So, as some of you may know, I had been experiencing a terrible losing streak lately, dropping games that I really shouldn't to the point that I had been 0+ 2= 5- in the past seven games. However, during the past weekend, I felt a sort of divine bout of inspiration swell up inside of me and wanted to try something new out. Of course, the very next day I find out that I'm getting a bye in the next round.
Since I'm a guy who operates on emotional state, I knew I couldn't allow this chance to cool down, so I decided to take a risk and enroll into Saturday's Quads games (G30;d5). I had the unfortunate circumstance of having a last minute entry bump me down to a lower section, which I out-ranked by a good 150 points at least, so I knew I needed at least a 2,5/3 in order to preserve my rating. A link to the study (which was requested previously when I did this) is linked here: https://lichess.org/study/fbOOHr9S/VZl1kEAa
​
Game 1: In the first round, I was paired as White against a young Indian WCM. I'm primarily an 1.e4 player, but these little rascals have been tactically outplaying me for the past several games, so I decided to change things up and went for an anti-QGD. I actually ended up messing my move orders early on, which allowed her to equalize early because I couldn't guarantee the appearance of an IQP or hanging pawns structure on the board to play off. However, she seemed to be confused by the resulting position — I noticed that young players in these situations tend to attempt to form tactics when the board is quiet, but as a result she ended up floating aimlessly. There were actually two opportunities when she could have obtained an advantage, but she missed them and we ended up going into a rook and bishop endgame. I've also noticed that kids are notoriously terrible at endgames (which as somebody raised on the Soviet school of chess I find hilarious), as she misplayed what I considered a pretty basic endgame, although she was in time trouble at this point (and so was I). I ended up securing the passer and marching it up to victory. 1-0 for me.
​
Game 2: I was playing against a young Chinese kid as Black this time around and I went for the same strategy in the English Opening: slow the game down as much as possible and not allow any tactics to be induced into the position. And even though there were some moves that the engine ultimately wasn't a fan of, I succeeded in my strategy and ended up with a small edge. I did however miss an opportunity to play a blockade in the middlegame (rapid game, what can I tell ya?) which meant he had an opportunity to secure a plus if he gave away his h2-pawn for the f3-pawn. However, he didn't notice it and went for an endgame a pawn down. However, we both were in a fair bit of time trouble at this point as well and the endgame was quite complex with each side having 5-6 pawns with a knight vs bishop. I messed up some maneuvering that I probably would have gotten on longer time controls... I'll have to work on my endgames some more so that it'd come more intuitively. However, at a moment when he had a chance to equalize, with 30 seconds on the clock, he blundered straight into a fork and instantly resigned on the spot. 2-0 for me.
​
Game 3: This time, as Black, I was against a fellow Russian player who also scored 2-0 in the previous two rounds, so as they say: the winner takes it all. We went into a fairly well-known sharp line of the Sveshnikov that is no longer played at top level anymore after Peter Leko's 12...Rg8 neutralized it. He ended up fumbling the theory badly and gave a completely winning position for Black. However, I fumbled it as well by going into the endgame with a solid edge rather than pressing the winning position. The issue being that I spent several minutes on calculation before realizing that I actually didn't have enough time to calculate all the variations of the incredibly sharp line, so I was satisfied for going to a positional plus instead. Which we both ended up fumbling a little, but I ended up breaking through with my rook on the queenside and emerging a pawn up with the king on the back rank that I exploited. He resigned as soon as he realized how hopeless his piece-down position was. 3-0 for me.
​
In conclusion, not bad, scoring a performance rating of 2369 and going from 2127 to 2173 USCF. However, there were definitely a few issues I have to work on despite the wins: the first game needs some work on opening theory and move transpositions if I want to adopt the quieter 1.Nf3 into my repertoire — I can't allow Black to equalize that easily early on. The next two games I had a bit too many fumbles in the endgame, despite their complexity, especially in the second game, which I shouldn't have pissed away like that (42...g4? was an especially sketchy move) so I need a bit more work on knight vs bishop endgames especially. The third game was fine for the most part, but could use a bit of improvement on calculation abilities and especially back rank understandings: I was actually a little confused as to what I should have done against 32.f3 if it had appeared on the board, so that was a combination deficiency right there. Other than that, I can't say that I'm not happy with the result, and hope this offsets some of the rating loss that will be incurred in the ongoing tournament.
Any suggestions and questions are welcome. :)

If I don’t pay student loan debt, or credit card debt, or whatever, what happens? I know my credit score will suck, but what else? Do I get arrested or something? Living in US

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This is not simple 😂 at all
​
But, 4 years ago my stepsons mom passed away unexpectedly. We took him to the funeral, and he wanted to spend the weekend with his brothers/aunts/grandparents, so of course, we said yes
They took that as an opportunity to kidnap him legally via a family friend, they took him across state lines, filed ex parteparted (emergency) custody. Took us a year, a dozen trips to court (2 states away) to get him back (no, they werent punished, they were heroes)
​
End result : grandpa and the family friend were each given a weekend a month plus phone calls. The friend dropped off and never popped up again. Grandpa had a few visits, then step son disclosed abuse that grandpa knew about and still let that teen babysit. We had a whole investigation launched, made sure his trauma therapist, knew about it to help him work through it.
​
Fast forward, investigation finds it founded and an additional court order us created banning this person from being around for visits. Visits resume, then covid hits, and it has a horrible effect on stepson, he ended up having a mental break, attempting to unalive himself and ended up in a mebntalmental hospital, then a treatment facility until now (2.5 years) for the first year, we had him placed at a facility 5 miles from grandpa, so he could visit. He never did. He called and demanded release for off campus visits. He did call to talk to stepson, but only to meddle in his mental health, all he would talk about is how horrible his dad and iI are, and court orders, and how he could get him out of that prison. Definitely not a prison, he needed the help, he is so much better for it.
​
Now stepson, has finally gotten to a great place mentally and is ready to come home. We have been planning a move to Texas for almost a year - and keeping him in his facility until he was ready. Our move date is in less than 60 days. At this point grandpa has not reached out, visited, sent a birthday card, or called us for a status check.
​
If we move, what are the chances that Texas will enforce this court order for a weekend a month, from an east coast state. Because that is a long way, and while we are not super limited financially, we cannot make a drive or plane trip for an unaccompanied minor every month happen. Step son has not asked or mentioned grandpa in almost a year, after he promised to visit and never came.
​
Tldr: will texas enforce a grandparent visit, for a grandparent who has not reached out in almost a year, from another state. And neither party lives or has ever lived in the state that signed this order
​
Signed a stressed out step momma.

Israeli Polls Regarding Peace with the Palestinians and a Palestinian State (jewishvirtuallibrary.org)
​
Key takeaways:
Half of Israelis support annexing the WB. A majority (37 %) support giving the Palestinians living in this territory "no more rights other than what they have now". That means no voting rights, no freedom of movement, and subject to killing and detentions on the whims of the IDF. 24% support giving them the status of residents, which is less than citizenship—for example, they would not be able to vote in elections.
When asked whether they support the establishment of an independent Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel.
49% support, 7% are unsure and 44% oppose. Very sad but very telling.
The solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict:
Support the Two-State Solution: Israeli "Arabs" 69%. Israeli Jews 34%.
Support the One-State Solution with Equality for All : Israeli Jews 14%. Israeli "Arabs" 56%.
Support to Continue the Status-Quo: Israeli Jews 42%. Israeli "Arabs" 15%.
In summary a majority of Israelis and evident by this Jewish run Poll proves that a majority of Israelis just want to keep this conflict right where it is. Jews in charge and the Palestinians left to be a permeant underclass like the untouchables of India. This is all because Israel has not paid a price for numerous violations of international law, Geneva, UN security Council resolutions, and even their own laws.

What's going on?

A recent Reddit policy change threatens to kill many beloved third-party mobile apps, making a great many quality-of-life features not seen in the official mobile app permanently inaccessible to users.
On May 31, 2023, Reddit announced they were raising the price to make calls to their API from being free to a level that will kill every third party app on Reddit, from Apollo to Reddit is Fun to Narwhal to BaconReader.
Even if you're not a mobile user and don't use any of those apps, this is a step toward killing other ways of customizing Reddit, such as Reddit Enhancement Suite or the use of the old.reddit.com desktop interface .
This isn't only a problem on the user level: many subreddit moderators depend on tools only available outside the official app to keep their communities on-topic and spam-free.

What's the plan?

On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed, since many moderators aren't able to put in the work they do with the poor tools available through the official app. This isn't something any of us do lightly: we do what we do because we love Reddit, and we truly believe this change will make it impossible to keep doing what we love.
The two-day blackout isn't the goal, and it isn't the end. Should things reach the 14th with no sign of Reddit choosing to fix what they've broken, we'll use the community and buzz we've built between then and now as a tool for further action.
What can you do?

1. Complain. Message the mods of /reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on /reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.
   
2. Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join us at our sister sub at /ModCoord.
   
3. Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support!
   
4. Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible.
   

Further reading
https://www.reddit.com/Save3rdPartyApps/comments/13yh0jf/dont_let_reddit_kill_3rd_party_apps/
https://www.reddit.com/apolloapp/comments/13ws4w3/had_a_call_with_reddit_to_discuss_pricing_bad/
https://old.reddit.com/ModCoord/comments/1401qw5/incomplete_and_growing_list_of_participating/
https://www.reddit.com/SubredditDrama/comments/1404hwj/mods_of_rblind_reveal_that_removing_3rd_party/
https://www.reddit.com/redditdev/comments/13wsiks/api_update_enterprise_level_tier_for_large_scale/jmolrhn/?context=3
edit: Open Letter regarding API pricing

I haven’t even flirted for such a long time, and lately, during those boring lunches where people just talk about heiresses’ dogs’ illnesses (a Pomeranian dog shares all her illnesses with her owner) or gossip about some technocrat who has a limp and who may be cheating on his partner, and while rice with cod is served, I am asked “darling, are you dating yet?”. No, I am not, and here I am, mostly because dating apps are too dull – unfortunately the odds of being flashed by a Jewish 19 year-old from Manchester is smaller on these things, though sometimes you might have some luck and end up being insulted randomly by a Portuguese girl, who is visiting her uncle.
I do have names, and surnames, and I was born in a big city in Brazil. My sister used to describe our childhood address as “a building with cars and trees and buildings”, which is a rather good description of much of the city. For a while I wanted to join the seminary but after having to face the fact that this was an inadequate career choice considering I didn’t believe in God and had always found masses to be awfully boring (though fascinating at times – the priest at my childhood church used to go on long rants about things, of which there are many) often turning my back to see the watch, and so I chose the next best thing: I am studying sociology, which involves, in many ways, taking a vow of poverty. I also work at a small online newspaper so I am well informed on sub celebrities and local occurrences such as babies heroically rescued by policemen after choking on the thing babies eat. And yes, I write poetry sometimes.
I am fascinated fairly often by everything, or many things, at least so you won’t be bored. These last days I ended up reading a lot of things about Egypt after reading about Ottoman chief eunuchs being exiled to Cairo after their tenure. In general, I really enjoy the humanities. I follow politics keenly – in fact, there is some chance I might have some thoughts on your country’s politics – and I’d say I am on the centre-left – pro-choice, in favour of a robust welfare state, LGBTQ+ rights, affirmative action. If you know about Brazilian politics, I voted for Marina and Haddad in 2018 (the voting age here is 16), and Lula last year.
As you can imagine, I also really enjoy reading and writing. Besides poetry, I have often thought about writing a novel, but this seems like too much work – and it seems that it would be arrogant of me to write a novel having lived this little, though it wouldn't be uncommon. I really enjoy learning about other languages and cultures and I know a bit of French, German, Spanish, and Russian, besides English and Portuguese. I’d really like to learn Arabic and/or Mandarin. I am really into genealogy, and I know quite a bit about it. I often cry while watching dumb movies (I cried during Minions!) or listening to beautiful music; my music taste has been described as “fairly gay” and in movies as “slightly gay”.
I guess I am pretty introverted, polite, and timid (well, I am on here after all). I am affectionate and I can be really passionate as well. And I am fairly funny, or rather, I have made a few people laugh over the years. I asked a close friend to describe myself, and that is what he said:

I think you’re very communicative. Shrewd, funny, a good companion. Kind of withdrawn but not necessarily shy. You avoid conflict and unnecessary arguments, but love to participate in good conversations. I think you’re very kind too, besides being polite.

As for what I want to do with my life, I am unsure though I am inclined to go into academia. I have been considering applying to a PhD program in the U.S. after finishing my undergrad here in Brazil. My family does want me to go into their business, which is related to politics. I have also considered going into diplomacy.
Who am I looking for? I’d like someone curious about the world around her, and open-minded. The rest? Cultural differences can be interesting and I am open to converting (nominally?) to most world religions.
Some poems I really like:

• Litany for our lord Don Quixote by Ruben Dario
  
• Tobacco Shop by Fernando Pessoa
  
• Ash Wednesday by T. S. Eliot
  

Some songs I have been listening to:

• Ariana Grande - 7 Rings
  
• Rosalía - Delirio de Grandeza
  
• Pescado Rabioso - Cantata de Puentes Amarillos
  

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NOTE: GERMAN TRANSLATION BELOW!
Dear Booklover,
Please, help me find literature and book related events in Köln! I've been living not too far from the city since January, but still haven't managed to find the sweetest bookspots around. Back in my hometown I've always attended various literary events like readings and author meetings, critics nights in shady pubs and all that, but since Fb events is not a big thing in Germany (based on my experience) it's harder to find and collect places to go.
So, I am basically interested in anything to know about cultural life in the city and also in the NRW. What's your favourite spot to read at? In which store or publisher house is the book selection the absolute best? Is the Literaturhaus worth a visit? Where do writers and critics go to have a beer? Tell me all about it!
(Also, it's not a problem if the events are in German, I am currently at the state of understanding way more than I can speak.)
Thank you, I really appreciate your kindness!
​
Lieber Buchliebhaber,
Bitte hilf mir, Literatur und buchbezogene Veranstaltungen in Köln zu finden! Ich lebe seit Januar nicht allzu weit von der Stadt , habe es aber immer noch nicht geschafft, die schönsten Buchspots in der Gegend zu finden. In meiner Heimatstadt habe ich immer verschiedene literarische Veranstaltungen wie Lesungen und Autorentreffen, Kritikerabende in zwielichtigen Kneipen und so weiter besucht, aber da Facebook Events in Deutschland (meiner Erfahrung nach) keine große Sache sind, ist es schwieriger, sie zu finden und sammeln, wo man hingehen sollte.
Daher interessiert mich grundsätzlich alles Wissenswerte über das kulturelle Leben in der Stadt und auch in NRW. An welchem Ort liest du am liebsten? In welchem Laden oder Verlag ist die Buchauswahl die absolut beste? Ist das Literaturhaus einen Besuch wert? Wohin gehen Schriftsteller und Kritiker, um ein Bier zu trinken? Erzähl mir alles darüber!
(Und es ist kein Problem, wenn etwas auf Deutsch passiert, da ich zurzeit viel mehr verstehe, als ich sprechen kann.)
Vielen Dank! :)

Is there away to stream live Texas Sports on an Amazon Echo? Yes - I have both the Varsity and Texas Sports app on my phone, but I'd really like to stream via my Echo...

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Hi, I am looking for fixtures in the time I stated. Can someone please tell me where I could get more information? The futbology app is not helpful unfortunately. I am from Germany.
Especially around Brussels, Gent, Brugge or Antwerpen. Thanks in advance!

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We live in the countryside and don’t have lots of kids nearby. Most weekends we do something in the morning - I’ll run and OH will take her or he’ll do sports and I’ll take her, we alternate days - go to a park, the shops, into town, have a mobile snack - then come home for lunch and nap (1-3 ish). After nap we do snack and a walk or to the park round the corner. Sometimes we go into the garden (she has a football but doesn’t really play with it for more than 2 mins, and a watering can which she loves but can make playtime very soggy), for another walk, kill time until dinner. Dinner (5-6ish depending) lasts about half an hour and I’m not usually organised enough to get ours ready to eat with her, but we sit together and talk or she watched ms Rachel.
After dinner there’s often an hour to kill (bedtime is 7:30/8 and we don’t do bath every night). She often needs some sensory play - we have floor cushions she likes to climb on and crash about, then we wind down with cars and puzzles and books. Sometimes books but she doesn’t usually have the concentration before bed. Bedtime isn’t an issue though getting her upstairs takes some creativity. I know repetition isn’t an issue for toddlers but we do the same stuff so much!
This weekend we’ve both been poorly (he’s on day 5 and I’ve just got it) so we’ve been reluctant to go anywhere (except the shops for meds). These kinds of weekends we struggle. We let her watch ms Rachel with/after meals so we can get some brain space and make ourselves something to eat, and she will watch a cartoon (a good one) for a bit. We do books. We potter in the garden. But we run out of ideas and she ends up just mooching around picking up toys and playing for a bit then going to the next thing. We follow her and engage with her but with not a lot of energy or concentration from us it’s hard.
She still has a great time. Her language is coming on loads, we and constantly talking together, and we love that she gets to lead with what she’s interested in, but I can’t help feeling that a structured activity would help us all. All the stuff I see on social takes time and energy to set up that we struggle with when sick. And we’ve all been sick A LOT. I don’t think she’s missing out but I feel guilty that she’s not being stretched or entertained. She doesn’t play independently and wants one of us there or engaging with her - usually that’s a joy but days like today we end up tag teaming and feeling resentful that the other one is resting.
She’s at nursery 5 days a week and we both work remotely but flexible/weird hours. She has lots of toys - we could rotate them more. And a learning tower but she nearly fell out of it the other day and now I’m scared to use it - it’s set up as a little table and chair instead.
Any ideas are super welcome. I know I’m down because I’m sick but I feel like I’m not being a very good parent just letting her stroll about and seemingly getting bored (though she rarely is - she’s a curious sort and usually finds something to do or show us). Suggestions and support are welcome.

Hi, we the FFXVI moderation team has agreed to participate on the Reddit Blackout in protest against killing third party applications.

What is this about?

Reddit has recently announced an update regarding their API access those changes include incredibly high prices for Third Party Mobile Applications, and example of Apollo app reavealing for them to keep existing, they would have to pay $20 million USD/year to operate. And restricting NSFW and mature content only trough their official site.
These changes will be applied on July 1st, and will make all 3rd Party Applications completely unusable.
You can read more about the situation here:
Don't Let Reddit Kill 3rd Party Apps!
An open letter on the state of affairs regarding the API pricing and third party apps and how that will impact moderators and communities.

What's the plan?

On June 12th, many subreddits will be going dark to protest this policy. Some will return after 48 hours: others will go away permanently unless the issue is adequately addressed.
What can you do?

1. Complain. Message the mods of reddit.com, who are the admins of the site: message reddit: submit a support request: comment in relevant threads on reddit, such as this one, leave a negative review on their official iOS or Android app- and sign your username in support to this post.
2. Spread the word. Rabble-rouse on related subreddits. Meme it up, make it spicy. Bitch about it to your cat. Suggest anyone you know who moderates a subreddit join at ModCoord.
3. Boycott and spread the word...to Reddit's competition! Stay off Reddit entirely on June 12th through the 13th- instead, take to your favorite non-Reddit platform of choice and make some noise in support!
4. Don't be a jerk. As upsetting this may be, threats, profanity and vandalism will be worse than useless in getting people on our side. Please make every effort to be as restrained, polite, reasonable and law-abiding as possible.

We will still be available on discord for the hype and for the eventual demo release.
If you have any thoughts or worries, please do share trough the comments below. As we take your feedback greatly.
Thank you.
The FFXVI Mod Team.

Moving out
I know I have to move out of my moms house in a few months , it’s always been toxic and my 3 yr old son watches so it’s def needed. I’m just would like some advice , once I move out. I will have nobody that I know in this state to lean on at all even during emergencies. My dads side of the family lives in CT and is always telling me to move back . I was originally born there . Eventually when my son turns 5 , I plan on moving back . Should I get my first place there & just start looking for areas in CT ? Or should I keep my plan of staying in GA sign a lease for 1 year and pay off my car . I went to esthetician school down here and still have to get my license. My plan was to get a cheappppppp apartment and pay off my car then move to CT. But I wonder if that’s too much moving around . Plus I should aim to have room to pay off debt no matter where I’m living. I have 2 sisters , 1 brother a lot of aunts and uncles cousins in CT ( I Fly every yr to see ) I live w my mom who made it clear she still hates me from when my son was born. Raising my son in her house has been so stressful. I just want my son to be surrounded by more ppl who love him. What would you do ? A. Move out and sign a year lease in GA then Move to CT B. Move to CT Btw some of you may have seen me post once before . I was trying to decide if I was going to move back now I’m trying to decide which timeline is smarter as a single mom? I support my son 100 percent no support from his dad either.