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Fans of college football finally will get to play a video game about the sport again. After not releasing a title in its NCAA Football series in more than a decade, EA Sports will drop the highly-anticipated EA Sports College Football 25 next month, and as part of the build up, we learned which teams will be the best on offense, defense, and overall this week.

Of course, these are video game rankings, so they’re not going to make everyone happy. Still, this year’s game has some wrinkles it’ll need to iron out, as the initial ranking of the top-25 teams could have been a bit better. Here, we’re going to look at three teams that are overrated by EA Sports, and three that deserve a bit more love, with a little help from the predictive measure SP+.

Overrated

Colorado

It is, quite frankly, stunning to see just how high Colorado is in the initial rankings. The offense legitimately has a ton of talent — Shedeur Sanders is one of the best signal callers in America, while their skill position players led by Travis Hunter are going to be fun to use in the game. But between a patchwork offensive line that might start a true freshman at left tackle and a defense that was one of the worst in America last year (even though Hunter is quite good as a cornerback), ranking them at all is pretty crazy. Frankly, unless Sanders and the skill position guys can carry them to a bunch of shootouts, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a pretty serious change whenever the ratings get updated in-season.

EA Sports CFB: 87 overall (No. 16), 89 offense (No. 8), 84 defense (No. 20)
Post-spring SP+: 69th overall, 46th offense, 105th defense

Kansas

The Jayhawks are a blast, as Jalon Daniels is one of the best quarterbacks in America when he’s healthy (unfortunately a big if), Devin Neal is one of the nation’s best running backs, and head coach Lance Leipold always has his teams punch above their own weight. Their offense is going to be good, but their defense has been quite leaky over the years and they lost a good amount of talent on both sides of the ball — nothing completely insane, but they’re 78th in America in returning production, which includes losing Jason Bean, the backup QB who stepped in when Daniels dealt with injury issues and performed well. Again, their offense will be fun to use in the game, but they probably should start just outside the top-25.

EA Sports CFB: 87 overall (No. 22), 87 offense (No. 14), N/A defense
Post-spring SP+: 37th overall, 16th offense, 66th defense

Clemson

It’s been a weird couple of years for the Tigers, which have been the single most hostile Power 5 program towards the concept of using the transfer portal. As such, the team has to replace a number of major contributors who left for the NFL on both sides of the ball, while the guys they have coming back (namely everyone involved in their passing game) have left something to be desired. I do think EA Sports betting on their defense even though it lost a ton of talent is not a bad bet, considering how good they’ve been over the years even after Brent Venables left for Oklahoma, but their offense has a ton to prove before I’m willing to say it’ll live up to its ranking.

EA Sports CFB: 90 overall (No. 6), 87 offense (No. 10), 90 defense (No. 5)
Post-spring SP+: 14th overall, 15th offense, 13th defense

Underrated

Tennessee

How on earth is Tennessee not in the top-25? The Vols lost a ton on offense and a good amount on defense, but they’ve recruited at a top-15 level over the last few years, and they’ve pretty consistently put up good offenses — even last year, when they took a step back by replacing Hendon Hooker with Joe Milton under center, the Vols put up 31.8 points and 448.1 yards per game. With blue chip QB Nico Iamaleava taking over at QB, I fully expect them to compete in the SEC, and they’d very possibly beat all three of the teams I dropped into the overrated section.

EA Sports CFB: N/A overall, N/A offense, N/A defense
Post-spring SP+: 16th overall, 14th offense, 19th defense

Ole Miss

Losing star running back Quinshon Judkins to Ohio State hurts, but Ole Miss should be viewed as a top-10 team entering the season. EA Sports, however, has them on the outside looking in. No team did better in the transfer portal than Lane Kiffin’s squad, which went 11-2 last year and brings back a ton on the offensive side of the ball, namely standout QB Jaxson Dart. They’re going to score points, and if their defense is able to perform at a high level (which, I think they will, as they killed it in portal recruiting on that side of the ball), this is a team with top-5 potential.

EA Sports CFB: 88 overall (No. 15), 87 offense (No. 13), N/A defense
Post-spring SP+: 8th overall, 6th offense, 15th defense

SMU

The Mustangs not being ranked at all is also unfortunate — there were no current or former Group of 5 teams in the initial overall ranking, which makes some sense, and while they’re jumping to the ACC this year, they are coming off of 11 wins and an AAC championship. Still, SMU is going to be awesome on both sides of the ball, and will have an outside shot of winning the ACC during their first year in the conference. Star QB Preston Stone is going to lead a dynamic offense (EA Sports did rank them among the top-25 offenses), while their defense has a ton of talent. They’re a top-25 team in post-spring SP+, and should be in CFB 25, too.

EA Sports CFB: N/A overall, 85 offense (No. 20), N/A defense
Post-spring SP+: 23rd overall, 22nd offense, 39th defense

Kevin Costner has made it very clear that making his new movie Horizon has been his lifelong dream and passion, and the movie is finally hitting theaters, so naturally, everyone is asking him about that other thing. It sure has been a hectic week for the actor, who attempted to derail the ongoing drama by keeping his hands occupied with eight different iterations of banana milkshakes. It did not work.

Over the last few weeks, Costner has been outwardly salty about how his Yellowstone exit went down in the media. Now, he just wants to stop talking about it because surely he is tired of those repetitive questions.

Costner explained his decision to leave (again) while speaking to The Hollywood Reporter recently. Of his departure, he said, “It wasn’t tough. It was a necessary decision to say, ‘Hey, OK, I don’t want to really talk about this anymore. It’s time to move on.’”

He added, “I gave this thing five seasons. I was really happy to do it. And I don’t need drama. So, let’s just take that drama away, let’s take the guessing [away].” The guessing seems to be if Costner will ever return to Yellowstone, but that door is likely closed. Until he changes his mind again.

For a man who doesn’t need drama, he does occasionally stir some up. While on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Costner responded to criticism that he makes movies just for the dads of the world. “I make movies for men. That’s what I do,” he said. “But I won’t make a movie unless I have strong women characters, and that’s how I’ve conducted my career. I think that’s why I have a good following,” he said before directly thanking all women on Earth.

“I thank you women for dragging your men here — it was a Western after all. I just can’t conceive of a movie without having [strong women].” Not only that, but it also seems like he cannot even fathom making a movie without overloading himself with banana milkshakes. The man needs a break.

(Via Us Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter)

The Boston Celtics finally were able to get over the hump and win an NBA championship, defeating the Mavs in five games in emphatic fashion to capture their first title in 16 years. While stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown (who earned Finals MVP honors) got the understandable spotlight after winning it all, what set this Boston team apart from the rest of the league was how every player seemed to embrace and thrive in the role they were asked to play.

Derrick White emerged as an elite two-way point guard, helping lead at the point of attack on both ends of the floor. Al Horford, the grizzled vet of the squad, bounced between a sixth man role and a starting job with Kristaps Porzingis in and out of the lineup, doing whatever was needed to keep the ship steady. Payton Pritchard saw his minutes dwindle a bit in the Finals, but made his impact felt with a pair of end of quarter heaves that found the bottom of the net and sent the Celtics and their crowd into a frenzy.

That trio stopped by Gillette’s headquarters on Monday for what’s become a Boston tradition of a “championship shave,” with Gillette donating $25,000 each to three charities in their name: Special Olympics Massachusetts, Edgerley Family South Boston Boys & Girls Club, and Best Buddies in Massachusetts & Rhode Island. After getting a fresh shave, the three champions sat down with DIME over Zoom to talk about how they found their roles on this title team, what made this group special, and debated which of their teammates celebrated the title the hardest.

Does that shave feel a little better when you’re a champion?

Al: You definitely feel better.

Derrick: Shout out to Gillette. The shave always feels great with Gillette, but as a champion and getting the championship shave? This is unbeatable.

We saw the parade on Friday and all the love that y’all were able to get from the Boston fans. And being able to do something like this to give back to the community with all the support that you receive, what does that mean to y’all?

Al: It means a lot. For us to be in this position and really embrace all our fans and spend that moment with all the Celtics fans, which, I know a lot of people even came from out of town to join the parade. That’s special. And then being in this position here, you know, with Gillette and being able to help different charities that we’re involved with, it’s also a pretty special thing. You know, we’re trying to have an impact in that way as well.

Payton, I want to start with you. How does it feel to be the most prolific half-court shot king in NBA Finals history?

Payton: [laughs] It’s a crazy feeling. But at the end of the day, I’m just fortunate to do the little things that help our team to get over the top and, you know, be part of history. So, that’s the biggest feeling I have, is just lucky to be a part of this group.

How special is this team to have guys where it seems everybody is able to buy into the roles that they’re being asked to do? And for someone like you, who, your minutes might not always be consistent, but being able to impact the team, even if it is, you know, five minutes or five seconds left in the quarter and finding your way to put your impact on things?

Payton: You know, I think that just comes with our group and how special of a group we have. And, you know, there’s a lot of talented players. So, you have to kind of keep that mindset of staying ready, cause you never know when your opportunity’s gonna come, and when it does come, you have to take full advantage of it. And I’ve kind of just tried to keep that same mindset since I’ve been in the league and then will continue to keep that.

Derrick, for you. I mean, last time I talked with you was in San Antonio a few years ago and you talked about learning about how simple works and that was a message that you got as a rookie was like, the simple play works. How have you grown and evolved your game along with that mindset to be able to have the impact that you’ve had on both ends of the floor?

Derrick: Yeah, I think just consistently making the right play. And that’s just what I’m trying to do is, whatever the game tells you to do. Me and Matt [Reynolds] talk before every game and he says just do what the game tells you to do. And I just think that’s the mindset that I have each game and so it doesn’t need to be eight different crossovers to a stepback three, but just simple move, a simple pass, sprinting back on defense, all the little things will lead to really the big goal at the end of the day.

And getting to this team, what is it about this group that’s allowed you to flourish in the way that you have and seems to have elevated what you’re able to do?

Derrick: I just think seeing everybody work day in and day out, like it just makes you want to get to the gym. It makes you want to work harder to continue to improve. So just seeing such high-level guys take care of their bodies, getting their time in the weight room, it just motivates you to continue to work hard, and everybody just continuing to believe in me and pushing me to play the game that I know I can play. Being here has been a great blessing, and I’m just thankful for the whole group and every teammate that I’ve had.

Al, I covered you in Atlanta for years and watched you adapt and grow your game as you’ve gotten older and as the game’s changed — I remember the debates of whether you should shoot threes in Atlanta. What has your journey been like in adapting your game and kind of staying up to date with how the NBA has grown to be to the point where at 38, you can still play such a big role on a title team?

Al: I’m grateful to be in this position. I think it’s not easy in the league to be able to make transitions and to be able to change your game or to adapt to certain things that are required. Like you said, my first few years in Atlanta, my game was completely different. You know, it was inside and things like that. But, I feel like my faith kept me strong, and gave me confidence and understanding that if I put in the work, that I was going to be able to reach certain levels and I was going to be able to impact winning. That’s always been my biggest thing. How do I impact winning? And one of the things that I did was, make sure that I worked really hard on different things, and in this case with shooting the three ball to be able to be in a better position to help the team, and to be able to stay more relevant, and be able to have an impact on a team. That’s been my progression, and I’ve been able to I feel like continue to improve on that each year.

What were the things that you were telling the guys to your right and left here and the younger guys in the locker room about embracing when you have a special group like you seemed to have this year, and what that opportunity means? Because as an NBA player you’re looking for these teams and they don’t come around all that often.

Al: No question about it. You know, I feel like, especially with the two guys that I have here, I think they’ve always understood the opportunity that we had in front of us. Even though they haven’t been in the league as long as I have, they understand how hard it is to win, how hard it is to have a good group. A group that is easy to work with, it’s easy to get along with, and I feel like from the beginning of this year, we all identified that. And I felt like we pushed each other, motivated each other on the court, but off the court as well. You know, getting in there and getting our lifts in, taking care of our bodies, getting extra shots up when we needed to. Just things like that to kind of keep each other motivated. And when you have that many guys doing those same things, I feel like you’re gonna get really good results, you’re gonna get success, and that’s what happened to us. You know, it just wasn’t one guy. It’s many guys. It’s everybody following a plan, everybody being consistent, everybody really embracing the work. And that’s how these guys knew what we had in front of us, and we all just took advantage of this opportunity.

Last one, and this one’s for all three of you. Who on the team — not just you three — who on the team has celebrated this championship the hardest?

Derrick: Gotta be Sam, right?

Al: Sam Hauser.

Payton: Sam’s been going crazy.

I’ve been seeing the videos of Sam.

Derrick: Sam’s a lot more in the public eye. But I think other guys are up there.

Al: Yeah I think honestly a lot of guys have celebrated pretty hard, but yeah, Sam and… Oshae, maybe?

Payton: Yeah, Brizzy files are gonna be crazy.

“Actor,” as a profession, isn’t without its challenges, but a perk of the job is getting to travel to exotic locations (or soundstages in Georgia). It’s one of the reasons why everyone in Hollywood wants to star in The White Lotus. It’s like a Happy Madison movie where Adam Sandler takes his buddies on vacations, except it has the prestige of HBO and Rob Schneider isn’t there.

Alexandra Daddario, who played writer Rachel in season 1 of The White Lotus, talked about the experience of shooting at a Four Seasons in Hawaii in an interview with Man of Many. “Everyone was so lovely, and every day we’d go to the beach, we’d watch the sunset, and we were very together. It felt more like a family,” the Mayfair Witches actress said. “To have that kind of success during a time when it was hard to get work, I feel very blessed and lucky.”

“It was awesome. I mean, you have to remember too, there wasn’t much coming out. It was a very strange time. The last thing we were thinking about was, “How is this going to do?” Well, at least I was. So when [The White Lotus] became the phenomenon it became, it was wonderful. I feel like if you get lucky enough as an actress to be on something that invades the pop culture in that way, you always feel blessed by success. Why wouldn’t you feel excited about it? I’ll talk about it for the rest of my life.”

And who are the lucky folks filming in Thailand for season 3? Carrie Coon, Scott Glenn Walton Goggins, Leslie Bibb, Michelle Monaghan, Parker Posey, Blackpink’s Lisa, Jason Isaacs, and Patrick Schwarzenegger, as well as Natasha Rothwell (Belinda) reprising her role from season 1.

The White Lotus is expected to return to HBO in 2025.

(Via Man of Many)

Over the past few years, Lil Wayne has spent a lot of time thinking about who he considers to be the top five rappers of all time. In 2020, the list featured Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G., Noreaga, Cam’ron, and Missy Elliott. In January 2023, his list changed to include Jay-Z, Biggie, Missy, Goodie Mob, and UGK. That August, he again discussed the topic, and his top five remained the same.

Recently, though, he again spouted off a top-5 list, and there were some changes. Jay, Missy, and Biggie all remained, but two different acts made the list this time. Wayne said, “My top 5 rappers of all time are Jay-Z, Missy Elliott, Eminem, um… The Notorious B.I.G. — oh, and this is no specific order right here — and Drizzy.”

Notably, the updated list includes Drake, but not Kendrick Lamar, despite many people believing that Lamar came out on top of his recent feud with Drake. Given how flexible Wayne seems to be with his top 5, though, Kendrick could end up making the cut if you ask Wayne again in a few months.

Meanwhile, Drake and Kendrick are both keeping busy: Drake just dropped a couple new songs with Camila Cabello and Lamar is working on a “Not Like Us” video.

Spoiler alert ahead for season three of The Bear. You’ve been warned.

The best part about having a fancy dinner party is when you get to invite all your long-lost friends over for a fun meal, and this concept can be applied to the folks of The Bear.

Season two of the culinary dramedy featured a whole new crop of guest stars including Bob Odenkirk, John Mulaney, and, of course, Jamie Lee Curtis appeared as the matriarch of the Berzatto family during a particularly tense Thanksgiving meal. So how do you follow that up? With even more guest stars!

The third season of the show dropped on Hulu this week, and, thankfully, Carmy did not freeze to death in the walk-in. Though, he is still on thin ice around the restaurant. Despite the tension and pressure, some familiar faces pop up, and some real-life star chefs. Here’s who you may or may not have seen on your screen while watching the first time around:

After his gut-wrenching stint on Black Mirror last year, Josh Hartnett returned to TV to appear in season three, episode four of The Bear as Frank, the new fiancé of Richie’s ex, Tiffany. The duo have a tense meeting as Richie struggles to grapple with how the dynamic might affect his daughter. The scene also features yet another musical cameo from Taylor Swift (The Bear’s Version).

John Cena shows up in episode five as Neil and Ted’s wacky brother Sammy who arrives to help the team prep the restaurants ahead of the big Chicago Tribune review. Dexter actor David Zayas, who is the real-life husband to Liza Colon-Zayas’ fan-favorite character Tina, guest stars as her on-screen love interest as well, while Billions writer and showrunner Brian Koppelman appears as “The Computer,” who attempts to streamline The Bear’s excessive costs.

The show also has a treat for fans of real food treats: a slew of celebrity chefs and food industry professionals appear throughout the season, including Daniel Boulud, Rene Redzepi, and Thomas Keller. Grant Achatz, Anna Posey, Genie Kwon, Rosio Sanchex, Christina Tosi, Malcomn Livingston II, Wylie Dufresne and Will Guidara also appear throughout the season.

Returning guest stars include Mulaney, Curtis, John Bernthal, Will Poulter, Joel McHale and Olivia Colman.

Is it too early to start thinking about season four cameos? Because Billie Eilish’s hit song “Lunch” that could really fit in with the vibe of the show.

The Bear season three is now streaming on Hulu.

Heidi Johnson’s son was 13, deeply in adolescence, and in that stage where he lashes out.

He told her he shouldn’t have to deal with her rules and should be independent.

So she wrote a strict but loving “Mom’s not a fool” letter.

She wrote on Facebook how her son reacted to the letter:

“He came home, saw the note, crumpled it on the floor, and stormed out of the apartment. I have always encouraged him to take a walk when he is upset so that he can collect his thoughts so when we try to talk, we are able to talk, and not just yell at each other. I do the same thing — sometimes, I just need to walk away and collect myself. I am not above admitting that. He was still livid when he got home. He decided to stage a ‘sit in’ in my room, where he did laugh at me and repeat, ‘Really? What are you going to do? You can’t take my stuff,’ etc. He was asked to leave my room, and when he could be respectful, and I was more calm, we would discuss it further. He went to his room, and after about an hour, he had removed some electronics and items I missed that he felt he should have to earn back for his behavior. He apologized, and asked what could he do to make things better and start earning items back. He earned his comforter and some clothes right back. I did leave him some clothes to begin with, just not the ones he would want to wear every day. He also had some pillows and sheets, just not his favorite ones.”

She decided to post it on Facebook, the way one does to friends for a laugh and connection. She neglected to make it “private,” and soon comments and shares proliferated, including admonishments from strangers who thought she was a bad parent.Now she had to deal with a bigger teenager: the internet and its commentariat. But Johnson remained level-headed and wrote another Facebook post, clarifying.

“It’s out there; and I am not ashamed of what I wrote… I am not going to put my 13-year-old on the street if he can’t pay his half of the rent. I am not wanting him to pay anything. I want him to take pride in his home, his space, and appreciate the gifts and blessings we have.” She explains that he is more grateful because of it, and also that he has slowly earned back things and dealt with sacrificing others. Then she lists her very organized and succinct rules of the house:

1 – Do your best in school! I don’t expect a perfect 100%, but I do expect that you do your best and ask for help when you don’t understand something.

2 – Homework and jobs need to be done before you can have screen time.

3 – Jobs are emptying the trash, unloading the dishwasher, throwing away trash you make in the kitchen, rinsing dirty dishes, making your bed daily, pick up bedroom nightly, and cleaning your bathroom once a week.

4 – You must complete two chores a day. Each day of the week with the exception of Sunday has a room that we work on cleaning. He has to pick two chores for that room. For example, if it is the living room he can choose two of the following options: dust, vacuum, polish furniture, clean windows, mop the floor.

5 – Be respectful and kind with your words — no back talking, no cussing at me.

6 – Keep good hygiene.

7 – Make eye contact when being spoken to, and be an active listener.

8 – Use proper manners.

“You know what.. this hasn’t hurt our relationship. He and I still talk as openly as ever. He has apologized multiple times… And… he is trying harder.” Her son is earning things back little by little, and appreciating it more than he did before.

“This came down to a 13-year-old telling his mother she had no right to enforce certain rules, and had no place to ‘control’ him. I made the point to show what life would look like if I was not his ‘parent,’ but rather a ‘roommate.’ It was a lesson about gratitude and respect from the very beginning. Sometimes, you have to lose it all to realize how well you really had it.”

This article originally appeared on 8.16.21

Saving old text messages from exes can sometimes be an asset when you need to remember exactly why you left them. Alternately, sometimes digital relics from old relationships are a good reminder of how much good we have in our lives currently.

At least, they did for the Twitter user May Larsen, who recently posted screenshots of two text threads with two very different men.

The conversation on the left shows how an old conversation went down with an emotionally manipulative ex. While the other screenshot is a prime example of what communication in a healthy partnership looks like.

u201cDifference between a boy and a man.u201d

— Mayc (@Mayc)
1533704969

The emotional dynamics of this exchange are full of red flags.

This ex (boyfriend, hookup, whatever he was) went from 0-100 in no time. In fact, the ONLY way this kind of freak out would be excusable would be if they had prior plans she ditched on. Alternately, if he was doing a performance art bit where he embodied Drake’s 0-100 via text message. Outside of those possibilities, this type of reaction is nothing short of manipulation and emotional abuse.

The second text message showed how Larsen’s current partner responds to a simple night out.

The difference between these responses to a simple night out on the town is night and day. When comparing the two messages, the red flags really pop.

People on Twitter had a LOT of thoughts about the texts.

Difference between a man and a cuckboi

— paxil (@paxil)
1533870240

Some women shared similar experiences with possessive partners.

Youu2019re reminding the one on the left not to cheat. He already has his guard up. The one on the right is just doing the minimum

— X u00c6 A-12 Musk (@X u00c6 A-12 Musk)
1533905239

A lot of people assumed the texts were from two guys she’s currently dating.

SO IS EVERYONE IGNORING SHAWTY TALKING TO TWO GUYS AT THE SAME TIME?????

— Not Josh (@Not Josh)
1533864031

Nah dude check the first one she cropped the time and allat out of it. You was right at first

— Dee (@Dee)
1533873487

That quickly got shut down.

Donu2019t get pressed over a joke B.

— Dee (@Dee)
1533877627

Meanwhile, others were caught up with the fact that her current dude wears a cowboy hat.

You can tell which one is the man by the cool hat.

— Adam Dane (@Adam Dane)
1533867124

YEEHAWW

— u2764ufe0fud83eudd0dud83dudc7c u0142u2c64u0142u0246u20aeu2c64u0142u2c60u2c60u0142u0246 (@u2764ufe0fud83eudd0dud83dudc7c u0142u2c64u0142u0246u20aeu2c64u0142u2c60u2c60u0142u0246)
1533883789

Regardless of whether the rest of us are pro cowboy hat (I’m pro if you can pull it off), it seems they’ve got a healthy situation going. Communication is key, in any kind of relationship.

This article originally appeared on 04.10.19

You always stole my thunder. You gave them everything they wanted. You never said no when they asked for anything.

Tina Platamura

A second helping of dessert. Candy before dinner. A few more minutes in the bath. Money for the ice cream truck.

I struggled to show you respect and appreciation while trying to make sure you didn’t spoil my children. I thought you would turn them into “selfish brats” by giving them everything they wanted. I thought they might never learn to wait, to take turns, to share, because you granted their wishes as soon as they opened their mouths and pointed.

You held each one of my babies long after they fell asleep. Didn’t you understand that I needed them to learn to fall asleep on their own?

You ran to them as soon as they made the tiniest sound. How would they ever learn to self-soothe?

I resented you for buying the best and most expensive gifts on their birthdays and on Christmas. How could I possibly compete with you?

“I thought they might never learn to wait, to take turns, to share, because you granted their wishes as soon as they opened their mouths and pointed.”

And how they loved afternoons spent with you. You made their favorite things for dinner — three different meals for three different boys. And you always had a little surprise. A present, candy, or a special treat. I didn’t want them to associate you with gifts and sweets. I thought they should love you for you. I tried to tell you this, but you wouldn’t listen.

I spent a lot of time wondering why you did all these things and how I could get you to ease up. I know grandmothers are supposed to “spoil the kids” then send them home, but you were … ridiculous.

Until you were gone.

I had to hold my boys and tell them that their grandma died. It didn’t seem possible — you were supposed to be there for all the other special moments: proms, graduations, weddings. But they lost their grandma too soon and too suddenly. They were not ready to say goodbye.

During those years when I wished you’d stop spoiling them, I never thought about how much you loved them. So much that you showed it in every way possible. Your cooking. The gifts. The candy and sweets. Your presence. The way you could recount every detail of a special moment, whether it was a perfect catch in the outfield or a sweet and slightly off-key note sung at a school concert. Your grandmotherly love for them knew no bounds. Your heart poured love from every place possible — your kitchen, your pocketbook, your words, and your tireless arms.

It’s pointless to dwell on regrets, but I often think about how I had it all wrong. I was so wrong in how I perceived your generosity.

My kids, now in their teens, miss you dearly. And they don’t miss your gifts or your money. They miss you.

They miss running to greet you at the door and hugging you before you could step in. They miss looking up at the bleachers and seeing you, one of their biggest fans, smiling and enthralled to catch their eye. They miss talking to you and hearing your words of wisdom, encouragement and love.

If I could speak to you one more time, I would tell you that every time a precious moment steals my heart, every time I watch them arrive at a new milestone, and every time they amaze me with their perseverance, talents, or triumphs, I think of you. And I wish that they could have you back.

Come back and love them one last time, like no one else in the world but a grandmother could. Bring your sweets and surprises. Reward them with gifts for the smallest accomplishments. Painstakingly prepare their favorite meals. Take them anywhere they want to go. All and only because you love them.

Come back and see how much they’ve grown. Watch each boy becoming his own version of a young man. Be in awe with me as we admire how family, friendship, time, and love helped them grow so beautifully over the years.

The more I long for you to come back, though, the more I realize that in a way, you never left.

I understand now. I know you loved them in every way you could. I know that being their grandma gave you joy and purpose. And of course I know that you can’t come back, but I do know that your love for them will always remain. Your love built them and sheltered them in ways that cannot be described. Your love is a big part of who they are and what they will become as they grow. For this, and for every treat and gift, and every time you held them too long or consoled them too much or let them stay up too late, I will always thank you.

And I will wish a million times that you could do it all again.

This article was written by Tina Plantamura and originally appeared on 04.14.16

There’s an old saying that luck happens when preparation meets opportunity.

There’s no better example of that than a 2016 discovery at the University of California, Irvine, by doctoral student Mya Le Thai. After playing around in the lab, she made a discovery that could lead to a rechargeable battery that could last up to 400 years. That means longer-lasting laptops and smartphones and fewer lithium ion batteries piling up in landfills.

A team of researchers at UCI had been experimenting with nanowires for potential use in batteries, but found that over time the thin, fragile wires would break down and crack after too many charging cycles. A charge cycle is when a battery goes from completely full to completely empty and back to full again.

But one day, on a whim, Thai coated a set of gold nanowires in manganese dioxide and a Plexiglas-like electrolyte gel.

“She started to cycle these gel capacitors, and that’s when we got the surprise,” said Reginald Penner, chair of the university’s chemistry department. “She said, ‘this thing has been cycling 10,000 cycles and it’s still going.’ She came back a few days later and said ‘it’s been cycling for 30,000 cycles.’ That kept going on for a month.”

This discovery is mind-blowing because the average laptop battery lasts 300 to 500 charge cycles. The nanobattery developed at UCI made it though 200,000 cycles in three months. That would extend the life of the average laptop battery by about 400 years. The rest of the device would have probably gone kaput decades before the battery, but the implications for a battery that that lasts hundreds of years are pretty startling.

“The big picture is that there may be a very simple way to stabilize nanowires of the type that we studied,” Penner said. “If this turns out to be generally true, it would be a great advance for the community.” Not bad for just fooling around in the laboratory.

This article originally appeared 12.22.22