I was watching TV and hear a "pop" noise. Wasn't sure where it came from. A few minutes later I went to use my remote and it wasn't working and wouldn't light up. I thought maybe dead batteries. Opened it up and while pulling the batteries noticed a liquid substance. It was coming from near the top of the top battery slot from inside the unit. I'm guessing some sort of capacitor blew up maybe?? Tired some new batteries and nothing. Anyone else experience this?

Has anyone ever used the company Brain Balance to help treat their child with ADHD?
The concept is using lifestyle interventions such as exercise, nutrition, education, etc to supplement stimulant medication. They start by testing the primitive reflexes to see if the child is "stuck" and unable to progress. They work their way up the ladder until the very top, which is executive functioning.
They cost a shitload. $10k-$20k for a two year program. This includes sessions at thier center for over an hour, 3x per week. Plus, daily homework assignments.
Anyone have experience using them? Any idea of the science behind it?

Looking for thoughts/tips/recommendations for the shows at Ford Field this June! I am hoping to pre-pay ahead of time. I’ve used ParkWhiz in the past and thought it was super helpful and easy, but it was for a smaller show at the masonic. For this show, I am hoping to find a good balance between not parking too far away to where it is a long walk from the stadium after the show, but also being a little bit out from the stadium to possibly not have to fight through as much traffic.
If this is at all possible or if there is a lot around ford field that is truly top tier I would love to hear any and all insights! Thank you in advance🫶🏻

Wisdom says posting on reddit to look for a long term AP isn’t the wisest thing to do. But if every instinct I have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right. So here goes.
I’m looking for someone who brings something different to my life. I can’t be with someone like me, because I hate myself. I’m attracted to women with nice skin with a pinkish hue. A rosy glow. I want to stare into your eyes and tell you how breathtaking you are. I want someone to message with daily. We’ll talk endlessly til we are speechless. Til we’re without speech. I want someone to care about and fill each other’s emotional and intimacy voids. Overall, looking for a good person and not the top seller at the jerk store. If you’re new to this lifestyle and feeling guilty about lying to your spouse, don’t. Just remember, it’s not a lie if you believe it. I’ll help ease you into it, and trust me it’ll feel so right. No expectations and no disappointments.
I find myself here because I got married and had kids many years ago. My wife changed and yadda yadda yadda, the bedroom’s dead. As for me, I’m quite the catch. I’m a very educated professional, a polyglot, and my dead fiances were all beautiful models. I play instruments, have man hands, but I am susceptible to shrinkage in cold water, like a frightened turtle. I’m an engineer at a tech giant like most people in the San Francisco bay area, though I always wanted to pretend that I was an architect. Or a marine biologist. I definitely don’t want to be a pirate though. I live healthy, eat well and enjoy my veggies like broccoli. Sadly, I’m not the master of my domain, nor the lord of my manor. I don’t smoke nor do drugs, nor do I have piercings or tattoos. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I’m probably the opposite of every man you know because I actually care–about spelling, grammar, and you. I’m definitely not looking for a short term fling, nor am I here to womanize or objectify you as a challenge or here for the chase. I just want to be genuine and open my heart and let someone in and hopefully vice versa. Just one person, for the long term. While I’m very sponge worthy and know “the move” (pinch AND swirl!), I care just as much about pleasing you spiritually and emotionally, and be the partner you wish you had, not looking to change our situations of course. I’m also compassionate because I will spare a square. I also don’t double dip because that’s like putting your whole mouth in the dip, which is a big no no during covid for which I’m double vaxxed and boosted, and prefer that you are too (though honestly, no judgment). Unfortunately though, as you can tell, I am not funny nor creative at all so you’ll have to live with that.
So if you think we may be a good match, please reach out because our relationship may just blossom into something real and spectacular. If you don't send me a chat, then obviously there'd be no soup for you!
Serenity now. - T Bone

Welp our microwave started making intermittent electrical “arcing” sounds a few months ago when running. Almost sounded like a frog was in the top of the unit. Went to heat up some leftovers tonight and heard a loud audible pop and then the house filled with the aroma of fireworks. 2 years and it’s dead. $800 microwave. Model CVM721M2N1S5.

A recent surge in the european wasp population and visible robbing from one of my weaker hives spurred me to make a robbing screen yesterday. Based on a few examples online I came up with this.
Here's a drawing of the screen which I sent to my laser cutter and cut from 6mm clear acrylic.
The top panel has 3 entrances, two of which I've taped closed for the moment. 24h later there still appears to be a decent number of bees trying to access the front entrance (bottom left), not sure if these are trying to rob the hive or are just a bit lost. I noticed a wasp stuck in the clear chamber, so the wasps are still figuring out how to enter. Also there appear to be about 15 dead bees stacked up on the inside right side of the screen, I guess it's a bit hard for the bees to move dead bees out the top, maybe I should add a small exit on the bottom right of the screen?

According to Sportingnews.com:
"It's been nearly four years since New Orleans selected Zion Williamson first overall in the 2019 NBA Draft. In that span, Williamson has missed 188 of a possible 302 games, including the entirety of the 2021-22 season. This season, an extended absence that began in January has brought Williamson's tally up to 47 absences through 76 games, and the details surrounding his return are murky at best."
So even though Zion is a 2X all star, his injuries have hurt his team when it matters most… The Pelicans could arguably be competing for a top seed in the West with their 'Big 3' [a healthy Williamson, Ingram and McCollum].
Right now the New Orleans fans will cross their fingers in hopes of a Zion appearance next month.
Will Zion ever be able to play one full season without injury?
Time will tell…

Hey all, started last week on Albion East and clocked ~40 hours, finding the game pretty fun so far. However, wiki information is minimal, ingame chat's trolls, youtubers who just spout without the use of punctuation, and most people (including guilds who don't know you irl) are intentionally witholding information just to "come out on top", which is horribly disappointing compared to other pvp mmos like Eve.
Currently I'm trying to provide insight to other newer members of the guild, and to my irl friends, but I'm also new to the game and have limited information. Anyways, I have some questions that I wish other vets can answer, and perhaps help other newer players!
​
1. Corrupted Dungeons (& Rats)
So, what's Rats? Searches have come up with "stealing loot and escaping PvP". How is ratting different than open world when people rushes for enchanted plants/trees, and escaping PvP just meant escaping ganks in open world too. So what is a rat? And why is it the commonly agreed way to make silver?
What is actually going on in Corrupted Dungeons? It's hard to hop into when some advises to clear, and some advises to "rush to last boss". Anyone that can provide insightful tips on CD?
​
2. How to get to the Outlands? And back? And what's available there?
How do you get to the Outlands? (is the center town needed to get to the outlands?)
And how do you get back from it? Hadn't been to BZ yet
Is outlands just similar to Royal continent's RZ's open world (I see "open world" as entrances to other maps on the side of the current map), except full-loot pvp and there's no need for flags?
Also, there's mention of "losses of silver" upon death in BZ, how much of it will be dropped? Entire silver bank doesn't seem logical to me
​
3. Avalonian Roads, and how to get back? And what's available there?
I've seen Ava Roads portal, but I've never been into one. How does one get back from it?
Similarly, is it open-world like Royal Continent's RZ, or a different system?
​
4. How to find Uncommon+ wisps/mists and above?
I love Mists, but Common Wisps are lackluster when you're using T5. How do you get more of the rarer wisps?
​
5. Recommended party size for Group Dungeons?
​
6. How to increase bank's size?
​
7. Any way to extract market prices on excel or comma-separated-values?
I understand its against TOS to scrape game data, but I read from someone that there's a community-driven market prices site
​
8. Top recommendation for utilizing Player Island?
I'm 6th tier, and I have utilized all farmlands, and only 4 housing plots for mercenary and tinker labourers
​
9. Recommendation of dungeon-style content?
I love solo dungeon and plan to commit T6+ group dungeon once my irl party has finished gearing up. What other dungeon-style content is available on Albion except Solo, Group, and Corrupted
​
10. Recommendation of open-world content?
So far I've read of travelling into BZ/Outlands, and Roads. Are there any other options available?

Thanks to u/SpacePaladin15 for the universe!
Many praises to u/Acceptable_Egg5560 for their help with editing!
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Chapter 14: Godspeed
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Memory transcription subject: Vekna, Venlil Investigative Journalist
Date [standardized human time]: December 7th, 11:09, 2136
​
We had torn down the road after Chase had identified the unmarked aircraft as a black-ops search team. Based on its heading and speed, there was only one thing we could think of that such a team would be looking for out here: Me. We needed to act fast. We locked up the hangar and sped down the mountain. Multiple times during our descent I was half-convinced Chase was going to veer us down the sheer slope as a shortcut. An insane part of me agrees with the sentiment. Herd knows we need all the time we can get.
We soon pull up at Chase’s cabin, the both of us hastily unbuckling our restraints. My tail whips about erratically as Chase ushers me inside. “Pack up, quickly! We don’t have much time before they come knocking!”
I heed his words without question, sprinting up the stairs to my room and hastily putting away everything that I have in my backpack. Holonote, clothing, journal, ration bars, water purifier, inhaler. Check, check, check, check, check, check. That should be everything! I sling the weighty luggage over my shoulder and pound my way down the stairs.
Chase is there, sitting at the table and writing something down on a piece of paper. I approach him, dumping the bag on the ground. “Chase, come on! We gotta go now! They’ll be here any minute!”
It’s only now that I see that he’s writing down… human numbers? Letters? Both? Why? What for?? Why would he need to write something down? He can just remember when he…when he…oh. No, I have to be wrong! I crouch so I’m in the line of sight of his downtrodden eyes. “Chase…you’re coming, right?”
I hear a short breath come from his nose as he blinks something away. “I…I can’t, Vekna. I’m not coming with you.”
My heart twists inside my chest at the realization that my worst thoughts were correct. I grab at his arm and physically pull him towards me. “No, no I need you! I can’t fly any of your vehicles, a-and I don’t know where to go, a-a-”
I choke back some mucus as I realize I’m starting to cry. I take a breath to calm myself before I suffer another shortlung attack. “I-I need you, Chase. Please…”
I can barely see his eyes below the shadows cast by his posturing. “Vekna, if I’m not here to distract them, they’ll come for you. They’ll catch up to you, and we’ll both go down.” He suddenly grabs both of my paws and looks me dead in the eyes. “You need to go. There’s an old contact I have down in Suriname that’ll be able to take you in. I’m writing down here everything you’ll need to know to get there safely.”
I look into his eyes through the moisture my own are producing. I just got here, and I’m already having to abandon him. “Wh-no! No! You said it yourself, if they catch you, they’ll-“
I’m stopped by a slender finger against my mouth. “That’s the point.”
I stare up at him incredulously pushing his hand aside. “I…what?!”
“If they have any good leads at all, I’m going to be the first person they come to investigate. I’ll be able to buy enough time for you to make it out of here. I’ve written down coordinates to put into the autopilot. It’ll be able to take you where you need to go.”
He shoves the paper into my paws. My translator starts to try and translate the symbols, but I don’t look at it long enough for it to finish. I stuff it in my backpack and look back up at Chase. “No! I’m not leaving without you! I won’t!”
He stares at me for a while, a silent look of sympathy. After a moment, he gets up from his seat. He walks over to one of his display shelves and retrieves another model from a high-up shelf. He sets it down on the table in front of me. “Vekna, do you know what this plane is?”
I can’t see how this is relevant, but I give it a quick look-over. It’s not once that he’s shown me before, but the red circles on the wings are familiar to me. “No, but it’s… Happenese, right? That’s the tribe you said the B7A2 belonged to a few days ago.”
He nods somberly. “Japanese, but yes. This is the Zero. It was a formidable fighter aircraft hundreds of years ago. They were used in a terrible war. The war your Federation saw that made you think we were monsters. As with everything, eventually technology caught up to it.”
He kneels down, cradling the model. “Japan was in that war, but were losing badly. Their pilots grew desperate. When they were out of fuel or low on ammo, they would sacrifice themselves by crashing into their targets. This wasn’t an act of evil, but desperation. A final attempt to save their homeland by giving up their lives.”
He sighs and meets my gaze again. “I am willing to sacrifice myself here to protect you. It may only be my freedom, but I will give it up nonetheless.”
The tears are streaming down my fur now. I try to sputter out a response, but all that comes out are incoherent whines and whimpers. Seeing my distress, Chase pushes the model into my paws, clasping them around it for me. “Take this, and you’ll have a part of me with you wherever you go. A reminder that even at our worst, however misguided, we still try to help others.”
I look down at the plane and clutch it to my chest. Seemingly satisfied, he stands again and places a gentle hand on my shoulder. “Now come on, we have to get you out of here before it’s too late.”
I nod and choke back more mucus as I follow him outside. He unlocks his Jeep and places me in the left-paw passenger seat. He buckles me into the restraints as if we were going back to his museum. He then moves to the other side, placing my bag in the driver’s seat as he fiddles with the autopilot. It beeps in response, a highlighted route shown on the central console’s screen. No turning back now.
He closes the door and comes back to my side. He kneels down to my level and starts to speak. “Vekna, I… there’s something I sh-“
I don’t let him finish, capturing his head in a strong hug. I hear a muffled grunt in alarm, but he soon returns it as the last of my tears dry in my fur. After a moment, I let him loose and grab him by the cheeks, mustering the sternest tone I can muster. “Y-You’d better stay safe, or I’m turning your plane right around!”
He gives a pained chuckle, a tear of his own sliding down his face. “Don’t worry, Vekna. I can handle myself.”
He then closes my door and stands back. After a second, the car reverses out of his driveway all by itself. I get one last look at him as it switches to forward motion. He’s waving. I choke back more mucus as I return the human gesture. It only lasts a moment before I feel the car accelerate, and Chase’s cabin disappears behind a wall of trees.
I look over to the central console as I’m driven to the airfield by my automated chaperone. The model Zero rattles in the console’s depression, now freed from its stand. As I round the bend, I make a promise in my mind, for me and only me to hold accountable. “I’ll come back for you, Chase.”
​
———————————————————————————————————————
​
Memory transcription subject: Elijah Morrisson, UN Pilot Ace
Date [standardized human time]: December 7th, 12:05, 2136
​
Our SUV rumbles as we speed down the dirt road. Thankfully, Meiers wasn’t lying when she said our needs would be met. A helipad was earmarked for our arrival and there was a car waiting for us at a nearby rental center. Sure, it wasn’t exactly military grade, but the shuttle more than made up for that. It wasn’t the fastest thing I’ve flown, not by a long shot, but at least we didn’t need to refuel it for another 10-12 years or so. Thank you, Venlil engineers!
“Can’t this thing go any faster?” Xhen complained from the backseat. “Every second we’re on this glorified trail is a second more Vekna could use to escape!”
“Do you want me to drive this thing off the road? I’ve already disabled the self-driving function to get us over the speed limit!” Anderson spoke as he manually drove the vehicle. “Or would you like to drive? I’d be happy to let you drive for a while!”
“Oh ha ha, Anderson. Not everyone can be a cyclist like you!” Xhen spat back.
“Biker! I’m a biker! Jesus, a couple decades and suddenly everybody forgets! They have engines! Bicycles don’t! You know, back in the late 20th century, we were-”
I’ve had enough of this shit. I cut him off abruptly, waving for the both of them to quiet. “That’s enough outta y’all! Jesus, if I wanted to listen to your bickering, we’d never have left the shuttle! Focus on the mission at hand.”
Xhen raises his hand. Greenies, I swear to god. “Sir, I w-”
“I know you were, Xhen. Just…” I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Look, we need to be at top game when we get to Beech’s cabin. He’s not dumb, chances are we’ve already been spotted when the transponder was reactivated in that last system sweep. When we get there, Anderson and I’ll try and talk to him. Xhen, you search the premises for anything off.”
Xhen salutes in affirmative, but Anderson takes issue with my plan. “Who put you in charge, Morrisson? Last I recall, I outrank you, and I don’t recall giving you permission to go above my head like that.”
I shoot an incredulous look at him. “Alright then, sir, got a better plan?” He starts to speak a few times, but it never goes anywhere. Eventually, he just sighs and shakes his head. “Thought not. Look, we’re all in this shit together because of Meiers and Vekna. Pulling rank ain’t gonna get us much farther than bickering like before. Until we’re out of this on the other side, let’s agree we’re all on even footing, deal?”
Xhen immediately agrees, but Anderson takes a little more time to think it over. Eventually, though, he comes around, giving a short chuckle. “Guess it couldn’t hurt. Deal.”
Glad to finally have the two hotheads under as much control as can be expected, I turn my attention to the road ahead. There’s a turn coming up off the right, and it’s exactly where we need to go. As we turn into the gravel driveway, we’re met with a modest cabin. It’s not the smallest I’ve seen, being two stories tall, but it’s certainly no millionaire’s getaway retreat. Fresh snow is starting to fall around us as we exit the car. Anderson hand signals Xhen to start his sweep of the premises. He nods and crouches out of sight of the first floor windows. Anderson and I make our way to the door, knocking on it a couple of times. We can hear someone moving inside, getting closer until the lock unlatches and I’m met with a familiar, if slightly thinner face.
I’m not the first to speak, as it would appear that he’s been expecting company. “Elijah, thought I saw you were in town. Of course, with that neutral transponder, I had to guess a little. Got some water on the stove for some tea or cocoa if you’d like to come in.” He glances over to Anderson, and the look in his eyes sours considerably. It’s been a while, but those wounds are probably still fresh.
Anderson doesn’t say anything besides me, so I take up the initiative. “Cut the crap, Chase. You know why we’re here. Let us in, or we’re going to let ourselves in.” I narrow my eyes at him so he makes no mistakes as to the severity of the situation,
All I’m met with with a similarly withering gaze from him. “You know all of this is, like, super illegal, right? I’m a Canadian citizen, and you’re American military. If word gets out about what you’re doing here, you’re all ruined.”
Ironic. I can’t help but let a chuckle escape my throat at the absurdity of our reality. “Technically, we’re not anything at the moment. I’ll put “international incident” on the list for good measure, though. Now step aside, ’Canadian citizen.’” I shove past him to little resistance, Anderson following closely behind.
Chase stumbles for a moment before regaining his balance. “Well, if you’re all so desperate for our hidden maple syrup mines, be my guest.”
I nod at Anderson to start a sweep of the house. We hadn’t even discussed it beforehand, but he knows why he’s here. He knows this house inside and out, more than anyone else. It was almost his, after all. As I enter the kitchen, I see a quaint, metal kettle atop one of the electric stovetops. Well I’ll be damned.
Chase enters the room shortly after me, leaning against a nearby counter. “If you wanted to interrogate me, you could’ve just sequestered me through the proper channels. Even so, I’ve got nothing to say to you. Haven’t for a while. Not since the collapse of the Arab Union.”
Old memories. Painful ones at that. I shake my head and turn to face him. “I know it’s been a while since then, but I don’t believe for a second that you’ve lost your edge. Bohemian is still in there somewhere.”
He doesn’t respond to me, so I decide that it’s best that I lay out what we know against him. Maybe he’ll finally see the futility of trying to hide it once I do. “We had a Venlil sighting in your museum a few days ago. There aren’t supposed to be any of the fluffy fucks this side of Manitoba, so any mention of one is cause for alarm.”
Chase shakes his head at that, a sly grin cropping up on his face. “You sure it wasn’t just a furry? You know what’s going down right about now, and I’ve seen some pretty realistic-”
“We know it wasn’t. It was spotted in your museum before opening, and only staff are allowed in at that time. Furthermore, you just so happened to pass within three miles of a confidential government facility on the night of Vekna’s escape. Care to explain that?”
His eyebrows shot up in feigned surprise. “Escape? I thought we were allies with the Venlil. That they were guests! Is someone setting up another secret prison? Ooh, did Area 51 get tired of hiding?”
There’s that Bohemian fucker I know. I’m about to lay into him, but I’m interrupted by Anderson holding up a mounted taxidermy of a deer head. “I found this out of place, Morrisson. It’s supposed to be hanging in the lounge room, but it was haphazardly shoved in a closet.”
Both of our attentions are brought to Anderson. Chase is first to speak to defend himself. “You and I both know it was gaudy in there. What, a man can’t redecorate?” Despite his light tone, he and Anderson are glaring daggers at one another. If looks could kill, heh.
“Not you, you lazy prick. I checked the lounge room for anything, and look what I found.” Anderson sets the taxidermy down heavily and holds up a tiny cluster of off-white hairs. That’s no human shade. That’s Vekna’s fur color!
Chase’s nostrils flare slightly, and I know that we have him cornered. I can vaguely hear the sounds of an aircraft flying over us though the cabin walls. I place a hand on his shoulder so he doesn’t try anything stupid. “So, what were you saying about Area 51?”
“That anal probing tells you nothing. Oh, wait, that’s your mouth speaking. Feels just as invasive.” He rolls his eyes. “You know, none of you have actually directly stated what you’re looking for.”
“That’s on a need to know basis, ‘civilian,’ and officially, you don’t need to know.” I place my off hand on my taser as I feel his muscles tense beneath his shirt. “But you already know why we’re here. So, why don’t you tell us where you stashed her and we’ll be on our way?”
His face contorts into a forced smirk. “Her? Oh my! Did you get an alien lady friend, Elijah? I didn’t realize you w-”
Before he can continue his jab at me, Xhen bursts through the front door, drawing our attention to him. “Sir! His car’s gone!”
His car is gone? Her fur is here, which means that she was sent off somewhere, but where? The museum is too populated, but that would only leave…the airfield. And I just heard…Fuck! Son Of A Bitch! It only takes me a second to process where he had sent her and where she’s ended up. I grab Chase by the shoulders and press an arm against his neck. “Where in the world did you send her, Bohemian?! Tell me!“
He takes a labored breath through his partially choked throat. “W-Wouldn’t…you…like to know…Snake Eyes? T-urk-try Timbuktu!” So now he comes clean about it, the motherfucker! As it’s clear that he isn’t going to be of much more help, I take out my taser to za-incapacitate him. This is for Komodo, you bastard.
Before I can jab it into his side, Xhen cries out in protest. “Sir! I don’t think that’s necessary!” I turn my attention to him briefly. “We have cuffs, we can-”
There’s suddenly an impact on the arm holding the taser. I turn my attention back to Chase only to have a hook connect to the right side of my face. I stagger back in pain as I hear Chase take a pained breath, his hands around the taser in my hand, wrestling to disarm me. Suddenly silenced, Xhen goes to restrain Chase, but gets kicked away by Chase’s prosthetic leg. I hear him cry out in pain as the taser is suddenly ripped from my grasp. I try to lunge for it again only for Chase to step out of the way. I hear the head of what was formerly my weapon crackle in electricity. I roll over to try and defend myself, for whatever good that’ll do. Before Chase can do anything, though, a dart is suddenly sticking out of his neck. He slowly feels at it and looks to whoever shot it. Our collective gaze falls to Anderson, with a now-empty tranquilizer gun in his hands. Chase starts to stumble towards him, muttering something incoherent, but he crumples to the ground before he can close half the distance. I sit up, feeling at my injuries. Shit, that’s a black eye.
“What was that?” Xhen panted. “Why didn’t anyone try to deescalate? We should have had that!”
I grunt in response as I force myself to a standing position. My balance is off from the hook, so I stumble over to a nearby countertop to grab on to. “Xhen, you don’t have any idea what that sonnuva’s capable of. If you’d let me taze him like I wanted to, we could’ve had a clean extraction! Fuck…”
My balance wavers again, but this time Anderson is at my side to help me to a seat. “For the record, I agree with Xhen on this one. Off the record, I had a feeling you two’d come to blows at some point.”
I sigh as Xhen hands me an ice pack from the freezer. I press it against my swollen right eye. “Yeah yeah, I’m sure you did. What, did he somehow manage to place Komodo’s death on me?”
Anderson shakes his head at me. “You know he isn’t that kinda guy, Elijah. From the looks of it…” He glances back to Chase’s body sprawled on the ground. “From the looks of him, I don’t think he’s sharing any blame for that.”
I lean back into the upholstered seat as cool water condensation runs down my arm. “That’s…fair.” I look between Anderson and Xhen with my one good eye. “We should…probably call in that we’ve apprehended the suspect. I think Meiers’ll have some questions for him.”
The two of them look between one another for a moment. After a second, they both nod at me. I nod back, forcing myself back to standing. I’m still wobbly, but it’ll have to do. Anderson is first to speak, wrapping my arm over his shoulder for support. “Yes sir, though that can wait until we get you looked at.”
The irony of him calling me sir is enough to elicit a delirious chuckle from me as I’m helped out of the building. Xhen holds Chase’s now double-cuffed body over his shoulder as we exit from our intrusion. I can’t tell what all Bohemian knows, I’m just glad it’s not going to be me extracting it from him.
That’s the suits’ job, after all.
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Prev First Next

7th Moon, 200 A.C

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The darkness did very little to hinder the vision of Leona, perhaps the decades of living in a place such as Darkdell has given her greater nightsight or maybe she had just memorized the floor plan of the place she called home. She approached the western stairwell, gripped the handrail and began to climb ever upwards. Her footstep bounced of the tight enclosed space, after a second of echo the returning sound would almost sound like a drop of water in a stagnant pond. When she arrived at the top, she knocked gently on the door and the guard on the other side opened it for her.
​
The sun was just making itself known, light creeping through the half drawn curtains. Dickon sat at the table, already dressed and as always half dead in appearance, he was slacked over the handrail of his wheel throne. Leona without words ordered the guard to fix her husband, he did so without question. When her husband was sat up, she joined him at the table and served up a bowl of oats boiled so long they no longer took their natural form.
"Another day, Husband." she said to an unresponsive vessel, she took a spoonful of the horrid slop and slipped it between his lips. The first bite was always the hardest, as if the little spark that was between his eyes needed to confirm that it was eating time. But once that labor was through he ate as any human did. Save for the dribble, and the mess. But Leona did not allow such things to fester long and quickly made away with it by her napkin.
"Lady Vyrwel" sung Billy as he entered the room, he took a seat with only a nodge of acknowledgement from his cousins Wife and served himself up a bowl of the same slop Dickon nibbled.
"Fine morn, ain't it Dickon." he gave the vague onlooker a wink before having his own first spoonful, but as every morning Dickon responded not.
"What word do you have for me." Leona finally added placing the bowl back onto the table.
"Whispers a many, Lady Vyrwel. The Reach is as you say, a mess." the two shared a look. "I'll send word out to my eyes and see if we can avoid such messes spilling to the North."
with that the two were done talking and Leona returned to her duty as wife. When the clinking of spoons was over, Leona waved over to one of the servant girls to wheel her husband away which she did as she had done for many mornings before. The remainder of the day Dickon would sit outside in the shade, if the weather turned he would be wheeled inside. The Maester would check over him before the servants fed him lunch, and by Dinner he would be rolled into the Lord's hall to take up his seat while they ate. It had been the same for many years, and Leona worked hard to ensure it was for many more to come.
Leona stepped out into the hall which linked all the bed chambers, Florians was the first door but as always his door was open, his bed was made and his room spotless. She never needed worry about Floian, it was the other two that were the issue. Paxter was young and prone to full in love with every serving girl who gave him a smile while Lewys was wed but much like his Father had a temper and little love for his wife. So to ensure her safety, Leona had placed her in a seperate chambers with Lewys had despised.
"I hope you're both awake." called out Leona as he nimble shoes knocked on the floor as she walked, followed by the sound of clad armor in the form of Billy. Paxter's was the first door, Leona gave Billy a nod and in a split second the door was thrown open to find Paxter sprawled out like a tom cat his bed rid of blankets and covers.
"Paxter, wake up. Do not waste the day."
"It's the night I prefer Mother."
"Don't talk back, take action."
"Fine" his voice was that of a man in pain, the hangover clear in his eyes when he finally decided to open them. The pair continued onto Lewys' room, but to their surprise the door was partly open, and Lewys was sitting at his desk with a letter.
"Who writes to you my boy?"
"It's a letter from Cynthea Tyrell." the name made Leona's skin crawl, to avoid festering in such ill a state, Leona approached the windows and opened the curtains allowing the sun to warm her face.
"And?"
"It says that she is forbidding all weddings and increasing tax, peculiar." he sucked his teeth as he looked over to his Mother.
"What will we do?"

First Previous
The USASF had launched their first and only squad of long range fighters. They'd never intended to make such, intending on having carriers. But the Constitution was still being built. The nuclear reactors weren't due till February at least.
But, the UN demanded they try something. So they stocked up a short range Vulture fighter, and added a long range booster. It would be six months of hell, stuck in such a small space, but experts assured with the new XVR simulation helmets, being cooped up wouldn't be an issue.
As Shrike squadron settled in, their alarms started blaring. Snapping to and looking, they saw several blips moving fast on their screens. "Heads up, I got twelve bogies, designate targets Alpha 1 through 12. This is a top secret mission, any witnesses are to be eliminated. Weapons free." He snapped, and started trying to get a target lock.
"Ummm, Midnight? This some kind of joke?" Vulture 3 said, puzzled and trying to make sense of what he was seeing. A formation of the strangest ships were seen. Two large vessels, looking like a nightmare spider in space, looked about to leap from behind the squadron of wicked looking fighters shooting in at insane speeds.
Over their radios, they heard static, then hard pulsing metal music start blaring. "Hammerheads, the water's have been chummed, it's feeding time!" and at that, long red beams licked out and started reaching for the UN fighters trying to sneak off.
"Vulture lead, that beam did no damage, but it slammed my ship sideways and almost knocked me out." They were all able to hear one another, the music was only making it hard to hear."
With that, he tried to get one of the darting ships in his crosshairs. The batlike fighter darted like a fish, swirling out of range. Meanwhile, he saw the large death spiders launch another wave of fighters. This time there was no mistaking these, the hulls had no other comparison, TIE Advanced fighters boiling out.
He realized there was no way in hell his squad of 20 fighters were going to hold up, watching these fighters launch, going at accelerations that should have killed the pilot.
"Vulture squad, return to base, we lost this one." he groused, and turned his tailpipes to the enemy and hit the thrust to full to escape. The enemy squads flew along, seeming to tease them, but stopped firing. Once the aerospace fighters started hitting atmosphere and couldn't return to space, the enemy fighters peeled off.
From New Freedom News:
the UN, in a bid to ensure all residents of Earth are employed, has passed with unanimous support from all member countries the Space employment accords. This new law requires anything humans mine out in space to be sent to Earth for processing and manufacture into goods.
In other news, the UN also has declared war on the ASPS terrorist state that has moved to Europa. They say by continuing to build out there, and bypassing this important employment law, they are willfully starving citizens of Earth.
Member nations seem willing to try to enforce this edict on the breakaway outlaws using more forceful methods. But for now, tensions seem high with these terrorists refusing every request to communicate.
As all this went on television, in the middle of desolate woods, several poles sprung up, and started flashing red warning lights. In the center, a flat square suddenly slid open, and like a gun barrel, suddenly flung death into the air.
The missile was actually a NASA design, meant for dealing with asteroids heading to Earth. As the engines spewed fire behind it, a clunk could be heard, and suddenly, another lance of fire belched forth. For over an hour, once a minute, one missile after another was launched and reached skywards.
As they reached orbit, they shed the boosters that got them there. Igniting their next stage, they used a new type of Ionprop drive. The pale blue glow twisting as they boosted into their trajectories. The sensors aboard heard the high pitched whine of the engines, but ignored it as they buzzed on, trying to hit their target as soon as possible.
On Europa, Echo base sat, looking quite busy. Small ships coming and going, but hard to detect from Earth. As the warheads screamed in, the limited AI aboard them saw panicked moves of the ships in flight around the base, then slammed in to detonate their 150 megaton warheads.
For an hour, miniature suns blossomed on the ice planet, making it seem like someone had opened a door to Io. The blast had flung the thing foil base to the winds, hiding the fact that all that was there was foil and holograms.
The UN all nodded and prided themselves on a well done strike as The Renewal Symphony was nearing completion, and some of the last teams were starting to pull out and come along.
Ben was hard at work ducting in the buckytube pipework. Leaning back and grabbing a snack, he studied his work. The pipe was designed to allow waste products from the molten salt reactors to be taken to hardlight replicators to generate power gems. With the 100 arrays, the ship had a great source of power that could last the vessel for centuries.
He looked above, at the dark tube being built in midair. Once put together, it was to be their artificial sun, and light their world. The air was new, but already weather patterns were forming as unearthly machines moved earth like it was a sandbox.
As he tried to see the other side, a flurry of colors swooped around, and found him. He turned on his translator, and smiled. he heard his name called by all the little ones. he smiled, and saw his friend in the hundred little ones coming up to hug him before flying off into the sky.
And he chuckled as he saw his snacks were gone, as well as one of his hand tools. "You sneaky little monkeys, I'll get you later!" he teased, making an exaggerated face and holding his breath to redden it while shaking his fist at them. Hearing their colors translate to giggles, he decided that he was going to tickle the lot of them later, and went to the nearest snack station.

Just wondering what is the typical margins that licensed childcare centers make in Canada (top-10 cities)? I understand that it would be a broad range but any estimates we can have for upper half and average would be quite handy.
Background: I am considering acquiring a 3 center business (single brand) in Halifax with approx 250 strength. The current owner says that the average revenue for the last 3 years is around $2.5Mn and SDE is in $7-800K range. Numbers are looking too good to be true but he has filed these returns for the last 3 years so wondering what the catch is?

So I had been getting battery in deep sleep mode notifications in the Ford app for the past maybe six months or so, always when the weather was cold and I hadn’t driven a lot. Every time I just went out for a long drive and things went back to normal. Hadn’t gotten any in a few weeks as the weather has been warming up, but I got one yesterday. I thought, ‘no big. It’s been a bit colder and I’ve only been driven a couple times in the past week or so. I’ll just take it out and it’ll recharge like usual’. I drove out to a park and everything was totally fine. Was out in the park for maybe an hour and half. Got back and the Mav started up with no issues but right as I was about to pull out of the parking lot and onto the street the whole truck just died with no warning. Luckily no one was around and I was able to pull off to the side and get the emergency brake on. Tried turning the key a few times and nothing. I used Ford’s roadside assistance and got a tow truck out within an hour. The guy was able to jump the battery but I didn’t feel comfortable driving it so I still had him tow it to the dealer. They’ll be checking it out tomorrow.
So yeah, if you’ve been getting the deep sleep notifications, don’t shrug them off and take your truck into the dealer. Being in control of a moving, completely dead vehicle going slowly in a mostly empty parking lot was scary enough, I can’t imagine how bad it would be on a road in traffic.

My experience of the world has changed as a result of the contact experience, and some days, I prefer to place the philosophizing on hold, put the material arguments away, and just assert – assert to know I still can. Not repeat, mind you – dogs, birds, fish, insects, blades of grass, all of them can repeat and repeat, all day long, live richly satiated lives as a result. Go ahead, quote a news story, send a link, describe what a character did on a show – sharing is good! Repetition breeds fluency! But now and then, be like the dream that changes your life, and mean something to the world by telling it a truth it wasn’t expecting. For example, in my awful little Florida Avenue apartment that was so dilapidated, the letter of record requested no damage deposit – the place was maximally damaged from the start, I guess. In that severely damaged place, I experienced a number of conspicuous metaphysical visitations of the sort that startle one into states of extemporaneous revelation, with an urgency bordering frenzy. Most won’t know what that last sentence is meant to express because it is difficult to depict in film or print – The Wizard of Oz skips past it with a song-and-dance number. 2001: A Space Odyssey overwhelms the screen with color. Stalker gives us the scene, puts its head down, roll credits. In 2011, I was startled awake in the night to an extraordinary cracking sound – the kind of splitting you sometimes hear at the beginning of a lightning strike, but all of it taking place right there in my bedroom with me. As I opened my eyes, I saw a broken box frame hit the floor across from my bed, right beneath where it had been hanging for more than a year. This occurred at 2am, the rest of the building dead quiet, the room lit blue by parking lot lights outside. I waited a beat to see if anything else would happen, then got up to investigate the mess. The pine box frame was broken in half along the top – a complete break, with the two ends of splintered wood visibly separated. The nail that had been holding the box frame in place was still where it was on the wall – I’d driven the nail into a place where there was wooden support on the other side. You do this by lightly tapping on the sheetrock with a hammer, listen for differences in sound. You could have hung a box of bricks from the nail I drove into the wall to hang that pine frame. Evidence suggested something had pulled down on the box frame with such irresistible force as to crack it in half on the way to the floor. The piece in the box frame was a laser print of a digital collage I purchased at the Artists Against AIDS benefit show, called Aladdin’s Cave. In the presence of the impossible, the mind’s first response is to deny it, as though our expectations wielded some secret veto power over the rest of reality. But sometimes, evidence that can’t be ignored opens the question up for debate – what is the nature of reality? The frame was clearly broken at the top, I saw it hit the floor, woke to the cracking of the timber – and in that moment, every cell in the stir knows: whatever the truth of the universe might be, no one teaches it in schools, states it in public, runs for office under its banner, manages a fundraising campaign around it. Truth, you swamp thing – where are you taking me?! Imagine one’s nearness to the truth of an experience like that is the opposite of what you might expect – the more you believe it, the more belief draws you to the edge of town, eyes fixed on the patch of ground in front of you, then into the country, over the mountains, and across the desert, until you are all but challenging the sun to a staring contest in service to a truth unknown. Was gravity altered beneath that box frame? Did claws of dark matter materialize around it to perform a feat of strength? Can the source of a cause and the target of an effect sometimes disconnect, like a crab from its claw or a lizard from its tail? The specificity with which the immaterial can wrap itself around all that we know, then coax us into taking our rest beside a miracle of missing wishes, sliding down a wall – are we but the disremembered thoughts that precede the waking? I dialect history will soon forget? I stood there in the blue, holding the frame in my hand as though it might tell me where it came from. I might have slipped a few splinters under an electron microscope, measured for traces of ectoplasm. I might have sought out a reputable reliquary with a help-wanted sign out front. Instead, I laid the burst frame back on the floor, thought of all those wishes gushed into the world, then headed back to bed, laid there with my eyes open for a spell. When I first woke – rising through sedimentary layers of sleep, following the sound of the wood splintering of its own accord, I felt my consciousness well up like the mane of a lion – not just awake but the sort of wakefulness that imagines a visitor is standing in the room. Even once I realized I was alone, the feeling did not go away, nor did it go away when I surmised that the rest of the wall art wasn’t likewise plunging toward the carpet. The feeling drew itself up and stood above my body, walked with me to the wall, picked up the remains of western imperialist philosophy or whatever, laid it back down. How many hands of fate are pulling box frames off walls in the halls of congress? How many around the Washington Monument? About the AIDS quilt rolled out now and then? When they cleared away the debris from the fallen twin towers, they used 7.5 tons of the recovered steel to forge the hull of a San Antonio-class amphibious assault ship for the navy, called it the U.S.S. New York. The ship’s motto is: strength forged through sacrifice – never forget. Every morning, the ship’s chaplain dedicates the morning prayer to a different victim of the tragedy.

Looking for 4k movies that I do not have. Have 3 passes left. Listed below are the 4k movies I have.
4k Movies

• 300
• Alien
• Apollo 13
• Atomic Blonde
• Blade
• Booksmart
• Bourne Identity
• Bourne Supremacy
• Cinderella (2015)
• Dunkirk
• Edge of Tomorrow
• Everest
• Exodus Gods and Kings
• Fast and Furious Tokyo Drift
• The Fate of the Furious
• Fast and Furious 6
• Ford v Ferrai
• Get Out
• The Girl on the Train
• Godzilla (2014)
• The Green Mile
• The Great Wall
• Hellboy
• Hellboy 2
• Hobbs and Shaw
• Home Alone
• Inception
• It (2017)
• It Chapter 2
• Jaws
• King Kong Extended Edition
• Kingsman The Secret Service
• Kingsman The Golden Circle
• Léon: The Professional
• The Little Mermaid
• Life of Pi
• Logan
• The Nice Guys
• Oblivion
• Pan's Labyrinth
• The Prestige
• Ralph Breaks the Internet
• Scott Pilgrim vs The World
• Shaun of the Dead
• The Shawshank Redemption
• Snatch
• Speed
• Spider-Man
• Split
• Starship Troopers
• V for Vendetta
• Wall-E
• War for the Planet of the Apes
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit
• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
• Zombieland

HD Movies

• A Beautiful Mind
• American Sniper
• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
• Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Ultimate Edition)
• Behind Enemy Lines
• Big Hero 6
• Birdman
• Cast Away
• Chappie
• Children of Men
• Contagion
• Dawn of The Planet of The Apes
• Dope
• Edward Scissorhands
• Elf (SD)
• Fantastic Mr. Fox
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2
• Ice Age
• In Bruges
• Jason Bourne
• Killer Elite
• Kung Fu Panda
• London Has Fallen
• Lucy
• Mad Max: Fury Road
• Man On Fire
• Men of Honor
• Monsters, Inc.
• Never Been Kissed
• Nocturnal Animals
• Office Space
• Pacific Rim
• Prisoners
• Psycho (1998)
• Roll Bounce
• Salt
• Schindler's List
• Spotlight
• Straight Outta Compton - Unrated Director's Cut
• Taxi Driver
• The Book of Eli
• The Bourne Legacy
• The Bourne Ultimatum
• The Breakfast Club
• The Croods
• The Dark Knight
• The Dark Knight Rises
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• The Great Gatsby
• The Hobbit: The Battle of The Five Armies
• The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
• The Lego Movie
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
• The Perfect Storm
• The Producers
• The Revenant
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
• Three Kings
• Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
• To Kill A Mockingbird
• Unbroken
• Valentine's Day
• Wrong Turn 2

Grand Theft Auto V is one of the most profitable entertainment franchises in the history of games. It came along as a return to form after what many fans would argue was a misstep with the more gritty and realistic GTA 4. Originally released back in 2013 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3—yes, it spans three console generations—developer Rockstar has supported the game's online mode with continual updates adding new content, new areas, and even all-new mechanics.
GTA V was such a runaway success—and GTA The Trilogy: Definitive Edition was such a dumpster fire—that Rockstar gave up working on a Red Dead Redemption 2 DLC, and has now reportedly abandoned plans to remaster more of its beloved older titles to instead focus on both further GTA Online content as well as the development of GTA 6.
gtaonline fukaru
Naturally, expectations for GTA 6 are incredibly high, and given the advanced age of GTA V, fans are chomping at the bit for any bit of news. That's why there's so much buzz around a report at Bloomberg that focuses on Rockstar's new corporate culture. Company co-founder Dan Houser left Rockstar in 2020, and ever since then the development house has been trying to reshape a corporate culture that the report refers to as being "like a frat house".
Given the nature and tone of the humor in the Grand Theft Auto series, it's really not surprising to hear that the atmosphere inside Rockstar was juvenile and chauvinistic. The report remarks that the workplace culture at Rockstar was "full of drinking, brawling, and excursions to strip clubs." That may sound like a good time to some, but it's admittedly not very professional.
gta1 katie Katie from the OG Grand Theft Auto (1997) on PC (left) and Game Boy Color (right).
As part of the report, author Jason Schreier casually reveals that GTA 6 will have at least two playable protagonists, and that one of them will be a Latina woman. This technically isn't the first playable woman nor even the first playable Hispanic woman in the GTA series; the very first GTA game featured a Latina named "Katie" as one of its eight playable characters.
Still, very few of the series' modern fans even remember the old DOS-based Grand Theft Auto, so we can forgive everyone for forgetting about poor Katie. Regardless, the new girl will apparently be part of a Bonnie-and-Clyde-like crime duo, calling to mind the partnership between Claude and Catalina in the beginning of Grand Theft Auto III. Hopefully the partnership between the new player characters in GTA 6 doesn't end the same way that one did.
Comments1Comments Support Independent Tech Journalism, Become A Patron! Tags: Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar Games, GTA V, GTA, gta 6 exp-player-logo
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KOwen 29 July, 2022
Release the PC version at the same time as the consoles please!
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