I just bought a Vortex strike eagle 5-25x56 34mm, put it on my H&K sl8 euro and sighted it in at the 25 yard and was shooting through bullet holes each time. Then I went to the 200 yard and put paper targets up and I shot about 30 rounds at bullseye and it didn’t even hit paper. What am I doing wrong?

Hello everyone I am new to reddit i don't know much about it anyway i think here people share their stories so i would like to share mine
On January 4, 2022, my world fell apart as she ended our relationship. It was a devastating blow that shattered my heart and left me feeling lost and broken. Little did I know that this breakup would set off a chain of events that would lead me to the darkest period of my life.
In the months that followed, life took an even more tumultuous turn. Last September, my father's accident left him hospitalized, adding an immense weight to my already burdened shoulders. As I struggled to cope with his condition, the pressure became overwhelming.
Then, just 10 days before the breakup, everything took a turn for the worse. Due to a massive amount of debt, our family's properties were sold off. The financial strain, coupled with the emotional turmoil of the breakup, became too much to bear.
The weight of these circumstances took a toll on my mental well-being, and I found myself in a deep state of despair. The mounting pressure, the loss of love, and the chaos at home all culminated in a severe mental breakdown. It was a breaking point that landed me in the hospital.
For an entire year, I fought battles within myself. Day by day, I faced the demons of anxiety, depression, and emotional turmoil. The hospital became my refuge, a place where professionals could help me navigate the darkness that consumed me.
Meanwhile, back at home, everything seemed to unravel. With no one to look after our affairs, the household fell into disarray. The absence of a guiding presence left a void that echoed the disintegration of stability and care
During my time in the hospital, I underwent intensive therapy and received the support I so desperately needed. I slowly began to rebuild myself, piece by piece. Through counseling, medication, and the unwavering support of loved ones, I found glimmers of hope amidst the despair.
Though the journey was long and arduous, I emerged from that hospital room with a newfound strength. I learned to prioritize my mental well-being, to seek help when needed, and to embrace self-care as a crucial part of my life.
I can go though everything but still I'm a human when heart shattered into 1000 pieces i fall apart
While the breakup may have been the catalyst for my mental breakdown, I now realize that it was a turning point, forcing me to confront and address the deeper issues that had plagued me for far too long. It was a painful but necessary step towards healing and self-discovery.
As I look towards the future, I carry the scars of this journey with me. They serve as a reminder of the battles I fought and the resilience I found within myself. I am committed to living a life where my mental health takes precedence, and where I can thrive and find happiness once again, stronger than ever before.
Even after so many things happen i still loves her .Even now don't have courage to delete her pictures

What do you think about a leadership role for OE? I’m looking at an internal promotion for J1 that would have direct reports, although probably not many. On one hand, it can be very demanding, but, I would be able to set meetings and adjust my schedule as the leader of my team. I’m still searching for J2 in the meantime and not sure which will land first.

At my local snowboard centre, I was being taught on general snowboarding and the instructor pulled off an amazing maneuver to cover a large distance on flat ground which I can only describe as a super advanced version of the penguin.
When I asked him what it was called, he just said it was tictacking and he also said it was incredibly hard to do and took lots of practise.
I suspect it may have involved balancing on one edge of the board so it's almost vertical, but also rotating the board 90 degrees so it's aiming in the direction you want to go, and then using the board as a spring to propel it through the air, and then when it lands, doing the same with the other side. It allows you to get a lot of speed even though the ground is flat. This is all speculation though and it's too fast for me to process it.
Does anyone have any more info?

When I first starting investing I followed my friend’s M1 pie for inspiration and it was a great jumping off point for getting set up for my portfolio. However, they are much more into watching individual stocks than I am and over time I’ve let my portfolio idle. I’m now trying to regain control and at least focus it towards my goal of dividend investing for FIRE. The portfolio consists of 65 holdings of both ETFs and individual stocks with some overlap. My questions are as follows:

• I’m aiming to cut holdings down to approximately 20 so that I can keep more focus. SCHD, VYM, DGRO, and SPYG are the ETFs I’m planning to keep. The rest would be individual stocks that I have interest in and believe will experience growth.
• From my understanding, downsizing means selling and that will trigger a taxable event; am I shooting myself in the foot by doing so? The peace of mind of having a manageable portfolio seems worth it but is there a good way to estimate how much in taxes I’d have to pay for selling? I’ve had all holdings for multiple years if that changes any tax information.

https://www.marxists.org/archive/kim-il-sung/1968/10/08.htm
https://aklatangbayan.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/great-anti-imperialist-revolutionary-cause-of-asian-african-and-latin-america-peoples-is-invincible.pdf [PDF]
It is nearly a year now since Comrade Ernesto Che Guevara, an indomitable revolutionary fighter and a true internationalist champion bom of the Latin American people, died a heroic death on the battlefield of Bolivia. The Korean people, together with the revolutionary peoples throughout the world, are commemorating the first anniversary of the passing away of Comrade Che Guevara, with a burning hatred for the enemy and in deep grief.
Che Guevara took the path of the sacred struggle to bring freedom and liberation to the peoples, holding aloft the banner of anti-imperialist, anti-U.S. struggle early in his youthhood, and devoted his whole life to the revolutionary cause of the oppressed peoples.
Over a long period up to now since the curtain rose upon the prelude to the bloodstained history of modern bourgeoisie, in which the exploitation camouflaged by medieval religious and political illusions was replaced by a naked, shameless, direct and cruel one and man's dignity turned into an exchange value, numerous Communists and revolutionary fighters on the globe have shed their blood and laid down their lives in the midst of the revolutionary tempest to sweep away all that is obsolete and corrupt and reorganize the whole structure of society in a revolutionary way, to overthrow the upper strata of that cursed old society and prepare the cradle of free and happy, new society. Che Guevara dedicated his precious life to this sacred struggle and thus became an honourable member of the ranks of world revolutionary martyrs.
Che Guevara was an indefatigable revolutionary who was tireless in struggle and a true internationalist champion who was completely free from narrow nationalist sentiments. Throughout his life he showed a fine example of a steadfast revolutionary fighter and real internationalist.
Along with the Cuban revolutionaries led by Comrade Fidel Castro, Che Guevara unfolded a heroic armed struggle, thereby contributing greatly to crushing U.S. imperialism and the dictatorial regime of Batista, its lackey, and attaining the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. In 1965 Che Guevara, burning with revolutionary zeal, left the triumphant land of Cuba to move the arena of his struggle to a new outpost where manifold difficulties and stern trials awaited him. Everywhere he went in Latin America, he organized and mobilized the masses of the people to armed struggles against U.S. imperialism and its minions and fought bravely to the last moment of his life in the forefront.
The revolutionary activities of Che Guevara made a tremendous contribution to further consolidating the triumph of the Cuban Revolution and stepping up the advancement of the Latin American revolution as a whole.
The triumph of the Cuban Revolution is the first victory of the socialist revolution in Latin America and a continuation of the Great October Revolution in Latin America. With the Cuban Revolution emerging victorious, the Red banner of socialism now flies high over Latin America which was regarded as a hereditary estate of U.S. imperialism only until recently, and the socialist camp has extended to the Western Hemisphere and grown in strength a great deal. Today the Republic of Cuba which marches on firmly in the forefront of the Latin American revolution is the lighthouse of hope for the fighting Latin American peoples and throws the rays of victory on the road of their struggle. The triumph of the Cuban Revolution shook the colonial system of the U.S. imperialists to its very foundation in the Western Hemisphere and has thrown the whole Latin America into a revolutionary tempest, forcefully arousing the peoples in this area to the sacred struggle for independence and freedom. The triumph of the Cuban Revolution signified, indeed, the beginning of the disintegration of the U.S. imperialist system of colonial rule in Latin America, the stern judgment on U.S. imperialism which had exploited and oppressed the peoples in this area for a long period and its condemnation to ruin.
Consolidation of the triumph of the Cuban Revolution is not only an important problem which decides the life and death, the rise and fall of the Cuban people but also a key problem which sways the destinies of the general development of the Latin American revolution.
Revolution begins with brilliant successes in one country but undergoes a considerable period of painful throes. The countries whose proletariat has grasped power in the encirclement of international capitalism are not free from the danger of imperialist aggression and restoration of capitalism during the entire historical period of revolutionary transition from capitalism to socialism. The overthrown exploiting classes always attempt to recover their lost positions and foreign imperialists incessantly engage in armed invasion and intrigues and manoeuvres for political and ideological subversion.
The U.S. imperialists and the reactionaries of Latin America deeply hate and fear the very existence of the Republic of Cuba and are manoeuvring stubbornly and maliciously to stifle it. They are working hard to get rid of the Cuban Revolution so as to drive out the "spectre" of Communism haunting the Western Hemisphere and check the liberation struggle of the peoples which envelops Latin America like a prairie fire. While scheming to strangle Cuba by directly mobilizing then- armed forces, the U.S. imperialists are instigating the reactionary Latin American regimes of dictatorship under their domination and subjugation to bring political and economic pressure to bear upon Cuba in order to suffocate her with the policy of blockade.
For the attainment of the ultimate victory of the revolution, the peoples who have gained power in the encirclement of international capital, while reinforcing their own internal forces in every way, should receive solid support from other detachments of the world socialist revolution and should receive broad international assistance from the working classes of all lands and the oppressed peoples of the whole world. In other words, revolutions should take place consecutively in the majority of countries of the world, in several adjacent countries at the least, to replace imperialist encirclement with socialist encirclement, the barriers of imperialism that surround a socialist country should be torn down to open the path of turning the dictatorship of the proletariat into a world-wide system and an end should be put to the isolation of the socialist fortress of one country in the encirclement to form the strong ties of militant solidarity of the international working classes and the oppressed peoples of the world. Only then will it be possible to prevent completely armed intervention by the imperialists and their attempt to restore capitalism, and say that the ultimate victory of socialism has been secured.
As the forces of capital are international, so the liberation struggle of the peoples is an international movement. The revolutionary movements in individual countries are national movements, and constitute part of the world revolution at the same time. The revolutionary struggles of the peoples in all countries have the relationship of supporting and complementing each other and join together in one stream of world revolution. The revolution which has emerged victorious should assist the revolutions of those countries which are not yet triumphant with its experiences and examples and render active support to the liberation struggle of the world's peoples with its political, economic and military power, while the peoples in the countries which have not yet won the revolutions should struggle more actively to defend the victorious revolutions of other countries against the imperialist policy of strangulation and hasten victory for their own revolutions. This is the law of the development of the world revolutionary movement and the excellent tradition already formed in the course of the people's liberation struggle.
The Cuban Revolution is an organic part of the world revolution and, particularly, constitutes the decisive link in the chain of the revolution in Latin America. To defend the Cuban Revolution and to consolidate and follow up its victories is not only the duty of the Cuban people but also the internationalist obligation of the oppressed peoples of Latin America and all the revolutionary peoples of the world. Just as the defence of the gains of the October Revolution in Russia which made the first breach in the world capitalist system was an important question decisive of the fate of the development of the world revolution, so the defence of the gains of the Cuban Revolution which made the first breach in the colonial system of U.S. imperialism in Latin America is an important question decisive of the fate of the Latin American revolution.
It is of great importance for the defence of the Cuban Revolution to advance the revolutionary movement in those Latin American countries neighbouring on Cuba. If the fierce flames of revolution flare up in many countries of Latin America where U.S. imperialism sets foot, the force of U.S. imperialism will be dispersed and sapped as much and the attempts of the U.S. imperialists and their lackeys to strangle Cuba by concentrated force will inevitably fall through. Further, if the revolution emerges victorious in some other Latin American countries, Cuba will get out of the encircling ring of imperialism with which she is confronted on all sides, there will be opened up a favourable phase in the revolutions of Cuba and Latin America, and the world revolution will be stepped up still more.
For a revolution to take place, the subjective and objective situation should be created for it. The revolution in each country should be carried out to suit the specific realities, in which the objective revolutionary situation is created. This, however, by no means signifies that the revolution can develop or ripen of itself. The revolution can always be advanced and brought to maturity only through an active and hard struggle of the revolutionaries. If an active struggle is neglected, only waiting for a favourable situation to arise by reason of the arduousness of the revolution, revolutionary forces cannot be fostered. Revolutionary forces cannot be prepared spontaneously without any struggle, they can be fostered and strengthened only through a hard struggle. If preparations are not made to meet the decisive hour of the revolution by preserving the revolutionary forces against the enemy's suppression and, at the same time, constantly accumulating and building them up through a positive struggle, it will be impossible to win victory in the revolution even when the objective situation has been created. To turn away from the revolution on the pretext of avoiding sacrifices is in fact tantamount to forcing the people to remain in lifelong slavery to capital, forcing them to tolerate for ever the cruel exploitation and oppression, unbearable maltreatment and humiliation, enormous sufferings and sacrifices. In general the acute pain experienced at a revolutionary turning-point is always much easier to endure than the chronic pain caused by the ulcers of old society. The social revolution cannot be achieved as easily as proceeding along a royal road in full daylight, nor can it progress as smoothly as a boat sailing before the wind. On the path of revolution, there may be rough thorny bushes and turns and twists, and there may be temporary setbacks and partial sacrifices. To flinch before difficulties and to hesitate in the revolution for fear of sacrifices is not the attitude befitting a revolutionary.
It is the task for the revolutionaries of each country to lay down a scientifically-motivated, careful way of struggle on the basis of a correct assessment of the internal and external situation and a proper calculation of the balance of forces between friend and foe, accumulate and build up the revolutionary forces by rearing the nuclear elements and awakening the masses of the people in the trying crucible of the revolution, unfolding an active struggle and yet going around the snags and avoiding unnecessary sacrifices at ordinary times, and make full preparations to meet the great revolutionary event. And once the revolutionary situation is created, they should not miss the opportunity to rise without delay in a showdown to shatter the reactionary regime.
The forms and methods of revolutionary struggle, too, are determined not by the wishes of individuals, but on all accounts by the subjective and objective situation created and the resistance of the reactionary ruling classes. The revolutionaries should stand prepared for all forms of struggle, and should effectively advance the revolutionary movement by properly combining various forms and methods of struggle such as political and economic struggles, violent and nonviolent struggles, legal and illegal struggles.
Counter-revolutionary violence is an indispensable means of rule for all exploiting classes. Human history not yet knows an instance of any ruling class submissively turning over its supremacy, or an instance of any reactionary class meekly waiving its power without resorting to counter-revolutionary violence. In particular, the imperialists cling ever more desperately to violent means to maintain their rule as they approach nearer to their doom. The imperialists, while suppressing the peoples of their own countries, check all the revolutionary advance of the oppressed nations in a sanguinary way with their military forces for aggression and plunder against other countries.
In these conditions, the liberation struggle of the oppressed peoples cannot emerge victorious without using revolutionary violence to crush foreign imperialists and overthrow the reactionary dictatorial machinery of the exploiting classes at home that work hand in glove with them. It is imperative to meet violence with violence and crush counter-revolutionary armed forces with revolutionary armed forces. The revolutionary flames now raging furiously in Latin America are the natural outcome of the revolutionary situation created in this area.
The absolute majority of the Latin American countries have been placed under the complete domination and bondage of U.S. imperialism. Pro-U.S. dictatorships have been established in many Latin American countries and the economy of these countries has been turned completely into an appendage to the U.S. monopolies. The U.S. imperialists' policy of aggression and plunder towards Latin America constitutes the major fetters impeding social progress in this area, and has plunged its peoples in unbearable mishaps and distress. The U.S. imperialists and the pro-U.S. dictatorships in Latin America extensively set up various repressive apparatuses including the army and police and suppress all forms of revolutionary advance of the people in a most brutal way.
It is obvious that unless the ill-clad and hungry, oppressed and humiliated people in Latin America bravely rise in arms in the struggle against the oppressors, they cannot attain freedom and liberation.
It is quite justifiable and admirable that under the banner of proletarian internationalism, under the banner of anti-imperialist, anti-U.S. struggle, Che Guevara, together with Latin American revolutionaries, unfolded an active, heroic revolutionary struggle in various Latin American countries with arms in his hands in defiance of sacrifice in order to defend the Cuban Revolution and hasten the day of liberation for the oppressed peoples in this area. The revolutionary peoples of the whole world express deep sympathy with the brave act of Che Guevara who waged a heroic armed struggle together with Latin American revolutionaries. The brilliant example of Che Guevara is a paragon not only for the Latin American peoples in their revolutionary struggle but for the Asian and African peoples in their liberation struggle, and inspires them to heroic exploits.
Che .Guevara is not with us now. But the blood he shed will never be wasted. His name and the everlasting revolutionary exploits he performed will go down for ever in the history of liberation of mankind and his lofty revolutionary spirit will be immortal. There will appear thousands of, tens of thousands of Che Guevaras on the scene of decisive battle in the revolutionary struggle in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and the revolutionary cause which he left unaccomplished will surely be achieved by the struggle of the Latin American revolutionaries and the revolutionary peoples the world over.
Today Asia, Africa and Latin America have become the most fierce anti-imperialist front. Imperialism has met with the strong resistance of the Asian, African and Latin American peoples and suffered the heaviest blows from them. Nevertheless, imperialism is desperately trying to maintain its old footing and regain its lost positions in those areas.
The cause of liberation of the peoples in Asia, Africa and Latin America has not been completed. So long as imperialism exists on the globe and oppresses and plunders the people, the people cannot leave off the anti-imperialist struggle even a moment. The struggle must continue till all shades of colonialism are wiped off the face of the earth once and for all, till all the oppressed and humiliated nations build their independent states and achieve social progress and national- prosperity.
Imperialism will never give up its rule over colonial and dependent countries before it is kicked out. It is in the nature of imperialism to perpetrate aggression and plunder. If there ever is imperialism which is not aggressive, it is no longer imperialism. Imperialism will not change its aggressive nature before it dies. That is why one should dispel all illusions about imperialism and fight it out. Only when a. principled stand is maintained against imperialism and a staunch anti-imperialist struggle intensified, can the oppressed nations win freedom and independence and the liberated peoples check imperialist aggression, consolidate national independence and achieve prosperity for their countries and nations.
U.S. imperialism is the most barbarous and most heinous imperialism of modern times, and it is the chieftain of world imperialism. It is not the Asian and Latin American countries or the African countries alone that have their sovereignty and territories infringed upon by U.S. imperialism or are under the menace of U.S. imperialist aggression. There is no place on the earth to which U.S. imperialism has not stretched out its tentacles of aggression, and where U.S. imperialism sets foot the people always shed blood. The U.S. imperialists pursue the invariable aim to put the whole world under their control. It is to realize this aim that the U.S. imperialists incessantly perpetrate armed invasion and subversive activities against the socialist and newly-independent countries, and brutally suppress the liberation struggle of the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America. This wild aggressive design of U.S. imperialism must be frustrated decisively. It is clear that world peace cannot be safeguarded, nor can national liberation and independence or the victory of democracy and socialism be achieved, apart from the struggle against U.S. imperialism. To fight U.S. imperialism is the inescapable common duty and the first and foremost revolutionary task for all the peoples of the world.
For the successful defeat of U.S. imperialism, it is necessary to penetrate into its world strategy thoroughly.
The basic strategy of U.S. imperialism for world aggression at the present stage is to destroy by force of arms the small and divided revolutionary socialist countries and newly- independent countries one by one, while refraining from worsening its relations with big powers and shunning confrontation with them as far as possible and to intensify ideological and political offensive against, and subvert from within, those countries which are weak ideologically and not willing to make revolution but spread illusion about imperialism among the people clamouring only for unprincipled coexistence with imperialism, and desire to live on good terms with imperialism.
On the basis of this world strategy, the U.S. imperialists are increasing their armaments extensively and further reinforcing their military bases and aggressive military alliances to attack the socialist and the progressive countries. The U.S. imperialists have openly embarked on "local war" and "special war" in Viet Nam and some other places, while preparing total war and nuclear war on a large scale.
Simultaneously with this, the U.S. imperialists resort to a new form of cold war to encourage "liberalization" and "democratic development" in certain countries, while running wild to bribe and make a cat's-paw of the cowards within the ranks of the working-class movement who are afraid of revolution. They clamour for the "most favoured nation" treatment and the expansion of the "East-West contact and interchange" and, with this as a means, seek to infiltrate their reactionary ideology and culture to degrade the peoples ideologically, hamper economic development and thus undermine those countries from within. The imperialists are carrying out sabotage and subversive intrigues to tear the newly- independent states away from the anti-imperialist front one by one. While resorting to force overtly, they penetrate into the newly-independent countries with "aid" as a bait and meddle in their internal affairs. The U.S. imperialists whip together the right-wing reactionaries and pit them against the progressive forces, and seek to sway certain newly-independent countries to the road of counter-revolution.
Namely, wielding an olive branch in one hand and arrows in the other, the U.S. imperialists manoeuvre to swallow up the revolutionary countries one by one through armed aggression and subvert the ideologically weak countries through ideological and cultural aggression, combining nuclear blackmail with "peaceful penetration" and repression with appeasement and deception.
The peoples of the whole world should maintain sharpest vigilance against such intrigues and manoeuvres by U.S. imperialism and should be fully prepared to counter enemy's possible aggression of all forms.
In order to develop the anti-imperialist, anti-U.S. struggle vigorously, it is important to cement to the maximum the militant unity of all areas, all countries, all parties, all people and all forces opposing imperialism.
The revolutionary struggles of the Asian, African and Latin American peoples go on closely linked with each other for the community of their desires and aspirations. When Latin America groans under imperialist yoke, the Asian and African peoples cannot live in peace and when U.S. imperialism collapses in the Asian and African areas, a favourable phase will be created for the national-liberation movement of the Latin American peoples, too. The militant unity and close ties of the Asian, African and Latin American peoples will multiply the anti-imperialist, anti-U.S. revolutionary forces several times, scores of times and will become an invincible force which can frustrate successfully the aggression of the imperialists and the united front of international reaction. Therefore, the peoples in all regions where U.S. imperialism is entrenched should pool their strength and strike it hard.
In Asia, Africa and Latin America there are socialist and neutral countries, and big and small countries. All these countries except the puppet regimes of the imperialists and their satellite states constitute anti-imperialist, anti-U.S. forces. Despite the differences of state socio-political systems, political views and religious beliefs, the peoples of the countries in these areas, as the oppressed nations who were suppressed and exploited by the imperialists and colonialists, have the common goal and aspiration to achieve national independence and national prosperity against imperialism and old and new colonialism. The differences of state socio-political systems, political views or religious beliefs can by no means be an obstacle in the way of joint struggle against U.S. imperialism. All countries should form an anti-imperialist united front and take anti-U.S. joint action to crush the common enemy and attain the common goal.
True, there may be various categories of people among those who oppose imperialism. Some may be active against imperialism, others may vacillate in the anti-imperialist struggle, and still others may join in the anti-imperialist struggle reluctantly under the pressure from their own people and the peoples of the world. But, whatever their motives, it is necessary to enlist all these forces except the henchmen of imperialism in the anti-U.S. joint struggle. If more forces, though inconsistent and unsteady, are drawn into the anti-U.S. joint struggle to isolate U.S. imperialism to the largest possible extent and deal blows to it by joint action, that will be a good thing and by no means a bad thing. Those who avoid the anti-imperialist struggle should be induced to turn out in the struggle against imperialism and those who are passive encouraged to be positive in the anti-imperialist struggle. To split the anti-U.S. united front or reject the anti-U.S. joint action will only bring a serious consequence of weakening the anti-imperialist, anti-U.S. struggle.
To fight down U.S. imperialism, all countries, big and small, should strike blows at U.S. imperialism. Particularly important here is that small countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America should give up flunkeyism tended to rely on big powers and take an active part in the anti-U.S. struggle. It is wrong to think that U.S. imperialism cannot be beaten down unless big countries fight it. It would be better certainly if big countries join small countries in fighting against U.S. imperialism. That is why small countries should endeavour to unite with big countries. But, this is by no means to say that no country, unless it is big, can fight and defeat U.S. imperialism. It is too obvious that one cannot make revolution if he depends on big countries and sits idle and that others cannot make revolution for him. Even small countries can defeat big enemy, once they establish Juche, unite the masses of the people and valiantly rise in battle despite sacrifice. This is a very plain truth of our times which has been borne out by actual life.
The experience of the Korean war proved this truth, and the triumph of the Cuban Revolution and the heroic war of resistance of the Vietnamese people against U.S. imperialism and for national salvation have proved this truth.
Moreover, when many countries, though small, pool their strength to fight imperialism, the peoples will be able to beat the enemy however strong he may be, with a decisively overwhelming force. The peoples of the countries making revolution should join efforts to tear left and right arms from U.S, imperialism, tear off its left and right legs and behead it eventually everywhere it stretches out its crooked hands of aggression. The U.S. imperialists are bluffing now, but when the revolutionary peoples of the world join in mutilating them, the U.S. imperialists will become impotent and bite the dust in the end. We small nations should unite and counter the strategy of U.S. imperialism to swallow us up one by one, each chopping off its head and limbs. Such, it can be said, is the strategy of struggle for small countries to defeat U.S. imperialism.
The Korean people have fought against the occupation of South Korea by the U.S. imperialists and for the unification of the country for more than 20 years. The Korean Revolution is part of the international revolutionary movement, and the revolutionary/struggle of the Korean people is developing amid the joint struggle of the peoples of the whole world for peace and democracy, for national independence and socialism. The Korean people are fighting to accomplish their cause of national liberation and, at the same time, are doing everything in their power to accelerate the advancement of the international revolutionary movement as a whole. Our people unite with all forces opposing U.S. imperialism and consistently support the peoples of all the countries in their struggle against U.S. imperialism. We regard it as an important factor in bringing victory to the Korean Revolution.
Imperialism is a moribund force whose days are numbered, whereas the liberation struggle of the peoples is a new force which aspires for the progress of mankind. There may be uncountable difficulties and obstacles and various turns and twists on the way of the liberation struggle of the peoples, but it is the inevitable law of the development of history that imperialism is doomed to ruin and the liberation struggle of the peoples is sure to be crowned with victory. Though the imperialists headed by U.S. imperialism are running amuck in an attempt to check the surging liberation struggle of the peoples, it is nothing but the death-bed tremor of those who are condemned to destruction. The more frenziedly the U.S. imperialists act, the more difficult their position becomes. U.S. imperialism is going downhill and confronted with the fate of a setting sun. The U.S. imperialists will definitely be forced out of Asia, Africa and Latin America by the liberation struggle of the peoples. The great anti-imperialist revolutionary cause of the Asian, African and Latin American peoples is invincible.

I am a low-sens player that used to go with 0.24 x 800, but now I am at 0.12 x 1600. However, recently I noticed I was playing at 0.24 x 900 [12.5% faster], which was accidentally changed while doing my mouse settings around 1 - 2 weeks ago, which has caused inconsistencies, but luckily it only took around 10 - 20minutes in Kovakks to go back to my original aim.
There are however, a lot of issue with my current aim. No matter what sens I play, whether it is 0.6 x 800 or 0.24 x 800, I always overshoot? Why is that. I can never get used to a sens. The reason I went from 0.6 x 800 to 0.12 x 1600 is to reduce the overshooting, which worked but it still happens? Especially since I have been using 0.24 x 900, the overshooting shouldn't be a big deal but it is lol.
(I changed it from 0.24 x 800 ==> 0.12 x 1600 because apparently it helps smoother mouse movement, not sure if this may be true though?)
Then there is also the issue of my constant resetting of the mouse while in this video, which is bound to happen, but I believe there may be some way to adjust or improve without having to reset every 15s or so when shooting the Practice Bots.
I used to have 64 - 75s in the Elimination 50 bots, now I am around 55-60, which is improvement :D
I am currently hard stuck Diamond 2 and 3, with 3-4 times almost peaking Ascendant. One of the reasons I am not ranking up to Ascendant is due to mental. Split I believe I need to find ways to win on, and Pearl I need to avoid playing Omen. But not Pearl went from 14% to 43.5% [23 games on that map]
Here is the video.
https://reddit.com/link/143bbcj/video/j5ge714a5l4b1/player

Welcome back, it's Wednesday and I'll just come out and say it - that Seiko is ugly... Change my mind.

What's new

1/
Seiko Adds Four Completely New Chronographs To The Prospex Collection And Four Limited Editions To The Presage Craftsmanship Series
In 1999 Seiko launched a limited edition they called the Sportura Kinetic Chronograph. It was a funky watch that used four subdials to display the time and chronograph functions. Just looking at it and you feel the angst of the end of the millennium and the cheesy futurism (not to be confused with neo futurism in architecture led by Norman Foster, Zaha Hadid and Santiago Calatrava) that permeated industrial design of the time - from Oakley glasses to Jnco jeans. There’s no easy way to say this, but it’s an ugly watch. I can appreciate the experiment. But come on.
However, Seiko believes that the four dial layout of the Kinetic was pleasing to the eye. That’s why they decided to recreate it in four new solar chronographs that they are adding to the Prospex collection, marking the company’s association with the World Athletics Championships to be held in Budapest, Hungary, in August. Officially called the Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph, all four watches sport a new movement with the Seiko Caliber 8A50, a 1/100-second chronograph with a +/- 15-seconds per month precision rating.
The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph watch is 42mm-wide, 12.9mm-thick, and its lug-to-lug distance is 48.3mm. All four watches have the same case and bracelet design but in different executions and ever-so-slightly different prices and naming schemes. I could go on into detail about the dials and colors, but it’s all just a bit confusing. You can hop on over here if you would like to know more.
Two of the models will be limited edition of 4,000 each and two will be regular production models. The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph watch prices range from 890 Euros to 970 Euros, and all four versions will be available from July 2023. Regular readers of the newsletter will know I keep things very chipper here and don’t pass judgement. But these new Seiko’s are just baffling to me. They look like those Diesel watches you buy at the mall. Am I wrong?
Thankfully, Seiko has another announcement for today. While they have shown these watches previously, they are now starting to sell these stunning Presage Craftsmanship Series watches. Marking the 110th anniversary of its first wristwatch, the Laurel, Seiko is putting out two pairs of these limited edition pieces, with each featuring a dial made by a dedicated artisan or craft workshop through a traditional Japanese decorative technique — enamel, urushi lacquer, Arita porcelain, and shippō enamel. All four models boast a new case shape, a fresh dial aesthetic, and an in-house automatic movement. And they are now hitting the market.
And despite Seiko’s price increases for recent releases, these new editions seem to align with their predecessors. The white enamel SPB393 retails for €1,650, the brown urushi SPB395 for €2,000, the ivory Arita porcelain SPB397 for €2,000, and the blue shippō enamel SPB399 for €2,250.
2/
Breguet Gives Us Two Redesigned Variations Of The Classic Chronograph With The Type XX And Type 20
Just the other day I linked to a great article on Type 20, the references issued by the French military in the 1950s. There were many brands who stepped up to produce these Type 20 watches, but the reference has stuck around to be synonymous with one brand in particular - Breguet. They have been making the Type 20 for years now, with occasional updates, but now Breguet is unveiling the new Type XX and Type 20 – a civilian and military-inspired take on the classic design - which is the biggest change to the line.
Despite at first glance looking like it’s two of the same watches with different dials, the Type 20 and Type XX are actually different watches. Both watches come in the same steel case that measures 42mm wide and 14.1mm thick with bidirectional steel bezels and matching lume pips. But this is pretty much where the similarities stop. The Type 20 has a military inspired dial with mint green lume and syringe hands, while the Type XX is a civilian version with a creamy yellow lume and alpha hands.
The Type 20 and Type XX both have a new self-winding movement, the Calibre 728 for the civilian version and Calibre 7281 for the military version. Each movement has a column wheel, vertical clutch, 5Hz frequency, and flyback functionality with 60 hours of power reserve, plus an inverted in-line lever escapement with a flat silicon balance spring for increased durability, longevity, and magnetic resistance.
Why two different calibers? The difference lies in dial layout and how useful it would be in military or civilian applications. On the military version, you only have two registers, with a 30-minute totalizer at three o'clock, now larger than the 60-second totalizer at nine o'clock. Meanwhile, the civilian version has a 15-minute totalizer at three o'clock, a 12-hour totalizer at six o'clock, and running seconds at nine o'clock.
This is not a cheap watch. It will run you $18,000. But it might just be one of the best vintage revivals we have seen in a year full of vintage revivals.
3/
French Watchmaker Yema Teams Up With Alpine French Racing Team To Mark The Most French Race With Five New Watches
One of the most legendary races in the world starts on Saturday and ends on Sunday. Yes, it’s the 24 hours of Le Mans. The race is, of course, one of the most recognisable french things, alongside the croissant and hating tourists. You know what else is very french? Alpine, the legendary car manufacturer that gained it’s fame with the quirky A110 and is currently doing really well (under Renault ownership) with its successor, also called the A110. Alpine will be present at the 24h of Le Mans With their Endurance Team. If only there was a watchmaker that could join in, making it a French hat trick. There is. It’s Yema. Yema has made five new watches to mark Alpine’s stint at Le Mans - the Yema Rallygraf A470 Limited Edition and four Rallygraf Alpine Endurance Team Automatic models of which one is mechanical while the other three are powered by the Seiko VK64 meca-quartz movement.
The Yema Rallygraf A470 Limited Edition takes all the right cues from 70s racing chronographs. The stainless steel case is 39mm wide and 12mm thick without the double-domed sapphire crystal. The solid caseback shows the Alpine Endurance Team logo and the limitation of the watch. The dial is finished in a gradient-blue colour, Alpine’s signature color, with a vintage dashboard-inspired bicompax layout and Alpine’s logo on the chronograph seconds hand. Inside the watch is the Valjoux 7753 and the watch comes on an appropriate black leather rally strap with a steel pin buckle. This watch will be limited to 470 pieces and can be pre-ordered for a price of USD 2,190 with delivery expected in September 2023.
This runs at a frequency of 28,800vph and delivers 48 hours of power reserve. The watch comes on a black leather rally strap with a steel pin buckle. Limited to 470 pieces, tying in with the car, it can be pre-ordered for a price of EUR 2,190 with delivery expected in September 2023.
Then there’s the meca-quartz variants. They take the same case as the Rallygraf and give it three variations - white dial with a blue outside minute track, a cream dial with a black outside minute track or a black dial with a cream outside minute track. All of these are also available for preorder now for EUR 399 and will be delivered in September 2023.
Yema also announced a second mechanical watch made in collaboration with Alpine, the Rallygraf Alpine Endurance Team Automatic. This will officially be unveiled this coming Saturday at the Circuit de la Sarthe, during the racing weekend of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Although we don’t know all the details at this moment, we can see it’s made of stainless steel, comes on a multi-link bracelet or black leather strap and has a black dial. The bidirectional rotating bezel can be used to calculate speeds, in combination with the inner ‘Temps Ecoule’ flange in white and blue. It is powered by the in-house Calibre YEMA2000 and will cost USD 990.
4/
The Dan Henry 1970 44mm is back with new colours and the same, affordable price
You might know Dan Hendy as the microbrand that has been pumping out vintage inspired watches since 2016. What you might not know is that they made their name with the Dan Henry 1970 44mm Automatic Diver, the first of their watches to feature an automatic movement. While it might not seem like a big deal, it was for Dan Hanry and the shoppers in the sub $500 range. While Dan Henry serviced it’s customers by providing good value for money with quartz movements, the 1970 44mm Automatic Diver was the first time they offered a mechanical movement at such an affordable price. It sold out instantly and now, four years later, they are back with a limited edition of 1970 pieces.
It’s a very big watch. Very big. The heavy stainless steel super compressor style case measures 44mm in diameter and is 14.8mm thick with a 50.5mm lug-to-lug length. Despite these large dimensions, and with all other manufacturers fighting to go smaller, people still love this watch. They love it enough for it to go for over retail on the secondary market, which is not common for a watch in this pricepoint. Both of the crowns, one for rotating the inner-bezel and one for adjusting the time, screw into the case, giving it 200m water resistance.
The dials get a contrasting pop of color on the outskirts. There’s the black and orange, as well as the black and off-white with a black case and blue with white color combinations. Each version comes with its own colour-matching FKM rubber tropic strap. To keep the price low, the watches are powered by the Seiko NH35. Not the best movement in the world, but it gets the job done for an exceptionally low price.
The new Dan Henry 1970 44mm Automatic Diver is limited to 1,970 pieces, available from Dan Henry and costs $310.
5/
Bamford Teams Up With Land Rover For The LR002 Limited Edition
Somehere near the end of last year, Land Rover designed their first watch. They called it the LR001 and they turned to Bamford to put the watch into production. It was a great looking field watch made of titanium and all in shades of grey, with a decent price and limited to 100 pieces so they all sold out very fast. Now, Bamford London and Land Rover are bringing it back with an updated, equally limited, version in all black called the LR002.
The LR002 is pretty much the same watch as the LR001, except for the color. While not a fan of black watches, this isn’t a bad thing, as it gives you a chance to buy the sold out Land Rover watch. What is bad is the price, but more on that later. The case measures 40mm wide and 13.25mm thick, and is made out of DLC coated titanium. It has a shape that resembles a field watch but much more modern and has fixed bars. From photos, due to the thick case and fixed bars, this watch looks to wear much larger than it actually is.
The dial seems to be much more interesting than the case. It has a sandwich construction with the top part having a matte black surface and the underside being filled with white lume. And by alternating circular and oblong cutouts, there’s a dynamic look to the dial. Inside the watch is the same movement as in the LR001, the Selita SW200-1B, and it’s delivered on a leather NATO-style bracelet.
The LR002 will have a run of just 100 pieces that are exclusively sold through Hodinkee. At the time of writing there are still pieces available for sale at a price of $1,700. And that’s the biggest issue. The LR001 sold for about $1,300 and the only difference between the two watches is the DLC coating. Is it worth the price difference?
6/
The Casio A120 Is The Best Pairing For Stranger Things, But Do We Need It?
The immense popularity of Stranger Thing undoubtedly lies in it’s 80s nostalgia that reminded us all of our childhoods. While playing to our good memories, it also roped in new generations by picking the best the decade had to offer and presenting it as something cool. That’s why you have a bunch of kids out there listening to Kate Bush and Metallica, while wearing Casio watches and buying VHS tapes. So it only makes perfect sense that Casio would team up with Stranger Things for a limited edition watch, and what better reference to do it with then the A120. This is the Casio x Stranger Things A120WEST-1A.
The watch is a classic Casio A120, with a 33.5mm x 40.7mm rectangle case and since it’s plastic it weighs only 25 grams. It’s not filled with a bunch of functions, but it does have a chronograph, alarm and calendar and you get three years of battery life. There’s a number of Stranger Things references on the watch - there’s a silhouette of the series’ demogorgon monster beneath the digital display and the LED backlight flickers and rapidly blinks just like the surfacing of a demogorgon in the show. Once lit, you can see the watermark of an upside down Stranger Things logo.
Casio has not announced when the watch will be available or how much it will cost, but you can keep an eye out on it here. Is this a nice homage to a good TV show, or just another example of over-consumerism and corporate media properties slapping their name everywhere, without actually making a meaningfully authentic version of the watch?
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On hand - a selection of reviews

1/
A review of Monta’s current flagship dress watch, the Noble
2/
Hands on with the 39mm and 42mm versions of the Hanhart 414 ES Flyback
3/
A week with the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore limited edition in pink gold and titanium
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Watch Worthy - A look at an offbeat, less known watch you might actually like

Dryden is a go-everywhere-do-anything watch with plenty of options
Great dials are always appreciated, but no matter how good the dial is, it doesn’t matter if the watch isn’t wearable. The excellent design choices found on the dial of the Heartlander follow through to the case. Crafted from stainless steel the 38mm-wide case has a lovely 46mm lug-to-lug distance and is only 11.2mm-thick from solid steel caseback to domed sapphire crystal. These dimensions are in the Goldilocks region for an everyday watch for me and my ~6.5-inch wrist. The cases are predominantly brushed except for a thin highly polished bevel that flanks each side of the lugs.
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People loved the Seiko Alpinist giveaway! That's why I'm doing a new one. This time, we're giving away four Hamilton Khaki Field Automatics in a color of your choice. Head on over to the newsletter if you would like to enter.
If you would like to receive some additional watch-adjacent content, as well as this news overview, every morning Monday-Friday in the form of a newsletter feel free to subscribe. However, there is absolutely no need for you to subscribe, as all the news from the newsletter is posted here. It is only if you want to receive a couple of daily links that are not strictly watch-related and want to get this news overview in your inbox.

Hi! So as the title says im looking to find people of similar interests to build long term friendships with, who I can also have a laugh w, and maybe play some games down the line! Interests include tattoos/piercings/body mods, the paranormal and creepy bits in general, exploring abandoned places w my dog, light gaming, anything to do with alternative fashion/makeup, also part of the LGBT/alternative community. Sorry if I've missed anything out, any questions feel free to shoot them at me! Happy to talk to people regardless of gendelocation, but please be within the age bracket of 20-29 please also be respectful of this, as looking to talk to people close in age to myself!. If you think we'd get on feel free to message or chat me with your ASL, thanks for reading 😌edit;❌️NO NSFW❌️

Its been hard work growing a newsletter from scratch but we have been steadily growing everyday ~ 20 subs a day. Our open rate average has increased and we are at an average of 43.4% for the last 53 issues.
Wanted to share what worked- 1. Twitter ads. 2. Indie Hackers post. 3. Reddit posts. 4. Substack. 5. Cross promotion 6. A separate landing page. What did not work- 1. Twitter promoted tweets 2. Reddit ads 3.Hackernews. If you are looking to grow or start newsletter, I would highly recommend substack and conversion ads on twitter. Also here is the newsletter itself, try reading an issue and signing up. Cheers! Dm if you need any help on growing a newsletter.

Its been hard work growing a newsletter from scratch but we have been steadily growing everyday ~ 20 subs a day. Our open rate average has increased and we are at an average of 43.4% for the last 53 issues.
Wanted to share what worked- 1. Twitter ads. 2. Indie Hackers post. 3. Reddit posts. 4. Substack. 5. Cross promotion 6. A separate landing page. What did not work- 1. Twitter promoted tweets 2. Reddit ads 3.Hackernews. If you are looking to grow or start newsletter, I would highly recommend substack and conversion ads on twitter. Also here is the newsletter itself, try reading an issue and signing up. Cheers! Dm if you need any help on growing a newsletter.

In my react app's sign-in/landing page (before a user authenticates) I have to make some Firestore reads that rely on the URL (my app serves several different customers each having their own URL). The results of those reads impact the styling of the landing page according to that url. I also need to retrieve assets from my cloud storage at this stage (also according to the url). Since the data and assets that are being fetched are not sensitive, I was wondering if I should just allow any reads. My main concern here is that a malicous person will make many reads from my database just to drive my bill up (not sure if that should be a real concern or not), and my other option would be to sign the user in anoynmously on the landing page, make the read (with a security rule demanding the user is authenticated), then sign him out (he would then again authenticate normally with a custom token which is how we authenticate). The issue with this solution is that I would be doubling my amount of monthly active users, which already surpass 50k so I need to pay and they're expensive.. An important note here - my users are one-time users, there is no need to use my app a second time. I'd be glad to hear any suggestions about what to do here!

Its been hard work growing a newsletter from scratch but we have been steadily growing everyday ~ 20 subs a day. Our open rate average has increased and we are at an average of 43.4% for the last 53 issues.
Wanted to share what worked-

1. Twitter ads.
2. Indie Hackers post.
3. Reddit posts.
4. Substack.
5. Cross promotion
6. A separate landing page.

What did not work-

1. Twitter promoted tweets
2. Reddit ads3.
3. Hackernews.

If you are looking to grow or start newsletter, I would highly recommend substack and conversion ads on twitter.Also here is the newsletter itself, try reading an issue and signing up.Cheers! Dm if you need any help on growing a newsletter.

Want to find the best espresso machine according to Reddit users? This post is a hub for Reddit discussion on that topic!
Here you'll find links to Reddit threads discussing the best earbuds (with input from users who have sometimes used a product for years), as well as a sourced summary of the most recommended items, including pros and cons if any.
Other than that, you'll find a list of good resources and important tips on buying wireless earbuds by Redditors.
Got your own questions or product suggestions? Make sure to leave a comment here to get even more discussion going!

Summary: best espresso machines 2023 according to reddit

1. Breville/Sage Bambino Plus - beginner home espresso machine (around $500)
2. Gaggia classic pro - beginner home espresso machine (around $450)
3. Breville/Sage Barista Express - best espresso machine with built in grinder, make 2 espresso's at once (around $750)

Below you'll find more info on where they've been recommended, and why.
1. Breville/Sage Bambino Plus
Features: 64 fl oz water tank, milk frother, 9 bar, stainless steel. (Amazon link, rated 4.3 stars after 1400+ reviews)
Mentions by Redditors:

• "The Bambino Plus can produce 9 bar hot water for espresso at the right temperature quickly (3 seconds from start up using a thermoblock) AND automatically steam the milk unti you learn how to do it yourself. Right out of the box the Bambino Plus makes good coffee. It is semi-automatic meaning that you dont have to fiddle with a load of settings to find the right way to use it." - source, 32 upvotes
• "If you buy new, $1K is sort of a no-mans land for espresso machines. For less money, the most often recommended machines are Breville Bambino (or Bambino Plus), Gaggia Classic Pro, or Rancilio Silvia." - source, 8 upvotes
• "I got the bambino plus about 3 weeks ago and love it so far. I’m a home espresso beginner. [...] My overall impression is that it’s a phenomenal first home espresso machine. I’ve had better shots at specialty coffee shops but generally pull far better shots than I get at most coffee shops" - source, 3 upvotes

2. Gaggia Classic Pro
Features: 72 fl oz water tank, milk frother, 9 bar, stainless steel (Amazon link, rated 4.6 stars after 2300+ reviews)
Mentions by Redditors:

• "If you buy new, $1K is sort of a no-mans land for espresso machines. For less money, the most often recommended machines are Breville Bambino (or Bambino Plus), Gaggia Classic Pro, or Rancilio Silvia." - source, 8 upvotes
• "Been running a stock Gaggia Classic Pro for about 8 months and have been loving it. I personally don't mind it being a bit loose on accuracy as someone that mostly uses dark oily roasts." - source, 3 upvotes
• "gaggia classic pro or bambino plus" - source, 17 upvotes

3. Breville/Sage Barista Express
Features: 67 fl oz water tank, mil frother, built-in grinder, 9 bar, make 2 espresso's at once, stainless steel (Amazon link, rated 4.6 stars after 21000+ reviews)
Mentions by Redditors:

• "The Breville Barista Express, and some of their other models, comes with a grinder and makes pretty damn good espresso. <$1000USD. It’s entry level and a good starting point, IMO." - source, 7 upvotes
• "The best one is the Breville Barista Express: [...] It's on for about $700 but there are always deals. I've had it for a year and I haven't looked back. I drink coffee every day." - source, 7 upvotes
• "I started with a Breville Batista Express and would recommend that to anyone looking for a budget minded entry level option." - source, 6 upvotes
• [on best bang for your buck espresso machines] "Brevile barista express. Got it on sale for 500 in 2020 and it has done everything I could want" - source, 9 upvotes

Amount of comments and upvotes of: june 7th, 2023.

Reddit threads discussing the best wireless (bluetooth) earbuds

Here's a list of Reddit threads with genuine recommendations about the best wireless earbuds:

• Official espresso: Espresso Machine Budget Buyer's Guide (on espresso, 149 comments)
• [Opinions] In 2023, which machine is the best value for money for home use? (on espresso, 49 comments)
• Best espresso machine under $1000? (on Coffee, 34 comments)
• What to look for when buying an espresso machine (on Coffee, 46 comments)
• Best Starter Machine? (on espresso, 77 comments)
• Home Espresso Machines under $1000 (on Coffee, 37 comments)
• Best bang for your buck espresso machine? (on espresso,60 comments)

Amount of comments as of: june 7th, 2023.

Resources and other tips suggested by Reddit

Here are some tips suggested by Redditors:

• "You should fix your price limit and consider that 40 to 50% goes to a great grinder. Beginners often underestimate that and end up with a lot of frustration." - 14 upvotes

Here are some other resources suggested by Redditors:

• Espressoaf.com, detailed website with advice on espresso machines, recommended here, 8 upvotes

Questions or suggestions

Still have your own questions or suggestions? Comment below!

Its been hard work growing a newsletter from scratch but we have been steadily growing everyday ~ 20 subs a day. Our open rate average has increased and we are at an average of 43.4% for the last 53 issues. Wanted to share what worked- 1. Twitter ads. 2. Indie Hackers post. 3. Reddit posts. 4. Substack. 5. Cross promotion 6. A separate landing page. What did not work- 1. Twitter promoted tweets 2. Reddit ads 3.Hackernews. If you are looking to grow or start newsletter, I would highly recommend substack and conversion ads on twitter. Also here is the newsletter itself, try reading an issue and signing up. Cheers! Dm if you need any help on growing a newsletter.

Edit: sorry for typos. I'm on mobile and my nails are longer than I like them to be. I need to file them down a little 😬
My (33F) coworker (40sM) doesn't like new changes...
I work in retail/customer service. I very much likey job, which is surprising these days. My job just had a change in management. With the changes, our new GM (30s. F) is trying out some new ideas to make more profit and minimize waste. The old GM had been there for going on 10 years and decided he was done. Out of the blue he put in his 2 week notice.
With the changes we are no longer allowed to sit down during slow times (we weren't supposed to in the first place), there's a little more work for us I'm regards to putting out specific food items, but it's really not bad at all. I've had way worse jobs. The atmosphere is really laid back, there aren't really any cliques and everyone gets along. Our GM is probably one of the best people I've had the pleasure of working for. They are very understanding and os a human, like the rest of us. They understand that things happen and is willing to work with us. They are the definition of a 'leader' and not just a boss.
Personally, I don't mind the changes. I haven't been there for very long (3 months) and I just do what I'm told and show up when I'm told to. My coworker on the other hand has been there longer. He's been there approximately 6 months.
I asked him a question about the new food items today and he looked at me as if I had a second head. He knew about them from the meeting we all had last week. It was mentioned. He's started making comments about our GM and newly appointed assistant GM (whom I will mention worked very hard for the position and deserves it, imo) about being corporate stooges and that they're sell outs. He also complained that we have more work than the other two shifts now but I think it's justified because we work overnights and get a premium by an extra 40¢.
I'm not sure what to do. I did my best to curtail the complaints with "I'm just doing what I'm told to do, don't shoot the messenger" but I'm really not wanting to listen to any more of it. I also get that it's common to want to complain but it's really not that big of a deal. How should I navigate? The comments do make me uncomfortable because while I like this coworker when we work together, I also respect my GM. They have been nothing but good to us and very understanding.
TL;DR: I (33F) am not sure how to navigate around my coworker (40M) complaining about more work and that the changes the New GM is making being corporate sell outs/stupid changes. It makes me uncomfortable.

Tell me you don't understand what a militia is without saying it

Its been hard work growing a newsletter from scratch but we have been steadily growing everyday ~ 20 subs a day. Our open rate average has increased and we are at an average of 43.4% for the last 53 issues.
Wanted to share what worked- 1. Twitter ads. 2. Indie Hackers post. 3. Reddit posts. 4. Substack. 5. Cross promotion 6. A separate landing page. What did not work- 1. Twitter promoted tweets 2. Reddit ads 3.Hackernews. If you are looking to grow or start newsletter, I would highly recommend substack and conversion ads on twitter. Also here is the newsletter itself, try reading an issue and signing up. Cheers! Dm if you need any help on growing a newsletter.

Its been hard work growing a newsletter from scratch but we have been steadily growing everyday ~ 20 subs a day. Our open rate average has increased and we are at an average of 43.4% for the last 53 issues.
Wanted to share what worked- 1. Twitter ads. 2. Indie Hackers post. 3. Reddit posts. 4. Substack. 5. Cross promotion 6. A separate landing page. What did not work- 1. Twitter promoted tweets 2. Reddit ads 3.Hackernews. If you are looking to grow or start newsletter, I would highly recommend substack and conversion ads on twitter. Also here is the newsletter itself, try reading an issue and signing up. Cheers! Dm if you need any help on growing a newsletter.

I stared up at the magazine cut out of a Maxim model that was crudely pasted on the underside of the top bunk. Her pert breast shimmied ever so slightly as Pete tossed and turned above.
She was platinum blonde with legs long enough to wrap around me twice. Or so the camera angle made it seem. I felt a stirring below, that yearning for a woman’s touch… which I hadn’t felt in six years, three months, and eleven days.
I rolled to my side, stifling it. It was the wrong time to seek out an orgasm, and I knew after the release I’d just spiral into self-loathing anyway. I focused on a crack in the cinder block until my eyelids became heavy.
Static pushed the thought of women from my mind as I slipped into sleep. The smell of cigars and oil flitted through my mind in a memory. My dad’s repair shop. The one I was meant to take over, before the arrest…
------
“Aaaarrgghh!”
A cry echoing from somewhere deep within the prison startled me awake. My heart thundered in my chest like a rabbit thrashing against its cage.
I rolled over to see Pete crouching low, his face pressed against the bars.
“What’s going on?” I croaked.
“They’re taking Benny.” He whispered.
“Fuck, really?” I pulled myself to the top corner of my mattress, just enough to peer around the edge of the bars.
Two guards wrestled the young latino onto a gurney as a man in a lab coat watched from a distance. He fought against them but it was futile. Once the straps were locked in he screamed once more, pleading for help.
Dozens of eyes watched from dim lit cells, none of which stirring to offer assistance in the slightest. We knew there was no helping him. We knew what happened next…
His cries were muffled as the doctor jammed a syringe into the base of his neck. Benny’s muscles tensed and pulsed in the fit of a seizure, but then lay still. The cell block was silent once more as they wheeled him down the hall and into the catacombs.
I did a cross over myself but didn’t bother to pray. Once they took them, they never came back.
“A damn shame…” I muttered.
“Yeah, he was a good kid…” Pete stood and leapt back onto the top bunk.
A fire burned in my chest. I wanted to say something. To cry out about the injustice of what was happening to us. That committing a crime shouldn’t damn a man to whatever terrible fate they had instore for us below three feet of steel and a quarter mile of dirt.
But I didn’t… What good could it do? Other than drawing attention to me in a very negative way.
Once they took you to the lab, you were never seen again.
All you could do was hope that your number was never called, and that you got out of here before they visited your cell late into the night.
—-----
87…88…89…90…
My chest was on fire as sweat dripped from the tip of my nose. I couldn’t go back to sleep last night. Kept thinking about Benny.
91…92…93…
So began the push-ups. It was the only way to clear my head.
94…95…96…
My therapy.
97…98…99…100.
I rolled to my back, out of breath.
Three years, six months and change.
So much time left to go.
Benny had only been here for a little over a year. It made no sense…
None of us could figure out exactly why they took who they took. There seemed to be no method to the madness.
Just a couple weeks ago they took old man Tom Finch. He’d been here longer than any of us. A lifer on the account of premeditated murder back in the 70s. But they didn’t come for him until he’d served most of his adult life behind bars.
The red beacon suddenly swirled above. A buzzing sound hummed as the cell doors clicked and slid open.
Breakfast.
—----
I pulled my tray along the bar to be loaded with oats, powdered eggs and bread.
Meager rations.
I grabbed a small carton of milk and made my way over to sit with Pete. He was already nibbling on his toast while perusing a crossword puzzle.
We exchanged nods and I went to devouring the entirety of my plate.
Calories build muscle after all.
Which was something Pete had no interest in. He was a bookworm through and through. Rail thin too. When we’d met, I’d assumed it was from the drug problem he’d had on the outside, which ultimately landed him in incarceration. But come to find out it was just his metabolism and general lack of appetite.
“John…” He whispered.
I looked up from my feast.
He was looking to the corner of the cafeteria and I followed his gaze to see two men in lab coats surveying the crowd.
I grunted and squeezed the handle of my fork until my knuckles went white. The impulse of burying it into their throats was almost overwhelming.
“Their activity has been ramping up.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been seeing them much more frequently as of late. They must be close to a breakthrough.”
“Breakthrough of what?” I furrowed my brow.
“Who knows? Whatever it is they are doing down there. They’ve been taking us more often as well.”
Pete sighed at the twist of confusion on my face.
“Think about it… Benny last night, then Tom two weeks before that. Then Eric ten days before that, and Deonte maybe three weeks prior. It’s never been that close together. Until recently, they only came perhaps once every other month. Sometimes only once a season.”
Shit… he was right. I hadn’t realized it before.
“So what does that mean?” I asked, shoving another hunk of egg into my mouth.
“I have no idea. But I’d say our odds of survival have been reduced dramatically.”
—-----
Pete might as well have been an oracle, peering into our grim and desolate future.
Over the next several months we started seeing the lab coats weekly. Sometimes even more often than that.
The prison yard felt empty. Sure there were still plenty of us left, but our population had been noticeably trimmed. One gang in particular only had two members left, which didn’t bode well for them. The others slowly circled them like sharks. I had no affiliation with any of them and kept to myself. But still, I could see their fate a mile away.
Although, despite the business as usual dog eat dog atmosphere, there was an undercurrent of fear rippling through the general pop. You could smell it, like a scent of decay and desperation. Hard faces that had once promised violence, now almost flinched around every corner and jumped at each shadow.
The energy of a couple of hundred men that felt like an animal backed into a corner was palpable.
But what could we do?
I didn’t know but I sure wish someone would tell me… I threw myself into my workouts and Pete hardly ever looked up from a book. Escapism was our only reprieve.
I went to bed with a prayer on my lips, hoping I wouldn’t hear those iron bars moving in the late hours of the night.
—-----
A loud clanking followed by footsteps pulled me from sleep.
I squeezed my eyes tightly shut hoping it was the cell next to mine.
But it wasn’t…
Three guards hovered behind a fourth that was unlocking our cell. The bars clicked and began to slide open.
I jumped to my feet and backed up against the wall. I pulled my fists up into a boxing stance, I wasn’t going to go without a fight. My muscles tensed and flexed like coiled steel.
“In the corner inmate! We’re here for your cellmate.” A short and stocky corrections officer barked with his hand gripping the baton at his waist.
Pete squirmed into a ball at the corner of his mat and looked at me with wide, pleading eyes.
I put my face in the opposite corner as instructed. A mixture of fear and relief roiled in my gut, and I hated myself for it. It made me feel like a coward.
“No, no, no, no, no!” I heard Pete squeal from behind as guards flooded the cell.
I peaked over my shoulder and watched as they pried him from the top bunk. Pete tried to resist, but there was nothing to him. A bag of bones that they easily wrestled down.
That same fire ignited in my chest. Anger washed over me, cleansing away the cowardice. For God’s sake, he was my only friend.
All I could see was red.
I spun around bringing the back of my fist across a guard’s face, shattering the bridge of his nose. Blood spurted from it as he dropped Pete’s legs.
With a giant step forward I brought an uppercut into the portly officer’s abdomen, dropping him like a ton of bricks.
I shoved a third into the corner, pinning him there as I screamed for Pete to run. He scampered out the opening and the last thing I heard were his footfalls as a baton smashed across the back of my skull. Everything went black before I even hit the ground.
—-----
I spent a month in solitary.
The room was so small it should have been inhumane to house a human being inside of it.
Still… I made the best of it with dips, pushups and situps. Countless reps of them. It was all I could do.
Some mornings I’d wake up with horrible migraines. I assumed it was a slight concussion from the impact of the baton.
I only hoped Pete could have somehow made it out. But somewhere deep down I knew that would have been impossible. Hopefully he at least gave them some hell before they took him below.
I stopped praying before bed. It didn’t seem like it did any good.
If there was a God, he didn’t exist inside these walls.
We were abandoned.
The unheard.
—-------
When I finally got back to my cell it had been emptied of everything. Pete’s books, artwork from his niece and even my Maxim cutout.
Just like he’d never existed. My heart sunk at the sight.
Later that day I’d learned from others that he had been captured just moments after escaping the cell.
But our actions weren’t wasted in vain.
We were the first to fight back against the abduction and it sparked something in the others.
They started talks of an uprising a few weeks back. A prison riot.
They even had a guard on the inside. C.O. Matthews. He was a very religious man and was just as horrified by what was happening as we were and had been looking for a way to help.
“It’s going down tonight John, just before lights out. Be ready.” Jerry whispered at the picnic table.
I gave a nod that I understood and headed off for my daily jog around the courts.
It wasn’t about getting out. Getting free. That wasn’t going to happen. It was about sending a message.
I let my mind go blank, filling with static as I enjoyed what could be my last day outside.
—------
The beacon swirled overhead in the common area.
“Inmates to their cells. Lights out.” The intercom buzzed.
There were over fifty men in cell block B, and not a single one of us moved.
The voice on the intercom repeated himself angrily as guards began to shuffle in closer. Nods passed like dominoes from one inmate to the next. We were ready.
“Get to your cell inmate.” a guard growled as he clamped his hands down on my shoulders.
I threw an elbow behind me into his groin, he howled in pain as he hit the floor. The other inmates sprung to their feet and flew off from their leaning places to join in the brawl.
Fists, feet and batons flew wildly across the cell block as we engaged in war with the uniformed officers.
I grappled with one until I was able to submit him in a choke until he went limp in my arms.
I stomped another in the face, spilling blood and brains on the concrete floor.
It had looked like we were winning until they sent the special response team in. We formed a line, many of us battered and bloody, in front of the row of riot shields.
We waited for their charge for what felt like an eternity.
But suddenly they backed out from where they’d come and slid the cell block doors closed.
What the hell…
The red beacon swirled once again overhead as a clicking sounded out behind us.
The rear entrance that the lab coats had always used swung open. I spun around to see…
“Mary, mother of God.” I gasped.
It was Pete…
But there was something horribly wrong with him.
His skin clung loosely to his body and had a terrible jaundice looking hue to it. His eyes almost seemed to glow and his hands… they were impossibly large like contorted branches.
I held my hand up to my mouth in disbelief.
A scientist stepped out from behind him.
“As you can see, we have a few kinks left to iron out, but we are making great progress. Would you all care to see what he can do?” He looked into each of our eyes inquisitively.
“If you don’t, head back to your cells now. You have ten seconds and then I shall release him.”
It was so silent you could hear a pin drop. But a violent and hungry energy filled the room, emanating from what used to be my friend.
Suddenly, over half the remaining inmates bolted for their cells out of fear. Not that I could blame them, my knees wobbled and threatened to buckle just at the sight of him.
But I stood my ground, as did a handful of others.
“Very well then. Specimen 3-1-0, engage.”
A growl reverberated through the cell block.
“Everyone rush him at once! It’s our only shot.” I hollered.
And we did, but it didn’t matter. It happened so fast. It was over before I could even comprehend it.
He moved like an animal, picking each of us apart almost in unison.
I lay on my back, unable to feel my legs as I watched Jerry be disemboweled. He was trying to shove his intestines back inside the tear in his abdomen before the creature came back to finish him off.
I did a cross over myself but didn’t bother to pray.
As Pete stood over me, with dead eyes, I knew there was no God.
He didn’t exist inside these walls.
We were abandoned.
The unheard.

Its been hard work growing a newsletter from scratch but we have been steadily growing everyday ~ 20 subs a day. Our open rate average has increased and we are at an average of 43.4% for the last 53 issues. Wanted to share what worked- 1. Twitter ads. 2. Indie Hackers post. 3. Reddit posts. 4. Substack. 5. Cross promotion 6. A separate landing page. What did not work- 1. Twitter promoted tweets 2. Reddit ads 3.Hackernews. If you are looking to grow or start newsletter, I would highly recommend substack and conversion ads on twitter. Also here is the newsletter itself, try reading an issue and signing up. Cheers! Dm if you need any help on growing a newsletter.

There was a mass shooting in my city yesterday evening right outside a theater where a high school graduation had just ended. I feel like I've become numb to gun violence after all that's happened in the US, but I think because this was so close to home, it's hitting me harder. I danced in recitals at that theater all through my childhood. My high school graduation was in that theater. I went to college on that campus. And now people have died right outside those doors.
I don't know what the answer is. Please take care of yourselves, hug your loved ones and tell them how you feel about them. Check in here.