How much does jeff nippard weight

It seems Burnaby and Richmond are the only cities that don’t publish their rink rental rates and their booking staff are impossible to reach (tried phone and email many times, before and during spring break, to no avail). Front desk doesn’t provide any information either.
Does anyone happen to know if Bill Copeland Arena has ice year round? Also much do they charge per hour for their weekday and weekend prime and non prime rates, and which hours fall under prime and non prime? Also any advice on how to actually connect with someone who can help with bookings or at least provide information on bookings?
Thanks!

This may be long, so I apologise in advance however I want to give as much information as possible to get the best advice/opinions possible.
A mate of mine back in secondary school/high school was talking to a girl, in which he got into a relationship with, this would have been around 3/4 years ago. Fast forward to 1 year and a half ago this girl whom I didn’t know joined my place of work, in which I later remembered and found out was the girl my mate was dating.
We never really talked much other than work related things, however about a year ago we start talking, she is the girlfriend of my mate, so I never ever had any intentions or feelings towards her.
A couple of months ago they broke up, in which she told me, apparently I was the first person she had told, I genuinely felt bad and tried to see what I could do to help them, which wasn’t much.
From that point we start talking more and more, we also start messaging each other out of work, however again I didn’t have any intentions. I can then remember one day we were messaging and I started to feel something, very weird and due to the situation I suppressed the feeling, this was because she used to date my mate, who I’m not really longer mates with however more friendly associates.
At work we bicker a lot and argue however in a funny/ friendly way (if that makes sense). A couple of weeks pass and once again we are messaging, and something clicked, as if I had met the love of my life, I am not exaggerating she seems perfect, the only thing holding me back is the past mate situation, however I could no longer hide my feelings to myself.
I would hint in messages that I liked her, this was by me saying I want to leave our place of work (which is true) however there was something holding me back, she asked what but I said I couldn’t say due to the circumstances, she kept on asking and asking, I never said anything, this happened probably at 3 different conversations we had whilst messaging.
She is very open with me about personal things, girl things and etc. However I get the feeling sometimes as if she likes me then doesn’t in which I would mostly initiate messages, which didn’t use to be the case, sometimes i get a distant vibe whilst at work and other times it’s like normal.
Up to this point I don’t have any clue wether or not she likes me or has any interest.
However, her best friend I kind of knew for a long time, I thought let me try and test wether or not she likes me. So I asked via messages if she knew if her friend liked me because someone told me that she did. She replied saying that she didn’t and that she doesn’t want anyone at the moment , however previously she would talk to me about how her best friend needed a guy, I thought she was hinting me, but I guess not, hence I thought this would be a useful test, to me I got even more confused. Then at work, I went up to her and said the reason I asked was because I like her friend, she said how could I like her when I don’t know her, she asked me things like how many siblings does she have and what does she study. She then said when she saw a guy and liked him a lot, I said who, she said something like a random guy she saw at the club, she then said exactly how can you like someone you don’t even know.
Fast forward to today (I am missing things out both due to not being able to remember and not to make this longer than it needs to be, so ask any questions). After work i sit down with her so she can eat her meal, and we talk, when the conversation somehow gets to her talking to a guy recently, she says that he is very very good looking and other things, when she then says are you jealous, I said no. (became a bit of a blur as I was not expecting that and was jealous).
Simply put I don’t know what to think or do

Long time lurker, decided to share my recent experience with BJJ in the hope that it’ll resonate with others at all levels, especially those struggling for motivation or having the blues:
I joined a GB academy in my home town when I was 34, at the time I had a very busy job so found it hard to get motivated, although I loved open mat. I got all the way up to the lofty heights of three stripe white belt before I decided that I had to focus on my work, so BJJ went to the wayside and I eventually left GB.
Fast forward six years, by which time I’d completed a part time degree, wasn’t exercising, was using alcohol to deal with stress, finally I worked so hard that I burned myself out and in 2022, I had a mental breakdown. I had reached 40 years old and was at rock bottom, I can honestly say this was 100% the absolute worst point in my life so far.
Over the next couple of months my partner, my therapist and my doctor all indirectly saved my life. I was fortunate that I could move to a less stressful role that was 9 to 5. After a lot of work on myself, my therapist recommended that I try exercise to get my motivation and focus back. I hate the gym, I hate running, I like swimming but it’s a solitary activity & I yearned a social connection while training.
BJJ came back into my life!
I joined a small independent club rather than returning to GB. The head coach is ex military, but is an unassuming, friendly and patient man. Being a bit older and having a few ingrained bad habits, plus some of my old “work is more important” mindset, I would turn up for the beginner classes but find reasons not to stay for extra classes or to roll afterwards.
What’s great about the coach is that he likes to push people just a little outside their comfort zone in every class. He does this in a subtle and understated way, you barely notice it’s happening. It’s just enough to scare you but not so much that you are intimidated or scared off.
He said two things that I want to share in particular: First, during a class he was teaching a technique which involved intent, something you had to either commit to or fail at, he said, “If you do things half assed, you’ll get half assed results”. This resonated with me on a professional level as that’s the attitude I have always had towards work. I had never thought about BJJ in this light before.
Secondly, a week later he talked about his own personally journey and how he decided early on that BJJ was “for him” and that he knew he would become a black belt. He said, “commit ten years and you can be a black belt too, you’re going to be somewhere in ten years, you might as well be there”. Reflecting on my previous ten years I realised I had made a soulless choice by focusing on my work. I had nothing to show for it but a shattered mind. It was like a switch flipped in my head and I made a mental decision there and then, “I am going to give BJJ 110%”.
Almost a year on from the worst point in my life, I am training 5 days a week in BJJ and loving every second of it. The harder I focus on my training, the more I seem to get back in return. I am happier, less stressed and more balanced than I’ve ever been in my life. I feel connected to my teammates and my club is a healthy, positive environment. So if you’re having doubts, struggling, have hit a plateau in your training; here’s some advice from my coach, “Don’t think about it, just fucking send it, give it your all”. Oss.

Let me start by saying my life was a TOTAL MESS due to 20+ years of trauma at home and around family. Things are still tough, but in just the last 2 weeks I have made tremendous progress and I wanted to share my experience just in case it can help anyone else. For the first time in my life, I can finally feel some ACTUAL HOPE for my future and hopefully you can too.
I honestly can't believe how much better I feel now and the only thing I've changed/added is this. It is not for everyone but it is definitely worth a try in my opinion. It's free and does not require anything beyond a simple pen/pencil, paper, and a quiet space. It's a method called the daily practice. If you Google "crappy childhood fairy daily practice" it will come up. You should watch her videos to learn the ins and outs but in a nutshell, here is how it works
-When you wake up, get a pen and paper, and write down your fears and resentments. There's a specific format, you write "I have fear that..." and then whatever is on your mind. Or "I have resentment at x because I have fear that..." So for me an example might be "I have resentment at my neighbors because I have fear that they make too much noise." And you just keep writing for 5-10+ minutes, don't overthink it (hard I know, trust me), just whatever comes to mind. You can write as much or as little as you like, be gentle with yourself and do what you can handle.
-After writing, immediately take the paper and crumple it up and throw it in the trash. (Unless you have a friend/buddy you want to read it to, then save it for 1 day before discarding it after reading it to them. I choose to just throw it away and don't read mine to anyone else).
-Set a timer on your phone or some sort of alarm for 20 minutes away and find a quiet space. Close your eyes, relax as best you can (again, hard for people like us with possible PTSD, I get it!, do your best), and simply repeat a neutral word softly. The example used by Anna Runkle in her course is "this." So you just have your eyes closed, and you repeat "this...this...this...this" until the timer beeps and then you're done.
-Repeat steps 1-3 again around 5-6 hours later. So not right before bed, more like after dinner if you work the traditional 9-5 schedule. You ideally want to have a few hours before bed when you repeat it.
Stick with it for 1 week and honestly assess your progress.
I'm happy to explain further, or answer any questions but this has been a literal life changer for me. I've never felt this way in my entire life. I'm happy, and hopeful and productive now. I honestly did not believe that was possible 2 weeks ago, I was beyond rock bottom, barely could get out of bed, barely could shower or shave or do laundry or anything. My life isn't perfect by any means but now I have HOPE and I feel so much better!! I do still struggle with the basics here and there but it's like my brain is STARTING TO HEAL and I notice a huge difference. For just one specific example, 2 weeks ago I was struggling massively with binging on porn, it was a huge waste of time and just bad news. I hadn't been on any dates in 20+ years. And in the last 2 weeks I have already been on 1 date, it did not work out (we just didn't click) but guess what, instead of binging on porn and being sad/depressed/triggered like I normally would, I decided to reach out to someone else and asked them out and they also said yes! So now I have ANOTHER date lined up for next week. And if it works out, great. If not, I'll keep trying. Trust me, this is such a massive change in my mindset, I was stuck just watching porn with no possible escape until I added this daily practice. I would write down things like "I have fear that I binge on porn" or "I have fear that I use porn to escape" or whatever else, and then a few days later my urges just sort of went away! And I felt this new urge to actually meet real women. So I would really encourage anyone and everyone to give this a try for 1 week and see what happens for you.

Let me start by saying my life was a TOTAL MESS due to 20+ years of trauma at home and around family. Things are still tough, but in just the last 2 weeks I have made tremendous progress and I wanted to share my experience just in case it can help anyone else. For the first time in my life, I can finally feel some ACTUAL HOPE for my future and hopefully you can too.
I honestly can't believe how much better I feel now and the only thing I've changed/added is this. It is not for everyone but it is definitely worth a try in my opinion. It's free and does not require anything beyond a simple pen/pencil, paper, and a quiet space. It's a method called the daily practice. If you Google "crappy childhood fairy daily practice" it will come up. You should watch her videos to learn the ins and outs but in a nutshell, here is how it works

1. When you wake up, get a pen and paper, and write down your fears and resentments. There's a specific format, you write "I have fear that..." and then whatever is on your mind. Or "I have resentment at x because I have fear that..." So for me an example might be "I have resentment at my neighbors because I have fear that they make too much noise." And you just keep writing for 5-10+ minutes, don't overthink it (hard I know, trust me), just whatever comes to mind. You can write as much or as little as you like, be gentle with yourself and do what you can handle.
   
2. After writing, immediately take the paper and crumple it up and throw it in the trash. (Unless you have a friend/buddy you want to read it to, then save it for 1 day before discarding it after reading it to them. I choose to just throw it away and don't read mine to anyone else).
   
3. Set a timer on your phone or some sort of alarm for 20 minutes away and find a quiet space. Close your eyes, relax as best you can (again, hard for people like us with PTSD, I get it!, do your best), and simply repeat a neutral word softly. The example used by Anna Runkle in her course is "this." So you just have your eyes closed, and you repeat "this...this...this...this" until the timer beeps and then you're done.
   
4. Repeat steps 1-3 again around 5-6 hours later. So not right before bed, more like after dinner if you work the traditional 9-5 schedule. You ideally want to have a few hours before bed when you repeat it.
   
5. Stick with it for 1 week and honestly assess your progress.
   

I'm happy to explain further, or answer any questions but this has been a literal life changer for me. I've never felt this way in my entire life. I'm happy, and hopeful and productive now. I honestly did not believe that was possible 2 weeks ago, I was beyond rock bottom, barely could get out of bed, barely could shower or shave or do laundry or anything. My life isn't perfect by any means but now I have HOPE and I feel so much better!! I do still struggle with the basics here and there but it's like my brain is STARTING TO HEAL and I notice a huge difference. For just one specific example, 2 weeks ago I was struggling massively with binging on porn, it was a huge waste of time and just bad news. I hadn't been on any dates in 20+ years. And in the last 2 weeks I have already been on 1 date, it did not work out (we just didn't click) but guess what, instead of binging on porn and being sad/depressed/triggered like I normally would, I decided to reach out to someone else and asked them out and they also said yes! So now I have ANOTHER date lined up for next week. And if it works out, great. If not, I'll keep trying. Trust me, this is such a massive change in my mindset, I was stuck just watching porn with no possible escape until I added this daily practice. I would write down things like "I have fear that I binge on porn" or "I have fear that I use porn to escape" or whatever else, and then a few days later my urges just sort of went away! And I felt this new urge to actually meet real women. So I would really encourage anyone and everyone to give this a try for 1 week and see what happens for you.

I'll add my two cents. I'm a trad wife. My husband and I are eachother's firsts. We waited until marriage to live together. We have been together 12 years and married 9. We have four kids and I'm a stay at home mom. I garden, have chickens, bake, and make home cooked meals every night. We have what all these alpha guys talk about.
Except my husband has the privilege of having me as a wife because he is kind, loving, compassionate. If he gets off work and the house is messy, instead of getting mad at me for "not doing my duty as a wife" he pitches in knowing how difficult having little ones at home can be. And he knows how difficult it is because he does just as much of the nitty gritty parenting stuff as me. He treats me as an equal in every way.
These alpha guys are always going on about the difficulty of finding their trad wives in a sea of thots. They can't find a trad wife not because society doesn't make them, but because we are married to guys with empathy who treat us as partners, not possessions.

TW: Depression and SA
I’d just like to share my story on here with recent discussions about depression.
To start, I’m a huge H3 fan and have been for a VERY long time. Way before the podcast.
I am a 29F and I’ve always been into fitness and sports. I have practiced and competed in various forms of martial arts since I was 6, so many different sports, and I was previously a competitive powerlifter who has now turned to bodybuilding instead. Basically I did a bunch of these things that all the stupid alpha males like to claim as personality traits, and claim are the key to fixing your life.
I would say I kind of have had that picture perfect family life. I am best friends with my parents and have 4 amazing older brothers. We grew up poor, but happy.
As a child, around 8 years old, I was sexually assaulted by a family friend and it changed my whole word and how I viewed my self worth. It completely ruined my self worth and how I viewed my body. It also caused me to struggle with severe depression. I am privileged and lucky enough to have parents who are open about mental health and provided me with the help I needed through life to control my depression. But once I moved out on my own I stopped focusing on my mental health.
During the pandemic, when everything was shut down, I spiraled into a deep manic depression due to multiple reasons and things that happened in my life during the pandemic. I was not on depression medication due to my own misconception of it, and was not seeing a professional for my mental health issues.
I struggled severely with self image even though I was that cool big muscles girl.
During that time I finally got the help of a psychiatrist and medication I so desperately needed. I was able to pull myself from almost committing suicide. I found a passion for bodybuilding. Went from a big bulky powerlifter of 200 pounds to a bikini competitor in bodybuilding with a stage weight of 115 pounds.
Now with that said, the gym would have NEVER solved my psychological issues. I went to the gym every day before seeking help, and was competing in powerlifting and doing very well. I lifted heavier than most of the Sebastian like dudes at my gym. But guess what? Before I got help I was still severely depressed. The gym did not, and was not, resolving my depression. In fact, it was masking it and making it worse because I was refusing to address it. I didn’t find any true relief for years until I finally went on my depression medication and asked for help.
I say all this as to provide an example that the gym can assist with mental health, but it cannot solve mental health issues. I can also confidently say as a bodybuilder my fitness dedication is much stronger than Sebastian’s.
Unfortunately depression and suicide is actually a big issue amongst bodybuilders that is not spoken about enough. The best of the best professional bodybuilders, some who I personally know, struggle severely with mental health issues.
So in short, fat man not bad and medication good.
Peace and love family. If you need help it’s never too late to ask for it.

A bit of background: I was diagnosed with ocd and gad about 15 years ago. Been very much under control for the most part.
I’m 32 years old and just started dating an incredible 31 year old woman about a month ago. I’ve dated a lot over the past few years, but this is the first time in ages where I’ve REALLY been into the person. Normally it feels like the people I date like me more than I like them, and anxiety doesn’t play a role. I just go about my day with a calm mind and do what needs to be done. But now it feels like the roles are reversed, and I’m getting crushed.
Constant thoughts of whether or not she likes me, obsessing over every word in her texts to try interpreting meaning, freaking out if she’s doesn’t respond to my messages within a couple hours. It’s taking over my life. My work is slipping, I can’t sleep well, a constant awful sick panicked feeling in the pit of my stomach.
It doesn’t help that she’s very reticent with her emotions and does not offer much words of affection or validation. But I don’t want to scare her off with my intense feelings so on the surface I’ve been playing it cool the best I can. I almost wish she would just end things with me so I could move on, because not knowing how she feels is the worst part.
I don’t know what to do.

He said Uber reports to the IRS how much gross pay I got from customers…… does anyone know what he means by commissions and fees paid to Uber? Any advice would be awesome. Thank you.

I thought it would be interesting to keep track of changes since I recently hit 500 hours in satisfactory. I have compiled a lot of screenshots over playing the game in this time so I organized and typed a bit on here about each album. There are a few more random comments on the imgur albums linked in this post as well. Maybe other people will find it interesting hopefully as well though I mainly made this post for myself to look back on in the future.
My first save when I downloaded the game I started in grasslands. I played 21 hours or so before I abandoned the save and started over again. Most buildings are built on the ground or hanging way up in the sky because I thought to verticality would be interesting to look at... only there are no supports and it doesn't make much sense like storage. I did have fun placing some things within trees at a nearby coal source I found to expand power shortly before quitting. First save album : https://imgur.com/a/DU3POZg
Second save I played for 35 hours on it before abandoning it. It was the first save I tried using a couple mods in as well. However this was a bad idea and led me to start over again. A hour or two before I left it I had installed the first few to try out, and one of them unlocked all the recipes? I didn't mean for it to do that, and didn't see in the description it would. Opps lol. Anyways when I noticed all my auto saves were gone so it led me to restart because it was too overwhelming seeing all these choices and things I never seen before yet.
In here though I tried to take notice of the things I learned from first save like using foundations to support factories more, and not making storage way up in the air. so it is more accessible. It also includes my first covered factory, and with me experimenting with things like hiding belts more between foundations. I also tried to focus on learning more about pipes and how to place them in more aesthetically pleasing ways. The second save album is here : https://imgur.com/a/k9MEhjh
The third save is my current one, although I think I might restart it soon again, or just spend time to delete like half the map. I am still undecided on which. In this one I started in the northern forest. I really really like it here and probably will always start again here in the future. I have over 300 hours in it right now, and the rest of the 150ish comes from playing with a very close friend I tried to get into the game (around 45 hours on their save) and then some people's regular or dedicated servers.
The first thing I saw when coming down from space was being greeted by alien fauna. https://i.imgur.com/HzNAYPx.jpg
One of the things I focused on this save was reconsidering my storage area to be both easy to travel to, and out of the way. So one of the first buildings I placed (and then later decorated some as I unlocked awesome shop things) was a storage area. It includes several floors, and it quite tall because I really liked the result of clipping containers through foundations. Later I changed the foundations to catwalks and I really like the result. Storage area album : https://imgur.com/a/b8igkVJ
The reinforced iron plate factory was one of the first ones I built and involved things like very tightly hidden belts and lifts and many floors. It is quite large as well compared to my other builds so far. And at one point had ramp foundations 4m to access each floor that were annoying to jump up. Those were later removed and a simple hyper tube from f1 goes all the way to the top. RIPS album : https://imgur.com/a/VGtn8sx
The next larger build I made is modular frames. Well besides rotors/stators which has been expanded so many times I don't think it is reasonable to show it since it doesn't resemble its original form at all anymore. Unlike how storage does... with some decorations. It is also the first time I used vehicles at all. It is to take them to where I was eventually making heavy modular frames (though the vehicle wasn't intended for that originally and only meant to bring back to storage... a very convenient thing). I believe it is 20/min in here right now. It has some more things in consideration like floor access that I learned to do better from RIPs and previous saves. Modular frames album : https://imgur.com/a/hsu6Mcg
At some point around this time I started making a huge sky road. It.. turned out very very eyesore. I want to delete it and rethink my transport. Album : https://imgur.com/a/BAdaiGT
An attempt to make compact build... featuring coal towers. Like my idea from the previous save with the refineries before I abandoned it. It turned out badly, but I am much much better at the game now I feel like and have a more in depth understanding of belts and pipes and building techniques.. so I want to come back and redo this as I envisioned it properly at some point as well as upgrade the miners. Album : https://imgur.com/a/ucbBwYo
HMF is the first time I tried to make a circular building, but I never got the production numbers I wanted. And didn't decorate it since I wanted another two or three of these circles with additional buildings nearby connected by sky bridges. Link : https://i.imgur.com/UeRzYCm.png
In there you will see another building that did not turn out how I had in my mind. We didn't have the corner pieces. I didn't want a giant triangle top. I thought it would be so cool to have it shaped like the other 3 sides on all 4 and a diagonal corner.. however the building pieces will not allow for this. The inverted triangles do not fit where they need to so I can't make it. (I hope you add them coffee stain). It contains some HMF component production. Album : https://imgur.com/a/zmpXHYa
Around this time I was able to have the opportunity help decorate someone's refineries and fuel generation. They were completely in the open and I closed them off while they worked on something else in their save. I really learned a lot about clipping stuff while doing so. Unfortunately I don't have very many images saved of this and everything is of WIP stuff and not the final result. Album of that work : https://imgur.com/a/IpAndnw
I also kind of messed around with packaged fuel for like 10 hours. I don't know why I had so much confusion doing this, but eventually I got it to work and it is still running with a sink even now over 100 hours minimum later. It is ugly though since I was testing stuff. Image : https://i.imgur.com/BAnexWZ.jpg
At this point in my save I really really needed to expand power, so I ran around the map looking at fuel locations until I found one that I really liked. It was in this mushroom crater area. However what I didn't know when I started it is that it is going to be reworked... and considering what they they did to spire coasts that is going to make any building there unable to work what what I imagined for it... so I abandoned it only partway complete and hooked up. Though I connected to main grid. It is quite large and was going to produce something like 70k power or 60k idk. I am so sad to abandon it though because I loved the thought of a giant middle building with lots of generators across the biome with pipes hidden under the ground. Album link here : https://imgur.com/a/GhD6XzV
So I ended up with some power so I went to work on aluminum (mainly batteries) stuff... which I ended up accidentally building in yet another map rework area. So that got abandoned too lol. Features some very closely placed foundations to avoid clipping into trees and branches and other parts of the geography. A very challenging place to build, but I imagined it to be soo cool looking to see an army of drones coming out of the forest. https://imgur.com/a/BlIxNmm
Of the parts of the battery production I finished I fully decorated and finished the silica I needed for it. This place is honestly my most favorite build of everything I made. I took so many lessons from previous designs when making it. Like considering how I will travel inside, how it looks from outside. The truck station unload/load issue with multiple stations. The transport of silica (once battery production was up and running) etc. The truck entrance was to take overflow elsewhere. The drones where going to transport silica to batteries but for now has a conveyor belt. The outside of it looks very interesting and structurally sound to me. Also it is avoiding the natural trees in very close ways so it looks like it has been built there for a while and trees grew around it. And it just barely avoids the toxic gases inside. Absolute favorite factory of mine! Link here! https://imgur.com/a/x0aFE5C
And then I still needed to eventually expand more fuel yet again, so I started working on this area which I think is safe from reworks? At least it better be LOL. The idea I had was hovering power generators with several towers. I am only using one oil node right now and I will NOT be building another 8 of these and everything else twice more to use the rest of the oil here. The towers themselves are too much work to hide pipework as best as you can to keep the hovering sci-fi feel I wanted. Very WIP to more finished stuff at the end of the album. However it is still my current project on my save so it isn't fully complete yet. Album link : https://imgur.com/a/X4Lhqvd
And finally my last project that I just finished a day or two ago (I needed a break from fuel piping on my save). The aluminum plant on a dedicated server I was invited to. It was really challenging to work with the resource nodes they already were extracting form. So I had to use some very far away ones. However It turned out nicely and I really played around with power switches a lot in here. Resulting in a modular power control of the factory outputs. Very happy with how it turned out, but the wiring was a pain to figure out the first time. The decoration is very open aired inspired. All together I think I spent around 66-95 hours building this, the bus, the train line, and supporting factories for it (silica, rubber, batteries, ai limiters, copper ingots). Album here : https://imgur.com/a/FzAPfUc
And now I am at 505 hours played on steam. So much time, but I still feel like I can change things. Lots of things I would like to try more of in the future. But I really like my progress so far. Maybe I write another update post again in the future.

We all know that Wired controversy, which I will not link to. Rather, I'd like to lay the groundwork for some potential explorations into Sanderson that might be worth an actual in-depth investigatory piece that Sanderson would not be able to answer in a podcast. I will start off with three themes raised in the infamous article. I hope that others follow up with their own ideas.
​
1) How does Sanderson's interrogation of religion in his own work reflect a potential struggle with Mormonism? - This is an issue that the author very much wanted to get at, though instead fell into personal attacks, calling Sanderson "extremely Mormon" and what not. However, that is far from the truth, especially insofar as critics bring up the Mormon analogues in his writing. In Elantris, we see the character Hrathen driven by logic and love of order embrace an "ends justify the means" approach to converting an entire nation in order to "save" it. The effort involves bribery, kidnapping, genocide, etc. However, at the end of the day we see that there is eventually a line too far for Hrathen, once the last resort genocide is instead revealed to be part of a planned "glory to Jaddeth" power move. A great many crimes have been justified as being part of a grander holy plan, with Christianity -- including Mormonism -- taking part. Given that Hrathen came from a lawful evil character in one of Sanderson's role playing games, an exploration of how much of this was inspired from personal reflection could be elucidating.
Likewise, my Sanderson-critic friend critiques the Church of the Survivor as a Mormonism stand in. Yet if that is the case, Sanderson has gone on record a number of times mentioning how problematic Kelsier is. Kelsier constantly uses religion to manipulate and con his way into positions of power and an advancement to his agenda. Apparently Kelsier is even responsible indirectly for the rise of the Set, and Autonomy fan girls over him.
If all of the above are true, then it would seem that Sanderson might be trying to deconstruct his own religion and relationship with it. I personally do not know what the true answer is (i.e. I did not make the connection between Kelsier and Joseph Smith like my friend did) but such an angle could be rewarding.
​
2) How much of Sanderson's success is due to the man v. the moment? - Another critical angle, with the idea being that Sanderson got lucky with the advent of the MCU, GoT, and cultural desire for extended universes. Insofar as Sanderson is successful, maybe it is because of his simple prose, which might allow him success now, but not in the long term. Following this line of thought, how much does Sanderson acknowledge this possibility, and how does he prepare for the end of the good times? Did his close family and friends from before have different thoughts on the likelihood of his success before he completed the Wheel of Time series?
While Sanderson has answered to some extent this question, an article length piece all in one place could be useful to those who do not religiously watch Sanderson's podcasts. Might also be topically relevant given the issues Marvel has been having of late.
​
3) Has Sanderson been a net boon or detriment to newer fantasy authors? - Building upon the initial kickstarter impetus of the article, Sanderson is one of the most prolific and successful fantasy authors. With his secret projects AND standard books, a casual reader could be reading only his books for years without ever reading another author's work. If this is the case, then the possibility exists that Sanderson might be sucking up all the oxygen for new writers to thrive upon. However, Sanderson likewise is using his position to fight for new creator rights against Amazon, Audible, major publishers etc. Some might view Sanderson as the Machiavellian ideal, using his great power to crush the collective good's enemies all the while creating new institutions. Yet to have so much market power rested in one creative's hands alone might do more harm than good. An investigative piece into "objective" net good v harm of Sanderson's positions, along with Sanderson's reflection on the topic could be great. The author of such an article could even sprinkle in some critiques of what's wrong with Sanderson's style, i.e. continuity over prose or some such.
​
​
In any case, these are just some ideas. Journalists at various newspapers might hopefully take a look at these and produce something new and insightful as opposed to coming to the defense of a pretty sloppy Wired writer. I do believe that there is a lot to explore related to Sanderson, even if it's not in a particularly flattering light. I hope that everyone else in and beyond the community can think up ideas to advance new articles on the topic.

Why do they want male validation so bad? I understand this can be rooted from dad issues ect, however I know girls who have amazing relationships with their dad but still seek to impress any and every boy they come across as if boys are so much above them they need to prove them self? And feel so proud if a boy respects them? But not give a fuck about what their girl friends think of them and will constantly say things they think a boy will like. For example my y friend said ‘ronald said I’m the only girl he knows with good music taste’ . For starters, it seems ronald does not think woman can have good music taste, and the fact she was proud he said this? I’d be offended on behalf of the female population if a male said this to me? And when my ex friend would NOT enjoy hangouts unless males where there. Found it impossible to spend time with the girls without desperately finding boys to meet????? WHY? Why and how ….. it shocks me.

I’m two months clean currently, went as much as 6 months clean in the past year but had a few relapses. I think confronting the truth of our addiction (or as close as we can get to it) means so much.
While I do not say this to promote gambling and am careful in how I word this, there is always the potential that you could start with $10, turn it into $100, then $1000, then whatever number that would clear your debts or sounds amazing to you. There is even then the possibility that after all of that winning streak, you would find a way to not engage with gambling anymore.
The problem is statistically the chance of anything like that happening to you is so low. Our emotional perception of statistics doesn’t help us on this point though.
3700 people die every day in car accidents worldwide. Does that fact stop us from driving? Yet we can literally look up the odds on these slots, blackjack, and other games and see our chances of winning is so low that unless you are playing with house money, gambling is truly not going to net you profit at the end of the day, in all likelihood.
Yet still there is that rare thought in the back of the mind “but what if I am the one”, what if I do hit that streak and I do manage to quit. That’s the thought that can cause relapses. But fundamentally, even if there is a chance you could be “the one” the odds of you winning and not giving it back are so insanely low that you need to remind yourself of this with logic.
Seek help locally, groups, therapy, telling family. I couldn’t have gotten this far and minimized the damage I’ve done if I didn’t seek help beyond myself. This addiction thrives in secrecy so sharing the load with others will make you more relieved and give you a better path to long term success. This addiction is a heavy one and it’s easy for it to make you feel like it’s too heavy to bare but the truth is you are far stronger than this addiction and on the other side of this addiction can be a person who becomes even stronger by having gone through the trials and tribulations and overcoming them. One day, one moment, one second at a time. It’s not easy but it’s possible. The power is within you to decide what you will do. You can do it.

Hi all
Firstly thanks for your patience I am a FTB on low income. Would anyone be kind enough to explain this maths to me as I have learning difficulties which can cloud my judgement a lot.
This was posted on Rightmove for a home close to me:
“If you can't afford the mortgage on 100% of a home, Shared Ownership offers you the chance to buy a share of your home (between 40% and 75%) and pay rent on the remaining share. Later on, you could buy bigger shares when you can afford to and, if you choose, own the property outright. Monthly costs to purchase via Shared Ownership are generally less than purchasing outright or renting, making it a fantastic option to get onto the housing ladder.”
Financial Breakdown:
Full market value: £305,000 40% share value: £122000 5% deposit: £6100 Rent charged on un-owned share: 2.75% Monthly Rent on un-owned share (60%) £419.38 Monthly Estimated service charge: £TBC
Would I need to get a mortgage offer of at least £122k which is about £600 per month repayment to the lender. Does the £419.38 in rent get added to that so my monthly cost would be £1,019.38 is this how this works?
Does the interest rate fluctuate? What are the pitfalls with this type of home ownership?
Thanks so much

I’m two months clean currently, went as much as 6 months clean in the past year but had a few relapses. I think confronting the truth of our addiction (or as close as we can get to it) means so much.
While I do not say this to promote gambling and am careful in how I word this, there is always the potential that you could start with $10, turn it into $100, then $1000, then whatever number that would clear your debts or sounds amazing to you. There is even then the possibility that after all of that winning streak, you would find a way to not engage with gambling anymore.
The problem is statistically the chance of anything like that happening to you is so low. Our emotional perception of statistics doesn’t help us on this point though.
3700 people die every day in car accidents worldwide. Does that fact stop us from driving? Yet we can literally look up the odds on these slots, blackjack, and other games and see our chances of winning is so low that unless you are playing with house money, gambling is truly not going to net you profit at the end of the day, in all likelihood.
Yet still there is that rare thought in the back of the mind “but what if I am the one”, what if I do hit that streak and I do manage to quit. That’s the thought that can cause relapses. But fundamentally, even if there is a chance you could be “the one” the odds of you winning and not giving it back are so insanely low that you need to remind yourself of this with logic.
Seek help locally, groups, therapy, telling family. I couldn’t have gotten this far and minimized the damage I’ve done if I didn’t seek help beyond myself. This addiction thrives in secrecy so sharing the load with others will make you more relieved and give you a better path to long term success. This addiction is a heavy one and it’s easy for it to make you feel like it’s too heavy to bare but the truth is you are far stronger than this addiction and on the other side of this addiction can be a person who becomes even stronger by having gone through the trials and tribulations and overcoming them. One day, one moment, one second at a time. It’s not easy but it’s possible. The power is within you to decide what you will do. You can do it.

Today I want to write my vision of the near future facing humanity in the next decade.
The progress of Artificial Intelligence continues. His achievements are increasingly covering the material sphere of life. Soon, we will all be able to see firsthand the new generation of synthetic robots performing everyday tasks. But how exactly will this be implemented?
First, the first AI platforms will appear. Conventionally, these platforms will have sections for each robot separately. In 2023-25, massive humanoid robots with legs, arms and hands will already appear. The most popular models will have millions of sales, and will be the largest ecosystem for them. In each section of an individual robot, Models will be presented for its behavior in various situations. You can imagine a robot as a phone, then its section is its operating system, and the robot's behavior models are applications that can be installed and removed on it. The robot can be taught yoga, cooking, delivery and fishing, these will be independent models of behavior, which the robot can either train independently, or download a ready-made model according to the rating level. It is long and expensive to train the robot yourself, but over time, training will require less time and data, which will allow you to generate these models on the fly, but only for the simplest tasks, be it floor cleaning. Complex tasks will take a longer time to master, and then the question of a more effective choice will arise - to learn quickly some task yourself, if a ready-made model of this task does not yet exist at all, or download a ready-made one. In addition, the structure of the operating system is very important, but it will be easy and understandable for everyone. The robot itself will wait for commands in standby mode. When it receives a command, it converts the voice into text, tries to isolate the meaning from the text, just like Google search is doing it now, comparing it with Action Models. If the model is found, the robot performs the action, having previously specified the initial criteria for the selected task. If the action model is not found in the robot's memory, the robot invites the owner to create his own or download it from the Internet. Behaviors such as painting walls, washing floors, cooking will be widespread, have many alternatives, and possibly even be used in parallel. Some complex tasks, including working at a computer for a robot, or, for example, repairing a computer, will need to train a lot of time and spend a lot of energy on them, which will be available at first only to the largest companies, then to medium-sized ones, and after a while to everyone, as of how teaching methods will get cheaper. At some point, even incredibly complex tasks can be mastered in the shortest possible time, but more complex ones will appear, the complexity of the tasks and the speed of learning these tasks will increase exponentially over time. Today the largest companies train robots for the simplest tasks. The number of companies will keep growing, training will keep getting cheaper, and robots will get smarter. The trend cannot be stopped.
​
I am sure, less then in 2 years AI companies will make AI that can control humanoid bot, which can do any human hand work. This means only one thing. When they will make 100 such bots, this bots will double every 1-3 months. By 2030, we can have 1 Million-1Billion such robots, which will make everything and change our life LIKE NOTHING BEFORE !
For example, they will produce all food for everyone, but NOT only food. Fabric production will become not just automated, but robotized with universal clever humanoid workers.
Also they can do some landscaping and environmental management. But wait.
Remember what I tell you in the beginning? If they can do everthing, they will making new factories to produce themselves MORE and MORE. This is not like electrocars. 1 electrocar cant produce other 2 electocars. If 1000 robots can produce factory that can produce 10000 robots per year, then 1 robot can produce 10 per year. You guys know what I mean ? Exponential grow of robot population in this decade. And this is not a funny joke, this soon will be our reality.
Oh cmon, but how much robots we REALLY need ? Somebody will say 100000 robots per city will be FAR enough to cover all the needs of the city and will absolutely right. BUT. What we really want from our life ? I mean, in near future we all will all have a certain resource. Resource, that humanity never have before. We can call it ABILITY TO CREATE. Create almost without borders. So, after we cover all our ordinary needs, what we will do next ? What is humanity really capable of with such power?
Mega projects. Yep, this things will be next after working humanoid robot revolution. After day, then count of robots will more then 1 billion, things will change really fast. Making new islands in pacific sea near Hawaii ? Of coures. How much people want to live on Maldives ? What if we can create Maldives the size of Eurasia in the Pacific? They would accommodate 2 times more people than they currently live on earth.
God only knows what incredible things we can create in this century. But the truth is, we can't even imagine it all. We got so caught up in films about the future that we forgot that the present future is actually UNKNOWN to us and most likely it WILL NOT look like what we CAN imagine. This fact fascinates me every time.
And I will not tire of asserting that the beginning of this will be laid already in this decade. Very soon, the first robot will come off the assembly line, understanding your commands and simply executing them. At this point, you can safely say that this is the beginning of singularity.
​
Actual articles was writen by me 2 years ago:
https://www.reddit.com/singularity/comments/k0csiabsolute_robotization/
https://www.reddit.com/Futurology/comments/jp6o30/how_humanoid_robots_will_make_impact_in_nea
I still have this optimistic vision of the future and feel that my predictions are coming true before my eyes.
I want to share these articles with new members /r singularity because so many good people have joined us over the last year
P.S.
I want to add that it is in this article (in my opinion) that the whole purpose and direction of the arrow of the entire progress of the human colossus in the current decade is contained. I don't presume to judge what goal we as a species will begin to pursue in the next decade, it can be both the conquest of the cosmos, and going deep into the mind and matter. But the current task of obtaining an absolute transorative power over the physical world must be completed before 2030 and the direction is clear to me. Not an ounce of pessimism.

Recently I've been struggling more, during what felt like a stagnation in the development of my life and my path.
I felt like, and have been for many years, that there were certain blind spots, black holes I call them that I could not find the origin of.
Trying to heal my trauma's and moving forward, but always feeling like there was an aswer to a question I could not think of.
Not understanding why I have always felt my emotions so itensly, both love and pain. The suffering of others, the injustice in this world and the pain that follows.
And recently many joyfull and painfull lessons have been learned in rapid succesion.
The following experience was after sitting with my thoughts on how to proceed, specially since my mother has fallen ill in one of the worst ways. My intention was clear, will she be alright and what can I do?
I begin.
There is this woman, kneeling next to me. I can't see her face but I know she's beautiful. She notices my compliment, stops for a moment and continues.
She dances and shows me walls of information passed on from time. Books and scrolls from times long past. Ancient scriptures, with signs and symbols I don't understand. And that is it, I don't understand.
The showcase of this knowledge is chaotic, thrown around like a whirlwind and out of reach, a representation of my neverending quest for knowledge about the world, the people and myself.
Upon this realisation of my endless persuit of this, she shows me some dark spots, where the books and it's stories are missing, hidden. These spots are as black as can be, and I can feel they represent pain. But they are also the parts of myself I don't understand.
As she lifts me up I break through a layer of dense clouds, and am shown a world I have never seen before. A vast desert, with an ocean as far as the eye can see. It is warm and dry, but the water cools the air.
A man young man appears, he is my age. This is his homeland, this is where he was born. But he's been torn away from his home, from his people, from his place in this world. He has seen much suffering in others and the world around. He has seen death, he has seen dispair.
He screams out in agony, as he sees everything he loves lost before his eyes. Yet, he keeps fighting for what he holds dear and for what is right.
In the midst of the turmoil that is his life, there is only one thing that gives him peace, as the arm from the love of his life wraps around him.
She holds him tight, supports him as she tries to ease his suffering. She is just as strong as he is, but she suffers like he does. The two are connected in life and beyond.
I can tell they have been through hell and back together, and that it only made them stronger. As they slowly fade away into the clouds, so do I. I can still hear the echo's of his screams, as she pulls him to safety.
The black hole that was my lack of understanding about the intensity of my emotion is now filled, as I understand this previous life. And with that, also the trauma and suffering that he and she were not able to heal.
I spend the next little while tending to this wounded soul, as my hand becomes hers and I decide to carry his life with me, and try to heal what I can.
This woman he was with is something I'm still trying to find, perhaps in time.
I did not get any insight on how to do something for my mother, as I already know how, and if she will be alright is a question for the worrying soul.
But he and she have shown me why I feel what I feel, do what I do, am who I am.
Trauma and suffering carries on from generation to generation, from person to person, from life to life, and leaves wounds sometimes difficult to grasp and understand. But, in this pain lies an endless potential for love and understanding.
Thanks for reading 🙏

Recently I've been struggling more, during what felt like a stagnation in the development of my life and my path.
I felt like, and have been for many years, that there were certain blind spots, black holes I call them that I could not find the origin of.
Trying to heal my trauma's and moving forward, but always feeling like there was an aswer to a question I could not think of.
Not understanding why I have always felt my emotions so itensly, both love and pain. The suffering of others, the injustice in this world and the pain that follows.
And recently many joyfull and painfull lessons have been learned in rapid succesion.
The following experience was after sitting with my thoughts on how to proceed, specially since my mother has fallen ill in one of the worst ways. My intention was clear, will she be alright and what can I do?
I begin.
There is this woman, kneeling next to me. I can't see her face but I know she's beautiful. She notices my compliment, stops for a moment and continues.
She dances and shows me walls of information passed on from time. Books and scrolls from times long past. Ancient scriptures, with signs and symbols I don't understand. And that is it, I don't understand.
The showcase of this knowledge is chaotic, thrown around like a whirlwind and out of reach, a representation of my neverending quest for knowledge about the world, the people and myself.
Upon this realisation of my endless persuit of this, she shows me some dark spots, where the books and it's stories are missing, hidden. These spots are as black as can be, and I can feel they represent pain. But they are also the parts of myself I don't understand.
As she lifts me up I break through a layer of dense clouds, and am shown a world I have never seen before. A vast desert, with an ocean as far as the eye can see. It is warm and dry, but the water cools the air.
A man young man appears, he is my age. This is his homeland, this is where he was born. But he's been torn away from his home, from his people, from his place in this world. He has seen much suffering in others and the world around. He has seen death, he has seen dispair.
He screams out in agony, as he sees everything he loves lost before his eyes. Yet, he keeps fighting for what he holds dear and for what is right.
In the midst of the turmoil that is his life, there is only one thing that gives him peace, as the arm from the love of his life wraps around him.
She holds him tight, supports him as she tries to ease his suffering. She is just as strong as he is, but she suffers like he does. The two are connected in life and beyond.
I can tell they have been through hell and back together, and that it only made them stronger. As they slowly fade away into the clouds, so do I. I can still hear the echo's of his screams, as she pulls him to safety.
The black hole that was my lack of understanding about the intensity of my emotion is now filled, as I understand this previous life. And with that, also the trauma and suffering that he and she were not able to heal.
I spend the next little while tending to this wounded soul, as my hand becomes hers and I decide to carry his life with me, and try to heal what I can.
This woman he was with is something I'm still trying to find, perhaps in time.
I did not get any insight on how to do something for my mother, as I already know how, and if she will be alright is a question for the worrying soul.
But he and she have shown me why I feel what I feel, do what I do, am who I am.
Trauma and suffering carries on from generation to generation, from person to person, from life to life, and leaves wounds sometimes difficult to grasp and understand. But, in this pain lies an endless potential for love and understanding.
Thanks for reading 🙏

So. Im gonna be honest, im kinda ashamed im into this. But I love it. During the last week ive been questioning beginning my weight gain because of how people will react and my own health. But after thinking for a while about this, im 100% sure i want to do this now. Ive set a goal for myself to hit 250lbs in the next year or 2. Along with this im gonna up my calorie intake by a ton, aiming for 5000-10000 a day, so I can gain the most I can. Im gonna be eating as much food as I can. All of my favourites too, like pizza, pasta, chicken and more. Im also gonna drink a lot more soda and milkshakes. My diet will basically now just make me incredibly fat lol. Its gonna be hard with school and everything but im gonna do it and stay dedicated to this. I wanna be as fat as I possibly can. Ill give updates as much as I can for you all.

An unfamiliar familiar face. (Written in Stellas perspective)
​
I didn't like the atmosphere of the dark neighbourhood. thick fog was smearing the ground like a blanket, barely being able to see from the streetlight i was under. "was i even in the right area??" i thought to myself. I decided to keep moving. best not to wait under a streetlamp all night if you ask me. i continued walking, humming tunes to myself to break the tension, until a dull looking building crossed my sight. it wasnt overtly spooky or worn down, but it wasnt pretty either. I was honestly about to shrug it off, until i heard a, gosh i dont even know how to describe it, like a demnted caterwaul. and it was way too deep a yell to be a stray cat or anything like that. as much as i hate myself for this curiosity, i walked in, not knowing what to expect. i looked down at my feet, and there was this weird blackish goop. i scooped some unto my finger and pressed it inbetween finger and thumb. it was sticky, almost like a glueish paste. gave it a small lick, but only because they do that in movies when they find a foreign substance, and honestly it had a taste i dont think has even been categorized as a flavour yet. said black goop lead in a trail, conveniently for me. normally you wouldnt follow an ominous trail of unknown slime in a dark, sketchy building, but i feel like the thing knows im here, so leaving now might cause more problems then querys answered. the only sounds were the faint wooshes of air, the drips of, well, more black goop stuff, my own footsteps, and the warbly moans of this creature inside here. it smelt strongly of burnt plastic, too. admirably not the best smell to have when in a creepy-esque scenario like this. weird thing is, the location of the creatures noises seem to differ every time. one place to another. left to right. i also find a purplish-black puddle wherever the most recent one is. this thing is surely messing with me, at which, i brandished my trident and slammed the butt of it on the cracked flooring, hard. i was kicking my authority up a notch. "Id rather not play your drunkard idea of fun, entity. reveal yourself under demand of the queen of voipiens." my words echoed through the structure, and right then and there, i swear the world went silent. the wind, the dripping, any sound one takes for granted was gone. this silence wasnt to last though, as one of those purpley-melted puddles started fountaining from a crack in the ground in front of me. this eventually started building up, spreading out the puddle and it almost touching my feet, before its flow paused, and retracted. but it was retracting into the shape of a human. the wails were heard again, ringing out of the puddle as it took shape. once all the liquid had been drained, i finally got a look at the being, though, they were facing away. they seemed to realise this too, as it twisted its leg out in an attempt to turn around. it does this, and, from here im just confused. it, looked like, it was, rennode? my own friend turning into dang puddles?? i was about to sigh a breath of relief, before he cocked his head in a confused manner. upon a closer look, i realised, what i thought was his facemask wasnt a mask at all. it seemed to be the colour of, or even fused with, his skin. the eyes were also slit-like, a shade of blush red. i dont know if rennode got a makeover or what but before i could squint for a closer look his head just, clicked off his shoulders, falling limp to the ground.. but, it was still attached, its spinal cord reaching and bending IMPOSSIBLY to tether his body and neck. this isnt rennode. this isnt right. this isnt right godfuckingdamn this isn

We all know it's true that our cats get more cuddly and affectionate when we're sick. If you have a fever? No mystery there. If you're sick but have no fever? I still say no mystery because we probably smell different. Animals need to be able to sense when a member of their pack or prey are sick, so it makes sense cats would know when their humans are sick and get all protective and worried and comforting.
What I can't explain is how my cats knew I was in unbearable, excruciating, feel-like-you-want-to-die pain from a toothache for 5 days until I was able to get in to get it pulled.
The pain started Saturday, and I couldn't get in to see someone able and willing to help me until Thursday. had to take off work Tuesday0-Thursday. Starting Tuesday, our cats' behavior towards me was unmistakably different. I'm not imagining or anthropomorphizing - they were objectively acting differently:

1. Andromeda the tortie never sleeps with me. She has no objection to me occupying my bed at the same she does, but she just goes to a corner I'm not occupying and sits there, not touching me, uninterested. As I lay in bed in the middle of the day Tuesday (I'll leave you to guess how much sleep I was getting at night), Andromeda snuggled against me for the first time. Lay down against me, headbutting me, nuzzling me... I repeat, this is literally the first time she has EVER done that. Not hyperbole - actually, truly the first time. And it wasn't a "Get me food/treats!" signal - when she wants food or treats, she meows. Loud and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Point is, she was silent, she was not bugging me to get her food or treats, she was doing something that I found comforting that she's never done before while I was in unbearable pain.
2. Sadly, my roommate's calico Cali hasn't been the same since my roommate disappeared for 6 weeks last year (he's a spinal-cord injury survivor paralyzed from the chest down who got dangerously low sodium and had to spend 6 weeks recovering in rehab). Cali used to love to sleep with me, but since then, the only places she wants to go are the basement and next to my roommate. She's gotten better (especially since I got her a calming pheromone collar) but not quite her old self. She's only slept me with me twice since her favorite human's hospitalization last year - once weeks ago, and again Tuesday night.
3. Our 3 cats do not get along at all (we tried all the techniques, and at first, it looked like they worked, but it quickly became evident that they hadn't learned "Good things happen around these cats, so I like these cats," just that "When we act nice and don't hiss at each other, we get good stuff," but I can't give them treats 24/7, so they don't keep it up 24/7). They don't try to kill each other, they just keep their distance and hiss (and possibly swipe) if another accidentally gets too close. Andromeda and my gray tabby Juliet will sometimes hang out on my bed at the same time (in completely different areas), but when I'm in bed, only 1 cat at a time will come up. They NEVER sleep more than one at a time with me. Until early Wednesday morning. I woke up, Cali was still snuggled close against my right side, and as I lay there trying to go back to sleep, Juliet came up. She stuck to my left, and Cali hissed at her a few times, but then stopped. So for the next few hours, I got to lie there with 2 cats snuggled close against either side of me for the first time EVER.

What signals did I give that something was wrong? A change in my routine? We've had changes in routine for other reasons like power outages and vacations, and they didn't act like this. I wasn't lying there crying - it's not that kind of situation. Change in my heart rate or pulse?
Or do they do these things for other reasons, and it's just a coincidence humans find them comforting? If so, why do they do them?
All I know is, it felt like our 3 kitties did their best to support me while I was suffering this week. I love them so much!