Special thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for allowing fanfiction and giving us Tilfish. The man gave us a canon art of the bugs, and they're rad!
I'm surprised I got this motivation in my to write this part so quickly. I think the fine comments I got motivated me pretty well. Now, I'd appreciate your thoughts and opinions on this. If its flow is smooth and feels right, let me know, I'm not usually good with dialogue.
Also, Feenstra, thank you for your kindness and support. I don't know how to respond to it, honestly, but you're a cool cat.
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.*~*.
Memory Transcription Subject: Marullo, Tilfish agricultural practitioner.
Date: December 2, 2136
.~*~.
I gripped the fabric over the side window and pushed it aside, spotting a Tilfish on the other side of the door instead of a cluster of predators. He appears rather calm, even though he's alone out in the open. My grip tightened on the blind before I tugged the door open.
"Visiting hours are closed." I stated curtly, my antennae twitching outside of my control. Formi I'm still riled up, and I want this man gone so I can dig a hole in peace. I eye the visitor sharply, not seeing any garment or air to him that would tip me off if this was a visiting politician. He's too soft to be a farmer, and I know for a fact there's no appointments he could be attending.
"Oh, uh, is this a business?" I don't even bother with a reply and give the stranger a long look, waiting for him to either acknowledge the massive emblem on the wall right above us or get on with it. He fidgets in awkward silence for a long few seconds. "Uhhh... okay, okay. Off on the wrong feeler here. I'm concerned, is all. I could hear you yelling for the past hour."
My antennae dropped slightly. "What?"
"You uh, your window was open." The stranger explained, mandibles clicking slightly in concern as I shut the door behind me and scuttled down the steps into the yard. I felt my chitin warm around my skull as I looked at the aforementioned window.
Don't tell me I broadcasted that entire conversation to the world.
Stupid sand spitters. Stupid sand spitters!
"I... am sorry for disturbing the peace." I hissed. "I had to wrangle some insubordinates into line. How much did you hear?"
"Not much. Just a lot of yelling. We could hear you from the apartments."
I dipped my head at the mention of the living block. The Regional Agriculture Advisory building was on the edge of the business and government district, and down the road was the start of a residential area. Towering buildings loomed over there, and on occasion they provided a nice view from my old office window with the setting sun reflecting off their many windows.
I was lucky that the masses were too nervous to be out and about in this sector. There was an infestation of predators in and around the capitol building, and even more outposts spread through the surrounding sectors. Being on the streets wasn't popular any more, so the normally lively road we were on was all but abandoned the past several days.
Oddly, I noticed that this stranger was very much alone. There was no swarm to keep him safe, and no vehicle in sight. On the far end of the road leading into the residential sector was a hastily erected barricade that still stood untouched by the predator's roving patrols, comprised mostly of furniture and scrap wood and metal. Looking towards the other end of the road leading towards the capitol building was a more firm barricade that surprisingly still stood, but the filthy tire tracks that cut over the sidewalk and through carefully maintained gardens and lawns told me how the predators got by. There was still nobody else in sight.
"It won't happen again. I had to enforce who's the new boss."
"The predators?"
My mandibles clacked and the stranger flinched at my snap, but stood his ground as I side eyed him intently. "No, me. I'm in charge of this operation."
"Did the predators tell you that yesterday?"
You tar sucking wretch.
The airy accusation made me clench my mandibles and feelers, and my antennae grew still. It must've encouraged the stranger to keep going.
"Because replacing our leaders with more traitorous Tilfish won't work. We're not the Venlil."
So that was what this was really about. Okay.
"You're mistaken," I began smoothly, ready to cut down this wretch with words alone. "My daughter got into trouble while I was working, and was returned to me. I've been terribly busy as you've heard in the old Advisor's place, with everything ongoing. Their visit yesterday did not pertain to my office, and any insinuation to the contrary will not be taken lightly."
"There was a boy as well. He seemed unnaturally comfortable with the beasts."
I will bury you underneath my garden.
"Your vision must be failing, because I assure you I saw no such thing under my roof."
"Good, good. We cannot have the diseased among us, no matter the times. I was wary of calling the exterminators prematurely, so I'm glad I checked in."
"The dead Exterminators?" I asked sharply, cocking my head. "Or the ones leashed to the predators?"
"..." The wretch stared at me for a long moment. "The dead ones, I suppose."
"What a shame about them, really." I drawled. "Anyways, did you have anything else on your mind you felt worth coming over this way to ask?"
"What happened to the old Advisor?"
"Dereliction of duty and cowardice. He's fled to a different system by now. For all the good that'll do him." The wretch's antennae flicked in irritation. "Now, the office is closed and I have work to do yet. Admittance is by appointment only. Good day."
The wretch didn't leave, apparently unsatisfied. We stared at each other a moment more.
"Is something else the matter?" I buzzed firmly.
"The swarm is more than capable of defending itself without the Exterminators. Don't think yourself above it's reach."
Something cold settled in my carapace. My claws itched. "Be very careful; threatening the Agricultural office is a high crime. I'm more than capable of protecting myself without the Exterminators."
A twitch from the wretch. "Is that so?"
"Don't come around my office again. Bounders are not welcome here, same as any predator."
His antennae lowered and he remained quiet, and I felt a faint trill in my chest. "Enjoy your day..."
"Eat sod." I responded sharply. I eyed the wretch as he retreated down the sidewalk, and something clicked in my mind.
Twenty paces. In twenty paces I could retrieve the gun in the lobby. You won't even see it coming.
A flicker of movement, and another Tilfish stepped out from some ornamental carvings in front of the filing office down the way, joining the wretch. I waited until the two were out of sight and long gone, arms crossed and feelers clenching my chitin as I waited even longer, before turning back to my abode and striding around to the garden.
.*~*.
"Marullo?" The voice above me is hesitant, and I bury my tool into the soil and look up. Tugal is above me at the lip of the hole, and I realize that I've dug way too far down. My arms hurt. My legs hurt. I don't feel like stopping, but I might hit a gas line if I keep going. I feel a flash of pity at my brother's distressed state.
"What... what happened while I was asleep? Holywood and Aegan are fighting over burning the last of our food- those Nectar Pods the predator touched. I thought we threw those out, but somehow they're back. Muttart climbed up the wall and left tracks everywhere, and he won't come down because he's still mad about last night. Cleo's locked herself in the bathroom and won't stop crying and vomiting. She searched the net for something and nobody can get through to her now. She mentioned the predator wanted something terrible from you, but that's all I could understand through the door. And you're out here destroying the gardens?"
"I was in my office all day. Food distribution is back on track for now, but who knows how long that'll last. It was stressful, and this is how I'm handling it." I began. I clacked my mandibles and ran my feelers over my antennae.
Formi, I'm filthy.
"Why destroy the gardens? And the hole?"
"The old boss's taste in décor was tacky. I'm sprucing it up. Oh! The Head of Agriculture is still with us. He approved my promotion, so I'm now the new Regional Agricultural Advisor." I rubbed at my face, my antennae twitching aggressively once more now that I'm not putting my entire focus onto tearing asunder this pathetic excuse of a garden.
"I'm making a burrow in case we need to hide the kids outside the building. I've already made two others in case we need to retreat through the back and into the next property."
"What did the predator do? Are you okay?"
I kicked at some loose soil before stretching my legs and scuttling out of the hole. I pulled myself up and fruitlessly wiped at the filth coating my carapace. "I'm not okay. Nobody is okay, or we wouldn't be here Tugal. We wouldn't need to worry about predators, or pests, or starving, or the humans, or each other if we were okay. For once, our predator didn't do anything wrong."
Tugal became alert, his mandibles clicking quietly as he waited for me to continue.
"There was a Tilfish that left the swarm. He went into one of the predator nests to talk. They didn't hurt him- the humans are too patient to eat the first ones that come to them, but after he left some witnesses told the swarm about it." How I really felt about the matter was slipping through with every single errant twitch I couldn't control. We were not supposed to be the monsters in this story. We were not supposed to be so susceptible to our wicked past. We were civilized!
I lowered my voice. "A group took him away from the city and tore him apart while he was still alive. They tried to feed him to Bark Saws, Tugal."
"Are you certain the story wasn't deception?" Tugal whispered back. "It's what they're known for."
I flicked my antennae in confirmation.
"Maybe... maybe they were defending themselves. Don't look at me like that, how they did it was sick. I hope they're screened and dealt with properly; we can't have people doing that in these times. It's no excuse. I'm just trying to understand it." Tugal stated, making my innards twist. "But these predators we're facing hunt through social deception. They're tricky, and the more of us they corrupt the more susceptible the swarm gets. That man, he could've done untellable damage. I just... I'm sorry you had to hear that. We have to stand strong against them, but we can't lose ourselves doing so."
Tugal watched me for a moment more, then gently prodded me: "...now, why the burrows? What else happened?"
I swallowed, my mandibles clicking repeatedly as I tried to reign in my thoughts. It was hard to speak suddenly, and I gripped my feelers until my claws started scraping into my chitin. "Where does that leave Muttart?"
Tugal flinched and his mandibles flexed. "No. Marullo, no."
"He's not afraid of them, Tugal!" I hissed quietly, feelers trembling. "He isn't! How do I help him? How long can I keep him here before he's too curious and sneaks out? What if someone sees him? What if Cleo finds out? He's not a threat: he's still a child!"
"Marullo, he'll be fine." My brother stated firmly, gripping my arms. "Nobody's going to touch him. We just need to talk to him- he doesn't understand what predators are capable of."
"And what about us?" I buzzed back. "What are we capable of? How can normal people do that?"
"It's fear, Marullo. Fear breaks us. You freeze when you're terrified. Others abandon the ones they love. Some... some fight back. Everyone goes crazy when threatened, and those people will pay for what they did."
Too many things flashed through my head at once. It felt like I was boiling.
"It's not just them, Tugal. Someone down in the residential area was watching the predators last night. He asked about him." My brother's feelers tightened on my arms, and he grew still. "They asked about me as well, and I think they believe I'm a threat. They're no different than the people that mutilated that poor man."
"How many? What did you say?"
"Two, at least. They didn't give their names. I didn't tell them anything about us. We can't trust anyone else to keep quiet. One word to the wrong person and we're all dead. Our chance at making this right dies. I told them off, but I don't think it'll be enough."
"They might come back because of that."
"What was I to say? Was I supposed to advertise that we're one of the last resistance networks left?"
My brother's grip loosened and he stepped away, antennae flicking with concern. "I can figure this out. We'll... I'll set up a watch throughout the day with the exterminators. If they're on hand if a mob shows up, one of them in their gear should dissuade any further action. They won't get to you or Muttart. You did good. Can you- please rest. Go clean up, you'll scare Holywood and Muttart."
I twitched my mandibles a few times, looking at the ruins of a once barely acceptable garden. "Let me tidy up back here. I have to order flowers and a few trees, and work on other gardens in the public view. I guess that part can wait." I tacked on quickly, trying not to flinch under Tugal's sharp gaze.
"I'll go out to the market and pick up food afterwards. We shouldn't need to worry about basic necessities."
"If you're up for it. Be watchful out there" Tugal warned softly. I appreciated his concern, and bobbed my head wordlessly. He paused a moment, and asked quietly: "How did the predator come across that crime?"
"I... I don't know."
Tugal sighed quietly. "How did it affect it?"
I paused, wondering why Tugal cared. Absently, I ducked my head in thought. "It's furious. I... I almost want to say bitter. We got into a fight over the Bark Saws, and it escalated. It's angry with me, and I need to figure out how to fix that before we lose it."
"We can try and-""
"No." I interrupt, surprising my brother. His antennae raise, and I continue. "Because I've been handing off the conversation to you and the others, we accidentally crossed it. If I had been the one to talk to it first instead of you, I could've avoided starting the argument with the Bark Saw. Cleo, Aegan, Zoil- they're hostile towards it and it believes I talk like that now. It feels threatened. I need to do this on my own and try and fix it. I can bring it back to us."
Tugal buzzed quietly, thinking. "Okay. Get yourself cleaned up first. Give it some time to calm down and go bring back some groceries. I'll talk with the others and get them back on track. I think our window to do this is closing, Marullo. If we can't get this human the risks we took will be for naught. Every other option will be riskier if this falls apart."
"I know. I won't let you down."

Does this plan have any legs?
Current primary: 588 sq ft 1/1 near the beach in So Cal. Paid 500k for it in 2021. Live with fiancé and 2 cats. Want kids in the future (34M, 29F). Need more room. House needs new foundation (50k). Love the area and don’t want to move.
Investment property: my brother and I own a condo that we rent out. It’s probably worth 140–150k. If sold my take away would be 70-90k including the rents we’ve been stashing.
Family land: own 13 acres up north. Can maybe get between 100-150k for it. Would have to split this 3 ways so 33-50k take away.
My fiancé and I make about 150-170k combined. No other debts. 800+ credit. I have about a 45k emergency fund.
Here’s the plan. Sell the condo (bro wants to sell), sell the land, use money from both sales to replace foundation and add a bedroom and bathroom to the house, then afterwards take out a heloc on the house and tap some of the created value and equity (we have 110k equity right now as is) and launch that into a new investment property as a fat down payment aiming to buy a duplex for under 200k (Midwest).
Making somewhat large Assumptions: 1. we can get what we expect on both sales and it’s enough to cover both the foundation and the addition. 2. We can purchase a duplex that rents $700-800 per side and doesn’t need major work. 3. Fiancé and I can get approved for a heloc followed by a mortgage. 4. The rent would more than cover the heloc payment and the mortgage payment (would hopefully be tiny if existent at all. 5. The heloc would be enough to make the purchase happen.
Does this plan have any legs at all or is it a pipe dream? The hope is to upgrade our home and leverage some of that created equity into another investment property.
Thanks!

Hey guys so we are mid-way through taking a Padi open water diving course in Ecuador.
The whole thing is a bit of a hilarious mess of screwed up equipment and poor training.
I am gonna run through our experience for two reasons:

1. I genuinely want to know what should be in a Padi Open Water course and what everyone else does in theirs
   
2. So you can get a laugh out of how terrible it all is over here
   

This cost the same as all the other shops selling courses in this area and it was $340 PP (Asked 5 tour shops) so I’m not holding back on them. Their charging full-European rates on this and giving a shit service.
Day 1
We meet our “English Speaking” instructor. Barely any English he just nods at everything. At one point I asked if we were taking a Tuk Tuk to the pool. He responded with yes, thank you I love to teach diving it is my passion.
We watch a 1 hour video on the TV and he says yeah that’s enough the rest is not so important. My partner has a cold so we insist with some debate that she will not do the course (As the video said).
Move on to the pool and do some drills. Take jacket off and replace, swap breathing tool with dive buddy, use reserve breather etc.
Most of the kit was leaking air a lot. Rubber protectors broken off and lots of corrosion. If I removed my breathing tool I has to shake and twist it to stop air flowing out. We did 1 dive for about 45 mins and called it a day.
Day 2
Our first open water dive on an island. Boat barley worked and required 5 mins of playing around with a screw driver each time we set off.
Got to the site went to put together my gear and there was a frayed line on the pressure gauge and a leak. Guides said it’s fine. I pointed out another leak and a jamming breathing tool. Got it changed for a new one.
Assembled the kit and got ready to jump in. After a few seconds in the water I say my breathing tool is a bit hard to draw from (usable but annoying) he said switch to the secondary and use that. It’s missing one of the bite pads which was a real pain. No more extras on the boat and did not want to go all the way back.
Okay so I just hold the mask on my way down. Get to the bottom and my dive buddy floats off a bit. I had just finished an exhale and my mouthpiece fell out of the breathing room (We are around 8 meters deep here). So I had no air in my lungs and also no breathing tool.
I tap the guide and point to my reserve (previously main) and he hands it to me. It was a bit out of my reach and I did not have much time to get it as I had not realised the breathing tool was detached from the mouthpiece and got some water in my mouth on an inhale.
I’m fairly stoic so was not freaking out. Between us someone would have given me air but it was my first time in the ocean (ever). I cleared the tool with the button on the back (As I had 0 air) and managed to get a good breathe.
Anyway so he had a spare mouthpiece for my reserve one that he gave me. All good and breathing again. My dive buddy has floated away at this point and he signals to wait here. I wait for about 3-4 mins alone and they return. Had a little browse around and saw my first school of fish (Total time ever with scuba gear now 50 mins including 40 from the pool). We do 2 dives with my dive buddy repeatedly floating off.
We are on the boat talking to the instructor and we go what’s the deepest you’ve gone diving. He replies “The most was 35M because I have not done my advanced divers course yet” SO HE JUST HAS OPEN WATER TRAINING.
The owner of the dive shop is a dive master I believe but he spoke no English and was not diving with us. He will probably go down on the paperwork as the teacher. BTW my Spanish is decent and in the end we were speaking mainly in Spanish anyway. My hope was his English would be a lot better than my Spanish.
Under the water we did stuff like take off and put on jacket. Clear goggles etc. Total about an hour underwater maybe more. Tomorrow we finish off the course.
I did a bit of looking around and it sounds like other people did exams, lots of studying and way more diving but those were from 6 or so years ago. How different is Ecuadorean diving from the rest of the world?
Dive location: Salango Island
Edit: I had already paid so thought I’d see it though. We went back and did 2x 20M dives today. Went through their stuff in the morning and although most of it was crap found the least crappy one and brought that with. So today no gear failures.
Although my dive partners respirator did stop working at around 10M down. Had to swap it for emergency and he used that for the rest of the dive (okay now that even I wouldn’t do).
I’ve been told I will get a Padi certificate in my inbox within 2-3 days. Will update when I get it.

This is a genuine question. I understand the worries about AI replacing jobs, which in the short term can lead to struggle for individuals/ certain parts of the population who would lose their job. That sucks. I get that AI could be used to create and spread misinformation. But we already have this issue right now, and I also think that we, as a society, learn to get better at dealing with this (e.g., rather than believing any video we see, only trust information that comes from a reputable source).
There could be cyberattacks that utilize AI in some form; however cybersecurity would then also be able to make use of AI to deal with those attacks.
Even people like Sam Altman says in interviews that he is a bit worried about the rapid development of AI. I struggle to see the potential issues. There won't be an army of killer robots, because we can barely build robots that walk on two legs as of today. Even then, as humans, can't we always just pull the plug is a last resort?

Looking to replace this chair : https://www.officedepot.com/a/products/690657/Realspace-Mesh-Fabric-Executive-Chair-44/
that broke after 4 years of use. Had a similar one at my parent's place from sam's club that is still fine after 12+ years.
Seems like it's impossible to find these cheapo full mesh cushy chairs anymore. They're super comfy to sit cross legged in too.

First Previous Next
Finding monkeys proved fairly easy. That didn’t come as much of a surprise, as Noah had practically been drowning in the mangy monsters when he’d first been shunted into Vermil’s body.
After just a few minutes of creeping through the trees, he spotted a red-furred monkey hunched over the blood splattered carcass of another monkey, savagely tearing into it and ripping large chunks of flesh free.
It shoveled them into its mouth, letting out an incredibly uncomfortable combination of moans and grunts as it fed. Noah didn’t even bother to hide his disgust. He stopped in his tracks, keeping a few trees between him and the distracted monster, and channeled one of his Wind Runes.
An arc of energy swirled between his fingertips and leapt out, scything past trees and connecting cleanly with the back of the monkey’s neck.
The monster pitched forward and fell prone on top of its meal, the stump of its neck pumping blood out onto the ground. A rush of energy slithered through Noah’s veins and up his spine.
Noah immediately brought forth his Vibration Rune. It flickered, indistinguishable from what it had looked like before. If killing the monkey had done anything to make it grow in strength, he couldn’t see the results.
“Lovely. I sure hope these things aren’t endangered, because I think I’m going to be killing quite a few of them.” Noah closed his palm.
No matter how many he had to kill, at least it was better than sitting around and doing nothing. That was one thing he’d never do again. Better to try and fail than to be stuck wasting even more time.
He knelt by the dead monkey and used one of its hands to saw at a claw. A few minutes later, he ripped it free with a grunt. Noah wiped the blood off on the monster’s thick hair and hefted his makeshift dagger, nodding to himself.
It was time to hunt.
Five more monkeys met similar fates and fell to Noah’s Wind Runes. He was tempted to test out Ash, but Wind felt like a much better tool for his current opponents.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
Hours ticked by as he stalked the denizens of the forest, and the sun trekked through the sky, making for the horizon. Noah’s streak of good luck finally came to an end as he reached a small clearing in the burnt trees shortly after midday.
Something had ripped the trees in the area apart and thrown them all to one side, leaving jagged stumps protruding from the ground everywhere. Four small monkeys sat in a semicircle around a huge one that Noah recognized all to well from its enormous claws and butt-ugly face.
A Slasher. The same monster that had killed him several times shortly after his arrival. A mixture of fear and anger mixed in his chest and Noah instinctively ducked behind a tree, pressing his side to the brittle bark.
He waited a moment before peeking out again. The monsters didn’t seem to have noticed him. The Slasher just stood before its smaller fellows, grunting unintelligibly and occasionally waving its hands around.
Are they intelligent? That’s an unsettling thought. Might take a moment to get over that.
Okay, I’m over it. Bastards went for me first. Enjoy waiting in line, assholes.
Noah flexed his fingers. He unhooked the gourd from his waist and padded back in the way he’d come for a minute, hiding the gourd at the base of a large tree before returning to the clearing.
He wrapped around the clearing to get behind the back of the Slasher. He hadn’t fought the monsters in a group yet, but that didn’t change the fact that the huge monkey was still the most dangerous of the lot.
Wind slithered around Noah’s palm and formed into a vibrating crescent moon before his palm. He took aim and let the spell fly at the monkey. Not waiting to see if it connected, he formed another disk and launched it before dashing back into the trees.
A raged screech followed by a gurgling howl told Noah that his attacks had struck. Thundering footsteps followed by a loud crunch gave the additional information that they hadn’t struck quite well enough.
Noah swore under his breath, pumping his legs as hard as he could as he dipped and dove through the forest. Trees cracked and shattered behind him as the monkey gave chase, hollering in fury.
It was gaining on him. Noah couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu as the distance between them steadily closed. He could hear the calls of the smaller monsters growing closer. Noah caught a flash of one of them swinging through the trees to his side.
He spun, firing a blade of wind at it. The monkey dropped to the ground, dodging the attack, and lunged for him. The smart move would have been to dive to the side or try to avoid the blow.
That was likely what the monkey had been expecting. Instead, Noah stepped toward it and whipped his elbow up into the monster’s nose. It let out a screech and staggered backward, momentarily stunned.
Noah slammed his palm into its face and unleashed a blade of wind point blank. Blood sprayed and it fell back without another noise. Energy flooded into Noah, but he was already running again.
Three more monkeys. Two small ones and one wounded Slasher. Noah spun behind a tree, raising his hand and firing a blade of wind just as the Slasher barreled clean through a thin tree, sending fragments of wood flying everywhere.
Its furry neck was matted with blood and its beady black eyes burned with hatred and pain. The monkey opened its mouth, revealing rows of jagged yellow fangs, and let out a howl. Noah’s spell caught it in the chest, carving a thick wound across it.
It screeched and lunged at Noah. This time, Noah got the feeling that trying to punch the monkey out would just result in getting shredded to ribbons. He dove away, landing in an awkward roll.
Something popped in his arm and he swore in pain. Noah rolled over, raising his other hand defensively just as the Slasher arrived before him. It raised its hands, screeching in victory.
I saw the other monster do this too. It’s going to slash down with both hands.
Noah rolled to the side. Dirt whumped behind him as the monkey’s claws slipped clean through it and its palms hit the forest floor. His arm throbbed in pain, but Noah ignored it. He raised his other hand and fired a blade of wind into the surprised Slasher’s neck.
Its cries finally went silent and it crashed to the ground beside him, dead. Noah shuddered, adrenaline coursing through his veins with such intensity that he could hear his heartbeat.
Energy filled him and he staggered to his feet, scanning the surroundings. There were still two monkeys left, and he still remembered what happened when he celebrated a victory too early.
Noah turned in a slow circle, his eyes flicking at every faint rustle of wind through the cracked trees. His chest rose and fell with heavy breaths and he held his hand before his chest, his teeth bared.
“Come on,” Noah snarled. “Where are you?”
A powerful blow slammed into Noah’s back and he staggered forward. He staggered to the side, but too slowly to avoid a clawed hand as it raked across his back. Noah screamed and fell to the ground, desperately twisting around to see the monkey lunging to rip his face off.
Magic swirled and a blade of wind caught the monster in the neck. Its corpse slammed into Noah, knocking him to the ground. The wounds on his back screamed in pain and Noah snarled, shoving the creature off him.
Numbness crept along his body. He tried to stand, but his legs wouldn’t work properly. He slipped in the growing pool of his and the monster’s blood on the scorched ground and fell back with a groan.
With a feeble, shaking hand, Noah grabbed his makeshift dagger. He dragged himself back across the ground with it, pushing himself against a tree to prop himself up. Every breath came shallower than the last, but Noah kept his dagger raised before him.
“One more,” Noah wheezed. “Come on.”
Seconds ticked by and Noah’s hand dipped. The world grew darker and his vision narrowed to a pinpoint. Strength left Noah’s limbs. His last action was to toss his dagger as hard as he could – which, at this point, was just half a dozen feet away from him.
A tiny flicker of motion in the edge of his fading eyes was the last thing he saw before he slipped off.
Noah’s soul peeled away from the body, lifting into the air. He stared down at the bloodied corpse beneath him and scrunched his nose. The final monkey was behind a tree, staring warily at his body.
“Well, not a bad run by any means. A definite improvement over the previous one. And – oh, goddamn it. Please stop that. Don’t eat my face, that’s disgusting.”
The monkey couldn’t hear him. And, even if it could, Noah suspected that his request would have fallen on deaf ears.
Greyish black energy wound around his neck. Noah didn’t even blink as it yanked him away.
An instant later, he sat up with a ragged gasp. His head pounded with a violent headache, and the gourd rested on the ground beside him. Noah pushed himself upright using the trunk of the tree, leaving his gourd on the ground.
He instinctively tried to call on his magic, but it was for naught. The Runes were completely inaccessible for him, and judging by previous experience, they’d remain that way for several hours.
Noah massaged his temple and trudged into the forest in the direction of his corpse. Even if he didn’t have magic, he needed to get his clothes back or he’d be returning to Arbitage with everything on display.
He repressed a pained chuckle.
That’s one way to get fired.
Several minutes later, Noah stopped walking. Loud crunches came from where he’d died, and he didn’t need to use much imagination to know what they were. Noah crept forward, watching the ground to make sure he didn’t step on anything too loud.
Luckily, the monkey seemed distracted with what it likely assumed to be the prize of its patience. It was hunched over his body, letting out faint hoots as it ripped him apart. Noah’s dagger rested on the ground where he’d thrown it.
Moving as quietly as he could, Noah walked up to the dagger. He scooped it off the ground and the monkey paused, looking up from its meal as its ears finally picked up on the noise.
It was too late. Noah plunged the blade into its ear, twisting it savagely before ripping it out and slamming it into the base of the monster’s skull. The sharp claw bit through the dense hair and the flesh beneath it.
The monkey slumped, dead before it even got a glance at him. Noah shoved it to the side and grabbed his clothes from his corpse, doing his best not to look at his now mangled face. He ignored the blood soaking into his shirt and pants as he pulled them on and turned, heading away without a second glance.
He collected his gourd, still fighting the violent headache pounding in his skull, and climbed into a tree to wait for his magic to return. Despite the pain rippling through his body and the fog in his mind, Noah’s heart thumped with excitement. He was starting to really enjoy this.
Also, read ahead on RoyalRoad or get 30 bonus chapters on my Patreon!

My service is now installed, and I thought I'd post an update with my experience for others considering upgrading to multi-gig service.
I bought a MikroTik CCR2004-16G-2S+ router, an S+RJ10 module, an SFP+ DAC cable, and attached it to my existing MikroTik CRS312 switch.
I do not recommend this setup if you are not technically inclined. If you don't know what DHCP, NAT, stateful vs stateless firewalls, or bridges are, pick up something else.

Pros:

• Rackmount design
• All things are possible
• Excellent documentation
• NAT and stateful firewall at full 10 gig duplex performance
• No cloud dependencies
• No remote telemetry spying on you

Cons:

• No out-of-the-box configuration
• Uses more standard network terminology, which if you are used to customer routers may be unfamiliar
• Noisy fan
• Weird and proprietary scripting/shell language (although, all the similarly priced alternatives seem to be missing scripting entirely...)

The router does not come with any configuration out of the box, so you have to build it up basically from scratch. Before actually ordering my service upgrade, I set up a local NAT behind my existing router so I could benchmark it. A basic NAT+stateful firewall was able to perform at full duplex 9.4gbps through the SFP+ ports at under iperf, so I was happy with that.
Once I actually had the tech come and upgrade my service, I ran into a few issues. First, I was only getting 4gbps from speedtest.net - solved by running speedtest on the CLI.
The next issue was fan noise - the MikroTik module was toasty, and the fans were running pretty much full speed trying to keep it cool. After researching online I bought a WiiTek module off amazon, which ran about 5 degrees cooler even with the fans at lower speed. But your mileage may vary - a relevant detail of my setup is that my ONT was 50-60 feet of cat6a cable away from the router. I pulled some fiber along that route instead, and used a short 1 foot cat6 cable to connect the ONT to the router, and temps dropped further. The fans are still audible but no longer loud. I'm going to replace them with noctua A4x20 FLX and it'll be really silent. This router also comes in a passively cooled variant with a giant heatsink and slower clocks, which is probably what I should've bought :-)
Overall I am quite pleased with the Ziply service and my router choice. While the interface was intimidating at first and some customization was required, I was always able to google and find documentation and instructions.
And here at the end is a little guide that could be useful as actual instructions if you buy one of these routers, or to help you decide if this sort of configuration is within your comfort level. All of this is doable via the GUI, which is basically 1:1 with the command line, but I didn't feel like adding a bunch of screenshots to this post.
Configure SFP+ ports.

/interface ethernet set [ find default-name=sfp-sfpplus1 ] comment="WAN SFP1" set [ find default-name=sfp-sfpplus2 ] comment="LAN SFP2" 

Not required, but I chose to use interface lists so I could reassign stuff easily later if I wanted to.

/interface list add name=WAN add name=LAN /interface list member add interface=sfp-sfpplus1 list=WAN add interface=sfp-sfpplus2 list=LAN 

Create a pool to assign IPv4 addresses from:

/ip pool add comment="10/24 " name=dhcp ranges=10.0.0.2-10.0.0.254 

Add a DHCP server to the LAN port:

/ip dhcp-server add address-pool=dhcp interface=sfp-sfpplus2 lease-time=10h name=dhcp1 /ip address add address=10.0.0.1/24 interface=sfp-sfpplus2 network=10.0.0.0 /ip dhcp-server network add address=10.0.0.0/24 dns-server=10.0.0.1 gateway=10.0.0.1 netmask=24 

Set up DNS:

/ip dns set allow-remote-requests=yes cache-size=8192KiB max-concurrent-queries=1000 max-concurrent-tcp-sessions=50 

IPv4 NAT:

/ip firewall filter add action=fasttrack-connection chain=forward comment="Fastrack established/related" connection-state=established,related hw-offload=yes add action=accept chain=forward comment="Accept established/related" connection-state=established,related /ip firewall nat add action=masquerade chain=srcnat comment="IPv4 WAN" out-interface-list=WAN 

Example port forwarding configuration for games, servers, etc :

/ip firewall nat add action=dst-nat chain=dstnat comment="HTTP server" dst-port=80,443 in-interface-list=WAN protocol=tcp to-addresses=10.0.0.123 

Now we're going to get connected to the internet, but we want to be safe first, which means a firewall to block WAN connections to the router.

/ip firewall filter add action=accept chain=input comment="Accept traffic from LAN to router" in-interface-list=!WAN add action=accept chain=input comment="Accept ICMP" protocol=icmp add action=accept chain=input comment="Allow established incoming traffic" connection-state=established,related in-interface-list=WAN add action=drop chain=input comment="Drop incoming traffic to router" in-interface-list=WAN 

This configuration will drop incoming connections to the router unless they originate from the LAN interface list.
Now that our NAT and firewalls are set up, let’s connect to the internet! (ziply does not yet support ipv6 unless you get the 10g package)

/ipv6 settings set disable-ipv6=yes /ip dhcp-client add interface=sfp-sfpplus1 

After all this, you basically have the default configuration a customer router ships with - DHCP, NAT, default-deny stateful firewall, local DNS cache. I followed up with static DHCP leases, local NTP server, ddns update scripts - maybe in the future I’ll install some docker containers.

Just had the siding redone, and had to reconnect my AC condenser. Breaker on, disconnect pulled I get a solid 120/240 on the line side. Was happy, and was just about to fire it up but I kept poking around…
If I meter one leg of the line and one leg of the load (picture), I get ~115v of potential. Load to ground is 0v. Load-to-load is 0v.
Is this because the capacitor is still charged? Am I safe to fire it up, or do I have a more serious problem? (FYI: this is an older unit, but the compressor is fairly new and I replaced the start capacitor last year).

"Attention! I have been granted special dispensation to use firearms in defense of Neotopia. Lay down your weapons at once!"
Before a perpetually peaceful world, when Neotopia was attacked by an evil force who wished to destroy all organic life, they needed a saviour. This saviour came in the form of the secret organization of the Super Dimensional Guards, and in particular Captain Gundam, A robot authorised to use any means neccesary to protect his world. While initially insisting on keeping his activities a complete secret, the actions and support of a local boy named Shute helped activate his Soul Drive, a special contraption in his chest that greatly increased his abilities. The two would work together in the newly formed Gundam Force, alongside Gundams from other dimensions whose homes had already fallen to the Dark Axis, seeking to protect harmony in the universe.
Captain Gundam, after being greatly injured, was later repaired and had some upgrades made to his exoskeleton. Besides from a new ultimate attack, it's unclear how much this affects his abilities otherwise. All feats obtained in this upgraded body are marked with 'UP' to distinguish them.

Strength

Striking

• Charges at Zapper Zaku and clashes shields with him, the two of them being even, before hitting him and striking him back a distance
• Strikes away Zakos

Lifting / Throwing

• Catches a small shipping container as it falls on him
• Tilts up Shute's workshop with one hand before pushing out his kite-like device, which was too large to fit through the door
• Throws Bakunetsumaru a great distance through a portal
  • With one such throw, Bakunetsumaru had enough momentum to slam into Tallgeese a distance after leaving a portal and send him flying high into the air

Other

• Clashes swords with Berserker Epyon, who had the power level of four different enemies combined
• Jumps up shipping containers
• Leaps up a distance

Durability

• As a Gundam, his 'innards are made of high quality Gundanium', a highly durable metal.
  • The SDG Base was suspended in the air by thick Gundanium cables and were completely unaffected by a Gundam's slashes (from his dialogue, he was expecting it to be a different metal suspending the base which he would have been able to easily cleave through

Blunt Force

• Struck by a small shipping container swung by a crane
• Has three small shipping containers fall onto him, one after the other
• After an enemy flies with him, creating a shockwave (which could be a sonic boom, given no other shown flight has this sort of effect), Captain gets slammed into the ground^UP

Explosive

• Blasted back from his gun exploding a distance away
• Blocks a missile from Destroyer Dom, destroying his arm and taking him out of the fight but considering it just a minor injury that can be repaired
  • It should be noted that, while this was a less severe case, this doesn't mean he can fully shake off losing limbs: A later fight which had parts of him dismantled left him in a critical state
• Struck with a flurry of exploding spikes^UP
• Hit by one of five energy beams which ultimately create a giant explosion, sending him falling to the ground, still conscious. It also broke parts of his Option Z armour^UP
• Blasted by an enormous energy beam that ultimately explodes, resulting in an enormous crater in the ground and a nearby ship being sent through the air. This explosion sent him into a workshop in a distant city, though all this broke him (his Soul Drive remaining intact) and he needed to be repaired before he could do anything
  • View of the distance between the fight area and the city

Other

• Falls a distance onto a fake cloud, presumably made out of metal
• Drops an unknown distance to the ground
• Unaffected by regular bullets
• Blocks a spinning blade attack which rendered the attacker a blur from hitting Bakunetsumaru, becoming impaled. This left him in critical condition, however
  • With a regular attack, this enemy could cut through stone and with the spinning attack, it overpowered Bakunetsumaru's cross slash
• Endures a long onslaught of regular bullets and energy bullets from a ship
• Gets struck out of the air by energy bolts and recovers before he hits the ground^UP
• With several other robots, helps stop a train that had broken off of its tracks before it hits a wall to a volatile storage area

Speed

Reaction

• Jumps over energy bullets
• While not fully conscious due to lacking his Soul Drive, intercepts missiles before they hit Shute with his head energy bolts
• Blocks an energy beam with his shield before it hits Shute
• Seems to parry gunfire from Zapper Zaku's twin automatic guns
• Throws Grappler Gouf in front of one of Destroyer Dom's missiles after it was fired

Movement

• Quickly flies in to rescue Shute before he's attacked by a nearby robot
• After shooting his gun, flies forwards to pick up two robots as they're thrown into the air, quickly placing them far away where they are unlikely to be affected by an upcoming battle
• Moves a great distance to Shute and a motorcycle Gundam after several train cars had been blown into the air, saving them before the train cars hit them

Other

• Spins his beam saber in his hand to deflect a volley of arrows
• Spins his staff to block a flurry of after-image punches
• Spins a staff to block bullets
• Matches Zapper in a rapid flurry of blows
• Exchanges a rapid series of weapon clashes with Zapper

Skill

• Throws his gun into the air before a clash, jumping up to grab and fire it after kicking his opponent away
• After devising a plan to make them line up, shoots through a line of flying devices from distance
• Shoots the blade out of the hand of an enemy Gundam from a great distance while flying at incredible speeds

Equipment

Gun

• Shoots through a swarm of tiny robot bugs and hits the ground in an explosion, blasting some robots into the air and taking out the landing leg of a nearby ship
• Pierces through a line of Zakos
• Splits an enormous energy beam in two
• With a redirected blast creates a large explosion which sends Zero, Bakunetsumaru, and Entango flying
• Shoots a slightly extended beam along the ground which afterwards turns into an explosion
• Makes an enormous explosion which sends robots flying great distances
• Seems to very slightly stagger the enormous Big Zam mech
• After being backhanded away, breaks and explodes, the explosion being large and sending Captain back
• Wields a different gun, one which fires energy bolts, post-upgrade^UP

Shield

• Blocks bullets
• Endures a large energy beam which melts his gun
• Blocks an energy beam which could create a large explosion
• Blocks the blast from a Big Zam's main cannon, which creates an enormous explosion around him, leaving him unharmed
• Can shoot a spike down into the ground
• Shoots missiles^UP

Beam Saber

• Kept on his back, and only takes the form of the hilt until activated
• Takes out Zako Soldiers with a single strike each
• Parries bullets
• Cuts a machine in two
• When wielded by Zero, cuts a large machine's arm in two
• Cuts clean through empty train cars
• Doesn't work underwater

Option F

An optional extra pack attached to his back while equipping his armour, giving him greater flight capabilities

• Gives himself an extra burst of speed to fly away from a dimensional crack pulling the Gundam Force in
• Shoots lasers from two blasters on the back
• The blasters can be removed to take the form of a staff, energy on both ends
  • Can extend to hit another Gundam back and away
  • Extends to an even greater length, embedding itself in a ship to stop him, Zero, and Bakunetsumaru from getting sucked away
  • Spun to block bullets
  • Can be turned into beam sabers if one half's cut away
• A seemingly early version took the form of a pair of rocket boosters attached to his arms while putting on his combat armour, gives Captain far greater flight capabilities
  • Has him fly at incredible speeds
  • Only have limited fuel

Option Z

In the final battle, Captain equips Option Z, an experimental jet-like add-on which takes the place of Option F.

• Has the wings damaged, but still allows Captain to fly^UP
• Has a pair of large rotary guns and two shoulder mounted energy cannons^UP
  • The guns shoot energy bolts, capable of destroying large launched spikes^UP
• Contains a large gun that fires a powerful beam, blowing up several large spikes fired through the air^UP
• Shoots a large volley of two types of missiles^UP
  • Does this on its own, before attaching to Captain^UP
• Has limited fuel^UP

Scanners

• Can zoom his vision
• Can 'see' an invisible bridge
• Sees enemies made invisible with magic
• Lets him lock onto a target after measuring the distance and trajectory for his desired shot
• Notes Shute's temperature and heart rate
• Makes him aware of the existence and location of nearby wormholes
• Identifies that Berserker Epyon has power level comparable to four previous enemies encountered combined, all of which had previously been absorbed by its sword

In-Built Equipment and Robot Abilities

• Shoots bullets from his head
  • Also shoots energy
• Arm-mounted missiles which create large explosions
  • Shoots energy from the arms^UP
• Uses his back jets to fly and help bring himself back under control while he's being hit by an explosion
• The top of his head can act as a flashlight
• Projects scenes with the top of his head
• Sends what he's seeing to base, though it's not stated which part of him is doing this
• The V on his head acts as a radio
• Can freely twist himself at his neck and waist
• Has feet treads which allow him to rapidly ride along the ground without moving his legs
• Considers losing an arm a minor injury simply because it can be easily replaced
  • As aforementioned, while this was a less severe case, this doesn't mean he can fully shake off losing limbs: A later fight which had parts of him dismantled left him in a critical state
• Has been upgraded to be more expressive
• Following his upgrade, can activate Hyper Mode (later referred to as 'V Attack' to shoot a powerful energy V from his head, destroying the Big Zam's giant missile and creating an explosion with it that blasted the Big Zam back through the air. However, this needs to recharge after use^UP
  • Combined with Feather Dragon fused Zero and Baku Shin armour wearing Bakunetsumaru to destroy a large robot hand which had previously been invulnerable to their attacks^UP

Soul Drive

The 'most vital unit inside of Captain Gundam', the Soul Drive activates in response to strong emotions of friendship with Shute. This massively increases Captain Gundam's abilities while active. While it's unlikely that his durability also increases in this state, such feats have nevertheless been included in this section just in case they do. He can sense what Shute's doing through his soul drive and even have it activated through his actions when he's nowhere nearby, with this actively healing him from a previously incapacitated and highly injured state. For the majority of the series he can only activate his Soul Drive when synchronized with Shute, but in the final battle he draws on his memories with him to activate it stronger than it had ever been before while Shute was trapped.
While he was still alive, albeit in an unconscious state after having his Soul Drive removed, based on Commander Sazabi's defeat it can be speculated that destroying it would instantly kill Captain Gundam.

Strength

• Slugs it out with Commander Sazabi, breaking off pieces of his armour
• Clashes a punch with Commander Sazabi, breaking it at the cost of sending his own arm flying off. They then clash with their remaining fists, this time blowing up Sazabi's arm without injury
• Uppercuts Zapper Zaku, sending him and his Zako Soldiers flying back into a portal
• After deflecting it with his shield, punches a giant laser back, sending Zapper Zaku and his ship flying back into the portal it came from in the process
  • Earlier in the episode, this beam created an explosion which resulted in an enormous crater and sent Captain Gundam, Zapper Zaku, and his ship all flying back a great distance
• Punches another giant energy beam, with the clash (at least after Zero creates a shield) destroying an enormous amount of stone beneath them
• Lifts and then throws small shipping containers with robots on top of them high into the air, when earlier he wasn't able to lift them off him at all
• Throws a barrier created by Zero, flying through the air faster than Bakunetsumaru's horse can ride him through the air, picking them up and almost getting them to a portal before it closed
• Combines with the power of Zero's Super Magical Violent Tornado and Bakunetsumaru's Tenkyoken to create a combo attack of incredible power, capable of sending a spaceship flying back
• Seems to share the power of an overcharged Soul Drive with Zero and Bakunetsumaru, both in their super forms, with the three of them charging through the body of the final villain, causing it to explode^UP

Durability

• Slugs it out with Commander Sazabi, having pieces of his armour broken off and one punch sending him flying back before catching himself with his jetpack
• Grabs Commander Sazabi's beam sabers with his bare hands
• Deflects Commander Sazabi's energy beam with his shield
• Blocks a giant laser by spinning his shield, then is unharmed by the resulting enormous explosion
  • Earlier in the episode, this beam created an explosion which resulted in an enormous crater and sent Captain Gundam, Zapper Zaku, and his ship all flying back a great distance

Speed

• Jumps up shipping containers he just threw into the air
• Weaves around a mass of lasers shot by Sazabi
• Stabs the ground to create an energy wave that deflects a nearby missile

Other

• While equipped with Option Z, seems to throw energy all around his arm while charging up a punch^UP
• Stabs his beam saber into the ground, projecting energy which repels a nearby missile and stops an enormous swan robot from stomping on him
• Hypercharges a motorcycle Gundam through his heel wheels, allowing it to race at great speed, ride on walls, and seemingly allows him to jump
• After grabbing them in his hands, overloads Sazabi's beam sabers and causes them to explode
• In the hands of Commander Sazabi, the Soul Drive was corrupted and used to inflict pain on all the robots in Neotopia
• On activation, breaks the various forms of control an enemy Gundam had instilled, including knocking out Zero and Bakunetsumaru, locking out the steering of their ship, and creating a crack in the force field the enemy had created around him and Captain
• Was seemingly charged up by the wishes of all the robots in Neotopia, which potentially worked towards his immediate revival once it was placed back in his chest

GunCar

An enhanced form first seen given to Captain while he was alive but unable to act fully consciously due to his Soul Drive having been removed, this form gives Captain a large amount of extra gear on top of his standard combat armour which, among other things, allows him to transform into a vehicle.

• Has a jetpack and an energy machine gun
• Fires an onslaught of missiles
• Transforms into a vehicle
  • Fires up a winch that covers a great distance before embedding itself in a metal surface and pulling him up
  • Shoots energy bullets from his head and missiles
  • Flies and, while charged with Soul Drive, surrounds himself with energy to crash into an oncoming Commander Sazabi, who had also surrounded himself with energy to charge at him. Their clash created an incredible amount of light and broke off Captain's extra armour, though Sazabi's armour was also damaged

Captain System

With his Re-Equip Ring, Captain Gundam can activate Captain Mode, using his Soul Drive to access the programming of all the robots in Neotopia. Like this, he deactivates the control devices on all of them, freeing them from the Dark Axis' mind control

• His data self gets repeatedly hit by a data version of a robot before getting struck back
• Identifies a program that did not originate from Neotopia, and can enter it
• Scans a firewall for a weak point and then attacks it, allowing him to travel further into a robot's defenses
  • After breaking through its various firewalls, causes all instances of a bug-like robot in Neotopia to deactivate before reprogramming it, causing it to restore life to anything they had previously petrified (though this was with the assistance of a Feather Dragon's feather and a token from the Dai Shogun of Order
  • It transfers this new programming to another variant of it in another world
• Communicates with people outside while his data self

Other

• Has a license for his gun
• Can't swim, but functions fine underwater
• Translates Bakunetsumaru's language
• Is programmed to treat any voice as the person it sounds like, even when he actively knows it's someone else

I went swimming today at the swimming holes in the bottom of the box canyon hike over by payson, AZ. I had been swimming and climbing rocks and sliding down the mini waterfalls and at one point after going down a few pools stood up out of the water to find tons of little black worm looking things all over my chest and legs and everywhere else that was exposed. They came off pretty easily but would squirm around a lot, I am utterly confused as to what these are. The water was quite cold but it’s getting hot outside if that means anything. Anybody have any idea what these were?

For me this usually starts off with a life story, about a woman (aka me) on a Friday or Saturday night pondering on life as it is. Wondering why at 32 years old, I’m sitting at home, alone & pretty f*cking lonely. Instead it’s a Monday night, after a busy day at work & leg day at the gym trying to stop myself staring every minute at my gym crush.
I’ve become so content in my own company where my norm is taking myself out on dinner dates, spending a stupid amount of time at the gym & scrolling mindlessly through reddit or even dare I say it, tik tok.
Don’t get me wrong, I have friends who are basically family, a small group, a loyal group, people I probably couldn’t live with out, I also have a loving family, however I’ve always felt there’s one thing missing, that thing being my person, my “one true love” hahaha. As corny & sappy as that sounds I suppose it’s what I desire the most.
What I’ve found difficult though is finding another that is on the same page, that I vibe with, that I can just talk to endlessly about anything without it really feeling like a chore. You know the type of connection where your heart skips a beat, you get excited to hear from them & you can’t wait to share nearly every aspect of your life.
The problem I face on a regular basis though is trying to date in a pool of men who are either way out of my league, living on the other side of world or just wanting to dip their d into a moist v.
So here I am… again. Single & ready to find someone to do life with, so if you’re actually interested in taking the plunge, then read on to find out a little about me.
I’m 32 Living in Sydney, Australia. Born in New Zealand. I work full time. I decided I was sick of being miserable & hating on myself… so nearly a year ago, I decided I was going to start walking every day, which I have mostly done (except when covid knocked me about), I eventually joined a gym & realised I didn’t hate it as much as I thought I did. I’ve lost a decent amount of weight, but still thiccc af haha (I’m working on it) I love to travel & have booked a trip for the end of the year. I game here & there & for the first time this year, I’ve been doing things a little out of my comfort zone, building confidence in myself & living life a little differently.
I’m happy… for the first time ever, so I’d love to share that with another.
So if you’re keen on getting to know one another, keen on dealing with my sarcasm & satire & ready to share everything there is about you over dinner, then message me :)
https://imgur.com/a/Z7wZYUB

For me this usually starts off with a life story, about a woman (aka me) on a Friday or Saturday night pondering on life as it is. Wondering why at 32 years old, I’m sitting at home, alone & pretty f*cking lonely. Instead it’s a Monday night, after a busy day at work & leg day at the gym trying to stop myself staring every minute at my gym crush.
I’ve become so content in my own company where my norm is taking myself out on dinner dates, spending a stupid amount of time at the gym & scrolling mindlessly through reddit or even dare I say it, tik tok.
Don’t get me wrong, I have friends who are basically family, a small group, a loyal group, people I probably couldn’t live with out, I also have a loving family, however I’ve always felt there’s one thing missing, that thing being my person, my “one true love” hahaha. As corny & sappy as that sounds I suppose it’s what I desire the most.
What I’ve found difficult though is finding another that is on the same page, that I vibe with, that I can just talk to endlessly about anything without it really feeling like a chore. You know the type of connection where your heart skips a beat, you get excited to hear from them & you can’t wait to share nearly every aspect of your life.
The problem I face on a regular basis though is trying to date in a pool of men who are either way out of my league, living on the other side of world or just wanting to dip their d into a moist v.
So here I am… again. Single & ready to find someone to do life with, so if you’re actually interested in taking the plunge, then read on to find out a little about me.

I’m (28 female) currently 28 weeks pregnant (7mos) and have been with my man for almost 2 years in august (34male). He has a daughter from a previous relationship that is 16years old. But she is out of state. So he only sees her a couple times a year. Anyway! His family has made it clear that they don’t like me or want me or my 6 year old daughter around. They will be passive aggressive and make us feel unwelcome. Examples: boyfriends mom has slapped my daughters hands when we were playing uno because my kid was having a hard time dealing the cards. I was livid. Another time my bfs sisters husband (male 40s) pushed my daughter in the deep end of the pool when she had barely learned how to swim and I have also caught him quietly scolding her in private. Another time I served my kid her food and my bfs sister took half my daughters food off her plate and put it on her babies plate instead of grabbing some recently prepared food. In the same day my bfs dad put a blanket on the ground and told my daughter she wasn’t allowed on the couch but his grandkids (4 male, 1 female) were. Keep in mind I’m always on top of my daughters behavior. I’m always asking her to calm down or clean up after herself or to not jump on couch’s etc. I even talk to her before entering anyones house about respecting their home. Not because she’s a bad kid but because we want to be respectful. These are only a few things they’ve done to my daughter. As far as I go, they don’t care for my birthdays or anything pertaining to celebrate me. My bfs mom will be extra affectionate with my bf when I’m around and when he’s extra affectionate with me she’ll say things like “you don’t treat me like that!” Which is disgusting to me. His mom never has complimented me or told me anything positive that she likes about me. For instance on Valentine’s Day I did my hair differently and instead of saying I looked nice or anything she said her daughter could do the same hair do as mine but it looks way better on her. And if I was going to wear a sweater because I was showing legs and cleavage. I was living with them for almost a year until I switched jobs and when I came home from work one day my bf and his parents were huddled on the couch talking about me. His mom was facing the entry and saw me and continued talking about me saying I needed to move out. They didn’t say why. To me or in front of me. Weeks later I made my bf tell me why and they had told him that they know that I would never amount to anything. That I am a loser. After this we moved out , And we had stayed in air bnbs through thanksgiving and until December. By this time we had found a place and we’re on our own. When Christmas came around I was already pregnant by 5 weeks. And he mentioned it to his parents Christmas Day when he went over to his parents house alone. Their response to our pregnancy was “ok..?” At this time my daughter was w her biological father. I I spent the whole holiday alone. Crying. I don’t have parents. Most of my family is extremely toxic and they truly could care less about me. As they have made it clear when I was a victim of domestic abuse and violence from not only my daughters father , but the relationship I had after that. I went homeless to get away from both those relationships with my family never offering to let me stay with them.
Here’s my question. My boyfriends sister offers to throw me a baby shower. (When she was drunk) so she said she’d take care of everything. She asked my input for a theme and I told her what I was feeling. So she made the invitations on Etsy and showed me them in person on Mother’s Day. She then proceeded to give me the invitations and left it up to me to invite people. This made me feel like she was back tracking, as I have made it clear to their family I have nobody to invite on my side. So I told my bf to take care of it. Weeks have passed and he has done nothing. So I told him to reach out to his sister and cancel. My heart hurts that I’m alone with no support from either side. And I’m also hurt that his sister offered to do this and then proceeded to let all the responsibilities fall on me. I did mention to her that I would only want 2 invitation. One for my scrap book and another for my kiddo. So I cancelled. Am I being problematic for doing this ? I also don’t feel the need to have them in my new sons life. And won’t be able to see my baby until he is able to walk because I don’t trust any of them. I’ve also seen my bfs mom smack his granddaughters hands hard (1year old ) because she wasn’t “listening”. I have decided to completely take myself out of the equation. But my bf wants me to keep trying. I’ve also cancelled things that mean so much to me. But I know people will not show for me. And don’t care about me. I don’t understand why. It’s just always been like this for me. Am I wrong ? Can someone give me some insight is it just me or all in my head ?

Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/58elAMj
Hey all,
Looking to sell or trade some of these items. Mostly looking for cash, but will trade for: 3x magnifier, 3mag pouches, dump/dangler pouch, small admin pouch
$120, Gold Zaffiri threaded barrel- bought here, used for about 100rds by me before replacing, previous owner also used less than 100-300rds, don't recall exactly. No name comp included.
$80 TRS-26- got in a trade, like new, small spots of overspray from previous owner, most comes off with light rub.
$60 Arbor Arms 3 magazine placard "Wombat", Coyote Brown/FDE- Seems to be an earlier offering, holds 3 magazines, the new model holds 3, 6 if expanded.
$40 Esstac 5 magazine subgun daedon placard, RG/ODG- used with glock style magazines
$60 NAR drop leg medical pouch, Coyote Brown- selling as empty, anything that might be inside should be considered training use only
PayPal for payment if bought, others also available but not preferred. Shipping included in price, out within 3 days. Lower flair ships first on trade. Buyer covers G&S. Prices can be discussed in message. Wipe front to back, etc

Me and my gf just got out of the pool and we were in the moment so I put my thing on her while standing up and idk if I had precum on my tip or not but if I did I’m concerned. She then wiped her leg and her area with the same towel because she was still wet from the pool so is it possible that the precum (a possibility) was on the towel and then went into her vagina because she was drying it with the same towel eventually leading to her getting pregnant. I know this is outrageous but I am paranoid with everything just need validation that this is not possible to lead to pregnancy.

Obviously I can’t cover everything, but these are things I wish I knew before putting mine in (also opinions):

1. Don’t try to attach the fuse above your engine bay. Do this on a table, ahead of time and splice the wire no more than 6 inches from the other end that terminates to the battery.
   
2. Get a coat hanger for when you have to snake the power wire through the firewall, into the engine bay and duct tape the power wire to it.
   
3. Don’t try to solder in your car. Your car will smell like ass and you’ll get Liquid Metal on shit and burn your leg.
   
4. If you’re getting a radio, sure you can get one on amazon, but figure out if you need a single or double din and if you’ll need a dash kit. Best way to do that is to check Scosche’s website. They tell you. I put a double din in mine and I probably could have been okay with just a single din, but I also could have gotten the dash kit that Scosche had with the wire harness and it all would have looked better.
   
5. Butt connectors suck in comparison to wire caps, but could short out if any wires cross, so make sure to use them sparingly.
   
6. Get some extra wire because there’s a good chance you’re going to accidentally wire the remote turn on wire from the amp to the wire that the Chinese head unit says is the remote wire and then it’s not gonna work and you’ll need to replace the wire in the harness that you cut.
   
7. Before cutting any of the wire harness wires, label them or draw on them with sharpie if you’re cutting one and two of them have the same color.
   
8. Save some money and buy an aftermarket wire harness that you have to solder instead of one that terminates with butt connectors. Chances are someone will have returned the aftermarket wire harness and the butt connectors will already be crimped and then you’ll have to return it and get a whole new one.
   
9. The instructions for your amp and sub and head unit are going to suck. YouTube is your friend, so it could be a good idea to pay for one month of YouTube premium so you can wade through lots of YouTube videos to figure out what you need.
   
10. IMO best song to test subs and amp is Mercy (Kanye, 2 Chainz, Pusha T and Big Sean) you also have to tune the sub and turn up the settings.
    

TLDR: How do you decide if a potential HOA is being too spendy?
For my fellow Californians, what is a reasonable per unit expense for a well-maintained but definitely non-luxury complex in a HCOL part of California?
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The Background
I have an accepted offer on a condo in a complex that was built in the late 1980's. There are about 170 (1BR and 2BR units) and each unit has a one car garage. It's in a pricey part of California and units are selling between $500k and $650k (I know those are ridiculous numbers, it's not a luxury complex, this is just where I'm from and while I've lived in a few great cities in different parts of the country, nothing is worth being away from friends and family).
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About the complex, on the positive side:

• Complex appears to be very well maintained, units are all in good condition.
• HOA seems to be proactive (eg, it looks like the HOA had replaced all of the garage doors relatively recently).

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On the downside:

• The HOA fees recently went from $375 to $450 (+20% increase, they had been going up $10-$15 per year).
• The grounds look very unwater friendly and it looks like they are probably spending a boatload on landscaping. The 2018 expenses for *landscaping alone* were about $70k (that's landscaping only and does *not* include maintenance for the common areas, the pool etc).
• The agenda for the next HOA meeting was post by the clubhouse and there were a lot of big numbers on there (some quotes for paving work ranging between $300k to $400k, some potential tennis court work at $120k, a couple "smaller" maintain issues for $3k - $10k).
• The annual spending thru 2018 is posted online and in 2018 they had $80k in gas and electric. The HOA isn't covering individual unit's electric or gas so that is $80k for electricity for common areas alone. We have super high utility rates so who knows what it is now.

I will get the financials for the HOA and be able to see the budget, reserves, and if there are any upcoming assessments (eg, are they about to do a $2k/unit assessment for paving???) but how can you tell if a potential HOA is too spendy?
The 2018 expenses were about $500k which is about $3k per unit. That just seems high for 1BR and 2BR units and I'm sure it's a lot more now.
Fellow Californians, what is a reasonable per unit expense for a well-maintained but definitely non-luxury complex in a HCOL part of California?

Today my husband put the air conditioners in and I started chores around the house. I got chicken and rice started in the crockpot. Then I put away dishes and washed what was there. I finally sat down almost unable to move. Husband helped with dinner but I was on my feet the whole time. A few hours later I look over at my husband and he’s asleep, nothing new he works third shift at a grocery store and all the tourists are here so he’s doing that and a side hustle. I got up shredded the chicken added the rice. I sat down and realized I could not move, it hurt so bad. Husband wakes up and I told him I couldn’t move I am just sitting with the heat pad. I have nothing to drink right now and he’s in bed for work tonight and I haven’t trained my cats to fetch yet.
I want things to be the way they were before, I had three chronic pain conditions that were managed and I was mobile . The last three years I’ve been less and less mobile. I’ve done physical therapy. I was in a little over three feet of water in a small pool with the current gently pushing me around and I had to stop because it was too painful. I had the nerve test and it was determined I do have a pinched nerve because when he put the needle in my back it made the bad sound. The scans X-ray and mri on both sacral and lumbar don’t show anything and the neurosurgeon doesn’t understand why the radiologist report says I have a bulge and stenosis because it’s just not there. Neurosurgeon still believes I’m in a lot of pain that’s why he sent me to the neurologist for the nerve test. I’m waiting for the neurosurgeon to call me about a treatment plan. I am now an ex smoker, I have quit smoking and next will be talking to my primary about losing weight.
I want to be able to stand more than 3-5 min. Im hopefully going to get answers after this test. Sitting hurts standing hurts and even laying down hurts. The numbness and tingling in my leg makes it hard to get to sleep and stay asleep. No matter how hard I try I cannot just lay on my left side I keep waking up on my stomach making my back hip and groin hurts and my leg to go numb. It’s been a couple weeks I think since the test and am going to contact the office again tomorrow. I hope whatever happens is good.