So as I was running some benchmarks on my workstation that I built at the end of last year, specs below, I realized that my GPU was not performing to full expectations so I started to do some digging. By no means do I know everything about computing but at the same time, I've been working with and building computers for over twenty years. And this includes a stent working as a Data Engineer programming and tuning super computers for the likes of NASA, NOAA and others in the HPC industry. And to make things worse, I currently work at Intel so i really should have seen this coming. So here lies my conundrum. After seeing my results from benching and realizing that my GPU was underperforming. I started researching to find that it was only running at x4 speeds do to running too many M.2 drives based on what my Device Manager in Win 11 reported. I'm somewhat crushed as this seems to be a major fail. According to my MoBo owners manual, there's no way I can get full x16 speeds from this port unless it's literally the only thing plugged in? And that includes any M.2 hard drives. Does anyone know ANY way around this or am I going to have to pull all but my boot drive and live with an x8 GPU? How do current AMD chiosets handle their PciE lanes? Help me Reddit Users. You're my only hope!
Specs: -Motherboard: Asus Maximus Z790 Extreme -CPU: Intel i9-13900k -RAM: 4 X 32Gb G. Skill 6400Mhz DDR5 -Boot Drive: 1x Samsung 1Tb 990 Pro M.2 -Storage Drives: 4x Sabrent 8Tb Rocket Plus M.2 -GPU: EVGA 3090 TI -Power Supply: Asus Thir II 1600 watt -CPU Cooler: Asus Ryujin II -And the rest of the bits and bobbles

Hi all, I’m back with the full series following on from my last mini-series, Angland U. If you haven’t read it, I would highly recommend it, as it serves as a prologue and an easy entry into the THJ Universe, which started with The Hunter’s Journey. I have tried to make it so reading THJ isn’t necessary if you read the prologue, but it will provide more insight into the world than my prologue will (it’s a lot easier to go into the full depths of something with around 2,000 pages than it is with around 40-50 after all.)
Fair warning, there will be some adult themes in the series, so reader discretion is advised.
So, without further ado, enjoy!
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Prologue / Previous / Next
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Daniel rolled his left arm in its socket as he read his new assignment once more, excited to finally be getting out of constant lessons, training, and parades. He shut off the holoviewer and retracted it back into his bionic arm, allowing his hand to snap back into place, banging the back of it a couple times to make sure it was seated properly, and letting out a small sigh of relief that it was still holding up after so much punishment in basic training. He quickly checked his bags once more, making sure he had everything on him, completed one final check of the room, and then exited it. He walked down the hallway and hopped into the lift, heading down to the ground floor. Once there, he walked over to the reception, where he checked out of the hotel, and then made his way over to the hotel's subway entrance.
Upon entering the subway, he identified the military door and scanned his pass, letting him through the secure door to the private platform, where a half filled carriage was waiting. He quickly boarded and found a seat, watching the door for another 30 seconds before they closed and the carriage began to move. Less than a minute later, the carriage slowed to a halt at the other platform, and everyone began to disembark. Once he was off, Daniel quickly pulled his uniform straight, making sure the creases were still crisp and that his brassard was sitting correctly, before touching his headdress to make sure it was on straight, and he then began to walk up the stairs and left the subway.
Looking out onto the runway, he spotted his transport almost completely loaded, a massive 350 metre wide behemoth of a flying wing, an ASWT-16. As he walked towards the military security terminal of the spaceport, two privates stood to attention and saluted him, which he acknowledged quickly so they could get back to their business. He scanned his pass on the security terminal, and then walked through the attached gate, scanning him and finding nothing of concern. He quickly removed his headdress now that he was on an active airfield, and stored it in his bag before jumping on the nearby shuttle bus, which collected a few more people before the doors closed and silently drove towards the transport, coming to a stop just before the ramp. Everyone quickly disembarked, and the bus headed back to the gate the instant the last person was off, and then the group all quickly boarded the transport, rushing to get one of the better seats. Daniel didn’t rush though, and instead headed to the subtly comfier seats with an actual real window that peeked over the surface of the wing, reserved for officers like himself, and he stuffed his bags under it.
As he waited for boarding and loading to wrap up, he flicked his metal hand back and checked his messages on his holo once again, looking to see if any of his family or friends had responded. As expected, he had a quick good luck message from his Dad, and absolutely nothing from his Mother, but all his childhood and University friends had responded, barring the one person he really wanted to hear from. He knew she had read it, the app indicated as such, but she hadn’t responded. He hoped she was just writing a really long message congratulating him and wishing him luck, but he couldn’t just help but worry that she hadn’t taken the news well.
He forced it out of his mind as the loading ramp began to close and the transport crew called out their final checks. He raised both his arms off of his lap as a crew member checked to make sure his belt was on, and once the crew member had checked everyone on the row, they found their own seat and sat down. Less than two minutes later, a low rumble could be heard as all twelves thrusters roared to full power, and the transport began to quickly accelerate down the runway, taking off with its full 4,000 tonne load.
Daniel watched the fields blitz past out the window, each one getting smaller and smaller as they ascended faster and faster, until he could just about make out the curvature of the Earth, feeling a small jolt as the thrusters switched from their air breathing modes to their vacuum modes. It didn’t take long until all he could see out of his tiny window was the black void of space above the wing. The wing in question suddenly became a hub of activity as numerous panels began to wing open or retract, allowing a pylon with a long pod on the end to raise up, which began to glow a dull blue as the star formations visible to him began to distort.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, may I have your attention please,” one of the crew members began. “We are now at warp, and it is safe to walk around the craft. ETA for Mars orbit is 30 minutes, so please make sure you are buckled back in before that happens. The gravity generator isn’t the strongest on a transport like this, so the docking manoeuvres could pose a danger. Also, please don’t enter the cargo grid, gravity is weaker there, and any magnetic objects could be ripped from your body. I don’t fancy having to retrieve your body for the medic because a piercing got ripped out.”
Daniel looked over to the other passengers, noticing that one of the plain clothes personnel was grimacing and holding their legs tight together, while their friend next to them bumped their shoulder with a poorly masked grin. He shook his head and got to his feet, giving them a stretch while he had the chance, and checked his holo to see that it was now disconnected from the network as expected. He snapped his hand back into place, finding that the connection for his little finger wasn’t engaging properly, so he gave the back of his hand a firm smack and thankfully managed to regain control of his extremity.
“Should probably get that looked into, Sir,” the Lieutenant sitting next to him said.
“Yeah, I’ve got a replacement ordered. It’s been messed up since basic, and I’ve finally gotten approval for the latest model,” Daniel explained.
“Is requisition that bad at the moment?”
“Only for the full suite I need.”
“What do you need that’s in short supply?”
“Sorry, but that’s need to know,” Daniel told him, knowing that the parts weren’t restricted information to someone of his rank, but he was still happy to use it to avoid unwanted conversation at the moment.
“Of course, sir. My apologies for asking.”
“No harm done,” Daniel assured him as he straightened his shirt and made his way towards the front of the transport.
He opened the doorway into a corridor, and then immediately made his way into the office space, taking a seat in one of the four cubicles and logging into one of the computers, pleased to see that his travel profile had been uploaded before takeoff. The data was sparse, but it was all he needed at the moment, which was mainly the bios of his soon to be subordinates, and more importantly interview and trainer notes. None of them had any real world experience in the world of electronic subterfuge, though they did all pass the training and tests with perfect grades like him, even if the tests missed off a few handy tricks he’d utilised on occasion. It meant that he would likely be irreplaceable if the ship was in a dangerous situation, though he knew that would be the case just from him being in a position of authority. He was a little disappointed by the prospect of almost always having to be at his post, but such was Navy life.
He continued to look more closely at their bios, making a mental note of the comments made against them. They all seemed to be by the book types, which means that he would have to teach them some dirty tricks at some point, but it at least meant that he wasn’t likely to have a rough time with them. They all originated from various colonies though, so he was wary of the tribalism that could cause. It should have been trained out of them so they all acted as a single unit, but pride was often something hard rooted.
“Five minutes till Mars!” a crew member shouted into the room, before moving onto the next.
Daniel took his que to wipe his profile in case it got missed due to tight schedules, and logged off. It might not be his responsibility to do so, but he’d be damned if someone else messed up and he and his new team got hurt for it. He left the cubical and made his way back to his seat, buckling in and allowing himself to be inspected once again.
He looked out the window once again as the warp pylon powered down and the distortion effect stopped, causing the green and blue surface of Mars to take up the majority of his view. It remained in his few for only a few moments though, as the transport began to turn and roll as it aligned with the station. The warp pylons quickly stowed themselves in the wings again, and the transport edged forward, sliding into the hangar after a minute or two of travel. There was a small bump as the craft touched down, followed by a droop as the hangar’s gravity was turned up to normal levels.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Mars Stardock 02. Please disembark to allow for unloading of supplies,” the crew member from before announced.
Not wanting to get caught in the crowd, Daniel jumped up from his seat, picked up his bags quickly, and was the fourth person to exit the transport. He looked at the unloading tractors that were entering the room, noticing that they had a particularly large one usually reserved for ship modules. He was surprised that something like that would be coming from Earth given Mars’ manufacturing capabilities, but he probably couldn’t find out what it was without putting his rank at risk, so he elected to ignore it. Instead, he headed over to the hangar exit and scanned his pass, confirming his presence aboard the station.
As he began to walk down the corridor of the station, following the signs for the habs, he checked his messages once more, finding that he still hadn’t received the message he was hoping for. He did his best to hide his frustration, and continued on until he reached the nearest short stay habs, walking past the honeycomb array of pods designed to pack in the lower ranking spacemen of visiting ships if the ships weren’t serviceable. Thankfully for him however, he was able to keep walking until he reached the officer’s cabins, picking an empty one and assigning it to himself.
His temporary accommodation was little more than a small bed, a desk, and a stool, but it served his needs. He dropped his bags on his bed, and quickly activated his arm’s scanners, checking the room for any bugs, which he found none of. He knew there was practically no way of someone knowing which room he’d end up in, but he couldn’t be too careful. Happy that he was safe, he opened the makeshift compartment on his arm, removing the memory chip that had sat there for almost five years at this point. He carefully hid it in the ceiling light cover, and exited the room, locking the door behind him. He knew that after five years of no-one looking for it that was probably safe, but he wasn’t going to take the risk.
He began to look at the station signs again, managing to find a layout map. He quickly committed it to memory the best he could, and made his way to the station’s clinic. Once he finished the short walk there, he checked himself in, and was assigned to a room, which he entered and sat down on the bed within it. He let out a small sigh as he looked around the room, waiting for the doctor to arrive, and began to study all the posters and displays, containing information on a bunch of medical advice that was inapplicable to him.
“Sorry about the wait,” an old and balding man in a medical uniform apologised to him as he entered the room, carrying a large long black case.
“It’s not a problem,” Daniel assured him.
“I’m Dr Middleton,” the Doctor informed him. “Now, may I just confirm your identity please?”
“Lieutenant Commander Daniel Hardbrooks,” Daniel replied, handing over his military ID.
“... Indeed you are. Just a couple of quick questions before we get onto why you’re here. Can you please confirm the purpose of your visit?” the Doctor asked, handing his ID back.
“To receive a replacement mechanical prosthetic arm, containing equipment I am not allowed to disclose.”
“And can I confirm that you don’t need a socket upgrade?”
“No, I have the latest socket after my last one broke during basic training.”
“Perfect,” the Doctor replied, checking a few boxes on his holo display. “Will you be recycling your old arm, or will you keep it?”
“Recycle. This thing will probably break if you look at it wrong,” he explained, taking off his shirt and holding up his scratched and dented arm.
“A mk IV-C. I’m surprised it’s still working. Well, you’ve got a nice new mk XXII-NM. I’m pleased to inform you that a starsteel heatsink was successfully sourced, as well as some other components that are simply blank on my display,” the Doctor told him as he handed Daniel the case. “The profile from your old arm has been transferred onto this one, but you will have to map any new functions.”
“Of course,” Daniel replied, pressing the lock and allowing the case to scan him.
After almost ten seconds of waiting, the locks popped off, and the lid opened to reveal his new arm. It looked almost like a real arm in shape, except he had given it a custom carbon black with white trim paint scheme, and replaced the plates that visually simulated muscle with armour and electronics. Happy with his new appendage, he grabbed hold of his current arm and popped it out of its socket, laying it on the nearby table before picking up his new arm and locking it in place, checking to make sure the seal engaged properly.
He rolled his shoulder, surprised at how smooth the motion was, making him realise just how bad his old arm was performing. He then began to twist his arm and wrist while flexing his fingers, finding that each motion felt like it had less purpose, but they instead felt much more natural like his real arm. He then performed a systems check, making sure none of the secret stuff was displayed, before giving the doctor a thumbs up.
“It’s working perfectly. Thank you for your help,” he told the Doctor as he put his shirt back on.
“You’re very welcome. Please tap here to confirm your appointment has been completed,” the Doctor instructed, pointing at his holo display.
“There. All done,” Daniel replied, performing the action.
“Thank you very much. Any issues and concerns, please check back here or to any other military approved clinic as soon as possible.”
“Will do. Thanks once again for your help,” Daniel told him as he left the clinic.
Daniel made his way straight back to his hab, entering it and testing out his new scanner, finding it to return the same readings of his room, but he could now read practically every electromagnetic and aetheric signature within half a kilometre, with the larger signals of the station’s fusion generators easily detectable from almost two kilometres away. Satisfied, he quickly retrieved the memory chip from the light cover, and stored it within the new secret high security compartment he now possessed.
Satisfied, he left his room once more and entered one of the nearest lifts. He punched in the button for the observation deck, and braced himself slightly as the lift accelerated rapidly, bringing him to his destination in a matter of seconds. He stepped out of the lift and into what was essentially a ball of transparent metal, overlooking the whole station. He walked over to the edge, and took in the sight of the disk shaped station floating over the distant Martian landscape. He could just about make out some of the smaller hangars from his vantage point, but what he was more interested in was the docking arms on the outside of the disk.
He could make out three corvettes dock on a single arm, and another one on an arm of its own. The next three arms were empty, with the next two servicing a frigate each, followed by three arms servicing destroyers. He was able to identify the classes of the destroyers, identifying two as direct combat ships, and the third as a light drone carrier. Finally, he rested his eyes on a single ship taking up two arms that were far longer than the others, the expedition cruiser, CNS Trailmaker.
His soon to be new home.
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Prologue / Previous / Next

So I've been on a MGS Marathon for a while and I got to MGS4 which I have a disc of. I dusted off the old dinosaur and it would almost immediately turn off after I press the power button. When it turns off, the red light disappears and reappears when I press the power button again.
I've been trying to fix it for 3 days and I'm getting closer and closer. I noticed the cooling fan can be pressed down onto the cpu, so i tried turning it on while doing that and it managed to turn on under 2 conditions. 1.) I need to be holding down the cooler (and with some serious force). 2.) It only boots if i borrow the HDD from the old fat ps3 (The system will not boot had I used the slim's HDD).
Last ditch effort to get this thing to work is to reapply the thermal paste. It can't be a power supply issue because it powers through fan blowout mode just fine and I managed to get a post screen on my monitor (it turns off at some point even with the conditions being followed).
What other methods might I try?

Just went to Tractor Supply with my 4 year old son, walked in and saw these 2 dudes with a huge OFF LEASH pitbull. I said "oh hell no fuck that", picked up my son and walked out. Don't feel safe anywhere with these monsters about. Thanks for letting me share.

Hello,
Yesterday, my PC froze, threw Blue screen and i couldnt boot anymore. Couldnt even get in the bios. If i would try to start the PC, the PC would start no problem - fans turn, lights turn on but nothing - just black screen. I couldnt even turn the PC off with power button - had to use switch on power supply. I found out that its all done by my boot drive SSD - if disconnected, i could boot to BIOS no problem - with it connected = frozen PC. So i insalled new windows on new disc and today i bring my external drive to USB thing and tried to recover data from it. It tries to show up for 1s, freeze my new windows, disconnect mouse and keyboard and after 1 minute it just dont appear anymore. Drivers resets and everything works but i simply cant open that damm drive! It simply dont show anywhere, not even in Disk manager.
Is there a tool, that i could use to just get my data from it? The SSD is Samsung Evo 850, 250Gb, around 7-8y old, so i could probably change earlier to newer disk but it had only around 25TBW of data on it! I still thinks its corrupted windows so i still have hope to recover atleast something from it.

First Previous
Chapter 2: Now Is Found
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The moment the Into the Black entered Sol, the human’s home system, various transmissions and radio signals poured in. At first, the captain and the rest of the crew thought that humanity was well and truly alive. But upon closer inspection of the deluge of signals they were receiving, they realized they were nothing more than automated warnings, echoes, and ghost signals bouncing around the countless derelict ships, stations, habitats, and arcologies that surrounded nearly every world and moon in the system. The place was a mass grave, far greater than any of the previous systems. In fact, this system was the most developed Ohmata had ever seen. The Galactic Union’s capital is the most advanced system in the GU, and it pales compared to the level of development of the human home system!
The sheer amount of death and destruction was frightening. Entire fleets worth of ships clumped together in the void of space. Their own mass creating a small gravity, pulling them together and fashioning massive hulks. While also creating hazardous clouds of metal debris, more than a few moving fast enough to rip the Black to shreds, should they not be vigilant. Constructs the size of cities floated aimlessly, stuck within the confines of the star’s influence. Mobile defense platforms, which once bristled with the finest weapons humanity could field, lay battered and broken amongst the many wrecks that called Sol home. Humanity did not go down without a fight, that much was for certain. If anyone ever called them cowards, Ohmata would simply show them the recorded footage of their home system to prove the naysayers otherwise.
There looked to be more metal strewn about from the battles and destroyed ships alone than in every GU fleet combined, and more than a few worlds, too. The difference in the ships was obvious. The human vessels were boxy, utilitarian. They did their jobs, and they did them well. Many of which appeared to be nothing more than massive guns someone built a ship around, then put more guns on that.
The Nemesis were different; they weren’t boxy and rigid angles like the humans, but not totally smooth either. They had a far more organic look with multiple bends and curves, but the surfaces seemed to be rough and bumpy, and unlike the human ships, almost none were symmetrical. But though they were asymmetrical, there existed patterns in the various derelicts. As if they were variations of preexisting models, updated and expanded upon with time. In comparison, most GU ships were a happy medium. They had the bends and curves like the Nemesis, but were neatly symmetrical like the human ships.
Looking past the destruction and death, the system was fairly average. Four rocky worlds, four gas giants, and several smaller bodies here and there. The gas giants still had the broken remains of floating cities scattered across them, while their moons contained colonies and stations galore. But what was most interesting were the third and fourth rocky worlds. The fourth one had depressingly little green on it. It was mostly red, with an occasional white streak indicating clouds. It was highly developed, ruined cities ranged across its surface freely. But it bore the marks of war none the less. It would be a prime candidate for collecting samples, as long as the surface wasn’t too hazardous. Humanity did have a fetish for nuclear annihilation towards their end, after all.
The third planet, the third planet was something else. It was a grey husk devoid of life. Its moon had a massive crater denting its facade, with many smaller ones marking its surface. They stood out prominently. Fresh wounds of war contrasted against natural meteor strikes. The debris from the lunar surface and whatever had caused the impact was already starting to form the semblance of a ring around the planet. And like everywhere else, the surrounding space was choked with battle debris, though most had collected in the planet’s “proto ring”. There was so much debris that they could barely scan the planet, and what parts they could get to was so irradiated that a signal couldn’t penetrate from such a distance. Which meant if they wanted to scan the home world of these legendary humans, they would have to get closer. Which, frankly, was currently impossible.
“Nix’Fa, can you maneuver through that debris field?” Ohmata asked, while peering down at her console.
“No ma’am. A shuttle may get through, but it won’t have any of the equipment necessary to scan the planet. At least, not at any reasonable rate,” Nix’Fa replied. She, too, was looking over her console at potential flight paths.
First Lieutenant Qhaax spoke up from her station. “We may not need to actually scan the planet to learn more about humanity, captain. Most of the planet is a flattened, irradiated death pit, but the debris field around it still contains warships from both sides, some in remarkable condition. In fact, several derelicts appear to still have power, even after thousands of years. We may be able to board them using a shuttle and extract data from any intact computer systems we find. And while not exactly human, there is a Nemesis ship relatively close to the edge of the field. It would be a good first target.”
“Then we’ll change our plan to that. Qhaax, contact Kitern and tell her to get her marines suited up, send a techy or two and some researchers with them as well. You’ll have to contact Tentzonta to get her to let some of her engineers loose for once, and Glevar for her researchers. Though you won’t have to convince her, she’ll be jumping at the opportunity. Nix’Fa, start plotting them a course, and we’ll go from there, understood?”
The two responded with a crisp, yes ma’am, and got to work on their respective tasks.
-
“Kitern, can you hear me?” Ohmata’s voice called out from Kitern’s suit’s comms.
“Loud and clear, cap, whatcha need?” Commander Kitern responded as she stowed away several more energy cells for her weapon. She was a digitigrade, feline like mammal known as a Lioranian, with thick paw like hands that held deadly claws within them. They were still thin and nimble enough to manipulate objects accurately, but most importantly, pull a trigger. Her kind also had a slightly elongated snout, long tail, and top forward facing ears. Their eyes were dark, but a few bore mutations which lightened the iris to a sky blue. And their pupils are vertical, but would dilate periodically to give better depth perception and low light visibility. Her species’ coats ranged from a dark tan to a bright yellow gold and had multiple coat patterns of varying intensities. She personally had a dusty tan coat with slight stripe markings originating from her spine, but quickly fading as they reached around to her abdomen and chest.
“You already have a basic rundown about what to do. But I just wanted to remind you, we marked an entrance for you through some old battle damage on a derelict Nemesis ship that is close to the edge of the debris field. Enter, make your way to the power source, secure the area, and set up a pressurized zone if possible so the techies can work in peace. If you can’t, oh well, they can work in their suits. Also, you see anything living, as unlikely as that is, don’t go shooting it. Try to capture or reason with it, but if it does anything stupid, then do what you and your girls do best.”
Kitern smiled maliciously. “Aye, aye, captain. We’ll keep the civvies alive and kick’n, get the goods and be back in no time.”
“Then I leave the rest to you. Oh, try not to mess with the shuttle’s controls while it’s on autopilot this time. It’ll be weaving through a debris field too compact to get the Black into. Any rescue efforts will take a long time, longer than what you’ll have, so don’t touch the throttle like last time!” Ohmata raised her voice jokingly, playfully reminding Kitern of the last time they were on a shuttle together in such conditions.
“Ha! Dontcha worry, I’ll be in the back. Onsa will be in the pilot’s seat for this go. She’s a better flyer anyways,” Kitern played.
“Alright then, get done and come back, preferable alive. Ohmata out.” There was a click as Ohmata closed the channel.
“Hmph, always do.” Kitern had been staring at a random wall while talking to Ohmata. With the call over, she turned to her squad. “Alright girls, get your shit together and get to the shuttle. Oh, and keep your hands to yourself, Hran is coming along, I don’t want any complaints from him, or hands where they shouldn’t be, got it?” she barked, eyeing each of the three other marines, more specifically the youngest two.
“What if he lets us?” one of said marines asked jokingly.
“It’ll be a cold day on Ca’tab before that happens, Asteli,” Kitern replied.
“You never know, we might just wear him down finally, right Gre’Namra?” the perky Venanian replied.
“How many times do I have to tell you? Just call me Namra, and I doubt it. Men like to be wined and dined. Take them out, pay for a fancy meal, maybe buy them something. You know, the usual,” her counterpart, a Drae’Ildan, responded.
Kitern sighed. “Or how about not harassing anyone and act like a decent sentient, you hornbags? Now, shut it and get to the shuttle. Dentala you’ll have your work cut out for you keeping track of these two today.”
“Not as big of a job as keeping track of you, I pity Onsa,” Dentala said as she lifted a heavy kinetic slugger with a red hand, another Venanian.
Kitern chuffed deeply, her species version of a chuckle. “Me too! But, you might wanna put on a glove before we go out. Might help with the whole vacuum thing.” Dentala looked at her hand, surprised that she had forgotten it, before slipping one on. It attached to her bracer and made an airtight seal, forming an armored gauntlet. With that, the four marines left to join their fifth member in the shuttle.
As they left the locker room, Asteli mumbled under her breath. “We wouldn’t do that. We’re not assholes,” she said, addressing Kitern’s assertion of harassment.
“Well, you sound like one,” Gre’Namra replied quietly. After that, they kept their heads down and trudged along with their commanding officer.
A short jaunt later, they were passing through the hangar bay’s airlock. They were greeted by the Black’s only two shuttles. One, small and cramped, meant for scanning dangerous locations that they couldn’t get to with the ship. Logically, that would mean it was best suited to scan Earth. But even its equipment was not powerful enough to breach the radiation. Not without descending into the planet's atmosphere and becoming so irradiated they would practically glow in the dark. And while they could get Aphosi to pilot the shuttle remotely, its scanners aren't able to scan such a broad area like an entire planet. They were more meant to target small, specific locations.
The second shuttle was much larger. It was built to transport supplies and the handful of rovers they had in storage, to make excursions to planets. The smaller shuttle had permanently extended wings and large thrusters on the rear. The larger of the two, simply dubbed Shuttle One, could fold its wings. And had a variety of thrusters located across the ship for better maneuverability in space, and atmospheric thrusters embedded in the center of each wing for flight in atmo. But it also had two large engines in the back for forward thrust, just above its rear ramp.
Walking over to shuttle one, Onsa, the other Lioranian in the squad, was already waiting for them in the pilot’s seat. In the rear seating area were two engineers and two scientists, wearing grey, lightly armored EVA suits that looked to be made of cloth, but were instead a variety of advance polymers and flexible but insulative materials. Most of the helmet was a large, one way transparent material, allowing for increased awareness while sacrificing protection. In comparison, the marine’s helmets had no exterior window, instead a suite of miniature sensors embedded in their black armored helmets allowed them to see through an internal display screen. The helmets appeared to be smooth metal from a distance, only up close could you see the microscopic sensors embedded in them.
The marine’s suits held many of the same features as the civilians, but were black and had thick armored plates over vital areas and on select parts of their extremities, with thinner, non-metal armor segments filling in the gaps. Both suit types had an array of pockets and hideaways, each holding their respective tools of the trade. Regardless of the accessories, or level of protection, each was specially crafted to accommodate for the unique physiologies of the different species.
Had the ship and its equipment not made with each of their species in mind, they would have worn generic multi species suits. Instead of the pre-built features tailored for their specific anatomy, they would be covered with a thick insulated, pliable material that fitted over the horns, tails, and crests and shrank until it was tightly pressed against every nook and cranny. Aside from personalized helmets, each species’ leg sections and gloves/gauntlets catered for whether they were plantigrade, digitigrade, or for how many digits they may possess.
Hran being a male Venanian, had small horns jutting out from his temples. But because his horns were so small, his helmet did not need any special features. Thus was fairly plain. It looked like a sphere that had been slightly squished in on the sides. Unlike the females of his species, who had much larger, curved horns, their helmets were marked with two twin armored segments sticking up like antenna. Otherwise, their helmets were just as “stubby” as his, for their flatter faces. At least, in comparison to the other species onboard.
The Shednae with their elaborate head crests and long faces, had a stubby mohawk like metal protrusion for their crests to fit in, and longer helmets to account for their heads. The Drae’Ildan’s helmets were similar to the Shednae. In fact, they could be mistaken for one another if not for the lack of a head crest. Lastly, the Lioranian helmets were quite plain, aside from the extended “snout” for their slightly longer faces and two nubs to house their ears located on the top of their heads.
Those with tails were likewise afforded a special area to put them, instead of the shrinking material normal for such species. The Shednae have a small knob like space for their short tails. While the Venanians and Lioranians had long thin tails, they could be coiled in the suit. Drae’Ildan suits had a much longer and thicker tail section that looked burdensome but was quite flexible. Their suits were also equipped with a much larger array of sensors to assist them, as the Drae’Ildan’s natural sensory organs were significantly dulled in such tight confines.
“I see the grunts have finally made their appearance. Why did you bother bringing so many guns with you? It’s a derelict that has been floating dead in space for thousands of cycles. There won’t be anything living on board.”, one of the engineers nagged, as the marines ducked into the shuttle. Though her helmet was on, it was clear she was a part of engineering by the orange stripe running along the left of her suite, and left sleeve. Mimicking their uniforms.
“And a fine hello to you Kass, you too, Hran,” Kitern said as she sat down across from the two Venanians and buckled in. Hran simply nodded silently. Kitern continued, “And as for your question, we have no idea what we’ll find. You want to be stuck out in space with no way of protecting yourself if something is there? Yeah, I’m sure it’s empty too. Doesn’t mean I’m taking any chances.” Kass snorted at her reply.
“Shavizi, Jurwa, what about you two, think we’ve over prepared?” Kitern asked the two scientists to her left. Their stripes were blue.
“One can never be too prepared! Though the heavy slugger seems a bit excessive, but as long as you don’t drop it on me, I have no complaints,” Jurwa, a Shednae, said gleefully, practically bouncing in her seat.
“I agree, organic enemies aside. The ship may have automated defenses still functioning. If so, they will have to be dealt with accordingly.” Shavizi added. Yet another Venanian.
“See Kass, they get it,” Kitern grinned smugly underneath her helmet as she leaned back and buckled herself in.
As the others sat down and buckled in, Onsa turned in her seat to see if they were all ready. Everyone confirming they were. She turned back around and started up the shuttle. Quickly putting it into autopilot, but still keeping her hands on the controls just in case. The shuttle slipped out of the bay, passing through the atmospheric retention field, and pitching down and to the left, heading for the derelict Nemesis ship.
As the debris field is so dense and dangerous, the Into the Black was several hundred kilometers away, clear of any potential danger. As such, the trip would take around five minutes before they reached the field, another six to navigate the debris, as it was so hazardous. The Nemesis ship in question was near the edge of the debris field, but still mostly intact, with some power readings emanating from within, a perfect target for research.
-
“We’re coming alongside it now. Once we have successfully magnetized to its hull with the docking clamps, I’ll decompress the shuttle and you can open him up,” Onsa called out, just barely turning her head back in their direction.
Kitern activated her comms so everyone could hear her clearly once the air was siphoned out. “Gotcha. Scans show two distinct points of power readings. Both look to be in the same place, or at least really damn close. We’ll take a right once we get into the ship and follow the corridor until it leads to a three-way intersection. Then we make a left, then a right, and we’ll be on track. The room in question will be along that corridor. Keep your eyes and sensors open for anything that looks Nemesis-y.”
“Oh, like the entire ship?” Kass chimed in.
Kitern rolled her eyes. “Onsa, give a countdown.”
Onsa nodded her head. “Affirmative. Decompression commencing in three… two… one… starting.” There was an audible hiss that slowly faded away as the air in the shuttle was pulled back into storage tanks for later use. “Decompression complete, safe to open the door,” she confirmed over their comms.
“Opening door. Don’t go floating off,” Kitern joked as she pressed a button near the hatch, causing it to slide open silently. Before them was a gaping hole in the side of what looked like a ship that had grown large warts. The human beacons had mentioned that the Nemesis ships weren’t smooth, but the reality was a bit more unsettling up close. The humans weren’t sure why the Nemesis ships were so… bumpy. But they knew it wasn’t actually part of the building process, as newly refurbished or repaired Nemesis vessels lacked the warty exterior. But they had seen no importance in investigating the reason, as they had no tactical or structural advantage. Humanity theorized they were damage, but what could cause metal to ripple and bubble? So it remains a mystery to this day.
Kitern lifted a foot, causing the magnetic lock on that boot to disengage automatically, then re-engage when she put pressure on it. Allowing her to walk forward until she was looking down into the hole. Kitern put a foot on the lip of the shuttle, and bent forward, pushing herself into the opening.
As Kitern floated into the ship, she could see the corridors were circular, with strange partitions along the edges. The partitions didn’t seem to move or close, so she guessed they were more decorative support beams than actual doorways. A second later, she put out a hand to stop herself from colliding with the far wall, and pushed downward, boots magnetizing to the floor. Upon magnetizing, she immediately lifted her weapon. It was a small energy-based firearm, similar in size and function to an SMG.
Looking down both directions of the corridor showed nothing of interest other than more of those strange support beams and closed bulkhead doors on either end. She noted the twisted metal and battle damage in the corridor caused by whatever had impacted the hull.
Before everyone had touched down, she started making her way toward their objective. She continued on until she reached the bulkhead door at the end of the corridor. It was not fully closed, only partially, allowing someone to grip between the two sections and pull them apart. She did just that. As the door slowly opened, Dentala came up behind her and lent her strength to the task. Grunting in exertion, they pulled the door apart until they could easily walk through. Kitern silently fist bumped Dentala on the shoulder in thanks before she continued on, weapon held at the ready.
As they proceeded through the derelict, signs of battle began to appear. At first, it was only a few scorch marks or kinetic impact craters on the wall. Then, what looked like dried blood from some ancient creature. It had aged into a sickly dark green color with a hint of yellow. A quick scan showed that no genetic material could be retrieved, it had long degraded into nothing. Though some sort of information could certainty be gleamed from the stain if they searched long enough, but the sample was unimportant, as it was not a focus of the mission. Pressing on, the signs of battle intensified, as well the amount of spilled blood. At one point, an entire corridor looked like it had been painted in viscera.
The team could only speculate on what had happened. Was it a mutiny? Civil war between surviving Nemesis forces trapped in the Sol system? Or perhaps the humans had something to do with it? But there was one thing on everyone’s mind as they walked through the ancient carnage. Where were the bodies? They hadn’t passed a single corpse yet, just blood stains.
“Captain Kitern, do you suppose we can slow down and so I can scan the ship a bit more? I can’t get a proper reading while moving like this,” Shavizi requested from the back. She had some sort of tool and was waving it back and forth across the surface of the corridor.
“You can scan the ship when we stop, and that will be when we get to those power signals. And once we make sure the place is secure,” Kitern responded, weapon still up at her shoulder as she swept the hallway.
“If that is your order,” Shavizi relented, but still attempted to scan everything they passed, incomplete or not.
It didn’t take long before they arrived at where the Black said the power readings were. They had weaved about the ship a bit more than desired. Several bulkhead doors were completely sealed shut, causing them to detour, but they managed it in the end. They were now standing in front of a large single door; it was nowhere near as large as the bulkhead doors that sealed off entire corridors, but it was large enough to allow passage with room to spare on all sides.
It too bore damage from whatever conflict had occurred within the ship. The door’s access panel was damaged, and the surrounding wall panels warped. Preventing them from directly interacting with the door.
“This is the place; my scanner is already picking up power readings from here. Hran, be a dear and get out the interface tools. We’ll see if this door has power first, instead of brute forcing our way through first thing,” Kass stated. Hran silently carried out his orders, unpacking a variety of tools they may need.
After pulling off several of the panels to see if they allowed access to the door’s wiring, they eventually found the right one. Sadly, a closer inspection revealed that the door, like nearly the entire ship, had no power, meaning it couldn’t be opened by the press of a button like they wanted.
“Oh well, do what you do best, Kitern,” Kass shrugged as she and Hran began packing up their tools.
“Eh, worth a shot. Privates, if you please,” Kitern motioned to the door for the two young marines to take a crack at it. They both replied with a crisp, yes ma’am, and quickly got to work trying to pry open the door.
It took a little more effort than they thought, but over time it slowly slid further and further open, until Gre’Namra wedged herself in between the door and frame, and used her entire body to push it open. Asteli joined in when it widened enough for the both of them. Together, they pushed it fully open, the door slowly recessing into the wall. Revealing an old dusty room with several long bed-like pods.
“Thank you, girls. Now clear the room while you’re at it. Though by now any baddies would have chewed you up,” Kitern ordered. The two did just that. Thankfully, the entire room could be seen from the doorway, so there really wasn’t any clearing. Just looking behind the pods for anything not so friendly.
During their little search, they noticed one bed had several lights flickering on its side. They pointed it out to the others. Immediately, Kass and Shavizi pushed them aside to get to it. Drooling over it like children being offered sweets.
“I wonder what this is?! After so many thousands of years, it still has power. I thought those beacons were incredible enough, but this is something else!” Kass said to no one in particular.
Shavizi had been scanning the bed, as well as its neighbors, while Kass looked it over. “Hmm. The pods have a sliding covering that encloses the occupants. All the others are open, yet this one is closed.” Shavizi tapped at her scanner a bit. “Wait… the other energy signature… it’s coming from inside it!” she said astonished, while moving a hand over the top of the slid that covered the pod. As she did, thousands of years’ worth of dust floated away from where she dragged her hand. Allowing a small amount of light to break free from within.
Noticing this, Shavizi leaned forward and peered inside the pod. Her eyes went wide as her mind tried to make sense of what she was seeing. “GET BACK! DON’T TOUCH IT!” she screamed, but was too late. Kass, who was now crouched down near the base of the bed, had pressed a finger to one of the flickering lights just as Shavizi yelled her warning. All Kass had time to do was turn her head up and mutter a confused, “huh?”, before the covering of the pod slid open, unleashing its occupant onto the galaxy.
First Previous
Hello once again! First things first. If you see the name Osan, please point it out to me. It is supposed to be Onsa, but the program I use to write the story changed the name to Osan for some reason. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the cliffhanger! This chapter is meant to help further detail the various species and their features, and of course set up for many things to come!
Also, in my last story. I had a lot of flashback sequences to add in fluff and give backstory to the MC. While I don't want overuse it in this story, I do want to have flashback esque sequences that are basically just battles of the Human-Nemesis war (recorded combat footage recovered from human ships and installations), introduce new characters, or maybe give further development to preexisting characters. The flashback sequences will be called Orphan: Tales of the Past and won't begin until a certain point in the main story. Once that point is reached, the side stories will pop up every once in a while in place of the main story chapters. Or, if I fell as if its safe to push the story ahead, you'll get the main story and a side story in one week.
That's it for the week folks! See you next week!

Hi buildapc, I need you again. I plan to use my old GTX 1070 on my new computer with a RM1000x power supply. The supplied pcie cables all have x2 6+2 pins, while my GTX 1070 only needs 8 pins in total. Is it a problem to leave the other 6+2 out? Thank you in advance.
EDIT: I connected my pc to the power with the GTX 1070 plugged in but now I hear a noise coming from my power supply and I can't see the output on the screen. What can it be?
EDIT 2: PC's been running for some minutes now and the PSU is quieter. I have installed the driver using my iGPU for my dedicated GPU and now is quiet as always. I have no explanation to this.
EDIT 3: I've decided to uninstall my 1070 because of too many issues: slow boot (with white boot light on mobo), still hearing strange noises and can't enter in the BIOS.

So I’m Texas if you buy from a retailer like tractor supply, there is a minimum purchase of 4 chicks. Any idea why that is? I already have 4 and only want 5 but can’t buy 1 without buying 4. Is there a reason behind that?

Part 52
Glenda Wilmington, Kinda Digging This Whole Cop Gig
"If you hear anything else, give me a call," Glenda said, handing the woman a business card with her cellphone number on it. The woman accepted it and then squinted skeptically at it.
"Cooperation with an investigation is the sort of thing that parole boards like to hear about," Glenda said in response to the woman's look. That seemed to do the trick. The woman slipped the card into her ample cleavage and met Glenda's eyes.
"I will call. I have no loyalty to that man." Her sing-song Norwegian accent, as well as her tall, thick frame and bright, yellow-blonde hair contrasted with the environment; a run-down housing project in the heart of Compton. But housing for convicted felons on parole was limited, and she'd had few choices in this area. Glenda wondered idly why the woman hadn't elected to return to Norway, where they tended to be a bit more sympathetic to ex-cons. The woman, Duke's one-time head channeler, didn't seem prepared to answer any more questions, however.
Glenda nodded and stepped back. The woman took a step outside, careful to keep the foot with the ankle monitor inside the door and took a look around before withdrawing back into the house. Glenda turned and walked down the steps off the creaky wooden porch and back to the rental car, where Jack dozed lightly in the passenger seat, his cowboy hat pulled low over his eyes. She climbed behind the wheel, trying not to wake him, and started the engine.
He woke anyways. Jack had always been a very light sleeper. He turned his head slightly towards her, not adjusting the hat at all.
"Anything?" he asked. Glenda shook her head. "Nobody's heard from him. I think it's safe to say he's not looking to connect with any of his old associates, at this point."
"Ayup," Jack agreed. Glenda pulled away, heading north, towards the 105 that would take them back to the airport. They were done here. As she drove, she couldn't help but note the scowling, suspicious faces that turned to watch them. She took in the low, chain-link fences that separated yards, the equally low concrete block walls that surrounded paved driveways. The odd mix of Spanish colonial and more traditional American architecture was like a sign. It told her that she could find a bag of the white lady, a bag of weed, or a bag of something more exotic here. She could find a gang, beefing with another gang, and maybe convince one side to pay her to make someone on the other side vanish.
It was almost nostalgic.
They passed a tan-painted Spanish colonial house with a faux wrought-iron fence, and she knew right away that a dealer lived there. The child's play set in the front had never been touched by anything more careless than the wind and rain. The SUV in the driveway might have belonged to a small family, except for the large speakers she could see through the rear window. The tint on the windows of both car and home added to the effect. The kicker, though, was the white-haired, middle-aged man stepping out the front door to squint suspiciously around before heading back up the street in the direction of the channeler's home, where Glenda had spotted him walking this way just a few minutes ago.
Without bothering to ask anyone, she could say with confidence that whoever lived there sold mainly cocaine, but he also had cheap weed for those who couldn't afford the prices at the dispensary. He'd have rocks too, but he probably wouldn't sell them to you if you knew where he lived. He'd sell them on the weekends, manning a street corner, alongside a thug from whatever gang he ran with or paid tribute to.
Everyone knew they were cops, of course. Years of living in rural Canada had faded Glenda's tan and affected her fashion choices. Once, she'd have moved through an area like this in gym shorts, sneakers and a faded old t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. Showing off enough muscle to make the usual idiots think twice about harassing her, but not showing off so much skin than people might take her for a street worker with a schtick. Today, she drove in blue jeans, hiking boots and a flannel shirt. Next to her, Jack wore the same, complimented with a denim jacket. Only a couple of cops would dress like that in this neighborhood.
Though that wasn't strictly true -Jack's jurisdiction ended many hundreds of miles north of here- it might as well be. They were private investigators, working on behalf of the federal government, who was footing the bill for Dylan's recapture. Whether or not they were technically considered law enforcement officers depended entirely upon their needs and some paperwork. So far, they hadn't needed any LEO powers.
As she turned onto the 105 and marginally sped up in the dense traffic of the highway, Jack's phone rang. He begrudgingly lifted the brim of his hat up, squinting in the bright daylight at his screen. Apparently satisfied with what he saw there, he hit the accept button and pressed the phone to his ear.
"S'Jack," he said, then he listened for a bit.
"Ayup," he said. He glanced out the window, then covered the tiny mic at the bottom of the phone. "Get off the highway," he said to Glenda. She nodded and put on her turn signal, eyes searching for a chance to get over. A minivan in the next lane, slightly ahead of them, promptly slowed down to pace them.
"Awwright," he drawled into the phone. "We'll check it out. 'Preciate the heads up. Take care, now."
He pulled the phone away from his ear and tapped the screen again before slipping it back into his pocket jacket.
"That was intel. Said that a bank account belonging to one Dylan Boucher just got emptied by a wire transfer to one Derek Garcia. Just a hair over ten grand. Transfer woulda taken place about a week ago, intel didn't pick up on it until it cleared."
"Garcia, that's the one that calls himself the 'Planewalker', right?"
"Ayup," Jack said. Glenda finally got tired of trying to get behind the minivan and sped up to cut him off, instead. Jack could see that it was being driven by a heavily tattooed white kid with dredlocks. He honked and flipped them off, but she ignored him. She'd had her turn signal on, and tried to get behind him, but he had slowed down and sped up to block her.
Out of pure spite, she tapped the brakes a few times.
Jack bounced forward against his seatbelt as she did and gave her a dirty look. She smiled sweetly at him. "What? That's how you drive around here. You used to live in Atlanta, you've got to know this by now."
"We didn't generally make an effort to piss people off in Atlanta," he grumbled. Glenda turned onto the ramp to get off on Crenshaw, heading south.
Glenda scoffed. "Now you're just lying. I've been to Atlanta. Worst drivers in the bottom half of the country by far."
"You sure about that?" Jack said, eyeing the rear-view mirror. Glenda glanced up to see the minivan still behind them, the driver jabbing his finger at them and ranting.
"Huh," she said. "Maybe this fucker's about to prove me wrong."
"Well, we need to get gas anyways, if we're driving all the way down to San Clemente," Jack said. "Might as well pull over at the first station we see and get it over with."
Glenda chuckled, mostly at what the angry man behind her was about to experience and kept her eyes peeled for a gas station.
The minivan never wavered, staying behind her through multiple lane changes, all the way down to Artesia Boulevard, where she finally found a Shell station. She pulled in and pulled up to a pump.
"You wanna have a white knight moment, or is today an 'equality of the sexes' day?" Glenda asked as the minivan pulled in behind them and stopped, blocking the entrance.
"Sheeeit," Jack drawled. "I mean, I guess I'll handle him if ya want..." He unbuckled his seatbelt and opened his door as the irate young metalhead stomped towards them. He made sure to be outside the car by the time the kid got within angry dick-measuring distance.
"What the fuck is your bitch's problem, asshole?!" the young man demanded. Jack didn't answer, he simply strode forward, within striking distance. Normally, Jack liked to deliver a good, bone-chilling threat, followed up by taking a more reasonable tone as he continued to stare through whomever was causing problems and imagine himself blowing their head off as he de-escalated the situation. It was a tactic that had served him well, many times. But today, Jack was tired.
He'd been hunting Dylan down for weeks now, and only just got their first promising lead as this little shit had gone out of his way to stop them from changing lanes for no discernible reason. So Jack simply slugged the kid right in the nose. He caught him off guard and sent the kid sprawling onto his ass. Before he could gather himself back up, Jack kicked him in the chest with the sole of his boot and drew his large revolver. He crouched down, boot still pinning the kid to the ground, and held the gun casually where the kid could see it.
"You know what a turn signal means?" he asked calmly. The kid's eyes went wide as he spotted the gun.
"Y-y-yeah," he stammered.
"Good. Ya had a little lapse of judgement there. Ya might wanna see to that." Jack stood, holstering his gun and walked back over to open the gas cover and insert the company credit card into the pump. He picked the mid-grade and inserted the fuel handle, locking the valve open before he turned back.
The kid was still sitting there, wiping blood from his mouth where his nose was bleeding. "They oughta have napkins inside," Jack told him mildly. "They're usually by the hot dogs."
Jack filled the tank while the kid picked himself up and went inside. A cop arrived a few minutes later, stopping in the entrance that the kid was blocking and turning his lights on. The cop stepped out and walked around the minivan and into the gas station.
Jack waited for the tank to fill, then replaced the nozzle and climbed back in the car.
"You wanna stick around?" Glenda asked. "Shoot the shit with the locals, make sure the kid gets the short end?"
"Naw," Jack said. "Read about the LA cops. Not exactly whom I'd like to consider comrades-in-arms, if you catch my meaning."
Glenda shrugged and they pulled out right as the kid and the cop both emerged back into the parking lot. Glenda thought the cop look pissed and the kid looked dejected.
They got on the 405 and drove it down to California 73, then took that south to Interstate 5, which brought them to San Clemente an hour later. Glenda got off the highway and turned into a neighborhood full of upscale, tightly-packed Spanish colonial homes. Unlike Compton, most of the yards weren't fenced, and those that were tended towards white picket fences. The lawns were universally well-cared for and nobody looked twice at them as they drove through the neighborhood and up to the address highlighted on the GPS.
It was a small, modest-looking home with a distinctly 70's asthetic. It didn't match most of the tile-roofed, square walled homes around it, but it hardly stood out, either. A BMW sat in the driveway, framed by a pair of shaped topiary trees. It looked like something off the cover of some homemaking magazine, Glenda thought.
They parked on the street and climbed out.
"The air is crackling with magic," Glenda said. "He's in there, doing something right now."
Jack walked up and pounded on the door. Glenda held up a hand, fingers splayed. Jack would understand what she meant. The magic was currently at a five, and she'd let him know if it diminished, and by approximately how much.
She kept her hand still for a while as nobody answered the door. Five minutes passed before Jack turned to her.
"Okay, this is your gig, now," he said. He walked back to the car, opening the trunk to reveal the bound, squirming and sweating Caliope there. He yanked her gag down and fed her from a water bottle.
"Been a long drive, ain't it?" he asked, conversationally. Caliope sucked greedily at the bottle, managing to drink every drop that didn't get splashed into the trunk.
"Fuck you," she muttered weakly. Jack smiled. "Looks to me like you're the one what's fucked, darlin'. Guess you shouldn'ta gone and fucked with your sister's collar like that. I mean, if you'd played by the rules, we'd have overlooked the whole issue of you not actually being any help whatsoever, and taken your good faith efforts as enough to fill your end. But ya had to go behind our backs, causing trouble. So now you're stuck in a trunk until we get back to the airport."
"Fuck you," she gasped again.
"'Scuse me," Jack said, reaching past her for an armored vest. He pulled it out and tugged it over his head, getting the flaps velcroed in place and adjusting it. When he was done, he pulled Caliope's gag back up.
"Awright, girl, you jes sit tight while we check this out. Won't be but a little bit, then we'll be heading to the airport."
She tried to say something, but the gag turned it into a muffled wail. Jack smiled as he closed the trunk and returned to the front door. Glenda stood there, watching him, fully kitted up with her armor and a carbine in her hands.
"Ready," Jack said. Glenda turned and, without preamble, kicked the door open with a thunderous blow. She rushed inside, rifle up and leading the way, Jack hot on her heels. Neither made it very far, though.
The living room had been converted into a ritual chamber. The walls were festooned with runes and the twisting lines that connected them. The floor had a large, ornate circle in the middle, runes etched into it and twisting, spiral designs encasing the whole thing. But that wasn't what gave them pause.
In the middle of the circle hovered a shimmering mirage, through which Glenda could see a city. It looked like something out of a sci-fi film, all rounded corners and smooth, off-white concrete. The windows in the buildings were mirrored, or else none of them had lights on inside, because they all reflected a sunrise coming from behind the view.
"What the hell's that?" Jack asked. Glenda carefully felt the magic around the apparition. "I think it's a portal."
"Okay, so where does it go, do ya think?"
"I haven't got a clue. I don't recognize that city."
"Kinda looks like Mos Eisley, a hundred years after they found oil or something," Glenda said.
"Think that's what Dylan was paying for? A trip to wherever that is?"
"Looks like," Glenda mused. "We're gonna need to call this in."
"Ayup. Let's clear the house, first."
They did just that. They found a den set up in one of the bedrooms, an obviously-lived-in kitchen and a master bedroom used for its intended purposes. In the last bedroom, they found an arsenal and storage space. It was full of survival and camping gear, weapons and ammo.
"Missing rifle," Jack said, peering at a gun rack.
"Yup," Glenda agreed. She opened an ammo tin. It was only half full.
"Somebody geared up here," she said.
Jack sighed. "Let's call it in, then. We'll hand over our little helper when the backup gets here."
----
It took two hours to get a team there, mostly because the LA regional office was all the way up in Burbank. But they eventually arrived. Two security officers took Caliope off their hands, to bring her back to prison. They brought another collar, to replace the modified wet blanket spell Glenda had been holding since the riot. It hadn't seemed like a lot of effort to hold the spell in place, but as soon as she finally let it go, she felt a wave of relief.
"Julie sent some extras along," the leader of the relief force told Glenda once Caliope had been seen to. She'd already spotted the two middle-eastern men in different uniforms than the rest. She thought she recognized the older one.
"We'll take all the help we can get. Any of you boys willing to go jaunting across reality with us?" The man chuckled. "No, thanks. Besides, we've got orders to secure this building and wait for the feds. Gonna see if there's anything illegal here, so we can nab this Garcia fellow as soon as he gets back."
Glenda nodded, then looked at the two middle-eastern men. She jerked her head in a 'come here' gesture and they stepped forward.
"Glenda, right?" the older one asked, holding out a hand.
"Yup," she said as she took it. He shook firmly, then let go. "I am Aqib, and this is my assistant, Mateen. We've been running around, helping out where we can for months now. It seems it is your turn to accept our assistance."
"Either of you got any magic?" Glenda asked. Mateen hefted his rifle and then tapped his body armor. "All of our gear is enchanted. We have rings, as well," he held up a hand bedecked with silver bands. "They will help us heal from injuries and allow us to see in the dark and other such useful things."
"Good, good," she said, then stopped. Aqib. That name rang a bell. She squinted at the middle-aged man.
"You were at the Wyrm facility when we took it," she said. "About six years ago." He nodded.
"I was with your friend when she fell. She saved my life," he said. Glenda nodded. "I remember that. I'm glad you're still here, then. Glad you're with us. I, uh..." She stopped speaking before she got choked up and cleared her throat.
"Are you two ready?" she asked.
"We have our gear," Aqib said, nodding at a pair of large backpacks leaning against one of the DCM branded trucks. "Camping gear, food and water for three days. Spare ammo, tools. We were told you had much more supplies yourself."
"Yup. I've got fresh food, enough for a couple of weeks for the four of us. Plus a couple months worth of dehydrated foods, MRE's and other food that'll keep for a while. I've got water and other shit to drink, camping gear, etcetera, etcetera. As long as you guys brought your own tents, we're golden."
"That is good," Aqib said.
"Do you have battery packs?" Mateen asked.
"Battery packs?" Glenda responded.
"Yes, for phones and other electronics. To keep them charged. I have a solar recharger, but it takes a long time, and it isn't always convenient to set it up."
Glenda shook her head. "Nope. Never been much for carrying a bunch of electronics around. Besides, I doubt our phones will work, where we're going."
Aqib grinned at his companion. "No video games until we're done, Mateen," he said. Mateen rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."
"Mateen is still a child at heart, even though he has children of his own," Aqib explained as he stepped forward to get a good look at the portal, still hovering in the middle of the room.
"As long as he can fight," Glenda said. Jack approached, finished with the field paperwork. He had a backpack slung over one shoulder, and a rifle slung over the other. He still wore his armor.
"He fights like a cornered dog," Aqib said mildly. At Glenda's quirked eyebrow, he clarified. "He is very fierce."
"Good," Glenda said. She turned to Jack and gave him a quick kiss. "We ready?"
"Ayup," Jack confirmed. "All the paperwork's done, we're good to go."
Glenda pushed past Mateen and Aqib as they moved to pick up their packs. "I'll take them," she said. Mateen frowned, but Aqib simply nodded and stood back. She grabbed both packs and sent them to hammerspace, accepting Jack's pack and giving it the same treatment. Mateen shook his head slowly, but Aqib seemed unimpressed.
"Okay, let's boogie," Glenda said and strode through the portal before she could work up any doubts.
----
"None of 'em rotted," Jack said. "They're all mummified. All the plants are dead, but none of them are rotted, either." He stood in what seemed like a small park, a few trees growing in clusters at the four corners, and an open field of dead grass in the middle. Bodies lay strewn about, adults and children alike. Many lay draped over the benches, or slumped in a pile in front of them. One cluster of small bodies had a large, rubber-ish ball laying next to them, as if they'd died in the middle of some sort of game.
Glenda eyed the surroundings. They hadn't encountered a single living being in the hours they'd been moving through this city. "What do you think happened here?" she asked.
"I'll be honest, I ain't got a fucking clue, darlin'," Jack said. They stood in silence for a bit, reflecting on what they'd seen and wondering about it. An entire city, dead. No signs of decay, except for rusted metal. Glenda had seen large piles of rust that she took to be cars, based on the plastic and ceramic components still in them, along with the bodies. An entire city, dead. And yet the bodies remained. They'd held up better than the metal, for sure.
Mateen came around a corner at a jog and made a beeline for them. "Aqib has found something, a fresh body. Recently killed."
"Lead the way," Glenda told him. They followed him back around the corner, two blocks down and then around another corner, where they found Aqib standing over a bloody, headless corpse, resting against a building under a sign written in a language Glenda didn't recognize.
"Sheeit," Jack said as they drew up. "That's certainly out of place. Wonder where his head got to."
"Over here," Mateen said. He gestured to what looked like a bus stop with a trash can next to it. There, fetched up against the trash can was a severed head. A sparse trail of blood led from the body to it. Glenda walked over and crouched down, peering at the head.
"I think this is Garcia," she said. She pulled the photo she had of the man from hammerspace, checking it against the head.
"I think you're right," Jack said, peering over her shoulder. "And the chopped off head. That sounds like something Dylan would do."
"I think we're on the right track then," Glenda said. "But how do we know what direction he went?"
She straightened up as they all looked around. Nothing stood out to them.
A moment later, a terrifying roar sounded from off in the distance. They all turned towards it, weapons rising.
"I do not like that, but I think we know what direction to check now," Aqib said.
"'Fraid I gotta agree with ya," Jack said.

I have an ASRock 670E PG Lightning motherboard with a 7950X3D in it. It's been working great for like a week now, but it just crapped out.
I was configuring OpenRGB to make my RAM colors change with my CPU temperature, and running CPU-Z's CPU stress test to check whether it was working. The CPU didn't run hot, never got much above 75 degrees C, and I only ran it in increments of ~30-60 seconds. When it died, I didn't even have the stress test running. The RAM RGB wasn't working right; it was getting brighter with the increases in CPU temp, by the color was stuck on red.
In the middle of use, the video output died, the RGB for my RAM and GPU froze (color and position stayed as it was), and the CPU and RAM motherboard LEDs came on solid. I gave it probably 60 seconds or so to see if anything would happen, but it just stayed as it was. I had to hold my power button down for ~5 seconds to get it to turn off.
It rebooted as normal. Thought it might be an issue with my CPU, so I ran the stress test again for a good 3-4 minutes without OpenRGB running, and didn't have any problems. Again, the CPU never got above 75 degrees C. (I ran that stress test for like 10 minutes straight earlier this week, and the CPU never topped 77. I've got it pretty well cooled.)
I stopped the stress test, ran OpenRGB again but just left it minimized, and went to go look up the motherboard manual to try and figure out what happened. In the middle of casual internet browsing, the computer died again. I figured okay, the prblem is that I'm running a buggy open-source RGB controller and it's crashing my machine, no big deal.
Unfortunately when I try to reboot now, the RAM and CPU lights come on immediately, and I get no video output from either the GPU or the onboard graphics. The GPU RGB turns white for a couple seconds, then goes to the default "chase" pattern. The RAM lights go to their default rainbow-flow pattern.
I thought perhaps the board might be going through its "first time boot" protocol to reset, so I've let for five solid minutes, but nothing is happening.
Full specs from PCPartPicker below. Only difference is I have a Corsair RM1200x Shift power supply, which isn't available as a choice on PCPArtPicker for some reason.
HELP!!
EDIT - I left it turned off for a while, disconnected the power to see if I could clear the CMOS (I couldn't, don't have a jumper), and then on a whim, booted it up again. It's running - for now. But wtf happened?? I'm considering ditching this motherboard for another one and doing a full rebuild.
PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D 4.2 GHz 16-Core Processor	$1244.00 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler	$119.95 @ Amazon
Motherboard	ASRock X670E PG Lightning ATX AM5 Motherboard	$259.99 @ Amazon
Memory	G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory	$159.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$129.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$159.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	MSI SUPRIM X GeForce RTX 4090 24 GB Video Card	$1759.98 @ Newegg
Case	Fractal Design Torrent ATX Mid Tower Case	$204.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair AX1200 1200 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	-
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 11 Pro Retail - Download 64-bit	$189.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$4228.86
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-03-21 11:52 EDT-0400

I have an ASRock 670E PG Lightning motherboard with a 7950X3D in it. It's been working great for like a week now, but it just crapped out.
I was configuring OpenRGB to make my RAM colors change with my CPU temperature, and running CPU-Z's CPU stress test to check whether it was working. The CPU didn't run hot, never got much above 75 degrees C, and I only ran it in increments of ~30-60 seconds. When it died, I didn't even have the stress test running. The RAM RGB wasn't working right; it was getting brighter with the increases in CPU temp, by the color was stuck on red.
In the middle of use, the video output died, the RGB for my RAM and GPU froze (color and position stayed as it was), and the CPU and RAM motherboard LEDs came on solid. I gave it probably 60 seconds or so to see if anything would happen, but it just stayed as it was. I had to hold my power button down for ~5 seconds to get it to turn off.
It rebooted as normal. Thought it might be an issue with my CPU, so I ran the stress test again for a good 3-4 minutes without OpenRGB running, and didn't have any problems. Again, the CPU never got above 75 degrees C. (I ran that stress test for like 10 minutes straight earlier this week, and the CPU never topped 77. I've got it pretty well cooled.)
I stopped the stress test, ran OpenRGB again but just left it minimized, and went to go look up the motherboard manual to try and figure out what happened. In the middle of casual internet browsing, the computer died again. I figured okay, the prblem is that I'm running a buggy open-source RGB controller and it's crashing my machine, no big deal.
Unfortunately when I try to reboot now, the RAM and CPU lights come on immediately, and I get no video output from either the GPU or the onboard graphics. The GPU RGB turns white for a couple seconds, then goes to the default "chase" pattern. The RAM lights go to their default rainbow-flow pattern.
I thought perhaps the board might be going through its "first time boot" protocol to reset, so I've let for five solid minutes, but nothing is happening.
Full specs from PCPartPicker below. Only difference is I have a Corsair RM1200x Shift power supply, which isn't available as a choice on PCPArtPicker for some reason.
HELP!!
EDIT - I left it turned off for a while, disconnected the power to see if I could clear the CMOS (I couldn't, don't have a jumper), and then on a whim, booted it up again. It's running - for now. But wtf happened?? I'm considering ditching this motherboard for another one and doing a full rebuild.
PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D 4.2 GHz 16-Core Processor	$1244.00 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler	$119.95 @ Amazon
Motherboard	ASRock X670E PG Lightning ATX AM5 Motherboard	$259.99 @ Amazon
Memory	G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory	$159.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$129.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$159.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	MSI SUPRIM X GeForce RTX 4090 24 GB Video Card	$1759.98 @ Newegg
Case	Fractal Design Torrent ATX Mid Tower Case	$204.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	Corsair AX1200 1200 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	-
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 11 Pro Retail - Download 64-bit	$189.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$4228.86
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-03-21 11:52 EDT-0400

Hi, looking to make a new setup and I want to build it myself, so 1st time builder. I've checked to see if it meets my needs, since I mostly want it for 1440p gaming with Ray Tracing and Ultra settings since I've been saving a few AAA games like Cyberpunk, Hogwarts and AC Valhalla for a new build. My current setup is i5-6600k and GTX 970 so quite a nice step up.
Two main queries beyond any other feedback which would be much appreciated.

1. M.2 Cooling - not been able to get a solid answer if the stock Mobo heat sink will be fine for a boot drive and main gaming drive. Also I realise that there isn't much price wise in getting a 2TB M.2 instead of a 2TB SSD, but my concern again was mostly heating issues.
2. Is the bottom part, the Thermalright anti-bending buckle necessary? I've seen a few say its a must have, others say nothing or not to bother.

Removed some of the things that are on my part picker from this table so its less spammy with the fans, so might be why there is a price total discrepancy. Based my build around this build like quite a few I've seen on part picker's completed builds listings, which uses the two 140mm fans for the intake.
Would prefer to keep it somewhere similar price wise, maybe ~£100 (UK based) upwards if it'll be a major benefit since I need to get a few additional bits like a desk, chair etc. for my new setup and I can hopefully shop around for deals at other places than amazon.
PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i5-12600KF 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor	£278.99 @ Amazon UK
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black 60.09 CFM CPU Cooler	£119.95 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard	MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard	£179.99 @ Amazon UK
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory	£142.32 @ Amazon UK
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	£95.10 @ Amazon UK
Storage	Samsung 870 Evo 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive	£150.30 @ Amazon UK
Video Card	MSI GAMING Z TRIO GeForce RTX 3080 10GB LHR 10 GB Video Card	£814.00 @ Amazon UK
Case	Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact TG Dark Tint ATX Mid Tower Case	£114.01 @ Amazon UK
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	-
Monitor	ViewSonic VX2718-2KPC-MHD 27.0" 2560 x 1440 165 Hz Curved Monitor	£218.01 @ Amazon UK
Custom	Thermalright Intel 12th Generation LGA1700 Anti-Bending Buckle, Curved Pressure Plate,CPU Fixing Buckle,CPU Stress Bending Correction Fixer, Fully Fitted and Fixed Without Trace Installation	-
Total	£2162.57
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-03-21 14:02 GMT+0000

​

2015 A3 sedan 2.0T Quattro ~55k miles, still under extended warranty until 02/2025 or 125k miles whichever comes first (lol). I do the oil changes myself (obviously saving receipts) and some other very basic maintenance but in order to maintain the warranty without issues I still have the annual maintenance done at a shop. I gave my local shop the list from Audi’s maintenance schedule of everything they recommend, which is as follows:
“Major maintenance:” - check battery - check cooling system, add if necessary - Drive shafts: check boots - engine compartment: check for leaks - exhaust: check for damage and leaks - front and rear axle: check for excessive play, check dust seals on ball joints and tie rod ends - horn: check function - check function of all lights - transmission and final drive: check for leaks - road test - sunroof: clean guide rails and lubricate - check spare tire / repair set - underbody: check for damage and leaks - visual check for paint damage and corrosion
Outside of the standard “major Maintenance” above, 55k service includes the following:

• Air cleaner: clean housing and replace filter
• Dust and pollen filter: replace
• Plenum panel: check water drain and clean if necessary

Time- based service:

• change AWD clutch (Haldex) fluid (every 3 years)

I also asked them to rotate the tires and to write “55k service” on the receipt. I already did the oil change myself. I supplied the genuine Audi Haldex fluid change kit from ECS tuning. The shop is providing the 2 air filters.
I was quoted $606 + tax, + $37 for NY state inspection (annual), which should theoretically have at least some overlap with the “55k major service” (check lights, check horn, etc.). Their posted labor rate is in the neighborhood of $125-$140 an hour last I checked. The shop added some line items to the visual inspection list like “check belts, check wiper blades,” etc.
$606+ tax just seems a bit exorbitant to me for what is largely just visual inspection. Change the 2 air filters, Haldex fluid change, lube sunroof, check plenum panel, rotate tires, road test. Sounds like ~2.5 hours max, right? Also no loaner car.
What would dealerships or your local shops charge for this? I’m in NY about an hour north of NYC.

This is the third time I have checked off something from my worst fears list as actually happening. I 26F just moved about 8 hours away from my family. Before I left I used most of my savings to purchase a new car. My old car constantly needed to be jumped and when we took it in to get looked at, we never got resolution on what the problem was. So it seemed worth it to get a brand new car to ease my anxiety during this transition period in my life. I just really fucking didn't want to get stranded in the middle of nowhere specifically somewhere too far from my dad to come get me ESPECIALLY when I don't know anyone in the area yet.
I've had a rough semester at school, got sick for 10 days with a fever for 7, had two exams during this time and I'm not failing, but I'm not doing as good as I wanted to. So over spring break I planned to sleep, sleep, and more sleep, and then get caught up on my work. I got a little lonely near the end of my break, so I decided to drive to see my Aunt who lives about 2 hours away.
Literally smack in the middle of my trip my car stopped accelerating. I was able to get in a parking lot before I turned the car off. Before I called my family I had to do everything I could to not freak the fuck out. Me and my two dogs were stuck in the middle of nowhere, the closest firestone or dealership was one hour away-next to my apartment. All the local auto shops were closed until Monday. All I could see was a fast food place, a tractor supply, and a motel 6. As a woman who listens to way much true crime podcasts, I was not feeling too great. I'm sure people in this town are nice but I just felt very exposed and nervous. Every time anyone came near my car my dogs would start freaking out as they 1. hate the car and 2. were probably picking up on my anxiety. Both my parents expressed their stress over my being stranded, my mom even started crying. My best friend never called me back because he was watching the UFC fights. I just felt even more alone because my parents weren't even trying to act like it was going to be okay.
The tow was going to be over 700$. So I hung up, had trouble breathing, and called roadside assistance back. Thankfully this woman asked for my VIN which I didn't know what it was, but after I gave it to her she said my tow was free because my car was still under warranty. But I still had several hours of waiting for the tow and about an hour ride ahead of me with the tow truck driver which also gave me a LOT of anxiety. He was super nice thankfully.
I'm still waiting for the dealership to call me about my car. For now I'm exhausted even though I got home Saturday and did nothing but sleep the past two days, I have residual anxiety from the feeling of being stranded in the middle of nowhere in an unfamiliar city in an unfamiliar state, and I have a general anxiety of not having transportation as I feel constantly trapped and worried something will happen and I won't be able to get a ride.
I can walk to work (which sucks because it's cold), but the whole time I'm not at home I feel like I'm going to fall asleep at any second and it's a little hard to breathe. I just hope I can go home soon but then I have classes tomorrow and I just don't know how I'm going to get the energy or the will to go.

esphome: name: watermain-shutoff esp8266: board: esp01_1m switch: - platform: gpio name: Valve Open id: valveopen restore_mode: ALWAYS_OFF icon: "mdi:valve-open" pin: number: GPIO12 inverted: True on_turn_on: - delay: 5000ms - switch.turn_off: valveopen - platform: gpio name: Valve Closed id: valveclosed restore_mode: ALWAYS_OFF icon: "mdi:valve-closed" pin: number: GPIO13 inverted: True on_turn_on: - delay: 5000ms - switch.turn_off: valveclosed - platform: gpio name: Alarm id: alarm icon: "mdi:bell" pin: number: GPIO14 # Enable logging logger: # Enable Home Assistant API api: encryption: key: "redacted" ota: password: "redacted" wifi: ssid: !secret wifi_ssid password: !secret wifi_password # Enable fallback hotspot (captive portal) in case wifi connection fails ap: ssid: "Watermain-Shutoff" password: "redacted" captive_portal: 

esphome: name: rfbridge platform: ESP8266 board: esp01_1m on_boot: then: - binary_sensor.template.publish: id: leak1 state: OFF - binary_sensor.template.publish: id: leak2 state: OFF # Enable logging logger: # Enable Home Assistant API api: encryption: key: "redacted" wifi: ssid: !secret wifi_ssid password: !secret wifi_password web_server: port: 80 captive_portal: remote_receiver: pin: number: 4 dump: - rc_switch filter: 50us idle: 2ms # 1 Kitchen Sink Leak detector dual position - platform: template name: "Kitchen Sink Leak Detector" device_class: moisture id: leak1 - platform: remote_receiver name: "Kitchen Sink Leak Detected" internal: true on_press: then: - binary_sensor.template.publish: id: leak1 state: ON rc_switch_raw: code: 'xxxxxx1000010011xxxxxxx1xxxxxxx1xxxxxxxxxxxxx01' protocol: 1 - platform: remote_receiver name: "Kitchen Sink Leak Cleared" internal: true on_press: then: - binary_sensor.template.publish: id: leak1 state: OFF rc_switch_raw: code: 'xxxxxx1000010011xxxxxxx0xxxxxxx0xxxxxxxxxxxxx01' protocol: 1 # 2 Upstairs Bathroom Leak detector dual position - platform: template name: "Upstairs Bathroom Sink Leak Detector" device_class: moisture id: leak2 - platform: remote_receiver name: "Upstairs Bathroom Sink Leak Detected" internal: true on_press: then: - binary_sensor.template.publish: id: leak2 state: ON rc_switch_raw: code: 'xxxxxx1110000000xxxxxxx1xxxxxxx1xxxxxxxxxxxxx10' protocol: 1 - platform: remote_receiver name: "Upstairs Bathroom Leak Cleared" internal: true on_press: then: - binary_sensor.template.publish: id: leak2 state: OFF rc_switch_raw: code: 'xxxxxx1110000000xxxxxxx0xxxxxxx0xxxxxxxxxxxxx10' protocol: 1 

alias: Leak Detected Alert description: "" trigger: - platform: state entity_id: - binary_sensor.washing_machine_leak_detector - binary_sensor.water_heater_leak_detector - binary_sensor.downstairs_bathroom_sink_leak_detector - binary_sensor.kitchen_sink_leak_detector - binary_sensor.upstairs_bathroom_sink_leak_detector - binary_sensor.sump_pump_water - binary_sensor.water_meter_water to: "on" condition: [] action: - device_id: b8a1d41b7c559d883304e633bb18f131 domain: mobile_app type: notify message: Leak Detected! - type: turn_on device_id: d33bfbe7f0d3c30bd9bb8cc8efac99c8 entity_id: switch.valve_closed domain: switch - type: turn_on device_id: d33bfbe7f0d3c30bd9bb8cc8efac99c8 entity_id: switch.alarm domain: switch - service: esphome.nspanel_notification_show data: label: Leak Detected! text: Leak Detected! Water main has been turned off! mode: single 

You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone.

Desktop Users: Comment on this post and Click here to start a trade App Users, please include the following in your PM (Remember to comment on this post as well):

• Type of card(s) and amount of each.
• What payment method you accept.
• How you acquired the GC and why you're getting rid of it.

BTC, Paypal^1, Apple Pay, Chime, Cashapp, Venmo, and Western Union
I only have Steam as a substitute for cash payments in gift card trades.

Want ↓	Cash or a Gift Card ↓	BTC ↓
Apple	60%4	NA
Amazon.ca	50%	50%
Amazon.co.uk	50%	50%
Amazon.com	70%	55%
Amazon.de	50%	50%
Amazon.es	50%	50%
Amazon.fr	50%	50%
Amazon.it	50%	50%
Amazon.jp	30%	30%
Arrow Films	65%	60%
Barnes & Noble	50%	50%
Baskin Robbins	60%	60%
Best Buy	60%	60%
BJ's (not BJ's restaurant)4	60%	NA
Bloomingdales	50%	50%
Burger King4	60%	NA
Clothing Shops (Small Boutique)	contact me	contact me
Dell4	60%	NA
Delta gift cards4	65%	NA
Delta Sky Miles4	PM me	NA
Delta Vouchers4	65%	NA
Dicks Sporting Goods 4	PM me	NA
Disney Plus	PM me	PM me
DoorDash	70%6	NA
Dunkin Donuts4	60%	NA
eBay	70%	70%
Fandango4	10%	NA
Five Guys4	60%	NA
Gamestop	60%	60%
Gas Station Cards4	PM me	NA
Grub Hub	70%6	NA
Gyft	70%	70%
Half Price Books	50%	50%
HBO4	70%	NA
iTunes4	60%	NA
J crew	40%	40%
JCPenney	25%	25%
Jersey Mike Subs4	60%	NA
KFC4	60%	NA
Khols	30%	30%
Macys	35%	35%
Magazines.com	40%	40%
McDonald's 4	60%	NA
Microsoft6	60%	NA
Moe’s Southwestern Grill4	60%	NA
Nintendo Eshop6	70%	NA
Nordstrom	50%	50%
Panera bread4	60%	NA
PSN6	60	NA
PSN Plus 12 month4	NA	NA
Saks Fifth Avenue	50%	50%
Sears	50%	50%
Sephora	50%	50%
Speedway4	80%	NA
Starbucks	55%	55%
Steam6	60%	NA
Subway 4	PM me	NA
Taco Bell	60%	NA
Target	50%	50%
Uber6	70%	NA
Urban Outfitters	50%	50%
Vudu4	50%	NA
Walmart	60%	60%
Wendys4	60%	NA
Xbox (gift cards)6	60%	NA
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (12 month/6 month/3 month/1 month)6	PM me	NA
Other Clothing Stores, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Restaurant, & Fast Food gift cards	PM me

¹ When paying via PayPal, I can only send payments via Goods and Services, thus you will be charged a fee. If you'd rather not face this fee there are plenty of alternatives. ² Larger denominated gift cards preferred. ³ PayPal is the only payment option. ⁴ I can't send less than $10 in crypto per Coinbase's rules.

What I don’t buy:

• Amazon.au
• Bass Pro Shop
• buffalo wild wing
• Canadian tire
• Cold Stone
• Dairy Queen
• Fanatics
• Google Play
• Hilton Honors
• Hot Topic
• iTunes from anywhere but the US
• Krispy Kreme
• old navy/gap/banana republic
• Patxi's pizza
• PSN Canada or UK
• publix
• Raceway
• Scheels
• Shell Gas Stations
• Spotify
• Tractor supply
• Xbox Canada or UK
• Xbox live gold

Any fees are built into the price.

Selling

I have:
$500 in Amazon (can be broken up) and am selling at

• 80%: WesternUnion
• 85%: btc
• 90%: Apple Pay, Chime, or PayPal

Here are my GCX Rep profiles with 932 trades worth more than $60,000:

• #1
• #2
• #3
• #4
• #5
• #6
• #7
• #8
• #9
• #10

Important: before you send your codes please make sure your account is secure (if your password is twelve characters or less it's best to assume your account has already been compromised; your password should be eight randomly selected words, see 1 and 2). Scams where compromised accounts are used to leverage reputation to scam an unsuspecting user, used to steal codes during the middle of the trade, and steal unused gift cards the victim was saving for later are increasingly commonplace. If you have any concerns as to your account's security, please reset your password now and force logout of all sessions. Thanks

You can download the WesternUnion app and send the payment from your phone.

Desktop Users: Comment on this post and Click here to start a trade App Users, please include the following in your PM (Remember to comment on this post as well):

• Type of card(s) and amount of each.
• What payment method you accept.
• How you acquired the GC and why you're getting rid of it.

BTC, Paypal^1, Apple Pay, Chime, Cashapp, Venmo, and Western Union
I only have Steam as a substitute for cash payments in gift card trades.

Want ↓	Cash or a Gift Card ↓	BTC ↓
Apple	60%4	NA
Amazon.ca	50%	50%
Amazon.co.uk	50%	50%
Amazon.com	70%	55%
Amazon.de	50%	50%
Amazon.es	50%	50%
Amazon.fr	50%	50%
Amazon.it	50%	50%
Amazon.jp	30%	30%
Arrow Films	65%	60%
Barnes & Noble	50%	50%
Baskin Robbins	60%	60%
Best Buy	60%	60%
BJ's (not BJ's restaurant)4	60%	NA
Bloomingdales	50%	50%
Burger King4	60%	NA
Clothing Shops (Small Boutique)	contact me	contact me
Dell4	60%	NA
Delta gift cards4	65%	NA
Delta Sky Miles4	PM me	NA
Delta Vouchers4	65%	NA
Dicks Sporting Goods 4	PM me	NA
Disney Plus	PM me	PM me
DoorDash	70%6	NA
Dunkin Donuts4	60%	NA
eBay	70%	70%
Fandango4	10%	NA
Five Guys4	60%	NA
Gamestop	60%	60%
Gas Station Cards4	PM me	NA
Grub Hub	70%6	NA
Gyft	70%	70%
Half Price Books	50%	50%
HBO4	70%	NA
iTunes4	60%	NA
J crew	40%	40%
JCPenney	25%	25%
Jersey Mike Subs4	60%	NA
KFC4	60%	NA
Khols	30%	30%
Macys	35%	35%
Magazines.com	40%	40%
McDonald's 4	60%	NA
Microsoft6	60%	NA
Moe’s Southwestern Grill4	60%	NA
Nintendo Eshop6	70%	NA
Nordstrom	50%	50%
Panera bread4	60%	NA
PSN6	60	NA
PSN Plus 12 month4	NA	NA
Saks Fifth Avenue	50%	50%
Sears	50%	50%
Sephora	50%	50%
Speedway4	80%	NA
Starbucks	55%	55%
Steam6	60%	NA
Subway 4	PM me	NA
Taco Bell	60%	NA
Target	50%	50%
Uber6	70%	NA
Urban Outfitters	50%	50%
Vudu4	50%	NA
Walmart	60%	60%
Wendys4	60%	NA
Xbox (gift cards)6	60%	NA
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate (12 month/6 month/3 month/1 month)6	PM me	NA
Other Clothing Stores, Gas Stations, Grocery Stores, Restaurant, & Fast Food gift cards	PM me

¹ When paying via PayPal, I can only send payments via Goods and Services, thus you will be charged a fee. If you'd rather not face this fee there are plenty of alternatives. ² Larger denominated gift cards preferred. ³ PayPal is the only payment option. ⁴ I can't send less than $10 in crypto per Coinbase's rules.

What I don’t buy:

• Amazon.au
• Bass Pro Shop
• buffalo wild wing
• Canadian tire
• Cold Stone
• Dairy Queen
• Fanatics
• Google Play
• Hilton Honors
• Hot Topic
• iTunes from anywhere but the US
• Krispy Kreme
• old navy/gap/banana republic
• Patxi's pizza
• PSN Canada or UK
• publix
• Raceway
• Scheels
• Shell Gas Stations
• Spotify
• Tractor supply
• Xbox Canada or UK
• Xbox live gold

Any fees are built into the price.

Selling

I have:
$500 in Amazon (can be broken up) and am selling at

• 80%: WesternUnion
• 85%: btc
• 90%: Apple Pay, Chime, or PayPal

Here are my GCX Rep profiles with 932 trades worth more than $60,000:

• #1
• #2
• #3
• #4
• #5
• #6
• #7
• #8
• #9
• #10

Important: before you send your codes please make sure your account is secure (if your password is twelve characters or less it's best to assume your account has already been compromised; your password should be eight randomly selected words, see 1 and 2). Scams where compromised accounts are used to leverage reputation to scam an unsuspecting user, used to steal codes during the middle of the trade, and steal unused gift cards the victim was saving for later are increasingly commonplace. If you have any concerns as to your account's security, please reset your password now and force logout of all sessions. Thanks

I have a Powermac G4 MDD that i use with a Studio Display CRT over AGP.
I did another post a few months ago when it suddenly stopped booting due to a faulty GPU. It chimed but didnt durn the display on and didn´ load into OS X afterwards.
Last night my secon GPU seems to have died aswell. I was in an OpenFirmware shell and tried to boot from an Install medium but screwed up and had to reboot. I rebooted it using the "reset-all" command.
The machine then restarted and chimed but the display did not come up. i tried the usual PMU Reset, NVRAM reset but nothing worked so it seems the GPU is fried aswell.
I am beginning to suspect that the machine got some kind of power supply issue, how can i check for that?
Are there known Fuses that can break when using AGP on an Radeon 9000 Pro?
I have a Multimeter and already measured some fuses but they seem fine.
I think i am going to buy a Geforce4 MX off ebay, but dont want to kill that aswell.