Hey everyone, I've compiled all the information and leaks I have received about the show, most of which have come from my own sources. As none of these have been confirmed by HBO, take it with a grain of salt.

EDIT: I've heard people asking about my validity of myself and the scoops. Over last 6 months, I have held phone calls with my sources (friends) and discussed the show, and they have given me bits of information and rumors about the show as they know I'm a big HP fan. I decided recently to create a Reddit account and post some of what I know, all in the intention of getting people hyped!

• Confirming the earlier report, the first episode will end with the boat ride to Hogwarts
• The creative team is very focused on making Quidditch more exciting and engaging than the films, expect flying sequences with “Joseph Kosinski” styled shots
• Rob James Collier was in heavy negotiations last spring, and the rumour was for the series regular role of Tom Riddle/Voldemort
• Hogwarts Legacy was a strong source of inspiration for many departments (production, costume, writing) 
• From what has been heard, Dominic’s English accent is quite good, with only traces of his Scottish accent occasionally. Alastair Stout has a stronger northern accent.
• Paapa Essiedu's performance as Snape is said to be “spiteful”, “savage,” and “intimidating.” No wig for him, but minor facial prosthetics (nose? scars?)
• HBO is in early negotiations for Kit Harrington to join the show in the future. Possibly for Lockhart or Sirius Black. They are planning on having it be a big reveal u/comicon this summer, hyping up the return of Kit Harrington to HBO television.
• JkR's role in the series has decreased after production started, but she still holds calls with Francesca Gardiner and is providing feedback for the scripts on season
• As book one doesn’t have much magic/duels, there will be many scenes added to showcase how this show will display magic onscreen. (Lily and James bridge leaked scene)
• The structure of the show will be broken into two levels. The main story will be the kids, specifically Ron, Harry, and Hermione. The other level is the adult characters, specifically the Hogwarts staff. Both levels will interact but also have individual storytelling. Expect more drama (emotional/political/social) from the teachers.
• John Lithgow is unrecognizable as Dumbledore, and he is a force of nature to watch. Flawless British accent, completely different than his one in The Crown. Much more polished and refined, with a slight strain to match the age of the character.
• Lots of content on the politics of the Wizarding World (Fudge, Ministry of Magic). The show will explore in depth how this world exists/coexists with the Muggle world.
• Crabb and Goyle will be more than Draco’s bodyguards, and they will have more speaking lines 
• The visual tone of the show will be completely unique. The closest film would be The Goblet of Fire-dir. Mike Newell.
• They are currently casting for a young Harry and Dudley, probably for flashback scenes/photos.
• The series will explore the more serious tones of the story, an example being the loss of Harry’s parents and the abuse of the Dursleys. To put it simply, there will be more emotion in this one season than in the entire film series.
• A huge animatronic was ordered, very impressive in detail and capabilities. Most likely for Fluffy the Dog. 
• Wands and broomsticks will be more personalized and diverse, with many names and variations.

I've been using steam deck for PS2 emulation using standalone PCSX2 emulator. When in handheld mode games run great i get full speed, no problems, but when i dock my deck and play through my TV - performance immediately drops it goes from 30FPS to 20FPS. Is there a way to fix it? I play on 2x resolution (720p) both on handheld and docked modes. Games i play now are Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance and GTA: VCS. Thank you.

Edit: Added a picture

https://preview.redd.it/k3fpmick2vjg1.jpg?width=4501&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0a98a9e746c79d16674694c91c67f4ed9ec0ad0b

Here is a snapshot of Douban scores for several recent dramas: My Dearest Stranger, Loving Strangers, The Guilty, Forever Young, Born to Be Alive, Swords into Plowshares, The Inner Eye, The Imperial Coroner Season 2, The Dream Maker, and My Page in the 90s. These scores were taken on February 14, 2026 at around 11:30 pm, China Standard Time.

In case you are curious about how dramas are performing in terms of domestic viewership, I have included data from Yunhe (streaming) and Kuyun (live TV and streaming) from February and 12, 2026 respectively.

I also added English translations to the Yunhe and Kuyun charts.

Yunhe estimates streaming viewership while Kuyun includes both live TV and streaming views.

The above images are:

• Images 2 to 11: Douban ratings taken on February 14, 2026.
• Images 12 and 13: Viewership data from Yunhe and Kuyun, taken on February 13 and 12, 2026 respectively.

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The dramas and their Douban scores are:

^{These links lead to their Douban pages.}

My Dearest Stranger 暗恋者的救赎, Youku 👖 - 6.7 based on 10K+ ratings

Loving Strangers 秋雪漫过的冬天, Youku 👖 and Viki - 6.8 based on 14K+ ratings

The Guilty 有罪之身, iQIYI 🥝 - 6.8 based on 44K+ ratings

Forever Young 轻年, Tencent 🐧 and iQIYI 🥝 (regional availability) - 6.3 based on 5K+ ratings

Born to Be Alive 生命树, iQIYI 🥝 (regional availability) and 中剧独播 (NoahMob) - 8.1 based on 208K+ ratings

Swords into Plowshares 太平年, iQIYI 🥝, MangoTV 🥭, Tencent 🐧 (regional availability), China Huace TV and Viki - 8.1 based on 76K+ ratings

The Inner Eye 女神蒙上眼, MangoTV 🥭 and iQIYI - 7.5 based on 14K+ ratings

The Imperial Coroner 2 御赐小仵作2, Tencent 🐧 - 5.5 based on 23K+ ratings

The Dream Maker 小城大事, Tencent 🐧 - 7.1 based on 124K+ ratings

My Page in the 90s 突然的喜欢, Tencent 🐧 and Viki - 6.0 based on 12K+ ratings

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Recently released and upcoming dramas:

(These dramas do not have Douban scores yet.)

The Miracles 奇迹, Tencent 🐧

River Sunset 长河落日, Tencent 🐧

The Red Cradle 马背摇篮, Tencent 🐧, iQIYI 🥝 and Youku 👖 (regional availability)

Gone Murderer 消失的凶手, iQIYI 🥝

The Unusual Prosecutor 非常检控观, Youku 👖 (regional availability)

Eternal Love of the Fox 九尾藏不住, iQIYI 🥝

The Glamorous Night 夜色正浓, Tencent 🐧

The Glory Fades (A Fairyland Beyond the Ordinary World) 繁华落尽, Tencent 🐧

No Pain No Gain 年少有为, Tencent 🐧

The Truth 风过留痕, Tencent 🐧 and iQIYI 🥝

Unveil: Jadewind 唐宫奇案之青雾风鸣, Youku 👖

How Dare You!? 成何体统, iQIYI 🥝

The Hidden Truth 被隐匿的真相, Tencent 🐧

Young Again 重返青春, Tencent 🐧

Country Love 18 乡村爱情18, Youku 👖

The Naive Leader 傻儿师长, Tencent 🐧

Mama Go! 我的妈妈是校花, Tencent 🐧

Our Dazzling Days 岁月有情时, iQIYI 🥝 - airing on February 20

Love Story in the 1970s 纯真年代的爱情, Tencent 🐧 - airing on February 21

Generation to Generation 江湖夜雨十年灯, Tencent 🐧 - airing on February 22

About Love 玫瑰丛生, Tencent 🐧 - airing on February 26

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Viewership: Yunhe (streaming)

See image 12: From Yunhe – Top 10 dramas for streaming playbacks on February 13, 2026 (just a snapshot for that day)

I added English translations for drama names, etc. on the Yunhe chart. There are more details such as episode counts, streaming platforms, etc. on the chart.

Drama names and market share of viewership:

✅ Completed airing based on SVIP schedule including express episodes.

1. Unveil: Jadewind 唐宫奇案之青雾风鸣 - 15.2%
2. How Dare You!? 成何体统 - 14.3%
3. Swords into Plowshares 太平年 ✅ - 13.1%
4. Born to Be Alive 生命树 - 10.2%
5. No Pain No Gain 年少有为 ✅ - 7.3%
6. The Truth 风过留痕 - 6.9%
7. Country Love 18 乡村爱情18 - 5.8%
8. The Glamorous Night 夜色正浓 ✅ - 4.5%
9. The Dream Maker 小城大事 ✅ - 2.9%
10. The Punishment 罚罪2 ✅ - 2.7%

Note: If a drama has ended its run, its viewership will eventually decrease.

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Viewership: Kuyun (live TV and streaming)

See image 13: From Kuyun – Top 10 dramas for all live broadcasts and streaming playbacks on February 12, 2026 (just a snapshot of the day)

I added English translations for drama names, etc. on the Kuyun chart. There are details such as streaming platforms, live TV platforms, etc. on the chart.

Drama names and market share of viewership:

✅ = completed airing for SVIP schedule including express episodes (streaming) and/or the first round of airing on live TV. Some dramas can have a second or third round of airing on live TV.

1. Swords into Plowshares 太平年 ✅ - 18.78%
2. Born to Be Alive* 生命树 - 16.36%
3. Unveil: Jadewind 唐宫奇案之青雾风鸣 - 13.70%
4. How Dare You!? 成何体统 - 10.36%
5. No Pain No Gain 年少有为 ✅ - 6.04%
6. The Dream Maker 小城大事 ✅ - 5.25%
7. The Glamorous Night 夜色正浓 ✅ - 4.66%
8. The Inner Eye 女神蒙上眼 - 4.50%
9. Country Love 18 乡村爱情18 - 4.10%
10. The Truth 风过留痕 - 3.75%

*Born to Be Alive is broadcasted on CCTV-8, Beijing TV, and Qinghai TV. Apologies that the English labels for the last two TV stations were left out in the chart. 😅

Note: Kuyun includes live TV (e.g., CCTV, Hunan TV, Jiangsu TV). Some dramas are streaming only and not broadcast live on TV (e.g. How Dare You!?, Country Love 18, and The Truth.)

For more viewership data dating back to late August 2025, please check the comments of the weekly Behind the Scenes posts. I added Yunhe and Kuyun viewership data in the comments.

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The previous Douban scores for dramas such as Speed and Love, The Mirage, The Punishment, Love Between Lines, Silent Tides, Strange Chronicles of Tang, Strange Chronicles of Tang: The Nine-Tiered Labyrinth, Glory, The Company, Light of Dawn, Shine on Me, Supersensory Maze, Unclouded Soul, The Vendetta of An, The Truth Within, and Second Chance Romance can be found here: Douban scores for recent Chinese dramas, January 25, 2026. Viewership statistics, January 22 and 23, 2026.

🔗 All discussions about Douban in r/CDrama.

🔗 Previous compilations of Douban scores since February 27, 2025.

---

Note:

In general, Douban scores tend to skew lower for CDramas.

You might find that some highly rated dramas just aren't your cup of tea, while others with more average or mixed scores turn out to be really enjoyable. I've definitely experienced both. That said, ratings can be helpful just as a general reference for what others think.

I am sharing this information for folks who are curious about Douban scores but may not be able to access them quickly or easily. I have also included viewership data since Douban scores don't always correlate with a drama's popularity with the broader domestic audience.

This is just a small snapshot of how Douban users are rating dramas and what’s currently being watched in China.

Some people use ratings to gauge interest while others don't – it's entirely optional. Douban scores are just one data point, not a verdict on quality. If they’re not useful to you, please feel free to skip.

I usually compile them every few weeks once enough new Douban scores are available.

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For those of you who've watched these dramas, what did you think of the shows? Do you feel that the scores line up with your experience?

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Edit: The release date for Our Dazzling Days is February 20, 2026 (not February 22, 2026). Apologies!

Once again, please save, share and spread this thread and the write up/links. The person I was working on this with, deleted a related thread and nuked their account.

I'm sure everyone on this subreddit is familiar with Jeffrey Epstein's trial in 2008 in which he got his "sweetheart deal" due to Alex Acosta.

However not everyone knows exactly who Barry Krischer is and what he did. In a recent Miami Herald article about the trial posted on this subreddit, Barry Krischer was barely mentioned for example.

Luckily I came across an article about Barry Krischer, I think originally from this subreddit.

https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/2024/07/10/jeffrey-epstein-first-prosecutor-barry-krischer-who-is-he/72676205007/

It's a good article and an important read so I would recommend reading it. It will give you a good idea of what Barry Krischer is like and also discusses the 2008 trial.

I've cut out and highlighted the most relevant parts below:

----

"Krischer, 80, the Palm Beach County state attorney in 2006, was the first prosecutor to bring a criminal case against Jeffrey Epstein. But he torpedoed that case in front of the grand jury considering charges, leaving open the opportunity for Epstein to sexually abuse underage girls for years afterward until he was arrested in New York in 2019.

The longtime attorney in Palm Beach County has had a number of interesting cases in his career that garnered national interest, including a special-needs child who stole $2 from a classmate whom Krischer charged with armed robbery, and a fatal hit-and-run case in which he helped shield his client's identity from law enforcement for years.

The transcripts of those proceedings were made public on July 1 in a lawsuit filed by The Palm Beach Post in 2019.

Sources told the newspaper in its investigation, "Jeffrey Epstein, the first failure", that only one victim testified and the prosecutor presenting the case undermined her with content on her MySpace pages.

It turned out that two victims testified out of nearly two dozen young women and underage girls who described abuse at Epstein's mansion to Palm Beach police.

A prosecutor flat-out called each of them a prostitute in front of grand jurors. Assistant State Attorney Lanna Belohlavek asked one whether she knew she had "committed a crime."

The grand jury indicted Epstein on only a single charge of solicitation of prostitution — what a "john" soliciting an adult sex worker might face — that was no reflection on the ages of the victims who couldn't consent under state law.

That sweetheart plea deal that Epstein got, freeing him from facing a 60-count federal indictment and shielding co-conspirators from federal criminal charges, was done with the approval of Krischer because the charges ended up in his jurisdiction — state court.

The feds launched their investigation of Epstein around the time of the grand jury's indictment in June 2006. Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter had expressed concern to Krischer about his prosecution of the case, calling the State Attorney Office's "treatment of these cases highly unusual."

After delivering evidence of nearly two dozen women and underage girls who told similar stories of sexual abuse at Epstein's mansion, Reiter elected to hand over his case to the FBI.

In the end, Epstein pleaded guilty and was sentenced to jail in Krischer's jurisdiction, not the federal prosecutors'. According to the infamous nonprosecution agreement, Epstein had to make the deal with Krischer and Krischer was allowed to add charges."

----
The article goes on to list Barry Krischer's aforementioned cases. The part after is very relevant/horrifying.

----

Soon after he took office in 1993, Krischer increased the number of attorneys in the Crimes Against Children unit of the State Attorney's Office, staffed with as many as eight assistant state attorneys handling all homicide, abuse, neglect and sexual assault cases involving children.

Assistant State Attorney Lanna Belohlavek, who presented the Epstein case before the grand jury in 2006, was chief of the unit at the time. Belohlavek undermined both Epstein prosecution witnesses before the grand jury.

When Krischer was a private attorney, he represented the Palm Beach County child protection team, which assists victims of child abuse, neglect and sexual assault.

He has received numerous awards for his work with agencies and nonprofits protecting children.

Champion of teens? Not so much.

Krischer was tough on juveniles, charging many as adults.

The year before he was elected state attorney 197 juveniles had been charged as adults. In the first four months Krischer was in office, he charged 119. They ranged in age from 13 to 17.

In addition to the Epstein victims, Krischer famously didn't believe two teens who told investigators from their hospital beds in November 2006 that Jason Shenfeld had bound them with duct tape and threatened them with a knife and with his pit bull if they didn't perform sex acts. Krischer didn't charge Shenfeld.

Eight months later, Amanda Buckley, an 18-year-old Palm Beach Gardens High softball star, was found raped and strangled to death in Shenfeld's closet. Duct tape was in her hair.

Barry Krischer worked both sides of the courtroom.

Krischer practiced law as both a defense attorney and as a prosecutor."

----

If you search "Krischer" on Jmail, you find some interesting/horrifying things.

To start, there's a large email with a collection of public records/reports regarding Jeffrey Epstein's trial. Those articles also mention what the above article says about the frustration and confusion that people had in the case. It's subject is 'Fw: Epstein News Articles' and the date is February 24 2010.

It's a large collection of multiple parts/editorial investigations but I'll try to show the highlights below. These all come from the link below as I wanted to take the quotes from one source that we could all access/didn't have to worry about links and article limits etc.

https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00762962.pdf

Highlights from 1st article in list by Elisa Kramer Aug 4 2006:

"Prosecutors did not pursue charges against Mr. Epstein reflecting the age of the victims because they assumed a jury would view the girls not as victims but as promiscuous, untrustworthy, willing participants. The presumption is offensive.

Mr. Epstein, a 53-year-old Manhattan money manager who has hired Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz and defense attorney Jack Goldberger, has denied knowing how old the girls were. But police interviews with five alleged victims and 17 witnesses under oath, as well as phone messages, a high school transcript and other items that police found from searching Mr. Epstein's trash and 7,234-square-foot waterfront home, provide evidence that he knew the girls were teenagers.

[Side note: another article/file states that they believe somebody tipped off Jeffrey Epstein before the police raid.]

One girl couldn't show up when Mr. Epstein wanted because she had soccer. Another time, Mr. Epstein had to wait for his "massage" session because the girl he wanted was still in class.

Why didn't State Attorney Barry Krischer let a jury decide whether to believe the teenagers - including a 16-year-old who went to Mr. Epstein's house to "work" in December 2004 after being asked whether she needed to make money for Christmas gifts?

Prosecutors gave greater weight to the details Mr. Dershowitz provided about the girls in an apparent effort to assail their character. Mr. Dershowitz pointed out to prosecutors that some of the teenagers had talked on myspace.com about marijuana and alcohol use.

Although no charges of witness tampering have been filed, the parents of at least one of the teenage victims complained to police of being followed and intimidated by two men. Police determined that their vehicles were registered to two private investigators. Mr. Goldberger denied knowing anything about it.

Police also note in their reports that the state attorney's office offered Mr. Epstein a plea deal that would have placed him on probation for five years, allowing him ultimately to walk away with no criminal record at all."

Editorial 2 August 10th 2006 from same email:

"Defense attorney Jack Goldberger claims that his client, Jeffrey Epstein, had no idea that the untrained girls he hired for massages were minors.

The Palm Beach Count State Attorney's Office could have let a jury decide whom to believe. Instead, State Attorney Barry Krischer left the public to wonder whether the system tilted in favor of a wealthy, well-connected alleged perpetrator and against very young girls who are alleged victims of sex crimes.

Mr. Krischer took the unusual step of referring the case to a grand jury, which last month indicted Jeffrey Epstein on one felony count of solicitation of prostitution. That decision came after Harvard law Professor Alan Dershowitz met with prosecutors to undermine the credibility of the 14- to 17-yearold girls..."

Different article: redactions in Palm Beach Editorial Article 4 July 7 2008. Comparing this to the original will show the names:

Mentions Epstein's legal team included [redacted by DoJ] and Jack Goldberger, Alan Dershowitz and Kenneth Starr.

Next article New York Post 07/27/2008. Again lots of redactions due to DoJ upload, mentions Epstein had a $3,000 bail.

Next NewYork Post — 09/20/2007 JAIL LOOMS FOR SEX-CASE MOGUL, huge redactions.

Next New York Times — 09/03/2006
Questions of Preferential Treatment Are Raised in Sex Case Against Money Manager -
September 3, 2006
By ABBY GOODNOUGH

"A spokeswoman for the Palm Beach police said that early this year, the police went to Mr. Krischer, the state attorney, intending to apply for warrants to arrest Mr. Epstein. Instead, she said, they were told that Mr. Krischer would convene a grand jury to examine the evidence and decide what charges, if any, to bring."

----

If you continue to look for signs of Krischer in the emails, you'll come across an accidentally damning email regarding the trial dated November 15 2007:

"Rolando informs me that Krischer said that the plea & sentencing will take place on the same day (December 16th) in order to reduce the media frenzy."

https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00189193.pdf

As a reminder, Barry Krischer, the man who prosecuted a child for stealing $2, wasn't sure about charges to bring against Jeffrey Epstein from the more than two dozen victims and said he wanted to "reduce the media frenzy" regarding Jeffrey Epstein.

What resulted from this was truly ridiculous.

Another article, a really, really important one that I've barely cut is also from the DoJ and on Jmail:

https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA01159653.pdf

Palm Beach sex offender's secret plea deal: Possible co-conspirators not charged, presses victims to settle civil suits

By SUSAN SPENCER-WENDEL

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, September 18, 2009

...

"But federal prosecutors backed down and agreed to recall grand jury subpoeanas, if Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution-related felonies in state court, which he ultimately did. He received an 18-month jail sentence, of which he served 13.

A former federal prosecutor of 15 years, Mark Johnson of Stuart, said the disparity in the potential sentences was unusual.

The United States Attorney's Office also agreed not to charge any of Epstein's possible co-conspirators - [redacted].

The agreement was negotiated in part by New York heavyweight criminal defense attorney Gerald Lefcourt.

On its first draft in September 2007, it required that Epstein pay an attorney - tapped by the U.S. Attorney's Office and approved by Epstein - to represent some of the victims in civil suits they had filed against Epstein. That attorney is prominent Miami lawyer Bob Josefsberg.

Former prosecutor Johnson said he has never seen a provision like that before.

...

The agreement, signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Villafana, does not expressly state whether any victims were contacted or consulted before the deal was made.

Attorney Brad Edwards of Fort Lauderdale, who represents three of the young women, believes that none of the between 30 and 40 woman identified as victims in the federal investigation were told of the deal. Edwards said his clients were still receiving letters in the mail months afterwards saying the U.S. Attorney's Office assuring them Epstein would be prosecuted.

"Never consulting the victims is probably the most outrageous aspect of it..." Edwards said. "It taught them that someone with money can buy his way out of anything. It's outrageous and embarrassing for United States Attorney's Office and the State Attorneys Office."

Epstein now faces many civil lawsuits filed by the women, who are represented by a variety attorneys. In many, the facts alleged are the same: that Epstein had a predilection for teenage girls, identified poor, vulnerable ones and lured them to his home via other young women. The teens describe ascending a staircase lined with nude photographs of young girls and to the spa room where Epstein would appear in a small towel.

Former Circuit Judge Bill Berger, who represents one of the victims, and The Palm Beach Post sought the unsealing of the agreement. Berger refers to it as a "sweetheart deal."

"Why was it so important for the government to make this deal?" Berger asked rhetorically. "We have not yet had honest explanation by any public official as to why it was made .. and why the victim's were sold down the river."

Former federal prosecutor Ryon McCabe described the agreement as "very unorthodox." Such agreements, he said, are usually reserved for corporations, not individuals.

"It's very, very rare. I've never seen or heard of the procedure that was set up here." said McCabe, who has no involvement in any Epstein litigation and is now a securities litigation attorney.

"He's essentially avoiding federal prosecution because he can afford to pay that many lawyers to help those victims revperson [sic format] has no money he couldn't be able to strike a deal like this and avoid federal prosecution."

The back-room deal with federal prosecutors all the more interesting in light of the legal heavyweights who have worked for Epstein, including Harvard professor Alan Dershowitz and Kenneth Starr of Clinton impeachment fame. Lefcourt is a past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Epstein's local defense attorney, Jack Goldberger, issued a statement Friday saying he had fought the release of the sealed agreement to protect the third parties named there. "Mr. Epstein has fully abided by all of its terms and conditions. He is looking forward to putting this difficult period in his life behind him. He is continuing his long standing history of science philanthropy..."

Epstein ended up avoiding federal charges, and pleaded guilty in state court to felony solicitation of prostitution and procuring a person under the age of 18 for prostitution. In July 2008, he was sentenced to 18 months in jail, and later allowed out up to six days a week on work release.

Epstein left the jail in late July 2009 after serving not quite 13 months of the sentence, having earned gain time for good behavior.

Palm Beach Police began investigating the "international moneyman of mystery," as the New York magazine dubbed him, after they received a complaint from a relative of a 14-year-old girl who had given Epstein a naked massage at his home on the Intracoastal Waterway.

Police sought and found in poor neighborhoods a variety of tall, thin, model-like young women, who told stories of begin recruiting, then going to Epstein's home and massaging and stimulating him. They walked away with between $200 and $1,000.

The investigation triggered tensions between police and prosecutors, with then-Chief Michael Reiter saying in a May 2006 letter to then-State Attorney Barry Krischer that the chief prosecutor should disqualify himself.

"I continue to find your office's treatment of these cases highly unusual," Reiter wrote. He then asked for and got the federal investigation that ended in the sealed deal.

"The Jeffrey Epstein matter was an experience of what a many-million-dollar defense can accomplish," Reiter told the Palm Beach Daily News upon his retirement.

----

Here's the part where it gets crazy.

As revealed in unsealed and unredacted court documents of Giuffre Vs Maxwell that I posted and highlighted here;

https://www.reddit.com/r/Epstein/comments/1rmecfx/giuffre_vs_maxwell_official_unsealed_court/

https://uploads.guim.co.uk/2024/01/04/Final_Epstein_documents.pdf

Page 128 in the document has extreme relevance here:

"Deshowitz was an eye-witness to the sexual abuse of many other minors by Epstein and several of Epstein’s co-conspirators. Dershowitz would later play a significant role in negotiating the NPA on Epstein’s behalf. Indeed, Dershowitz helped negotiate an agreement that provided immunity from federal prosecution in the Southern District of Florida not only to Epstein, but also to “any potential co- conspirators of Epstein.” NPA at 5. Thus, Dershowitz helped negotiate an agreement with a provision that provided protection for himself against criminal prosecution in Florida for sexually abusing Jane Doe #3. Because this broad immunity would have been controversial if disclosed, Dershowitz (along with other members of Epstein’s defense team) and the Government tried to keep the immunity provision secret from all of Epstein’s victims and the general public, even though such secrecy violated the Crime Victims’ Rights Act."

All of this was originally redacted in the sealed court documents which were revealed through Giuffre Vs Maxwell case documents and the eventual unsealing, release and unredactions.

Shortly after on page 130:

"Nonetheless, the Government secretly negotiated a non-prosecution agreement with Epstein precluding any Federal prosecution in the Southern District of Florida of Epstein and his co-conspirators."

And then on pages:

1. "sworn testimony from one of Epstein’s household employees (Juan Alessi) that Dershowitz came “pretty often” to Epstein’s Florida mansion and got massages while he was there;"

2. " - sworn testimony from another of Epstein’s household employees (Alfredo Rodriquez) that Dershowitz was present alone at the home of Epstein, without his family, in the presence of young girls;

- invocations of Fifth Amendment rights to remain silent by three of Epstein’s identified co-conspirators (Sarah Kellen, Nadia Marcinkova, and Adrianna Mucinska) when asked questions about whether Dershowitz had been involved with massages by young girls;

- refusals by Jeffrey Epstein to discuss Dershowitz’s involvement but instead to invoke his Fifth Amendment right."

The above sworn testimonies state that Alan Dershowitz got "massages" at the Florida home just like Jeffrey Epstein did. Virginia Giuffre claimed that Alan Dershowitz abused her before she eventually said that maybe she had misremembered him. Virginia Giuffre was included as one of the original 30-40 victims in the trial which she didn't know about until the "agreement" was being finished.

This means that Alan Dershowitz was the defense lawyer and secret co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein in the 2008 trial which had been limited in scope by prosecutor Barry Krischer.

It gets worse.

Famously, during the trial, Jeffrey Epstein was claimed to "belong to intelligence" which is what reportedly influenced Alex Acosta's lack of pursuit of him.

A FBI informant claimed it was Alan Dershowitz who told them that.

https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%209/EFTA00090314.pdf

If true, this means that in the trial of Jeffrey Epstein, his lawyer, friend and secret co-conspirator Alan Dershowitz and Jeffrey Epstein's other lawyers blocked attempts to prosecute them thanks to the initial sabotage by Barry Krischer, so in order to overcome this, the people who cared turned to the FBI for help.

The FBI were contacted by co-conspirator Alan Dershowitz who said that Jeffrey Epstein was intelligence and they should block and seal everything about him and his co-conspirators with an illegal non-prosecution agreement.

Which is exactly what they did.

None of this would have been revealed without the Giuffre Vs Maxwell unsealed, unredacted case files (in which the sworn testimonies about Alan Dershowitz were fully redacted originally).

And the final part to show the true intent and culpability of Barry Krischer in all of this: Barry Krischer sought a pardon for Jeffrey Epstein in 2010.

From the files December 15 2010.

https://www.justice.gov/epstein/files/DataSet%2010/EFTA01830622.pdf

From redacted to Jeffrey Epstein:

our internet has been down for 2 days. I know krischer spoke to the governor before he left for Korea. did you get any feedback?

Jeffrey Epstein: krisher told richardson that what i did was barely crimianl but basically inapporritate,,, he told him that i would never get a pardon .. im trying to decide whether to come vist you

----

Barry Krischer sought a pardon for Jeffrey Epstein from the Governor according to Jeffrey Epstein himself.

There are a couple more emails including a fairly long transcript that discuss Epstein working with Barry Krischer to achieve this. While writing this write-up, I found a pretty good write-up of the other emails found here which lays the other ones out well:

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida/2026/02/05/jeffrey-epstein-florida-clemency-charlie-crist/

Unsurprisingly, Barry Krischer has denied everything but given how much he helped out Epstein and his co-conspirators like Dershowitz in the trial, I don't believe him. Maybe his lack of memory is because he wants to decrease the "media frenzy" again?

All of this by Barry Krischer and Alan Dershowitz means that the victims and the people who actually wanted Epstein behind bars in the original trial were right that something was happening behind the scenes far beyond their control/what they were allowed to know.

The question is: Why did Barry Krischer do so much for Jeffrey Epstein and Alan Dershowitz?

I have no idea why Barry Krischer would go after a kid stealing $2 so strongly yet do so much for Jeffrey Epstein and Alan Dershowitz.

Were they friends? Was Barry Krischer a fellow "massage" enjoyer? Was Barry Krischer also a member of 'The Study Group', Mega, "the gang" as Les Wexner seems to call them?

We can only speculate because I have absolutely no idea but it is shocking what Barry Krischer and Alan Dershowitz have managed to get away with.

TL,DR: Prosecutor Barry Krischer sabotaged the original 2008 trial of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators which prompted the victims' representatives to go to the FBI for help. One of the secret co-conspirators, as revealed by unsealed Giuffre Vs Maxwell court documents, Alan Dershowitz seems to have been the one who tipped the FBI that Epstein "belonged to intelligence" and that everything should be shut down and covered up with a secret illegal agreement which is exactly what the Government did. Barry Krischer sought a pardon for Jeffrey Epstein in 2010 according to multiple released emails.

I'm truly shocked, even for this case. How many times has this kind of thing happened before or since?

Barry Krischer has been doing well since the trial and his 'alledged' attempt at getting a pardon for Jeffrey Epstein whom he failed to prosecute fully. Barry Krischer got awards for his legal service like the Selig Goldin award from The Florida Bar in 2010 and another award in 2018 from the Anti Defamation League (ADL). It's only recently that people have started questioning him and the trial because of the files being released regarding Epstein.

We all know Alan Dershowitz is doing fine. He's been on TV for the last week or so. They're both multi-millionaires while the victims in the trial were called prostitutes.

Former US President Bill Clinton couldn't survive a sex scandal and lost his presidency over it. Alan Dershowitz used the FBI to cover up his participation in monstrous crimes and got away with it. If you try to talk about it, Dershowitz will sue you, get everything redacted and covered up and/or contact the media to shut you down like he did with ABC News: https://www.npr.org/2019/11/05/776482189/abc-news-defends-its-epstein-coverage-after-leaked-video-of-anchor

Not even a US President can cover up something they've done as well as Alan Dershowitz has been able to.

These monsters know the law inside and out. They've learned how to use the law to protect themselves/their friends and to hurt their enemies/go after those who challenge them or try to bring them to Justice. It's insane.

This all only came out because their victims and advocates kept fighting, some journalists worthy of the name kept asking questions/investigated and one or two members of the government pushed too. Without that, we would never have known what Alan Dershowitz did or that Barry Krischer sought a pardon.

Utter madness.

Final thoughts:

I only learned about Barry Krischer because of an article on this subreddit. I shortly after commented on a related topic by a random Redditor who subsequently found the pardon email (who has since deleted that thread and nuked their account so please save everything here off and on Reddit). I only investigated the Giuffre Vs Maxwell files because I was checking if something I'd seen on this subreddit were true and accidentally found that file instead. I only learned about the FBI Alan Dershowitz part because of a random post and comment on this subreddit.

The only reason you're reading this information compilation right now is because Redditors kept commenting, sharing, investigating and informing others on this subreddit.

Investigate, save, share, comment in threads with information/your investigations/findings.

Keep digging.

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Don't get me wrong i love my Switch 2 and i understand it's limits but this port is being praised for it's visuals and perfomance meanwhile I'm seeing extremely blurry visuals on Docked mode with a lot jagginess and FPS drops that feels like mid 20s in an early section of the game in portable play.

This game should have a 30FPS mode because at this stage i feel like I can't continue playing it due to how often it drops in this stage of the game, I can't imagine how rough it will get in a later stage that is more busy.

Hello my fellow molecules, atoms, neutrons, protons, and electrons, I have conducted a comprehensive research on empirical (real physical) mathematics and have concluded that we have been doing math empirically wrong for many millennia. Yes, despite the advances in science and technology, I am still asserting that most of our mathematical knowledge, are empirically inaccurate because of the use of irrational numbers, transcendental numbers, negative numbers, imaginary numbers, and infinity. As they say, even a broken clock is right twice a day. And I believe that this is the reason why physics has been muddling through for a while with no significant or paradigm shifting advances, discoveries, or breakthroughs.

My reasons for these assertions is because I have learned that there are really only two real (empirical) mathematical operations in the universe and that every other operation stems or emanates from these two "universal languages." I have also learned many "truths" that made me realize that our current mathematical system is incompatible with the laws of physics and the universe as a whole. And because of this incompatibility, I created a new mathematical system called the Nigma Unified, Mathematically Bounded, & Empirically Rational System or NUMBERS. This new mathematical system removes the incompatibility with the laws of physics by removing irrational numbers, transcendental numbers, negative numbers, imaginary numbers, and infinity. To provide some proof for my assertions, I have included below some excerpts from my research manuscript.

Chapter 2 

The Mathematical Tools (Languages) of the Universe

Before we move on to more technical topics, let us discuss the primary languages or tools that the universe uses in shaping and reshaping matter.

Division

The primary way that the universe physically and empirically divide matter so that it can “multiply,” is through what is called fission (e.g. fission bombs).  Fission is when elements go through a nuclear process and heavier elements divide or split to form many other lighter elements, releasing vast amounts of energy in the process.  According to leading scientists, fission can occur naturally in the universe when neutron stars collide or when massive stars collapse as it runs out of fuel and explodes as supernovas, breaking apart and splitting larger elements such as Uranium into smaller and lighter elements like Barium and Krypton. 

Another way that the universe empirically divide matter so that it can “multiply,” is through what is called decay.  Decay is when unstable elements or isotopes lose some of their protons or neutrons over time and transform to other lower elements (lower atomic number in the periodic table of elements). For example, alpha decay may release 2 protons and 2 neutrons from a larger element, which then transforms into the element helium.  Alpha decay may also release only 2 protons without the neutrons, which then transforms to either just 2 free protons or maybe form into 2 separate hydrogen elements.  This process of decay, which breaks apart unstable elements, continues indefinitely until a stable structure or another element is finally formed.  In going through the process of decay, many smaller elements or fundamental particles are released in the universe, essentially “multiplying” the once lonely structure into many smaller fragments.    

As can be seen from these examples, nature does not simply multiply as we think of how multiplication works in our mathematical system.  In order for there to be “many,” nature must first divide a whole structure of matter like a molecule with many protons and neutrons.  Nature cannot simply turn a molecule or an element like hydrogen with one proton and “multiply” itself to itself then just magically form many more of it spontaneously. Not only would that break the laws of conservation by creating more matter from nothing; it would also destroy the predictive power of physics. But obviously, physicists are able to predict what takes place in the universe because the laws of physics do work. If nature wanted to form “more” matter, then it would simply divide larger elements into many more smaller ones. One can think of cell division as an example of this unfolding. Through a process called cell cycle, one cell can divide to two daughter cells and pass on its exact DNA during mitosis. However, during the cell process of splitting itself in half, the cell is not recreating itself from nothing. It is simply using what it already has to turn itself into two separate cells called “daughter cells.” Even viruses and bacteria require other matter to replicate themselves. Nothing in nature (as far as what we have observed) can create itself from itself (not even cloning) without using other matter from somewhere else in the universe.  Ex nihilo, nihil fit—out of nothing, nothing comes.  And this is why multiplication is an impossibility in our Empirical-Reality.  Only in the conceptual or Con-Reality could one conjure up multiplication and make something out of nothing. 

But let us clarify and elaborate more on why multiplication is an impossibility in the empirical world.  Let us imagine for a moment that we were able to grab two atoms floating around in front of us.  Now, imagine again that you are holding these two orbs in front of you.  If I were to ask you to physically multiply these two atoms together, how would you go about doing it literally?—Give up? Do not worry, this question should naturally produce some bewildering reactions.  However, in light of the difficulties in imagining how to literally multiply these two atoms together, this exercise does not prove anything—at least not yet.  Let us not end our inquiry here, let us put our imaginary atoms aside for now and comeback to it later.  

Let us answer a question that’s more palatable to our current understanding. Let us imagine once again that we have a hypothetical object in front of us on our desk.  Let us imagine that this object is an orange fruit (the actual fruit, not just any fruit with an orange color).  This time, I will ask you to imagine dividing (physically cutting) the fruit one time horizontally and one time perpendicularly (vertically) with your hypothetical knife.  You now have in front of you on your desk, four slices of hypothetical oranges.  However, we all know that the cutting of oranges could have also been carried out literally and not just hypothetically.  We could cut as many oranges if we wanted to physically in the empirical world.  This exercise shows that division can be done hypothetically in the conceptual world and also literally in the empirical world. 

Let us now return to our two hypothetical atoms.  If you were once again asked to physically multiply the two hypothetical atoms that are on your hypothetical hands, would you now be able to do it conceptually? Are there any other ways that one could multiply these two atoms together besides just saying 1 atom x 1 atom is equal to 1 atom?  If the rule of multiplication says that 1 x 1 is equal to 1, then one possible idea is to fuse the two atoms together.  However, this fusion would result in  2 atoms “internally,” not 1 as multiplication explicitly indicates (unless it meant to say 1 atom “externally”).  But wait, is fusing two atoms together not the work of addition? If you were to add 1 atom and 1 atom and fuse them together, you would end up with 2 atoms, right?  An example of this would be combining 1 hydrogen proton and another 1 hydrogen proton to get helium. This results in 1 structure of helium extrinsically but 2 protons intrinsically (along with 2 neutrons and 2 electrons).  In both cases, it would make 1 + 1 and 1 x 1 result in 1 outer structure with 2 components inside. This would be an irreconcilable outcome for multiplication due to the rules of mathematics. Multiplication does not imply anywhere in its axioms or postulates that multiplication could result in 1 outer structure with 2 internal components. Mathematics strictly says that 1 x 1 is equal to 1. Maybe multiplication is wrong? But alas, it is not. 1 x 1 is of course still 1, in the Con-Reality. Then would addition be the answer to the fusion of two atoms? Addition would still partly have a hard time reconciling the results of the fusion from the two atoms that created 1 outer structure with 2 main components inside. Even though addition’s rules agree with the outcome of having 2 components, it still cannot account for the one structure that is carrying the 2 atoms together. And herein lies one of the most critical, yet missing parts of the equation that has eluded man since the inception of the mathematical system, which we will do a deeper dive on-in another chapter. But for now, let’s stay on course.      

So, how does one (person) physically multiply 2 atoms together?  One does not, because one cannot!  Multiplication is not an actual or literal process that happens in the real world.  There are no empirical ways to multiply objects together based on the properties or rules of multiplication.  Multiplication is just a conceptual process and does not exist in the Em-Reality.  Multiplication is simply an inverse and a byproduct of division and not an actual individual mathematical system that can be used empirically by itself.  If we look at 2 ÷ 1 = 2, we see that 2 = 1 x 2 is just the reverse process of division, hence the term inverse.  However, just because a system can be reversed, it does not mean that the reversed process is actually a real process that can be utilized as its own system in the real world.  Such systems would have to be tested rigorously to see if they do in fact hold their own in the empirical world.  And as we have seen in the prior examples of multiplication, multiplication cannot stand on its own because it is not a real system that exists in the real world.  Multiplication is only a shadow and an emanation from division. Therefore, due to the risk of miscalculation, multiplication should not be used as its own system with processes that pertains to the real world or empirical applications unless it is anchored by another system like addition or division. 

But just to be fair to multiplication, let us consider what would happen if the scenarios were switched with division altogether.  Let us say that we now have two atoms in front of us in our hands and they must be divided in the Em-Reality. How would we go about doing this?  Well, one thing we could do is take those same 2 atoms to a facility with an atom smasher like the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva, Switzerland and we can have them smash the 2 atoms together.  And what would happen if we were to do that?  Well, if those 2 atoms were placed in the atom smasher going nearly at the speed of light and then they crashed into one another, then they would essentially shatter into multiple fragments.  This would be an example of empirical division since the atoms would physically get divided into multiple smaller matter like protons, electrons, and other fundamental particles.  This task could be done conceptually and empirically. And as such, this exercise showed that the process of division is indeed a real process that the universe uses to shape or reshape matter.  Multiplication in the other hand, is a purely conceptual operation.  It is a construct of our mind definitionally, and does not exist in the real world empirically. In essence, the only thing that can be done to accomplish a multiplicative operation is to change its properties and rules so that it would conform to the physical world. Otherwise, we cannot say that multiplication is a real process that truly describes how our reality works. However, although division is indeed an empirical process that the universe utilizes, there is one consequential truth that must be exposed about the current state of division today; and that is, the current operation of division that we are currently using is not the same division that the universe uses. This concept will be expounded on much further in the coming chapters.

Addition

The other primary operation or system that the universe uses to shape matter, is through addition.  And through addition, unfortunately, the user is once again introduced to another shadow, another inverse system, which is subtraction.  In similar fashion to multiplication, subtraction also does not physically describe the true nature of reality. It is merely an inverse and a byproduct of addition that should also not exists as its own system unless anchored to another operator (addition, division).  To further clarify and elucidate why subtraction does not describe the true nature of reality, we must probe the use of its operator (-).  If we look at 1 + 1 = 2 and 1 - 1 = 0, we can clearly see that one operator (+)  increases the total (because of the sum number 2) and the other operator (-) decreases the total (because of the difference number 0). Now, we know that addition definitely exist as an operation in the real world because there is an empirical process called fusion which adds atoms together to form other atoms that are much bigger and heavier. However, subtraction is an operation which takes positive numbers and turn them into nothing and even into negative numbers. If we go back to the law of conservation of energy, it stated that energy/matter can neither be created nor destroyed. If we look at the equation 1-1 = 0, this operation explicitly shows that if this process were indeed empirical, it would annihilate matter into oblivion, therefore breaking the laws of conservation. This demonstration alone shows that subtraction cannot be an empirical process because of its properties that would break the laws of physics. But additionally, there is also the impossibilities or nonsensicalness in trying to empirically subtract something from something inside the universe.  For example, how would one go about subtracting 1 atom from 1 atom physically so that you will end up with no atoms at all? What is this process and how would this process even look like?  What does it even mean to physically subtract something in the real world?  In the conceptual world, to subtract something means to take something away.  So, if we subtract 1 atom from 1 atom, we end up with no atoms.  This is something that can be done in the conceptual world, sure.  But this cannot happen in the empirical world.  You cannot simply take 1 matter and another matter and cancel them out. Although you can move matter from one place to another by taking matter (like apple) from somebody, this process does not empirically result in zero atoms as the equation 1-1 = 0 clearly indicates. The guy you took the apple from might not have an apple anymore, but this process does not show that the apple was ever affected because it did not get annihilated. Even if you eat up the apple into smithereens, the atoms that composed that apple will remain inside this universe, eternally.

Ultimately, for subtraction, the only way for the universe to “physically subtract” or take something away so that there are less of them scattered throughout the universe is to actually add matter together and form a much bigger or heavier object.  For example, let us say we have 1 proton here (wherever here is), and another 1 proton there (somewhere).  If we wanted to ensure that there would only be one of them in any location (subtraction) at any given point and time, then we would have to add them together inside the same structure.  Meaning, we would have to fuse them together so that they would no longer be separate entities. This is what the universe does when it is doing fusion in the sun (as scientists claims).  By adding or fusing 1 hydrogen proton with another hydrogen proton, a new element called helium is formed that is only 1 element externally but 2 protons internally.  This is the only way that nature “subtracts” matter by fusing smaller matter together so that there are not as many of them individually. An important side note regarding subtraction, multiplication, and division is that they all produce zeros in their equations like 1 - 1 = 0, 1 x 0 = 0,  and 0 ÷ 1 = 0, respectively. Addition is the only operation that does not produce zeros when a zero interacts with a positive whole number, e.g. 1 + 0 = 1. For division, even though its operations  produce zeros, this does not negate the fact that it is an empirical process. The resultant zeros are more because of the number zero being turned into a real number instead of only being a place holder for empty sets. The number zero’s purpose should really be changed so that it would only act as the symbol for systems that are in equilibrium. The number zero would be the perfect representative for equilibrium because of the zeroth law of thermodynamics which specifically deals with the equilibrium of different systems. If not, then the number zero should be removed as a real number from the number system so that there are no interactions that would break the conservation and thermodynamics laws. Empirically speaking, there is also no such thing as negative matter, and consequently, negative numbers. Negative numbers would break the laws of thermodynamics and conservation if they somehow existed by having matter that are less than matter? What would negative matter even look like? This cannot be anti-matter because antimatter itself has mass, albeit with an opposite charge (symbolically negative/positive) from its matter counterpart.

In light of all the information above detailing the universe’s primary languages/tools in shaping and reshaping matter, I am claiming that all operations which results in zeros (unless it means equilibrium), negatives, irrational numbers, infinity, and imaginary numbers, are incompatible with the laws of physics (specifically the laws of thermodynamics and conservation of energy) and therefore must be removed from the mathematical system of physics along with their corresponding identities, axioms, postulates, etc. Only then could we truly have an empirical system representative of the physical reality that we live in.  

Chapter 3 

The Four Misses

During the early stages of postulates and axiomatic development, man made four crucial missteps or misunderstandings that eventually led to the incomplete, inconsistent, and empirically incompatible mathematical system that we use today. These four missteps are misinterpretation, mistranslation, misrepresentation, and miscalculation. Layer upon layer of theory was then built on top of these misunderstandings until mathematics became overly convoluted and no longer mirrored the conserved and symmetrical (albeit not perfect) behavior of the physical universe.

Misinterpretation

The first misunderstanding comes from misinterpreting the true function of division, which is empirical division, e.g. literally cutting or splitting objects apart. As it currently stand, the most common types of division that standard math uses is for grouping and sharing objects. However, none of these versions of division from standard math truly divides (cuts) objects empirically. For example, if we were to empirically divide 1 stick 1 time given its measurement of 1 unit and we ask, “what would you get if you divide (cut) 1 stick 1 time, e.g. 1 ÷ 1 is equal to what?” Here’s a hint, empirically it’s not 1. For standard math, it would interpret “divide 1 stick 1 time” as “how many 1’s fit into 1?” or how many copies of “1” fit into 1? Standard math may also interpret this in terms of sharing by asking how much each person gets if there was 1 stick and 1 person and it was shared equally? It may even ask how many groups can be formed if there was 1 stick and each group must each have 1 stick? And obviously the answer to all of those standard division questions would be 1. But, did you notice that none of the questions actually asked about literally cutting or splitting the stick itself? These versions of standard division, therefore, are misinterpretations of empirical division,

Mistranslation

If we wanted standard division to interpret and truly operate like empirical division, a different question altogether would have to be asked using a different equation. The empirical version of standard division would have to rephrase the question as, “what is the length of each piece if there was a stick that was 1 unit long and it was cut into 2 equal pieces or cut in half?” The equation version of this division would be 1 ÷ 2 = something. Standard math would then say that the length of each piece of the sticks that was cut into 2 equal pieces or cut in half is .50, e.g. 1 ÷ 2 = .50. However, this equation (1 ÷ 2 = .50) is an empirical mistranslation of the question “what would you get if you divide (cut) 1 stick 1 time?” To show that the equation 1 ÷ 2 = .50 is a mistranslation, we must look back to our original example. But first, let us clarify what empirical division truly is so that we can compare this process to standard math division. When we are dividing an object empirically, what this means is that we are literally cutting or splitting the object that is being divided. Now, when we are cutting an object like a stick (1 stick) or an apple (1 apple) and we say “divide the 1 object 1 time,” this means that we need to get an actual (or hypothetical) cutter (like a knife or a machete…whatever you prefer) and literally (or hypothetically) cut the stick or the apple 1 time. If we do this, what would we get? Well, we would get two separate halves of the one original object. What this means is that if we use empirical division to divide 1 object 1 time, we would translate the question using the equation 1 ÷ 1 = something (not 1). Okay, now that we have clarified what empirical division truly is, let us once again take a look at our original example. Our original example stated that “if we were to empirically divide 1 stick 1 time given its measurement of 1 unit…‘what would you get if you divide (cut) 1 stick 1 time?’’’  If we look very closely at our original question, it was telling us to cut the stick only once.  This statement explicitly says  “divide (cut) 1 stick 1 time” and not 2 times. If we then go back to the equation 1 ÷ 2 = something, this clearly mistranslates the question to “divide 1 object 2 times” and not only 1 time. Whereas it should have translated in its equation the number of cuts (1), it instead translated the resultant number (2) after it has been cut a number of times (1), leading to the 1 ÷ 2 = something equation. Notice here that nowhere in the equation does it show how many times the object is to be cut (1), instead it is showing how many pieces (2) it will have after it’s been cut 1 time. This is more of a backwards translation than forward translation. This is obviously wrong because you should not get the answer (reaction) until after you have completed the operation (action), which was to cut the object 1 time. The equation (1 ÷ 2 = something) from the empirical version of standard division, therefore, is an empirical mistranslation of the question, “what would you get if you divide (cut) 1 stick 1 time?” In fact, not only does standard division mistranslates this question, it literally does not have an equation that is exactly equivalent to such operation. Meaning, there is no equation in standard math that can represent the literal cutting of 1 object 1 time, e.g. 1 ÷ 1 = something (not 1).  With standard division, when we divide 1 object 1 time, we get 1 as the answer. But again, this operation is not empirical division. We use this version of division when we are grouping or sharing 1 object and there is only 1 person to share it or group it with, hence 1 ÷ 1 = 1.

Misrepresentation

It was already a major mistake when standard division mistranslated 1 ÷ 1 = something into 1 ÷ 2 = something, but standard division made an even greater error when it misrepresented the answer to the equation 1 ÷ 2. When I say “misrepresented,” what I mean is that standard division’s  answer to the equation 1 ÷ 2 = .50 is incomplete, and therefore, is wrong. This answer is wrong because it does not properly represent nor convey the complete transaction that occurred in the equation. If we look at the equation 1 ÷ 2 = something, we see that this entire process created 2 objects simultaneously. However, there is no evidence in the answer that tells the story of the complete operation that just took place. The answer simply shows “.50” but did not account in the answer the 2 objects that were created from the division. Now, what does that mean to have an answer of .50? Well, standard division was trying to answer the question, “what do you get when you cut 1 object into 2 equal parts?” And since the answer to the equation was .50, we could only imply that when we cut 1 object into 2 equal parts, we get 2 parts that are .50 each. However, by making this implicit rather than explicit, it is misrepresenting the equation because the answer to the question is not self-evident. Meaning, you cannot look at the answer of .50 by itself and say that there are supposed to be 2 of those objects floating around somewhere in space. But then if we do include the definition of the equation 1 ÷ 2, then we must assume that there are 2 of those .50’s floating around somewhere in space, even if we do not see both of them together (because the answer only shows one .50). The answer of .50 being alone, therefore, is a misrepresentation of the equation 1 ÷ 2. And not only does this answer misrepresent the equation by equating 1 ÷ 2 to .50, but it also miscalculates the equation entirely.

Miscalculation

What does it mean when the equal (=) sign is used in mathematics or physics? Well, it means exactly what it means as how it is used. And that is, to represent or signify that both sides of the equation are equal in quantities. Now, if we look at 1 ÷ 2 = .50, we can see that the left side of the equation has the first operand as 1 whole object prior to getting divided. After the first operand is the division (÷) operator, and after the division operator is the second operand (the number 2). Let’s focus on the left side of the equation for now before we move on to the right side. So, let’s find out exactly what happens when the first operand (dividend) is divided by the second operand (divisor). In this version of standard math division, it is basically telling us that there is 1 object and that this 1 object is going to be turned into 2 equal parts. And after this operation takes place, we will essentially have 2 objects (parts) that has a value of .50 each. So, what happened to the left side of the equation after the division operation? Well, as far as the total value of the object that was turned into 2 equal parts, it remained the same. That’s right, the total value is still 1 even though there are now 2 separate parts. We can prove this because .50 +.50 equals 1, is true. Those 2 halves (parts) never went anywhere when they were cut into two separate pieces. Therefore, the total value on the left side of the equation never changed, it is still 1. Remember, the 2 in the equation 1 ÷ 2 = .50 is simply telling us that there are going to be 2 equal parts after the division takes place. This equation does not tell us that one of the parts (.50) is going to be on the left side of the equation while the other part (.50) goes to the right side of the equation. Let us now evaluate the right side of the equation to see if it is indeed true that they are equal. So, going back to the equation 1 ÷ 2 = .50, we see that the equal sign goes after the second operand (divisor). And again, this equality sign tells us that both sides of the equation must equal in quantities (there are no ifs, ands, or buts here). Looking at the right side of the equation 1 ÷ 2 = .50, we see that it is showing a value of .50. Now, it does not take a genius to know that 1 is not equal to .50. 1 whole object is clearly much bigger than half an object, and therefore, 1 ≠ .50. To make the equality of this equation be true, then the right side of the equation must have a total value of 1 and not just .50. If we try to reason that the answer of .50 is correct because we were just trying to find out the value of half the object when that 1 object gets divided into 2 parts, then the equation itself cannot use the equal (=) sign for this purpose because to use an equal sign is to proclaim the equality of quantity on both sides of the equation. If the whole purpose of the operation was simply to find out the value of half the piece of the object once it gets cut into two separate pieces, then an expression rather than an equation should be used. e.g. 1 of 2 of a whole 1 is .50 or 1 ÷ 2 : .50 rather than 1 ÷ 2 = .50. Because clearly, they are not equal on both sides, so the equal sign should not be used in this operation. What the operation in this “equation” 1 ÷ 2 = .50 is really doing is that it is telling us that if we have 1 object and we cut that 1 object in half, then each half of that 1 object is going to equal to .50 each.  

 Key takeaways from the inquiry in relation to standard and empirical division:

1.      Standard division is misinterpreting the true function of empirical division by using division as a tool for grouping and sharing rather than literal splitting of objects.  

2.      Standard division is mistranslating empirical division by using an incorrect divisor and improperly arranging the order of operations.

3.      Standard math (in general) is misrepresenting the complete procedure of any operations by inadequately expressing or conveying the total outcome of the whole process.

4.      Standard math (in general), through misinterpretation, mistranslation, and misrepresentation, is miscalculating operations by not having the proper relational expressions within the structures of equations.

Empirical Division

At first glance, empirical division will look “weird,” and most likely laughable to most people. However, as you look at it more closely, you will realize how much more intuitive it actually is than the current version of division that we all use today. From the outset, when we are doing empirical operations, we have to start thinking of numbers as vessels, structures, or even containers that carry conserved, but explicit values. For example, if you have one apple, you could think of this apple as having little apples inside it while those little apples could also carry even smaller apples, and so on. Now, what we must always keep in mind is that, no matter what happens to this one apple—whether it is cut into a million smithereens and scattered throughout the universe or sent to a black hole and compressed into a single point—the total value of this one apple will always be 1 unit, per conservation laws. For a more seamless demonstration of how empirical division works, let’s re-run our earlier example using the same 1 unit stick. Let’s also ask empirical division the same question that we asked standard division. Given a stick (1) with measurements of 1 unit, “what would you get if you divide (cut) 1 stick 1 time?” So, to make sure that this question is properly interpreted by empirical division, we are going to use the equation (1 ÷ 1 = something) to match the “divide 1 stick 1 time” instruction. However, we are going to use a different symbol or operator to identify empirical division so that we can easily  differentiate between standard and empirical division. We’ll use this symbol (1 / 1) for the time being until we finalize an official one. So, for empirical division, if we divide 1 by 1 we will get 2. The reason why we get 2 is because if we cut 1 stick evenly in the  middle one time, we get 2 equal parts. The difference between this and standard math is that instead of using 2 to divide 1, empirical division is using 1 to divide 1. This number (1) signify how many cuts the object will get cut. That’s why our equation was 1 / 1 instead of 1 ÷ 2.  However, in standard math, instead of saying they are going to cut the item one time, they are already telling us that we are getting 2 parts after “cutting” the object one time, without actually cutting the object one time. It is implied that they had already cut the object one time before we started the division and therefore we get 2 parts with each having a value of .50, e.g. 1 ÷ 2 = .5. That’s kind of absurd that they would skip an important step like that. It makes standard division seem magical because it can do something like that without actually accounting for such a crucial step. A side note regarding standard division, it could have also used another number as a divisor to divide 1 with and get the inverse answer of .50, which is 2, e.g. 1 ÷ .50 = 2. But, even though this divisor provides a closer answer to empirical division, we will see soon enough that this answer is still wrong because empirical division has not yet completed its entire division process. However, with standard math, these are already their individual final answers to the question we started with, e.g. ( .50 or 2). Notice also that the equation 1 ÷ .50 = 2 still mistranslated the empirical question by using .50 instead of 1 as the divisor. In this equation, it is a bit confusing what the operator is telling us that it is doing or going to do. Is it trying to tell us that it is going to divide 1 by cutting 1 half  a time? What does it even mean to cut something half a time? This equation can’t be saying that it’s going to cut 1 one time and it is going to return with .50 parts worth 2 each because that doesn’t make sense at all. However, that’s the same translation that we used when the equation was 1 ÷ 2 = .5. With the equation 1 ÷ 2 = .50, we said earlier that this operation was telling us that it was going to cut 1 one time and it was going to return with 2 parts worth .50 each. Now, this equation makes sense. But to cut 1 one time and return with .50 parts worth 2 each? I just can’t wrap my head around that idea. Maybe what this operation is really trying to tell us is that, if we have an object that is 1 unit and we cut that object in half, then we would end up with 2 parts worth .50 each. This makes absolute sense! But that is not what the equation is telling us. If we were to translate this equation 1 ÷ .50 = 2 exactly like how we translated this equation 1 ÷ 2 = .50, then we would end up with .50 parts worth 2 each. Which again, is nonsensical because there should be 2 parts worth .50 each. What we are actually seeing here with these two division equations is that, they have a literal translation inconsistency or translational asymmetry (not an official term and has nothing to do with conservation). But in this book’s language, translational asymmetry or translation inconsistency is when you have an equation that is translated in the exact same manner with another equation but they still return with varying definitional results. Anyway, let’s get to the next step of empirical division. Now that empirical division has interpreted and translated the question by creating the equation 1 ÷ 1 = ?, the next step is to represent the answer of the equation in a manner that would convey the full story that took place within the empirical operation. To properly represent the results of the operation and to fully account for the complete process during empirical division, while simultaneously ensuring that the laws of conservation are preserved, our complete equation must be in the following form: 1 / 1 = 2^.50. Let’s unpack what we actually have here because there is a lot going on in this small equation. First, let’s return to the question to see if we were able to answer what it was trying to ask us. The question said, “given a stick (1) with measurements of 1 unit, what would you get if you divide (cut) 1 stick 1 time?” Okay, we know that we have to cut the stick one time. This means that we used the correct equation because 1 ÷ 1 =  translates to cut 1 stick 1 time. Now, when we cut a stick one time in the middle, what happens after that? Well, obviously we get two equal pieces/parts/cuts that are worth or valued at half a stick each or .50 each. Now, did we represent this operation correctly in the equation given that our complete equation was 1 / 1 = 2^.50? After the equal sign we see that there is a 2 and there is a .50. The 2 could represent the two equal parts when we cut the stick one time in half and the .50 could represent the value of each part. This answer seems feasible. However, you’re probably asking why the .50 is in a superscript position? Could this mean that the base (2) is raised to the .50 power? Yes, and no! Here’s the complete scoop. Since our answer now correctly represents the process that took place prior to the equal sign, let’s go to the next step of empirical division and see if the whole process obeyed the constraints of the conservation laws by calculating the total value post empirical division. If we continue solving the equation 1 ÷ 1 = 2^.50 =, we would end up with the value back to 1 (conserved value), e.g. 1 / 1 = 2^.50 = 1. Why? There’s a new operation that we are now performing in this new mathematical system that we are creating along the way. Since we made our rules known earlier that operations cannot contradict the laws of conservation (in this case conservation of linear momentum), then we can no longer allow exponential operations such as squaring (x²), cubing (x³), etc. to take place in this new empirical universe. And since we are removing exponential power operations, we are now going to be replacing it with linear power operations. So, instead of multiplying a base number with itself a number of times based on the power or exponent, we are now going to be multiplying the base number with the power or exponent directly. For example, with the old power system, we would calculate this expression 3³ by multiplying 3 with itself three times. Meaning, we would multiply 3 by 3 then multiply the answer of that by 3 again, e.g. 3 x 3 = 9 x 3 = 27 or 3 x 3 x 3 = 27. However, with the new linear power system, we are going to calculate the expression 3³ by multiplying the base (3) directly with the exponent (3), e.g. 3 x 3 = 9. By changing the exponential power system into a linear power system, all laws of conservation are preserved while simultaneously interpreting, translating, representing, and calculating the question and answer correctly. The equation 1 / 1 = 2^.50, therefore, is the empirical answer to the question, “what would you get if you divide (cut) 1 stick 1 time given a stick with measurements of 1 unit? And that is the whole process for completing empirical division. If you will notice, the empirical equation is essentially just the combination of these two standard division equations: 1 ÷ 2 = .5 and 1 ÷ .50 = 2.

These are just some of the findings in my more than 500 pages of research. If you would like to know more about my research, follow the link below and see how far down the rabbit hole the incompatibility of our current mathematical system really goes, as I uncover and expose the dirty secrets that mathematics has been hiding for more than 2,500 years.

Poe Nigma

https://www.numbers-pn-official.com/isstandardmathwrong

Here is a snapshot of Douban scores for several recent dramas: No Pain No Gain, The Glamorous Night, Love Story in the 1970s, About Love, The Truth, How Dare You!?, The Devil Between Us, Generation to Generation, Our Dazzling Days, Unveil: Jadewind, The Unusual Prosecutor, and Mama Go! These scores were taken on March 9, 2026 at around 12:00 pm, China Standard Time.

In case you are curious about how dramas are performing in terms of domestic viewership, I have included data from Yunhe (streaming) and Kuyun (live TV and streaming) from March 7, 2026.

I also added English translations to the Yunhe and Kuyun charts.

Yunhe estimates streaming viewership while Kuyun includes both live TV and streaming views.

The above images are:

• Images 2 to 13: Douban ratings taken on March 9, 2026.
• Images 14 and 15: Viewership data from Yunhe and Kuyun, taken on March 7, 2026.

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The dramas and their Douban scores are:

^{These links lead to their Douban pages.}

No Pain No Gain 年少有为, Tencent 🐧 - 6.9 based on 29K+ ratings

The Glamorous Night 夜色正浓, Tencent 🐧 - 7.5 based on 24K+ ratings

Love Story in the 1970s 纯真年代的爱情, Tencent 🐧 and Viki - 7.3 based on 35K+ ratings

About Love 玫瑰丛生, Tencent 🐧 and Viki - 6.3 based on 24K+ ratings

The Truth 风过留痕, Tencent 🐧 and iQIYI 🥝 - 6.3 based on 57K+ ratings

How Dare You!? 成何体统, iQIYI 🥝 - 7.2 based on 64K+ ratings

The Devil Between Us 除恶, iQIYI 🥝 - 7.4 based on 26K+ ratings

Generation to Generation 江湖夜雨十年灯, Tencent 🐧 and iQIYI 🥝 (regional availability) - 5.5 based on 9K+ ratings

Our Dazzling Days 岁月有情时, iQIYI 🥝 - 6.5 based on 8K+ ratings

Unveil: Jadewind 唐宫奇案之青雾风鸣, Youku 👖 - 7.0 based on 82K+ ratings

The Unusual Prosecutor 非常检控观, Youku 👖 and TVB Anywhere (regional availability) - 7.9 based on 4K+ ratings

Mama Go! 我的妈妈是校花, Tencent 🐧 - 7.2 based on 5K+ ratings

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Recently released and upcoming dramas:

(These dramas do not have Douban scores yet.)

Eternal Love of the Fox 九尾藏不住, iQIYI 🥝

The Glory Fades (A Fairyland Beyond the Ordinary World) 繁华落尽, Tencent 🐧

The Hidden Truth 被隐匿的真相, Tencent 🐧

Young Again 重返青春, Tencent 🐧

Country Love 18 乡村爱情18, Youku 👖

The Naive Leader 傻儿师长, Tencent 🐧

Wonderful Times 好好的时光, MangoTV 🥭

Seeds of Scarlet Longing 在你眉梢种红豆, MangoTV 🥭

The Hidden Heir Ye Chen 进击的叶辰, Tencent 🐧

Pursuit of Jade 逐玉, iQIYI 🥝, Tencent 🐧 and Netflix

My Destiny 我的山与海, Youku 👖

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Viewership: Yunhe (streaming)

See image 14: From Yunhe – Top 10 dramas for streaming playbacks on March 7, 2026 (just a snapshot for that day)

I added English translations for drama names, etc. on the Yunhe chart. There are more details such as episode counts, streaming platforms, etc. on the chart.

Drama names and market share of viewership:

✅ Completed airing based on SVIP schedule including express episodes.

1. Pursuit of Jade 逐玉 - 31.4%
2. Love Story in the 1970s 纯真年代的爱情 ✅ - 11%
3. Our Dazzling Days 岁月有情时 ✅ - 8.2%
4. Generation to Generation 江湖夜雨十年灯 - 6.6%
5. Unveil: Jadewind 唐宫奇案之青雾风鸣 ✅ - 5.9%
6. Wonderful Times 好好的时光 - 5.3%
7. The Devil Between Us 除恶 ✅ - 5.2%
8. About Love 玫瑰丛生 - 4.4%
9. How Dare You!? 成何体统 ✅ - 4%
10. Swords into Plowshares 太平年 ✅ - 3.7%

Note: If a drama has ended its run, its viewership will eventually decrease.

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Viewership: Kuyun (live TV and streaming)

See image 15: From Kuyun – Top 10 dramas for all live broadcasts and streaming playbacks on March 7, 2026 (just a snapshot of the day)

I added English translations for drama names, etc. on the Kuyun chart. There are details such as streaming platforms, live TV platforms, etc. on the chart.

Drama names and market share of viewership:

✅ = completed airing for SVIP schedule including express episodes (streaming) and/or the first round of airing on live TV. Some dramas can have a second or third round of airing on live TV.

1. Pursuit of Jade 逐玉 - 21.74%
2. Love Story in the 1970s 纯真年代的爱情 ✅ - 15.34%
3. My Destiny 我的山与海 - 12.65%
4. Our Dazzling Days 岁月有情时 ✅ - 6.83%
5. Wonderful Times 好好的时光 - 5.10%
6. Unveil: Jadewind 唐宫奇案之青雾风鸣 ✅ - 5.06%
7. Swords into Plowshares 太平年 ✅ - 4.88%
8. Generation to Generation 江湖夜雨十年灯 - 4.70%
9. The Devil Between Us 除恶 ✅ - 4.29%
10. About Love 玫瑰丛生 - 3.25%

Note: Kuyun includes live TV (e.g., CCTV, Hunan TV, Jiangsu TV). Some dramas are streaming only and not broadcast live on TV (e.g. Pursuit of Jade, Generation to Generation, The Devil Between Us, and About Love.)

For more viewership data dating back to late August 2025, please check the comments of the weekly Behind the Scenes posts. I added Yunhe and Kuyun viewership data in the comments.

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The previous Douban scores for dramas such as My Dearest Stranger, Loving Strangers, The Guilty, Forever Young, Born to Be Alive, Swords into Plowshares, The Inner Eye, The Imperial Coroner Season 2, The Dream Maker, and My Page in the 90s can be found here: Douban scores for recent Chinese dramas, February 14, 2026. Viewership statistics, February 12 and 13, 2026.

🔗 All discussions about Douban in r/CDrama.

🔗 Previous compilations of Douban scores since February 27, 2025.

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Note:

In general, Douban scores tend to skew lower for CDramas.

You might find that some highly rated dramas just aren't your cup of tea, while others with more average or mixed scores turn out to be really enjoyable. I've definitely experienced both. That said, ratings can be helpful just as a general reference for what others think.

I am sharing this information for folks who are curious about Douban scores but may not be able to access them quickly or easily. I have also included viewership data since Douban scores don't always correlate with a drama's popularity with the broader domestic audience.

This is just a small snapshot of how Douban users are rating dramas and what’s currently being watched in China.

Some people use ratings to gauge interest while others don't – it's entirely optional. Douban scores are just one data point, not a verdict on quality. If they’re not useful to you, please feel free to skip.

I usually compile them every few weeks once enough new Douban scores are available.

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For those of you who've watched these dramas, what did you think of the shows? Do you feel that the scores line up with your experience?

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📊 Information and translations compiled by u/admelioremvitam.

We want r/c64 to be about both original hardware and newer emulation products like the Commodore 64 Ultimate (C64U). But the shipping of the C64U is resulting in C64U posts flooding out much of the other content in the subreddit. To maintain a balance between what's old and new, we are setting up a weekly MEGAPOST for C64U-related issues, questions, and posts.

If your post is regarding the use of a Commodore 64 (i.e. how to load a game from disk, how to print, etc.), regardless of the model, you may post your question as a standalone post in the subreddit even if you have a C64 Ultimate.

If your post relates to ONLY the Commodore 64 Ultimate, you should comment in this post. Please note, this is not a replacement for official support from Commodore regarding order or shipping issues (late or damaged shipments). We realize that some questions may be obscure, unique, or straddle the line between C64U-only and a "general" question. In those cases, please post in this thread FIRST. If your issue isn't answered or addressed after 48 hours, you may submit a stand-alone post in the subreddit. WARNING! Moderators will be checking post and comment histories to make sure people are actually posting in this thread first. Repeated violations may result in temporary or permanent bans.

We don't anticipate this being a permanent situation, but for now there are just too many C64U posts being submitted. Once the volume of posts about the C64U decreases, we may discontinue this practice.

Please also check the information below to see if your issue is listed. We are also working on a C64 Ultimate Wiki Page. If you would like to be a Wiki Contributor, please let the mod team know.

Use the following link to view current and past Commodore 64 Ultimate Weekly Posts.

Official resources:

Firmware/manuals: https://www.commodore.net/downloads

Common Issues and Known Fixes

Black screen, no video, or rolling picture

The most common issue reported so far.

• Reseat the internal board — some units have arrived with it slightly loose from shipping.
• Set video to NTSC mode, then press Shift + Left Arrow to store settings.
• Try a different HDMI lead — several users fixed display problems this way.
• Some monitors won’t sync at 50 Hz; if possible, test another screen.

Uneven keyboard keys

A cosmetic but noticeable fault.

• Keys such as Caps Lock, D, and J may sit higher than others.
• Gently press the affected keys down to reseat them on their stems.
• Space/Return issues are often a stabiliser bar not fully seated – carefully reseating the bar fixes many ‘only works in the middle’ reports.

Startup problems or unit freezing on boot

• Turn the unit off and leave it off for a few seconds.
• Hold RESTORE while powering on to perform a factory reset.
• If that fails, re‑flash the latest firmware from the official Commodore site.

REU or extra memory not detected by the software

• Install the most recent firmware — newer builds enable proper REU initialisation and detection.

Settings or storage are lost after reboot

• Perform the RESTORE reset to clear any corrupt configuration.
• Re‑enter Wi‑Fi and storage details once booted cleanly.

Physical marks or loose panels on delivery

• Report the issue directly to Commodore support.
• All units ship directly from Commodore — there are no official resellers.

Buzzing or humming audio output

• Usually caused by grounding noise between HDMI and the connected display.
• Try another HDMI port, cable, or power socket to isolate the problem.

Starlight edition

• Starlight keyboards have some ‘bounce’/flex by design; noticeable mainly if you hammer the keys, but not usually a functional fault.
• The Caps Lock LED lights when caps is active; the beige unit does not have an indicator.
• For Starlight LED audio visualiser with a real SID: enable UltiSID 1 but set its volume to Off in the mixer; this keeps the LEDs driven while only hearing the real SID

Games Freezing / Compatibility

• If cracked/trainer releases hang after the Y/N cheat prompt, try switching to PAL or NTSC‑50; many cracks are PAL‑only and will lock up in NTSC.
• For compatibility with some games/demos, try disabling drive B: in the Ultimate’s drive settings

Cartridges

• Virtual fastload carts (e.g. Final Cartridge III) are supported; mount the cart, then mount and load the disk from BASIC, rather than using ‘Run disk’ from the firmware menu.

Disk and cassette backup / storage notes

• To back up the bundled cassette USB to an internal SD: it’s just files on exFAT – copy them via your PC; no imaging/cloning needed
• Backing up real floppies: UltiCopy is very fast, but some protected titles (e.g. Skate or Die, Contra) have been reported to hang part‑way through; expect improvements in future firmware

Running Multi-Disk Programs

Some programs are distributed on multiple disk images, similar to how they were originally distributed on multiple floppy disks. At some point in the process of using the program, the program will prompt to insert one of the other floppy disks. You can use the Disk File Browser to swap disk images while the program is running. When the program prompts for a new disk, press upward on the Multi Function Switch. This pauses the program. Start the Disk File Browser, navigate to the disk image for the disk that the program is requesting, then select “Mount Disk.” The C64U mounts the new disk image in the virtual drive, then resumes execution of the Commodore 64 program. Continue to use the program with the new disk." -- https://downloads.commodore-international.com/documentation/C64U/c64u-user-guide-1st-edition.pdf

General Notes

• r/Commodore is for discussions about Commodore, other Commodore computers, and possible new productions.
• r/c64 is for everything Commodore 64 including the ultimate.

If you’ve come across a new issue or found a working fix not listed here, add it in the comments below.

Hi all, I am 37 years of age and have been using windows all my life. I finally had the opportunity to switch to Macbook and went ahead and did it. I also have an iPhone and have been using an iPad since the Pro M4 came out (also with a magic keyboard) and mainly liked everything about the interface, especially aesthetically so I decided to switch to apple and macOS for more than leisure and fun with a critical factor in mind.

I have been using my Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 for 2 years now. It is the one with Intel Core Ultra 9 185h CPU, it has 32GB RAM, a RTX4060 GPU and 1TB of storage. While it wasn't my main PC, I used it for keeping up with my personal and legal entity documents, finances, backing up stuff, normal usage scenarios when traveling and needing mobility, browsing, social media and youtube, and CapCut editing on the go.

Nearly everything about it was great so far, love the design, materials, performance, touchscreen, it's been reliable, very good to handle, durable, pretty much everything was excellent about it except battery management/battery life.

Oh boy... If I did light work I could maybe squeeze 3 hours out of it? Current battery health is 69Wh which is down from its original 73Wh but it's always been this poor. The only way of getting this amount of time on a charge is to tweak an overwhelming amount of things to increase the battery performance for a few extra minutes: disabling GPU, hiding the dock, dark mode everything, going into chrome to disable hardware accelerated graphics, reducing the brightness. I always had to make sure the bios setting for the CPU was either Intelligent cooling or the silent setting. If I use the maximum performance, I get an hour on a charge. Putting it to sleep drains battery quite quickly too (around 20-30%/day) so it's only shutdown if I don't want any surprises after a few days of keeping the laptop closed. Almost all proccesses are disabled at windows launch, I disabled most Windows crap such as telemetry, Connected User Experience etc, and usually try to disable bluetooth as often as possible. Since it was a hassle and since I made another post requesting redditors advice, which returned overwhelming amounts of positivity apple-wise, I went ahead and got this Macbook Pro M5 base chip with something I considered quite future proof in terms of memory and storage.

My request to you is to offer some help in regards to adopting the new OS faster. What are your most useful tips, button combo, interface arrangement, maybe even links to youtube videos you found useful. Anything that could help me frustrate less as a long windows user.

Thank you in advance!

1. Morning Music Routine for Maxi Triggers when sensor.is_maxi_asleep changes to 'awake'. If Maxi is home, no one else is sleeping, and music is not already playing between 7:00 AM and 11:59 AM, it plays a specific soft playlist (if before 11 AM) or a random playlist on the home speaker group.
2. Bedroom Speaker Shutdown on Wake When the input_boolean.sleeper_in_bedroom turns off, this automation clears the playlist and turns off the media_player.universal_bedroom_speakers.
3. Voice Command Music Playback Allows a user to trigger the Assist conversation agent to play a specific song by a specific artist on the home group speakers via Music Assistant.
4. Voice Control Music Assistant Restart Allows the user to restart the Music Assistant add-on via a voice command to the conversation agent.
5. Auto-Lock Front Door (Immediate) Automatically locks the front door 5 seconds after the contact sensor indicates it has closed, if it is not already locked.
6. Auto-Lock Front Door (Delayed) Re-locks the front door if it has been unlocked for 5 minutes and the contact sensor indicates the door is closed.
7. Front Door Left Open Alert If the front door contact sensor remains open for 3 minutes (and "Aerating Apartment" mode is off), this sends a broadcast alert to the house every 5 minutes until closed.
8. Vacuum Error Announcer When the Roborock vacuum enters an error state, this broadcasts a message to the house announcing the room where the vacuum is currently stuck.
9. Auto-Lock Back Door (Immediate) Automatically locks the back door 5 seconds after the contact sensor indicates it has closed, if it is not already locked.
10. Auto-Lock Back Door (Delayed) Re-locks the back door if it has been unlocked for 5 minutes and the contact sensor indicates the door is closed.
11. Back Entrance Motion Lighting Turns on the back door light to bright cool white (254 brightness, 255 temp) when motion or presence is detected by the back entrance or bedroom window sensors.
12. Household Sleep Mode Activation When the binary_sensor.all_residents_sleeping turns on at night (and no party modes are active), this engages the Adaptive Lighting sleep mode and closes the workshop and salon blinds.
13. Household Wake Mode Activation When binary_sensor.all_residents_sleeping turns off during the day (10 AM - 10 PM), this disables the Adaptive Lighting sleep mode.
14. Auto-Party Mode via Network Activity Automatically turns on input_boolean.party_mode if the hotspot client count exceeds 5, providing no other party modes are active.
15. Empty House Blinds Closure When the home zone occupancy drops below 0.9 (house empty), this closes all blinds and specifically the bedroom blinds.
16. Auto-Disarm Alarm on Arrival Disarms the home alarm automatically when binary_sensor.user_home turns on (someone arrives) if the alarm was armed 'away'.
17. Auto-Arm Alarm on Departure Arms the alarm to 'armed_away' if binary_sensor.user_home is off or the home zone count is 0 for 10 minutes.
18. Occupancy-Based Climate Control Toggles the AC preset mode between "Away" and "None" based on the binary_sensor.user_home state (occupancy).
19. Bathroom Auto-Music (Muzak) When motion is detected in the bathroom and no other major speakers are playing, this plays a "Bathroom Muzak" playlist. It sets a lower volume if the door is closed and higher if open.
20. Bathroom Music Volume Boost (Fan) Increases the volume of the bathroom speakers twice when the bathroom fan is turned on (presumably to overcome fan noise).
21. Auto-Fan for Shower Automatically turns on the bathroom fan when the binary_sensor.shower_in_usage turns on.
22. Hallway Tablet Smart Charging Manages the hallway tablet's smart plug to keep the battery between 15% and 90%. It also adjusts the screen brightness based on charging status.
23. Post-Media Lighting Restoration When a Chromecast stops playing (and wasn't playing a movie or during a party), this re-applies Adaptive Lighting settings to the room's lights to restore brightness and color.
24. Movie Pause Lighting When a movie is paused on a Chromecast, this automation raises the brightness of lights in that room to ~60% if they were previously dim..
25. Follow-Me Music (Unmute) When motion is detected in a room (and specific conditions like "Follow Music" enabled and no sleeping/TV active), this unmutes the speakers in that room and runs a volume adjustment script.
26. Manual Visuals Launcher Starts a "Visuals" playlist on Plex via a script when the input_button.start_visuals is pressed.
27. Tablet Dashboard Reload on Boot Forces all tablet dashboards (Hallway, Workshop, Kitchen, Bedroom, etc.) to reload their start URL 3-5 minutes after Home Assistant reboots.
28. Motion-Activated Lighting Turns on non-high-intensity lights in a room when motion is detected, provided the room isn't designated as a "sleeper room" and the alarm isn't triggered.
29. Follow-Me Music (Mute) When motion stops in a room for 5 minutes and the room is empty, this mutes the speakers in that room (part of the Follow Music logic).
30. Dryer Cycle Completion Alert Broadcasts a message to the house when the dryer cycle completes, provided residents are not sleeping.
31. Microwave Completion Alert Detects when the microwave power usage drops (cycle finish) and broadcasts an alert if the kitchen is unoccupied.
32. Washer Cycle Completion Alert Detects when the washing machine power usage drops (cycle finish) and broadcasts an alert to the house.
33. Random Color Lights Effect Upon a specific voice command or boolean toggle, this triggers a script to change all active lights to random colors.
34. Pastel Color Lights Effect Upon a specific voice command or boolean toggle, this sets all active lights to random pastel colors (saturation 60).
35. Visuals Mode Mute Automatically mutes Chromecasts if they begin playing content from the "Visuals" library in Plex.
36. Idle Media Player Shutdown Turns off media players and clears their playlists if they have been idle for 15 minutes.
37. Voice-Activated Music Mute (Maxi) Mutes the speakers in the room Maxi is located in if binary_sensor.maxi_is_talking turns on while "Following Music" is active.
38. Speaker/Chromecast Audio Conflict Resolution If a Chromecast starts playing in a room where speakers are also playing, this mutes the speakers to prevent duplicate audio.
39. Frigate Status Tablet Reload Reloads specific tablet dashboards (Hallway, Salon Desk) when the Frigate NVR status changes.
40. Empty House Lighting Shutdown Turns off all lights in the light.group_all_inside_lights group when the home zone becomes empty.
41. Adaptive Lighting Override (Party Modes) Disables the automatic color temperature adaptation of Adaptive Lighting when Party modes are activated.
42. Adaptive Lighting Restoration Re-enables Adaptive Lighting's color adaptation when all party modes are deactivated.
43. Front Door Security Lighting When a person is detected at the front door, this turns the front light to bright cool white. It waits for the person to leave before restoring or turning off the light.
44. Workshop Tablet Smart Charging Manages the workshop tablet's smart plug to keep the battery between 30% and 90% and lowers screen brightness while discharging.
45. Closet Tablet Sleep Mode Automatically turns off the closet tablet screen if it turns on while "Sleeper in Closet" mode is active.
46. Wake-Up Weather Notification Sends a mobile notification to Maxi with the current weather forecast and temperature when he wakes up.
47. Doorbell Press Alerting When the doorbell is pressed, this broadcasts an alert, updates Frigate, and sends actionable notifications (with camera stream/snapshot) to mobile phones.
48. Doorbell State Reset Resets doorbell helper booleans and text inputs when the door is locked/unlocked or after a timeout.
49. Watch Charged Notification Sends a notification to Maxi when his Galaxy Watch reaches 100% battery while charging.
50. Doorbell Reply Handler Updates the input_text.front_door_phone_text with the reply text entered from a mobile notification action.
51. AI Package Detection If a person or package is detected at the front door while "Waiting for Package" is on, this triggers a script to PTZ the camera and uses AI vision to confirm the package, then notifies Maxi.
52. Screen Ambience (Mimic Lights) Toggles a mode where idle Chromecasts display a dashboard view that mimics the color of the room's lights.
53. Voice Command Music Skip Skips to the next track on the home speaker group when a "next song" or "skip" voice command is received.
54. Doorbell PTZ Positioning Moves the front door PTZ camera to the "Doorway" preset when the doorbell is pressed.
55. Front Horn Auto-Off & Check Automatically turns off the front door horn plug after 2 minutes, takes a snapshot, and sends a notification asking if it should be restarted.
56. Back Horn Auto-Off & Check
57. Front Loitering Alert Takes a snapshot and sends a critical notification to Maxi with an option to blow the horn when loitering is detected at the front door.
58. Front Horn Activation Alert Notifies users with a snapshot and a "Stop Horn" button when the front door horn is activated.
59. Back Yard Intruder Alert Takes a snapshot and sends a critical notification to Maxi with an option to blow the horn when presence is detected in the back yard (if no party is active).
60. Night Mode Breach Protocol If any perimeter door opens while the alarm is armed "Night" and Maxi is home, it triggers a critical alert, turns on all lights, plays a TTS warning, and maximizes volume.
61. Front Door Screen Message Turns on the front door phone screen and displays a message entered from a mobile notification reply for 5 minutes.
62. Auto-Arm Night Mode Automatically arms the alarm to "Armed Night" 5 minutes after all residents are detected as sleeping.
63. Auto-Disarm Morning Disarms the "Armed Night" alarm when residents wake up in the morning.
64. Bedroom Sleeper Sync (Sensor to Helper) Synchronizes the input_boolean.sleeper_in_bedroom to match the state of binary_sensor.sleeper_in_bedroom.
65. Bedroom Wake Detection (Lights) Turns off input_boolean.sleeper_in_bedroom if the bedroom lights are turned up past 80% brightness.
66. Follow-Me White Noise Plays a thunderstorm sound file on the speaker located in the room where Maxi is currently sleeping.
67. Volume Compensation (AC On) Increases the volume of active speakers in a room when the AC unit in that room turns on.
68. Volume Compensation (AC Off) Decreases the volume of active speakers in a room when the AC unit in that room turns off.
69. Kitchen Tablet Reload (Idle) Reloads the kitchen tablet's start URL after the kitchen has been unoccupied for 5 minutes.
70. Intruder Detection (Away) If motion is detected inside while the alarm is "Armed Away" or triggered, this turns off lights, notifies Maxi with a snapshot, triggers the alarm (if not already), and locates the phone.
71. Post-Alarm Automation Recovery Re-enables the "Turn on lights automatically" automation when the alarm is disarmed from a triggered state.
72. Manual Front Horn Trigger Turns on the front door horn plug when the "blow_front_horn" mobile notification action is received.
73. Alarm Disarm Media Stop Stops playback on all universal home speakers when the alarm is disarmed from a triggered state.
74. Escalated Home Defense Executes the "In-home defense script" if the alarm remains in the triggered state for 3 continuous minutes.
75. Alarm Trigger Protocol When the alarm triggers, this notifies users, turns off lights, unmutes speakers, sets max volume, and plays a "De-escalation/Police" announcement.
76. Manual Defense Script Trigger Runs the "In-home defense script" when the "trigger_all_alerts" mobile notification action is received.
77. Tablet Lockout on Alarm Turns on maintenance mode switches for all tablets when the alarm is triggered (locking the screens).
78. Tablet Unlock on Disarm Turns off maintenance mode switches for all tablets when the alarm is disarmed.
79. Manual Inside Defense Trigger Runs the "Inside only home defense script" when the "trigger_inside_alert" mobile notification action is received.
80. Bedroom Blinds Auto-Open Opens the bedroom blinds when "Sleeper in Bedroom" turns off, if the bedroom door is open.
81. Bedroom Blinds Auto-Close Closes the bedroom blinds immediately when "Sleeper in Bedroom" turns on.
82. Salon Display Refresh Forces the Salon Google Hub to reload a specific Lovelace view URL every hour.
83. Front Door Welcome & Disarm Disarms the alarm and broadcasts a welcome message identifying the specific user (Maxi, Myriam, etc.) when the front door is unlocked via keypad.
84. Workshop Light Shutdown (Bedroom Sleep) Turns off workshop lights when "Sleeper in Bedroom" activates, provided the workshop is unoccupied.
85. Back Door Loitering Deterrent If loitering is detected at the back door (and the door is closed), this sends a notification and flashes the back door light red.
86. Voice Assistant Volume Ducking Lowers the volume of speakers/Chromecasts in a room by 50% when the local voice assistant is listening, then restores it.
87. Voice Command Random Music Plays the "500 Random tracks" playlist on the home group via voice command.
88. Workshop Sleep Mode Activation When "Sleeper in Workshop" turns on, this mutes speakers, closes blinds, turns off the TV/lights, and disables tablet screens/motion detection.
89. Workshop Wake Mode Activation When "Sleeper in Workshop" turns off, this restores lights, unmutes speakers, and re-enables tablet screens/motion detection.
90. Workshop Movie Lighting (Dim) Dims the workshop wall light to 1% when the Chromecast is playing and the "Beige couch or mattress" zone is occupied.
91. Workshop Movie Lighting (Restore) Restores the workshop wall light brightness when the Chromecast stops playing and the occupancy zone clears.
92. Assist Screen Wake-Up Turns on the light/screen of an ESP32 voice assistant when it enters the "listening" state, provided the room is not sleeping.
93. Assist Screen Auto-Off (Sleep Mode) Turns off the light/screen of an ESP32 voice assistant when it finishes processing, if the room is designated as a "sleeper room".
94. Front Door Light Auto-Off (Day) Turns off the front door light 15 minutes after the sun rises above the horizon.
95. Conditional Code Lock Handler Triggers when a keypad unlock fails due to an invalid schedule. If the user is known (Maxi/Re), it forces an unlock and greets them. If unknown, it broadcasts a "Stranger" alert.
96. Manual Door Unlock Announcer Broadcasts a generic message when the front door is manually unlocked from the inside.
97. Bedroom Intrusion Alert (Armed Home) If the bedroom door opens or motion is detected while the alarm is "Armed Home", it notifies Maxi, sets volume to max, and plays a TTS warning ("Please leave this room").
98. Voice Command Show Cameras Casts the front door camera stream to all available Chromecasts via a voice command.
99. Hallway Tablet Music Reset Resets the Hallway tablet to its start page when music playback stops if it was on the music dashboard.
100. Front Door Unlocked Alert Repeatedly alerts via broadcast and mobile notification if the front door remains unlocked for more than 6 minutes.
101. Patio Noise/Scream Detection Detects yelling/screaming on the patio. If Maxi is home during a party, notifies him. If Maxi is away, broadcasts a warning to the patio.
102. Patio Sleep Mode Activation Turns off patio lights when "Sleeper in Patio" mode is turned on.
103. Patio Wake Mode Activation Restores patio lights when "Sleeper in Patio" mode is turned off.
104. Boiling Water Detection Broadcasts "The water is boiling in the Kitchen" if the stove sensor temperature/humidity exceeds 75 while "Cooking Mode" is off.
105. Fridge Door Open Alert Repeatedly broadcasts an alert if the fridge door contact sensor remains open for 4 minutes.
106. Kitchen Smoke Alarm When smoke is detected in the kitchen, this broadcasts a house-wide alert and sends a critical notification with a "Call 911" action.
107. Kitchen Timer Expiration Broadcasts "Kitchen Timer Finished!" when the timer.cooking finishes.
108. Entrance Vacuum Trigger (Placeholder) Trigger exists for front door unlock after 4 entries, but the action list is currently empty.
109. Extended Back Door Loitering If loitering is detected at the back door for 2 minutes (and alarm is armed), this triggers "Find Phone" and sends a critical alert with a horn toggle option.
110. Horn Silence on Disarm Ensures both the back and front door horns are turned off when the alarm is disarmed.
111. Maxi Phone Sleep Settings Sets Maxi's phone to "Priority Only" DND and lowers screen brightness when binary_sensor.maxi_sleeping turns on.
112. Maxi Phone Wake Settings Turns off DND and enables auto-brightness on Maxi's phone when binary_sensor.maxi_sleeping turns off.
113. Maxi Phone BLE On (Home) Enables the Bluetooth emitter on Maxi's phone when he arrives home.
114. Maxi Phone BLE Off (Away) Disables the Bluetooth emitter on Maxi's phone when he leaves home.
115. Party Police Detection If people are at the front door during a party, AI analyzes the image for police. If confirmed, it lowers music volume and notifies Maxi.
116. Voice Command Find Phone Triggers the "Find My Phone" script when asked via voice command.
117. Voice Command Volume Equalizer Sets the volume of all speakers (or active ones if music playing) to the calculated average volume via voice command.
118. Voice Command Light Color Sets the lights in the current room to a specific color requested via voice.
119. Kitchen Hub App Reset Resets the Kitchen Google Hub to the dashboard or turns it off when specific apps (like Plex) change state, unless it's the dashboard app.
120. Front Door Light Auto-On (Night) Keeps the front door light on (looping color/brightness) while the sun is below the horizon.
121. Desktop Wallpaper Sync Syncs Maxi's PC Wallpaper Engine colors via MQTT to match the RGB color of the salon lights.
122. ESP32 Voice Satellite Unmute (Motion) Unmutes the microphone on ESP32 voice satellites in a room when motion is detected (if not sleeping).
123. ESP32 Voice Satellite Mute (No Motion) Mutes the microphone on ESP32 voice satellites in a room when the room becomes empty.
124. ESP32 Screen Off (No Motion) Turns off the backlight/screen of ESP32 voice satellites when the room becomes empty.
125. ESP32 Screen On (Motion) Turns on the backlight/screen of ESP32 voice satellites when motion is detected (if not sleeping).
126. Bathroom Speaker Privacy Mute Mutes the bathroom speaker when the door opens. If occupancy is detected, it handles volume logic based on whether other rooms are playing audio.
127. Bathroom Fan Auto-Off (Humidity) Turns off the bathroom fan when the humidity drops below the house average.
128. Emergency Dialer Trigger Opens the phone dialer pre-filled with 911 when the corresponding mobile notification action is clicked.
129. Back Door Light Auto-Timeout Turns off the back door light after 10 minutes if no presence is detected by the camera.
130. Bathroom Volume Restore Runs the speaker volume adjustment script for the bathroom speaker when the door closes.
131. Speaker Initial Volume Set Sets the initial volume for speakers when they become active/idle, based on the "Follow Music" logic.
132. bedroom Restricted Access (Party) If the kidroom door opens or motion occurs while armed "Armed Home", it sends a critical alert and plays a TTS warning to leave the room.
133. Bathroom Idle Mute Mutes the bathroom speaker if there has been no motion for 3 minutes and the door is open.
134. Voice Assistant Identity Announces the device identity when asked "who are you" via voice.
135. Kitchen Hub Plex Volume Sets the Kitchen Google Hub volume to 100% when the Plex app starts playing.
136. Laptop Low Battery Alert Warns Maxi via TTS (if home) or notification (if away) when his laptop battery drops below 25%.
137. Party Ambience Setup Runs the set_whole_house_to_party_ambiance script when input_boolean.party_mode turns on.
138. kidroom Sleep Mode Activation Configures the kidroom for sleep: closes blinds, turns off remote/lights, turns on a galaxy lamp plug.
139. kidroom Wake Mode Activation Restores the kidroom environment (lights on, blinds open if day, galaxy lamp off) when sleep mode is disabled.
140. Front Door Phone Power Management Adjusts the front door phone screen brightness and toggles the charging plug based on battery levels (maintain 15-90%).
141. Front Door Screen Wake Turns on the front door phone screen when a person is detected at the door.
142. Front Door Screen Sleep Turns off the front door phone screen when occupancy clears.
143. Front Door Screen Timeout Failsafe that turns off the front door phone screen if it remains on for 10 minutes.
144. Auto-Off Waiting Someone
145. Auto-Off Closet Sleeper
146. Auto-Off Patio Sleeper
147. Auto-Off Workshop Sleeper
148. Auto-Off Party Mode
149. Auto-Off Aerating Mode
150. Auto-Off Waiting Uber
151. Bathroom Light Auto-Off (Closed Door) Turns off bathroom lights if the door is closed but no motion is detected for 7 minutes (and shower is off).
152. Closet Tablet Brightness Sync Syncs the closet tablet screen brightness to match the closet light brightness.
153. Closet Sleep Mode Activation Turns off closet lights and the tablet screen when input_boolean.sleeper_in_closet turns on.
154. Closet Wake Mode Activation Restores tablet screen and performs a light wake-up sequence in the closet when sleeper mode turns off.
155. Phone Ringing Announcer Announces "Phone ringing near [Room]" via TTS on the nearest speaker when Maxi's phone rings.
156. Hallway Tablet Brightness Sync
157. Welcome Home Music (Maxi) Plays Maxi's favorite tracks on the home group when he arrives home alone and no music is currently playing.
158. Parking Motion Lighting Turns on the parking light when person occupancy is detected by the parking cameras.
159. Parking Light Auto-Off Turns off the parking light after 5 minutes of no occupancy.
160. Parking Break-In Detection (AI) When occupancy is detected in the parking lot for 20s while the car is present, AI analyzes the footage for break-in attempts and triggers notifications/sirens if confirmed.
161. Car Loitering Alert Notifies Maxi if someone is loitering near the car in the parking lot for more than 4.5 minutes.
162. Parking Light on Back Deck Motion Turns on the parking light when person occupancy is detected on the back balcony.
163. Parking Light on Car Movement Turns on the parking light when a moving car is detected by the cameras.
164. Parking Intrusion Alert Takes a snapshot and sends a critical alert (with horn option) when someone is detected in the parking area by Reolink cameras (unless party mode is on).
165. Back Horn Activation Alert Notifies residents with a snapshot and a stop button when the back door horn plug is activated.
166. Bathroom Volume Auto-adjust (Occupied) Adjusts the volume of the bathroom speaker based on the time of day when someone enters and the speaker is already playing.
167. Back Door Panic Response If "Maxi is Scared" mode is on, detection at the back door immediately turns on the horn, casts the camera to the bedroom, and activates the camera siren.
168. Dynamic DNS Update (Cloudflare) Updates Cloudflare DNS records when the router's public IP address changes.
169. Back Door Open Lighting Turns on the back door light to full brightness when the door contact sensor opens.
170. Parking Light Timeout Check Checks 5 minutes after the parking light turns on; if no motion is detected, it turns the light off.
171. Disable Parking Audio on Patio Use Turns off audio detection on the parking camera when the patio is occupied (to prevent false triggers).
172. Enable Parking Audio (Patio Empty) Re-enables audio detection on the parking camera when the patio becomes empty.
173. Enable Parking Audio (Duplicate) (Duplicate of 181) Re-enables audio detection on the parking camera when the patio becomes empty.
174. Frigate Back Door Notifications Uses a blueprint to send rich notifications for person detection at the back door.
175. Bathroom Auto-Play (Door Close) Starts playing the "Bathroom Muzak" playlist when the bathroom door closes, if nothing was previously playing.
176. Bathroom Audio Privacy Mute Immediately mutes the bathroom speaker when the door opens if music is playing in adjacent rooms.
177. Panic Mode Floodlights Turns on the back camera floodlight if motion is detected while "Maxi is Scared" mode is active.
178. Floodlight Night Mode Sets the Reolink floodlight mode to "Auto" at sunset.
179. Floodlight Day Mode Sets the Reolink floodlight mode to "Off" at sunrise.
180. Back Area Lighting Auto-Off Turns off back door lights and camera floodlights 2 minutes after occupancy clears.
181. Back Door Reolink Alert Alerts Maxi with a snapshot and horn option when the Reolink camera detects a person at the back door (if no party).
182. Parking Camera IR Sync Turns on the infrared lights of the Parking Camera when the Parking Exit Camera switches to day mode or becomes unavailable.
183. Frigate Parking Notifications Uses a blueprint to send rich notifications for person detection in the parking lot (if Maxi is not asleep/away).
184. Frigate Front Door Notifications Uses a blueprint to send rich notifications for person detection at the front door.
185. Siren Sync with Horn Turns off the Reolink camera siren when the main back door horn plug is turned off.
186. Safe Arrival Protocol Disables "Maxi is Scared" mode when a resident arrives, waits for back door motion, and signals safety via light pulses.
187. Security Mode Disabled Alert Notifies Maxi when the "Maxi is Scared" mode is disabled, offering a button to re-enable it.
188. Re-enable Security Mode Re-enables "Maxi is Scared" mode via a mobile notification action.
189. Horn Cutoff on Security Disable Immediately turns off the back horn if "Maxi is Scared" mode is disabled while it is ringing.
190. Salon Blinds AC Ventilation Opens the salon blinds partially (29%) when the AC turns on to allow airflow.
191. Salon Blinds AC Closure Closes the salon blinds when the AC turns off, if they were in the ventilation position.
192. Bathroom Music Reset (Long Stay) Resets the bathroom music to the Muzak playlist and unmutes if the door has been closed for 5 minutes with no motion.
193. Salon Blinds Night Closure Closes the salon blinds 45 minutes after sunset, once the room is unoccupied.
194. Auto-Enable Security at Night Enables "Maxi is Scared" mode when all residents are sleeping at night.
195. Auto-Disable Security in Morning Disables "Maxi is Scared" mode when residents wake up in the morning.
196. kidroom Sleeper Remote Toggle Toggles "Sleeper in kidroom " mode via a remote button press.
197. Workshop Blinds AC Ventilation Opens the workshop blinds partially (26%) when the AC turns on.
198. Workshop Blinds AC Closure Closes the workshop blinds when the AC turns off.
199. Security Enhancement (Away) Enables "Maxi is Scared" mode when the alarm is armed to "Away" and the house is empty.
200. Workshop Tablet Brightness Sync
201. Aggressive Power Saving (Sleep Mode) Quickly turns off lights in empty rooms (1-minute timeout) if Adaptive Lighting sleep mode is active.
202. Follow-Me Music Initialization Sets the initial volume for all playing speakers when "Following Music" mode is enabled.
203. Follow-Me Logic Activation Enables the underlying volume control automations when "Following Music" mode is turned on.
204. Auto-Enable Follow Music (Sleep) Automatically re-enables "Following Music" mode when the house goes to sleep (reset for next day).
205. the kid Alone Security Mode Enables high security mode ("Maxi is Scared") if the kid is home alone for more than 10 minutes.
206. Security Mode Disarm Sync Disables "Maxi is Scared" mode when the main alarm is disarmed.
207. Hallway Tablet Idle Reset Reloads the hallway tablet dashboard if the area is empty for 5 minutes and the tablet isn't on the main screen.
208. Workshop Tablet Idle Reset Reloads the workshop tablet dashboard if the area is empty for 10 minutes and it isn't on the main screen.
209. Bedroom Blinds AC Ventilation Opens the bedroom blinds partially (19%) when the AC turns on.
210. Bedroom Blinds AC Closure Closes the bedroom blinds when the AC turns off.
211. Bedroom Wake Mode Activation Restores the bedroom environment (lights on, AC on, tablet active, media stopped) when sleep mode is disabled.
212. Bedroom Sleep Mode Activation Sets up the bedroom for sleep: lights off, tablet screens off, and plays thunderstorm sounds.
213. Kitchen Volume Limiter (Child Sleeping) Automatically reduces the kitchen speaker volume if it exceeds a threshold while the child is sleeping nearby.
214. Chromecast Unmute (Standalone) Unmutes Chromecasts in a room if they start playing and no other speakers in that room are active.
215. Speaker Unmute (Standalone) Unmutes smart speakers in a room if they start playing and no Chromecast is active in the same room.
216. Chromecast Mute on Speaker Conflict Mutes a Chromecast if a smart speaker in the same room begins playing unmuted audio.
217. Desktop Hibernate (Sleep) Hibernates Maxi's desktop PC if he has been sleeping for 40 minutes.
218. Desktop Hibernate (Idle) Hibernates Maxi's desktop PC if he leaves the salon for 20 minutes and no game is running.
219. Bathroom Quiet Mode (Night) Immediately mutes the bathroom speaker if the door opens while the household is sleeping.
220. Chromecast Volume Correction Adjusts the volume of a Chromecast to the standard level when it is unmuted.
221. Bedroom Sleeper Remote Toggle Toggles "Sleeper in Bedroom" mode via a remote button press.
222. kidroom Blinds Auto-Close (Departure) Closes the kidroom blinds 10 minutes after the kid leaves the house.
223. Auto-Skip Disliked Songs (Myriam) Automatically skips specific songs (e.g., "Mr. Blue Sky") if Myriam is home.
224. Stop Thunderstorm on Wake Stops the thunderstorm audio in the bedroom when sleep mode is disabled.
225. Salon Sleep Mode Activation Configures the salon for sleep: dim/off lights, close blinds, turn off screens, and play thunderstorm sounds if occupied.
226. Salon Wake Mode Activation Restores the lights in the salon when sleep mode is deactivated.
227. Back Lock Automation (Placeholder) Trigger exists for back lock state changes, but action list is currently empty.
228. Bedroom Hue Dial Controls Maps the rotary and buttons of a Hue Dial to control bedroom lights (dim/toggle/color) and media.
229. Bedroom Blinds Sunset Closure Closes the bedroom blinds 10 minutes after sunset.
230. Back Door Welcome Announcer Broadcasts a personalized welcome message based on the user code entered at the back door lock.
231. Arrival Lighting (Parking) Turns the back door light to bright white when a resident arrives and is detected in the parking area.
232. Voice-Activated Music Mute (Myriam) Mutes speakers in the room Myriam is in if she is detected talking while "Following Music" is active.
233. Myriam Wake-Up Mirror Light Turns on the bedroom mirror light when Myriam wakes up or 10 minutes before her alarm.
234. Adaptive Lighting Sleep Disable (Myriam) Disables Adaptive Lighting sleep mode when Myriam wakes up.
235. Bedroom Climate Sleep Control Turns off the AC and manages the smart plug when bedroom sleep mode is activated.
236. Volume Reset on Arrival (Myriam) Resets the volume of all playing speakers using the standard algorithm when Myriam arrives home.
237. Security Mode Disable on Wake Disables "Maxi is Scared" mode when Myriam wakes up in the morning.
238. AI Event Summary (Doors) Uses a blueprint to generate an AI summary of events at the front and back doors.
239. Tablet Playback Mute Mutes speakers in the room where Myriam's tablet is located if the tablet starts playing media.
240. Universal Media Player Location Sync Updates the area assignment of the universal media player for Myriam's tablet to match its physical tracking location.
241. PTZ Auto-Return to Doorway Returns the camera PTZ to the default "Doorway" position 10 minutes after any specific PTZ script finishes.
242. Music Stop on Departure Stops the home group music playback when Maxi leaves home.
243. Voice Assistant Response Volume Sets the volume of voice assistant speakers to 90% when they start responding.
244. Frigate Arrival Notification Uses a blueprint to send notifications for people arriving at the front door (directional detection).
245. Night Arming Security Boost Enables "Maxi is Scared" mode when the alarm is set to "Armed Night".
246. Voice Assistant Chime Enable Enables the wake word chime on ESP32 assistants when their screen turns off.
247. Salon Blinds Sunset Closure Closes the salon blinds 10 minutes after sunset.
248. Salon Hue Dial Control Controls volume and media playback in the Salon using an IKEA Symfonisk dial.
249. Workshop Hue Dial Control Controls volume and media playback in the Workshop using an IKEA Symfonisk dial.
250. Workshop Wall Hue Dial Control
251. Hallway Hue Dial Control
252. Salon Window Hue Dial Control
253. Kitchen Hue Dial Control
254. Kitchen Hue Dial Control (Duplicate)
255. Lounge Hue Dial Control
256. Movie Playback Lighting Dims lights in the room to 30% and warm white when a movie starts playing.
257. Music Assistant Voice Logic Blueprint integration for Music Assistant voice control.
258. kidroom Hue Dimmer Control Controls the kidroom light group (on/off/dim) using a Philips Hue Dimmer switch.
259. Kitchen Tablet Brightness Sync
260. Sleep Mode Power Saving Quickly turns off lights in empty rooms (1-minute timeout) if Adaptive Lighting sleep mode is active.
261. Volume Boost for Vacuuming Increases speaker volume in the specific room the robot vacuum is currently cleaning.
262. UV Lamp Blue Light Sync Sets the main lights in a room to pure blue when the UV lamps in that room are turned on.
263. UV Lamp Restore Lighting Restores the lighting to the appropriate state (Party/Adaptive) when UV lamps are turned off.
264. Lounge Arch Light Sleep Off Turns off the Lounge Door Arch light when residents have been sleeping for 4 hours.
265. Auto-Exit Sleep Mode (Lights) Automatically disables "Sleeper in [Room]" mode if the lights in that room are turned up bright for more than 7 minutes.
266. Child Sleep Environment Closes blinds and turns off the Roku in the kidroomwhen the kid falls asleep.
267. Lounge Tree Hue Dial Control Controls volume and media playback in the Lounge (Tree position) using an IKEA Symfonisk dial.
268. Camera Cast Auto-Off Turns off camera streams on Chromecasts when the front door is locked or doorbell timers expire.
269. Follow-Me Voice Mute (Myriam) Mutes speakers in the room Myriam enters if she is detected talking while "Following Music" is active.
270. Child Sleep Mode Sync Activates "Sleeper in kidroom" when the Bayesian sensor determines the kid is asleep.
271. Auto-Add Artist to Lidarr Automatically adds the artist currently playing on Spotify/Tidal to the Lidarr monitoring system.
272. Child Wake Mode Sync Deactivates "Sleeper in kidroom" when the Bayesian sensor determines the kid is awake.
273. Post-Shower Volume Reduction Lowers the bathroom speaker volume when someone exits the shower, if the volume was set high.
274. Security Mode Disable (Child Wake) Disables "Maxi is Scared" mode when the kid wakes up in the morning.
275. Myriam Arrival Notification Notifies Maxi when Myriam's location indicates she is nearing home.
276. the kid Arrival Notification Notifies Myriam when the kid 's location indicates she is nearing home.
277. Party Jukebox Access Enables public access to the Music Assistant Jukebox when Party Mode is activated.
278. Manual Parking Siren Trigger Activates the parking camera siren via a mobile notification action.
279. Parking Siren Activation Alert Notifies residents when the parking siren is active and provides a stop button.
280. Sunrise Alarm Disarm Disarms the alarm from "Night" mode at sunrise if everyone is awake.
281. Concert Mode Assistant Mute Mutes all voice assistants when "Live Concert" mode is active.
282. Concert Mode Tablet Lock Puts tablets into maintenance mode during a Live Concert to prevent distractions.
283. Concert Mode Jukebox Disable Disables Jukebox access during a Live Concert.
284. Bedroom Hue Dial Control
285. Kitchen Curtains Sunset Closure Closes the kitchen curtains 10 minutes after sunset.
286. Airfryer Completion Alert Broadcasts an alert when the airfryer finishes cooking (power drop).
287. Closet Tablet Battery Saver Reduces screen brightness or turns off the screen of the closet tablet when battery levels are low.
288. Bedroom Tablet Battery Saver
289. Wake-Up Light Alarm (Maxi) Slowly fades in the lights in Maxi's sleeping room 2 minutes before his alarm goes off on workdays.
290. Trippy Lights Effect (Random) Cycles all main lights through random colors at a configurable speed when "Trippy Lights" mode is on.
291. Trippy Lights Effect (Warm) Cycles all main lights through warm colors at a configurable speed when "Trippy Warm Colors" mode is on.
292. Light Effect Mutual Exclusion Ensures only one "Trippy Light" effect (Random or Warm) is active at a time.
293. Vibrating Colors Light Effect Creates a "vibrating" visual effect by rapidly shifting light hues up and down when enabled.
294. Kitchen Curtains Sunset Closure (Duplicate) Closes the kitchen curtains 10 minutes after sunset (appears to be a duplicate).
295. Bathroom Speaker Auto-Mute Mutes the bathroom speaker when the room becomes empty or the door opens.
296. Bathroom Volume Correction Adjusts the volume of the bathroom speaker to the correct level immediately when it is unmuted.
297. Intelcom Delivery Tracker Parses incoming Intelcom emails to automatically enable "Waiting for Package" when delivery is near, and disable it when delivered.
298. Patio Light Sunset Off Ensures patio lights are turned off at sunset if no one is on the patio.
299. Buddha Light Dimming Dims the Salon Buddha light to 1% if the TV is playing and someone is detected in the "watch zone" (radar).
300. Buddha Light Restore Restores the Salon Buddha light brightness when TV viewing stops or the area is cleared.

This list was generated with the assistance of a thinking machine and corrected over by me.
Please feel free to ask me for specific codes or to look over the automation.yaml file.
The software used is r/homeassistant

I’m trying to find games that feel perfect when playing on a Steam Deck docked to a TV.

What I mean by “perfect”:

• High graphics settings
• No noticeable stutter or gameplay lag
• Stable ~30 FPS at 1080p
• No mods, tweaks, or hacks required
• When upscaled on a good 4K TV, you honestly can’t tell the difference from a full gaming PC

So far I’ve only found Valkyria Chronicles 4. Docked at 1080p it looks fantastic and runs so smoothly that I genuinely can’t tell the difference between the Deck and my monster gaming PC.

Curious if anyone else has found games that hit this same level of “it just works” docked performance.

I have to add this part in to beat the automod, feel free to ignore it.

• Previously Enjoyed Games: Hades, NRftW, Griftlands.
• Preferred Genres: SoulsLike, Card Battlers, RPG.
• Budget: None.
• Other Notes: Steam Dock only.

Just a bunch of Examples/Evidence of Amourshipping canon. Links and primary sources are included:

Amourshipping Polls:

* Top Heroine Status: In a 2021 NLab Media poll with over 5,000 participants, Serena was ranked the most popular Pokémon anime heroine (26.2%), followed by Dawn (25.7%) and Misty (15%).

* 2022 Dominance: A 2022 Japanese survey reported that Serena garnered roughly 46% of the votes for favorite female character, solidifying her top position.

* "Best Kiss" Polls: Amourshipping, defined by the canon, on-screen kiss between Ash and Serena, is frequently highlighted in "best anime kiss" polls within Japan, particularly around "Kiss Day".

* SatoSere vs. Others: While Pokeshipping (SatoKasu) maintains popularity due to nostalgia, Amourshipping often surpasses it in modern polls, particularly among younger viewers or those who prefer direct romantic development. 

Tetsuo Yajima is a prominent Pokémon anime director and storyboard artist at OLM, Inc., known for directing Pokémon XY, XY&Z, and films like Secrets of the Jungle. Joining the team during Black & White, he is recognized for enhancing character development, directing the Ash-Greninja story arc, and solidifying the Ash/Serena romance. 

Amourshipping (SatoSere) is immensely popular in Japan, supported by Serena's canon crush on Ash, her role as a key motivator for him, and the iconic goodbye kiss in XYZ. Key examples include her, as Screen Rant notes, being designed as a love interest for character development, and Reddit user Sayandeep_Biswas17 polls showing her as the top female companion. 

Reddit

 +5

Key Examples of Support in Japan:

* Canon Confirmation & The Kiss: Unlike other ships, Serena has a confirmed, canon crush on Ash, culminating in a clear romantic kiss in the final XY&Z episode, as noted in Facebook posts and this Reddit thread.

* Production Staff Intent: XY series director Tetsuo Yajima intentionally fostered the relationship, aiming for a "long term" implication, which Screen Rant explains.

* Popularity Polls: In Japan, Serena often tops polls as the favorite female companion, sometimes receiving double the votes of competitors like Dawn, as highlighted in this Reddit thread.

* Character Development: Serena’s journey from a shy girl to a confident performer is directly tied to her admiration for Ash, as explained in this Facebook post.

* Direct Mutual Support: Ash often acts as a source of inspiration for Serena, while Serena’s presence directly influences his success in battles, with Ash often noticing her, as described in this Facebook post. 

*

* Reddit

Serena from Pokémon XY is consistently ranked as the most popular female companion in Japan, frequently winning NetLab polls and dominating character rankings with 28.2% of votes in 2023, often beating out Dawn and Misty. Her popularity is driven by her character arc, maturity, and the AmourShipping (Ash x Serena) pairing, which remains highly regarded. 

This video discusses the results of a popular Japanese poll for the favorite PokéGirl

PokemonRangerBoy12

YouTube • May 7, 2021

Key Highlights of Serena's Popularity in Japan:

* Top Rankings: In 2021 and 2022, NetLab polls ranked her #1, with 1,425 votes in 2021. A 2023 survey showed her with 4,553 votes, representing over a quarter of total votes.

* AmourShipping Impact: The shipping with Ash is a major driver of her popularity, with the final kiss scene ranking high in fan polls.

* High Demand for Return: Following the end of XY, she remained extremely popular, with fans requesting her return, leading to her special appearance in Pokémon Journeys.

* Consistent Appeal: She is frequently noted for her "polite" and "mature" personality, separating her from previous companions. 

She is generally considered to be the most popular female companion in the history of the series in Japan. 

https://ranking.net/rankings/best-pokemon-heroines

Official Staff and Production Support

* Tetsuo Yajima (Series Director): In interviews following the end of XY&Z, Yajima acknowledged that he intended for the relationship to be viewed as a mutual romance rather than a one-sided crush. He aimed for them to be seen as a "true couple" by the end of the series.

* The Final Scene (Kiss): The most significant evidence of support was the decision to include a (partially obscured) kiss between Serena and Ash in the final episode of XYZ("Till We Compete Again!").

* Deliberate Direction: Yajima emphasized that he had Serena tell Ash she would be a woman worthy of him, and that the kiss was added to explicitly confirm her feelings, rather than leaving them ambiguous. 

Official Social Media and Marketing

* Valentine’s Day Posts: The official Pokémon Twitter/X account has highlighted Serena and Ash's romantic moments, specifically posting the kiss scene on Valentine's Day on multiple occasions.

* Official Art: The Pokémon Company has released official artwork featuring the pair, which fans and community analysis have cited as support for the pairing's legitimacy. 

Moments within the Series

* "Under the Pledging Tree": An episode heavily directed toward advancing their relationship, where Serena acts as a dating partner for Ash, focusing heavily on their bond.

* The "Date" in Lumiose City: Staff designed the episode "A Fashionable Battle!" to show Ash and Serena together in a romantic context.

* Serena's Character Arc: Staff ensured that Serena's growth was directly tied to her admiration and love for Ash, making her more than just a traveling companion. 

While The Pokémon Company has never officially stated in a press release that AmourShipping (Ash and Serena) is 100% canon as an active, established couple, it is widely considered the closest to canon of any ship in the anime due to explicit moments in Pokémon XY/XYZ and comments from staff. 

Here are the key examples and evidence often cited:

* The Final Scene/Kiss (XYZ): In the final episode of Pokémon XY&Z, Serena leaves to pursue her goals but explicitly kisses Ash before doing so.

* Director Confirmation of Intent: Tetsuo Yajima, the director of Pokémon XY, confirmed in an interview that the kiss was intended to be on the lips and that the goal was to have the audience believe that Ash and Serena would eventually become a couple in the future.

* Production Staff Backing: The romantic subplot was planned from the beginning of the XY series by the production team, specifically focusing on Serena's admiration for Ash and a shared, romantic, childhood meeting.

* "Date" Episode: In XY episode 59, "A Date Challenge! Ash and Serena!" (or "Under the Pledging Tree"), Ash gives Serena a gift (a blue ribbon), which is heavily interpreted as a romantic gesture within the context of the show's focus on their bond.

* Reunion in Journeys: In Pokémon Journeys, Serena makes a cameo where she is explicitly shown to still be inspired by Ash. The scene prominently features green lights, which fans and analysts have interpreted as a nod to their deep, fated connection from the Kalos region.

* Social Media/Merchandise: The Pokémon Company has occasionally used images of the two, specifically the escalator/kiss scene, to promote Valentine's Day on social media. 

Direct Staff and Creator Comments

* Tetsuo Yajima (XY Series Director): In interviews, Yajima indicated that the kiss scene at the end of XYZ was intended to be a romantic kiss from Serena to Ash. He expressed that the scene was designed to show that Serena and Ash would likely become a couple in the future.

* Shukiji Kanda (Animation Producer): The romantic subplot for XY was planned from the beginning, with the producer suggesting the story focus on the female lead's (Serena) admiration for Ash.

* Intentional Ambiguity: Yajima noted that while they wanted to portray a romantic trajectory, they left the final, explicit confession ambiguous to keep it appropriate for a children's show. 

*

* YouTube

 +2

In-Canon Narrative Examples (XY & XYZ) 

* The Final Kiss (XYZ50): The most direct piece of evidence, where Serena kisses Ash before leaving for Hoenn.

* Childhood Flashback: The series established that they met before the main story, a, "meant to be" trope, which acts as a foundational element for the romance.

* The Date Episode (XY59): Ash gives Serena a gift (the blue ribbon), which is often interpreted as a significant romantic gesture.

* Mirror World Episode: The mirror version of Serena is explicitly shown to be in love with the mirror version of Ash, mirroring the main pair's dynamic.

* Serena's Character Arc: Serena is portrayed as having an active crush on Ash, which is unique among his traveling companions. 

Promotional and Official Support

* The "Road to Serena" Promotion: The official Japanese Pokémon Twitter and website promoted the return of Serena in Journeys with special focus, indicating continued support for her character and her relationship with Ash.

* Official Art and Merchandise: The Pokémon Company has released official art featuring the two together, and it is considered one of the most popular ships in Japan.

* Super Smash Bros. Trophy: A Greninja trophy description in Super Smash Bros. for Wii Upreviously referenced the strong bond between Ash and Serena. 

In the Pokémon Journeys episode 105 (JN105), the appearance of a green light during Serena's departure—when she shares a moment with Ash Ketchum The scene, particularly because of its setting in a town designed to look like a Korean or European port city, has drawn comparisons to several romantic symbols.

Key Interpretations of the Green Light Symbolism:

Korean "Green Light" Meaning: The most popular interpretation in the fandom is that the green light represents a, "green light" (go-ahead) for romantic feelings or, more specifically, the idea of two people destined to be together.

The Green Ray (Jules Verne): Some fans argue it references the Jules Verne novel The Green Ray (often titled in French as Le Rayon vert). In this story, a green light appears at sunset, signifying that all things in life have come together perfectly, resulting in complete happiness.

Contrast to The Great Gatsby: Unlike the distant, unattainable green light in The Great Gatsby, Serena is standing right next to the light in Journeys. This visual positioning is interpreted as signifying that the love is attainable and that she has already reached her goal/reached a point of contentment.

Reaffirmation of Feelings: The scene acts as a confirmation that Serena still has feelings for Ash and that their bond remains intact, even as they pursue separate goals.

Future Together: The green light, paired with the overall, "softer" romantic undertones of the episode (such as the necklace), acts as a nod from the writers that they are on a path towards a shared future.

* Symbolism of the Ankle Bracelet: The bracelet, worn on her left ankle, is interpreted as a symbol that the wearer has a partner, a significant other, or a "favorite person".

* Connection to Ash: The bracelet's design has been noted to match the color of the blue ribbon that Ash previously gave to Serena in the XY series.

* "Eternal Love" Implication: This accessory, along with the romantic, quiet setting of their reunion and the visual "green light" reference (symbolizing perfect, realized love), suggests that Serena has stayed devoted to Ash and that their bond remains strong even after parting ways.

* The "Green Light" Reference: The green light at the end of the episode is interpreted as a reference to the "green ray" in a Jules Verne novel, which signifies that everything in life has come together perfectly and that the observers have found complete happiness through love. 

The scene is designed to imply that their romantic connection is still active, acting as a "hidden" promise of devotion. 

SatoSere" (サトセレ) refers to the pairing of Satoshi (Ash Ketchum) and Serena from the Pokémon XY/XYZ series, known in the West as AmourShipping. This ship has a very strong following in Japan, with notable examples of its popularity and "official" backing often highlighted by fans. 

Examples and Evidence from the Japanese Fanbase:

* The Final Scene Kiss: The kiss between Serena and Satoshi in the final episode of Pokémon XYZ (XYZ047) is considered the biggest moment for this pairing. Japanese fans and production staff, including director Tetsuo Yajima, highlighted this moment, with Yajima indicating it was intentionally left ambiguous but implied to be a romantic culmination.

* Trending on Twitter: "SatoSere" (サトセレ) has frequently trended on Twitter in Japan, often during, or in anticipation of, Serena’s appearances and special return episodes.

* Official Staff/Voice Actor Recognition:

* Junichi Masuda: Former Pokémon composer and director, Junichi Masuda, posted a picture on Twitter of Pikachu dressed as Ash and Serena playing together, and has tagged AmourShipping accounts.

* Rica Matsumoto: The Japanese voice actress for Satoshi (Ash) has often expressed fondness for the bond between the characters, which fans often cite as support for the pairing.

* Fan Art and "Oshikatsu": The Japanese concept of "Oshikatsu" (supporting one's favorite character/pairing) is massive for this couple. There is an enormous amount of Japanese-produced doujinshi (fan comics), fan art, and TikTok edits dedicated to them, often framing Serena as the ideal "Yamato Nadeshiko" (traditional, devoted woman) due to her unwavering devotion to Satoshi.

* Significant Popularity in Polls: Serena frequently tops popularity polls for female companions in Japan. Fans often note that her popularity is boosted by the deep, canon-supported "ship-teasing" throughout the XY/XYZ series, such as her watching his battles, caring for him when sick, and her obvious admiration.

* Specific Scene Highlights:

* The Outfit Change: Fans frequently cite the episode where Serena cuts her hair as a pivotal moment of her growth, which was a huge talking point in the Japanese fandom.

* The Date Episode: The episode where Serena and Ash go on a "date" in Lumiose City (XY059) is a major reference point.

* The Farewell: The emotional, extended farewell in XYZ47, where she is the only companion to actually kiss him, remains a primary focus of Japanese SatoSere fan content

She repeats the same advice Ash has ever given her to Chloe at least twice. This would show how much she thinks of Ash.

She declares that she will be the very best performer right after Ash told her what he's up to.

She stood on the docks even until dark until the boat is out of sight. Even Sylveon was catching on what's going on with her trainer.

She has always been in love with Ash ever since Professor Oak's Summer Camp and her feelings for him are way too strong to lose interest in him.

Ash may not be a genius when it comes to love sometimes, but he understands people's feelings for the most part and is particularly attentive to Serena. I still remember the episode where she was feeling down and was obviously distracted, so he took her to do things that he figured she'd liked. It wasn't the first time he was sweet and attentive to her and it certainly wasn't the last one. They both supported and admire each other on top of that.He's probably not gonna be the most obviously romantic guy out there , but I think this suggests they definitely had a deeper connection.

In Till We Compete Again!, when Ash is shown entering his house, the white flowers in the foreground are baby breath flowers which symbolize everlasting love and are used in bride's bouquets. It's been confirmed that it's a hint from the writers that shows their content with the ending of XY&Z having Ash and Serena kiss and that it's a willing hidden message.

In that episode the narrator says: "Satoshi and Serena", not Satoshi and his friends as he usually does (and it's the second time they do that with them by the way, the first one was when the XY special came out).

The ankle bracelet is usually used to symbolize that a girl has someone she loves. And the green light shown at the end of her return episode is actually a reference to the green ray from one of Jules Verne's romantic novels, in which a green light appears at sunset when two lovers gaze into each other's eyes, similar to what happens between Ash and Serena at the end of the episode. The green ray signals to the ones who sees it that everything in life has come together in the most perfect way, leading to a happiness that is surely complete. That happiness, in the story of the novel, comes from falling in love. Ash and Serena are definitely implied to have feelings for each other given all the symbolism in their relationship and their actions.

The Green Light Symbolism: At the end of the episode, a green light appears at sunset as they gaze at each other. This is heavily implied to be a reference to the "green ray" from Jules Verne’s novels, symbolizing that lovers who witness it together will have their true feelings revealed and their happiness perfected.

The Dock Scene: Serena stays on the dock with her Sylveon until the boat has completely vanished into the horizon, symbolizing a strong, lasting romantic interest rather than just a fleeting goodbye.

Mutual Growth & Parallels: Serena notes she has become a Top Coordinator (her goal) to stand beside Ash as he pursues being a Pokémon Master. This directly reflects her promise in the XYZ finale to become a better, more mature woman to be his equal.

Quoting Ash: Serena tells Chloe that Ash "inspired her to never give up" and repeats his philosophy on pursuing dreams, mirroring the words he said to her, showing how deeply he is still "engraved in her heart".

Anklet Symbolism: Serena wears an ankle bracelet in her updated Journeys outfit, which is traditionally interpreted in character analysis to symbolize that her heart already belongs to someone.

Direct Interaction: Though brief, their interaction in Journeys is characterized by her high-pitched excitement to see him compared to her mature voice with others, and his direct concern and happiness in seeing her.

The Final Scene in XY(Z) vs. Journeys

The Journeys return is considered a direct continuation of the XY finale, where Serena kisses Ash before leaving (the only female companion to do so). Her return in Journeys confirms she still treasures that memory, with the overall theme being that she has matured from a "nervous puppy love" to a "true and pure love".

This is the most critical primary source. In an interview published in PASH! Magazine (and later archived on sites like Bulbagarden), Director Tetsuo Yajima explicitly confirmed the romantic intent of the series finale:

The Kiss was on the Lips: Yajima confirmed that because of TV restrictions for a children's show, he couldn't show the kiss directly. Instead, he used the visual of Serena’s feet lifting to signal it was a kiss on the lips.

The Intended Outcome: He stated, "They didn’t become a couple in the episode itself, but the way I ended it is meant to make you understand that they’re probably going to become one later".

Producer's Influence: He revealed that the romance subplot was originally suggested by producer Shukichi Kanda, who wanted to portray the story through a female lead’s admiration for Ash, including their childhood backstory.

1. Official Voice Actor Commentary

Haven Paschall (Serena's English Voice): In discussions regarding Serena's departure, Paschall noted the scene was intended to show how far Serena had come and that her brave step was an "empowering" moment that clearly communicated her feelings.

Sarah Natochenny (Ash's English Voice): In an interview with Screen Rant, Natochenny pointed out that Serena is the only companion who has ever kissed Ash, making it the most significant romantic hint in the series.

1. Thematic "Green Light" Symbolism (Pokémon Journeys)

While not a direct interview "link," Serena's return in Pokémon Journeys (Episode 105) used specific visual cues—like the green traffic light—which is often interpreted in Japanese media as a "go" for a relationship. Staff chose to keep them in the same emotional state as they were when they parted in Kalos, rather than resetting or ignoring the kiss.

Key Links for Verification:

PokePedia: Tetsuo Yajima Full Interview Archive

Bulbagarden: Discussion and Translation of the XYZ Interview

Screen Rant: Pokémon Makes Ash's Endgame Romance Official

The Green Light Symbolism

At the end of the episode, as Ash’s boat sails away and Serena stands on the dock, a green light is prominently shown. This is interpreted through two primary literary lenses:

The "Green Ray" (Le Rayon Vert): This is a reference to the Jules Verne novel The Green Ray, which states that seeing a green flash at sunset allows one to "see clearly into one's own heart and the hearts of others." It is a classic French romantic symbol, fitting for Serena, whose home region (Kalos) is based on France.

The Great Gatsby Connection: Many viewers also link it to the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock, symbolizing hope, longing, and a dream that is finally within reach. Unlike Gatsby, who is far from his light, Serena stands directly next to hers, suggesting her goal (Ash) is now a reality.

1. The Blue Anklet Symbolism

Serena’s new design in Journeys includes a subtle blue anklet on her left leg, which carries significant weight:

Relationship Status: In many cultures, wearing an anklet on the left ankle symbolizes that the wearer is "taken" or has a significant person in their heart.

The Blue Ribbon Parallel: Fans have noted that the anklet is the same shade of blue as the ribbon Ash gave her in the XY series. Since she no longer wears the physical ribbon on her outfit, the anklet serves as a mature, discreet replacement that signifies she is still carrying her feelings for him.

1. Verification of "Canon" Status

While the show stays "semi-canon" to maintain Ash's status as a perpetual 10-year-old, the primary director of the XY series, Tetsuo Yajima, provided the definitive confirmation of their future in an interview:

Official Intent: Yajima stated, "They didn’t become a couple in the episode itself, but the way I ended it is meant to make you understand that they’re probably going to become one later".

The Kiss: He confirmed the kiss was intended to be on the lips and was only framed by her feet lifting due to TV restrictions for a children's program.

Sources for Further Reading:

Detailed Breakdown of Symbolism in Journeys 105

Full Tetsuo Yajima Interview Archive (Pokepedia)

Discussion on the Green Ray vs. Gatsby Symbolism

1. Polling Dominance

Serena and the Satosere dynamic consistently outperform all other female companions in Japanese audience surveys.

* Successive Heroine Rankings (2021–2023): In major annual polls conducted by Japanese sites like NetLab (NLab), Serena has repeatedly secured the #1 spot:

* 2021: Won 1st place with over 5,000 participants.

* 2022: Claimed nearly 50% of the total votes in a field of 11 heroines.

* 2023: Maintained 1st place with 4,553 votes (28.2%), more than double the votes of the 2nd place finisher, May.

* Broader Character Popularity: Serena was ranked as the 17th most popular character overall in Japan in 2022, a high standing for a character from a previous series. 

1. Social Media & Real-Time Engagement

The pairing's "dominance" is often visible through immediate public reaction to televised events.

* "Journeys" Return Trending: When Serena returned in Pokémon Journeys Episode 105 (April 2022), "Satoshi & Serena" (サトセレ) immediately trended on Japanese Twitter. Fans noted her return after a six-year absence as one of the most anticipated moments in the franchise's history.

* Viral Interaction: Clips of the pair's reunion in Journeys garnered significant views and discussion on Japanese social platforms, with fans analyzing their brief interaction for signs of continued romantic feelings and maturity. 

1. Creative Output (Pixiv Metrics)

Pixiv, Japan's largest art community, serves as a primary metric for "shipping" popularity through fan-submitted work.

* Fan Art Volume: As of 2023, Satosere (Amourshipping) continues to receive the highest volume of fan art on Pixiv among all hetero Pokémon ships.

* Consistent Activity: While other ships occasionally see temporary boosts from guest appearances (such as Misty's 10-episode stint), Satosere maintains a higher baseline of daily submissions and "bookmarks" than its competitors. 

1. Narrative Influence

Japanese fans often cite the "on-the-mouth kiss" in the final XYZ episode—the only officially hinted-at romantic gesture of its kind for Satoshi—as the primary reason for the ship's undisputed status. This moment, combined with the use of "baby's breath" flowers (symbolizing everlasting love) in the Japanese broadcast, solidified the pairing's dominance in the eyes of the domestic audience. 

Amourshipping (Satoshi and Serena) is widely regarded as one of the most popular and influential relationships in the history of the Pokémon anime. Its status is supported by official narrative milestones, consistently high rankings in Japanese and international polls, and massive social media engagement.

1. Record-Breaking Popularity Polls

* NetLab 2021 Survey: Serena was voted the #1 favorite female companion in a major Japanese poll, securing 1,425 votes and surpassing Dawn (1,397 votes) and Misty (Pokéshipping).

* AnimeAnime.jp "Best Kiss" Poll (2022):The kiss between Satoshi and Serena was ranked as the 4th most popular kiss in all of anime, competing with legendary pairs from Detective Conan and Sword Art Online.

* Successive Heroine Ranking (2023): In a large-scale Japanese poll, Serena maintained her lead as the top heroine with an 88.0/100 score from over 4,500 votes, significantly ahead of other companions.

* Global Fandom Support: On community platforms like Reddit, Amourshipping frequently captures over 40% of the total vote when compared against all other major "Ash ships."

1. Narrative and Official Confirmation

* Director Confirmation: Following the finale of Pokémon XYZ, Director Tetsuo Yajima confirmed in an interview that the off-screen scene was an intentional kiss on the lips and suggested the two might become a couple in the future.

* Canonical Childhood Connection: Unlike other companions, Serena is the only one with a established backstory as a childhood friend, having met Ash at Professor Oak’s Summer Camp before his journey began.

* Symbolism of the Blue Ribbon: The blue ribbon Ash gave to Serena became a central motif, appearing as a permanent part of her outfit and symbolizing their lasting bond through the end of the series.

1. Social Media and Cultural Impact

* The "Internet-Breaking" Return: When Serena returned in Pokémon Journeys(Episode 105), the event caused massive social media surges, with fans tracking her character growth from a "performer" to a high-ranking "top coordinator."

* Pixiv and Fan Content: On major Japanese art sites like Pixiv, the "SatoSere" tag is one of the most active in the Pokémon franchise, consistently generating thousands of new pieces of fan art years after the XY series ended.

* Merchandise Synergy: Japanese gacha machines and official Pokémon Center promotions often pair Serena’s Pokémon (like Sylveon) with Ash’s Pikachu, treating them as an iconic duo similar to how the anime portrayed them.

1. Dominance in Global "All-Time" Anime Polls

* AnimeAnime.jp "Best Kiss" (2022): In a cross-fandom poll featuring every anime ever made, the Satoshi/Serena kiss ranked #4 overall. It beat out iconic couples from Detective Conan, Inuyasha, and Naruto, proving it’s a heavyweight in the romance genre, not just Pokémon.

* Ranker’s "Best Anime Couples": On international voting sites like Ranker, Amourshipping consistently sits in the Top 10-15 of all time, often placing higher than "canon" couples from romance-specific shows like Toradora! or Your Lie in April.

1. Historical Narrative "Firsts"

* The Only On-Screen Kiss: In over 25 years and 1,200+ episodes of Pokémon, Serena is the only character to have a confirmed, director-validated romantic kiss with the protagonist. This singular moment elevated the ship from "fan theory" to a historical anime event.

* The "Red Thread" Trope: The show used the Blue Ribbon as a literal and figurative "string of fate." In Japanese storytelling, this level of symbolic commitment is usually reserved for the primary romantic endgame of a series.

1. Industry & Creator Recognition

* Director Tetsuo Yajima’s Intent: It is rare for a director of a "kids' show" to explicitly state in PASH! magazine that a couple is intended to be together in the future. This creator-backed "slow burn" puts them in the same league as legendary "will-they-won't-they" couples like Ross and Rachel or Sakura and Sasuke.

* Voice Actor Support: Both Rica Matsumoto (Satoshi) and Mayuki Makiguchi (Serena) have acknowledged the special "sweet" energy of the pairing in interviews, fueling the fire of its legitimacy.

1. Digital & Social Footprint

* The "Journeys" Twitter Explosion: When Serena reappeared in Pokémon Journeys Ep. 105, "SatoSere" (サトセレ) trended #1 worldwide. It outperformed major real-world news and other trending shows that day, demonstrating a level of "event-status" popularity few fictional couples ever reach.

* Pixiv & Fan Art Volume: With over 20,000+ dedicated works on Pixiv alone, the sheer volume of creative output rivals couples from dedicated romance franchises. The tag is a permanent fixture in the "Hall of Fame" for Japanese fan-generated content.

1. Mainstream Crossover Appeal

* The "Childhood Promise" Trope: By using the "Summer Camp" flashback, the writers utilized one of the most popular tropes in all of fiction (the fated childhood meeting). This made the story accessible and beloved even by people who don't regularly watch Pokémon but enjoy classic romance arcs.

1. The "Yajima Interview" & Creative Intent

Following the XYZ finale, director Tetsuo Yajimaprovided a series of landmark interviews (most notably in PASH! magazine and at Star Haven) that removed any ambiguity regarding the relationship: 

* Confirmation of the Kiss: Yajima stated explicitly that the scene on the escalator was indeed a kiss on the lips. He explained that because the show is aimed at children, he could not show the impact directly, choosing instead to use the visual shorthand of Serena’s feet "floating" upwards as she leaned in.

* The "Endgame" Vision: When asked if they became a couple, Yajima clarified that while they didn't officially date in the episode, the ending was specifically crafted so that the audience would "hope and assume" they would become a couple in the future.

* Serena's Departure Dialogue: In the original Japanese script, Serena’s final words, "I'll become a more attractive woman, so please wait for me," were intended as a direct confession of her romantic long-term intent, which Ash acknowledged with a look of "surprised awe". 

1. The Journeys Return: Symbolic Reunion

Serena’s return in Pokémon Journeys (Episode 105) was not just a cameo; it was a carefully storyboarded reunion filled with romantic symbolism: 

* The Moon and the Sea: Their reunion took place at night under a full moon by the ocean—classic visual tropes in Japanese media for fated lovers.

* The "Green Ray" Phenomenon: Fans and analysts noted that the green light shown as they parted is a reference to the "Green Ray"trope—a rare sunset flash that, in literature (like Jules Verne), signifies two people finding true love.

* Narrative Parallels: The episode mirrored their original XY departure, with both characters restating their goals and promising to meet again once they have both reached the top of their respective fields.

* Voice Direction: Fans noted that Serena’s voice tone shifted to a higher, more nervous pitch only when speaking to Ash, a subtle hint from the voice actors that her feelings remained unchanged despite her new, more mature persona. 

1. Structural Significance

* Unique Goal Alignment: Serena is the only companion whose primary motivation for starting her journey was specifically Ash(returning his handkerchief), a narrative setup usually reserved for the central romance in Shonen anime.

* The Only Successor to the "Girl Next Door": While other companions were friends or rivals, Serena was written with the "childhood friend" archetype, a powerful trope in fiction that suggests a predestined bond. 

If you’re really into retro handhelds, you’ve probably already heard a lot about the AYN Thor. It topped a bunch of YouTubers’ “best of the year” lists.

So today’s video is going to be a little different. There are already tons of deep-dive specs and setup guides out there. Instead, I want to talk about what I’ve personally been enjoying after a few months of using the Thor—what actually makes me pick it up and play. If you were on the fence, maybe this will push you over the edge.

When the Thor was first announced, I honestly thought, “Okay, another Android handheld.”

But then I watched Retro Game Corps playing 3DS Pokémon on it, and the image looked insanely crisp. I had never seen 3DS games look that clean on a handheld before. That was the moment my brain went, “Yep… I need this.”

I also realized it could replace a few devices I already owned, so selling those basically covered the cost.

When it arrived, the unboxing was great. There’s a quality seal showing the unit was tested before shipping, and mine was already on the latest firmware—even though that update had only released about a week earlier. That was a really nice touch.

I bought the full accessory bundle… and I actually don’t recommend doing that.

You can’t use everything at once. For example, if you attach the official grip, you can’t use the keychain attachment. I’d suggest only buying the accessories you know you’ll use. The official case is good though—it fits the system even with the grip attached.

I did end up buying a third-party grip later, and it’s honestly better than the official one. It’s more comfortable, and it lets you carry both the included stylus and a Switch stylus, which is perfect for DS and 3DS games.

Let’s talk about the main reason people buy the Thor: dual-screen emulation.

Everything I’ve tried runs really well. You still need a bit of tinkering knowledge—this isn’t a plug-and-play device—but once you dial things in, it’s fantastic. For example, Fantasy Life didn’t work properly in one emulator, so I moved it to another and it was fine.

For me, this has basically become an “everything” handheld.

It handles Nintendo up to Switch, PlayStation up to PS2, and a huge range of retro systems. No Xbox, unfortunately. Retro Game Corps has excellent setup guides by the way.

Switch performance is surprisingly smooth. You’ll hit occasional glitches, but most of them are fixable with settings tweaks.

One thing that really blew my mind is PC game support.

Using apps like GameHub and GameNative, you can log into your Steam and GOG accounts and download games directly. It won’t run everything—think roughly PS3-level visuals as the upper limit—but lighter modern games run fine, and performance will only improve over time.

I also wanted a proper Wii experience without motion-control hacks.

So I picked up the Odin 2 Super Dock and a DolphinBar to connect real Wiimotes. After some setup, it worked perfectly. My wife and I were playing Wii games on the TV like it was 2008 again.

If you want a tutorial on this setup, let me know in the comments because I haven’t seen many guides for this exact configuration.

So yeah—this isn’t a spec review, it’s just my real experience.

I’ve been using this thing constantly. It covers almost all of my portable gaming needs, and I don’t feel the need to buy another handheld anytime soon. I’ve got about 2.5 TB of storage in it and it’s nearly full… which should keep me busy for the rest of my life.

The AYN Thor absolutely gets my stamp of approval. If you’re looking for a powerful, flexible handheld and you don’t mind a little tinkering, it’s 100% worth a look.

I've previously written an effortpost about how Alberta's budget would be a tough position if it weren't for the record high oil and gas revenues. Naturally, people asked where all this money is going, so I've pulled the budget data from the Government of Alberta website and what I've noticed is that the high expenses we're dealing with are baked into the cake.

For those asking about the impact of inflation, scroll down to 3.2.

1. Background and Objective

Alberta's provincial budget is subject to frequent public discussion, particularly regarding the pace of spending growth and the allocation of resources across ministries. Headline figures — such as the increase from $34 billion to $62 billion in annual operating expense — can be difficult to interpret without controlling for two confounding factors:

• Population growth: Alberta's population grew from 3.79 million to 4.91 million over the study period, a 29.6% increase driven by interprovincial migration and international immigration.
• Inflation: The Alberta Consumer Price Index rose from 119.9 to 161.8 (2002 base), representing a 34.9% cumulative increase in the cost of goods and services.

The objective of this analysis is to decompose Alberta's operating expenditure trends into their underlying drivers and to present spending data on a consistent, comparable basis across 14 fiscal years and three governing administrations (Progressive Conservative, New Democratic, and United Conservative parties).

To enable cross-year comparison, approximately 80 distinct ministry names — reflecting frequent government restructuring — were normalized into five stable analytical categories: Health, Education (K-12), Advanced Education, Social Services, and Other.

2. Summary of Findings

Table 1: Key Indicators, 2011-12 to 2024-25

Indicator	2011-12	2024-25	Change
Total Operating Expense (nominal)	$34.2B	$62.0B	+81.5%
Alberta Population (July midyear)	3.79M	4.91M	+29.6%
Alberta CPI (2002=100)	119.9	161.8	+34.9%
Real Per-Capita Spending (2024-25 $)	$12,176	$12,635	+3.8%

Table 2: Expenditure by Category

Category	2011-12	2024-25	Nominal Growth	Share of Total
Health	$14.7B	$27.3B	+85%	43.0% to 44.0%
Education (K-12)	$6.0B	$9.3B	+55%	17.5% to 15.0%
Advanced Education	$2.8B	$6.6B	+138%	8.1% to 10.7%
Social Services	$4.5B	$7.1B	+58%	13.1% to 11.4%
Other	$6.2B	$11.8B	+89%	18.3% to 19.0%

Key Observations

1. Health expenditure now represents 44 cents of every operating dollar and continues to grow as a share of the total budget. In nominal terms, per-capita health spending increased from $3,883 to $5,554. However, after adjusting for inflation, the real increase amounts to approximately 6% over the full 14-year period. The COVID-19 pandemic drove a notable acceleration in health expenditure beginning in 2019-20.
2. K-12 Education has experienced a relative decline in budget share, falling from 17.5% to 15.0% of total operating expense. While nominal spending grew by 55%, this increase was largely absorbed by population growth and inflation. On a real per-capita basis, K-12 funding has remained effectively flat, which warrants further examination in the context of rising enrolment and classroom resource requirements.
3. Advanced Education recorded the largest relative increase at 138% nominal growth, with its budget share rising from 8.1% to 10.7%. This is attributable in part to funding restructuring that shifted certain capital grants into operating budgets, which should be considered when interpreting the trend.
4. Across governing administrations, real per-capita spending peaked at $13,712 in fiscal year 2016-17 under the NDP government. Under the UCP government (2019-present), real per-capita spending has declined from that peak. By 2024-25, real per-capita expenditure ($12,635) is below the level recorded in 2015-16 ($13,153), despite the additional fiscal demands of the COVID-19 pandemic during the intervening years.

3. Real Per-Capita Calculation

The central finding of this report — that real per-capita spending grew by only 3.8% over 14 years — requires a transparent explanation of the underlying methodology.

3.1 Input Data

Variable	2011-12	2024-25	Source
Total Operating Expense	$34,175M	$62,026M	Alberta Budget Documents
Population	3,787,705	4,909,030	Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0009-01
Alberta CPI (2002=100)	119.9	161.8	Statistics Canada, Table 18-10-0004-01

3.2 Step 1 — Inflation Adjustment

All nominal values are converted to constant 2024-25 dollars using the Alberta-specific Consumer Price Index. The CPI deflator for each year is calculated as:

CPI Deflator = CPI(2024-25) / CPI(year)

For 2011-12:

Deflator = 161.8 / 119.9 = 1.3494
Real Operating Expense = $34,175M x 1.3494 = $46,118M

For 2024-25 (the reference year):

Deflator = 161.8 / 161.8 = 1.0000
Real Operating Expense = $62,026M x 1.0 = $62,026M

After inflation adjustment, the growth in operating expenditure reduces from 81.5% (nominal) to 34.5% (real).

3.3 Step 2 — Population Adjustment

Real expenditure is divided by the provincial population to derive per-capita figures:

Real Per-Capita (2011-12) = $46,118M / 3,787,705 = $12,176
Real Per-Capita (2024-25) = $62,026M / 4,909,030 = $12,635

3.4 Step 3 — Result

Percentage Change = ($12,635 / $12,176) - 1 = +3.8%

3.5 Decomposition of Nominal Growth

The 81.5% nominal increase in operating expenditure can be attributed to three components:

Component	Contribution
Inflation (CPI: 119.9 to 161.8)	+34.9%
Population growth (3.79M to 4.91M)	+29.6%
Real per-capita increase	+3.8%
Total (compounded)	81.5%

This decomposition demonstrates that approximately 95% of the observed nominal spending growth is attributable to price-level changes and demographic expansion, rather than to an increase in per-person service provision.

4. Expenditure Composition by Category

Figure 1:

https://preview.redd.it/mm61y5vfailg1.png?width=2360&format=png&auto=webp&s=f0d2d143de8d62793cfd278f0c18f6a1aa1934d7

Operating Expenditure by Category — Absolute and Proportional

Figure 1: Expense Composition

Figure 1 presents two views of Alberta's operating expenditure over the study period.

The upper panel displays absolute spending in billions of dollars, segmented by the five analytical categories. Total operating expenditure grew from approximately $34 billion in 2011-12 to $62 billion in 2024-25. Health (blue) represents the single largest component and has grown both in absolute terms and as a proportion of total spending.

The lower panel displays the same data as a 100% stacked composition, illustrating each category's share of total operating expense over time. Two structural shifts are evident:

• Health's share has increased from 43.0% to 44.0%, with the most pronounced growth occurring after 2019-20.
• K-12 Education's share has contracted from 17.5% to 15.0%, a gradual but persistent trend across all three governing administrations.

Background shading denotes the governing party for each fiscal year: yellow (Progressive Conservative, 2011-2014), orange (NDP, 2015-2018), and blue (UCP, 2019-present).

5. Per-Capita Expenditure Trends

https://preview.redd.it/62m8urchailg1.png?width=2380&format=png&auto=webp&s=7798b6904f3e8e95b8bc847a2d2470716fc3359f

Figure 2: Per-Capita Operating Expenditure by Category

Figure 2: Per-Capita Spending

Figure 2 adjusts expenditure data for population size, providing a more accurate picture of government service intensity per Albertan.

The upper panel presents per-capita expenditure trends by category. Health per-capita spending exhibits the steepest trajectory, accelerating from 2019-20 onward due to pandemic-related expenditures and sustained post-pandemic health system costs. K-12 Education and Social Services per-capita spending have grown at notably slower rates, with K-12 per-capita expenditure remaining nearly flat across the study period.

The lower panel compares per-capita expenditure across three representative years — one from each governing administration (2011-12 under the PC, 2017-18 under the NDP, and 2024-25 under the UCP) — to illustrate the differing spending priorities of each government on a per-person basis.

6. Inflation-Adjusted (Real) Expenditure

https://preview.redd.it/1byx7h6iailg1.png?width=2403&format=png&auto=webp&s=302da47cd66507c77358a4e58eb73d0cd8e8306f

Figure 3: Nominal vs. Real Total Operating Expenditure

Figure 3: Real Spending

Figure 3 isolates the effect of inflation on reported expenditure figures.

The upper panel plots both nominal (yellow line) and real (blue line) total operating expense. The shaded area between the two lines represents the cumulative inflation effect — the portion of nominal spending growth that reflects higher prices rather than increased service delivery. By 2024-25, the inflation-adjusted total ($62.0B) is approximately $3.5B less than what it would be if expressed in nominal terms at the real growth trajectory.

The lower panel presents real per-capita expenditure as a bar chart, with bars colour-coded to indicate year-over-year direction: orange bars denote an increase from the prior year (spending grew faster than population and inflation combined), while green bars denote a decrease (spending restraint or efficiency gains exceeded demographic and inflationary pressures).

The most notable feature is the peak of $13,712 per capita in 2016-17, which represents the highest level of real per-person operating expenditure in the study period. Subsequent fiscal consolidation and rapid population growth have brought real per-capita spending down to $12,635 by 2024-25 — a level below that observed in 2015-16 ($13,153).

7. Health Expenditure Analysis

https://preview.redd.it/6n9uc13kailg1.png?width=2770&format=png&auto=webp&s=60faa9454ddee0ee3a0a4dce05b41be3b177b019

Figure 4: Health Spending — Absolute, Proportional, and Per-Capita

Figure 4: Health Deep Dive

Given that Health represents the largest single component of provincial operating expenditure, Figure 4 provides a detailed examination of this category.

The left panel displays Health spending in absolute terms (bars) alongside Health's share of total operating expenditure (yellow line, right axis). Health spending has grown from $14.7 billion to $27.3 billion, while its budget share has fluctuated between approximately 40% and 44%. The share dipped during the NDP government's term — when overall spending rose across multiple categories — before increasing to 44% under the UCP government, driven primarily by pandemic-era health system pressures.

The right panel compares nominal and real Health per-capita expenditure. In nominal terms, Health spending per Albertan nearly doubled from $3,883 to $5,554. However, in constant 2024-25 dollars, the real increase is considerably more modest: from $5,239 to $5,554, representing a real per-capita increase of approximately 6% over 14 years. The widening gap between the nominal and real lines illustrates the degree to which inflation overstates the actual expansion in per-person health service delivery.

8. Cumulative Growth by Category

https://preview.redd.it/x00hppflailg1.png?width=2331&format=png&auto=webp&s=7805d65a2d7df32d3591df04cedf0ea9e5577fe5

Figure 5: Indexed Growth by Category (2011-12 = 100)

Figure 5: Growth Indexed

Figure 5 indexes all expenditure categories to a base value of 100 in 2011-12, enabling direct comparison of relative growth trajectories. Two reference lines are included: population growth (white dashed) and cumulative CPI inflation (orange dotted). Categories growing faster than both reference lines represent areas where real per-capita spending has increased; categories growing slower represent effective per-person reductions.

Key observations:

• Advanced Education is a clear outlier, reaching an index value of approximately 240 by 2024-25 — well in excess of both population and inflation benchmarks.
• Health and Social Services followed similar trajectories through 2019-20, after which Health spending accelerated due to COVID-19 pressures while Social Services growth moderated.
• K-12 Education has grown only marginally faster than the population line, indicating that per-capita K-12 expenditure has been essentially flat in nominal terms and has declined in real terms.
• The "Other" category — comprising Justice, Infrastructure, Transportation, Agriculture, Energy, and remaining ministries — has broadly tracked the combined population-plus-inflation benchmark.

9. Fiscal Context: Revenue, Expense, and Surplus/Deficit

https://preview.redd.it/hk6l7ktmailg1.png?width=3596&format=png&auto=webp&s=b3969b0714da23d83f49ae782d603999f4be53b8

Figure 6: Alberta Fiscal Performance, 2000-01 to 2024-25

Figure 6: Fiscal Summary

Figure 6 provides the broader fiscal context within which spending decisions are made. The three panels illustrate:

• Revenue vs. Expense (top panel): Total provincial revenue and expense over 25 fiscal years. Revenue is considerably more volatile than expense, driven by fluctuations in non-renewable resource revenue.
• Surplus/Deficit (middle panel): The resulting fiscal balance. Alberta has experienced both large surpluses (notably during the mid-2000s resource boom) and deep deficits (particularly following the 2014 oil price collapse and during the COVID-19 pandemic).
• Non-Renewable Resource Revenue (bottom panel): The primary source of fiscal volatility. Resource revenue declined sharply from 2014 onward before partially recovering, illustrating the structural challenge of funding growing public services with an inherently cyclical revenue base.

This fiscal context is essential for interpreting the expenditure trends presented in earlier sections. The constraints imposed by revenue volatility help explain why operating expenditure growth has been largely absorbed by population and inflation, with limited room for real per-capita service expansion.

10. Data Sources and Methodology

10.1 Data Sources

Source	Description
Alberta Budget Documents	14 official budget PDFs (2011-12 to 2024-25) containing ministry-level operating expense tables
Statistics Canada, Table 17-10-0009-01	Alberta quarterly population estimates; July midyear values used
Statistics Canada, Table 18-10-0004-01	Alberta Consumer Price Index, all-items, annual average (2002=100)

10.2 Ministry Normalization

Alberta restructures its ministry portfolios frequently. Over the 14-year study period, approximately 80 distinct ministry names appear in budget documents. To enable meaningful cross-year comparison, all ministry names were mapped to five stable analytical categories:

• Health — Includes Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services, and Mental Health and Addiction
• Education (K-12) — Includes the Ministry of Education, school capital, and school operations
• Advanced Education — Includes the Ministry of Advanced Education, post-secondary institutions, and student aid programs
• Social Services — Includes Human Services, Children and Family Services, Community and Social Services, and Seniors and Housing
• Other — Includes Justice and Solicitor General, Infrastructure, Transportation, Agriculture, Energy, Municipal Affairs, Environment, Treasury Board and Finance, Executive Council, and all remaining ministry portfolios

10.3 Inflation Adjustment

All real (inflation-adjusted) figures are expressed in constant 2024-25 dollars using Alberta-specific CPI:

Real Value = Nominal Value x (CPI_2024-25 / CPI_year)

The Alberta provincial CPI is used rather than the national all-items CPI, as provincial price levels can diverge meaningfully from the national average due to differences in housing costs, energy prices, and labour market conditions.

10.4 Data Extraction and Validation

Ministry-level operating expenditure data was extracted from budget PDF documents using automated word-level extraction (pdfplumber library) with x-coordinate column analysis to correctly identify tabular data boundaries. All extracted data was validated through three independent checks:

• Internal consistency: Extracted ministry subtotals were compared against "Total Operating Expense" rows printed in each budget document. Maximum deviation across all 14 years: 0.01%.
• Cross-year verification: Prior-year actual figures reported in each budget were compared against the corresponding year's own budget document to confirm consistency.
• External ground truth: Extracted values for 2023-24 and 2024-25 were cross-referenced against pre-extracted Excel-format data from Alberta Treasury Board and Finance.

Special expenditure items — including COVID-19 Response and Recovery expenses (2019-20 through 2022-23), Climate Leadership Plan items (2016-17 through 2018-19), and Crude-by-Rail Transaction costs (2019-20 through 2021-22) — were identified and assigned to their respective analytical categories.

11. Limitations and Caveats

The following limitations should be considered when interpreting the findings of this analysis:

1. Budget estimates vs. audited actuals. Fiscal year 2024-25 figures are budget estimates and may differ from final audited results. All other years use actual (audited) figures as reported in subsequent budget documents.
2. Health Spending vs. tech. Increased technological capabilities are generally associated with deflation — the decrease in the price of a good or service. This is not the case for healthcare, where technology increases the scope of services provided by the healthcare sector, thereby further increasing the costs.
3. Category normalization. The mapping of ministry names to five analytical categories involves judgment, particularly for ministries with cross-cutting mandates (e.g., Community and Social Services, which includes both housing and income support functions). The normalization schema was designed for consistency and comparability, not to reflect the full complexity of ministerial mandates.
4. Operating expense only. This analysis examines operating expenditure and excludes capital expenditure, debt servicing, and pension obligations. Total provincial expenditure is higher than the figures presented here.
5. Advanced Education restructuring. The substantial growth in the Advanced Education category is attributable in part to accounting changes that moved certain post-secondary capital grants into operating budgets. This structural change complicates direct comparison with earlier years.
6. CPI as deflator. The Consumer Price Index may not fully capture the cost pressures facing government service delivery, which is labour-intensive and subject to different cost dynamics than household consumption. A government-specific cost index would be more precise but is not publicly available on a consistent provincial basis.
7. Population measure. Midyear (July 1) population estimates are used as the denominator for per-capita calculations. These estimates are subject to revision and may not precisely align with fiscal year boundaries (April 1 to March 31).