Background: I just started dashing recently since I’m an apprentice at my job and can’t pay rent on that alone until I hit salary. I only have one review right now (on 26 orders), and it’s 3 stars because a lady didn’t give me her gate code and was upset about the wait when she wouldn’t respond to messages or calls to get to her street. So, of course, I wanted to boost mine.
The story: I delivered an order today (hand directly to customer), and I thought everything was fine. Delivered early, the man opened the door and I said “Have a nice night! If you want to leave a rating, I’d appreciate it.” This was my FU…
His response? “No offense, but you’re not really my type, I’d say a 4/10”
I- I was in shock. I’ll be honest, my hair was in a messy bun and I was wearing a t-shirt and jeans but wow. I looked him in the eye and said “I meant in the app, sir, for my delivery service.” He just said “Oh” and shut the door.
TLDR: Asked a customer for a rating on the app, and his response was to rate my looks… as a 4/10

Title: The Curse of the Disco Yeti
INT. Zooniverse Zoo - Howard and Vince's office
Howard and Vince are sitting in their office, bored and restless.
Howard: "I can't stand it, Vince. We need a new adventure."
Vince: "I hear you, Howard. I'm itching for some excitement too."
Suddenly, the door bursts open and Naboo, the shaman, storms in.
Naboo: "Howard, Vince, I need your help. The Disco Yeti is loose and causing chaos in the city. We have to stop it before it's too late."
Howard and Vince look at each other, intrigued.
Vince: "The Disco Yeti? That sounds like a funky monster. Count us in."
INT. City Streets - Day
Howard, Vince, and Naboo are on a mission to find the Disco Yeti. As they walk through the city, they see people running and screaming in all directions.
Howard: "This is serious, Vince. We have to stop that monster."
Vince: "But how are we going to find it? We don't even know what it looks like."
Suddenly, they hear a funky beat coming from a nearby alley.
Naboo: "That's it! The Disco Yeti must be nearby."
They cautiously approach the alley, and as they turn the corner, they see a giant, hairy, yeti-like creature wearing a glittery disco ball around its neck.
Vince: "Whoa, that's one groovy monster."
Howard: "We have to stop it before it causes any more damage."
Naboo: "Wait, I sense a curse on the creature. We can't just attack it without lifting the curse first."
Howard: "A curse? What kind of curse?"
Naboo explains that the Disco Yeti was cursed by a rival shaman who was jealous of Naboo's powers. The curse made the Disco Yeti dance uncontrollably, which caused it to lose control and wreak havoc.
Vince: "So how do we lift the curse?"
Naboo: "We have to perform a special dance ritual to break the curse."
Howard, Vince, and Naboo break into a funky dance routine, while the Disco Yeti joins in. As they dance, the curse is lifted, and the Disco Yeti returns to its normal self.
The group rejoices and celebrates their victory.
Howard: "That was one wild adventure, Naboo. What do we do now?"
Naboo: "Now, we party! Let's show this town how to boogie."
They all break into a dance party, with the Disco Yeti as the guest of honor.
THE END.

I know it's a long read but please I really need help and advice. please read it. The people are telling me that it is my fault and they want me to pay $2500 for the bumper fill replaced, repainted, and re-chromed.
Saturday, March 25, 2023, I was planning to go to 7-Eleven to pick up water and a couple of snacks. I was going west on Rosecrans Street turning into the parking lot. I noticed that I was boxed in with cars. The next thing, I know I was front bumper to front bumper with the car in front of me. There were cars that were not parked in designated parking spaces along with pedestrians that were in the middle of the road not getting out of the way. The person’s car was not parked in a designated, declared parking space. In fact, he was parked in the middle of the road creating a one-way traffic jam. The only option I had was to make a U-turn/3-point turn to get my car facing the correct way. My foot was on the brake the entire time. I barely lifted my foot off the brake. I was going 3 mph the entire time due to the fact I had little room to maneuver my car in any direction plus there was a poorly lit area. There was a bystander who stopped me telling me said that I hit the car. However, I was just close to the car, so I did not put my car in a “tight sandwich” position preventing me to move forward or back. The bystander was trying to wave down the owner of the car. Again, I was boxed in with pedestrians blocking me and cars that were parked anywhere they wanted to park. I am not from the area, and I didn’t feel safe getting out of my car to take pictures right then and there for many reasons. One, the fact that it was a car show by 7-eleven and Mr. Rosewood restaurant made it clear to me that people were consuming alcohol. Two, I am not from the area. Lastly, I was by myself with nobody with me. I did not feel safe getting out of the car because pedestrians were mobbing around my car, and I was scared for my safety. In fact, they were getting aggressive and trying to intimidate me by puffing out their chest to make themselves look big. In the meantime, I am having a complete anxiety attack and I was in flight or fight mode. I didn’t want to leave the scene until the Sheriff showed up. On the other hand, while I was on the phone with 911, the car owner’s girlfriend took pictures of my license plate and VIN. I had scratched both sides of my front bumper before this incident occurred from other people that made a hit and run to my car. Shortly after the girlfriend was done taking pictures, she kept pushing and pressuring me that it was okay to leave. I was also told that they didn’t want to get the police involved. I didn’t want to leave the scene until the sheriff arrived, so I could feel safe gathering the information that I needed. I was only presented with the car owner’s girlfriends’ contact information, but not the car owner himself. Even though the sheriff was there at the scene, I was frazzled and emotionally all over the place not thinking straight to get the other person's insurance information. So, I didn’t get the person's insurance information, registration, and driver’s license. I just got pictures of the car and license plate. The sheriff arrived but he did not file a traffic report.

I know it's a long read but please I really need help and advice. please read it. The people are telling me that it is my fault and they want me to pay $2500 for the bumper fill replaced, repainted, and re-chromed.
Saturday, March 25, 2023, I was planning to go to 7-Eleven to pick up water and a couple of snacks. I was going west on Rosecrans Street turning into the parking lot. I noticed that I was boxed in with cars. The next thing, I know I was front bumper to front bumper with the car in front of me. There were cars that were not parked in designated parking spaces along with pedestrians that were in the middle of the road not getting out of the way. The person’s car was not parked in a designated, declared parking space. In fact, he was parked in the middle of the road creating a one-way traffic jam. The only option I had was to make a U-turn/3-point turn to get my car facing the correct way. My foot was on the brake the entire time. I barely lifted my foot off the brake. I was going 3 mph the entire time due to the fact I had little room to maneuver my car in any direction plus there was a poorly lit area. There was a bystander who stopped me telling me said that I hit the car. However, I was just close to the car, so I did not put my car in a “tight sandwich” position preventing me to move forward or back. The bystander was trying to wave down the owner of the car. Again, I was boxed in with pedestrians blocking me and cars that were parked anywhere they wanted to park. I am not from the area, and I didn’t feel safe getting out of my car to take pictures right then and there for many reasons. One, the fact that it was a car show by 7-eleven and Mr. Rosewood restaurant made it clear to me that people were consuming alcohol. Two, I am not from the area. Lastly, I was by myself with nobody with me. I did not feel safe getting out of the car because pedestrians were mobbing around my car, and I was scared for my safety. In fact, they were getting aggressive and trying to intimidate me by puffing out their chest to make themselves look big. In the meantime, I am having a complete anxiety attack and I was in flight or fight mode. I didn’t want to leave the scene until the Sheriff showed up. On the other hand, while I was on the phone with 911, the car owner’s girlfriend took pictures of my license plate and VIN. I had scratched both sides of my front bumper before this incident occurred from other people that made a hit and run to my car. Shortly after the girlfriend was done taking pictures, she kept pushing and pressuring me that it was okay to leave. I was also told that they didn’t want to get the police involved. I didn’t want to leave the scene until the sheriff arrived, so I could feel safe gathering the information that I needed. I was only presented with the car owner’s girlfriends’ contact information, but not the car owner himself. Even though the sheriff was there at the scene, I was frazzled and emotionally all over the place not thinking straight to get the other person's insurance information. So, I didn’t get the person's insurance information, registration, and driver’s license. I just got pictures of the car and license plate. The sheriff arrived but he did not file a traffic report.

Unknown
This story is strictly fictional.(Not a fan fiction, this is original.)
The Beginning
I had gone to sleep pretty late that night so when I actually woke up I thought I was thrown into another random dream where I woke up in a forest, but things were realistic. I could feel the droplets fall from the leaves of the trees to my hands and the squishy slimy mud below my feet. Alright I need to assess the situation. I just woke up in a random forest, none of the plants or trees are native to where I’m from, and I’m in a thin long sleeve shirt with a jacket over it and layered tactical pants which are obviously different clothes than what I went to sleep in, and then there’s that rumbling that shakes the ground periodically. Well I can only do two things in this situation: sit here and hope that someone will find me or try looking around.
It’s been about 2 hours since I started roaming this seemingly infinite forest and I finally saw something besides trees and more trees. It's a lone rocky hill and after reaching the top I looked ahead and I saw a beach. When I turned back to look at the forest I saw the cause of the rumbling sound. “This must be a dream, it has to be.” I thought “I have to get out of this cursed forest right now!” And as I ran towards the beach, I saw that vicious, vile creature. The predecessor of the modern serpent, the Titanoboa. It rushed towards me and even running with every ounce of strength and explosive power I had there was no chance. The snake coiled up around me crushing my bones. I felt everything from my wrist snapping to my legs breaking.
Eventually I had either passed out from the pain and died or I died in that moment but… why am I lying on a beach? The chill breeze, the hot sand on the back of my neck and the upwelling tides hitting the heel of my foot. I guess I’m still alive. My clothes are folded next to me. There’s a stone with a book next to it.
Words were being chiseled out as I looked at the stone, they said:
“Unknown’s status”
“Survival Time: 5 hours and 34 minutes”
“Encountered Enemies: 57”
“Enemy Type: insect 56”
“Predator: 1”
“Death Type: Death by a predator”
“Enemies defeated: 5”
“Calculating Achievements…”
“Rewards will be granted based on achievements.”
“Rewards granted!”
“Rewards obtained look in inventory to view.”
“View inventory by visualizing it”
I opened it and it says:
“passive skill Bug killer level 5”
“Earned by killing 5 bugs in your first life”
“Passive skill Poison/Venom resistance level 22”
“earned by getting poisoned 22 times in your first life”
“Journal of the next life”
“Earned by surviving 2 or more hours in your first life”
“10 Stat points granted!”
So I died and got and was brought back with game abilities. What the hell? There was also that book when I tried to open it, It opened directly to the middle. I was able to flip the page back once but that was it. It was already written in, and it read: “this is the second time”. “That’s… creepy.” I started to feel hungry and began to roam again.
Survival
I saw a river that secured freshwater, I take out my pocket knife and start to sneak around. I see a dilophosaurus. I rush towards it and stab it in the neck. I take out the knife as it shoots poison at me. I stab it again in the head and kill it. The stone structure appears from beneath me once again. It says “First predator kill”
“Predator kill results”
“Damage dealt 100%”
“Damage Taken .5%”
“Weapons used: Knife”
“Calculating Achievements…”
“Rewards Granted!”
“Rewards obtained look in inventory to view.”
“View inventory by visualizing it, your inventory will be viewed as whatever you visualize it as.”
“Melee Mastery Level 1”
”Experience gained 10”
It looks like I’m going to be here for a while, I should get familiar with everything. I open my inventory and I see a new option, it says “Stats”. The stats are Health which adds how much damage I can take, Strength which helps deal more damage with a physical attack, and a gray option which reads “Craftsmanship”. There’s also a catalog of everything I’ve encountered like the Carboniferous and Permians. I can’t even pronounce that, why do insect dinosaurs have such weird names? The snake that killed me out of nowhere was a Titanoboa. I don’t level up automatically so I have to do it manually. I get to level 2, I get 2 stat points and a new option opens which is “craftsmanship”, The ability to craft something instantly while consuming the needed material. Putting more stat points into it unlocks more craftable items. I can only make a small fire for now. I guess what they say about carnivores is true, this tastes so bad. I hope that poison resistance can hold up to this. That’s my first day here, or second if I count the time before I died.
It’s the second day. I need to gain experience if I want any level of security. I hunt dodo birds on the beach, by the end of the day I get to level 5, I gain 2 stat points for every time I level up. I put the 6 stat points into “craftsmanship”. I can make a stone axe and a stone spear now. I have all the materials needed except vines that I can get from the forest. I use coconut shells to collect water and take some with me. I managed to get some vines without a problem so now I’m back at the river and I have plenty of food to cook. Now that I'm back I make the axe and spear. I wonder if there is anyone around.
Survival
I’ve developed a routine to go hunting to gain experience for the beginning of the day, then check my stats and inventory, after that I would look for any materials that might be useful. On the way back I’d look for any signs of people. After doing this for 3 days I’ve found a grave. It said “Though life may seem like a game it never is. You don’t come back, at least not the same.” Well I guess I’m an exception. I pick up the bag and it’s heavy like it has tools in it or something. When I get to the river I finally get to go to sleep. I wake up and do my routine. When I got back to the riverside I saw something running across the river. I've never explored the other side of the river but I’m curious as to what I might find. Looking deeper into the plains I see a forest and an icy mountain in the distance, but suddenly a small stone looking creature pops out of the ground waving a small flag with a peace symbol on it and the ground starts to shake. What the hell is that? A large stone wall is launched from the ground and lands straight up behind the golem. 5 humanoid golems climb out of the hole that the stone wall came out of. The wall starts to tilt towards me and the smaller golem and I back up then the wall falls crushing the mini golem. What’s going on here? The 5 golems run over to put the wall back up, they’re panicking because of the small one. Once the wall was back up they gathered the pieces of the small stone golem then they held them all up, the pieces started to float together and the small golem was together again but still had cracks in its body. It waved. The golems looked at me and pointed towards the stone wall then they started writing carving out words. I can’t even say that, they just lightly press their fingers on the wall and the small area just crumbles. When they’re done it says “Sorry about that mess right there. The point of this is to tell you what you need to do to thrive in this world, if you follow my instructions you will. Give a thumbs up when you’re done reading.” I hesitantly give a thumbs up and the layer with writing falls off.
The other missions were blank. I should prepare food and tools for this new companion. I’m going to start the mission tomorrow. Morning has arrived. I walk across the river and after touching the stone a guy appeared behind the stone. This is gonna be interesting.
Day 1
Unknown- “Hey, new guy.”
New Person-“Huh what?”
Unknown- “You took long enough.”
Unknown - “Ask questions later, follow me.”
I take the new guy to the otherside of the river.
I don’t want to tell him about my first life so he won’t get any false hope of a second life.
New Person - “ Can you at least tell me your name?”
Unknown - “You can call me Unknown for now.”
New Person - “I don’t remember my name.”
Unknown - “Yeah, you don’t remember much about before you got here the same thing happened to me.”
Unknown - “I’ll explain while we eat.”
2 hours pass…
New Person - “So we’re eating a dinosaur right now?”
Unknown - “Yeah .”
New Person - “So how did you say you opened your inventory?”
Unknown - “I just visualized it like a game.”
New Person “Nothing’s happening”
Unknown - “We could try getting back to the beach where I first learned about the abilities”
New Person - “Yeah let’s go in the morning”
Unknown - “You could get some leaves to use as a bed.”
New Person - “Alright.”
Day 2
Unknown - “Wake up.”
New Person - “Ugh.”
Unknown - “Do you want to see your stats or not?”
New Person - “Fine, fine”
I lead the way to the beach and we get to the stone.
New Person - “What do I do now?”
Unknown - “Put your hand on it.”
The stone cleared back to how it was at first.
It says “choose name”
He put his name as “Anonymous”. He only got 2 skills but one of them is an active skill. That’s the first active skill that I've heard of. The 2 skills are “companion’s stat copy” which is a passive skill and “temporary skill copy” which is the active skill.
Unknown - “Try being more original.”
Anonymous - “Wow ok.”
Unknown - “Now that you have your skills you should try opening your inventory.”
Anonymous - “Alright.”
Anonymous - “I can see it.”
Unknown - “Try equipping your passive skill.”
Anonymous - “Ok I did”
Unknown - “I don’t know how you would activate or use it”
Anonymous - “it says I could use a voice cue or an action cue to activate it”
Unknown - “I see”
Unknown - “Now that you have your skills lets do a little hunting”
2 stone structures unexpectedly appeared, they say:
“All conditions have been cleared”
“Skillset acquired.”
“Skillset 1 Hunter, Skills: Target Lock On, Precision Strike, and Killstreak.”
“Skillset 2 Tamer, Skills: “Trainer, Taming experience, and Supreme Command”
Anonymous - “So what did you get?”
Unknown - “I got Hunter, what did you get?”
Anonymous - “I got Tamer.”
Two books fall from the sky landing 2 feet in front of him and I. We picked up the books and the titles read “skill set manual Hunter” and “skill set manual Tamer”. Both books give detailed explanations on how to use our class and what to do with them. With the Tamer, it says there are 2 ways to tame dinosaurs. The first way is through having a bond with it or building a bond like constantly coming back to feed it food and building trust but that can only be used with the trainer's skill. The second way is to put the dinosaur on the brink of death and nurse it back to health. It also includes how difficult it would be to tame the dinosaur and the recommended “method” to tame the dinosaur.
Anonymous - “This really does remind me of a video game”
Unknown - “Yeah it does…”
This guy seems more excited than anything but that made me remember that I didn’t open the bag from the grave, I’ll check that out when we get back.
The Hunter skill set is for hunting as it says in the name. The manual includes the weaknesses for encountered dinosaurs, it also said the recommended hunting spots for certain levels.
We are back and eating to get ready for the first hunt. Opening the bag, I see Rusted Iron tools. There is a “Rusted Iron axe”, a “Rusted Iron spear”, and a “Rusted Iron Blade”. We go to the edge of the forest without going in too deep simply so we can hunt a dilophosaurus.
Anonymous - “Did you hear that?”
Unknown - “Yeah copy my skills”
Anonymous - “Alright what do I do now?”
Unknown - “We’re going ahead just stay to my left side”
I pull out the Blade from my inventory.
Unknown - “This should be enough to damage it and give you time to kill it with your axe ok?”
Anonymous - “Alright”
The dinosaur leaps from the bushes. I activate the skills precision strike and target lock-on. I stab it but it doesn’t pierce far through its skin.
Unknown - “Now!”
He struck the dinosaur on the head with the flat side of the axe and knocked it out. A screen appears saying: “Conditions complete taming possible”.
Unknown - “You know how to tame this thing?”
Anonymous - “Yeah we just have to feed it. Its taming difficulty isn’t that high either.”
Unknown - “Help me carry it back to the river.”
We carry the dinosaur to the river. In about 10 minutes it woke up and we held food to its face. It ate the food and didn’t attack us. A screen pops up again and says “Velociraptor tamed”. I doubt it’s an adult Raptor. I didn’t even think it was a raptor to begin with; it’s too small.
Unknown - “Hey why don’t you try using your skill or something?”
Anonymous - “It worked! I could also give you control of the Raptor”
Unknown - “Cool, let’s head back.”
Day 3
Unknown - “We should go hunting with the raptor”
Anonymous - “You sure?”
Unknown - “What, you scared it’ll turn on us or something?”
Anonymous - “No.”
We head to the beach where all the dodo birds are. Anonymous sends the raptor to kill the bird.
It rushes toward the bird and it bites its head off. It doesn’t eat the body, it just drops the head.
Unknown - “Well that’s just brutal.”
We feed the Raptor and go hunting for the rest of the day. It got to level 10 and Anonymous is level 5 and I’m level 8. I put my stat points into strength and health. Now my strength is at +12 and my health is at +4. Tomorrow we’re going to the forest edge so we can level up more now that we are stronger.
Day 4-8
We’ve been hunting on the forest edge for the past few Fr days and I’m at level 23, Anonymous is at level 18, and Rapt is now level 25. He levels up faster than the both of us because he does most of the hunting for Anonymous. Anonymous does get 45% of the exp that he earns from targeted kills though.
Day 9
Today we head into the deep forest.
Anonymous - “What was the recommended level for this area?”
Unknown - “To go alone the recommended level was 12, but with the most dangerous creature it said recommended to be level 25”
Anonymous - “You really are a cautious guy”
Unknown - “This is our lives on the line here ya know?”
Anonymous - “Yeah I get it. Let's just go already.”
On the way there he starts to ask questions. Now that I think about it we haven’t talked about much besides trying to survive.
Anonymous - “Hey do you remember anything about before you came here?”
Unknown - “Not much but if you ask questions I might remember something.”
Anonymous - “Ok, how old are you?”
Unknown - “ 15”
Anonymous - “Yeah you are young”
Unknown - “How old are you then?”
Anonymous - “I’m 17”
Unknown - “Huh, well we’re here”
Anonymous - “Ok I’ll be on alert”
There’s just a group of Raptors around level 10.
The group only has 3 of them.
Unknown - “Copy my skills.”
Anonymous - “Ok”
Unknown - “I got the 2 on the right”
I take out the rusted blade swiftly as I rush behind the Raptor and stab it. Anonymous does the same and both of our weapons break as soon as we hit them while killing the dinosaurs but there is still one more. I bring out the spear and kill the last one before it could rush after me.
Anonymous - “Wow, that was close!”
Unknown - “Yeah I suppose they only had 2 hits each”
After collecting everything we store it in our inventory. Anonymous calls back Rapt and he comes running back. We switch back to the stone tools that we’ve been using on the forest edge.
Unknown - “Are you still up to hunt?”
Anonymous - “Yeah; you’re the one that almost got killed.”
As we continue into the forest I notice a grave.
Anonymous - “Is that a grave?”
Unknown - “Yeah I’ll check it out”
The grave said: “Time elapsed 255 days”
Beside it was a heavy bag.
Anonymous - “You sure it’s a good idea to take from a grave like that?”
Unknown - “It would be wasteful to let things go unused like this.”
Anonymous - “Yeah.”
We go back to the campsite and open the bag. In it is a book, the book’s title is “Caster Skill Set manual”. I’m too tired to read it so I toss it back in the bag to read in the morning. In the middle of the night, I hear Anonymous flipping through the pages of the book, but I continue to sleep.
Day 10
I get woken up in the morning by Anonymous.
Unknown - “Huh,what is it?”
Anonymous - “Last night I stayed up and read the book and I got some really valuable information.”
Unknown - “Like what? It said it was a caster Skill Set. Can we even use it?”
Anonymous explains how there are 2 ways to get mana availability or access to magic. The first way was to find a mana river or water source with mana and absorb it. The second way is to find a magic stone and you could do one of 2 things with it, you can absorb the mana out of the stone to increase your mana capacity or use the stone as a staff to increase your magic power.
Unknown - “Did it say where the mana river could be found?”
Anonymous - “It didn’t say where but it did show an image of the river and it looked like a snowy area.”
Anonymous - “The only place that has snow is where I saw I first got here; the icy mountain.”
Finally something new that I can look forward to.
Unknown - “We should head over there tomorrow after the first challenge is completed”
Unknown - “I've been putting stat points into “Craftsmanship” for a while and I’m finally able to make all the things needed for a house. Now we just need to gather the materials. Deforestation time!”
Anonymous - “Finally, I’m tired of sleeping on palm tree leaves.”
A few hours pass…
Building the support beams is the worst because we have to make sure they are aligned, and that alone takes about an hour.
Thanks to the auto crafting feature, all we have to do is gather the wood in one place and I can easily select the option in the crafting menu. The walls fit like wooden puzzle pieces because they have slots to lock it in with smaller blocks. The end result is about the size of a classroom.
Unknown - “I can finally get some shade without going into that insect-infested forest!
A shadow comes from behind the wall and raises its scythe to strike Anonymous.
Unknown - “Anonymous get outside now!!!”
Anonymous runs out not knowing what's going on.
I dash outside, the reaper follows Anonymous and he still can’t seem to see it.
Unknown - “Go across the river!!”
Anonymous - “Why what’s going on?”
Unknown - “Just trust me go!”
As soon as Anonymous gets in the river, the dark figure stops at the river bank. I equip my axe and swing causing it to phase through it. But water splashes on it and it seems to have taken some damage from it so I quickly take out my shovel and splash the water on it. It melts into green slimy goo and Anonymous appears to be able to see it now. A screen now appears, it says: ”Special Achievement! You've defeated the grim reaper! The minimum requirement was to survive from it. I'm impressed. As a reward you and your companion shall receive mana accessibility! The next mission will be revealed shortly.” 2 copies of the same book explaining about mana dropped. The basic casting skills are “heal” and “ally heal” . We can use them just as we would use active skills. Anonymous crosses the river to come back and we make our way into the base but it’s pitch dark, we make torches and hang them up. The first thing I want to learn is ice magic. Though it’s called caster skill, the term magic is more convenient. In my stats I have a high Ice magic proficiency and a high earth magic proficiency. Anonymous has an electricity magic proficiency and a wind proficiency. To cast spells we have to visualize it just like we would visualize our inventory. The more we master the specific skill the less mana it takes to perform the skill. I tried to make a sharp ice projectile but all that happened was I made a small ice sickle. I’ll just read more into the book, and if I increase my knowledge of this I might get better at it. I walk back and anonymous is sleeping on the wall with his book in his hand. I make a sleeping bag for myself because I had unlocked that with the house parts. I just go to sleep. I'll read it in the morning.
Day 11
I wake up and Anonymous is still sleeping. I can just continue to read until he wakes up. The book says that not having proficiency can make using other elements difficult to use but we are still able to use them. The effectiveness of the magic depends on your current physical state. For example, if you’re dehydrated and using water or ice magic it will be less effective. This doesn’t apply for all elements, this rule doesn’t apply to earth, lightning and wind ect. The rule only applies to anything rooting from fire or water. Using magic can work 2 ways. You can use purely mana to create your magic or you can use the surrounding area and use less mana. Training mana does not expand the mana capacity but it does make it easier to use magic and not use all your mana at once like I did the first time. Mana replenishes over time but it is faster to meditate. Anonymous wakes up when I finish reading it.
Anonymous - “You done reading it?”
Unknown - “Oh you’re awake.”
Anonymous - “Yeah let’s see the next mission.”
Unknown - “Alright”
We walk across the river to the stone, it says “It seems you have already completed the second task which was to tame a dinosaur of choice. As a reward, you can choose to stop the timer for another 5 days or continue on to the next mission right away.” I discuss it with Anonymous and he agrees. We choose to use the next 5 days to train our new skills. It’s still bright out so I feed Rapt, we haven’t gone hunting in a while. I decide that I should start to train my earth magic. Using earth magic is more convenient because it’s everywhere so I won’t have to use much of my mana. We head over to the beach where all the dodo birds are first. I'm just trying to at least make a small part of the ground collapse like a sinkhole. With magic, it is not limited to anything as long as we have the mana and creativity for it. When I have more control of it I want to try to combine elemental attacks. The ability to become stronger here is what makes this world even slightly enjoyable. Trying to make a sinkhole without any open space below it didn’t work but splitting the ground and closing it did work. It’s only the size of my foot right now. As I continue to practice it gets larger and starts to take less mana in comparison to the skill size. I eventually run out of mana and so does Anonymous.
…
My attack is now able to fit a fully grown dodo bird and I’m also able to execute the attack quickly. I’m able to split the ground and close it as soon as the victim gets inside, crushing it and having blood spill out of it. It feels like a rubber band when I split the ground then it snaps back when I release it. Too much detail maybe? The Sun is still up so while Anonymous meditates I stand guard just in case something happens. After 10 minutes he’s done and stands guard for me. We continue to practice magic until the end of the day guarding each other when meditating. It’s the end of the day and I can confidently say that I can practice in the deep forest right now. I’ve practiced moving around while casting and it feels like streams of mana coming out of my body and pulling the ground apart. It would be nice if I’m able to move and cast at the same time. We go back to the house and I just read through the other elements and fall asleep.
Day 12-14
We continue to train in the forest for the next 2 days. I am now able to use magic in different ways now, I’m able to use earth as spikes from the ground and pierce the target. I’m not sure what Anonymous is able to do because we train in different areas so we don’t interfere with each other. Tomorrow we should be ready for the next mission.
Day 15
Today I’m just going to relax and check out my stats and options. I forgot that I didn’t level up automatically and I’m able to level up 5 times now. There is a new option that is called “Mana Strength”. I was able to strengthen my mana the whole time. Although I’m able to strengthen it through stats, the practice for control is still useful. I’m going to see the difference so I go to the backyard of the house. I’m able to make spikes out of the ground larger and I’m able to make multiple at the same time. Splitting the ground is less efficient but after some experimentation I found that I can soften the ground to make areas in the ground like quicksand or slippery.
Anonymous - “Still practicing?”
Unknown - “Yeah, I didn’t know that I could put my stats into mana strength”
Anonymous - “Oh ok, I’m going back to sleep.”
I continue to practice until I run out of mana for the 5th time. I cross the river to check how much time is left until the next task and there are 5 hours left. After Anonymous goes outside to practice when I’m done and I go to sleep because I’m tired from practicing. A few hours later Anonymous wakes me up to say the next mission is about to appear. We go across the river to the stone and the stone crumbles and it says:
“I hope you enjoyed your training, but now it’s time for your next mission.”
“Go to the town near the peak of the mountain”
“The map and route is accessible through your inventory.”
“You will be able to see the missions through your inventory as of now.”
The stone crumbles and leaves nothing but rubble on the floor.
Unknown - “It hasn’t even been a week since we had the house.”
Anonymous - “Yeah but If we take down the house and store the parts in our inventory we might be able to rebuild it when we get to the town.”
Unknown - “Yeah, I guess that could work if it doesn’t take up too much space.”
We take the house down, our inventories can’t fit everything so we leave all the food that we didn’t need in Rapt’s inventory. We can’t afford to waste time so we quickly prepare. I check my inventory and see a message from “???” a blank space. It's the map. The mountain is about 15 miles away so it should take at most 2 days to make it to the base of it. 5 miles ahead is a forest with fairly large trees. Anonymous finishes his preparations and we are on the way. An hour later we are still walking 2.5 miles in and we both get a new stat option “stamina”. Stamina can be gained naturally, but stat points can also be added to it. By the next hour we make it to the forest and our stamina stats are at +10 by just walking. Rapt is keeping up like it’s no problem. We rest once we get to the forest. We take a break for about half an hour and continue for another 5 minutes and a triceratops appears. The triceratops seems aggressive and is trampling the area. This is exciting! Something that might be a challenge to test my strength.
Anonymous - “Wait! I might be able to to tame it”
Anonymous runs towards it but it’s too aggressive to approach. I loosen the ground below it and it slips around and falls. Anonymous continues to go towards it then puts his hand on it and I can see particles of electricity leaving the dinosaur and it falls down.
Anonymous - “You got any berries?”
Unknown - “Yeah, but not that many. I gotta get more”
Anonymous - “Ok I’ll watch it for now.”
I go to get more berries deeper in the forest and come back.
Anonymous - “Ok place the berries in front of it, I’m gonna wake it up.”
I pull all of the berries out of my inventory and drop them in front of it. He wakes it up forcefully with electricity and it wakes up aggressively again. Anonymous puts it back to sleep. We do this process 3 more times and Rapt is still on standby to attack but it finally works. The screen pops up just like last time and it says “Triceratops Tamed”. It’s night time now so we set up a fire and sleeping bags and we rest for tomorrow.
Day 16
I wake up before Anonymous so I check for new options and I see that I can make a saddle for our newly tamed dinosaur. I have all the materials to make it except animal hide (Skin or Leather) so I go hunting for a while and I find a lystrosaurus. It looks ugly but kind of like a dog so I can’t kill it. I continue to look for something while not going too far from the camp and I find a dilophosaurus. I kill it with earth spikes and I skin it for the animal hide. I walk back to make a saddle but I make two instead of one. I could still use the other one if we tame another one. I attach the saddle and wake up Anonymous.
Anonymous - “ Oh you made a saddle, nice.”
Unknown - “Yeah I made 2 so if we find another one I can use the second one”
Anonymous - “Alright, let’s continue”
We continue on two feet because it would be difficult to maneuver with all the trees on Trike. That’s the nickname I decided because it has three spikes (Triple Spike). We continue for the rest of the day. We don't need to take any breaks because of our built up stamina. About 6 hours later we are about to make it to the base of the mountain. From the corner of my eye I see another triceratops.
Unknown - “Look! There’s another one.”
Anonymous - “Hey do you have any leftover berries, I don’t need as much as I did the first time.
I give him the berries that I got just in case of a situation like this. He walks over to it and gives it berries “Triceratops Tamed” the screen appeared. Just like that! It would be that easy compared to the first time.
Unknown - “How is it this easy now?”
Anonymous - “It’s less aggressive and there was a skill from the trainer skill set, it was called “Taming experience ” it makes it easier to tame dinosaurs that I’ve already tamed before.”
Unknown - “Well that’s convenient”
I put on the saddle and we use the dinosaurs to get up the mountain. We reached the snowy part and to get to the village it is another 5 miles. They are slower than us running but it’s safer to ride them because of the risk of getting sick. Catching a cold is a possibility for us after all. Since I’m in a snowy area I start practicing Ice magic. By the time I run out of mana I check “Journal of the next life.” I’m able to see day 17.
“Day 17”
When I wake up I see the village and Zephyr is awake before me as always. When we reach the village there’s a gate with 2 people guarding it side by side with iron spears and wearing real world jackets. We walk over to greet them. I notice the chilling breeze stops when we get near the village.
Aster - “Hey there”
Guard 1 - “Hello you must have had a long journey here, what's your name?”
Guard 2 - “You know they probably don’t remember their names.”
Guard 1 - “Yeah I’m just messing with them.”
Aster - “My name is Aster”
Zephyr - “My name is Zephyr”
Guard 1 - “Oh you came up with names already, that’s surprising.”
They look fairly young then what I would have thought the stereotypical guard would be. They look around my age. They lead us in the village. They have an abundance of people and large wooden houses that looked like they could hold many people living there. When we left the gate another 2 guards took their place.
Zephyr - “What about our dinosaurs?”
Guard 1 - “So there's another tamer, huh”
They then open the second gate and it’s way larger. We lead all our dinosaurs to the pen.
The town has a warm glow that makes it feel comfortable. They lead us to a small building. There is a woman sleeping at a desk with papers all over the desk.
Guard 1 - “Hey Lauren, it’s time for you to do your job. Stop acting like you're so busy.”
She wakes up drooling. She has glasses and is wearing a business dress, like a secretary. She wipes the drool off of her face
Lauren - “That’s Ms. Lauren to you.”
Lauren - “So you survived?”
We explain the situation to Lauren and the guards.
Lauren - “Hahaha. That guy has a weird way of wording it making it sound like it’s that urgent, but it’s fine. The fate of the world isn’t all in your hands.”
Aster - “What do you mean by him?”
Lauren - “Well to summarize it there is a threat to this world and the creator of this world summoned us to defeat it. We will fight it in about 5 years. It’s a war between 2 worlds. The “Plunderers'' as they've called themselves have been invading our land and routes for about 10 years.”
Zephyr - “Sorry to interrupt, but why were we summoned?”
Lauren - “Well, 10 people from earth were chosen to create a world. I don't know the main details but they all had a level or skill system. One of the world’s creators lost control of the people so as a result they left and went back to earth leaving the people of their world stranded. This happened 10 years ago.”
Zephyr - “Sorry to interrupt again but-”
Lauren - “I’m getting to it ok!”
Zephyr - “Sorry, Sorry.”
Lauren - “So, to continue Free is what we call the one who summoned us. Because the other creator abandoned his world he opened what we call routes which connect the other worlds so the people from his world who aren’t Plunderers could escape and go to another world, but in that process Plunderes were able to invade. The plunderers have a mark given to them by the creator of their world. In its early days this used to be a calm paradise, hopefully we can go back to it.”
Lauren - “But to answer your question you were summoned to defend this world.”
Guard 1 - “You love telling this story don’t you?”
Lauren - “It’s not like I get to tell it much anymore.”
Guard 2 - “Ok we got the story now let’s give them names already.”
Lauren - “Whatever name comes to your mind.”
Aster - “Aster works.”
Lauren - “Ah I see, the violet flower nice choice,”
Lauren - “And for you mister interruption?”
Zephyr “Zephyr.” Lauren - “Interesting.”
Zephyr - “Yeah”
The guards lead us out of the building to head to the housing district. As we’re walking we see many people wearing modern clothing.
Aster - “So, how do they have modern clothes?”
Guard 2 - “The one that created the routes trades with us. We give valuable materials from our world that we can’t use and we get modern comforts.”
Aster - “Cool.”
We get to the housing district and there are furniture shops and dining halls.
Zephyr - “The town didn’t look this large from the outside.”
Guard 1 - “That’s because this is a cleared dungeon.”
Guard 2 - “Yeah dungeons are basically-”
Guard 1 - “There are plenty of books on it. You can check it out if you're that interested, but I’m tired.”
They lead us to different houses and I go back to sleep. I'm too tired.
It’s been so long since I’ve felt the comfort of a soft mattress. I wake up and I see a letter on the desk by the bed. It says: There are clothes in the closet and a shower in the door to the right, please prepare and go to the main hall for your documents to be written. I get ready and head out but I have no Idea where to go.
Mist - “Hey my name’s Mist, are you new here?”
Aster - “Why do you ask?”
Mist - “I’m supposed to lead the new people to the main hall to get all the documents done if you saw the letter.”
Aster - “Was there another guy here?”
Mist - “Yeah I saw him but he’s still inside, did you want to wait for him?”
Aster - “Eh he’ll be fine.”
Mist - “So what’s your name?”
Aster - “... Aster”
Mist - “Ok let’s go then.”
We walk down the main street and get to a small office building.
Office lady - “Weren’t there supposed to be 2?”
Mist - “Yeah but the other guy is still inside resting.”
Office lady - “Well I can get this one outta the way, but get the other guy in as soon as possible I want to go home.”
She asked questions about how I got here and my encounters with dinosaurs and when I responded they were both in shock.
Mist - “So umm, what type of lifestyle do you want to live.”
Aster - “What do you mean?”
Mist - “Would you like to get stronger.”
Aster - “yeah.?”
Office lady - “Would you like to be an explorer? You can bring your friend too?”
Aster - “What would I get out of it?”
Office lady - “Well, when you’re on break you get to live the luxury life. There’s a process to it though.” Aster - “And that is?”
Office lady - “Well first you have to take “classes” then combat training, then you will be able to prove yourself through an achievement if you want to be a high rank.”
Aster - “I’ll go wake him up.”
Mist - “Alright I’ll be waiting here.”
At the office…
Office lady - “So how’s Misty?”
Mist - “She’s becoming an explorer.
Office lady - “Are you joining too?”
Mist - “Nah she’ll be fine, I already have a job to do and I don’t want to have to go through all that fighting again.”
Office Lady - “That’s shocking, the overprotective brother letting his sister do what she wants?”
Mist - “Shut it.”
Back to Aster
I walk over to the house and I see him standing outside confused.
Aster - “Zephyr follow me.”
Zephyr - “Do you know where the Main Hall is?”
Aster - “Yeah follow me.”
We head to the Main Hall.
Mist - “Hey my name is Mist, we just need to sort your documents.
Office Lady - “So first what’s your name?”
Zephyr - “My name is Zephyr” Office Lady - “Ok how old are both of you?”
Aster - “15.”
Zephyr - “17”
Office Lady - “Now, I’m going to explain what an explorer is and if you’re not interested you can choose another job. An explorer is a part of the military. You have the potential to become an explorer if you can use magic and have combat experience. You get to live a luxury life if you have a high position. Although it is difficult to get to a high position you both seem to have the potential for it. You might be fighting in dungeons or defending routes from the plunderers. You might even get to meet Misty.” Zephyr - “Who’s Misty?”
Office Lady - “Oh, she’s Mist’s beautiful sister that he’s been hiding from the world, but the bird has escaped from the nest and is going to explore and She’s about your age Aster.”
Mist - “Hey hey hey. Calm down there Jade”
Jade - “What, are you afraid that she’ll get taken away from you?” Mist - “Don’t pay attention to her.”
Jade - “Sorry about that but what’s your decision?”
Aster - “I’ll become an explorer.”
Jade - “And what about you Zephyr.”
Zephyr - “I’ll do it.”
Jade - “Ok I’ll get everything sent through to the teachers.”
Mist - “The next entrance is in another 6 months so you guys should find temporary jobs.”
Aster - “What are the options?”
Mist - “I would recommend becoming guards if you guys do fit the requirements. You can apply after I show you around.”
Aster - “Alright”,
We walk out of the building and he shows us around and there are libraries, stores, Training grounds, and different housing districts. We go to the job application center. Mist talks to a guy and he comes over to the desk.
Mist - “You’ll start tomorrow there should be a clock in your inventory, be ready by 12pm you’ll be out by 6pm. Set an alarm now.”
Aster - “What about payment?”
Mist - “We use a system which can be seen through your inventory; it's called the points system. You will receive your pay automatically once you reach the end of your shift.”
Zephyr - “That’s interesting but I’m tired so are you ready to go back?”
Mist - “Yeah that should be it for now”
We head back to the housing district, but I stray off to head to the library. It really is a warming place. “There are a lot of magic related books here.” I finish reading by 10pm and I head back to the house. “Ugh this is such a pain, to think I would have to have a job at this young of an age.” I fall asleep as soon as I hit the bed.
Beep Beep Beep! I go to guard the gate with Zephyr. I grab a chair and read until the end of my shift.
Aster - “Nope I don’t have the patience for this I’d rather go back to living and hunting in the forest”
​
Thank you for tolerating my 8th Grade Writing. Part 2 is already completed, stick around for it!

Hi! I'm hoping to sublease my private room and bathroom for the summer to a female student. The house (3x2) is directly across the street from campus near Norman Hall and Sorority Row with parking included. Feel free to message me for questions/pictures of the house.

Road rage is bad enough, but if you're going to take part, at least make sure you're in the right.
I was approaching that one downtown roundabout from W Spencer, with one car right in front of me also entering from the same street. Looking to the left, there was no one already in the circle approaching my way (and no pedestrians coming from either direction), so I entered behind the person in front of me doing the same. Then I noticed a guy in a big pickup truck waiting to enter the roundabout from the next road to the right (S Albany). It looked like he was first yelling at the person in front of me and then when he saw me coming as well and realized I wasn't stopping to let him in, he started going berserk. He practically jumped out of his seat, rolled down his window, and I'm pretty sure screamed, "That's a YIELD!!!" Then he aggressively pulled in behind me and followed me closely as I exited onto Elmira Rd before he made a turn off one of the side streets, yelling and waiving one arm or the other at me the whole time.
Ok, I should have ignored him, but I'll admit to rolling down my own window and yelling out, "That's how a circle works!" (Yeah, I grew up in an area where they call them circles instead of roundabouts).
In case he's looking - or if there are others reading who don't understand - you yield to the cars on your left that are already in the roundabout and coming in your direction or entering from a road on your left in a manner where they will be in the roundabout near you by the time you enter. You don't yield to others entering on your right, and it isn't a merge situation either - they yield to you.
Also, while I'm at it, please use your turn signal to indicate you're exiting the roundabout once you pass the exit just before the one you're taking. It makes things clearer for people trying to enter.
Thanks for letting me vent.

Have a list of stuff I'm trying to get rid of (medical bills aren't fun...)
PS1 and PS2 lot: $380 shipped
Vol 1 Jampack (demo disc) (PS1)
Interactive CD Sampler pack
Jak and Daxter
Sonic Mega Collection Plus
Kingdom Hearts
Kingdom Hearts 2
Pirates Legend of the Black Buckaneer
Final Fantasy XII collectors edition (original case, but discs are collectors edition, including bonus disc)
Sims 2: Pets
Celebrity Deathmatch
Cabela's Alaskan Adventure
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
True Crime: New York City
Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
Secret Service: Ultimate Sacrifice
Indigo Prophecy
Tekken 5
Rock Band Track Pack Classic Rock
Rock Band 2
Singstar Amped
The DaVinci Code
Gauntlet Seven Sorrows
Red Faction 2
Max Payne 2
Playstation magazine demo disc
ShoX
Street Hoops
NBA Live 08
NCAA Football 09
major league baseball 2k7
Tony Hawk's Proving Ground
sprint cars 2 showdown at eldora
virtua fighter 4 evolution
gran turismo 4
tourist trophy
test drive unlimited
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence
Castlevania: Curse of Darkness
Fullmetal Alchemist
Fullmetal Alchemist 2
Need for Speed: Collectors Series
Persona 3: FES
Persona 4
PS4 Lot: $85
Skyrim Special Edition
Yakuza 0
Final Fantasy 15
Fallout 4
Kingdom Hearts 3
South Park: The Fractured But Whole
Final Fantasy Type-0 (Day One Edition)
Persona 5
PS3 Lot: $85
Final Fantasy XIII
Final Fantasy X/X-2 Remaster
Kingdom Hearts 2.5 Remix
Infamous
Infamous 2
the Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
the Elder Scrolls: Skyrim
WWE 2K14
Fallout 3
Fallout: New Vegas
Batman: Arkham Origins
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories (PS2) - $300
OR if you want all the games listed:
I will sell all PS1, PS2, PS3, PS4 games together for $600 shipped! That includes Shattered Memories!

In the summer of 1978, thirty year old Patricia Mary Kerger, known to all as Patty, had a fresh start in life- Patty was recently divorced, having split from her aircraft mechanic husband, Jay. While Jay was focusing on his career in aircraft mechanics and being part owner of a company called Blue Sky Aviation (as well as “smuggling weed” as a way of making extra cash,) Patty was focusing on her own career in real estate, working for Red Carpet Realty, in Phoenix. Patty’s therapist described her as having a lot of drive, being quite intelligent, and as “making it a little bit tough on some man to get to know her too well,” when it came to dating. The office manager at the realty company stated that Patty dated a lot of “strange and kind of far out guys” and that she enjoyed partying, but all who knew Patty knew that her main focus was her 10 year old son, Eric.
By 1978, Patty had been having a year long affair with her married boss, Clyde Poulin. Clyde went on to describe his affair with Patty as on and off, but passionate, stating ”It was one of the situations where we’d break up on Monday, and get back together on Tuesday.” Clyde was very secretive about their affair, as he was married and had 5 children- after the murder of Patty Kerger, he had asked police to keep the affair a secret, which they agreed. In 2003, when an article was written about the case, Clyde has asked the East Valley Tribune not to publish the information about the affair, but they did not oblige.
The night before Patty was killed, she and Eric had moved into a new apartment together, and were just beginning to settle in. The next day, on June 10, Patty spent the afternoon with her son and father at the Purple Turtle, a restaurant located on 12th street and Indian School Road. Patty was last seen around 4:30 p.m. near her new apartment complex on 7th Street and Bethany Home Road, where she had left for an appointment she had scheduled at 5 p.m.- however, she did not show up. The appointment was to tour a McCormick Ranch home to a client from Tucson- strangely, she had scheduled this appointment to show the home to the client alone, which Patty was not prone to do, as there had been a recent string of rapes of real estate agents in the valley at this time. (Please note: one source states that Patty did in fact make it to this appointment, but, majority of newspaper articles claim that she did not.)
The next day, Patty’s lifeless body was discovered in a vacant lot on the southeast corner of 56th Street and Thomas Road. The body was fully clothed and lying in a pool of blood, and the contents of her purse were dumped out beside her- she had been bludgeoned with a heavy object about the head, and stabbed several times, including one stab wound to the chest. The police described the killing as brutal and frenzied. Vaguely, the police also mentioned that they found one item at the scene that could be linked to Patty’s killer, but what that item is, has never been stated. Police believe the murder occurred between 8:45 and 9:10 p.m. on June 10th, and that she was killed elsewhere and dumped where her body was found. Soon after, her car was located behind a Black Angus Steakhouse on 20th Street and Camelback Road (and, on an unrelated personal note, the exact same complex where I once worked.) Authorities stated that they believe she had met someone she knew at the Black Angus, and then left in their car with them, before her murder.
After conducting numerous interviews, police were able to clear the client from Tucson, as well as Patty’s affair partner, Clyde. In an attempt to gather any more leads, they had put the receptionist from Red Carpet Realty under hypnosis, hoping she may recall a name or detail from the phone calls coming into the office that week- however, this led no where. Naturally, Patty’s ex-husband Jay was called in as a person of interest, and looked at closely. After speaking with their son, Eric, it was learned that the divorce was amicable, but, that weeks before the murder, the two had an explosive fight, causing Eric to run out of the house and down the street to a neighbor’s home. Police speculate that the fight may have occurred because Jay had recently remarried, and wanted to take Eric to visit his new wife’s parents in Pennsylvania. Jay had provided an alibi for the night of June 10, 1978, however- he claimed that he was in Needles, California, despite having a plane flight from Pennsylvania to Phoenix that same evening. Jay stated that he was at a diner in Needles and that the waitress can be spoken to, in order to verify his claim- this waitress was indeed located, and verified his statements, but added an additional detail that Jay left out: he was dining with an unknown man. This man was never identified and never spoken to. Incredibly, later on, Jay would change his alibi once again, stating he was actually deep in the desert directing a plane with a marijuana drop. When spoken to years later about the murder of his ex-wife, Jay stated:

”I'm the ex-husband, so I'm the prime suspect. I'm very sorry they (still) think that, because it's taking them in the wrong direction. My personal opinion is that this is just like the Bob Crane murder. They unprofessionally didn't do things right."

Nearly 45 years have passed since the murder of Patty Kerger, and police are no closer to finding her justice. When last reported on, Jay was living in Texas, and hasn’t spoken to his son Eric in years.
Links
Newspaper Clippings
East Valley Tribune

So for a personal project, I wanted a way to run arcade games (street fighter 2 etc) thru emulators directly from steam what would be the best way to do that?

So for a personal project I wanted a way to run arcade games (street fighter 2 etc) thru emulators directly from steam what would be the best way to do that

We had been knee deep in pig shit for at least three hours when I finally asked Gramps for a story. The old man had been mostly silent that day, save for his grunts of effort while refilling the trough or corralling the hogs in and out of the different pens.
I couldn’t say that I blamed him - helping Uncle Russ on his hog farm was one of the more physically intensive jobs the two of us ever undertook, and we’d just gotten into the worst part. Shoveling shit. Wasn’t much to say anyways and the longer you kept your mouth open, the more you’d start to taste it.
I was shocked Gramps could still put in such a productive day of work in his increasing age - but the truth was, at nearly 70, the old man heaped pounds of manure into the compost pile even faster than I did at 17. Gramps was a large and powerful man, Father Time be damned.
Gramps liked the work though. Good honest labor was all the man had ever known, and he was gonna help his son in law on that farm whether Russ wanted him to lift a finger or not. That’s what men did.
We’d been working ourselves to the bone since sun-up - I never passed on a chance to spend some time with Gramps, and I knew that Uncle Russ would slip me a few bucks for the day, so I’d enthusiastically hopped in the old man’s pickup that morning at 5:00 sharp.
But it had been hours and I was tired and the air stunk. I hoped it was time for a little break.
“Gramps, can we take a load off? Just for a few.”
The old man sighed. He removed his weathered and stained trucker cap - the same one he’d worn my entire life - and used his forearm to wipe the sweat from his liver spotted head.
He plunged his shovel into the stinking and wet pile of manure we were working from as he spoke. “Ah hell, I guess we could use a break.” Thank god, I remember thinking to myself as I did the same with my own shovel and followed the old man over to the large apple tree that loomed over Uncle Russ’s farm.
We couldn’t head inside with our shit stained clothes and there was no point in changing or washing up. We still had a job to finish after our break. Russ had headed into town to grab some supplies and drop off some hogs to a few buyers, but he’d left us a cooler for the day filled with water and some food.
As we took our seats on the shaded but still warm earth beneath the apple tree, Gramps reached deep into the cooler. From it, he withdrew two bottles of water and two ice cold beers. He winked as he tossed me one of each.
I laughed, and we cracked our beer bottles open then clinked them together before taking a nice deep swig. That ice cold swill just hits the body different on a day like that. Really feels like you earned it. The days stayed pretty warm in Vernon, even in the fall. Especially after some hours of hard work. And these sun soaked days with Gramps were the best of times for me. Whether we were sitting on his porch doing a whole lot of nothing, or up to our elbows in stinking shit. I just loved spending time with the old man.
Of course, the real treat any time Gramps and I got together was the stories.
“Hey Gramps, long as we’re sitting here… got a story?” I grinned as I asked the question, couldn’t help myself.
I’ve mentioned before that Gramps always had a story. My grandfather was renowned throughout the town for his ability to weave a colorful and compelling tale.
Thing was though, no matter how outlandish or silly or sometimes scary they got, Gramps’ stories were always true. Comedy, tragedy. Didn’t matter. That was what made them so damn interesting. Whatever the subject matter, this was a recitation of a true event. I trusted the words that came out of that man’s mouth more than I trusted that the sky is blue and that a human being needs to breathe oxygen to survive.
He laughed - it was a mirthful sound, tinged with juuust a hint of annoyance. It was the way he always laughed when I asked the question. We both knew that he loved spinning his yarns as much as I loved listening to them.
Gramps took another swig of his beer, beads of cold sweat running down the sides of the glass bottle. As usual, he was in no hurry to answer. He set the beer down and cracked his aging knuckles, they popped so loud you’d swear the dusty old bones were snapping in two.
“Ah I s’pose it’s the perfect time for it, better’n sittin’ here with our dicks in our hands.” He leaned towards me, thrusting a knobby finger in my direction. “Just one now fuckface,” Gramps warned me sternly. “We’re not gonna piss our whole day away sharin’ stories under the apple tree. Got a job to do.”
I smiled. I always smiled when Gramps used my insulting but still endearing nickname. The kind of nickname you get living in a family of lively hillbillies who all like to drink and horse around a little too much.
Gramps had agreed to a story, just as I’d known he would. Gramps always had a story. He let the moment hang now. Cradled his beer loosely in his hand. He stared off ahead, into the shimmering summer afternoon.
Gramps’ eyes were locked on the hogs. As they rolled in their dirt and sloppily ate from the trough, milled around in their pigpen. Squealin’ and snortin’ the whole time. I always liked the pigs. Didn’t do much like shoveling mountains of poop but the pigs were alright. They were disgusting sure, but they were intelligent creatures. Cute too.
I didn’t much like the thought of Uncle Russ loading some of those pigs up and selling them to the butcher and market. Packing them into the truck and driving them to their doom. It was the way it always was and the way it always would be, I understood that. Just didn’t much comprehend how you could spend your whole life caring for things just to serve them up to a death sentence.
Gramps cleared his throat, disrupting my train of thought. A serious look crossed his face. He kept his eyes locked intently on the frolicking animals. I could already tell by Gramps expression and demeanor that this story wasn’t going to be a comedy.
“Well,” he finally said. “How ‘bout a pig story?”
I leaned toward Gramps, eyes wide with anticipation.
“You ever hear your uncle talk about a bad sow, fuckface?” I nodded. There were many days on Uncle Russ’ farm that I’d heard whispered talks between adults, talks they thought I couldn’t hear. About things like rifles and needing to take a pig behind the shed.
“Well, all that badness started way back when… had to be about forty years ago now by my estimation. When that damned thing showed up the very first time.”
Delmer Wurlick wasn’t a very nice boy. That’s what the adults in town always said about him. To be honest, that was putting it mildly. He was the kind of nasty little punk who left a bag of flaming dog shit on someone’s front porch and laughed as they stomped it out. The type to key cars just for a laugh, prank call old ladies with sex talk and heavy breathing at 2:00 in the morning after stealing their numbers from the church register.
Those were the things that made Delmer not a very nice boy. But the adults in town, they didn’t all know the extent of Delmer’s misdeeds. He wasn’t just a vandal and a punk. He was a killer. He’d started young - squishing bugs a little too enthusiastically and sticking firecrackers in the mouths of frogs he yanked out of the creek. Eyes lighting up as they exploded into wet and slimy chunks of sizzling gore.
At around age fifteen or so, Delmer upgraded to larger animals. Wrapping stray cats in barbed wire, mixing crushed up glass into hunks of raw meat and feeding it to neighborhood dogs.
There was one summer where livestock at various farms all over town fell prey to a mad shooter - a lone gunman in the dark of night firing one right between the eyes of any cow or sheep or goat he could get his hands on.
All the kids in town knew that that was Delmer Wurlick. He’d bragged about taking the rifle once his old man passed out from the gin, and blowing those defenseless critters’ brains out so fast that them and their farmers didn’t know what hit ‘em.
Delmer talked about how they twitched and sputtered even after the life left them. How red chunky ooze bubbled from their pulped and jellified skulls.
Of course Delmer saw no trouble with the law. There was no hard evidence, just a kid talking. And it helps when your alcoholic mess of a dad was once the town sheriff himself, before the jack and the gin and a few too many glassy eyed and slurred speeches at morning roll call did him in. Friends in high places.
So ol’ Delmer pretty much did what he wanted when he wanted. He had a taste for blood and the imagination to indulge.
Hate to say it, but a lot of the kids hung around him anyway. He had this charisma about him, a strange aura that drew you in. There was somethin’ behind his eyes. You didn’t wanna know what it was but you just couldn’t look away.
Didn’t hurt that he’d take groups of kids for a ride in daddy’s caddy. Cruising the streets of Vernon on the nights he wasn’t busy torturing livestock, getting the other kids involved in his car keying and window soaping and all the debauchery.
Things took a turn in the Autumn of ‘53. Bill Wurlick’s good friend Enis was picked up in St. Claire, cruising the streets for a boy to spend the night with. Enis owned a farm just on the outskirts of Vernon, one he’d inherited from his daddy some years back. A middling and not at all spectacular little patch of dirt. Didn’t grow much there. Enis was no green thumb. He had some livestock - a few cows, half empty chicken coop.
Mostly pigs. Wandering, zombified sows and boars that seemed especially apathetic and lethargic. Brought down by the malaise of the place.
With Enis’ looming legal trouble, he turned to his good friend Bill Wurlick to tend to his farm in the meantime. The only man he thought he could trust. Bill Wurlick, gin drunk and not one to rise from his spot on the mangy living room sofa - ‘cept to buy more gin - turned to his son.
So that’s how Delmer Wurlick became the caretaker
For someone like him, this was an all you can eat buffet. Unlimited access to a cadre of defenseless and sickly animals , on secluded farmland where no one would ask any questions.
He’d wake up at dawn each morning and make the 15 minute drive to the farm in Bill’s caddy, snagging a few of his old man’s beers from the fridge on his way out the door.
Once arriving at Enis’ farm, Delmer would get to drinking and begin his “duties.” He planted seeds - half heartedly, tossing them asunder without really looking. Not taking the time to make sure they were distributed properly on the pathetic and wanting earth. Delmer never could get the old and rusting riding mower that sat still in front of Enis’ run down barn to run properly, and so keeping the grass trimmed was permanently checked off of his list of chores rather quickly.
The animals. Delmer was to feed them, provide water. See that their needs were taken care of. The first day or two, Delmer mostly kept his sadism at bay. Hurled handfuls of dry feed at the chicken’s faces. Splashed water at the cows as he filled their drinking trough, yanking on their tails as he left their corral.
There seemed to be some kind of honest attempt by the boy to truly honor his father’s wishes and help out the man’s good friend.
He got bored fast though. Delmer had some kind of insatiable bloodlust. There was something deep within him that needed to see that pain and that hurt.
Maybe it was that pain and hurt were all Delmer Wurlick’d ever known.
When your mother runs off with a band of coke-addled gypsies before you even turn 3 years old. When your cousin takes you into the bathroom only a year or two later at your grandmother’s funeral. When your father is so down in the drink that he cries tears of pure whiskey during those miserable late nights that he leans on your shoulder and asks you for all the answers
What does somebody like that have to offer the world but pain?
On the third day, he crushed one of the chickens to death with a rock. Then took that same rock inside the coop and lifted it up as he could before letting it fall directly onto a waiting cluster of diminutive baby chicks. Delmer licked his lips as the feathers and chunky gore oozed from beneath the stone.
He withdrew a knife from the kitchen and wandered into the cow pen, casually puffing away on one of Enis’ cigarettes. A small and sickly looking brown calf huddled next to its black and white spotted mother. Delmer slowly ran the blade along its skin as the calf mewled plaintively. Then he turned the knife and started cutting.
He’d hacked the thing to pieces in no time at all, a dark red puddle pooling on the hay beneath them. The mother cow stared at him, expressionless, the entire time.
Delmer wasn’t too concerned about getting rid of the mutilated cow parts. He knew that pigs ate pretty much anything. Taking a sledge hammer from the tool shed, Delmer set about mashing the bits of cow into a more digestible paste. Once he was finished, he scooped the jellified mounds of gristle up with a snow shovel. Deposited heaping helpings into the hogs’ feed trough.
The pigs chowed, snorting and huffing as they hungrily gulped down the chunks of flattened meat. Delmer chuckled as he noticed one exhausted looking sow, pink belly swollen to bursting with a litter of piglets, waddle over to the trough with great effort and try to eat her fill
The threshold was crossed. Delmer’s sickening pastime escalated quickly.
Over the ensuing days, he stabbed and shot and tormented. He’d dunk the chickens in turpentine and take a lighter to their feathers. Drop them into an empty barrel and piss on them to put it out. Twisted a cork screw into the eye of one of the cows, so deep that he couldn’t get a grip to retrieve it. He sliced its neck while it tried to buck him away with its weakened legs.
Delmer’d even invited a few of the local kids over to partake in the booze and the cigs and sometimes yes, even the hurting. Most of them didn’t like it much. Most of them were downright disturbed by it. But the allure of an older boy with ready access to a car and beer and all the tantalizing freedoms of adulthood was hard to pass up. If that freedom meant that the boys and girls had to bash a chicken to death with a fire poker, or slice a pigs snout from its face while it squealed and cried for mercy, many weathered the storm.
The corruption was the part Delmer liked.
Things changed when the sow gave birth. Delmer had watched the fattened pink creature keel over that brisk October day, flatten itself on its side and start breathing frantically. He certainly was excited to see those little piglets.
He hopped on the kitchen phone and called a few of the boys and girls over, telling them he had the beer and the cigs and something they wanted to see.
A small flock of kids had arrived by the time the sow pushed out her first piglet. The soft, squinting thing was covered in a fine layer of fuzz. Its pointed ears pressed backward, a calm expression across its face.
Delmer immediately raised his leg and smashed the piglet in one stomp. He cackled as it exploded into a chunky red mist. The crowd of children looked on, aghast at this display. Cruel and twisted and sick even for Delmer Wurlick.
A boy toward the back vomited, tears streamed down one girl’s face. It suddenly wasn’t so easy to look the other way, or to participate in these atrocities. The adult freedoms, doing what you wanted when you wanted. It was a kind of cage.
The sow seemed to lock its solid black eye on Delmer, and began loudly shrieking as it continued pushing out its litter of newborns. Its body writhed and shook with pain or anxiety or maybe some awareness of what was happening to its kin.
Suddenly, Delmer withdrew a buck knife from his back pocket. He lunged forward and sliced the sow open from neck to ass. The entire contents of its stomach spilled out in a steaming, stinking mess. Purple guts and thick rivers of blood. The rest of the piglets.
Covered in their mother’s gore and introduced to the world via this hellish act.
Delmer’s smile widened as he loomed over the pile of writhing and helpless newborns. His eyes widened as they met one particular pig in the mound of viscera.
Plunging his hands into the mess, Delmer spun around as he withdrew the object of his attention.
Facing the group of neighborhood children, cradled in Delmer’s outstretched hands, was a shaking and blood covered newborn piglet.
It didn’t look like any pig they’d ever seen.
The thing’s eyes bulged out of its head, its snout was basically nonexistent - a receding patch of flesh with two curved holes to breathe. Its mouth hung open wide, wider than a pig’s mouth should. It didn’t look like a pig’s mouth. No, with its broad width and rows of square teeth, it sure as hell looked like a man’s.
On the thing’s head were two pointed, fleshy bulbs. A sobbing boy yelled that they looked like horns.
As the mutated piglet gulped air and clacked its hideous teeth together, the crowd of children went into a frenzy. Many of them sprinted away in fear.
Delmer spun the twisted thing around and stared in its bulbous and swollen eyes. He thought of all the things he’d do to this pitiful creature that should not have been born.
Something happened though, in that moment. Something that even Delmer’s depraved mind couldn’t comprehend.
It spoke.
“You’re going to Hell Delmer. Your soul is going to be raped, your brain replaced with nothing but writhing maggots. You’ll be impaled on the endless and barbed horns of the great one. Forever. Split right down the middle, split in two. An eternity of agony.”
The tiny creature clacked its teeth together maniacally, cackling as it continued, in its garbled and inhuman voice. Delmer was frozen in silence.
“It’s already begun. For eons you’ve been tortured, chewed up and spit out. Forced to relive the evil deeds that placed you here. Your soul is black. Unclean. The kind we love. In that empty world of twisted hills and encroaching dark, you’ll wander and wander. Searching for hope and relief. All you’ll find is torment. We have your mother. Your cousin too.”
The thing’s voice took on an excited lilt as it spoke those last words. A blackened tongue emerged from between its lips, running back and forth across yellowed teeth. Delmer didn’t like to think about his mother or that cousin. He felt his bladder start to lose control.
“They’re suffering too Delmer, that’s all we ever do really. We suffer and we hurt. It’s because of them that the hollow world lives between your ears. We are going to tear your flesh off strip by strip and watch you eat it. You’re a vile creature, just like me. ”
Delmer screamed. He flung the thing to the ground with all his might, and it landed with a wet thud. That didn’t stop it.
It lifted its head and stared at Delmer, that hideous visage glaring up at him from the pile of smashed gore that was once its body.
“You can’t save yourself Delmer. You’re a damned sinner , and sinners reap what they sow!”
The scant few kids who hadn’t had the mental capacity to run watched in abject horror as the bug eyed demon suddenly began rising from the earth. All the mutilated animal parts - the mother pigs guts and the blood slicked bodies of the awful pig creature’s brethren - they coalesced into a terrible form. A mass of viscera in the vague shape of a humanoid.
Delmer screamed as the thing lurched forward, stretching out a long and appendage-like strip of dripping entrails. The wet spot on his jeans grew. In one swift movement, the thing spread itself apart and engulfed Delmer. He was covered head to toe in that horrible mess. Stuck inside of it.
The children could see him, writhing and pushing from inside the thing. Trying futilely to escape.
The pig creature clacked its teeth even more frantically. It suddenly let out a deep and guttural wail, loud enough to split the sky. The movement from within ceased.
It stared at the kids with those bulging, leaking eyes. Wide smile growing so large that it eclipsed its diminutive face, tearing the skin as it opened its mouth again to speak.
“I will come for each and every one of you, come in the night when your parents can’t protect you. I’ll make you feel every ounce of agony that the suffering souls of the endless void have endured for eons. This pain and bloodshed is absolute, and the screaming of tortured children will ring out and echo up to the ebony sky of the hollow world. Delmer doesn’t live here anymore.”
Then, it exploded. Chunks of wet meat flew in every direction, splattering the chicken coop and the barn and the children’s faces.
Mass panic ensured. The children finally dispersed and ran from the farmhouse for the comparative safety of anywhere else on earth. Through their tears and their horror, they screamed a single word.
Devil.
Gramps took a long swig from his beer as I stared at him in disbelief. It was another horror story, a terrible tale of horror and evil. Animal torturers and real life devils.
I had to ask.
“Well… then what happened? What happened with the farm? And to all those kids?”
Gramps signed. “Well, I was already grown and on my own back when this mess first happened. Only really heard about it third hand at the time. Those kids that were there with Delmer Wurlick that day had a real fear in ‘em. Little shits. Got home and told their mommies and daddies everything. Ah, the sheriff cleaned up the mess at Enis’ farm. Burnt the place down not long after. Just didn’t seem like the energy was any good there. All that death and bloodshed.”
I swallowed nervously, saying nothing and allowing Gramps to continue.
“No one much missed Delmer, not even ol’ Bill. Boy’s own father. So I can’t tell you there was a concerted effort to really solve the mystery of whatever bad forces grabbed the little prick that day.”
I could already sense that there was more to this bizarre tale. An epilogue, a postscript.
“But ya see fuckface,” Gramps’ voice sounded tired now. “Ever since that day, every year around October, we see one a’them things.”
My expression must’ve been quizzical, because Gramps clarified
“A bad sow.”
My eyes widened.
“Yep, every autumn a female pig’ll push out a litter, and at least one’a those little bastards’ll have bulgin’ eyes and fleshy horns and rows and rows of square yellow teeth.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “But I mean… what do people do with them?” I asked.
Gramps stared at me like he thought I must’ve been stone stupid to ask that question. “Well, we pull ‘em away from the littler and take ‘em behind the barn and we…” Gramps trailed off, his gaze leaving me to settle on the hogs once again. “We do what we need to do.”
“I think Delmer Wurlick brought the devil to Vernon that day, fuckface. Only, the devil never really left.”
Gramps suddenly stood, stretching his legs and groaning as he straightened his back.
I was still comprehending the insanity of what I’d just heard, and stared up at him from my seated position.
“Folk around here though, we always try our best to keep those things in check. Mind our own and deal with the problems as they come. Delmer Wurlick was just a kid but, I reckon he deserved what he got. If you go lookin’ for hell, eventually the devil’s gonna find you.”
Gramps was still gazing out at the pigs when he realized I was still cemented to the ground. “Well god damn fuckface, hop to it. Story time’s over, got a job to finish.”
I leapt to my feet, nodding. I ran my hand over the back of my neck as we made our way back to the pig pen, back to the shit.
Gramps chuckled under his breath. “A’course,” he said with a devilish wink, “who’s to say folk always find the bad sow in time?”
My heart stopped, skin went pale.
Gramps laughed louder now as he withdrew our shovels from the manure pile and thrust mine into my hand.
I didn’t pay much attention to Gramps or the farm or the stench of shit the rest of that work day though. My mind was elsewhere as we shoveled that stinking slop.
I couldn’t possibly focus on anything but the lone pregnant sow wandering about Uncle Russ’ pens. Pink belly full and protruding.
Sure to soon give birth to a happy and healthy litter of beautiful little piglets.

NOT FINALIZED YET

🗓 Date: April 4, 2023 @ 5PM
🗺 Location: Long Beach Civic Center411 W. Ocean Boulevard
📺 LiveStream (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/c/LongBeachTelevision
📺 Live Stream (City Website): https://longbeach.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=84
ℹ️ Details: https://longbeach.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1090799&GUID=E071E685-FE38-4E9D-9272-0EC6C3B8E6B7&Options=info&Search=
📄 Agenda (PDF): https://longbeach.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=1090799&GUID=E071E685-FE38-4E9D-9272-0EC6C3B8E6B7
🗣eComment: https://longbeach.granicusideas.com/meetings/3965-city-council

Agenda Item

CD5 - Sowing Seeds of Change

Item #1 • File #23-0292 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Councilwoman Megan Kerr, Fifth District

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $500, offset by the Fifth Council District One-Time District Priority Funds transferred from the Citywide Activities Department to provide a contribution to Partners of Parks; and Decrease appropriations in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $500 to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

CD3 - Summer Community Concert & Egg Hunt Heights

Item #2 • File #23-0293 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Councilmember Kristina Duggan, Third District

Recommendation to increase appropriations in the General Fund Group in the City Manager Department by $2,075, offset by the Third Council District One-Time District Priority Funds, transferred from the Citywide Activities Department, to provide donations of: 1. $1,700 to the Friends of Belmont Shore to support their Summer Community Concert; 2. $375 to the Belmont Heights Community Association to support their Egg Hunt in the Heights; and Decrease appropriation in the General Fund Group in the Citywide Activities Department by $2,075, to offset a transfer to the City Manager Department.

CA - Benavidez v Long Beach

Item #3 • File #23-0294 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to pay sum of $150,000, in full settlement of lawsuit entitled Edward Benavidez vs. City of Long Beach, et al., Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. 21STCV02509.

CA - Foster v Long Beach

Item #4 • File #23-0296 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to submit Stipulations with Request for Award for approval by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, and if so approved, authority to pay $52,200, in compliance with the Appeals Board Order for William Foster.

CA - Medina-Fernandez v Long beach

Item #5 • File #23-0295 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to pay sum of $99,000, in full settlement of lawsuit entitled Michael Medina-Fernandez v. City of Long Beach, et al., United States District Court Case No. 2:21-cv-07038-JPR.

CA - Mullally v Long Beach

Item #6 • File #23-0297 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to submit two Stipulations with Request for Award for approval by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, and if so approved, authority to pay 1) $125,642.50 for Stipulations with Request for Award with a life pension thereafter of $77.31 per week and also 2) separate authority to pay $111,142.50 in compliance with the Appeals Board Order for Keith Mullally.

CA - Radcliff

Item #7 • File #23-0298 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to submit Stipulations with Request for Award for approval by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, and if so approved, authority to pay $122,742.50 in compliance with the Appeals Board Order for Donald Radcliff.

CA - Sanders v Long Beach

Item #8 • File #23-0299 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to pay sum of $75,000, in full settlement of lawsuit entitled Markeisha Sanders v. City of Long Beach, et al., Los Angeles Superior Court Case No. 22STCV16940.

CC - Minutes

Item #10 • File #23-0302 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Clerk

Recommendation to approve the minutes for the City Council Special Meeting of Tuesday, March 7, 2023; and City Council meeting of Tuesday, March 14, 2023.

Damage Claims

Item #11 • File #23-0303 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Clerk

Recommendation to refer to City Attorney damage claims received between March 13, 2023 and March 27, 2023.

LS - Ord to amend the LBMC Library Rules

Item #18 • File #23-0309 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Library Services

Recommendation to request City Attorney to prepare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code (LBMC) to clarify the City’s authority to enforce the Long Beach Public Library Patron Rules of Conduct (Library Rules) in all Library facilities and on all Long Beach Public Library (LBPL) property. (Citywide)

Mayor - Housing Promise

Item #22 • File #23-0313 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Mayor Rex Richardson

Recommendation to request City Manager to work with local educational institutions including CSU Long Beach, CSU Dominguez Hills, Long Beach City College, and Long Beach Unified School District, as well as industry partners in Long Beach’s key growth sectors, to pursue strategic partnerships and cooperation agreements that make meaningful investments to support housing production and add to Long Beach’s existing housing stock, and refer to the Educational Partnerships Committee and the Housing and Public Health Committee for input and discussion.

CA - Amicus Brief State and Fed Leg Agenda

Item #23 • File #23-0314 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to authorize City Attorney to join amicus briefs that align with the annually adopted City of Long Beach State Legislative Agenda and/or Federal Legislative Agenda, and to request subsequent affirmation by the City Council. (Citywide)

Resolution

CA - Cesar Chavez & Dolores Huerta Day resos

Item #9 • File #23-0300 (Details, PDF)
Recommendation to adopt resolution recognizing the 31st of March of every year as César Chávez Day, a Day of Celebration in the City of Long Beach; and

Chavez & Huerta reso 2

Item # • File #23-0301 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Adopt resolution recognizing the 10th of April of every year as Dolores Huerta Day, a Day of Celebration in the City of Long Beach. (Citywide)

FM - Contract w/Elastec for Elastec E30 work boat and trailer

Item #15 • File #23-0307 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Elastec, Inc., of Carmi, IL, for the purchase of an Elastec E30 work boat, with trailer and other accessories, in a total amount not to exceed $416,934, including taxes and fees. (Citywide)

FM - FY23 Salary Reso for MWD

Item #16 • File #23-0315 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to adopt resolution amending the Fiscal Year 2023 Salary Resolution RES-22-0159 to increase the maximum annual compensation permitted for the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors representative to $200 per meeting attended limited to no more than four meetings per month, inclusive of subcommittee meetings, not to exceed $7,000 maximum per calendar year. (Citywide)

LS - Agrmnt w/Bibliotheca for updated self-checkout machines

Item #19 • File #23-0310 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Library Services

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents, including subsequent amendments, with Bibliotheca, of Norcross, GA to provide updated patron self-checkout machines at the eleven Long Beach Public Library branch libraries, and maintenance services, in a total amount not to exceed $224,726 for a period of 5 years, with no renewal options, at the discretion of the City Manager; and, authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to enter into the contract, including any necessary subsequent amendments. (Citywide)

DS - 1711 Harbor & 1515 W. 17th St. Appeal D7

Item #21 • File #23-0312 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Development Services

Recommendation to receive supporting documentation into the record and conclude the public hearing and consider one third-party appeal by the Westside Business Association of Long Beach (APL23-005); Adopt resolution adopting and certifying a Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND 01-23) and making findings of fact related thereto, and adopting a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program; and Deny the appeal of the Planning Commission’s decision and approve two (2) Conditional Use Permits (CUP21-010 & CUP21-011) to operate a trucking use on two (2) properties located at 1711 Harbor Avenue and 1515 West 17th Street that total 4.85 acres in size in the General Industrial (IG) Zoning District. (District 7)

PD/FD/TI - Contract for emergency response/public safety equipment and supplies

Item #25 • File #23-0317 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Police
• Fire
• Technology and Innovation

Recommendation to adopt resolution authorizing City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including subsequent amendments, with Safeware, Inc., of Lanham, MD; and Mallory Safety and Supply, LLC, of Portland, OR, for furnishing and delivering emergency response and public safety equipment and supplies, on the same terms and conditions afforded to the Port of Portland, OR, through Omnia Partners, in an annual aggregate amount of $3,000,000, with a 20 percent contingency in the amount of $600,000, for a total annual aggregate contract amount not to exceed $3,600,000, until the Omnia Partners contract expires on April 1, 2026, with the option to renew for as long as the Omnia Partners contract is in effect, at the discretion of the City Manager. (Citywide)

Contract

CM - Sprout Social

Item #12 • File #23-0304 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Manager

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with Sprout Social, Inc., of Chicago IL, to provide social media support services and tools, in a total annual amount not to exceed $40,000, for a period of two years, with the option to renew for additional one-year periods, at the discretion of the City Manager. (Citywide)

ED - PGWIN service and product providers for training and employment svcs to residents

Item #13 • File #23-0305 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Economic Development

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute a contract, and any necessary documents including any necessary subsequent amendments, with various Pacific Gateway Workforce Innovation Network training and service providers, for training and employment services to residents, in a total aggregate amount not to exceed $750,000, for a term ending December 31, 2023, with the option to renew for an additional one-year period, at the discretion of the City Manager. (Citywide)

FM - Contract w/Tait Environmental Svcs for the City’s Fuel Operations system

Item #14 • File #23-0306 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Financial Management

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute all documents necessary to amend Contract No. 34878 with Tait Environmental Services, Inc., of Santa Ana, CA, to provide technical support, construction management services, and regulatory updates for the City’s Fuel Operations program, to increase the contract amount by $70,839, for a revised contract amount not to exceed $1,105,839, and extend the term to September 30, 2023. (Citywide)

PRM/PW - Grant funding for Davenport Park Phase II project D8

Item #24 • File #23-0316 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Parks, Recreation and Marine
• Public Works

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute an amendment to accept and expend grant funds from the State of California Department of Parks and Recreation Land and Water Conservation Fund, increasing the award from $2,016,000 to an amount not to exceed $3,656,000, for the period from July 1, 2020 through December 31, 2023, for the Davenport Park Phase II Project; Increase appropriations in the Capital Projects Fund Group in the Public Works Department by $1,640,000, offset by grant revenue; and Increase appropriations in the Capital Projects Fund Group in the Public Works Department by $1,640,000, offset by a transfer of Land and Water Conservation Grant Funds from the State of California Department of Parks and Recreation from the Capital Grants Fund. (District 8)

Conformed Contract

DHHS - Fundamentals of Fatherhood Project

Item #17 • File #23-0308 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Health and Human Services

Recommendation to authorize City Manager, or designee, to execute an agreement, and all necessary documents, subcontracts, and any necessary amendments, including any amendments to the award amount, with Public Strategies, Inc., a Technical Assistance provider for the Fundamentals of Fatherhood Project, to accept and expend grant funding in the amount of $35,000, for the National Responsible Fatherhood Alliance, for the period of April 1, 2023 through October 31, 2023, with the option to extend the agreement for three additional one-year periods at the discretion of the City Manager; and Increase appropriations in the Health Fund Group in the Health and Human Services Department by $35,000, offset by grant revenue. (Citywide)

ABC License

PD - ABC License - Sake Secret D1

Item #20 • File #23-0311 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• Police

Recommendation to receive and file the application of Sake Secret, LLC, dba Sake Secret, for an original application of an Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) License, at 460 Pine Avenue; determine that the application serves the public convenience and necessity, and submit a Public Notice of Protest to ABC; and, direct City Manager to withdraw the protest if a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) is granted. (District 1)

Ordinance

CA - Boxing and Wrestling

Item #26 • File #23-0318 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by amending Sections 5.24.010, 5.24.020, 5.24.080, and 5.24.140, relating to boxing and wrestling exhibitions, read the first time and laid over to the next regular meeting of the City Council for final reading. (Citywide)

CA - Advisory bodies & amending Section 2.06.060

Item #27 • File #23-0265 (Details, PDF)
Sponsors:

• City Attorney

Recommendation to declare ordinance amending the Long Beach Municipal Code by amending Section 2.18.050; and, by repealing Section 2.06.060, all relating to compensation and training requirements for members of boards and commissions, read and adopted as read. (Citywide)

I live in Illinois. I would like to say this guy is my “neighbor” but he actually lives a street over. Problem is this guy CONSTANTLY blasts music. I am a young 29 year old person.. I get wanting to enjoy yourself but this is over the top. He will play it for hours straight and that is not an exaggeration. It’s all hours of the day. One morning the music woke me from a dead sleep at 4:30am and the next day at 6:30am. The city noise ordinance in my town is 10pm to 8am. I have called the police 3 times. I have talked to my neighbors by me and they all have complained about the music. I went a street over and started knocking on doors to get to the bottom of it. His neighbor directly across the street has called multiple times to report him.
I found on online court records so far he’s paid 1 $175 fine for “public nuisance violation”. There is 3 current open cases on him and one ticket is now “disturbing the peace”. But this guy STILL has the nerve to be outside playing it loud as hell..right as I’m typing this. I contacted the city Mayor about it. Shes told me the police will not start ticketing him on the “state” level…
I am just at a loss of what I can do next? I literally moved my bedroom across my house just so the noise would be reduced in the slightest. My elderly neighbor in-front of my also sleeps on her couch because of it. ANY ADVICE!?

Another noob here looking for some advice on choosing a starter wheel.
Price is not a factor as long as it's money well-spent. I see people talking about buying the wheel they want to end up with. While that is tempting, and I would do it if it made sense, I don't want to have a bad experience because I bought too much wheel out of the gate. I also don't want to feel like I wasted money on something that I outgrew too quickly and couldn't put to another use case.
Thanks in advance! You guys are awesome and I've already learned so much from reading this sub!
​
The Use Case:
Commuting mostly, with some mixed-PEV group rides. My commutes vary in distance and location, and I never really know what I'll encounter. Streets are rough, the weather is wet in my neck of the woods. Lots of good bike infrastructure and a friendly attitude toward PEVs, though. I have access to a lot of great trails in my area and would like to take advantage of that. I guess I'm looking for an all-rounder. Storage space is at a premium.
Any wheel I buy will be primarily a tool, not a toy.
I'm interested in an EUC to have fun learning something new, to have a backup electric vehicle to my ebike, and to fill in some gaps where the ebike is not so great due to access limitations, weight, portability, size, etc.
​
What I think I want (as a noob, I may have this all wrong):
​

• Something that meets or exceeds the range I speed I currently get with my bike, so a speed of at least 32mph and about 40 real-world miles of range.
• Something not too heavy to get up a flight of apartment stairs. I can lift/roll about 60 or 70 lbs and less if it's compact, but not fully carry that kind of weight upstairs without risking injury.
• A wheel that is well-appointed for commuting, so full lights, good safety features, and maybe some extra creature comforts.
• Suspension. My knees have seen some things and I'd rather not beat them up needlessly.
• Waterproofness. Whatever wheel I get will have to cope with a life of rain and puddles. I can flex on this point a bit as I can ride my ebike in the winter, but I'd like the wheel to be an option no matter the weather.

​
The Wheels I'm Considering

• InMotion V11. Seems to be the obvious choice and is a proven product. Suspension system seems outdated and on the high-maintenance side. The wheel is a bit long in the tooth at this point but seems to remain popular. Is it still a good beginner buy this year?
• Begode T4. Better suspension and performance than the V11. Concerns are build quality and water-resistance. Needs fairing to get it up to commuter status. The 16 inch wheel size is appealing.
• Veteran Sherman S. On paper, this or something like it is the wheel I would probably end up with eventually. Seems like it might be crazy to start on and it's mad heavy. Does anyone take this up stairs on the reg?
• Veteran Patton. Same deal as the Sherman. Also heavy af, but with a smaller footprint. Don't really want to buy a first-batch wheel right off the bat.

​

• Starter Wheels: I would consider a starter wheel as an alternative to jumping in to one of the wheels above, but it would have to be under $1000, very small and light, and something I would actually have a reason to keep down the road.
  • InMotion V5. Seems an obvious starter wheel and it's light and cheap. The top speed is a major bummer.
  • Begode Mten4. This in interesting wheel and could be a more durable/higher performance alternative to the V5, but seems expensive for what it is. No trolley handle is just daft.

​
Am I missing anything that should be in the running? Any models on the list I should stay away from?
​
A little about me:
I have no worries about learning to ride the wheel as I'm naturally athletic and have always picked up new physical skills easily and been able to progress quickly. I am, however, not as young as I used to be and therefore I'm less inclined to do dumb things and more likely to prioritize comfort and convenience over raw performance. I do need enough speed and acceleration to be safe on mixed-use surface streets and to handle vehicular-style riding.
I'm not entirely new to PEVs and I've been all-in on that car-free life since before it was cool. I've been riding an ebike (Super73) as my main mode of transportation for about a year and half. Prior to that, I've commuted and gotten around solely by motorcycle for over a decade, rain or shine. I've already got the gear, the traffic awareness and defensive riding chops, and am equipped physically and mentally for everything that comes with traveling on two wheels all the time.
I've been into inline and quad skating since I was a kid, I jamskate, and I played roller derby when I was younger. I know the skills aren't directly transferable, but I figure the balance and stability, and understanding of edge control, weight transfer, and carving should help. Ditto with all the motorcycling experience, since I'm very familiar with the physics of gyroscopic action, counter-steering, traction management, and how a single-track tire's contact patch changes with input.
I've got access to a very active community of PEV riders of all sorts, and with the riding season starting I'll have plenty of opportunities for learning from the EUC gang.
I'm short and stocky, around 5'4" and 170 lbs, and strong for my size.

Theres no way to make this short but to summarize most of the first half, my dad left before i was born. When i was five my mom introduced me to him and my entire life was turned around. Ive never felt like i've truly loved him and certainly have never been comfortable around him. I was my happiest before meeting him, i was forced into having to go to his house without my mother while he was a completely stranger to me. He is your average extreme conservative, masculine burly man. Which as a girl is intimidating in itself being his temper is out of control and he tends to get physical when angry. 10 years in between then and now i've tried my best to form a relationship with him but those ten years were hell. The only reason i was able to power through it was simply by convincing myself i was happy and could last until i am 18 to break contact. Within one post i cannot convey just how fear-instilling and suffocating he is. Fast forward to about a month ago now. I recently got my drivers permit one week before this day, in my state i can't drive alone until i have my license. Ive only ever driven 2 times prior to this. Essentially what he wanted me to do was drive his truck to his friends house while he would drive his jeep in front of me. The jeep was not road legal and neither was I. This combined with a fear of being on the highway with no experience terrified me. I was taking a while to make the first turn off of our street and he pulled over into the grass so i pulled right behind him. He gets out of the jeep and started screaming at me asking what my problem was and started making fun of me when i told him i was too scared to drive. After a long screaming fit we turned around and i went in the jeep with him. This is not the first and not even the worst he's been and usually when he is like this i just shut down and try not to listen to him. Im not sure what possessed me but i decided to give communication a shot. (i have in the past but not in a while since it never ends good) I expressed to him that i felt hurt over him yelling at me for not wanting to do something that was already illegal. He went on a rant saying that im too emotional and started blaming puberty and doing everything including saying i have "womanly emotions" to disregard everything i was saying and make me feel like i was crazy for not wanting to be cursed and yelled at. I told him he was blaming everyone but himself and to stop yelling, to which he replied by stoping the vehicle that was still in motion and turning around getting close enough to our nose to touch and he started yelling as loud as he could and said "STOP TELLING ME IM YELLING DO YOU WANT TO SEE ME EFFING YELL." Admittedly i am sensitive but i managed to not cry through this. On monday (the day i get to go back to my moms) he was dropping me off at school and i wasnt ignoring him but i wasnt speaking unless he directly spoke to me and when i did speak i was short with my answers. This was met with yet another outburst calling me disrespectful and saying theres something seriously wrong with me. Due to all of the above events i feel like i had finally had my mental break. I wasnt able to go back to convincing myself everything was fine. I became extremely depressed the entire week basically crying through every period at school. My teacher took notice and though im used to not telling adults anything because of past experiences with dcf being called and making things worse i broke down and explained in detail everything. I made him promise to not tell anyone but my worst fear came true and dcf (basically child protective services) opened up a case. This infuriated my father and he even came to my mothers house to yell at me. To cut it short dcf did nothing and claimed my wish to escape him was too sudden. So nothing happened like always and ended in me being in more trouble and more afraid. He turned off my phone service aswell so that i cant talk to anyone. He claims i broke his "golden rule" which is that i am not allowed to speak to anyone about him or things that happen at his house. Now things havent been great at my dads. this week is his again and tensions have been high. For context i recently began going to the gym with my friend, which he also had a problem with for some reason. I mentioned before he turned my service off meaning after school or after the gym me and him have no way of communicating which is a problem when hes picking me up. Youd think this would make him turn my phone back on but no. My gym is about a 30 minute walk from my school. He told me i need to start walking back to school by 4pm. This has been doable, though frustrating him because itd be much quicker for him to pick me up being he has a vehicle but oh well. This has decreased my gym time tremendously and shows his total disregard for my time. Today however was leg day, due to ky legs feeling weak after an hour kong leg workout i was a bit slower than usual. When i got into the car my dad told me in a stern voice that im not allowed to go to the gym anymore and that i have no respect for his time. According to my sister they had only been waiting for 5 minutes. He told me he thought i was being slow on purpose to spite him and went on a 30 minute rant about me calling dcf and other random things. Im overwhelmingly sad when im at his house and stressed when at my moms because i know ill have to go back soon. Im unhappy and am realizing i have been for so long and i feel trapped. I feel like theres nothing i can do and i don't know if i can make it another 3years of his mental abuse. This is a cry for help , i want to know my options and how i can leave and live with my mom. Im desperate.

Follow-on to the Part 24 posted over the weekend. This is a short turnaround for me, so maybe this installment is not as structured as the previous ones, but trying to get some important content out there prior to the auction.
​
(1) Farce of a KEIP
Senior leadership of a company in Ch 11 proceedings wants to make sure they are ‘incentivized’ for a few weeks leading to an auction?! Did they ever spell out what would be their incremental effort?
Let’s break it down: They operate in a regulated industry in which everything hinges on trial results and approvals. Trials cannot be sped up; all dependent on patient outcomes. Approvals cannot be sped up unless filed with a priority review voucher right at the start that they conspicuously did not do. What is left is the auction itself. There again, all you do is make a data room available (so all parties have a level field), and let them make their conclusions. What exactly will the head of human resources do in the few weeks of being incentivized?? Feverishly stack and unstack paper on their desk?!
These are America’s best and brightest, scrounging like beggars in full public view. Responsible management takes pay cuts; here instead, the grift goes on. Pat may have thought that this is hush money, but the problem is that the ‘hush’ cannot be documented or enforced. Nothing prevents this cast of characters to both take their payout and then turn on Pat at the opportune time.
(2) Crooked Pat and the Athena FDA bungling
If you were a CEO with limited cash runway, your dilution attempt turned down, and a long delayed Athena result, would you not aim for the fastest FDA approval possible? Keep everything ticked and tied to run with a filing, possibly even with a priority voucher? Here’s what happened instead: In Mar 31, 2022, Athena results came out. Since it barely made the quarter, Pat likely got some bonuses out of it. The FDA filing happened IN THE SEPTEMBER TIMEFRAME, a full six months later. Can you believe it??
This was to get the approval that will dramatically increase their TAM and compete with the other two PARPs in front-line. Here we are, a full year later, awaiting FDA to work it through. Also, notable was that in 3Q 2022, when FDA made noises about ODAC, Clovis was conspicuously silent. We have seen other biotechs express confidence about making their case, but here they act completely cavalier and complacent about approval.
Gillian Ivers-Read was a founder of CLVS with Pat, and the head of Regulatory Affairs. She resigned/ was fired prior to the BK filing. In a deposition we can find out all her points of disagreement with Pat on the Athena filing process. Did Pat directly or indirectly cause a slow-walk since the trial results?
(3) Malfeasance during BK proceedings
It has been clearly pointed out on the message boards that there was no need to file a liquidation plan until after the auction. Since Pat has no idea of the auction outcome, it is a premature filing that only serves to inform investors that they should expect to be fully impaired.
With the DATA AVAILABLE AT THAT TIME, Pat concluded that priority classes 1 thru 5 will get to vote, but 6 thru 8 would be keep out since they are fully impaired.
Now, follow very closely what happens next! FAP goes uncontested for a total of $680 mn. If your preclinical asset has crossed the half-billion mark, then shouldn’t your double indication double approved Rubraca should be at least worth that much? Are we seeing the outlines of these two assets combined taking us to the ‘third checkbox’, the one that is from 1 bn to 1.5 bn.??
Then, March 21 was the bid deadline. If the highest bid on that day was anything more than $200 million, then the assets have gone into the 1 bn plus range. 680 + 200 Rubraca + 200 inventory. The DATA AS OF MAR 21 may have indicated to Pat that classes 6 thru 8 may not be impaired at all!
With this data available to him, it is incumbent on him to revise the liquidation plan so that equity would have some representation in the auction. He does not do that, and we are already on the day prior to the auction.
In effect, Pat is going into an auction where he knows that Equity is likely not fully impaired, but having not communicated this to the court or taken any steps to have some form of equity representation, which is the RIGHT of equity.
He is going into an auction with a malicious intent of excluding equity who should actually have a say in the proceedings. Please go right ahead!! This decision of yours will be nailed to you Pat, ‘fully, non-revocable, forever’ with no option of an opt-out!
(4) Framework for bid evaluation
As I pointed out in the previous part, Pat in his interest of damaging shareholder interests would want to declare a bid winner when it has the largest percent of CVRs and the smallest percent of cash. This will allow him to push out any recovery out into the future, definitely causing a subset of retail to not wait out for the long-run. He would put on his cross-eyed cretin face saying “In my foodooshary duty, I have picked the highest value bid” conveniently omitting that it is actually not in the best interest of investors.
Here is a proposal for a more sophisticated framework for bid valuation: Consider five points in time: t, t+3, t+6, t+12, and t++
t is the date of asset sale and contains the cash component of all bids, t+3 is the cash plus any CVRs that are expected to mature in the next three months from t, t+6 is the cash plus any CVRs that are expected to mature in the next six months from t, and so on.
t++ is the combined total cash and all CVRs however distant those may be. As an example, the $680 mn for FAP would correspond to t++.
Now in this framework, all the final bids for Rubraca after auction will be presented as these five data points. It is very unlikely that the same BP will pop-up as the winner at all five points. One BP would be winning at one time point, another at a different one.
It is ONLY EQUITY representation that will decide which time point to choose for equity recovery. Based on that chosen time-point the appropriate winning BP at that point gets selected to buy Rubraca. Pat will not decide it for us, given his history of acting against shareholder interests.
Once the creditors are made whole, ONLY EQUITY gets to decide from that point on. Creditors cannot have influence on how the share upside is captured.
(5) Calling all whistle-blowers
Oh, those poor Clovis employees! Pat sold them a story, his past history of selling companies, and how they are getting equity in Clovis as their performance rewards. Well, with the liquidation plan, Pat is laughing at you and telling you that your shares are worthless! In effect, he is flat out evaporating one component of your rewards.
As I have said previously, if you have ANY information of a clinical, regulatory, financial, or commercial nature that supports the argument that Pat and other senior leaders have acted against their fiduciary duty, then you can bring those claims forward to the recovery group, and it can be evaluated for further action by BM.
Please know that you don’t need to have a watertight case; your information may be combined with information from some other whistleblowers, and then there will be the discovery process also available.
The recovery that is being attempted is for all investors, and that includes employees. Consider doing your part to arm the recovery process; it will benefit all investors.
(6) Sunlight is the best disinfectant
As I have mentioned previously, this is a crime in slow-motion that Pat is unfolding in front of us. Fortunately for us, with the representation that BM is providing us, Pat’s original agenda is defeated.
He very confidently thought that he would enter into a maze and go from Point A to point B. Well that original exit is now blocked and not sure if he had a plan B. The rat is in the maze, waiting for the punishment that equity is going to hand out!
Any of the readers here, if you have a good investigative journalist contact that can do a piece, please make that connect. Publications like WSJ, NYT, Wash Post, Barrons, Slate, Rolling Stone, you get the drift. Let’s blow this up!
There is an HBO documentary worth watching ‘Gaming Wall Street’ which is about a retail short squeeze. We could be in the middle of effecting a retail take down of a biotech CEO, worth some investigative journalism or a movie down the road, who knows?
But the sheer corruption here, of an attempt to prevent the return to investors for a very strong drug in Rubraca, WILL NOT go unchallenged or unpunished.
(7) One-two punch
The way I see it, the first objective is to make sure the auction is broad and fair and obtains the maximum possible value for our assets. Once that is done, at some point CLVS as an entity will cease to exist. Remember that when Pat was fined for Roci, the money came out of Clovis cash. Well, when the company ceases to exist and the shareholders have their returns and their CVRs we can then go after Pat and all other people in a fiduciary capacity.
There will be enough material to take civil and criminal proceedings forward. And when the squeeze is put on the other officers, if they can provide incriminating information about Pat, there can be leniency extended to them. As the founder CEO of Clovis, it is Pats scalp that we are after considering the damage that he has done to investors. His Napoleon Complex will come back to bite him.
With the help of whistle-blowers and other parties we can take Pat to the poorhouse and the jailhouse. We’ll take him for all he has so he can contemplate, in a confined space, his version of ‘Breaking Bad’.
(8) Endnote
We all need to appreciate that capitalism works with certain guardrails. All participants in the capital structure have their part to play, and have a unique mix of risk and reward. When those guardrails are breached and investors are unfairly looted, please be prepared for their white-hot rage to be turned against the perpetrators.
Pat needs to resign himself to get the stuffing litigated out of him. As the company assets get sold, let him make choices that do not put himself into a deeper hole than he already is in. Choose wisely!
###
I am here until CLVS is acquired. And for you, my only recommendation is: Choose wisely!
Poster: Jacaranda Bloom
Reddit user ID (bookmark or follow): Timely_Huckleberry97

When I was younger we lived in a suburban neighborhood on a narrow street with single family homes. Each home had a driveway and there was additional public parking on the street, leaving only one lane for driving. There was a public parking spot along our hedge that we usually used for our second car. Across from us lived an elderly man „Bob“, a former business owner and stereotypical grumpy retiree who micromanaged his son, the new owner of the sound equipment sales business. Bob’s driveway was directly across from our hedge.
Bob frequently complained that parking our car along our hedge made it difficult for him to exit his driveway. This was bullshit as you‘ll see in a second. He started sending dozens of letters reprimanding us, then he called the police and the local authorities to try to get us out of the parking spot. Since we were parked legally and he could exit his driveway they couldn’t do anything. Soon an unknown car would regularly appear in that spot, whenever my parents left for work. Initially just for a day or two, then a week, then a month at a time. My parents found out Bob had somehow gotten himself a second car just to park it in that spot and keep us out of it. Suddenly leaving his driveway with a car in that space wasn’t a problem. So my parents started retaliating, initially just stealing the spot back whenever possible, then by calling the authorities on any issues with his fence and hedges. His hedge was too messy or too tall for local laws, his hedge was growing around a traffic sign... They even moved a temporary parking ban sign from the construction site 2 doors down to include the parking space just to steal it back.
Then a different car appeared and stayed for 4 months. After 4 months my parents had to cut the hedge to keep it neat and in line with local laws but the car made cutting the hedge impossible. My parents left a note threatening to cut the hedge with their electric hedge cutting tool anyway and Bob better move the car if he didn’t want it damaged. Bob called the bluff. My parents then discovered that the car belonged to Bob‘s son‘s business. Bob had been borrowing company cars to block the parking spot. So my parents called the son to try to reason with him. The son however refused to move the car as well. So my parents called the tax authorities. Turns out you can’t declare tax writeoffs for company cars if those cars are being used mostly for private purposes, like a petty neighbor fight of the owner’s father. The car disappeared within a week, we cut our hedge and claimed back a parking spot we never owned. I’m not sure who acted more entitled in this story, probably my parents, but I‘m pretty sure at some point they just did it for the lulz.

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