Old Man

Should have handed him a copy and said, "We'll wait."

Well as Karma also affects the Gods as well, it should come as no surprise that the God of Chaos's Living Void angered the God of Life beyond all reason. This lead to the spontaneous creation of Vigoras who serves The God of Life. Bringing life into the world, curing Infertility and leading The Living Void away from people.
Vigoras can appear as a male or female, young or old and of any race.
 
That's Mythic Guardian taken care of.

Making up train facts would be a loco motive.

As a career IT architect and current cybersecurity analyst, that is definitely a pretty bad take.  It's hard to know where to begin, but suffice to say that cybersecurity "best practices" 1. rarely go far enough and 2. are usually sabotaged by senior bureaucrats through underfunding and lack of support.
 
As an example of 2., consider that my last supervisor directly asked that I falsely attest to our organization's PCI compliance status.  Hence, the new job.
 
 

So... yes, but at the same time, it is not good security to give any one person full access to all systems.  IT security does need to be able to see everything that's happening, but should not have access to make changes.  Conversely superusers should rarely have access to all things.  Role based access control has been a best practice for decades, and the industry is now moving toward zero trust.
 
Again making an example of my last organization, my predecessor there was removed when it was found that she'd lied on her resume (among other things).  Then she went home, logged in remotely as domain admin, and started deleting files, accounts, and logs.  It was a really exciting first couple of weeks there, I learned a lot about their backups.

So... yes, but at the same time, it is not good security to give any one person full access to all systems.  IT security does need to be able to see everything that's happening, but should not have access to make changes.  Conversely superusers should rarely have access to all things.  Role based access control has been a best practice for decades, and the industry is now moving toward zero trust.
 
Again making an example of my last organization, my predecessor there was removed when it was found that she'd lied on her resume (among other things).  Then she went home, logged in remotely as domain admin, and started deleting files, accounts, and logs.  It was a really exciting first couple of weeks there, I learned a lot about their backups.

So... yes, but at the same time, it is not good security to give any one person full access to all systems.  IT security does need to be able to see everything that's happening, but should not have access to make changes.  Conversely superusers should rarely have access to all things.  Role based access control has been a best practice for decades, and the industry is now moving toward zero trust.
 
Again making an example of my last organization, my predecessor there was removed when it was found that she'd lied on her resume (among other things).  Then she went home, logged in remotely as domain admin, and started deleting files, accounts, and logs.  It was a really exciting first couple of weeks there, I learned a lot about their backups.

As a career IT architect and current cybersecurity analyst, that is definitely a pretty bad take.  It's hard to know where to begin, but suffice to say that cybersecurity "best practices" 1. rarely go far enough and 2. are usually sabotaged by senior bureaucrats through underfunding and lack of support.
 
As an example of 2., consider that my last supervisor directly asked that I falsely attest to our organization's PCI compliance status.  Hence, the new job.
 
 

About 12 hours after my 2nd Pfizer shot I got body aches which lasted about 24 hours.  Irritating but I managed it with ibuprofen.

Fixed

Fashion moves on a thirty year cycle, and the early nineties were known for ridiculously baggy clothes. You can solve your problem and be a fashionista at the same time. 

Speaking of Everburn Trees, look to, once again, Australia. Some years back I read how the eucalyptus tree evolved not just to survive fire, but to exploit it. One consequence of Australia's low relief and location on the globe is that it has more lightning strikes per area per year than any other continent; which means more lightning-ignited fires during its dry seasons. A eucalyptus' oily shed leaves resist decay, and so accumulates in a deep bed of, essentially, touch paper just waiting for a spark. But the eucalyptus also has thick bark so it can susrvive fast-burning wildfires -- and buds embedded in that bark, ready to sprout new twigs and leaves immediately after the fire. So it burns out all other vegetation, making more open ground (conveniently fertilized with potash) for more eucalyptus trees. They're like Niven's sunflowers, only slower.
 
And we human idiots have transplanted eucalyptus trees around the world to similar climates, such as California. As if California needed more wildfires.
 
Ah, Nature. You never cease to amaze and terrify me.
 
Dean Shomshak

Never consumed though perpetually burning, Lighting the gloom with my comforting flare, Darkness and gloom are no match for my glory, Winter and blizzards alike must despair.     Fauna/Flora: Everburn Trees     The saplings of the Everburn Tree catch fire after two years, and the tree will continue to burn merrily through the rest of its centuries-long lifespan. The flames do not harm the tree at all--in fact they help it outcompete other plants and ward off the effects of frost. Many towns and villages are built around mighty Everburn Trees, as their inextinguishable light and heat are extremely useful.         As waves grow in height Their crests will ignite Great breakers of fire Make traveling dire   Geography: Burning Seas     Some water is flammable. Who knew?     Is it a gift Or a definition? What once was makeshift Has become tradition   Gift to Civilization.  Cooking     Cooking is civilization--raw food is for savages. It is against the tenets of Vaiyarran to eat food that has not been blessed by the touch of fire.

I'd object to the whole "cowardice" angle, but I'm afraid to bring it up.

Freezing seas, burning seas, or places with tropical diseases? These were the options the people of the world would have?  While she wanted no fight with the Master of oceans, Timra'Keth decided it was time to bring up one sizable land mass. A place where safety might be possible, and security prized, with enough land to put that agriculture to work for something beyond kelp. A place where species of many sorts might gather into a mosaic of minding your own business while grumbling about how weird and dangerous folks in the next Province were.
 
She worried they wouldn't be terrified enough, but then she was worried E'il might just flood it out of spite! Who knew? All she knew was there needed to be a chunk of land, sizable, and comfortable with freezing or merely cool temperatures with forests to obscure views, Mountains to block people off, and plains and prairies that looked way too long to traverse so folks would take root. So slowly, in the Darkness that was her bailiwick, she gathered soil and rock in massive amounts, let it gain life and thrive. Perhaps with enough land, people would be safer from each other and the dangerous oceans! 3.85 million square miles (Folly killed Metric fast) it was, not counting the great caverns under it.
 
When the darkness lifted from it, it was done, a beautiful land was complete and waiting. She dubbed it, Okanadu
 
Alas, to her sorrow, quite a few brave people settled there too. Will mortals never learn?
 
Geography: Okanadu- A landmass nearly 3.85 million  square miles, well adaptable to intense cold, or merely cool temps. It does have a lot of 'Snowdirds' that leave it now and then for those distant tropical lands before returning
 
 A
 
 
 
 

Needs a little something.  Hmm...
 
 
Like bushfire they spread, Like embers they fly, Dirds, fairies, humans, Orcs, butterflies, Raakastah and tribbles...    

Needs a little something.  Hmm...
 
 
Like bushfire they spread, Like embers they fly, Dirds, fairies, humans, Orcs, butterflies, Raakastah and tribbles...    

Never consumed though perpetually burning, Lighting the gloom with my comforting flare, Darkness and gloom are no match for my glory, Winter and blizzards alike must despair.     Fauna/Flora: Everburn Trees     The saplings of the Everburn Tree catch fire after two years, and the tree will continue to burn merrily through the rest of its centuries-long lifespan. The flames do not harm the tree at all--in fact they help it outcompete other plants and ward off the effects of frost. Many towns and villages are built around mighty Everburn Trees, as their inextinguishable light and heat are extremely useful.         As waves grow in height Their crests will ignite Great breakers of fire Make traveling dire   Geography: Burning Seas     Some water is flammable. Who knew?     Is it a gift Or a definition? What once was makeshift Has become tradition   Gift to Civilization.  Cooking     Cooking is civilization--raw food is for savages. It is against the tenets of Vaiyarran to eat food that has not been blessed by the touch of fire.

Rice-wind, devout follower of Timra'Keth ran for his damn life as the horde of barbarian savages chased after him out for his blood. They were stronger than him, bloodthirsty, and ruthless. Worse, they were faster! Even his own martial arts training in the ways of Kung Pow Chicken Style would not save him. No, he realized as he raced towards the edge of the cliff, the mist laden chasm a half mile drop awaiting him, only fear could save him now If he could just find the zone, the the epitome of terror! If the legends were true!
 
A spear whizzed right past his ear, a bit of blood dripped from the lobe. Another inch and the ear would no longer be a part of him!
 
Well, that helped with the zone finding. He began to chant in a high pitched whine, "I must fear. Fear is the body saver! Fear is the the sweet rush that keeps blood in the frame. I will embrace my fear. I will permit it to fill my mind and, if need be, empty my bowels.  And when I escape what I fear, I shall make sure it is long beyond my rear view. Where the threat is gone, only Mother Fear will remain keeping me safe."
 
And suddenly, Rice-Wind, member of the sacred order of  Fleeing Chicken monastery, found his speed becoming faster than a greysnout dird! the savages fell behind, muttering in shock! But that was nothing compared to the moment his foot touched mist, and instead of falling, he raced along it as if it were solid! As long he could stay terrified at this level, as long as he didn't look down , he would make it! 
 
For Fear had power!
 
Interference:  Fear induced personal miracles! Those who hit a certain level of fear , out their mind soil your pants level panic may find themselves surpassing the limits of their species or attributes! Examples include (But are not limited to): Able to leap far buildings, fling a cow across a pasture at a predator that scared you, or scream so loud that walls break! 
 

 
(It should be noted, not everyone knows or believes this happens. Perhaps if we get holy books one can find better instructions in the scriptures of Timra'Keth, likely in a small, thin, flexible holybook encased in a worn fuzzy tribble hide  with the word " Panic!" inscribed on it "... in large friendly letters.)
 
 
* with apologies to Herbert, Pratchett, Adams, and who knows who else!

China has successfully landed its Zhurong lander on Mars.  Rover is expected to be deployed in a few days.

Op-ed piece from NBC: Stop obsessing about your Covid weight gains. Love your body and have a hot (fat) girl summer.