against the impact and it reflexively built pressure behind that point, then as his finger retreated and the surface tension released the pressure behind that part of the surface automatically flung acid-coated shards of crystal at his hand.
Mordecai spun to the side to avoid most of it, but a few flecks still hit him. They did more damage to his sleeve than to his flesh, but a normal person wouldn’t have taken it quite so well. “Oh, I am going to be happy with you little one. I think we need to start with a name however, and then move on to enhancing you. What do you think of Klastoria?” It pulsed with a pleased-looking flash of color, and Mordecai smiled. “Then it is a pleasure to meet you Klastoria. I am Mordecai.”
“And I’m Kazue!” Announced his wife as she manifested her avatar. “Oh goddess, you are too cute Klastoria!” She practically danced in place as she squeed over the slime. “Mordecai, I want to hug her so badly! How did you find something so cute in that place?”
“Heh, I don’t recommend that just yet love, she needs to learn a bit of restraint first.” Wait a moment. “Um? Her?” He’d initially followed the gender identification before he realized what Kazue had said.
“Yep! Someone this shiny and cute has got to be a girl!” The little kitsune said, and Mordecai couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile.
“I think Zushi might have something to say about boys not being allowed to be cute.”
“Nah, he’s fluffy-cute, that’s different. Klastoria is shiny-cute and pretty like a girl.”
Mordecai decided to translate that into ‘I want her to be a girl’ more than being any sort of rule Kazue was truly serious about. He’d attribute it to youthful whim if it weren’t for the fact that he was pretty certain that a hundred years from now she’d be inclined to do the same sort of thing. He had met her mother after all. “Not a good idea just yet love. Your avatar isn’t acid resistant, and your clothes certainly aren’t.”
While they’d been talking, the little bits of crystal and acid that had hit the ground had melted together and flowed back to rejoin Klastoria. “And I have a spell that can help with that, but let me finish getting Klastoria ready first, alright?”
“Fine fine, hurry up, I want to hug her!”
It was hard to not laugh at Kazue’s eagerness as he turned his attention back to their newest boss-to-be. “Alright, looks like Kazue has decided you are going to be a girl. If you ever decide that’s not right for you, let us know. Now, we want to make you stronger and smarter, though the smarter might be a little slower to come.” Klastoria wouldn’t be able to fully understand what they were saying yet, but she would be able to remember.
He mentally grasped the available boss node and began feeding it the concept of the crystal core in the center gradually growing in size and its paths becoming smaller and more intricate. “We are going to want you to become much bigger …” he paused as a new idea came to him. “Oh wait, how dense can your crystal get?” He had already noticed that the fluid had been compressed when it turned into crystal. Oh, that should work.
“But you won’t always have to be that big. No, with a little enhancement, we can help you compact yourself into a completely crystal form. Yes, that’s going to be your focus, complete mastery of your form and the transition between fluid and solid states.” He had been thinking of focusing more on the acid attacks of a slime-type monster, enhanced with ranged attacks and crystal shards, along with Klastoria being better armored than a typical ooze-type, but this would be, hmm, not necessarily ‘better’ from an absolute sense, but more custom and unique.
Mordecai connected the boss node to Klastoria as he continued to feed in his concepts and took several steps back, motioning for Kazue to do the same. It took a moment for anything to change as all the mana began funneling in, but then Klastoria began to grow rapidly. In just a couple of minutes she grew into a sphere about 15 feet in diameter, jiggling excitedly at all the changes happening. Knowledge came as well as power and mass, and as soon as the connection was finalized she began experimenting.
The huge blob suddenly shrank, transforming into a hard, sharp-edged cube of crystal only about 5 feet across. Mordecai blinked as he ran the math, then double-checked what was happening. It took only a second to realize she’d evolved the concept into a limited version of Shape Change, allowing her to displace a portion of her mass the way many other shape-changing creatures could. But not all of it, she was still nine times as dense in this form, which was a rather intense compression. It put her somewhere in between iron and lead.
It also seemed uncomfortable based off of the emotions from Klastoria, who then began moving through a rapid series of other form-changing experiments. Most of them were manipulating her ability to shift between fluid and solid phases at will with nearly unlimited amounts of discreteness, but she was also able to shift and recall any amount of mass she needed to within her ranges.
She could form long limbs able to swing as freely as any tentacle, but could instantly harden her surface and/or interior to act like exo- or endo-skeletons, and her limbs could have any sort of surface she desired, creating almost any shape of blade or point. The hydraulic pressure that powered her limbs and gave her the ability to fire projectiles of crystallized acid also combined with her size-changing abilities to allow her to leap, and even spin or slightly course-correct by altering her density in one or more spots mid-air.
Climbing was easy too. Any sort of tree-like structure could just be grabbed and used to haul her body up, but she could also flow up walls and crawl along the ceiling by letting her body flow into the tiniest imperfections and then harden into crystal to obtain a surface-wide grip. Mordecai even created a smooth glass surface for her to try on, and Klastoria was able to figure out how to flatten her body enough that simply air pressure could hold her onto it, though she was a bit slower this way.
She couldn’t go perfectly flat though, that sphere of crystal that was the seat of her very self could not be altered. But the ability to change her form so freely gave her lots of options that she was going to be experimenting with for days. Mordecai did point out one new thing for her to try later: With her abilities, there is no reason she shouldn’t be able to drop from almost any height. In her larger form she could increase her internal pressure to just high enough to create a collapsing cushion, while if she made herself a dense, sharp cone she could fall straight into the ground or another object and force it to take the shock of her impact, the rigidity and hardness of her body keeping her from being damaged.
Kazue slid up beside him and asked in an ever-so-sweet voice. “Are you two done playing yet?”
Mordecai chuckled, then swept her into his arms to give her a lingering kiss. “Alright love, you can go hug the squishy slime. She’s learned great control now and should be able to be just soft and pliable enough.” Which honestly would be another great exercise for Klastoria, but he made sure not to mention that thought out loud.
“Yes!” Kazue flung herself at Klastoria with reckless abandon and was quick to explore other play options as the slime could also be anything from a soft cushion to sink into, to a bouncy spring to jump high in the air. Mordecai amused himself by sending some images of what Kazue was doing to Moriko, and the half-elf’s envy was tangible across their link. He doubted she would be initially quite as carefree as Kazue about it, but he didn’t doubt she would enjoy herself.
While his wife played, Mordecai set about double-checking the level and inhabitants, making sure everything tied together and worked smoothly. It would take a few days to get everyone into their routines and roles, and weeks of practice to become well-trained for this mix of terrain and style, but it would be well worth the effort.
The final step was to sweep through again and set limiters. The creatures could simply feel his intent and hold back where needed, but all the more trap-like organisms needed to have a second layer of mana woven over them to reign them in. Things were less sticky, hit softer, and were easier to break. But in exchange, he was able to apply a soft layer of vitality absorption that would increase the fatigue of dealing with the various dangers, roughly approximating how they might feel after dealing with the trap’s full strength.
It increased his overall costs for growing them by about 50%, and if he’d been trying to make them more deadly the expenditure would have failed.
Mordecai snorted. Intent indeed. He’d not thought to layer things like this, he’d grown up just knowing what his limits were on how strong he could make something based on where in his dungeon it was. He’d never tried making something strong, and then ‘waste’ mana by placing a restriction on it. A restriction he could release as needed, but his sincere intent was to only do so if he felt it was needed.
Well, that would cost them a few days at least until they had enough to push down and start the sixth floor, but that was okay. He wanted to work over some ideas with Kazue first anyway. The organization of the first five floors was fine, but despite the theming, the layout was a touch repetitive, and they were deep enough already to make brute forcing a ‘second’ entrance infeasible for most.
<<Previous Start Next >>
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Just curious. I lived in Japan for 3.5 years and worked as an ALT at a public junior high school. Over there you could take the JLPT twice a year, once in the summer and once in the winter at a nearby university. Now, by today's standards, that's not bad. Every six months is an okay way to test one's abilities.
But in the US, not sure about everywhere else but I imagine it's the same, you can only take this exam once a year. On top of that, it's only "cheap" if you live in cities it's being conducted in which are few and far between. Last time I took it, I spent like $400 on the plane ticket and at least $200 for the hotel. Add the $100 test fee and I spent nearly a grand on this fucking test.
That costs more than double what it takes to get certified for CCNA and almost costs as much as it takes to get certified in IT ABOVE that level. It's ridiculous.
Whenever I bring up the fact that this test could easily be done in a testing center people bring up cheating but I'm like okay... what cheating are people going to do that isn't done already? If they cheat on something as little as a JLPT cert how does it help them if they aren't actually that level? You can't cheat your way through a fucking conversation or job interview in Japanese for Christ's sakes.
Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks how ridiculous it is that the JLPT is conducted in this manner!

I've been a Broadway nerd for 25+ years now (obviously, since I'm in this subreddit). I've got Audience Rewards sending me emails every few weeks about BroadwayCon, and I'm intrigued but hesitant for a few reasons: 1) I don't live in the city and commute by train in if there's something I want to see, so going to the con is going to require getting up at the crack of dawn and taking the train for two hours 2) It costs HOW MUCH for a ticket? I could have seen Bad Cinderella another 4 times for the cost of the weekend pass 3) am I going to get harassed for my choice in musical theater?
3 is my biggest concern. Since March 11, I've been openly mocked and laughed at in person for quietly looking at a t-shirt in the Museum of Broadway gift shop, downvoted to oblivion for making the slightest positive comment about my current favorite show, and today I have watched people upvote the guy who wrote an article calling said current favorite show "for streetwalkers". I want to be a part of the theatre community that I know exists and I know is capable of being amazing human beings. I'm just terrified of spending a quarter of my weekly paycheck only to be harassed and made to feel terrible for liking a Broadway show. It's been damn weird and obnoxious, to be honest. I got enough of that bullying crap in high school, I for sure am not up for round two in my adult life.

Hello! I recently got my dispatch license and have 3 job offers in hand: Ravn Alaska, Republic, and Wheels Up. I'm curious if anyone here could help me with things to consider for choosing. My main goal is to get to a major ASAP.
I'm in Atlanta, so staying here with Wheels Up is appealing, but I know they've had some financial issues recently and are Part 135. They are offering the highest pay of the three. But I am definitely concerned about how volatile it may be in the near future.
Republic seems like it might be the best path towards a major. They are offering the lowest pay, even adjusting for the low cost of living in Indianapolis. I've heard great things about their training and success of dispatchers moving on to majors though.
Ravn is appealing because I think it would be pretty sweet to be in Alaska for a bit, and they are bringing in B757s and ETOPS, which would look good on my resume. Adjusted for cost of living, the pay would be slightly above Republic, but no state income or sales tax bumps it up some more.
Any insight on working conditions, or any other consideration I'm probably forgetting, at any of these places would be much appreciated.