Mark 5:

1 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside.

Gerasenes was a gentile region where people raised pigs. They were not the over-zealous Jews who wanted to make him an earthly king. In fact, they wanted Jesus to leave them alone.

17 And they began to implore Him to leave their region.

In this case, Jesus wanted the gentile people to know the good news of His power to deliver:

18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

Wiki:

The Decapolis was a group of ten Hellenistic cities on the eastern frontier of the Roman Empire in the Southern Levant in the first centuries BC and AD. [Wiki[(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decapolis)

After this, Jesus traveled to a crowded Jewish region.
Mark 5:

21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet.
After he put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. 41He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Jesus didn't want the riotous crowd to make him king. John 6:

15 Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

So Jesus didn't mind the non-Jews talking about his miracles but he minded the over-zealous Jews making him an earthly king.
This is confirmed in the story of the Samaritan woman at the well also. John 4:

39 Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”

Samaritans and Gentiles talking about Jesus's power was okay but he didn't want the over-zealous Jews to do the same because they misunderstood the purpose of his first coming by their traditional interpretation of the Hebrew Scripture of the promised Messiah.

Hello everyone! It's week two of Explore the Horizon. Last week I really enjoyed the Festival tasks, so let's hope this time around we get a bunch of good things once again. Sorry for the little delay in publishing this thread this week, hope you all are having a great week!  
A ??? is available for completing the Super7 this week.  

Forzathon Shop

The Forzathon Shop ends on Jun 8th, 2023 @ 14:29 (UTC).  

• 450FP Car: 1964 Aston Martin DB5
• 300FP Car: 2014 Ford #11 Rockstar F-150 Trophy Truck
• 75FP Clothing: Farid Rueda Lion Race Suit
• 75FP Car Horn: Referee Whistle
• Wheelspins: 60FP & 150FP  

Festival Playlist Rewards

• Autumn - 20/63 Points: Ford F-150 '86 (Exclusive Car)
• Autumn - 40/63 Points: 2022 Extreme E Odyssey 21 e-SUV (#44) (Hard to Find)
• Series - 80/252 Points: Wuling Sunshine (Hard To Find)
• Series - 160/252 Points: 2021 Audi RS 7 (Hard To Find)  

Hot Wheels Events - 7 Points

Exclusive to Hot Wheels Owners; the respective Academy Rank must be unlocked. Not Required for Season Rewards, Series Completion, or the Min, Meet Max Achievement.

• Danger Sign: "Canyon Fire" ?? 2 points
• Criteria: Anything Goes (S2-998)
• Reward: Super Wheelspin  
  
• Championship: "Super Loops" 5 points
  
• Criteria: Modern Supercars (S1-900)
  
• Reward: Clothing - Farid Rueda Bear Cap  
  

Rally Adventure Events - 7 Points

Exclusive to Rally Adventure Owners; required for you to be Horizon Badlands Champion. Not Required for Season Rewards, Series Completion, or the Min, Meet Max Achievement.

• Speed Zone: "Tierra Verdes" ?? 2 points
• Criteria: Anything Goes (S2-998)
• Reward: Super Wheelspin  
  
• Championship: "Time Warp" 5 points
  
• Criteria: Retro Saloons (B700)
  
• Reward: Emote - Macarena  
  

Forzathon Weekly Challenge - 5 Points

Earn 80FP for completing the weekly challenge, double if you own La Casa Solariega. Must be done in sequence to count.

• Own the drive the 2017 RAM 2500 Power Wagon.
• Win a Dirt Race in the 2017 RAM 2500 Power Wagon.
• Earn a Wrecking Ball skill with the 2017 RAM 2500 Power Wagon.
• Earn 3 Stars at Trailblazers in the 2017 RAM 2500 Power Wagon.  

Forzathon Daily Challenges - 1 Point Each, 7 Points Total

Each challenge is open for 7 Days from 2:30PM UTC* of the start day. Earn 10FP per Challenge, double if you own La Casa Solariega.

• Take a photo of your car at night
• Earn 3 stars from Danger Signs in any Offroad car
• Smash 12 Cactus
• Complete any Showcase event
• Earn an Ultimate Air skill in Dunas Blancas
• Find the flamingos near Cascadas de Agua Azul
• Complete any Custom Racing Cross Country event  

Seasonal Events - 30 Points Total

The reward listed for Seasonal Championship events requires you to place 1st against at or above the Highly Skilled Drivatar difficulty setting; the Trial requires Unbeatable difficulty and is accessible after entering the Hall of Fame.  

• Horizon Arcade: Any Event 3 Points
• Criteria: Complete any Horizon Arcade event  
  
• The Trial: "Ooh... Barranca" 10 Points
  
• Criteria: Retro Rally (C600)
  
• Reward: 2016 Bentley Bentayga  
  
• Event Lab: "By Land, Air and Sea..." 3 Points
  
• Criteria: Offroad Capable (A800)
  
• Reward: 1970 Ford GT70  
  
• Danger Sign: "Salto de Río" ? 2 Points
  
• Criteria: Anything Goes (S2-998)
  
• Reward: Super Wheelspin  
  
• Speed Trap: "Dustbowl" ? 2 Points
  
• Criteria: Anything Goes (S2-998)
  
• Reward: Super Wheelspin  
  
• Championship: "Rally Good Time" 5 Points
  
• Criteria: Rally Monsters (A800)
  
• Reward: 2017 Maserati Levante S  
  
• Championship: "Ready for Liftoff" 5 Points
  
• Criteria: Unlimited Offroad (A800)
  
• Reward: 1973 Ford Escort RS1600  
  

Challenges - 8 Points Total

• Treasure Hunt "Finders Keepers" 3 Points
• Criteria: Check out this week's Pathfinder challenges in Evolving World Accolades page. If you can uncover all 3 trails then the treasure will be yours!
• Reward: 250,000 credits  
  
• Photo Challenge #BigHorn 2 Points
  
• Criteria: Take a wildlife photograph near the camera equipment to the North of Mulegé
  
• Reward: Forza Link - "I'm the goat!"  
  
• The Eliminator: Battle Royale 2 Points
  
• Criteria: Finish 30th or better
  
• Reward: 2011 BMW X5 M  
  
• Collectibles: "Flamingo Falls" 3 Points
  
• Criteria: Smash 10 Flamingo cut-outs found near the Cascadas de Aqua Azul
  
• Reward: Clothing - Farid Rueda Lion Face Mask  
  

Monthly Events - 2 Points per Season (8 Points per Series)

• Monthly EV Ek' Balam Cross Country Circuit 1 points per Season
• Criteria: Post a clean lap to complete  
  
• Forza EV Cupra Tavascan Concept 1 points per Season
  
• Criteria: Post a clean lap to complete  
  

Explore The Horizon With Enhanced Photo Mode And Pathfinder Challenges  
FH5 Release Notes: May 23rd, 2023  

"Tim McGraw" Hint: blond guitarist with yellow jacket and red shorts on occasions
He said the way my blue eyes shined
How are her eyes? Needing sleep? So worried for her, she needs to eat more warm food. When she went to Vegas she was panhandling with song and she got $21 or so with her mom after throwing trash on the fountain like Detti soaped the fountain with a bar and got quickly bailed, and after the first girl scolded the security guard after the littering event. But what she earned with her mom that night was for 1 buffet that night. Not for breakfast. How is her mom? How is her makeup supply? She smeared her guitar with kohl from her tears?
Put those Georgia stars to shame that night
What do you mean? No more singers or celebs from Georgia could come to Nashville then/anymore? Or they were blinded by the LED light? Or the constellations put on a veil?
I said, "That's a lie"
Do you really have blue eyes? Or sunflowers are coming? You uplifted the homeowners of Georgia/ I heard real estate was quite affordable there. But your penthouse is $15K a month - does that include Lisa's 1800GOTJUNK services?
Just a boy in a Chevy truck
How old? Legal to drive? Tall enough to drive that truck? No limb fractures? Eye health OK? Is he wearing his mascot costume, eg Banana SLUG? Sun Devil? Blue Devil? Cardinal?
That had a tendency of gettin' stuck
How? Elmer's glue? Gorilla glue? Uhu?
On back roads at night
Oh, did you have special car lights on like according to the DMV book? And where did the back roads lead to - the stones?
And I was right there beside him all summer long
Why do you expect me to be with my date 24 hours all summer long? How can one date practice swimming in the pool when I am singing a duet with Alicia Keys or Beyonce on my phone in the gym nearby? How can another date earn money for us by Uber Eats while I'm at the office for Uber? How can a third date play tennis while I bargain with the sports store salesman about getting Penn balls vs Onix balls? How can a fourth date record his song in the studio while I coordinate the concert venue? How can fifth date comfort a downcast kid - not her own - with a Happy Birthday song while the peer circle arrange the audiovisual equipment on stage called Rhino Co.?
And then the time we woke up to find that summer gone
"When September Ends" was a cool song? Are you Sleeping Beauty? Who fought the dragon and the thicket for you? Who woke up the castle crew for you? Did you eat pufish? Who almost found a cliffhanger for you? So... what are you going to do in the Fall (Sem.)?
But when you think Tim McGraw
So you had his EP like Goodbye, Norma Jean single in CD? Cool. On Autoloop? What do you like about his songs?
I hope you think my favorite song
Which one? What do you love about it?
The one we danced to all night long
How many hours of dancing? How many calories burned? Was it like with Ed Sheeran for Perfect? What did you wear? What did he wear? Where did you dance? How many stars were in the sky that night? What styles of dancing did you do? How was "Loki" and "...Wonderland strummer"?
The moon like a spotlight on the lake
Cool poetry. Who do you think is worthy of performing on stage? Of having the spotlight? By the way, which lake were you talking about? Do you want to get an MFA degree and upon the conferral, you can write/perform for Equine Therapy Ranches where kids with sadness may go?
When you think happiness
Do you like Gretchen Rubin's work? Do you like Pharell's song, which is on Wii? What do you think of the emoticon deodorant?
I hope you think that little black dress
Do you know Jomaire Studio's sister in a little black dress and black stilettos for weddings? What do you think about Meghan Markle in a little black dress at a baseball game? I liked the white belt a lot.
Think of my head on your chest
Got the ALS challenge? How long did you have to wait for it? I thank Coleman too for supporting the neighborhood around Galleria, which had a cafe and their version of Sparkletts.
And my old faded blue jeans
Can anyone help her get Wrangler jeans? Or Rock Republic trousers? Or jeggings eg from the pharmacy? Or Old Navy blue denims?
When you think Tim McGraw
How often do you think of his name/face? Why? Do you pray for him?
I hope you think of me
Do you like Phantom of the Opera? What do you think if her dress? What if there was a modern version for Jabbawockeesz?
September saw a month of tears
What kind of tears? Was it because of first day of school again?
And thankin' God that you weren't here
Oh, what were the advantages of him not being "there"?
To see me like that
Were you wearing makeup in September - and what brands if so? Did you lose much weight in the summer(s)?
But in a box beneath my bed
Is it from ULine? Was the bed from Ikea or from Sleep Number?
Is a letter that you never read
I remember I had letters foregarding different people, like one of the top human/child traffickers of China and one on a cover for a football player and some for a farmer and some for a colleague and I regret one which was like under hypnosis (I praised his enumeration of "Crayola") - which I sent to someone whom I wanted to say goodbye and I found him as a storekeeper who shooed me away, as a guy who hung around the doorway of my bedroom at 3 am or so, as a guy wanting to know how to get a Peruvian passport, as a guy who bragged abou eating cat dumpling, maybe trying to gain 9 lives (is that the canned cat food?).
From three summers back
Oh you met him at around university? Thanks for your loyalty.
It's hard not to find it all a little bittersweet
You like Dove dark chocolate like fortune cookies? The Ghirardelli dark cocoa squares? The dark chocolate bars by the checkouts of dollar stores? The dark chocolate at the airports? Do you like black coffee? Like Colombian coffee? Do you like Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You"?
And lookin' back on all of that, it's nice to believe
How often and how long do you go into nostalgia? Did you do Throwback Thursday posts?
When you think Tim McGraw
What do you share about Tim McGraw?
I hope you think my favorite song
What is your favorite song, if it's okay to ask?
The one we danced to all night long
Was it a country song? Fast? Duet? With banjos or fiddles? Any props when you danced?
The moon like a spotlight on the lake
What was the phase of the moon then?
When you think happiness
What three things minimum would you do today to be happy?
I hope you think that little black dress
How is your weight (I am concerned with your photos, and you look like a politician in a Christmas green dress in front of a mic, with empty row before her)? When did you buy that little black dress (the song's topic) for yourself? Waist size? Do you think Lululemon or Walgreens leggings would go well with it, like a ballerina?
Think of my head on your chest
Did you have to sanitize the Coleman? What was in it?
And my old faded blue jeans
What brand? When did you buy it? Was it fashionably torn?
When you think Tim McGraw
Someone said he has an MBA - would you be inspired to get an MBA degree as well?
I hope you think of me
What are your three hopes before the weekend? And when someone remembers you, what are the top three qualities of yours that people can publish/televise/discuss/promote action about you?
And I'm back for the first time since then
Where did you return? How?
I'm standin' on your street
What have you been wearing on that street? How long/what time have you been standing there?
And there's a letter left on your doorstep
Can you summarize the letter in a Tweet? What's the color of the envelope? Does it need the HMat?
And the first thing that you'll read is:
What is the first thing that you think of every morning? And every sunset?
"When you think Tim McGraw I hope you think my favorite song Someday you'll turn your radio on
What is your favorite radio show and your favorite radio channel? Your favorite song on the radio? Who is your favorite DJ? I hope it takes you back to that place"
What place? How does it look like?
When you think happiness I hope you think that little black dress Think of my head on your chest And my old faded blue jeans When you think Tim McGraw I hope you think of me
Oh, think of me Mmmm
He said the way my blue eyes shined Put those Georgia stars to shame that night I said, "That's a lie"
Whom do you accuse to be lying?

You've spent an entire week with your Micro Four-Thirds camera, documenting the world as it is, how it was, or how you think it should be. It's time to show us those photos and bask in the glory that only a weekly photo thread can bring!
Rules:

1. The photo must be your own. No cross-posting someone else's work.
2. You may only post one photo per week. Pick only your best work and show it off!
3. Post your photo in a top-level comment for maximum exposure! (hehe get it, "exposure"?)
4. Include as much detail as possible about the camera, the lens and the environment as possible. Good: "Shot with Olympus OM-D E-M1 w/ Panasonic 25mm f/1.8 lens @ 25mm f/2.0 ISO100 Time: 5:40PM in Los Angeles, California" Bad: "Look at this shot, isn't it neat?"
5. Above all, be respectful. There's a big difference between the following comments: "OMG THAT PHOTO IS HORRIBLE" and "The lighting coming off his face looks uneven".

I (29F) am usually not even going out on dates with men I match or text with at bumble/tinder because it’s just disappointing. But recently I matched with a guy (32M) that at first actually annoyed me. It turned out that we work in the same field and so we started a great series of banter back and forth on Friday night until 2am in the morning and started getting interested. He told me he was just for a vacation in the city that I live in and returned to his (& my home country- different continent) on Sunday. Since he did a lot of sightseeing with his family the next day where he had no Wifi, we did just text in the evening and kind of decided very spontaneously (at 11:30pm when I was already cuddled up in my bed in my Pyjama) to meet around midnight in a bar close by. I had no expectations because I did not like his photos so much and did not care at all because I knew that even if I would not like him, he was leaving the next day anyways- so nothing to lose at all :D However, when he arrived he looked very handsome and our conversation started right away and it was just so easy. It was overwhelming how many things we had in common and how we kind of complemented each other. There was not a single topic we would not come up with alike stories but we could also talk about serious topics. I even caught myself staring too long into his eyes like a stupid teenager while realizing that I actually start to like this guy🙈 When he paid me a compliment about my eyes I would not even banter something back but just smile and look away (I actually hate compliments & usually don’t take them seriously at all..).. After we got kicked out of the bar at 2:30, he asked me to walk a little more with him when we reached the corner where our ways would part. So I walked him to the front of his hotel where we couldn’t stop talking either and so he asked me again (as a running gag from our chats) to come for a swim in the hotel pool which I denied with a witty comment of course, but we went to the swimming hall inside of his hotel to just sit at a bench and keep talking until 5:30am and I noticed him coming a little closer while we were talking and teasing each other. Since his flight back was in the afternoon already and he hadn’t packed, I said that it’s time for me to go so he would at least have one hour of sleep :D So he brought me back to the lobby. When we were talking about where and when to meet again, he invited me (I guess as a joke) to the wedding of his sister and I said winking “Oh of course- I’ll book a flight, not a problem 😉”. Then I told him, I’m planning to do a camper tour here on which he could join and he mentioned he even has some vacation days left. When we said goodbye, we hugged twice very long and then he stepped into the elevator and I went home. After that we kept on texting and he asked me for my number before he entered the plane. When he arrived home and got back to work on Monday, we barely had a chance to text like we used to the last days and I wouldn’t say we have a real conversation going on right now. I know that he must be jet lagged and he told me in a brief text that he had a deadline to work for on Wednesday. But even after that when I sent him a longer text with questions I just got one line back and waited hoping there was more to come, but it didn’t. So I replied hours later and tried to keep it short and just do a little banter although that’s actually not the level I want to keep things…and I doubt he even knows how these long pauses between his messages make me feel. Maybe I’m impatient because I know that in his field he might be very busy since I am,too. But I cannot help it: I cannot think about anything else since then because I never expected to find somebody that actually checks all the boxes and I feel so attracted to. I kind of feel so stupid for not being able to get him off my mind, although I really thought he would feel the same. Now I’m unsure what to do to keep the contact and keep it interesting, keep him interested in me until we can meet again. For me this is the first time, I found somebody who could keep up with me intellectually and on every other level including his appearance (tall, active, blue-eyed, blonde, three-day beard etc.). I actually thought people like this do not exist and I somehow know that this is a rare finding. So, I really want to give this a chance, especially since I’m returning permanently to my home country in January - but it’s still 6 months and nobody knows if he might meet somebody better in the meantime while I’m stuck on the other side of the world. The thought of him just seeing me as a nice holiday flirt also crossed my mind although I wonder why he even asked for my number if these were his thoughts? What if he has a girlfriend or something and he wasn’t honest about it? I am absolutely clueless about this and I am not willing to play any stupid games. It just feels like it’s the cruelest way to fall for somebody because it feels like chances are minor and the whole situation is just complicated and somehow seems impossible…
I would really appreciate to hear your opinion and advice on this!

I (29F) am usually not even going out on dates with men I match or text with at bumble/tinder because it’s just disappointing. But recently I matched with a guy (32M) that at first actually annoyed me. It turned out that we work in the same field and so we started a great series of banter back and forth on Friday night until 2am in the morning and started getting interested. He told me he was just for a vacation in the city that I live in and returned to his (& my home country- different continent) on Sunday. Since he did a lot of sightseeing with his family the next day where he had no Wifi, we did just text in the evening and kind of decided very spontaneously (at 11:30pm when I was already cuddled up in my bed in my Pyjama) to meet around midnight in a bar close by. I had no expectations because I did not like his photos so much and did not care at all because I knew that even if I would not like him, he was leaving the next day anyways- so nothing to lose at all :D However, when he arrived he looked very handsome and our conversation started right away and it was just so easy. It was overwhelming how many things we had in common and how we kind of complemented each other. There was not a single topic we would not come up with alike stories but we could also talk about serious topics. I even caught myself staring too long into his eyes like a stupid teenager while realizing that I actually start to like this guy🙈 When he paid me a compliment about my eyes I would not even banter something back but just smile and look away (I actually hate compliments & usually don’t take them seriously at all..).. After we got kicked out of the bar at 2:30, he asked me to walk a little more with him when we reached the corner where our ways would part. So I walked him to the front of his hotel where we couldn’t stop talking either and so he asked me again (as a running gag from our chats) to come for a swim in the hotel pool which I denied with a witty comment of course, but we went to the swimming hall inside of his hotel to just sit at a bench and keep talking until 5:30am and I noticed him coming a little closer while we were talking and teasing each other. Since his flight back was in the afternoon already and he hadn’t packed, I said that it’s time for me to go so he would at least have one hour of sleep :D So he brought me back to the lobby. When we were talking about where and when to meet again, he invited me (I guess as a joke) to the wedding of his sister and I said winking “Oh of course- I’ll book a flight, not a problem 😉”. Then I told him, I’m planning to do a camper tour here on which he could join and he mentioned he even has some vacation days left. When we said goodbye, we hugged twice very long and then he stepped into the elevator and I went home. After that we kept on texting and he asked me for my number before he entered the plane. When he arrived home and got back to work on Monday, we barely had a chance to text like we used to the last days and I wouldn’t say we have a real conversation going on right now. I know that he must be jet lagged and he told me in a brief text that he had a deadline to work for on Wednesday. But even after that when I sent him a longer text with questions I just got one line back and waited hoping there was more to come, but it didn’t. So I replied hours later and tried to keep it short and just do a little banter although that’s actually not the level I want to keep things…and I doubt he even knows how these long pauses between his messages make me feel. Maybe I’m impatient because I know that in his field he might be very busy since I am,too. But I cannot help it: I cannot think about anything else since then because I never expected to find somebody that actually checks all the boxes and I feel so attracted to. I kind of feel so stupid for not being able to get him off my mind, although I really thought he would feel the same. Now I’m unsure what to do to keep the contact and keep it interesting, keep him interested in me until we can meet again. For me this is the first time, I found somebody who could keep up with me intellectually and on every other level including his appearance (tall, active, blue-eyed, blonde, three-day beard etc.). I actually thought people like this do not exist and I somehow know that this is a rare finding. So, I really want to give this a chance, especially since I’m returning permanently to my home country in January - but it’s still 6 months and nobody knows if he might meet somebody better in the meantime while I’m stuck on the other side of the world. The thought of him just seeing me as a nice holiday flirt also crossed my mind although I wonder why he even asked for my number if these were his thoughts? What if he has a girlfriend or something and he wasn’t honest about it? I am absolutely clueless about this and I am not willing to play any stupid games. It just feels like it’s the cruelest way to fall for somebody because it feels like chances are minor and the whole situation is just complicated and somehow seems impossible…
I would really appreciate to hear your opinion and advice on this!

Hello everyone! BigHedDjango here, tunes for this week to help you out.
Weekly photo... challenge! Spot the drivatar: https://i.imgur.com/54vL4Br.jpg
Photo by Optochip. Check out more of their photos in-game!
All feedback on tunes is appreciated - good or bad. Specially when tunes are bad. At the end of the day I am just the mechanic and you guys are the racers. Do not hesitate irrespective of your tuning knowledge or racing skills!
Tuning method: 1. Stock look - stock wheel rims, default wheel rim sizes, no aero (unless absolutely necessary for handling and stability) 2. Max performance with max handling possible 3. All cars tuned vs. Unbeatable AI on championship tracks in seasonal weather. However! Unbeatable AI is broken and bugged. Not every car can win 7/10 random races vs Unbeatable AI without abusing rewind/restart. Very few cars can beat it consistently. Hope it gets fixed soon one day... 4. Bodykit only used if it does not ruin performance

___ 

FORZATHON WEEKLY CHALLENGE - No Compromise

2017 Ram 2500 Power Wagon * Tune - 447 065 838 * Meta car; Overlanding build - front grill and lights, roof lights, rear canopy; Custom rims; High profile tires * Malpais trailblazer south-west of main festival site is easiest * Event Lab BP - Easy Win Dirt Trail - 991 376 926

___ 

TRIAL - Ooh... Barranca

Dirt Racing - Retro Rally - C 600

NOTE: Try to block and slow down AI and help teammates in order to win. One player on the team needs to take at least P3 and slow down the AI for a guaranteed win

1980 Renault 5 Turbo * Tune - 109 883 211 * Stock engine
1999 Ford Racing Puma * Tune - 133 030 101 * Stock engine
1990 Nissan Pulsar GTI-R * Tune - 148 223 582
1992 Toyota Celica GT-Four RC ST185 * Tune - 638 462 263 * Stock engine; True Purist
1992 Ford Escort RS Cosworth * Tune - 288 036 724 * Stock Engine; True Purist; v2 - minor rebuild, added ARBs, same powetorque, 4 lbs lighter, smoother

___ 

EVENT LAB - By Land, Air, And Sea

Offroad Capable - A 800

2016 Jeep Trailcat * Tune - 108 275 805

___ 

SEASONAL PR STUNTS

Anything Goes - S2 998

Danger Sign - Salto De Rio

2010 Mosler MT900S * Tune - 178 075 164 (PR only tune) * Start ~550 yards south-west on the dirt road, coast through left hander

Speed Trap - Dust Bowl

2010 Mosler MT900S * Tune - 178 075 164 (PR only tune) * Start ~500 yards north on dirt road (near intersection). Full throttle to speed trap

(Rally Adventure) Speed Zone - Tierras Verdes

1998 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLK GTR * Tune - 788 818 587 (Tune by KapienPL; Full aero; Anti-lag) * Start ~400 yards from north gate, just inside hairpin. DO NOT TRY AND BE FAST, you will fail. Braking + feathered throttle is key. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast

(Hot Wheels) Danger Sign - Canyon Fire

2019 Rimac Concept Two * Tune - 540 241 336 (Full aero tune; Custom rims) * Start 0.6 miles from the south-west, easy peasy

___ 

NOTE: All Championships are locked to Highly Skilled difficulty

CHAMPIONSHIP 1 - Rally Good Time

Dirt Racing - Rally Monsters - A 800

2007 Peugeot 207 Super 2000 * Tune - 841 509 187 * Biggest rear rims; Stock engine
1991 Hoonigan GYMKHANA 10 Ford Escort Cosworth Group A * Tune - 544 505 270 * What Unbeatable AI? 7 gears, 6 usable
1994 Hoonigan Ford Escort RS Cosworth "Cossie V2" * Tune - 796 319 780 * Good handling but low top speed; Purist; Stock engine only
1984 Opel Manta 400 * Tune - 396 029 853 * Innate suspension problems, cannot be tuned out completely

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CHAMPIONSHIP 2 - Ready For Liftoff

Cross Country - Unlimited Offroad - A 800

2016 Jeep Trailcat * Tune - 108 275 805 * Front bumper; Roof lightbar; Rear tire rack; Stock engine; Purist; v5 - full rebuild CC tune
2016 RJ Anderson #37 Polaris RZR-Rockstar Energy Pro 2 Truck * Tune - 576 118 022 * Easy Unbeatable wins; Stock engine
2014 Local Motors Rally Fighter * Tune - 173 263 258
2017 Ford #25 "Brocky" Ultra4 Bronco RTR * Tune - 742 246 887 * Lacks top speed and thus accel

___ 

CHAMPIONSHIP 3 - Time Warp (Rally Adventure)

Road Rally - Retro Saloons - B 700

1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 * Tune - 750 330 861 * Good handling
1991 BMW M3 * Tune - 631 335 680 * Very high top speed; Tuned for Hot Wheels Hazard races
2005 BMW M3 * Tune - 826 002 980 * Tiny bit of on-throttle understeer
1997 BMW M3 * Tune - 106 781 390 * Stock engine
1995 BMW M5 * Tune - 166 342 640

___ 

CHAMPIONSHIP 4 - Super Loops (Hot Wheels)

Speed - Modern Supercars - S1 900

2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe * Tune - 487 413 997 * StreetHunter body kit; Smooth and grippy; Very good
2016 Audi R8 V10 Plus * Tune - 172 331 534 * Fast; Smooth enough; Stock engine
2017 Ford GT * Tune - 553 697 179 (Rally suspension, slightly less understeer) * Tune - 125 213 566 (Race suspension) * Decent grip; Superb braking; Tiny bit of high speed understeer, limited by tuning
2009 Ferrari 458 Italia * Tune - 849 848 527 * S2 class top speed
2014 Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 * Tune - 255 942 362 * Fast; Stock engine
2012 Nissan GT-R Black Edition (R35) * Tune - 134 417 721 * Good accel; Liberty Walk body kit and rear wing; Max grip and handling possible; Dry roads only; Stock engine only

___ 

EVENT LAB BLUEPRINTS!

Easy Win Road Sprint - 696 659 852
Easy Win Road Circuit - 177 632 200
Easy Win Dirt Trail - 991 376 926
Easy Win Dirt Scramble - 135 436 707
Easy Win Cross Country Sprint - 114 199 871
Easy Win Cross Country Circuit - 181 401 852
Easy Win Street Scene Sprint - 134 229 457
Easy Win Drag Strip - 812 084 897

___ 

HORIZON 4 AND 5 TUNES ARCHIVE THREAD!

https://www.reddit.com/useBigHeadDjango/comments/r4ptt6/forza_horizon_4_and_horizon_5_tunes_archive/

___ 

Thank you to everyone for your downloads, uses, likes, follows, shares and feedback! Check my in-game profile for more tunes. You can check my reddit profile for more content
📸 Also don't stop yourself from checking out my photos on the creative hub. Wow! What beautiful photos! 📸
Don't hesitate to ask if you need any help!
🛠️ I am open to requests for cars you might want me to tune! It would also help me understand FH5 tuning better. So let me know the car and class and I'd get back to you! 🛠️

___ 

Have a great week! 🥳

Hello everyone! BigHedDjango here, tunes for this week to help you out.
Weekly photo... challenge! Spot the drivatar: https://i.imgur.com/54vL4Br.jpg
Photo by Optochip. Check out more of their photos in-game!
All feedback on tunes is appreciated - good or bad. Specially when tunes are bad. At the end of the day I am just the mechanic and you guys are the racers. Do not hesitate irrespective of your tuning knowledge or racing skills!
Tuning method: 1. Stock look - stock wheel rims, default wheel rim sizes, no aero (unless absolutely necessary for handling and stability) 2. Max performance with max handling possible 3. All cars tuned vs. Unbeatable AI on championship tracks in seasonal weather. However! Unbeatable AI is broken and bugged. Not every car can win 7/10 random races vs Unbeatable AI without abusing rewind/restart. Very few cars can beat it consistently. Hope it gets fixed soon one day... 4. Bodykit only used if it does not ruin performance

___ 

FORZATHON WEEKLY CHALLENGE - No Compromise

2017 Ram 2500 Power Wagon * Tune - 447 065 838 * Meta car; Overlanding build - front grill and lights, roof lights, rear canopy; Custom rims; High profile tires * Malpais trailblazer south-west of main festival site is easiest * Event Lab BP - Easy Win Dirt Trail - 991 376 926

___ 

TRIAL - Ooh... Barranca

Dirt Racing - Retro Rally - C 600

NOTE: Try to block and slow down AI and help teammates in order to win. One player on the team needs to take at least P3 and slow down the AI for a guaranteed win

1980 Renault 5 Turbo * Tune - 109 883 211 * Stock engine
1999 Ford Racing Puma * Tune - 133 030 101 * Stock engine
1990 Nissan Pulsar GTI-R * Tune - 148 223 582
1992 Toyota Celica GT-Four RC ST185 * Tune - 638 462 263 * Stock engine; True Purist
1992 Ford Escort RS Cosworth * Tune - 288 036 724 * Stock Engine; True Purist; v2 - minor rebuild, added ARBs, same powetorque, 4 lbs lighter, smoother

___ 

EVENT LAB - By Land, Air, And Sea

Offroad Capable - A 800

2016 Jeep Trailcat * Tune - 108 275 805

___ 

SEASONAL PR STUNTS

Anything Goes - S2 998

Danger Sign - Salto De Rio

2010 Mosler MT900S * Tune - 178 075 164 (PR only tune) * Start ~550 yards south-west on the dirt road, coast through left hander

Speed Trap - Dust Bowl

2010 Mosler MT900S * Tune - 178 075 164 (PR only tune) * Start ~500 yards north on dirt road (near intersection). Full throttle to speed trap

(Rally Adventure) Speed Zone - Tierras Verdes

1998 Mercedes-Benz AMG CLK GTR * Tune - 788 818 587 (Tune by KapienPL; Full aero; Anti-lag) * Start ~400 yards from north gate, just inside hairpin. DO NOT TRY AND BE FAST, you will fail. Braking + feathered throttle is key. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast

(Hot Wheels) Danger Sign - Canyon Fire

2019 Rimac Concept Two * Tune - 540 241 336 (Full aero tune; Custom rims) * Start 0.6 miles from the south-west, easy peasy

___ 

NOTE: All Championships are locked to Highly Skilled difficulty

CHAMPIONSHIP 1 - Rally Good Time

Dirt Racing - Rally Monsters - A 800

2007 Peugeot 207 Super 2000 * Tune - 841 509 187 * Biggest rear rims; Stock engine
1991 Hoonigan GYMKHANA 10 Ford Escort Cosworth Group A * Tune - 544 505 270 * What Unbeatable AI? 7 gears, 6 usable
1994 Hoonigan Ford Escort RS Cosworth "Cossie V2" * Tune - 796 319 780 * Good handling but low top speed; Purist; Stock engine only
1984 Opel Manta 400 * Tune - 396 029 853 * Innate suspension problems, cannot be tuned out completely

___ 

CHAMPIONSHIP 2 - Ready For Liftoff

Cross Country - Unlimited Offroad - A 800

2016 Jeep Trailcat * Tune - 108 275 805 * Front bumper; Roof lightbar; Rear tire rack; Stock engine; Purist; v5 - full rebuild CC tune
2016 RJ Anderson #37 Polaris RZR-Rockstar Energy Pro 2 Truck * Tune - 576 118 022 * Easy Unbeatable wins; Stock engine
2014 Local Motors Rally Fighter * Tune - 173 263 258
2017 Ford #25 "Brocky" Ultra4 Bronco RTR * Tune - 742 246 887 * Lacks top speed and thus accel

___ 

CHAMPIONSHIP 3 - Time Warp (Rally Adventure)

Road Rally - Retro Saloons - B 700

1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500 * Tune - 750 330 861 * Good handling
1991 BMW M3 * Tune - 631 335 680 * Very high top speed; Tuned for Hot Wheels Hazard races
2005 BMW M3 * Tune - 826 002 980 * Tiny bit of on-throttle understeer
1997 BMW M3 * Tune - 106 781 390 * Stock engine
1995 BMW M5 * Tune - 166 342 640

___ 

CHAMPIONSHIP 4 - Super Loops (Hot Wheels)

Speed - Modern Supercars - S1 900

2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe * Tune - 487 413 997 * StreetHunter body kit; Smooth and grippy; Very good
2016 Audi R8 V10 Plus * Tune - 172 331 534 * Fast; Smooth enough; Stock engine
2017 Ford GT * Tune - 553 697 179 (Rally suspension, slightly less understeer) * Tune - 125 213 566 (Race suspension) * Decent grip; Superb braking; Tiny bit of high speed understeer, limited by tuning
2009 Ferrari 458 Italia * Tune - 849 848 527 * S2 class top speed
2014 Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 * Tune - 255 942 362 * Fast; Stock engine
2012 Nissan GT-R Black Edition (R35) * Tune - 134 417 721 * Good accel; Liberty Walk body kit and rear wing; Max grip and handling possible; Dry roads only; Stock engine only

___ 

EVENT LAB BLUEPRINTS!

Easy Win Road Sprint - 696 659 852
Easy Win Road Circuit - 177 632 200
Easy Win Dirt Trail - 991 376 926
Easy Win Dirt Scramble - 135 436 707
Easy Win Cross Country Sprint - 114 199 871
Easy Win Cross Country Circuit - 181 401 852
Easy Win Street Scene Sprint - 134 229 457
Easy Win Drag Strip - 812 084 897

___ 

HORIZON 4 AND 5 TUNES ARCHIVE THREAD!

https://www.reddit.com/useBigHeadDjango/comments/r4ptt6/forza_horizon_4_and_horizon_5_tunes_archive/

___ 

Thank you to everyone for your downloads, uses, likes, follows, shares and feedback! Check my in-game profile for more tunes. You can check my reddit profile for more content
📸 Also don't stop yourself from checking out my photos on the creative hub. Wow! What beautiful photos! 📸
Don't hesitate to ask if you need any help!
🛠️ I am open to requests for cars you might want me to tune! It would also help me understand FH5 tuning better. So let me know the car and class and I'd get back to you! 🛠️

___ 

Have a great week! 🥳

I need some advice on this situation just due to me struggling with the no contact side of the break-up.
Short history of us, we have only been seeing each other since the very start of Feb 2023 but I fell head over heels for her the first time we met. We clicked instantly and rapidly became an item. Our thoughts and feelings matched on a lot of the same things in life and we truly appreciated each other and our time spent together. We were always open and honest with each other about our pasts and respected one another for it. Our feelings we're so strong for each other that it had made a bad couple of years for me seem like nothing, and I felt I was giving the same to her. The age difference wasn't a factor to us as our ways of thinking aligned so well it didn't even feel like there was one unless a third party brought it up. An important point to know is that due to her past relationships she was very upfront that no second chances would ever be given.
So the whole situation occurred when we recently went on holiday abroad to Spain a few weeks ago. The first few days we incredible and we had so much fun together, and it was also going to be my birthday while we were there. So comes the Friday night out we had planned as my birthday was the next day so we wanted to go out a celebrate on the nearby strip in one of the larger clubs. We went out with a larger group of women from our hotel that we'd met and after having plenty of pre-drinks at the all inclusive bar we made our way out to the club we had in mind. (Just to preface this we had also picked up some cocaine to use while out, just to open about the situation.)
So the first few hours in the club were amazing, having fun together and as a larger group, as I was the only man with them there was a bit of waiting around outside the womens loo's for the group to go and take photos etc but I was enjoying myself enough through the drink/drugs and made friends with the cloakroom guy to chat to during these times. As the night rolled on our group were starting to wind up so they popped down to toilets once more and I got chatting with another group (mixed but mostly younger guys and one woman) and after getting along I convinced my girlfriend we'd stay out a little longer with these guys. After seeing our group off outside we went back in to get more drinks (at this point we had ran out of cocaine and I was still drinking however my girlfriend had moved to water for a bit) and continue partying with the new group.
This is where the issues start.
After the first drink back inside I can't remember anything from that night. (for ease of reading I'll write it chronologically from what my girlfriend told me happened). So one of the guys in the new group had recently turned 18 and for some reason I asked my girlfriend twice if she would have sex with him, he was definitely not her type and I can only think I was trying to be funny and make a bad joke in that situation as I'm not one to share partners like that. She said I relayed it with a very straight face and it didn't seem like a joke at all. This then caused us to leave (around 3am) and go back to the hotel of which we must of argued on the walk back and I used her some of the things she had told me about her past, in confidence, against her in this argument (I have a text message saying this is what happened at that time, but this isn't something I've ever done to anyone before) and then my old stupid behaviours started to come out. Once we're back at the hotel I sat outside on the steps to the entrance and told her I'd wait outside until 5am then we could talk, I have other message that show I was there for a few minutes then went up to the room. When I got back to the room I was sick and she helped me during this, after that stopped I then went onto the argument again and doubled down on what I'd already said about her past earlier, then belittling her further by saying it wasn't as bad as my own trauma and issues (they are in no way related). My final stupid, idiotic, past behaviour was to then threaten to kill myself (just to note this is something I would never do but I have been working through these thoughts and feelings in therapy for over a year to fully understand where this all comes from, and on a day-to day basis these types of thoughts never cross my mind), of which scared her so she grabbed a duvet and pillows and sat against the room door so I couldn't leave, again helping me in the situation I'm being horrible to her in. The one memory I do have from that night is seeing her against the doorway with the duvet and pillows. Eventually I stopped and collapsed in bed until 4pm on Saturday.
Once I woke up my girlfriend had been up for couple of hours and sitting on the room balcony waiting for me to wake up. When I woke up she came in and I knew something had happened between us but I had to ask her to explain everything to me as I only had very fragmented memories after a certain point, obviously this upset and frustrated her further as I had no memory of the horrible things I'd said and done. Once she explained everything I was horrified and upset about all of my behaviour towards her, and I could see by the look in her eyes that I'd truly messed it up with her. At this point we still had a few full days left abroad and I became very withdrawn and sad around her even though she was still trying to bring the mood up and enjoy those final couple of days. I was so disgusted in myself that I had done any of that to her I couldn't match her energy.
Once we arrived home her Father picked us up from the airport to take us back to her family home as we had left my car there for ease of getting back home ourselves. She decided not to come back to my house and asked her Father to take her home instead under the guise I had work to do the next day and she had friends coming over.
This is where I let my emotions get the better of me and cause more strain between us.
She had messaged me to check I had gotten home ok which I responded to that I had but then sent a long apology message after that. We exchanged messages for a while with me apologising and her being understandably angry and disappointed with me, and also that we couldn't be together Eventually she went to sleep and advised me to do the same, I couldn't apart from a couple of hours in the early morning, and during those hours I was awake I kept messaging apologising or sending videos/photos that reminded me of us. She asked me to stop this and give her space, which thinking back I of course I should of respected, but my emotions were out of control from the fear of losing her fully and the remorse for what had happened so I couldn't stop myself. When she woke up she fed up of this and asked me to pack up her belongings from my house to bring over later that day. I agreed as it meant I could see her and try to talk it through. I went over and we exchanged belongings outside at my car, had a talk but she had friends over so didn't want to keep them waiting too long. We did hug and kiss and I told her I love her and she said it back. After this she just wanted the space she had already asked for.
I tried but again I failed and a couple of days later I had been sending her stuff on social media apologising, she had enough and blocked me on everything. I left it around a week and had a therapy session where I explained everything and discussed it with my therapist, of which there is still more I want to cover with them in my next session. I had been writing an apology in my phone during that week and I had purchased some gifts I wanted to give to my ex-girlfriend in person and read out what I had written to fully explain and talk through it all. I had also written it out in a card to her just in case she didn't want to listen to me. When I turned up at her door to give her the gifts, she was shocked, upset, and angry. She accepted the gifts and card but didn't want me to come in and talk through what I'd written, she said she'd read it in the card later on but couldn't have me around or inside. She said it was unfair I'd turned up, scary and put her on the back foot. I explained that I didn't mean it to come across that way and that I was accepting of whatever happened but I just wanted her to have these gifts and card from me. I left after about 10 minutes and that has been it since.
Everyday she's fully on my mind. I struggle to concentrate on anything else at work, at home, at the gym or when trying to sleep. The last few days I've been reading more and started journaling before bed to get my thoughts out of my head and try to get more sleep. I've accepted that the space is very important for both of us now but I fear that I've pushed too far already and a chance, however small, of reconciliation is gone. Accepting that also makes my heart and stomach sink every single time. I'm trying to follow all the advice from family/friends/therapist which is to concentrate on myself and start to get through it and whatever happens, happens. It's just not that simple, my emotions have settled but I still get upset everyday multiple times that we aren't together anymore. I know all of this is my own doing and I wish it had never happened at all.
Thanks for reading and any advice will be appreciated massively.
PS. Sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes, hard to write this all out.
TL;DR - I messed up on a night out abroad causing an argument and then threw personal details my gf had told me in confidence back in her face due to my old shitty behaviours that came out when drunk/high. I feel so remorseful and disgusted in myself for it. I'm now struggling from seeing/speaking/messaging everyday to no contact and blocked on everything.

This is possibly the final update to my series of previous posts, "$500k the boring way", “$250k the boring way”, and my original post, "$100k the boring way". Those older posts have all the details but I will attempt to summarize. Also I just wanted to say that I really wanted to make the title "$1000K the boring way" but didn't have enough confidence.

Summary

Reached $1M net worth from a starting point less than -$100k in roughly 11 years, mostly through consistent saving. Net worth chart included below. All salary numbers are gross.

Quick^ish Recap

My wife and I are both 34 and live in the Pacific Northwest. We met when we were 24 and I estimate at the time that we had a combined net worth of close to -$120k. I’m an engineer (EE) and my wife is a public school employee.
On our journey to $500k net worth we:

• Both got graduate degrees.
• Found new jobs and moved from Midwest to PNW to be closer to family.
• Progressed our careers and salaries: $67k to $126k for me and $54k to $90k back down to $70k (part time) for my wife.
• Bought a house and refi'd it twice.
• Received $18k of student loan forgiveness.
• Had two babies.

Updates

It's been a while since my last post - it was definitely weird going back and reading through these previous snapshots of our life. The $500k update was posted in Dec 2020 and even though the pandy had been going on for a bit, (as we all know) we were in for a much longer ride than anticipated.
 
2021: I think it's telling that I had a lot of trouble trying to remember things that happened this year. I hate to call it a lost year because I'm extremely grateful for the extra time I got to spend with my young kids - we really just didn't do much due to having said young kids and an abundance of caution. I went through my phone photo highlights from 2021 to try and jog my memory and they all were geotagged at our house or a nearby town.
I actually found this pretty interesting from a financial perspective - on one hand, sure, there were less opportunities for spending on things like restaurants and social activities, and in the comments of my last update I had noted that our cash had built up really quickly basically on accident. On the other hand, the unknowns and challenges surrounding the pandemic and parenting really shifted my mindset around spending. I found it much easier to justify all types of purchases and spending because "well, whatever it takes to get us through this". I wouldn't say we went overboard or anything like that, more like we accepted a healthy amount of lifestyle creep into our lives. We bought the ridiculous inflatable kiddie pool (no it didn't last long), we started adding more "fun" stuff to our cart at the grocery, paid for little subscription services here and there, etc. For my own mental health, I basically completely stopped tracking spending, stocks, our accounts, bills, and most things finance-related (including this sub^{I'm so sorry}). Ultimately I think doing less during the pandemic plus our increased spending was more or less a wash financially.
At work, I officially maxed out on my salary band, so effectively I didn't get a raise. I'm pretty sure the COLA was also nonexistent this year which they blamed on Covid. I got to work 100% remote with no pressure to bring people back, which I really appreciated. With working a bunch of on-call nights and weekends I ended up at $136k for the year. My wife completed her first full year of part-time work which dropped her from $90k to $60k
We did end up buying a new car shortly after my last post in Dec 2020. Went with a Subaru Ascent (sorry to all the minivan fans from the previous comment section) and it turned out to be really lucky timing because we got it for insanely cheap and 0% interest and then the car market went crazy.
Our youngest joined our oldest at daycare in the fall for a total of $2,150/mo.
 
2022: At my job, I was feeling kind of stuck. At this point I had found that some side projects that I took on for "fun" (I did have a genuine interest/passion) had become basically additional full-time positions. I was getting a ton of recognition and accolades for the work I was doing, but no promotion or raise. The culture at my workplace was to protect/gatekeep the top engineering title at all costs, so my successes were constantly met with "you're doing great, just be patient" or "the optics might not look good to the other engineering departments" or various other BS. Ultimately, it made me start to resent my job that I really loved. I let my supervisor know early in the year that my patience was running low and eventually I would be forced to look elsewhere, which he understood.
On one frustrating day in the fall I decided to just have a quick look at the other similar companies in my area and happened upon a job posting that was kind of my dream role (essentially getting to do some of the extra work I had taken on as my full time job and drop the day-to-day stuff). It all happened very quickly after that: I got a call the morning after submitting my resume, then a week later I got a job offer 20 minutes after my interview had concluded. I asked for as much time to decide as possible, gave the offer to my current employer, and they made me wait a long time before coming back and saying they wanted to but couldn't match right now. So I left ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ There's a ton more to say on this topic but probably too much for this post as it is so happy to continue down in the comments if people want. The CEO ended up requesting to do a personal exit interview with me, so that was cool.
Otherwise, 2022 was pretty uneventful financially. Obviously the market was down so not a lot of action or visible progress in our net worth journey. Was one of the first "extended" downturn-type period of time I've experienced in the market. I didn't change anything.
We took a much needed family vacay south of the border. Daycare raised prices by a reasonable 5% to $2,250/mo.
 
2023: I started my new job in late Jan, going from $135k total comp to $160k plus a $12k signing bonus and I no longer have to be on-call overnight. I heavily engineered my start date to make sure I was still able to receive a one-time payout my old employer did at the beginning of the year to make up for freezing the salary schedule during Covid. I also had something ridiculous like 700 hours of PTO paid out (RIP my taxes this year).

Side note: I do not recommend saving up as much PTO as I did, go live your life. I was saving aggressively to prep for us having kids, and then the pandemic happened so barely used any for a couple years. Happy accident that my banked PTO ended up getting much more valueable over the years as my salary was increasing rapidly.

Our house is great but as the kids are growing we are thinking it would be nice to have some extra space. We've talked to our realtor and lender to get the process moving but not in any specific rush. We will have to do some upgrades to the house like exterior paint, possibly the roof, deck upgrade (finished ourselves) but those are needed either way so just going to do them in case we decide to enter the market. The idea of getting a new mortgage right now seems so wild to me, but I know you can't time these things. It definitely would hurt to go from 2.875% to 7%. I'm considering exploring just adding on to our current house, but not sure if that's really feasible at this point.
Daycare is now $2,900/mo lol (this is even with our costs going down slightly as our son has aged into the older classroom). It was actually hilarious to me that they sent out a "We won best daycare in the region" announcement followed very shortly by a 30% price increase. It is what it is though - I think this is pretty solidly reasonable for the area.
We took a family trip to Disneyland a couple days before our son turned 3 so that his park entry would still be free. My mindset going into trip planning was "Disney is expensive, so if you want to go, just accept that". We used a few different little tips and tricks for saving money here and there but overall tried not to worry too much about complete optimization. With that attitude we had a great trip and to me at least the memories and moments with my kids were totally worth it. Do the princess breakfast.

Chart

Here is our entire financial journey summed up in one line. Apparently they don't do the thing anymore where it changes color when crossing over from negative to positive, that's a bummer (the first line on the y-axis is $0, not the x-axis). I really thought it would look like more of an exponential curve by now. There aren't really inflection points anymore besides the Covid 2020 drop, when the app would get confused, or accounts would stop updating from time to time, so here are the relevant dates in list form:

• 7/2/15 began tracking net worth.
• 3/29/16 crossed $0! We are worthless!
• 5/24/17 crossed $100k net worth.
• 8/10/18 crossed $200k net worth.
• 6/11/19 crossed $300k net worth.
• 1/17/20 crossed $400k net worth.
• 8/25/20 crossed $500k net worth.
• 12/3/20 crossed $600k net worth.
• 4/7/21 crossed $700k net worth.
• 8/27/21 crossed $800k net worth.
• 3/26/22 crossed $900k net worth.
• 5/1/23 crossed $1M net worth.

I enjoyed watching the time between milestones get shorter and shorter, and then 2022 happened.

Current Finances

• $100k in cash as an e-fund/new house downpayment savings, $6k in an HSA.
• $550k of investments, mostly lazy index 3-fund portfolio.
• $370k equity in our home
• -$10k of student loans remaining

Our savings rate was 40% from 45% one baby and 55% no babies. Now? I have absolutely no idea. Past me and part of current me thinks that's both hilarious and terrifying - who even am I?? I believe it's likely around the 40% mark still. I think part of me doesn't want to figure it out because it might be lower than I was hoping for and stress me out unnecessarily.

Now what

I told my wife the news that we were officially millionaires (that sounds so stupid typing it out) a few days ago and she asked "what does that mean". I said "literally nothing, lol". We are definitively in the "boring middle" phase of retirement savings, and so I don't expect any substantial changes.
When is enough, enough? I really don't know. I still want to retire early, but as I've grown into my career (and very much^mostly enjoyed the work) I've found myself less eager to leave. I think working from home has had a huge impact on this. It's probably time for a sit down with my wife to talk about our next 5-10 years and maybe map out a number that we would feel comfortable with.
It's for sure time to update the budget soon and get that back on track. My oldest will attend kindergarten in the fall, so that will be nice to cut our daycare bill in half. We may never see that money if it ends up going towards a larger mortgage, but I need to get an updated picture of our finances before we can figure out exactly what sort of house we want to afford.
Our student loans are what initially set me down this path of aggressively saving and investing. I find it kind of funny that despite all of our financial accomplishments, we still have not officially paid off our student loans. I'm holding out hope for the student loan bill to go through, so until there is interest being charged again, the last $10k will just sit there.
Not that I think anyone would remember this, but if you read the last post you know I was planning on making a will and getting some life insurance. It's been 2.5 years and I've made zero progress on those fronts, which I realize is terrible and I really need to get on that. Likewise, I still don't have a specific plan for the kids' college beyond "let's just generically save money and we will cash flow college or figure it out".
For my career, I've got one last level to go as an individual contributor in my field. If I stay at my new company, I'm probably a couple years out from achieving it, but I could probably get it as soon as the end of this year if I go back to my old job. That would allow me to end my career in the $200k range which I think is a solid goal.

The End End

Is this my last update ever? Maybe, who knows. Maybe a retirement update is in order many years down the road, but really I don't expect our path to there have anything new or interesting that I haven't already covered (wasn't that the whole point of this series of updates?).
Looking back on this, I like to think that I successfully made our journey to being millionaires as boring as possible. I was inspired at a young age to learn that the possibility of retiring early could be simple and didn't take an overwhelming amount of skill or knowledge. You just had to be as consistent as possible. I'm not to retirement yet, but I believe in the path we are on and I'm hoping someone will find similar inspiration by me just showing the receipts.
Finally, I want to sincerely thank everyone for reading and commenting over the years. As a loooooong time lurker on this sub I was so nervous for my first ever post and the responses I've received since then have been so uplifting and personally motivating. It means a lot. Back to saving and living our life now. See you around!^maybe

Company Name	Title	City
MudPenny	Barista	Ada
Advanced Correctional Healthcare	PRN Physician	Allegan
Great Lakes Ace Hardware - 18416	Cashier	Allen Park
Admiral	CashieSales Associate	Alma
SpeedyQ Markets	Manager Trainee	Almont
Tri City Pizza Group Llc	Pizza Delivery Driver-3617	Alpena
Dunham's Sports	Key Team Leader	Alpena
A Place for Mom	Inside Sales Representative	Ann Arbor
Zomedica Inc.	Account Manager	Ann Arbor
European Wax Center - Ann Arbor, MI	Receptionist	Ann Arbor
Deloitte	Senior Salesforce Developer	Ann Arbor
Camel Energy Inc.	Regional Sales Manager - Residential Energy Storage System	Ann Arbor
Cognizant	Automotive Electrical /System Engineer	Auburn Hills
State Wire and Terminal	Warehouse Associate	Auburn Hills
Gardner-White Furniture	2nd Shift Delivery Helper	Auburn Hills
Samsung SDI America Inc	Systems Engineer	Auburn Hills
SpeedyQ Markets	Customer Service Representative	Bad Axe
Denver Cole Farms LLC	Extraction / Kitchen Technician	Bangor
Pettibone	Materials Supply Chain Supervisor	Baraga
Bronson Behavioral Health Hospital	Activity Therapist - CTRS	Battle Creek
Admiral	CashieSales Associate	Bay City
Helix Diagnostics	Phlebotomist - Bay City	Bay City
7-Eleven, Inc.	Store Employee	Bay City
Cardinal Senior Management	Care Aide/Med Tech - Belmont	Belmont
Snipes	CashieSales Associate	Benton Harbor

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

Part One: What it's All About
We must slowly build on my first post, Space Military Structure, which gave a very rough overview of militarism in general, and the types of overarching warfare you might want in your space opera (which I call the four spatial forms, or modes). Now, it's time to actually dig a little deeper on some of the points. I shall gift a strong bias towards WWII. Not because there is nothing of use or import, or importance, from old warfare -- but because it requires too many words, and is not closely related enough to typical space opera. WWII also sets the stage for (almost) everything that came after it, and also saw the height of military leadership under George C. Marshall (U.S.). Although this is biased towards the Americans (U.S.) and the Nazis (Germany proper), you can borrow and alter such systems, doctrines, tactics, leaders, and so on as you require for your own setting/story/military, etc. Just warning you of the primary focus.
Note: I may write on the Communist/Soviet and Japanese side of things in the future. But, beyond a few worthy connections, I cannot possibly detail out the entirety of WWII! I shall just say that some great sources/places in this way would be the Soviet Union (circa 1922-1950), Japan (circa 1931-1945), the Ba'ath Party, and the Hutts (Star Wars; fictional). These have some things in common, actually. More so, the latter. Namely, they are generally what you might call 'Persian style ruling'. They are hyper-wealthy kings or king-type figures, literally living 'like kings', as they enslave everybody else. That's a bit harsh on the Persian Empire, of course, but you get the general theme/motif here, as it did apply to a number of Persian Kings (Darius III comes to mind as a bad ruler). This sort of direction also moves much more in line with classical empire-building and kingdoms, in that it's hereditary (i.e. ruling family, by blood). So, the exact source you focus on depends on the type of setting/story you have, and the governance thereof. (Of course, Stalin's Russia had the feel of Imperialist Russia whilst actually being much more in line with Hitler's Germany, at most levels, so it's quite a complex machine -- likely given its Catholic, nationalist roots, fused with the modernist, secularist Communism.)
In the Nazi context, of course, this was seen through the lens of a 'realm' (Reich), a kind of 'secular empire' which was not built upon a royal family, but a personalist dictator (with major focus on both militarism and propaganda; thus, the people themselves), where the 'blood' concept was shifted from 'ruling family' to 'the nation itself' (the Germans or 'German body' (singular)). This was also felt in a number of other nations, but Hitler's Germany is primary, and the direct source for most major space opera since 1940, so it's highly relevant for our purposes (almost always taking the side of the villains/evil empire, of course -- either in a simple-minded sort of narrative, or a more complex one (a la Star Wars (1977)).
The Americans, of course, had the President. I heard, from Douglas Murray around the time of King Charles' Coronation, that there is an innate tendency of humans towards a hereditary structure (this seems possible enough). We are obsessed with families. This makes logical sense. With this in mind, he defended the existence of the symbolic royal family of England, as a way to 'release' all of that feeling and desire at the national level.
He contrasted it with the American system, and looked to modern America to show its possible faults in this way. America became heavily obsessed with the 'first family', such as 'the Clintons'. Clearly overlaying this older framework onto the American system, which is innately unwise and unhelpful. Not only was the original idea that the President would be rather small, in terms of both power and interest -- but that his family would mean little. Hence, they took the title of president -- as in, 'president of the golf club' or, 'president of the school board'. This was not to replace 'king' or 'emperor' in any sense at all. Quite the contrary. A truly remarkable, and rare, shift in human governance. But, since the 1920s or so, this system seems to have fallen into a more European, kingly form (i.e. big government, and hyper-focus on the president). Just something to consider, if you're aiming at a generic democratic, republican type system. You need to be aware of what is likely to happen, and why, and what is required for X (pre-1920s American system) or Y (post-1920s American system). Of course, globalisation was a factor post-WWI, so you have to take your culture in relation to the wider setting (assuming you have different cultures and peoples trading/living with one another).-But, what is war all about? My understanding would be that war is about five things (in random order): (1) Defence/peacekeeping/protection (both in-country and overseas, etc.); (2) Expansion/general stability and growth -- often greed and akin to totalitarianism); (3) Emotional regulation (at the individual level); (4) Conflict resolution (religious wars, wars over land, etc. -- not that all of these are just); (5) National unity (not always positive -- and closely related to emotional regulation, among other factors and traits, and sub-traits; often (but not always) bleeds over into racial unity and purity)
Obviously, this is quite a simple picture, and war is very complex. But, this is good enough for writing space opera. Every single one of these is key; however, we (likely) want some kind of evil empire to fight, which means all of this needs to be nested in the framework of total war or the Nazi Lebensraum concept. This is primarily under (a) emotional regulation; and (b) expansion. Although Germany had major internal, and some external conflicts and issues circa 1870-1918, this alone was not enough to justify the birth -- and growth -- of Nazism for purely defence or conflict resolution reasons.
Part Two: Hitler's Total War
The primary focus must be on expansion (growth; primarily, beginning around 1927 due to mass starvation, etc.; coupled with totalitarian notions), emotional regulation, and national unity, in relation to Nazi Germany. The only other key element to throw in there would be the requirement to actually solve their major internal problems, but this did not innately require Nazism. But, by the fate of history, it was highly likely to be dealt with by either the Nazis or the by-then Stalinist Communists (which had become quite popular by 1932, at the height of the Depression in Germany).
To quote a German (long after the war): 'It was not a question of whether we were going to become a dictatorship [circa 1932], it was a question of the kind of dictatorship we were going to get: a Nazi dictatorship or a Communist dictatorship'.
Sadly, then, due to the state of affairs at this time, there was no hope for Germany to ever become a non-dictatorship through the 1930s and 1940s. The stage was already set for so many complex, interesting, confusing reasons. A primary problem, noted by Hitler himself, was the general state of Germany itself by 1920 or so (which had actually been a growing problem, and many-faceted since 1870). He writes about this in Mein Kampf (1925), and calls it so: Weimar Republic. This became the normative term by the 1930s. To translate Hitler's thinking: he meant it in the context of, 'the Ally puppet republic -- broken, weak, anti-German republic -- of the city of Weimar, not at all speaking to Germany or the Germans'.
Hitler was mostly correct about that, and many Germans agreed with him (including many pro-German socialists; hence, the name. In the first place, there was a major socialist arm of the Nazi (National Socialist) Party). He was able to weaponise this, and demand radical governmental change to solve some of their internal issues, including the Depression itself.
We should step back a moment. By WWI, Germany was already a fragmented, confused nation -- and there was a rapid growth of pro-war actors and groups by 1914, including Hitler himself. By 1920, Germany was crushed into the mud (quite literally), which gave way for Hitler and others to become seriously radical actors. One issue across Germany at this time was the basic governmental system itself, as the old President, Paul Von Hindenburg, was not up to the task of a modern Germany: but, he had one theme through him -- he hated Hitler. Now, Hitler had learnt from his failed Putsch back in 1923. He learnt to play the system (which he simply called 'the System', not an uncommon theme for a revolutionary group). As a result, he had the idea to take Germany, not so much by force, but by popular vote. And, that's what he did.
However, the Nazi Party's growth was slow, only reaching great power by 1927 or so (more so, 1932), due to: (a) The Depression; (b) Superior propaganda tactics; (c) Positive vision for the future (the Communists were rather unhelpful and depressive -- note, this does not mean that the Nazi vision was objetively positive, it was merely what they were handing to the Germans, in a pro-German context); (d) Extreme street-level violence (akin to the Communist side); (e) Trans-classist outreach (i.e. they tried to reach just about everybody, across the classes and groups, including (1) women; (2) working classes; and (3) the middle/upper classes; and (f) Hitler's remarkable oratory skills, and modern campaigning (i.e. travelling to every town and city he could, speaking directly to the voters, which was quite rare back then, believe it or not)
Shockingly, however, the Communist side was also hyper-popular, and used many of the same tactics and methods by 1932. Hitler saw major victories across this period (1928-1932), almost becoming President (yes, he ran for President). It was not until the famous, and final 'true' German election in 1933 that Hitler won out and became ruler of Germany. But, again: the race was quite close, but the numbers spoke for themselves. By now, Germany (tens of millions of voters) were not voting for the generic socialist or even German parties as they had done back in 1927, but only the two most extreme: Nazi and (semi-pro-German/Stalinist) Communist.
Almost instantly (around two months) did Hitler begin his process of Germanisation (Nazification). We already know from his early speeches and writings that he had such plans in place as early as 1921, give or take (with certain scholars claiming that Hitler had such visions in mind, back in 1914 or prior). The other major view of Hitler's Germany is that it was more of a co-op effort between the Party and the Germans, and that Hitler slowly came to his ideas and policy choices as time went on. Since there is great evidence for both of these visions, I must take a combined view, and say that Hitler had certain ideas/goals from the beginning, with others being later creations and plans.
Regardless, we know one thing for certain: Hitler aimed at total war, and he -- for a short period -- achieved it. Although notions of 'total war' reach back into Prussian and French history (among others), the real birth of it is Nazi Germany, by the mid-1930s (though both the Soviet Union and Fascist Italy may be of note), followed by Japan (more so under the singular ruling Party circa 1942).
We take such things for granted today, even confusing 'war' (as such) with 'total war'; however, we know the differences, and they are profound. First of all, Hitler's shift towards total war is clear by quite a rare notion: the total removal of the law of war. The singular 'law of war' can be understood as the 'fairness of war' or 'moral of war' (not to be confused with the 'art of war', which often speaks to an overarching theory of warfare by a given figure (such as de Saxe or Sun Tzu), which may or may not include core elements of fairness).
The second primary element at play, which you do not see in generic cases of war, is the total militarisation of the nation, of the people.
You likely understand all of this more in the fictional context, than the historical. I could mention the Empire from Star Wars, or the Klingons from Star Trek. They are, in a sense, low-resolution images or caricature of the Nazi machine. This is because the Nazi machine itself is a sort of caricature and is almost impossible to believe. That is how innately anti-human the system was and how anti-Western in its fundamental formulation and doctrines.
But, if you want to your evil empire justice -- or, indeed, want to create a more 'neutral' military empire, then you need to really understand the origins, doctrines, feelings, and core mechanisms and utopian goals of Nazi Germany, beyond the surface notion of, 'evil Fascists'. That's just not enough.
Part Three: What is Enough?; How Did Nazi Germany Function, if at All?
Well, you have to try and put yourself in the shoes of a typical German citizen during 1932, first of all. Imagine that you're naturally proud of your nation, history, and people/culture. Imagine that you're on the street without work or food. Imagine that you're being attacked, literally and symbolically, from the Russians/Communists from the north, and the French/Americans/British from the south and west.
Then, imagine you are filled with shame over the horrible defeat of WWI, and forced shame from the Allies, and the massive war tax, keeping the Germans poor and unfit. And, imagine that you're seeing a very arrogant, powerful, free, wealthy France take more and more of your land, and build up its own army around you. That would make anybody not only angry but extremely desperate and confused, with a burning desire for nationalism and the end to this state of affairs. Throw in an unhealthy dose of pro-German/anti-French (and anti-British and anti-Jewish) propaganda, complete with the already extreme anti-Semitic notions in the air (since at least 1880), and you have set the stage for such a shift of power.
After all, the Jews had their own sub-cultures and wealth, and were not deemed to be 'part of the German body' at all. On top of this, they were deemed as the murderer of God himself (from the Christian view), so it was not a leap for them to shift the blame from the Germans to the Jews, in relation to WWI. Being blamed for WWI and held in the mud by the French was too much for them to handle, once you throw in mass starvation and a broken internal structure.
It's not so much a question to me, that Nazism became the state power, but that it didn't happen sooner. This shows the primary strength of the average German through the 1920s, to still believe in some generic system and free Germany -- not to fall into Communism or Nazism so easily. Sadly, by 1932, this was too much -- and Hitler had his own large paramilitary force by this stage (early on, known as Stormtroopers (I'm sure you know this term from Star Wars)), so shutting down citizens was an easier task.
At that stage, you are likely capable of creating your own sturcture of this sort, for your own space opera wastory. You can really understand how such a system could be created; and why the average man would possibly vote for it.
This is also required to understand military thinking in general. Indeed, a lot of what was going through the average German soldier's head applied to America and almost every other nation, as it spoke to basic values and rituals and doctrines: honour, duty, nationalism, family, and freedom.
(See Christopher Browning's book, Ordinary Men. Jocko actually talks about it on his podcast at one point. Here, Browning goes through a pretty average, pre-Hitler German police unit, which was compelled into Hitler's Germany by the late-1930s. Mostly, older, generic German men. It goes through their journey from perfectly normal policemen into insane mass murderers. How? The same way you reach hell: one, small step at a time. This book single-handedly removes any notion that only special men can be evil, only special men can be killers. Much more difficult to factor into your moral framework is the reality that these are often not special at all -- but ordinary.)
In the case of Nazi Germany itself, this is made much more complex by its bedrock structure, which largely remained until 1942. As I alluded to earlier, one Prussian concept that remained was the idea of going above your superior's head. This came from the time when captains and such had some real power as mid-ranking officers, yet were filled by noblemen and such, that had no idea what they were doing. As a result, the actual soldiers and thinkers below the rank of captain were able to go around said nobleman, to complain to the higher-ups, or to actively take over the nobleman's duties. Hitler ultimately kept this system in place, and even played on it, to create major internal rivalry. This was a fairly decent method in some cases, for a short period; however, it became an unworkable mess by 1942, which is when Hitler finally solved the problem. The problem was, he solved it in a very foolish way, mostly under the KHO (high command), leaving the army disconnected, and hardly paying attention to the other branches by this time. The KHO was not up to the task, due to lack of size and talent.
The other major change he made was utter obeisance up the chain of command. This brought a new problem, however: now, instead of a local officer of mid-rank going over the head of a slightly higher-ranked officer (either to Hitler or otherwise), he now had to obey every order of said commandeofficer, without question or fail. No matter what.
Thus, we now enter the final primary stage of Nazi Germany circa 1943-1945. This is the 'downfall stage', and also the infamous stage of 'just following orders' (as noted as the primary defence plea at the trials). When a Nazi said, 'I was just following orders', what he really meant was, 'I'm not to blame the crime, because I was demanded, almost by divine command, to follow the order, no matter what that order was'. The trials took this into account, and understood the concept well enough, since it was fairly in place in America and England, though this saw a generally less extreme form, and most orders were actually decent from the American command during WWII. Nonetheless, this led to the almost impossible reality of the trials ending with a fair number of either free Nazis, or at least short prison terms. Of course, all top-ranking Nazi Party members were found guilty, regardless of their plea (which ultimately placed all blame on Hitelr himself, at the top of the chain).
Be mindful of such a framework in your own space military structure. One negative outcome of this by 1943, was that the high-ranking Nazis handed most of their duties down the chain of command; thus, forcing lower and lower ranked officers to perform more and more duties. At times, this led to the failure to complete said duties/tasks, or poor judgement. It also gave supreme power to the mid-ranking officers, as they de facto took on the role of the higher-ups. Since these high-ranking officers were many in their numbers and were widespread at all levels (location, ability, plans, etc.), it led to the complete confusion of the Nazi machine and war effort. Of course, this was somewhat the case since 1939, anyway. But, it became even worse by 1943, as Hitler fragmented everything to ensure his own position of power (after all, his worry was, having an actually functional system, like the Americans, would gift far too much power to the generals and other Party members; thus, they could easily overthrow him).
Either way, despite Hitler's supreme focus on his 'singular vision' for Germany (which he also stressed in Mein Kamf), he made some very foolish mistakes, and was dealing with such an innately broken, evil system that he couldn't possibly ensure such things. For example, as early as 1940, we saw major differences in how the generals and leaders of the Gaue, etc. treated their subjects and tasks. For example, when Germany invaded Poland, there was mixed understranding as to how to treat the Polish and others, and how all of this should proceed. It became such a confused mess that some of the leaders wanted to pretty much Germanised the existing Poles, take their land, re-educate them, and take them in as new Reich Citizens (more so, if they were found to be German in any way, at the level of blood). On the other hand, other leaders of the now-annexed Poland wanted to outright murder all the Poles, regardless of their German blood or other considerations.
This sort of cross-purpose working was almost the norm by 1942 across Nazi Germany: again, partly enforced by Hitler himself with his 'rough orders' sort of leadership. Hitler also had the notion that by forcing in-fighting, he would sit back and see who came out on top; thus, ensuring that the best man did the job/task. But, this was a heavily incomplete theory, to say the least.
Back to Star Wars, for a moment: there is some indications that this is how the Empire ran, as well; hence, the horrible leadership of the Empire and its ultimate downfall.
To end the thread of Nazi Germany (for now), I shall point your attention towards the utter secularisation, utopianisation of the society. By 1937, Nazi Germany was not only one of the most powerful cultures on Earth, with one of the greatest standing armies in history, but it had one of the most 'modern' (i.e. post-WII) social systems in place, which included the likes of cheap cruise trips and holiday sites and entertainment items (radios, etc.), primarily aimed at the working classes. Of course, most of this was only possible due to literal blood money and was primarily geared towards propaganda and total Nazification.
At the same time, Hitler began to re-shape Germany in his own image: removing all Jewish (and then Christian/Roman) elements from society... and history. He even tried to re-write the Bible with a so-called Fifth Gospel, as to replace Jesus (a Jew) with a Germanic figure. This failed as the people largely rejected such; however, atheism and secularism in general were radically enforced through the late-1930s and 1940s, and classical faith dropped massively.
At the level of government, Hitler crafted a semi-centralised system, with local rulers (of a district or Gau) that had near-total imperium (meaning, power over their area and subjects). This massively unified Germany and the flow of the culture, come the fragmented, hyper-localised system of the old Germany. Of course, this itself was a struggle to put into place, and by 1942, it was also clear that it's not so easy to control people: they have social networks and sub-systems of their own, and these are the primary driving forces behind settlement structures and otherwise.
Hitler had some sense of this, more so at the border to France, but like with many other fundamental problems of Germany (such as the large anti-Nazi Christian movement), he wanted to put it off until victory.
This is an unwise tactic, if the problems keep growing, as they did. It reminds me somewhat of the Japanese tactic of winning through, 'faith in victory'. Well, victory does not magically appear: you have to actually work towards victory in a stable, logical way. Of course, as I alluded to earlier: the Nazis had major problems in place as early as 1939, so entering/creating the war itself was a grave mistake (as the generals told him at the time). Keep this in mind. You need to actually create a real, functional, multi-faceted system, and a core generalship. You need all the branches working with one another. And, you need to maybe not take over the world, because that's a horrible idea and very difficult. It also helps if you don't waste money and time killing all the Jews and Poles, etc. as you're losing the war. That's just illogical. Then again: the Nazis are not very logical, even Hitler as logical as he was at times. The failed invasion of Russia was also a major issue, but was likely not as big an issue as the other combined factors, actually!
Part Four: Good Generalship
Speaking of generals and the failure of Hitler's leadership, for a more stable evil empire -- or for your other faction/'good guys', you might want to look to America during WWII. Not perfect, of course, and I cannot defend all of its choices or systems or reasoning, but it's certainly one of the best systems that we saw (and there is every indication that America's generalship and army leadership has only become worse since 1945). I also recall some stories of the Navy having some major struggles, too, and just overall downfall of its culture and traditions (begininng as ealry as the 1970s). For example, drinking mostly died out in the Navy by the 1990s, and so the bars were shut down on bases, etc.
One problem with this was the lack of 'telling story' (as they say). This is when the men would meet in the bar, tell stories of war, of the great heroes -- get inspired, and wiser, with any luck. Not sure how widespread this is, but the storytelling and social meeting element of this seems to come back somewhat since then. This is just one example of something deeply important to sailors, and you remove such at your own risk. You need to 'tell story', you need to be inspired, you need to have naval heroes to look up to. The same logic applies to the soldiers of the Army, too.
It's almost like the soul was ripped out of the American military in the 1950s, and it has struggled to put it back in ever since.
So, what did the generalship of WWII look like? What can we learn from it? Well, we have to turn to one George C. Marshall. But, first, let's go back to 1939. America had a standing army of about 200,000 men: pretty standard for peacetime. Very small. By 1945, Marshall stood down a force of over 10 million. Beginning around 1942, America went from a fairly minor military power with relatively little spending, to the greatest military power in the world -- likely, in history.
It all began in WWI, as it turns out. In the first place, the Americans shifted to a more European system by this time, which largely remained through WWII. This is where they got their division system from, and all their numbering systems and such.
Despite popular belief, the Nazi military was not great, logistically speaking. They were good, and tried very hard to fight dozens of nations at once, and deal with tens of millions of people -- but their systems and talent were just not up to the task. It's often noted that the Nazis could not even out-do the Polish counter-intelligence by 1940!
The U.S. military, on the other hand, was elegant beyond measure. You can get a sense of this via its Navy, paying close attention to its ID system, almost impossible turn-over of Victory ships, and its battleships and otherwise major vessels. These are iconic for a reason, and still command and defend the waters of the world today (along with the British submarines and others).
Well, it's worth noting that the Americans were actually fighting for freedom, not just food or world control, like the Nazis and German citizens were. The Americans were also not really forced into battle, unlike the Germans. On top of this, the Americans -- largely thanks to Marshall -- had a profound merit-based system. Nazi Germany, on the other hand, was so racially biased as to be almost self-defeating. Often, for example, high-ranking civil positions, such as a factory chief, would be a Nazi member, regardless of his abilities. On the other hand, if a great worker looked 'too Jewish' he would never be hired (this was mostly done by photo ID, and was understood via big noses and otherwise features).
Although America had its own major racial issues at this time, and was not wonderfully fond of Jews, it had enough wisdom and goodness to primarily focus on merit and ability.
Returning again to WWI for a moment, Marshall himself noted that there was a complete failure of the system. It had hardly moved on for over 100 years (which is to be imagined, as a military system innately requires stability and a lack of change). But, this was too much... the world was changing, and the military was not. Marshall had the wisdom and ability to fix this during WWII as Chief of Staff with extreme power and focus. First of all, he outright fired any general or otherwise not up to the task of WWII. Not even joking. He literally walked up to them, and fired them on the spot. He fired them if they were (a) too old; (b) too aggressive; (c) not aggressive enough; and/or (d) too illogical/stupid.
He would entirely remove them, or relocate them to other positions, where they were either of use, or out of the way.
So, by 1942, Marshall rallied for great action from America, and began his process of re-shaping the American generalship. He did so across a few dimensions. First of all, he understood that America was not Prussia or France or England. He understood that America had its own values and rituals: he lent into that and used it. This was the birth of the American military we see today, to the degree that it's functional and proper. Most of all, this bled down the ranks, to the soldier himself. This is where we get the 'cocky, arrogant American soldier' from. This actually began as a very good thing, showing supreme faith, bravery, and optimism. He made it really easy for us... he wrote a list! I do love a good list...
The four qualities (well, really, about seven) a good general or leader requires, according to Marshall, circa 1920 (in a letter). Clearly, written just after WWI and everything he saw therein:

• Optimism
• Bravery and dutifulness
• Extreme loyalty
• Hopefulness and resolve

Note: An added bit of interest might be that we can blame Marshall for why America has a 'General of the Army' instead of a 'field marshal' (like Europe, etc.). They thought it would be unthinkable to have a 'Marshal Marshall', so by luck of the gods, his name was entirely the wrong name for the job when it came time, in late-1944, for the first ever modern rank of 'marshal', or General of the Army). This is a five-star rank, just above general (full general/four-star general).
(In theory, the six-star general rank would be 'General of the Armies' (plural), though this rank no longer exists in any real sense, though it does apply to Washington, since 1976. In a German context, this is 'Reichsmarschall' (Reich Marshal; which applied to Goring only), one rank above 'field marshal' -- which is also known as 'marshal', 'general field marshal', or 'field marshal general'. Interestingly, Hitler had wanted Goring to take command, if anything should happen to him. But, Goring asked Hitler directly for command towards the end of the war, which made Hitler so angry as to call for his death. I guess, he hurt Hitler's ego, to say the least.)

Hello everyone,
​
I am scheduling a business trip to Santa Cruz this summer, and all of a sudden I was thinking, "why not take the bike with me?".
I'd be flying into SFO early in the morning the day before with the bike, and then saddle up with my small suitcase on the rack and get going. But I'm getting bogged down on the logistics of flying with a bike and hopping right on directly at the airport.
Would you guys have any recommendations
- For a route from SFO to UCSC? I was thinking crossing Millbrae westbound, then go south around those lakes that are along the 220, jump over the mountains by skyline boulevard / Tunitas creek and eventually Hwy 1 all the way to Santa Cruz. I'd be taking my gravel/endurance bike, but I'd prefer to keep it on pavement all the way through.
- For storing a bike box or bag at or near SFO for the week, and pick it up on the way back after a week? I've been reluctant to fly with the bike for that reason.
​
Thanks a lot for the help, and hoping I'm not breaking community rules here.

Last week, I (F23) hung out with a coworkefriend(F23) at her house. We had a really great time getting drinks and she suggested we go back to her place to hang out a little more. After getting settled in her apartment, we started to talk about past and current romantic relationships. I recently got out of a short but intense relationship several months ago, which led to be being blocked. I admit I had spammed called and texted to see if we could get back together again. I was acting very insecure and I am sure that it showed after being blocked.
​
I had recently read White Fragility by Robin Di'Angelo and have been engaging in anti-racism work for the past few years at this point. I had mentioned these things to my friend and asked if I had overstepped any boundaries with my ex-boyfriend. My ex-bf is mixed, being half-Mexican and half-Black. For example, when we were talking about family, he mentioned how his mother is from Mexico. I had asked whether he had learned to speak Spanish when growing up. In that same discussion, I had asked about his dad. I asked to see a photo, and he seemed hesitant before showing me his dad. I now think I should not have asked those questions when we first started dating. When we were making out, I paused and asked if it was okay to touch his hair and he said that it was okay. However, I still felt a bit hesitant to. I know he said it was okay but I just didn't want to offend him or make him upset. She suggested that she thought I didn't do anything inappropriate.
​
However, I know for the rest of the night I was apologizing about talking about my ex-bf and then still talking about me ex-bf. I felt things were off for the past week and that she was actively avoiding me. After a group meeting, as we were walking back, I had apologized about crossing any boundaries or making her uncomfortable last week. She said that we are good but I am not sure if it was okay for me to talk to her about as she was just coming out of a meeting or when it would have been an okay time to talk to her about it.
TL;DR -I thought i had lost a friendship with my coworker because i was talking about my ex-bf and how i may have offended him. I think I had offended her after our hangout. After aplogizing, I think I made things worse. We are both white.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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GQEBERHA

• ‘Real Housewives’ eager for more airtime (Herald Live)

Links to this week's episode discussion posts:

• VPR S10E17 🍸
• VPR S10E17 - "Pumped Up Edition" 🍸
• RHONJ S13E17 🍝
• RHOA S15E4 🍑

I get the title might be a bit dramatic, but it's hard to explain it while making it concise.
I live in a block of flats with an underground, gated car park for residents. There's an owner of a particular vehicle (think Italian grand tourer style vehicle, but on a budget) who does all of the following. Hopefully it paints a picture of why so many of us want him to face some form of consequence:
- Parks in allocated bays that other people pay for
- Parks in disabled bays
- Parks in as many as four spaces at once
- Tailgates other residents because he doesn't always have a valid permit/keycard
The amount of times the driver is in a new space, and *isn't* doing one of the above has never happened in the 3 years I've seen them. Complained to management, but they're as useless as a chocolate teapot, so I did some investigating.
*Turns out the dude doesn't have road tax.* He uses the car daily, illegally. So now, reminding this driver that owning a moderately fancy car doesn't put them above everyone else is the goal - and I'm convinced the road tax is how to do it.
Management say it's a police issue (even though it's in the permit conditions that vehicles must be taxed, and they gave him one anyway). Police say it's a DVLA issue. DVLA say they can't enter premises because they are not the police. Moreover the DVLA need to send out a resource to confirm it, I'm not sure my own photo evidence of the car on the road is enough. It's a game of people passing the buck.
Does anyone have any advice for this? The car park has the exact amount of spaces required for the exact amount of flats, so it's not like this is victimless. Thank you!