Arizona biltmore pool day pass

Hi all, I'm currently driven mad by my pool and can't figure out what is happening. I have corrected the alkalinity of the pool, then the PH, that happened rather normally. Stabilizer is in the correct range and it's becoming rather critical that I have some chlorine in there as algae starts to develop in all the corners it can. I've done a mild shock three weeks ago and added more than enough tablets to start the pool up (equivalent treatment for 75m3 when I have a 55m3 pool). And for the past 3 weeks, the tablets melted, were replaced every week and no chlorine was to be found in the pool. So yesterday evening, I decided to shock the pool again, hard this time, I put 1.1kg (2.4 lbs) of shock (hth shock, Calcium hypochloride) in my 55m3 (14500 US Gallons) pool, put filtration on for the last 24 hours. There's absolutely no chlorine left whether free or total. I'm totally lost and can't find any info on the net or in shops on what to try to do now for chlorine. . But wait, there's even more. I was wondering if I had a leak in the system and decided to try the bucket method. I pick a bucket, put it in the pool, equalise levels with the pool the best I can and leave it for a day. On the next day, I check to compare the levels. The water level decreased more in the bucket than in the pool... If any of you have any idea of what on earth is going on in this pool, I'll gladly listen to you as for now, I'm wondering about performing an exorcism for every religion that exists (even pastafarism!).

This fundraiser is to help my parents finish remodeling their house. They originally had the money to complete everything until my sister and her husband fell on hard times. All of the money that would have gone to finishing the remodel went to them. Now they do not have the money to finish the remodel. My dad is trying to do what he can but being in his late 60's with heart problems he can only do so much and I can only help about 1 day a week. This money would help hire someone to finish and buy the rest of the supplies needed. Any help would be greatly appreciated! https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8UBDKpJbNe

This fundraiser is to help my parents finish remodeling their house. They originally had the money to complete everything until my sister and her husband fell on hard times. All of the money that would have gone to finishing the remodel went to them. Now they do not have the money to finish the remodel. My dad is trying to do what he can but being in his late 60's with heart problems he can only do so much and I can only help about 1 day a week. This money would help hire someone to finish and buy the rest of the supplies needed. Any help would be greatly appreciated! https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/8UBDKpJbNe

The night before Memorial Day my little pig started showing signs of sickness. He’s 5 years old, a senior. He was lethargic, not eating or drinking, not using the bathroom or moving around. He lost a ton of weight overnight. He was just laying down making a sound like he was having difficulty breathing. Of course no vets were open since it’s a holiday, so he went a full 24 hours in this state. I hand fed him and bottle fed him since he couldn’t on his own. Yesterday I called first thing in the morning to a vet an hour away, which is the closest exotic vet. They didn’t accept new patients, but with how critical his condition was they let me come in. I was thinking it was going to be a 50/50 chance he survived, I kept my hopes up too high. I let them take his temp, it was high. I did all I could, I let them take an x ray and nothing showed up that they could tell. Next I let them take blood work, and with how dehydrated he was they were able to just get enough to see his white and red blood cell count. His white blood cell count was extremely high, and they said he had an infection of some sort that they couldn’t pin point, it could have been cancer. She told me euthanasia was on the table, as if we even did treatment we wouldn’t know what we were treating, and he was also suffering from gastrointestinal stasis from not eating, so his organs were already shutting down. It was an uphill battle she said, even if he survived this he would most likely become sick again. I decided to euthanize him. I held him as they did the anesthesia, and he fell asleep in my arms. I can’t seem to get the image of his limp body out of my head, as he was always running around, energetic and happy. I’ve been in complete shock since he passed. I went home and immediately took down his cage, but I’m keeping his things to remember him by. I can’t help but feel like I didn’t try hard enough to keep him alive, even though the vet told me he was in such critical condition. The option wouldn’t be on the table if he was fixable, right? I just wish I was able to tell him how much I loved him, and what was going to happen and why. I have difficulty with the concept of death, and what happens after. I’d like to think that he’s no longer in pain, and he’s living his best afterlife. I don’t like to think it’s nothingness forever, but if it is atleast he isn’t in pain and he had a good life. I just feel so guilty for playing god, and making that decision for him. I wish I could have asked him what he wanted. I wonder what would have happened if I tried treatment. Atleast I was holding him and there for him in his final moments, seeing him so dilapidated I know he was probably going to pass anyways. With my cat who passed a couple years ago, I could tell by her face it was the end, and I saw that with my Guinea pig yesterday. I ended up having to pay 700$ for all of this, and I’m not even worried about the money as I’m glad he went peacefully and with dignity, as he wouldn’t have if he died at home naturally. Just everything together, having to put down my pet, losing almost a grand, and missing work because I’m an absolute mess that can’t stop crying. Could anyone give me kind words to help me get past the guilt and grief? Thank you for listening 😢💗

Tldr - befriended someone whose oversharing and crossing boundaries. They're my neighbor. How do I draw the line in the sand tactfully?
A few months ago I found out my neighbor (who I barely spoke to up until this point) had his mother pass. Out of support, I offer he stop by now and then to hang out and get his mind off things.
Fast forward to today, this guy seems like he's using me in place of a therapist. Almost anytime I'm outside he comes over to talk. Normally he shares 1-2 anecdotes of what's going wrong in life. This can range from job worries, to sexual dysfunction issues, to unresolved trauma (and subsequent rants about wanting to attack supposed domestic abusers). I usually dismiss what he says and move along, thinking maybe the loss hit him hard - but I feel like this guy actually has no boundaries.
This past weekend, he invited me over to a party. Now, my wife's family is going through their own loss and we had a small gathering to help with the grief. I explained this to him and insisted I needed to be present for that. The guy ended up texting me still to ask what I was doing that day.
My gut says this guy just has a complete lack of boundaries. Being mindful he may be going through some things still, can anyone recommend some strategies for establishing my own boundaries and telling him he needs to stop coming to visit? Is this a situation where I'm better off just phasing him out?
Hunch is this needs to be quick and direct, but I don't even know if I should mention the "why."

I own a Tesla, but am flying to Arizona for a wedding in Sedona. Hertz is finally offering EV rentals, so I reserved a Bolt EV.
Which are the most practical charging options (it’s a quick trip—just three days)?
I’ll likely stay pretty close to 17, apart from the jog over to Sedona.

You know, the people who get called on multiple times a day because their idea of normal life is appalling enough that everyone else just looks at them and thinks there's an emergency. The kind of people who never shower, have more track marks than veins, who drink hand sanitizer and mouthwash like it's water, who you, the cops and the ER nurses all know by name, even by dispatch info, who try to manipulate their families into giving them money if they ever contact them, who's daily routine is: wake up in the ER, leave AMA, find some hand sanitizer and down it all, pass out, wake up in the ER and repeat. How do people end up like that?

Just got the email:

FORGE AHEAD (From now until June 30th)
Send us your pre-order and preferred delivery location by June 30th, and we’ll assign you a priority build slot according to when you placed your original reservation. We recommend getting your specification right first time, and you can look forward to being in the first group of Grenadier owners in the US and Canada.
STAY AHEAD OF THE CROWD (June 30th onwards)
You’ll still be able to send us your pre-order after June 30th , but you’ll no longer have access to a priority build slot. Pre-orders are now open to customers without a reservation.
PRODUCTION AND DELIVERY UPDATE (By July)
As soon as your pre-order is planned for production, we’ll be in touch with estimated build timing. Please note, your pre-order will not be visible in your online account until this time, and it might take some weeks for us to plan all pre-orders for production. So sit tight.
MEET YOUR RETAIL PARTNER (From September)
Once we announce our retail partners, the one covering your preferred delivery area will be in touch to finalize details and plan for delivery of your vehicle.
We’re really looking forward to taking this next step in the Grenadier journey with you. In the meantime, check out our rugged 4X4 in action in Arizona.

I'm personally still on the fence for the price. I have a possible promotion/job change at work coming up - no idea if that would be done by June 30th, so I'm going to hold off until then...
I hate to say it, but it still this feels like the poor man's G-Wagon or rich man's "luxury Defender." I feel like in the US, 80% of buyers will be buying for the "lifestyle image", and maybe 20% will put it to use. I've been following the Grenadier from nearly day 1, but the pricing really was painful to finally see as I think it put it out of reach of the broader overlandeoffroader community. I'd be curious to know what other people are thinking, since the deadline is now approaching...

Had my water tested at 2 different local pool stores last week- Store 1 read ~140 ppm, store 2 read 115 ppm a couple of days later.
I finally had the time to drain and refill my pool yesterday. I did about 1/3rd per their recommendation.
My water completely cleared up overnight after a double dose of shock and Chitosan clarifier.
Today, store 2 read my CYA at ~110 ppm. I have not taken any water to store 1 because it's much farther away.
My only theory is that I still had a Trichlor tablet floating around (just leftover from before I drained) and it was sitting in front of the skimmer for awhile and I took my water sample from the skimmer.
I'm considering taking another sample later this afternoon and going to store 2 again before they close.
My other readings are all in normal/appropriate ranges, other than my chlorine being low, which is to be expected after a partial drain. I'm going to add liquid chlorine (unstabilized) later today.

Hope you enjoy this first is NEW BLOOD
By a river, a female Archosaur stalks a herd of dicynodonts called Placerias, looking for weak members to prey upon. Downstream, a male feathered dinosaur resides in a tree with his family. A female Postosuchus, a rauisuchian and one of the largest carnivores alive in the Triassic, attacks the Placerias herd, and wounds one individual; the herd scatters, leaving the wounded Placerias to the Postosuchus. Early bats are depicted feeding on dragonflies and cooling themselves in the little water remaining during the drought before being eaten by a larger dragonfly. Searching for food, a female badger like mammal, alongside another badger, discovers the dinosaur nest; the female wards them off. Later that evening, after he goes off hunting, an inquisitive chick follows but falls onto land trying to follow its father and is caught by the female badger. At night, the dinosaurs pick up their remaining pups and then move away. On the next day, the badgers work to collapse the tree. The female Postosuchus meanwhile is shown to have been wounded by the Placerias, a prior attack on them leaving her with a tusk wound on her thigh. After being unable to successfully hunt another Placerias, she is expelled from her territory by a predatory phytosaur. Wounded, sick, and without a territory, the female Postosuchus dies and is eaten by a pack of archosaurs. As the dry season continues, food becomes scarce. The Placerias herd embarks on a journey in search of water, while the archosaurs begin to cannibalise their young, and the male dinosaurs also resorts to hunting baby badgers at night. Finally, the wet season arrives; the majority of the archosaurs have survived (including the lead female), and the dinosaur pair have a new clutch of eggs. The episode ends with the arrival of a herd of giant Procoptodon like mammal which are followed by a large fox like mammal which fights and kills a Postosuchus.
TIME OF THE TITANS
This episode follows the life of a female prosauropod, beginning at the moment when her mother lays a clutch of eggs in the heart conifer forest. Three months later, some of the eggs hatch; the young prosauropods are preyed upon by fox like mammal and other dinosaurs. After hatching, the hatchlings retreat to the safety of the denser trees. They face many dangers as they grow, including predation by the foxes and existing Smilodon like mammals which are replacing the foxes increasingly . Even a giant Deinotherium like mammal accidentally also kills one of the hatchlings by swinging its tusks while fending off a pair of Smilodon like mammals and a weird crocodile like cetan. Elsewhere, adult herds of prosauropods are shown using their massive weight to topple trees in order to reach cycad leaves and giant ferns. Each one hosts a small mobile habitat of damselflies, bats, and beetles. After some time, the creche of cute creatures have grown into subadults. Nearly all are killed by a huge forest fire; only three survivors emerge onto the open plains, including the young female. They encounter several Paracetherium before only two reach safety of a herd of adult prosauropods. Several years later, the female mates, and a few days after, is attacked by a bull smilodon like mammals. She is saved when another prosauropod strikes the Allosaurus with its tail. She rejoins the herd, albeit with deep wounds on her side, but she will recover. The closing narration notes that their successors the sauropods will in the Cenozoic become the largest animals ever to walk the Earth but currently its the paracetherium.
CRUEL SEA
episode begins with a small elephant like mammal being snatched from the shore by a male Liopleurodon. It then cuts to show how dinosaurs have dominated the European islands with fauna similar to the ones in Jurassic Impact. Meanwhile, hundreds of cetans arrive from the open ocean to give birth but they are attacked by a Basilosaur look a like. Hybodus and a Liopleurodon are on the hunt; when a mother cetan has trouble giving birth, a pair of Hybodus pursue her. They are frightened off by the male Liopleurodon, which eats the front half of the cetan. Meanwhile, a Andrewsarchus like mammal the last of its kind if you forget the fox like mammals swims to an island and discovers a turtle carcass; it fights over the carcass with another. Later, during the night, a group of horseshoe crabs gather at the shore to lay their eggs, which attracts a flock of bats in the morning to eat the eggs. However, a few of the bats are caught and eaten by a giant dragonfly . While the cetan juveniles are growing up, they are hunted by Hybodus, which in turn, are prey for the Liopleurodon. While the male Liopleurodon is hunting, he encounters a female Basilosaurus like mammal; after the male bites one of her flippers, she retreats from his territory, and a group of Hybodus follows the trail of her blood. A cyclone strikes the islands, killing many animals, including several bats and the basilosaurus, who is washed ashore and eventually suffocates under his own weight. A group of small dinosaurs feed on her carcass. At the end of the episode, the juvenile cetans that survived the storm are now large enough to swim off and live in the open sea but are hunted by some other cetans.
GIANT OF THE SKIES
The episode begins with the last giant Dragonfly dead on a beach. Six months earlier, the last Dragonfly, resting among a colony of breeding giant bats in Brazil, flies off for Cantabria where he too must mate. He flies past a migrating group of chalicothere mimics and the nodosaur Polacanthus. He reaches the southern tip of North America, where he is forced to seek shelter from a storm. He grooms himself, expelling his body of fleas; the wings begin to change colour in preparation for the mating season. He then sets off across the Atlantic, which was then only 300 kilometres wide, and after a whole day on the wing, reaches the westernmost of the European islands. He does not rest there however, as a pack of dromaeosaurs are hunting horses; a young one is bullied off an Horse carcass by the adults. The Dragonfly flies to the outskirts of a forest to rest after stealing a fish from a bat, but is driven away by a flock of new fliers called Anurognathids. Flying on, he reaches Cantabria, but finds no other dragonflies and consequently he does not mate. After several days under the sun trying to attract a mate, the protagonist dragonflies dies from a combination of heat, stress and starvation. . The new replacements bats feeds on its corpse.
SPIRITS OF THE ICE FOREST
A few hundred kilometres from the South Pole, a clan of Leaellynasaura emerge during spring after several months of total darkness. They feed on the fresh plant growth (which has adapted to the changing seasons), and build nests to lay their eggs; a Koolasuchus also wakes and heads to a river, where he will stay during the summer. Out on the banks of the river, migrating herds of Macraucheia have also arrived to feed and lay their eggs. When summer arrives, many of the Leaellynasaura clan's eggs have been eaten; however, those of the matriarch hatch successfully. Meanwhile, a male Polar Smilodon like mammal and its pride hunts both the Leaellynasaura and the Macraucheia, the latter species also having to deal with blood-sucking birds the Smilodon male deals with being attacked and exiled by a larger male. When autumn arrives, the herd begins to migrate, and the Koolasuchus leaves the river to find a pool for hibernation and all the cubs of the old male Smilodon are killed. During the migration, some Muttaburrasaurus become lost in the forest; they vocalize loudly while trying to return to their herd, preventing the Leaellynasaura clan's sentries from hearing the male Smilodon approaching. It manages to kill the matriarch of the clan. Winter descends and the forest is shrouded in darkness, but the now matriarch-less Leaellynasaura clan is able to stay active, using their large eyes to help them forage for food. The clan and other creatures are also shown to use various methods of coping with the cold.. Finally, spring returns, and two Leaellynasaura males challenge each other for the right to mate, and the clan establishes a new dominant pair and the old male Smilodon kills the new male Smilodon and takes the pride back. The closing narration acknowledges that soon this landmass will be pulled closer to the South Pole and when that happens, this unique ecosystem and its inhabitants will disappear.
DEATH OF THE DYNASTY
Several months before the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, the last mammals are living under intense environmental stress due to excessive volcanism. A female giant Entelodont like monotremes abandons her nest, the eggs rendered infertile due to acidic pollution. Her calls for a mate are answered by a smaller male, who kills a young rhino like mammal to appease her. Three days later, after repeated copulation, she drives him off. The mother fasts as she tends to her nest, contending with raids by dromaeosaurs and Squirrel like mammals. Meanwhile, herds of deer like mammals wander between islands of vegetation among the volcanic ash, and rhinoceros rut for the right to mate, while losing their young to attacking dromaeosaurs. Only three of the Entelodont hatches ; the mother hunts one of the last elephants to feed herself and her brood. One of the last giant bats flies into the area and is killed by the last cetans. Several days later, while defending her two surviving offspring, the mother is fatally injured by the tail of an Ankylosaurus. The juveniles remain expectantly next to the carcass of their mother the next morning; several hours later, they are killed along with the other mammals in the region by the impact of a comet in the Gulf of Mexico. The impact, said to be as powerful as ten billion Hiroshima bombs, resulted in 65% of life -the mammals included- dying out in the ensuing cataclysmic changes to the climate. In an epilogue, the present-day African plains are shown; while they are now dominated dinosaurs after millions of years of recovery from the impact, they are still populated by a small group of mammals that did survive the extinction: the rodents, the squirrels and many other small vermin like mammals.
THE GIANT CLAW- TO EDIT
searches the late Jurassic islands for Therizinosaurus, who has massive and very long claws.
The episode starts off with Nigel in his ship where he shows a giant claw that scientists originally thought to be the rib of a giant turtle but was actually the claw of Therizinosaurus. He is interrupted when a giant turtle passes through and he films them. The turtle sneezes on him and Nigel sets off on his journey
Nigel comes across a nesting ground of heterodontosaurs that he crosses by using a red flag to draw their attention while one snaps at his cameraman. They travel into a forest where they watch a pack of cassowary like dinosaurs and their friends hunt heterodontosaurs. In a different forest, Nigel sets camp and finds a scorpion that he keeps. At night, a group of Mononykus like creatures approach the camp site and Nigel tries to catch one. After he caught one, he discovers that they have feathers but he puts his thumb in its mouth causing it to bleed. The next morning, Nigel finds that the Mononykus have eaten his scorpion and he packs up his camp. In the scrublands, Nigel hides in the vegetation urging his cameraman to turn off the camera when he spots a feathered predator that spooks some Mononykus.
Then Nigel waits out at a beach with some Heterodontosaurs and Mononykus as a perfect place for theropods to hunt prey. There he finds a hatched nest with the skeleton of a baby Therizinosaurus in a partially hatched egg as well as herbivore dung. Not far away, he finds a full skeleton of a Therizinosaurus. A large crocodile notices him and chases him and his cameraman into the forest. They climb onto tall tree stumps out of their reach and use a bicycle horn to scare of the raptors. After hearing commotion from the heterodontosaurs, Nigel returns to the watering hole where a feathered apex comes to scavenge and drink but is interrupted by the roar of a Therizinosaurus leading to a clash of the titans. The Therizinosaurus fends off the Tarbosaurus with its formidable claws forcing it to back down. Nigel then finds whole herd of Therizinosaurus emerging from the forest and it is a herbivore that uses its sickle-claws to hook tree and bush branches towards its mouth. Nigel ultimately concludes that it was gentle herbivore by touching one that licks him and knocks him over.
Land OF GIANTS
Nigel travels back in time with his film crew. He travels to a nearby lake, where large mammals named Brutodontids nest every year. There Nigel sees a juvenile Brutodon, where he is attacked by a giant mosasaur. Nigel then coaxes it out of the lake by splashing a stick in the water. It lays on the shore. Nigel attaches a video camera to his head and walks towards it, and demonstrates it's biting power by pushing a stick into it's mouth and having it bite down on it.
Later Nigel climbs up the volcanic slopes to get a panoramic view of the area to see Brutodon herd. Instead he finds a herd of small horses. His search leads him all the way to the coast, where he views a colony of medium sized bats on the cliffs hunting fish. Nigel doesn't return to the campsite until night, where he finds that a large predator has attacked his tent, and left all the provisions littered across the surrounding ground. He finds a single theropod dinosaur tooth jammed in a can of meat.
The next morning Nigel has set up an alarm system outside the camp so that if something breaks the laser tripwire, a loud alarm will sound, alerting Nigel. Later he tracks down the predator, where, around midday, Nigel hears a commotion further ahead. He finds a wounded horse in a rocky gully. He walks further upstream to find a smaller dead individual with a strange feathered apex predator eating it.
Later Nigel is shown flying over the ash-fields in an ultralight. Soon he finds another Sea Bat flock. After breaking away he sees a giant bat, one of the largest animal ever to fly. Soon Nigel discovers the Brutodon herd far below, so he lands the ultra light nearby his jeep. He then drives off towards the herd and locates it without any trouble.
After appreciating their gargantuan size, Nigel drives into a natural 'funnel', caused by a break in some trees. He then sets up some weighing scales designed for lorries. After several fruitless attempts, an Brutodon steps on the scales, showing that it weighs 92.3 tonnes, and Nigel explains that that's the same as 30 African elephants.
The next morning Nigel in chasing an horse 20 miles away from the camp in the jeep, when he realizes that it is actually running because a Giganotosaurus is chasing them both. Nigel narrowly escapes the predator only to meet up with the herd later in the morning to find an entire pack of Giganotosaurus mobbing the herd but most are killed.
By the afternoon the pack has singled out a juvenile, and are inflicting wounds, waiting for her to bleed to death. The hunt continues for the rest of the day and into the night, when filming is no longer possible and Nigel must leave.
The next morning, Nigel finds the herd at the nesting site beside the lake. While the females lay their eggs Nigel comments on what a magical ending this is for his dinosaur safari. Suddenly a Mosasaur lunges at him out of the water
NEW DAWN- WWB REALITY
The episode starts by showing how the mammals were dominating the land and that dinosaurs were small. Then it shows how "an asteroid the size of Mount Everest" struck the Earth and demolished the mammals, and how dinosaurs evolved into new forms thereafter. The first episode depicts the warm tropical world of the early Eocene, sixteen million years after the extinction of the giant mammals. Bats, the one of the surviving lineage of the mammals, including the giant carnivorous Mega Bat, rule this world, while dinosaurs are still very small. The setting is near the Messel pit in Germany. Due to volcanic activity, sudden bulk escapes of carbon dioxide trapped underneath lakes pose a significant hazard to the local wildlife. The episode centers around a Parkosaur family, a leaping, shrew-like dinosaur, which has emerged in the dawn hours to forage for food. As the mother forages, first in solidarity, and then with her pups, she wanders near a large predatory mammal, identified as an Ambulocetus the last cetan. A female Mega Bat, who has been taking care of the single undeveloped baby in her nest, makes two attempts to hunt a small herd of Protoceratops like dinosaurs, early ceratopsians. The first attempt fails when sounds among the vegetation betray her presence and they mob her. The second attack proves successful when the Protoceratops consume fermenting grapes and are unable to evade her attack also defends her territory from another. Unfortunately, while the mother hunts, a horde of Titanomyrma, giant carnivorous ants, encounter the baby when it dropped out of the nest, and successfully kill and eat the chick. When the female discovers her dead offspring at dusk she leaves the forest to try and start another family.
With the arrival of night, a band of lemur-like Godinotia, socialize and copulate in the dark the narration reveals how they will be the most successful in this new world. Ambulocetus finally manages to catch a Flamingo like bird near the lake edge. As the night wears on, an earth tremor unleashes trapped carbon dioxide out from underneath the lake and the gas suffocates most of the surrounding life. The Parkosaurs survive because the nest was upwind of the gas while the Bat was killed because she stayed in that area in the forest.
It is mentioned that although they survived the gas, they would ultimately leave many descendants, while the Ambulocetus, who was killed by the lethal gases, would leave none.
WHALE KILLER
This episode introduces the Mosasaur, an ancient type of mosasaur. Mosasaur became the new king of the ocean after the giant cetans of the Mesozoic died out alongside the mammals (see Cruel Sea). It was much bigger than the sharks it shared the ocean with, and it regularly ate the sharks. However, Mosasaur was still less advanced than the modern species; it still had rear flippers (that helped it during the mating) and lacked the blubber. At the same time, this program depicted the beginning of 'climate chaos' - a relatively minor extinction event between Eocene and Oligocene, also known as "The Great Cut". On land dinosaurs too have become big and huge. This episode featured Torosaurus like ceratopsians and the Andrewsarchus, a mammal that was considered to be a relative to the kings of the Cretaceous the Entelodont. Both were much bigger than the land dinosaurs featured in New Dawn episode, but their brains were still small and their behavior - primitive. They were the first true dinosaur rulers of the land and most of them would die out during "The Great Cut". As the El Nino continues and the extinction event is beginning, the female Mosasaur is forced to change her hunting ground from open seas to mangrove swamps (the future Sahara desert). There she encounters small sharks, Apidium, and Moeritherium. It is described as the last stronghold of the mammals A spinosaurid like dinosaur eats an Apidium but is too small to attack Moeritherium, The mosasaur hunts and eats one alive. She leaves.
The Torosaurus continue to strive but most of the juvenlies are killed young by the poisonous plants of their home Two Andrewsarchus steal such a calf, but begin to fight over it in order to determine which of them gets to eat it first. The calf's mother decides that the calf is alive and fights off the Andrewsarchus - for a time, but leaves when the rest of her young hatch.
The female Mosasaurus discovers a lagoon where dolphin like mammals that appeared after the mass extinction of cetans are beginning to calf. At first the smaller whales use their numbers' advantage to chase away the giant, but the female Mosasaurus eventually returns and begins to hunt and devour the calves - and this time the adults can't stop her.
Several months later Basilosaurus gives birth to her own calf, but the episode ends saying that both the mother and child are doomed to perish - but whales as a group will survive.
LAND OF GIANTS
The third episode takes place in late Oligocene Mongolia, where seasonal rains are followed by long periods of drought. It follows a mother giant hawk, an enormous herbivorous bird , and her young male calf. The mother struggles to raise her calf, fending off predators such as Dromaeosaurs and trying to teach the calf to survive on its own. The episode also follows other animals in the surroundings, including a Therizinosaurid, tyrannosaurids and iguanodontids, and the hardships they endure as the new animals from the south move in.
NEXT OF KIN
A family group of the descendants of the Apidium is down; yet another female was killed by the Troodontids that hunt them, leaving behind an orphan daughter. The males of the group, Grey and Hercules, are beginning to challenge each other for leadership, and the females are supporting Hercules rather than Grey, A bigger, more numerous group attacks, driving the focus group from their old home. Because of this, they start to migrate through the highlands of Ethiopia, searching for a new one. During their travels they meet a large stegosaurid in musth which chases them away from its territory as it tries to wow a much larger female. They settle in a area with a waterfall where many iguanodontids roam they try to scare them off but can't. However it is also home to a large allosaur type creature which kills many and drags the rest for its chicks to eat. Grey is killed in the process and using some planning they steal some of the allosaurs chicks and cause it to migrate for the safety of its chicks. That night one of the babies is stolen by a Troodontid which now rule the area without the constriction of the Allosaur. One day the female orphan is attacked by the Troodontids in full daylight when the rest rally together and try and kill the Troodontid. They settle down and some evolved descendants of the protagonist from the first episode comes and eats the lice in their fur.
SABRE TOOTH
The fifth episode shows the strange fauna of the isolated continent of South America and explores the effects of the Great American Interchange, which had happened 1.5 million years earlier. Since South America had drifted apart from Antarctica 30 million years ago, many unique dinosaurs had evolved, including a Ankylosaurus like creature , an armored armadillo-like ankylosaur with a cannon ball-sized spiked club on its tail; An edmontosaurus like dinosaur, a camel-like dinosaur with a long trunk and though not a dinosaur a large heron like pterosaur has evolved larger than the largest of the bats.
Before the continents of South America and North America collided, a 10-foot-tall predatory bear called with sabre teeth like Smilodon, had reigned as top predator. However, the great birds, migrating from the north, soon displaced them as top predators. The episode focuses on a male bear, a saber-toothed ursine, called Half Tooth, who lives a lone life in a territory of females all of their cubs are his one day two males chase him out and try to become the individuals the females mate with.
Next, the episode shows The new birds hunting down the edmontosaurs and the bears trying to protect the young from the two brothers (in vain) but they are eventually killed when they go hunting. In the background, the mammals still hunt, but give way to the birds. However, a therizinosaurid, who wanted to eat meat as diet supplement, charges the pack while the males attempted to mate, in order to eat some of the carrion. In the process, it kills the dominant rival male, enabling Half Tooth to return, kill the other male and reclaim his territory. Then he had another litter of cubs. Meanwhile the pterosaurs arrive for their winter migration.
Mammoth JOURNEY
narrator reveals that the world's climate is starting to deteriorate, bringing on an ice age. This means all animals, even the mighty titanosaurs and their symbiotic bird partners are struggling with the last of their kind living in the focus herd. One of the herd falls through a pond concealed by ice. Her sisters comfort her, and in the morning the scavengers Troodontids and humans gather gather. The herd then have no choice but to leave their fallen sister to prepare for the coming Ice Age winter. The narrator also reveals that so much water is frozen at the poles, causing sea levels to drop. A vast Ice Age forest, which today is the North Sea, supports an array of dinosaurs including a herd of titanosaurs. Also residing on the plains in summer is a new creature: Human.
Despite having no physical adaptations for the cold, they wear animal hides to keep warm. The episode's main focus is the mammoth's 400 kilometre migration to the Alps and back in the spring. Meanwhile, two stigymoloch like dinosaurs are fighting for a harem of females, but are then ambushed by the humans who kill one of the males. As the titans migrate, one of the herd and the juveniles under her care are separated and stalked by a woolly giganotosaurus, but survive.
Upon reaching the Alps, the mother and the juveniles are reunited with the herd. Here in the valleys, one of the herd lays her eggs to return next year to raise the survivors and the birds mate with each other and a new generation is born, some leave into the Alps but many stay with their parents. The episode also focuses on the Neanderthal, who, despite being built for the cold, is struggling as a result of the Ice Age. One of them is attacked by a Woolly Pachyrhinosaurus, but survives because of his shorter stature and thicker bones.
As the titanosaurs migrate back to the plains, they come into Neanderthal territory where the juveniles is annoyed by the mammals and one is killed by the largest of them all Cave Foxes which drag them down to their cliff home where several giant Parkosaurs watch. they arrive back in their forest where the Gigantosaurus the only thing an adult fears attacks and kills the matriarch. The humans scavenge on the carcass. The titanosaurs are revealed to be going extinct with their herd being the largest thanks to the Ice Age while their birds have a different story thanks to their big partners. The scene then changes to the Oxford Museum and the narrator reveals that "If all this has taught is anything, it's this: no species lasts forever.
BALLAD OF BIG AL
The special begins at the University of Wyoming's Geological Museum, showing the bones of a baby prosauropod followed by an Allosaurus (2.1 metres tall is the maximum height) named Big Al. After the ghost of Big Al wanders the museum passing by his own skeleton and a burrow with some fossilized eggs, the film then travels back in time to 150 Mya) showing a similar nest. Al and his siblings are hiding in the burrow when they are called by their mother. She brings them to a river bank and the hatchlings start to hunt for insects and lizards. When the mother leaves the hatchlings temporarily, a predatory Dilephodon like mammal comes out of hiding and kills one of them (luckily, the victim was not Al).
Al is then shown at the age of two years. He tries to hunt a flock of Dryosaurus. He has not yet learned how to ambush from his mother so he fails to kill one of the swifter, smaller dinosaurs. Later, he snatches a lizard from a branch to keep him satisfied. Al comes across a dead Deinotherium like mammal and an Allosaurus waiting for death in a pit of sticky mud, which forms a predator trap. Meanwhile, a two-year-old female Allosaurus, attracted to the carcass, also gets stuck. She struggles to free herself, but fails. Al luckily avoids the same fate, because he has learnt to avoid carrion and the large carnivores that it usually attracts. Unable to escape, the trapped Allosaurus pair die of exhaustion, their corpses left to the bats. Al returns to his mother and his three siblings and feasts on the carcass she has caught.
Three years pass, and a herd of juvenile Prosauropods are migrating across their forest home and into the grasslands, heading for a herd to the south. Al, now 1.2 meters long, is joined by several other Allosaurus (possibly, his siblings) and they manage to successfully panic the herd into leaving a weakened sick individual behind. But as the Allosaurus gather for the kill, Al is struck down by the neck of the prosauropod. The pack decides to wait for a few hours until the prosauropod is brought down by heat exhaustion and his illness. Though they feed, within the hour, a five-year-old female Allosaurus scavenges the kill. Al takes some remnants of the carcass for himself and leaves, trying to find a safer place to eat.
3 years pass by, and Al, now 1.8 metres long with the crests over his eyes reddening, is shown drinking at a pond. His presence however makes other mammals around the pond nervous and the smell of blood he brings with him puts off a pair of Deinotherium that were attempting to mate. Away from the pond, he discovers the scent of a nearby six-year-old female Allosaurus and issues a mating call. She is interested, but as Al attempts to mate, a Smilodon like mammal out on the prowl pack attacks and kills the female. Al is lucky enough to escape from the ensuing fight with his life, although he sustains injuries to his right arm as well as smashed ribs. Later the dry season comes, and Al is attempting to hunt a flock of rabbit like mammals as the Dryosaurus have moved away. Whilst ambushing them however, he steps on a hedgehog like mammal and kills it but then it is stuck in his foot so he ends up breaking something in his right foot in the resultant fall; he limps away the, his chances of survival as prey gets scarcer now very unlikely. As the dry season turns to a drought, Al's limp from the fall gets worse and his right middle toe -which he broke in the fall- has become badly infected. Soon, unable to hunt because of this handicap, he dies in a dried-up riverbed, where two hatchling Allosaurus are hunting for bugs and come across his emaciated carcass where they eat his eyes and tongue and leave. He is said not to have reached full size, dying as a mature adolescent and that the process of his fossilisation was so perfect it preserved even the injuries he sustained in his lifetime including -amongst others- lumps where his ribs healed after their break and the raging infection on his middle toe even the hedgehog he stepped on. The narrator concludes the special stating how Big Al, in death, represents a frozen moment in the fast and furious life of a carnivorous dinosaur.
Now I'm going to do the worst part of WWD, Walking With Dinosaurs 3D and I'm going to remove the voices and keep it as an actual documentary
In the early cretaceous a few million years before the fourth episode of WWD a thing that was actually good and next to the western interior seaway. Patchi is the youngest and smallest in a litter of tiny baby Torosaurus like dinosaurs that are being out competed by pronghorn like mammals. Their father Bulldust the leader is the leader of the herd. Patchi is also attacked by a bird, which attempts to eat him, but he is saved by his caring mother, resulting in Patchi having a hole in his frill as an injury.
Later, Bulldust moves his herd south as well, but when they try to pass through a forest, they are forced to flee when the local Dromaeosaurs make fire to flush out some pronghorns and a forest fire erupts. Taking advantage of the chaos, a pack of dromaeosaurs attacks the scattered herd. They kill most of Patchi and Scowler's family, while their leader and alpha, Gorgon, fights and kills Bulldust while he’s trying to run away as he cares nothing about his children thanks to his kind's ability to breed like rabbits. Afterwards, Patchi's herd, now led by Bulldust's mate, combine with a female named Juniper's herd as they continue their migration. Gorgon's pack attacks them again, and in the ensuing chaos, Patchi, Scowler, Juniper (and many others) fall into a river and are swept downstream to the ocean all juveniles but Juniper, Scowler and Patchi killed in the process, with a scavenger bat following them from above. At a beach, Scowler follows a herd of rhino like mammals to find food, leaving Patchi and Juniper behind as they are scarred up and Juniper's eye is destroyed. The two make their way through a forest and eventually are able to find their herd and Scowler.
After years of making the same migration from north to south and vice versa, the leader of the herd is killed in a river by two cetans Scowler confronts his brother and his gang of friends and challenges him for a battle in exchange for leadership of the herd. Scowler, as he is much stronger and larger than Patchi, quickly gains the upper hand and defeats his brother by trapping him under a young tree before disowning him and ordering Juniper, along with the rest of the herd, to leave Patchi behind. Despondent and heartbroken, Patchi, now trapped underneath the tree and unable to do anything, attempts to accept his fate by allowing scavengers to kill and eat him but thanks to a pterosaur literally pecking out his eye while looking at a butterfly he has the rage to go out fighting.
Reinvigorated by the bat, Patchi and his friends (actually just a bunch of dragonflies that live on his back but like him despite their intelligence) escapes and fights off the scavengers, before catching up to the herd, only to find them confronted by Gorgon and her pack once more (now its gets dark) they manage to scare most of the herd and a bunch of Pronghorn like mammals into a river which causes most to drown, during the battle between Gorgon and the ceratopsians. Scowler pushes Juniper accidentally into a hole with a spike and kills her. patchi in a fit of rage fights Scowler and has his last remaining eye gouged out but he manages to push him off a cliff that was there and while Patchi looks like he's contemplating his action when he is just standing there when Gorgon and her pack kill him, meanwhile a male approaches Gorgon and drops the head of Juniper in front of her she accepts this and leaves to mate.
It then cuts to the survivors who are building up their nest and thanks to their rerouted migration which saves them and their kind from extinction from the Pronghorns. Gorgon's pack have to move away and the lovely gory ecosystem collapses a few million years after this thanks to the arrival of Brutodon which out compete the definitely not sauropod replacement mammals that look like giraffes that will become the largest creatures on earth and it ends on one of Gorgon's young evolving WWM style into the giant theropods from Nigel Marvin's adventures with the largest creatures on earth. The credits this time are of a before and after showing the area in Patchi and friends era and in Nigel marvin's adventures era showing the river area where Patchi was killed into the river area where the Brutodon laid their eggs.
Species/ replacements
Nanotorosaurus replaces Pachyrhinosaurus
Nanogigantosaurus replaces Gorgosaurus
Pronghornodontids replaces Parkosaurus
Parkosaurs replace Chirostenotes
Loxodontamimus replaces Edmontonia
mega Dragonfly, Nanoanurognthathus and mega bats replace Quetzocoatlus
Brontomimus replaces the hadrosaurs
Atroxodontids replace troodontids
Tiny Compusnathids replace Alphadon
Avitelmessus replaces Avitelmessus (crab evolution wasn't that impacted)

Female 27 Slightly overweight
Past 6 months maybe more I have been passing soft thin stools, width of a pencil or a bit bigger. Sometimes I go for number 2 after I eat dinner, not in a diarrhoea way but I feel that k have something to pass
Most days I poop 2-3 times
I’ve had days when I was bloated and when trying to pass only some transparent liquid came out
My anus is a bit swollen and I can see a small red bump on it, maybe a hemorhoid.
Above my anus like 4 fingers up I think there is a wide bump that feels firm to the touch and I think it’s the tail of my spine. I don’t know if it’s normal or be pressing this low.
Also I feel the need to pee more frequently even if I don’t have much to pee
No noticeable lower pain that I would notice, rarely if I’m gassy or something that I’ve eaten has bothered me.
No noticeable blood in stool
Also spine pain which I’m planning to check as I’ve had it for 3 years and I assume I have a spinal issue like stenosis

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Shon slept fitfully. He kept having dreams that he'd missed the bell to wake up and was left sprinting after the others who had already started their morning run. In tight formation, they ran ahead of him. Getting further and further out of reach no matter how hard he pushed himself. Until he tripped over something and crashed down into a frozen puddle that reflected his face back at him. Except he had white hair like an old man. His reflection smiled sadly at him, mouthing something Shon wasn’t saying and couldn’t hear…
He woke up to find himself alone for the first time in his life... He could see the sky through his window, dark blue with no stars. Just before sunrise then. A bell sounded, deep and clear through the still air. Shon closed his eyes and counted, one… two… three… four… the ringing stopped, and he rolled over to sit up on the edge of the bed. There was no point in trying to sleep with only one hour left.
He looked around the small room, running his fingers through hair now cut to regulation length the night before. The door was barely a step away. There was no way he could do his kata in here. Kneeling on his bed, he looked out the window and down to the courtyard. It was empty, but he didn’t know if he was allowed to go there early and hadn’t thought to ask the day before. With a frustrated sigh, he slid down the wall and surveyed the tiny room again.
His own room… He'd never had a private room before. Thom and Rerves seemed unimpressed by the size, but they'd never had to share before coming to the Temple in Smilnda where they'd slept in the group barracks with Shon and the girls.
Shon had unpacked his limited belongings, only his civilian clothes remaining in his pack under the bed. He wondered if he would ever have a chance to wear them again. He'd set up his old journals on the desk, leaning them against the wall in the corner, his current journal in front, with his pencil set neatly on top. Other than those, he only had a simple deck of playing cards and a collection of miniature wooden statues of Hengist’s knights, both given to him as Winter Solstice gifts and placed in his desk drawer with his spare pencils.
An hour before he started training… for real this time…
The entire year had felt like a series of false starts to the next chapter of his life. The test to determine if he would even be allowed to train as a Paladin had been the first. But even after passing, he had a year with the Temple as a junior Squire before the actual training started. Then he'd left the city. Walking out those gates had felt like the first steps toward his future! Then they'd spent six days on the road, stewing. He'd arrived at Hamerfoss! Was given uniforms, a room, measured for armor, and had his hair cut! Surely that was the beginning… But no. He'd gotten the tour and eaten dinner with the rest of the Squires, but it didn't really feel like he'd started yet.
Everything up until now was like getting ready to get started. Taking out his book and opening to a clean page, but not drawing anything yet. Today he was finally going to draw that first line. Today he would start turning that blank paper into art, into the man he was going to become.
He stood, then immediately dropped into a horse stance. He might not be able to do his kata, but he could at least do his drills. Focusing on the movements, he let his mind wander just a bit. Walking through the fortress again in his memory to try and make sure he knew where everything was and going over the schedule described by the exiting seniors. He felt more relaxed this morning than he had yesterday. A little excited, yes, but he wondered how much of Thom and Rerves' obvious nervousness had affected him. There was no reason to be nervous. Everyone started at the beginning. At least that’s what he told himself.
The fifth bell sounded, and Shon felt his heart speed up in direct contrast to the slow, measured rings. He continued his drills. He only had a few left but could hear movement from the other rooms through his window and door. People began to leave the barracks, and he rushed through the last few strikes. Dropping to the floor, he hurried to get ready, kicking the box back under his bed before dropping the uniform and making the bed as quickly as he could. He dressed, then sat on the bed to put on his boots, wrinkling the blanket. But only a little, he could straighten it again afterward…
“Shon? Are you ready? Let’s go!” Rerves called through his door, and Shon hurried to swing it open and join his fellows in the hall. They had sworn to each other that they would stay together. And that they wouldn’t be last.
They rushed down the hall to keep up with the leading group, though there were still a few behind them. The cool spring air washed over them as they exited the fortress, and Shon hesitated with Rerves and Thom as the others fell into formation.
“Over here,” one boy, not much older than them, called out, waving his hand and pointing to the spots next to him, “Tallest in the back, shortest in the front.”
Shon fell in behind Thom, with Rerves behind him and next to the helpful Squire. No one spoke, and everyone stood at attention. Shon did his best to imitate them, standing stiff with his arms at his sides and trying not to lock his knees. They waited like that for what felt like an hour but must have been minutes. Eventually, four Paladins and Master Daunas exited the fortress at a casual walk. No one moved, not even to salute.
“Dress right, DRESS!” one of the Paladins, an older man with a light build, shouted at the head of the formation.
As one, the experienced Squires lifted their left arms and looked right, shuffling to adjust themselves slightly, so they stood at precisely the proper distance from each other. Shon, Thom, and Rerves hurried to imitate them just trying to keep up.
“Ready, FRONT.”
All arms dropped, and heads snapped forward.
“Right, FACE.”
The Squires, all to Shon’s right, turned their backs on him in perfect unison, snapping their heels and maintaining formation. The newest Squires did their best to mimic them a step behind.
“Forward, MARCH.”
They started marching, their feet moving as one and their arms swinging together. Being left-handed, Shon stepped off with the correct foot, but he was the only one. The others had to double-step quickly to bring themselves back in line with everyone else. They marched all the way out the gate before they were given the command to run. Two of the Paladins set the pace at the front, with the other two in the back behind Shon and the others. Master Daunaus ran beside them.
They stayed in formation for two full rounds of the curtain wall, but eventually, some began to lag. No one stopped. The stronger runners gently passed the stragglers, returning to formation as the slower people fell back. Apparently, it was more important that they continue to run than that they stay in formation. Shon found himself grateful again for all his training -which included endurance running- with Master Veon-Zih. No matter what Master Daunaus said about him needing to unlearn his lessons.
They made ten rounds of the complex before being led back into the courtyard. They were allowed to get water and catch their breath before Daunas shouted, “Get your weapons, boys.” and they all scrambled for the weapons rack full of swords.
Shon followed behind, unsure what to do but watching to try and figure it out before it was his turn. Everyone seemed to grab a different type of true sword, some huge two-handed greatswords, some thinner one-handed longswords with shields, and others hand-and-a-half, or bastard, swords. Remembering Daunas’s sword assignments Shon made for the rack with the bastard swords, but was stopped before he could reach one by another Paladin shouting out names.
“Shon, Rerves, Thom, and Uther. To me.” Shon’s fingers brushed off the hilt of a practice sword, and he turned to follow Rerves, Thom, and an older boy. They approached the Paladin nervously; the fact that the older squire's shoulders were slumped in abject misery did nothing to ease the younger boys' fears.
The Paladin had a stern face and barked, “Follow me.” before any of them had a chance to ask anything. They followed him back into the fortress and up the stairs to the barracks, where they found four more Paladins, each standing outside one of their rooms. “You were instructed to keep your rooms clean and your beds made.” the stern Paladin said, “You will do it again, and you will do it until you get it right.” Shon hadn’t fixed his blankets, was that what this was about? It shouldn’t take long to fix...
He entered his room to find it completely upended. His uniform box was pulled out, its contents scattered across the floor and bed, which had its sheets and blankets pulled off and thrown over the desk. The drawer to his desk had been removed and dumped on the ground, left upside down with pencils and cards scattered all about.
Rerves' call of shock and protest could be heard from the hall, “I didn’t do this! Someone-”
“You might as well have.” the Paladin interrupted flatly, “You have ten minutes, do it properly.” They had done this. The Paladins had inspected their rooms, and finding them less than perfect, had torn them apart so the Squires could clean them again.
Shon steeled himself and started with the bed. He would do as he was told. Follow orders. There was no use complaining about something that needed to be done. When he was finished, he left his room and stood by the door, opposite the still quiet, and waiting Paladin. The stern Paladin waited for all of them to be done and by their doors before he marched down the hall, sticking his head in each room. When he reached the oldest boy, three doors down, he made an about-face and stated, “Again.”
All four of the waiting Paladins went into their respective rooms and began to trash them again. Thom whined in protest, and Shon flinched as he heard his drawer being pulled out and upended for a second time. When the Paladins were done, they returned to their positions by the doors, and the serious one stated, “You have ten minutes.”
They cleaned their rooms again. And again. And again. Occasionally the Paladin would shorten their time limit. By the time he was done, Shon was surprised how much he could finish in five minutes. He could hear the other Squires doing their drills in the courtyard and snuck a peek when they filed back into the fortress for breakfast. And still, they cleaned and recleaned their rooms.
They worked through breakfast and prayer and were finally dismissed to their lessons. Shon trudged with the rest towards the classroom, disgusted with himself. He'd had a full hour before anyone else to get his room ready. Why hadn’t he done that first? It wasn’t a mistake he would make again. Glancing over his shoulder, Shon watched the older boy, Uther. He'd been here at least a year and looked utterly defeated. How had he not learned to do it right after so long, and presumably so many such punishments?
No one spoke as they entered the classroom. The Paladin giving the lecture for the day didn’t even turn from what he was writing on the board. Shon took an empty seat in the back and fell into it, flinching at the sound. Though no one else seemed to notice.
There was a notebook and pencil in front of each chair, and Shon opened his to find a hastily scrawled message on a scrap piece of paper,
'Don’t worry about it. It happens to everyone their first year. Welcome to Hamerfoss.'
Shon looked around as if he actually expected to recognize the writer amongst the group of eighteen strangers. No one looked up from their notes. Shon stuffed the message quickly into his pocket before picking up his pencil and trying to follow the lecture. Something about water use and regulation in Halakon verse Talkar…
He had known it was going to be strict. Had known that they would demand perfection. And Shon swore silently to himself and Hengist that he would give it to them.
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Comments welcome!

Finally got my shot. 4 candidates, including myself, 2 positions. If I understood the MMES (him + 2 HR present) I am the only external candidate.
I feel neutral about the interview. I don't feel like I've walked out of there like a rockstar but I didn't sound like a clown either.
My best score on the 955 was actually for MPE 84.23. With military bonus makes it 89.23.
Was told to check my email by the end of the day for a pass fail notice on the interview. A little bit frustrating because I figure they make the decision as soon as you walk out of the room at least as far as the interview itself goes.
It is possible to pass the interview but lose out to someone that also passed but with a higher score. I feel like that is the most likely outcome for me here but I really appreciated finally getting my chance.
They never actually did ask about ohm's law I was so ready to rock that and bring up kirchhoff's and so on. Oh well. I think mentally I was still expecting an "ET" style interview. It was less formal than I expected and most of the questions weren't technical at all. I could see where one might manufacture an answer that sounded good but I didn't try to do that. I just answered honestly I did take my time and think for a few minutes on one.
No reason to try and bs those people everyone sitting in that room knows a lot more than I do.
Best of luck to the other candidates hopefully I see one of you in training.

Situation/background:
In my post some weeks ago I asked peoples opinion of having moon tiers to give some users/advertisers some benefits for holding moons. This proposal is about a moon tier system for advertisers/companies. The moon tiers for users is currently not possible since we're waiting for admins reply.
Moon tiers are a form of "reward" for holding moons and this could be seen as a membership to this sub. Examples of moons tiers can be found in the post I linked above. I chose to not to include some moon tiers to this proposal since every moon tier should get their own proposal. So in the future people can make proposals and it could get discussed individually. Also I recommend to use this type of sorting:
If this proposal is CCIP-060 for example, every proposal that makes it to the sub should be CCIP-060.1, CCIP-60.2,...
Problem:
As for now we don't have any benefits for advertisers/companies that want to support our sub and moons. Some advertisers (like CoinGecko for example) bought a lot of moons after their advertising in our sub and in my opinion we should reward this kind of behavior.
Solution:
The solution to this problem is to have moon tiers for advertisers and companies. Moon tiers are tiers where an advertisecompany should hold an x amount of moons to get some benefit. This way we could reward them with some extra discounts and free stuff, etc for holding x amount of moons. Some simple examples:
Holding x Moons = One free day of banner time each year Holding y Moons = Get 5% discount on AMA and banner rentals Holding z Moons = ....
Like I said before this proposal is just to approve moon tiers for advertisers in the sub. Each moon tier will require their own proposal since it's too specific to make general moon tiers in one proposal.
Extra precautions:

• For a minimum of three months, a company or advertiser must maintain the required number of moons for a specific tier.
• The wallet where a company or advertiser is holding their moons should be used to burn moons for future AMAs/Banner rentals/...

Pro's:

• Rewarding companies and advertisers for holding moons, this could be seen as a subscription to the sub. They will have access to exclusive features, discounts,... in return.
• More interests in moons as an investment and a way to let advertisers hold their moons for future advertisement benefits.
• Potentially more volume for moons. (Could translate in a bigger liquidity pool)

Con's:

• Exclusive features, discounts,... could result in less moons burned.
• Adding an extra layer of difficulty (but it's optional)

View Poll

Before you read any further, check out our Unit Culture Primer to see what we’re all about.
NATO JOINT SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND
US CENTCOM
OPERATION MYRMIDON
3D COMBINED JOINT TASK FORCE “ROUGH RIDERS”
The 3rd Combined Joint Task Force, colloquially known as the Rough Riders, is a special purpose task force created by NATO JSOC with the intent of deterring CSAT influence in the Mediterranean and abroad. Falling under US Central Command, the Rough Riders are a unit hand picked from volunteers across all NATO/ANZUS operating forces. Typically, the Rough Riders are attached to conventional NATO forces to serve as force multipliers. They specialize in Direct Action, Counter-Insurgency, Special Reconnaissance, and forward observation for NATO fire support assets.
What we do:
The year is 2026, and the world stands poised for great change. With rising tensions in the Middle East and the Pacific, a new world power has emerged: the Canton protocol Strategic Alliance (CSAT). Premiered by China and Iran, this new treaty organization stands poised to threaten NATO's long-reigning global military hegemony. A new Cold War has begun.
In the face of this new threat, NATO Joint Special Operations Command has authorized the formation of a special purpose unit to directly intervene against CSAT’s growing sphere of influence. As a member of the Rough Riders, you will witness firsthand the years leading up to ArmA 3’s “The East Wind” campaign and the vibrant political climate of 2035. Your actions and the actions of your brothers in arms will tell the story of NATO defiance in the face of CSATs rise to power. You’ll have epic tales to tell, comrades to mourn, and more than enough action.
In the Rough Riders, we put storytelling and fun at the forefront. With a wonderful team of Game Masters and Writers, we aim to give you those “movie moments” and incredible stories of heroism, intense combat, and even hilarity when ArmA decides to ArmA somebody (or all of us).
What can I expect from the Rough Riders?

• A welcoming, friendly environment.
• Training without the boredom! If this is your first time ever playing ArmA that’s perfectly fine!
• Work Hard, Play Harder Mentality.
• Leadership and promotion opportunities.
• Your feedback to be valued, regardless of how new you are.
• The freedom to switch between roles without a stuffy MOS system.
• Roleplay.

What do the Rough Riders expect from me?

• Willingness to learn, follow orders, and contribute to the success of the team.
• To respect your fellow Rough Riders.
• A working microphone.
• A sense of humor.

What does “Accessible Milsim” mean?
In the Rough Riders, we've built our community around making the junior enlisted experience as drama-free as possible. We believe that solid milsim operations can still work without suffocating our enlisted with constricting MOS systems and countless hours of basic training. The idea is that new members can join the unit, download the mods and jump right into the action.
This is made possible by increasingly serious levels of milsim orientation the further up the chain of command you go. Your average player can jump right into fun and challenging operations if their Fireteam and Squad Leaders have the adequate training and mentality. By volunteering to try for a leadership position, you increase your commitment and seriousness level.
Accessible milsim means that you choose the level of dedication and milsim seriousness that you want. From casually showing up to be boots on the ground blowing stuff up, to managing training and combat leadership, all the way to the paperwork simulator that comes with an officer commission.
You get out what you put in.
Training:
You don't need to be a grizzled ArmA veteran to join the Rough Riders. Our simple training program is intended to bring even brand new players up to speed without killing them with boredom. You can expect to learn the following:
- TFAR Setup
- Rough Riders Intro (who we are, what we do, expectations-both ways)
- Intro to Unit Life (who you are, what you'll be doing as a new member, chain of command)
- Role Interest Declaration (helps us shape and personalize your training)
- ArmA Basics
- ACE Basics
- TFAR Basic Training
- Common Sense Combat/Fireteam Training
- CQB Basic Training
Between deployments, we do a garrison rotation that is focused on catching any new members up to speed and helping veteran members and NCOs grow and improve. The Hebontes schedule is a several week process. This allows for the writing/zeusing team to have time to create a quality deployment with all the necessary lore bits and planning considerations, while giving the unit time to relax and make mistakes in a controlled and learning-focused environment.
Opportunities:
Rough Riders members fill a multitude of roles, and are allowed to switch between them for different missions so long as they have passed the appropriate training. Roles available to Rough Riders are:
-Zeus
-**Rifleman/Designated Marksman
-AT/AA Specialist
- Automatic Rifleman
-Grenadier
-Radio Operator
-Combat Medic/ MEDEVAC Medic
-Combat Engineer
-Artilleryman/Fire Direction Officer
-Rotary-wing Aircraft Crew/Pilot
-Fixed-wing Aircraft Pilot
-IFV/APC Crew/Commander
-Media ReporteJournalist
Leadership opportunities are made available to interested members who are noted to possess technical competency and the ability to communicate effectively. Through a program we call the Warrior Leaders Course, NCO candidates are put to the test via a series of written and field exams. We have systems in place for leadership development too- so if you’re not ready to lead now (but want to), we can teach you how to be a leader.
Community members may join our writing/zeusing team and contribute to the development of our world in-game. It is expected that these individuals be team players overall, and be able to understand and support the bigger picture as determined by the administration team. At the end of the day it's about making sure the players had fun, and telling a memorable story/giving them opportunities to have stories about the operation- not about how cool you are as a Zeus.
**Designated Marksman/Sniper School is open to Rough Riders with a score of 38+ (Expert) on their Rifle Qual, who have achieved the rank of Lance Corporal. Members are eligible for promotion to Lance Corporal after one (1) full deployment with the unit.
Operations:
We operate Monday/Friday/Saturday starting at ~7pm-~8pm EST. Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday are off days and Squad Leaders may run trainings if requested or if they see fit. Members typically play other games in the discord together on these off days as well.
There is no mandatory attendance expectation- we want to see you around, but everyone understands that real life comes first.
We operate on a deployment system, meaning that we spend prolonged periods of time in various regions of the world participating in roughly 1-2 month long persistent environments. Between these deployments we dedicate a few weeks to retraining the unit, catching new players up on anything they haven't already figured out during their deployment, and testing NCO candidates while our Zeus/Writer team works on the next deployment.
Information:
Founded September 2018, Rough Riders is actively seeking new members to help increase our core of dedicated players. We operate with a reinforced platoon (~40ish) that includes infantry and a myriad of support elements also manned by our members.
The Rough Riders consists of primarily North American (NA) members, and so most things are scheduled with that in mind. We do however have an international community with wonderful members from places like Australia, Laos, Russia, and elsewhere. Anybody and everybody is welcome in the Rough Riders- we just ask that you are able to speak, read, and understand English.
To join, simply join our discord and introduce yourself! No application necessary, and no sitting through hours of tedious basic training just to blow things up.
Check out some badass screenshots!: https://imgur.com/a/MEvB9by
Our discord server: https://discord.gg/KEKeawr
Our Official Arma 3 Unit page: https://units.arma3.com/unit/3djtf

TW: suicide
My sweet husband is so stressed. My mother-in-law is in shock. My father-in-law's family is angry and frustrated. Just an absolute mess. Couple of years ago they moved away from us, about a handful of hours away, and I thought then it was a bad idea. Mother-in-law was miserable there so she said she was leaving him and coming home. He was a lifelong alcoholic and just kind of a grumpy dude all around. He spent the day with his son, spoke on the phone with another son, and then got into an argument over a microwave with my mother-in-law. He went downstairs and pulled the trigger, twice somehow. My brother-in-law had to cut out carpet and drag a bloody recliner out of a basement.
The house he did it in, it's a generational farmstead where the whole family all converge for holidays, celebrations and now funerals. His father was actually born and passed away in this house. I think sadly now, it will be sold.
Funeral arrangements are being made. Several family members want to view his body so they have a different memory of the last time they saw him. My father-in-law was my husband's stepdad, and I think he's really struggling with feeling like a secondary family member. I keep trying to tell him he's just as much family as anyone else. I mean his stepdad was actually more in his life than his own children.
I just wish there was a book or manual or something to cling to for help or advice or just a fucking beacon in the night. My mother-in-law was already moving back and now that is a jumbled up mess. She has a new job lined up , but hardly anything moved and is good at playing the damsel in distress to get assistance when she's fully capable of doing it herself. But now I feel like we have to pull up and do it because of these circumstances. My husband was getting really good at putting a boundary down and communicating with her that she has to be self-reliant for the most part. We were just coming home from music festival when we got the call and I'm also sad that my husband just couldn't have a fun fucking weekend without anything bad happening.
We've been through some crazy shit in our short marriage, and he was nothing but supportive of me when my best friend was murdered. I just want to be supportive for him. There's just so many conflicting emotions. Has anyone been through anything like this?

[Today's Card] Ouroboros. As you all probably know, most 78 card decks usually bring 80 cards in total: one of them with information about the artist, one of them acting as a "lid". In RWS, this "lid" is would be the one with the Ouroboros. I've heard the person who got me into Tarot, a very powerful and experienced young witch, address these two as "the Jokers". I liked hew vision and decided to incorporate it, attaching specific meanings to both.
Regarding the Ouroboros, I've always taken it as "you're not supposed to know". The cyclical nature of the symbol takes me towards a certain "you need a few more laps before being able to figure it out" vibe. One can see it as a veil, which blocks clear vision, or one can see it as an advise to keep on working through and ask again later. I tend to lean towards the latter, since it's the option that seemingly provides more agency.
It's quite curious that this card showed up as the Card to be deepened today. It resonated on a very personal, pragmatic level. Given the current context of my situation - the last week of classes, right before exam season, where I'm supposed to tidy up the final delivery of a couple projects and start picking up the material for the exams - it feels like the cards are gearing me towards applying focus and effort to more practical matters. "Another lap", to me personally, entails more experience in the physical realm. Which means doing what must be done in a practical sense.
I'd say this joker, in this particular context, is related to accruing more life experience before moving on. Breaking the cycle of procrastination is something I intend to do today - so the fact a cycle-related card popped up is not insignificant whatsoever. This particular deck, Runic Tarot from Lo Scarabeo, has the Ouroboros from RWS switched by a runic stave: the Helm of Awe. While this stave isn't Norse in essence, having been created in the 1800's as part of a Christian ritual, it has a close resemblance to the Vegvisir, a symbol related to being guided and finding the right path while traveling. As such, the message seems to be related to keep pushing forward while keeping an ear open for any inner guidance that might ease the process of arriving at the desired results.
[Expand the Light] The Knight of Wands popped up, bringing in a lot of motion, resilience and a "powering through obstacles" vibe. Given the previous interpretation, I'd say the connection lies in the way that facing life's challenges and obstacles imbues us with a certain momentum that, ultimately, makes everything around us flow and move forward. The periods where we manage to keep a high degree of focus and practicality are usually the periods where everything in our lives magically move forward. These periods make us feel like there's nothing that can stop our path. This is due to the energetic momentum accrued by constant overcoming. Regarding the particular scenario I'm living through, I'd say the message is about stop giving excuses and just start doing the work - I'll most likely find that all this perceived difficulty, the core reason of my procrastination, is deeply unfounded, and that I'll be able to move swiftly through the problems and tasks once the initial inertia has been broken through.
[Deepen the Shadow] Curiously, the Sun popped up here. There's some deep alchemical significance int he fact the Sun popped up in a shadow-related context. Clearly the process of getting the projects one will bring up a lot of emotional digestion and integration to the table - something I'm already deeply accustomed to, given the type of bridging I make between my higher studies of software development and my Higher studies of mysticism and occultism. The fact both cards are facing the Joker is also significant: a clear indicator of the path to follow. Curiously, both the Knight of Wands and the Sun are very bright cards in this deck - the artist made a wonderful job of capturing elemental energy in all it's might. The Joker, on the other hand, is a very dark hue of brown. Almost resembling of an old, mossy, oak door. The impression that comes from just observing the color contrast, alongside the fact both figures are facing towards the Joker, is one of having two torches at the sides of a passageway to a poorly lit room or corridor. Clearly an imagery of initiation - which brings some much needed interest to the task of finishing up those boring school projects - which, although interesting, are had to get motivated to do, since all they'll add up to will be a bunch of dusty bits lost somewhere in a TA's hard drive and some score on a grading sheet that it's meaningless as long as above the minimum grade.
[Guiding Power] The Devil, my good old friend. Clearly a message about not keep swimming in my own bullshit and start getting things done. This Devil has a Loki on it, which is both less constrictive and more dangerous than the Devil in RWS, as far as I'm concerned. Loki has this knack for tricking us into thinking left is right, top is bottom, and will easily lead our lives from tightly organized to utter chaos in less than three moves, if we allow him to. This gears me towards the escapist tendency I've had regarding picking up the books and putting fingers to code. I end up wasting my time going off on tangents about either spirituality or flat out useless stuff (*cough* netflix *cough*) until it's too late to do that anymore. The usual pattern is I'll keep putting off whatever it is - either a project or studying - until the only option is pulling an all nighter and salvaging some form of delivery that gets me through the course. This is a pattern I intend to break this semester - will move onto Master's next year, and I want the ease and smoothness of academic experience that comes from keeping the material up to date and putting some work in every day. While it may seem like a bad guiding power, it actually feels like a very good omen. First and foremost, the fact the Trickster popped up suggests the poorly lit room is a trick in and off itself, and will lighten up once a couple steps have been taken - the same type of message suggested by the Knight of Wands. Second and lastly, the Devil is about breaking self-limiting patterns, and breaking self-limiting patterns is just what I want to do in these last couple weeks.
[Missing Link] Ten of Cups, which is curious, given that it also popped up yesterday, in a totally different context. I was supposed to start studying yesterday, so this continuity suggests that now is the last chance to do it before it starts getting dark. I'd rather not have to deal with all the stress and anxiety that comes from having to crunch 12 hours of coding for a school project in the day before the deadline. On the other side of things, this Ten of Cups reminds me of how far I've come over the last couple years. College is one of my great challenges - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Over the last few years, after I got back - had dropped out in 2015 - I've always ended the semester completely spent and without emotional strength or mental space to do any form of work. I'd just hide in my shell and wait for the storm to pass, doing the bare minimum to keep afloat. This year, on the other hand, I don't feel that way. I haven't been working a lot, but it's more out of laziness than it is about not having the energy or strength to handle any more material. That's quite the big step, one I should take pride in. This Ten of Cups tells me to support myself on the work made thus far, and to derive inspiration from it every time I doubt my ability to get through some problem or feel like it's worthless. The evolutionary current over the last few years is clear, and I should strive to keep that flow.

The night before Memorial Day my little pig started showing signs of sickness. He’s 5 years old, a senior. He was lethargic, not eating or drinking, not using the bathroom or moving around. He lost a ton of weight overnight. He was just laying down making a sound like he was having difficulty breathing. Of course no vets were open since it’s a holiday, so he went a full 24 hours in this state. I hand fed him and bottle fed him since he couldn’t on his own. Yesterday I called first thing in the morning to a vet an hour away, which is the closest exotic vet. They didn’t accept new patients, but with how critical his condition was they let me come in. I was thinking it was going to be a 50/50 chance he survived, I kept my hopes up too high. I did all I could, I let them take an x ray and nothing showed up that they could tell. Next I let them take blood work, and with how dehydrated he was they were able to just get enough to see his white and red blood cell count. His white blood cell count was extremely high, and they said he had an infection of some sort that they couldn’t pin point, it could have been cancer. She told me euthanasia was on the table, as if we even did treatment we wouldn’t know what we were treating, and he was also suffering from gastrointestinal stasis from not eating, so his organs were already shutting down. It was an uphill battle she said, even if he survived this he would most likely become sick again. I decided to euthanize him. I held him as they did the anesthesia, and he fell asleep in my arms. I can’t seem to get the image of his limp body out of my head, as he was always running around, energetic and happy. I’ve been in complete shock since he passed. I went home and immediately took down his cage, but I’m keeping his things to remember him by. I can’t help but feel like I didn’t try hard enough to keep him alive, even though the vet told me he was in such critical condition. The option wouldn’t be on the table if he was fixable, right? I just wish I was able to tell him how much I loved him, and what was going to happen and why. I have difficulty with the concept of death, and what happens after. I’d like to think that he’s no longer in pain, and he’s living his best afterlife. I don’t like to think it’s nothingness forever, but if it is atleast he isn’t in pain and he had a good life. I just feel so guilty for playing god, and making that decision for him. I wish I could have asked him what he wanted. I wonder what would have happened if I tried treatment. Atleast I was holding him and there for him in his final moments, seeing him so dilapidated I know he was probably going to die anyways. With my cat who passed a couple years ago, I could tell by her face it was the end, and I saw that with my Guinea pig yesterday. I ended up having to pay 700$ for all of this, and I’m not even worried about the money as I’m glad he went peacefully and with dignity, as he wouldn’t have if he died at home naturally. Just everything together, having to put down my pet, losing almost a grand, and missing work because I’m an absolute mess that can’t stop crying. Could anyone give me kind words to help me get past the guilt and grief? Thank you for listening 😢💗

--- Table of Contents ---
Spring 4985, 18 Buromoth
The road to Hamerfoss was north out of Smilnda. By horse, the journey took only two days, one and a half if ridden hard. By foot, it generally took four days, but escorting a heavily loaded wagon would take the squires six.
On the first day out, Thom and Rerves released their excited energy through constant chatter. Talking about how happy they were to finally be on their way to real training. Occasionally Shon would join in.
On the second day, they spoke about how much easier it would be to concentrate without the girls around. Shon didn’t join much in this conversation.
On the third day, they confessed to missing Daisy and Ania. Suspecting they missed the conversation, Shon attempted to chime in more often.
The fourth and fifth days were plagued with spring rain, and the boys did little more than complain, particularly about their new leather armor chafing when wet. Shon couldn't help but grumble in affirmation. He'd hated the armor from the first day.
The sixth, and final, day saw a stop to the rain. The boys spent their walk beside the wagon carefully dodging puddles after Thom submerged his entire boot in one deeper than expected. There was very little talking between them now, all three too nervous and excited for their imminent arrival.
The road outside the city had been the only part with flat fields and open skies on either side. For the rest, they'd traveled through forest, with only the occasional clearing maintained explicitly for travelers to camp. Tall evergreens growing close together blocked the view of anything beyond the road at their feet, giving Shon and the others very little to look at as they marched.
Two sturdy horses pulled the wagon of supplies for the fortress. Barrels of food and crates of scrap metal as well as sacks of letters and the Squire's personal bags, weighed down the laden wagon, the wheels carving deep channels in the muddy road.
Shon had already sketched the wagon, the horses, the Paladin driving them, and his fellow Squires many times over. He even managed a few landscape drawings, for lack of better subjects. He had no idea how the other two managed to calm their excitement before sleep. Perhaps that was why they talked so much every night.
Walking ahead of him, Rerves readjusted the hilt of his short sword while Shon pulled at the neck of his armor for what seemed like the hundredth time each. They hadn’t been trained in the proper use of either, and Shon wondered again why the Paladins had insisted the Squires wear them. They'd been ordered to guard the wagon, but who would be stupid enough to waylay a Temple cart so close to a fortress full of knights? Of course, monsters such as the draken and drakwalves were always a threat, but what were three untrained boys supposed to do against something like that?
Shon sighed, letting his hand fall limply from the gorget. It was no use. No matter how many times he tried to shift it, it would just rub somewhere else until he grew uncomfortable enough to try again. He attempted to distract himself, letting his eyes unfocus and picturing himself going through his kata as he walked in a daze. Master Veon-Zih always said that mental practice was just as important as physical training, though in this case, Shon was just glad it gave him something to focus on besides his nerves and discomfort.
He was about to start the second kata when he nearly ran into Rerves. The taller boy had stopped walking, and Shon arched an eyebrow at him before realizing that the wagon had also stopped. There was no way they were there already…
Stepping to the side, Shon saw what had stalled them. A man in what looked like poorly kept half-plate stood in the middle of the path. A large war ax strapped to his back.
The stranger scratched at his short beard, scraggly and peppered like his hair, “Ho traveler, where you headed?” He called.
The three boys looked to the Paladin driving the wagon, watching as his eyes narrowed, “We are bound for Hamerfoss, good ser…”
“Ah, so the toll you’ll be payin' will be comin' out of them coffers then,” the stranger called, his face splitting into a grin as the boys looked back his way.
“There is no toll on this road, good ser.” their Paladin stated. As if their heads had been placed on a swivel, the Squires returned their gazes to him, but only for a moment as the stranger answered again.
“There is now.” the bandit lifted his hand, the Paladin stood, and the boys looked between the two with wide eyes, not sure what they were supposed to do. The bandit whistled, a sharp sound that sent birds flying from the trees as four hooded figures exited from the gloom to surround the wagon and its three terrified Squires.
The Paladin drew his longsword, ordering the boys, “Protect the wagon!” They turned frightened eyes on each other for only a moment before looking back at the bandits. Each now holding swords of their own.
The knight lept from the wagon and charged the leader, who'd reached for his ax. Thom and Rerves fumbled for their short swords, and Shon dropped into a low stance, his fists held at the ready and heart beating furiously.
“Shon, sword!” Rerves yelled, his voice somehow steady as the four hooded bandits stalked closer.
Shon actually felt himself blush despite the situation and pulled his sword from its scabbard like the rest. He felt off-balance, the weight of the weapon throwing off his well-rehearsed stance. He didn’t have time to adjust before the bandits charged. Two went for Rerves, leaving one each for Shon and Thom.
Shon tried to relax, to stay alert and ready to move, as he'd been taught. But his palm was sweating and he clinched the hilt tighter than intended. Focused on the bandit heading his way, the chaos around him blurred, becoming indistinct, like a drawing left in the rain. Shon held his ground and lifted the sword to one of the ready positions he'd seen the Paladins practice. His attacker was quite a bit taller than he was, and Shon lifted the sword above his head as the first swing came down hard from above.
The hilt shook in Shon's hand, and his attacker didn't hesitate to swing again, this time sweeping around and aiming for Shon's left leg. Clenching his teeth, Shon pivoted the sword down to block again but misjudged the length of his blade. The bandit's long sword passed below the point of Shon's block to strike just above the knee. He felt the impact, but could only imagine the damage, refusing to look and thanking Hengist the limb hadn't buckled. As the shock of the hit ran its course, the attacker flicked his sword up from inside Shon's failed guard, knocking the weapon from his hand.
The short sword flew free, but Shon had already begun his counter, aiming with his free right hand at his attacker’s extended wrist. The hit would have knocked the attacker's arm aside at the least, but with his now empty left hand, Shon struck the same arm from the outside at the elbow. In an instinctual effort to save the joint, the bandit twisted awkwardly, but predictably, bringing his head lower and closer.
Cartilage crunched beneath his knuckles and Shon's attacker reeled back, gripping his nose under his hood and cursing loudly enough for others to hear over the clang of metal and chaos.
One of Rerves' attackers disengaged from his two-on-one fight to aid his friend, who was now backing away from Shon as fast as he could. Shon hesitated a moment then dashed to his fallen sword.
Again Shon felt unbalanced with the weapon in hand. He tried to shift his weight to offset the difference but barely had enough time to bring the sword to bear as the second attacker swung his two-handed greatsword at Shon's right side.
Taking his own weapon in both hands, Shon managed to absorb some of the force of the blow, but he still wasn't strong enough to fully block the strike. His arms buckled, giving way for his opponent's longsword to hit his upper arm. This second hit hadn't fully registered in Shon's mind when the new attacker shoved his shoulder into Shon's chest, trying to push him over.
It worked. Shon fell to the ground with a splash and smack as he habitually swung his hands down to slap the ground, dropping his sword again, but breaking the energy of the fall. Just as Master Veon-Zih had taught him. Perhaps expecting Shon to be winded, the attacker didn't follow through with another attack on the prone boy; instead, turning to look at the companion Shon had punched.
Shon didn't hesitate. Still on his back, Shon twisted his hips, scissoring his legs to either side of the bandit's leg and kicking him behind the knee and inside the shin. The bigger man went down, and Shon swung his legs up, rolling onto his shoulder blades before jumping directly to a standing position. Or at least trying to. The leather armor was heavy and awkward, and he wobbled when he landed on his feet. As he attempted to regain his balance, another whistle rang out from the front of the wagon.
As one, the attackers disengaged from their respective defending Squires. The one Shon had knocked down rolled away and was helped up by his companion sporting a bloody nose. The Squires didn't pursue. Their hands shook with adrenaline, and their eyes tried to dart every way at once.
"Stand down, Squires," it was the Paladin. The knight had sheathed his sword and was moving back towards the wagon, but the boys could barely manage a glance at each other before focusing back on their attackers. Still very much on edge. It wasn't until the attackers in question also sheathed their weapons that the Squires began to slowly straighten, looking between the Paladin, the lead bandit, their attackers, and each other in quick succession.
"You all did very well," the knight said, reaching out to ensure the horses were still calm. They'd hardly moved, causing Shon to determine they must be warhorses, perhaps one was the knight's own partner.
"Not bad, not bad." the lead bandit started forward, slinging his ax back over his shoulder as he moved. Rather than being reassured by the gesture, the Squires dropped back into their fighting stance.
The Paladin snapped, "It was a test, boys. Relax and sheath your swords before you hurt yourselves." The lead 'bandit' laughed out loud at that. It was a booming sound like a bark straight from his belly as he threw his head back and planted his fists firmly on his hips.
"First time seeing battle, even a mock one, and you can't help but be on edge. It's the same every year," he said, the strange speech pattern he'd used before completely gone. He gestured, and his four underlings removed their hoods. The one with the bloody nose still had it pinched, his head tilted forward.
Mock battle… Shon's leg and arm throbbed painfully with every heartbeat, and his knuckles stung as he clenched and unclenched his fists to try and relax. But now that it was over, he realized that both hits had been with the flat of the blade.
The ringleader continued, "These fine Squires are going to be the newest Paladins of Hengist. After their vigil next month." the four attackers saluted and the younger Squires exchanged glances again before finally putting their swords away. "And I," the man slapped his chest, "am your new Weaponmaster. Master Daunas Mung. It will be my job to train you in combat at Hamerfoss."
Rerves was the first to recover. He smiled, but his voice held a hint of sarcasm, "I wish I could say it's nice to meet you, Master Daunas," he tried to laugh, "perhaps once my heart has stopped trying to beat its way out of my chest." That caused the Weaponmaster to bark his own laugh again. Thom smiled nervously at Shon, who was taking slow, measured breaths to calm his own heart.
The Paladin took a moment to examine their various bumps and bruises but only used his magic to heal the senor squire's broken nose. The much larger party continued together towards Hamerfoss, Master Daunas riding with the Paladin in the wagon while the older Squires chatted amongst each other. Thom and Rerves didn’t join in the chatter, both looking as anxious as Shon felt. He could hear the two uninjured seniors making fun of the two who had fought him and wasn’t sure if he should be embarrassed or proud. He'd hardly used his sword, -dropped it twice!- and the sword was the sacred weapon of Hengist. The symbol of the god himself.
Eventually, -finally- they left the woods and immediately saw the fortress situated in the middle of a vast field. Hamerfoss was one of the oldest structures still being utilized in Clearhelm. As such, it wasn't nearly as visually impressive as some of the newer Temples in the cities. Even so, as they approached the south gate, the three new Squires gaped at its great stone walls in awe.
The outer curtain wall was twenty stones high, -at least four of the boys stacked one on top of the other- with two layers of iron portcullises, their bars as thick as Shon's forearm. Walking through the first, the boys looked up and saw the faces of Paladins looking down at them through holes in the ceiling, built for dumping hot tar or oil on invaders trapped between the portcullises. They moved a little faster through the second.
Beyond the wall was one of two open courtyards, with training dummies, archery targets, and sparring rings separated by neat stone walkways. The smell of hay and horses wafted over the whole place from the stable against the south wall to their right, and the ringing "tink, tink" of a hammer on metal filled the cool air from the smithy built into the side of the fortress proper.
"Welcome to Hamerfoss!" Master Daunas gestured widely to all before them, and Shon fixed his eyes on the fortress itself, rising up like an indomitable mountain before him. It was about fifteen feet taller than the curtain wall, with one great tower in the center jutting up another fifteen feet above that. The roof was lined with battlements where archers could rain death on an invading army.
Turning his head, Shon could see three of the four bastions at the corners of the curtain wall and the armored figures that must be more Paladins standing guard. His left hand twitched as he longed to unpack his journal and draw every detail. The bare, dead-looking vines covering the face of the west wall, he was sure they would bloom in a few short weeks and cover the stone in green; the squat smithy coming out of his workshop to wipe the sweat from his brow in the cool air of early spring; and the slack-jawed expressions of awe on his companions' faces as they tilted their heads waaay back to try and see the top of the fortress's tower. But there would be plenty of time for that. After all, this would be his home for the next four years.
"Well. Don't just stand there gawkin'! Unload the wagon." Shon jumped in surprise and glimpsed Thom and Rerves doing the same. Master Daunas must have startled them out of their awe as well.
Shon was grateful as Rerves cleared his throat and took charge. His habit of speaking first and taking control had annoyed the girls back in Smilnda, but as Thom was used to it and Shon didn’t like giving orders, it worked out well for the boys. "Thom, you get the horses settled. Shon, you start handing me things out of the wagon." Without a word of argument, Thom nodded and went to the horses, murmuring gently as he began removing their harness and Shon climbed into the bed of the wagon to lift one crate at a time down to Rerves.
Master Daunas snorted, turning away from the new boys to give orders Shon couldn't hear to the older Squires. The young men saluted in unison, one moving to help Thom and two coming back to the wagon to help Shon and Rerves. The last jogged to the blacksmith, who waved him towards the smithy. He returned a moment later, carrying a small box and marching towards the smith, who was speaking quietly with Master Daunas.
"Shon, come on!" Rerves whispered, gesturing with both hands impatiently. Shon shook his head to clear it, handing Rerves another crate. He'd been paying a little too much attention to Daunas and the smith.
"Sorry," Shon murmured, but if Rerves heard him, he just took the box and set it with the others. It didn't take long for the four Squires to finish with the wagon. Shon hopped down with his own pack over his shoulder just as Thom came out of the stable with the senior Squire to meet them.
"Horses taken care of?" Rerves asked, and Shon blinked at him, thinking, Of course, they were; Thom wouldn't have come out otherwise…
"Yep, all settled and ready to go," Thom answered with a smile. Shon would've simply nodded. He was never one to waste words on things that didn't need to be said, and now more than ever, he found himself so focused on taking in everything around him that he could hardly think of words to say.
It seemed Master Daunas had been waiting for something to be said out loud, though, because he turned towards them at the sound, "Alright lads, this here is Nangran Flintchest. He's our resident Smith, and he'll be making all your equipment." The man was only as tall as Thom, but his shoulders and chest were broader even than Master Daunas, with hands the size of shovels and a beard that hung to the middle of his chest.
"Line up, smallest... largest…" As he spoke, Nangran pointed first to the right, then to the left of Shon, and didn't bother to see if they obeyed before turning away from them to open the box the older Squire had brought. Taking out a long measuring tape and a ratty-looking notebook, the smith tossed the young man the notebook without explanation and headed toward Thom with the measuring tape. Thom quickly positioned himself to the right of Shon with Rerves on Shon’s left.
Nangran motioned with his hand, grumbling only "Arms…" Without need for further explanation, Thom stepped forward and lifted his arms like a 't', visibly swallowing down his nerves. Shon watched closely as the smith took the smaller boy's measurements. Around his chest, his bicep, lower arm, from shoulder to elbow, elbow to wrist, neck to waist, and much more besides. Thom stood stiff, following the old man's clipped instructions with hesitant jerky movements. Shon thought it should be awkward to work around their armor, but Nangran didn't seem to notice.
"Sword?" Nangran asked, and Thom made a confused sound. But the smith waved a massive hand in his face, "Not you, boy. Daunas, what sword?"
Master Daunas had his arms crossed over his chest and was tilting his head back and forth from one side to the other, absently scratching his beard before he finally said. "Two hands." he then pointed at Shon, saying, "Bastard." Shon wrinkled his nose, but the offense was short-lived when Daunas pointed at Rerves, saying, "One hand."
Nangran sniffed, "One each..." he stepped over to Shon and motioned for him to raise his arms. Shon stiffened but obliged, keeping his eyes fixed forward as the old man ran his measuring tape all across Shon's body, fighting not to flinch each time the Smith brushed against him.
"Yep," Daunas answered. They were talking as if the boys weren't even there, and the older Squires just watched. Didn’t they have anything better to do? "And that one," Daunas continued, nodding towards Shon, "is a lefty." Nangran snorted without comment and continued measuring, while the Squire with the notebook scribbled a little something extra besides the numbers Nangran mumbled to him.
But then the smith ran his hand down Shon’s forearm, touching the skin of his wrist, and pulled away in surprise. Shon jerked his hand back but quickly returned it with a nervous swallow. The smith stared at him, his brow furrowed, "You're cold as ice boy. Nervous?"
Shon shook his head, but the smith continued to stare, so he added, "No sir. I'm always cold."
The smith hummed and went back to measuring around Shon's wrist and back up his arm, "They say cold hands make a warm heart," Nangran muttered.
Beside Shon, Rerves and Thom snickered. "Whoever says that has never met Shon," said Thom, who had relaxed noticeably once the smith had finished with him. Face forward, Shon glared sideways at him, but there was no real anger in it, and Thom snickered again.
Master Daunas let out another bark of a laugh, "I see you get along well! That's good; you'll want friends in training." Shon tried to relax, taking a deep breath through his nose and letting it out through pursed lips. He did get along with his fellow Squires. He felt his lips tilt up in an almost imperceptible smile. He would even go so far as to call them friends. Even if they did poke fun at each other. Or maybe it was because they did.
Smith Nangran moved on to Rerves, and Shon looked from the larger boy to the smaller and back again before focusing his gaze on Master Daunas. It seemed neither of them was going to ask the adults to clarify what they meant by the sword assignments, so he would have to. Feeling more at ease, he asked, "I thought we were going to be trained in all weapons…"
Daunas must've seen where Shon was going because he spoke at the pause provided, "Oh, you will, boy. But I was watching you fight back on the road. You didn't think we staged that little raid just for fun, did you?" Shon didn't answer. He had thought it was just for fun. Perhaps some kind of hazing ritual. When Shon didn't say anything, Daunas continued, "You boys haven't been trained, so your movements were on instinct, giving me an idea for what fighting style you may lean more towards." he pointed at Shon, who crossed his eyes to focus on the finger, "You, boy, are going to be a problem. You're the one old man V's been training."
Who? Shon refocused on the Weapon Master's face, arching an eyebrow in confusion. When Master Daunas didn’t respond to the look, Shon guessed, "Master Veon-Zih?"
Daunas continued, "He's got you jumping around with no mind to the armor you'll be wearing or the weapon in your hand. You'll have to work twice as hard to adjust some of those habits." Shon was taken aback, shocked, and a little afraid… He didn't want to lose what he'd already learned… but Master Daunas continued, "But with a hand-and-a-half sword, you'll be able to switch between one and two-handed maneuvers." he smiled softly, and Shon realized his emotions must have been showing on his face more than usual because the Weapon Master seemed to be comforting him. "You mark my words; you'll favor the bastard sword for sure."
Nangran finished with Rerves and began rolling up his measuring tape. He turned his back on the boys but spoke to them as he took his notebook back from the senior Squire, “Take that leather off and put it in the wagon. I’ll have better ready for you by first watch week.” The Squires exchanged looks, then began following the command, stripping off the leather armor and thick gambeson and trying in vain to straighten the sweaty wrinkled uniforms underneath.
“You four,” Daunas addressed the seniors, who moved from parade rest to attention in perfect unison, “show these three around and give them the rundown of how things work around here. You three,” he looked over his shoulder at Shon and the others, scratching his neck again, “this is your last day of freedom, enjoy it while you can.” all seven Squires saluted and Daunas sighed, giving a lazy salute in response before walking off, muttering to himself, “I need to shave…”
The older Squires approached the younger, two of them snickering after Daunas was far enough away not to hear. Shon arched an eyebrow at them and, seeing the expression, the tallest explained, “He’s normally clean-shaven. He let his beard grow out all week for the wagon raid.”
“You’ll be doing one too, in your last year.” another of the four added.
“Sorry about your arm,” the one who had fought Thom said, holding out his hand to the younger boy, “You really did do well, considering.” Thom shook the young man’s hand with a grateful smile at the compliment.
The two who had fought Shon exchanged looks with each other then looked at him, their expressions expectant. Shon arched his other eyebrow instead. Did they really expect him to apologize? They had attacked him. And he was four years younger than they were.
“So…” the one Shon had bloodied started, drawing the word out.
“Who taught you how to fight?” the second interjected.
“Master Veon-Zih.”
When Shon didn’t elaborate further, the two exchanged silent shrugs. Shon looked away from them, frustrated. They could communicate with each other fine in gestures and expressions, yet, he was expected to explain details they didn't need? Would they even know what a Monk was? Did it even matter? He was here to train as a Paladin now.
The only one who hadn’t spoken yet cleared his throat, and the other three turned his way immediately. Apparently, he was the unofficial leader of this group, just like Rerves was the unofficial leader of theirs. “We'll show you the barracks first. You should shower and change your uniforms before we walk around the rest of the fortress.”
“You have showers here too?” Rerves blurted in amazement, then snapped his mouth shut, blushing.
The two who were prone to laughing did so again, “Why wouldn’t we?”
“I bet we need it more than most of the official Temples.” the two laughed again.
Thom shuffled his feet nervously but said, “They told us things would be a lot rougher here.”
“They were probably just trying to scare you,”
“They were talking about the work,” the leader said sharply, then turned towards the fortress.
Shon and the others quickly grabbed their bags and rushed to follow. The leader continued to talk as they fell into step behind him, “Your day will start just before sunrise, at fifth bell. You will get dressed, make your bed as quickly as possible, then gather with the others in the courtyard,” he gestured with one hand at a wide-open spot on the training grounds, “From there we run. Around the fortress ten times in formation. After that are drills and then breakfast. After breakfast, we have prayer, followed by lectures, then heavy weapons and armor training, then lunch.” they made their way into the fortress and up a long flight of stairs to the third floor, “After lunch, there's more classwork, then light weapons and combat training. You’re then given an hour of free time to shower and rest before dinner. After dinner, there is mandated study or prayer time, then another hour of free time before lights out at ninth bell. Once every season, we take four weeks to stand watch, one week for each shift.”
He took them down a long hall lined with doors on one side. Shon tried to listen and count the doors at the same time and was glad he did when the leader stopped beside the ninth, “These three rooms are yours. Go ahead and get a new uniform and meet us back out here.”
One of the nicer boys stepped forward to open the first door, “This one is Rerves, followed by Shon and Thom.” Shon entered to find a small room barely six feet square. Directly across from the door was a bed that took up the entire wall and a small high-set window that looked out over the training field. Beside it was a small desk with a single wooden chair. Under the bed, Shon found a long shallow box full of neatly folded uniforms. His name was embroidered in the lining of each piece, and on top was a pinned note with instructions detailing the laundry procedure. Shon only skimmed it, it was the same as the fortress in Smilnda, and most likely the same the Provence over, perhaps even the kingdom.
He left his pack by the desk and returned to the hall with one of his uniforms to find it empty. Glancing down either side of the hall, he shrugged at Thom’s questioning look when he was joined by his two fellows. They waited at least ten minutes before the seniors returned, without their armor and holding their own spare uniforms. They looked nearly as disheveled as the juniors. The leader gestured for them to follow again and said, “Once you get your armor, you will keep it in your room. It's your responsibility to keep it oiled or polished as appropriate.” well, they would be good at that at least… Had they been left to wait while the seniors cared for their armor? Shon didn’t bother to ask, following the four deeper into the fortress.
They were taken to the showers, a single large room with spigots set into the walls and drains in the floor. The seniors started to strip down, placing their dirty uniforms in a basket by the door and setting their clean sets on the benches set along the same wall. Thom, Rerves, and Shon all exchanged looks before following their lead.
There were only ten showerheads, and Rerves finally asked, “How many Squires are there here?”
The seniors each moved to their own showerhead, and the room was quickly filled with hot steam, “Twentyone, including us, but we will be gone in a month, so that will leave seventeen.” one of them answered, stepping under the hot water with a grateful sigh, rinsing the sweat and dirt from the road off his surprisingly well-muscled body. Shon counted the shower spigots again as he moved towards his own. Almost twenty Squires and only ten showers at a time… it sounded like a nightmare. But at least they had hot running water.
Though he had above-average cold tolerance and preferred the winter chill far more than the summer sweat, Shon always enjoyed a truly hot shower. Master Veon-Zih liked to argue that baths were far superior, but in Shon's experience, baths always cooled off too quickly, which was why most ordinary citizens of Clearhelm used the public steam baths.
After they were washed and dressed, the real tour began. They were shown the hall with the officer's rooms, the infirmary, the mess hall, the library, and the classroom. “There’s only one?” Thom asked, peeking into the room with a blackboard across the far wall and long tables situated in front.
“Tomorrow is the last real day before the watch weeks start. You'll spend those four weeks catching up on foundational stuff. Kingdom-wide law, and your assigned sword dills, that sort of thing. After that, the lessons are given in a four-year rotation, so your first classes after the watch weeks will be new to both you and everyone else." the leader explained.
The nicest one elaborated, “You’ll have the same schedule we did, so comparative law, followed by history, then theology, then comparative cultural studies.” Shon wasn’t sure what he looked forward to least on that list. Though all would be better than fighting for a shower…
"There's also etiquette, monster studies, combat tactics and command, and war history and theory." his friend added, and Shon was relieved that at least most of those seemed more interesting.
Next, they were shown some of the less-used rooms. The war room, full of charts and maps and only used for large-scale tactics training, and an indoor sparring room that looked like it was never used.
“This is supposed to be for heavy weather.” one of the laughers said with a snicker.
“But Master Daunus says your enemies won’t let you move a fight inside, so why practice there,” added the other. Shon happened to agree, but also wasn’t looking forward to training in the rain after having walked in it for two days.
Lastly, they were shown the chapel, not as fine as the one in Smilnda but with the same sweet incense and warm comfort. The atmosphere seeped into Shon’s bones as they approached the head altar for a brief prayer and a blessing from the resident Cleric. He was a young man with pale brown hair and green eyes. He smiled warmly down at the new boys, saying, “Welcome to Hamerfoss, Squires of Hengist.” which in turn made each of them glow with enough pride to banish the nerves of their first day and daunting future.
***
--- Part 2/2 ---
--- Table of Contents ---
All comments and criticism is welcome.

Is this normal?
Few days ago, a resident fell and hit his head. He was bleeding and on blood thinners so i called 911 asap. They came and took him out right away. I called his POA and my luck, the POA is a retired cop who became verbally abusive towards me because I didn't send his godfather to a hospital that the POA is a vip in. In his words, "the hospital you sent him to is riddled with homeless and he will be stuck with him. They'll throw him out in the streets!" Even though the hospital is well known for being the best for head and back trauma. When he spoke to my coworker, who's worked there for 20+ years, he suddenly spoke nice and told her how awful i was.
After that, i've been always forgetting to finish a document or getting more "oh shoot i didnt get to do that yet," from me during reports. My med pass and narcotics are good but everything else i am falling apart.
Help.