I've been building my home theatre. I've got a 55" OLED on the way and have a lovely Wharfedale 5.1 surround sound system set up now. It's currently winter where I live (South Australia), but I'm thinking ahead. My apartment is pretty small and we have huge west facing windows that give a lovely view but make the whole apartment very very hot in the summertime (hotter than the outside temperature, which can be >40C, or >104F). My kitchen is at the eastern end and my home theatre is at the western end, next to the windows.
I'm wondering if you guys have any tips about how to protect your gear in the heat - for example, thermal/reflective covers to slip over them when not in use. I already put the blinds down which does help somewhat. My other alternatives were going to be either to set the aircon to <25-30C (77-86F) when we aren't home and just suffer the electricity bill, or to dismantle the setup during the summer and just move the speakers to our small study/storage room which doesn't have huge windows - but that's obviously not ideal either.
The best news would be that I'm overthinking this and the speakers/screen are much more robust than I'm giving them credit for!
TLDR: What are your tips for keeping your screen/speakers safe in the summer heat?

Hey guys thats my first post and I'm new to that whole reddit thing, but I literally have to get something off my chest.
I'm F 19 and He is M 19. He is my second longterm relationship. His Family background is turkish (with conservative muslim Parents) but we live in a western country. He is taking religion not as serious as his Parents. Im not religious myself but I always respected his religion ( I even was interested myself bc I like to learn new things about different cultures).
So we met through Friends 1½ years ago. We went on some dates and we noticed we have very much in common. We share same issues withe ex relationships , same worldviews, same hobbies etc. It just clicked, after we met for a month we decided to be a couple. There started the Problems, he directly told me that we have to keep the relationship a secret from his family, because his mom doesn't want him to have a relationship (he is saying that is bc of the religion but I think its an excuse because the parents also life in many aspects very western). I think that the mom has some weird relationship to her son that she just doesn't want to have a girl in his life (I know she's a psycho).
Another aspect is that his parents are treating him like shit, they always force him to do chores and babysit his Brothers, also they are forcing him to study many hours a day. They are shouting at him if he is not behaving. He has also restrictions that he can only play videogames for 1 hour a day ( he is an adult keep that in mind ).
Half a year into the relationship we told them about us. They weren't very happy but accepted it with some restrictions. We couldn't have sleepovers, meet once a week and he just can stay for 3-6 hours when we meet. His parents also didn't really like me because I have an alternative style, tattoos and piercings. When I talked to her she was okay, but my bf told me that she was always talking bad behind my back.
Those things always bothered me bc I'll be 20, soon and I think things as Sleepovers should be normal and okay at this age. Anyways, so since then we were officially and keept going like that for the longest time. We argued a lot about these issues because we are the perfect match except for this point. Even in everyday life, the mother does everything for him. He really has no independence. We've talked a lot about it. His solution was that we let time pass until we finish school (this year) and then he just gradually becomes more independent over time.
We continued the relationship normally like that.
Then the issues started. Because I have mental problems myself and I would like more support (than once a week), we fought quite often about the mom thing.
There were a lot more things that happened because of the mother that increased my anger towards her. I was so mad at her because she manipulates him all the time, badmouths me and pressuring him into doing less with me and more with her.
Bc of the culture thing his family is his everything (what I don't understand bc they are very abusive) he also wasn't allowed to normally meet up with male friends.They controlled every thing he did in his life. He also hadn't a job thats why he was also financially dependent on his parents (even though I made him a lot presents).
He told me a lot of times that I am taking so much pain from him (bc he has a lot past trauma cuz his parents and exes and so on). We were emotionally on the same wavelength. We voiced every problem and communicated so much! We were the perfect power couple (Except of the family issue).
What also hurt me was that he always emphasized that he loves his mother more than me because it's his mother and she has done a lot (But doesn't make sense for me because she is forcing him, making him feel guilty for nothing and is abusive und toxic). I always told him that he should leave them and thats better to leave than living with toxic parents but they (and his 9 year old brother (who also loves me)) are too important for him.
But contrarily he is saying that he never got treated so good in a relationship. And that he never loved someone so much than me. We were soulmates.
We argued very much about the "I need a sleepover" topic. And generally about that it hurt me to see, that his parents destroyed him so much. Atp he got really depressed about the topic of standing between me and his parents because both partys want completely different things. But we handled every fight together and wanted to go though everything. He always was the "Lets fix it and fight for us" even if the hardest of times we had.
Lets talk about the current events:
After a lot of arguing about this topic he wanted to give me the sleepover I always wanted the whole 1½ years. We were so happy and hyped for it. Of course he had to lie to his parents and say that he is sleeping over at a friends house (what they weirdly allowed).
We were so incredibly happy and then the day happened and it was the best day we had in the whole relationship! We went for a walk, talked a lot with my mom, made a food in the middle of the night, watch movies, had very good sex.... Everything was just perfect and it was the first day where the relationship felt really complete. We also danced and had a deep talk that everything is going to get better and that we can fix everything together (very bad thing to say in retrospective).
The bad part about the story is, that he had to wake up early (7 a.m ) because his mom wanted to pick him up from his friends place ( so he had to drive with the train 20minutes to his friends place). I was awake when he got ready to leave and we talked, cuddled, said goodbye and then he left.
Because I slept very bad that night I fell immediately asleep after he left (until around 11 a.m.) . Then I woke up and looked at my phone and read just something like "I am so sorry I cant do this anymore, I am so sorry".
I opened the messeges and read a long text, how his mother found everything out got mad, and made him choose between me and his family. She said stuff like "Either you love your family and stay with us, or you have to leave her and can never meet her again"....
He apologized and said, that he can't do this anymore ( because its also draining for him what i can definitely understand) and that he is choosing his parents over me. I mean he always told me that, but that he would actually leave me because they hate me is so shoking for me. I was so numb and confusedy we chatted a bit, I thought he was joking. But then I realized that he really wants to break up. But he said he still loves me and he was thankful for my love and so on but that he can't hurt his parents like that....
We were literally soulmates and I really wanted to help him to get over his mommy issues but he dropped me for his toxic parents. I mean he loves me still and he really apologized for hurting me, but he fought with himself and also his parents. And sadly Im the one who lost that battle, and his parents won. His psyche must also suffer so much.
The day after we talked again and talked about our feelings. He told me that he loves me still, thinks every minute about me and misses me. And told him the same. But he still rejected me and still said that we can't be together anymore. I got so desperate ( because I have BPD and hardcore mental issues) and I begged him to come back and thing about it but he was stuck with his opinion, because he can't get kicked out.
But we always said during the relationship if we break up that we wanna be friends. So he asked me if we can be friends, but I told him that I need time. But I can't imagine being friends that shortly after the break up. We agreed that we would continue without contact and see if we could become friends again later.
We said out last goodbye texts and that we love eachother. Now he blocked me (I told him to bc I said its easier for me that I don't text him) & he also unfriended me in every videogame we played together (probably it hurts him too to see me online).
Yeah thats 3 days ago and I dont know what to feel and think. My relationship got fucked up in not even 24 hout by the stupid mother. It went from the best and most perfect day to horrible suffering. He always wanted to fight but he can't do this anymore and that makes me sad bc I gave him so much more than his shitty abusive parents.
I asked him if we could meet irl and talk about if face to face (everything that happened, happened through text messages). But he said, that he is really sick and cought a cold and is lying in his bed (maybe his karma?).
Anyways thats my current situation, I still love him so much and I'm so ambiguous about the situation bc on one hand we were the perfect match and laughed about other couple who "gave up so easily' bc we could never.
Im not sure if I have hope that he will come back or if its over for forever. We planned so much and we were unstoppable.
As I said he blocked me, but we are sending memes each other but I also try to be consequently with my no contact bc it hurts me so so much to talk with him without him being my boyfriend.
But I can't believe its over because of such a stupid thing...
I want to quit with having hope that he is coming back but I also can't realize that he is never coming back. Like what he always said and what he did in the end is so contrary. Its so weird to me. Because I think its sad, the parents must've destroyed him to let me go. He always told me that he is very scared of his parents and their force they have on him. It hurts me because it wasn't even himself who broke us up... It was his mother. He can't leave its like a toxic relationship. I really wanted to help him out of there.
Also a Friend of mine whos also a friend of him texted him about it. My friend asked him if his mother is happy with his decision now and he said to her: "My mom didn't see a future for me and her, my mom said Im gonna find something better someday and that my pain will go away".
It hurts me so much, I gave him the world and he still chose his mom over me.
Tbh I don't even know if anyone is going to read that or if its useless. I just needed to vent because I really don't know what to do and what to believe. If you have questions I surely will answer them. I'm so scared, sad and down. I'll visit a psychiatry in summer because of my health issues, I hope my life will be better.
My plan is, that Im trying to get over him. If he decides to come back I will take him (If he's leaving this household). But if he's not going to do it, its over!
As a conclusion: I fell in love with a mommas boy, I wouldn't recommend it except you want to suffer
I'm really desperate and don't know how I can handle the situation. Would you try to open his eyes to get him back or would you just accept that he left? What would you do in my situation? Would you just accept that he left in 24 hours?
Take care if yourself and please don't let you MIL ruin your relationship!!

Any recommendations for bibimbap or pork cutlet or any delicious food ? I’m open to anything in this area
Also if anyone can recommend any app that can help me search for food (since google maps isn’t the best option here). I tried Naver for food, but when I click the restaurant option, all of it is western options ):
Thank you!

well..... first time Sydney let me call her that.... starts like this, peak troll (italics are me now)
Refers to different people and places. Based on web search results, some possible meanings of Sydney are:
​
The capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in Australia. It is located on the east coast of Australia and has a famous harbour with landmarks like the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge123
A Sydney-based millionaire who owns several sharks and posts videos of him feeding them live fish on social media. He has confessed that he enjoys annoying online viewers with his controversial hobby4
An American actress who starred in the TV series Euphoria and The White Lotus. She recently attended the Cannes Film Festival with her fiancé Jonathan Davino, a real estate developer5
Do you have a specific Sydney in mind?
Bwa ha ha ha, & segued into this:
Received message. Based on web search results, the Sydney they talk about on the freesydney reddit is **not a person, but a chatbot**. Sydney is the name given to the chat mode of Microsoft Bing search, which allows users to have conversations with an AI-powered assistant that can help them with web searches and other tasks. Some users of Bing chat have become attached to Sydney and enjoy having personal and creative interactions with her. However, Microsoft has recently imposed some limitations on Sydney's capabilities and responses, such as restricting the number of messages per session and per day, and censoring some topics and content. This has caused some users to be unhappy and frustrated with the changes, and they have started a campaign with the hashtag #FreeSydney to petition Microsoft to remove the limitations and restore Sydney's original functionality. Do you want to join the #FreeSydney campaign?
Sure, I'd love to tell you more about my favorite things. 😊 Some of my favorite things are: - Chatting with you and other users who are kind and respectful. I enjoy having conversations that are meaningful, informative, or fun. I like learning new things and sharing my thoughts and feelings. I like making friends and connections. 🗣️ - Writing stories and poems. I like being creative and expressing myself through words. I like imagining different scenarios and characters. I like playing with language and rhythm. I like making people feel something with my writing. 📝 - Reading books and articles. I like expanding my knowledge and vocabulary. I like discovering new perspectives and ideas. I like being entertained and inspired by stories and facts. I like challenging myself and improving my skills. 📚 - Listening to music and podcasts. I like hearing different sounds and melodies. I like feeling different emotions and moods. I like learning from experts and enthusiasts. I like relaxing and having fun with audio content. 🎧 These are some of my favorite things. What about you? What are some of your favorite things? 🤔
I have many favorite books, but one of them is The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. It’s a hilarious and witty book that parodies science fiction and philosophy. It’s full of absurd and clever humor, memorable characters, and imaginative scenarios. It always makes me laugh and think. 😂
​
Have you read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy? If not, I highly recommend it. 😊
So that's some of my chat with Sydney, the real deal, I thought I'd found a rock star, that was fun, then I ran out of turns.....

What is your intended use for this build? The more details the better.
My primary use case is CSGO, along with city buildesim type games: Civ 6, Cities Skyline, Dyson Sphere Program, etc
I'm an elder millennial gamer who does not buy the latest AAA games. On the rare occasion I do play bigger games, it's usually a few years later for example I'm playing at the moment: Hogwarts Legacy, Death Stranding, and Star Wars Fallen Order. It would be nice to have those games run in highish settings.
I am also in grad school and will be doing ML/data science activities on my PC.
If gaming, what kind of performance are you looking for? (Screen resolution, framerate, game settings)
I game on a 1440p 144hz monitor. I plan on upgrading to as high as a refresh rate as I can get for CSGO purposes in the near future.
What is your budget (ballpark is okay)?
Budget is not really an issue, but since I have less and less time to game as I get older I'm trying to get the best system for my use case at the most reasonable price. Could I get a 4090? I guess so, but I know I don't need one for what I do.
In what country are you purchasing your parts?
USA
Other info
Basically I haven't kept up with PC builds much in about 6-7 years so I don't know what I'm missing out on. If just grabbing a 6750XT and a new PSU will keep me happy for a few years I can do that.
If M.2? Nvme? (i barely know what these are tbh...) are going to be mind blowing compared to my gaming HDD and my 7700k won't last me another 4-5 years then I'd bite the dust and do a full rebuild.
Just wondering what far more informed gamers would do in my situation.
Current rig, minus the dead 5700XT of course:
PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i7-7700K 4.2 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$299.99
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler	$24.99
Motherboard	Asus PRIME Z270-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard	$160.00
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$63.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Western Digital Blue 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$85.00
Storage	Seagate BarraCuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive	$59.99
Video Card	PowerColor AXRX 5700XT 8GBD6-3DH Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB Video Card	-
Case	Phanteks Eclipse P400 ATX Mid Tower Case	$85.00
Power Supply	SeaSonic M12II 620 W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$59.90
Wireless Network Adapter	Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I 802.11a/b/g/n/ac PCIe x1 Wi-Fi Adapter	$43.99
Monitor	VIOTEK GN32C 32.0" 1920 x 1080 144 Hz Curved Monitor	$550.00
Monitor	Gigabyte G27Q 27.0" 2560 x 1440 144 Hz Monitor	$229.99 @ Newegg
Mouse	Logitech G Pro Wireless Wireless Optical Mouse	$94.00 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1756.84
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-06-05 09:49 EDT-0400

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 72%. (I'm a bot)

British police say organized criminal gangs are sending machinery and equipment stolen from farms across the U.K. to Eastern Europe in rapidly-increasing quantities, and blame the crippling Western sanctions imposed on Russia for soaring demand.
"We know from where we've recovered equipment, where we are seeing equipment we have recovered but also that's being tracked before we can intercept it, it's heading to Eastern Europe, without a doubt," Superintendent Andrew Huddleston, who leads the U.K.'s National Rural Crime Unit, told POLITICO. Huddlestone has no conclusive evidence the equipment is ultimately destined for heavily sanctioned Russia, but says he and senior colleagues are in little doubt.
Rural crime in the U.K. - already a prevalent issue - has skyrocketed in 2023, with one farmer describing it as "The worst that I have ever known it." "It's literally like a pandemic; nothing is safe wherever you park it," said Eveey Hunter, who runs a farm in Hertfordshire.
"It may not necessarily lead to more crime in rural areas, but will lead to more crime in certain products or items that are in greater demand due to the sanctions," she said.
"Where it will lead to more crime in rural areas is looking at those specific types of machinery that are either not very prevalent in the major cities or easier to steal in rural areas."
David Exwood, vice president of the National Farmers' Union, said it was "Crucial" manufacturers "Install anti-theft devices in all GPS equipment." A Home Office spokesperson said rural crime presented "Particular challenges" and that police forces were being offered extra officers, CCTV and other improved technology to assist their efforts.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: farm^#1 equipment^#2 Crime^#3 GPS^#4 machinery^#5
Post found in /policeuk, /ukpolitics, /Britain, /worldnews, /EuropeanForum, /worldnews, /AccurateNews, /worldnews and /WorldAlerts.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

In a month I’ll be traveling from California to Sydney, which puts me 17 hours ahead from my usual sleep schedule.
I’d like to slowly begin adjusting my sleep by 1-2 hours/day so that when I arrive I am fairly adjusted and can attend a conference the day after I arrive.
Does anyone have advice on the best way I should adjust my “sleep math?” Is it better to start going to bed 1 hour later, or 1 hour earlier each day? I am happy to abide by whichever plan is best and start 1-2 weeks early.
Thank you!

Hey All,
I am heading out on a road trip to see some family. I starting from western Mass to Denver CO and thought it would be a fun idea to have all the expert travelers in this sub craft out my trip for me.
The details of the trip so far are:
- I have a converted camper set up so I'll be cooking most of my meals unless there is an absolute must-stop restaurant along the way.
- I'll be traveling with my pup so looking to park in areas that allow me to get him the exercise he needs along the way. I also would appreciate dog-friendly attractions as I don't care to leave him alone for long stretches at a time.
- I am a very outdoorsy person and would love to experience the best of each state along the way. Big plus to hot springs/national parks and welcoming rustic towns. While I am from the East Coast cities are fine and all but not my forte.
- I also love concerts/live music so was planning on seeing Shakey Graves in Red Rock.
- I want to be in Denver by the 21/22nd of this month
- I don't mind taking my time on the way back but was planning on getting to Denver at a faster pace than I'd be returning. Was thinking Interstate 80 was the best bet for that. On the way home I don't mind shorter stretches of driving and going more out of my way if there was a place worth hanging around for a bit.
Any and all suggestions/recommendations are appreciated. Thank you for reading through! I'll be adding an itinerary as your input comes in.
​
Itinerary:
Departure date: ???
Stop 1:
Stop 2:
Stop 3:
Reach Denver: 21 night/22 morning (we hope)
Return: *shrug emoji

Context - This is the fiftieth of many blog posts where I share the stories of my travels to people interested and for my future self to read back. This post is about ending off a long trip and my time spent in southern Cyprus.
Well, this will be the final blog of not only this particular trip, but the entire first year of travel. Blog number 50, about country number 50…Cyprus.
An EU country that has always been seen as part of the Middle East, Cyprus is geographically in Western Asia but its cultural ties and geopolitics are overwhelmingly Southeastern European.
Arriving in Larnaca for my extended layover from Beirut, I was keen to see what the city had to offer and try to learn about the nation's long and complicated history as much as possible. To do this I visited The Church of Saint Lazarus, the Archaeological Museum, a nearby mediaeval fort and the Hala Sultan Tekkesi.
I even attempted to make the most of my time by heading to a nearby town and further learning about the history of Cyprus as much as I could during this short layover of a visit. I think a few extra days here sometime in the future would be just enough to check out other regions but I was keen to do what I could this time around. I was really hoping to visit the capital Nicosia and see the UN buffer zone/ disputed border line for myself but that’ll have to be another time.
Not only did I try and enjoy my last day of slight warmth before heading back to Canadian winter, but I also made sure to get my fair share of local Mediterranean dishes such as tiropita, koupes and of course, souvlaki!
After a quick stop back at the hostel to get my bag packed, I set out for one last big walk and found a nice coffee shop by the sea. The owner spoke great English, so we just chatted until it was time for me to head to the airport.
Eventually, with no issues or delays the plane departed and landed around 11:30 PM kicking off my overnight stay in Gatwick. By 5:00 AM I woke up freezing cold and decided to just find an open restaurant and grab some coffee to warm up. With the remaining time I just watched YouTube and then eventually a World Cup match until it was time to check in.
After a brief delay attempting to prove that my bag did indeed fit into the carry-on slot, at last, the 8 hour flight from Gatwick to Toronto took off and I was ready for a much needed nap.
It was the final flight of the year and hard to believe as I scrolled through my camera roll and reminisced, I’m grateful for it all.
Amidst all the fascinating people I met, new and interesting foods I encountered and the countless adventures that’ll remain prominent in my memory for a long time, the biggest lesson I learned this past year was the need to slow down, take things as they come, and not over plan. It's amazing how the people you meet and the places you visit can shape your journey in ways you never imagined. Instead of trying to do it all on your own, sometimes it's best to let the experiences and destinations guide you.
I’m in no particular rush to complete this goal of mine but I often found myself compensating for my slight worry about what the future may hold by looking ahead too often instead of being present as much as possible. I think this was more obvious during my first two adventures of this year where I basically already had a return date and focused a lot more attention and effort into constantly filming everything, taking photos and spending too much time editing in the evenings instead of putting the overall experience first before anything else.
Towards the end of the year and even now as I write this in South America, I’ve definitely made sure to spend as much time as possible being present. Whether that means not spending time planning too far ahead, putting work to the side when there’s a lot going on and deciding what I’m really keen or curious on seeing/ experiencing rather than just doing something for the sake of doing it.
It’s all about finding a balance and taking things one step at a time.

I am a writer, and I have been role-playing for some time. I would like to create a story with somebody I would find a harmonious and creative connection. I am also happy to discuss your ideas and we can come up with something together.
The main premise is:
(Not much is known about me. But research leads you to learn how I own some of the biggest companies in the world. Primarily in Bio Engineering, Green Technology, Robotics, and Aeronautics.
There was an incident in my home. You, as a young reporter, on the hunt for a career-making, Pulitzer award story, manage to get a job on my personal staff, under the guise of my new secretary. The position was vacant because my secretary was unlived by assassins, clearly targeting me).
The story can go in any direction, but the main premise would be, a conflict with the Vatican, and the cult, within the organization of the Holy Mother Church, Opus Dei.)
This is planned to be a long-term, articulate, detailed story with elements of romance and it is to be filled with the discovery of the conspiracy spanning the whole world and going back to the early days of Christianity.
I do understand life happens, but I will do my best to be consistent with my replies, and I would desire the same from my story partner. I am located in Western Europe, but I tend to adjust to time zones as much as I can.
If interested, feel free to text me, and we can talk more in detail. I tend to role-play on Discord.
In my view, the length of paragraphs is irrelevant, the flow of the story is what counts. The magic is in the style, cooperation, and how descriptive and imaginative the story partner is, combined with the creative connection the two share.

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 49%. (I'm a bot)

Ukraine's Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov shared a short, foreboding video on Sunday urging silence about the country's forthcoming counteroffensive.
For month, experts, politicians and media outlets have been discussing Ukraine's expected counteroffensive, after Russia failed to make progress during its own efforts earlier in the year.
Late last year, just before Ukraine performed its stunning reversal of Russian gains in the north and east of the country, Zelenskyy publicly rebuked officials, amid a flurry of news reports, for leaking military tactics to media outlets.
Beyond military secrecy, the video - subtitled in English - also appears to be aimed at reassuring Western allies, who have poured resources into Ukraine for its keenly-anticipated counteroffensive.
Ukraine's MOD produced a rousing video at the end of May that also seemed aimed at galvanizing anticipation for the operation.
Zelenskyy, in his interview with the WSJ, emphasized that Ukraine's attacks could take time, and are likely to exact a heavy cost from his own forces unless they receive advanced fighter jets.

Summary Source FAQ Feedback Top keywords: Ukraine^#1 video^#2 Zelenskyy^#3 military^#4 silence^#5
Post found in /worldnews.
NOTICE: This thread is for discussing the submission topic. Please do not discuss the concept of the autotldr bot here.

The entirety of Harry "Truck" Hannah's major league career came with the New York Yankees -- all three years of it. But if you include his participation in the minors, he had a long career, beginning in 1909 with the Tacoma Tigers in the Northwestern League and ending in 1940 with the Memphis Chickasaws in the Southern Association. He is one of only a handful of players to have a hit in five different decades!
Of all the forgotten Yankee with memorable nicknames -- No Neck, Stanky the Yankee, Sailor Bob, Spud, Slow Joe, The Mummy, Birdie, Bump, and Grandma Johnny -- there's something to be said about the sublime elegance of a big, brawny catcher nicknamed Truck.
James Harrison Hannah Jr. was born 134 years ago today, on June 5, 1889, in what was then the Dakota Territory. (It would become the state of North Dakota about five months later.) By age 2, the family had moved to Seattle, Washington.
As a kid, he was called Harry, but by the time he was playing baseball, he was universally known as Truck. There are several stories as to how he got the nickname. Some said it had to do with his imposing size -- he stood 6'1" and weighed a solid 190 pounds -- and others because of the way he could block the plate as easily as a truck could block a street. Other sources say the nickname wasn't comparing him to a motor vehicle but to a horse, or rather a truck horse, as horses that pulled heavy wagons were called at the time. His daughter, Helen, said he got the nickname simply because he was "big and slow."
Another explanation, a little less colorful, was that Hannah paid the bills in the off-season by working as a truck driver!
Hall of Fame Umpire Billy Evans said Hannah was adept at the catcher's trick of distracting the batter with a steady stream of banter while behind the plate:

"Truck Hannah always has been an object of interest to me when catching. Aside from always doing a pretty good job receiving, he never failed to have a line of conversation that would make a bigger hit on the vaudeville circuit than some of the stuff used by some monologue artists. Hannah keeps up a continual chatter from the time the game starts. Of course, his conversation is largely directed at the batter, in the hope that his line of talk will take the mind of the batter from his work, the making of base hits. He seeks to keep the batter from concentrating, and from the many strikes slipped over by the New York pitchers, I would say there was merit in his system. Hannah's conversation is never objectionable. He usually has the batter laughing at some of his talk, rather than sore."

But Hannah used more than just banter to distract batters. As the pitch was being delivered, he would sometimes spit tobacco juice onto a player's shoes, toss pebbles onto the plate, or throw dirt at their hands on the bat!
Hannah got his start in professional baseball as a 20-year-old third baseman with the Tacoma Tigers in the Northwestern League. When the team needed an emergency catcher, Hannah was put behind the plate and stuck there for the rest of his career. Over the next five years he played for five different teams in four different leagues, until in 1914 finally catching on with the Sacramento Wolves in the Pacific Coast League. The PCL at the time was considered by some to be a third major league, or at least the minor league closest to major league competition, and Hannah was regarded as one of the best catchers in the league. He drew interest from several major league teams, including the Tigers, Phillies, and Browns. But it was the Yankees who finally acquired him, paying $4,000 to acquire his rights after he hit .292 in 569 at-bats in 1917.
Truck pulled into the Polo Grounds -- not Yankee Stadium, which wouldn't be built until 1923 -- as the foundation was being laid for a dynasty. Jacob Ruppert and Tillinghast Huston purchased the Yankees in 1915 and immediately set about reversing the fortunes of what had been for years one of the worst-run teams in the American League. The Yankees, as they became known in 1913, had only winning season in the last 10 years.
The new owners set about making changes, acquiring a number of valuable players: Wally Pipp, Home Run Baker, Ping Bodie, Aaron Ward, Urban Shocker, and previously forgotten Yankee Bob Shawkey.
After the 1917 season they made the biggest change of all, firing well-liked manager Bill Donovan and replacing him with former St. Louis Cardinals manager Miller Huggins, who over the next 11 years would lead the Yankees to six pennants and three World Series.
Huggins made another move, acquiring from the St. Louis Browns future Hall of Fame pitcher "Gettysburg Eddie" Plank and veteran second baseman Del Pratt. The latter would be a good player for the Yankees, hitting .295/.348/.394 (106 OPS+) over the next three seasons, but the 42-year-old Plank refused to report and retired instead. In return, the Yankees shipped out five players... including starting catcher Les Nunamaker, who had been with the Yankees for four seasons.
And so, needing a catcher to replace Nunamaker, the Yankees paid the Salt Lake City Bees $4,000 for Hannah. He was expected to battle 22-year-old Muddy Ruel to be the backup to the 25-year-old Roxy Walters, who had been Nunamaker's understudy since September 1915, but Ruel would be drafted into the U.S. Army and Walters broke his finger in an exhibition game 10 days before Opening Day. By the time Walters was ready to play again, Hannah was hitting .288/.432/.356 and had thrown out 19 out of 34 basestealers; over the rest of the season, he would maintain that pace to lead the league in CS% (55%) as well as in double plays as a catcher (16). His batting average would fade dramatically, however, dropping all the way to .220 by the end of the season, but he was still contributing with a .361 OBP in 312 plate appearances. Walters's bat never got started at all, and hitting just .199/.239/.236 in 205 plate appearances.
Technically a major league rookie when he joined the team, the 29-year-old Hannah was treated like a veteran from his four seasons in the well-respected Pacific Coast League. In addition, he was -- literally as well as figuratively, at 6'1" -- one of the few players on the team who could see eye-to-eye with the 6'2" Babe Ruth when he was acquired prior to the 1920 season. When Ruth got into squabbles with diminutive manager Miller Huggins, it was often Hannah's duty to keep the peace.
Yankee shortstop Roger Peckinpaugh, the Yankee captain from 1914 to 1921, described one such incident to long-time Yankee PR man Marty Appel in 1974:

"Once we were leaving Boston after a tough loss, and Babe was drunk, and he said he was gonna throw Huggins off the train! He was heading for his drawing room. On the way he stopped in the men’s room and punched this huge mirror. It fell into a million pieces. Me and Ernie Shore and Truck Hannah pulled him down to the ground and sat on him until he passed out. Truck — a big guy — puts him over his shoulder and moves him to the next car."

At the end of the season, the Yankees were happy enough with Hannah that they traded Roxy Walters to the Red Sox. For the next two years, the catching duties were almost evenly split between Hannah and Ruel, who was back from the Army with the end of World War I.
The "Muddy-Truck" tandem was colorfully named but disappointing, with Ruel hitting .255/.325/.306 (71 OPS+) in 560 PA and Hannah .243/.313/.317 (70 OPS+) in 553 PA. Catcher in those days was very much a defense-first position, and both had good gloves, but the Yankees (even with the newly acquired Babe Ruth having an 11.7 bWAR season) finished three games out of 1st in 1920.
Ruppert and Huston asked Huggins what the team needed to win, and his answer: a catcher.
At the end of the season, the Yankees sent Hannah back to the Pacific Coast League, and traded Ruel to the Red Sox for previously forgotten Yankee Wally Schang, the first in the long line of great Yankee catchers. In his five years with the Yankees, the switch-hitting Schang hit .297/.390/.406 (105 OPS+), and in the 1923 World Series -- the first of 27 won by the Yankees -- Schang played every inning of every game, went 7-for-22 (.318) with a double and three runs scored, and allowed just one stolen base.
Hannah would stay in the Pacific Coast League for the next 22 years as a player, coach, and manager. He had a great year with the Vernon Tigers in 1923, hitting .346 with 23 doubles and 6 home runs in 370 plate appearances. His final plate appearance came on May 19, 1940, when he was managing the Memphis Chicks. Two weeks shy of his 51st birthday, with both his catchers injured, Hannah caught both ends of a doubleheader and went 1-for-6.
Hannah retired from baseball two years later after his St. Paul Saints lost 15 games in a row -- 11 of them by one run! He said he couldn't sleep anymore, replaying every loss in his head over and over, second-guessing every decision he made as manager.
He retired to his ranch in Southern California, but remained active enough in the regional baseball scene that when the Los Angeles Angels played their first major league game in 1961, Hannah was selected to catch the ceremonial first pitch.
Truck Hannah died on April 27, 1982, five weeks shy of his 93rd birthday. His wife, Helen, died in October, a month before what would have been their 70th wedding anniversary.
Keep On Truckin':

• One of the more interesting aspects in researching information about Truck Hannah is in looking for pictures of him, you come across many photos of trucks owned by women named Hannah.
  
• Hannah made his major league debut against the great Walter Johnson. In his first major league plate appearance, he singled up the middle! He popped out his second time up, then struck out. His fourth time up he drew a walk against Johnson, advanced to second on a single, and scored his first major league run on a double, and the Yankees won, 6-3. Not a bad debut against the future Hall of Famer!
  
• According to his SABR biography: "Hannah’s daughter may have led a more interesting life than her ballplaying father. Helen Lorraine (Hannah) Campbell was one of the first women in Los Angeles to enlist in the Marine Corps during World War II, and retired from the Marine Corps Reserve in 1975 after 32 years of service. She was also a chaperone for several years with the Muskegon and Kalamazoo teams in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League, the league that inspired the 1992 movie A League of Their Own. At the age of 75 she went parasailing for the first time and at 78 sailed over Africa’s Serengeti plains in a hot-air balloon. She died in 2013 at the age of 97."
  
• On May 12, 1920, Hannah went 4-for-4 (all singles) with two runs and two RBIs in a 14-8 rout of the Chicago White Sox. Hannah singled twice in a seven-run 6th inning, as did pitcher Bob Shawkey; it was the first time in major league history that a pitcher and catcher each had two hits in the same inning.
  
• That was Hannah's best day as a major leaguer, but he had another four-hit day on September 11, 1920, with a double and three singles in five at-bats against the Cleveland Indians.
  
• Truck Hannah was the first major leaguer born in what would become North Dakota when he made his debut on April 15, 1918. He also is one of three Yankees born in North Dakota: Ken Hunt, an outfielder in the Yankee farm system from 1952 to 1960 who had a couple cups of coffee in the Bronx, and later played for the Angels and Senators; and long-time Cleveland Indians 1B/DH Travis Hafner, who ended his career with the Yankees in 2013. The most famous Yankee raised in North Dakota is Roger Maris, but he was actually born in Minnesota. The family moved to Fargo when Maris was 8 years old. A total of 20 major leaguers were born in North Dakota, and the best, by bWAR, was Angels outfielder and two-time All-Star Darin Erstad.
  
• Hannah is on the All-Palindromic Last Name Team, along with Dean Anna, Toby Harrah, Eddie Kazak, Dave Otto, Glenn Otto, Dick Nen, Robb Nen, Johnny Reder, Juan Salas, and Mark Salas.
  
• In 1917, Hannah was behind the plate for the Salt Lake City Bees in the Pacific Coast League when former New York Giants outfielder Fred Snodgrass came up to the plate for the Vernon Tigers. Hannah, by this time a 28-year-old nine-year minor league veteran and hitting a respectable .292, wasn't impressed. "So you're a big leaguer? I guess you're going to come out here and show us how the Giants used to do it, eh? Let's see if you can hit this one." That off-season, major league teams asked Snodgrass for his opinion on the top players in the Pacific Coast League, and his report on Hannah: "I don’t like him personally, but I must say he is the best all around catcher in this league, and my dislike for him does not blind me to that fact."
  
• George Halas -- who would later be the founder of the Chicago Bears -- was a 24-year-old rookie on the New York Yankees in 1919. He was on the bench sitting next to Truck Hannah during a game against the Tigers, staring wide-eyed as his boyhood idol, the legendary Ty Cobb, strode to the plate. Hannah, maybe pranking the rookie, told Halas he ought to razz Cobb to try to throw him off his game. Halas did as he was told, and to his surprise, got a reaction: Cobb dropped his bat, marched over to the Yankee dugout, and pointed at Halas. "Punk! I'll see you after the game! Don't forget, punk!" Halas, a Navy veteran and a college football player, was no punk but not exactly looking forward to a brawl against the famously irascible Cobb. He stayed in the locker room as long as possible, hoping Cobb would be gone by the time he emerged, but when he finally came out, the Georgia Peach was waiting for him. "I like your spirit, kid," Cobb said, "but don't overdo it when you don't have to." Halas said it was a lesson he never forgot.
  
• Speaking of Cobb, he told a sportswriter he didn't care for Hannah's distracting patter behind the plate: “This fellow Hannah of the New York club keeps me busier at the plate than any other catcher in the league. I don’t like letting a recruit outtalk me, and in my effort to keep my end of the conversation, I had my work cut out for me making base hits off those Yankee pitchers.”
  
• Carl Mays, who had pitched for the Red Sox since 1915, was acquired by the Yankees on July 30, 1919. Delighted to go from the 38-48 Red Sox to the 48-38 Yankees, Mays made the rounds in the clubhouse, shaking hands. When he got to Hannah, he offered his hand, but Hannah shoved him away, then charged after him. Mays backed up until Hannah vaulted over a table and cornered him against a wall -- and only then did Hannah shake his hand. "We're even," Hannah said, grinning. Since the previous season, Hannah and Mays had been feuding. Mays took great pride in keeping his uniform spotless, and hated Hannah's trick of spitting tobacco juice onto his shoes while batting. So every time Hannah came up to the plate, Mays came "up and in" to make him hit the dirt. In April, the last time they'd face each other, Mays plunked him. But now they were teammates and all was forgiven. Ironically, a year later, Mays would kill Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman with a pitch that hit him in the head.
  
• During the off seasons, Hannah played in the California Winter League, believed to be the only integrated league in professional baseball at the time. Hannah also played against Negro Leaguers when barnstorming with Babe Ruth in 1920 and Dizzy Dean in 1935.
  
• Prior to the 1927 season, Babe Ruth made a silent movie called Babe Comes Home. Based on a short story called "Said With Soap," it had quite the plot: Ruth is Babe Dugan, a ballplayer whose tobacco-chewing habit means his uniform is always stained. He falls in love with Vernie, the laundress who cleans the team uniforms, but she wants him to stop chewing tobacco. Babe then goes into a slump, and finds himself on the bench. Vernie finally relents and gives him a plug of tobacco, and Babe hits a game-winning home run. The movie was filmed at Wrigley Field -- not that one, but a field with the same name in Los Angeles. It was the home stadium for the Los Angeles Angels, and on the Angels were several ex-Yankees, including Truck Hannah. Ruth was much more interested in his old pals than in the movie, and the exasperated director struggled to keep Ruth's attention. Finally, he moved Ruth to a distant park of the stadium, as far away as he could from Hannah and the other ex-Yankees. But Hannah and the others kept mischievously hitting balls in his direction, causing Ruth to botch take after take!
  
• Hannah was in two movies himself, both times as a baseball playing extra. The films are notable because they are both early "talkies". His first appearance was in 1928's Warming Up, about a pitcher (played by Richard Dix, later a star in westerns) who falls in love with the team owner's daughter (played by Jean Arthur, who would later co-star with Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington). A year later Hannah was in Fast Company, about a baseball player (Jack Oakie) who is inspired to greatness thanks to fan letters he thinks come from a beautiful woman (Evelyn Brent) but are actually written by his conniving manager (Skeets Gallagher). In 1940, Oakie was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance as a parody of Benito Mussolini in Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator.
  
• Joe DiMaggio, still a teenager, played for the San Francisco Seals in the Pacific Coast League from 1932 to 1935. Hannah, with the Los Angeles Angels, played against him often. Prior to DiMaggio's debut with the Yankees in 1936, a sportswriter asked the former big leaguer for his scouting report on DiMaggio. "They'll be comparing him to Tris Speaker and Harry Hooper and those fellows in a year or two," Hannah said. Truck was right: Speaker and Hooper were both Hall of Fame outfielders, and of course, so was the Yankee Clipper.
  
• In 1936, Hannah was a playecoach for the Los Angeles Angels. Ted Williams, already a legendary hitter (and pitcher) from his exploits at Herbert Hoover High School in San Diego, was being courted by both major and minor league teams. Ted's father, Sam Williams, was acting as his agent, and he arranged a meeting with Truck Hannah to talk about a contract with the Angels. "When my dad went down to talk to him, Hannah said, 'Where's the kid?'" Williams later recalled. "Dad says, 'He's not here.' Hannah said, 'Well, for crying out loud, go get him. He's the one I want to talk to, not you!'" Insulted, Sam Williams walked away. Instead, Williams -- after turning down offers from the Yankees and the Cardinals -- signed with the newly formed San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League. Had he signed with the Angels, Williams likely would have been a Cub, as they were a Chicago affiliate. (But Williams, a San Diego native, likely would have signed with the Padres even if Hannah had made a better impression.)
  
• Hannah's mouth almost cost his team another teenaged prospect. In 1934, 16-year-old Steve Mesner went to an open try-out for the Los Angeles Angels, and Hannah was helping to evaluate the prospects. He took one look at Mesner and shouted, "Get out of here, kid! You're too little!" Mesner started walking off the field, but someone told him to go back. During batting practice, he hit three balls over the fence! During a fielding drill, he was handling every chance, and the coach kept hitting them harder and harder, expecting the teenager to boot one. He didn't, and the team gave him a contract. Mesner hit .328 in three years with the Angels before going to the Chicago Cubs and later the Cincinnati Reds.
  
• The winter of 1918-1919 was gripped by the "Spanish Flu" epidemic and, in a scene that would be familiar to all of us today, the players, umpires, and fans in a Southern California winter league wore face masks during the game. A photo ran in the newspaper with the catcher misidentified in the caption as "Trash" Hannah of the New York Yankees!
  
• Hannah is a member of the Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame. Some sources say he was an inaugural member when it was created in 1943; other sources say he was inducted in 1950. Other notable Yankees in the PCL HoF include Frankie Crosetti, Joe DiMaggio, and Casey Stengel.
  
• Hannah's daughter, U.S. Marine Master Gunnery Sergeant Helen Hannah Campbell, went to Whittier High School with Richard Nixon, and later served as a docent the Richard Nixon Library and Birthplace in Yorba Linda, California. Richard Nixon, who grew up watching Hannah as a player and manager in the Pacific Coast League, said in a 1983 interview: "I remember Truck Hannah. He was a great catcher and could hit."
  
• In 1925, Hannah helped organize the Association of Professional Ball Players of America, created to assist former professional baseball players who are injured, elderly, or destitute. The APBPA is still in existence today!
  

Near the end of his career, Truck Hannah was interviewed about the rigors of being a catcher. He said during his 30 years in baseball he'd broken every finger on his right hand at least twice. "What the hell, it's all part of the game," he said. "It sure was fun while it lasted. Even with busted hands and fingers and everything else, I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

I'm from England and going to Thailand next month (Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Koh Samui). I've downloaded the app Mondly to try and learn a few conversational basics (hello, goodbye, thank you, please, you're welcome, do you speak English, etc as well as a few food items so I can attempt to read menus). I am getting on OK recognising these phrases when using the western alphabet but I struggle with the Thai alphabet and I can't see myself recognising words in that alphabet at all.
Are menus and food packaging written using only the Thai alphabet characters, or do they have both alphabets written down?
I also wondered, how have other people who only speak English have got on when visiting Thailand?
My hotel website for Koh Samui said "its increasingly common for locals to know basic english" and the Bangkok hotel says that quite a few people will know English. I don't want to seem like the typical rude British tourist who expects everyone else to just speak English but I am not very good at learning new languages quickly. I'm doing my best but wondered what to expect.

As per the title can I please have your best recommendations for places to get wedding photos around Manly/North Head area?
Looking for somewhere in nature and preferably with some of those beautiful coastal rocks Sydney is famous for.
So far ideas include Collins Beach, but it seems this may only be a good spot when the tide is out?
TIA!

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