Didn’t win the ticket lottery :(

I win 7 games in a row - no uprank. I loose 3 games in a row - derank. (these numbers arent thought up - i checked my game history) I get matched up with either really bad players (like silver 5) or against inhuman sweats who dont do anything all day long then grind wingman matches on gold lvl - i really lost every bit of fun through this steaming pile of dogsht. No upranks, only downranks and on and on - i am LE in mm and faceit 5 and can bearly get over gold 3 in wingman - absolute crap

Hello to you, fellow ingrates.
Year 6 of DABR Defends the New York Giants from Criticism has arrived.

Season Recap

tl;dr: The Giants had their most successful season since 2016, and arguably since winning the Super Bowl in 2012 (if the draft spot/playoff success is the measurement) and went into draft night with the latest selection they've had since 2012, the first outside the top 11 since 2016.
Giants fans didn't really expect to win that many games this year. There were still some hopefuls for Daniel Jones but most people had come to terms with new GM Joe Schoen and new HC Brian Daboll pretty much setting up to replace him, declining his 5th year option.
It was the first year of this regime, they hadn't really been able to fix up the roster fully, etc. Most Giants fans I know were expecting a 4-7 win season, not sniffing the playoff race. Ha.
It all started week 1 vs Tennessee. It was honestly a story Giants fans have gotten familiar with. Look absolutely horrible in the first half of the game, but somehow struggle back into it in the second half, only to be dramatically disappointed at the end of the game. After Daniel Jones threw a red zone interception with just under 9 minutes to go, we thought that was pretty much it.
But then with 4 minutes left, Saquon Barkley rips off a 33 yard run, Daniel Jones converts a 4th and 1, and the Giants score a TD to pull them to just a 1 point deficit. Most Giants fans are thinking "okay he's gonna kick it, play for overtime, I respect that, we didn't think it would be that close anyways."
And then we see the offense staying on the field...uh oh. The offense wasn't exactly clicking on all cylinders to that point in the game, having been shut out in the first half. If we don't get it, the game is pretty much lost. Daboll calls a shovel pass, Saquon gets it, it looks like it's completely doomed...I'm thinking "here we go again, his first game and the media is already going to be all over him for going for it"...but Saquon fights his way in! Giants take the lead for the first time in the game. We're feeling good, Daboll's huge balls in that situation giving us some confidence.
Then the Titans methodically work the ball down the field (along with a couple of assists from Austin Calitro and Darnay Holmes), setting up a 47 yard field goal for Randy Bullock to win the game.
Now, I'm thinking, "of course this is what happened, they gave us some hope, now it's going to get ripped away from us, just like always. Story of the last few years at times."
...and then Bullock missed the kick. That was the start of what turned into a magical first half of the season, the Giants getting off to a 7-2 start, all 7 wins coming by a 1 score margin (though the Bears and Texans games were a bit cleaner than the final scoreline suggests), and 5 of them really coming down to big time plays in the last 5 minutes of the game.
The Titans story, taking the lead with 3:38 left in the 4th quarter and Julian Love sacking Baker Mayfield to force 4th and 15 the next drive against Carolina, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Xavier McKinney batting down Aaron Rodgers' passes in London, Love intercepting Lamar Jackson to set up the game winning score against Baltimore, McKinney and Love stopping Christian Kirk at the 1 yard line on the last play against Jacksonville.
All of those games are games that go against us in previous years. But this year was just different. And somehow through it all, there were Saquon Barkley and Daniel Jones as well. Saquon was the focal point of the offense early in the season, Jones being efficient in a heavy, limited, play action focused passing attack.
All thoughts of the Giants earning a top pick and replacing Daniel Jones pretty much went out the window by week 4, and hope for Jones maybe finally becoming the QB he was drafted to be started to blossom in some parts of the Giants fanbase.
Things came crashing down a bit the next 4 weeks. Awful losses to Detroit, Dallas, and Philly, with a tie against Washington in there too that many Giants fans felt they deserved to win capped off a 1-4-1 stretch where the Giants simply did not look good. They looked more like what we expected the team to look like coming into the year. The playoff spot was no longer guaranteed, at 7-5-1. But a flexed SNF game against Washington would pretty much decide the season.
And the Giants took that win against Washington and ran with it. A close loss against the Vikings that was probably the best passing attack game of the season to that point, a dominating win against the hapless Colts that locked the Giants into the playoffs, and a surprisingly tight and scrappy game between the Eagles starters and the Giants backups gave Giants fans some hope headed into the playoffs. We didn't expect to win a Super Bowl, but the matchup against the Vikings seemed winnable.
And winnable it was, as in classic 2023 Giants fashion, they took a lead about halfway through the 4th quarter, and a couple of clutch plays on defense by Cordale Flott and Xavier McKinney ended the game.
Then we went to Philly and got absolutely ass blasted, ending our season.
That left the Giants with the 25th pick in the class, entering an offseason with a lot of business to take care of.

Free Agency Recap

The Giants had a lot more room to operate in free agency this year than last year, and Schoen was relatively creative in how he wanted to go about it.
The first step in that process though was figuring out the status of his pending free agents; most notably, the two who led the way on offense most of the year: Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley. The Jones negotiations were tense, Jones asked for the moon and the team was not having it. Eventually (literally right before the tag deadline) they settled on a 4 yr, 160m extension with 82m fully guaranteed and a boatload of incentives that could push the value up to almost 200m. That allowed the team to tag Saquon Barkley, whose extension talks are reportedly still stalled, as Barkley declined an offer worth almost 14m during the Giants' bye week, and continues to find the Giants' offer(s) unpalatable.
Speculation is that Barkley is seeking more guaranteed money from the Giants (greater than the sum of 2 franchise tags), but Barkley's camp is not leaking much (reportedly because Saquon doesn't want them to). And according to most reporters, Saquon is too competitive to actually sit out the season, removing his last bit of leverage.
Possibly the biggest addition of the Giants' free agency period was actually a trade: The Giants traded the Chiefs' 3rd rounder (acquired for Kadarius Toney) for TE Darren Waller. This is a huge move because the Giants were dead last in explosive pass play rate by a WIDE margin. Only like 6 individual team seasons since 2010 had fewer explosive passing plays than the 2022 Giants. That's something that Schoen and Daboll immediately set out to fix, and Darren Waller is one of the best explosive pass weapons in the league, leading all TEs in explosive pass plays this season despite playing just 9 games this year. Reports out of OTAs are that the Giants are expecting Waller to basically fill a "WR1" role for them; not necessarily in alignment but being the focal point of the offense, high target share, etc.
Schoen and Daboll followed that addition up with two more explosive pass play options: retaining Darius Slayton, and adding Parris Campbell to the room. Slayton is a solid WR, he's good for 600-700 yards when he gets run. His hands are inconsistent, but he makes up for it often. Campbell finally broke out having a healthy season for the Colts this season. I think Campbell is mostly insurance for Wan'Dale Robinson, who is coming off of a torn ACL, but if healthy should get primary run in the slot.
The Giants' other two main moves came on the defensive side of the ball, adding LB Bobby Okereke to a LB room that comprised of: Jarrad Davis, Micah McFadden, and Darrian Beavers (coming off a torn ACL). Much needed improvement in that room. The Giants also added Rakeen Nunez-Roches and A'Shawn Robinson to the DL room to improve the depth there; Dexter Lawrence and Leonard Williams were playing too many snaps, and the Giants were really bad against the run last year.
In the process though, the Giants lost both of their starting centers from 2022, Nick Gates and Jon Feliciano, as well as S Julian Love, who had been a consistent staple of the defense the last few years.

Draft Needs

The Giants roster was in much better shape this year than last year, but the team still had a number of problems:

1. CB was still a HUGE need for the Giants, and one that had not been properly addressed yet. Adoree' Jackson had another very good year in 2022, but the spot across from him had been a mishmosh of misfit toys: Fabian Moreau had a nice little run, but struggled down the stretch. Nick McCloud got a lot of run at CB2 after being claimed on waivers from the Bills. Cordale Flott had been drafted as a nickel defender but got some run there. And the slot position wasn't much better, as Darnay Holmes continued to be a liability there. This position needed reinforcements. I've been a relatively vocal minority in the Giants fandom saying this has been the BIGGEST need the team had for a couple of years now (basically aside from the one year that we had Bradberry and Jackson both on the team).
2. Despite adding Slayton, Campbell, and Waller, WR was still something the team needed. Specifically someone who could develop into a WR1 type player. The Giants WR room is relatively deep, but just adding Campbell and Waller and running back last year's group didn't feel sufficient. The team clearly was putting an emphasis on speed, separation, and yards after the catch ability.
3. Center was a massive need. The Giants basically didn't have a center on the roster who had played meaningful NFL snaps. Ben Bredeson could move to center if needed, but it wasn't that solid of a plan. And in what seemed like a good center class, this seemed like a good way to solve that problem.
4. LB. The LB2 spot currently will be either Jarrad Davis, Micah McFadden (who basically lost the job last year to Jarrad Davis), or Darrian Beavers (who tore his ACL last year). I think that says it all.
5. RB: Saquon is on the tag, so you feel okay here, but the team has been seeking a solid compliment for him for a while. They were in on a few of the RBs last year and the value never lined up, and Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell didn't really cut it last year. They don't want to run Saquon into the ground early in the year like they did last year, so having a compliment for him is big.
6. S: Losing Julian Love is a tough one. He played a lot of snaps and wore a lot of hats for this defense last year, especially with McKinney missing time with a hand injury. The team likes Jason Pinnock, and drafted Dane Belton in the early 4th last year, but more depth and competition here would be very welcome.

So let's get into the picks:

1.24: Deonte Banks, CB, Maryland

Seems like maybe Schoen agreed with me!
It was a lot harder to try to predict what the Giants would do this year, just by virtue of having a later pick. But the general consensus among the beat seemed to be that the team wanted to get a CB or an offensive playmaker with that first pick. I was a little skeptical of CB being an option, seeing how many mocks had all 5 of the top CBs off the board, but that often left WRs available.
So right after the Jets took Will McDonald at 15, if you looked at the board, only 1 CB had been taken and no WRs had been taken. That felt pretty good for the Giants.
Then Forbes and Gonzalez come off the board, and the top 4 WRs come off the board from 20-23.
That left the Giants feeling a little antsy. They had one guy they really wanted left, and negotiated a trade up one spot with the Jaguars to secure their guy: Deonte Banks.
This pick is perfect for what the Giants want to do on defense. Wink Martindale's reaction should say it all, if you go watch the Giants' behind the scenes videos on the draft process.
Banks is a tall, long, and athletic corner, which are all important traits for Wink's press man heavy defense. He's super fluid and smooth in his hips. He tested absolutely crazy. He also plays with a swag that I think Wink and Giants fans will come to really appreciate. He plays confident, he plays fast in terms of processing, and he plays physical.
He still has some development to go, I'm not saying he's going to be a top CB in the league from day 1. He wasn't a super ball productive corner, but that's not something Wink necessarily needs. It will take some time for him to get comfortable with the complexity of route runners in the NFL. But the tools are all there, and the Giants get a perfect scheme fit.
Banks will come in and immediately be the starter at CB across from Adoree' Jackson, and the trickle down effect that will have on the Giants depth chart at CB will be tangible.

2.57: John Michael Schmitz, OC, Minnesota

As this pick was coming up, Schoen and Daboll were discussing who to pick, and basically said "okay we're either going with Schmitz or (we'll get to that later ;) )".
Then the Bears traded up to the pick before the Giants pick. And Joe Schoen said "oh fuck." Daboll tried to calm him down and said "well I guess we're getting ."
Then the Bears took Tyrique Stevenson (good pick!), leaving the Giants the choice between the two players. And the Giants went with Schmitz.
Full disclosure: I was not a huge JMS fan in the draft process. I thought he was super solid all around, but he wasn't really impressive to me, there weren't a lot of overwhelmingly positive reps or traits in my eyes. I thought he was maybe a little heavy footed, especially in pass pro, and his testing kind of backed that up, and I didn't really see full unlocked power either.
I was probably a bit harsh on him in terms of the grade though. Like I said, he's a super solid player. There's relatively little to really complain about. He's smart, he's experienced, and he made few mental mistakes. His snaps were consistent. He is pretty strong though not crazy so. His anchor is really good, and he plays nasty and competitive, which is something the Giants are definitely looking for. It helps he had a really good Senior Bowl week too.
Was Schmitz my favorite center in this class? No. But he was for many people, and for some good reasons. Schmitz will come in and immediately start at center for the Giants, bringing the dead snap with him. If he can be the 3rd best player on this unit (behind Andrew Thomas and hopefully Evan Neal taking a step forward this year and being healthy), it'll be an immensely calming and steadying presence that should raise the OL play of the whole unit.

3.73: Jalin Hyatt, WR, Tennessee

So you may be wondering: Who was Player X?
Well immediately after drafting Schmitz, Schoen looked around the room and pretty much said "what if we can still get ?" He decided that the price he was willing to pay was the Giants 4th round pick. And he and everybody else in the room started calling.
That included Brian Daboll, who leaned over and said "hey should I text [Rams HC Sean] McVay?" Schoen said "yeah sure go for it." And Daboll officially negotiated the Giants trading up from 89 to 73 to select Player X: Tennessee WR Jalin Hyatt
Hyatt is a really fun player to watch. The speed blows you away on tape. It's the kind of speed that even if you're not throwing it to him all the time, defenses have to take note when he comes on the field and play him differently. He's not necessarily slippery or elusive after the catch but (and I'm scared to frame it this way but I'm doing it anyway) the speed and acceleration gives him credibility there, the way that Odell was such a YAC threat on slants just getting to full speed and outrunning everyone.
He's a little high cut I think, and that leads to a little bit of trouble with crisper routes. He wasn't asked to run a very complex route tree at Tennessee, though I do think he has the skills to improve in that sense. The biggest concern for me is just how quickly we can get him up to speed beating press and playing through physicality. When he has room to work, he can beat CBs in a few ways, but NFL DBs will knock even very good WRs off their routes at times. And that follows through to contested catches.
The Giants' WR room is so crowded it's hard for me to say exactly what Hyatt's role will be starting out. The Giants started last year trying to use different WRs in different ways on a game to game basis. Then the wheels fell off obviously, with Shep, Wan'Dale, and Toney being hurt and Golladay stinking and all that. So I wonder if we see a return to that.
Hyatt can be a threat in a lot of ways, end arounds, screens, etc in addition to the obvious "go long" situations. Just how many reps he can carve out will be fun to track in training camp.

So the Giants come out of the first 3 rounds with 3 players who were commonly mocked to them at 25. Pretty good business! But let's get into day 3:

5.172: Eric Gray, RB, Oklahoma

The Giants traded away their 4th round pick to get Hyatt so they went 99 picks without making a selection.
Like I said earlier, the team has been looking for a compliment to Saquon Barkley for a long time, and they find it here with Eric Gray.
Schoen said he sees Eric Gray as a 3 down back. And you can definitely see why. He caught 88 passes over the last 3 years at Oklahoma and only dropped 2. He's also strong and physical, willing to pass protect. That physicality carries over into his running style, he runs hard and is willing to run through guys. He's bursty in short areas and has pretty solid vision in my opinion.
He's a compact guy, just 5'9 207. He's not super slippery or elusive, and he's not really a home run hitter. But in terms of finding a backup RB on day 3 to feed some of those tough yardage carries to and keep Saquon fresh, you could do worse than Eric Gray for sure.
The Giants ran a fair bit of "Pony" type formations in 2022, using 2 or even 3 RBs at times. The competition between Gray and Matt Breida for the true RB2 spot will be fun to see. Breida brings a little more explosiveness to the table, but Gray will certainly give him a run for his money. And depending on what happens with Saquon Barkley's contract situation, we may see even more of Gray down the line.

6.209: Tre Hawkins, CB, Old Dominion

When asked about what is different this year from last year, what improvements or what has gotten easier now that he's been in the chair for a full year, Joe Schoen talked a lot about really getting a good handle on what his coaches look for in players. And he singled out Wink in that respect because him and Daboll have worked together so much.
The Giants selection of Tre Hawkins really highlights that. Like with Deonte Banks, Hawkins brings a ton of physical traits. He tested through the roof. He has the length that the Giants look for. He's also super physical in both phases, run and pass, which Wink loves. ODU let him just play press man, so he's comfortable doing that.
He's a little slim still, so his frame needs some reworking, but that's common with CBs and especially ones from outside the P5 schools. He also has a lot of technique and FBIQ stuff to clean up. His footwork is messy, he's not always patient enough with his punch. His ball skills still leave something to be desired. He's still learning to read routes and manage space both in man and zone.
I figure Hawkins will come in and be a depth player and core STer for the Giants. If his play strength holds up against NFL scrutiny, he can definitely be a day 1 punt gunner. Wink has started calling Jerome Henderson the best DB coach in the league, so it'll be fun to see what Henderson can do with a ball of clay like Hawkins. Even if he ends up just being a STer and CB5 type guy, that's still a pretty good pick in the 6th round like this.
Also, sorry Patriots writer :)

7.243: Jordon Riley, DL, Oregon

Beating a dead horse at this point, but this is another pick Schoen highlighted as an example of his understanding of what Wink is looking for.
Obviously Riley is a flawed prospect, it's the 7th round. He was a 6th year senior who spent time at 4 different schools, starting at UNC, then going to JUCO for a year, then Nebraska for 2 years where he barely played, and finishing his college career at Oregon. PFF lists him as having just 534 career snaps in college despite the 5 years he spent at the P5 level. He wasn't very productive, partly because he barely played and partly because he's just not very good. He's not a good athlete.
What Riley does have, though, is size, strength, and knockback power. And that's what Wink is looking for in a depth NT. He eats blocks, stuffs up lanes, and just is hard to move.
Schoen put it this way:
"It’s hard to find these guys. When you get into the seventh round, you are looking for guys that maybe it will be hard to get at different areas. And another guy we spent time with, big run stopper in there, 6-foot-5, 330.
You walk out to practice, and there’s this 6-5, 330-pound guy, who piques your interest right there. Again, some of these guys in different schemes may not have the production, the tackles, the sacks. But for what Wink looks for in terms of size, length, knock-back — he possesses those traits.”

7.254: Gervarrius Owens, DB, Houston

Last pick in the draft and the Giants go back to the DB room. They took two CBs already, but some depth/developmental guys at safety would help. Enter: Gervarrius Owens.
Owens is a former CB turned S from Houston. The CB in him flashes to me on tape, I thought his ball skills as a safety were good. He's athletic enough to play pretty much any safety spot, including that single high spot that teams find difficult to fill. He's super physical and willing to play downhill and tackle. He's super experienced, he was a team captain and 4 year starter for Houston.
He makes a lot of mistakes, however. The angles he takes to the ball in both phases are super inconsistent. He missed a ton of tackles in college, so that technique needs to be worked on. The ball skills turned into PBUs rather than INTs; Wink won't mind that but some of them were like "he really should have just caught that."
Owens is another guy like Hawkins who looks primed to earn his roster spot on special teams and provide solid depth for the team's DB room. Wink likes to play 3+ safety sets, especially when he feels like he has a good group there. And the Giants' S room right now is basically Xavier McKinney and a bunch of question marks, so it's entirely feasible that Owens can come in and beat Dane Belton, Jason Pinnock, and Bobby McCain to earn playing time early on.

UDFAs

The Giants UDFA class included a few notable names. 5 total players who got 100k+ in guarantees:

1. Bryce Ford-Wheaton, WR, WVU: The Giants gave Bryce Ford-Wheaton a LOT of guaranteed money for a UDFA: 236k, which is the full season PS salary plus 20k. BFW was one of "my guys" this year I was hoping for the Giants to get. He's got the size and athleticism to be really good, but he's a little one note right now. In a crowded WR room, I kind of doubt he'll make the roster without some injuries (or Wan'Dale/Shep being on PUP) but like other late rounders/UDFAs, if he can find some value on special teams, he's a fun upside swing.
2. Dyontae Johnson, LB, Toledo: Another guy who got a lot of guaranteed money. The Giants needed some reinforcements at LB and clearly didn't find them in the draft. Super productive in college, very instinctive player, but I'm not sure if he can run with the league. He'll compete with the Giants mishmosh of LBs to play on special teams.
3. Ryan Jones, TE/FB, East Carolina: The Giants have been searching for a kind of H-Back type for a while now. Last year they brought in Jeremiah Hall from Oklahoma, that didn't stick. Andre Miller, who was a WR at Maine, seemed like he was getting run at that spot in camp last year, but a broken arm ended his season. Chris Myarick ended up taking some of those reps. Ryan Jones kind of fits that mold as well.
4. Habakkuk Baldonado, EDGE, Pittsburgh: The Giants' pass rusher depth is...not great. Behind Kayvon Thibodeaux and Azeez Ojulari, it's Jihad Ward, Oshane Ximines, and Tomon Fox. And Ojulari missed a lot of time last year. Baldonado could potentially come in and earn a spot over Ximines/Fox. He's got good play strength and power and fits what the Giants would need as more of an edge setter and run defender to give Thibodeaux/Ojulari a rest rep before letting them loose to rush the passer.
5. Gemon Green, CB, Michigan: Another tough and physical corner. I don't think there's really a spot for him on this roster with the additions of Banks and Hawkins, and I think he's not quite the athlete the Giants look for at CB, but as a last resort/STer he can potentially get somewhere.

Final Takeaways

I did this last year because it was Schoen's first year here, but I like the idea of doing it every year. What can we learn from the way Schoen drafted this year that we can file away and learn for the future? What can mockers learn from this to inform them of who makes sense for the Giants.
And it's pretty similar to last year:

1. Athleticism. Once again, pretty much every player the Giants drafted, and the UDFAs generally, were excellent athletes who tested well. The main exceptions being JMS (who was still a solid athlete) and Jordon Riley this year; where the exception last year basically was just DJ Davidson. This team has faith in its coaching staff and wants to give them players they can work with.
2. Scheme/Roster Fits. I talked about it a lot with the defensive picks, but every single one is a "Wink Martindale" guy. What does Wink want for his system? This can be a little dangerous considering Wink was in the running for a HC gig last year, and another strong year might finally get him the HC job he has been looking for. If he leaves and the scheme changes, these players need to be able to match the new scheme too. But it's clear that the FO values the input of the coaching staff and there's really clear communication there. This also applies to the offensive side of the ball, where it's super clear that the team wanted more speed on offense, which pointed to Hyatt a little bit.
3. Youth. This one is a little less applicable this year as they did draft a few older players, like JMS and Riley, even Eric Gray who turns 24 in November or Tre Hawkins who turns 23 over the summer. But Banks just turned 22, Jalin Hyatt will turn 22 in late September. It feels like maybe they felt more attached to the age stuff when they thought this was a full on rebuild, but now that they're hoping to be a playoff team again, they need some more instant contributors.
4. Aggressiveness/willingness to trade. This is a newer one, as last year the Giants only traded back. But this year the Giants traded up twice, giving up 3 day 3 picks in the process. Schoen is not afraid to make trades in either direction. Up to secure guys he really wants (Banks/Hyatt), or down if there's nothing there. Schoen talked about having trades lined up in both directions with the first round pick, he had a trade down ready if there was no one he wanted left.

The Giants went into the 2022 draft clearly rebuilding, 5 picks in the top 81 and making 11 selections. This year, the team came into the draft with 10 picks and came out with just 7. Clearly the team thinks the depth is improving and wants to focus on building the championship contender they are looking to be.

Hi,
My friend is in a real tricky situation.
He got his H1B application picked up in the lottery this year and his company filed his petition and it is yet to be approved. Today, his company laid him off and he is now worried if he can still get the H1B. He is exploring two options:

1. Somehow get H1B as he is scared he might not win the lottery again. He still has 2 attempts left.
2. He is in his first year OPT so should he forego the h1B app and stay on student visa.

Please advise. Any thoughts will be appreciated.

I am NOT OP. Original post by u/lazybear90 in tifu
Hi all. This is my first time posting here, please let me know if I made any mistakes.
Trigger warnings: none I think
Mood spoiler: overwhelmingly wholesome
Original post: May 26, 2023
This happened in February of last year, but my friends have been telling me I need to post this story online … so here goes nothing:
My wife and I (both 31 years old, at the time) moved into a new three-unit apartment building in San Francisco. One of our neighbors is a 70-something year old retired veteran, we’ll call him Joe. For context, Joe is a white American guy and he’s also a devout Hindu priest. One day I run into Joe in my hallway, and he tells me about this charity he manages for a community in Bangladesh. I wanted to support my neighbor and the charity, so I ask Joe to send me the GoFundMe link.
The next day at work, I go on the GoFundMe page and donate $150. Or so I thought. Moments later, I get a text on my phone warning me of an unusually large transaction on my credit card. I’m confused and swipe to open the text message. It says I have made a payment of $15,041 to GoFundMe. Immediately I’m sweating. How could I have donated FIFTEEN THOUSAND DOLLARS? I spend the next 10-15 minutes retracing my steps, and finally I realize my credit card starts with the numbers 4 and 1. It seems I had accidentally started typing my credit card information while my cursor was still in the donation box, and just like that 150 became 15041. Yikes.
I call GoFundMe’s support line in a panic, and when I finally connect with a human I explain what happened. “No need to worry”, he tells me, they will initiate a refund of the transaction which should process in 3-7 business days. That’s a huge relief. But then I ask the agent if the charity will be able to see the donation on the GoFundMe page until it is refunded. “What do you mean?” the agent asks me. “What do YOU mean what do I mean?” was my response. “Will they be able to see the $15,041 donation?!” Unfortunately, yes, the agent tells me. They will be able to see it until the refund process is complete. I tell him that’s a big problem, as the entire GoFundMe had hardly raised that much at that point. Surely they will notice their fundraiser doubling overnight?
My plan was to knock on Joe’s door the following morning to give him the full story, so that he could pass it along to his contacts in Bangladesh. But when I woke up the next morning, I looked at my phone and saw I had 40+ notifications on Facebook. Someone had sent me a friend request, had liked many of my old posts, and had sent me many messages. Immediately I was concerned when I saw that the individual messaging me had a Hindu name, but I never could have imagined what I saw when I opened his first message…
The man had sent me a video of himself from Bangladesh, surrounded by dozens of impoverished and hungry people holding bags of food, thanking me BY NAME (Michael) for my generous donation. A big round of applause for Michael. At this point, I’ve leapt out of my bed and I’m pacing. Part of me wants to scream, part of me wants to crack up laughing. I start swiping through the man’s messages, and it is picture after picture after picture of poor Bangladeshis thanking me for my kind donation. Literally hundreds of photos of frail, elderly, disabled, and malnourished individuals holding signs with my name. Thank you, Michael. Thank you, Michael. I've uploaded a portion of the video, and a few photos, for you guys to see here: https://imgur.com/gallery/tROXniV
Editor's note: Photo descriptions
1: a screenshot of the GoFundMe page with Michael's $15,041 donation made and highligted.
2: a video of people holding food bags, and a man in the middle saying thank you to Michael.
3: two men with their food bags, with a sign that says "Thank you dear Michael for your kind help".
4: eight people with their food bags and a sign that says "Thanks dear Michael for your kind".
5: a lot of people gatherered, holding their hands in the air with their food bags at their feet.
6 through 11 contain different people with their food bags and one of the previous signs.
12: several people gathered for a selfie taken by the man from the video who thanks Michael.
13: same picture as 5.
14 and 15: more people with their food bags and the same signs.
Needless to say, I couldn’t live with myself just donating $150 after seeing how the community responded to the $15,041. I decided the least I could do was to add a zero, and so I donated $1,500 once the original donation was refunded. The charity’s host was incredibly gracious and understanding, and he explained to me that $1,500 goes very far in Bangladesh for urgent food relief. Here is the charity’s new GoFundMe link if you want to check it out: https://www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-food-relief-assistance-in-bangladesh
Ultimately I think the whole experience was a win-win. I helped a great cause, and I got a funny story out of it.
TL;DR: Some impoverished folks in Bangladesh thought I had sent them $15,041 but it was an accident and I had to request a refund for most of it.
EDIT: Many are asking why there is no $1,500 donation listed in the fund’s donation history. I donated to an old campaign link for the same charity. It is readily findable online, if you feel compelled to search for it.
Update post: June 2nd, 2023 (one week later)
PHOTO Updates: https://imgur.com/a/8Rv1LoZ (I assume the first of many photos to come in the following months)
Editor's note: Photo descriptions
1: Several Bangladeshi children holding plates waiting to get food, some are holding signs that say "Thanks Reddit". Caption: Thank you Reddit! These are just the first few photos I've received from the team leader, I'm sure there's so much more to come.
2: Similar to 1.
3: Similar, but with a sign that says "All this thanks to Reddit".
4: Similar to 3.
5: Women holding a sing that says "All this thanks to Reddit" with bags filled with fruit at their feet.
6: Same as 2.
7: A screenshot of the GoFundMe showing the number of donations prior to the Reddit post (26). Caption: Donations prior to my Reddit post ($12,500 or so, at that time)
8: A screenshot of the GoFundMe after the post. $63,301 were raised by 2.1K donations!
Caption: Donations as of this posting.
9: It's a conversation between Michael and the Team Leader (TL for short) in Bangladesh (named Shohag Chandra Das). The conversation is as follows:
Michael: I posted the story of my accidental donation on Reddit, when I donated 15,041 when I meant to donate $150.
TL: If I would know by your kindness what is the full form of Reddit.
Michael: People thought it was so funny and it went viral. Reddit is a community social media website. The story got 30,000 views, and the GoFundMe link was shared with everyone.
TL: Yes we 17 team members of Bangladesh realief Are now can hope to see a new future streagth We were hoping our program will be closed due to fund lacking
Caption: Messages from the local team leader in Bangladesh.
10th photo to 13th photo: More screenshots. I'll transcribe them here:
TL: Four emojis with a sad face and a tear. I have no words to praise you that what results your little gesture has brought for millions of needy boldest people in Bangladesh. AND DEAR SIR MILLIONS OF THANKS FOR YOUR KIND EFFORTS BY SHARING THiS FOOD DISTRIBUTION POST IN rebbit.com ,,its a strenghts for thousands of needy people and hungry children even we are seeking permanent sponsor to bear the cost of 20 accurate orphanage children for their rejoining into the school because they have lost their father now they are unable to manage the cost of educationg fooding ect ,,but no one was agreeing for this educational projects. Rebbit.com
TL: millions of thanks for your kindness dear sir i saw you have done it Michael sends a link to Reddit.com.
TL: Then this results has come. And million of thanks to you dear sir, to message me after looking this greatest news.
Then TL proceeds to send Michael lots of other photos of Bangladeshi people containing them eating, them holding their food bags and selfies.
TL: 17 total team members working in 4 districts under BR. But I have sent some pictures we are working in Bogura Office. But in 4 districts 17 young boys and girls doing part time jobs in our institute. Dear Sir. I am informing you because our institute getting a strong shape world wide.
14: A screenshot of the original GoFundMe page showing the $1,500 donation Michael ended up doing. With this text "My original $1,500 in donations on the old campaign page, since a lot of people were looking for this".
Caption: Some people were looking in the donation history on the campaign's new link to verify I actually made the $1,500 donation I claimed to have made in my story. The $1,500 donation (pictured) was made via the OLD campaign link
Last week, I posted one of my life's most embarrassing stories on TIFU, about the typo that caused me to donate $15,041 to a Bangladesh charity instead of the $150 donation I intended. At the time of my Reddit post, the charity’s latest campaign had approximately $12,500 from 26 total donations. My neighbor, the organizer of the charity, had told me the charity was running on fumes and looking to cancel some of its programs.
Of course I had hoped some Redditors might read my story and decide to help the charity, but I NEVER could have expected the overwhelming reaction nor the incredible generosity of the Reddit community. “Watch this post blow up, and a shit ton of Redditors donate” was one of the first comments the post received on Reddit. And that is exactly what happened. Over Memorial Day Weekend, the charity raised over $55,000 from over 2,100 new donations.
On Saturday, I had to explain Reddit to my 77-year-old neighbor and to the charity’s team leader in Bangladesh (he called it Rebbit, as you can see in my pics). They were absolutely blown away by the reaction – truly they view it as a miracle. I received the following message from my neighbor: “Without a doubt, this is the biggest wave of support to arrive since we started! Doors that were closed can now be opened. Plans that were parked can now be put in motion. There is much we can now accomplish. All due to your idea to post (in a funny way) on what happened a while ago. Abundant resources require an equal level of responsibility. No less. I am committed to see that these funds are applied carefully and continue to make a difference to those who need it most.”
Sometimes things just seem to work out for a reason. One Reddit donor commented, “Michael may have screwed up his donation, but hopefully his TIFU on Reddit has fixed that somewhat.” Thanks to Reddit, the Bangladesh community will receive roughly 4x the amount of the original donation I had refunded.
TL;DR: My embarrassing story of an accidental $15,041 donation (and refund of $13,541) goes viral on Reddit, Redditors raise over $55,000 for needy in Bangladesh!
EDIT: Holy cow someone just donated $5,000! Thank you, Anonymous!! Hopefully you didn’t mean to donate $500… it could happen to anyone. Charity link in comments and original post, if anyone else is interested!
​
Editor's note: If this gets posted I will be really happy that my first BORU post was this level of wholesome.
Reminder - I am not the original poster.

I wanna start by saying I do think Gibbs will be good and the lowest I would let him drop is 1.03 or 1.04. But he may be better in real life than in fantasy.

1. His comp being Kamara doesn't make a ton of sense for fantasy. While his workload should be very similar, he is 15 pounds lighter and clearly not as strong as Tennesee AK on tape. This could mean Gibbs doesn't get goal line/short yardage carries in the NFL. While this doesn't mean much for the Lions because guys like Jamaal Williams and now and David Montgomery can just punch it in from inside the 5, Gibbs might never reach elite TD numbers, which is the reason Kamara was an all-time great fantasy back instead of just a good one.

• The "you don't draft a RB at 12 to sit him on the bench" argument. Lions HC Dan Campbell already compared Gibbs to Kamara, so the worload should be very similar because Kamara produced right away. As a rookie, Kamara had 110 less carries than Mark Ingram. Kamara was still RB3 because of the receiving and 13 total TDs but how high can Gibbs go if he only gets the receiving and lacks double digit TDs?

Once again, I think Gibbs is a great player and this concern is strictly for fantasy purposes. But if it's between a RB that doesn't have league winning TD upside and a WR in JSN who outproduced Olave and Wilson on the same team and who could lead the NFL in receptions in a few years, I can't help but think JSN is the smarter dynasty pick.

There are 115 Arcs in the Ranma 1/2 mmanga, and I'm having a poll tournament to see which one is the best. So the number is a power of 2, I'm also adding 12 filler arcs (and another copy of the Romeo and Juliet arc because of the results of Part 6) from the anime. Vote on which one is your favorite of these 4 arcs, and that one will go on to the nxet round. This is the 16th poll of this tournamnmt, the 15th one is here. You can still vote on it if you want, as long as it hasn't expired yet.
Congratulations to the Ryoga Hibiki Intro Arc (CH10-16, EP7-10) for winning Round 1 Part 16! We now have half of the arcs that are going to Round 2, which means before this poll we're halfway through Round 1.
This is part 17 out of 32 of Round 1.
I listed the chapters or episodes for each arc so you can read those chapters/watch those episodes if you don't know what that arc is.
The Google Doc keeping track of the polls is here.
View Poll

Hello all, over the years I have run several different types of nodes and rigs (Flux, ETH, bPow, Gala) so thought I would share the experience. I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm in it just for the tech, but I do enjoy tinkering about with these types of things.
This time, I will share my experience with PRE token or Presearch. The simple explanation of Presearch is this it is a decentralised search engine. Node operators, run a node and lock up a certain amount of the token to participate in the network and are then rewarded when their node performs a search. As a search engine, it aims to generate revenue through advertisements. Although advertisements are not targeted on previous searches like other engines.
Given the audience let's start with the finances:
Token investment: $1140
I bought 6000 tokens to run three nodes at an average of $0.19. (Shortly after the staking requirement changed, so only ran two nodes).
The current value of the initial investment: $300
The token value was $0.05 after one year.
Total PRE earned: $170
Two nodes earned approximately 3400 tokens, currently at $0.05.
Server Costs: $46
Two VPS at $23 for the year.
So there are two standouts here. One is the loss of capital, the market is significantly down since last year and is now a little worse since I originally collected those numbers. Bear markets are the ideal time to get into node projects if you are brave enough. The second is that despite the depressed market the nodes are still profitable. I have run a few setups in my time, and turning even a modest profit in a bear market is a win.
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Now let's consider the tech side:
Profit is one part of the equation when running a node or miner the other side is the effort and to a certain degree the enjoyment. Some nodes are a massive time sink and frankly not enjoyable to run (Flux I'm looking at you).
PRE has been the easiest node to operate compared to others I have run. It's genuinely a set-it-and-forget-it 10-minute job, After spinning up the two VPS and executing the start-up scripts I have never had to log back in. Like most node projects it just runs in Docker, (for those that understand these things). Occasionally I get emails saying a node has disconnected from the network, but it always reconnects.
That said the reliability of both nodes is down at 70%, which supposedly affects rewards, so could potentially benefit from a different setup. Unlike most nodes I run, these are the only one I use a VPS for. The tier it works on is cheap, and means I don't have people's potentially dodgy internet searches going through my network.
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My plans for PRE
Well, I have already renewed my VPS for another year, so I will continue to accumulate. With node projects, it is handy to have some spare tokens on hand, as often the staking requirements change over time. If or when we get another bull market, I'll look to take out the initial capital investment. Then once it's washed it's face I'm happy to let it run until the parameters change.
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There we go! Happy to answer any more detailed questions. If people find this interesting I can document one of the other projects I have going on another time.

Larimer County residents are eligible. Benefits are for only lower and moderate income groups. Must be 18 and older, and show proof of income.
NOTE: This is a VOUCHER PROGRAM. Because they expect high demand and have limited funds available, before you go shopping you'll need to apply and obtain a voucher. Obtaining the voucher will be tricky. In fact, it will be a bit like playing the lottery except your lotto ticket will be free. If you win, you'll then have to use the voucher at an eligible retailer. As stated the program is supposed to roll out in late summer.
Here's how the state will be offering vouchers:

Interested individuals will need to apply for the program prior to purchasing an e-bike. To ensure all eligible Coloradans have an opportunity to apply for an e-bike rebate, Colorado Energy Office will open applications for a period of one week each month, then randomly select individuals to receive the rebate after each application round closes. Selected applicants will receive a rebate voucher that they can redeem at a participating retailer for a discount at the time of e-bike purchase.

Low-income applicants could receive rebates totaling $1,750 while moderate-income applicants could receive up to a total of $1,150. Those amounts include additional rebates for an E-Bike along with additional supplements for equipment, a cargo bike, and an adaptive bike. The base amount -- rebate just for the E-Bike only -- is $1100 for low income and $500 for moderate income.
The state defines low income as below 80% of Area Medium Income, and moderate income is defined as between 80 and 100% of Area Medium Income.
For example a single person whose residence is Larimer County and whose income is below $60,160 would be considered low income. A single person with income between $60,160 and $75,200 would be considered moderate income.
More information here: https://energyoffice.colorado.gov/ebike-rebates which includes a link to the income eligibility table.
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We've created a number of football club fans FIFA23 summer leagues that will start 1st July.
https://thefedr8tion.com/organisation/eSportsAidUK
If you're a West Ham, Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, Man City, Man Utd, Liverpool, Celtic or Rangers fan you'll find a league for you.
If you support another team let us know below and we'll happily set up your team's league for you and your mates to play in too.
There's an entry fee, which will go to charity as we are doing this in association with eSports Aid UK, and the winner of each league will win a new season shirt of your club in the size you want.
So vote this up, share with your mates and enjoy a summer of FIFA 23 on us.
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Hi All,
Wow, what a year it has been! I don't know about you lot but this was one of the most intense and fun Fantasy seasons that I have ever been a part of. Superbru has a lot that it can work on and I know that there has been a LOT of turmoil, sadness, and disappointment (and I don't mean that towards the organisers of any Fantasy competition in ANY way. Fantasy Rugby has been neglected by the upper-end of the Rugby Union for far too long and we are all paying the price.) with other Fantasy competitions that have not been able to run but I am very grateful to Superbru for keeping things going. It has been very, very fun.
Before I give the final rankings, I want to reflect on myself too. I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well this year and I may have found myself getting a little too invested and beating myself up for some terrible calls (my captain choices were awful and that Gavin Coombes hat trick exclusion still haunts me) and I'm gutted that I didn't get that coveted Gold Cap but hey, there's always next year! I also want to thank everyone who was a part of this community and joined in with these threads. I will continue to make them next year (and through the World Cup!) so you haven't heard the last of me. I will be kicking back into the discord when the World Cup comes around so keep an eye out there. (I am just realising I can tag people?!) Let me know if you like that or prefer untagged.
So without further ado, here is the final top 10 (with scores)!

1. C'estfou Macalou - 3778.00
2. Paulshinfo - 3745.50
3. Over the Laighin - 3737.00
4. dglavin - 3644.00
5. anoonamous - 3637.00
6. Boomer - 3633.50
7. Cozarro - 3622.00
8. Chris - 3608.00
9. American Blues - 3590.00
10. George FRG - 3574.50

We had some movers this week and before we announce the winner, I need to give a final Golden Cap to u/dglavin who used this amazing achievement to leapfrog into 4th place! It's always so difficult to win a Golden Cap on finals weekend and you did it with style. I was personally very lucky to hold onto my 2nd place as Over the Laighin was way too close for comfort
But, our overall winner. Our Munster (if you will) is C'estfou Macalou!! HUGE congratulations to the man himself. I thought I had you at one point but you had some incredible scores towards the end to really cement yourself in the top spot. Very well-deserved.
Awards
Most Tries - This was actually a tie! With u/Paulshinfo and u/NutCracka both running in 98 tries over the season! That's around 4.6 tries per round. Not bad!
Most Golden Caps - We had a number of people who managed to get two Caps throughout the season but only one person managed the insane job of getting three and that was u/Cozarro ! 15% of all Golden Caps were won by you. Absolutely outstanding effort.
Biggest Round Score - This one was absurd. In Round 17, u/anoonamous managed to get a game-breaking score of 273.5. That was 100 points over the group average. My jaw hit the floor when I saw that score; you obviously used your time-travelling abilities for that weekend!
Well, that's me all finished for now. Hope you all enjoyed and see you for the World Cup!
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I'm still new to AoW games and trying to get the hang of it (even if they hold a lot of similarities to other 3x games).
I have a few questions regarding strategies around units.
T1 units are usually weak in late game, or at least that what they seemed to me. I made a rat race with barbarian and the swarmer trait just because it seemed fun. I do guess is more like an early game trait but the chaos tome that also gives buffs around T1 units kinda points you out in the direction of: ok, you wanna have T1 units. I'm not saying this T1 units are bad. They do feel they do something and not inmideatly die to higher tier units, but their usefulness compared to other tiers makes them feel like not worth it. Is there something i'm missing? I did win this game (vs. 2 normal PCs but still) with a bunch of armies with 2/3 T1 units and Heroes/higher tier units, but the enemies armies which had all T2-4 untis seemed way stronger in some sense. Does T1 hold up to their weakness by just costing less to upkeep? Do sheer numbers overcome higher tier stats/abilities/utility?
Also, I know there are a few units that, when gained certain amount of exp, they "evolve" or become higher tier units. Sad for me, I've never managed to get these units to get to that part but not because they died, but because I cannot get enough EXP for them before they already feel like they could be replaced by something better. There aren't just enough battles before I'm drag to need higher tier units. Are there other ways to gain EXP i'm missing?
Sorry if this is a lot! I'm just trying to get better understanding of game mechanics so I can pull up with nice and fun strategies. Because there a lot of things that look so cool on this game and sometimes they seems like very sub-optimal, but maybe because I don't have the right state of mind for this 4x saga yet.

Counting down to the beginning of the season I'm going to attempt to post one player per day for the last 99 matching the days left to their jersey number. The players will be random. Use this thread to celebrate and Talk About Some Guys^tm
Bruce Smith did not play football until his sophomore year of high school. By the time he graduated he was all state. By the time he finished at Virginia Tech - he would change the position forever. He was 6'4" - 275lbs and ran like a linebacker. He made pass rushing an art. Even though sacks were not an official NCAA Stat until 2000 - Bruce Smith was one of the all-time greats at sacking the quarterback. He had 22 sacks during 1983 - his junior year - and was named a first team All-American. He followed that up with a senior season that resulted in him being named a first team All-American a second time and winning the Outland Trophy. During his time in Blacksburg he amassed 71 tackles behind the line of scrimmage (46 would be considered sacks).
After his incredible run at Virginia Tech he went onto be #1 overall pick in 1985 and have an equally legendary NFL career. He was an 8 time first team all pro, 2 time second team, 2 time defensive player of the year, 11 time pro bowler, a member of the 1980 and 1990 NFL all decade team and part of the 100th anniversary all-time team. He had 19 NFL seasons where he finished with 1+ sack and 13 where he had at least 10. He is still the all time NFL Sack leader with 200 over a 19 year career.
He was named to ESPNs 25 man All-Time All American team in 2019. He was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. In 2005 he was elected to the State of Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. He was elected to the college football hall of fame in 2006, in 2008 he was inducted into the Buffalo Bills Wall of fame and in 2009 he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009, his first year of eligibility. In 2016 his #78 was retired by the Buffalo Bills.
Bruce cheesin

This game is called Visual-Utopia
The game is a reflection or simulation of life & reality, even has an “Armageddon Spell” to force restart the match if you think you can win
You can pick up life skills from playing this game & much wisdom & understanding like being back at university
It can be the most addictive
It’s free to play BROWSER game & not pay to win like mobile games
Their is only around 50 of us life long friends play the game
It is ranked 3rd longest “online multiplayer” or just “strategy” game mmo, whatever
The game is played 24/7
A turn based strategy game
Every hour we get to make one move & our resources increase
It is on a 2D map
Like a warhammer board game online on your screen
You can solo or join other kingdoms
It’s very similar to Fortnite, Chess, Risk, Age of Empires, Command & Conquer all in one
Also slight inspiration towards or from a Lord of the Rings theme
It’s the game everyone craves, understands & what everyone wishes mobile games was
I’ve played the game around 18 years
I’m going to advertise the game on a huge scale soon
As the owner of the game has “organic” morals
He played in my kingdom one time & saved our lives once
Right now
I have created a new kingdom called “illuminati”just last year but had to step down to get my head right
I aim to play this game & run this kingdom until atleast 2030
Join the game to be cool & be in before the mainstream
Join my kingdom if you like
I have a lot of tips & tricks
Or
Just have fun
I’m the best farmer & number cruncher the game has seen
But
I often kill myself in the game more than anyone has killed me😂
Leave a comment
Let me know if you are joining or want assistance, have any questions
I’m taking a break from Reddit & Philosophy etc… to have some fun for a couple of months
Rest & play is just as important as “work”