I was really, really drunk from day drinking all day while working on my buddies late 70s Toyota Celica. We went to the auto store to get some oil and a filter and by the time I got in the store I could not hold it any longer and blatantly just pee'd in the first shelf I came across. Crazy thing is not a single person noticed!!!! He got the stuff, paid, and we left. Side note I have pissed in the bathroom sink at this particular friends house numerous times.

Trip Report- 13 days Tokyo/Kyoto/Hakone/Nagoya (Ghibli Park) /Hiroshima with a 2 year-old toddler. (plus day-trips to Nara and Osaka)
I love reading other peoples' trip reports and thought it might be useful to share my experiences travelling with my wife and toddler in Japan. We used Shinkasens for most of our travel between cities but did rent a car in the middle so that we could drive to a rural Onsen and then to Shirakawa-Go from Nagoya. (We also briefly rented a car to visit 3 plaaces around Hakone, too).
First of all, traveling with a toddler in japan is great. Our kid loves trains and busses and got tons of attention and shouts of "KAWAI!!" from friendly people everywhere we went. She even got a lullaby sung to her by a Japanese grandmother as she dozed on a city bus in Kyoto. She never had to pay for any bus fares or train fares. (technically she was a "lap baby" on the Shinkansens).
We read a book of etiquette before we went and it was very useful to know. I am sure most of these tips are stickied elsewhere , but things like "don't point with one finger, always grasp cups with both hands, don't wipe your face/mouth with the hand-cloth, don't talk loudly in restaurants or on trains, keep yen bills neat and flat and use the trays provided when paying for things," etc, were good to know before we went. We brought and carried a "point-and-say" translation book but only used it once; generally Google Translate worked great for images of menus and signs. (and many restaurants have English versions of menus, or use digital menus on iPad that can switch to English. ) Google maps handled most of our navigation needs without issues too, both via train and car. We parked the stroller outside most restaurants or folded it and brought it just inside the door if the weather was bad.
Prep work --
The only major prep work we did before leaving was to buy our JR pass and alert our banks to the dates that we would be in Japan so that our credit and debit cards would work. We had no problems getting cash from the ATM machines at 7-11 or at the Airport. We reserved all hotels/AirBnB/Onsen/Car Rentals beforehand. Also bought SkyTree tickets before departing. We stayed up until 4am to get a ticket to Ghibli's Grand Warehouse -- fortunately only one ticket was needed since our child was under 4 and my wife wasn't interested. We rented a mobile hotspot device from Sakura Mobile before leaving America and it was waiting for us at our first hotel in Tokyo. We dropped the hotspot and charger in a mailbox in a pre-paid envelope before leaving Kyoto.
Major tips -- no need to pack lots of snacks or water each day , since vending machines and 7-11 stores and similar are ubiquitous. Do pack paper towels/ Napkins and extra plastic bags for carrying wet diapers and trash, as public trash cans are almost non-existant. (and when they do exist, they are often just for aluminum and PET plastic bottles) Throw away trash where you bought it, (for things like satay skewers) or bring it home to your hotel. The "pack-it-out" mindset takes a little getting used to, but the results -- a society seemingly without litter-- are superb. Having a lightweight , easily foldable stroller made this trip much easier. Our child often slept in the stroller, and being able to quickly collapse and carry it was key to getting up and down the many sets of stairs in the train stations. It also occasionally doubled as a luggage cart for us. Packing light is key; we picked hotels and AirBnBs that had laundry options to allow us to carry a minimum of stuff. (and no need to bring laundry soap; the washing machines dispense it automatically) My wife wished she had a Japanese-style suitcase with 4 roller-wheels, but I think we did fine with our backpacks , etc.
In general, we didn't have much trouble finding things for my daughter to eat; she loves noodles and dumplings, and even got really into red snapper sushi one night. (basically she loves anything she can dip in soy sauce). Chicken Karage was usually an easy thing to find and feed to her, as were the egg salad Sandos, fresh fruit, and various rice balls from 7-11. Oddly, she also really loved the "pickle-on-a-stick" things that were pretty common in outdoor markets. (I think we got them in both Kyoto and Osaka)
Flights - we flew JAL to from LAX to Narita outbound, and returned on JAL (operated by AA) from Hiroshima to Haneda to LAX. The outbound flight was great; the JAL service was impeccable and they gave my child a model airplane which kept her occupied for hours. We gate-checked our folding stroller on the outbound flight -- the gate clerk put into a plastic bag for us just before departure,
The return flight (operated by American Airlines ) was a step down, but still fine. Transferring planes at Haneda for the return was a little more of a hassle than we had expected becuase you have to exit one terminal, walk a while, exit the building and then get on a free bus, and then go back through security at another terminal. On the plus side, the Haneda international terminal has a padded play area that my daughter liked near the duty free shops. Becuase our return journey was two flights, gate-checking the stroller was not possible, but instead, after measuring its size, we were able to keep it as a carry-on for both legs. (had it been larger, JAL said they would have met us at Haneda with an airport loaner stroller, something we saw other parents using in Hiroshinma and Haneda)
Highlights from each city (focusing on things that my child loved)
Tokyo -- our first night in Japan was a little disorienting: the Tokyo metro station is like a gigantic multi-layer mall-labryinth, and since none of the maps seem to show the "big picture" finding our way to the correct exit lugging luggage was a bit of a challenge the first time . We went back down that night for our fist meal, and by the next day we were practically experts, and were even able to find our way to Ramen Street (on level B1) for lunch and --after waiting in line for about 20 minutes-- slurp some great noodles.
Our first morning we wanted to visit the imperial Palace Gardens, but discovered it is closed on Mondays. Stil, just seeing its moat and stone walls was impressive. We walked to the Children's Science and Technology Museum near Budokan, and our duaghter loved operating cranes and turning cranks of giant Rube-Goldberg machines. (some with bowling-ball sized steel balls moving around). Most of the exhibits were in Japanese, but the fact that this wasn't a common tourist destination made it interesting to visit. On the way home for naps we ate at a random underground food court under an office building and learned how to order a food ticket from a machine for eating at a restaraunt. (a key skill!)
We next headed up to the Owl Cafe in Akihabara, mostly as an excuse to have a visit to Akhiabara, and found it was closed, but seeing the electronics stores and nightlife of Akhihabara was fun. As you might expect, my daughter loved getting Gacha Balls from vending machines (both in Akihabara and everywhere else )
Our second day we spent the morning hunting for the legendary "Elephant Playground" (worth the hunt!) and then went to the nearby Tokyo Childrens' Toy Museum. This was a fantastic combo, and I would recommend anyone with young kids in Tokyo do both. From there we walked to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, which was a wonderful oaisis, full of picknicking families and couples. We explored the tropical greenhouse and then had a well-needed rest under a tree near a tea-house in the traditial japanese garden section Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden also was conveniently close to the Shinjuku rail station, which was imporant because we had Sky-Tree tickets that evening, and we headed there directly. We didn't have time to do any shopping or visit the two museums recommended to us near the skytree (Tobacco and Salt and the Tobu rail museum) But we did have what I consider my favorite meal of the trip: beers and gyoza and molten-lava hot takoyaki at a tiny( 6- seat) izakaya a few minutes south of the Skytree. (i'd recommend it by name but it was completely in japanasese and I am not sure I can now accurately ID it)

The third day we visted the Tusikiji outer fish market -- we got there early and and it was quickly full of tourists and good food. (many different kinds of grilled things on sticks, as well as raw oysters, etc) I was amazed that the public bathrooms there were sparkling clean -- as they were throughout almost the entire trip. My daughter loved getting an ice-cream drink at John Lennon's favorite coffiee shop (Yonemoto). On the way back thorugh Ginza we bought an enormous fig wrapped like the crown jewels from one of Japnan's famous fruit-gift stores. It cost about $9, but was absoulutely delicious. (it was crazy to see $200 watermelons and $170 muskmellons in the same store) 

We also took this time in Ginza to do one of the things on my bucket list -- buy an overpriced gift fruit from a fancy Japanese store. We bought the second cheapest thing in there - a single giant fig, and I think it cost about $9. (totally worth it!) . it was just fun to ogle $80 spherical watermelons, and other beautiful, but incredibly expensive fruit.
Later that afternoon visited/saw Shibuya crossing, ate decent and very inexpensive sushi at a 3rd floor conveyor-belt restaurant, and went to Harjuku. (not in that order) Harajuku was chaotic fun, but equally fun was the long peaceful forest walk to visit the Meji Ginku shrine that starts just outside Harjuki station . By now we were experts at tossing coins, bowing, clapping, and praying in the appropriate cycle. (something the 2 year old seemed to quite enjoy). We also knew from our guidebook that we were supposed to walk only on the sides of the path at Meji Ginku -- the middle is reserved for the Gods.
NAGOYA/GHIBLI - We took a direct bus from Nagoya station (cash accepted, Pasmo Cards also accepted) out to the sprawling expo grounds that surround the Ghibli exhibits. Our 2.5 year old loved Studio Ghibli Parks Gand Warehouse, particularly the miniature town where she could run around and pretend to drive a train and serve beer at a drafthouse. There was a furry Catbus to sit on, (of course) as well as another padded Catbus to jump around on for a few minutes with shoes off. Totoro is the only Ghibli character she knows well, and she loved finding hidden Totoros and (and a giant bar-tending one) around the Warehouse.
Arguably, Ghibli park was a little disappointing for us two adults , becuase it was pouring rain when we visited making the long walks between areas less than fun. And despite having moved heaven and earth to get a timed ticket, there still were long lines (~40 min) for areas inside the "Grand Warehouse." It was interesting for me to see the sketches and reference photos a used to make each cell of Ghibli animation realisitic ... but it was annoying and crazy that most areas of the warehouse totally forbad taking photographs. Much of the rest of the Grand Warehouse was just lines for people to take selfies in front of recreated scenes from the movies for posting on social media.
We had watched or re-watched all the Ghibli movies prior to our trip, so we were well prepared, but overall I would say that if you can't get tickets to go to the Grand Warehouse, don't feel bad. (There are many many more magical and wonderful things everywhere else in Japan, and your 2 -year-old will love them just as much. )
HAKONE/SHIRAKAWA-GO/ HIDA (Onsen)
We took a Shinkasen south from Tokyo to Hakone, and spent a day there with a family friend who showed us an ancient tea-house along the old imperial road, a famous Shinto shrine, a deliicious meal, and of course, Mount Hakone with its black eggs, sulfurous fumes, and melty black ice cream. The toddler loved the eggs and the ice cream, of course! For me, sitting and eating tea and mochi in the deep forest along the royal road was like being transported back into a historical Kurosawa film.
If you visit Hakone, I would encourage you to get into the woods and do some hiking. It's a gorgeous area. Apparently the japanese love to drink and tour Lake Ashi on a pair of pirate ships. which added a comic aspect to our visit to the much-photographed Hakone Shrine's Tori gate.
We knew we wanted to visit the truly rural areas of Honshu, so we reserved a night at a remote Onsen near Shirakawa-Go. The drive from Nagoya was stunningly beautiful, traffic was light, and because we had rented a toll transponder along with the rental car, we could just breeze through the toll-booths (which are located at the off-ramps) . Seeing the untouched mountains coexisting with sleek new road tunnels and breathtaking shining bridges made me realize how decrepit American infrastructure has become.
IT was a bit stressful to drive on the left hand side of the road, but conversely, It was great to be able to pull over at will. For example, we could stop at at a small town outside of Nagoya for a delicious prix fixe breakfast at "cafe Pierrot" and again later to see and visit a beautiful riverside Shinto shrine along the road. The car gave us the freedom to and be able to just stop and explore and let our child play in the shallow water surrounded by green hills. Driving in the rural areas wasn't too bad, and doing so let us see a whole other world that we would have missed had we stuck to the trains. For example, we visited a delightful outdoor morning market in the village of Miyagawa and bought fresh produce and some delightful snacks (including fish-shaped custard-filled mini-donuts) from the vendors followed by an impromptu picnic along the riverbank.
On this portion of the trip we also got to experience the Japan's wonderful rest-stop cuisine -- you use a ticket machine to select some items, hand them to a chef behind the counter, and in a few minutes your number is called . We had some delicious Japanese pizza (shaped like a elongated, puffy taco ) fragrant beef curry, and a "Miso Katsu" dish too.
Later we would stop at another rest stop and discover that it had an absolutely epic set of slides and tunnels built into the hillside. You borrow a plastic sled and then slide about 150 feet down a green carpet. It was hearwarming to see how kind and welcoming the japanese children were to our daughter, helping her to slide and showing her how to play and explore the tunnels. Arguably this was my child's favorite part of the entire trip.
Shirakawa Go was great fun for the whole family -- it was definately touristy, but it was great to be able to stroll and relax and learn about Japan's past. (Parking closes at 5pm, though!) We had only a few hours there but I think we would have enjoyed an entire day of strolling and snacking and learning. Interestingly all the parking attendents there seem to be senior citizens.
Our Ondsen was in a small farming comunity outside Hida, surrounded by orchards, mountains, and rice paddies. We were the only non-japanese that we saw there, and it was a little challenging to keep our toddler ccorralled during the formal meals (served in a common area, not in our rooms). As expected, the indoor slippers provided were a bit small for my size-11 feet, but we had a great time in a beautiful, secluded place.
Staying overnight got us a ticket to also visit the large and well-maintained municipal baths just up the road. (each side of which had about 7 pools of various temperatures and medicinal properties) There was a wonderful hiking trail that looped through the deep forest around the town. One of my biggest regrets of the trip is that we did not have more time to hike and explore these lush, pristine mountain woods -- I think I enjoyed our hikes here as much as I did the onsen baths.
The driving portion of our trip ended on the western coast of Honshu, at Kanazawa, but we didn't see much of that city other than a gas station and the rental car return before taking the "thunderbird" train down to Kyoto. (not quite as fast as some shinkasen, but very comfortable).
KYOTO and day-trips:
We had three delightful days in Kyoto, along including day trips by rail to Osaka (to see the market, eat okinomiyaki, and climb Osaka Castle) and Nara (to walk aound and feed the deer in the park and then the koi at a a beautiful botanical garden, stroll through another temple, and to eat the best Udon noodles of the trip while siting outdoors in the forest. In Nara, we also stumbled upon a wonderful Beatles-only vintage record shop called "B-Sels" on an upper floor just across from Nara station, and listened to a street performance of Shamisen music at the station itself. Nara, like Shirakawa-Go, was full of busloads of tourists, but that didn't make it any less of a great experience for us.
Kyoto itself was wonderful to explore on foot -- I won't go into exhaustive detail, but our child loved walking and being pushed in the stroller to various Temples and loved the view from Kyoto tower. (and the Gatcha ball souvenir tower even more!) . She liked the path through the bamboo forest (crowded with tourists) and loved "hiking" through the beautiful and less crowded gardens of Tenryu-Ji temple -- part of which has remained unchanged since the 14th century. We skipped the monkey park.
In Kyoto proper, we walked through Chion-In Buddhist temple , took our shoes off and bagged them, and observed a ceremony -- it was interesting to see how similar it was to ceremonies in America, with the same incense, syllable recitation, and wood-block time-keeping interspersed with bowl-gong ringing .... but on a much grander scale. The size of the wooden buildings is epic, rivaling the stone cathedrals of Europe. Because of the large numbers of steps to get from the massive Sanmon gate to the main building of the shrine, my wife and I took turns exploring and let the toddler play along the paths of the temple's small tea-garden next door.
Hiroshima-
Finally, we spent the last two days of our trip in Hiroshima. It was shocking and surreal to get off the train underground and suddenly be hit with an overwhelming smell of burning -- there was construction work all around Hiroshima station and I don't know if it was from digging pylons down into subterranean ashes, or just from some other more modern aspect of the construction As someone whose worldview was shaped by reading Barefoot Gen as a child, visiting Hiroshima was an important and somber part of our trip.
It was interesting to see that the bulk of the visitors to the Peace Museum visitors seemed to be Japanese school groups. Of course, most of the photos and exhibits museum went "over the head" of our 2/yo child. (she wasn't frightened, just not interested). She did enjoy ringing the peace Bell outside and seeing the collections of paper cranes. We bought books to help share the experience with her again once she is older.
In any event, Hiroshima is a charming city showing no outward signs of being apocalyptically devastated (except at the Peace Memorial Dome) and there is an excellent restaurant district just around the corner from the main train station, with many small restaurants that are open late.
The people and proprietors of Hiroshima seemed particularly kind to us; it's more relaxed there than any of the other cities we viisted. Our chid loved was the "Children's 5-day Science Museum" about a quater mile away from Peace Park that has a lot of hands-on exhibits and two stories of climbing tunnels. We did not do the planetarium there, as it is in japanese-language only and we had limited time.
For us, the highlight of our time in Hiroshima was taking the long ferry to Miyajima directly from Peace Park and then wandering around the narrow streets of Miyajima in the afternoon and evening. It was great to see the oyster beds being worked from the ferry and then later dine on delicious grilled and fried Miyajima oysters.
Our child loved the ferry rides and wandering around Miyajima (there are deer there too) but she also slept for much of our time on the island. The return ferry was part of the JR rail network and so we could use our JR passes for that. (its a short, straighter route).
All in all, Japan was very kid friendly, as long as you can quickly and easily fold up your stroller, and we loved our time in every city we visited. (and could have easily spent much more time in any of them).
Other Thoughts: We bought the Japan Rail Pass, but probably didn't save much money by doing so; My wife estimates that we about broke even with the number of shinkansen, trains, and ferry-rides we used. It was a nice security blanket, though, to know that if we missed a train it wouldn't cost us anything. (but we never missed any trains) . For non JR-line trains, we used a pair of "PASMO" cards. Pasmo cards can also be used at other random retail places as a stored-cash card. When you go through the gates, you must look for ones that say "IC" if you are using a Pasmo card and tap against the NFC pad with it. Using Pasmo is nice because the card is durable (unlike the paper JR Pass) and you can load up enough money for multiple trips on the card.
We use T-mobile, and our plan included 5 GB of "high speed data" while in japan but we weren't sure we would have good service for our rural drive, so we gout a WiFi hotspot from Sakura Mobile. This worked fine -- and its speeds was always faster than T-Mobile's coverage when tested. The hotspot generally would last about 20 hours on one charge. But honestly T-Mobile's Japan coverage was probably good enough that the hotspot was an unnecessary expense; we often used it instead of the hotspot and only came close to the 5GB limit on our last day. If I were on a tighter budget, a shorter trip, or knew I wouldn't be in remote areas, I would skip the Hotspot and just use T-mobile.
TLDR: Tokyo Toy Museum is fantastic for little ones. Ghibli Park (Grand Warehouse) is fine, but our kid probably had just as much fun on many other Japanese playgrounds. If you do choose to drive, don't miss the Japanese rest stops which can be fantastic with fresh food and jungle gyms and slides. Our kid may remember little from the trip except the toys she took home from GATCHA balls, but we have a lifetime of memories gained. Don't miss the Udon in Nara at "Mizuya Chaya", just outside the beautiful Manyo Botanical Gardens.
links:
ELEPHANT PLAYGROUND:
https://www.thetokyochapter.com/tokyos-retro-playgrounds/
RAMEN STREET:
https://tokyocheapo.com/food-and-drink/ramen/tokyo-ramen-street/
Miyagawa Morning Market:
https://www.japan.travel/en/spot/1255/
Udon at Mizuya Chaya in Nara:
https://www.visitnara.jp/venues/D01057/

Assets & Debt—
Retirement balance: $13,286.43 (I make a small monthly deposit into my IRA. I do not have a 401k at the moment as I'm focusing on saving)
Mortgage loan remaining: ~$162k
Savings balance: ~$20k
Checking balance: ~$5k
Credit card debt: $0 (I pay off monthly)
Student loan debt: $17,539.32 (BFA Photography)
Car loan: $22,227.15
Income—
Income Progression: After graduating, I started in Customer Service making $36k. Some coworkers at my next job recommended I get a certification in Salesforce Marketing Cloud as something to do during COVID’s early month. The company paid. It helped me get into the marketing field. My first marketing job was $50k/yr. On my second with about a year and a half of experience. I want to change fields but do not have the experience necessary to do so. If I stay at my company I may have the opportunity to try the field I want within a year or two. My work-life balance is amazing so I’m sticking with it.
Actual monthly take home: $3,471.80
No side gigs or other income.
Expenses—
Mortgage & HOA: $1,090.09
Home insurance: $31.63
Retirement: $100 (Roth IRA)
Savings: $1,665 (Whatever is leftover at the end of the month. Good this month since I got 3 paychecks)
Investments: $0 (Working with J to help me figure out starting this. I’m late on it, I know.)
Debt payment: $0 (Student loan payments start up again soon. Rebuilding savings in the meantime from home purchase last year)
Electric: $40-90 (last month $42)
Internet: $89
Phone: $72
Subscriptions: $27
Climbing gym: $85
Cats: $53 (food)
Car payment/insurance: $463.50
Health: $102
​
Monday:

• 11 a.m. Slept in since it’s a holiday and enjoyed a delicious breakfast with my boyfriend (J) of some chocolate chip banana bread my mom made. We don’t tend to spend weeknights at each other’s places, so we love our weekends together.
• 12:15 p.m. J heads back to his place to meal prep for the week and do chores. Always the lover of a good cheap find, I went to Goodwill for a 25% off sale. I purchased an Adidas duffel bag, a t-shirt, some unused candles, and an expansion pack for a card game my friends and I enjoy. $35
• 1:30 p.m. One of my core lunchtime necessities as of late is hummus. But specifically the Target brand original. Plus it’s cheap. I also needed other basic necessities: toothpaste, tissues, laundry items, and a prebiotic powder I take daily to control IBS symptoms. I stock up once every two months so this was a big trip. Target Circle had a coupon for one of the laundry items and $10 off on a purchase of $70 or more. $111.25
• 2:15 p.m. Back home laden with one Target bag worth over $100, I crack open my new container of hummus and make a turkey wrap with a side of carrots, an apple, and some veggie straws. I have this every day and it never gets old.
• 3:45 p.m. Watch an episode of Maid on Netflix before going to play video games online with J.
• 7:30 p.m. J and our friends hop online to play a multiplayer game for an hour or two before I jump off to eat. Chicken sausage, green beans, carrots, egg white wrap, and rice. My favorite dinner at the moment!
• 10:30 p.m. In bed and decided to start reading the monthly book club picked by J. Couldn’t put it down for a while but was asleep by 12:30 a.m.
• Total spent: $146.25

Tuesday:

• 7:45 a.m. Alarm goes off. Work after a 4 day weekend. Yay. Out of bed by 8:15. I work from home so I log in, check my emails, and go grab breakfast. I take my morning probiotics, vitamin D, and allergy medicine as a side to my morning blueberry bagel. After a slow morning online, I hit the exercise bike for a quick 15 minute ride. Shower, then a meeting.
• 11 a.m. Whip up my normal lunch of: turkey wrap, carrots, hummus, apple, and veggie straws. After lunch, I grab a couple of Reese’s Thins. Not as good, I know.
• 2 p.m. Work is slow today so I hop on my PC and play a few missions in my current favorite game. I have an oil change at 2 and groceries to pick up from Walmart after. At the oil change, they tell me I need to replace my wiper blades and cabin air filter. I can do that on my own and purchase the parts needed on Amazon. Car & groceries: $172.92
• 3:15 p.m. After my appointment, I hop back into my game and see some items from my Steam wishlist are on sale. I grab them as I’ve been wanting to get them for a while. $24.04
• 4 p.m. There’s a new Spider-Man movie coming out this week that I really want to see. Mentioned to J that we should go but tickets were a bit pricey since it was opening night. He offered to pay.
• 6:30 p.m. Same as the night before. I’m out of chicken sausage now and forgot to add them to my order this morning. Oh well.
• 8:30 p.m. Watch another episode of Maid while I eat. After the temperature cooled down for the night, I went for an hour-long walk around a nearby small lake. Get hissed at by geese and dive-bombed by a red-winged blackbird. Nature is beautiful.
• 11 p.m. In bed reading J’s book club pick. It’s right up my alley and this will be a breeze to get through. Asleep by 12:45 a.m.
• Total spent: $196.96

Wednesday:

• 7:45 a.m. My alarm goes off and I once again snooze until around 8:15. One of my cats makes her way into my room and bugs me until I get up. Turn on my work computer and go start my morning with a blueberry bagel and my medicine cocktail.
• 8:30 a.m. I jump in the shower (hair wash day) and get cleaned up to head to my monthly chiropractor appointment.
• 10:15 a.m. I pulled a muscle in my back just over a year ago and enjoyed my chiropractor visits, so I now do them monthly. This is the last time I’m going to prepay and switch to as-needed. Paid through the end of the year.
• 10:45 a.m. My chiropractor is next to a used-clothing store so I swing in. Attending a wedding at the end of June so I’ve been looking for an outfit. I don’t find one. I find others. Also a shirt for J. Everything I bought was half off! Nothing was over $7. Grabbed 4 things. $21.25
• 4:30 p.m. It was a very slow day at work, just tested some emails, so I spent a majority of the day gaming. My job goes through heavy phases and I’m in a big lull. I sign off for the day and head to the climbing gym.
• 6 p.m. After a short climbing session, my friend M and I go to an outdoor store to buy climbing harnesses. I have one but it doesn’t fit right and he has been renting one. We find the ones we want in store but see they’re cheaper online. He has a store membership so he pays and I Venmo him back. I’m selling my old harness (only used for 2 months) to another climbing friend for $50. Almost breaking even! $3.27
• 7:15 p.m. I arrive back home and make a sandwich for dinner. Cooking seems like too much work tonight. J is at a work event tonight, otherwise we usually climb together than cook a meal after. While eating, I turn on Into the Spiderverse to prepare for the second one tomorrow. It’s still too hot for a walk so I skip that tonight.
• 9:45 p.m. After the movie I watch some Good Mythical Morning episodes I’m behind on and munch on some mini marshmallows for dessert. I prep my camera equipment for an event I’m shooting tomorrow for work. As I get ready for bed I listen to an audiobook. I read for book club for the rest of the night. Asleep around 11:30.
• Total: $24.52

Thursday:

• 7 a.m. I get up early as I need to be at a work event by 10 a.m. I’m photographing it so I won’t have to work too hard. I say now.
• 9:15 a.m. I head out to be to the event a few minutes early to find street parking. The event lasts until 2, so I pay for 4 hours of parking. I could submit for reimbursement but eh, it's not much. $2.50
• 1:45 p.m. I did end up fully participating as well as photographing. We wrap early after sweating in the sun weeding and mulching for a low-income apartment complex. I head home to shower, nap, and relax. Work gave those who volunteered the rest of the afternoon off.
• 5:15 p.m. J arrives at my place after work and we head to see the new Spiderman movie. I pack us some homemade popcorn and various other treats from the pantry. Movie was 10000/10. Go see it. I knew about 45 seconds in that I wanted to see it again. Did not disappoint.
• 8:30 p.m. Despite the snacks, we are still hungry after the movie and decide to go to a local Japanese place. We go in to order and J graciously pays. When we go out, he tends to pay as I typically buy and make a fair amount of our home cooked meals. At first we were given the wrong order, which we realized when we got home. He headed back to get the right order so we got two sets of meals for the price of one! We had opened the first order to see if we liked it enough to deal but it wasn’t enough food for the both of us.
• 12:30 a.m. J stays over and we get to sleep just after midnight.
• Total: $2.50

Friday:

• 8 a.m. J’s alarm goes off but I sleep through it so he has to wake me up. We lounge in bed until his first meeting at 8:30. After his meeting, he leaves for work and I log on to my own. I have no meetings today and a very generous policy where we get Friday afternoon’s off during the summer. I plug away at some small projects I’ve put off for most of the week and log off around 1.
• 1:30 p.m. I went to check the mail as I had 3 deliveries coming today. All arrived! My internet bill came too which I usually throw away, but had a feeling I should open this one. I was right. My bill had gone up $10 because of some new policy I didn’t know about because I hadn’t read any of the last few months of bills. I updated what I needed to to get the price lowered again and spend the next hour researching a new provider but I’m stuck for my area. Ended up purchasing a router so I can return the company’s one and save some more money monthly. $96.72
• 3 p.m. I get a random email that a medical visit from over a year ago wasn’t going to be covered by insurance. I log into my account and see if it’s real, which it is, so unfortunately I pay for it. I don’t remember what the visit was for but insurance covered $0 of it. After I update my spending tracker. Thankfully it was a 3 paycheck month so I’m more than fine. Had a lot of surprising big expenses come up in May. $89
• 5:45 p.m. I leave for J’s so we can eat dinner together and watch an episode of the Last of Us (yeah, we’re a bit late on this one) before we head to the climbing gym.
• 10:30 p.m. We get back from climbing and have a craving for chocolate chip cookies. I help J make a small batch and we eat a few each. We watch the Last of Us and I fall asleep on the couch. Bed time at 12:30 a.m.
• Total: $185.72

Saturday:

• 9:45 a.m. I slept like the dead. J wakes me up as he’s on his way out to go have brunch with a friend. I slowly wake up and leave his place soon after to get my house cleaned before some friends come over.
• 12:30 p.m. J comes to my place after his brunch to help me clean before a double date with my high school best friend and her fiancé.
• 2:45 p.m. They arrive! We chat and play some card games. They leave around 5, so J and I dive back into Last of Us.
• 6:30 p.m. I reheated some leftover chicken from Thursday, frozen green beans, potatoes, carrots, and rice for dinner. We finish the season and discuss the show for a while before he heads home.
• 12:30 a.m. Bedtime!
• Total: $0

Sunday:

• 8:30 a.m. J and I are going to look at some houses today so in my excitement I don’t sleep very well. I get up after laying in bed for a few hours to get ready and go pick him up.
• 10:30 a.m. Open house tour commence! We see 4 houses before lunch time.
• 12:30 p.m. We decided to go to a local chicken restaurant and more than ate our fill. J paid. I dropped him back at his apartment and headed to visit my parents for the afternoon.
• 2 p.m. I arrive at my mom’s house and she dyes my hair. We used a bottle of dye I had purchased a few months back.
• 5 p.m. Game time! I hop on with J and his friends and we complete some missions in our go-to game. I stop to grab a quick snack soon after, still pretty full from our big lunch.
• 8 p.m. J hops off for a break and I do as well. He calls me right after leaving the main call and we chat about our week ahead and hang out while we do our own things.
• 9 p.m. I’m feeling very tired after not sleeping well this weekend so I go to get ready for bed. I stay up on TikTok for a while and get to sleep around 11.
• Total: $0

​
Food + Drink (Groceries): $64.28
Fun + Entertainment: $26.94
Home + Health: $187.21
Clothes + Beauty: $64.81
Transport + Vehicle Health: $109.34
Other: $99.99
Total: ~$556
​
This is NOT a typical week! Lots of medium things that added up happening at the end/beginning of a new month. That's life! When I buy things I use regularly, I often buy 2-3 more than I need at a time so that I don't have to get them as often. Unless J and I are together, I don't go out to eat to save money. I'm very lucky to work from home and save a lot of expenses that way. My job is pretty low-key and quiet most of the day, so I didn't detail too much about it this week.
​
Edit: I forgot to mention above that J and I are not buying a house together, I'm helping him look. We really go to open houses for fun right now as he isn't thinking about buying until late this yeaearly next year. Interest rates are insane right now! I have a super low rate and am not looking forward to losing out on it some day.

The video originally aired on Saturday, 3 June. Unfortunately, there is not a live stream summary for this video so we are providing the transcript for those who want to know what she said, though for reasons, did not watch the video.
Note: this is from the YouTube transcript which is available to the public. Some parts of the transcript may not be accurate since it's auto-generated.
The transcript DOES NOT have timestamps but with paragraph breaks to keep the random thoughts somewhat separated, and a couple of annotations.

[Music] hey guys, hey guys-hey! what's up! I hope you're doing well so my finger is still not healing. I put Betadine on it but it's annoying -okay - I took the, uh, because I took the bandage off and started doing dishes and things... yeah, I know I should keep the bandage on longer, so, I mean it is healing but ..I..I kind of reopened it when I was doing dishes is what I should say... anyways
so, I have Wendy's here in the Middle East. I have never tried, as you guys know, I haven't done a Wendy's video or mukbang yet
so I just got a few items that I know we don't have in Canada and I thought I would try them out. So first things first- we do have Pepsi in Canada but the cans are, like, long... eh... they look like um energy drinks and we have a rice and chicken bowl.
so this is their spicy chicken, but with rice and it comes with like a Gravy Sauce. Which I can get done with gravy. So let me just do this here, I'm gonna set up and more importantly...I have Tums for post mukbang just in case. No, just in case... I never, I never, usually need them but I found them.
mmm it's like a KFC type of gravy or something
okay let me pour it on top and see what happens gravy [singing] gravy[singing] a cup of gravy...I'm in the right country [Music]
ah see if I need you
okay, and we have a nut --- chocolate and nut Frosty - so this is a different kind of flavor of Frosty here yum and last but certainly not least, .... we have a...mushroom....cheddar burger...yeah, there's like cheese sauce and,mushroom
and
I did get an extra cheese sauce as well
So- because I love cheese sauce, well Kelly, oh Chloe.... all right... let's try this Frosty. I'm craving something sweet right now. I had a halloumi. I made really good halloumi sandwiches for breakfast oh my...gosh.... oh thumbnail
all right, a lot of packaging is matching with my sofa today
okay, so...um, there's like chocolate sauce on the sides and nuts in this Frosty
Beauty bite
hmm
that's good
I was tired of french fries today
all right, so!
oh my gosh - there's like Nutella on the sides or something..what the heck...um, yeah... I think it's a Nutella. I think I misread that [Note: Chantal may not be aware that Nutella is Hazelnut-chocolate spread = nut chocolate]
um
so, today I thought I would talk about...something that literally everyone is talking about - and before I talk about it - I want to put a disclaimer no disrespect intended whatsoever with the topic. I'm just gonna be eating my meal and talking about it. You may have heard about it - it's all over the news -all over tick tock - foreign -it's The Disappearance of Cameron Robbins... this like teen from Louisiana who went to the Bahamas for like a high school graduation trip and they were all partying...on this boat because the the age of majority like the age you can drink there is like 18. and the United States is 21 right?
I used to think 21 was strict but now I understand because to me...going on a party boat and getting...hammered..is... just doesn't seem like a good idea... for like 18 year olds. I don't know. you're just a little more mature anyway. Maybe not much, but at 21 you're a little...more mature.
[Note: Chantal confuses legal drinking age of 21 in the US forage of majority]
um
so, this kid - he's - he's pretty athletic kid... from what people describe. um - I don't know... there's mixed stories...but if he was dared or if he just...decided to do it but...I heard he was dared...um by other classmates to jump off of the boat. It was like the boat was called, like, Blackbeard's Revenge - it was like a little pirate themed boat party boat. So the sides were not too, too high - it's not like a huge cruise ship...whatever happened the motivation for...that...probably just drunk kids doing stupid things as usual.
I was stupid too. I did... I don't know if I did that stupid but...you know I've done stupid things. [Note: Chantal has never gone overboard into the ocean and presumed dead by a Shark and she seems unclear of her stupid being the same as to this tragedy]
so, someone on the boat shot of footage a...small....grainy dark it was dark in the middle of the night, right? video...it shows him in the water in just like.... shorts...
and...
at the beginning of the video....he's swimming in One Direction..and you see a boat, like, a not a boy, but a lifesaver...round orange lifesaver in the water. In that direction that he's going like...let's say left- it was left -but then like when you slow down the video you can kind of see what looks, like, a huge giant like people think it's...a shark or something - it's like a white - blob or whatever...
and then you see - um - Robin's turn the other way and start swimming, like, kicking his feet more but he's swimming...in the opposite direction he goes right....and then you cut you don't see him anymore he just kind of disappears - it's...like, really eerie
so...people are speculating a lot of things...but the, the most popular Theory is that he was attacked by a shark. other people think maybe he was taken under by the undertow...caused by the boat and the. um, the current. Me, in my opinion, it could have been one of the one of the two.
um, they searched for him for like a couple of days and then they, just like, declared him lost at sea because....I mean the likelihood of him being found alive is very, very, slim unfortunately...and it's very tragic and I'm sorry for the family.
I just have, like I have human...like, basic level sympathy at this point...because...like, that is pretty much suicide. Like I won't expect any kind of, you know, sympathy if I do something that...stupid [Note: this is not how expressing sympathy works, sympathy is apparently something she's trying to learn though hard to teach an emotion or feeling]
um I don't wish ill on anyone of course and....I feel bad for the family. very young... but people do really dumb things and for internet attention. I know what you're thinking - yes if I Keel over from eating this I don't expect sympathy, okay -I don't think that he expected to happen... what happened, but, I mean he was probably drinking...um, who knows but if you look at like when I was researching, the, the.... I became interested. So I was watching more videos about it what people's opinions were on YouTube and other video recommendations would come up about other teens. [Note: Her research was watching random YouTubers]
um who were like other people, young adult - team - whatever they were attacked - there was an instance where another woman was attacked by sharks and didn't survive... so she was attacked by sharks as well in the Bahamas there are just many instances of where people were attacked in the Bahamas like by sharks - so apparently the the Caribbean Waters, especially around the area are very shark infested because all admit at first I was like, I don't think it's a shark but after watching those videos of so many shark attacks in the Bahamas I'm more inclined to think maybe you - know and the fact is if he drow - was drowning - the the Lifesaver was right there out of his reach but beside the white blob that looked like a shark he...was if it was, you know, him being taken away by a current he wouldn't be turning around and swimming the other way - it looked like he was frightened by something you know? {Note: Chantal learns sharks live in warm water, like water in Cuba]
He would reach out for the lifesaver... but then again if it was a shark attack we would more than likely see more thrashing, right? that's my thought I don't know... unless he was just pulled down by a huge...shark... that's creepy. Like, one minute he's there - one second he's there - one second this next second he's not - completely vanished.
I'm gonna try this soybean who really knows [Music]
um that's actually really nice very good but I mean spicy it's just weird
it would be really cool - you know, I of course, I like... I said.. I don't like jail, on... on anyone even if they do do really stupid things. it's too bad but I think as prideful humans we think that we're on top of the food chain all the time...and the reality is we're not.
Maybe like, people should be warned more, you know, before drinking around shark infested waters and the dangers of the Sharks. I hope it brings more attention to it but...I heard that the parents are already, like, finding someone just to...um, like, the families looking for someone. I, I, think out of grief you look for someone to blame for a very nonsensical death. Like, a death that was just completely ridiculous and could be easily avoided and in their grief, of course, they don't want to blame their son - right? - but I mean in a way he's....I would say 97 to blame in this situation, you know, becauseI mean he pretty much jumped overboard...it's not like he fell
um so I don't know
it's just I mean, I guess... maybe they could have like a warning. Like I said, on the boat like do not jump in the water...maybe they already do, who knows? maybe they could get the boat company on that. Like, there wasn't a sign warning people not to jump in the water some people don't have common sense. Especially for your -your judgment- is going to be largely impaired -if you are hammered...if you if you're highly intoxicated - you know?
um have you guys heard of this story if you want to know more about it you can just Google or research in the YouTube search engine, like Cameron Robbins, and there's a whole bunch of videos.
wow so I'm not too sure... to me it was either one drowning or shark- I mean what else can it be? who knows. it's tragic. There's also, like, apparently - they did more searching for Madeleine McCann... okay - who went missing in Portugal years ago - like years and years ago ...um...I didn't recently research the case so I don't remember what year...maybe was it like 2004 or earlier than that? 2008 - I don't remember.
I don't know that story to me is weird I, I, I... really I don't don't mean to like blame anybody when I say this, but there's, like, a weird - I get like a weird JonBenet Ramsay Vibe with that case. I don't know why - but apparently they like did some more...digging... um... and they sent away some evidence they found -maybe, or some things that they found - so we'll we'll see when that happens. it'd be nice to know what happened to her... who was responsible for her disappearance -so that's it I mean that's the case. um it's just one of those things - I guess you don't realize how dangerous those waters are especially at night, you know? he probably just thought it was like a giant swimming pool or like going swimming at the beach or in the ocean, you know?
which is like a mistake anyone could make especially if you're you're drinking so, okay...the waters can be really dangerous...foreign freaks me out - I won't be buying a burkini anytime soon.
I think, like - I don't know -I like to scare myself it's weird. Like, before going on a plane I'll watch -not just before going on a plane but, like one of my favorite... I love, like, those Mayday videos and, like, plane crash videos. I don't know how...but it somehow helps me with my phobia or maybe I don't have a phobia of flying...that's why I'm not scared - I don't know.
what is that? seasonings? I can honestly say I've never had gravy on rice...it's good - anyways guys, I just wanted to show you some different Wendy's items here. they had some other kinds of burgers like a tortilla lime crunch chicken burger. they have a double stack it looks like a chicken Big Mac. Wendy's has one of the best in my...opinion...spicy chicken burgers sandwiches. [Note: she only showed how the nutty chocolate shake tasted like Nutella and a burger, she didn't really show anything]
Did you say burger or a sandwich when it comes to chicken? I think I say Burger - chicken burger - I don't know - whatever, please.
uh, thanks for watching and uh, listening to me and I'll see in the next video... bye, guys

In just under two weeks, ARMYs will descend upon Singapore to see SUGA!. Help an ARMY out and let them know about safety, how to get around, where to eat, tourist attractions, BTS-related things to do, or anything else that you think someone should know when they visit! (Special thanks to the mods for your input and feedback for this guide!)

BTS' Past Visits

Red Bullet Tour (2014 BTS Live Trilogy Episode II) at the The Star Performing Arts Centre (13 Dec 2014)

• Fancam
• Official photos by Hallyu Singapore
• Official photos of Hi-Five session by Hallyu Singapore. Session was for all Cat 1 VVIP ticket holders ($268), who got a Hi-Five Pass and Concert Poster. The first 100 VVIP ticket holders also got to go up on stage to get a "Dark & Wild" album autographed by BTS.

Music Bank performance (4 Aug 2017) at the Suntec Convention Centre

• Fancam
• Quiz game video
• Outing at the Merlion statue and Singapore flyer: Photos Set 1 Photos Set 2.

Love Yourself World Tour (19 Jan 2019) at the National Stadium
This made history as the first time a K-pop group held a concert at the venue (largest concert venue in the country) and tickets sold out in about 3.5 hours! (45,000 audience)

• Concert review
• Witty notice from the Singapore Police Force abt avoiding ticket scams (it uses the BTS song titles!)
• Bonus: Jimin picked Marina Bay Sands as his special spot in the BTS x Street Galleries collaboration with Google revealed on ARMY Day (July 9) 2022

Concert Venue

Do note that it’s currently the June school holidays too (26 May-26 Jun), so the Sports Hub and surrounding areas may be crowded with many other visitors besides the concert-goers. Please be mindful!

• Singapore Indoor Stadium, right next to the National Stadium (both are part of the Singapore Sports Hub) where BTS performed at their last concert here in 2019. In fact, the Indoor Stadium was then used as the waiting zone for the standing zone ticket-holders.
• Concert guidelines been posted yet (will update here when they are), but here are the general guidelines for events there (links opens a pdf)
• The nearest MRT station is the Stadium station, on the Circle line - here is a train map (with Stadium MRT circled out in light purple). You’ll know when you’ve arrived as the station design is quite unique! Go up the elevator and follow the signage - the path is sheltered.
• You can find Kallang Wave Mall right next to the venue, for a spot of shopping and dining before the concert (opening hrs:10am-10pm daily). There is another smaller mall Leisure Park Kallang located next to the carpark, which houses an ice skating rink, bowling alley and cinema alongside more food options. The open space in front of the MRT station and the two malls is where ARMYs are likely to gather to exchange fan support and stuff (latest info is that for recent concerts, fans have been prevented from gathering for fan support activities at the usual area, so many have moved to another open space nearby, the Stadium Riverside Walk, circled in this image).
• The nearest hawker centre (i.e the affordable street food) is Old Airport Road Food Centre, one of the oldest and largest hawker centres in the country. It is about 20 mins walk away from the stadium, or you can simply alight at the Mountbatten/Dakota MRT stations (one or two stops away from Stadium MRT station respectively); both are about a 5 mins’ walk away from the food centre. Here is a list of recommendations (unfortunately, not a lot of Halal food stalls here. Let me know if you need those).
• There is also a McDonalds’ & KFC near Mountbatten MRT if you want something more familiar, or potentially try whatever new promo is currently going on at these places.

Sightseeing/Activities

Non-exhaustive list (all prices are in SGD)

• National Gallery Singapore. There is a special Namjooning Tour as part of the Gallery Wellness Festival. Slots are fully booked for the guided tours on 25 & 30 June. You could try the self-guided tours instead, which start on 17 July. Gallery passes for general admission to the permanent galleries (needed to access the tour) cost $20 for non-Singaporeans aged 13-59. Closes early (by 3pm) on some weekends in June and July (see dates on website).
• National Museum Singapore. Has very interactive and engaging exhibits. Highly recommended (I used to be a volunteer docent there for abt a year). Tickets cost from $15 (for access to permanent galleries only)
• Singapore Zoo & adjacent parks (Bird Paradise, River Wonders, Night Safari). We have one of the best zoos in the world! Single park tickets cost $50. Multi-park options also available. .
• Gardens by the Bay. Pretty gardens with outdoor sections and 2 indoor air-conditioned conservatories - you may have heard of the supertrees that have been featured in the movie "Crazy Rich Asians" and K-drama "Little Women". Provides a welcome respite from the heat. It’s free to visit the outdoor areas, but it’s really worth it to pay for entry to the conservatories. There are various pricing packages, so best to check out the website yourself.
• Singapore Botanical Gardens is our first UNESCO World Heritage site, the first and only tropical botanic garden on the list. Admission is free.
• The Merlion and the Marina Bay area. I personally recommend going at night to see the famed cityscape of Singapore all lit up (the temperature’s cooler too!). Marina Bay Sands Mall has a light and water show every night. There is also the iLight Festival going on now until 25 June with artistic light installations (mix of free and paid attractions). Bonus: Yoongi wore a Merlion Singapore t-shirt in a travel-themed Lotte Xylitol ad!
• You can also ride the Singapore Flyer for an aerial view of our city like the boys did! Admission costs $40.
• Visit our ethnic enclaves, Chinatown, Little India, Kampung Glam and Geylang Serai to see old shophouses, shop for souvenirs and try ethnic food
• One of the fanbases here, BangtanSG, has teased an ARMY event from 11-13 June. Will update when more details are released.
• Sentosa & Universal Studios Singapore theme park - you can access the island via various modes of transport with varying admission fees. Transport within the island is free.
• If you don’t want to think too hard, the best airport in the world for 12 years running is also an attraction in itself! See the airport section below for more information.
• Singapore is also located in the centre of Southeast Asia - if you’ve never been in this oft-forgotten region of the world, take the chance to check out our neighbouring countries as well! Malaysia can easily be reached via bus, and Indonesia via ferry.

(Note: You may want to check out Klook for discount tickets/passes)

Dining

Singapore is a food paradise with various cuisines from the local ethnic groups, as well as international ones. For Muslims, there are a lot of Muslim-owned or Halal-certified options around (look for this certificate, or the label “Muslim-owned”), including most of the fast food chains like McDonald’s/KFC/Burger King/Subway.
Carrying some cash with you (~$10 per pax) is a good idea, especially if you’re venturing out to hawker centres; while many places now have an electronic payment system in place, cash is still king in terms of versatility, and anecdotally most hawker stalls prefer cash or will charge a credit-card payment surcharge.

Where to eat?

• Most of the malls have a good selection of dining options, ranging from the (relatively affordable) multi-stall foodcourts to fast-food restaurants, cafes, and more upmarket restaurants.
  • It can get crowded during lunchtime (12-2pm) as office workers come out for their break, so try to avoid those hours if possible, or make advance reservations.
  • If you are staying/shopping in Orchard Road, Far East Plaza (level 4 & 5) and Lucky Plaza (multiple levels) have relatively more affordable food options for the area..
  • There’s a myriad of other malls in the suburban areas outside of Orchard to be explored.
• Hawker centres: A “hawker” in Singapore refers to a street food vendor, and in Singapore they’ve been centralised into food centres to create an iconic Singapore dining institution. These places are generally not air-conditioned, but they are the most affordable dining option. If you see an item on a table even if it’s something innocuous like a tissue paper packet or name-card, it means the seat's been reserved (“chop-ed” in the local slang) by people who are off queuing for their food.
  • Look for stalls with the longest lines (the most popular stalls will have long queues all day long), but most stalls should have decent food.
  • Newton Hawker Centre (near Newton MRT station) and Lau Pa Sat (near Telok AyeDowntown/Raffles Place Stations) are probably the most well-known to tourists, but beware of touts and over-charging, especially at Newton.
  • Taking the MRT out to slightly less central areas like Ang Mo Kio, Toa Payoh, Kallang, etc. should bring you to other hawker centres that cater to locals.
• Order in: GrabFood and Foodpanda are the two most popular food delivery apps with extensive coverage all around Singapore. Deliveroo is also available. Just be prepared to pay upwards of $5 delivery fee during peak periods, and the listed online prices are usually higher than in-store. The apps also have pick-up available if you’d simply like to order in advance.
• The ethnic enclaves like Kampung Glam (Malay/Muslim), Chinatown and Little India have a higher concentration of the respective ethnic cuisines, but most places in Singapore have a good mix of different local and international cuisines

What to eat?

Breakfast (These are generally very affordable options that should cost you below $10 per person, particularly if you go to food courts/hawker centres)

• Tea/coffee with kaya toast and half-boiled eggs. Available at most hawker centres (usually at the drink stalls), and chains like Ya Kun Kaya Toast and Killiney Kopitiam in malls. Order tea/coffee like a local by referring to this guide.
• Among the fast-food chains, KFC offers the more local option of chicken porridge (congee)
• Roti prata, a south-Indian flatbread (also known as paratha in India, or roti canai in Malaysia), available at most hawker centres and Indian coffee-shops
• Nasi lemak, coconut milk-flavoured rice with a variety of side dishes (usual ones: omelette, fried chicken wing/fried fish, fried anchovies).
• Beehoon, rice vermicelli with a range of toppings like fish cake, luncheon meat (spam), chicken wings, veggies etc.
• Chai Tow Kway (“carrot cake” - it’s actually radish cake), Tau Huey (soya bean curd pudding) + Youtiao (chinese fried dough)
• Mee Rebus, a Malay noodle dish with thick & spicy potato-based gravy topped with hard-boiled egg, bean sprouts, fried shallots, tau kwa (fried beancurd) and spring onions

Lunch & dinner

• Chilli crab: I don’t have any personal recommendations, and it could be costly because the crabs are usually charged by weight, which may vary daily. The link gives a run-down of some popular places
• Hainanese chicken rice: Again, no personal recommendations, but you can find this in most foodcourts and hawker centres. You should be able to find one of these for $5 or less.
• Murtabak/Briyani: My favourite is ZamZam Restaurant (est, 1908) at North Bridge Road in the Muslim enclave of Kampung Glam, but there is a whole row of Singapore-Indian restaurants serving a similar menu there
• Everything under the sun :) Google maps & data coverage generally works well in most parts of Singapore, so search & explore! Some sites you can start at include Chope & Burpple.

Snacks

• A must try, it’s sold by any ice cream man you see roaming around with a popup like this
• We have a ton of bubble tea (boba) stores if you’re craving it, you’d probably find a bubble tea store or two within 20mins of walking anywhere. Koi/Gongcha/LiHo are quite standard options, and then there’s others like Playmade/Chichasansen with their own unique points. Here’s a list with 61 of them...
• There’re plenty of 7-11s and convenience stores around, as well as “mama shops” around public residential housing.

Getting Around

Singapore has a great public transport system. It’s really easy & cheap to get around on the MRT (mass rapid transit trains) and buses. Use Google Maps or the City Mapper app to navigate yourself and get route recommendations (the latter also has transport arrival timings and fare estimates. It also works in many cities globally, so is very useful for tourists). Various transport passes are available for tourists, but you can also use your contactless credit cards (Visa and Mastercard) to pay for the fares (no registration required).
In general, using the Circle Line (yellow) or Downtown Line (blue) should get you to most tourist attractions. Orchard Road (main shopping belt) can be accessed via the North South Line (red), between Orchard and Somerset MRT stations. Map for reference, with links to versions in Chinese/Malay/Tamil available for download.
Taxis and ride-hailing cars:

• We have Grab and Gojek in place of Uber.
• The largest local taxi fleet - the blue Comfort Cabs - also have their own ride-hailing app to compete, although they can also operate via the traditional meter & can be booked via phone call/flagged down as usual. Fares can be paid via cash post-ride or credit card for all these private car options.
• Ride-hailing tends to be very expensive. At peak periods, ride-hailing services could be even more expensive than taxis, but at least you know the price beforehand. All malls have a taxi stand where you can stand in queue and hop on the next available cab. Queues can be long at morning and evening peak periods, so avoid taking cabs then if you can.

General navigation
All signs are in English, and the locals - esp the younger generation - are able to speak English fluently. If you’re really lost, feel free to approach others to ask for help! People are generally friendly and helpful despite initial appearances :)
As a side note: in general, if Google Maps is asking you to circle around a building to get somewhere - don’t. You can cut through most places on the ground floor quite easily, even the residential buildings (unless they’re private properties like condominiums/landed housing). MRT stations are connected to a good number of places via sheltered corridors if they’re nearby enough. Enjoy the aircon & shade instead of walking outside in the heat if you can.

Shopping

• K-pop merch, CDs and DVDs: There is House of Kpop, multiple locations, the most central being at Singapore Post Centre, next to Paya Lebar MRT station (one MRT stop away fm the concert location), and Beadsofbullets at Level 2, Orchard Gateway. Popular Bookstore has a BT21 corner in some of their stores. The flagship store at Bras Basah Complex (near Bugist MRT) would likely hv the biggest selection (though really not that big). Kinokuniya Bookstore at Takashimaya Mall, Orchard Road, also has some albums, DVD sets and maybe even magazines (not sure if any BTS-member covers are available at that time). You can call ahead to ask if they hv stocks.
  
• Orchard Road is our main shopping belt, running from Orchard to Somerset MRT stations. You can find many shopping malls there, with collections ranging from upmarket to fast fashion. Check out Design Orchard, a retail space for fashion and lifestyle items by Singapore designers.
  
• For an old-style emporium experience drop by Mustafa Centre. It used to be open 24 hours but this was disrupted by COVID19 and now it is only open until 2am (best place for late night shopping!). It's not a glitzy mall, but has crowded aisles chock full of all manners of things, including snacks and souvenirs (avoid going on Sundays when it gets super crowded with migrant workers on their day off).
  
• Already mentioned above are the ethnic enclaves Chinatown, Little India, Kampung Glam and Geylang Serai with smaller standalone shops. Special mention for Haji Lane in the Kampung Glam area, a small street with cute boutiques.
  
• The many, many other malls scattered across the country - a brief list. For example, Paya Lebar alone (just another station up from Dakota!) is connected to several malls like Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ), PLQ 2, PL Square, Singpost centre, and a couple more within a 5-mins’ walk (Tanjong Katong Complex, City Plaza, KINEX etc.).
  

Weathewhat to wear

The weather is especially hot these days (max temp of up to 35 degrees celsius, or 95 Fahrenheit), with possible spurts of heavy rain at certain times of day, so dress light and carry an umbrella (most places do have sheltered walkways between buildings and bus-stops/MRT stations though, so don’t worry too much about getting around in the rain). Mall air-conditioning can be cold, so hv another layer (e.g. cardigan/wrap/scarf) on hand. Remember to hydrate frequently & avoid staying outdoors for too long!

Airport

• Singapore Changi Airport is often voted by travellers as the best airport in the world, with lots of shopping, dining and leisure options in the various terminals. BTS (except Jin who took a different flight) stopped over at Changi Airport on the way to New Zealand for Bon Voyage 4 (airport lounge scenes shown in Episode 1)! While you may not have access to the business class lounge like them, there are various other options to rest and hangout, like the many gardens (some even accessible from the public areas) and even a free 24h cinema (Terminal 3 transit area).
• Jewel Changi Airport which is attached to Terminal 1 is an attraction in itself. It's worth arriving 2-3 hours earlier than your flight check-in time to grab a meal and have a look around Jewel. A particular highlight is to take the skytrain between Terminals 2 and 3, cutting across the centre of Jewel, to get a spectacular view of the indoor waterfall. There is also shopping aplenty (Tip: Fairprice Finest supermarket at B2 Jewel has a nice selection of food and non-food souvenirs which are pretty affordable).
• There are various transport options for getting to the city from the airport. Public transport like MRT is convenient if you are travelling light, else there is a shuttle service to selected downtown hotels. Taxis and ride-hire cars can be expensive, especially with the airport surcharge.
• Sort of related, Yoongi gave a shout out to our national airlines (Singapore Airlines) for its great seat and amenities in business class in BV4! (He said: let's always fly Singapore Airlines in the future!). The airlines must have taken notice, because they recently announced that they would be adding BTS content like songs, MVs, LY New York concert, and Break The Silence docu in their in-flight entertainment system to commemorate BTS' 10th anniversary. An ARMY also spotted a write-up abt BTS in their in-flight magazine.

We’ve tried to achieve a balance between being succinct and informative, but certainly the above info is not exhaustive. So do feel free to ask in the comments below if the info you need is not here! Fellow SG ARMY, or those familiar with Singapore, feel free to chime in!

The video originally aired on Friday, 2 June. Unfortunately, there is not a live stream summary for this video so we are providing the transcript for those who want to know what she said, though for reasons, did not watch the video.
Note: this is from the YouTube transcript which is available to the public. Some parts of the transcript may not be accurate since it's auto-generated.
The transcript has timestamps if you do wish to peek at the video, and with paragraph breaks to keep the random thoughts somewhat separated.
Um.
Oh, and here's a bit of a surprise - she's singing Madonna again!

0:00 foreign music
0:08 hi guys
0:11 um
0:12 well as you can see I have a huge feast
0:16 I don't know how much of that I'm gonna
0:17 be able to eat because I was just munching out on, um sunflower seeds ruining my appetite as per huge but I'm having some Middle Eastern food for you today and uh yeah, so, let's get right into it...
0:32 so today I have kosheri and this here is, it's like arayas which is meat pie with some tahina, some pickles..this is a dessert I'll show you guys what this is after
0:52 I don't remember what it's called and
0:56 um
0:57 so yeah, let's just like dig right into this
1:01 um
1:03 I know I've eaten kosheri before for you
1:06 guys a long time ago but I'm having it
1:09 now in the Middle East
1:11 so this is crispy onions
1:15 chickpeas, lentils
1:19 vermicelli rice
1:21 macaroni and spaghetti so like carb
1:24 lovers dream and keto people's nightmares
1:27 - okay - we have Coke
1:30 and um tomato this sauce that you put on it - it's like a tomato garlic sauce
1:39 why am I wearing a white hijab with
1:44 messy food
1:45 I never learned that's why
1:48 oh it smells good okay so you just pour
1:49 the sauce on
1:51 --like that--
1:53 they give you two Salt sauces - I don't
1:56 know if I'll need it but let's see if I
1:59 will
2:00 this is a large - oh my gosh -
2:03 this is a very
2:05 um, heavy meal, but it's also the idea is
2:08 that, it's a like, so affordable and cheap
2:13 and delicious
2:15 and filling and nutritious too
2:20 actually vegans would love this
2:23 so if you're vegan this is a good Middle
2:25 Eastern food for you actually Falafel is
2:28 too
2:30 I'm pouring all the tomato sauce they
2:33 give you two for a reason
2:36 - all right - let me try the Arias um
2:39 Bismillah
2:41 -all right, so, we're gonna dig in start
2:42 now
2:44 I won't need all this right now - but I could reheat this for sure
2:49 I love pickles
2:53 depends on the kind
2:54 is this a good kind
2:58 not bad...not bad
3:02 it's crazy
3:04 this is tahino
3:09 I love tahima
3:12 Beauty bite
3:16 hmm
3:33 love
3:35 is understanding - remember that song from
3:37 Madonna? Rescue Me, Love is understanding
3:41 it's hard to believe love can be so
3:45 demanding
3:47 Beauty bite
3:49 my chickpea fell
3:52 um
4:03 so good
4:05 um
4:12 I cut my finger on a can of corn
4:15 you guys
4:16 my next video
4:18 I'm gonna show you, I'm gonna be doing
4:20 a video called
4:24 the chiffon hijabs they just, like, do me
4:28 wrong
4:30 so it slips everywhere
[Note: Next video was another Mukbang]
4:34 any hijabis? no, auntie, and any
4:36 anti-slipping
4:41 any hijabis - no, any anti-slip
4:45 um
4:45 techniques with these clients anyway
4:58 I'm gonna be doing a video called
5:01 "what are you gonna do" as a fat person not on a diet before I start my health Journey - one of these
5:11 days
5:17 I love this fried onion
5:33 sending out unless
5:36 stopped me from drowning baby I'll do
5:39 the rest
5:54 what are you guys having for dinner?
5:59 am I making you hungry or the opposite
6:07 oh my gosh - that's so good
6:11 okay forgive me - I have to worry about it
6:18 it was slipping everywhere
6:24 it's getting harder to contain my hair
6:38 yeah, so this food here
6:48 it's more common here than in like,
6:50 Ottawa
6:51 so
6:57 the portions are bigger
6:59 I find them - what I'm used to
7:15 the...the taste of the Tomato... just reminds
7:18 me of like...
7:20 it's like tomato garlic
7:22 it reminds me of, like, my step-grandmother - she's Italian
7:33 and she used to make this delicious
7:36 tomato sauce
7:38 that even just plain, was so good
7:49 and it kind of gives me a comforting
7:51 feeling
7:58 oh, yeah
8:20 so
8:26 I can't wait to try the dessert - this is
8:28 so delicious
8:32 probably easy to make.. I don't know about
8:34 the vermicelli though I could never get
8:35 vermicelli right
8:46 I need more tomato sauce even
8:52 stop me from drowning baby, I'll do the
8:55 rest
8:57 Rescue Me
9:27 I know I look my dick [sic]
9:28 ridiculous
9:41 whatever
9:43 it's more comfortable
9:47 right now
9:50 I'm afraid of it... if I have, my like, white
9:52 hijab around my face I'll get food on it
9:54 you know
9:57 I have that song in my head
10:00 Rescue Me by Madonna
10:44 oh spicy
10:50 I think she did a pepper
10:53 hmm
11:01 have you guys ever tried grocery [sic] - comment
11:03 below
11:12 man, yummy

11:20 it's one of those foods that sound
11:22 boring. Like,
11:24 pasta, lentils, beans
11:27 and tomato... but it's like...so good
11:34 it's not boring at all
11:42 um
11:55 very filling
12:00 because you have the... the lentils and the beans, too
12:11 um
12:13 okay, let's try the dessert
12:17 if we may...
12:30 now I see why they give you two sauces
12:48 now I don't remember what this is called
12:52 so I'll put it on the screen somewhere
12:56 to let you know but it's like a rice pudding
13:00 it's not mahalabia
13:02 but it's
13:04 something like that with rice
13:16 yum
13:20 all right - let's try it
13:23 Beauty bite
13:38 like a rice pudding
13:42 rice pudding for me is an adult food
13:45 because growing up
13:46 I didn't like it, like, at all
13:52 oh my gosh - best rice pudding I ever had

14:01 this makes me sad because it reminds me
14:03 when I first came to Kuwait
14:07 and like,
14:11 the neighbor,
14:14 a really nice lady,
14:17 ..she would always bring us food, remember
14:19 and she brought us a huge bowl of this
14:28 hmm
14:37 it's like rules or something
14:40 um
14:40 rose, rose
14:45 in Arabic means rice
14:49 you guys will learn a little bit of
14:51 Arabic with this, well, with Salah
14:56 inshallah
15:00 you will
15:02 basically...how we say 'hi' here I'll teach
15:05 you a few words, now,
15:07 howwwe -say hi- we say Howie - how we say hi
15:11 [laughs]
15:12 he's doing well by the way
15:16 um
15:16 how we say 'hi' is Mahaba or
15:22 um
15:25 assalamualaikum
15:28 or Allen
15:37 and if you want to say 'how are you'
15:40 to a woman you would say kiefick
15:45 to a man can you [ __ ]
15:48 too many people give come
15:51 and you would answer
15:53 mom
15:55 and I think you ask them, if you want to
15:56 say 'how are you', you would say come on
15:58 one take effect
16:05 um
16:07 for how are you you can also say shlonic
16:11 and you can also answer instead of tamam
16:13 which means I'm okay you could say
16:16 alhamdulillah
16:22 which means like 'thank God'
16:27 I can't stop eating this
16:34 um
16:36 the skin part is, like, sweet and delicious
16:37 yum
16:51 'I love you' is if you're saying it to a
16:54 man as the head back
16:57 to a woman behavior
17:08 'my love' like Habibi
17:10 if you're saying it to a woman 'habibti'
17:13 like just a friendly word
17:19 you might hear me say a lot to Salah
17:22 hayati meaning 'my life', 'my world'
17:27 um
17:31 I'll be
17:33 I'll be is 'my heart'
17:45 um
17:52 I don't know very much do I no
18:03 Lish which is 'why'
18:08 means 'no problem'. mushkila means 'problem'
18:14 Hadi means 'it's okay', 'no problem' like, no
18:18 problem
18:23 um
18:24 mashi means 'okay'
18:26 masalama by
18:31 um
18:40 I don't know..is, um...
18:57 is a lot
19:00 better 'I love you a lot'
19:06 when actually when means 'where' in Arabic
19:11 can be confusing.
19:21 some words are very close to
19:24 French like sapon
19:29 in French soap is
19:34 so that's interesting
19:36 God I love learning different cultures
19:40 like, I, I, love experiencing different
19:42 cultures - I really do
19:46 inshallah we will get to experience more
19:48 together
20:09 so it's very interesting,
20:21 I love hearing Salah talk in like
20:25 Arabic like really fast
20:27 no
20:33 my hair keeps
20:36 hmm
20:55 shukran means 'thank you'
20:57 Zealand
20:59 it means 'thank you so much'
21:19 forgot about that
21:22 F1
21:25 means 'you're welcome'. 21:31 Nam 21:33 means what like like in a polite way
21:45 I think shoe means also 'what'
21:50 issue
21:54 yellow means 'let's come on', 'let's go' and

21:56 so far I'm sorry means 'hurry up'
22:00 so like if you use yellow like 'let's go'
22:03 "hurry, hurry, let's go!"

[Note: Seems another man in her life trying to keep her to a committed time and schedule]

22:09 I think that's all I can think about
22:10 right now. I'm full... I'm full...
22:13 oh my gosh... I'm full
22:17 anyway, so -
22:20 I'm finished, alhamdulillah
22:23 thank you for watching this video and
22:25 I'll see you in the next one-- bye, guys

Unpacking the Light Police. Light Pollution News.
Show Link: https://lightpollutionnews.com/podcast/unpacking-the-light-police/
Subscribe: Apple Podcast Spotify Google Podcast
Social: Instagram LinkedIn
Guests:
John Barentine of Dark Sky Consulting, LLC.
Kaitlyn Evans, Conservationist.
Show:
I was busted by the light police. They had a point, Dana Milbank of the Washington Post.
Dana Milbank purchased a home in, soon to be not, rural Virginia. At night he kept the formerly vacant property lit to the degree that spurned one commentator to call it “spaceship lighting.”
Milbank recaps being visited by the “light police,” a group of concerned citizens who help educate neighbors and instill a sense of pride in the brilliance of their starry night skies.
At first, he was taken aback, but later, not only did he appreciate their efforts, but he also converted his blinding always on, white light flood lights to warm 2700 Kelvin motion sensing lights.
Per Ruskin Hartley, executive director of the International Dark Sky Association, “for 4.5 billion years there was no artificial light at night. It’s really only in the last five human generations that we transformed that. It’s one of the most profound transformations of our environment.”
Many of you may recall an earlier story, way back in our Hormone of Darkness episode, showcasing concerns by local residents prior to a 760 house (now 761) plus town center development moving into the Culpepper County, VA area. Per the Rappahannock News, this development features “a resort style swimming pool, clubhouse, tot lot, and multiple sports fields and sports courts, all connected by a network of biking and walking trails.”
The forgotten medieval habit of ‘two sleeps’ by Zaria Gorvett of the BBC.
Gorvett opened my eyes to something I never knew about, the medieval custom of two sleeps. For those of you unaware, two sleeps are exactly what it sounds like.
Folks would partake in a communal nap, complete with rigid sleeping arrangement conventions, between 9 – 11pm, then awaken for a few hours to do everything from hang out to brew beer! In fact, the idea of multiple sleeps crossed cultures and was found in places as far from Europe as indigenous South America.
How can one’s circadian rhythm make sense of all of this?!
Well, for starters, until the invention of the alarm clock, which humorously was invented by a clocks salesman so he could wake up and sell more clocks, people had no firm way to wake up at a consistent time. The industrial revolution enforced a new circadian standard.
And there’s some science behind this! In the 1992 study, In Short Photoperiods, human sleep is biphasic, researcher Thomas Wehr found that after four weeks of 10 hour days, his subjects began to engage in this two sleep cycle, involving a one to three hour period for which they became awake and engaged in between.
Want to Learn About Light Pollution? There’s a mini-course for that!, Jennifer Sensiba of Clean Technica.
Quoting Sensiba, “As I got older, I traveled a lot more and saw the problem more for what it is. Not only did I see that in many places there is no refuge from it, but I also saw that it was slowly growing worse. Places that had been dark 30 years ago had more and more light creeping upon the horizon.”
If you’re interested in learning more, or more importantly, know someone who might benefit from learning more, Sensiba links up to an International Dark Sky Mini-Course on light pollution, call it Light Pollution 101!
There’s a Play Date at the National Museum of Natural History: Lights Out exhibit!
But unfortunately, by the time you listen to this, and hell, by the time we talk about this, it has passed.
Ann Arbor named best place for sunrises, sunsets in Michigan. Sarah Parlette for Click on Detroit.
Evidently gambling websites have decided to honor April’s International Dark Sky week in a strange new content marketing campaign, which was to rank the best places in each state to see sunrises and sunsets. My favorite one, “Ann Arbor named best place for sunrises, sunsets in Michigan,” comes from Click on Detroit, whereby a quote “study” examined Michigan’s most populated cities.”
According to Click on Detroit, “to celebrate International Astrology Day on Saturday, staff at Great Lake Stakes, a Michigan online gambling news site, looked at light pollution in the five most populated cities around the Mitten state to determine which offers the best views every morning and evening.”
Star bathing is the new outdoor travel trend we should all be trying for Summer 2023, according to Amy Beecham at Stylist.
Evidently, as an attempt to destress and promote mindfulness, romanticism about sleeping under the stars has birthed a 70% increase in searches for the term ‘star bathing’ on Hipcamp. And to be sure, “Hipcamp recommends checking a stargazing calendar which outlines major astrological events – like supermoons, pink moons, and star showers.”
“Industry Must Face an Inconvenient Truth — Most LED Lights at Night are Unhealthy”
Dr. Martin Moore-Ede, a circadian clock expert, recently published an article in LEDs Magazine chastising the lighting industry for not recognizing and reigning in the negative externalities of its products. Per the piece, such effects are, obesity, diabetes, depression, cancer, and more.
He cites three categories of industry responses, making the correlation that long term Denial or outright Ignorance of the Facts, may result in “asbestos-scale liabilities or draconian regulations.”
Per the piece, a recent survey by the Circadian Light Research Center of 2,697 peer reviewed scientific articles confirmed that human circadian clocks are highly sensitive to blue wavelengths, and that exposure to such wavelengths leads to major health disorders.
Moore-Ede calls for the industry to harvest the “commercial opportunity” to greatly limit future liability by creating and managing its own standards for circadian modulated lighting.
Unpacking the Wallpack, by Dan Weissman in LD+A Magazine.
Weissman, who recently purchased a telescope for his family in Cambridge, MA, discovered that the scope could only afford him views of some solar system objects and a few brightly burning stars.
The ire of Weissman’s pen takes the shape of a rectangular fixtures, be it box like or simply a panel these days, that typically hang off the side of an exterior wall or above an exterior door. “Devoid of aesthetic value” this light is often put up under the “pretense of security and safety” by “recommended practices and adopted municipal codes.”
Weissman recognizes labels that often accompany, what he calls, “Glare bombs,” including “contractor-select,” “energy efficient,” or “light pollution friendly.”
Further, per an earlier LD+A article, such lighting driven by its extreme contrasts is exceedingly common in minority communities where light is weaponized as a tool of power. It becomes a “device of alienation, creating a zone of control and separation.”
Weissman recognizes that the true reason such fixtures are selected often comes down to cost. He recognizes that it may take equally as much cost to persuade building and homeowners away from such lighting into the realm of more responsible, lower lumen, shielded lighting.
Weissman calls for producers of these glare bombs to be labeled as polluters, putting them in line with fossil fuel manufacturers and PFAS makers.
Songbirds, dusk and clear skies: Scientists explore migratory flights, by Erin Blakemore.
Bird migration season is ending here in the Mid-Atlantic. I was lucky enough to catch several Baltimore Orioles and Indigo Buntings last week. Researchers looked at 400 songbirds from 9 major species, “including the yellow-rump warbler, American redstart and Bicknell’s thrush.”
The question they hoped to answer was how are these birds so darn precise in identifying the best time to take off for their nightly migration? Scientists found that 90% of the migrating birds in the study took off within 69 minutes of dusk. A “much narrower takeoff window,” that even shocked the research team!
Per the study, taking off at night is all about maximum flight time. In addition to being able to precisely schedule their take offs, a feat that every airline I’ve flown with over the past few years has proven inept at, birds also are apparently good meteorologists! They often depart when the atmospheric pressure rises over a day’s span. Other factors also trigger migration, including sex, age, and celestial cues.
‘Lights Out’ initiative appears to be saving birds from crashing into Philly buildings by Sophia Schmidt.
Preliminary results indicate that bird death counts are down 70% at one Market Street tower, since it began its participation in Lights Out. As we spoke about on a previous show, birds utilize the stars to navigate, but city lights can disorient the birds. Combine the lights with reflective or transparent glass, and that spells fatal trouble for our migrating warblers!
Per Keith Russell, a program manager for urban conservation with Audubon Mid-Atlantic, “We’ve lost almost a third of our birds – and [collisions] contributing to that. If we’re going to want to preserve the bird populations here in North America, we have to look at these types of problems. And this is a preventable one.”
The Knoxville, TN Zoo is offering up what they call “Twilight Tours” per WVLT 8. Each event will feature a guide to showcase nocturnal critters.
I did something similar in Singapore years ago. The zoo had very dim lights in the exhibits – and they kept those lights dim as you walked so that you didn’t lose your night vision. It was a very different and, might I say, peaceful experience than the typically chaotic daytime zoo.
Flashlights posing major threat to nesting sea turtles. Fox35 Orlando
Apparently, a single flashlight can deter female sea turtles from coming onto a beach and nesting. Florida, as I did not know, is home to 90% of the sea turtle nests across the world, so losing sea turtles can affect the global ecosystem.
One visitor to Cocoa Beach stated, “Just leave them alone. Stand back and look. You don’t need a flashlight.”
Another, “It’s not super surprising because more buildings go up, more technology. As it increases, nature and stuff like that decreases,” said Zoe Jovaag, whose grandfather used to take her on walks to see sea turtles.
Capture the Dark 2023 officially is under way!
The International Dark Sky Association opens up its annual photo contest complete with prizes across eight categories and an additional People’s Choice category. Voting begins on July 3rd, entries must be received by June 30th.
City Tests Traffic Light That Only Turns Green for Drivers Who Obey the Speed Limit. Erin Marquis for Jalopnik.
And hey, you better not speed in Brossard, Quebec….otherwise you may be waiting around for a while. Brossard is testing out a new traffic light that will stay red until it senses oncoming traffic. However, it will only change to green if the car is going the speed limit. Per the Jalopnik article, “FRED [the French acronym for “educational traffic calming light] forces fast drivers to stop and gives them a chance to reconsider their life choices.” Such lights are already used in Europe, but this will be the first for the Great White North.
Why the Greatest Threat to Star-Gazing Isn’t Light Pollution, and this comes to us from Dorin Elin Urrutia at Inverse.
Elin Urrutia writes, in her compelling piece, that the greatest threat to star-gazing is actually the weather. Citing notable examples of the Mount Stromlo Observatory in Australia (which burnt down due to bushfires) and the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico (which sustained structural damage following the winds of Hurricane Maria).
While the threat of human-caused climate change has presented new challenges, Elin Urrutia references proactive burns that saved Los Angeles’ Mount Wilson Observatory from flames in 2020.
On a similar note, ABC News (the Australian Broadcasting Company, not to be confused with the American Broadcasting Company), brings us “A World Without Darkness Could Be a Reality within a Few Years.”
Per Carol Redford of Astrotourism Western Australia, “There are some people in the world now who don’t actually experience darkness anymore. They’re in a city like Beijing, Toyoko, or London. In all those big cities, it’s never dark, it’s always light. During the day of course with the sun, but then during the night with all of the artificial light. They’re not experiencing darkness, and definitely not seeing those beautiful stars…”
In the 66 years since the implementation of the UN Convention on the Peaceful Use of Outerspace, around 11,000 satellites orbit the Earth. But it’s about to get wayyy busier. Driven by innovations that have led to dramatic reductions in costs, over the next ten years, Per attorney Steven Freeland, it’s anticipated that somewhere between 100,000 to 500,000 objects will be sent up. Let me pause on that for a second.
On the travel front, we stay in the land down under, “Aussie region determined to keep its darkness is a stargazer’s dream” by Chantelle Francis of News.com.AU.
The town of Swam Reach, population 270, resides in a 3200sq km region of Southern Australia that received its International Dark Sky Reserve status over three years ago. On a scale of darkness between 0 – 22, the River Murray Dark Sky Reserve at Swam Reach, measures in at a whopping 21.9!
Tourism has become a growing business. The reserve hosts numerous telescope pads and offers tours of the night sky. There’s hope that an observatory and/or planetarium may also arrive in due course.
Best smart lights for outdoors in 2023, Brittney Vincent of CBS Essentials.
Oh there’s a lot not to love here, but it does fall in line with last month’s ‘Lumens are Coming’ article.
For those of you who feel the need to light your trees, because for some reason they need light at night I guess…I’ll try and pretend it’s not solely for ostentatious and narcissistic reasons. By the way, does anyone remember when those were negative characteristics?
The article features spotlights that can be programmed to over 16 MILLION colors including…lucky for us, ALL shades of white….which you can also do for a 500 lumen flood light set.
And hey, Ring now has solar path lighting. Don’t worry though, the fixtures themselves put out up to 80 lumens of sideways light.
You know, it’s astounding when you look at some of these pictures. The amount of redundant lighting. It honestly makes no sense to me. You have a porch light, which lights up the path. Path lighting, which lights up the path. And, in the one picture, god awful frontward facing flood lights, which also light up the path. How bright do you need these paths!? I digress. But the lumens are indeed coming.
LDS Church will get to light up its Heber Valley Temple after all, but the faith didn’t get everything it wanted, Blake Apgar of the Salt Lake Tribune.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints fought hard to rid itself of any nighttime lighting responsibility by pressuring Wasatch County, Utah officials to approve new lighting rules that would enable the church to light a proposed new temple the same way it does for every other temple.
The Church received permission to uplight the temple, enabling an exception to be made in Wasatch’s rather stringent nighttime lighting rulebook. However, the temple will be restricted by the level of lumens it can use, and it must have exterior lighting turned off an hour after sunset or an hour after normal business hours.
Smart Street Lights Market is Expected to Hit USD 14,751.1 million at a 23.4% CAGR by 2030, Market Research Future Press Release
The pandemic is officially over, smart street lighting is about to boom. Combine the rush to LED fixtures with the Internet of Things, and expect to see street lights moonlighting as traffic and parking monitors, air quality meters, and more. Not to mention, “it is anticipated that camera-connected smart street lighting will increase road safety by lowering the likelihood of accidents and criminality.”
Texas now has 7 dark sky communities for spectacular star gazing, Sana Ameer, MRT.
Let’s cheer on the city of Bee Cave, everyone! Bee Cave joins a growing list of dark sky places already in the Lone Star State, including 2 Dark Sky Sanctuaries, 5 Dark Sky Parks, and 1 Dark Sky Reserve. Nighttime is alive and well in some parts of Texas!
Our Afraid of the Dark article is a bit scary! Hilton Head’s dark roads and pedestrians are deadly combo. What the town is doing about it, Blake Douglas at The Island Packet.
Per the article, 9 pedestrian and cyclist fatalities occurred since 2018, with five occurring after dark. Prior to that period, there were 28 recorded deaths from 2000 – 2016, with 20 of them taking place after dark.
In 2018, an 11 year old resident was struck and killed while walking her dog across an intersection one night. Lighting advocates began taking shape in what otherwise is a very conservation focused island. Hilton Head, SC has a limited number of street lights, priding itself on “avoiding light pollution and blending nature with construction.”
Lighting advocates appear to be, at the very least, asking for flashing crosswalk lights on the island to indicate when an individual is crossing.
It should be noted that the article shows a chart of 9 after-dark-deaths since 2014, only two of them occurred at crosswalks. In fact, during the same time frame, 6 additional deaths occurred at crosswalks during the daytime.
As a whole, the National Safety Council reports that 74.5% of pedestrian deaths occurred at night, whereby 39.1% took place in lit areas and 35.38% took place in unlit areas.
Bryan Bloch, an auto safety expert, surmises that car companies bear some of the blame – producing cheap or ineffectual headlight fixtures, and drivers themselves, who don’t realize that they need to regularly clean their headlight lenses.
Despite opposition from residents, it appears that Hilton Head will be receiving lights at two new intersections and possibly more depending on engineering studies currently in progress.
Is lighting the key variable here? Is more light going to solve pedestrian deaths?
Our featured research article of the month comes to us from Animal Conservation, “Manipulating spectra of artificial light affects movement patterns of bats along ecological corridors.”
Bats are already known to have a wide range of responses to artificial light at night (also known as ALAN). Fast flying species tend to be more opportunistic in the presence of ALAN while slower ones tend to be more light averse. We know that “long wavelengths and reduced intensity” can minimize their environmental effects on bats. It’s not unheard of for bats to travel upwards of “tens of km per night.” Furthermore, bats are very dependent on the landscape and the structures within those landscapes.
Despite the nuances between species, the consensus is that ALAN, especially high intensity ALAN, negatively affects bats. This study attempted to answer what exactly bats do when they encounter ALAN – how do they react depending on different types of ALAN.
The study used three different light fixtures – one green, one red, and one white. The control was devoid of light fixtures. The researchers attempted to ascertain the behavior of bats as they encountered lights adjacent to woody areas. The researchers looked at three different bat groupings based on their foraging-echo location behavior, that being one of open field foraging, forest edge foraging, and narrow space – or more aptly forest foragers.
Researchers found that open and edge foraging bats increased their activity close to white and green lights, and to a lesser extent red lights. However, narrow space bats were more likely to veer away from all colors of lighting. Edge foragers were also less likely to cross a white light.
The positive effects of white and green light on open and edge foraging bats appear to be attributed to the accumulation of insects around light sources containing more blue light.
The nighttime sky over Oahu will be lit up with green lasers in the coming days. Here’s why. Hawaii News Now
Before we close up today, do you live in Hawaii? I know I wish I did!
If so, do you recall seeing green lasers streak across the night sky? Well, the Army Corps of Engineers was using lidar at night to complete a coastal mapping survey.
Why did they survey at night? Specifically, why did they do this between midnight to 5am? Simply b/c the airspace is so busy, that time was the only chance they had to complete the survey. The remaining survey was completed during daytime hours.

Popular wedding venues in the western and central states were featured in Part 1 of US wedding venues. So in part two, we'll focus on wedding venues in the eastern states. Whether it's a luxurious hotel, a rustic barn, or a spacious meadow, all are included. Again, the features of these venues and the approximate prices will be written. Let's explore these beautiful wedding venues!

Wisconsin Wedding Venues

The Paine Art Center and Gardens

This is an art museum located at 1410 Algoma Blvd, Oshkosh. It is an English-style country estate and has nearly four acres of gardens. It has perennial plants and is a great outdoor ceremony venue. Also, there is a historic mansion, charming carriage house, and greenhouse. The venue can accommodate up to 200 people and costs approximately $3000 to $4000 For 100 Guests.

The Lageret

This is a professional event venue located at 515 E Main St, Stoughton. This historic venue offers industrial and rustic charm with exposed brick walls, high ceilings, and wood beams. It has ample space for ceremonies and receptions. The venue offers event coordination, customizable lighting options, a bridal suite, and access to preferred vendors. Accommodations for up to 250 people start at $3,500 for a 12-hour rental.

The Enchanted Barn

Located at 1543 6 1/2 Ave, Hillsdale, this barn has an old-world rustic atmosphere around every corner. Featuring several indoor and outdoor venues, one of the most popular ceremony locations is located in Barn's upper-level Hayloft, featuring old wood timbers. Several wedding package options are available here and can accommodate up to 220 people. Off-season all-inclusive wedding packages are $5,000 plus $21 per person.

Illinois Wedding Venues

Danada House

This is a historic mansion located at 3S501 Naperville Rd, Wheaton. a short drive from Chicago. The mansion is also surrounded by a forest preserve that allows for nature-filled photos. There are seven ceremony locations in total, and the largest Magnolia Garden can accommodate up to 300 guests. Venue rentals start at $3,500.

The Morton Arboretum

This is a public nature garden and outdoor museum located at 4100 IL-53, Lisle. Inside there are not only mature trees and flowers but also a playground for children. Offering beautiful woodland and lakeside views. The large garden has a total of 12 venues to choose from and the largest room can accommodate up to 300 guests. Prices range from $600 to $9,000 depending on the size of the room and the time of year it is held.

Salvage One

Located at 1840 W Hubbard St, Chicago, this is a very unique location that serves as a store besides being a wedding venue. It preserves treasured furniture from the past. This old Chicago warehouse offers an enchanting vintage atmosphere. The ceremony and banquet space can accommodate about 200 people and space rentals start at $4,000.

Kentucky Wedding Venues

The Barn at Cedar Grove

The address is 1000 Brockman Keltner Rd, Greensburg, which has a rustic barn setting with picturesque scenery. Offering outdoor ceremony space, climate-controlled reception space, bridal suite, groom's quarters, and fire pit. The venue in the barn can accommodate up to 230 people. For fewer guests, the average budget for a wedding here is between $6,000 and $9,000.

The Brown Hotel

This 100-year-old hotel is located at 335 W Broadway, Louisville. The hotel has a striking Georgian Revival look and offers elegant ballrooms, luxurious accommodations, and a gorgeous rooftop garden. The hotel also has extensive experience in hosting weddings of different cultures, such as Jewish and Indian weddings. Prices are $18,000 in the off-season and can accommodate up to 300 guests.

Talon Winery & Vineyards

This winery has a large outdoor space at 7086 Tates Creek Rd, Lexington. Offers vineyard and winery backdrop, outdoor ceremony space, and rustic barn. The best part is the wine-tasting and vineyard tours. The venue can accommodate up to 250 guests and prices for ceremonies start at $1500.

Tennessee Wedding Venues

Butterfly Hollow

Located at 28 Bussell Rd, Gordonsville, our vacation accommodations are perfect for small weddings. Surrounded by scenic walking trails, mountains, and woods. This venue specializes in small weddings of 30 people or less, with a focus on an intimate and cozy experience. Wedding packages range from $1795 to $5000.

Dixon Gallery and Gardens

An art gallery on 17 acres of gardens located at 4339 Park Ave, Memphis, offers a romantic and artistic setting for weddings. The gallery offers two indoor reception venues as well as woodlands and gardens, both of which can accommodate up to 200 guests. Prices are approximately $4000 to $5000 For 100 guests.

The Bell Tower

The Bell Tower, located at 400 4th Ave S, Nashville, is almost 140 years old. The ballroom features large windows that provide plenty of natural light, creating a charming and historic setting for weddings. There are two floors beside the lobby. Seated dinners for up to 400 people range from $3,500 to $16,000 depending on time and venue.

Mississippi Wedding Venues

The Cedars

The site at 4145 Old Canton Rd, Jackson is the oldest residential building in Jackson, with a history of 175 years. The courtyard in front of the house with trees such as cedar, oak, and magnolia provides a natural backdrop for weddings. The venue can accommodate up to 300 people and costs $3,500 for a two-day weekend rental.

Dunleith Historic Inn

A National Historic Landmark located at 84 Homochitto St, Natchez, the mansion features Greek Revival columns and original pine floors. The event space has a main floor, courtyard, and South Lawn, which can accommodate up to 700 people. Wedding packages start at $6,500, not including catering.

The Gin at Flora Station

The address is 4819 MS-22, Flora. The refurbished cotton gin blends rustic charm with modern amenities. It offers indoor and outdoor spaces, including a covered gazebo and a patio with an old-fashioned truck bar. Rentals for ceremonies and receptions start at $3,500.

Alabama Wedding Venues

B&A Warehouse

This building, located at 1531 1st Ave S, Birmingham, is historic from the outside. With its industrial-inspired design and high ceilings along with red brick walls. Three indoor venues can accommodate up to 300 guests, and the cost of a ceremony starts at $4,000.

The Sterling Castle

This castle is located at 389 Deseret Dr, Shelby, and has been voted the best wedding venue in Alabama. The fairytale-style castle, elegant ballroom, charming courtyard, and lakeside and drawbridge venues. This beautiful venue can accommodate up to 300 guests and all-inclusive weddings are priced at $10,000+.

Huntsville Museum of Art

This is an art museum located at 300 Church St SW, Huntsville. With unique indoor and outdoor spaces, the museum is a contemporary art gallery. Offering outdoor spaces with a rooftop terrace, and five indoor hospitality venues. The starting venue fee for a wedding reception in high season is $1,500.

Michigan Wedding Venues

Colony Club Detroit

Located at 2310 Park Ave, Detroit, this Georgian-style, historic venue features stunning architecture and gorgeous interiors. The hotel features a grand ballroom decorated with crystal chandeliers and intricate details. The ballroom can accommodate up to 350 guests and is priced between $12,000 and $15,000.

Castle Farms

This historic building, built in 1918, is located at 5052 M-66, Charlevoix. With a total of four site combinations in the summer. It offers several ceremony and reception spaces, including a charming outdoor garden and a majestic stone courtyard. The largest of these, the East Garden and Queen's Courtyard can host up to 300 guests. And the price range is between $6,750 and $9,250.

The Inn at Stonecliffe

This is a Victorian village located at 8593 Cudahy Cir, Mackinac Island. away from the hustle and bustle of the area. With beautiful gardens and breathtaking views of Lake Huron and the Mackinaw Bridge. Accommodates up to 300 people and prices range from $4000 to $10,000.

Ohio Wedding Venues

Franklin Park Conservatory

This is a horticultural and educational institution located at 1777 E Broad St, Columbus. The most popular venue is the indoor garden with an all-glass ceiling. Besides, there is an industrial-style venue and a 200-year-old barn. The venue has plenty of space and can accommodate up to 500 people, with prices ranging from $7,000 to $11,000 for a wedding of 100 guests.

The Columbus Athenaeum

The historic building at 32 N 4th St, Columbus, was built in 1899. With a total of ten venues to choose from, the Grand Ballroom boasts gorgeous details and a stunning atrium. It is decorated with classical Greek art as well as soaring ornate ceilings. It can accommodate up to 230 guests. Prices for receptions start at $3,000.

Gervasi Vineyard

An oversized wine estate located at 1700 55th St NE, Canton. Picturesque vineyard setting and sparkling lake views. The open-air venue can accommodate up to 300 people, while the indoor venue can accommodate up to 120 guests. Full-service event planning, vineyard tours, and wine tastings are available. Prices for receptions will start at $1,450.

Georgia Wedding Venues

Barnsley Resort

This resort is located at 597 Barnsley Gardens Rd NW, Adairsville. With over 3,000 acres of land, it is a historic southern estate. With lush gardens, luxurious cabins, and grounds that can accommodate up to 250 people. Three wedding packages are available: $275 per person, $320 per person, and $350 per person. And a least of 150 people is required.

Summerour Studio

This is a renovated warehouse located at 409 Bishop St NW, Atlanta. The roof is supported by massive bow trusses, which allow for a spacious, open floor plan without columns or supports. Through a wall of windows running the length of the space, there are breathtaking views of Atlantic Station and the downtown skyline. Accommodating up to 425 people, prices start at $4,000.

The Biltmore Ballrooms

The ballroom is located at 817 W Peachtree St NW 208, Atlanta, and was established in 1924. The ballroom features a handcrafted plaster relief ceiling, ornate crystal lighting, and a marble floor. Capacity ranges from 50 to 1,500 people and offers eleven caterers. Rental rates range from $3,500 to $5,000, depending on the day of the week.

Florida Wedding Venues

The Ancient Spanish Monastery

Located at 16711 W Dixie Hwy, North Miami Beach. This monastery was dismantled piece by piece from northern Spain and shipped to the United States, then rebuilt over 19 months. It offers a chapel and gardens for ceremonies. The garden can accommodate up to 300 guests for $6,500 and includes only the cost of the reception.

The Breakers Palm Beach

This is a luxury resort located at 1 S County Rd, Palm Beach. This luxury resort is located in Palm Beach and enjoys magnificent beachfront views, lush gardens, and an exquisite ballroom. It boasts a timeless and elegant ambiance. It can host weddings for a maximum of less than 500 people, and detailed prices need to be communicated with the hotel.

The Ringling Museum

The museum is located at 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota, with a breathtaking view of Sarasota Bay. This venue offers unique views of art, culture, and the stunning waterfront. It includes many event spaces, including a large courtyard and an elegant ballroom. The largest art gallery courtyard can accommodate up to 125 guests and prices start at $20,000.

New York Wedding Venues

Mohonk Mountain House

Located at 1000 Mountain Rest Rd, New Paltz, this historic resort is surrounded by 40,000 acres of pristine forest. Featuring a majestic Victorian castle with panoramic mountain views. Choose from lakeside, garden, and mountain views for your ceremony. Wedding packages range from $275 to $375 per person.

The Foundry

The address is 42-38 9th Street, Long Island City, with a history dating back to the 19th century. Offering an industrial chic atmosphere, a garden courtyard and conservatory, a stunning main space, plus rustic interiors. Accommodates up to 180 guests, with receptions starting at $14,000.

The Garrison

Estate at 2015 US-9, Garrison, with superb Hudson River views and Catskill Mountain views. The venue offers a modern ballroom, outdoor ceremony space, and golf course. The venue can accommodate up to 200 guests for $12,000.

Pennsylvania Wedding Venues

The Curtis Atrium

The historic building at 699 Walnut St, Philadelphia used to be the Curtis Publishing Company. It is now a building with a mix of residential, office, and retail space. It features a stunning atrium, marble columns, and a stunning rotunda. Space rentals start at $8,000.

The Cork Factory Hotel

This boutique hotel is located at 480 New Holland Ave 3000, Lancaster, a converted historic cork mill with exposed brick walls. Offering industrial charm and modern amenities. The venue has a ballroom, a terrace, and a 2,300-square-foot warehouse. Space is available for up to 200 guests, and wedding packages start at $7,000.

Terrain Gardens at Devon Yard

A stunning garden is located at 138 W Lancaster Ave Suite 130, Devon. The venue is decorated with elements such as reclaimed barn wood floors, raised holiday lights, and skylights to create a unique aesthetic. Of course, there is an essential gardening setting and open-air venue that can accommodate up to 140 guests. Prices for receptions start at $4,525.

West Virginia Wedding Venues

Stonewall Resort

The entire resort is nestled beside a tranquil lake at 940 Resort Drive Roanoke, a place of scenic beauty and rustic charm. Wedding venues are available on the lakeside lawn or in the courtyard, with an indoor grand hall and stone-walled ballroom. Spa services, golf courses, and entertainment can also be experienced with wedding packages ranging from $3,500 to $12,000.

The Greenbrier

A luxury resort located at 101 W Main St, White Sulphur Springs. With stunning architecture, beautiful gardens, and breathtaking mountain views. The indoor venue has a dramatic chandelier and stage. The outdoor grounds feature expansive lawns and rustic cabins. Packages start at $10,000 and vary depending on the number of guests, season, and customization.

Sleepy Hollow Golf Club

The Club at 3780 Sleepy Hollow Dr, Hurricane. It is a private golf club for families. Featuring a scenic golf course, elegant ballroom, outdoor lawn ceremony venue, and picturesque countryside views. Wedding packages start at $3,500.

Virginia Wedding Venues

Maymont

Historic Manor River Park at 1700 Hampton St, Richmond. Inside are gardens, botanical gardens, and native wildlife habitats. The scenic setting includes 100-year-old Italian gardens, European-style manor houses, pavilions, expansive lawns, and the Robbins Nature Center. Prices range from $3,500 to $6,100.

Inn At Willow Grove

This is a rustic accommodation located at 14079 Plantation Way, Orange. It is unusually peaceful and romantic, surrounded by ancient trees and beautiful gardens. One of the gardens, Boxwood, can accommodate up to 175 guests and offers idyllic views. A versatile barn is also available as a hospitality venue, with rates starting at $7,500.

The Tides Inn

Located at 480 King Carter Dr, Irvington, the entire hotel is situated on a beautiful body of water with views of the Chesapeake Bay. It is a waterfront resort. You can also come here to take part in fun activities such as tennis, golf, paddle boarding, biking, and kayaking. Weddings start at $3,100.

North Carolina Wedding Venues

The Bradford

Professional wedding venue located at 523 Pea Ridge Rd, New Hill. It resembles a European town building with charming gardens and rustic barns. It can accommodate up to 250 guests for a ceremony in the gardens. Wedding packages will vary depending on the time of year and are priced at $8,000 on Fridays and $9,800 on Saturdays.

The Merrimon-Wynne House

The mansion located at 500 N Blount St, Raleigh was built in 1876 and has been well maintained and is now a venue for various events. The building has a main floor full of Southern charm. Inside are original floors and mantelshelves, ornate chandeliers, and a wide porch. The outdoor area is also large enough to host ceremonies in the garden and can accommodate up to 250 guests. Prices for receptions start at $5,000.

Fearrington Village

It's an English-style country hotel located at 2000 Fearrington Village Center. Besides the quaint country setting there are dense gardens with water features. The largest venue is the barn, which offers spacious dining and dancing space and can accommodate up to 250 people guests. Prices for ceremonies start at $2500.

South Carolina Wedding Venues

Middleton Place

This National Historic Landmark is located at 4300 Ashley River Rd, Charleston. You can experience daily life on an 18th-century plantation and enjoy 65 acres of unobstructed views and private garden rooms. Also, enjoy the oldest landscaped gardens on the property. There are 7 ceremony venues, ranging from small weddings of 50 to 400 guests. Prices start at $5,000.

William Aiken House

The 1807 mansion is located at 456 King St, Charleston, a restored mansion that showcases Southern charm and architectural elegance. The yard features a magnolia tree that is over two hundred years old and an elegant terrace. It is also rated as one of South Carolina's premier wedding venues. The cost of a ceremony starts at $3,000.

The Cedar Room

Modern industrial event space at 701 E Bay St, Charleston. Featuring exposed brick walls, high ceilings, and large windows overlooking the cityscape. The indoor Cedar Room venue can accommodate up to 500 people for events, and the outdoor yard can seat up to 200. Events on Fridays or Sundays start at $3,500.

Vermont Wedding Venues

Inn at Mountain View Farm

The Inn at 3383 Darling Hill Rd, East Burke, has breathtaking mountaintop views. Enjoy mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and visits to animal farms, among many other activities. Venues can range from beautiful fields to cozy campfires. Weekend wedding packages start at $3,500.

Hildene - The Lincoln Family Home

The building at 1005 Hildene Rd, Manchester is full of meaning. The Lincolns built Hildene as a summer home at the turn of the 20th century. Here you can look out over the Taconic Mountains to the west and the Green Mountains to the east. The outdoor venue can accommodate up to 200 people and wedding reception prices start at $8,000.
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(Hildene - The Lincoln Family Home)

The Henry House

The historic house at 1338 Murphy Rd, North Bennington, built in 1769, is one of the oldest surviving houses in Vermont. Overlooks the authentic red-covered Henry Bridge. The site offers several vendors for you to consider. The large trees outside the house make for the best wedding photos. The venue needs to be contacted for a specific quote.

Massachusetts Wedding Venues

The Crane Estate

This is a Tudor Revival mansion located at 290 Argilla Rd, Ipswich. It was the summer home of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Taylor Crane, Jr. with winding salt marshes, miles of barrier beaches, and a beautiful hilltop mansion. And of course the rolling lawns and gardens. There are three sites to choose from in all, with the beachfront site accommodating 200 to 500 people. Weekend weddings are priced at $6500.

Red Lion Inn

The Inn at 30 Main St, Stockbridge has a 250-year history. The entire Inn combines traditional New England hospitality with the amenities of a modern hotel. The largest Hitchcock room capacity is capacity 30-175 people. Venue rentals start at $4,000.

Liberty Hotel

A sophisticated hotel located at 215 Charles St, Boston. Located in the heart of downtown, just steps from shopping, dining, Boston Parks, and more. The hotel offers a private secret garden that can accommodate up to 200 people outdoors and an indoor 3000-square-foot ballroom. Wedding venue rates start at $26,000 for up to 100 guests.

Connecticut Wedding Venues

The Lace Factory

This historic factory is located at 161 River St, Deep River, and offers a charming and rustic atmosphere for a wedding venue. It has wood floors, high ceilings, and large windows overlooking the river. The Lace Factory offers event planning services, on-site catering, and a variety of rental options for weddings of all sizes. The Factory can accommodate up to 225 people and prices start at $5,000.

Eolia Mansion at Harkness State

The address is 275 Great Neck Rd, Waterford. Nestled on the shoreline of Waterford, Connecticut, this elegant mansion offers breathtaking views of Long Island Sound. It has manicured gardens, a stone terrace, and a beautiful ballroom. The price of $5,100 includes exclusive use of the mansion's first floor and south courtyard tent for 5 hours.

The Society Room of Hartford

This event venue is located at 31 Pratt St, Hartford, and the historic venue boasts magnificent architecture. It includes a marble staircase, beautifully frescoed ceilings, and crystal chandeliers. It provides a luxurious and timeless setting for weddings. The venue can accommodate up to 300 guests and prices start at 15,000.

New Hampshire Wedding Venues

Wentworth By The Sea Country Club

Country Club at 60 Wentworth Rd, Rye. This private club is near the shore and enjoys magnificent waterfront views and a romantic atmosphere. The hotel has manicured grounds and a historic clubhouse. It can accommodate up to 250 guests in this setting. Three options are available: lawn, clubhouse, and tent weddings. Reception prices start at $30,000.

The Preserve at Chocorua

This venue, located at 88 Philbrick Neighborhood Rd, Tamworth, is a rustic and secluded wedding venue nestled in the White Mountains. It offers scenic views, a charming barn, and plenty of outdoor space for the ceremony. Outdoor activities such as sleigh rides and hiking are also available. Approximate prices will start at $1000.

Bishop Farm

The Farmhouse, located at 33 Bishop Cutoff, Lisbon, is a historic and beautifully landscaped site in the White Mountains. It offers a restored 1876 farmhouse, a barn, and lush greenery. There is also a romantic bistro with a terrace to relax in. Accommodating up to 200 guests, prices start at $15,000.

Rhode Island Wedding Venues

The Chanler at Cliff Walk

A luxury hotel located at 117 Memorial Blvd, Newport. The Chanler offers luxurious accommodations and a grand mansion setting with stunning views of the Atlantic Ocean and access to their world-class restaurant. Specializing in weddings for up to 120 guests with access to their world-class restaurant. Site rentals start at $10,000.

Blithewold Mansion, Gardens & Arboretum

Historic mansion on 33 acres located at 101 Ferry Rd, Bristol with breathtaking views of Narragansett Bay. Large tents are available in the outdoor area, followed by sunset views. Accommodating up to 225 guests, weekend wedding rates start at $12,995.

The Dorrance

Situated in the heart of Providence, The Dorrance is a restored bank building with a sophisticated atmosphere and elegant decor. The most special feature is the long, luxurious bar, which can accommodate up to 200 guests throughout the venue. Venue rentals start at $7,500.

New Jersey Wedding Venues

The Ashford Estate

Located at 637 Province Line Rd, Allentown, this elegant property is nestled in a picturesque setting. Surrounded by hundreds of acres of beautifully preserved farmland, it features sparkling fountains, waterfalls, garden pavilions, expansive views, and of course, luxurious private suites. The wedding venue can accommodate up to 300 guests. Starting at $10,000.

Mallard Island Yacht Club

A club surrounded by water at 1450 NJ-72, Manahawkin. six more venues to choose from in the luxurious private island mansion. The center plaza boasts grand arches and ornate ceilings reminiscent of old-world glamour. The ballroom can accommodate up to 250 people, and prices for receptions start at $20,000.

Liberty House Restaurant & Events

This waterfront event venue is located at 76 Audrey Zapp Dr, Jersey City. It features unparalleled views of the New York City skyline, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, and the Liberty Landing Pier. The Grand Ballroom features a marble floor and floor-to-ceiling windows. The venue can accommodate up to 300 people and venue rental fees start at $8,000.

Delaware Wedding Venues

The Queen Wilmington

This dazzling venue is located at 500 N Market St, Wilmington is downtown. It is a historic music venue that offers a unique and eclectic atmosphere. The venue features a grand ballroom with a stage, state-of-the-art sound system, and elegant décor. The venue can accommodate up to 200 guests and wedding reception prices start from $3,000.

The Cordrey Center

The address is 30366 Cordrey Rd, Millsboro, and its restored barn and surrounding gardens provide a rustic and charming setting. The venue offers a range of services, including in-house catering, bar service, and event coordination. It has indoor and outdoor options and can accommodate up to 200 guests. Venue rental rates start at $3,500.

The Waterfall Catering and Special Events

With an address at 3416 Philadelphia Pike, Claymont, The Waterfall has a modern venue. Centered around a stunning indoor waterfall. The spacious ballroom features contemporary décor and customizable LED lighting systems. The venue can accommodate up to 500 guests. Prices for venue rentals start at $6,000.

Maryland Wedding Venues

Belvedere Hotel

Located at 1 East Chase Street and built-in 1902 as a historic landmark in Baltimore, The Belvedere showcases stunning architecture and classic charm. It offers a variety of event spaces, including a rooftop ballroom with panoramic views of the city. Inside, the décor is more vintage and ornate. Accommodating up to 500 guests, venue rentals start at $8,000.

Evergreen Museum & Library

This grand Gilded Age mansion is located at 4545 N Charles St, Baltimore. It is full of history with a house museum and research library. With beautiful gardens, this venue offers a mix of elegance and history. It's architectural details and scenic surroundings provide a unique backdrop. As well as a tour of the museum's collection. Accommodates up to 200 guests and starts at $6,000.

Chesapeake Bay Beach Club

Located at 500 Marina Club Rd, Stevensville, this venue offers stunning waterfront views and an elegant ballroom. It also has an oceanfront ceremony venue and luxurious accommodations. There are four ballrooms in total, three indoor and one outdoor. Accommodations for up to 300 guests start at $10,000.

District of Columbia Wedding Venues

Larz Anderson House

Located at 2118 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, the Anderson House, established in 1905, is a stunning Beaux-Arts mansion that offers a romantic and intimate setting for weddings. The venue features beautiful gardens, a grand staircase, and gorgeous rooms decorated with historic artwork. It can accommodate up to 200 guests and has access to the house's magnificent library. Prices start from $8,000.

The Hay-Adams

Located at 800 16th St NW, Washington, across from the White House, the hotel offers magnificent views of the iconic landmark. This venue has many event spaces, including a rooftop terrace from which the White House can be used as a photo backdrop. Wedding venues can accommodate up to 250 guests and prices start at $15,000.

National Museum of Women in the Arts

Located at 1250 New York Ave NW, Washington, this unique venue celebrates women artists and offers a distinctive setting for weddings. With its stunning architecture and world-class art collection, it provides an exquisite atmosphere for your special day. The venue offers a variety of event spaces, including an assembly hall and mezzanine level, and can accommodate up to 400 guests. However, the museum is temporarily closed for renovations.

Maine Wedding Venues

Hidden Pond

The resort's address is 354 Goose Rocks Rd, Kennebunkport, and is nestled in a secluded wooded area. Featuring elegant indoor and outdoor spaces. Surrounded by 60 acres of birch and balsam fir, it features two outdoor pools and a three-room treetop spa. It ensures an unforgettable wedding experience. Prices start from US$10,000.

Hardy Farm

The farm is located at 254 W Fryeburg Rd, Fryeburg. This rustic and chic site features a restored 18th-century farmhouse and a spacious barn with panoramic mountain views. Of course, there are also seasonal gardens and a woodland church. The most special feature is the provision of a cable car to reach the top of the mountain, which is also a popular backdrop for photos. It can accommodate up to 250 guests and prices start from $6,500.

Portland Regency Hotel & Spa

The address is 20 Milk St, Portland, and is centrally located, offering a blend of classic elegance and modern amenities. With many event spaces, on-site catering, and a spa, it can accommodate intimate and large weddings. Accommodations range from 10 to 220 guests, with rates starting at $3,500.

Conclusion

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." When Harry Met Sally
Finally, we've rounded up our recommendations for wedding venues in each of the remaining states. Choosing the perfect wedding venue is an important step in creating your dream wedding. It sets the tone for the entire celebration and provides the backdrop for your special day. No matter what style of wedding venue you prefer, there is a venue above that perfectly suits your style and preferences.
Last but not least, don't forget to check out Quictent's wedding tent. we offer quality wedding tents for your outdoor wedding, containing various types and sizes.

I got a little bored and drunk. Then this happened. Just a bit of dumb action. I could try and spin this as me improving my ability to write more action oriented scenes, but well. Yeah, drunk and bored. Enjoy and tell me what you think.
CW: Sweet sweet excessive violence
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The little skiff drifted lazily along the asteroid belt. In a backwater system, free from prying eyes, the crew had ample time and space to test their newest toy. The ursdain in the pilot’s seat adjusted a couple controls before settling back in his chair. His avian co-pilot was observing the rest of the crew on the security feed.
“What is he doing?”
The ursdain leaned over, “Practicing?”
The avian’s half lidded stare was the only response.
In the cargo bay were the skiff’s other three occupants. A rather burly male human with brown skin and a mostly shaved head was yanking his tomahawk back out of the wooden board he had hung up on the wall. He walked back a few paces before turning and hurling it back at the target.
“Do you have to do that right now?” asked the exacerbated vulptan.
“Nope.” He responded while lining up his next throw.
“Just let him. If he doesn’t keep busy, he’ll keep trying to add ‘modifications.” The red-headed human female interjected while elbow deep in their prototype.
“You’re just jealous of my brilliance.”
“Sure. We’ll call it that.”
Meanwhile as the ursdain began to ponder his next meal a red blip flashed on his display followed by a sharp claxon. He slammed the red alert, “Thakt, we got company!”
The avian was already attempting to jam the enemy sensors, but they’d been made. “They’re on their way! Pirates looking to board!” She keyed the intercom, “Prepare for boarders!”
As soon as the lights went red the man in the jury-rigged shop ran to the new machine. “This thing ready?”
“The targeting computer hasn’t been installed and there’s still the issue of-“
“Can it move!?”
“Yes, but-“
“Strap me in!” He snached up the helmet and mask then climbed in the suit. The women began closing and sealing panels as he donned the helmet, flipped down the visor, and sealed the mask to his face.
“Gonzo! Listen to me. You don’t have a lot of time in that thing, so you gotta be in and out. Alright?”
“Lil, this is what I’m good at. Let me work.” She rolled her eyes as she closed the front up.
He opened then closed his mechanical fingers and rolled his shoulders. The suit seemed to be responding well. He stood to its full height and slammed the dome helmet down over his head. The other two already snatched a couple weapons and ran for the bridge to secure it. He stalked over to the armory bench to pick up some toys and party favors when the com cracked to life in his ear.
“Gonzo? You receiving?”
“Loud and clear.”
“Our only shot at getting out of here is you disabling their engines and breaking whatever they use to mate with us.”
He giggled slightly as he strapped the weapon harness over his mid-section. “Copy. Break shit. Can do.”
The ship shuddered and jolted. “They’re broadcasting for surrender.”
“Sure, I’ll accept their surrender.”
“Funny. They’re about to breach the stern airlock. Get ready.”
Gonzo drew a breath and put his game face on. Their MO is to breach loud and fast. A little shock and awe. He planted a couple surprises by the hatch then took cover around the bulkhead.
“They’re about to breach.” He popped a couple smoke grenades and tossed them down the corridor. Then an idea struck him, and he popped a couple more and thrust them in his harness for a bit of Blackbeard flair. He readied his weapon and checked the other two. All he could do was wait.
A few seconds later the hatch blasted in and two canids rushed into the haze. Gonzo didn’t know how armored they were, but he figured being covered in burning napalm was a bad thing. He leaned the nozzle around the corner and lit up the entrance. The blinding light pierced the smoke and judging from the screams, they weren’t ready for assaulting a weapons manufacturing ship. Now came the fun part of the suit. While the auto-aim and friend/foe feature weren’t installed, it did have a suite of sensors such as sonar, lidar, and infrared.
Gonzo could see the outlines of the thrashing pirates and held his fire. A couple more pirates entered the hall to drag their comrades out. That’s when he hit the clacker. The anti-personnel mines went off, filling the confined space with hundreds of ball-bearings in an instant.
“Hey! We gotta clean all that up when you’re done you know!”
“Relax. I’m advancing now. Give me a map.”
Sure enough, a holo layout of the pirate ship sprung to life in the corner of his vision, complete with the highlighted sections of engineering and security. He advanced through the smoke onto the pirate ship. As he emerged through the smoke, more billowing off him like a demon fresh from Hell, he saw more pirates readying to storm his little craft. They were lightly armored. Shame. With another squeeze and lazy turn, he coated the would-be intruders.
Realizing they bit off more than they could chew, the lights on the pirate vessel began flashing red, and a call to repel boarders went out. Gonzo hustled down the passages headed toward engineering. He rounded the corner and dove back behind the corner as the ursdain with a gatling laser opened up from the other end of the hall. He wasn’t sure the flamethrower would make it to the other side, so he swapped to his baby. He tossed his last smoke grenade around the corner and counted to ten.
When he felt the passage was good and obscured, he held his replica China Lake around the corner and fired. Fwoomp…BOOM! Something wet and red hit the wall beside Gonzo. I think I got ‘em. He pumped another round into the chamber and continued.
He found Engineering easily enough and stormed inside. It was a large room dominated by…Well, the engine he supposed. Gonzo wasn’t an engineer, but he was a 2300. He was about to jog up to the biggest most important looking bit when his legs were taken out from under him. He was quickly bound up in ssypno coils and could hear the suit groaning under the pressure.
“There’ll be no more of that. Now let’s get you out of that can.”
Gonzo struggled to no avail, but he’d be damned before he gave up. He took a breath and forced his arms out away from his body. The suit groaned and struggled to give him the breathing room he needed. When he thought he had the space to work with, his hand shot to his knife strapped to his belt. He drew it and twisted his hand just as the coils snapped shut around him. The pirate stabbed herself in the soft scales of her underbelly just as Gonzo drew his arm around his torso slicing long and deep.
She shrieked as he carved, and quickly tried to slither away, but he snatched a piece of her armor and rode her, continuing to stab and slash at the joints in her suit. She tried to curl in on herself and grab the man with her upper arms. He wrestled with her for a while before he drew his offhand behind her opposing arm then using her own death grip on his main hand bent her arm around his. Her elbow snapped and she shrieked. With brief freedom of movement, Gonzo drew his knife up and plunged it into her sub armored neck. Her tail thrashed and writhed before the life seeped from her.
Gasping and sweating profusely, he drew himself up and stumbled to the drive core. Or what he thought was the drive core. He wasn’t an astrophysicist, but he was sure this thing didn’t like heavy explosives. He quickly rigged up an IED around the biggest glowiest part and set it to go off on his clacker.
He jogged from engineering to security but was stopped in the passages by a couple canids ambushing him. One opened fire with a laser-rifle, striking him in the upper torso, but the armor kept his chest from being cauterized. The blast streaked off the chest piece leaving a red-hot mark. It burned.
“Keep out of fire, Gonzo! I was trying to tell you that the heat-sinks aren’t finished yet!”
There may not have been a new hole in him, but it burned like Hell. He closed the distance to his attackers, too close to use his rifle, and they met him with claw and teeth drawn. The first canid threw themselves at him, knocking him down, and clamping their jaws around where his neck would be. He heard a hiss as something gave way on his shoulder. He fought and rolled to buck them off, but they held fast.
Gonzo decided it was time to draw his sidearm and clamped his hand down on the head of the assaulting canid to keep them in place. The other one tried to claw at his legs, but only found solid titanium alloy. He reached down to his holster and drew the comically oversized revolver, now appropriately sized in the power-armor’s fist. He thrust the barrel under the canid’s chin and fired. Their friends’ helmet rocketing off their head gave Gonzo the brief shock needed to roll the first pirate off him, raise his pistol, and fire point blank at his second attacker. As their head snapped back, he hauled himself back onto his feet and limped into security.
He needed to find a way to release his ship but drew short at the two canids and taurian blocking the consoles. The two canids threw themselves at Gonzo, biting and clawing for all they were worth. The heat in the suit was becoming unbearable. It was starting to sear bits of exposed flesh. Gonzo regretted jumping in in a tank top.
One canid clamped their jaws on his neck while the other went for his legs trying to drop him to the deck. Something snapped to his left and he lost all control of his left arm. It was just a hundred pounds of dead weight. He fell back swinging his pistol around trying to pistol-whip his attackers.
“That’s enough! Just give up and we’ll sell you somewhere nice.” The taurian called out.
Gonzo bucked his hips and fired at the canid by his legs but missed. Repeating what he did before he point-blank lobotomized the canid by his shoulder. With a roll, he popped himself back up readying his next shot when the second canid fell on him. He held his ground as they slashed and leapt to bite.
He caught them in the air and slammed them into the bulkhead beside him. It was nice to be eye level with them for once. He used this to his advantage by slamming his titanium fist into their face and gut repeatedly, feeling each subtle bone crack and snap. The taurian grabbed him under the arms and hurled him to the other side of the room as the last canid slumped down the wall.
The pirate drew some kind of bladed weapon. Big mistake. Gonzo drew his tomahawk, and sprinted forward with his head down. Using all the power in the suit he had, he slammed into her stomach and drove her forward into the wall.
She recovered her breath quickly and began raining blows down on his back and shoulders. The strain was beginning to get to him. Sweat was streaming down his body, stinging his eyes. The suit burned. He bent his knees then shot upright, driving his helmet into her chin. She rocked back in shock and Gonzo took a couple steps back. His left arm was dead. He could only grasp with the fingers. The pirate rubbed her chin.
“Oh, you’ll pay for that.”
Gonzo quickly tossed his tomahawk up and grabbed it by the end, before hurling it at his enemy. It buried in her shoulder, and she screamed. He sprinted at her full tilt with his head down shoulder out and pinned her to the wall. She kept fighting and pushed him back. Gonzo used his hips to swing his dead arm around to the pirate and clamped down with his hand. His hand locked in place as the taurian began to try and ineffectually push him away. Panting, he decided to give her a bit of backward-knee syndrome. He hauled back and put his and his suits’ full weight into a stomp kick right on her knee.
It folded back and she shrieked. Now at chest height he began slamming his fist into her helmet until it warped and broke. He stopped when he saw the stream of blood pour out the bottom.
He tried to make his way to the console, but realized his hand was stuck gripping the dead-weight of the corpse. He planted one boot on its back and pulled for all he was worth. With a fresh souvenir of taurian hide trapped in his grasp, he quickly worked the security console and disengaged the clams holding his ship in place. Once freed, he pulled out his clacker and slammed it. The whole ship rocked and shuddered. Catching his que he limp-jogged back to his ship. The remaining pirates were too busy with damage control as the ship quickly began filling with vacuum. Gonzo found his airlock with minimal resistance and threw himself in it.
“Blast!” he cried as he clutched the safety bar inside the lock. Grokna punched the skiff for all it was worth headed for the nearest jump point.
When the airlock cycled Gonzo limped back into the scorched cargo hold with hydro leaking down his left side. Lil and Korsk sprinted in to check on the man as he clumsily clutched at the emergency releases. The dome helmet fired clean off the top while the chest piece fired out revealing the sweat drenched and burned pilot. The suit dropped to its knees as Gonzo flopped out ripping his mask and helmet off. He gulped at the fresh air and luxuriated in the coolness of the metal floor when he gasped, “I…I have…Some notes…Need…Better cooling…”

Preface: As a general rule, ~NEVER~ blindly run code that you find online, mine included. Please read through the script itself before running to make sure it's safe, or ask someone who can. I'm providing this because I found it useful, but wanted to notate this as I don't expect anyone on ProjectZomboid to be knowledgeable on this.
Hey ProjectZomboid! This is a fairly simple powershell script that will allow you to pop in a ton of cell coordinates and see if any of them overlap.
This isn't a huge issue when you just have a few map mods, but it becomes super useful when you're adding a map to your server and don't feel like looking through 30+ workshop pages (especially where some of them leave it up to users to post the cell coordinates 😑).
The coordinate data was all hand-gathered by me, in this order of availability: 1) Mod description, mod comments, then the Spreadsheet for the Project Zomboid Maps collection on the workshop.
Powershell is specific to Windows, so you'll need to be running (or have access to) a windows machine to run this. This was quick and dirty, so feel free to steal it and use it however you see fit. If you're unfamiliar with powershell or scripting at all, here's exactly how you can use this:
1) Click Start
2) Type "Powershell ISE" and open it. (You can alternatively use VS Code or any other Powershell compatible IDE)
3) READ the script and make sure you know what it does, for your own safety. I've added comments generated from ChatGPT to explain exactly what it's doing, but you should still read through it and verify.
4) Copy and paste the script into Powershell ISE (Or VS Code)
5) Hit F5 (Or the green arrow in Powershell ISE, arrow on the top right in VS Code)
6) If there are any cell overlaps, you won't get any output. If there are, you'll see red output in the console below.

################################################### # List of all maps to compare cell data between. # To add a new map, copy one of the existing lines and replace the data EXACTLY how you see below, or use the following format: # 'MAPNAME' = @('11x22','33x44','55x66') # If you get any errors, make sure that the coordinates are surrounded by a single quote (') and not a backtick (`). Alternatively, you can use double quotes (") as long as you use the same quote on both sides. ################################################### # Define Maps to compare coordinate data from $maps = @{ 'Hopewell' = @('49x11', '49x10', '49x9', '50x9', '51x9') 'Trimble' = @('50x10','50x11','50x12','50x13','52x10','52x11','52x12','52x13','53x10','53x11','53x12','53x13','54x10','54x11','54x12','54x13','55x10','55x11','55x12','55x13','56x10','56x11','56x12','56x13','57x10','57x11','57x12','57x13','58x10','58x11','58x12','58x13','59x10','59x11','59x12','59x13','60x10','60x11','60x12','60x13','61x10','61x11','61x12','61x13','62x10','62x11','62x12','62x13') 'AdamsFamily' = @('37x31') 'Ashenwood' = @('38x38','38x37') 'BedfordFalls' = @('42x36','42x37','43x33','43x34','43x35','43x36','43x37','44x33','44x34','44x35','44x36','44x37','45x25','45x26','45x27','45x28','45x29','45x30','45x31','45x32','45x33','45x34','45x35','45x36','45x37','45x38','45x39','45x40','45x41','45x42','45x43','46x25','46x26','46x27','46x28','46x29','46x30','46x31','46x32','46x33','46x34','46x35','46x36','46x37','46x38','46x39','46x40','46x41','46x42','46x43','47x25','47x26','47x27','47x28','47x29','47x30','47x31','47x32','47x33','47x34','47x35','47x36','47x37','47x38','47x39','47x40','47x41','47x42','47x43') 'BetsysFarm' = @('30x31') 'BigBearLake'= @('16x23,17x23,18x23,19x23,20x23,21x23,22x23x16x24,17x24,18x24,19x24,20x24,21x24,22x24x16x25,17x25,18x25,19x25,20x25,21x25,22x25x16x26,17x26,18x26,19x26,20x26,21x26,22x26') 'BreakPoint' = @('42x16') 'CONResearch' = @('31x42') 'CathayaValley' = @('31x30') 'CedarHill' = @('16x19') 'Chernaville' = @('32x34','32x35') 'Chestown' = @('15x22') 'Chinatown' = @('37x29') 'FarmHouse' = @('32x25') 'Coryerdon' = @('24x18','24x19','25x19','26x20','26x21','26x22','27x19','27x20','27x21','27x22','27x23','28x19','28x20','28x21','28x22','28x23','29x19','29x20','29x21','29x22','29x23','30x19','30x20','30x21','31x19','31x20','32x19','32x20','33x19','33x20','34x19','34x20','34x21','34x22') 'DeadInHongKong' = @('44x20','44x21','45x20','45x21') 'EvacMuldraugh' = @('38x31','39x31','38x32','39x32','38x33','39x33','39x34','39x34') 'EastRiverside' = @('23x17','23,18') 'EdsAutoSalvage' = @('29,28') 'ElysiumIsland' = @('35x22','35,21') 'FinneganAsylum' = @('13x31','13x32','14x31','14x32') 'FortRedstone' = @('18x37','18x38','18x39','18x40','19x39') 'FortRockRidge' = @('22x20','22x21','23x20','23x21') 'HeavensHill' = @('25x26') 'HilltopManor' = @('10x19') 'Homepie' = @('29x26','29x27','30x26','30x27') 'Hopefalls' = @('32x22') 'Kingsmouth' = @('10x14', '10x15', '10x16', '10x17','11x14', '11x15', '11x16', '11x17','12x14', '12x15', '12x16', '12x17','13x14', '13x15', '13x16', '13x17') 'LakeIvy' = @('29x32','30x32','31x32','29x33','30x33','31x33','29x34','30x34','31x34') 'LittleTownship' = @('27x28') 'LouisvilleLakehouse' = @('48x8','48x9') 'MarshRidgeExpansion' = @('32x42') 'McCoysBunker' = @('44x14') 'MilitaryFuelDepot' = @('34x43','34x44','35x43','35x44') 'MonmouthCounty' = @('39x26','40x26','41x26','42x26','39x27','40x27','41x27','42x27','39x28','40x28','41x28','42x28','39x29','40x29','41x29','42x29') 'MuldraughShippingCo' = @('32x32') 'MuldraughFireDept' = @('35x35') 'NettleTownship' = @('22x30','22x31','23x30','23x31') 'OldParkTown' = @('29x29','30x29') 'Orchidwood' = @('27x32','28x32','27x33','28x33') 'OverTheRiver' = @('38x20','38x19','39x20','39x19') 'OverlookHotel' = @('15x21') 'Petroville' = @('35x39','35x40','35x41','36x39','36x40','36x41','37x39','37x40','37x41') 'PelesMansion' = @('32x31') 'RabbitHash' = @('30x24','31x24') 'RavenCreek' = @('0x37', '0x38', '0x39', '0x40', '0x41', '0x42', '0x43', '0x44','1x37', '1x38', '1x39', '1x40', '1x41', '1x42', '1x43', '1x44','2x37', '2x38', '2x39', '2x40', '2x41', '2x42', '2x43', '2x44','3x37', '3x38', '3x39', '3x40', '3x41', '3x42', '3x43', '3x44','4x37', '4x38', '4x39', '4x40', '4x41', '4x42', '4x43', '4x44','5x37', '5x38', '5x39', '5x40', '5x41', '5x42', '5x43', '5x44','6x37', '6x38','6x39','6x40', '6x41', '6x42', '6x43', '6x44','7x37', '7x38', '7x39', '7x40', '7x41', '7x42', '7x43', '7x44') 'RedbirdRangerStation' = @('20x36') 'ResearchFacility' = @('18x41','18x42','19x41','19x42') 'RiversideMansion' = @('18x17') 'RosewoodCabins' = @('24x38','25x38') 'RosewoodExpansion' = @('27x36','28x36','27x37','28x37') 'RosewoodVHSandGunStore' = @('27x40') 'Seaside' = @('41x3') 'Speck' = @('30x41') 'SpencerMansion' = @('21x19') 'Springwood' = @('34x26','34x27') 'SuperGigaMart' = @('12x21') 'TeraMart' = @('36x37') 'SouthMuldraughMall' = @('37x37') 'Museum' = @('35x27') 'UncleRedsBunker' = @('36x36') 'WestPointTrailerParkVHSStore' = @('38x24') 'Wilbore' = @('15x33','16x33','15x34','16x34','15x35','16x35') 'Winchester' = @('7x22', '7x23', '7x24', '7x25', '7x26', '7x27', '7x28', '8x22', '8x23', '8x24', '8x25', '8x26', '8x27', '8x28', '9x22', '9x23', '9x24', '9x25', '9x26', '9x27', '9x28', '10x22', '10x23', '10x24', '10x25', '10x26', '10x27', '10x28', '11x22', '11x23', '11x24', '11x25', '11x26', '11x27', '11x28', '12x22', '12x23', '12x24', '12x25', '12x26', '12x27', '12x28', '13x22', '13x23', '13x24', '13x25', '13x26', '13x27', '13x28') 'CorOTRRoad' = @('25x19','35x20','36x19','36x20') 'GreenLeaf' = @('21x34','22x34') 'LincolnAirport' = @('13x30') 'OverfieldBunker' = @('44x21') 'Refordville' = @('11x23','11x24','12x23','12x24') } # Compare all map data and verify that none overlap. If an overlapping value is found, it will output in the console in RED. It will output two values for each "match". I could probably fix this, but it's not a huge deal. # This line starts a loop. `$maps.GetEnumerator()` retrieves all key-value pairs in the `$maps` hashtable. Each pair is then piped (``) to `ForEach-Object`. $maps.GetEnumerator() ForEach-Object { # This line assigns the current key-value pair (referred to as `$_`) to the variable `$map`. $map = $_ # This line starts another loop. `$map.Value` retrieves the value of the current key-value pair, and each element in this value is piped to another `ForEach-Object`. $map.Value ForEach-Object { # This line assigns the current element (again referred to as `$_`) to the variable `$coord`. $coord = $_ # This line retrieves all key-value pairs in the `$maps` hashtable and pipes them to `Where-Object`. $maps.GetEnumerator() Where-Object { # This line is a conditional statement. It checks if the current key (`$_.Key`) is not equal to `$map.Key`, # and if the current value (`$_.Value`) contains `$coord`. If both conditions are true, the current key-value pair is piped to another `ForEach-Object`. $_.Key -ne $map.Key -and $_.Value -contains $coord # This segment starts after the `` operator. } ForEach-Object { # This line writes a string to the console. The string contains the keys of the overlapping elements and the overlapping element itself. # The `-ForegroundColor red` part sets the color of the text to red. Write-Host "$($map.Key) and $($_.Key) overlap at $coord" -ForegroundColor red # These lines close the corresponding loops and conditional statements. } } } 

Ideally, if the map coordinates were standardized and posted in the same place on the workshop, you could automate this process and automatically parse out which maps conflict with other maps, but unfortunately that's not the case. If you're aware of a tool that already exists that does this in a better way, please let me know!
I hope someone finds this useful!

I admire your luck, Mr...?
Bond. James Bond.

Special Agent 007, James Bond is the star agent of MI6. Always cool under pressure and licensed to kill, James is sent to infiltrate enemy organizations and destroy them from the inside. Over the decades, James Bond has gone from serious to campy and back again, but always manages to get the job done through wit, physical ability and superior equipment.
Bond generally wields a sidearm with lethal efficiency, along with a number of incredible gadgets developed by the geniuses at Q Branch. With his remarkable physical ability and ever-changing bag of tools, there isn't an international crime organization that Bond has failed to take down. The only thing that could possible distract Bond are his own vices: women or booze, both of which have gotten one over on him in the past.
James Bond Respect Threads by Actor
Sean Connery- 1962 to 1967, once more in 1971. Physically strong, numerous gadgets disguised as everyday items. Adept in traditional spy skills, like infiltration and observation.
George Lazenby- Once in 1969. Very similar to Connery in his craftiness, skilled specifically in winter sports.
Roger Moore- 1973 to 1985. Downright campy, making use of almost cartoonish skills that actually work in-universe. Skilled driver and pilot with a variety of gadgets.
Timothy Dalton- 1987 to 1989. Colder and more quick to become violent than the others. Usually carries a firearm and a lethal gadget to kill enemies.
Pierce Brosnan- 1995 to 2002. Best variety of gadgets of any Bond. Great feats of endurance and athletic ability.
Daniel Craig- 2006 to 2021. The most realistic Bond, yet has some of the most impressive physical abilities in any of the movies. Low variety of gadgets, but excels in gunfights.
Hover over a feat to see the film it’s from. Additionally, the name of any gif on Gfycat contains the last name of the actor that accomplished it.

Physicals

You have a nasty habit of surviving.
Well, you know what they say about the fittest.

Strength
Striking

• Breaks a wooden board with a downward strike
• Tackles a man through two bathroom stalls
• Barrels through a temporary construction wall
• Punches through drywall and wood to access a hidden room

Lifting/Throwing

• Picks up and throws a chair at a man, knocking him out
• Fights off an attacker with a couch
• Picks up and slides a man across a table
• Tosses a chain onto a low-flying helicopter to cause it to crash
• Holds a man above a ledge by the hair

Grip

• When he’s held underwater by two women, Bond surfaces and holds both of them underwater with one hand each
• Holds onto a small plane while the pilot tries to shake him off
• Catches a rope on a blimp and holds on even after it rises high into the air
• Holds onto the top of a speeding car, even when the driver attempts to shake him off
• Avoids falling out of a plane’s airlock by grabbing onto some netting
• Holds onto the outside of a moving seaplane, even after the pilot attempts to shake him off
• Holds onto the bottom of an elevator car as it rises up a skyscraper

Pushing

• With one other guy, Bond rolls this large concrete column
• Knocks over a large bookshelf

Other

• After being buried in snow by an avalanche, Bond climbs out and is relatively okay about a minute later
• Wrestles with a large constricting snake before killing it with a poison injector

Endurance
Blunt Force

• Keeps fighting after getting a wooden chair broken over his back
• Stays conscious after strikes from Oddjob
  • Oddjob RT
• Fights on through hits with a fireplace poker
• Jumps from a bridge to a passing boat, falling through the roof and onto a wedding cake
• While hanging onto a blimp, he’s smacked into the Golden Gate Bridge and quickly starts climbing up
• He’s knocked down a ladder, but recovers by the time he gets to the bottom rung
• Continues fighting Stamper after a number of blows to the face
• Falls from a low hot air balloon onto a domed structure, and he recovers by grabbing some nearby cables
  • Bond suffered a dislocated collarbone after this fall, however
• When jumping off a low crane, Bond stumbles, falling into a metal air vent. He’s up and running moments later.
• Recieves cock and ball torture by Le Chiffre’s rope, at first barely responding, then laughing in his torturer’s face
• Falls one or two stories onto the top of a bus, but gets up quickly
• Fights on after being hit across the back with a metal pipe four times
• Keeps fighting through repeated strikes from Hinx, like getting thrown into walls or getting thrown through thin walls
  • Mr. Hinx Respect Thread found here
• [Limit] Has a recurring weakness to blunt force trauma to the back of the head

Piercing/Cutting

• Keeps running despite being shot in the calf
  • He’s later seen patching up his calf in the bathroom, so he was definitely hit by a bullet
• Keeps fighting after being cut across the chest and being shot up by a nail gun
• Gets shot in the shoulder by a handgun, but operates mostly unimpeded

Other

• Resists being garroted long enough to grab a knife, stabbing his attacker and turning the garrote wire back on him
• Takes over 12 Gs of force before destroying the machine with an armor-piercing dart
  • Real-life astronauts are typically trained to withstand up to 9 Gs of force.
• Gets electrocuted with a gauntlet that can output 100,000 volts, which leaves him writhing in pain but conscious
  • Scene describing the electrical weapon, where the 100,000 volt figure is from
• Bond is shot by a sniper rifle and falls off a high bridge into water. After three months, Bond is mostly physically able again, although his aim is more noticeably affected.
• Endures having a small surgical drill bore into the back of his skull and into the part of the brain that deals with recognition, seemingly to no negative neurological effect

Agility
Movement

• Chases down an assassin, tackling him
• Takes a running jump up to a rising platform
• Catches up to an aircraft taking off on the runway
• Runs and jumps into a closing metal door
• Catches up to an airplane during takeoff, jumping into the plane through the landing gear
• Catches up to a fleeing truck on a runway, although it obviously hasn’t accelerated to full speed
• Escapes a CIA squad with just a moment's warning
• Runs away from a fireball caused by a house-sized explosion

Reflexes

• While on the ground, he dodges katana swings
• Dodges a thrown knife, then pulls it out of the wood behind him to kill the assassin
• Dodges a dune buggy at close range
• Evades shotgun fire from a pursuer
• Evades rifle fire, then shoots the enemy gunman
• Evades handgun fire with a roll, then avoids some distant machine gun fire
• Dodges a harpoon underwater
• When a man attempts to shoot Bond’s knees from nearly point blank range, Bond moves his legs to avoid the shots
• Uses an enemy to block gunfire
• While sitting in the passenger seat, Bond grabs the driver’s arm before they can shoot him
• Rolls away from an incendiary grenade’s detonation moments after noticing it

Combat Skill

Problem solver?
More of a problem eliminator.

Unarmed Combat
Quick Knock Outs

• Judo flips an attacker, then punches him
• Dispatches a guard with a neck strike
• Silently KOs a man, then steals his equipment to blend in with a scuba crew
• KOs a guard with a judo chop
• Stealthily KOs a guard from behind cover
• Knocks a man out with one kick to the head
• Ends an attempted fistfight with an elbow and then slamming the man on a table
• Knocks out a man by slamming him into the walls of an elevator twice
• Punches a guy out in two strikes
• Consistently one-punches goons
• From a sprint, Bond jumps and kicks a man in the face to knock him out

Against Individuals

• Breaks a hold from behind by a man who wrestles alligators
• Fights evenly with Grant in a train car, with both men getting in hits before Grant begins garroting Bond with a concealed wire
  • Grant is a trained Russian assassin who no-sells strikes to the stomach with brass knuckles
• Sweeps Pussy Galore to the floor, then reverses her judo throw attempt
• Wrestles with Hans before flipping him into a piranha pond
• Flips a man with judo throws twice
• Defeats a strong, tough guy in the hotel
• Has an awesome fistfight with a heavyset henchman, ending with Bond punching him off a rooftop
• Fights an assassin while dangling outside of a moving plane
• Has an extended fistfight with Alec Trevylyn, former agent 006, ending with Alec grabbing a handgun to hold Bond at gunpoint
• During a fight, he breaks a man’s arm, then punches him off a ledge
• Brawls with a martial artist on the outside of a crane

Against Multiple Attackers

• Knocks out six men when fleeing on a rooftop
• Starts thrashing technicians until one pulls a gun
• Defeats four guards in hand-to-hand combat
• Knocks out two attackers who ambushed him
• Drops about four men in a bar fight
• While handcuffed, Bond knocks out four surrounding MI6 agents in an elevator
• Drops two guards with one strike each

Against Armed Attackers

• Kicks away a gunman's gun, then beats him up in the ocean
• Disarms an armed woman with one hand
• While unarmed, Bond fights with a knife-wielding villain, with Bond disarming him and tackling him into water
• Disarms a woman and puts her in a painful armhold
• Disarms a gunman and knocks him down some stairs
• Has an extended fight with a man with a machete while in a confined space. Bond himself was unarmed, although he did ball up his jacket to block some strikes.
• Takes out a CIA riot officer with an elbow to the face
• While completely unarmed, defeats a man wielding an axe, even tricking him into slicing his own foot
• Brawls with an assassin armed with a sniper rifle before dropping him out of a skyscraper
• Intentionally breaks the ice on a frozen lake to bring a gunman down into the water, then Bond chokes him to death with his leg

With Weapons
Blades

• Kills a man with his own knife in one maneuver
• In just a few moves, Bond defeats a henchman in a machete fight, throwing him into a container full of snakes
• Steals a man’s knife, then pins his tie to a nearby counter
• Swordfights with a trained fencer, eventually switching to broadswords, where Bond draws first blood from the torso
• While being held at knifepoint, Bond turns and kills the man with his own knife after a struggle

Blunt Objects

• Breaks a man’s neck with a fireplace poker
• Disarms a diver, then uses the harpoon gun to shatter their goggles
• Using an oar, Bond fights off a man with a large hook
• Uses a ski to knock a man off of a cliff, then kills another man after a struggle
• While unarmed, Bond is attacked by an assassin with a knife, but manages to kill the assassin with a pair of scissors
• Spots an attacker in the reflection of a bronze decoration, then uses the decoration to bludgeon them
• Fights off four men who were beating him with a bat moments before, making heavy use of furniture and blunt items

Unorthodox Items

• Defeats three men in the confined space of a cockpit
• Throws flammable alcohol onto an assassin, igniting him
• Beats down a guard with a door, then five strikes
• Takes out two motorcycle-riding assassins with a long plank of wood
• Uses a ski pole to set a trap for a motorbike-riding assassin
• Knocks out a prison guard while handcuffed, at one point using the cuffs on the man's face
• Defeats two men in a crumbling building, using exposed wiring and a nail gun to dispatch them

Environment Focused

• Brawls with an assassin in a hotel room before throwing him into a bathtub and knocking a fan into the water, electrocuting him
• Kills Oddjob by using exposed electrical wiring on a metal cage that Oddjob was touching
• Tricks Jaws into hitting a wood column, knocking a wooden structure over himself
• Brawls with Jaws atop a cable car
• Fights off three hockey player assassins in a hockey rink, taking one out with the zamboni
• Judo throws a goon onto a bed of spikes
• While pinned to a wooden door by knives, he opens the door and kills an assassin with one of the knives
• Smacks a henchman with a plane’s antenna, throwing him off the plane
• Tosses maggots at a gunman, then knocks him out and judo throws him into the maggots
• Bond drags a guard into water and drowns him
• Bond ties a rope around Mr. Hinx’s neck and attaches it to a weight, then kicks that weight off the train to pull Hinx away

Accuracy

You wouldn’t kill me. You’d miss me.
I never miss.

Pistols

• Grabs Goldfinger’s gun and fires on an airplane window, sucking the villain out of the plane
• Shoots a gunman despite their being behind a column for cover
• Right after waking up, he shoots a ninja in the dark
• Poses as a wax figure and shoots Scaramanga
• Shoots three soldiers with his Walther P5, two of them being headshots
• Accurately hits a gunman from a moving speedboat
• Shoots a gunman through a wooden floor
• Uses a human shield to block bullets, then returns fire, killing a gunman
• Turns and fires on a man before he can fire
• Shoots a man while hanging upside-down by the leg
• Disarms and shoots two policemen
• Disarms the man holding him at gunpoint, then kills four other armed men in seconds
• Shoots two fire extinguishers to obscure the room and allow hostages to safely escape
• While handcuffed and at gunpoint, Bond steals the gun to shoot his captors

Against Vehicles

• Uses the Walther PPK to shoot out a dune buggy’s front tire
• Fires a Taurus PT92 into the engine of an oncoming Jeep, disabling it
• From a speedboat, Bond accurately hits a helicopter’s engine enough with a handgun to cause it to crash

Rifles/Submachine Guns

• Using a sniper rifle, Bond shoots a man in a helicopter, causing him to drop his grenade inside
• Fires a rifle, killing three goons, while sliding down a bannister
• Kills at least 8 men with a submachine gun in a short timeframe
• Turns around and shoots a gunman before he can kill his hostage. Note that Bond turns and fires right after the gunman receives orders to kill the hostage.
• Spots a sneaking soldier dressed in black and kills him with a rifle
• Fires on a guard before the guard can fire his weapon
• From a speeding hovercraft, Bond hits small land mines to detonate them on his pursuers
• Uses a Sa vz. 58 Compact to escape Blofeld’s facility, killing nearly a dozen guards, even at extreme range

Other Firearms

• Turns and immediately shoots a harpoon gun, killing a stealthy assassin
• Takes out a distant sniper by firing a shotgun
• Accurately shoots a sniper’s rifle with his own, rather than kill her
• Escapes a crowd of divers by stealing a harpoon gun and firing it into a nearby seaplane, pulling himself away

Non-Firearm Accuracy

• Throws three scalpels into a man’s arm and chest
• Throws a knife into a specific date on a calendar from across a room
• When the auto-targeting system fails, Bond manually shoots down a capsule full of viruses with a laser cannon
• Kills a man with a climbing spike

Other Skills

I always enjoyed learning a new tongue.
You always were a cunning linguist, James.

Athletics

• Dives off an oil rig into the ocean below
• Avoids machine gun fire while skiing
• Continues skiing after losing a ski
• While skiing, Bond jumps and twists to smack two gunmen with his skis
• Goes rock climbing on a nearly vertical rock wall
• Temporarily outswims the pull of an industrial fan before destroying it with his air tank
• Performs a HALO jump into water, then immediately begins scuba diving
• Swims outside of a submarine, scaling the surface until he can re-enter the vessel on the other side. He had to hold his breath for almost two minutes while scaling the outside of the submarine.
• Infiltrates North Korea by simply surfing onto the coast of the country
• Parasurfs off a collapsing iceberg
• Leaps from a crashing plane, catching up to his partner and using her parachute to save them both

Driving/Piloting
Driving

• Weaves around a parking lot, causing a dozen cop cars to crash into themselves, walls or parked cars
• Briefly drives on two wheels to slip through a narrow alley
• Drifts a double decker bus, causing a couple cops to crash their motorcycles
• Jumps over a river in a car using a broken bridge as a ramp
• While driving, he knocks over barrels onto enemies, then drives on two wheels to block bullets
• Drives a car over a ramp, onto a bus, then back to ground level

Piloting Aircraft

• Picks up a villain's wheelchair with a helicopter, then drops him into a smokestack
• Avoids a heat-seeking missile while piloting a small plane, redirecting it into an enemy hangar
• Dodges a stinger missile by driving a semi-truck on only the left hand wheels
• Starts a helicopter in midair and lands safely
• While flying a much less maneuverable plane, Bond tricks a fighter jet into crashing into a mountainside by producing smoke from a damaged engine
• Ejects a pilot from a helicopter, then pulls the helicopter out of freefall

Other

• Jumps a speedboat over a small patch of land
• Drifts a tank, then drives through a building to cause untold property damage

Traversal

• Performs a front flip off a ledge
• Traverses a ski lift wire with nothing more than a pair of mittens
• Traverses the underside of an oil rig by swinging on a rope, then walking a tightrope
• Jumps on the back of a couple alligators to escape a swamp
• Swings on vines like Tarzan to escape pursuers
• Traverses the side of a moving train
• Uses a long pole to safely travel down a building, then releases the pole to smack a pursuing officer
• Performs a combat roll down stairs to avoid handgun fire
• Runs up a crane to reach the top of a building under construction
• Climbs up a vertical I-beam
• From the top of a moving truck, Bond runs and flips through the open windshield
• Jumps down a story onto stone, rolling to avoid impact damage

Stealth

• Uses a hollow reed to hide underwater from guards and dogs
• Hides in plain sight by pretending to be making out, but it’s actually just his own arms wrapped around himself
• Evades a crowd of police
• Lowers his heart rate to trick medical staff and an EKG, then dispatches the staff and escapes the hospital
• Broke into M’s house to use her computer

Other

• [Observation] Notices an attacker in the reflection of a woman’s eye, then uses her as a human shield to block a strike
• [Foreign Language] Learned several Asian languages at Cambridge
• [Alcoholism] Can tell the temperature of alcohol after one sip
• [Deception] Poses as a genealogist under the pseudonym Sir Hillary Bray. After a few days, Blofeld sees through the ruse and has Bond captured.
• [Underwater] Ties a boat to a large rock with the rope he’s bound in, causing the boat to break the rope, freeing Bond
• [Sleight of Hand] Switches out a priceless Faberge egg for a fake copy
• [Animal Commanding] Commands a wild tiger to sit, and it actually listens
• [Gambling] Wins a quarter of a million dollars at a high stakes gambling table
• [Invention] Descends a tall building with some rope and an unconscious body
• [Seduction] Seduces a married woman to learn more about her husband’s criminal activity
• [Preparation] Puts shotgun shells under the floorboards in order to fire on intruders when they step on them
• [Observation] Identifies a hidden door based on a tiny sliver of light through the crack

Equipment

Right, now pay attention 007. I want you to take great care of this equipment. There are one or two rather special accessories.
Q, have I ever let you down?
Frequently.

Weapons
Firearms

• Carries a Walther PPK, a discreet pistol with excellent stopping power
• A collapsible Armalite AR-7 sniper rifle with an infrared sight, allowing for use in the dark
• Bond carries a S&W model 29 revolver in early Moore films, then later switches to his iconic Walther PPK, then, finally, uses the Walther P5
• Carries a very small firearm, the Beretta 950 Jetfire
• Has a firearm disguised as a camera. Additionally, the device is programmed to Bond’s own palm signature, meaning only he can fire the weapon.
  • The camera gun can be outfitted with a scope and tripod for long range fire
• A suppressed UMP-9, used to fire on Mr. White’s leg at range
• A Walther PPK with a palm-print sensor coded to Bond’s hand, meaning only he can fire it
  • Sure enough, when someone else tries to use it, it just doesn’t fire
• A heavily modified Glock 17, with laser sight and microphone attachment

Other

• A combat knife
• A projectile launcher disguised as a cigarette, gifted to Bond by a ninja master
• A grenade disguised as a ballpoint pen
  • By tossing the grenade pen into a pool of fuel, an explosion and destructive fire is formed
• A grenade disguised as a lighter
• A flashbang explosive disguised as a handgun, used to stun three gunmen, allowing Bond to dispatch them

Gadgets
Mobility

• A grappling gun and cord that attaches to his pants, allowing him to scale the outside of a skyscraper
  • Can be outfitted with metal projectiles and used as a firearm instead
• Briefly wore a ninja outfit with suction cups on the palms and knees, used to scale down metal walls
• Flies away from a fight with a jetpack
• A belt with a hidden high-tensile cord, enough to support Bond’s own weight
  • Using the belt cord, Bond swings Spider-Man-style across a room and out a window

Reconnaissance/Infiltration

• A small explosive, used to blow a lock off a cell door
• Has a small safe-cracking device disguised as a cigarette case
• Special glasses to see through tinted glass
• Photocopier disguised as a checkbook
• A digital skeleton key disguised as a gift card
• Binoculars built into a pair of glasses
• Sunglasses with built in X-ray vision, allowing Bond to detect concealed weapons and see through women’s clothing
• A powerful camera, used to identify the faces of high profile criminals with just a few pixels
• A cell phone that acts as a fingerprint scanner, a powerful taser and as a remote control for a BMW

Continued in Comments

I just applied for the fall internship to take along with my college classes. Is there anything I could know to prepare or anyone else's personal experiences? Bonus points, is there an option for remote?
https://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=67fa04004db61744&utm_campaign=google_jobs_apply&utm_source=google_jobs_apply&utm_medium=organic

"Bump" of previous post last week. All have been unused/untouched since March 1st, just sitting there or in boxes, except the monitor.
$650 for everything (list 1 and list 2). Not parting out due to payment method precluding shipping.
TL;DR quick overview of all parts
one i5-12400 w/stock cooler, 1 downdraft cooler, 3 120mm tower coolers
two B660m ddr4 motherboards, one win10pro key, and one anti-bending lga 1700 bracket
two kits 3200c16 ddr4, one 2x8gb singlerank other 2x16gb dualrank
one RX460 4gb gpu
two nvme m.2 drives; 500gb sn770, 2tb 970 evo plus
two cases, one matx nr200 clone, other atx lancool 216 and 5pack of arctic p12 pwm fans
two psu, one sfx 600w platinum (w/ 1 cable extension), other atx (300)w F-tier
one 24'' 1920x1200 60hz monitor with a desk clamp arm
cheap mouse and keyboard(keyboard w/RGB!!!....sry)
one set entry level professional speakers and an old sound card
webcam, xbox360 controller, microphone
​
Local cash only, no paypal(don't have one), quakertown-doylestown area in bucks county.
Timestamps
pet/[email protected]/[email protected]/scent free household, and do not eat near computer area. The second hand items from the 12400 guy exude much less fragrance compared to when they were obtained (assuming his household laundry detergent or similar had fragrance as the source), and I doubt you'd sense it if your own living arrangements have any sort of scented items. They come with all original cables, boxes, manuals, etc I still have. If you want more information about anything, feel free to ask and it will be added. Selling because old 2010 pc with phenom ii x3, gtx460, and 8gb is sufficient for my use case, try for modern hardware again some other time.
​
Tabulated/Itemized/Descriptors:
​

Part Name	Detailed Comments/Condiiton	Currently/Personally Valued at x 1 month ago
	CPU
i5-12400	2nd hand. H0 stepping, not the more power hungry C0 (C0 is a partially disabled 8core die), and is AVX-512 capable going by the production date(did not verify; see motherboard notes). small blemish/ding(?) from previous owner's cooler on ihs, but can't tell if it was permanent indent or rubbed off hard bit of dried paste. includes box and cooler.	140/140
	Coolers
unknown 6 heatpipe thermalright cooler - possibly the burst assassin non-argb model without fan	2nd hand from the 12400 guy. tower only. has blemish/nick on contact surface. his laundry detergent had fragrance, so i couldn't use it. he also didn't clean the paste off and shipped it in a ziplock bag. i cleaned it as well as i could and replaced the bag.	15?/10
noctua s12b redux 1200rpm	2nd hand from the 12400 guy. same scent problem. can't remember testing it.	10?/5
arctic alpine 17 co	BNIB, but box looks beat up	13/8
id cooling se-224-xt-basic	used to cool a 3800X for a few months before the faulty mobo went kaput and sold the other parts of it. no 1700 mounting hardware because it was produced before alder lake. the win10pro key from the msi pro mobo is written on a slip of paper tucked inside the instruction manual.	25?/15
Thermalright Assassin X 120 refined SE	mounted 90 degrees clockwise for bottom-to-top airflow in sama case	20/15
	Motherboards
msi b660m mortar wifi ddr4	mobo vrms have coil whine crackle-hum using turbo boost, most likely related to powerstate/frequency switching (disappears when fully loaded or not doing anything) or concurrent with putting load on the integrated graphics, tried a whole bunch of bios settings to stop it, C1E enabled reduces it. integrated graphics culprit unverified due to case and difficulty with it; haven't tested a discrete card to eliminate igpu cause. latest bios(v19) at the time is flashed, need earlier bios version for avx512 capability, tried to get that instruction set working but found out it involves tainting my kernel and i don't use windows but if you do, the only os-side step is to move the specific intel microcode file out of system32. replaced the ilm with the thermalright one. includes right angle usb3 header adapter.	100/100
msi b660m a pro ddr4 wifi	2nd hand from 12400 guy. has smudge on backside near cpu bracket from alcohol solubility test on the paint; backside is alcohol soluble. has same scent as others from him. he did a bad paste job on cpu area and shipped it that way, i cleaned it up (no socket pins got paste on them thankfully because he didn't remove cpu from the board) tested and it works. comes with windows 10 pro key. the m.2 wifi card was worked, but putting it back in this board... i didn't have enough finger dexterity. one of the contact n!pp!es is bent, needs to be bent back. can't get it back out to do that, stuck. includes piece of factory glue that goes between the contacts and holds the leads in place. treat as non wifi version with potential bonus for trying hard enough. anti static bag on one side MAY have trace of urushiol due to being blown away when airing out onto a patch of cracked concrete where two weeks previously had been a sprout which had been disposed of then the area alcohol-doused then two rainstorms. includes right angle usb3 header adapter.	80/70
thermalright 1700 anti-bending ilm silver	comes with thermal paste(used once) and original ilm of the mortar mobo	9/8
	RAM
teamgroup 2x8gb 3200 c16	2nd hand from 12400 guy, works, had somehow strongest scent of them all.	32//25
timetec 2x16gb 3200 c16	dual rank with hynix 8gigabit jjr ic's (lower binned cjr) remember to lock in the voltage to safe level for that ic instead of auto. partially manually overclocked, enabled xmp then increase to gear1 3466mt/s (what i can tell, max speed with the locked vcssa without loosening timings) and the few timings changed are: command rate to real 1N; did not test tighter than tRRD to 6, tRRD_L to 6, and tFAW to 24; tREFI should be able to be higher than 24960 but didn't test; tRFC has errors at 460, can't remember what 480's result was, and 500 is stable. stressapptest for an hour after each change made, no errors. may go tighter, less than 10 attempts worth of tweaking.	70/65
	Storage
western digital sn770 500gb	2nd hand from the 12400 guy, but didn't notice scent(was under heatsink). has been secure erased. smart data said 2.4tbw.	30/25
samsung 970 evo plus 2tb	2nd hand from best buy geek squad refurbished. smart data indicated literal open box condition. has been secure erased. smart data says 3.28tbw.	98/80
	GPU
xfx rx460 4gb	2nd hand from a miner in 2021. was dirty but cleaned it, had mining bios, and the standard bios or other custom bios don't seem stable, but it works with a rx560 bios i modded to rx550 clocks. thought i saw something spherically, iridescently marbled green-yellowgreen falling from it when putting it back together after cleaning but couldn't find the drop or where it may have dropped from, capacitors look ok. single fan version. has annoying blue led. requires 6-pin pcie power even though it draws less than 75w.	45/35
	Cases
sama im01	hohboy, man oh man, this case.... removing the front panel carefully according to the manual causes the top clips to break(so that's why it includes two spares), and is difficult to work in even though all sides but the back come off. can't put a discrete gpu in because it can't go into the slot all the way; something about the mobo tray being depressed or pci slot design prevents it. front left usb3.0 defective (blips then doesn't work) but the right one is functional. pci slot magnetic swinging screw cover hinge is a bit bent because the top and bottom packaging foam were switched in factory(foam cutouts did not align). matx mobo prevents bottom from having second fan if not want to risk mobo header bending.	60/30
lian li lancool 216 black non-rgb model	opened the box and took out the inner accessory box on top but put it right back because became busy and never got around to using it. did not take out the case. almost literally open box. do not know state of tempered glass but jiggling box does not make broken glass sound.	100/90
arctic p12 pwm pst 5 pack	2 used in the sama im01, 3 unused	30/25
	PSU
corsair sf600 platinum	3 months use. powered the 12400 using integrated graphics, don't think total system power exceeded 150w from the wall.	110/110
thermaltake tr2 430np	don't know if it was 2nd hand or not. used to power a windows xp office machine which was bought without one. Don't use more than 350 watts; here is a review of the unit showing why- https://www.hardwaresecrets.com/thermaltake-purepower-430w-np-power-supply-review/ its F-tier but would personally trust it in a system pulling less than 100 or so from the wall. one cable with 20+4-pin motherboard connectors one cable with 6-pin pcie connector one cable with 4-pin 12v connector one cable with 3 molex connectors two cables with 3 molex and 1 floppy connector one cable with 2 sata connectors one molex-to-sata converter	20/5
cablemod black modflex EPS 4+4 pin 45cm extension	sf600 needs the extension to reach the mobo receptacle in the sama case	9/9
	Peripherals/Accessories
hp zr24w + ergodepot J2 monitor arm	60hz, 1920x1200, 24inch. 12 years use. ccfl backlight has been on for ~3.3 years. came with a scratch not noticeable when on most of the time. has smudges from over a decade of use, not trusting myself to clean it without scratching. includes J2 monitor arm (desk clamp), but makes it skew a little. when powered on, it knocks channel 6 out of the airwaves until it is turned off. flickers below 100% brightness.	50+40?(90?)/50+20(70)
tecknet um013 mouse	awful scroll wheel. defaults to the lower of the two dpi settings every time it loses power; does not save setting. 2 months use.	6/3
redragon karura k502 rgb keyboard	2nd hand. works, but did not verify all keys.	20/8
presonus eris E3.5 studio monitors	were on my desk for 10 days and powered on at low volume for under an hour, may be low amount of specks of dust, and the speaker wire had been connected, but otherwise is as if you opened up a new one. didn't like the space they took up and preferred my headphones, but B&H would not take these back because i told them i used the included speaker wire. no joke.	90/80
samson go mic	2nd hand. works, good shape. usb condenser with omni/-10/cardioid switch and 3.5mm jack. has sticker covering the led to diminish the brightness.	25/15
xbox 360 wired controller	didn't use it often, but owned it for a really long time. the left thumbstick has worn down, is low tension, and can drift slightly if off center to the northwest.	10/4
asus xonar dx	2nd hand. used for a few months in 2011 but was too close to gpu intake so put it away.	30/18
logitech c600 webcam	model V-U0007	12/5
Summary	first number taken from recent reasonable hardwareswap/ebay sales and amazon(when first two no/little results) and second number what i'd pay for the item in question if I was someone else, based on what is known of the condition. Paid 1300+ for just the parts bought in the last year, so imo this is a super deal if you are in the area.	Total: 1299/1073

Hey Rivian Redditors-
I’m looking for a pickup truck to store at a summelake home. This truck would see regular use 2mo a year and only occasional use in between. What do we think about EV vs combustion engine in this scenario, and Rivian R1T specifically for it?
My knee jerk reaction was an EV would be better than a combustion engine for storing (fewer fluids and moving parts to gunk up), but then I wondered about all the tech in EVs … auto-software updates, charging, etc and just thought the odds of the car failing to work at all after sitting for months might be higher on an EV, even if just sitting around is less hard on them. This location also wouldn’t likely be too close to a service center for Rivian (probably 1.5-2 hrs), so it’d be a concern that I’d spend a bunch of time chasing service items in the short time I have around.
Would like to go R1T for this purchase, just hoping someone can make the logical case for it!
​
thanks!
​
Robbie

17-Apr-2023

• ​​OpenAssistant released the best open-source Chat AI (https://medium.com/@sann3/open-source-conversational-ai-takes-a-big-leap-forward-e2ccc68dfb1d)
• I replaced my assistant by a bot powered by AI to do her job (https://twitter.com/nico_jeannen/status/1647396475989811201)
• UC Berkeley's open-source Vicuna LLM chatbot released new improved model weights (https://huggingface.co/lmsys/vicuna-13b-delta-v1.1)
• You Can’t Regulate What You Don’t Understand (https://www.oreilly.com/content/you-cant-regulate-what-you-dont-understand-2/)
• 91% of ML Models Degrade in Time (https://www.nannyml.com/blog/91-of-ml-perfomance-degrade-in-time)
• An open source AI tool to animate children's drawings (https://github.com/facebookresearch/AnimatedDrawings)
• Sam Altman: OpenAI is not training GPT-5 and "won't for some time" (https://twitter.com/smokeawayyy/status/1646670920214536193)
• Companies like Uber and Amazon use AI to pay people different wages for the same work, a new study finds (https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/companies-like-uber-and-amazon-use-ai-to-pay-people-different-wages-for-the-same-work-a-new-study-finds/articleshow/99471054.cms)
• AWS announced New Tools for Building with Generative AI on AWS (https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/machine-learning/announcing-new-tools-for-building-with-generative-ai-on-aws/)
• Amazon CodeWhisperer, Free for Individual Use, is Now Generally Available (https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/amazon-codewhisperer-free-for-individual-use-is-now-generally-available/)
• Current Best Practices for Training LLMs from Scratch (https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/5ac6b7f2924c656f2b13a88c/6435aabdc0a041194b243eef_Current%20Best%20Practices%20for%20Training%20LLMs%20from%20Scratch%20-%20Final.pdf)
• AI suggested 40,000 new possible chemical weapons in just six hours (https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/17/22983197/ai-new-possible-chemical-weapons-generative-models-vx)
• BharatGPT: The Made in India AI Language Model (https://bharatgpt.live/bharatgpt-the-made-in-india-ai-language-model/)
• What Are Transformer Models and How Do They Work? (https://txt.cohere.ai/what-are-transformer-models/)
• GPT Unicorn: A Daily Exploration of GPT-4's Image Generation Capabilities (https://adamkdean.co.uk/posts/gpt-unicorn-a-daily-exploration-of-gpt-4s-image-generation-capabilities)

​
18-Apr-2023

• RedPajama, a project to create leading open-source models, starts by reproducing LLaMA training dataset of over 1.2 trillion tokens (https://www.together.xyz/blog/redpajama)
• ChatGPT Is Consuming a Staggering Amount of Water (https://futurism.com/the-byte/chatgpt-ai-water-consumption)
• Google & UC Berkeley’s ‘Self-Debugging’ Framework Teaches LLMs to Debug Their Own Code (https://syncedreview.com/2023/04/17/google-uc-berkeleys-self-debugging-framework-teaches-llms-to-debug-their-own-code/)
• Stability AI makes its Stable Diffusion models available on Amazon’s new Bedrock service (https://stability.ai/blog/stability-ai-makes-its-stable-diffusion-models-available-on-amazons-new-bedrock-service)
• DuckDuckGo’s building AI-generated answers into its search engine (https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/8/23629095/duckduckgo-ai-answers-browser-app-extension-search)
• Major Photography Prize Winner Reveals Image Is AI-Generated, Rejects Award (https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy3vxy/sony-world-photography-awards-ai-generated)
• Community is the future of AI (https://stackoverflow.blog/2023/04/17/community-is-the-future-of-ai/)
• Soundini: Sound-Guided Diffusion for Natural Video Editing (https://kuai-lab.github.io/soundini-gallery/)
• how do we overcome 4096 token limit in OpenAI GPT requests? (https://twitter.com/wooing0306/status/1645092115914063872)
• DINOv2: A Self-supervised Vision Transformer Model (https://dinov2.metademolab.com/)
• Analyze cloud resources using GPT (https://github.com/selefra/selefra)
• GPTest VS Code Extension (https://github.com/JRB-y/gptest)
• AI-agents that automatically generate and use Langchain Tools and ChatGPT plugins (https://github.com/hey-pal/toolkit-ai)
• Drag & drop UI to build your customized LLM flow using LangchainJS (https://github.com/FlowiseAI/Flowise)

​
19-Apr-2023

• Microsoft reportedly working on its own AI chips that may rival Nvidia’s (https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/18/23687912/microsoft-athena-ai-chips-nvidia)
• Meet the $10,000 Nvidia chip powering the race for A.I. (https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/23/nvidias-a100-is-the-10000-chip-powering-the-race-for-ai-.html)
• Kent Beck on ChatGPT (https://twitter.com/kentbeck/status/1648413998025707520)
• Can open-source LLMs detect bugs in C++ code? (https://twitter.com/MrCatid/status/1647155706548695040)
• GitHub Copilot AI pair programmer: Asset or Liability? (https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.15331)
• Emergent Abilities of Large Language Models (https://arxiv.org/abs/2206.07682)
• AI Playground (https://play.vercel.ai/)
• Live Conversations with AI using ChatGPT and WebRTC (https://blog.livekit.io/meet-kitt/)
• T-cell vaccine for COVID-19 may last longer than current vaccines (https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/t-cell-vaccine-covid-19-may-last-longer-current-vaccines/)
• If there's one thing AI has done for us, it's killed Zuck's metaverse (https://www.pcgamer.com/if-theres-one-thing-ai-has-done-for-us-its-killed-zucks-metaverse/)
• An example of LLM prompting for programming (https://martinfowler.com/articles/2023-chatgpt-xu-hao.html)
• Chinchilla data-optimal scaling laws (https://lifearchitect.ai/chinchilla/)
• Jevons Paradox and LLMs (https://matt-rickard.com/jevons-paradox-and-llms)
• A Google AI model developed a skill it wasn't expected to have (https://qz.com/google-ai-skills-sundar-pichai-bard-hallucinations-1850342984)
• 4 Million Accounts Compromised by Fake ChatGPT App (https://www.artisana.ai/articles/4-million-accounts-compromised-by-fake-chatgpt-app)
• LLaVA: Large Language and Vision Assistant (https://llava-vl.github.io/)
• An open, billion-scale corpus of images interleaved with text. (https://github.com/allenai/mmc4)
• Connect to Google Colab VM locally from VSCode (https://github.com/amitness/colab-tunnel)
• OP Vault ChatGPT: Give ChatGPT long-term memory using the OP Stack (https://github.com/pashpashpash/vault-ai)

​
20-Apr-2023

• Stability AI Launches the First of its StableLM Suite of Language Models (https://stability.ai/blog/stability-ai-launches-the-first-of-its-stablelm-suite-of-language-models)
• Exclusive: AI startup LangChain taps Sequoia to lead funding round at a valuation of at least $200 million
• “Langchain is Overrated”, and other strategies I use to deal with the GPT Hype (https://medium.com/@aplaceofmind/langchain-is-overrated-and-other-strategies-i-use-to-deal-with-the-gpt-hype-af06aa1a6be1)
• Autonomous Agents & Agent Simulations (https://blog.langchain.dev/agents-round/)
• GPT-3 Creative Fiction (https://gwern.net/gpt-3)
• Could ChatGPT become an architect? (https://constructionphysics.substack.com/p/could-chatgpt-become-an-architect)
• How to train your own Large Language Models (https://blog.replit.com/llm-training)
• Why universities should return to oral exams in the AI and ChatGPT era (https://theconversation.com/why-universities-should-return-to-oral-exams-in-the-ai-and-chatgpt-era-203429)
• Ideas to Professional Presentations in Seconds (https://www.magicslides.app/)
• How physics advanced Generative AI (https://www.assemblyai.com/blog/how-physics-advanced-generative-ai/)
• Google employees label AI chatbot Bard ‘worse than useless’ and ‘a pathological liar’ (https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/19/23689554/google-ai-chatbot-bard-employees-criticism-pathological-liar)
• The Anatomy of Autonomy: Why Agents are the next AI Killer App after ChatGPT (https://www.latent.space/p/agents)
• Teach GPTs to read API documentation using LLaMA, LoRA, and Langchain (https://github.com/danielgross/LlamaAcademy)
• web-llm: Bringing large-language models and chat to web browsers. (https://github.com/mlc-ai/web-llm)
• llama.go is like llama.cpp in pure Golang (https://github.com/gotzmann/llama.go)
• Leverage locally-hosted Large Language Models to write software + unit tests (https://github.com/catid/supercharger)

​
21-Apr-2023

• Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo on Poe becoming the web browser for AI (https://www.semafor.com/article/04/19/2023/quora-ceo-adam-dangelo-on-poe-becoming-the-web-browser-for-ai)
• Snapchat making AI chatbot similar to ChatGPT available to every user (https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/ap19/snapchat-making-ai-chatbot-similar-to-chatgpt-available-to-every-user)
• Stack Overflow Will Charge AI Giants for Training Data (https://www.wired.com/story/stack-overflow-will-charge-ai-giants-for-training-data/)
• This new technology could blow away GPT-4 and everything like it (https://www.zdnet.com/article/this-new-technology-could-blow-away-gpt-4-and-everything-like-it/)
• How to run your own LLM (GPT) (https://blog.rfox.eu/en/Programming/How_to_run_your_own_LLM_GPT.html)
• The ChatGPT Artificial Intelligence Chatbot: How Well Does It Answer Accounting Assessment Questions? (https://publications.aaahq.org/iae/article/doi/10.2308/ISSUES-2023-013/10903/The-ChatGPT-Artificial-Intelligence-Chatbot-How)
• Introducing WebGPT (https://twitter.com/willdepue/status/1649147091573432321?s=20)
• Some Glimpse AGI in ChatGPT. Others Call It a Mirage (https://www.wired.com/story/chatgpt-agi-intelligence/)
• Google Looks to Turbocharge AI Efforts With Combined Brain, DeepMind Unit (https://www.wsj.com/articles/alphabets-google-combines-ai-research-units-brain-and-deepmind-620f4f7d)
• Experience CozoDB: The Hybrid Relational-Graph-Vector Database - The Hippocampus for LLMs (https://docs.cozodb.org/en/latest/releases/v0.6.html)
• The Embedding Archives: Millions of Wikipedia Article Embeddings in Many Languages (https://txt.cohere.com/embedding-archives-wikipedia/)
• Building A ChatGPT-enhanced Python REPL (https://isthisit.nz/posts/2023/building-a-chat-gpt-enhanced-python-repl/)
• Large Language Models: Scaling Laws and Emergent Properties (https://cthiriet.com/articles/scaling-laws)
• San Francisco GPT and CensusGPT — natural language interfaces to public data (https://github.com/caesarhq/textSQL)
• Text-prompted Generative Audio Model (https://github.com/suno-ai/bark)
• One step Baby AGI (https://github.com/Methexis-Inc/OneStepBabyAGI)
• Retrieve data from databases using natural language commands (https://github.com/logunify/dsensei)
• Runs a sharable ChatGPT docker container, allowing you to share a ChatGPT session with friends via a web browser. (https://github.com/BLuFeNiX/PlayGPT)
• Run Large Language Model "Agents" in Salesforce apex (https://github.com/callawaycloud/llm-apex-agents)

​
24-Apr-2023

• Bard now helps you code (https://blog.google/technology/ai/code-with-bard/)
• ChatGPT could cost over $700,000 per day to operate. Microsoft is reportedly trying to make it cheaper (https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/chatgpt-could-cost-over-700000-per-day-to-operate-microsoft-is-reportedly-trying-to-make-it-cheaper-/articleshow/99637548.cms)
• SafeGPT: New tool to detect LLMs' hallucinations, biases and privacy issues (https://www.giskard.ai/safegpt)
• ChatGPT finds hundreds of vulnerabilities every day in NPM (https://twitter.com/feross/status/1648055850060374016)
• The inside story of ChatGPT's astonishing potential (https://www.ted.com/talks/greg_brockman_the_inside_story_of_chatgpt_s_astonishing_potential/no-comments)
• A snapshot of today's open-source LLMs space (https://twitter.com/theaievangelist/status/1645809824314298368)
• Yokosuka becomes Japan's first city to use ChatGPT for administrative tasks (https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/04/20/national/chatgpt-yokosuka-trial/)
• Google Colab no longer allows remote UI (https://twitter.com/artificialguybstatus/1649178893020979201)
• ChatGPT4 writes Stan code so I don’t have to. (https://statmodeling.stat.columbia.edu/2023/04/18/chatgpt4-writes-stan-code-so-i-dont-have-to/)
• We all contribute to AI – should we get paid for that? (https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/21/as-ai-eliminates-jobs-a-way-to-keep-people-afloat-financially-thats-not-ubi/)
• ChatGPT creates mostly insecure code, but won't tell you unless you ask (https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/21/chatgpt_insecure_code/)
• ProfileGPT: What does ChatGPT know about you ? (https://sahbichaieb.com/profilegpt/)
• Training open-source LLMs on ChatGPT output is a really bad idea (https://gist.github.com/mlaprise/bf4745655194162babfc2d158162e2e0)
• Human creativity in an AI saturated future (https://metastable.org/everything.html)
• Chart-GPT (https://twitter.com/whoiskatrin/status/1650245885127806976)
• WasmGPT ChatGPT-like chatbot in the browser(https://github.com/lxe/wasm-gpt/tree/wasm-demo)

​
25-Apr-2023

• OpenAI has applied for “GPT” trademark with USPTO (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=35692476)
• openai Brand guidelines (https://openai.com/brand)
• Grimes Tells Fans To Deepfake Her Music, Will Split 50% Royalties With AI (https://www.forbes.com/sites/martineparis/2023/04/24/grimes-tells-fans-to-deepfake-drake-her-welcomes-collaboration-with-ai/)
• Large language models could improve their performance by outsourcing tasks to specialist AIs (https://spectrum.ieee.org/large-language-models)
• Bard vs GPT — Math, Logic and Problem Solving BATTLE (https://medium.com/nice-math-problems/bard-vs-gpt-math-logic-and-problem-solving-battle-%EF%B8%8F-ec8915fbd7e2)
• GCP: Supercharging security with generative AI (https://cloud.google.com/blog/products/identity-security/rsa-google-cloud-security-ai-workbench-generative-ai)
• ChatGPT now has a new Russian rival called GigaChat (https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/news/story/chatgpt-now-has-a-new-russian-rival-called-gigachat-378618-2023-04-24)
• RedPajama training progress at 440 billion tokens (https://www.together.xyz/blog/redpajama-training-progress)
• Transcribing Audio on AWS with Whisper: Cost Comparison AWS vs OpenAI (https://www.paulruales.com/blog/whiser-aws-guide)
• H2O LLM Studio - a framework and no-code GUI for fine-tuning LLMs (https://github.com/h2oai/h2o-llmstudio)
• LoopGPT Modular Auto-GPT Framework (https://github.com/farizrahman4u/loopgpt)
• Low-code LLM (https://github.com/microsoft/TaskMatrix/tree/main/LowCodeLLM)
• A GPT-empowered penetration testing tool (https://github.com/GreyDGL/PentestGPT)

​
26-Apr-2023

• Hugging Face releases its own version of ChatGPT(https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/25/hugging-face-releases-its-own-version-of-chatgpt/)
• ChatGPT users can now turn off chat history, allowing you to choose which conversations can be used to train our models (https://openai.com/blog/new-ways-to-manage-your-data-in-chatgpt)
• The UK will spend £100 million to develop its own 'sovereign' AI (https://www.engadget.com/the-uk-is-creating-a-100-million-ai-taskforce-143507868.html)
• Google’s search business is feeling the heat (https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/25/23698087/alphabet-google-earnings-q1-2023)
• An AI Scraping Tool Is Overwhelming Websites With Traffic (https://www.vice.com/en/article/dy3vmx/an-ai-scraping-tool-is-overwhelming-websites-with-traffic)
• Amazon CodeWhisperer is out of beta. We tried it. Spoiler: it isn’t good (https://codeium.com/blog/amazon-codewhisperer-review)
• Web LLM (https://mlc.ai/web-llm/)
• Language Models Enable Simple Systems for Generating Structured Views of Heterogeneous Data Lakes (https://github.com/HazyResearch/evaporate)
• Layered, depth-first reading—start with summaries, tap to explore details, and gain clarity on complex topics (https://github.com/1rgs/clarity-reader)

​
27-Apr-2023

• Mark Zuckerberg says Meta wants to ‘introduce AI agents to billions of people’ (https://www.theverge.com/2023/4/26/23699633/mark-zuckerberg-meta-generative-ai-chatbots-instagram-facebook-whatsapp)
• Yellow AI launches dynamic automation platform powered by generative AI for enterprises (https://venturebeat.com/ai/yellow-ai-launches-dynamic-automation-platform-powered-by-generative-ai-for-enterprises/)
• Google Researchers Unleash AI Performance Breakthrough for Mobile Devices (https://www.artisana.ai/articles/google-researchers-unleash-ai-performance-breakthrough-for-mobile-devices)
• Microsoft Releases SynapseMl v0.11 with support for ChatGPT, GPT-4, Causal Learning, and More (https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/azure-synapse-analytics-blog/what-s-new-in-synapseml-v0-11/ba-p/3804919)
• Transformers from Scratch (https://e2eml.school/transformers.html)
• Store Embeddings in redis (https://release.com/blog/training-chatgpt-with-custom-libraries-using-extensions)
• FastGPT: A fast, full search, AI answering engine (https://labs.kagi.com/fastgpt)
• DeepDoctection: Document extraction and analysis using deep learning models (https://github.com/deepdoctection/deepdoctection)
• DeepFloyd IF: open-source text-to-image model (https://github.com/deep-floyd/IF)

​
28-Apr-2023

• ChatGPT Grows in Popularity as Bing and Bard Flatline (https://www.artisana.ai/articles/chatgpt-grows-in-popularity-as-bing-and-bard-flatline)
• ChatGPT is finally ready to leave 2021. It can browse the internet now.
• (https://i.redd.it/its-official-chatgpt-is-finally-ready-to-leave-2021-it-can-v0-r6x7pu2m8bwa1.png?s=5fe6d2d520b1f13dfa95c2c90ef09720db5f1523)
• ChatGPT Prompt Engineering for Developers (https://www.deeplearning.ai/short-courses/chatgpt-prompt-engineering-for-developers/)
• Europe to ChatGPT: Disclose Your Sources (https://www.wsj.com/articles/europe-to-chatgpt-disclose-your-sources-863ef330)
• NVIDIA Announces NeMo Guardrails: An Open-Source Tool Designed to Improve the Performance and Safety of AI-Powered Chatbots like ChatGPT (https://www.marktechpost.com/2023/04/26/nvidia-announces-nemo-guardrails-an-open-source-tool-designed-to-improve-the-performance-and-safety-of-ai-powered-chatbots-like-chatgpt/)
• China Expert Gives Startling Reason Why CCP Is Requiring AI to ‘Reflect Socialist Values’ (https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/free-speech/catherine-salgado/2023/04/27/exclusive-china-expert-gives-startling-reason-why)
• Unleashing Infinite-Length Input Capacity for Large-scale Language Models with Self-Controlled Memory System (https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.13343)
• LLM+P: Empowering Large Language Models with Optimal Planning Proficiency (https://arxiv.org/abs/2304.11477)
• Knowledge Retrieval Architecture for LLM’s (https://mattboegner.com/knowledge-retrieval-architecture-for-llms)

Company Name	Title	City
Wilson Plumbing, Heating, Cooling & Electrical	Outside Sales Development Representative	Akron
Arcadis	Senior Management Consultant	Akron
Pinnacle Fertility	Lab Technician	Akron
Fox Rehabilitation	Physical Therapist/PT- ($10,000 SIGN ON BONUS) Akron, OH	Akron
Prairie Farms Dairy, Inc.	Driver - Route Delivery	Akron
Aaron's	Delivery Driver	Alliance
Old Carolina Barbecue Company	Manager in Training	Alliance
Trailstar International Inc	Part Time Driver - Seasonal	Alliance
American Freight Management Company	Delivery Associate	Amelia
Premier Toyota of Amherst	Service Porter	Amherst
Specialty Hospital of Lorain	Stna	Amherst
Fairlawn Haven	Stna	Archbold
Brethren Care Village	STNA - Belmont ToweBrookwood Place (Assisted Living)	Ashland
Save-A-Lot stores - Horizon Management, Inc	Store Manager	Ashtabula
Elevate Dental Partners	Front Desk Dental Coordinator	Ashville
Dunham's Sports	Key Team Leader	Athens
SpotOn: Sales (External Partners)	Outside Sales Representative - Athens, OH	Athens
Anna Maria Of Aurora	STNA Trainer	Aurora
VICTRA (ABC Phones of North Carolina)	Kiosk Sales Consultant Verizon RetaileVictra (OH-Avon Oh)	Avon
Levin Furniture & Mattress	Sales Associate (Part-Time)	Avon
Miracle-ear	Front Office Associate/Receptionist	Avon Lake
Daikin Comfort Technologies	Manager, Area Sales	Avon Lake
Nick Mayer Auto Group	Automotive Parts Counter Person	Avon Lake
Legacy Health Services	Travel STNA	Barberton
A Ray of Hope Counseling and Health Services	LPCC-S, LPC, LPCC, LISW-S, LISW, LSW, Behavioral Counselor	Batavia

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in oh. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

Company Name	Title	City
Tridant Solutions, Inc	Registered Nurse- Emergency Room- Per Diem	Blue Diamond
Geoffrey Baughman-Farmers Insurance Agency	Customer Service/Sales Representative	Boulder City
Boot Barn	Seasonal Sales Partner	Carson City
Big Brand Tire & Service	Tire and Lube Technician	Carson City
U.S. Bank National Association	Float Client Relationship Consultant 3 (Banker) - Capitol Carson City, NV (40 hrs)	Carson City
Ascend Medical	Obstetrics/Gynecology	Elko
Riverton Elko Chevrolet Buick GMC	Service Porter	Elko
SunSource	NV - Outside Sales: Account Manager - Industrial Supply (Mining, Hydraulics, Lubrication, MRO)	Elko
Riverton Elko Chevrolet Buick GMC	Lot Attendant/Porter	Elko
ExamOne, A Quest Diagnostics Company	Medically Trained Mobile Collector (PT) (NV)	Ely
Bluetree Practice Services	Dental Assistant for the Dentists' Office in Fallon	Fallon
Industrial Transport Services	Hiring CDL A Solo and Team Company Truck Drivers! Home Weekends! $115,000 Annual AVG!	Fallon
H&H Recruiting	Class A Truck Driver	Fernley
Nevada Cement Co., LLC	Truck Driver CDL-A	Fernley
Encompass Health	HIMS Coder	Henderson
Goodwill Industries Of So	Donation Attendant	Henderson
Florida Canyon Mining Inc	Accounts Payable Clerk	Imlay
Summit Materials (West Region)	Loader Operator - Swing Shift - Sierra Ready Mix	Jean
Evergreen Pharmacy	Pharmacist	Las Vegas
Life Storage	Associate Store Manager	Las Vegas
Boys And Girls Clubs Of Southern Nevada	Licensed Youth Mental Health Therapist	Las Vegas
Symbia Of Colorado Llc	Warehouse Associate	Mccarran
Mesa View Regional Hospital	Pharmacist - PART-TIME (16 hours per week)	Mesquite
Baker Hughes	Global Facilties Leader	Minden
OAP Transportation, LLC d/b/a O'Reilly Auto Parts	CDL A - Home Daily - Reno	Mogul

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings in nv. Feel free to comment here or send me a private message if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

Company Name	Title	City
Agtegra Cooperative	Truck Driver	Aberdeen
Dunham's Sports	Team Member	Aberdeen
Goodwill of the Great Plains	Retail Team Leader-Aberdeen	Aberdeen
Hallmark	Retail Merchandiser	Aberdeen
National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB)	Outside Sales Representative	Aberdeen
Northwestern Engineering Company	Class A Semi Truck Driver	Belle Fourche
Northwest Tire	Outside Sales in Minnesota	Brandon
Insomnia Cookies	Cookie Delivery Driver	Brookings
Discovery Real Estate Co.	Showing Assistant (Req: DBE32BMI)	Brookings
Liv Hospitality, LLC	DooValet	Deadwood
Waypoint Detailed Delivery	Field Representative/ Driver	Egan
EmpRes Healthcare	RN - MDS Coordinator	Flandreau
Select Rehabilitation	Occupational Therapist (OTR)	Garretson
Community HealthCare Association of the Dakotas	Dentist - Traveling	Howard
Wm	CDL Truck Driver - 5000 Sign On Bonus	Huron
OAP Transportation, LLC d/b/a O'Reilly Auto Parts	CDL A - Home Daily - Sioux City	Jefferson
ENT Consultants	Medical Receptionist	North Sioux City
Specialty Dental Brands-SD	Registered Dental Assistant	Pierre
Common Cents	Cashiers and Assistant Full and Part Time	Rapid City
Great Plains Tribal Chairmen's Health Board	Behavioral Health Care Coordinator	Rapid City
Lincare Holdings	Medical Delivery Driver	Rapid City
Tribal EM	Registered Nurse- ED	Rosebud
Two Men And A Truck®	Driver / Mover / Laborer	Sioux Falls
The UPS Store #2494	Full-Time Center Associate 2494	Sioux Falls
Diamond Mowers	VP of Sales	Sioux Falls

Hey guys, here are some recent job openings , feel free to comment here if you have any questions, I'm at the community's disposal! If you encounter any problems with any of these job openings please let me know that I will modify the table accordingly. Thanks!

Jackie Jensen, "The Golden Boy", was a superstar athlete in the 1940s who seemed destined for greatness as the heir to Joe DiMaggio... only to be supplanted by a different golden boy, the great Mickey Mantle.
Jensen would eventually live up to the hype, but with the Red Sox -- but his career ended prematurely because, as baseball expanded to the west coast, his fear of flying made road games unbearable!
The Yankees between 1947 and 1964 were utterly dominant, winning 15 pennants and 10 World Series. And it wasn't just the major league team that was successful. The Yankees of this era were loaded up and down the system, from Rookie ball to their two Triple-A teams!
With such a loaded major league roster, the Yankees had many talented players stuck either on the end of the bench or in the minors who would eventually find an opportunity with other teams, including Bob Cerv, Vic Power, Gus Triandos, Lew Burdette, Jerry Lumpe, Bob Porterfield, and Bob Keegan, all named All-Stars with other teams after leaving the Yankees. Clint Courtney would be the 1952 A.L. Rookie of the Year runner-up after the Yankees traded him to the Browns, and Bill Virdon was the 1955 N.L. Rookie of the Year with the Cardinals (and then Yankee manager from 1974 to 1975!).
But the most talented player who just couldn't find the playing time in New York was Jack Eugene Jensen, born March 9, 1927, in San Francisco. His parents divorced when he was 5, and he grew up poor, his mother working six days a week, 12 hours a day. Jensen said the family moved 16 times between kindergarten and eighth grade -- "every time the rent came due."
After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II, Jensen went to the University of California in 1946 on the G.I. Bill. There he became one of the most famous college players in the country, leading Cal to the Rose Bowl. In 1947, he was the starting fullback as well as the team's top defensive back, and in 1948, he rushed for 1,000 yards and was an All-American.
He also was a tremendous two-way baseball player, pitching and hitting for the Golden Bears in 1947 as the won the very first College World Series, beating a Yale team that had George H.W. Bush playing first base. In 1949, he was an All-American in baseball, too.
His blond hair, good looks, and athletic accomplishments earned him the nickname "The Golden Boy."
Halfway through his junior year, Jensen left Berkeley to turn pro. Jensen would later say he couldn't risk playing a career-ending injury playing for free while teams -- baseball and football -- were trying to sign him to big-money contracts.

"There was a money tree growing in my backyard. Why shouldn't I pluck off the dollars when I wanted to?"

Jensen considered a number of offers, including from the Yankees, before signing a three-year, $75,000 contract with the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League. Jensen said he thought he'd face better competition in the Pacific Coast League, the top minor league of the era, than he would at the bottom of the Yankee farm system. He was right about it being more of a challenge -- he hit an unimpressive .261/.317/.394 in 510 plate appearances with the Oaks.
At the end of the year, the Oaks sold his contract (and that of Billy Martin, another Northern California kid) to the Yankees.
That same year, Jensen married his high school sweetheart, Zoe Ann Olsen, an Olympic diver. (By age 18, she had won 14 national diving championships and a silver medal in the 1948 Olympics.) "Together they looked like a Nordic god and goddess," Sports Illustrated reported. Nicknamed "the sweethearts of sports," they were the Dansby Swanson and Mallory Pugh of their era. More than 1,000 people attended their wedding.
Jensen would start the 1950 season not in the minors but in the Bronx. He joined the Yankees in a time of flux. They though they'd won the 1949 World Series, the Yankees knew they had to make some changes, with 35-year-old Joe DiMaggio nearing the end of his career. And their heir apparent was not Mickey Mantle -- at the time an 18-year-old shortstop playing in the Class C league, the equivalent of A-ball today -- but the 23-year-old Jensen.
But Jensen disappointed, hitting just .171/.247/.300 in 70 at-bats, and only starting in 13 games. Watching from the bench most of the season, Jensen would later lament the lost year of development, saying he'd have been better off playing every day in the Pacific Coast League.
The Yankees won the pennant for a second straight year, and in the World Series he once again was left on the bench. His only action was as a pinch runner in Game 3 as the Yankees swept the Phillies. That "Moonlight Graham" appearance would be his only taste of the post-season in an 11-year career.
The following year would be DiMaggio's last, and Mantle's first. Jensen began the year as the Yankees' starting left fielder and proved he belonged, hitting .296/.371/.509 through the end of July... and then, shockingly, was demoted to Triple-A and replaced with previously forgotten Yankee Bob Cerv.
I can see why they called up Cerv -- the University of Nebraska stand-out was tearing up Triple-A, leading the American Association in batting average (.349), home runs (26), triples (21), RBIs (101), and total bases (261) -- but why demote Jensen, who had a 140 OPS+ in the majors? Maybe the Yankees felt the brash 23-year-old needed to be taken down a peg. In any event, Cerv hit just .214/.333/.250 in August and was sent back to Triple-A, but Jensen also was left down there. He hit .263/.344/.469 and was recalled after the Triple-A season ended, only getting into three games (he went 3-for-9).
Mantle, too, had started the season with the Yankees, and after hitting .260/.341/.423 through the middle of July, was sent down to Triple-A. But he hit .361/.445/.651 in 166 at-bats, and unlike Jensen was back in the bigs by August 24. He would play pretty much every game the rest of the season, hitting .284/.370/.495 in 95 at-bats.
The torch had clearly been passed -- Jensen was no longer the heir apparent to DiMaggio. In the World Series that year, Mantle was the starting right fielder, and Jensen wasn't even on the post-season roster.
Jensen was so disappointed with how the Yankees had treated him in 1951 that he talked to the San Francisco 49ers about switching to pro football, but ultimately decided to stick with baseball.
Never shy about what he said to reporters, Jensen told The Sporting News on October 24, 1951:

"I felt so badly about the treatment that I received from the Yankees that, although I was in New York at the end of the season, I didn't feel like sticking around to even watch the club play in any of the World's Series games."
"I do not feel the Yankees were justified in sending me to the minor leagues. When I was shipped to Kansas City, I was doing as good a job as any Yankee outfielder and better than some of them. I was hitting .296, which was ten points better than Hank Bauer and 30 points better than Joe DiMaggio, Gene Woodling and Mickey Mantle. Yet Casey Stengel didn't give me the chance I felt I deserved."

Despite blasting his manager in the press, Jensen was still the property of the Yankees. That off-season, teams were circling, hoping to pry away the talented but disgruntled outfielder. There were newspaper reports of offers from the St. Louis Browns, the Detroit Tigers, the Philadelphia Athletics, the Washington Senators, the Cleveland Indians, and the Boston Red Sox -- with one rumor being Ted Williams to the Bronx in exchange for Jensen and several other players. (A Red Sox scout called the rumored deal "a lot of hogwash.")
Sportswriters spent the off-season speculating whether DiMaggio would retire, and if he did, whether Jensen or Mantle would take over as the center fielder, as there were still concerns that Mantle, who had hurt his knee in the 1951 World Series, wouldn't be fully recovered by the start of the season.
On Opening Day, April 16, 1952, it was Jackie Jensen in center and Mickey Mantle in right. Jensen went 0-for-5 with a GIDP; Mantle, 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base! Seven games into the season, Jensen was 2-for-17 (.118) and found himself on the bench. He'd never play for the Yankees again. On May 3, the Golden Boy was traded to the Washington Senators along with Spec Shea, Jerry Snyder, and Archie Wilson in exchange for Irv Noren and Tom Upton.
In two years with the Senators, Jensen hit an impressive .276/.359/.407 (112 OPS+), but the team was terrible, and Jensen wasn't happy. Still just 26 years old, he later said he had almost quit after the 1953 season... particularly after a harrowing flight to Japan for a series of exhibition games with a squad of All-Stars that included Yankees Yogi Berra, Eddie Lopat, and Billy Martin. That experience gave Jensen a lifelong fear of flying, a phobia that became so intense eventually he could only fly with the help of sleeping pills... and a hypnotist!
He might have quit if not for the trade on December 9, 1953, that sent him to the Boston Red Sox for pitcher Mickey McDermott and outfielder Tom Umphlett. He was homesick, he hated flying, and he now had two little kids at home. Red Sox general manager Joe Cronin convinced Jensen to come to the Red Sox, telling him that Fenway Park was tailor made for his swing. Cronin was right: Jensen was a career .279/.369/.460 hitter, but .298/.400/.514 at Fenway.
It was in Boston that Jensen finally lived up to the hype, becoming a two-time All-Star and winning the A.L. MVP Award in 1958 and a Gold Glove in 1959. During his seven seasons in Boston, he hit .282/.374/.478 in 4,519 plate appearances. In his MVP season, Jensen hit .286/.396/.535 (148 OPS+) with 31 doubles, 35 home runs, and a league-leading 122 RBIs. During his peak with the Red Sox, 1954 to 1959, Jensen's average season was .285/.378/.490 (127 OPS+) with 28 doubles, 26 home runs, 111 RBIs, 14 stolen bases, and 3.6 bWAR. During those six seasons, no one in the American League -- not Mickey Mantle, not Ted Williams, not Al Kaline -- had more runs batted in than Jackie Jensen.
Of course, Mantle was the far better player -- even in Jensen's MVP season, Mantle had more runs, hits, home runs, walks, and a 188 OPS+ -- but Jensen's 127 OPS+ between 1954 and 1959 would have been an upgrade over the aging Hank Bauer's 110 OPS+ in right or the left field merry-go-round of Norm Siebern (113 OPS+), Irv Noren (107 OPS+), Enos Slaughter (103 OPS+), and previously forgotten Yankee Hector Lopez (101 OPS+). Casey Stengel would later say the Jensen trade was the worst one the Yankees had made while he was manager.
Despite his success, Jensen was sometimes booed by the Boston fans, just as they sometimes booed Ted Williams. There even was an article in Sport magazine, "What Do They Want From Jackie Jensen?", taking Red Sox fans to task for their unreasonably high demands from the Golden Boy. In 1956, in a game at Fenway Park against the Yankees, the hometown fans were razzing Jensen so much that teammates had to restrain him from going into the stands after a fan. Later that same game, Williams misplayed a wind-blown fly ball from Mantle, and the fans booed lustily. The very next play, Williams made a leaping catch at the scoreboard to rob Yogi Berra of a double. But Williams, still furious, spit into the crowd. He was later fined $5,000.
And Jackie was unhappy to be away from home. He and Zoe Ann had bought a house near Lake Tahoe, where they could both ski and golf year-round, as well as hit the casinos. They also had a home in Oakland, and a restaurant there, and each year Jensen hosted a pro-am golf tournament. But the marriage was struggling. Zoe Ann, once nationally known for her Olympic exploits, was frustrated to be a stay-at-home mom in the shadow of her famous husband, and Jackie became angry if she engaged in her favorite outdoor hobbies, suspecting there were men around.
Jensen's fear of flying also had become even more intense. Sometimes he was so drugged up that he had to be carried on and off the plane, fueling rumors that he was a drunk. Other times he took trains or even drove while his teammates flew.
Once again Jensen was talking about retirement, and in Spring Training 1957, the Red Sox allowed him to train with the San Francisco Seals, Boston's Triple-A team, rather than having to go to Florida. But he was still miserable. That year, he told Sports Illustrated:

“In baseball you get to the point where you don’t think you have a family. It just looks like I’m not built for this life like some ballplayers. You are always away from home and you’re lonesome, and as soon as I can, I intend to get out.”

The 32-year-old Jensen announced his retirement after the 1959 season, and he spent 1960 home with Zoe Ann and their children and running his restaurant. But he returned in 1961. After hitting just .130 in April, Jensen took a train from Detroit home to Reno, determined to quit once again. After a week away, he rejoined the team and had six hits in his next 10 at-bats. By the end of the season he was at .263/.350/.392, and he quit again. This time for good.
After leaving baseball, Jensen invested in real estate and a golf course, but lost most of his money. He then got a job working for a Lake Tahoe casino, was a national spokesman for Camel cigarettes, Wonder Bread, and Gillette, and even tried selling cars. Ironically, Jackie found himself on the road almost as much as he had been as a ballplayer. In 1963, he and Zoe Ann divorced, remarried, and then divorced again.
In 1967, Jensen became a TV sportscaster, married his producer Katharine Cortesi, and eventually teamed up with Keith Jackson calling college football games for ABC, and was a college baseball coach, first at the University of Nevada-Reno and then at the University of California. He managed the Red Sox team in the New York Penn League in 1970. In 1977, Jackie and Katharine moved to Virginia and started a Christmas tree farm while he coached baseball at a military academy. About five years later, on July 14, 1982, he died of a heart attack at age 55.
You Don't Know Jack(ie):

• How good would Jackie Jensen have been as a Yankee? Maybe not great. He was a career .279/.369/.460 hitter, but just .238/.326/.398 at Yankee Stadium, which -- especially in that era -- was famously death on right-handed batters. Fenway Park was much more to his liking!
  
• Born in San Francisco in 1927, it's no surprise Jensen's favorite player as a kid was Joe DiMaggio, who made his debut with the San Francisco Seals when Jensen was a 5 years old. When Jensen made his major league debut, on April 18, 1950, DiMaggio went 3-for-6 with a triple in a 15-10 win over the Red Sox. Two weeks later, on May 3, Jensen made his first start, playing left field and batting second, and DiMaggio was in center and batting fourth.
  
• Jensen wore #36 at Cal. When he came up with the Yankees, he was first issued #40, then switched to #27, and finally to #25. (With the Senators, he wore #8, then #4; in Boston, he first wore #30 but primarily wore #4.) Currently, #40 is worn by Luis Severino. Other famous 40's include Chien-Ming Wang (2005-2009), Andy Hawkins (1989-1991), and Lindy McDaniel (1968-1973). #27 has been worn by Giancarlo Stanton since 2018; prior to him, it was worn by Austin Romine (2016-2017). It also was the number worn by Bob Wickman (1993-1996), Butch Wynegar (1982-1986), and Woodie Held (1954-1957). Gleyber Torres has worn #25 since 2018; it also was worn by Mark Teixeira (2009-2016), Jason Giambi (2002-2008), Joe Girardi (1996-1999), Jim Abbott (1993-1994), Tommy John (1979-1989), and Joe Pepitone (1962-1969).
  
• Jensen is one of six major leaguers to graduate from Oakland High School, but the only Yankee. Cal has sent 83 players to the majors, including twenty Yankees -- most notably, early 1990s pitcher Chuck Cary, 1930s infielder Lyn Lary, and 1990 A.L. ROY runner-up Kevin Maas.
  
• The Yankees during spring training in 1951 tinkered with the idea of using Jensen into a pitcher. Jensen had been a star pitcher at Cal, including pitching in the 1947 College World Series, and had pitched in a winter league that off-season. But he was bombed in a handful of spring training innings -- while crushing as a hitter -- and the Yankees decided to leave him in the outfield.
  
• College teammates said Jensen wasn't afraid of flying at Cal. His second wife Katharine said the phobia came from a near-miss experience on a flight early in his baseball career -- he looked out the window and saw another plane coming straight at him! The two planes managed to avoid each other, but he was never comfortable on a plane again.
  
• Billy Martin, who also had grown up in Northern California and was Jensen's teammate on both the Oakland Oaks and the Yankees, was merciless when it came to teasing Jensen about his fear of flying. In 1953, on a flight from Okinawa to Honshu to play a series of exhibition games in Japan, the plane ran into a bad storm and was bouncing pretty hard. Jensen, who wouldn't get on a plane without the help of tranquilizers, was blissfully sleeping through the turbulence. Martin found a lifejacket and put it on, then stood over Jensen and shouted "We're going down!"
  
• Arthur Ellen, a hypnotist that Jensen had used to try to cure his fear of flying, believed Jackie wasn't aerophobic at all. It was really a fear of losing his family. "Subconsciously, it developed as a good reason to leave the Red Sox and go home," the hypnotist said.
  
• Jensen is featured prominently in Norman Rockwell's famous 1957 painting, The Rookie. Jensen is the one seated on the bench tying his shoe in the middle of the painting. Standing behind him is Ted Williams, and sitting on the bench next to him is pitcher Frank Sullivan (#18). Wearing the catcher's mitt in the foreground is Sammy White, and the player with his hand over his mouth to the far right is Billy Goodman. Jensen, Sullivan, and White had gone to Rockwell's studio in Massachusetts to pose for the painting; the images of Williams and Goodman were based on photos. The shirtless player was one of Rockwell's assistants, and "the rookie" holding the suitcase was a local high school student!
  
• Boston sportswriters named Jensen the team's MVP in 1954, when he hit .276/.359/.472 with 25 home runs and 117 RBIs. I guess they were tired of giving the award to Ted Williams, who hit .345/.513/.635 that year, albeit in just 117 games as he had broken his collarbone in spring training. Williams didn't qualify for the batting title that year because he had only 386 at-bats... mostly due to his league-leading 136 walks. The rule was subsequently changed from at-bats to plate appearances.
  
• After Jensen was acquired by the Washington Senators, manager Bucky Harris -- who managed the Yankees when they won the 1947 World Series -- pulled him aside and told him he was the right fielder and he'd hit third. "No pep talk, no nothing, but he made it sound like I was the right fielder and third place hitter for a long time to come," Jensen later recalled. "It made me feel good." The 1950s Senators had a number of ex-Yankees and several of them told reporters that Harris was a much more low-key, hands-off manager than Casey Stengel, and Jensen agreed. "With Stengel it was always 'watch for that curve ball' or 'watch for that change up'," Jensen said. "Bucky leaves you on your own up there." But Jensen would later say Stengel was the smartest manager he'd ever had.
  
• Stengel obliquely mentioned Jensen in his famously long, rambling testimony before the Senate Anti-Trust and Monopoly Subcommittee on July 8, 1958. Asked about legislation that would exempt baseball from federal anti-trust laws, Stengel said about 7,000 words without really saying anything. The hearing was held the day after the All-Star Game -- the Stengel-managed A.L. All-Stars won, 4-3 -- and in the American League starting lineup were Jensen and two other ex-Yankees, Bob Cerv and Gus Triandos. Stengel was asked if the Yankees were going to continue to "monopolize" the World Series, and his confusing answer: "Well, I will tell you. I got a little concerned yesterday in the first three innings when I saw the three players I had gotten rid of [Jensen, Cerv, and Triandos] and I said when I lost nine what am I going to do? And when I had a couple of my players I thought so great of that did not do so good up to the sixth inning I was more confused but I finally had to go and call on a young man in Baltimore that we don't own and the Yankees don't own him and he is doing pretty well and I would actually have to to tell you that we are more the Greta Garbo-type now from success. We are being hated. I mean from the ownership and all we are being hated. Every sport that gets too great or one individual -- but if we made twenty-seven cents and it pays to have a winner at home why would you have a good winner in your park if you were an owner? That is the result of baseball. An owner gets most of the money at home, and it is up to him and his staff to do better or they ought to be discharged." After befuddling the committee with answers like that for 45 minutes, Stengel was excused and Mickey Mantle called upon. His opening statement: "My views are just about the same as Casey's."
  
• Casey Stengel later said Jensen plus Spec Shea, Jerry Snyder, and Archie Wilson to the Senators for Irv Noren and Tom Upton was the worst trade the Yankees made during his tenure. But in reality it was pretty much a wash for the Yankees. Jensen, in two seasons, would be worth 4.9 bWAR for the Senators before being traded. Shea, a right-handed pitcher who had been an All-Star with the Yankees as a rookie, pitched four years in Washington and was worth 2.9 bWAR. Snyder was a good-glove, no-hit infielder worth -0.1 bWAR in seven seasons with the Senators. (You must have a really good glove to last seven seasons with a 55 OPS+!) Wilson, at one point seen as a good prospect but now a 28-year-old minor league journeyman, only played 26 games in Washington before being traded. In exchange, the Yankees received the 27-year-old Irv Noren, an outfieldefirst baseman who played five years in New York and was an All-Star in 1954; he was worth 7.9 bWAR, making the trade essentially even by bWAR. (The other player the Yankees received, minor league infielder Tom Upton, never made it back to the bigs.) Prior to the 1957 season, Noren was traded to the Kansas City Athletics as part of a monster 13-player trade that included Clete Boyer, third baseman of the early 1960s dynasty!
  
• The two players Washington got from Boston for Jensen, Mickey McDermott and Tom Umphlett, were both future Yankees. McDermott was a left-handed pitcher whose father, Maurice McDermott, had played in the minors with Lou Gehrig. Mickey was just 25 years old at the time of the trade but had been in the majors for six seasons, going 48-34 with a 3.80 ERA (114 ERA+). In two years with the Senators, McDermott went 17-25 (but with a 3.58 ERA), then prior to the 1957 season was traded to the Yankees as part of a seven-player deal; he went 2-6 with a 4.24 ERA as a swingman, and closed out the Game 2 win in the 1956 World Series. After that one season in New York, he was part of the trade with the A's that brought back Clete Boyer.
  
• Umphlett, a 22-year-old infielder, was traded back to the Red Sox in 1955, and then the Red Sox traded him to the Yankees in 1962 for infielder Billy Gardner. He would spend 1962 and 1963 in Triple-A for the Yankees, then ended his career in the minors with the Minnesota Twins -- the team that had been the Senators until 1961.
  
• In 1956, the anthology television show Cavalcade of America had an episode called The Jackie Jensen Story. Jackie had a cameo as the adult version of himself, but the 30-minute episode was focused on Jackie's teenage years and the influence of his middle high school coach, a man named Ralph Kerchum who became a father figure. The coach was played by Ross Elliott, a Bronx native whose most memorable role might have been as the director in the Vitameatavegamin episode of I Love Lucy.
  
• Jensen's MVP in 1958 broke a string of four straight MVP awards for Yankees -- Yogi Berra in 1954 and 1955 followed by Mickey Mantle in 1956 and 1957. Nellie Fox of the White Sox won it in 1959, and then the Yankees won it four years in a row again -- Roger Maris in 1960 and 1961, Mantle in 1962, and Elston Howard in 1963. Then a long drought -- the next Yankee to win it would be Thurman Munson in 1976.
  
• Going by bWAR, Mantle should have won it a third straight year in 1958 -- his 8.7 bWAR led the league, followed by Frank Lary at 6.7 and Al Kaline at 6.5. Jensen's 4.9 was 10th that year. Of course, they didn't have bWAR back then!
  
• Jackie won a Gold Glove in 1959; it was just the third year of the award's existence, or he might have won more. "Right field in Boston is a bitch, the sun field, and few play it well," Ted Williams said. "Jackie Jensen was the best I saw at it." Jensen was renowned for his throwing arm -- he twice led the league in assists, and twice led the league in double plays as an outfielder. One Yankee scout said he had the best arm he'd seen since previously forgotten Yankee Bob Meusel, usually said to have the best cannon in baseball history until Roberto Clemente came along.
  
• Jensen was well known for his brashness, especially compared to Mantle's aw shucks attitude. Mantle, asked if he thought he could beat out Jensen to replace DiMaggio in center field, humbly replied that there were three positions in the outfield and he hoped to win any one of them. Jensen, on the other hand, vowed he'd "out-run, out-hit, and out-throw" Mantle, an arrogant answer that didn't go over well with teammates. Joe DiMaggio, asked what he thought of the duel for his old job, quipped that Mantle was "out-quoting" Jensen.
  
• When Mantle was asked what he thought about Jensen's quote, he replied: "I don't know what to make of that guy." Jensen would later say he was misquoted, but reports of his cockiness would follow him throughout his Yankee years. Later in life, Jensen said people mistook his shyness and anxiety for arrogance and rudeness.
  
• According to Sports Illustrated, Jensen is the only player to have played in the East-West football game, the Rose Bowl, the World Series, and the Major League All-Star Game. I'll take their word for it!
  
• As a freshman at Cal, the first time Jensen touched the ball -- on a punt return -- he ran it back for a 56-yard touchdown. Cal quarterback Charles Erb said they'd never seen anything like it. "He was all over the field, dodging and leaping over guys. The rest of us just stood there on the sidelines with our mouths open. Finally somebody said, 'Who in the hell is that guy?' "
  
• Jensen is one of two "forgotten" Yankees in the College Football Hall of Fame -- the other is 1960s catcher Jake Gibbs. (Other Yankees in the College Football Hall of Fame include John Elway, who was in the Yankee minor league system before joining the Denver Broncos, and Deion Sanders, who was on the Yankees in 1989 and 1990.) Jensen also is a member of the Cal Hall of Fame, the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, and... ugh... the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame.
  
• Despite his speed -- Jensen led the league in triples in 1956 and in stolen bases in 1954, and was in the top five in stolen bases in six seasons -- Jackie also was prone to grounding into double plays, leading the league in 1954, 1956, and 1957. His 32 GIDPs in 1954 was the major league record until Boston's Jim Rice hit into 36 in 1984, which is still the single-season record. Rice also had 35 in 1985. Jensen's 32 is tied for third with four others. The most by a Yankee? Dave Winfield with 30 in 1983, which is tied for 14th.
  
• Jensen lost most of his baseball earnings through a series of bad investments. His ex-wife, former Olympian Zoe Ann, later became a blackjack dealer in Reno to pay the bills.
  
• Jensen had four appearances on the popular show Home Run Derby, and set a record for most home runs in one match when he defeated Ernie Banks, 14-11, in Episode 24. The 25 combined home runs also was a record. He took on Mickey Mantle in Episode 3, with Mantle winning, 9-2, then defeated Rocky Colavito, 3-2, in Episode 25. He rematched against Mantle in Episode 26, with Mantle winning again, 13-10. Jensen set another record in that contest when he became the only player to hit four home runs in a row, and then a fifth home run in a row. That episode was supposed to be the season one finale, but it turned out to be the last episode of the series: The show's host and producer, Mark Scott, died of a heart attack at age 45, shortly after the last episode aired, and two months later the show's 64-year-old director Benjamin Stoloff also died. Rather than replacing them, the show was cancelled.
  
• Jensen's last game came against the Yankees, on October 1st, 1961, at Yankee Stadium. He appeared as a pinch hitter and popped out to shortstop Tony Kubek. In the 4th inning of that game, Roger Maris hit his 61st home run, breaking Babe Ruth's single-season record!
  
• Jackie and Zoe Ann had two sons, Jon and Jay, and a daughter, Jan. Jay's son, Tucker Jensen, was a pitcher in the Blue Jays farm system in 2011 and 2012.
  

In 1958, Jensen told Sports Illustrated that the biggest thrill of his career wasn't being an All-American or an All-Star, it wasn't winning an MVP or a World Series. "The biggest is having played in the same outfield with both DiMaggio and Williams."