I found out that my car draws 240 mA of current when it is off. When I pulled the fuse for the central locking / interior lighting (No 14), the consumption dropped to 0. Therefore I assume that the consumer is located here, correct?. Now the question: how can I now further narrow down what it is. The ZV and some lights still go, although the fuse was pulled, is that normal?
Thanks for the help.

About to head out into deepest darkest Davokar when I realized that Seven League Stride is pretty much a get out of dying horribly free card for intrepid explorers. Everything falling apart months away from safety? Have your hired help from Ordo Magica airlift you out to Thistle Hold. Or do it yourself with a codex or sigil. Did the expedition run out of something important? Pop on home to Ambria for a few hours to do some shopping and then jump right back.
Also, why isn't Ordo Magica basically the equivalent of the Spacing Guild from Dune? Seven league stride is simple enough that a novice can pull it off. They could easily have everyone with the means hire a pet one for their travelling needs.
Has this been addressed somehow? It kinda breaks the game and the lore a bit too much for comfort.

So i pulled blue sin out and immediately used the book of mahabre. I got transported, i looted a little, came back, and the sword is still there, the mines are the exact same, and now i cant progress further in. do i just kill myself?

Today my mom was acting like a baby because my sister spilled a tiny bit of her drink on the floor, which led to me having to help my sister with her schoolwork because my mother was too pissed off to help my sister.
Lately, I've noticed my mom is kind of pushing off the home"schooling" responsibility on me, and I don't have the knowledge (neither do my parents) to teach her. I even had trouble helping her with her schoolwork today which was on volume, which made me concerned for myself as well. I mean, I'm almost in 10th grade and can barely help a 5th grader, which is all my mom's fault. I should have been learning these things when I was around my sister's age, but I didn't.
I asked my sister if she knew what she was supposed to do and she said "Of course I don't, I don't learn as much as public school kids do" which broke my heart to hear from her. She's becoming more aware every single day and I don't want the realization to hit her like it did with me. My sister already talks about feeling depressed from not having anyone to hang out with, and she's only 10 which is so unfair.
Anyways, I don't know how I'm going to keep up. I now mostly have the responsibility of my sister's education when my mom gets angry, and my mom is angry every second of her life. Then I have to focus on completing my own education alone, figure out a way to become financially stable, find a way to keep my sister sheltered from my mom's anger and keep my sister happy, all while I feel like dying, and so much more.
I've kind of always felt like a mother to my sister, but now I feel like it even more. My sister is behind on everything and her education pretty much ended when she was pulled out of public school in 2nd grade. I have to somehow find time to help her and help myself and I don't know where that time is going to come from. I also don't know how to motivate my sister since she's content to play video games all day.
My parents won't allow my sister to do online school until she's in high school like me, even though I've tried to convince them that it would help her. My mom gets mad when I suggest that as well because she thinks I'm criticizing her "schooling abilities" when she just hands them off to me anyways.
My sister talks about wanting to be a doctor or a nurse and I know you have to be highly educated for that, and I'm worried my parent's negligence will ruin that for her. I want nothing more than to see my sister succeed because I know that's the opposite of what our parents want for us, I just don't know how to make it a reality. If anyone happens to know a way I could help my sistemotivate her I'm open to suggestions.

This is the sixth, and potentially final, article in our revamp of the subreddit wiki, written by members of our discord community. As before, please see the article below and post your comments, critiques, and questions to help make this resource the highest quality possible. The focus is on teaching beginner's the basics, and giving them a starting point for experimentation as they grow and learn.
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Packing

Your bowl, and your tobacco pack, are the two most important parts of your session. Packing your bowl is something that, once learned, can be very simple, but while you’re learning it will take some experimentation and careful thought. Understanding the mechanics behind why certain tobaccos like to be packed a certain way, what happens during the smoking process, and how to maximize your session for the least amount of tobacco are things that will take time, trial and error, and perseverance to learn.
The guidelines below should not be taken as things that are true 100% of the time, but rather as good starting points when approaching a new tobacco or learning a new bowl. Adjustments little by little will reveal how each packing method fares in a certain environment.

Mechanics

When packing, there are some concepts to keep in mind.
The looser, or ‘fluffier’, your pack, the more airflow you’re allowing into your bowl at once. While this means less shisha, and depending on the brand a higher heat sensitivity, this will allow all of your tobacco to heat up from the warm air as you pull easier. Fluffier packs, when done correctly, contribute more to bigger clouds and longer pulls.
The juice from your shisha will slowly drip from the leaves downward, depending on how wet your shisha is and the specific type it will influence whether or not you want to pack in a phunnel bowl to conserve all the juice or in an Egyptian style to allow for greater airflow. As a starting point, when experimenting with a new type of shisha, darker leafs are more comfortable in a phunnel bowl, and blondes in an Egyptian. Remember though, this is not a hard and fast rule.
The height of your pack will influence how quickly your shisha heats up, both initially and throughout your session. A common starting point when experimenting with packing is to have the top of your tobacco about a quarter’s width under the rim, to avoid direct contact with the foil. With some fluffier packs, slight touching of the foil can help with overall flavor, however as a general rule you want to avoid the shisha and the foil directly touching each other to avoid early-session burning.
With these mechanics in mind, some have found success in using a foil poker to poke through the shisha to the bottom of a bowl when using denser packs. Theoretically this allows for some increased airflow and movement of the juice as it heats.

Densities

As a general guide, we can consider there to be three main packing types based on how high and loose your tobacco is placed in your bowl.

• Fluffy
  • A fluffy pack is defined by being very loose, and very high. Using a low amount of shisha, these packs are good for blonde leafs and other tobaccos that enjoy a lot of airflow and help encourage even heating through transfer of warm air.
• Dense
  • Dense packing is when you stuff your shisha deep into the bowl, and layer it on top of itself pressing down as you can to contain as much shisha in your bowl as is reasonable. Dark leafs will often use a dense pack to provide longer sessions, provided strong heating from HMDs or coals. When you dense pack until the shisha is very solid, and almost no more can fit, this is often referred to as a ‘cement pack’.
• Normal
  • Normal packs are an inbetween from fluffy and dense. Pressed down to allow more shisha in your bowl, but still fluffy enough to allow for strong airflow. When first experimenting with a new shisha brand this is often a good place to start.

Packing steps

Basic packing comes in three steps: the pinch, the roll, the pat.
First take your shisha from its container, pinched in between two fingers, to your bowl. Roll your fingers over it to separate leaves that are stuck together and let them individually fall into your bowl. As this happens and you initially fill up your bowl, move your hand around to evenly distribute tobacco. After it’s filled up to just above desired height, use your fingers to gently pat it down to the desired height.
Using your fingers can be a bit messy, and some folks prefer to use a fork instead. Take a forkful of shisha and use the spaces in between the tongs to separate it out, apply pressure with your fingers and letting the leaves ‘roll’ from out between the spaces in the fork. After that use your fingers, a fork, or a foil poker to pat down the shisha in an even distribution to the desired height.
After this you apply your foil, put it on the top of the bowl and then press it down tightly over the rim producing a taught, even surface. Use your foil poker to poke holes all around the foil, avoiding the middle for phunnel bowls. More holes will allow more airflow and decrease pull resistance, although too many holes might effect overall session heat and length if done to an extreme. Generally though, the more holes in an even pattern the better.

• For HMDs that have nubs or ridges, which don’t use foil, pack your shisha to the height where it’s barely touching the nubs of the HMD to allow for heat transfer from the metal to the tobacco.

Troubleshooting

Packing takes experimentation, and trial and error, to find the sweet spot for each brand and flavor of tobacco. Begin with normal packs, but then adjust height, density, and even HMD usage in response to how your sessions perform. *For sessions that heat too much too quickly, pat your shisha down lower or use less overall. *For sessions that don’t fully heat up, try packing in a fluffier manner. Conversely, for those that die too quickly, try adding density to your pack or putting the top of your shisha slightly higher.
Sessions should be evaluated based on length of flavor and flavor potency. Once you are sure you have your heat management on the right track, you can begin to isolate problems in your session to your pack and your tobacco. Little changes and experiments will help guide you, little by little, to what each different situation requires.

Guess I'm a bit late to the party on this one...but honestly, maybe that's for the better. Internet discourse of film, and other narrative based media feels like its at its worst, and I think "Don't Look Up" is a great film to use for opening this discussion.
(...Also, this is secretly a hate-post for "The Batman"...)
For some context, "Don't Look Up" (2021) is an Adam McKay movie centered around an asteroid hitting the earth. The asteroid is an obvious commentary for climate change, and our protagonists are two scientists (played by Leonardo Dicaprio, and Kate Dibiasky) who desperately try to convince the US government to take action. The government has the ability to stop the asteroid, but refuses to because a tech CEO obviously based on Mark Zuckerberg makes a deal with the Republican president (played by Meryl Streep). Leonardo Dicaprio's character sells out to the tech CEO and Republicans, only to regret everything when its too late. The asteroid hits earth, and the top 1% escape on a spaceship.
This film is extremely, and I mean extremely in your face about its sociopolitical critique. The movie constantly makes fun of how working-class Republicans will parrot whatever the president says. The title itself, "Don't Look Up", is a slogan meant to be joke stand-in for Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again". The way the government refuses to take action against the asteroid is an obvious commentary on how our governments barely do against climate change. The film also makes fun of performative progressivism, as with the sellout scientist and concert scene.
Anyway, I've used the word "obviously" so many times now, its clear "Don't Look Up" is a very heavy handed film. I don't know if Adam McKay is the hardcore progressive leftist his film makes him out to be, but regardless, I absolutely love "Don't Look Up". Its heavy handed commentary is what makes this film for me.
However, upon release the film was met with a mixed reception. It currently stands at a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, and much of the discussion was about how the film was pretentious, due to its heavy-handed message. Especially on Reddit, which seemed to hate this film. And I was really surprised honestly. The internet embodiment of "☝🤓 ermmm, ack-shually!" was calling for more subtly in this film's political commentary? The same website that doesn't shut up about Idioacracy and Blazing Saddles?
But, I think I know why "Don't Look Up" was hit with this reception. It isn't just that don't look up is a heavy handed, in your face kind of movie...its that the themes, messages, and setting, are all directly linked to our current world. It isn't a hypothetical dystopia like Idiocracy, or a century old wild west like Blazing Saddles. "Don't Look Up" takes place in our current political climate.
When "Don't Look Up" criticizes Republicans, it isn't talking about a cartoonish stand-in for the Republicans. Its talking about the current, real world Republicans. When it criticizes media propaganda, it directly references the tactics used by the very real Donald Trump. When it criticizes billionaire CEOs, it uses a character that is identical to our real world billionaire CEOs in all but name.
"Don't Look Up" did what most political commentary is too afraid to to...it directly tackled the issues it was commenting on. Even the fictional asteroid is still really on-the-nose about what its meant to be. It reminds me of when Gareth Marenghi said this...
"I know writers who use subtext...and they're all cowards!:
Maybe he was exaggerating for the bit...but I love this qoute. Because honestly, in our current political climate, what use does subtly have? In America right now, the political climate is constantly getting worse. The removal of women's rights, the attack on LGBTQ+ people, the slow death of the working class, and as "Don't Look Up" shows, the constant enderdagement to our environment. If you're gonna' talk about these very real, very harmful issues...why tiptoe around it? To make the people causing the harm more comfortable?
I think its important to note that on social media, I saw dozens of posts by people in the climate field praise "Don't Look Up", specifically because the on-the-nose nature of this movie represented how they felt. And honestly, that's pretty good proof that being subtle would've been to the detriment of this film. This film did what good political satire is meant to do. It appeased to the people being drowned out by those in power, and relentlessly critiqued those in power.
The funny thing is this...I'm always seeing people post about how they want more "mature" content that tackles real world issues. Especially on Reddit, in which people never shut up about the idea of the "mature reboot". And the thing is...this website actually loves media with heavy-handed messaging. But as I mentioned earlier, people don't want the messaging to actually be directly relevant to a real world topic. They just want media that alludes the the idea of socio-political commentary.
Its why Reddit loves media such as The Witcher III, Idiocracy, Blazing Saddles, early Game Of Thrones, Cyberpunk 2077, Blade Runner 2049. Yes, these pieces of media are very heavy handed in their themes, but because they use fictional stand-ins for their messages, it makes them safer to all audiences, and makes their critisizm less direct in some ways.
But I think the best example of how the internet interprets socio-political commentary, and what kind of commentary this audience is comfortable with, is Matt Reeve's "The Batman" 2022. This movie is currently one of the ineternet's darlings, and people are obsessed with just how "mature" and "deep" this movie is.
Thing is though, as far as socio-political commentary goes...The Batman is a big nothing burger. The movie starts by introducing a bunch of very real socio-political ideas, such as the corrupt police, the politicians being controlled by a few rich people, the underground sex-trafficking in Gotham, or how domestic terrorists use the internet as a means of recruitment. And yet by the end of the film, none of these ideas amount to anything. They're all just window dressing for a fanservice Batman flick whose only moral theme is "Batman doesn't kill", as a corporate apology for Batman Vs. Superman.
The big moral moments of this film are Batman stopping Selina from killing the man who controls all of the corruption in Gotham, and Batman feeling sad because he punched a domestic terrorist too hard. Its almost hilarious honestly, because its clear that the Riddler's terrorist gang was based off of Q-anon, and if anything, the only thing that stopped them on January 6th was when a shot was fired into the inserrectunist crowd. So the whole "Batman needs to be more merciful to the villains" arc is actually the opposite of a real-world critique.
But that's the thing. The Batman isn't actually mature. It has nothing to say about our current world or political state. It just takes real world issues, and uses them as an aesthetic for a moral theme that doesn't actually fit in with said issues. And the thing is, The Batman is an incredibly heavy-handed movie. Just as much as Don't Look Up honestly. But the difference is, The Batman's heavy handed narrative is used only for Batman's "no kill rule", not any of the real world issues the film is introduced with.
And that's kinda' my whole point. There's a reason most people online love movies like The Batman. These movies treat socio-political commentary as window dressing, using some real world issues in the most surface level manner possible, then never making an actual conclusion in them. Because of that, movies like The Batman are incredibly safe movies, and are basically "enlightened centrist" fantasies with no bite.
Whereas something like Don't Look Up will actively target real world issues, and directly build its entire film around them. The film pulls no punches, and its clear what the targets of its commentary are. And because of that, this film's meaning can't be twisted in any way. There's no "both sides are just as bad" narrative here to make all audiences feel comfortable. This film knows what its about, and sticks to it.
And here's the thing...I'm not saying all movies that tackle real socio-political issues need to be super direct, and call out real names like Don't Look Up. The examples I listed before The Batman are good media, and they have a place in the world of film, TV, and gaming.
But what I am saying is that it feels like most audiences are just flat out afraid of any meaningful socio-political commentary. Even when it comes to a political satire, its as if audiences will only feel comfortable as long as the film is vague enough that it never directly makes a statement on a real world issue. And even if it does directly comment on something, as long as its disconnected enough from our reality, they'll be safe with it. Because it means it doesn't have to make them uncomfortable with the current state of our world. And because of that, when they're met with a socio-political commentary that actually has some bite to it, they're immediately bothered by the heavy-handedness of it. Because that means they have to confront real world issues in media, and for a lot of these people, media should be escapism, and nothing more.
To end this off, I'd like to mention the original piece of political satire...Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal". Written to offend the ruling class by comparing their treatment of the poor to cannabilism during a period of mass poverty in Ireland. I can guarantee you that some people thought Swift had went too far with this paper. Thing is, who do you think those people were? And who do you think his supporters were?

I was going to wait until I could try on all five of the bras I ordered (five different sizes of the Panache Envy) and make one big post, but I just realized how much I've written for only one bra and felt bad, so I think I'll start with just the one. Also, I didn't realize until after I placed my order that bras of different colors in the same style and size can fit differently, so I got the cheapest color of each size. This one is black.
Calculator size: 32DD/E
Measurements, to the nearest eighth of an inch:
Loose Underbust: 32.75"
Snug Underbust: 31.125"
Tight Underbust: 28.375" (I have a disability that causes muscle weakness, so there's a chance I wasn't able to pull the measuring tape as tight as someone else would have been able to, but it was tight enough that I had to let go of the measuring tape in order to inhale.)
Standing Bust: 36"
Leaning Bust: 38.125"
Lying Down Bust: 34.875"
Shape: Centebottom full. I've been told that the difference in my bust measurements means I'm probably projected with soft tissue. I think I'm also conical.
Black Panache Envy 32D fit: When I tried it on upside down and backward, the band was already uncomfortably tight. It wasn't all the way to painful, but definitely much tighter than the band on my current 32A bra. I had to work pretty hard to close it, but maybe that was a combination of the fact that I'm very weak and the fact that Panache bra bands are (according to other posts on this subreddit) very firm? The band stays parallel to the floor all the way around. The gore sits flat and presses on my sternum; I think it's about the right width, but I'm not positive. The straps are too wide-set, but I have narrow shoulders, so that might be unavoidable. In order to get them to feel secure I had to tilt them inward, at which point they dug into my shoulders. I think the wires are right on my inframammary fold. I mostly filled out the cups after scooping and swooping, but there was some slight wrinkling on the inside tops and outside bottoms of the cups. At the same time, the areas directly under my armpits suddenly looked like they had way more fatty tissue than before. The extra tissue extends beyond the wires, but I don't know whether that's a problem with the width or height of the wires or with the size/shape of the cups. The wires are definitely not too tall, though.
That was very long, and I'm sorry. I don't know how to write less and still give all the details listed in the Beginner's Guide. For anyone who actually read the whole thing, 1) Thank you, and 2) Do you have an idea of whether this bra is the wrong size, shape, or both?

My mom (45, female) is dating a man who tried to groom me (28, male). I came on here because I don’t know what to do anymore I’ve tried to speak to my mom, dad, brother, many other family members but it just seems like no one cares and nobody is taking my side. Back when I was 13 my mother just went through a break up with a man who verbally abused her and physically and sexually abused me. Although she only knew about the physical abuse not the sexual abuse. (He is now a husband to a new woman and has a child and I blame myself everyday for not telling anyone about because now I feel like if this child goes through anything it’s my fault but this isn’t what the story is about.) Anyways at the time my mom was a cult like christian and we went to church very often where we met my mom’s now bf. Since day one he was always creeping on young teenage girls until I became one of them he would ask for my number and ask to hang out. At the time I was honestly flattered because I had extreme daddy issues and any male validation or attention meant a lot to me. He began to try and win my mom over so that dating me wouldn’t be a problem. Again I was 13 he was 24 which is a year older than my oldest sister. This went on for a year where he constantly flirt with me at church and ask if I was single he even one time back me in a corner at a wedding in front of my cousin. At this point I began to see how weird and creepy he was and began to distance myself. I just began high school at this point and began crushing on this guy. I told my church friend that I had a crush at school and he over heard and got extremely upset and he began lecturing about how high school relationships are puppy love and is stupid. Anyways one day we noticed he stopped coming to church and we also did because we had an altercation with one the church members and we left and never came back. Years later he reached out to my mom to confide in her of why he left the church. He said he was being accused of grooming a girl the daughter of the church member we had an altercation with so already my mom was biased and believe everything he said me on the other had already knew what the real true story was. He had said he was being nice to the girl she fell in love and he rejected her and she told her parents who confronted him. But I knew that he groomed her and she fell in love and he got caught by the parents. My mom began inviting him to hang out with me and her. One time we were going swimming and we stopped and a gas station where I was in the back seat asleep my mom got off to pay for gas and he pulls my blanket off of me where I was just wearing shorts and a tank. I pulled the blanket back and covered myself and gave him a dirty look. The whole he kept staring at me and kept being weird when my mom wasn’t around. He called her to ask me out on an ice cream date and my mom obviously was weirded out and said no. She was very weirded out and annoyed until he contacted her again and said he was just joking and she believed him. All of a sudden my mom and i stoped hanging out being she was always “busy”. I somehow found out they were hooking up and she invited him to thanksgiving where my dad was. My parents constantly try to coparents but my dad is an alcoholic and constantly tries to argue with her. He noticed her and her bf being flirty and began cussing her out. He also noticed him staring at me and went crazy on him cussing him out left and right. He was intimidated by dad and left and that’s when my mom went with him and left me and brother. I broke down and my brother asked what happened and I told him everything my brother is a very closed off person and doesn’t like to show any emotion towards me so he ended up leaving the house as well. The day after my mom and I got into it where I told her everything and she completely dismissed me. After that my mom began inviting him to family events and began to talk about me saying how I was rebelling against her just like my oldest sister did at my age and everyone and the family keeps telling me so stop being selfish because my mom always did everything to put my happiness before mines so I should do the same. It hurts me so deeply because I genuinely have a good and trusting relationship with my mom but this one thing is really ruining it. I keep telling her what he did to me but she refuses to listen. It feels like no one is listening or taking my side. This has genuinely been taking a huge toll on me and at such a young age began using alcohol as a way to cope and it hurts that after years of keeping quiet after being sexually abused by her ex because I saw how happy SHE was I have to keep getting hurt by her just to keep seeing her be happy. I don’t know what to do anymore all I do is cry at night and just want to leave this earth. I think the betrayal of a mother hurts more than any other.

I’m still in love with my high school crush and it’s been 9 years.
I’m still in love with my high school crush and it’s been 9 years, in 2015 to be precise. Here’s the story from the beginning:
We had a class together, but he was a senior and I was a freshman. The class was all about communication, so for the whole entire class, we’d do nothing but talk, like a break.
(All of my friends, including the ones I hung out with during lunch time, were seniors and I was caught up with what prom means and a couple of other things I couldn’t have known if I didn’t met them.)
Anyways, I fell hard for him, blushing, stuttering, rarely speaking to him in public because my heart would beat faster. I’d talk a lot about him and how much I like him with my friends… the twist is, it was crystal clear he liked me back, but I missed the social cues. When sitting next to each other, he’d snap his fingers under the table and close to me, to get my attention.
There were various times where he’d look at me and then look at my privates… wayyy too many times. When he made jokes, I’d catch him laughing and blushing out of embarrassment all while glancing at me to see if I wasn’t noticing. He had a group of friends and at one time, they all came and abruptly sat with me. I noticed he’d wink a lot while looking at me. They were really suspicious, one of them acting as an intermediary (the only one in the group I’d feel comfortable speaking with) to spark up a conversation so she could get the ball rolling and then I could eventually speak with him (my crush).
Within this conversation, he said to the intermediary friend “I feel weird. When I'm in this room, I feel like... I don't know.... Different than being outside with other people... Do you understand me, (intermediary friend’s name)?" Then he raised an eyebrow as if pointing at me.
^ that’s just a snippet of the whole scenario that I wrote down in my notes app back in 2015, so this isn’t something I just came up with right now. I also wrote down what I’d first send him along with different interpretations of that first message, one being something like: “No matter what happens… I will always like you” … I would’ve thought “silly me” but now that’s proving to be true. (That experience happened AFTER the below 👇)
(This happened BEFORE the above) Learning his name, I found him on Facebook and sent him a friend request. He accepted. I went on to message him expressing my feelings for him and he appreciated it. My dummy self tried to be the interviewer, asking him questions about what his favourite movie, song, color, is… we spoke for a while… until he graduated. Months went by, maybe a year went by, and I decided, at around 16, to delete my whole entire Facebook account out of embarrassment for the stuff I had posted on my feed… a year or 2 went by and I played truth or dare with my cousin at a sleepover. I expressed that I still had feelings for him and she dared me to send him a friend request again on my new Facebook account. I did, but he didn’t accept.
Fast forward, 6-7 years later, and my feelings for him remain, very well knowing his whole personality might’ve changed, but despite that, there’s something about him that I love so much. I’m aware of everything that could go on, from the possibility of him being a relationship already, to the possibility of him not accepting my friend request again to maybe perhaps having the luck of reconnecting. I did notice he removed any form of information that would find it easier to find him on facebook (like the “goes to…”, “attended…”, “in a relationship” “works at…” etc.)… so it’d be kinda sus, confusing as to how I was able to find him. His at-that-time intermediary has an Instagram account.
I don’t know what to do since there’s no one I’ve met who’s ever made me feel that extreme attraction. I don’t know if he’s single or taken. (My friend suggested to create a fake account with a fake name and pose as a male friend who hasn’t spoken to him in a long time and just so happen to stumble across his profile. That’s clever until he clicks on it and finds out it’s a brand new account.) I grew up and was a senior, in his shoes, and even then, no one made me feel the same. I mean… went all the way to me having a dream of him on a romantic cruise date in 2015…. and… doing it with him. My subconscious wanted that… what were the chances he wanted that too.
(There were MANY MANY social cues that I missed that hinted he liked me back and I never found out because I didn’t pay attention to them. There were various opportunities where I could’ve spoken to him more or even privately, such as being the last one to enter a room and him holding the door for me. I could’ve used that opportunity to pull him aside. My thinking, I believe at that time, was that the more I ignored him, the harder he’d fall for me, but I let that thought play out till I lost him…)
Ages: 23, and around 27 Female and male
TLDR: I had a high school crush in 2015 who I added on Facebook. We had small conversations in person, but I was too shy, and he was nervous (not a good combo). There were obvious social cues that I missed like snapping his fingers under the table to get my attention, winking at me numerous times and looking at my private part. There were also times I could’ve pulled him aside, like when I was the last person to enter a room and he was the one holding the door. I expressed my feelings to him through message and he appreciated it. I thought the more I ignore him, the more he’ll fall in love with me until I lost him (he graduated). A year later, I deleted my Facebook out of embarrassment. I created another account and added him again as a dare from my cousin. He didn’t accept. I noticed he removed statuses like work, education, relationship etc., making it harder for anyone to find him, but I managed to find him. Since then, 7 years from the dare, I still have feelings for him, I mean it went all the way to having a romantic dream in 2015 and doing it. I don’t know what to do, if I should friend request him again or message his at-that-time intermediary or who else knows what to do?

I made a post a few days ago on how difficult it was for me to find a date, regardless of what I did, even after I spent two years trying to look and feel my best. Literally spent an entire two years with 0 results. Got flaked on about 16 times now and still have no idea what I did wrong.
I got a lot of good advice to find some new hobbies and interests that align with women's, and to seek genuine connection and not really expect anything. Which is exactly what I'm trying to do now.
But I don't know if it's "nice guy" syndrome, but the one part of the Red Pill that I still can't shake is the fact that this doesn't really explain how there are some genuinely evil pieces of shit out there that are able to pull a lot of women.
Let's take Cameron Herrin, the guy who got a 24 year sentence for killing a mother and her baby with his car. An entire brigade of girls on TikTok went to his defense simply because he was attractive. The advice for "genuine connection" doesn't explain why or how women prefer toxic dudes over genuinely nice people.
I understand that there's a paradox where the more you wish to be liked the more unattractive it is, and this is why nice guys are so repulsive.
But the one part of the Red Pill I can't shake, is that it really seems like genuine connection and finding common interests is a fairy tale. I really feel like there's no winning. In my experience women really do go for the guys that would be horrible in a relationship. I guess most women just aren't looking for a relationship (especially at 19, though.)
I never really got angry about this, but I can't really fight this nice guy syndrome in my head that makes me think that genuinely nice dudes completely get shafted in the dating game.
Even if a woman chooses to have a relationship with an abuser, the abuser must have been doing something right to attract her. How does genuine connection explain some women's attraction to serial killers like ted bundy?

https://imgur.com/a/qY0kPBO
Howdy ya'll, both of my closet doors had their handles ripped out. I'm not sure how to repair this because I am pretty sure I'm just going into cardboard. The guys at Home Depot said most likely my doors were installed improperly and that there is supposed to be a wooden section that they were supposed to.
Any ideas on how I can fix this?
To provide more context, the tops of the doors are ball bearing latches which caused the need to pull kinda hard. All other doors in the house are fine, but these ripped out.

I've got a few welders at home and only have to occasionally roll the lead out to stick weld something that doesn't fit in the garage. It seems like my rod is always junk after sitting a couple years and have to go get new rod everytime I weld with it. I don't want to let a rod oven run 24/7 to keep a handful of rods dry.
So I had an idea of building a smaller rod caddy to hold maybe a single 50lb box of 7018 with a sealing cap and valve on the top. When I'm done with my project and it goes back into long-term storage. thru that valve pull a good vac on it to boil all the moisture out and leave it for the next time I need it.
I'll make this out of shit I have laying around so it won't cost much. Would it keep rods in better shape than a 5 gal bucket with a lid? Is it worth messing with or should I just plan on buying rod anytime I want to make a decent weld lol

One of the running jokes of Picard S3 was that no one likes Jean-Luc's wine and that Picard himself is a wine snob.
Worf refers to it as 'sour mead'.
Geordi thought it was 'too dry', and Picard calls his taste in wine 'pedestrian'.
My take is that Picard is playing vintner and trying to produce a very particular wine; a sour Bordeaux. This would be done by combining the traditional french grapes of merlot and cabernet sauvignon with the Italian variety of barbera.
From Geordi's comments Picard seems to be trying to balance the sour barbera by increasing the alcohol content of the wine, making it much drier. This provides a slightly more involved mouthfeel of evaporating alcohol paired with the sour tartness pulling at the sides of the tongue. A culinary eccentricity likely to be appreciated by a wine aficionado but not to the casual wine drinker.
All of this implies that Jean-Luc is trying to make a bold statement, even with his vintages. Stepping out of the traditional expected wines of the Cru Bourgeois by combining the classic French Bordeaux with the unique Italian barbera varieties and making a kind of united federation of wines.

Tl;Dr: Husband put veet in his shampoo cause his friend kept stealing it and now his friend's hair and beard is falling out.
Excuse my formatting and grammar cause I'm almost asleep here, but I had a good giggle at this.
My SO works in the States on contract. He's not a fan of sharing, but he will if you ask. Just don't use his stuff without asking (unless you're me lol).
He houseshares with a friend who also works for the same place. Said friend is going home soon and doesn't want to buy more shampoo and some other essentials, so he's started using my husband's.
The other day my husband asked him if he is using his shampoo cause it's almost finished and he bought it not too long ago. His friend said no. My husband said "Well it's just the two of us in the house, so it can only be you". Friend says "Oh but remember the land lady comes by once a week so she could maybe also take stuff". No, no she doesn't steal her tenants' shampoo. This lady never goes in the house without asking first - I know cause I've been there 2 years in a row and she always lets us know when she's dropping by and notifies us before she enters when we're not home. She's a gem. My husband said to him "Ok well then she's gonna get a surprise soon."
So my husband - fed up with his friend using his body wash, shampoo, toothpaste, tide pods, etc - decides to put veet in the shampoo. I don't condone this and said as much, but I also don't condone your housemate using literally everything (including all my coffee pods and not replacing them).
This morning he sees friend scratching his head and beard. He's pulling out chunks of hair. Friend says to husband he thinks he's really stressed cause his hair is falling out and it's bad. My husband looks at him and says "Welcome to your surprise, land lady." His buddy catches on after a minute and asks what he put in the shampoo. He said well you don't have to worry since you don't use my shampoo, remember? Friend immediately said "Well I may have accidentally used your shampoo last night so please tell me?"
Since I'm spineless I told my husband to come clean since the poor guy will have to shave his head now since his roots are already burned from the veet, but I admit I did have a good giggle for all the damn coffee pods I had to replace.

Hey…so I had my vasectomy 18 days ago, and I’m a little concerned about how everything is healing up(or not). The doctor only had to make 1 incision, and as of this past Friday(2 weeks post procedure) I had a large scab(pic 1). I spent a fair amount of time in the pool this past weekend, and the scab loosened up to the point where I basically pealed it off. I also pulled out one of the stitches as they were supposed to dissolve in 7-10 days. I actually thought it was just a hair. Fast forward to today(18 days post procedure), and it just looks like an open wound(pic 2). Can anyone tell me if this looks like something to be concerned about?
Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

I am ready to yeet. I have a teleappointment with a fibroid specialist in TWO DAYS! But from there how long could it be until some sort of intervention? This thing consumes my thoughts. I fantasize about waking up and it's gone. I think about (not seriously) pulling it out somehow. I've tried every snake oil there is to get online. I look in the mirror 100 times a day, sucking in my belly and pretending it's not there. I'd estimate it at 12-15cm and I feel it all day long, it's so uncomfortable. I do not want to have children but I feel like my body betrayed me and made me carry this monstrosity. I'm generally such a positive person but the positivity is running low.

My wife says she's so exhausted and tired form taking care of our 16 month old boy she doesn't have energy for anything else. After the kid's asleep she's zoned into watching TV and that's it, nothing else. I'm left feeling like I do the lion's share of the housework then ignored while she watches TV. I do the laundry, I do the dishes 90% of the time, I work, I take out the trash, most of the time I cook. She takes care of the baby while I do everything else. But somehow she can't handle her duties. Even when I'm home for a week and helping with the kid, it's still too much for her. I really don't get it. Help me understand.

I commute from the south into the north end of Eureka. Traversing Broadway 2 to 4 time a day has taken its toll on my mental health. It has crushed my soul to where I'm a shell of my former self.
Seriously, I want to reignite the plans to build a Eureka Bypass. There is no reason for a county seat to have as bad of a city layout as Eureka has. Eureka needs to be a forward-thinking city.
I ask ChatGPT for advice, this is the response:
It's understandable to want to improve a commute. Infrastructure changes, like building a freeway bypass, are complex endeavors that involve a number of steps. Below is a general guide on how to get started. However, remember that every situation is unique, so the steps may vary slightly.

1. **Research & Proposal:** Begin with a research about the problem. Collect data and information about the commute, such as the time it takes, the number of cars on the road, accident rates, etc. Also, investigate how the construction of a bypass would benefit the community, including aspects like reduced commuting time, potential economic benefits, environmental impact, and more. This research will form the basis of your proposal.
   
2. **Community Support:** Organize a community meeting or start a petition to show that there is public support for the project. Use social media, local newspapers, and community meetings to make the community aware of the project and the benefits it could bring.
   
3. **Local Government:** Present your proposal to your local government. This could include your city council, county commissioners, and transportation department. They can provide valuable advice, and you'll need their support to proceed.
   
4. **State Transportation Agency:** If your local government supports your proposal, the next step is to contact your state's Department of Transportation (Caltrans in California) or another relevant agency. Present your proposal and show them the support you've received from your local community and government.
   
5. **State and Federal Elected Officials:** Reach out to your state and federal elected officials, such as your state representatives, state senator, and U.S. congressperson. If they support your proposal, they can advocate for it at the state and federal level.
   
6. **Funding:** Large infrastructure projects like this one require significant funding. This could come from a variety of sources, such as state and federal government budgets, grants, or public-private partnerships. Having the support of your elected officials can be very helpful in securing funding.
   
7. **Environmental Impact Study & Public Comment:** Most large infrastructure projects require an Environmental Impact Study to assess the potential environmental effects. There's also usually a public comment period where community members can voice their support or opposition to the project.
   
8. **Planning, Design, and Construction:** If all the above steps are successful, the project can move into the planning, design, and construction phases. These phases can take several years to complete.
   

Remember, this is a long process and may take many years. Stay committed, stay involved, and keep the community informed and involved. You're right that nothing is insurmountable with determination and patience! Good luck!

Anyone reading this that has any pull with the city, county, or state, please let's get this back on the docket.
Thank you.

I don't know why but she's been acting really selfish lately and she acts as if all her kids 5 of us. Owe her something. When in matter of fact you adopted us, throughout the years she was getting money from the state and would claim us as dependents. As we were unable to be claimed she became less caring Almost like she doesn't see any value in us. Over the last 5 years we've stopped talking probably 15 20 times. We live in the same God damn house. I try so hard to make her feel like I'm doing something with my life and everytime I start school or college. She always makes my life hell. (Barely talking to me), getting mad easily over Almost nothing, this last time I tried to go to school my car got stolen. We gor into an argument she stopped talking to me, then the last month I had of school she takes her car keys away so I can't get to school and she stopped talking to me. That was 5 months ago. And now I had to go back to my miserable ass job that I told her I was gonna go back to school to try to escape working a 9-5 that doesn't pay anything. But she obviously doesn't care and or give a fuck about what I think I need. I'm convinced she loves to see me miserable because she'll be so happy when I come home absolutely destroyed from my job and isolate and sit in my room. Almost like she loves seeing me be fucking sad and depressed. She's 80 so I'm convinced she thinks working forever at a shitty job with shitty pay is worth it when it's not.
She kicked my sister out which she kinda deserved it. But proceeds to never talk to her.
My other sister they have had a good relationship until recently when she started calling her a bad mom and bitch or whatever else.
My older brother she kicked out and stopped talking from what I could understand was from drinking and drugs just like my other sister.
She has a set of 5 other kids. Most of them stopped talking to her up until maybe this year
One of them passed away and before he did he tried to get in contact with her and she didn't reply or didn't get it or something.
What the hell is happening? Am I crazy to think my mom is a narcissist
She once stopped talking to me because the state sent her one last check addressed to me at 19. It was my money. And she got mad and stopped talking to me over it.
She will go to parties like my younger brothers little kids party or baby shower. And make it about herself kinda pout and cry and wine like she's not getting the attention.
This last time we stopped talking was because she was doing 35 in a 50. Yes I could have drove it was after work I was tired. I tried to take her out to dinner her and her friend that lives with us and she made it about herself. I tried so hard to keep cool but couldn't. Wtf do I do. I haven't talked to her I either isolate or go outside and exercise or ride bikes but man. 6 or 7 months or this until I can possibly save up and or pull out a loan to rent my own place.
A part of me is going crazy and I just hate being in this house with the memories I have and just the problems she causes and proceeds to not say sorry for or take responsibility. I have horrible communication skills because of this lady. I have anxiety through the roof because of her. Depression, bi polar disorder.. I mean fuck I just want to leave and I think I'm gonna do that this year I'm 24 and I have to look out for myself.
But any feedback helps please 🙏🏿 I feel lost and I wake up everyday depressed.

I was in a hit and run. I am unfortunately the perpetrator, and it was totally an accident.
Let me explain, I was changing lanes to the left, and this guy was in my blind spot, and I apparently barely hit him. He has literally two scratches. I thought it was super close, felt no impact, and totally thought I didn’t hit him.
He made no movements, didn’t yell, didnt roll the window down, didn’t get out the car, didn’t pull over or anything. So I totally thought we were both like “well, that was a close call!”. So I just slowly pulled away and drove off.
He called the cops and reported it as a hit-and-run, and the cops found me and told me. The guy was there as well and said he doesn’t want to press charges, but he’s demanding me to pay him privately instead of going through insurance, but I am in between jobs and can’t pay the amount he wants. He says if I don’t pay him by Friday he’ll go through insurance and submit the police report. I gave him all my information once we met up afterwards with the cops.
My question is, will a hit-and-run go on my DMV record if he submits the report to the insurance? Additionally, is it already on my record if there was a police report taken? The report just says they were “called” for a hit and run but does not say anything about me officially being me being charged for a hit and run. I didn’t get a ticket or anything.
I absolutely CANNOT have a hit and run go on my DMV record because I drive the ambulance and I will NEVER be able to drive it again if this goes on my record. I will lose my line of work, all my hard work getting my licenses, going to school, will be wasted. I love my line of work…
Please help!!!

There is no chance we could have prepared for this, the Winged Empire has found something AGAIN we hadn't planned for, and now as we are slowly picked off all I want to do is punch my commander in the face.
This entire debacle started about two months ago now. I was leading the spearhead into the enemy lines, and for months before we had been pushing them back easily.We thought within another year we would have humanity off that planet. It might take a century to crush the Winged Empire and another to destroy the remnants, but we would win.
That was till I retrieved the report that ended it all. Our flack and anti-air teams had been strong for months, even with how mobile the enemy's aircraft was, but our adaptation of their anti-air systems made them easier to kill. Then our anti-air teams suddenly came across a target they found impossible to kill.
The aircraft moved without reason, no pilot could ever control it, it moved more like a bird than a plane, its wings moved independently, each metallic surface bending like flesh. Yet it clearly wasn't, it flew over our gun emplacement at Mach speeds dropping bombs and firing missiles, yet from the reports something was wrong. I refused to believe it till I saw it but I couldn't go to our anti-air lines as I was needed in the front.
Although my lead of the campaign quickly came to an end, our anti-airlines had been thoroughly dismantled and our resupply was stopped by this one aircraft that had quickly been joined by many of its kind.
It was on our final push attempting to gain new fronts in the enemy lines when I first saw the beast.
The first thing to happen was the enemy lines fell quiet as we charged into their trenches only to find they were empty. Along the trench walls, falls guns were set up and every gun had a crude system set up where a weight filled with water would slowly pull on the trigger till it fired.
As we walked through the trenches trying to find any intel we could send back to base.
It's then we heard the beast for the first time. I came running out of the trench to the sound of something crashing in the center of no-man's land, only to see a ghostly white creature standing there. I wasn't instantly proven my men were not wrong, it was colossal about twice the size of a normal human aircraft but supported itself on several small spindly feet. Four were on the end of what I assume were its wings while another two were at the end of its tail on long thin legs.
The creature looked at us with curiosity. I couldn't see its eyes as it was clearly an aircraft originally I assumed they were behind the windshield while two colossal engines came out of its body ahead of its tail legs.
Slowly I clambered up onto the top of the trench and walked towards it holding out my hand trying to calm the creature. My men instantly started to call it the blood ghost, I had no idea why they called it that the only part that made sense was the ghost part as the entire creature was white except the tip of the engines and the frame of the windshield.
As I drew closer the creature opened its mouth, I suddenly understood why my men had called it the blood ghost. As it shifted its wings opened showing blood-red threads of skin and the inside of its mouth was entirely red.
“Do not treat me like a mindless beast foe of my masters. Why do you fight, warriors of the false empire.” I recoiled in fear and surprise as the beast spoke in perfect Terran standard.
“Y-you can talk?” For a moment the beast seemed to think about whether it should speak or not. “Answer my question alien, your answer will determine if you live or die.”
I stood for a moment thinking of an answer and only came up with one. “I fight because those are my orders, if I do not my family and I will be punished.”
The beast reared up on its hind legs. “Such a pathetic reason, you hold no ideals of your own, you only fight for your own desire, I always question my master's orders but I see the dragon empress was right. So as the monarch of the Aerodargon, I will put the mindless animals down.”
I froze up as the beast lunged at me biting down on my arm, it lifted me up into the air as with many smaller arms I hadn't seen before reached into the equivalent of a bomb bay in its stomach and removed several missiles.
It finally bit down on my arm fully and tossed me away like a ragdoll into the trenches as it began to toss the missiles at my men like javelins, as along its nose on the left side a section of its skin peeled back with a metallic clink before the sound of a rotary cannon spinning up was heard and bullets began to fly from it.
Several of my men instantly started to fire back, our plasma rounds bouncing off its skin or simply sizzling away.
As my soldiers quickly fell they started to run from the fighting, a few of them grabbed me as I bled out and dragged me into the tree line to escape.
As we vanished into the trees, the beast relaxed and watched us as we left, as if it was stalking its prey. “I've hunted prey much deadlier than you on Earth, and an Aerodargon never forgets its prey.”
We hoped the beast was bluffing, no animal could hunt its prey as far as we ran, as I and my men healed our wounds we found a disturbing truth, many of my men who were struck by bullets found that the bullets we pulled out were actually teeth, about 20 cm long and 5 wide they were colossal but nowhere near as large as the ones in its jaw.
As we stayed hidden in the woods we knew our assault had collapsed as we watched our starships fall from the sky. So we devised a plan, there was a logistics point within a nearby city that we should be able to call a rescue ship. But we had to split into small groups to avoid that beast and military patrols.
Slowly we made our way to the city, over the weeks-long march we lost many men, by the time we had started with 80 men, and by the time we got to the supply point, there were only 30 of us remaining.
We did our best to get in contact with our forces, as one by one we were picked off by snippers, but every time we tried to get through our communication either were blocked or just couldn't find their target as our fleet slowly was pushed further back, our failure on this world had created a domino of failures.
We had no options further except to surrender or fight our way out, and neither was possible with our orders, but the beast's question to my surprise sat in the back of my mind.
With no way out we decided to take the honorable exit, one by one my men took their own lives disintegrating their bodies with their plasma pistols till I was the last one left.
I stood for a moment between the piles of ashes, looking up into the buildings I could see maybe a hundred glints of snipper scopes.
But as I was ready to take my own life I heard it again, the engines of that beast getting louder before it shot over me, a white and red streak shot through the air circling the courtyard I was standing in before it came to land on a skyscraper its many claws digging into the steel frame causing tonnes of rubble to fall to the streets below.
Again I found myself enthralled as I watched the beast change from the rigid perfectly shaped form of an ancient Terran aircraft to the beast, hundreds of blood-red tendrils stretched between the wings that formed its arms and the main body.
In a display of power, the beast clambered up the tower till it was at its peak and just looked at me. It didn't smile, laugh, grin or anything, it didn't attack or move, it just sat clinging to the tower breathing as it looked at me.
In anger I brought my pistol up to the beast ready to fire on it but before I could several sniper shots all at once pierced my head.
—------------------------------------------------------
As the body fell to the ground the Aerodargon jumped from the building landing on the street below tossing up dust. Its white body emerged from the dust cloud as one of the snipers came out from the buildings.
For the moment the Areodargon stood in front of the body before leaning down and biting on his feet, tossing his body into the air and opening its jaw letting the body fall into its maw swallowing it whole.
Slowly the snipper walked up to the Aerodargon and ran their hand along its cold skin. “You ident take too long to think of eating that one Arolan. Something different?”
Arolan snapped his head around defensively bearing his teeth, caught off Garud by the snipper as he had been so indulged in eating the body. As soon as he realized who was there, he relaxed as he stood up on his legs to their full height.
“This man had no soul, he was nothing more than a robot taking orders so I treat him as such.”
“Hummm, we're lucky to have your kind on our side.”
“I am not loyal to your kind, Tailon. I am loyal to my makers, I am loyal to you only as long as you are loyal to humanity. Do not take my peace with you as loyalty, I would consume you just as readily.”
Tailon walked around in front of Arolan tossing her rifle over her back. “Yes, but I am loyal to humanity, I was born under the winged empire's wing, I would die before going back to the curse my parents saw under the first empire.”
Arolan looked down at her for a moment before chuckling. “You are the only one to speak to me so brashly Tailon, your strong soul is why I indulge you so willingly, now, let us return to the enterprise before we are left on this barren rock for the rest of the war.”
Hopping into the air the twin engines that were a part of Arolan’s body burst into life sending a warm gust of air across the land as he shot into the air leaving Tailon behind for her to walk over to a transport truck the other snippers were clambering into.