My mother gained inheritance money from my grandfather and offered to help me with any finances. I never needed the help and actually felt bad accepting it knowing she prob needed it more than me. She was practically harassing me about it so I finally allowed her to send me 17k which she wrote on check with nothing on the “for” line written down just our names. I saved this money , however I did mention that I was nearly done paying off my car and how much I pay for my condo during a convo w her. (quick back story- we always had a rocky relationship) over the course of a year I’ve been sending her money here n there because she’d ask for help after spending on god knows what, and I thought why not since she gave me some of grandads money and I work a great job. She slowly then began tying that to say that I owe her money because she claims she sent me the money as a “loan” for my condo and car. She threatened suing so my dad tried talking to her against my wishes to arrange that he’ll just reimburse her. To avoid court obviously. We went to online court and the judge ruled in her favor because her husband got on as a witness and lied for her saying he heard our phone convo where I asked for the money because I can’t pay for my bills and that my dad also called her admitting to reimbursing her so obviously I owed her money. That completely screwed me. Judge instantly changed after that and didn’t even hear rest of my side!!it was ridiculous. I think I messed up badly by forgetting to mention more than once that it was inheritance money as he latched onto the idea that we have a rocky relationship and why would I send her money for no reason as she claims.. plus her husbands lies and my dads good intention f,&3d me over.It was ridiculous so I scheduled for a new trial and this time I’m thinking of using my gf as a witness. I’m thinking I should be fine because I never asked her for money, the check has nothing of a loan on it, there was never an exchange of texts email or call about this money being a loan, and I didn’t even need the money to begin with but just accepted it because that was from my grandfather basically. Is there anything I should worry about or keep in mind?

Toasters have become a kitchen staple for many households, and finding the best one for your needs can make all the difference. A great toaster should offer consistent toasting, be easy to use, and have a range of settings for different types of bread. Some toasters may even have additional features like a bagel or defrost setting, countdown timer, or wider slots for thicker slices of bread. With so many options available, it's important to consider your personal needs and preferences when searching for the best toaster 2023 for home use.

1. Amazon Basics 2 Slice, Extra-Wide Slot Toaster : This is a simple and affordable toaster that does the job well. The extra-wide slots are great for toasting thicker slices of bread and bagels.
2. Dear Morning Toaster 2 Slice : This toaster has a sleek and modern design with multiple toasting functions. The digital display and countdown timer make it easy to use.
3. BELLA 2 Slice Toaster : This toaster has a retro design and is available in multiple colors. It has six browning settings and an extra-lift lever for smaller items.
4. BLACK+DECKER 2-Slice Extra-Wide : This toaster has extra-wide slots and self-centering guides for even toasting. It also has a bagel function and a shade selector dial.
5. Mueller UltraToast Full Stainless Steel Toaster : This toaster has a stylish stainless steel design and six toasting levels. It also has a defrost function and a bagel setting.
6. Keenstone Toaster 2 Slice Stainless Steel Toaster : This toaster has a durable stainless steel construction and six toasting settings. It also has a reheat function and a removable crumb tray.
7. Cuisinart CPT-180P1 Metal Classic 4-Slice Toaster : This toaster has a classic design and can toast four slices at once. It has multiple toasting functions and dual control panels.
8. Proctor Silex 4 Slice Toaster : This toaster can toast four slices at once and has multiple toasting functions. It also has an auto-shutoff feature and a slide-out crumb tray.
9. Elite Gourmet ECT-3100 : This toaster has a sleek and modern design with six toasting levels. It also has a defrost function and a cancel button.
10. BUYDEEM DT640 4-Slice Toaster : This toaster has a unique and colorful design and can toast four slices at once. It has multiple toasting functions and a removable crumb tray.

In conclusion, there are a variety of toasters available with different features and designs to suit different needs and preferences. It's important to consider factors such as the number of slices, toasting functions, and design when choosing a toaster. Ultimately, the best toaster is one that meets your specific needs and toasting preferences.!

TLDR at the bottom
Introduction
The world is struggling at the moment. Fed rate hikes, looming recession fears (or recession/depression/total economic collapse depending on your country) and inflation still running rampant in most countries. People are in fear of AI, and the unbelievable potential AI has to put many people out of a job, in the next 10-20 years. So while this is all going on my thought was, “what could come out of all of this chaos, and fear, to make The People of any country actually want to adopt a CBDC?”
Well, a thought experiment I had was, that the Government will have a lot of trouble on their hands with their Crypto competition. Bitcoin is wonderful, as it is the hardest money on Earth. However, Bitcoin isn’t necessarily the model or competition that the Government really sees as a real problem for CBDC trust and acceptance in my opinion.
The real problem for a CBDC is, Proof of Stake crypto currency. Below I will explain Proof of Stake, for anyone curious as to how it works as a rough concept (many different versions exists with their own trade-offs), so if you know how it works, feel free to skip too the next section.
Basic premise of Proof of Stake
Proof of Stake, is where holders of cryptocurrency, can choose to lock up their tokens with validators. Those holders still retain rights of ownership to this tokens, however, their tends to be a lockup period or a certain number of days for the tokens to “unbond” from a validators pool of tokens. These Validators, are the block producers and provide the gate keeping to the network via by on-chain governance in the case of Cosmos and Algorand, or by social consensus, in the case of Ethereum.
With these various systems in place, it is important to clarify that the system of incentivizing good behavior on the behalf of Validators is that if they remain honest, then part of the inflation of the specific chain is paid to the Validator. In the case of a validator doing something malicious or against social consensus, delegators can redelegate their stake away from a certain validator. Another penalty is in the case of double signing or failing to upgrade their software, a slashing and jailing penalty can be an effective way to remove some or all of the power away from the malicious validator and into validators who are proving to be trustworthy.
Understanding how this model competes with a CBDC
Now that we know why proof of stake exists, and a rough concept on how it operates. I see that with Proof of Stake, the delegators, or rather The People of the world can have censorship resistant access to a decentralized Universal Basic Income, by delegating their tokens and earning income by means of staking to these validators. That system is by far, a naturally better system as opposed to a centrally controlled and and easily censorable form of digital money.
That leaves only one option the Government really has, to compete with a more liberating form of a quasi-universal basic income. That is bribe the People who don’t realize or care about the liberation that crypto can provide, through universal basic income via easy, automatic distributions on their CBDC.
Conclusion
As AI becomes more prevalent and advanced, more jobs could be lost and people may be forced into needing some sort of UBI in my opinion. My preference is to utilize my ability to work and make money now, to enter into the quasi-UBI system that is Proof of Stake crypto currency. However, many people will be late, and the poorest of those people will be bribed into survival through the offering of a universal basic income and the convenience that a CBDC can offer.
Stay vigilant for more Universal Basic Income talk. It may come around the time of a full CBDC release in a country near you. Government bribery taken to a whole new level.
Tldr; As Government distrust persists, and the AI narrative continues to grow. It is becoming apparent that AI could begin to cause large amounts of Job loss, and force Governments to provide a Universal Basic Income to citizens, as a new major source of income for the average Joe who can’t find a job or meaningful income.
Proof of Stake as it stand, will somewhat act as a quasi-form of Universal Basic Income in the future, for those savvy enough to understand how to delegate on-chain and for those with enough money to utilize this as a viable income source. However, many people may choose to be left out of this alternative financial system, and opt-into a CBDC system. This would be, presumably if Universal Basic Income becomes the primary driver to such a system and a CBDC proves to be the more convenient option for the average citizen.

Bare with me, this is going to be long. My (29F) boyfriend, Dan (33M) & I have been together for 6yrs & have two kids (2F & 3wk M). My MIL (57F) has a home that Dan & I have lived in together for about 4yrs. In the beginning, we had roommates, chosen by MIL, as she no longer wanted to live in the home or have the responsibility of a home. She eventually put Dan & I in charge of managing the renters & gifted Dan the property entirely via a living trust. When we found out I was pregnant with our first, we got rid of the renters & began MUCH NEEDED renovations of the home as it’s in dire need of repairs. We also took over all payments (mortgage, utilities, etc.). During this time, MIL began dating a man & moved in with him. Long story short, they dated for less than 3 months, got married in Vegas, it lasted almost 3 years, & they’re now in the middle of a nasty divorce. I will say that man was very rude, obnoxious, & super disrespectful towards women, myself included. MIL had moved in with us when she first left her husband a few months ago. I honestly wasn’t happy about this because she tends to overstep into our finances & tries to control where/how Dan spends his money. For example, Dan’s car was under both of their names but she refinanced it, without his permission, to put it solely under her name so that she can benefit from the credit. She also wants to open a joint bank account with him so that he can “pay the mortgage directly from there” when really I know it’s so that she can have him send her extra spending money when she asks. Another reason is because SIL takes advantage of MIL & Dan by unloading her 3 very rambunctious, misbehaved kids (3, 4, & 5) onto us while she goes out to party. SIL is a story for another day but this is a factor. Nonetheless, it’s still MIL’s house, she needed a place to stay, so she moved in. MIL stayed with us for about a month & a half until she found a room to rent. It wasn’t horrible, but she was butting into our financial decisions, babying our daughter when we disciplined her, passive aggressively made comments about the way we parent, & SIL was always randomly over (she never bothered to come before MIL lived here unless she needed something) dropping off her kids to be babysat by MIL &/or us! Of course MIL knew, but we never knew until there was a knock at the door. It was such a stress relief when MIL moved out. We are now 50% done with home renovations. The house has 4 rooms: our master bedroom, our daughter’s room, a room that I made into a office/craft room (I work from home), & the last room is in the process of becoming a nursery since we just welcomed a baby boy. Due to COVID restrictions I was allowed to have two people in the delivery room with me, Dan & my mom. No one else could come in until after I gave birth, I was transferred to the recovery room & during visiting hours. During labor, MIL was texting my mom & said, “let me know when she has the baby so I can go see him.” We had all informed her of the hospitals policy before I went into labor & again when she asked. She said she understood. Soon after I gave birth I began to hemorrhage & bleed, a lot. So much so that even the nurses froze for a moment at the sight of it all. Thankfully they knew what they were doing & immediately gave me the care I needed. As all this this was happening MIL had arrived at the hospital & was trying to get into my room to see the baby. It was well past visiting hours & I was still not in the recovery room, in fact they kept me in that room longer for monitoring. There were 2 nurses who poked their head into my room to tell us that she could not come in. They also told her the policy but she did not take no for an answer. Right after the nurses controlled my bleeding & were still cleaning me up, there comes MIL trying to get in again, pleading with the charge nurse at my door. They eventually let her in for all of one minute to see the baby. She walked passed me & straight to the baby of course.. didn’t even acknowledge me at all or the fact that I was there bleeding out on the bed with my legs still spread open. Needless to say I was very annoyed & felt super disrespected by her actions. Soon after being discharged we had to take baby boy to the ER (he’s fine now). We were on our way to the ER when Dan decided it was a good time to tell me that MIL would be moving in. The reason being that MIL had to get a lawyer for the divorce & has accrued a lot of debt. She says she can no longer afford to rent the room that she has & has also taken on a second job which is way more labor intensive. This also means that she will not be paying any of our house hold bills but will instead contribute by purchasing groceries when needed. Dan already told her yes before considering what I had to say. It’s not like it would go over well if I said no anyway. I have no say in the matter. She also felt the need to mention to my mom that, “the house is still mine after all so I’m moving in. It’s the least they can do for me after all that I do.” She’s already paid her last months rent for her room & has begun to stay with us two days a week. She will be fully moved in on the 1st of the month. I have no idea where she will be sleeping or how long she will staying with us. She said once the divorce is final but who knows when that will be. The house will never be ours. It’s not our home. I feel trapped on top of feeling all the difficulties of being a newly postpartum mom of two. AITA? How do I even approach this situation?

Everything in my inventory is up for trade. The most valuable items are listed here, the rest you can find in My Inventory

Feel free to Add Me or even better send a Trade Offer. Open for any suggestions: upgrades, downgrades / knives, gloves, skins / stickers, patterns, floats.

All Buyouts are listed in cash value.

KNIVES

★ Butterfly Knife Freehand FN #1, B/O: $1867

★ Butterfly Knife Bright Water MW, B/O: $1098

★ Butterfly Knife Blue Steel BS, B/O: $907

★ Butterfly Knife Ultraviolet FT, B/O: $789

★ Butterfly Knife Stained FT, B/O: $695

⎯

★ Bayonet Tiger Tooth MW #1, B/O: $888

★ Bayonet Gamma Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $727

★ Bayonet Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $608

★ Bayonet Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $521

★ Bayonet Rust Coat BS, B/O: $253

★ Bayonet Night FT, B/O: $251

★ StatTrak™ Bayonet Lore MW, B/O: $751

⎯

★ Karambit Gamma Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $1343

★ Karambit Damascus Steel FT, B/O: $774

★ Karambit Rust Coat BS, B/O: $537

★ Karambit Boreal Forest FT, B/O: $488

⎯

★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1523

★ M9 Bayonet Fade FN, B/O: $1523

★ M9 Bayonet Doppler (Phase 4) FN, B/O: $1008

★ M9 Bayonet Blue Steel FT, B/O: $534

★ M9 Bayonet Rust Coat BS, B/O: $449

⎯

★ Flip Knife Fade FN, B/O: $703

★ Flip Knife Gamma Doppler (Phase 1) MW, B/O: $509

★ Flip Knife Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $406

★ Flip Knife Freehand FT, B/O: $228

★ StatTrak™ Flip Knife Bright Water FN, B/O: $332

⎯

★ Falchion Knife Doppler (Phase 2) FN, B/O: $292

★ Falchion Knife Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $264

★ Falchion Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $258

★ Falchion Knife Bright Water MW, B/O: $133

⎯

★ Stiletto Knife Fade FN, B/O: $822

★ Stiletto Knife Slaughter FN, B/O: $569

★ Stiletto Knife Doppler (Phase 1) FN, B/O: $530

★ Stiletto Knife Crimson Web FT, B/O: $396

★ StatTrak™ Stiletto Knife Scorched FT, B/O: $172

⎯

★ Gut Knife Doppler (Sapphire) MW #1, B/O: $830

★ Gut Knife Fade FN, B/O: $204

★ Gut Knife Tiger Tooth FN, B/O: $138

★ Gut Knife Bright Water MW, B/O: $104

★ Gut Knife Freehand FT, B/O: $92

★ Gut Knife Urban Masked FT, B/O: $82

★ StatTrak™ Gut Knife Rust Coat BS, B/O: $93

⎯

★ Shadow Daggers Fade FN, B/O: $258

★ Shadow Daggers Doppler (Phase 3) FN, B/O: $165

★ Shadow Daggers Blue Steel FT, B/O: $82

★ Shadow Daggers Bright Water FT, B/O: $82

★ Shadow Daggers Blue Steel WW, B/O: $80

★ Shadow Daggers Rust Coat BS, B/O: $74

★ StatTrak™ Shadow Daggers Marble Fade FN, B/O: $186

⎯

★ Classic Knife Slaughter MW, B/O: $311

★ StatTrak™ Classic Knife Stained BS, B/O: $163

⎯

★ Talon Knife Slaughter MW, B/O: $605

★ Talon Knife Scorched MW, B/O: $290

⎯

★ Ursus Knife Marble Fade FN, B/O: $405

★ Ursus Knife Night Stripe MW, B/O: $162

⎯

★ Paracord Knife Stained WW, B/O: $125

★ Paracord Knife Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $97

★ Paracord Knife Safari Mesh FT, B/O: $96

⎯

★ Navaja Knife Safari Mesh FT, B/O: $71

★ Navaja Knife Scorched WW, B/O: $71

⎯

★ Nomad Knife Fade FN, B/O: $1015

★ Skeleton Knife, B/O: $909

★ Bowie Knife Boreal Forest MW, B/O: $106

★ Survival Knife Forest DDPAT FT, B/O: $97

GLOVES

★ Driver Gloves Crimson Weave FT, B/O: $335

★ Driver Gloves King Snake BS, B/O: $270

★ Driver Gloves Lunar Weave WW, B/O: $113

★ Driver Gloves Overtake WW, B/O: $88

★ Driver Gloves Overtake BS, B/O: $67

⎯

★ Moto Gloves Transport MW, B/O: $171

★ Moto Gloves Polygon BS, B/O: $137

★ Moto Gloves Transport WW, B/O: $71

★ Moto Gloves 3rd Commando Company BS, B/O: $62

⎯

★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Kimono WW, B/O: $1027

★ Specialist Gloves Tiger Strike FT, B/O: $654

★ Specialist Gloves Mogul FT, B/O: $295

★ Specialist Gloves Lt. Commander FT, B/O: $277

★ Specialist Gloves Crimson Web FT, B/O: $275

⎯

★ Sport Gloves Slingshot FT, B/O: $796

★ Sport Gloves Amphibious BS #2, B/O: $699

★ Sport Gloves Omega FT, B/O: $656

⎯

★ Broken Fang Gloves Unhinged BS, B/O: $60

WEAPONS

AK-47 Case Hardened BS, B/O: $130

AK-47 Bloodsport MW, B/O: $79

AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76

AK-47 Fuel Injector BS, B/O: $76

AK-47 Bloodsport FT, B/O: $70

AK-47 Neon Rider MW, B/O: $60

⎯

AWP Fade FN, B/O: $864

AWP BOOM MW, B/O: $84

AWP Containment Breach FT, B/O: $69

AWP Containment Breach FT, B/O: $69

AWP Wildfire FT, B/O: $59

AWP Chromatic Aberration FN, B/O: $59

StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $65

StatTrak™ AWP Hyper Beast FT, B/O: $65

⎯

Desert Eagle Blaze FN, B/O: $565

Desert Eagle Blaze FN, B/O: $565

Desert Eagle Printstream FN, B/O: $155

Desert Eagle Cobalt Disruption FN, B/O: $58

⎯

M4A1-S Icarus Fell FN, B/O: $414

M4A1-S Printstream MW, B/O: $204

M4A1-S Printstream MW, B/O: $204

⎯

M4A4 Poseidon FN, B/O: $1402

M4A4 The Emperor FN, B/O: $152

M4A4 Asiimov WW, B/O: $97

⎯

USP-S Kill Confirmed MW, B/O: $65

USP-S Printstream FT, B/O: $69

StatTrak™ USP-S Kill Confirmed FT, B/O: $123

StatTrak™ USP-S Neo-Noir FN, B/O: $106

⎯

AUG Flame Jörmungandr FN, B/O: $218

P2000 Ocean Foam FN, B/O: $139

Souvenir SSG 08 Death Strike MW, B/O: $81

CZ75-Auto Emerald Quartz MW, B/O: $61

Trade Offer Link - Steam Profile Link - My Inventory

Knives - Bowie Knife, Butterfly Knife, Falchion Knife, Flip Knife, Gut Knife, Huntsman Knife, M9 Bayonet, Bayonet, Karambit, Shadow Daggers, Stiletto Knife, Ursus Knife, Navaja Knife, Talon Knife, Classic Knife, Paracord Knife, Survival Knife, Nomad Knife, Skeleton Knife, Patterns - Gamma Doppler, Doppler (Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, Phase 4, Black Pearl, Sapphire, Ruby, Emerald), Crimson Web, Lore, Fade, Ultraviolet, Night, Marble Fade (Fire & Ice, Fake FI), Case Hardened (Blue Gem), Autotronic, Slaughter, Black Laminate, Tiger Tooth, Boreal Forest, Scorched, Blue Steel, Vanilla, Damascus Steel, Forest DDPAT, Urban Masked, Freehand, Stained, Bright Water, Safari Mesh, Rust Coat, Gloves - Bloodhound Gloves (Charred, Snakebite, Guerrilla, Bronzed), Driver Gloves (Snow Leopard, King Snake, Crimson Weave, Imperial Plaid, Black Tie, Lunar Weave, Diamondback, Rezan the Red, Overtake, Queen Jaguar, Convoy, Racing Green), Hand Wraps (Cobalt Skulls, CAUTION!, Overprint, Slaughter, Leather, Giraffe, Badlands, Spruce DDPAT, Arboreal, Constrictor, Desert Shamagh, Duct Tape), Moto Gloves (Spearmint, POW!, Cool Mint, Smoke Out, Finish Line, Polygon, Blood Pressure, Turtle, Boom!, Eclipse, 3rd Commando Company, Transport), Specialist Gloves (Crimson Kimono, Tiger Strike, Emerald Web, Field Agent, Marble Fade, Fade, Foundation, Lt. Commander, Crimson Web, Mogul, Forest DDPAT, Buckshot), Sport Gloves (Pandora's Box, Superconductor, Hedge Maze, Vice, Amphibious, Slingshot, Omega, Arid, Big Game, Nocts, Scarlet Shamagh, Bronze Morph), Hydra Gloves (Case Hardened, Emerald, Rattler, Mangrove), Broken Fang Gloves (Jade, Yellow-banded, Unhinged, Needle Point), Pistols - P2000 (Wicked Sick, Ocean Foam, Fire Element, Amber Fade, Corticera, Chainmail, Imperial Dragon, Obsidian, Scorpion, Handgun, Acid Etched), USP-S (Printstream, Kill Confirmed, Whiteout, Road Rash, Owergrowth, The Traitor, Neo-Noir, Dark Water, Orion, Blueprint, Stainless, Caiman, Serum, Monster Mashup, Royal Blue, Ancient Visions, Cortex, Orange Anolis, Ticket To Hell, Black Lotus, Cyrex, Check Engine, Guardian, Purple DDPAT, Torque, Blood Tiger, Flashback, Business Class, Pathfinder, Para Green), Lead Conduit, Glock-18 (Umbral Rabbit, Fade, Candy Apple, Bullet Queen, Synth Leaf, Neo-Noir, Nuclear Garden, Dragon Tatto, Reactor, Pink DDPAT, Twilight Galaxy, Sand Dune, Groundwater, Blue Fissure, Snack Attack, Water Elemental, Brass, Wasteland Rebel, Vogue, Franklin, Royal Legion, Gamma Doppler, Weasel, Steel Disruption, Ironwork, Grinder, High Beam, Moonrise, Oxide Blaze, Bunsen Burner, Clear Polymer, Bunsen Burner, Night), P250 (Re.built, Nuclear Threat, Modern Hunter, Splash, Whiteout, Vino Primo, Mehndi, Asiimov, Visions, Undertow, Cartel, See Ya Later, Gunsmoke, Splash, Digital Architect, Muertos, Red Rock, Bengal Tiger, Crimson Kimono, Wingshot, Metallic DDPAT, Hive, Dark Filigree, Mint Kimono), Five-Seven (Neon Kimono, Berries And Cherries, Fall Hazard, Crimson Blossom, Hyper Beast, Nitro, Fairy Tale, Case Hardened, Copper Galaxy, Angry Mob, Monkey Business, Fowl Play, Anodized Gunmetal, Hot Shot, Retrobution, Boost Protocol), CZ75-Auto (Chalice, Crimson Web, Emerald Quartz, The Fuschia is Now, Nitro, Xiangliu, Yellow Jacket, Victoria, Poison Dart, Syndicate, Eco, Hexane, Pole, Tigris), Tec-9 (Rebel, Terrace, Nuclear Threat, Hades, Rust Leaf, Decimator, Blast From, Orange Murano, Toxic, Fuel Injector, Remote Control, Bamboo Forest, Isaac, Avalanche, Brother, Re-Entry, Blue Titanium, Bamboozle), R8 Revolver (Banana Cannon, Fade, Blaze, Crimson Web, Liama Cannon, Crazy 8, Reboot, Canal Spray, Night, Amber Fade), Desert Eagle (Blaze, Hand Cannon, Fennec Fox, Sunset Storm, Emerald Jörmungandr, Pilot, Hypnotic, Golden Koi, Printstream, Cobalt Disruption, Code Red, Ocean Drive, Midnight Storm, Kumicho Dragon, Crimson Web, Heirloom, Night Heist, Mecha Industries, Night, Conspiracy, Trigger Discipline, Naga, Directive, Light Rail), Dual Berettas (Flora Carnivora, Duelist, Cobra Strike, Black Limba, Emerald, Hemoglobin, Twin Turbo, Marina, Melondrama, Pyre, Retribution, Briar, Dezastre, Royal Consorts, Urban Shock, Dualing Dragons, Panther, Balance), Rifles - Galil (Aqua Terrace, Winter Forest, Chatterbox, Sugar Rush, Pheonix Blacklight, CAUTION!, Orange DDPAT, Cerberus, Dusk Ruins, Eco, Chromatic Aberration, Stone Cold, Tuxedo, Sandstorm, Shattered, Urban Rubble, Rocket Pop, Kami, Crimson Tsunami, Connexion), SCAR-20 (Fragments, Brass, Cyrex, Palm, Splash Jam, Cardiac, Emerald, Crimson Web, Magna Carta, Stone Mosaico, Bloodsport, Enforcer), AWP (Duality, Gungnir, Dragon Lore, Prince, Medusa, Desert Hydra, Fade, Lightning Strike, Oni Taiji, Silk Tiger, Graphite, Chromatic Aberration, Asiimov, Snake Camo, Boom, Containment Breach, Wildfire, Redline, Electric Hive, Hyper Beast, Neo-Noir, Man-o'-war, Pink DDPAT, Corticera, Sun in Leo, Elite Build, Fever Dream, Atheris, Mortis, PAW, Exoskeleton, Worm God, POP AWP, Phobos, Acheron, Pit Viper, Capillary, Safari Mesh), AK-47 (Head Shot, Wild Lotus, Gold Arabesque, X-Ray, Fire Serpent, Hydroponic, Panthera Onca, Case Hardened, Vulcan, Jet Set, Fuel Injector, Bloodsport, Nightwish, First Class, Neon Rider, Asiimov, Red Laminate, Aquamarine Revenge, The Empress, Wasteland Rebel, Jaguar, Black Laminate, Leet Museo, Neon Revolution, Redline, Frontside Misty, Predator, Legion of Anubis, Point Disarray, Orbit Mk01, Blue Laminate, Green Laminate, Emerald Pinstripe, Cartel, Phantom Disruptor, Jungle Spray, Safety Net, Rat Rod, Baroque Purple, Slate, Elite Build, Uncharted, Safari Mesh), FAMAS (Sundown, Prime Conspiracy, Afterimage, Commemoration, Dark Water, Spitfire, Pulse, Eye of Athena, Meltdown, Rapid Eye Move, Roll Cage, Styx, Mecha Industrie, Djinn, ZX Spectron, Valence, Neural Net, Night Borre, Hexne), M4A4 (Temukau, Howl, Poseidon, Asiimov, Daybreak, Hellfire, Zirka, Red DDPAT, Radiation Hazard, Modern Hunter, The Emperor, The Coalition, Bullet Rain, Cyber Security, X-Ray, Dark Blossom, Buzz Kill, In Living Color, Neo-Noir, Desolate Space, 龍王 (Dragon King), Royal Paladin, The Battlestar, Global Offensive, Tooth Fairy, Desert-Strike, Griffin, Evil Daimyo, Spider Lily, Converter), M4A1-S (Emphorosaur-S, Welcome to the Jungle, Imminent Danger, Knight, Hot Rod, Icarus Fell, Blue Phosphor, Printstream, Master Piece, Dark Water, Golden Coil, Bright Water, Player Two, Atomic Alloy, Guardian, Chantico's Fire, Hyper Beast, Mecha Industries, Cyrex, Control Panel, Moss Quartz, Nightmare, Decimator, Leaded Glass, Basilisk, Blood Tiger, Briefing, Night Terror, Nitro, VariCamo, Flashback), SG 553 (Cyberforce, Hazard Pay, Bulldozer, Integrale, Dragon Tech, Ultraviolet, Colony IV, Hypnotic, Cyrex, Candy Apple, Barricade, Pulse), SSG 08 (Death Strike, Sea Calico, Blood in the Water, Orange Filigree, Dragonfire, Big Iron, Bloodshot, Detour, Turbo Peek, Red Stone), AUG (Akihabara Accept, Flame Jörmungandr, Hot Rod, Midnight Lily, Sand Storm, Carved Jade, Wings, Anodized Navy, Death by Puppy, Torque, Bengal Tiger, Chameleon, Fleet Flock, Random Access, Momentum, Syd Mead, Stymphalian, Arctic Wolf, Aristocrat, Navy Murano), G3SG1 (Chronos, Violet Murano, Flux, Demeter, Orange Kimono, The Executioner, Green Apple, Arctic Polar Camo, Contractor), SMGs - P90 (Neoqueen, Astral Jörmungandr, Run and Hide, Emerald Dragon, Cold Blooded, Death by Kitty, Baroque Red, Vent Rush, Blind Spot, Asiimov, Trigon, Sunset Lily, Death Grip, Leather, Nostalgia, Fallout Warning, Tiger Pit, Schermatic, Virus, Shapewood, Glacier Mesh, Shallow Grave, Chopper, Desert Warfare), MAC-10 (Sakkaku, Hot Snakes, Copper Borre, Red Filigree, Gold Brick, Graven, Case Hardened, Stalker, Amber Fade, Neon Rider, Tatter, Curse, Propaganda, Nuclear Garden, Disco Tech, Toybox, Heat, Indigo), UMP-45 (Wild Child, Fade, Blaze, Day Lily, Minotaur's Labyrinth, Crime Scene, Caramel, Bone Pile, Momentum, Primal Saber), MP7 (Teal Blossom, Fade, Nemesis, Whiteout, Asterion, Bloosport, Abyssal Apparition, Full Stop, Special Delivery, Neon Ply, Asterion, Ocean Foam, Powercore, Scorched, Impire), PP-Bizon (Modern Hunter, Rust Coat, Forest Leaves, Antique, High Roller, Blue Streak, Seabird, Judgement of Anubis, Bamboo Print, Embargo, Chemical Green, Coblat Halftone, Fuel Rod, Photic Zone, Irradiated Alert, Carbon Fiber), MP9 (Featherweight, Wild Lily, Pandora's Box, Stained Glass, Bulldozer, Dark Age, Hot Rod, Hypnotic, Hydra, Rose Iron, Music Box, Setting Sun, Food Chain, Airlock, Mount Fuji, Starlight Protector, Ruby Poison Dart, Deadly Poison), MP5-SD (Liquidation, Oxide Oasis, Phosphor, Nitro, Agent, Autumn Twilly), Shotguns, Machineguns - Sawed-Off (Kiss♥Love, First Class, Orange DDPAT, Rust Coat, The Kraken, Devourer, Mosaico, Wasteland Princess, Bamboo Shadow, Copper, Serenity, Limelight, Apocalypto), XM1014 (Frost Borre, Ancient Lore, Red Leather, Elegant Vines, Banana Leaf, Jungle, Urban Perforated, Grassland, Blaze Orange, Heaven Guard, VariCamo Blue, Entombed, XOXO, Seasons, Tranquility, Bone Machine, Incinegator, Teclu Burner, Black Tie, Zombie Offensive, Watchdog), Nova (Baroque Orange, Hyper Beast, Green Apple, Antique, Modern Hunter, Walnut, Forest Leaves, Graphite, Blaze Orange, Rising Skull, Tempest, Bloomstick, Interlock, Quick Sand, Moon in Libra, Clean Polymer, Red Quartz, Toy Soldier), MAG-7 (Insomnia, Cinqueda, Counter Terrace, Prism Terrace, Memento, Chainmail, Hazard, Justice, Bulldozer, Silver, Core Breach, Firestarter, Praetorian, Heat, Hard Water, Monster Call, BI83 Spectrum, SWAG-7), M249 (Humidor, Shipping Forecast, Blizzard Marbleized, Downtown, Jungle DDPAT, Nebula Crusader, Impact Drill, Emerald Poison Dart), Negev (Mjölnir, Anodized Navy, Palm, Power Loader, Bratatat, CaliCamo, Phoenix Stencil, Infrastructure, Boroque Sand), Wear - Factory New (FN), Minimal Wear (MW), Field-Tested (FT), Well-Worn (WW), Battle-Scarred (BS), Stickers Holo/Foil/Gold - Katowice 2014, Krakow 2017, Howling Dawn, Katowice 2015, Crown, London 2018, Cologne 2014, Boston 2018, Atlanta 2017, Cluj-Napoca 2015, DreamHack 2014, King on the Field, Harp of War, Winged Difuser, Cologne 2016, Cologne 2015, MLG Columbus 2016, Katowice 2019, Berlin 2019, RMR 2020, Stockholm 2021, Antwerp 2022, Swag Foil, Flammable foil, Others - Souvenirs, Agents, Pins, Passes, Gifts, Music Kits, Cases, Keys, Capsules, Packages, Patches

Some items on the list may no longer be available or are still locked, visit My Inventory for more details.

Send a Trade Offer for fastest response. I consider all offers.

Add me for discuss if there is a serious offer that needs to be discussed.

Hi everyone! I just got a list of surgeons in my insurance network. They are: 1) Dr. Maurice Garcia at Cedars-Sinai 2) Dr. Gladys Y. Ng at UCLA 3) Dr. Gary Alter 4) Brownstein and Crane 5) Dr. Marci Bowers 6) Dr. Robert Travieso
I know that Marci Bowers is very well known and I see on her website that she does a good job with fixing previously botched surgies. The problem with her for me is that she’s very far, I’d have to take a plane to her. I live in Southern California and she’s up near San Jose.
Does anyone have any experience with any of the surgeons on the list? I’m trying to get as much information as possible.
Thanks!

Driver made ruts in my yard and amazon sent me an offer of $500 to fix it. Do I counteroffer it just take it? Anyone gone through this?

OS=Fedora37 

Hi everyone! I just got a list of surgeons in my insurance network. They are: 1) Dr. Maurice Garcia at Cedars-Sinai 2) Dr. Gladys Y. Ng at UCLA 3) Dr. Gary Alter 4) Brownstein and Crane 5) Dr. Marci Bowers 6) Dr. Robert Travieso
I know that Marci Bowers is very well known and I see on her website that she does a good job with fixing previously botched surgies. The problem with her for me is that she’s very far, I’d have to take a plane to her. I live in Southern California and she’s up near San Jose.
Does anyone have any experience with any of the surgeons on the list? I’m trying to get as much information as possible.
Thanks!

the TL:DR is I've been a member of this sub now for a while and I continue to see the same questions popping up about "how do I get started" " why won't anyone hire me" "I've been applying for months with my CompTIA whatever".
( DM me to get the application form )
Here's a little about me:
I didn't know what I wanted to do growing up and I continue to find dozens of different area's interesting.
My family was of the belief that getting an apprenticeship or a trade was the best path to have secured work and be able to provide for myself, and if I even decided to have a family my family.
So I went to trade school, studied mechanical engineering, and dabbled as an auto mechanic for several months while working nights at a Kmart replenishment.
I was a lifeguard, I've done carpentry and even did a diploma in digital media.
Finally, I decided I wanted to get into IT because well many of those other industries didn't feel like the right fit, I didn't ultimately enjoy the people in them and after taking some time for self-reflection I knew in myself that I preferred solving problems and being intellectually stimulated, I was always tech savvy and enjoyed using the computer so I began down the IT path.
At this stage I was nearing 25 y/o so it was coming crunch time to start sorting out my life and also realizing that I'd be coming from a position of "feeling behind", no doubt at this stage of my life I had some catching up to do.
I did a diploma in IT, got into 23k of debt with the government, and found out I was nowhere near closer to having the skills required to gain even an entry-level job.
I spent months networking, reaching out to recruiters going to interviews, and getting into weird personality screenings but nothing stuck.
At this point, I was probably mildly depressed and not able to understand why every entry-level job felt like it came with caveats like " minimum 2-3 years of experience in X ".
My breakthrough from this place was further understanding the needs of employers, and luckily I had a good friend who was a senior-level engineer who gave me some harsh feedback when I asked him to look at my resume.
" You don't have the skills they want, I wouldn't hire you either so let's break down these job ads and look at what the common themes are"
- Active Directory
- basic networking knowledge
- Windows server
- Basic virtualization Vmware / Hyper-V etc
With this feedback, I went online, searched, and became overwhelmed with search results and kinda went into analysis paralysis.
Google is a great source of knowledge but often we become so obsessed with merely collecting data we never actually do anything about it -- this was my next challenge, sift through all the data and hopefully find the course(s) that would arm me with the skills to land my first job in IT.
to recap at this time in my life, I was working as a Dairy Manager at a local grocery just to earn an income, I was 23 - going onto 24k in debt to the gov and still not employed in the industry I wanted to start a career in.
From here I began buying courses on one function at a time listed above, and I started to create my own labs (I'm a gamer at heart so I had a pretty beefy computer at the time). I learned windows, the basics of Linux, learned Hyper-V and Vmware fundamentals.
I found guides on setting up Windows Active Directory and group policies and suddenly my "experience" on my resume was starting to fill out with the in-demand technologies & skills.
Only then did I start getting positive feedback from applications, suddenly I was being approached for entry level job offers, SUDDENLY I was in control of the process and I had OPTIONS.
I picked an entry-level role with a small MSP that was only 25 minute drive from my parent's place and got to work.
I must have been doing between 50-80 hours some weeks but I was a SPONGE, I asked so many questions and absorbed so much information, and applied that knowledge by the day-to-day ops that my knowledge and skills skyrocketed quickly.I learned so much within the first year; about the business model, and became the defacto engineer that I had now created leverage to ask for more money.
Which I did. This employer at the time denied my request and I found another company willing to offer me 55k to essentially do the same thing with them so I jumped ship and kept on learning.
Here is where being the jack of all trades has propelled my career and the foundation which enabled me to year on year ask for more money, take on more responsibility, and break out of service desk into project work and now into architecture.
There are a lot of other stories between that time and now over the last 7 years but I'm looking for new challenges and one I'd like to see if I can help others by being the mentor I wish I had getting started.
So my goal will be to test the waters of interest and see if I can personally help 20 newbies land their first jobs in IT.
Below is a link to a form id like people who are interested to fill out, its quick and easy and will give me some idea of your back story.
First 20 people who put their email in with the obvious idea that I will reach out in the next few days about next steps.
DM me to get the application link.
Anyone else is welcome to participate but I can't commit to helping more than 20 at this time.
Regards, Josh

My girlfriend, 2 of my friends, and I was staying at my grandmas till we could get a start with our lives and believe me when I say I went by the book with my grandma by getting permission from her for these people to stay and in return, pay for rent and whatever else we could give and pitch in. This started at the beginning of March and both my mom and grandma said that my friends could move in their bed and dogs and everything in the basement but then, all of sudden, my mom wants to get a wild hair up her ass a couple days ago, shit talk my friends and call us a bunch of squatters and moochers when all of us had jobs and shes the only one in the household on disability and shes a 50 year old fighting with a bunch of 20 year olds. Tried to fight my girlfriend, hit one of my pregnant friend in the head, hit me in the head with a bottle while im slitting my wrists to, "prevent me from killing myself" and then turns around to tell me to kill myseld and now my friends are in noblesvilles indiana and me and my girlfriend are at my friends somewhere in the ghetto. We cant stay here because of landlord rules and I have court dates and I either find a miracle for I'm just going to kill myself because fuck this life that my fucked up parents forced me to have. I just wanted to be a happy 21 year old and get my life together but instead im damn near homeless with no car, barely any support, and no hope. Fuck my life.

Hello. This isn't so much of a complaint as a "what to do in this situation" type deal.

• Ordered Dominoes Pizza, 1 Marbled Cookie Brownie, 1 8 Piece Wing
• $5 Tip
• Order around 8:30 PM EST.
• Put down to give me a call/text when the driver is 5 minutes away.

Now. Mind you, I live in an apartment building with security, doors close at 8 PM (Automatic locking doors. You need to be badged in.) So I usually sit downstairs and wait on the bench for my delivery.

• Pizza order is done around 8:45 PM
• Delivery is set out at 8:55 PM
• Delivery driver is named Eric.
• Doesn't call or text when they will arrive or let's me know they're here (as put in the note.)

I check my pizza tracker. Delivery is due around 9:08-9:10 PM. Cool. 9:00 PM rolls around, I'm waiting downstairs. I'm staring at my tracker and I see the delivery driver en route. Ok. Everything is cool.

• Eric is within striking distance of my apartment complex.
• Eric is pulling up.
• Nobody shows up at the door.
• Says the food has been delivered.

I then attempt to get a hold of the store. I call once. Get placed on hold for 45 minutes. I go "Ok. Must be busy I'll call tomorrow. No big deal. Surely there's an explanation for this."

• I wake up early morning.
• Call Dominoes around 11:30 - 11:45 AM.
• Placed on hold for another 15-20 minutes.

At this point I went down to the store itself.

• Explain to the cashier that I placed my order, didn't recieve the food.
• They tell me the manager isn't in today.
• I ask for a refund.
• Get told only the manager can issue refunds.
• Ok I'lll try to call in tomorrow or later on in the evening.

Return back home. I try calling later on in the afternoon around 1 PM to see if the evening shift manager was in. On hold for another 20-35 minutes. At this point I've lost my patience and just wanted a refund. So I called another store and explained the situation. They told me to call corporate.

• Next day arrives, I call corporate around 9:30 AM.
• No human picks up the phone.
• Forced to use the bot to interact.
• I go through the prompts.

I leave my inquiry, and then I remembered. I had paid through Paypal.

• Puts a ticket in with Paypal.
• Paypal investigates
• Receive a full refund within 2 hours.

Tl; dr - Always use Paypal when doing online orders. Don't run around like a chicken with your head cut off like I did, save yourself the hassle. I like Dominoes, but this was just poor practice. There's another nearby store I will order from in the future since my local one has poor customer service. I also never knew if Eric stole my food or not. I also don't know if escalating to corporate was the right idea or if my complaint even went to anyone.

Yeah I put this off until the last minute, I’ve had enormous difficulty communicating all my life so please bear with me. I don’t think one person knows this whole story but I realize it’s time I find a way to let my voice be heard. Hopefully it’s come together well enough after a week of working on it...
I was the kid that won all the first place trophies and held all the records on track and field day in kindergarten. Always outside doing whatever adrenaline pumping activity I could get myself into. From early on my parents recognized that I needed an environment that team competitive sports provides. Justifiably so, I would never trade the life lessons earned while playing American football for those read in a class room.
I suited up for the gridiron at 7 years old. I was padded from the toes up and it felt incredible, like I was a tank! The coaches loved me, I was short and stout, quick, sharp and fearless. It didn’t take long before I was playing on both sides of the ball, as running back on offense, safety on defense and returner on kickoffs. I was on the field the whole game. The attention as a team leader was intoxicating, it hooked me for life. I suffered my first on field concussion the following year.
It was the first game of the season, the bleachers seemed packed. Near the beginning of the game, playing as free safety, I see my opportunity to not let the team down. The ball gets handed off to their running back, a smaller guy like me, bursts around the mass of blockers to the outside and lights a fire down the sideline. Nothing between him and the touchdown, I project myself into his path and charge ahead like a game of chicken. Littler dude gets even lower than me, his helmet hitting me square in the diaphragm, lifts me clean off the ground and runs through me as though I wasn’t there. I land on my back, head hits the grass. Next thing I know I’m being lifted into an ambulance after being carried off the field on a stretcher. This was my first year of full contact play after a season of flag football and I clearly had not yet grasped the differences. I was in 2nd grade.
As I was enrolled in speech and hearing therapy at school, coaches began teaching me to get over that big hit by hitting the next kid even harder. I began to yearn the brutality of the game even as I took more punishment. The cycle was vicious. Looking back it really seems as though the coaches had some other agenda or issue that fed the aggression. We were coached to lead with our heads because shoulder pads were far too small proportionately and they’d make fun of us after a game if we couldn’t count multiple paint streaks embedded into the plastic on our helmets. Those paint marks were made by helmet to helmet contact, the more impactful the hit, the greater your “trophy”. Some kids earned more trophies than I and it pissed me off so I’d hit harder. They’d line us up one-on-one and tell us to knock the other guy off his feet if we wanted to play in the next game. I couldn’t begin to count the times I was laid out left counting the birds flying over my head in practice alone. Guys would go down every night, coaches laughing, “Aww get him some gatorade, he’s fine. Sit out 10 minutes and get back in here little guy.” I went on to play another 5 years in mostly the same positions until one day, after a difficult practice and a conversation with a close teammate, we dropped our pads and never looked back. But the damage had been done, my path had already been irrevocably set.
After that first on field concussion in 2nd grade, I went on to endure countless concussions over the next 7 years, first from football, then bike riding, fighting and skateboarding. It seemed after a few days of balance issues, blurry vision or headaches, I had no lingering problems and follow-up medical care was nonexistent at the time. It would be easier to recount the couple dozen times I was knocked unconscious, including one that kept me in the hospital for a week. I was so harebrained by high school, I attempted my fourth day of ninth grade black out drunk. The next day I was allowed back on campus I got busted with a joint. At 14, I ran away from home and made it 800 miles before being picked up by cops while breaking into cars for spare change. I was headed for Colorado to build a cabin. Wtf did I know about any of that? And I nearly made it. I quit school, 8th grade was my last year of formal education. Would wonder around the city drinking or smoking anything I could get a hold of. I’d go skateboarding atop some of the tallest buildings in Atlanta or scoot around the woods on an ATV while blindly firing my buddy’s .44 into the air. I shouldn’t have lived through it all, I have dear friends that didn’t. But at 15 I had an epiphany (thanks to LSD), packed a box and moved 400 miles away from everything and everyone. I was somehow able to hit the reset button and leave that volatile part of my life behind and spend the next several years recovering from the constant brain trauma.
Fast forward a few decades and what I’m left with is an inability to manage my life beyond today, I’ve been stuck in flight or fight mode ever since and I’m exhausted with looking over my shoulder. I’m feeling the effects of early onset dementia as I type this and I’m actually scared for the first time in my life. My days have moved beyond forgetting where I put my keys to nearly burning the house down when I run to the store forgetting that I was in the middle of cooking. I haven’t driven a vehicle in years because I’m scared I’ll hurt someone in a fit of road rage or forget why I left home in the first place. The few hours of sleep I may get is the only way to escape the screaming in between my ears and it makes rolling out of bed all the more difficult. I’ve lived in 27 different homes yet never owned my own. It’s been a rarity to hold a job or relationship more than a couple of years and have no savings for retirement. I’ve all but given up friendships and not had a meaningful conversation with my kids in years and I can’t blame them at all. I think about them all day and it hurts beyond words knowing that I’m the asshole and they’re better off without me around much. Have a talk with the person sitting next to you when your only available emotion is anger and see how many more conversations they willingly have with you. Imagine that being your dad. It’s as if there’s a switch that’s never been flipped and I’m incapable of appropriately expressing emotions in the moment. I really don’t mean to be the prick, I simply can’t help it. But I’ll never let you see the side of me cowering in the bathroom bawling my eyes out once I have time to reflect.
I’m 48 years young now and launching a new mission in life, to help educate those on how it takes a community to provide a safe environment for our children. Not one person has all the right answers and alone we fail. Whether it be coaches, school administrators, parents or the medical field, the system failed me. I would never advocate to end youth football, but why does it need to be combative? Too many have tragically lost their voices without even knowing football damaged their brains. The year I fell in love with the game was the year I played low-contact flag football, it becomes something else entirely when you start hitting each other.
It’s time to ban youth tackle football. Is it radical, yes. So were seatbelts and smoking bans.
Converting youth football to a flag system is the only remaining viable solution to making football safer for our kids. CA and NY have recently submitted proposals, it’s time lawmakers in other states step forward. The NFL’s most recent Pro Bowl gave flag rules a shot, the fans and players enjoyed it so much it’s here to stay. If the NFL gets its proposal to the 2028 Olympic Games approved, it will be no-contact flag football rules as well. If future iterations of the game are evolving to keep adult players safe, when will youth sports follow? Why aren’t kids more protected and supported when less than 1% of them will go on to play in the NFL?
Stay strong and Stop Hitting Kids in the Head; https://concussionfoundation.org/stop-hitting-kids-in-the-head
FYI; I have a difficult time living in the moment so give me a few days and I’ll do my best to circle back around to this post. Know that I appreciate all of you at cte for coming along on this journey of discovery with me. I am not the best at providing emotional support either but know that I look forward to getting us to a place where we can all be there more for each other. I’m thinking of you when I post and I will continue sharing my research along the way, please share yours and know that you are safe here.
Additional links;
Age of first exposure to tackle football and years played associated with less white matter in brain; https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-03-age-exposure-tackle-football-years.html
Three or more concussions add up to long-term cognitive problems; https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jan/31/three-or-more-concussions-add-up-to-long-term-cognitive-problems-study-suggests
CTE Center Director Ann McKee says the NFL ignores the risks of repetitive blows to the head and that it’s “foolish” to think the league will police itself; https://www.bu.edu/articles/2023/bu-finds-cte-in-nearly-92-percent-of-former-nfl-players-studied/
How Psychedelic Therapy Can Help Treat Brain Injury; https://www.psychedelicpassage.com/how-psychedelic-therapy-can-help-treat-brain-injury/
Before You Let Your Kids Play Football, Read This; https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/play-in-mind/202301/before-you-let-your-kids-play-football-read-this

I preordered an item in September 2021, directly from the website. The item was supposed to be shipping January 2022. Their refund policy per their website was they only refund within 7 days, so of course by the time the red flags started showing up it was long past the refund period. The have still not shipped this item and we are now in April 2023.
Shipping cost was to be added later, they estimated it $50-$75 but it has now ballooned to nearly 3x that. Their reasoning is that they can no longer pay for the import fees as they had wanted to, so they are now making us pay the import fees + shipping.
I'm not going to name the company but I assume that some will know what company I am meaning. They were on Indiegogo and kickstarter as well (but again, I preordered through their website so I think I have more recourse for getting a refund, as IGG and KS do not guarantee a product as a backer, while I was of the belief that there was a product that was nearly ready to ship at the time of my purchase).
I've been looking through the FTC website but I am a bit unclear on if/how the laws differ if the product was a preorder item and/or if the delivery rules even apply to where I would be able to get a refund when I am outside of their posted refund policy.
Please let me know if you need any further information, thank you for your time!

I've been using Verizon Wing for backup phone (no-SIM) nearly a year now. updates are very timely and now I'm already on Android 12 March 2023 Security patch.
recently on my local amazon/ebay i discovered someone selling Dual-SIM Wing for similar price, i was contemplating whether i should buy it because it's very rare. some buyers have mentioned that they only got Android 11 in their unit.
so anyone with Dual-SIM got Android 12? i like dual-sim because my daily driver is a dual sim phone, so when it breaks i have a replacement ready. but then if it's stuck in Android 11 i wouldn't want to let go of my current wing.

Hi everyone! First, I’d like to say thanks for all of the good advice and success stories. I have bad anxiety as it is, hence why I’ve smoked for so long (PhD life is stressful)
I have a 9 panel test at Quest scheduled through HireRight for what is essentially a dream job right out of grad school that will launch me into a long, successful, and rewarding career using my skills for the greater good and getting paid a nice salary and benefits to do what I love.
Even though my state is legal, it is a position regulated by the federal government.
I stopped smoking as soon as I knew I would be tested, and I was dumb for not checking into that sooner - don’t need any flak for it, I’m beating myself up enough and regardless I need to get through the PhD to start this job anyway. Regardless, I know I will not be clean, so I am going to try the substitution method, and after reading this sub for some time (I wasn’t posting with my main account), I ultimately purchased both Clear Choice Quick Luck from TestNegative.com, as well as 2 vials of “dehydrated human urine” from urinetheclear.com. I put quotes because I am skeptical, it is certainly good marketing but as a scientist I am skeptical of everything.
Also as a scientist, I purchased several PrimeScreen drug tests from Amazon with SVT strips.
So far, these are my findings:
When 1 vial of dehydrated urine is resuspended in 65mL distilled water, it looks a tad dark, and didn’t smell as much like urine as I expected it to. It kind of reminded me of dog food, not sure how else to describe it. It foams like real urine, and the pH, specific gravity, and creatinine levels all appeared normal, compared to my own urine. It also tested negative for all 14 immunoassays, whereas mine was clearly positive for THC metabolite (THC-COOH).
I have not tested any of the Quick Luck yet, as I am going to wait until the morning of so it’s still as fresh as possible for the test appointment. I plan to resuspend the second vial of dehydrated urine in 60mL of water, and will check both for the smell and foaming, and will check both in the prime screen cups for SG, pH, and creatinine.
I will post back with those results on test day and let everyone know of the results.
My question for everyone here is, have you passed a lab test with either of these products (I know I’ve seen posts for both, but want some extra reassurance)? How was your experience? If you’ve used multiple, which do you prefer? Can anyone confirm if urinetheclear is actually real human urine? Mostly worried about extra scrutiny if for some reason anything is off, and GC/MS will eat Quick Luck for lunch.
Thanks for sticking with me!

Hello All
I have an earth-shattering announcement to make - brace yourself! The 30 people I created resumes for? 23 of them are now gainfully employed! That's right, you heard it here first - nearly 80% of them landed jobs, and I couldn't be more excited.
Some of them started working in mid-March, while others are gearing up to start in April. But wait, there's more! Out of the seven remaining people, I tapped into my inner Oprah and used my influence to connect with three of them. Fingers crossed that they too will secure jobs soon.
I must say, this experience has been a total hoot, and it's all thanks to you. Who knew my resume writing skills would make such an impact? You've officially put me on the map, and I couldn't be more grateful.
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this fantastic journey. Now, excuse me while I go celebrate with a tub of ice cream.
Cheers,
Friend in need .
​
Ps: I did not charge anyone during this process.

Basically, I’ve (18f) spent all my life up to this point trying to please my parents. Mom especially. I did everything she did just to make her happy as a child, and it severely cost me my self confidence. Was nearly driven to suicide because of it; I felt I could never satisfy her, therefore I hated myself for never being good enough. Almost no one knows who I really am because they associate me as my mom’s daughter; unfortunately my mom is well known where I live, and I am now too because how much I tried to follow in her shoes.
Nowadays, I try to avoid her as much as possible. Problem is, she’s severely held me back from gaining independence. She forced me to hold off on driving until I was almost 18, guilting me by saying girls insurance is more expensive than a guys (I know now this is false). I currently only have a permit, for I failed my first drivers test almost immediately because she rushed me to get it asap when I was about to start community college. I will be testing again soon as I am more confident though.
Worse still, I haven’t been allowed to get a job. At first, I wasn’t allowed until I could drive. We live a 5 minute bike ride away from grocery stores, but mom doesn’t trust me going out on my own in case I would be out at night. Can’t even take public transport because mom said I would be taken advantage of because of my looks (she’d often reference I look like the dumb blonde stereotype). Nowadays, mom says I’m not “ready” for a job because I am slow with my chores, and that I don’t have enough “grunt work” under my belt. At this point I know now that she’s spewing bullshit; I finish all my chores the day it’s expected/assigned, and I have done hundreds of community service hours alongside mom herself in my years-long attempt to please her. I have enough volunteer work experience to overfill a resume and then some. I also plan to try to get a job after I get my license; though mom might put up a fight.
But standing up for myself is very difficult for me. I literally want to curl up in fear every time mom shouts. She’s threatened me throughout my childhood, and though the threats never come true, I’ve always feared one day they would. The threats ranged from wanting to burn/toss/rip my toys, to wanting to smack/beat/spank me, to wanting to break up my past relationship, to divorce threats and more. But I know she is capable of violence if angry enough. She had struck me once a couple years ago because I kept struggling in school, and she often pinched/grabbed me hard as a child as a way to tell me that I fucked up at something without her needing to say anything in public. She supports beating children who are “assholes”; she told me so herself.
I tried standing up for myself yesterday; dad asked me if I was going to attend a reconciliation mass. I mustered up the courage to say no; I’m an atheist and my parents don’t respect it. I don’t think mom heard my answer, but she got offended dad even asked me. She yelled “what are you talking about?! She is GOING.” That was enough to freak me out. And so I went, not wanting a fight. I caved in that easily…
The advice the therapist gave me about finding the courage to stand up for myself is new; the appointment was on Wednesday. I understand it will take a while. But with what happened yesterday… I said no, but I was still easily scared off by just hearing mom yelling. I don’t think she even heard me, but she was so pissed off at the fact that I was even given a choice. I will keep on trying, but it won’t be easy.
Anyone have similar experiences? How did you get through? Blocking/leaving/going NC is not possible at this time, but I plan to in the future.

A lot of jobs can be done entirely remotely. I am not saying that remote work is ideal for everybody, but it is great for a lot of people.
Working from home means that you must be very conscientious and diligent. You cannot slack off. Paradoxically, you must be even more disciplined than when you are in the office.
Personally, I would never take an in-office job anymore. There are just way too many benefits to working from home for me. I save a shit ton of money on gas, I can concentrate a lot better, I can spend quality time with my pets, and I can be home when I get deliveries. I mean, the list is huge. Most importantly, I am not forced to socialize with people I have not chosen to share the same room with.
The type of work I do requires me to be laser-focused. I was distracted in the office. I am 1000 times more productive at home. I don't have to deal with office politics (or, at the very least, you are less exposed when you work from home).
However, working from home is not as popular or common as it should be. And this is because a lot of people in managerial positions have archaic and obtuse views. They are simply too stupid. They just want you to sit there, no matter what. Even if you are staring at the wall. It's a power thing for them. In their stupid minds, the fact that you are physically in the office means that you can be easily monitored. Or they will spew useless rhetoric about corporate collegiality.
In 2017, I was hired by a company, a tech company, mind you. The type of job I did could have been performed entirely remotely. I had a 3-hour commute (around 90 minutes each way). It was brutal. I had to clock in at 10 a.m., take a 1-hour lunch break, and then clock out at 7 p.m. No exception. I could not be late. To be thre at 10 a.m., I had to literally wake up at 5 a.m. to avoid traffic, and then sit in my car until 10 a.m.
And there was never enough work. We had to pretend to be busy. I asked the manager to let me work from home. He declined, so I quit. Fuck that.
I really hope remote jobs become more mainstream. I know we are getting there, but there are still too many people who think you must be in the office, no matter what you do.

I promised to start posting my novel this week but instead, I figured after the encouragement from the Nature of Predators Subreddit, I would post one other thing I've written.
This is already written simply published in smaller digestible bites for readers.
Please let me know what you think, it would be appreciated.
-------------------------
I, V’lkaar, the Minister of War for the proud Avian species, The Lechinu, the largest and most powerful star empire in the galaxy, have a difficult task. One that I must explain to our diplomat in terms she will understand, based upon our intelligence reports of the United Human Confederation.
Allow me to begin by recalling the events that led to this moment. Our diplomat, Vul’mirria, came into my chambers in a rage. You must understand that when a hierarch of our species is in a rage, they destroy their environment with their very sharp talons. In this case, two vases and an antique desk that was a gift from the UHC Admiral Hirohito of the United Human Confederation. A show of respect given to me when she was but a captain.
She demanded my intelligence reports on the UHC and the earthlings’ military resources. When asked why, Vul’mirria grabbed me by my throat with those talons and nearly lifted me from my chair. Our species having hollow bones, this means that we are still rather light to move or lift. The fire in her eyes told me she intended war and wanted to know how feasible war was for us.
I eventually slapped her talon away and simply told her, “I would advise against war with the humans.”
She punched me. Not in the way that say, a human with their blunt fists would, but in the way that a bird of prey would prefer, what humans call a falcon punch, just without the killing velocity to it. You see, in Lechinu culture, this is a direct challenge to our honor, pride, or right to exist. One does not challenge an avian race to prove its pride.
I reluctantly agree to make this report, but I wish to begin this report by saying the grave insult and expected apology of our diplomat, Vul’mirria of the House of Clouds, before the end of the day, lest she find herself given the same challenge.
Note for my report briefing for any would be diplomat reading this.
I, Admiral of the Fleet, V’lkaar, need you to understand that the human military is not organized nor composed like ours. We have The Fleet, which means our entire military. I will start by saying, yes, we are more technologically advanced than humans in every way from plasma weapons, to shields, to metallic alloys, to the speed of our engines. But I will not fight the humans.
I am no beta male coward, I would not have arrived in this position if I was not willing to kill without hesitation. If my military arm and guile ever faltered, I imagine no end of my successors would seize the opportunity to remove me politically or physically, depending on if my skill in battle failed me or my skill in the war room among our politicians faltered for a moment.
We did not become the greatest, largest empire in the galaxy without extensive military strength and strong leaders. That being said, if we go to war with the humans, I begin this report by saying, I will resign in protest. Not only because many in the human admiralty are my friends and therefore my judgment will be compromised, but because I will not order the slaughter of our own warriors and quagmire that will be such a war on our friends, family, soldiers, and colleagues. Simply put, I will not issue orders I know will result in the deaths of millions upon millions of Lechinu for no gain.
Allow me to begin by stating this: unlike our Fleet, which comprises our space, ground, and defensive forces, the human military is composed of five separate divisions. Please understand none of what I’m about to say is exaggeration, nor is it unverified without extensive intelligence and cooperative exercises conducted in cooperation with the galactic council. I am merely providing the required commentary to put the numbers and citations into perspective. As with any military report, it is required to give context to the politicians so they can understand what exactly they are reading.
I will now explain the introduction and then give an extensive discussion of each of the military divisions of the Human military. Please note, I will be discussing this in the order in which our intel reports judge each division as most sane to complete madness.
The first of the human military divisions are The Army–yes, they still keep a dedicated ground fighting unit whose sole purpose is actions on planetary bodies. Yes, they possess and use mechanized suits, power armor, tanks, and infantry. I assure you, they are not something I wish to see our birds fight.
Second is the Blue Water Navy. As outdated as the concept may seem to us, on every single world with liquid water bodies of any sort; water, methane, nitrogen-oxide, or even sulfuric acid, the humans have deployed blue water vessels to surprisingly great effect. We will go over this and its abilities. Despite the fact that no human has the biology to dive deeper than 50 human meters before encountering difficulties.
Third, the Human Air Force. Yes, you heard me correctly, humans maintain an extensive ground based air-to-space and conventional in atmosphere aircraft force whose job is to protect the skies and maintain total terrestrial orbital air-space control. As well as launching fighter and bomber craft from planetary bodies without vessels present, some of their aircraft even have space-fold drives for limited hyperspace jumps. This I will explain further momentarily.
Fourth, the Black Water Navy, referred to as the UHN–United Human Navies–is in fact a collection of thousands of different ship philosophies built by individual shipyards and colonies with one core aspect across all ship types: railguns, which I will explain why this is a threat that our diplomat has lightly discounted; and the trademark “Honeycomb” hull design of human ships, which some vessels have overcome 90% structural integrity damage and continued to fight because of it. We will discuss this momentarily.
Lastly, and by far the most insane of the human military divisions, The Marines. They are an animal all their own. Yes, the human military has a separate division away from their navies for counter-boarding, boarding actions, planetary landfall operations, and amphibious assaults within terrestrial grounds still in service.
Let us begin with the Human Army, referred to as UHFA, United Human Frontline Army.

Official Report Upon the Human Military for Diplomatic Intelligence Action

Section 1, The Army, Part 1
The Human army is composed of thousands of variants of units. They are the least uniform military in the entire galaxy, and you would believe that would be their weakness. Any cursory glance at them would determine they are in fact a divided rabble of different levels of training that could easily be swept aside, but let me assure you, that is the most incorrect determination. Their variety and unique unit formations are their greatest strength.
Let me highlight some of these units for you, the four most troubling and most enduring of their army. First is the Scottish and their Royal Black Watch in particular. The Royal Black Watch in this year of 2503 can trace their history back to the pre-literature production of the humans, literally a unit that has evolved and changed over the over 1500 years of its existence.
The Royal Black Watch on the surface looks like a parade unit. Defenders of the human diplomats, they act as their escorts both figuratively and ceremonially for diplomats, politicians, and high ranking members of human societal government. Let me assure you that the nearly two demi-macro blades that they carry upon their backs are not for show. They make wicked use of them.
Every single one of these blades can be swung as nearly 18 kilometers per hour and redirected upon a miss with a precision we would have only found possible with the purification machines encountered in the Maldeese Nebula. Yet these humans wield them as easily as you or I would wield a knife or dagger.
Further, every single one of their number isn’t just power armor certified, but has passed the human’s gunslinger program. The human gunslinger program requires super-sentient reflexes for most species to pass and has a wash-out rate of 98%. This means that members of this Black Watch Unit must pass this program to even apply for consideration. Every single member of a unit is able to operate a human vehicle, usually a variety of space, air, mechanized, and naval, and at least two other species whom the humans may encounter vehicles of a similar purpose and type.
Some would argue the diplomats in the room are the best educated and highest trained, but those who have read the intelligence reports know that is a lie, it is these humans in their black armor and wearing the plaid patch of Highlanders that are the pinnacle of training, education, and preparation.
Let me tell you a story of the Black Watch, a legendary act of defiance in the early days of humanity’s joining of the Galactic Community and its Senate. In 2304, just two years after their acceptance, we were in the midst of the Hive Treyarch war. No one had managed to land upon one of the Hive’s planets alone. Orbital bombardment can only get so much done and anti-orbital weapons eventually win against ships. After all they have a whole planet to take hits, you have a ship hull.
It was determined a joint effort would be made. The human ships were not allowed to join, we felt they were too few to defend their own worlds and extended to launch an assault. However, seeing as dedicated ground troops were rare among species and the Terrans abundance of such ground troops, we decided to allow their army to send several units to support the ground actions.
What they sent looked brutish and primitive. Power armored troopers in heavy thick titanium plate. They mounted these exosuits with a variant of weapon systems. Our logistic technicians had a devil of a time supplying such vehicles. Considering the humans hurled physical objects from their primary weapons instead of energy pulses.
When we landed upon Arrat III. The Hive descended upon us with a ferocious might of billions. For seven days we fought for our beachhead, and then the admirals were given permission from the council to prove our resolve and bombard the site to dust so we could established a beach head even if it were irradiated. Now, the problem: we had nearly six million troops on-world and would need to evacuate.
The Black Watch stepped forward with 4 companies and informed us that they would be the last off the planet. They had been the first to step foot upon the world at their insistence, and they had suffered one casualty in their division, just one. I want to remind you by this point, we had entire army groups that were disbanded out of mercy. Their casualties so high that even combining multiple damaged units was deemed too psychologically devastating to continue to use the few survivors.
Those four companies made a perimeter around the starport and prepared as we fled and fell back. Other units joined them but were actively being withdrawn, so the battle lines were getting thinner as time wore on.
When their battle began, the legend of the Black Watch was proven. For six days, we were allowed to evacuate, even after every single other being but the hive and Black Watch were off the planet, they kept fighting. The Black Watch were cut off, and for two final days we tried to figure out how to evacuate them. Terrans being a relatively new race at the time, we did not wish to report that one of their elite units were utterly destroyed. The Black Watch held that line.
Even against the elite guards of the hive, towering monstrosities of arthropods. They possess exoskeletons that can stop some capital ship low caliber weapons. These massive creatures can break buildings with a single blow. The Black Watch held the line.
The Treyarch became scared of them, the telepathic transmissions we picked up from the planet were warnings against the ones in black armor. Imagine that, a species whose war tactic is the endless swarm of pincers, incisors, claws, and chitinous armor plating being terrified of barely four-hundred and eighty soldiers. The Black Watch held the line.
The Black Watch told us to nuke the planet with them on it. With great reluctance we did. We bombarded the world until it was a tomb. Nothing should have survived. We lost nearly two hundred vessels performing the bombardment but we hardened ourselves.
Every single micron of the soil was blown apart and the planet was surrounded by an ash cloud. The radiation alone would have killed entire galactic civilizations across one thousand colonies.
But humans are from a death world. As the fleet made transit to leave the system and the devouring hive was mourning the destruction of the world, we received a transmission from Arrat III. Garbled and hard to understand, we sent a scout ship back. The scout ship returned with three and a half companies, all but twenty beings of the four hundred and eighty we left there survived. The Royal Black Watch we had thought dead upon that world.
As the commander stepped from the decontamination unit. I asked how they survived, the unit commander whom we did not realize was female to this point; removed her helmet. Yes, the human military has fully integrated its females into the military. Imagine that Ambassador, their females are just as capable of frontline warfare as our males! But her reply was only five words, “Nukes are merely an inconvenience.”
End Section #1 The Army, Part 1
Sincerely,
Admiral of The Fleet
V’lkarr
Admiral of the Fleet from Circa 2223-2504

For context: Husband is working, I'm finishing up my bachelor's while working freelance. Both of us are based in Singapore.
We thought it was just a coincidence when my husband began his job search upon graduating, but he began getting more job interviews after he began submitting resumes with "Mensa" listed in there. During multiple interview, his Mensa membership was brought up, and many hiring managers seemed impressed. For his current job, he was even offered a couple hundred dollars more because of his Mensa membership. At the time, I didn't think much of it, until I realised how most websites from the West heavily advise against putting Mensa in our CVs.
Currently, I'm looking for internships (particularly for ones that just act as a probation period before a full-time job) since I'm graduating early next year. To play around, I decided to send 8 CVs that had Mensa listed out, and 7 that didn't. Coincidentally, I was invited for an interview for all of the companies who got the Mensa version, and only 2 of the companies that didn't have Mensa listed in the CV got back to me too. I was mainly applying for project management and curatorial roles in the arts.
Obviously, the sample size with what I did is nowhere near reliable enough — and a CV/resume will have so many different variables that affect the outcomes — but my husband and I's anecdotal experiences did make me curious about the experiences of others in Asia. Personally I think Mensa to many here, particularly in places like Singapore, S.Korea or even Japan really prioritise academic talent & meritocracy. My own mother-in-law (who is Korean) would often introduce my husband and I as Mensa members to her friends. It's weird to me how highly prized having a high IQ is, but I guess it's just one of the many ways to "put yourself on top" in really competitive societies like those in Asia.