Hey everyone!
My friend and I have started a business together. 50/50 ownership and we have run into a problem. We need a business bank account, but I’m located on the east coast and he’s on the west coast. So far we tried Wells Fargo, but they need us both to be there in person as a branch to open a business account. Anyone have any suggestions for a bank that will let us open a business checking account online? Any help is greatly appreciated!

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What was wrought here should be allowed to slip into slumber and sleep a dreamless sleep until entropy sips it away. - Former Grand Most High Sma'akamo'o, from I Have Ridden the Hasslehoff
Nice little mitochondria you got there, Biology.
Be a shame if something happened to it… - Terran Descent Humanity
The Dairy Queen is one of the Hamburger King's brides. A gift of tribute from The Mapleland Empire to the bloody tyrant of the Hamburger Kingdom. Her heart was cold but sweet and the Hamburger King put her in charge of the blizzards and winter storms of the Hamburger Kingdom.
The Dairy Queen is adored by Terrans everywhere, celebrated in song and dance, even through the worst winter storms. She is often depicted by carving ice into her likeness. She is shown smiling, dressed in finery made of frost and snow, and is known for her singing voice. She is often seen moving through storms and blizzards, her voice uplifted in song despite the chill.
The cold never bothered her anyway. - The Myths & Legends of Terra
We do not know who they were, only that they were here. They left behind great works, impossible machinery that once labored for unknowable purpose.
We know these Forerunners only as The Builders. - Kretark Press, 3285 Current Era
You don't get to judge the Devil and the War in Hell from the comfort of Heaven. - Doctor Jachike Pascel, Sailor Moon Sisterhood Project Decommissioning Commander AKA The Grave Watcher, 38 PG
The stellar system was repeated all over the universe. An energetic young star, a few gas giants, a debris ring, and barren rocky planets in various orbits. The number of planets and gas giants didn't matter, they were all virtually the same.
This one was in the middle of the Cygnus-Orion Galactic Arm Spur.
In the middle of what was known to the species capable of space travel as "The Long Dark." A band across the entire section of the spur that was barren of all life, with many of the stellar systems reduced to nothing but scattered gravel where planets once were, smears of gases from where gas giants had once been, and a single stellar mass.
This stellar system had not been reduced to gravel and wisps of gasses, but rather still had the few rocky planets and the trio of gas giants. The star was young, highly energetic, burning away merrily in a stellar signal that it existed. It was not alone, it had a brother, that it danced around in a slow twisting pattern, and they both burned with merry fire.
It had been like that for millions of years.
At one time there had been life. Not much, just a few simple algae and fungus, a few multicelled organisms. Not much, but the beginning of life.
But unliving things destroyed that life, leaving behind long life radiation, siphoning away water and atmosphere both.
The binary stars felt a slight bit of sadness at that, in the strange way inanimate balls of burning gasses could feel sadness.
Something new had arrived.
It was strange, and different.
The stars were dimly curious, watching the newcomers.
There were ten figures within a two light seconds of the binary stars, positioned in such a way that the polar stellar winds of both stars merged and washed over them. Several of them were terribly scarred, their faces and bodies mutely proclaiming that they had been severely injured, almost maimed, in the past. Despite their disfigurement and scarring they, like the unmarred, were inhuman in their perfection.
They were dressed strangely. Short skirts, leggings, short sleeve tops with bows on the front. They all held wands and blades, they all had long flowing hair. Behind them extended gauzy fields of whitish that reached out thousands of kilometers but did not block or cover any of the others. They looked vaguely wing-like, pearlescent energy that gathered in the stellar winds.
Resting in space, they were in the fetal position, their eyes closed, their hands tight around their weapons and wands.
They stayed that way for long days, asleep in a deep dreamless sleep.
They had sent out the call, and now waited on the one they had summoned.
A puff of purple particles, almost smoke-like, appeared above polar-north between the two binary stars. When it cleared a single figure stood in space as if it was standing on a flat surface. Ebony of skin, with long flowing white hair. Her face was haughty and cruel. She was dressed in scant wires of esoteric spooky particle metals that emulated the look of spiderwebs that only covered enough of her to hide her genitals and the nipples on the prominent mammaries.
She surveyed the worlds and gas giants slowly, her eyes full of a cold silver light.
She looked beyond the now into what had been.
Her lip curled in disgust at one point and she reached out her hand. Chronotrons and other esoteric particles flowed into her hand, slowly taking the shape of a bright red apple.
It crunched, despite there being no sound in space, when she took a large bite from it. She chewed the bite, looking over the planets.
When she was done with the apple, she streaked into motion, moving an appreciable fraction of the speed of light, until she was in front of the sleeping girls.
One, her bangs forming a heart on the pale skin of her forehead, woke slowly, stretching and yawning as she did so.
The onyx woman merely waited.
She was old, but the child was even older.
She was feared, but the child was legend made flesh.
She was fearsome in her power, but the child was terrible in her joy.
They were sisters. Two sides of the same dark and bloody coin.
The child smiled at the onyx woman, who merely nodded dispassionately. The child waved at the system with one hand, the wand she tightly grasped leaving behind a trail of glitter.
In the glitter could be seen living planets. Some with hellish atmospheres where burning carbon ash rained from the sky, others with life giving oceans, and still others with iron oxide sands that teamed with microbial life.
The onyx woman looked back over the system slowly, then turned and looked at the two stellar masses with more than just her eyes. After a moment she turned to the young girl and nodded.
At an unseen signal the other young girls slowly woke. They gave the impression of happiness and joy even as they held tight to terrible weapons.
The onyx woman kept looking at the planets. At what would need to be done. Which zone each planet occupied.
To merely cover them with life would not do. That was for a Genysys Device or a G.E.C.K, which were simple toys compared to her obsidian majesty.
She held out her arms at a 45 degree angle to her body, threw her head back, and vocalized a single note that resonated in the coronas of the two stars.
Behind her appeared a dozen females of her species, none as beautiful or well endowed as she was, clad in more clothing, all reclining on furniture made of pale white energy. She snapped her fingers and two dozen males appeared, all dressed in black leather, pants and vests, with heavy boots, all carrying swords made of a dark purple metal that glittered in the light of the stars.
Another snap and an orchestra appeared, all of black onyx and obsidian that breathed in the stellar vacuum of space.
The band began to play, and the males began to dance with wild abandon.
She joined them, her voice upraised, as the girls all watched and added their power to hers.
Reaching out, she lifted mass from the stars, a process known as star lifting, optimizing and extending the binary stars's energy output and lifespan.
To the two stars it tickled and their giggles rippled the stellar winds.
As she danced, runes and glimmers of light streamed from her fingers, speeding out to wrap around the planets.
The planets were swallowed by golden energy.
Still she danced and sang in the darkness.
On the planets, new bedrock was laid, planetary cores were repaired and spun up to restore the magnetic field. Atmosphere was laid, then oceans. Fossil records and geological records of asteroid impacts were applied. The rude organisms that had been wiped out were extrapolated and laid into the bedrock as fossils.
Sixty-five million years of history was laid into the bedrock.
The tiny multi-celled organisms were extrapolated into more complex forms. The skeletons and evidence of those life forms were embedded into the fossil record. Weather formed and erosion was built into the mountains that suddenly thrust there way from the planetary crust.
Higher organisms were laid in. A fossil record, a record of tool use, migration patterns, all were laid down.
The energy cleared, to reveal a single planet bearing life. The other two had failed, existing inside the amber zone.
But they left behind fossil records and scant fungus and microbial life.
The creatures on the single life bearing planet began to move around, began to live lives programmed into their very genetic code. Crude housing and primitive culture was laid down.
And then it was done.
The male dancers slowed their wild dance, bowed once to the watching girls, and vanished.
The band rippled and vanished.
The reclining beings of onyx and silver vanished.
Only the onyx woman remained, her skin glittering with sweat.
She bowed to the girls.
And vanished.
The girls looked over the stellar system and nodded to one another.
It had been restored.
They held still a moment, contemplating, before moving.
They sped forward and vanished in bright silver streaks.
The binary stars agreed that they had witnessed something interesting.
Then they returned to their dance with one another.
On the planet, a species that had been extinguished before it even had a chance to exist began to go about its business as if there had never been an interruption marked by the scream of "ALL BELONGS TO THE HIVE!"
-----
Space was empty with the exception of a small bit of dark matter the size of a coin.
It wasn't dark matter as many races knew it, it was transparent to most scanning systems. A tiny bit of proto-matter that the universe used to heal up tears and scrapes that were just part of the growing pains of a youthful universe.
There was a sudden flash and ten young Terran girls appeared. The leader lifted her voice in song within the vacuum of space.
A single note answered.
They waited, patiently.
The tiny bit of dark matter began to spread out as more and more dark matter began to gush from the tiny bit. Soon, there was a patch of dark matter nearly two kilometers wide, even if it was only a few molecules thick.
A massive black warship slid from inside the dark matter. The thick warsteel armor was covered with beads of the dark matter, like a cold can on a hot humid day. The weapons were cold and dark, offline and silent. The engines burned with a purple light
Code streamed from the massive black warship, bathing the ten figures.
Their eyes closed and their bodies relaxed. They slowly curled into the fetal position.
From the warship came small craft. Ten of them. One by one, each of the figures were gathered up by the small craft, pulled inside. The craft then remained motionless until the last was gathered up and a period of stillness followed.
Code packets were exchanged between the gathering ships and the massive warship.
The little ships swept back to the warship.
The dark matter shivered and rippled and a vast door rose up out of the dark matter, the proto-matter streaming off the face of the doors like water. The sheer size and mass of the doors hinted at something large, something ominous, something terrible deeper in the dark matter.
The doors opened and the warship vanished inside.
-----
The Obelisk AKA Black Box 536169-6c6f72-204d6f6f6e.
Inside were machines of ancient and strange purpose, built to continue working for millions of years. Bulky robots carried out maintenance tasks to ensure the life of The Obelisk.
Through the dark halls moved The Grave Watcher. Heavy of muscle and bone, ancient and crude cybernetics attached to flesh that neither aged nor mortified.
He served the Digital Omnimessian and all of humanity through his works.
At long last he came to a simple chamber.
A cryo-tube sat in the middle of the far wall, covered in frost. Beside it, extended from the wall, were drawers where strange implements sat in custom fitted cushioned slots.
The Grave Walker moved up and rubbed the frost from the capsule.
Inside was a teenage Terran Descent Humanity immature female who was beautiful even in sleep. Her large blue eyes were closed, the long lashes touching her cheeks. Her blonde hair was pulled into a tight braid and wound under a cryosleep cap, but the gap in the middle of the cap showed how her bangs looked like a heart. Her flawless arms and legs were longer than normal, somehow making her aesthetically pleasing instead of freakish. She had a button nose and a cupid's bow mouth, a flawless complexion, and even in sleep she looked as if she was full of joy.
She was inhuman in her perfection.
The Grave Watcher ran through the context menus then, satisfied with the readouts, turned away.
The extended drawer was covered with a clear armaglass panel that showed what was beyond, held in a black warsteel frame. Jewelry, clothing, shoes. He checked the inventory list that scrolled by with cold amber light to the contents, examining phasic and energy levels.
Satisfied, he turned away, moving to the doorway. He reached out and pressed a heavy button.
The cryo-pod hissed and pulled up into the wall. The drawers pulled into the wall. The floor of the room vanished as mist rose to knee height.
He turned away, moving through the door, locking it once it closed after him. A blast door lowered and he ensured that one was locked with a molecular bonding system.
The Grave Watcher made his way to the central control room.
Inside stood a Terran woman of indeterminate age. She wore a black suit, her black hair was in a short cut, and her face was cold and hard, her gun-metal gray eyes unreadable.
The Grave Watcher moved to the pedestal in the middle of the room.
He placed his hand on the top of the pedestal. Data streamed by beneath his hand. Finally, only two words remained.
He stepped back and motioned to the Terran female.
She stepped up and looked down.
DEACTIVATE PROJECT?
She pressed a single icon.
YES
The Grave Watcher escorted her from The Obelisk. Boarding his own grim ship as she boarded hers.
He watched as her ship slipped through the narrowing gap of the slowly receding proto-matter pool in realspace.
Once she was gone, he sat down on a command chair that was more a throne than a chair.
The atmosphere pumped out of the bridge, leaving him sitting in cold vacuum.
He stared at the small pinpoint of dark matter with frost covered eyes.
And waited.
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Hello! This is my first post on here. I am a long time rail fan who, before this most recent trip, had not been on Amtrak in over 20 years. My last, and previously only, experience with Amtrak was when I was a little kid, and it was sort of a mess. Anyway, I recently went on a cruise through the Panamá canal from LA to Miami.
Unfortunately, I got horribly sick at the end of the cruise and wound up missing my flight and being stuck in Miami while I convalesced. Thankfully I recovered, but because I am immunocompromised I had some lingering symptoms that persisted after my illness that made the thought of going to the airport and getting on a plane nightmarish. I decided, with great trepidation, to try Amtrak for the first time in my adult life.
I took the Silver Meteor from Miami to DC, then the Capitol Limited from DC to Chicago, then the California Zephyr from Chicago to Denver. I got a roomette on all three and I was very comfortable. Getting three square meals a day was very nice, I needed to eat to get my strength back, and the food was quite good, especially on the Zephyr. Way better than airline food anyway.
The Amtrak employees were all extremely nice, hospitable, accommodating, and helpful. The boarding process was far less stressful than air travel, and very quick and convenient. Being able to relax in the Metropolitan lounge in DC and Chicago and get free snacks, drinks, and a shower was also lovely. Getting to stretch my legs and just sit back and relax and watch the scenery go by was a welcome reprieve from the stress of air travel. I also really loved the bed, I slept like a baby all three nights. The rocking of the train put me right to sleep.
However, what impressed me the most was how punctual it was! Every train left on time and arrived on time, and in fact in the case of the Zephyr it got me home to Denver 20 minutes early!
Now, I do have one complaint. This trip cost me a grand total of 1600 bucks, which is verrry expensive. Back when I lived in Japan as an exchange student (bear in mind this was 10 years ago) I took the last three surviving sleeper trains across Japan; Sunrise Izumo, Twilight Express, and Hokutosei. I had similar accommodations on those trains and it only cost me about 100 to 150 bucks per train. So the whole trip was about 400 bucks as I recall. Amtrak is waaaay too expensive by comparison. Those Japanese trains looked nicer, had better accommodations, and better food at a much lower price. (Except Sunrise Izumo, which I will concede, had no food at all, absolutely insane for a sleeper train imo)
In spite of the high price, I enjoyed my time on Amtrak, and will definitely be back. I am already looking forward to my next Amtrak trip!

I have a v2 or v3 T4. Only have about 200 miles on it so far. My question is. Every time I drop the wheel and it cuts out, when I pick it back up and start riding the motor feels like it’s grinding slightly. As soon as I turn it off and then back on it goes back to normal. Any ideas on this?! I don’t mind having to reset it after I drop it, but want to make sure there’s not a bigger issue to potential worry about.
Anyone else experience this?

Technically a Part Two to this. But it's Cinder's Turn!
In many worlds the slightest change could have unforeseen consequences, after all, sometimes all it takes is an extra push.
Such was the case of this universe, Salem was sealed away eons ago. But like many ancient evils, seals eroded and her influence slowly grew.
She controlled the smaller Grimm, until a few mice found their way into Atlas, where they promised a sweet deal to Cinder. Power, and absolution.
So it was over the years, that Cinder crafted a group to follow her, pledging their allegiance to Salem as well. But she was the leader.
Hazel didn't take much convincing, the man had given up on justice, but then was given the chance to achieve it, even if he possessed only one rule, he refused to fight any children. Limiting him in use, but he was a stalwart bulwark that was handy. Salem promised him a world where Gretchen could return.
Merlott and Watts were two peas in a pod, despite a small rivalry. Maddened scientists that had been deemed unacceptable by society, whose experiements had crossed the line creating monstrocities, or weapons of mass destruction that would've been unstable and led to the ruin of many. But now they were given free reign to make what they wished, and even now, the next stage of Cinder's grand plan hinged on it all.
Tyrian took no real convincing, he wanted to kill. It made him easy to use.
Adam would always fight for his Faunus.
And she had long ago secured the loyalty of Emerald and Mercury.
Though it was a slight, how she had been setback just a bit.
---
Cinder looked around the ancient castle, as she stepped back through it's doors. Running a hand through her long lucious black hair, as she walked past the table, a sway in her hips.
Still confident, for despite the silver eyed warrior gaining the other half of power that she wanted. She had still acheived her goal.
Cinder smirked as she sat down in the throne.
"So the fire has been lit." Hazel commented taking her coat, and then taking it over to a rack. The scientists were likely in the labs below, working on the next phase of the master plan. "But you didn't attain all of the power?" He asked curious.
Tyrian slithered into the room, crouching on the table with a leer in his gaze, Hazel stared him down, instinctivly standing in front of Cinder.
Cinder held up her left hand casually, stopping Emerald and Mercury from backstabbing Tyrian from behind.
"Don't be so jumpy. We're all allies here. Yes I didn't get the full power, but it is only a minor setback, that has also given me a boon. A connection to Ruby Rose herself, I can see what she will be planning. Ozpin is crippled, and the spark has been ignited between the kingdoms." True she hadn't been able to take out the tower, but now the kingdoms would be against each other.
"With that, I can have an inside on all their plans. For we all know how much Ozpin relies on the silver eyed warriors." She chuckled, seeing Hazel tense up just a bit, not liking the idea of a child being a pawn in their game. "We may not have struck down their communication, but we've still driven the wedge where it counts. Next we capitilize on it." Cinder leaned back in the throne.
"Hehe my favorite part." Tyrian snickered. "More killing~" He was eager, perhaps too eager.
"The next phase is simple, it's time to seek out the other maidens. That must keep going without delay. And if the Spring Maiden is truly with Raven Branwen, then finding it will be easy. For Ruby Rose wants to rescue her precious sister." Cinder grinned.
"Hmm." Emerald seemed reluctant for some reason, Cinder gestured for her to speak. "But... what are we supposed to do?" Emerald couldn't help but ask. "Ruby used those silver eyes, they were extremely powerful, wiped out the dragon, and something weird happened." Emerald commented.
"Yes. Yet Ruby hasn't mastered them, and I will ensure she doesn't. But what we shall do, is secure the spring maiden, to that end, that is what you will be doing Emerald." Cinder said shocking Emerald, but her expression soon smoothed out, it made sense of course, that was why she had recruited her, just like the other two.
"Okay but that doesn't change the fact that people could try and look into this whole thing right?" Mercury sassed.
"You underestimate people Mercury. It doesn't matter if what I said was false, it was taking advantage of those old hatreds and tensions that have always been there. These kingdoms will gladly prepare for war, any further pushing won't take much." Cinder said.
Mercury nodded his doubst assuaged.
Hazel then had a thought. "And what of Adam and the White Fang, will they still work with us?" He asked and Cinder smirked, yes, that had indeed been her greatest victory. And one other.
"Yes. They shall, for I saved many of their number, including Adam himself. I should thank Raven, for giving me such a golden opportunity. He is indebted to me now, his honor won't let him do otherwise. And in addition Roman will take advantage of the lack of crime figures in Vale, a new contender for Kingpin of the underworld. As I said, things are still going along as we speak." Cinder finished and everyone nodded.
"Yes yes. But we've finally finished the grand designs!" Watts shouted as he entered the room, smoothing out the dirt from his lab coat, Merlott shoved past him, holding a scroll, and he pressed the button, earning a glare from Watts.
As a massive screen lit up, showing the fruits of their labor. And Cinder smirked sinisterly while some of them, even Tyrian paled at the howls of the Cyber!Grimm, monstrocities modified by both Merlott and Watts, bleeding and howling in rage and pain, they were far stronger than normal Grimm. With this, everything would keep on track.
Even with that little hero, even she will be hard pressed to stop all of this.

Closer

Once the meeting was finally over, Cinder chuckled as she finished tormenting Ruby Rose in her dreams for the night. And then approached the ancient vault, where Salem was sealed.
"You failed." The voice boomed through the cracks, but Cinder didn't flinch.
"No." Cinder said.
"No?! Ozpin still lives! You lack the full power! And the kingdoms are-" Cinder cut Salem off.
"Are divided more than ever. The Spark has been lit, and my agents will turn it into a raging fire. Ozpin is crippled. It is only a loss if I see it as one Granny." Cinder said calmly, and the Grimm that had been creeping on her from the shadows, withdrew at Salem's command.
"Hrrgh. What will you do next?" Salem asked coldly.
"We shall gain the other maidens, then use their powers to release you. As we agreed." Cinder said smoothly like silk.
"If you betray me. You will suffer." Salem threathened, and Cinder nodded, her eyes closed. "You may go now" Salem then went back into her slumber, and Cinder gracefully left.
Don't worry Salem, when the time does come to betray you. It will be swift, but I will keep my word in letting you out first.

To Be Continued someday.

my ex and i broke up almost two months ago because he wasn’t in the right spot to be dating and he was worried things could go wrong. although i wanted to work things out, we both agreed it was best and it was a mutual breakup.
we agreed to stay friends and we’ve spoken on and off and our relationship as friends has been pretty good so far.
he told me a couple weeks ago that he was moving on and had asked me permission if it was okay for him to find interest in people in the future (not sure why he told me) and i told him that i’d be perfectly happy for him. i haven’t told him but i also felt myself moving on and getting closer to fully doing so.
he’s my first love and i think i would always love him, no matter what (unconditionally of course). we both had just gotten back to school from spring break but i feel he’s purposely ignoring me. he seems “out of it” and he didnt seem like that before. i don’t expect us to talk everyday now that things are over but the tension feels off and i feel like something is off whether its on my end or his.

I re-watched the 5 seasons of Breaking Bad over the last couple of months, finishing the finale a few days ago. Walter starts out as a chemistry teacher whose life has been molded by fear, which causes him to wind up living mediocrely. He decides to start being braver, and although he does horrible things, he at least has control over his actions. I don't want to start doing illegal activities, but I'd like to be more fearless like Walter was.
I'm a high school science teacher, and I feel like fear has controlled some of the major decisions in life. After college, I decided to live with my parents while applying to med schools. I was a bit fearful of moving to a city, or living on my own or even with a roommate, partially because of the fear but also because I thought I would attend a med school the next year. I didn't get into a med school, and I lived in my hometown for about 5-6 years in my 20s, including living at home for about 2-3 years (the other years were with a high school friend).
I'm 30 now, and luckily I make enough to live in my own apartment, about 45 minutes away from my parents. A month or two ago, I decided that I will move to the large city in my state this summer when my current lease ends. Another thing I feared during my life was approaching and talking to women. I've never been in a relationship and have never had sex. I'm not ugly, but shyness has always been an issue. I'd like to right the wrong of living in the suburbs during my 20s by moving to the city, joining social groups, becoming a part-time bartender, and generally being outside my apartment more often to meet many women. I'm in the middle of looking for other high schools to work at that would be closer to the city since my current school is 35 miles away from where I want to live (also, there are other reasons for wanting to move to another school).
I'm on Spring Break now, and my idea of fearless has been tame so far. It's been doing walks around the neighborhood, walking around a forest, and posting daily on my YT channel, all of which I normally don't do. I hope to be fearless during teacher interviews, when I live in the large city, and during other things that make me nervous.
My goal in life right now is to find a girlfriend, and I believe that she lives somewhere in that large city. So, I'm trying to be more like Walter White: brave, authentic, assertive, and ambitious. I don't want to be the other things he is, such as manipulative and criminal. We will see how it goes.

Hello everyone. I've been trying for three days to figure out why I keep having issues with occlusion flickering. I've been starting and restarting different playthroughs with all sorts of combinations of cleaning mods. I've heard that "Raze My Settlement" and "Clean My Settlement" don't break occlusion maps, but even those mods have causes the occlusion maps in Nuka World to break. I've tried both "No More Occlusion Flickering" from the Nexus and "Stop the Disappearing Act" from another mod website. Please, any help at all would be a godsend at this point. I've done fresh installs of the game 4 times and redid my entire modlist 7 times.
Modlist:
Unofficial Fallout 4 Patch.esp
*WorkshopFramework.esm
*HUDFramework.esm
*XDI.esm
*SouthOfTheSea.esm
*SS2.esm
*SS2_XPAC_Chapter2.esm
*CWPointLookoutFO4.esm
*CWPointLookoutFO4Patch.esl
*PLExpressivePlayer.esl
*Legendary, rearmed.esl
*DC Guard Variations.esl
*CUWP.esl
*NukaWorldOpenSeasonExtend.esl
*MTM-NukaTownEastArchwayFix.esl
*CUPAPP.esm
*CUPAPP_OverbossBloodEagle.esl
*Damage Threshold.esm
*Garage.esm
*T65PA.esl
*CWWorkshopMaster.esm
*CWWorkshopPackPart2.esl
*Homemaker.esm
*SS2WastelandReconstructionKit.esp
*SS2AOP_VaultTecTools.esp
*CBBE.esp
*SimSettlements2_AddOnPack_ApocalypticAdditions_SirLach.esp
*[SS2 Addon] BloodMoonRaiders.esp
*Hunkered Down - No AtomCatsGarage.esp
*SouthOfTheSea[Previs].esp
*Conquer the Institute.esp
*OutcastsAndRemnants.esp
*Nuka-World Fizztop Grille Workshop.esp
*SS2Extended.esp
*MojaveImports.esp
*Depravity.esp
*Eli_Armour_Compendium.esp
*BetterFarHarbor_Open.esp
*SettlementMenuManager.esp
*AkirasClutter.esp
*ImmersiveDrumlinDiner.esp
*W.A.T.Minutemen.esp
*FBFH_EE_Acadia_Cleanup.esp
*Rebuilt_HomePlate.esp
*InstituteSettlements2.esp
*StoryWealth-SS2-DEP-Patch.esp
*Eli_Rockin Red Rocket.esp
*SS2_FDK_TinyLiving.esp
*SovietPowerArmor.esp
*Rsiyo'sLocationPack.esp
*Eli_Hangman's Home.esp
*Workshop Terminals.esp
*[SS2 Addon] SimSettlements SuperStructures.esp
*ellen.esp
*SS2WastelandVenturers.esp
*0_Vault120.esp
*GatlingLaserAmmoFix.esp
*AzarPonytailHairstyles.esp
*BetterSettlers.esp
*LooksMenu.esp
*Quieter Settlements - Contraptions.esp
*Quieter Settlements - Vanilla.esp
*Quieter Settlements - Wasteland Workshop.esp
*SS2_RobotMod.esp
*TD_DLC01Workshop_Addons.esp
*OCDecorator.esp
*OCDecoratorDLC.esp
*OCDispenser.esp
*LooksMenu Customization Compendium.esp
*KSHairdos.esp
*The Eyes Of Beauty.esp
*FilledBrahminFeedTroughs.esp
*Better_Notes.esp
*Publick Occurrences Expanded.esp
*ImmersiveVendors.esp
*EveryonesBestFriend.esp
*CagebreakerPowerArmor.esp
*CagebreakerPowerArmor-Flamer.esp
*Rebel of Apocalypse.esp
*Post Nuclear Girl.esp
*Minigun - Spun Up.esp
*CF_AtomicWarlord.esp
*GrafsSecurityFences.esp
*BetterSettlersCleanFacePack.esp
*BetterSettlersNoLollygagging.esp
*Cait by PokaPefk.esp
*Piper Natural mom.esp
*GtN_SettlersatPlay.esp
*SS2_SIMPDDDD.esp
*SS2-Jampads2.esp
*SS2_ruined_simsettlement_addonpack.esp
*SS2_Addon_R2R.esp
*RaiderClutter.esp
*JunkTownTwo.esp
*SS2_Addon_FHE.esp
*Nuka-MixUniqueTextures.esp
*WastelandGardening.esp
*WastelandResources.esp
*CUPAPP_CosmosDarkMatter.esp
*T65PA_BOS.esp
*Female Tactical Armor.esp
*Tougher Vertibirds.esp
*Farming Resources.esp
*WDP-PC.esp
*Companion Infinite Ammo.esp
*Lots More Male Hairstyles.esp
*BOS_X01_Paintjobs.esp
*Thematic and Practical.esp
*Thematic and Practical - DLC.esp
*NaiRaeCozyScavver.esp
*creativeclutter.esp
*SS2-PraRandomAddon.esp
*WWP - PC.esp
*CompanionsGoHome_A.esp
*DD_Khassar_De_Templari_Increased_build.esp
*SpiritofSteel.esp
*cartman1975_concrete-glass.esp
*BetterJunkFences.esp
*dinoshelf.esp
*SSEX.esp
*Better Vendor Stalls.esp
*Curie Replace01a.esp
*NoAffinityCooldown.esp
*NoNegativeAffinity.esp
*Raze My Settlement.esp
*Realistic_conversations.esp
*BostonFPSFixAIO.esp
*Eli_Faction Housing Overhaul - AiO.esp
*No More Occlusion Flicker.esp

Hey so first card ever - Capital One SilverOne. Quickly went from $300 limit to $1800.
Before the 300 to 1800 jump, I made the mistake of listening to my girlfriend to get a Credit One Amex card 😂😂😂. $1000 limit. Next annual fee is November. Planning on canceling that card after all is said and done with the total 4\5 cards I’d have (not including the canceled Credit One ofc..). I have the full $1000 credit and I refuse to use that damned card. Especially since I can’t even access the app nor their website 🤦 so damn shady…
Then I got a letter of pre-approval for Citi DoubleCash. I currently own that card, $1000 limit.
I’m waiting on the credit bureaus to update my Pay4Delete (my only derogatory on my credit report, and for $149. Fully paid, waiting on delete/credit update).
=========•
That would be my history thus far within the last year honestly. Capital One is essentially begging me for their SavorOne, but if I could grab the Chase FF or FU, that would be better, no? I suppose it has to do with not only my credit history being positive, but I’ve banked with Chase for a while now, too.
My FICO8 Experian score is currently 631 🤦 there’s a $250 balance on Credit One thanks to my girlfriend (I have paid this… it was last updated March 8th), the Citi/Capital One cards are easy to keep a low balance on consistently.
But I really figure the big thing is the collections on my account. Playing the waiting game sucks! but I know I’m also playing the waiting game on Pre-Approved offers for the Chase cards…
Should I say screw it and just go for either the FF or FU? My credit score sucks but hasn’t really changed much besides a few points negative due to Citi DoubleCash opening - I figure it’ll soon increase my score due to more available credit.
I’d like some thoughts, please. I don’t want to miss out on FF or FU.thank you

Throw away as so many of us require here.
I've been watching my father slip deeper and deeper for years... And drag my mother with him.
He was introduced by my insane sov cit uncle, his brother. He parked his motorhome in my parents front yard for around 6months until my mother lost her shit, threw wet laundry at him in the middle of the night and told him to get the fuck off her property.
But it was all too late.
Same trajectory as usual, started with Fox News and continued down rabbit holes chasing new goal posts.
He claims he has been following it for decades. He hasn't - he forgets we have been here in this family as well. Before his pseudo retirement... from a job he never really had, he didn't browse the internet and didn't watch the news... really at all - not even mainstream. He was a social guy who spent time with mates.
Now, by we, I mean my brother and me and now our respective spouses. We have occasionally brainstormed how to stop this - but then it spools down and we get caught up in our own lives again.
The irony is my brother is military/pilot and I am a lawyer. So the flat earth my uncle started on didn't get far with my brother and no matter what we say as part of the systems he thinks are crooked, we get told we don't know what we are talking about. Even in the face of my brother saying, he has extremely high military clearance and while he cannot divulge anything, dad can rest assured that NOTHING he is talking about is real. And me saying, all of his understandings and interpretations of the law political policies are absolutely horseshit. Nothing cracks it. We don't understand we haven't been following it all like he has.
Recently my parents sold their home and bought a motor home. Due to circumstances, that was the only valid method of retirement for them. I've sectioned off a piece of my property for them to build a granny flat. My husband and I were hoping once they were extracted from the market and no longer subject to the economy in that ways and no longer isolated in their home we can have some influence and get them out.
However instead of doing that. They have camped on my deck all day consuming this bull shit by the hours and are buying gold with the proceeds of the sale of their home. They have been buying by the ounce and are now talking in KILOs.
I have made it clear, if he buys so much as another gram - they are both out and I will recind any offer to build on my land.
I have also kicked my father out of my home on one occasion when he went off about drag queens, while my 10 year old son and I love RuPaul and I'm doing my best to ensure my kids know that they have a safe home and ANY person who needs a safe place for any reason- will find one in our home and they can extend any invite to anyone who needs it. I informed my dad, I will not have the safety of my home undermined by his fucked up and patently false narratives.
My husband is a CTO and has expansive tech skills and has advised blocking it all at the router. Which is becoming increasingly tempting. Although I'd prefer to actually extract him.
It's all gone too far. Dad is threatening to divorce my mother and my brother and I are prepared to bet that he will to go and live "off grid" with his batshit insane brother hording gold, consuming more bullshit and growing food.
My grandmother is approaching 100years old and is sitting on significant wealth. We are concerned that dad is simply hanging around until he can get his hands on that or alternatively he will get his hands on it stay with my mother and piss it up a wall on this bullshit.
I'd love to hear strategies and stories of successful extraction. I feel we have the tools, skills and appropriately qualified people here to do it.

We had several City Council meetings in March, including the start of our budget work sessions. Below is a summary of noteworthy actions:

1. We approved funding for a non-sworn social work supervisor and three additional social worker positions for the Raleigh Police Department ACORNS team. The ACORNS (Addressing Crises through Outreach, Referrals, Networking, and Service) team has been tasked to connect with individuals in crisis and provide them with the resources. The team utilizes a “care and safety first, enforcement last” approach.
   
2. We approved a rezoning request for the Char-Grill site downtown. The owners of Char-Grill sold the land for development and were in support of the rezoning request. The sale was intended to provide for the long-term financial stability of the company and their family. Char-Grill will remain on site, in operation throughout the permitting and planning phases of the new development, and when construction is finished, Char-Grill will be the first tenant in the new building. The rezoning also provided for the relocation of a historical house located on the property.
   
3. We had a work session discussion about the future of fare free transit in Raleigh, and other transit strategies. Raleigh buses have been far free since March 2020. Presently, the loss of fare revenue is being supplemented by COVID-related funds, but those funds will extinguish within the next year. During the work session, we learned that there are many benefits associated with fare free transit, including reducing barriers to transit use and increased ridership, decreasing disputes over fare collection, and enhanced operational efficiencies of the buses. We also learned about some challenges associated with fare free transit, specifically a high number of non-destination riders seeking shelter on the buses.
   

For me, the biggest take away from the staff presentation was learning that 82% of our transit users make less than $35k per year. Accessibility and equity is the biggest benefit of transit remaining fare free. Over the next few months, I look forward to working with my colleagues on City Council and staff on a plan for moving forward that, I hope, will keep our buses fare free, while also addressing any funding gaps, increasing service, and addressing some rider and transit operator safety issues. Stay tuned for more information on this issue.

1. We received an update on our zoning changes to allow different types of housing in more places. In 2021 and 2022, the City Council took some big strides to eliminate exclusionary zoning laws and to allow ADUs (accessory dwelling units) citywide, and to allow construction of -plexes, tiny homes, and townhouses in more places in the city. These changes are in line with national trends, including guidance from the Democratic President, Joe Biden. In fact, the Biden administration is awarding grants to cities and towns who make these changes. However, like any change, there have been some members of the community who are upset or confused, so staff initiated a series of informative meeting which took place across the city (and virtually) the past several months. You can review the entire report and presentation here.

My big takeaways were, nearly everyone in the city agrees housing affordability is a major issue, if not the major issue, we just don't all agree on how to fix it. And most of the residents who provided feedback are older, white homeowners; 80% of respondents were over the age of 45, while 60% of our city is under the age of 45; 80% of the respondents were homeowners, while 48% of the residents in our city are non-homeowners.
We need to be hearing from more voices and lived experiences on these issues. Most of the people we hear from already have theirs; these decisions impact those trying to settle down, own a home, or find somewhere to live. It's about the future of Raleigh. Please join the conversation.

1. We received an update on Bus Rapid Transit. Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is essentially "light rail on wheels." The buses are specialized, connected vehicles which run in mostly dedicated lanes, with enhanced, elevated stations, and signal priority. In 2016, voters approved the Wake County Transit Plan which calls for construction of 4 BRT routes, radiating from downtown Raleigh. The New Bern Avenue (east) route is scheduled to begin construction this year. The Southern route to Garner just received a supportive rating from the federal government and is recommended for funding in the president's FY24 budget. The Western route to downtown Cary is in the early planning stages, and will have stops at Dix Park, NC State, Fenton, and the WakeMed Soccer Park. The Northern route will run to either midtown or Triangle Town Center, or both; that route is still being studied and construction is scheduled for completion last.

Our next City Council meetings are Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Dreamville Music Festival is this weekend, and there will be several free, associated events downtown. It'll be a great weekend and get out and have some fun. I hope to see you around. https://dreamvillefest.com/home/
[email protected]

For reference, this is in New Mexico.
I recently made a bit of a career change and took a job as a finance manager at a small local dealership. I knew next-to-nothing about the retail auto industry, but owner asked me to give it a shot (he's a friend), and I've really taken off here. However...
Three years ago, I bought a truck from this dealership as a customer. Come to find out the finance manager at the time, the guy I ended up replacing years later, was a total scumbag. However, as I was signing paperwork in the office, I trusted him because I trusted the owner. He sold me on the manufacturer's extended warranty for full price - $4,000. He explicitly said it was "bumper to bumper" coverage and we talked about what would happen if the engine blew up or the tranny went out. The buyer's order and retail contract stated it was bumper-to-bumper as well. I had just been through a string of shitbox cars and this was my first big-boy truck purchase, so $4,000 seemed like a bargain for the peace of mind.
Fast forward a few years, and new-employee me is having problems with the engine. It takes MONTHS to get it serviced (a story for another time) and I threaten to take it to another shop - but the service manager assures me it will be paid for, because "I have [manufacturer's warranty] and it's the best". Eventually, my truck gets fixed, but now the service manager can't close the Repair Order. There's no extended service plan coverage for that failure. What gives?
I start reading up and pulling original contracts. Eventually, I go line-by-line through the extended warranty contract and pull the original deal file. Come to find out, the old finance manager did NOT sell me a true "bumper to bumper" warranty. He sold me a "bumper to bumper" wrap plan that is supposed to go around some kind of powertrain warranty... like a Certified Pre-Owned warranty. It was far cheaper, because it did NOT cover the powertrain, just "wrapped" around it.
Around this time, I approach my boss, the owner. He looks over everything, apologizes, and says [the old finance manager] must have misunderstood how wrap plans work and "he probably would have made the same mistake". I wasn't satisfied though, and kept digging.
The manufacturer requires that wrap plans can only be sold on a Certified Pre-Owned vehicle. I taught myself how use the service writer's system and then methodically searched through each repair order for my vehicle. There's no record it was EVER CPO'd. Then I pulled the deal gross and recap. The old finance manager made DOUBLE the usual gross for an extended warranty. By now, I'm pissed and I realized I had been played. He sold me a bogus warranty (who cares if the AC and window motors are covered, the engine, transmission, and 4x4 isn't!) that was ineligible under the manufacturer's policy... then charged me full price for it. I printed everything out and downloaded ALL of my records to a flash drive - just in case.
So now... I don't know what to do. I know that if a customer had this problem, I would be screaming at my boss to "buy them out" before they filed a unfair trade practice/consumer fraud claim. With the documentation I have, I'm almost certain I could prove misrepresentation and damages. I could probably even prove willfulness. However, making that claim would nuke my friendship with the owner. I want to "settle out" with him and I'm meeting with him tomorrow to show him what else I've found. I thought I trusted the owner, but now I'm not so sure. Can he fire/terminate me now that I've reported an unlawful act? What should I ask for if we "settle out"?
Finally, I'm not sure I'm cut out for this job any more. I'm guy who sells warranties... and I got scammed on my own warranty.

I wanted y'alls opinions on what classes go good together so I can plan my stuff out for next year, so far this is what i was thinking Summer Bio-II : Fall: Chm 2 Lab&lec Anatomy&Pys Lab&Lec (maybe Physics I Lab&Lec) Spring: Ohcem lab&lec microbio lab&lec Physics II lab&lec I could easily throw one of these classes in the following summer or replace them with random electives but what do y'all think of this💀💀

I'm tempted to plate something silvery/shiny onto a Gunpla model, as chrome paint is pretty much crap. as they are pretty precise models, is there a feasible way to get a silvechrome onto parts without increasing the parts thickness too much? so far most processes seem to go Graphite paint > Copper > Shiny plating.

Just curious if anyone here was going to be at Silver Moon in Reedley next weekend (april 8th). If you are and happen to see what I suspect will be the biggest, oldest dude with a shock of the fakest red hair around that'll be me and if you're so inclined say hi. :)
Why red? Because everyone knows that red things goes faster.
And you might find the history of that red hair amusing. My running partner and I did our first 100 in fall of 2019. We missed the 92 mile cutoff by a few minutes. Yes that sucked. :) So when we got home we immediately signed up for the spring version of that race. It canceled the week before the race start due to COVID. So we had our entries kicked out to the fall version.
My partner was worried we'd fail again so I told her I had it covered. I'd just dye my hair red because everyone knows that red things go faster. She said and I quote "If you do that I'll never run with you again."
So of course I did. And I wore a stocking hat the whole trip and revealed it in all its glory right before race start. I'm happy to say we finished the race with no problem, well not 'no' problem it is a 100 freakin' miles and all that but nothing race ending and yes she ran with me, then and afterwards.
Anyway, if you're there good luck for whatever your goal is and as we'll be doing the 24 hour endurance race with a 2.5 loop we'll pass each other a couple times. Or more likely you'll pass me a bunch as even with red hair I'm actually not fast.
And f you're not there still I wish you the very best in your future races, just keep moving forward till someone pulls you off the course or hands you medal or a buckle. Either way you're a a freakin' badass for lacing up and showing up at any race regardless of distance.

Tez2, a reputable Rockstar insider has suggested on the GTA Forums that GTA 6 is likely to be released this year with a tentative release date of 2024.
According to my own reports which date back to June 2021, this seems to be the case. My sources have said that Grand Theft Auto 6 has been aiming for a 2024 release date for some time, but speculation and past reveal/release schedules of the likes of GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 suggest the game will be delayed until 2025.
If I were to guess – I believe the game would release in the holiday of 2025 instead of the spring.
As for when the announcement is made is unclear, but typically Rockstar Games likes to announce its big reveals on its own. So to set expectations, I wouldn’t necessarily expect the game to be announced at E3. Instead, I expect some form of reveal trailer in Q4 2023 to coincide with past reveals.
According to my own sources, one of the major reasons for such a long-winded “delay” is that GTA 6 will release on current-generation consoles only. With the tentative 2024 date being planned as far back as 2021, it was a means of ensuring that GTA 6 would have a sufficient console market to release on.
In late 2022, Rockstar Games had a security breach that resulted in over 70 videos on GTA 6 gameplay surfacing online. In its subsequent earnings call, Take-Two Interactive addressed investors to state that the leak was unfortunate, but they believe it had no impact on development.
“There’s no evidence that any material assets were taken, which is a good thing, and certainly the leak won’t have any influence on development or anything of the sort, but it is terribly disappointing and causes us to be ever more vigilant on matters relating to cybersecurity”, it was said.
As for GTA 6, for now, we’ll need to continue sitting tight and see what gets announced in the hopefully near future.
When do you think GTA 6 will be announced?
For more from Insider Gaming, check out details on THE FINALS BETA that starts today.
Related

Tez2, a reputable Rockstar insider has suggested on the GTA Forums that GTA 6 is likely to be released this year with a tentative release date of 2024.
According to my own reports which date back to June 2021, this seems to be the case. My sources have said that Grand Theft Auto 6 has been aiming for a 2024 release date for some time, but speculation and past reveal/release schedules of the likes of GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2 suggest the game will be delayed until 2025.
If I were to guess – I believe the game would release in the holiday of 2025 instead of the spring.
As for when the announcement is made is unclear, but typically Rockstar Games likes to announce its big reveals on its own. So to set expectations, I wouldn’t necessarily expect the game to be announced at E3. Instead, I expect some form of reveal trailer in Q4 2023 to coincide with past reveals.
According to my own sources, one of the major reasons for such a long-winded “delay” is that GTA 6 will release on current-generation consoles only. With the tentative 2024 date being planned as far back as 2021, it was a means of ensuring that GTA 6 would have a sufficient console market to release on.
In late 2022, Rockstar Games had a security breach that resulted in over 70 videos on GTA 6 gameplay surfacing online. In its subsequent earnings call, Take-Two Interactive addressed investors to state that the leak was unfortunate, but they believe it had no impact on development.
“There’s no evidence that any material assets were taken, which is a good thing, and certainly the leak won’t have any influence on development or anything of the sort, but it is terribly disappointing and causes us to be ever more vigilant on matters relating to cybersecurity”, it was said.
As for GTA 6, for now, we’ll need to continue sitting tight and see what gets announced in the hopefully near future.
When do you think GTA 6 will be announced?
For more from Insider Gaming, check out details on THE FINALS BETA that starts today.
Related

Background: I have a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Human Resources but I never worked in that field. I worked 6 months (after completing Bachelor's) for a bank in a South-East Asian country and about a year managerial experience in a manufacturing firm in South Asia (home). I moved to Canada to pursue my Master's - took a part-time job at Walmart, which later got promoted to be a full-time department manager (6 months after completion of my Master's). I ended up doing that job for 2.5 years (in total, about 4 years). I didn't move cause I already lost 6 months out of my 3 years work-permit period and even if I get a HR job, it would take a considerable amount of time to be in a supervisor level - so in short, back then the choice were between Walmart's supervisor position and a technical support (call center) job for ease/faster Permanent Residency. I quit the job once I became a permanent resident and moved to Toronto. After a month I happened to get a job at a Bank's call-center - thought of keep doing it (was hoping to get an afternoon shift) until I get a real job but ended up with a schedule (8 to 4:30 plus commute time) so terrible (as well as, call-center was not my cup of tea) that I was forced to quit. I have been unemployed for 4 months now. I was really close to be an Assistant Manager at Walmart but the reasons I quit:

1. I hated the politics, money (16.50$ in 4 years), exploitation and the schedule - anyone worked at Walmart would know what I am talking about
2. Not exactly a future plan: Honestly, I came to Canada thinking/dreaming will land in a desk-job (may it be an entry level but would not be customer facing and probably in my field) and at Walmart it would have been possible (going to the home-office) but it was never certain and would take a lot of favouritism and, of course, time.
3. City: I always lived in a big city, loved the hustle-bustle of the metropolitan cities. I lived in Manila, Hanoi, Dhaka (and for brief period of 3 months, New York) - Toronto isn't that busy but at least this is close to something I am used to live in. I was so frustrated with the city I was living at, not too many choices, same people, there would literally be nothing open after 9:30 pm and hardly will see people out at night.
4. Thought I had enough money to survive (which wasn't - came with 25k and now down to 8k) and was under the impression would get a job right away in few month

The lies: Hardly got any response except 2 calls back in December to February but then I re-worked on my resume, made it more "Human Resources-y" (lies) and now getting calls, some 3-4 in every other weeks. I lied that I was a human resources co-ordinator and keep extending my duration at Walmart and completely omitted the bank call center one. I am not getting the second call or totally being ghosted after the first email/call, maybe I am not confident enough or maybe cause of my deep accent (I do have an accent, can't seem to get rid of it) - is it normal? does people get job by lying about their position/role on their previous company? or at least they are aware of the job responsibilities? I have seen so many of my classmates, who hardly have or no experience at all, getting jobs at HR after graduation - maybe they are just lucky or good at faking it. I never lied anywhere (as far as I could remember) and somehow I always get stuck at the first question "How is your day-to-day HR role looked like?" or "what did you use to do as an HR?" I made a list of it but somehow the interviewer are looking for more/something else or idkk maybe my face/voice/confidence is subconsciously giving it away that I never worked as an HR.
Question:

1. Should I go back to the old city to my old job?- The store manager has changed but I know her (I have good relationship with pretty much all the store managers in that market) and if there is a vacancy in the managerial position, she would take me in but if not, then I would at least end up in an associate position. I probably will end up earning a little over 2k/month but it is at least something better than nothing. Will have to start from scratch and might have to end up there in retail.
2. Should I keep lying in my resume? Or is it NOT advisable to lie in a experience/skill based job like HR or I will easily get caught?

As my saving are drying out, I don't see any other way. I tried for warehouse/shoppers/rona/loblows jobs as well but couldn't land in one of those either.

(This is a nonviolent text.)
Wouldn’t we be better even than well-sniffed daisies if spring lived up to its name and rebuked every suffering thus far incurred? For the rest of spring, every morning when we wake, the first thought to visit the window box of the mind will be about a world growing greener, more alive, the sun’s energy remembered by the earth, and the memories stored as growth, and that growth becoming a kind of fluency or connoisseurship, picks you up off the ground, grows around you.
Are we nearing a time when preeminent authority will change course and decide truth telling is better business than not telling the truth? An extreme proposal! Some might find it so, and in its sentiment, some could hear a cynical twitter or two within the typical dawn chorus. Let’s admit as much: we’ve grown so used to power freely plying its trade, banquets of deception outlaid, their notional remorse is a topic horseback philosophers have already addressed. Let it rest!
If power climbed to its podium high above the tumult to speak an earnest truth, what would it say? In the way the fossil fuel industry knew about climate change generations before the public was informed. In the way the CIA knew about the end of the cold war decades before the public was informed. In the way the state department knew the authors of 9/11 years before the public was informed. In these ways, power steps up to its podium, clear its throat, at last clears the air.
Ah spring! You have rebuked winter’s will toward desolation, climbed out from under the land of the dead, shaken off the dust dislodged from the soles of a grieving world marching through the weeks, then invited us all into the tanning salon called the universe, here’s your hibiscus tea. Everything grows here, so if you apply a mud pack like this, sew one’s wild oats like that, shape the next generation into historic personages who might one day grace a coin – we’re good to go.
When did power first discern reality’s more exotic properties? Nuclear proliferation was not on anyone’s radar, even up to the point when the things were exploding – but in theory, someone could have predicted it all by 1939. You could have sat in a chair somewhere, as Oppenheimer did, and thought: this particular property of reality – fission – will lead to a confrontation with existence – it can’t be avoided. Was the führer likewise listening to the voice of unavoidability?
Let’s say this could happen more than once – what other properties of reality should we be on the lookout for? The proliferation of carbon in the atmosphere, yes, why yes – but anything a bit more like a yoga pose? Might we inspire a new reality by virtue of flexing toward a certain state of mind, feel the better for it. Let’s say you’re carrying a half-done jigsaw puzzle into the parlor, hands beneath a chestnut tray you move puzzles with – when your consciousness splits in two.
Hold the right pose to timewise sufficiency, and your consciousness unbuttons itself from its safety harness, stares at itself in a mirror, which is made of ourselves, like a shape just snaps into existence above the brow of the mind, doorways metaphorical, turn out to be more actual than the cavernous substantial – and the two fight a lot in the mirror, win most of the time. But when they stop? The sky is lit by two suns notice – one we can’t see, one we can’t help but see.
Power discovered we live in two realities at once, and the one we can’t see is putting the one we can – our waking lives – to sleep. How far along is this? says the skeptic in us all, wondering if the question is about humanity’s plight, this author’s suffering, or whatever helps us sleep at night. The problem is not like traditional tyranny, more like a tyranny from underneath, where we are urged to sleep through automaticity, overstimulation, the arbitrary spatiality of media.
Sleep is a reference to sorrow. We are placed in bed by power, given delusions of the future to dream about, then mislay the very notion of the future as things that happen later. Where are we going? No wait – where did we come from? Whoa, whoa, whoa – how is the one becoming the other? A switcheroo! Not true, whispers the future in our ears, hoping we might therefrom be stirred to dream – an end to human suffering is within reach, in myriad ways unforeseen.

I live on the east side and commute to Boston once or twice a week as of recently.
I typically take the 810 from Pawtucket (free parking 🤗) in the morning (departs 7:46 am) and I’ve yet to take a ride that wasn’t at least 10 minutes delayed and most of the time I’ve been 20-30 minutes behind schedule to south station.
What I thought would be a one hour and 15 minute commute has consistently been 2 hours door to door…
-10 mins to Pawtucket station
-10-15 waiting on the train
-1:20 on the train
-5 mins to walk to the office
I knew it wouldn’t be fun but it’s wearing on me…
-Are these delays typical or have the past few weeks just been worse than usual?
-Does anyone know of alternative options? I honestly would probably spring the $50 to take Acela since it’s only a few days a week but the first AMTRAK to Boston doesn’t leave here until 9:22am and I need something earlier.
Thanks y’all!!!