Basically, my mom is in her very early 40s, and my brothers and I are going 3 ways on some concert tickets for her birthday. But I don’t feel like that’s quite enough for how much she does for us, so I wanted to get her something else on top of that. My budget is around $60.
She really likes skincare and makeup, but as a guy, I know absolutely nothing about that stuff, and I also have no idea what she already has. Is there anything in that category that you guys would recommend that would make a good gift without needing to know exactly what products she already uses?
And if skincare/makeup is a bad idea, what else would you recommend? I’m honestly so lost lol.

Basically, my mom is in her very early 40s, and my brothers and I are going 3 ways on some concert tickets for her birthday. But I don’t feel like that’s quite enough for how much she does for us, so I wanted to get her something else on top of that. My budget is around $60.
She really likes skincare and makeup, but as a guy, I know absolutely nothing about that stuff, and I also have no idea what she already has. Is there anything in that category that you guys would recommend that would make a good gift without needing to know exactly what products she already uses?
And if skincare/makeup is a bad idea, what else would you recommend? I’m honestly so lost lol.

After all the updates to the maps and changes to how grenades are thrown in CS2, aren’t some of the utility practice maps pretty outdated?
Some parts of the maps shown in these workshop maps are completely different from what we have today, which can make certain lineups look different. On top of that, grenade throws have changed over time, so some lineups don't even work anymore.
What I'm wondering is: how are you supposed to properly practice specific smokes, flashes, and mollies if the practice map doesn't match the current version of the map or the grenades don't throw the same?
For example, on Ancient I know quite a few pieces of utility, but when I try to practice an A-site execute, my Donut smoke lands perfectly every time in the workshop map. However, when I try the exact same lineup in an actual game, it never lands correctly.
So what's the best way to deal with this? Are there any updated utility practice maps that accurately reflect the current maps and grenade physics, or is the only reliable option to watch recent utility videos and practice the lineups directly in-game?
If I have to learn every new smoke by watching a video and then practicing it in an actual match, that seems like a pretty awful way to learn utility and would take forever. Just wondering if there's a better way I'm missing.

I just saw a post about the streamer Silky saying he got “falsely” banned, and it got me thinking… how many well-known streamers or celebrities actually play Wizard101?
I’ve heard names like MrBeast, Adin Ross, and Trippie Redd being thrown around before, and now I’m really curious. It’d honestly be kinda crazy to randomly run into one of them in-game 😭
For example, I found out Silky’s wizard name is Cody FireBreath, which is pretty funny. Now I’m especially wondering what Trippie Redd’s wizard name is if he ever event posted it before.
Does anyone know any confirmed wizard names for celebrities or streamers? Or even just rumors you’ve heard? Would love to see a list of these “celebrity” wizards.

I’ve been getting really into farming insignia stitch gear lately, and I realized there isn’t a clear list anywhere of what’s actually key boss exclusive.

So, I went through and made this myself.

Important:
This list DOES NOT include anything that has a farmable version from Mirror Lake.
Everything here should be key boss exclusive only (unless I missed something).

Celestial Set

Balance

Sorcerer’s Timeless Shoes

Death

Necromancer’s Timeless Brim

Fire

Pyromancer’s Timeless Brim

Ice

Thaumaturge’s Timeless Tunic

Life

Theurge’s Timeless Tunic

Timeless Arboreal Tunic

Theurge’s Timeless Shoes

Timeless Arboreal Shoes

Myth

Conjurer’s Timeless Brim

Storm

Diviner’s Timeless Shoes

Shadow

Wizard’s Timeless Brim

Wizard’s Timeless Tunic

Wizard’s Timeless Shoes

Astral

Timeless Astral Brim

Timeless Astral Tunic

Timeless Astral Shoes

Daredevil Set

Balance

Twilight Boots

Death

Conical of the Brief Candle

Fire

Boots of Fire Light

Ice

Conical of Refraction

Life

Spark of Life Cape

Elegant Set

Life

Songster’s Shoes

Shadow

Gallant Rogue’s Cap

Gallant Rogue’s Tunic

Gallant Rogue’s Shoes

The Final Bastion guide helped a ton, but since it mixes all sources together (Bazaar, bosses, Crown Shop, etc.), it still takes extra work to figure out what’s actually exclusive.

Let me know if I missed any pieces, something here actually is farmable elsewhere. Trying to make this a complete and accurate list for anyone into stitching.

Most of this info came from the Final Bastion guide:
“Battle in Style: A Complete Guide to School Design Gear”

That guide lists basically all school design gear and where it drops, but it doesn’t separate what’s key boss exclusive, so I had to go through and figure that part out myself.

I’m trying to get back into CS2 after not playing for a few months, and I’m honestly pretty washed right now.
For context, I have around 1k hours and I used to be 15k+ in Premier with like a 60% win rate. Now I’m sitting closer to 12k with around a 40% win rate, so it’s been rough coming back.
The weird thing is I don’t feel completely lost. I still know a ton of utility on most maps and my KD is usually decent, but I feel super inconsistent and not as impactful as I used to be.
Also, I haven’t even really played that many games since coming back (at least it doesn’t feel like it). It says I’ve played around 60 matches this season, but most of that must’ve been right after Season 3 ended because recently I’ve only been playing the past few days and not even every day. So I feel like I haven’t really had enough time to fully get back into form yet.
I’ve been thinking about switching to FACEIT because I’ve heard there are fewer cheaters and more serious matches, but I’ve also seen people say you should hit a certain elo in Premier before making the switch.
Another issue is I don’t really use my mic much. Partly because no one talks in my games anyway, but also because I have some social anxiety when it comes to talking to random teammates. I’m completely fine talking when I’m with friends, just not with strangers.
If I did start FACEIT, I’d try to be more talkative if it actually helps my team, but I’ve also heard there can be a lot of toxic players there. Would it still be worth trying to use my mic more, especially since I don’t really like how my voice sounds?
So do you guys think I should just go for FACEIT now and try to improve there, or keep grinding Premier until I get back to my old level?
Also one more question — can people actually download demos and hear your voice comms? That part kinda makes me nervous too.

This is my first season back since Season 1, and I’ve been trying to improve a lot. I remember hearing high elo players talk about spawn blocking before, but I also saw somewhere that spawn rules got changed around Season 10.
What confused me is I was watching one of Carnifex’s recent videos, and in a 3v3 final round he said he was going to “block the spawn,” so now I’m not sure what’s accurate.
Is spawn manipulation still something you can actually do consistently, or is it mostly gone now? And if it is still a thing, how do you do it properly in real games?

I’ve been trying to pick up an AK-47 | B the Monster (FT) and I’ve got around $140–$145 to spend. I’m not even lowballing like crazy — I’m literally sending offers at their minimum bargain price that THEY set, and half the time they just counter by dropping it a penny or a dollar.
Like… what?
And even when I send something super reasonable, like $1–$2 off their listed price (and in some cases I’m already overpaying by $15+ for a float that isn’t even anything special, not even below 0.20), they still decline.
That’s the part I don’t get. If you’re that firm on your price, why not just turn bargains off or set a higher minimum? Especially when these are sellers with hundreds of sales, so it’s not like they don’t know how the system works.
Is there something I’m missing here, or do people just leave bargains on for no reason?

So I’ve been having this issue with my PC where the screen just goes black during high-demand games. Sometimes I can still hear audio (like Discord or the game), and other times everything just cuts out completely. When it happens, my PC lights and fans all stay on and spinning, so it’s not like the whole system is losing power.
It happens pretty often in The Finals, but weirdly it hasn’t happened in CS2 yet. Recently though, it’s been getting worse and now it can even happen while I’m just using a browser, which is worrying.
From a bunch of research, it seems like it could be my CPU, GPU, PSU, or RAM—but I’m leaning more toward PSU or GPU.
Specs:
GPU: RTX 2070 Super
CPU: Ryzen 7 5700X3D (upgraded about a year ago, was using a 3800X before)
RAM: 16GB DDR4
Some context:
I bought this PC used around 2019–2020
Haven’t replaced anything else besides the CPU
I don’t even remember what PSU is in it
My PC does get pretty hot
So I’m thinking:
PSU might be dying (since it’s old and unknown)
Or GPU could be overheating/failing
The problem is I can’t really run benchmarks because the PC crashes before I can properly test anything.
I’m also kinda low on money right now, so I want to be as sure as possible before buying anything.
Things I’ve already tried:
Cleaned out dust
Set power plan to balanced
Reset BIOS to default (turned off DOCP, etc.)
Used DDU in safe mode and reinstalled GPU drivers
Replugged GPU cables
Disabled my HDD in Device Manager after seeing a critical error in Event Viewer (issue still happens)
Ran an SSD health scan and it showed no problems
Things I’m planning to try:
Buy new GPU cables
Buy a new PSU
Undervolt/underclock GPU
Try a different (cheap/used) GPU
Reapply thermal paste on GPU
Reapply thermal paste on CPU (not sure if I did enough before)
Maybe get a better CPU cooler
At this point I’m not sure what to prioritize. Does this sound more like a PSU issue or GPU failure/overheating?

Specs:
CPU: Ryzen 7 5700x3D

GPU: 2070 super

RAM: 16gb ddr4

OS: Windows 10/11

Issue:
My monitor randomly goes black, but the PC itself stays on (fans spinning, keyboard lights still on). It happens both while gaming and sometimes during normal use.
What I’ve tried:
Restarting multiple times

Ctrl + Shift + Windows + B

Clean GPU driver reinstall using DDU

Malware scan (no threats found)

I originally thought it was overheating, but the issue still happens even right after restarting when temps should be low.
At this point I’m not sure if this is a GPU issue, PSU issue, virus issue,or something else.
Any help would be appreciated.

Like the title says, my screen will randomly go black, but my PC itself stays on (fans running, keyboard still lit, etc.). It’s been happening a lot recently and it’s driving me crazy because I keep losing ranked games because of it.
At first I thought it was an overheating issue, but even after letting my PC cool down and restarting it, it still happens.
Here’s what I’ve already tried:
Restarting my PC multiple times

Ctrl + Shift + Windows + B (did nothing)

Using DDU and reinstalling my graphics drivers

Scanning with Malwarebytes (no threats found)

Now I’m not sure what the issue is. I’m starting to wonder if it could be a virus or something software-related.
The only thing I can think of is that I downloaded SpotX (for Spotify no ads) a couple months ago. The issue only started after that, but it was working fine for a while, so I’m not sure if it’s related. If it is, how would I fully remove it?
It could still be overheating, I guess, but since it happens even after restarting, I’m not convinced.
If anyone has any ideas or has dealt with something similar, I’d really appreciate the help. I’m honestly stuck at this point.

Like the title says, my screen will randomly go black, but my PC itself stays on (fans running, keyboard still lit, etc.). It’s been happening a lot recently and it’s driving me crazy because I keep losing ranked games because of it.
At first I thought it was an overheating issue, but even after letting my PC cool down and restarting it, it still happens.
Here’s what I’ve already tried:
Restarting my PC multiple times

Ctrl + Shift + Windows + B (did nothing)

Using DDU and reinstalling my graphics drivers

Scanning with Malwarebytes (no threats found)

Now I’m not sure what the issue is. I’m starting to wonder if it could be a virus or something software-related.
The only thing I can think of is that I downloaded SpotX (for Spotify no ads) a couple months ago. The issue only started after that, but it was working fine for a while, so I’m not sure if it’s related. If it is, how would I fully remove it?
It could still be overheating, I guess, but since it happens even after restarting, I’m not convinced.
If anyone has any ideas or has dealt with something similar, I’d really appreciate the help. I’m honestly stuck at this point.

Like the title says, my screen will randomly go black, but my PC itself stays on (fans running, keyboard still lit, etc.). It’s been happening a lot recently and it’s driving me crazy because I keep losing ranked games because of it.
At first I thought it was an overheating issue, but even after letting my PC cool down and restarting it, it still happens.
Here’s what I’ve already tried:
Restarting my PC multiple times
Ctrl + Shift + Windows + B (did nothing)
Using DDU and reinstalling my graphics drivers
Scanning with Malwarebytes (no threats found)
Now I’m not sure what the issue is. I’m starting to wonder if it could be a virus or something software-related.
The only thing I can think of is that I downloaded SpotX (for Spotify no ads) a couple months ago. The issue only started after that, but it was working fine for a while, so I’m not sure if it’s related. If it is, how would I fully remove it?
It could still be overheating, I guess, but since it happens even after restarting, I’m not convinced.
If anyone has any ideas or has dealt with something similar, I’d really appreciate the help. I’m honestly stuck at this point.

I’ve definitely had games that ended faster or had a higher accuracy / best move %, but this one just felt different. I was actually taking my time, trying to calculate and find good moves instead of just playing on autopilot, and everything kind of clicked.

For context I’m around 700 elo, so I know it’s not perfect, but I felt like I found a lot of solid ideas and kept the pressure the whole game, which is something I usually struggle with.

My opponent didn’t play great which obviously helped, but I still feel really proud of how I handled it overall.

Here’s the game if anyone wants to check it out:
https://www.chess.com/game/live/169830594626?move=0

Would appreciate any feedback or things I could’ve done better although I did see a few moves I could've made during the game review after.

I’ve definitely had games that ended faster or had a higher accuracy / best move %, but this one just felt different. I was actually taking my time, trying to calculate and find good moves instead of just playing on autopilot, and everything kind of clicked.

For context I’m around 700 elo, so I know it’s not perfect, but I felt like I found a lot of solid ideas and kept the pressure the whole game, which is something I usually struggle with.

My opponent didn’t play great which obviously helped, but I still feel really proud of how I handled it overall.

Here’s the game if anyone wants to check it out:
https://www.chess.com/game/live/169830594626?move=0

Would appreciate any feedback or things I could’ve done a little better, but I did see a few moves I could have made during the game review.

So I’ve got around $140 and I wanna pick up an AK skin, but I’m also trying to not make a completely dumb choice if I hold it for a bit.
I know the market is kinda weird right now with all the updates, but I’d rather buy something I actually like instead of trying to invest in stuff I don’t understand.
These are the ones I’ve been looking at:
B the Monster (FT) – probably my favorite tbh. Looks insane. I’ve seen people say supply is high but there’s only like ~88k which doesn’t seem THAT crazy compared to stuff like M4 Fade. Also thinking if it ever gets removed from the Armory it could go up.
Bloodsport (MW) – super clean and doesn’t really change with wear which I like, but there’s like ~300k of them so idk if it’s even worth it as an investment.
Jaguar – not the best looking imo but there’s only like ~63k and even bad wear ones are still kinda expensive.
Panthera onca (Souvenir FT) – this one is interesting, only like ~13k exist and it actually looks pretty nice. Being souvenir feels like it could help long term but I’m not 100% sure.
Vulcan (WW) – classic but WW looks kinda rough. There’s also a decent amount of them.
I’m planning to hold for like 10–12 months so I don’t mind waiting if it’s worth it.
Also thought about just getting a cheaper combo instead, but I feel like golds might keep dropping so idk.
What would you guys go with?

I was thinking about picking up an AK B the Monster (FT) as a play skin and kinda an investment. I know there’s a lot of them right now, but once it gets removed I feel like it should go up at least a bit. Prices also seem pretty low right now and I don’t really see them dropping much more. And unless I’m wrong, pulling one is still rarer than getting a knife or gloves.
My other option is getting a cheap knife + Unhinged gloves as a combo since I’ve never really had one before. But honestly that feels like a worse move since knife and glove prices just keep going down, especially after the trade-up update.
I know investing in skins is risky, but I’d rather put money into something I actually understand instead of stocks or whatever. I also don’t really play that much anymore, so I’m fine just holding onto it for a while.
What do you guys think?