Timestamp
Heya,
If you can meet locally (San Jose, 95117), will give a discount since no PP/shipping fees.
Shipped price includes Paypal fees and USPS shipping (international will have to recalculate). Feel free to offer me less than retail/asking as I've had these things for awhile.
For Sale or Trade

Have	Details	Want
PerniciousPony Mononokey	Purple, Purple/Green Swirl w/ Blank ($45), CleaPurple	$30 Shipped, $25 Local
Alpha Keycaps Matador	Hacker Dark	$50 Shipped, $45 Local
Nightcaps Bomb King	Nightside, Gaslighter (OG PS Sale). Nightside has 3 shallow hairline cracks on the stem but is still holding tightly onto switches.	$45 Shipped, $40 Local
Rama	GMK Honor Kabuto (Brass)	$60 Shipped, $55 Local
Rama	GMK Honor Katana. Has 2 tiny dents and a very light scratch on top that are barely visible.	$35 Shipped, $30 Local
Rama	GMK Masterpiece Gold Knife (Brass)	$60 Shipped, $55 Local
Rama	GMK Serika R2. Loose stem and has a tiny dent that's difficult to see on top.	$30 Shipped, $25 Local
Rama	GMK Deepwell Black Technik	$35 Shipped $30 Local
BrewCaps Pain	Industrial Gray, Pestilence	$25 Shipped, $20 Local
BrewCaps Eternity	Industrial Gray	$25 Shipped, $20 Local

Not really looking for trades at the moment but if you have smaller (2-Fan max) sized 3060 TI you want to offload, was looking for one for a smaller build.
Thanks for readin'
Can also talk to me on Discord: Lotsati#9698

Super late Part 2 of my vanilla/patchouli thunderdome! Link to part 1
​

• BPAL Snake Smut (Snake Oil and Smut with leather accord, cardamom, and 7-year aged patchouli.)

vs.

• BPAL Snake Oil (deep, rich earthy notes swirled with vegetal musks, sugared vanilla bean, and dark spices.) (Snake oil does not have patch listed as a note but I've heard people say there's patch in it so I'm including it. Also this is a bottle from 2022.)

Snake Smut, where do I begin, this stuff is so good. It's magical on my skin. Even when freshly applied, it is perfectly melded to the skin and has a "lived in" sort of feeling that other scents only reach during the dry down. The cardamom is a good balance of spicy and earthy, the leather well-worn and subtle, patch is present but blended in so well it's hard to pick out, and the musks blend it all into my skin. As it dries the cardamom steps down, and vanilla musk steps up. It becomes more like Snake Oil, but less powdery and sweeter + muskier. There is something biteable about this scent, take that as you will haha.
This is a scent for seduction, hedonism, and taking myself on dates. Overall: 100/100
Snake Oil goes on a bit powdery, but it's pleasant, not bathroom-powdery (it reminds me a tiny bit of Shalimar, except Shalimar goes unpleasant-powdery on my skin). It's a bit brighter than Snake Smut, less skin musky and more vanillic. I really adore it, it's a grown-up vanilla musk, with cozy powder and a hint of earthiness and spice (no spices listed in the notes but I do smell a subtle spiciness).
This is a scent for feeling elegant during a cozy night in. Overall: 90/100
Pitting anything against Snake Smut is unfair, given that it is a god tier scent in my collection, and the only thing I have ever bought a backup bottle of. Also, I am so sorry to sing such high-praises of a limited edition scent. Snake Smut wins!
​

• NAVA Mr. Hessian (Chai Spices of Ginger, Clove and Green Cardamom, Black Patchouli, Black Cedar, Sumatra Benzoin Resin, Vanilla Bean and Bourbon Vanille)

vs.

• Hex Witchboard (dark patchouli, amber, cardamom, vanilla)

Mr. Hessian opens with sweet spicy chai and a hefty dose of patch. I adore NAVA's patch, it reminds me of rich soil and tree roots in the best way. As it dries it gets sweeter and creamier. It truly feels like drinking a very rich chai in a cozy cabin. I love wearing this in the fall and winter (I always put a drop on my scarf). It makes me nostalgic for the winter of last year, when we had a lot of storms and I spent a lot of time doused in this scent.
This is a scent for coming home after along day of wicked deeds and getting cozy with some tea. 90/100
Witchboard opens with a huge cardamom note, and as it dries it sweetens and I get vanilla + patch. The patch goes really menthol as it dries on my skin, combined with the cardamom, it's almost metallic and it borders on giving me a headache. It's a very deep and spicy scent. Something about it just feels very dark and wicked. After more time, the amber comes out more and it gets sweeter and more vanillic. It's gorgeous and I want to love it so bad, but it's just a tiny bit too sharp/headachey for my tastes.
This is a scent for wicked deeds at night (except I had to go home early bc I had a headache and I'm sad about it). 70/100
Mr. Hessian wins! If it weren't for the headache, this would have been a very tough choice.
​

• NAVA Voyageur (Black Patchouli, White Patchouli, Vanilla Bean Liqueur, Hinoki Wood, Incense Smoke accord, Smoked Black Clove Bud with Mahogany wood and Agar wood, Black Agar Oudh blend essence and aged whole Madagascar vanilla beans)

vs.

• BPAL The Red Ribbon (Red silken musk, sweet patchouli, ho wood, amber velvet, parchment, bourbon vanilla, and goat’s milk accord)

Voyageur is very smoky, with spiced black patchouli. There's more wood notes as it dries down, NAVA's oud reads pretty smoky to me as well. Smoke notes tend to go barbeque sauce on me, and this aaalmost does, but there is a subtle vanilla sweetness in the drydown that saves it from BBQ. The drydown is lovely, spicy, sweet vanilla and patch. At this stage it feels like a darker, punkier sibling to Mr. Hessian.
This is a scent for late-night motorcycle rides. Overall: 80/100
The Red Ribbon smells a bit like caramel when first applied. It then turns into what I can only describe as "luxurious spiced Christmas candle". It is creamy, rich, spicy, and reminds me of the holidays. As it dries there is kinda of a discordance between red musk, cream and incense. I can’t tell which note is the culprit, but it smells like a new age shop + a public restroom… after abt an hour the bathroom-ness goes away, and it’s just red musk + rich spice. It's pleasant at the end but the first hour is not worth it.
New age shop musk and… spicy bathroom powder Overall: 40/100
It's very clear, Voyageur wins!
​

• NAVA Etherian Ambre (Amber (NA Studio Accord), Cola Root, Sarsaparilla Root, Black Patchouli Wood, White Vetiver, Bastet’s Amber Absolute, Vanilla Pod, Cacao Bean and Australian Sandalwood)

vs.

• Alkemia Trick or Treat (black licorice, mandarin orange peel, caramelized brown sugar, bourbon vanilla, candied ginger, tonka bean, blonde patchouli, cedar tips, oakmoss, and sandalwood)

Etherian Ambre starts off with a gorgeous slightly piney amber note (I am not familiar with either the NA studio amber or Bastet amber so cannot tell them apart, honestly it reminds me a bit of Solstice Scents Amber Coeur), with a lot of things in the background, it's complex but really well blended. I had to take a second to figure out what I was smelling because there is so much going on. The cola and sarsparilla notes are like drinking a sweet, spicy, vanilla cola with a lemon wedge in it (might be the piney-amber giving me a citrus impression). I don't really get any patch, but honestly I don't think I'd be able to tell it apart from the cola/sarsparilla/literally everything else. As it dries, it's pretty well-balanced between amber and cola. I love me some cola-scents, and this might give Prestosuchus a run for its money because I think I prefer this amber over the Limestone amber.
This is a scent for when you wish you were drinking HOT DR PEPPER inside of a cozy and ancient hollowed out pine tree. This will get a lot of wear come fall/winter. Overall: 90/100
As for Trick or Treat, I was not expecting these to be at all similar going in, but I think the cola/sarsparilla of Etherian Ambre and liquorice of this give them a similar feel, at least initially. This is a brighter, more herbal and citrusy scent, with no amber. It feels less like cola and more like a vanilla-ginger-lemonade concoction. As it dries the orange-peel/ginger chills out, the background notes show themselves. It's vanillic and woodsy, with a hefty herbal dose of black liquorice, and while it's very sweet, the oakmoss keeps it from smelling entirely like a dessert. This is a rare occasion where oakmoss has played well with my skin and not overtaken everything. I never thought I'd describe liquorice as being sexy, but this scent is a bit sexy.
This is a scent for when you feel mysterious and elegant, but also a little biteable. Overall: 85/100
I cannot resist cola scents, Etherian Ambre wins!

Purchased from a GAFS user 6 months ago who got it from here : https://www.jrhenterprises.com/Photonis-PVS14-White-Phosphor-WP-Echo-spec-monocular-WPEcho.htm
This model features a WHITE PHOSPHOR "Onyx" P-45 ECHO spec tube. Photonis features a white phosphor tube that has a very slight bluish tint to it that makes it easier on the eyes than other white phosphor units- hence the "Onyx" term above. This WP ECHO SPEC unit from JRH Night vision features a higher grade tube than the comm spec model. This means a BRIGHTER, CLEANER tube in this model versus the comm spec model.
This pvs14 will come with the original bag and skull crusher, front camera lens thread adapter, a variable iris with front sac clear lens and a unobtanium gear ANVRS MK3 - ACTIVE NIGHT VISION RECORDING SYSTEM.
Team Wendy Bump XL with team wendy green cover ziptied and cut with multicam strips. It also comes with a all black a&a helmet cover and some dark tint Smith Boogie Regulator goggles not pictured.
Comtacs V's can include original headband as well as the current team wendy mounts.
Asking for $3200 for all of the above I think this will move pretty quick at this price.
Pics : https://imgur.com/a/Madwirt
Tube Pics from original owner : https://imgur.com/a/oQtuqHc
Original owner thread : https://www.reddit.com/GunAccessoriesForSale/comments/y04b87/wts_pvs14_photonis_echo_spec_ca/

Respect Harry Dresden!

“Magic? It can be dark, dangerous, deadly. But if you walk the straight and narrow, stay pure of heart, all that stuff, you can use magic to make the world a little brighter.”

Biography
Harry Dresden is Chicago's leading investigator in paranormal matters. Raised by his father, a struggling magician, Harry had been gifted with the ability to use magic from a young age from his deceased mother's bloodline. After his father died of a heart attack, Harry was adopted by his uncle, Justin Morningway. Morningway trained Harry to utilize his magic alongside Bob, a spirit consigned to a skull who was an adept sorcerer in life. After Harry discovered that Morningway was using black magic, Harry killed him when he realized that Morningway was the one who killed Harry's father. Since then Harry has been operating as a wizard for hire and a consultant for the Chicago PD under Lieutenant Connie Murphy. Even while being kept under the watchful eye of the High Council, chiefly Donald Morgan, a Warden who thinks Harry is nothing but trouble—Harry still manages to close the case at the end of the day.

Physicals

Strength

• Wrestles with a transformed lycanthrope and then beats her back with a large candlestick.
• Fights with a man, kicking him back a short distance and then floors him with a punch.
• Knocks out Morgan with a staff strike to the chest and then a punch to the face. Morgan casually sent Susan flying into a chair with a casual backhand right before this.

Durability

• Takes a beating from a skinwalker, mostly off-screen, but does have his face painfully warped by the skinwalker's magic for a moment.
• Stabbed in the leg with a switchblade then punched in the face twice. He jumps up a short time afterward with a smile on his face.
• Gets thrown across an apartment by the demon Sirota.
• While under the effects of a magical drug, gets thrown into a coffee table by a woman and is then kicked a few feet back by her. He then dodges a swing from her fireplace poker. Doubles as an agility feat.
• Punched by Caleb, a demon made of wax, and then thrown into a metal cart.
  • Thrown into another metal cart by Caleb.
• Knocked onto his back by a magical blast from Morgan.
• Hurt by a voodoo doll.
• Backhanded through a glass door by the Spite Demon.
• Electrocuted when touching a corpse to the point the radio next to him turns on.
• Has a wooden table smashed into him with telekinesis, he's a bit dazed but fine.
• Has most of his life force drained to resurrect Justin but he does get it back soon thereafter.
• Blocks a strike from a magical brand with his staff, causing him to go flying into a stack of chairs. He then takes a beating from a man, getting thrown into some more chairs in the process.
• [Limit] Knocked out when hit by a wine bottle.

Speed & Agility

• Ducks out of the way of a shotgun blast.
• Tackles Susan before she's roasted by the Spite Demon's flame breath.

Intelligence

• Uses a skinwalker's greed against them by offering them a Doom Box made by Bob. Its magical energy ends up destroying the skinwalker upon opening it.
• Deduces that two people are killing lycanthropes so they can cure themselves of the curse.
• Identifies tallow based on its smell.
• Explains the concept of thaumaturgy to Murphy.

Skill

• Uses silver knives to hurt a lycanthrope.
• After being shot in the back with two crossbow bolts, Harry feigns death and slips out of his duster. He then takes out two vampires with his own crossbow and throws his staff hard enough to knock a third vampire off of her feet so he can cuff her. Doubles as strength and durability feats.
• Resist the effects of a magical drug in order to escape from his captor though he remains out of it for several hours.

Offensive Magic

Staff

• Blasts Bianca into a wall, pinning her against it with his staff before knocking her out after she accidentally takes in a vampire drug called Third Eye. Doubles as a strength feat.
• Knocks out a man with a beam of magic.
• Fires out a gout of flame to drive back the Spite Demon in spirit form.
• Channels a bolt of lightning to temporarily banish the Spite Demon by destroying its physical form.
• Destroys a magic circle, blowing out the windows of the greenhouse he's in.
• Harmlessly dissipates the explosion of a bomb.
• Destroys the physical form of an incubus.

Light Generation

• Creates a bright light so he can escape from a cop.
  • Does this against Bianca, burning her skin, implying that it is daylight.
• [Limit] Using a large crystal as a focus, Harry and Morgan attempt to channel their magic into a light spell to dispel a wall of death surrounding Harry's office but fail.

Voodoo Doll

• Tortures a man's spirit while he is possessing Murphy's body.
  • Does so again, this time slamming Murphy's body against the floor.
• Kills Justin with it.

Misc.

• Presumably with the Lock of Anubis, removes the spirit of a man possessing Murphy.
• After stabbing Caleb in the chest with his wand, he channels fire magic into it to melt Caleb. Doubles as a speed feat.
• Worsens Ancient Mai's condition so the wall of death closes in on her and destroys the attacking drake.
• Destroys a magical branding iron.

Utility Magic

Telekinesis

• As a child, levitates a metal hoop.
• Brings his staff to him.
• Moves a table and opens a trapdoor into his basement.
• After diving into his basement while avoiding the Spite Demon's flame breath, he telekinetically closes the trapdoor and locks it. Doubles as an agility feat.

Circles & Rituals

• Draws a protection circle on a piece of paper to protect a young boy.
  • It does work to keep a skinwalker out of the boy's house.
• Summons a hellion using a summoning circle and the hellion's Chain of Sin.
• Restores the hellion back into a mortal man with a ritual.
• Traps Morgan in a magic circle.

Shield Bracelet

• Blocks two handgun bullets from hitting him.
• Blocks the flame breath of the Spite Demon.
• Blocks two blasts of magical energy.
• Blocks a blast of magical green fire then telekinetically uses his staff to trip a drake disguised as Murphy. Doubles as an offensive magic feat.
• Blocks several bullets then uses a blast from his staff to disarm the attacker. Doubles as an offensive magic feat.

Memory Recall

• Using a small mirror, he is able to cast a woman's memories onto it.
• Views the memories of a deceased man through just his severed eyeball.

Potions

• Has a potion that enhances the sense of smell of the user when snorted.
• Creates elixirs that suppress the effects of lycanthropy to a certain degree, stating that it isn't hard to make.
• Has a potion, that when drunk, allows Harry and Susan to teleport out of Harry's basement.

Scrying

• By using something that belongs to a victim, he can infuse that essence into a crystal so he can track them down.
  • If the target is deceased, the crystal will explode.
• Uses some money the target had to track them.
• Uses a small crystal skull to discern Bob's location when he is stolen.

Lockpicking

• Unlocks a door.
• Frees himself from some handcuffs.
• Unlocks a padlock.

Technology Disruption

• Shorts out a security camera.
• Shorts out a phone from a fair distance away.

Investigation

• Uses some powder and a cloth to see the true face, both human and demonic, of a corpse that was immolated.
• Uses a powder to manifest strong emotions in a semi-physical form so he and Bianca can find out who attacked the warehouse they're in.
• Has powder "mostly made from ant vomit" that when applied to some sunglasses allows him to track someone's footprints. After a "peak emotional surge" he is able to see the tire marks of the vehicle they escaped in.

Misc.

• Using his wand as the basis, creates an illusion of himself sitting in a jail cell.
• Has three wasps sting him on the ear and eye, allowing him to share perception with them. If the wasps are killed, Harry loses the connection to them.
• Can use a crystal to sense the presence of magic in the area, in this case black magic.
• Creates a forcefield to protect him from bullets, presumably with his staff.
• Changes the lettering on a door.
• Activates some defensive sigils in his office. This allows him to determine the one maintaining the spell is from inside his office.
• Heals Ancient Mai with the help of Morgan and another Warden.

Miscellaneous

• Pockets some cremated ashes without anyone noticing.
• Can be intimidating should he choose to be.

LAST CHANCE to get this absolute bargain as a whole system before I part it out. NEW REDUCED PRICE!
Intel i7 8086k + Dark Rock 4 CPU cooler
GTX 1080 ti Founders Edition
Asrock z390 Phantom Gaming ITX Mobo
32gb Corsair Vengeance DDR4-3200 (2x16)
240gb m.2 Intel Nvme SSD
1tb Samsung 860 QVO (there is a crucial mx500 still in there in the photos, this will be swapped out for the Samsung upon sale.)
BeQuiet! 600w SFX-L Modular with custom green cabling
NZXT h210 (Black) with 3x 120mm Noctua Redux Fans (grey)
Tower only. Comes with power lead. I also have a lot of the original boxes for the components.
The system has only been used for Gaming/work.
Collection from KT1 South West London.
Timestamp - https://imgur.com/a/r9bCpbd
Previous album with more photos - https://imgur.com/a/tJlP7uj

I don’t know why I always get such nasty roommates. I live in a 700 square foot apartment and I’ve had 2 roommates, both of which have been absolutely disgusting (in my opinion). The first one didn’t cook so she ordered Uber eats for every meal and left her garbage everywhere- in a 700squarefoot apartment, it gets messy real fast. She also left all of her dirty dishes out for me to clean. My new roommate likes to cook and will constantly leave the kitchen disgusting as well not taking care of her dishes. E.g last night she decided to pour CHUNKY salsa in the sink and of course all the chunks are still there and the sink looks horrendous (she also left half a bell pepper in the sink?). I asked her to clean it over a day ago and it’s still there starting to stink.
Probably the worst part about both of them is that they take the most disgusting shits ever. They spray the entire bowl with their poo (I seriously don’t understand how it gets everywhere) and then leave it there!!!! Both of them also never shower or brush their teeth.
I know there’s worse roommate stories but I am just sick of cleaning up after grown adults. I am literally cleaning their poo. How can anyone be that nasty and how do I keep ending up living with them?!??

https://imgur.com/a/KwxLAhV
Up for sale is my:
Lancer Tactical lt107 with Perun v2 hybrid mosfet, CNC metal hopup unit, SHS 14 tooth piston, aluminum bearing piston head, stainless steel ported cylinder and aluminum V2 cylinder head with 6 mags asking $400
WE G-Force G17 Gen 4 with 2 non leaking mags Maple Leaf hopup chamber, 125% gunsmodify recoil guide rod and hammer spring with gunsmodify recoil guide rod asking $350
Vorsk Hi-capa 5.1 with 1 non leaking mag, CowCow guide rod and a whole parts bin of extra parts for Hi-capas including additional nozzles for green gas or c02. Asking $400
All guns are fully functional and videos can be taken to show functionality.

Another week, another late post. Sorry, Frugal Fairy Toddler had her first dance recital this week so I’m late getting this out. We’re super proud of our girl, she has CP and was able to participate without assistive devices for her 30 minute classes. This is amazing because she was only able to take steps on her own less than a year ago and we were told the worst case outcomes and not to expect her to ever walk on her own.
This week the flyers are a bit meh. There’s a focus on Easter meal items, lots of deals on ham and turkey as well as stuffing and gravy. Good prices on carrots, onions, broccoli and potatoes too. Stock up prices on sugar if you’re into canning jams and fruits in the summer.
New coupons are out for Kellogg’s Websaver. Of note is one for 1$ off Eggos. They’re 3.99$ at Superstore and you get 2500 PC Optimum points (2.50$ value) for each.
Circle K is giving away free bottles of Canada Dry, Monster Energy drink, and Guru Energy drink. Checkout the website for their coupons.
Head over to my Instagram page because I'm celebrating 2000 followers with a giveaway. I'm giving away a 50$ gift card for the NBA store. Contest closes Monday at noon.
You can find deals, links to referrals with sign up incentives, coupons, tips, and recipes on my Instagram (www.instagram.com/frugalfairygodmother). I try to post new content every day. If you’re interested, Flashfood has upped their sign-up referral bonus to 5$ when you use my code and spend 10$ on the app.

Good Prices on Groceries

Farm Boy
4.99$ Large raw shrimp. This is a crazy good price for Farm Boy and for shrimp. I usually pay 7$ on sale at the Weston chains.
2.99$ Farm Boy fruit filled jams 250ml. I haven’t tried these, but the Farm Boy brand has been pretty good from what I have tried.
Food Basics
1.88$ Pineapple whole, or raspberries ½ pint
2.88$ Cauliflower or Romaine lettuce 3 pack
4.88$/18 Eggs. You’re going to see lots of deals on eggs this week because of Easter. Stock up even if you’re not dying eggs. But seriously, try dying eggs even I you don’t have kids. A little food colouring and a splash of vinegar in a glass of water for a few minutes. Toss them back into the carton and use them for the week. You deserve a little joy. Having coloured eggs is fun.
4.44$ Black Diamond cheese blocks, or shreds, Boursin
3.44$/lb Ground beef
2.88$ Dempster’s Signature bagels. There’s a Websaver.ca loadable cashback rebate of 2$.
3.99$ Philly cream cheese or Kraft Singles. There are 2$ tear pad coupons for Philly and 1$ for Kraft Singles in stores now. I found them at No Frills.
5.99$ Kraft PB or Hazelnut spread. 1$ off tear pad coupons in stores.
2.88$ Grape tomatoes or Baby cucumbers
1.98$ Broccoli crowns, carrots or onions. 25¢ cashback from Eclipsa for broccoli and carrots
4.98$ Tre Stelle Ricotta. 1.50$ off printable coupon available. Link via Instagram under Dairy Farmers.
99¢ Cadbury Creame Eggs
Foodland
Spend 60$, get 200 Scene+ points (2$ value), spend 80$ get 300 Scene+ points (3$ value), spend 100$ get 500 Scene+ points (5$ value). Barcode in flyer to scan at checkout.
1.95$/lb Butterball turkey (Scene+ member price). 25¢ cashback from Websaver.ca.
1.88$ Dare crackers
2.49$ Grape tomatoes pint
3.99$ Jif peanut butter 500g. There are 1$ off coupons in stores now. This is the smaller sized jars but with the coupon it’s a good price. 25¢ cashback from Eclipsa and Websaver.ca.
Fortinos
1.29$ Baby carrots. 25¢ cashback from Eclipsa.
2.99$ Romaine lettuce 3 pack
4.99$ Cracker Barrel blocks or shreds. There are 1$ off tear pad coupons in stores now.
99¢ Stove Top Stuffing, Club House Gravy mix, Green Giant canned vegetables. This is a really good price for canned veggies, so stock up.
3.99$ Lindt bunnies, best price I’ve seen for these this year.
3.49$ Silk, there are 1$ off tear pad coupons that were in stores last month.
Freshco
1.88$ Raspberries ½ pint
79¢/lb Sweet Potatoes. This is a great price. Stock Up! 25¢ cashback from Websaver.ca.
4.44$ Armstrong cheese bricks or shreds. 1$ off tear pad coupons in stores.
1.99$ Carrots or onions 3lbs (Walmart has 3lb bags of carrots for 94¢ this week. Price match their price and upload your receipt to Eclipsa.
2.49$ Celery. Get 50 Scene+ points (50¢ value)
7.99$ Folgers coffee 544-816g. There is a 1.50$ tear pad coupon in stores right now.
99¢ Stove Top stuffing or Club House gravy mix
2.99$ Glad plastic wrap, get 200 Scene+ points (2$ value) when you buy 2.
24.99$ Finish dishwasher tabs, 72-105 count. Get 1000 Scene+ points (10$ value) when you buy 2. There are 2$ off printable coupons available to use on each. Price match Real Canadian Superstore’s price at 19.99$.
3.99$ Pineapple, get 50 Scene+ points (50¢ value) for each. Price match Food Basics at 1.88$ for an even better deal.
88¢ Passion Fruit. I don’t know if this is a good price, but I am super interested in trying a couple fresh passion fruits.
Giant Tiger
87¢ Club House Gravy mix
1.47$/4 Tomatoes or mushrooms 227g. 25¢ cashback from Eclipsa for mushrooms.
3.44$ Olymel bacon
1.88$ Carrots or onions, 2lbs. 25¢ Websaver and Eclipsa cashback rebates for carrots.
97¢ Stove Top stuffing
3.99$ Bar Keeper’s Friend
1.25$ Iogo 4 packs
Metro
1.99$ 25¢ Broccoli crowns or mushrooms, 227g. 25¢ cashback from Eclipsa for either.
4.99$ Cracker Barrel cheese blocks or shreds. There are 1$ off tear pad coupons in store.
7.99$/30 Eggs. This is the best price this week on eggs
9$ When you buy any 3 Dempsters or Villagio, bread, buns, tortillas or bagels. There are printable coupons for buy 1 get 1 free Dempster’s products and printable coupons for 1$ off Villagio Artesano bread.
99¢ Club House gravy mix
7$/2 Kellogg’s treat bars. There are 1.50$ off tear pad coupons in stores or check Websaver.ca for Kellogg’s coupons to print, mail or cashback. CheckOut51 also has cashback rebates on these.
No Frills
1.99$ Potatoes 10lbs. Get 500 PC Optimum points (50¢ value) for each bag. 25¢ cashback from Websaver.ca.
1.88$/bunch Asparagus. Great price on this. 25¢ cashback from Websaver.ca.
6$ Farmer’s Market pies. Get 1000 PC Optimum points (1$ value) for each.
1.77$ Lantic sugar 1kg. If you’re planning on canning this summer, this is a great price for sugar. 25¢ cashback from Websaver.ca.
1.99$ Broccoli crowns. 25¢ cashback from Eclipsa.
1.99$/lb Tomatoes
9$/2 Taylor Farms salad kits. I LOVE the dill kit. So good.
99¢ Mangoes
4.99$/18 Eggs
3.99$ Breyer’s Creamery Ice Cream
3000 PC Optimum points (3$ value) when you spend 10$ on Campbell’s soup or broth. Price match Walmart at 1.27$ for broth.
3.99$ Philly cream cheese. 2$ tear pad coupons in store right now.
2.75$ Cheez It crackers. These are in the flyer for 2.99$, but they are 2.75$ at my store. Get 500 PC Optimum points (50¢ value) for each. There is also a 50¢ loadable instant coupon you can use up to 4 times. Link via Instagram. You can try to price match Superstore’s multi-buy price of 2.50$ each by showing the price on the Superstore website. YMMV.
9$/2 Pillers deli meat. There are 1$ off printable coupons on the Pillers website.
99¢/lb Rutabaga. I like to make a rutabaga mash as a side dish with some apple and onion. It’s a Canadian Living recipe.
1.29$ Cucumbers
Real Canadian Superstore
1.99$ 25¢ cashback from Websaver.ca. es 10lbs, get 500 PC Optimum points (50¢ value).
1.99$/lb Chicken drums
1.99$ Broccoli crowns. 25¢ cashback from Eclipsa.
2.99$ PC Chocolate bars or covered nuts (Member price). 25¢ cashback from Websaver.ca.
1.99$ Onions or carrots, 3lbs. Price match Walmart at 94 for carrots and submit the receipt to Eclipsa for 25¢ cashback from each.
6$ Farmer’s Market pies. Get 1000 PC Optimum points (1$ value) for each.
3.99$/18 Eggs
99¢ Club House Gravy mix
6000 PC Optimum points (6$ vaue) when you spend 20$ on Cadbury Easter chocolate. Price match other stores for the best value. 25¢ cashback from Websaver.ca.
Buy 2 boxes of Kellogg’s jumbo sized cereal and get a free Neilson Truetaste milk. There are 2$ off Kellogg’s coupons or 2$ Websaver cashback rebates for the cereal.
2.99$ Tre Stelle cream cheese. There are 1.50$ off tear pad coupons in stores.
4.99$ Cracker Barrel cheese blocks and shreds. There are 1$ off tear pad coupons in stores now.
3.99$ Eggo waffles. Get 2500 PC Optimum points (2.50$ value) for each. I’m not sure if this will work as I haven’t had a chance to try it out, but you might be able to price match Walmart at 2.97$. New today, there are 1$ off printable coupons/Websaver cashback rebates at Kellogg’s Websaver for Eggos. Hopefully they have lots of stock in stores for everyone because I’ve seen some couponers buying dozens of boxes. Sigh. Don’t be a shelf clearer.
5000 PC Optimum points when you spend 10$ on Cheez Its, Pringles, Town House crackers and Snap’d. The regular Cheez Its are 2.50$ when you buy 2 or more. There is also a loadable 50¢ instant coupon for Real Canadian Superstore, good for up to 4 units. I believe that the coupons will affect the total spend so account for that accordingly by buying 5 boxes. You’ll get 4 for 2$ and 1 for 2.50$.
17.99$ Sunrype Fruit to Go. Get 3000 PC Optimum points (3$ value) for each and use a 75¢ printable coupon for more savings. Link via Instagram bio.
4.88$ Ben and Jerry’s tubs. This is a great price for fancy ice cream.
Rexall
5$/2 Dempster’s bread (Sat/Sun only). Use a buy one, get one printable coupon. Link via Instagram.
3.29$/12 Eggs (Sat/Sun only. 25¢ Websaver cashback rebate.
88¢ Colgate and Crest toothpaste and brushes (Sat/Sun only)
Shopper’s Drug Mart
2.49$ Wonder Bread Saturday/Sunday only). Use a printable buy one, get one free coupon from Websaver. Link via Instagram.
3.29$/12 Eggs. (Saturday/Sunday only).
5$/2 Lay’s chips. There is a 1$ off when you buy 2 coupon at TastyRewards.ca. (Sat/Sun only).
4.99$ No Name butter (Sat/Sun only)
4.99$ Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. (Sat/Sun only)
3.99$ Stawberries (Ontario) 340g. Get 3000 PC Optimum points (3$ value) when you buy 2.
6$/2 Kellogg’s bars and treats. There are 3$ off when you buy 2 tear pad coupons in stores or CheckOut51 has 3$ when you buy 2 cashback rebates.
Sobey’s
77¢ Club House seasoning or gravy mix
1.95$/lb Turkey (Member price) 25¢ cashback from Websaver.ca.
4.44$ Compliments brand cheese blocks or shreds
99¢/lb Sweet Potatoes 25¢ cashback from Websaver.ca.
7.99$ Compliments frozen sea food, get 100 Scene+ points (1$ value) for each.
9.99$ Highliner Signature fish. 2$ cashback rebate from CheckOut51.
1.88$ Sugar 1kg. 25¢ cashback from Websaver.ca.
3.99$ Becel margarine. There are 1.25$ printable or tear pad coupons.
99¢ Compliments canned veggies
7$/2 Liberte Mediterranee or Greek yogurt. Buy 6 and get 1000 Scene+ points (10$ value). 1$ tear pad coupons in stores now. If you use a coupon for each and buy 6, they are 83¢ after points earned.
Get 1000 Scene+ points (10$ value) when you buy any combination of the listed items (mini sweet peppers, baby carrots, broccoli crowns, or dips). The broccoli is sold by weight. If you pick 4 small crowns and bag them separately, they will count for the buy 4 deal and it will be a small money maker depending on the weigh. 25¢ cashback from Eclipsa for broccoli.
3.49$ Tre Stelle cream cheese. 1.50$ off tear pad coupon.
T&T
1.98$/lb Green grapes
1.48$/lb Chicken legs
98¢ Cucumber
8.98$ Whole chickens
Walmart
2.97$/lb Ground beef
94¢ Carrots or onions, 3lbs. 25¢ cashback from Eclipsa.
4.44$ Great Value cheese blocks or shreds
1.27$ Campbell’s broth
2.77$ McCain fries
4.97$ Gaylea butter
8.97$ Maple Leaf hams. 25¢ cashback from Websaver.ca.
1.97$ Broccolo stalks
97¢ Cucumber
3.27$ Chippits. 50¢ cashback rebate from CheckOut51.
Zehrs/Loblaws/Independant
1.77$ Brown and white sugar (Member price). 25¢ cashback from Websaver.ca.
5.99$ pies. Get 1500 PC Optimum points (1.50$ value) each.
2.99$/lb Ground beef
3.99$ Blueberries, pint. Get 1000 PC Optimum points (1$ value) for each.
2.99$ McCain fries
1.49$/lb Tomatoes on the vine

Easy Cashback Offers:

Eclipsa app (https://www.eclipsa.com) cashback 25¢ for each of the following items (limit of 1):

• Avocado
  
• Apples
  
• Broccoli
  
• Carrots
  
• Mushrooms
  
• Nut Butters
  
• Kombucha
  
• Wake Water Caffeinated Sparkling Water
  
• Genuine Health supplements
  

Websaver.ca cashback of 25¢ for each of the following items (limit of 1). Websaver cashback seems to be back to monthly changes:

• Soda
  
• Lemon
  
• Sugar
  
• Chocolate
  
• Asparagus
  
• Peanut butter
  
• Ham
  
• Cheese blocks
  
• Butter
  
• Dry pasta
  
• Potatoes
  
• Turkey
  

Upload your grocery receipts to Caddle for 10¢ cashback. Link via Instagram.
Did I mention CheckOut51 has rebates on beer and wine? (https://www.checkout51.com/)
Extra savings on food can be found by using the Flashfood app, which sells near expiry groceries for large discounts. This week, I got a produce box for 5$ which contained 2lbs of Ontario strawberries in great condition, a bag of grapes and a dozen + apples.

Price match tips:

• Most stores won't price match Rexall or Shoppers Drugmart or Canadian Tire.
  
• Loblaws owned stores limit price matching to 4 items per UPC. Different flavours will have different UPCs. Some stores won’t honor this, but it’s always worth a try.
  
• Showing a virtual flyer like the Flipp app links included in this post is sufficient for price matching. You don't need to find a physical flyer.
  
• Download the Flipp app and long press the price matches to "clip" them. You can find these clippings in the Lists section for easy reference at checkout.
  
• Not all stores will price match every store. Each store will determine their own local competition. They should have this info posted somewhere or ask at the cash and they can tell you.
  

Frugal Tip of the Week:

Keep an eye out on the Flashfood app next week because of the Friday holiday. You’ll start seeing a lot of items close to expiry being cleared out.

So I am in my late 30s and have been trying to get a job in the US. I have very young kids who just started schooling. After reading the posts here, my biggest concern is - even if I manage to get a job in the US, we all know that getting a green card is impossible/impractical. And that is okay for me but what happens to kids once they turn 21.
Do they need to go back or switch over to the J1 (not to mention J1 can be rejected if the applicant doesn’t show the intent to return which is not possible in this case).
Apart from switching to J1 are there any other issues associated with it - like can they continue to study whatever they want to or are there restrictions around it?
Is fee higher for international students?
Is there any remote possible of reforms in these cases (as it seems unfair for someone to struggle like that after being in country for over a decade).
It feels too much hassle to immigrate to a country where you know you have to return to home country because your kids will be out of status. Or may be am I thinking too far ahead?
I worked for a Us based company in India for 10 years. If I join the same company in the US, does that experience help in anyway reducing the timeline?
Sorry - I have to think all these before even planning/thinking to immigrate.

Dm if you want.

Current state of mind. Anxious, curious and alone with my thoughts.
While sitting at the computer my mind starts to wonder. I am unsure on which journey I will be going on today. My imagination has been running wild. But it continually comes back to one thing. Religion and the ongoing spiritual war between God and the Devil. I look up videos for hours and extract all the “messages and paths” that I am able to. I know this is likely unhealthy and delusional thoughts but I believe what I am experiencing is larger than myself. I am deeply entrenched in the fact that I am being led by God on my destined path. It is truly frightening.
The question I guess my mind keeps replaying is why am I here. Then my mind goes into overdrive assessing all the wild theories. I sit everyday and watch youtube videos and look up conspiracy theories, current events and anything else that will feed my overactive mind. This goes on for years(around 15 -20 easy). Trying to answer a question that seems to have no answer. Then I have a mental breakdown due to stress.
Now things just seem to look different and everything has a significance that I cannot explain. I know what I just experienced according to my therapists were delusions but it was the most real thing I have ever felt. As much as I try not to think about the events that happened during my breakdown it seems as though it is my destiny to do so. To replay them, analyze and try to understand what occurred. To everyone else it looked as though my mind had malfunctioned and shut down. But to me, it was the exact opposite. I felt spiritually awake and things have never made more sense.
I never knew if God truly existed and it ate at me my entire life growing up. I was a very sick child growing up and very religious. I saw poverty all around me and consistently wondered why God would allow this to happen and why won’t he come and help. I would pray every night and ask him to help. I always yearned to understand why things were the way they were and would regularly attempt to communicate with God. I don’t believe I ever got an answer. I tried less and less as the years went by and eventually at the age of 14 I gave up my devotion to God for selfish purposes. I became envious of those with success and was sick of being looked down upon by the successful judgemental people in my community. I turned to weed heavily and began selling to fuel my addiction.
Then I went through a home invasion and got a spinal injury and PTSD. I withdrew from society but would still maintain social ties through weed sales. I quit school due to the PTSD and money from selling weed. I worked hard labor jobs(masony,roofing,factories). Then I went into the service and got kicked out for…you guessed it weed. I was also a loan shark in the Marines but they never caught that lol. I withdrew from my family after I got kicked out due to the shame that came along with my discharge. I had two friends-one my cousin and my parents(my mom and step dad). I would sell weed and job hop to try to increase my bank account. I did pretty well and landed a job for a big pharma company that helped me save up a decent chunk. Then I was offered a management position there. I almost took it but instead gave it to a co-worker that was horribly mean to be. I learned that his wife had cancer and that he was having a horrible time. For some reason I got it into my head that I needed to resign and make sure this man gets this good paying job. I believe this was the first time god was using me to get a desired result on someones life. Long story short I made sure the dude got the job and I left.
Fast Forward to my mental breakdown. During this time I believe I was led by God to the mental hospital to escape a demonic group that was trying to kill me. While at the mental hospital I felt surrounded by this demonic group. I believed they drugged me and planned on sacrificing me initially. Then further into my stay I was able to gather that for some reason I was important to them and that they were afraid of God. I began reading the bible again and putting on the armor of god on a daily basis. I would also pray and use positive music to make the demons cower while I was around. I noticed they would always try to use sound as a weapon. Like have someone just talking nonsense when you were trying to talk or distract you while you were trying to think…etc. I met a couple other residents there that I believed were sent there to help me. The oddest thing of my entire stay was that I felt like I knew everyone.
One morning while waking up the entire room showed a hue of green. A nurse walked in and there was an aura around her that I cannot explain. Nothing you could see, but feel. I asked her if she was God and she said yes. I then asked her if I could walk with her and she allowed me to. We walked up and down the hallways admiring the art on the hallway walls. We came to a picture of a wooded area that contained a dock that led to a lake. For some reason I believe that she wanted me to jump into this lake. I asked her if it was real and she said yes. I asked her if there were other ways and she also said yes. I humbly declined to jump into the lake at the time and told her I wanted to try to save everyone else( I don’t know what I meant by this).
There was an rn there with the name of **** that was the devil. He wore tactical clothing and wore a masonic ring. Through conversation with him when he was attempting to get me at my weakness he revealed himself and his motives. We had a conversation and he was attempting to terrify me that he was going to torture me. I stayed stone faced knowing that I was now walking with god. And was not afraid anymore. This earned his respect and I believe he was at a loss on how to get my soul. I showed him how powerful God could be by destroying his demons that were laid before me. I did this by protecting myself with the armor of god and using prayer and positivity to get rid of the darkness that existed in that place.
After talking with God I went to the devil to tell him about my encounter and my plan. I told him that there was another way that was not written and that God had confirmed things could change. I told him I was not making a deal with him and wanted to be a mediator between him and God so they could potentially reason with each other. My ultimate goal was to save the devils soul. I believe that if I could do this that his minions would follow and that we would change the current paradigm on how things “have to be”. Imagine a world where the Devil understands the errors in his ways and aligns himself once again with God. This would eliminate the evil period. Something that imo needs to be done. We spend our energy fighting with each other and competing with each other on a constant basis. I can’t get it out of my head the possibilities of a perfect world. I know with God this is possible due to all things being possible with God. Revelations is terrifying to me and I think through diplomacy maybe, just maybe that could be avoided. He just laughed, shook his head and then shook my hand. I told him no hard feelings and that my ultimate goal was to erase the evil that plagues this world.
Not like I had the answer though. But with my new found abilities I felt like I was able to communicate with God on a daily basis and follow the path laid out to complete this mission. I got out of the mental hospital and for the first month I would receive heavy messages through youtube videos letting me know I was on the correct spiritual path. The friend I was staying with initially was very helpful. Eventually The messages and disinformation started appearing on my screen again and I instantly knew it was the devil. I would be selective in what I chose to watch and read and never give him the time of day like I did in the past. I believe this angered him and eventually he had no choice but to hit me in an unexpected manner.
Two months into my treatment I was well enough to the point where I no longer needed the medication. I communicated this to my doctors and therapists and refused treatment. I was doing very well and was positive and hopeful on most days. Then my friend who initially was helping me started to turn on me. I would attempt to talk to him but I would only receive negative attitude and demeaning statements from him. I attempted to help him to the best of my ability and made the choice to move out to a more positive environment. I told him this and he personally attacked me a lot. This ended our friendship. I thought to myself how can i not help him? I used the same tactics that I used in the mental hospital but it seemed to have no effect on him at all. Then it hit me, he was possessed by a powerful demon. Which immediately led me to another realization. I am being set up.
I believe my entire life since I have been a child is a facade. The possibilities are endless but the most likely scenario is that I was brought up as part of a cult that I was unaware of my entire life. Like everyone is in on it. It all hit me when I was able to get this from a different post on here. Now my brain sits and attempts to pick apart who am I and why am I here. I believe this is the path that God currently has me on. To figure out the rest of this story.

We're pleased to announce this as the dedicated trade & sale thread for this month.

REMINDER: Please remember to trade at your own risk. New accounts should likely be avoided. A post history on /hotwheels, reddit, and verified email are a better indication there is a good intention behind the trade.

Be sure to check the user profile of your trade before sending any info.

It's always a good idea to work out the particulars in a PM; Type of shipping/packaging, condition, time frame, package tracking, etc.

Trade & Sale Thread Guidelines:

• Please make trade and sale requests here in the dedicated trade and sale thread.
  
• We request you limit your trade/sale requests to a single parent comment and avoid multiple comments with multiple listings/requests.
  
• Non-Hot Wheels cars like M2, GreenLight, Matchbox, AutoWorld, Johnny Lighting, Masito, and others are more than welcome.
  
• Please indicate what state and/or country you are from; many people may not be able to ship internationally, or indicate if you are ok with shipping over seas.
  
• Posts for successful trades don't need to me made here. We encourage you to show off what you've received in the main sub.
  
• Never post your personal information or the information of others on reddit. This is bannable at the admin level, not just here in the sub and you risk having your account banned by reddit itself.
  
• As with all trade threads, suggestions for the trade thread or sub itself are welcome in the comments. Thank you!
  

Happy Trades and Sales everyone!

REMINDER: There is also /DiecastExchange, a dedicated Diecast sale sub! PM Diecast exchange for access.
^{/Hotwheels is not affiliated with it but its worth a shout out.
Last Months thread: March-2023 Thread}

So I am looking for a second opinion if I am missing something here...
I want to sell my 1 bedroom apartment in a desirable area and switch to a 3-4 bedroom house/semidetached suburban house in the near future. I want to sell to take advantage of the last legs of current peak prices.
However, I feel where I live the prices are only just starting to come down due to rate increases and are only down 3-4% from peak prices (prices went up about 20-30% in last year alone...hardly a discount).
My plan is that perhaps instead of buying a replacement property straight away, I'd take a rental for a year or so and wait what the market brings.
At the moment, buying will cost 1200 EUR interest + about 400 EUR principal in monthly payments.
I can actually rent a roughly equivalent property for around 1200 EUR.
My thinking is - I can't lose, since what I pay for property rent will be the same as the interest payment. However, I won't need to lock into the high prices and pay the principal back.
Longer term play is to use my current sale proceeds to buy outright 1 or 2 rentals in the next year, and use one of them as a collateral for the new home.
Seems like a way to go or am I missing something?

It's been a particularly tough couple of years to be a teacher, but now that we're past spring break, I've been able to catch my breath a bit. Lately I’ve been catching up on reading, workouts, and those recipes I’d bookmarked who-knows-when ago, but I’d like to start catching up on my social and dating life too, and I'm looking for people who want the same.
About Me:

• My hobbies include learning languages, baking, smoking meats, and playing music. The Killers and The Talking Heads are two of my favorite artists.
• I’m a huge fan of theater, anything in the outdoors, and craft beer.
• I’m blonde, 5’10, with green eyes. I have an average build, though I run and workout regularly. I’m told I have a great smile and an even better laugh.
• Slytherin (it’s Pottermore official)
• While I wholeheartedly reject the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, I’m presumably an INFJ.
• I love to tell terrible jokes and I am liable to keep them coming until you tell me to stop.
• Mountains > Beaches
• Chicago > APA
• Any other style of pizza > Chicago

About You:

• I’d love to talk with someone who is caring, passionate, fun-loving, and spontaneous. Some overlap in our hobbies or interests could be great, too – but over and above all, be you.
• Please be single; I am not looking to get involved with someone already involved with someone else.
• If you’ve read this far, tell me your favorite color in your first message!
• Please be 18+, but beyond that I don’t have an age cutoff provided you and I can have a mature discussion.

About Us:

• I’m looking to make a more-than-friends connection.
• Given the state of the world right now, I’m looking for a connection that’s largely online for the time being, unless we happen to live very close by.
• I’m more than happy to share photos of myself (random selfies throughout the day are fun!) I’m also happy to verify myself and I will ask you to do the same.
• I will never ghost you. Things fall apart; if we don’t work out, I will be upfront about it. I ask that you be willing to do the same should things come to that point.

Looking forward to talking with you soon!
You can listen to this post, and listen to my voice, here! https://vocaroo.com/1k9zBxaV29AC

Hi all. I live in a NYC prewar apartment (tiny rental) that very much needs new wall paint. Luckily my landlord has let me make any cosmetic changes I want (that I pay for), including paint. I’ve been trying out various Benjamin Moore paint samples and found some great colors but am having trouble with 2 whites I like, Simply White & Chantilly lace. My existing walls aren’t dark (one is light tan, another light green) but those 2 whites specifically seem to have poor coverage so the original color peeks through unless I do several coats. Other BM colors cover the existing wall color perfectly well with just 1 coat, even colors that are other whites. But not these 2 whites.
People have told me I don’t need to prime my walls since they’re already fully painted (and great quality, thick plaster rather than drywall, as the building was constructed in 1907), but I am guessing I need to use a primer if I want to use these 2 whites, right? Any advice on primer to use? Thanks!

Good morning!
Currently sipping on a hot mug of coffee and enjoying the peace and quiet as the world sleeps around me. I love this time of day. It's autumn here, so the colours are changing and there is that green aroma of leaves that hangs in the air in the early morning, before the intrusion of industry and fast food overpower it.
Burgeoning into the mid-level tier of life - the 'blue quality' tier - the friends I did associate with have all gotten lives and families of their own and we drift apart (as is the norm for many), so I'm here to cultivate some new ones. I am old school when it comes to friendship and am not of the "Hey, they friended me on FGacebook so that means we're besties." mindset, but that has never prevented anyone from making solid connections with others and having a good conversation or great fun slaughtering co-op game content together .
I am living in Australia and am vision impaired (registered legally blind) and own this fantastic white cane that I thankfully don't have to use all the time. I am a firm believer in not letting your life woes leave you feeling helpless by becoming an educator (sometimes we need to give ourselves the first hand up), so questions are absolutely welcomed. As with everyone: I like to think my life experiences and lessons have shaped and tempered me into a relaxed, curious and tongue-in-cheek humoured person.
I enjoy reading and watching science fiction, horror, high fantasy and have more recently delved into historical non-fiction biographies. I am a staunch Robin Hobb fan and have this horrible habit of getting overly attached to wonderful duos and have a hard time saying goodbye to. Darn you, empathy! I also enjoy co-op gaming on PC of the non-competitive nature are my jam. More recently I'm delving into Core Keeper (if you liked Stardew Valley and Terraria, I do recommend this more action-focused title). I do use Discord (I truly enjoy team comms in crazy-silly situations, such as those one can experience in 7 Days to Die and MMORPGs). Care to chat via Discord? You're totally welcome to.
Anyway, that's my TedTalk on me. Thanks for attending and I look forward to making some new acquaintances. Feel free to respond in this thread with a little bit about yourself or send a DM, whichever you feel more comfortable or safe using (your boundaries matter). Cheers!

This year, I've decided to do a monthly post reviewing the MV games I've completed that month. Some of these may be replays of older games, but largely I'm going to focus on stuff with a fairly recent release.
Any review will obviously be subjective, so for some personal context, I tend to prefer games that are close to the Metroid side of things than the Castlevania side of things. I'm also a fan of MVs that shake up the formula, either by adding in a new element (i.e. Yoku's Island Express mixing in pinball) or by focusing on a specific element of the MV formula and taking it to 11 (i.e. Aeterna Noctis being super deep on the challenging platforming, the La-Mulana games taking the puzzle-solving/adventure elements to the stratosphere, etc). But I'm also fond of games that just get the fundamentals right and provide a smooth and enjoyable experience. I'll also try to add objective measures/quantifications on games where I can.
Ender Lilies - Quietus of the Knights: Ender Lilies is one that's been on my backlog for ages. It got a fair amount of positive reaction when it came out, so I picked it up, played past the first boss, and wasn't gripped so moved on to other things. A couple of times since then I've tried picking it back up, but had trouble sticking with it for more than an hour or two (around 6 total across all attempts). But when I asked this sub for recommendations as to which games on my backlog were most worthwhile, Ender Lilies was one of the most common responses. So I picked it up again and decided to stick with it through the end. Ultimately, my opinion hasn't really changed - I think it's not a great game overall, hampered by several questionable design choices - but now at least I can say I'm done with it and won't have it tickling the back of my brain. People tout its combat, but I found the combat both tedious and frustrating. Everything is stacked such that it's incredibly easy to just die in a basic encounter against a couple of normal, at-level enemies. Your attacks have long finishing lag, you get hitstunned and knocked back by every hit, you have basically no damage immunity after being hit, enemies deal contact damage, healing is limited per rest, and at-level enemies will generally kill you in 2-3 hits. Meanwhile, enemies can launch projectiles from off-screen, take ~8-12 hits to kill generally, don't take hitstun unless you break their poise (which takes a bunch of hits), attack with huge hitboxes, have frequent defenses like a shield or being able to fly/teleport away instantaneously, and are generally just annoying. The map makes things even worse, as every room is just a nondescript rectangle on your map/minimap, and you only get to see which room you are in and its connections, not where you are in a room or where you have/haven't been. Level design seems haphazard, with several other posters commenting that it feels almost procedurally-generated. The miserable combat makes exploration difficult, as you have to slog through enemies to try to explore things, and so many of the rewards feel like a pittance - think +5HP when your health bar is ~120 and enemies are dealing 80. Several of the midgame bossfights were major exercises in frustration and nearly had me walk away from the game despite committing to finishing it. Ulv and Julius both have sequences in their later forms that could kill you from full in an instant even if you were doing perfectly up to that point. Ulv fires some wave attacks that are spaced such that if the first hits you, the second will as well, and each did over half my HP. If he started the attack while I was repositioning with a dodge, I just died. Likewise, Julius has an attack on his final form where he shoots a large beam across the screen. It's impossible to block, dodge, or jump over this beam and it hits multiple times to deal well over 100% of my lifebar. The only possible way to escape is to get behind him before he finishes charging it, but depending where you start relative to him this can be literally impossible. By contrast though, the last two bosses felt like pushovers; the penultimate bossfight took me all of two attempts and the final one maybe five. The game was a bit more enjoyable doing the "cleanup" backtracking after acquiring all of the abilities, as the higher level plus all defensive relics plus closer to max health meant that I wasn't just at risk of dying to a stiff breeze. I've seen others criticize the last area as it has poisonous fog over much of the level that constantly drains your HP, but because you're fully equipped and leveled, it's ironically easier to survive and explore a little despite this. It's not an *awful* game, and it has some good positives like art/aesthetics, lore, music, etc, but I'd put it pretty firmly in the C or low B tier and definitely consider it overrated. Timewise it took me just a little over 20 hours to complete.
Side Scape - Side Scape is a fun little game that released at the end of January. The main hook is that it's really two games in one - you start out as a Metroid-style side-scrolling platformer, and shortly thereafter you get dropped into a Zelda-esque top-down game. You quickly find an item that lets you switch between the two protagonists, and in doing so, you switch between side-scrolling and top-down. The game is then built around using these two disparate perspectives to solve puzzles and traverse dungeons. The top down portions in particular feel a lot like the Game Boy Zeldas (Link's Awakening and Oracle of Seasons/Ages), which are some of my favorite games, but overall it has a very Metroidvania feel as well. The plot is fairly lighthearted and leans into meta comedy, definitely doesn't take itself too seriously. The only major downside is that the map is primarily just notional, you get an idea of the area you're in and how it relates to the others nearby, but there's no room by room breakdown (so similar to something like Imp of the Sun or Aggelos). There's also no fast travel, but the world is compact enough that that rarely feels like an issue. Overall it was about 6 hours, so a decent palette cleanser but definitely not a behemoth.
Vernal Edge - This was a highly-anticipated game that released last month, and unfortunately largely fell short of expectations. It does some things very right: Movement is fast and fluid, combat options are plenty with a moveset that feels like it could be easily ported to Super Smash Brothers, and the world consists of a bunch of different islands that can be explored largely at your leisure. However, it has some issues that hold it back as well. A few movement techniques have awkward timing, like the cloudstep, which takes you out of the fluidity of the rest of it. Combat is bogged down by overly spongy enemies that drag encounters out as you wail on them repeatedly. Most combats are restricted to one-time closed arena type events, meaning that much of the world feels empty after the first time you traverse an area. The islands are largely unconnected, apart from selecting them on the overworld, which detracts from the open-world feeling that Metroidvania games shoot for. Overall, I thought it was decent. It has great pixel graphics, a solid mix of platforming and combat, felt about the right level of challenging, has a lot of stuff to collect and explore with enough hints (X/Y items in this area found) to make it feasible to collect everything without just outright handing you everything. Plot and aesthetics-wise, it feels a lot like Iconoclasts, for better or worse. 100% completion took me around 14 hours.
Sheepo - Islets was one of my favorite games of last year, and so Sheepo has been on my radar for a while. I finally grabbed it after seeing it on sale this past month, and consumed it voraciously. It definitely isn't the full package that Islets is, but it's a damn good game nonetheless. It took me 4 hours to complete 100%, making it a bit on the short side, but it was a delight the whole time so it's hard to complain about that - there's definitely room for minivanias in the landscape of the genre. Sheepo doesn't have combat; there are boss fights, but they largely consist of platforming puzzles or timed survival segments. Each boss defeated awards you an egg, which then lets you temporarily shapeshift into that kind of animal if one is nearby. This grants you abilities like flight, burrowing, or wall-clinging. Like Islets, movement is butter-smooth, which makes the platforming focus feel great. It has the same kind of graphical and dialogue charm that Islets does too. This developer is definitely on my list of ones to watch closely.
Blaster Master Zero - The final game I completed this month, and I just barely managed to get it in under the wire. Blaster Master Zero is a remake/reboot of an NES title, and it definitely shows. There's some really cool Metroidvania stuff going on, but also some things that make you stop and go "yeah, this is absolutely the NES experience". The game alternates between two modes - one is side-view, with you piloting a tank that can jump and fire various weapons. You can also leave the tank, and enter into caverns, which take you to a top-down dungeon. The tank segments feel better than the pilot segments, which are plagued by a low walk speed and a fairly imbalanced weapon system. You pick up weapon energy as drops from enemies and crates, and you lose weapon energy when you're damaged. Each point of weapon energy lets you equip a higher-powered weapon, going from a short range blaster all the way up to a wave beam that pierces walls and enemies and traverses the whole screen. For the most part, if you can hold on to this strongest weapon, the top-down sequences are a cakewalk, with many of the bosses falling in mere seconds. But if you take a couple points of damage and are stuck using a lower-tier gun, the same fights can be next to impossible. A great example of this is a giant crab enemy that can only be damaged on his rear - using the wave beam, you can just hammer him immediately and he'll take damage as the beam passes through him, but with any other weapon it will bounce harmlessly off his face, requiring you to try to maneuver around him, which is very tricky to pull off. It also suffers a bit from not having quite enough collectibles. There's some health-ups, some secondary weapons for both the tank and overhead sections, and a couple of alternate main cannons and maneuvers for the tank. Almost all upgrades are found by defeating a boss, primarily in the overhead sections. Once you've acquired the map of a zone, every single cave with a boss is immediately highlighted on it, and exploring anywhere else is largely fruitless. There's a handful of caves that have nothing but a stock of pickups at the end, and some larger rooms and branches in the sidescrolling portions with nothing in most of the corners except maybe some pickups as well. Ability gating is limited as well. There's a few abilities that have gating, but generally only in a couple areas each, and there's not much in the way of backtracking that you can do except to a couple of inter-zone gates that are ability gated and located on the other side of a previous zone, with most powerups being attainable the first time you're through a zone. That said, overall there's a lot of promise here, and I'm still going to play the sequels in the next couple of months to see if they can improve on the formula. 100% took me about 8 hours.
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Definitely my top picks this month are Sheepo and Side Scape, which were both on the shorter side. Lot of games with promise, but little that fully lived up to it.

Interestingly, the Bible clearly says God’s New Earth (Jerusalem) will be ruled by children. Greta Thunberg represents this new generation, striving to promote and sustain life on our planet. Here, I share my notes on her most recent (February 2023) work The Climate Book, with the hope in my heart that her voice will be carried far. *[My own Christian perspective is weaved into her scientific outlook.]
To begin, Carbon Dioxide (C02) is a basic building block of life, some of which has been stored underground from plants from long ago. Over 2 million years ago, too much C02 caused a mass extinction. Afterwards, trees were virtually gone. It took millions of years for Earth's biosphere and life to recover.
People have been farming for over 10,000 years, depleting the nutrients of the land. Between 1945 and 2000, the number of people tripled. Since the 1990s, we have dumped more climate changing toxins into our environment than throughout all of human history. We consume more, due to this “great acceleration.” In the 20th century, people accelerated their use of fossils fuels.
The science is solid. The great acceleration occurred with the industrial revolution. We have filled our oceans with plastics, and are destabilizing our own ecosystem. This is like sawing off the branch we are sitting on!
Nature cycles carbon, but global warming can be exacerbated by the release of carbon from the soil due to warming. We have knocked the natural balance off, due to our use of stored fuels and our own carbon emissions. Since the industrial revolution, our economy is reliant upon fossil fuels and non-sustainable practices.
We must rebalance our planet by controlling our own behaviors and emissions. If we continue with current practices, we will warm our planet by 4 degrees by the end of this century.
What will this be like? Extreme heat waves will occur yearly, along with drought and famine. Sea ice will disappear, revealing more of the ocean.
Climate change directly causes the death of coral reefs, and if they collapse they will also take with them millions of ocean species. We may be causing the 6th extinction. Coral reefs become bleached due to warmer waters as their colorful algae is expelled, threatening over 30% of ocean species. Right now, three billion people rely upon our oceans for food. We need to farm our oceans sustainably (such as for seaweed). Fishermen are currently exploiting 90% of available fisheries. One billion people depend on fish for omega-3 fatty acids and more.
Why don’t more people care? Many do not perceive a threat because it is slow and complicated. We have exploited and distanced ourselves from Nature. Even our religions have promoted the false notion that this world is to be devalued, and we are separated from our Creator. Many feel a void, with no God within. Many try to fill this emptiness with ceaseless products. Our entire worldview and our daily habits must change.
Today 20% of California’s power use goes toward providing water. We can take better measures, like drawing from ocean water.
Factory and human waste is polluting our waters. Riots have broken out, such as in India, over access to water. Who is taking this seriously? The public? The government? It seems almost no one.
Our government could pass new laws, but they do not. People are also self-interested, and rarely act for the social good if it takes from them in any way. This age is characterized by selfishness and greed, as even the Bible warns in Revelation. Tragically and shockingly, the fossil fuel industry is receiving 11 million in subsidies each minute.
The Industrial revolution, rise of science and decrease in religious morality have all compelled these trends forward. We need a new ethic prioritizing life. Religious leaders must support life, not the Death Culture which exalts the self (no matter the consequences).
We are literally obsessed with culture wars that distract us from our common interests in protecting our planet and making future generations possible.
What stands in the way of a sustainable future for human life? Should consumers even have a choice to purchase destructive products, like plastic containers for single-uses? Should meat even be available? If we really took this seriously, what measures would we take, and what laws would our government pass?
One problem is how some lives are valued more than others, and a select few are exploiting and making life impossible for many. Those in power do not tend to question their privilege!
GLORIFICATION OF THE SELF We have convinced ourselves that we deserve our carbon-rich lifestyles. If we remain hedonistic and not prudent, the poorest and most vulnerable to climate change will suffer the most.
And, Christ will judge us based on how the least among us is treated. Do we contemplate this with each plastic bottle we toss out, or plane trip we take? Isn’t living sustainably Christian behavior, reflecting the wisdom of the Holy Spirit and our living God?
Our future grandchildren will pay and suffer for our convenience now. But, we glorify the self. We glorify the pleasure of the individual and freedom to drive our species over a cliff. Many arguments from the ‘other side’ boil down to a call for the freedom to die.
CORRUPT LEADERSHIP Our leaders are taking us over a cliff. George W. Bush pulled out of the Kyoto protocol, given it was not ratified prior to his taking power. He chose to serve corporate interests (even over human life). Bush declared that the American way of life is not negotiable (1992). Since he spoke these words over 30 years ago, our emissions have increased by 60%, creating an existential crisis.
Given such attitudes and priorities, we have a limited carbon budget to spend in the next few years if we wish to avoid the most dire consequences of global warming. We need to raise the cost of carbon, forcing consumers to pay more for products that are heavy in carbon pollution. We also need to change our diets. We must get our priorities straight.
In 2009, corrupt lobbying destroyed an act that would have helped. But the fossil fuel industry, driven by greed, spends billions on disinformation and distraction. They poison public debate with dirty money. Leaders set non-binding targets, then fail to reach the goals. Their true priorities are economic growth and profit. It seems to the public that actions are being taken, but they are not taking serious measures at all.
The richest ten percent contribute 50% of our total C02 emissions. We need to restructure our economy to be sustainable. The idea of infinite growth is not possible on our finite planet.
We are all in the same crisis, but not the same boat. The only hope is in speaking truth to power and adjusting our behaviors accordingly.
CURRENT SITUATION There is about 1 carbon molecule for every 2,000 other molecules in our atmosphere, so carbon is difficult to locate for removal. To stop putting carbon into our air is much cheaper and better than paying for carbon removal later, which would cost trillions upon trillions. Why should we allow companies to continue business as usual, passing cost and problems to future generations?
Climate change is responsible for over 2 trillion in economic costs. Economic damage from climate change will cost over 3x the amount the pandemic cost. For example, insurance rates will rise and the real estate market will suffer due to not being able to sell in coastal and impacted areas.
Worldwide, waste is increasing at an alarming rate and 20% of methane emissions are due to our waste. We need to engage in more intelligent practices. For example, we can compost (which reduces waste in landfills that leads to methane emissions). Composting will also nourish our gardens.
Methane removal, through oxidation, is needed. Half of our methane is produced from human behaviors like cattle agriculture.
C02 is forever, while methane is temporary. Methane is 20-30x more potent in warming our atmosphere than C02, but it dissipates over 40 years while C02 will remain thousands upon thousands of years. C02 is also cumulative.
Given this, we must stop our emissions of greenhouse gases immediately. If we reach zero emissions, it will drastically reduce global warming. Carbon dioxide is at its highest in 2 billion years, due to our behaviors. We are experimenting with our own lives and planet!
Toxins accumulate in sea creatures, damaging the whole ecosystem. C02 enters the blood of fish, affecting acidification. Acidity has already risen 30%, producing hazards for marine life, like for coral reefs and in decreasing calcification in the shells of sea life. Shopping bags can strangle sea animals and their stomachs are found full of microplastics.
The Amazon forest works as a giant air conditioner, cooling our planet. It absorbs C02. But temperatures in the Amazon are increasing and it is getting more dry due to the expansion of farming and deforestation.
Aerosols like smoke and other tiny particles in our air affect our global temperature. Some cool our atmosphere by reflecting the sun, even dropping temperatures by 0.5 percent. Without aerosols, our atmosphere would be hotter. But air pollution is also hazardous, coming from our cars and factories, for example.
Clouds reflect sunlight back into space, but can also insulate heat like a blanket. Reduced clouds over our oceans force the ocean to absorb the sunlight, thus contributing to global warming.
Melting ice caps no longer reflect the sun, leading even to more warming. Our glaciers are melting. The Himalayas provide drinking water to billions, yet will melt by 1/3. We have enough ice to raise our ocean levels the equivalent of a 20 story building. We have already lost the equivalent of Mt. Everest in ice sheets. This melting will lead to coastal devastation for those living near our oceans. Our oceans will rise by a meter by 2100.
Oceans absorb about 90% of the excess heat produced by global warming. While oceans absorb about ¼ of C02, warming produces less absorption. We must enhance our oceans ability to absorb C02. Even a 1.5 degree increase in temperature is a great risk to our future survival. Our weather has extremes, like the freezing waters and the heatwave that killed many in 2021.
Human made climate change has devastating consequences. For example, Hurricane Harvey cost billions and the severity was 15% greater due to human made climate change. Sadly, 20 million people were displaced by flooding in 2020.
Distressingly, we have all witnessed that even minor disruptions in our supply chain are devastating. Thus, climate change must be averted at all costs.
Our temperature has already warmed by 1%, which all reputable science agrees upon. This is already causing damage right now. Heat waves and air pollution lead to heart related and respiratory deaths, not just heat strokes. Millions die per year due to air pollution. The warming climate also triggers diseases like Maleria and will kill millions. These diseases are being seen in areas not seen before.
The increase of C02 in our atmosphere is even making our crops less nutritious. Specifically, soils lack zinc and protein. Zinc deficiency then leads to a reduced immune system. Millions more will have an iron and folate deficiency due to current C02 levels. Iron deficiency leads to premature births.
GOING FORWARD So then, what is our best path forward for survival? We have to stick to a carbon budget per year to reach our goal of only increasing the temperature by 1.5 degrees Celsius. The carbon budget, to stay within the agreements of the Paris accord, will be used up in a few years. But noone seems to be sounding any alarms. Is this because our media is controlled by the elite?
Politicians still respond to mammon ($) with no concern, really, for life. Congressman Manchin singlehandedly rewrote climate legislation in 2021, even with all aware that he has millions invested in fossil fuels, like the influential Koch brothers.
Exxon Mobil has been well aware of the consequences of their actions for decades, yet put forth false discussions into the public sphere. They purposefully stalled for time, which we do not have.
The King of Saudi Arabia has unbelievable wealth and power, but when we move to solar and wind energy power will not be so concentrated. This may lead to a more hopeful and democratic future that serves the actual interests of the people. We need to turn to our Sun. We need to now rely upon energy from heaven, not from hell. It is not that we do not have the money to change. It is that those benefiting from our current Death Economy do not have the will to change.
Many will promote carbon capture technologies, but the reality is hidden. There are only about 20 carbon capture facilities operating right now, some shown to produce more carbon than they capture. We can use fossil fuels only until around 2050, unless technology like carbon capture is seriously invested in (and not just used as a talking point). Many CEOs deflect attention from change right now, promising (like snake oil salesmen) to develop sustainable technology in the future. (Interestingly, blue hydrogen can be made from carbon capture.)
Solving our crisis calls for us putting less demand upon our energy system, such as in consuming less. We need to return to more of a natural, Earth based way of life. Do we all really need to extend our days, with artificial light, past the natural hours of sunlight? Must we eat meat? Wherever there is a roof, there is a potential for a solar panel. Wind parks can also be built in offshore locations, where they are less disruptive.
Green hydrogen is a fuel that leaves only water behind and is usually produced by methane. But it costs more to produce than it makes. Thus, green hydrogen requires an abundance of cheap energy.
Hydropower facilities use water flow to produce energy, while nuclear power splits elements for energy, and produces around 10% of the world’s energy. But, a nuclear power factory that just opened in 2022 took 16 years to open. And, nuclear power can have disastrous consequences and can be the target of terrorism.
Biomass energy creates energy by burning wood or other biological matter. But, it can take hundreds of years for forests to regrow. Thus, we need to slow down this process and aim to stop burning things on Earth for energy.
Geothermal heat takes energy from the Earth's heat, producing around 17% of greenhouse gases. But it is limited in that there are limited planetary hot spots. In air capture measures, carbon is pumped underground, like in BECS. BECS pumps carbon underground and provides electricity from the burning of plant matter, which is cost effective compared to other measures. Enhanced weathering is also a promising technique, such as exposing crushed rocks and minerals to the carbon in the air to facilitate natural processes.
Finally, some promote geoengineering, which is the manipulation of our atmosphere, such as reducing the warming effects of our sun. Some support spraying sun-blocking aerosols or coating ice to protect it. This is actually risky to our ecosystems. Solar engineering is too dangerous, given once the process is started it must continue indefinitely (and political regimes can change). If suddenly stopped, warming will occur to an even greater degree than if no measures were ever taken.
REAL SOLUTIONS Elites consume and produce more than most. Our problems are that of inequality as much as pollution. If the top 10% (financially) only produced the carbon footprint of the bottom 90% of global emitters, 1/3 of carbon would be reduced. Thus, carbon budgets will affect the filthy rich the most. The most wealthy are contributing a shockingly disproportionate amount of pollution. The average person produces 6.5 tons of emissions per year, with the wealthy producing 75 tons.
Rich countries know they are liable for their pollution. They, of course, do not want to focus discussions on responsibility. The global economy could shrink by 18% due to the climate crisis.
We need to reduce emissions, restoring soils and forests. We need to protect our soil from tilling, pesticides and depleted nutrients. We have found that enriching soil with nitrogen has polluted our water. We need new practices. How can we sustainably grow food? How can we facilitate new ideas?
PLANT-BASED DIET We know that as affluence increases, so does meat consumption. But more efficient use of water and land, such as in transitioning to plant-based diets and farms, is our only viable path forward. This would support health of our land, souls and bodies!
Plant-based foods have the lowest impact, while meats can impact our environment over 20x more. Every 50 calories that go into meat (feed) produces 1 calorie as human food. 4x the size of Brazil in land is used for grazing cattle, the greatest use of land (even above forests). And, 20% of gas emissions are due to how we use land, mainly for agriculture. Our current food production also causes 30% of greenhouse gases. We need to shift to a plant-based diet. We can feed our communities using 76% less land. One burger, which gives 10 grams of protein, uses resources like land and water that would provide many more nutritious calories if the same land was instead devoted to vegetable and fruit gardens.
Turning away from meat would not only help us feed more people, it would also help reduce diseases in our bodies and help reduce carbon pollution. Specifically, 350 million tons per year in emissions would be reduced if we shunned meat. Becoming vegetarian is the single most impactful action you can take to help.
We are eating more calories, when we need to consume less. Specifically, we need to reduce pork and beef calories by 80% in wealthy countries. Currently, 1/3 of all food produced is not consumed. We must make smarter use of our land and reduce our food consumption and waste. Humans have directly reduced biodiversity in shaping the land for our purposes, such as in agricultural practices. We farm around 30% of land now. It would take far less land to farm if we stopped using land for food for cows and other “products” for the meat industry.
Given all of this, how can it be that $500 billion in government subsidies go into agriculture that is not sustainable? We need a political and spiritual revolution. We need significant behavioral and technological changes immediately. For example, if we lowered the speed limit, we would save over 5 tons of carbon emissions annually (just in Germany). We also need cities that are efficiently constructed, and need to reduce unnecessary travel. We can use online meetings rather than physically traveling to meetings.
We can also encourage college students to prepare solutions for our problems, instead of preparing for the job market! This kind of free thought would be supported by a Universal Basic Income.
Even in 2021, 95% of transport relies upon oil (including cars, planes and ships). We need to curb the sale of SUVs, which produce great emissions. Why are they so popular? We need to encourage lighter vehicles, banning SUV advertising. We need to wake up!
Renewable energy is now the cheapest form of energy. Renewable energy makes more sense, yet those who have vested interests in fossil fuels do not want change and actively work against change. Still today, 1.446 billion vehicles run on petrol. EVs are a good step, but we really need electric public transit.
We need to outlaw all petrol engine vehicles starting 2025, and more. By 2035, there will be 2 billion private vehicles. We need free public transportation, like trains, trams, busses and ferries.
We also really need to buy less. We can reuse and repair our items and vehicles, rather than buying new things. Americans spend $5,400 per year on impulse purchases, and studies show that more ‘stuff’ does not equate with greater levels of happiness. We can share and borrow items, as a true community. This is also Christian behavior.
We can wear second-hand clothing. The clothing industry fills landfills! Electric bikes are also good alternatives to our current ways. We can buy only energy efficient appliances and can avoid over packaged foods, meat and dairy.
We need to transform our food system and plant green gardens everywhere possible. We need home garden and trees and biodiversity in cemeteries, parks and public areas as well as home backyards.
Biodiversity protects us by removing C02 from the air and purifying our waters. It helps mitigate disease and even protects our health. We need to support biodiverse land because it absorbs more C02. This is a real action we can take.
We also need to let forests grow and stop cutting young trees for wood. Before the Industrial revolution, people burned mostly wood for energy. Industrialization did relieve the deforestation occurring at the beginning of the 19th century by turning to fossil fuel energy instead of wood burning. After the development of coal burning machines, pollution killed more people than we realize. We do have to stop burning fossil fuel.
Today the ability of a forest to store carbon depends on many factors. First, we need to replace trees at the rate carbon would have been captured if wood was not harvested. If a tree is not cut, how much carbon would it capture over its lifetime?
We need to reduce wood harvesting. Specifically, we can harvest from constructed tree farms, but also allow other trees to grow old, to support biodiversity. We need no till farming, a plant based diet, biodiverse forests and more. We need drastic carbon emission cuts now.
We have already reduced the populations of birds, reptiles and insects by 2/3 since the 1970s. Sadly, 60% of all songbirds have disappeared in the last decades.
We are killing our ecosystem. Pollinators (like bees) are dying, thus leading to our deaths due to not being able to eat vegetables (which increases heart disease due to poor diet and high meat consumption).
But, are people even able to respond to new information? Are we able to act on new data? We will see.
Buying less means we do not have to earn as much. Our world will be better and we will feel better. We need to take the status away from consuming products. There are websites devoted to revealing the true carbon footprint of popular products, like: www.ethicalconsumer.com
Profits motivate corporations to distract the public from the truth. We are not told how unhealthy certain common things are, even in the long term. It is not in their interest (they mistakenly think) to be honest and change to a more sustainable economy. Of course, God sees all.
Politicians are short sighted and are not addressing the crisis at all. We need “honesty, integrity and courage” (Greta Thunberg). But, many are still driven by mammon (money) to the point of our death. Many politicians are corrupt, with our blood on their hands. They have the blood of all future children who will never breathe in God's air of life, given lobbying, on their hands. How is lobbying legal? Our government does not work for the people, but for power and mammon. The rich are served and our Death Culture continues, while we continue to consume dead flesh.
Our politicians must lead us in a new direction, no matter if it is aligned with popular public opinion. Politicians need to communicate our true situation and our media needs to direct us to a more healthy future.
“The time for little steps in the right direction is over. We are in a crisis” – Greta.
Promises to become climate neutral by 2050 puts everyone back to sleep. If they really cared, drastic changes would be made right now instead of distracting our focus, according to Greta Thunberg.
“It matters what we say, but it matters even more what we do” - Greta.
We cannot act only nationally, given we are on one planet and are all affected. For example, the pandemic could not be kept to one nation. We must address our crisis as a world, not as isolated nations.
Geopolitical tensions stand in the way of true international negotiations. Nations are driven by a will to power. We need a new base ethic of valuing life and caring about each other (across nations and groups).
We need to work together to address the planetary crisis. Instead, each nation is actually preparing for conflict, based on the finances devoted to building military forces. Our money shows our true priorities.
Greta Thunberg says we need to just simply “tell it like it is.” We need to stand on our moral ground and be open to innovative ideas and solutions. She suggests many ideas for change.
First, we must start treating this climate crisis like a crisis. We must get our priorities straight. We must also admit our economic systems have failed. We need to face reality to be able to create a better world.
The best way to absorb more carbon is to leave forests alone. “A living tree must be valued more than a dead one,” explains Greta Thunberg. Scientists recommend we protect at least 30% of nature. Currently, only 3% of the Earth’s surface is unharmed.
We must spread the facts; 5.9 trillion dollars are spent annually in subsidies for fossil fuels, which is insanity. Do not fly; avoid air travel. The tourist economy is responsible for 8% of our yearly emissions. Instead of subsidies for air travel, we need to pay subsidies to encourage train travel. We can invest in wind and solar power, and scientific advances like farm-free food grown in a laboratory.
Science can shed light on how to nourish our soil and stop depleting it. Thus, we can go forward with science and morality as our guiding forces. The ‘is’ and the ‘ought’ will be complementary.
We need to educate ourselves and become climate activists. We can institute justice through protests and civil disobedience. We need to fight for democracy in non-violent ways. We need new laws to protect us.
Be disruptive. Look for common ground, using love and not hate to shed light into the darkness. Avoid culture wars that only distract us from survival with endless debates. Very simply, we must also buy less and use less. We can also stop purchasing single-use plastics, like bottles for water.
Plastics that are disposable have been available for 20 years, and thus have accumulated in our oceans. Companies that used to offer glass bottles and also clean them have now moved to disposable products and thus have passed on costs to us.
Coca-cola actively acts against legislation that would have them offer reusable bottles again, as they did before single-use plastics. Companies blame consumers for bad habits yet shoot down laws against single-use plastics. The UK is the second highest trash producer, after the US. Most plastic is counted as recycled but is not. It litters deserts and waters, affecting our climate. Transit companies disguise the true origin of waste as it is relentlessly burned in the cover of darkness.
Countries like the UK, US, Japan and Germany export waste to places like Southeast Asia, where it is often burned at night. People now suffer respiratory illness due to these common practices. Plastic produces greenhouse gases, as it is derived from oil.
And, even today, we do not have accurate data on carbon emissions. The Washington Post found that our current path to climate solutions is not even credible nor viable, given the reported numbers are so distorted. Countries report only a fraction of their true emissions, like Sweden, who reported 50 million tons of greenhouse gases when in fact they emit closer to 150 million tons per year. So, even now, only 1/3 of emissions were even included in reports in Sweden. This is seen internationally as well. We need a proper road map, based on data and our moral ground, that we actually follow!
But “Who do you vote for when the politics needed are nowhere to be found?” poignantly asks Greta Thunberg. Even in progressive countries like Sweden, only 10% of ‘recycled’ products are actually recycled. Much is burned, causing further pollution.
So, recycling is a huge greenwashed myth. Most plastic will never be recycled. It is all made so cheaply that it is made to be disposed of. So, plastic litters landfills and our waters, especially in poorer areas. Micro plastics are now everywhere, even inside us. 8 million tons per year of plastic waste is dumped into our oceans.
We can reduce packaging, to start. We need a major system change. Greenpeace is calling for a 50% reduction in plastics in coming years, given our situation.
Specifically, we already also have 40 years of carbon built up in our atmosphere and our C02 emissions are on track to rise 16% in the coming years.
We are set to increase our global temperature, yet the media is not covering this crisis. We cannot negotiate, for we value life itself while those in power prioritize profit; “They speak to flowers in the language of US dollars” says Greta Thunberg.
We need regular press briefings on our climate crisis and many discussions on how to solve our problems. For example, we can institute a #UBI as part of the transition in our economy and as jobs related to fossil fuels diminish.
Communist China is using over 70% of our carbon budget, and still will in 2030. This, while developing countries are affected the greatest by climate issues. How can developing countries move forward in a sustainable way? Capitalism also contributes to our crisis by encouraging increasing GDPs, despite the true costs to our planet. This economic system demands growth. Yet, high income nations do not need more growth. We need a new economic system based on our ecosystem. No current systems lead to life.
We need to educate ourselves. We need both individual and systemic, market change immediately. We must restructure our economy around renewable energy, less meat consumption and less SUVs, for example, to ensure our future. In fact, 80% of energy used in 2019 was still derived from fossil fuels.
Frequent flying and eating meat are some of the most destructive activities an individual can do in terms of the climate crisis. Some have made an oath to never fly and to become vegetarian, given our situation.
We need to phase out private jets, mega yachts and other egregious displays of wealth and status. We can make these displays shameful and not glorify them. We can take public transport and move away from fossil fuel based engines. For example, in Vienna, 60% of people live in community housing.
Should we shame those who live an unsustainable lifestyle? Should we offer softer signals that change is needed, like having our family over for a vegetarian dinner?
We can encourage others to live with less of an environmental impact. As one neighbor gets solar panels, so do others. We can share plant-based recipes. We can participate in social actions and protests.
Government also (on the macro level beyond the individual) needs to lead and set examples for a new way of living, following through with laws. We need to meet the basic survival needs of all humans on our planet with current resources.
The richest 20% need to reduce their consumption to 1/10th of 2015 levels, making room for others basic needs. Christ stood up for the needy and the powerless. But are we too unloving and selfish to survive as a species? What will happen to our souls, as we turn our backs to the most vulnerable?
Psychology has been used to advertise toward people’s deepest desires to inspire their purchases. Ads create (or play upon) a deep need, promising to fill the inner void. Products promise to make us feel better and to lead to our acceptance by our social groups. But, without God, people remain empty inside while landfills overflow.
For example, 73% of textiles (clothing) produced ends up in landfills. Can we start identifying with God, and not by our outer appearance and the latest fashion?
We need to phase out excess for a few, while expanding access to basic resources to all, like healthcare and housing. This is in line with instituting a Universal Basic Income (#UBI) for all, to help people of all identities survive the upcoming transitions on earth.
Our excesses are a clue into inner poverty. Many do not have solid community ties, even if they have material wealth. We are actually happier when we are connected to others, giving and sharing. Our efforts to help others and transition from our selfish society will lead to deep joy, not poverty. We will be blessed as we use our voices and hands to carry forth God’s will.
As a start, we can choose (given our morals) to buy only 3 new pieces of clothing per year, take less trips, rid ourselves of personal vehicles and eat a plant-based diet. What else can we do?
We need the Holy Spirit to guide our souls and hands as we create a new day! We can change if we hold hope, as the eloquent theologian Jurgen Moltmann has shared. We can shift from unhealthy social norms, and these healthy changes will allow all of us to thrive.
We need relationships based on love and reciprocity instead of greed and a will to power. We need less selfishness and more sacrifice for others whom we share with because we actually care. We need to restructure our world based on love, as Christ taught.
When we take action for a sustainable society, we will find new meaning in our daily actions. Our community bonds can grow stronger as we change. And, as sociologist Emile Durkheim found, strong community bonds lead to less suicides. We have the opportunity to promote life and even joy in coming together to change our world for the better!
We do not wish to conserve the world, but create a new one. We need more community control over resources and a guaranteed income for all, regardless of group affiliation. We need energy efficient public housing and to restructure the economy to a more just system. We need to align our economy with our ecosystem as well as our morality. As the brilliant Martin Buber wrote, we need to develop I-thou relationships, based on a recognition of others and not an exploitation of them. Equity and sustainably go hand in hand; there can be no sustainably without equity. Instead of asking who owns land, we need to ask who is responsible for the land. We need a politics of love.
CONCLUSIONS: CARETAKING IS A GREEN JOB! We need to transition to a care-taking society, where all are cared for and treated with love. We need to dismantle the call to endless growth and greed.
“We need to redefine hope and progress, so that these words do not translate to destruction” – Greta.
We need to prioritize people over profits. Green jobs, like caretaking, can be recognized as we turn away from jobs based on over-consumption of unneeded products. Carework is climate work! We need to not only repair our relationship with our planet, but also with each other. We can become a global family.
Solutions involve community actions in helping each other, just as Christ called for. Also, our youth must be a global force of change. We must learn from our mistakes and challenge the status quo and those with interests in the current Death Culture.
Truth, justice and morality are on the side of creating a sustainable future, explains Greta Thunberg. In our Postmodern age, where some claim all views are valid, what is Truth? Both sides of an issue are not equally valid. Survival is not a story with two sides.
We need to end our Death Culture by following the path of love (set by Christ) and carrying out God’s will, for God is Truth. When we recognize this, we will move from the Postmodern Era to the Pre-Utopian Era, as we prepare the ground for God’s New Earth.
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