I took a cab tonight (30 May 2024) from O’Hare to Streeterville. I left my carry one luggage in the cab. It was a large van, the type that can take a wheelchair.
I was traveling with my elderly parents and when I got out of the car, I didn’t check the remaining bag inside the car.
I don’t know the cab company or driver’s name. All I have is the receipt. The ride started at 18:13 outside terminal 3 and ended at 19:39 at 227 E Walton Place
Is there anyway to trace this down?

Hello,
I moved to Germany from another country at the beginning of April. I am a citizen in Germany and the country I moved from. I have lived in said country my whole life so I am unfamiliar with German law.
The main reason, among others, for moving to Germany was because my wife lives in a third country and Germany was a more attractive option than my home country or hers to start our lives.
After registering my address the first thing I did after arriving in Germany was to reach out to a small firm (maybe 3-5 people) to guide us through the immigration process as I wanted to get everything right to avoid delays in bringing my wife to Germany. I reached out with an initial phone call. This call lasted maybe half an hour. I was then directed to make an appointment.
We had one appointment via Google Meets. It was a call that lasted an hour and the following was discussed and agreed upon:
-They would provide us with a cloud based platform with which we would use to contact them compile documents. They would use it to communicate with us and upload checklists and provide us with templates for things like the invitation letter in German that my wife needed.
-They assured us that they would look over our documents before my wife had her appointment with the German consulate in her country. This was to make sure everything was in order and correct.
-They lightly persuaded me to choose one of two public health insurance companies because "they had contacts" so they could easily request documents if needed. I was also provided with links to use for these companies which I assume were affiliate links. I did indeed choose one of their suggestions for my health insurance for my own reasons and I applied without using their link.

• The agreed fee was for my wife's successful German national visa receipt.

I really had no qualms after the initial meeting.
Fast forward a few weeks. My wife and I were busy collecting and compiling the necessary documents. The way you get a visa appointment with the German consulate in my wife's country is not unlike getting an appointment with the Bürgeramt in Berlin as an example. They release appointments as they are available online and you have to check multiple times a day and basically jump on an open appointment as soon as you see it. We managed to get an appointment that was 10 days from the date of booking.
I reached out to the relocation company the day after we got the appointment to give them a heads up. I uploaded the documents we had at that point and had to request a template that they didn't upload. I asked about two documents that I still needed. Proof of health insurance for my wife and my German employment letter.
Important detail here is that the health insurance document I needed was with the insurance company they had told me they could easily request documents from on my behalf.
The response I got was just that the document I needed should have been provided to me when I applied for the insurance which it wasn't.
I expected them to look through our documents and give us feedback, which they never did. My wife's appointment coincided with my first few weeks of work in Germany where I was actually working six days a week as we were figuring out my hours and where I fit best into the team. I was happy for the extra hours, but it was a stressful time needless to say. On top of this I was now left to acquire the correct health insurance document from the company they claimed they had a relationship with on my own.
We managed to get all of the documents together just before my wife's appointment, but we still hadn't received any feedback from the relocation company. I didn't have the time to chase down responses from the relocation company. Also, I'm used to businesses taking ownership of customer accounts. I felt like I was nagging them to do their job.
My wife's visa appointment went less than stellar. She was missing a required document that the relocation company never mentioned. Furthermore, she was told she would need A1 German, which is fair enough. However the relocation company told us this wouldn't be necessary for two reasons. 1) The Goethe Institute doesn't offer the test in my wife's home country. The closest country it is offered (Russia) is currently at war. Other countries my wife can travel to visa free where it is offered would require her to incur significant travel expenses, and air travel with a sanctioned airline. 2) my secondary citizenship is from an non EU country that has exemptions from the A1 language requirement for family reunification purposes.
We were pretty annoyed with the relocation company. We didn't even hear from them until today which is well over a month since my wife's visa appointment. They never gave us feedback on our application documents, didn't check in to see how my wife's appointment went, nada... I honestly thought they ghosted us because my wife's home country is a particularly difficult case.
Today I got an email requesting full payment and 2 sentences wishing us well when my wife arrives in Germany...
I do think they provided me some value, but I definitely don't think they delivered on what we agreed upon. I replied asking if we could come to some sort of fair resolution since they didn't perform their end of the deal fully.
My question is, if they insist I owe the full amount am I obligated to pay? Is there a way I can file a dispute? If we can't come to an agreement and I don't pay immediately can they file a dispute against me that may end up hurting my credit rating in Germany? Since I have no credit history in Germany yet, I really don't want to start off with something negative.
Thanks in advance.

Table of Contents 1. My typing speeds before and after practice 2. My lefty / righty approach to faster typing 3. 1 month of lefty / righty typing practice 4. How to further increase your typing speeds 

Hey everyone,
I wanted to share a recent experience I had at Aeromall Pune and see if anyone else has encountered something similar.
A driver asked me to come outside Aeromall Pune, explaining that there was a long line of cabs waiting to enter. When I found him, he was standing away from his car and asked about my preferred payment method. I insisted on paying online because I needed a receipt for official purposes.
He then directed me to another gate of Aeromall, near Starbucks, and asked me to wait there while he brought the car around. After a few minutes of waiting, he canceled the trip, and I was charged a waiting fee.
I hope this was just an isolated incident and not part of a larger scam happening around Aeromall Pune. Has anyone else experienced this?

Found this article after doing a quick deep-dive after this post from u/evilez:
https://www.reddit.com/UFOs/comments/1d33m4l/does_anybody_remember_what_podcast_this_was/
"Hello fine ladies and gentlemen! I remember listening to a podcast less than a year ago. The main subject of the podcast was UFOs (I think)... anyways the guest told a story that a congressman or senator wrote a bill that was against the CIA or going to defund the CIA, in the 80's... and shortly thereafter, someone broke into his home, dragged his wife out into the street and stuck a gun in her mouth and told her to kill the bill."
Some light Googling brought up this article about the history of the CIA, the OSS, and Daniel Patrick Moynihan's attempts at defunding the agency in the 90s.
Here's an article about that attempt brought by Moynihan published on the Carnegie Endowment Website on December 20, 2005.
https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2005/12/the-case-for-abolishing-the-cia?lang=en
Here's the New Yorker piece about all of this from October 3rd, 2022.

Spooked -- What’s wrong with the C.I.A.? -- By Amy Davidson Sorkin -- October 3, 2022

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/10/10/has-the-cia-done-more-harm-than-good
According to the article regarding the resuscitation of the OSS as the CIA immediately following Roswell and the Twining Memo:
"Many of its officers moved straight to the new C.I.A. Most consequentially, perhaps, four future directors of the C.I.A. were O.S.S. veterans: Allen Dulles, Richard Helms, William Colby, and William Casey."
Here's the New Yorker article in full:
"On January 4, 1995, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, of New York, introduced a bill called the Abolition of the Central Intelligence Agency Act. It had been a rough stretch for the C.I.A. The year before, Aldrich Ames, a longtime officer, had been convicted of being a longtime mole for Soviet (and then Russian) intelligence. Despite having a reputation among his colleagues as a problem drinker who appeared to live far beyond his means, Ames had been given high-level assignments with access to the names of American sources in the U.S.S.R. When the F.B.I. finally arrested him, he was in the Jaguar he used for commuting to work at Langley; by then, he was responsible for the death of at least ten agents. Moynihan said that the case was such a flamboyant display of incompetence that it might actually be a distraction from “the most fundamental defects of the C.I.A.” He meant that the agency—in what he considered to be its “defining failure”—had both missed the fact that the Soviet Union was on the verge of collapse and done little to hasten its end.
He gave a diagnosis for what had gone wrong. “Secrecy keeps mistakes secret,” he said. “Secrecy is a disease. It causes a hardening of the arteries of the mind.” He quoted John le Carré on that point, adding that the best information actually came from the likes of area specialists, diplomats, historians, and journalists. If the C.I.A. was disbanded, he said, the State Department could pick up the intelligence work, and do a better job.
Moynihan was, in some respects, being disingenuous. As he well knew, even if his bill had passed, spies and spying wouldn’t have gone away. The State Department already had its own mini agency, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research. The Departments of Energy and Treasury each had one, too. The Defense Intelligence Agency conducted clandestine operations; U.S. Army Intelligence, Air Force Intelligence, and the Office of Naval Intelligence kept themselves busy as well. The National Security Agency was nearly two decades away from the revelation, by Edward Snowden, a contractor and a former C.I.A. employee, that it had collected information about the phone calls of most Americans, but it was a behemoth even in Moynihan’s time. So was the Federal Bureau of Investigation. There were about a dozen agencies then; now, after reforms that were supposed to streamline things, there are eighteen, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (O.D.N.I.), a sort of meta-C.I.A. that has a couple of thousand employees, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis. The Drug Enforcement Administration (which currently has foreign offices in sixty-nine countries) has an Office of National Security Intelligence. Four million people in the United States now have security clearances.
It can be hard to sort out which agencies do what; players in the espionage business aren’t always good with boundaries. Both the C.I.A. and the N.S.A. make use of satellite resources, including commercial ones, but there is a separate agency in charge of a spy-satellite fleet, the National Reconnaissance Office—not to be confused with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which deals with both space-based and ground-level imaging, or with Space Delta 18, the nation’s newest intelligence agency, which is attached to the Space Force. Abolishing the C.I.A. might do nothing more than reconfigure the turf wars.
[NOTE: both Sean Kirkpatrick and David Grusch worked for the NRO and at least Grusch worked for the NGA]
As the senator from New York also knew, a large proportion of the C.I.A.’s resources are devoted not to intelligence gathering but to covert operations, some of which look like military operations. In “Spies, Lies, and Algorithms: The History and Future of American Intelligence” (Princeton)—one of several recent books that coincide with the seventy-fifth anniversary of the agency’s founding—Amy B. Zegart, a political scientist at Stanford, writes that it’s “getting harder to know just where the CIA’s role ends and the military’s role begins.” Yet the agency’s paramilitary pursuits and related covert activities go back decades. They include the botched Bay of Pigs landing, the brutal Phoenix Program in Vietnam, and a long list of assassination attempts, coup plots, the mining of a harbor (with explosive devices the agency built itself), and drone strikes. These operations have very seldom ended well.
Moynihan’s bill had no more luck than another that he introduced the same day, aimed at ending Major League Baseball’s exemption from antitrust laws. In each case, people understood that there was a problem, but both institutions were protected by the sense that there was something essential, and perhaps authentically American, about them, including their very brokenness. A sudden turn of events can convince even the C.I.A.’s most sober critics that the agency will save us all, whether from terrorists or from Donald Trump. But, seventy-five years in, it’s far from clear whether the C.I.A. is good at its job, or what that job is or should be, or how we could get rid of the agency if we wanted to.
How did we end up with the C.I.A.? A familiar explanation is that the shock of Pearl Harbor made the United States realize it needed more spies; the Office of Strategic Services was formed and jumped into action; and, when the war ended, the O.S.S. evolved seamlessly into the C.I.A., ready to go out and win the Cold War. But that narrative isn’t quite right, particularly regarding the relationship between the O.S.S. and the C.I.A.
[NOTE: We know how ended up with the CIA. ROSWELL.]
The United States has always used spies of some sort. George Washington had a discretionary espionage budget for which he didn’t have to turn in receipts. In the early part of the twentieth century, the State Department had an intelligence-analysis unit, along with a cryptography group called the Black Chamber, which operated out of a brownstone in New York’s Murray Hill until it was shut down, in 1929. The Army and the Navy had cryptography and reconnaissance units, too. When the Second World War began, their operations ramped up dramatically, and, as Nicholas Reynolds recounts in “Need to Know: World War II and the Rise of American Intelligence” (Mariner), these units, not the O.S.S., handled most of the code-breaking. The problem became the volume of raw intelligence. The task of making sense of it and of turning it into something that policymakers could use went to an office within the Army’s military-intelligence division (or G-2), which, Reynolds says, produced “the country’s best strategic intelligence” during the war. That office’s work was directed by Alfred McCormack, a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Harlan Stone and a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Many of the people he brought in were young corporate lawyers; the theory was that their training in plowing through mountains of documents made them ideal intelligence analysts.
William J. Donovan, who led and largely conceived of the O.S.S., was also a Wall Street lawyer, but one with an aversion to the “legalistic.” What Donovan envisioned was essentially an array of commando units that would operate stealthily and behind enemy lines. In practice, what he tried to build, according to a colleague, was a “private army.” His escapades often risked too much and gained too little. In late 1943, one of his own officers wrote to him that “the set-up has been incredibly wasteful in manpower and, except for a few spotty accomplishments, has been a national failure.” And it had produced “chaos in the field.” Donovan’s nickname was Wild Bill, but his staff called him Seabiscuit, after the thoroughbred, because of his tendency to race around, engaging in what was basically war tourism. In the end, though, the O.S.S. made real contributions, including through its contacts with the French Resistance. But Donovan’s complaint about D Day was that there was “too much planning.” Counterintelligence and strategic thinking bored him, and the O.S.S.’s analysis division was seen as secondary to its operations.
When Harry Truman became President, in April, 1945, he took a look at the O.S.S. and, in September, 1945, abolished it. About two years later, he signed the National Security Act, which established the C.I.A. (and the Department of Defense), but he didn’t want the new agency to be like the group Donovan had run. Instead, it was supposed to do what its name suggested: centralize the intelligence that various agencies gathered, analyze it, and turn it into something the President could use.
[NOTE: I tried doing some research after reading something yesterday about how the NSA was developed in 1952 under Project Sigma to try and decode "alien" communications. If anyone can offer anything, you'd be helping humanity.]
“It was not intended as a ‘Cloak and Dagger’ Outfit!,” Truman later wrote. He also had to deal with public apprehensions that he might create what a Chicago Tribune headline called a “Super Gestapo Agency”—which is why, in its charter, the C.I.A. was banned from domestic spying.
Reynolds’s book is the best of the recent batch, and the most readable. It does not retrofit the history of the O.S.S. around the assumption that the C.I.A. was the inevitable lead postwar intelligence agency. There were other contenders, including a version of McCormack’s office in the State Department—something like what Moynihan wanted. J. Edgar Hoover argued that “World Wide Intelligence” should be turned over to the F.B.I., with military intelligence subservient to him. In some alternative history, he might have pulled that off; by 1943, he was running undercover operations in twenty Latin American countries. And so things could have been worse.
[WHAT UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS WERE WE RUNNING IN LATIN AMERICANS COUNTRIES IN 1943.]
Donovan was an adept publicist, but what mattered most, in the end, was that he was good, or lucky, when it came to hiring people. Despite the “pale, male, and Yale” stereotype, the O.S.S. was somewhat more diverse than other units, and certainly more eclectic. Among its ranks were Ralph Bunche, Herbert Marcuse, and Julia Child. Many of its officers moved straight to the new C.I.A. Most consequentially, perhaps, four future directors of the C.I.A. were O.S.S. veterans: Allen Dulles, Richard Helms, William Colby, and William Casey. Each seems to have had glory-day memories of the O.S.S., which is to say that each, in various ways, was afflicted with what a general in Army intelligence called “the screwball Donovan effect.” Casey, who put a picture of Donovan on his wall, said of his old boss, “We all glowed in his presence.” Wild Bill lost the bureaucratic fight but won the personnel and mythology wars.
And, of course, the agency found customers and collaborators in the White House. There was no mention of covert action in the law that chartered the C.I.A., but Presidents—starting with Truman—began using it that way. One of the agency’s first operations involved meddling in the 1948 Italian election, to insure the victory of the Christian Democrats. The subsidies and outright bribery of Italian politicians, some of them on the far, far right, continued into the nineteen-seventies.
Almost from its creation, though, there was a sense that something about the C.I.A. was off. The split between covert action and intelligence gathering and analysis was part of it. The director of the agency was also supposed to be the leader of U.S. intelligence as a whole, but, invariably, the person in the job seemed more invested in preëminence than in coördination. That setup remained in place until the establishment of the O.D.N.I., in 2004, a move that thus far has mostly continued a tradition of trying to deal with the C.I.A.’s dysfunction by setting up ever more agencies, offices, and centers. (The N.S.A. was established, in 1952, in response to a series of cryptography-related failures.) “Legacy of Ashes,” Tim Weiner’s 2008 history of the C.I.A.—and still an invaluable overview—takes its title from a lament by Eisenhower about what he’d be leaving his successors if the “faulty” structure of American intelligence wasn’t changed. Since Weiner’s book was published, the ashes, and the agencies, have only been piling up.
Zegart’s “Spies, Lies, and Algorithms” aims to bring that history to the present. Zegart has served as an adviser to intelligence agencies, and she provides a decent guide to our current bureaucracy. Throughout, her book is clear and well organized—maybe a little too well organized, one feels, after taking in the “Seven Deadly Biases” of intelligence analysis, the “Four Main Adversaries” and the “Five Types of Attack” in the crypto area, and the “Three Words, Four Types” that define covert action. (The covert-action words, incidentally, are “influence,” “acknowledged,” and “abroad.”) Not a few paragraphs read like PowerPoint charts; contradictions are displayed without really being reckoned with. She observes that the balance between “hunting” and “gathering” seems off, but, in her telling, the fact that Presidents of both parties regularly turn to the C.I.A. for paramilitary and other covert tasks constitutes proof that doing so is part of the order of things. The impression she leaves is that if it all goes wrong, it’s because some checklist has been missed. One of the top priorities of U.S. intelligence today, she thinks, should be persuading tech companies to get with the program and help out. She moots the creation of yet another agency, to deal with OSINT—open-source intelligence.
In one chapter, Zegart provides a list of scandals involving spying within the U.S. by various intelligence agencies—notably the N.S.A., the F.B.I., and the C.I.A. “All of these activities violated American law,” she writes. “But that’s the point: domestic laws forbid this kind of surveillance of Americans.” How is that the point, exactly? She depicts the Senate’s 2014 Torture Report, which detailed profound abuses in the C.I.A.’s so-called black sites, as a they-said, the-agency-said, who-knows case. She turns it into a parable about the problems with Congress—suggesting that, although the committee structure may have needed rejiggering, the moral compass of those involved in the program of torture was just fine.
Another new volume, “A Question of Standing: A History of the CIA” (Oxford), by Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, a professor emeritus of history at the University of Edinburgh, offers the insights of a more distant observer. He can be astute about how “false memories” of the O.S.S.’s accomplishments have led the C.I.A. astray. Part of his argument is that the agency has acted as if its influence depended on its standing with whoever is in the White House, thus motivating it to offer Presidents quick fixes that fix nothing. The net effect is to reduce its standing, and that of the U.S., with the public at home and abroad. But Jeffreys-Jones is prone to rash generalizations and pronouncements. He theorizes that, in the run-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, George W. Bush’s national-security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, may have been susceptible to “war mongering” due to her status as “a descendant of slaves,” and that the working-class background of the C.I.A.’s director, George Tenet, made him more likely to vouch for the faulty intelligence on weapons of mass destruction used to justify the war. “Social mobility so often leads to conformity,” warns Jeffreys-Jones, himself the son of an academic historian.
During the Vietnam War, the C.I.A. had discouraging intelligence to offer, and, when successive Administrations didn’t want to hear it, focussed on being helpful by providing those supposedly quick fixes. That meant abetting a coup in 1963, spying on antiwar protesters, and launching the Phoenix Program, an anti-Vietcong campaign marked by torture and by arbitrary executions; in total, more than twenty thousand people were killed under Phoenix’s auspices.
Phoenix was run by William Colby, the O.S.S. alum, who was soon promoted to C.I.A. director. At lower levels, discontent about Vietnam fueled leaks. In December, 1974, the journalist Seymour Hersh told the agency that he was about to publish a story in the Times exposing its domestic spying. Whether in a miscalculation or (as Jeffreys-Jones somewhat breathlessly speculates) as an act of personal expiation, Colby gave Hersh partial confirmation. Amid the scandals and the Congressional hearings that followed, Colby angered some of his colleagues, and Henry Kissinger, by laying bare even more. It emerged that, in 1973, Colby’s predecessor had asked senior agency officials to produce a list of things the C.I.A. had done that might have been unlawful. The resulting document, covering just the prior fifteen years, was known in-house as “The Family Jewels,” and was almost seven hundred pages long.
The question of how much it matters who works at the C.I.A. is a perennial one. The influence of Donovan’s acolytes shows that decisions about whom you recruit can, in a formative period or at a critical juncture, make a big difference. But, once an institutional culture has become entrenched, it can be easier to see how the institution shapes the people within it than vice versa.
“Wise Gals: The Spies Who Built the CIA and Changed the Future of Espionage” (Putnam), by Nathalia Holt, comes at the question from a different angle. It’s about five women who worked for the early C.I.A.; three also worked at the O.S.S., and one, Eloise Page, began her career as Bill Donovan’s secretary. Holt is also the author of “Rise of the Rocket Girls,” about women in the early years of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and “The Queens of Animation,” about women at the Walt Disney Company. Her book contains fine material for a beautifully art-directed streaming series, with set pieces in postwar Paris, nineteen-fifties Baghdad, and nineteen-seventies Greece, where Page was the C.I.A.’s first woman station chief. It even has a framing device in the form of the “Petticoat Panel,” a working group of C.I.A. women that convened in 1953 to document their unequal pay and treatment. Holt quotes the transcript of the meeting at which the leadership of the agency summarily rejected their findings. Helms, the future director, says, “It is just nonsense for these gals to come on here and think that the government is going to fall apart because their brains aren’t going to be used to the maximum.” (In 1977, Helms was convicted of lying to Congress about the C.I.A.’s machinations in Chile.) What the book is not, unfortunately, is a coherent history of the C.I.A., of the era it depicts, or even of these women’s work.
Holt’s research does turn up evidence that Jane Burrell, one of her subjects, was the first C.I.A. officer to die in the line of duty, in a plane crash in France, in 1948, a fact that the agency itself apparently missed. Holt ends her book with a call for a star honoring Burrell to be added to the C.I.A.’s memorial wall. Of the hundred and thirty-seven officers represented there, she writes, forty-five died accidentally, the majority in plane crashes, meaning that Burrell’s case would be fairly typical. Burrell was on the return leg of a trip to Brussels, where she’d been sent to talk to war-crimes investigators about a mess the C.I.A. had created by relying on an agent who turned out to have worked with the S.S. and was now in custody. In that respect, too, Burrell, who had personally handled the agent, was typical of the C.I.A. (After Burrell vouched for him, the man was released.) The subject of the C.I.A.’s postwar relations with former Nazis—some of whom, like Reinhard Gehlen, it helped to install in West Germany’s new intelligence service—and with collaborationist émigré groups is, no doubt, a morass. Holt, alas, manages to make the story even more garbled than it has to be. In the end, she basically treats the whole sordid episode as a learning experience for the Gals.
The problem is that the agency doesn’t seem to learn much. Holt credits Mary Hutchison with helping to build a network of émigré Ukrainian nationalists. Beginning in 1949, the agency parachuted some of them (including one whom Hutchison apparently distrusted) behind the Soviet border, where they were quickly captured—and repeated the same procedure for a number of years. “Despite the catastrophe, the Ukraine operation would serve as a template moving forward,” Holt writes. “The C.I.A. had more success with back-to-back operations in Iran and Guatemala, where covert action was able to deftly oust leaders considered undesirable.” It’s odd to describe these coups as deft. One of Zegart’s handy lists is of the “unintended consequences” in Iran: “religious extremism, a revolutionary overthrow, the American hostage crisis, severed ties, regional instability, and today’s rising nuclear dangers.” Guatemala is still dealing with the violent legacy of the coup that the C.I.A. visited upon it. Then there’s the question of the intended consequences, which were, respectively, to elevate a shah and a military regime. Secret wars tend not to be so secret in the country where they take place.
It was, no doubt, frustrating for Hutchison when, a few years later, her colleagues on the Bay of Pigs task force failed to make use of her Spanish-language skills. But are we supposed to think that the whole misconceived enterprise would have gone off without a hitch were it not for the C.I.A.’s misogyny? One of Holt’s minor themes is that women in the C.I.A. were seen as more natural analysts than operatives—with analysis, in turn, seen as less manly, and less valuable, to everybody’s detriment. But she is more intent on showing that these women were also daring. The main point of “Wise Gals” is that it’s cool that women were in the early C.I.A., and therefore that the C.I.A. itself was cooler than we’d realized. Holt celebrates a big promotion Page got that afforded her access to the secret of a safe containing shellfish-derived poison. You don’t have to be pale, male, and Yale to be complicit in a bungled assassination plot, or, for that matter, a program of rendition and torture.
Why do so many books about the C.I.A. have trouble getting their story straight? It can’t just be the secrecy of the work itself, at least with regard to the earlier years, about which much has been declassified. (Much remains under wraps: Moynihan complained that classification created more than six million supposed secrets in 1993; Zegart writes that the number in 2016 was fifty-five million—not all of which can possibly have been critical.) The aura of secrecy, by contrast, probably does distort the judgment of its chroniclers. And the scope of the agency’s work is a challenge: it’s hard to write expertly on places as far-ranging as the Democratic Republic of Congo (where the agency initially planned to poison President Patrice Lumumba’s toothpaste, and instead ended up handing a quarter of a million dollars to Joseph Mobutu, the country’s future dictator, who facilitated the assassination) and Afghanistan (where the C.I.A. has had forty years of illusory gains and worse losses). But the biggest problem may be the agency’s own pattern of self-deception. Holt, for example, sometimes seems to go wrong when, rummaging through the archives, she gives too much credit to contemporaneous internal assessments of an agent’s or an operation’s worth.
In truth, the C.I.A. has had a “defining failure” for every decade of its existence—sometimes more than one. For Moynihan, in the nineteen-nineties, it was the lack of foresight about the Soviet Union; in the two-thousands, it was the phantom weapons of mass destruction, followed by torture and, in still evolving ways, by the drone-based program of targeted killings, with its high toll of civilian deaths. Barack Obama’s rapport with John Brennan, the C.I.A.’s director from 2013 to 2017, seems to have brought him to accept the view that the killing of American citizens abroad was acceptable, if managed prudently. The overuse of the agency on the battlefield is due not to a military-manpower shortage but to wishful thinking about the benefits of secrecy and of a lack of accountability.
It’s difficult to know, at this point, what the C.I.A.’s next defining failure—or, if one tries to be optimistic, its stabilizing success—will be. Donald Trump has had a complicated relationship with the intelligence community—increasingly capitalized and abbreviated to I.C.—which is presently conducting a damage assessment regarding documents with classified markings that he kept at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home. He might, of course, be reëlected, and have the C.I.A.’s tools at his disposal again. If the C.I.A. isn’t the place to turn for an expedient solution to foreign-policy problems, neither is it bound to be the place to turn for a solution to our democracy’s political problems.
“If you ask intelligence officers what misperceptions bother them most, odds are they’ll mention ethics,” Zegart writes. She quotes an official who complains that “people think we’re lawbreakers, we’re human rights violators.” She insists that “officers think about ethics a lot.” She portrays the agency as being filled with hardworking moms and dads who do a great deal of “agonizing.” No doubt she’s right. But if the C.I.A. keeps falling down all the same, something must be tragically amiss in the agency’s structure or culture, or both. All the talk of coups and assassination plots, Zegart worries, distracts people from understanding the C.I.A.’s more basic intelligence mission. In fact, the party most distracted by such activities—and by the military role it has taken on—seems to be the agency itself. ♦
An earlier version of this article misstated the numerical designation of the Space Force unit dedicated to intelligence.
Published in the print edition of the October 10, 2022, issue.

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TEMPLE LAND PURCHASE On July 22, 2022, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ("the Church", aka the Mormon Church) purchased the Lone Mountain temple plot for $12.5 million. See the County Recorder document of the land sale here: https://maps.co.clark.nv.us/assessoapps/aowebimages/aowebimage.aspx?deed=20220722:00716:
CHURCH CONTRIBUTIONS TO COUNCILWOMAN ALLEN-PALENSKE The Church's law firm in Las Vegas, Kaempfer Crowell, gave $10,000 in campaign contributions to Councilwoman Francis Allen-Palenske who represents Ward 4, the location where the temple plot sits.
Allen-Palenske received $2,500 on June 14, 2022 https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=O8PF8wcepQ3svTlPFqTTxQ%253d%253d
$3,000 on September 9, 2022 https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=4jnnkoAAunDzJO6GdYayPg%253d%253d
$4,5000 on December 2, 2022 https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=Ib5SY0423amys0pLfeQnbQ%253d%253d
TEMPLE ANNOUNCEMENT On October 2, 2022, Church President Russell M. Nelson announced the Lone Mountain Temple at the Church's semiannual General Conference: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/10/58nelson?lang=eng
COUNCILWOMAN SPONSORS BILL TO CHANGE ZONING On February 15, 2024, Councilwoman Francis Allen-Palenske introduced a bill to change the zoning in Lone Mountain which residents believe is tailored just to make the approval of the temple possible. The change to "19.10.020 C-V Civic District" in Section B4 allows recognized religions to construct buildings on a site of 5 acres or more. Before the change, Section B4 only allowed recognized religions to construct buildings on a site of 5 acres or less. See the updated code here: https://online.encodeplus.com/regs/lasvegas-nv/doc-viewer.aspx#secid-520
That bill document is located here (download): https://lasvegas.primegov.com/meetings/ItemWithTemplateType?id=57928&meetingTemplateType=2&compiledMeetingDocumentId=35644
Bill was "Approved as to Form" on February 15, 2024, by Chief Deputy City Attorney Cameron Val Steed, a graduate from the Brigham Young University School of Law (class of 1981).
On March 20, 2024, the bill was passed by the City Council. Councilman Brian Knudsen is recorded in the document as having made a motion to approve. Brian Knudsen also received $10,000 in campaign contributions from the Church's law firm in Las Vegas, Kaempfer Crowell on September 26, 2023: https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=QNJGEgMESAWM444LgJFWfA%253d%253d
The bill passed 6-0 (unanimously). Councilwoman Victoria Seaman, who also voted in favor, received $10,000 in campaign contributions from the law firm representing the Church, Kaempfer Crowell, on August 8, 2023: https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=Y%252bLXUykyBR%252bVBPajRyWUVQ%253d%253d
I haven't checked the other 3 council members for donations received. Perhaps someone here can do so.
LEGAL BUT NOT ETHICAL The Church can donate to council people in hopes that this will influence them. That's not illegal. It is however not the type of action that most church members would think is right or ethical, and probably doesn't reflect the type of organization that is supposedly guided by Jesus Christ himself. In my opinion, that's probably why the Church works through law firms so that payments are not made directly by the Church. If done in this way, faithful members can more easily dismiss such allegations even if the receipts are presented (links above).
And of course, as Church members are taught from birth, anyone who is speaking negatively about the Church is just persecuting it, right? And if someone is persecuting it, then that must mean that they're evil and they're trying to attack what is good and just: the Church. It could never be that a bunch of residents established neighborhood covenants that the Church now wishes to break and those neighbors believe that the rural quality of their neighborhood will be destroyed forever. Could those neighbors fight this and the City Council based on their local bylaws? Probably. Could they win based on those laws? Probably, but only if they can outlast the Church. Can a bunch of residents really go toe to toe with an organization with nearly $200 billion in available assets? No way. Is that perhaps how Jesus wins hearts and minds in today's world? Through litigation?

*edit: included legal demand letter template at bottom of post*
I'm not a Yotta user, but have been affected in a similar way. I used Copper, an online bank, for my teenage son's savings, which also routed through Synapse. We've been locked out of our funds (almost $1000) for two weeks.
This morning I finally had success in obtaining our funds. 16 hours ago, I sent Copper an official legal "demand letter" stating exactly what I wanted, why I believed they were in the wrong, and what I would do about it if they did not comply (reporting to regulatory agencies, small claims court). I used ChatGPT to help write the letter.
May or may not work through Yotta. It may have been a coincidence, but I suspect that Copper was spooked by my letter, the receipt of the legal demand letter helped push through the return of funds.
[name]
[address]
[email]
[date]
[company name]
[company address]
[company email]
Subject: Demand for Immediate Return of [X amount]
To Whom It May Concern,
I am writing to demand the immediate return of [X amount], belonging to [name], which is currently being wrongfully withheld.
Despite recent issues with your broker, [company] has a fiduciary duty to safeguard and return these funds. The refusal to release these funds constitutes a breach of this duty and may also be considered conversion under applicable state law. Furthermore, withholding these funds without just cause is a violation of both state and federal consumer protection statutes.
Should the [amount] not be returned within five (5) business days from the date of this letter, I will have no choice but to pursue all available legal remedies, including but not limited to:

1. Initiating a small claims court action for the return of the funds, plus any applicable damages and legal fees.
   
2. Filing a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
   
3. Seeking intervention through state regulatory agencies.
   

Please remit the full amount to our linked bank account within five (5) business days.
This matter requires your immediate attention. I expect a prompt resolution to avoid further legal action.
Sincerely,
[name]

TEMPLE LAND PURCHASE On July 22, 2022, the Church purchased the Lone Mountain temple plot. See the County Recorder document of the land sale here: https://maps.co.clark.nv.us/assessoapps/aowebimages/aowebimage.aspx?deed=20220722:00716:
CHURCH CONTRIBUTIONS TO COUNCILWOMAN ALLEN-PALENSKE The Church's law firm in Las Vegas, Kaempfer Crowell, gave $10,000 in campaign contributions to Councilwoman Francis Allen-Palenske who represents Ward 4, the location where the temple plot sits.
Allen-Palenske received $2,500 on June 14, 2022 https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=O8PF8wcepQ3svTlPFqTTxQ%253d%253d
$3,000 on September 9, 2022 https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=4jnnkoAAunDzJO6GdYayPg%253d%253d
$4,5000 on December 2, 2022 https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=Ib5SY0423amys0pLfeQnbQ%253d%253d
TEMPLE ANNOUNCEMENT On October 2, 2022, President Russell M. Nelson announced the Lone Mountain Temple at General Conference: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/10/58nelson?lang=eng
COUNCILWOMAN SPONSORS BILL TO CHANGE ZONING On March 20, 2024, Councilwoman Francis Allen-Palenske introduced a bill to change the zoning in Lone Mountain which residents believe is tailored just to make the approval of the temple possible. That bill document is located here (download): https://lasvegas.primegov.com/meetings/ItemWithTemplateType?id=57928&meetingTemplateType=2&compiledMeetingDocumentId=35644
In the bill document, Councilman Brian Knudsen makes a motion to approve. Brian Knudsen also received $10,000 in campaign contributions from the Church's law firm in Las Vegas, Kaempfer Crowell on September 26, 2023: https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=QNJGEgMESAWM444LgJFWfA%253d%253d
The bill passed 6-0 (unanimously). Councilwoman Victoria Seaman, who also voted in favor, received $10,000 in campaign contributions from the law firm representing the Church, Kaempfer Crowell, on August 8, 2023: https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=Y%252bLXUykyBR%252bVBPajRyWUVQ%253d%253d
I haven't checked the other 3 council members for donations received. Perhaps someone here can do so.
LEGAL BUT NOT ETHICAL The Church can donate to council people in hopes that this will influence them. That's not illegal. It is however not the type of action that most church members would think is right or ethical, and probably doesn't reflect the type of organization that is supposedly guided by Jesus Christ himself. In my opinion, that's probably why the Church works through law firms so that payments are not made directly by the Church. If done in this way, faithful members can more easily dismiss such allegations even if the receipts are presented (links above).
And of course, as Church members are taught from birth, anyone who is speaking negatively about the Church is just persecuting it, right? And if someone is persecuting it, then that must mean that they're evil and they're trying to attack what is good and just: the Church. It could never be that a bunch of residents established neighborhood covenants that the Church now wishes to break and those neighbors believe that the rural quality of their neighborhood will be destroyed forever. Could those neighbors fight this and the City Council based on their local bylaws? Probably. Could they win based on those laws? Probably, but only if they can outlast the Church. Can a bunch of residents really go toe to toe with an organization with nearly $200 billion in available assets? No way. Is that perhaps how Jesus wins hearts and minds in today's world? Through litigation?

TEMPLE LAND PURCHASE On July 22, 2022, the Church purchased the Lone Mountain temple plot. See the County Recorder document of the land sale here: https://maps.co.clark.nv.us/assessoapps/aowebimages/aowebimage.aspx?deed=20220722:00716:
CHURCH CONTRIBUTIONS TO COUNCILWOMAN ALLEN-PALENSKE The Church's law firm in Las Vegas, Kaempfer Crowell, gave $10,000 in campaign contributions to Councilwoman Francis Allen-Palenske who represents Ward 4, the location where the temple plot sits.
Allen-Palenske received $2,500 on June 14, 2022 https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=O8PF8wcepQ3svTlPFqTTxQ%253d%253d
$3,000 on September 9, 2022 https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=4jnnkoAAunDzJO6GdYayPg%253d%253d
$4,5000 on December 2, 2022 https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=Ib5SY0423amys0pLfeQnbQ%253d%253d
TEMPLE ANNOUNCEMENT On October 2, 2022, President Russell M. Nelson announced the Lone Mountain Temple at General Conference: https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2022/10/58nelson?lang=eng
COUNCILWOMAN SPONSORS BILL TO CHANGE ZONING On March 20, 2024, Councilwoman Francis Allen-Palenske introduced a bill to change the zoning in Lone Mountain which residents believe is tailored just to make the approval of the temple possible. That bill document is located here (download): https://lasvegas.primegov.com/meetings/ItemWithTemplateType?id=57928&meetingTemplateType=2&compiledMeetingDocumentId=35644
In the bill document, Councilman Brian Knudsen makes a motion to approve. Brian Knudsen also received $10,000 in campaign contributions from the Church's law firm in Las Vegas, Kaempfer Crowell on September 26, 2023: https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=QNJGEgMESAWM444LgJFWfA%253d%253d
The bill passed 6-0 (unanimously). Councilwoman Victoria Seaman, who also voted in favor, received $10,000 in campaign contributions from the law firm representing the Church, Kaempfer Crowell, on August 8, 2023: https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=Y%252bLXUykyBR%252bVBPajRyWUVQ%253d%253d
I haven't checked the other 3 council members for donations received. Perhaps someone here can do so.
LEGAL BUT NOT ETHICAL The Church can donate to council people in hopes that this will influence them. That's not illegal. It is however not the type of action that most church members would think is right or ethical, and probably doesn't reflect the type of organization that is supposedly guided by Jesus Christ himself. In my opinion, that's probably why the Church works through law firms so that payments are not made directly by the Church. If done in this way, faithful members can more easily dismiss such allegations even if the receipts are presented (links above).
And of course, as Church members are taught from birth, anyone who is speaking negatively about the Church is just persecuting it, right? And if someone is persecuting it, then that must mean that they're evil and they're trying to attack what is good and just: the Church. It could never be that a bunch of residents established neighborhood covenants that the Church now wishes to break and those neighbors believe that the rural quality of their neighborhood will be destroyed forever. Could those neighbors fight this and the City Council based on their local bylaws? Probably. Could they win based on those laws? Probably, but only if they can outlast the Church. Can a bunch of residents really go toe to toe with an organization with nearly $200 billion in available assets? No way. Is that perhaps how Jesus wins hearts and minds in today's world? Through litigation?

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This is my sisters btw

This is really just a comment I was writing for fun as a response to another post, but I liked the idea...and it is relevant to writing in general. I have taught some classes (to younger students) about how to tell a good story, and I wanted to write a more grown up version for an older audience of storytellers.
This is a metaphor for writing as a process, and for what makes a good story! I am opened to any and all changes, as long as you are not here for purely contemptuous sarcasm and non-constructive critiques. I am not saying this is my best work, but rather that I know it needs work and I am interested to see what some of you others can do with the bare bones of what I wrote here...Let's make it a useful metaphor (or allegory, whatever) for the writing process, and help our fellow writers while also using this as a template for what to improve...
THE METAPHOR:
Imagine your novelist self being an insane cab driver in New York City, and the reader just made the horrible mistake of getting into your cab. You are careening out of control and terrifying them, even driving on the sidewalk, back alleys and dirt streets behind buildings you swear are shortcuts, but the whole time you are telling them halfway untrue but captivating stories about the Empire State Building being climbed by an actual gorilla inspiring the movie version in "King Kong," and random bits of blarney about the guy who designed the Statue of Liberty being in love with Evelyn Nesbitt, even though she wasn't born at the time...And while the reader wants to get out of your cab, it is too interesting and they keep getting drawn into the crazy stories you are telling. They also really want to get where you are taking them and they are distracted in a useful way by the terrifyingly unsafe lane changes you are making and the yelling out the window at pedestrians who tried to cross the street at the wrong time and other cab drivers and just the public in general. You just have to give the reader enough of a show and keep them holding on for dear life, so they can get to their expected destination, albeit much more circuitously than they ever would have expected...but make them like the journey in retrospect. They know it will make a great tale to tell their friends later. As long as you take them where they wanted to go, they will be grateful for all the difficulty getting there. It will only make it a better story.

Hello!
Nakasanla sakin ang bahay ng owner for 150K. Napanalunan niya sa PAGIBIG bidding yung property and loanable for 300-400k TCP.
Now, the owner is selling the property for 300K cash out tapos pwede na iloan. Since nakasanla siya sakin ng 150K, they agreed na I will pay the remaining 150K ng installment. Then kapag nakumpleto na, doon lang magproceed sa Deed of Sale.
Now to be sure, anong mga kailangan ko hingin na document sa owner to ensure na sakanila na nga itong property at anong template kaya ng acknowledgement receipt ang pwede kong gawin every time na mag huhulog ako ng installment? 4 gives kasi ang mangyayari.
Thank you!!!

The following is a directive by the 2nd Shock Army instructing its subordinate formations and commanders on how to prepare and carry out a breakthrough, including organizational measures to improve its combat effectiveness. 2nd Shock Army was deployed in the rear of 2nd Belorussian Front in December 1944, preparing to participate in the East Prussian Operation. In mid-January to would successfully break out from the Rozhan bridgehead.

DIRECTIVE FOR THE ORGANIZATION AND CONDUCT OF THE EAST PRUSSIAN OFFENSIVE OPERATION
TO THE CORPS COMMANDERS AND CHIEFS OF THE TROOP BRANCHES OF THE 2ND SHOCK ARMY
When preparing for a breakthrough, I require you to focus particular attention on the following issues:
PREPERATORY PERIOD
[1)]
a) Study in the entire tactical depth of the enemy’s defense his engineering structures and obstacles, infantry and anti-tank fire systems, artillery and mortar groups, and the system of observation posts.
b) Know the areas where reserves are concentrated and the possible directions of counterattacks. Senior commanders (commanders of rifle corps and rifle divisions) must also know the operational depth of the enemy’s defense, the location of his operational reserves, the possibility of meeting them and on what lines.
c) Know where tanks are concentrated and the possible directions of their actions.
d) Using an observation system and studying all intelligence data in detail, establish the combat routine of the defending enemy.
2) Organization of observation
a) No later than December 25 the army headquarters will equip one OP [Observation Point] (main) in each direction and two auxiliary ones, providing them with communications equipment, surveillance equipment and specially trained officers.
b) Corps and division commanders must determine places for OPs and report to me no later than 12/18.
All OPs from the platoon commander and above must ensure complete observation of the terrain from the starting position according to the principle - every commander must see the battlefield.
Telephones should be placed at the OP for those where the commander is monitoring the battlefield.
c) Artillery and infantry observation should be organized by the army headquarters from 12/20/44, corps and divisions - by special order with the obligatory keeping of observation logs and a report to the top.
Observation data for the day should be submitted to corps headquarters and artillery headquarters to army headquarters by 10 p.m. daily.
d) At the OP from regiments and above, specially trained and instructed officers (3-4 people), headed by a staff officer and provided with security (2-3 machine gunners), must be located and monitored.
Observers should change every 2 hours.
The senior officer must visit the OP at least once a day.
e) Each commander must have a map with data from his personal observation and data received from other commanders (in different colors).
Artillery and infantry commanders should compare the data received by each of them about the enemy to clarify them.
f) By 12/28, the Army Headquarters will provide the corps and divisions with maps filled with the situation about the enemy based on data received from the defenders, observation from the OPs and from other sources.
3) Study the area
a) Study in detail the features of the terrain in front of the enemy’s front line of defense, in the tactical depth of his defense, and for higher commanders in the operational depth. Pay special attention to studying the terrain in tank terms.
b) Keeping in mind the open nature of the terrain, carefully study all approaches to the enemy’s front line, possible starting positions for the attack and the directions along which the artillery will advance.
Know the roads leading to the front line from the depths, and the roads in the depths of the enemy’s defense in the zone intended for the offensive.
4) Secrecy and camouflage of measures taken to prepare the operation
a) Regrouping of troops (infantry, artillery, tanks) should be carried out only at night.
Carefully camouflage the areas where troops are located, preventing the appearance of smoke during the day and the lighting of fires at night.
b) Eliminate any possibility of communication and conversations with the local population. Under no circumstances should commanders and fighters be allowed to be housed with local residents.
The headquarters of units and formations are usually located in a forest.
c) Warn all personnel about the inadmissibility of revealing the numbering of army units and formations.
d) Avoid talking on the phone about ongoing events. The commanders of the formations personally approve the lists of persons to whom telephone numbers are left and the right to converse.
Strictly prohibit the use of radio equipment until the moment of the attack.
e) Do not allow signs indicating unit numbers, field mail and commanders' names, as well as identification marks of hospitals and rear institutions to be displayed at intersections and at entrances to areas where formations and units are located. The latter will be displayed by special order.
f) Take the strictest measures to protect documents and maps, preventing their loss. Do not take maps with the details of your units to the front line.
g) Army headquarters, rifle corps headquarters, rifle divisions and rifle regiments organize a commandant service, establish commandant posts and patrols and carefully instruct them.
Commandant posts and patrols should not allow accumulations of vehicles, horse-drawn vehicles and manpower, especially in areas of visibility, and ensure strict compliance with all camouflage instructions.
Inform all personnel that the requirements of commandant posts and patrols are mandatory for all officers, regardless of official position.
h) All reconnaissance should be carried out in accordance with special instructions.
5) Combat training
Combat training begins on 12/20/44.
Combat training of troops differs from general combat training in that it is carried out in a specific environment.
Commanders of formations and units should organize combat training based on the specific tasks of each unit (being in the first or second echelon, with whom and when it interacts, etc.).
Conduct combat training on terrain as similar as possible to the one on which you will operate.
Corps and division commanders should be ready for an operational game at army headquarters by 12/26/44 based on the materials and conditions of the operation being prepared.
6) Work of headquarters
a) All headquarters prepare a complete schedule of urgent reports and the procedure for its implementation.
Establish a list of officers responsible for information from higher headquarters, formations of supporting and interacting units.
Consider the failure of the transmission of at least one report at any link to be an emergency.
Pay special attention to the truthfulness of the information.
b) Check the readiness of all means of communication: telephone, telegraph, radio, mobile vehicles (liaison officers, cars, motorcycles, etc.).
Have a reserve of radio equipment to create intermediate stations, especially for communication with mobile groups.
c) Check the distribution of functional responsibilities among staff officers and their mastery.
d) Ensure control over the implementation of combat orders of commanders. Following a combat order, an officer of the operations directorate (department) must be sent to the troops to monitor the implementation of this order.
The officers sent must be instructed by the formation commander or chief of staff and have a firm knowledge of the mission of the formation, unit or subunit to which they are sent.
e) Minimize the production time for operational documents, without in any way “eating up” the time of lower headquarters.
f) Carefully work out in advance all interaction documents for the entire depth of the battle.
g) Prepare SUV (Covert troop management) documents in advance and send them to the troops.
Immediately upon receipt of them, organize training and ensure free use of them by all officers, especially officers and administrators.
7) Logistical support
a) Carefully check the condition of automatic weapons. Each fighter must have the prescribed number of cartridges, each machine gun must have the prescribed number of belts and disks. Belts should not be damp.
Check the winding of the seals, the tension of the return springs, the availability of spacer rings (spare), extractors and antifreeze fluid.
In rifle platoons, which are intended for special work in clearing mines and laying paths for infantry, have carts for pulling away wire and other obstacles.
b) Check the ammunition from the rifle to the gun. Determine where to store ammunition, who, how and where to supply it.
c) The equipment of each fighter must be checked (fitting of uniform, equipment, contents of duffel bag, etc.).
d) Prepare a backpack supply for soldiers in the amount of one daily allowance, the issuance of which will be carried out by special order of division commanders.
Check the feeding arrangements, especially on the first day of the fight.
e) All vehicles must be repaired, possible routes determined, fuel depots installed. Each driver must be familiar with these routes and road conditions in advance. Cars must have chains and tools (shovels, axes).
f) Put horse-drawn transport in order.
g) On roads in the army zone, install signs at all intersections indicating populated areas, marking altitudes and azimuths of directions.
h) In crossing areas, prepare gaps and exits from roads every 50 m in both directions. Crossings should be distributed among commanders of formations and a commandant service should be established on them, avoiding the accumulation of vehicles, horse-drawn vehicles or manpower.
i) Establish a procedure for evacuating the wounded. Designate sanitary picket points.
Explain to the soldiers that the wounded must bring their weapons to the dressing station, and the weapons of the seriously wounded must be picked up by orderlies.
j) Explain to all fighters the inadmissibility of using captured products and “junk”.
k) All commanders should check the unit’s logistics on a daily basis.
PREPARATION AND OCCUPATION OF THE STARTING POSITION FOR THE ATTACK
1) The day before the troops reach their starting position, mark the routes to it for each company to prevent wandering and mixing of units. Set up beacons.
Take the most decisive measures so that soldiers and officers cannot get lost and fall into the hands of the enemy. Under no circumstances should you allow yourself to go over to the enemy’s side.
2) Study the starting position and equip it so that the infantry and materiel are completely covered. Eliminate the possibility of exposure and losses of manpower and materiel.
Considering the dampness of the soil and the appearance of track marks on it after turning off the road, these marks should be immediately smoothed out.
3) Regiment commanders prepare and fix roads to pull everything necessary to the starting position.
4) Consider the organization of communication when reaching the starting position.
5) Reach the starting position over two nights.
On the first night, bring out heavy infantry fire weapons and direct fire weapons. Those guns that can be seen in positions by the enemy should be brought out on the second night.
On the second night, bring out the infantry.
6) When taking over a combat area from defending units, carefully study your own and enemy’s minefields.
Clear your minefields located in the depths of the defense in advance; those located in front of the front line should be cleared of mines two to three days before the offensive, organizing the protection of the passages.
Clear enemy minefields within two nights. This demining is carried out under conditions of careful camouflage from enemy observation.
7) Before leaving for the starting position, explain to all personnel: for what, where and how should they do it, what secrecy and camouflage measures to take.
Bring the combat mission to the fighters 4 hours before the start of the attack.
INFANTRY ATTACK AND COMBAT IN THE DEPTH OF THE ENEMY'S DEFENSE
1) Build battle formations not according to a template, but taking into account the specific actions of each unit and subunit.
During a frontal breakthrough, the battle formation will be straightforward, in a forest battle - along road directions, when crossing rivers - echeloned, and when fighting in the depths of defense - maneuverable.
Pay special attention to the placement of forces and weapons in combat formations at all stages and in all conditions, so that fire weapons do not lag behind the infantry.
Senior commanders check the decisions of subordinate commanders, carefully explain the shortcomings they made in the formation of battle formations and indicate measures to eliminate these shortcomings.
2) Every Red Army soldier must understand that the main goal of an organized breakthrough of the enemy’s defense is to reach the firing positions of his artillery in the first 2-3 hours of the battle.
3) Remind each officer once again that combined arms combat consists of three elements:
a) organizing artillery fire support,
b) organizing close combat between infantry and tanks and
c) organizing close interaction between these two elements.
4) Remember that the basis of artillery fire support is not artillery preparation, but the organization of artillery fire in the depths of the enemy’s defense.
Every officer must know that the success of artillery fire depends on good organization of reconnaissance, on his knowledge of the capabilities of all means of reinforcement and the correct formulation of tasks.
5) An infantry strike must be preceded by a fire strike. This means that it is necessary to follow this order: reconnaissance, then fire strike, then attack, and not the reverse.
6) During the attack, under no circumstances should infantry be allowed to lie in the first trench. It is dangerous because it causes a desire to take cover and, as a rule, is always targeted by enemy artillery.
Don't linger at temporary stops; The longer people lie, the more difficult it is to raise them, the greater the losses.
The attack must be swift.
7) All means must be used to hit one place. Everything must be linked together.
I forbid pointing at others: “The tanks failed,” “The infantry did not rise,” “The artillery did not support.”
Check the implementation of interaction issues at all levels.
The artillery commanders will be with the infantry commanders.
8) During a battle deep in the enemy’s defense, obtaining accurate data on the enemy’s behavior becomes of utmost importance. Report about the enemy only quantitatively, and not organizationally, i.e. 30-40 soldiers and not a company or platoon.
Report exactly where and what enemy firing points are hindering the advance. Do not allow the expressions: “Heavy machine gun or mortar fire.”
9) Each commander knows at any time the position and condition of the formation (unit). The situation report must always be truthful.
The commander must have the courage to report whether his unit can carry out the order at a given moment, and if not, then for what reasons.
10) The depth of the enemy’s tactical defense in front of the army’s front lies at the line of 6-8 km from the front edge (the artillery positions). Until we reached the artillery positions, the breakthrough was not realized.
11) Consider the tactics of using tanks by the enemy:
a) for counterattacks with small groups of infantry,
b) as fixed firing points (armored fortified points) and
c) in night battle conditions.
Introduce to every officer the procedure for organizing anti-tank defense, which should include:
– a two-tier construction of the AT defense is provided;
– measures to combat both counterattack tanks and armored fortified points are indicated.
Take measures to consolidate occupied lines.
The two-tier construction of AT defense should be understood as follows:
– first tier – fire weapons from platoon to regiment (from anti-tank grenades to regimental guns); this tier is mobile and is located in infantry combat formations; his task is to fight enemy tanks and self-propelled guns encountered along the path of troops;
– the second tier is organized in depth from anti-tank fighter regiments and other artillery reinforcement means. This tier moves in jumps from line to line and ensures the advancement of the infantry.
A solid knowledge by officers and soldiers of the order of constructing anti-tank support prevents tank fear.
Each unit should have groups of sapper-hunters to blow up tanks.
12) The battle must be continuous, waged day and night. Continuity is achieved through reserves and the use of battalions specially trained for night combat. When issuing an order to commit a reserve to battle, the same order should also indicate the creation of a new reserve.
The order for a night battle should be given in such a way that the unit is not late in starting action.
13) The attack must be general. Do not allow the formation's battle to turn into battles of individual units. This can only be achieved by good observation of the enemy, knowledge of the situation, immediate response to the course of the battle, and solving the problem using fire weapons.
14) The battle must be deep, which means that commanders are required to know not only the object they are attacking, but also what is behind it, by organizing deep reconnaissance.
15) Provide advance relocation to new command posts and OPs. The relocation plan must be approved in advance by a senior commander. The axis of movement of the command post must be known to junior commanders.
You can move to a new point only when communication is established there.
16) Commanders who have personal radio stations should always keep them with them and during the offensive do not move forward without them.
17) The names of the commanders of units and formations are addressed on the radio only by their operational call signs, because some of them were published in the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and mentioning them will enable the enemy to establish from which front these units or formations arrived.
18) Prohibit communications on the radio in the clear. Use only communications tables, reference diagrams and coded maps.
ISSUES OF ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF FIRE
1) All commanders should check their subordinates’ knowledge of the materiel, ability to eliminate delays, and tactically, competently, fire and use each type of weapon.
2) Check all weapons for trouble-free operation and combat accuracy.
3) Require officers, non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel to make full use of infantry fire, especially at the moment when artillery fire will be transferred from the first trench to the second.
Carefully consider infantry fire according to the stages of the battle.
2-3 minutes before launching an attack, heavy machine guns should open fire on the enemy trench under attack. Be sure to take into account which heavy machine guns will go on the attack with the infantry and which ones will support them with fire.
Light machine guns must be completely in the combat formations of the attacking infantry and fire on the move and from short stops.
Fire from machine guns on the move during an attack, taking into account to save ammunition when you need to fight in the second and subsequent trenches.
4) Artillery commanders should not dismiss the organization of fire combat for the infantry itself. Take into account the fire of heavy and light machine guns in planning.
5) The guns will be assigned to companies and platoons; you should always help them move with you, and not abandon them.
6) Commanders of rifle corps and divisions and artillery commanders should give instructions to officers up to the company commander on how and what type of artillery should be assigned tasks.
7) Each commander is obliged to know what assets are operating in his offensive zone in addition to his group. Every leader should inform his subordinates about this so that they can take it into account when making a decision.
8) Division commanders must approve the OP for direct fire guns. Each direct fire weapon must have its own target, the nature and position of this target, the number of shells to hit it, and the time for their consumption.
Rifle corps, divisions and regiments must have general fire plans for direct fire guns.
Direct fire guns should only be placed on the observation posts when the latter are fully prepared and all work is camouflaged. After installing direct fire guns, they should also be carefully camouflaged so that the enemy could not guess their presence even with the help of photographs.
9) In terms of artillery fire for the destruction of trenches, each artillery and mortar battery must have its own area, preventing firing in areas.
Check target numbers with batteries and guns to ensure there are no typos or errors. Also check the trench numbers.
10) Particularly consider the issue of organizing fire to repel counterattacks of small groups of the enemy, with the help of which he seeks to delay our advance. In such cases, the counterattacking infantry must be met with organized fire and, pursuing it, burst into his trenches on the shoulders of the enemy.
11) When moving artillery, first of all move those batteries whose fire has reached the [range] limit.
ISSUES OF USING TANKS AND SELF-PROPELLED GUNS
1) Eliminate the shortcomings in the use of self-propelled artillery that occurred in previous battles: excessive fragmentation of self-propelled units, the use of self-propelled guns as tanks, lack of proper assistance from sappers in clearing mines, building bridges, etc.
Self-propelled guns are used to reinforce regiments as infantry escort weapons.
In regimental battle formations, self-propelled guns should be placed behind the infantry.
2) Provide assigned tanks with fire from the guns of the infantry's anti-tank system. The guns accompanying the tanks must be accurately aimed at the enemy firing points that they need to suppress.
3) Fully use the minesweeper tanks attached to formations. The actions of these tanks will be supported by infantry fire.
To remove and neutralize mines not detonated by minesweeper tanks, assign sapper groups to accompany them.
ENTERING RESERVES INTO BATTLE
(second echelons)
1) Take all necessary measures to eliminate the possibility of delay in bringing reserves (second echelons) into battle.
The commanders of the reserve units must be at the OP together with the commanders of the units advancing in the first echelon.
2) Commanders of reserve units are required to conduct reconnaissance on all possible directions of action of their units.
3) Thoroughly work out on the ground issues of interaction related to the introduction of reserves. Determine the boundaries of deployment, reassignment of reinforcement equipment, establish signals and the procedure for organizing communications.
Avoid delays in switching amplifiers.
INTRODUCTION OF MOBILE GROUPS INTO THE BREAKTHROUGH
Commanders of rifle divisions and regiments can be appointed heads of mobile groups. They need to remember the following:
– more initiative; do not wait for the decision of senior commanders;
– conduct thorough reconnaissance, especially engineering;
– always have a group of sappers ready to clear mine routes, fix roads, and build bridges;
– in case of major damage, use all available human resources to correct it, without waiting for the sapper units to arrive;
– ensure communication both within the group and especially with the highest headquarters of the formation in whose zone it operates;
– before the introduction of a mobile group, check that the issues of interaction, communication and support have been worked out by the commander in whose zone the group operates.
BATTLE MANAGEMENT ISSUES
1) By 12/20/44, check the staffing, composition and preparedness of the headquarters of company and battalion commanders and the availability of communications equipment. Avoid loss of control in this link.
Every officer must once again understand that control during battle is the basis of success; its loss threatens to disrupt the offensive.
2) Rocket signals should be a means of control only by the regiment commander. Other commanders duplicate these signals.
The signals should be common throughout the breakthrough area.
3) Use only white flares to indicate our front line when flying our aircraft. These missiles should only be launched at the very front line. Prohibit the use of white flares for any other signals. Corps commanders should check and report the presence of white flares and signal pistols.
4) Ensure that rifle units (companies) are always combat-ready. It is necessary to maintain a combination of manpower and fire.
After each battle, restore the combat readiness and firepower of the attacking units.
5) Each commander must have two pre-appointed deputies.

Enhancing Email Functionality in SilverStripe

In the evolving landscape of web development, the ability to seamlessly integrate file attachments into email communications stands as a cornerstone for enhancing user interaction and data exchange. SilverStripe, a sophisticated Content Management System (CMS) and framework, continues to empower developers with robust tools and features to create dynamic web applications. The introduction of the `Email->addAttachment()` method in SilverStripe 4.12 marks a significant enhancement, facilitating the inclusion of files directly from form inputs into email compositions. This functionality not only streamlines the process of sending emails with attachments but also significantly improves the overall user experience by allowing for more interactive and informative email communications.
Delving deeper into the practical implementation of SilverStripe's email attachment feature, it becomes evident how crucial such functionality is for modern web applications. Whether it's for sending reports, receipts, or personalized documents, the ability to attach files directly from a user's input form elevates the level of communication between the web application and its users. This advancement in SilverStripe 4.12 not only showcases the platform's commitment to providing comprehensive development tools but also emphasizes the importance of adaptability and user-centric features in today's digital landscape. By leveraging this feature, developers can craft more engaging and functional web experiences that cater to the diverse needs of their audience.

Command	Description
Email::create()	Initializes a new Email object in SilverStripe.
->setTo($address)	Sets the recipient's email address.
->setFrom($address)	Sets the sender's email address.
->setSubject($subject)	Sets the subject of the email.
->setBody($body)	Sets the body content of the email.
->addAttachment($path, $name, $mimetype)	Adds an attachment to the email from the specified path. Optionally, rename the file and specify its MIME type.

Exploring Email Attachment Features in SilverStripe 4.12

Integrating file attachments into emails is a pivotal feature for web applications, enhancing the way information is shared and communicated between users and systems. In SilverStripe 4.12, this capability is facilitated through the Email->addAttachment() method, which allows developers to attach files directly from form submissions into emails. This feature is instrumental in various scenarios, such as sending automated reports, invoices, or personalized documents to users. The functionality is built to handle a wide range of file types, ensuring that developers can meet the diverse needs of their user base. Furthermore, SilverStripe's framework provides a comprehensive API for managing email communications, which includes setting recipients, senders, subjects, and now, attachments, with ease. This robust email handling capability underscores SilverStripe's commitment to providing developers with tools that are both powerful and easy to use.
Moreover, the addition of file attachments to emails directly from user inputs introduces a layer of dynamic content delivery that was previously cumbersome or required custom implementation. Developers can now streamline the process of file management within their applications, allowing for a more efficient and user-friendly experience. The Email->addAttachment() method is not just about attaching files; it represents a broader approach to enhancing email functionality within the SilverStripe ecosystem. By enabling developers to incorporate such features effortlessly, SilverStripe 4.12 stands out as a framework that adapts to the evolving demands of web development, focusing on functionality, flexibility, and user engagement. This approach not only simplifies the development process but also opens up new possibilities for creating more interactive and responsive web applications.

Adding an Attachment to an Email in SilverStripe

SilverStripe Framework

$email = Email::create() ->setTo('recipient@example.com') ->setFrom('sender@example.com') ->setSubject('Your Subject Here') ->setBody('Here is the body of your email') ->addAttachment('/path/to/youfile.pdf', 'CustomFileName.pdf', 'application/pdf'); $email->send(); 

Enhancing Email Capabilities with SilverStripe

Within the domain of web development, the ability to efficiently attach files to emails directly through a web application is a significant advantage, offering a direct line of communication and file exchange between the application and its users. SilverStripe 4.12 takes this functionality to new heights with its Email->addAttachment() method. This method simplifies the process of including attachments in emails, a feature especially useful for applications requiring the dynamic generation and dispatch of documents, reports, or any form of user-specific data. The ease of integrating such features directly supports the creation of more engaging and functional web experiences, tailored to user needs and expectations.
The introduction of this feature in SilverStripe 4.12 highlights the framework's ongoing commitment to providing developers with comprehensive, developer-friendly tools that align with modern web application requirements. Beyond merely adding attachments, this capability ensures that emails sent from SilverStripe applications can be as informative and useful as possible, thereby enhancing the overall user experience. This functionality reflects a broader trend in web development towards creating more interactive, responsive, and user-centered applications. It showcases SilverStripe's dedication to evolving alongside the needs of developers and users alike, reinforcing its position as a leading choice for building robust web applications.

Top Questions on Email Attachments in SilverStripe

1. Question: Can SilverStripe handle multiple attachments in a single email?
2. Answer: Yes, SilverStripe can handle multiple attachments in one email by calling the addAttachment() method multiple times before sending the email.
3. Question: Are there size limits for email attachments in SilverStripe?
4. Answer: While SilverStripe itself does not impose size limits on attachments, email server limitations and PHP settings may affect the maximum allowable attachment size.
5. Question: Can you send emails with attachments to multiple recipients?
6. Answer: Yes, emails with attachments can be sent to multiple recipients by setting multiple addresses in the setTo() method.
7. Question: How does SilverStripe ensure the security of email attachments?
8. Answer: SilverStripe ensures the security of attachments by using proper file handling and validation techniques. However, developers are encouraged to implement additional security measures as needed.
9. Question: Is it possible to attach files uploaded by users directly to emails?
10. Answer: Yes, files uploaded by users can be directly attached to emails using the Email->addAttachment() method, provided the files are stored in a secure location accessible by the application.
11. Question: Does SilverStripe support HTML email templates with attachments?
12. Answer: Yes, SilverStripe supports the sending of HTML email templates with attachments, allowing for rich content emails with the added functionality of attachments.
13. Question: Can I customize the MIME type of an attachment?
14. Answer: Yes, when attaching a file, you can specify the MIME type as an optional parameter, allowing for greater control over how the attachment is handled by email clients.
15. Question: Is there a way to programmatically determine if an attachment was successfully added to an email?
16. Answer: SilverStripe does not provide a direct method to confirm if an attachment was successfully added, but developers can implement logic to verify file existence and permissions before attempting to attach it.
17. Question: How does adding attachments affect email send times?
18. Answer: Adding attachments can increase email send times due to the additional data being sent. It's important to monitor and optimize attachment sizes for performance.

Final Thoughts on Email Attachments in SilverStripe

The introduction of the Email->addAttachment() method in SilverStripe 4.12 represents a significant stride towards enhancing the email capabilities of web applications. This feature not only simplifies the process of attaching files to emails but also opens up new avenues for developers to create more interactive and personalized communication strategies within their applications. By enabling the direct inclusion of attachments from form inputs, SilverStripe addresses a crucial need for dynamic content delivery and improves the overall user experience. This advancement reflects the platform's dedication to providing comprehensive, developer-friendly tools that cater to the evolving needs of modern web development. As developers continue to leverage these capabilities, the potential for creating more engaging, responsive, and user-centered web applications becomes increasingly evident. SilverStripe's ongoing commitment to innovation and usability ensures that it remains a leading choice for developers seeking to build robust, feature-rich web solutions.
https://www.tempmail.us.com/en/silverstripe/implementing-file-attachments-in-silverstripe-4-12-emails

DISCLAIMER; DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS IRL IS PURELY FAN FICTION FOR SHOPLIFTING AND IS ALL HYPOTHETICAL
THE QUESTION/S I WILL BE LISTING WILL BE BELOW THE MAIN TEXT, THERE IS ABIT TO EXPLIN BEFORE THE QUESTIONS ILL ASK MAKE SENSE
DISCLAIMER!! MY KNOWLEDGE ON COMPUTER IS COMPLETELY BASIC I HAVE GOTTEN THIS FAR THROUGH TRIAL AND ERROR, SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCLY, SECURITY IS WELCOME AND ENCOURAGED I WANT THIS "FAN FACTION" TO BE WATETIGHT
Scams current iteration

1. Buy thermal receipt printer (my model e802 unbranded from amazon) and thermal paper 80mm wide

2, Configure the printer to the laptop.

1. Currently using an app Called PDF reader editor elf as seen in the first image.

( in the 1st image it looks offcentre but when it prints it comes out perfect i think thats to do with the margins and the printer being unable to print right to the edge of the page)

1. Create a list of items your want to "purchase haha" i.e lift and type it out on the app
   
2. set the approriate credentials, bear in mind that the more items you fill in the trolley the more likely staff are to investigate
   

Obtain a legitimate receipt and use in as a template to guide you regarding credentials include date, time, register number, name of cashier or assisted checkout , store manager, ect, THE MAIN CREDENTIAL IS THE DATE AND TIME, THEY MUST MATCH UP TO TH DATE THAT YOUR LIFTING

1. Create the template as shown in the 2nd image
   
2. Print it then go to the shop and walk in taking all the items off the shelf thats listed on the receipt, drop them straight into empty trolley then walk to the express or self serve checkouts.
   
3. Grab 3 reusable bags i.e. the cheap $2.50 cold bags for your meat and frozen and walk up to the checkout operator and say you just purchased all the items in your trolley about ten minutes ago and forgot to get bags then hand them the receipt, IMPORTANT IF THE RECEIPT SAYS 1:31 PM THEN COME BACK THROUGH THE A DIFFERENT CHECKOUT TO THE ONE WRITTEN ON THE RECEIPT 10-15 MINS LATER
   

AIM
MAKE THE STAFF MEMBER YOUR SHOWING THE RECEIPT AND TROLLEY TOO BELIEVE THAT YOU PURCHASED THESE ITEMS ABOUT 15 MINS AGO, TO FURTHER INSOLATE YOURSELF CHOOSE A REGISTER FOR YOUR 'PURCHASES' ON THE OPPOSITE END OF THE STORE TO WHERE YOUR LIFTING FROM. YOUR GOALS IS TO HAVE THEM THINK OF HE BOUGHT IT FROM THAT REGISTER AND I MUST OF NOT SEEN THEM GO THROUGH EARLIER
Scams idealistic iteration would be all of the above but instead of using my current app i.e pdf reader editor elf i would use a program that i could easily use on my android phone, then with a prtable printer i could go in and be able to get the correct price for items that go buy weight i.e. $25 per kg which you can buy looking up online due to the weight being variable.
QUESTIONS

1. WHAT IS GOING TO BE THE MOST EFFFICIENT APP TO UTILISE BEARING IN MIND IT NEEDS TO LOOK EXACLTY THE SAME AS A LEGIT ONE I.E. MS WORD, EXCEL, BUYING A PROGRAM ONLINE, ANY SUGGESTIONS, I NEED TO BE ABLE TO FORMAT IT EASILY ON AN ANDROID
2. HOW DO I INCREASE THE MAXIMUM LENGTH OF THE RECEIPT FROM A MAX OF 55.88CM TO AS LONG AS I WANT, IDEALLY I WANT TO BE ABLE TO PRINT 80CM AT THE MAX (MS WORD, PDF READER EDITOR ELF PROGRAMS WITH THAT MAXIMUM LENGTH

now to make this fun you might even be able to sell it
all comments, quotes critisism (except morality) are welcome, the goal is to get the most stuff out safely without raising suspicious

Sorry if this has been asked in different ways before.
I'm in my mid-30s and I've tried many times in the past to make a budget but can never make it work. I've tried various methods from very simple (writing down each transaction in a book), so different spreadsheet templates, to using the automated budget sections of apps like Monzo or Revolut, but I can never stick with it or even understand on a basic level what is going on. When I wrote things down in a book I kept every receipt but it never lined up with the amount in my account.
I am bad with numbers generally but I find money basically impossible to understand. I don't know where to begin with simple things like working out how much I want to or could save each month, or how much to budget for things like eating out. Any time I spend any amount of money the number balloons to some vague but huge number in my head. Even if I'm just buying a cup of coffee my brain says "well you've overspent so that's it for the month" and I try and avoid spending any amount of money at all unless I absolutely have to.
I've never known what my monthly outgoings are even though I try often to work it out. Numbers become blurred and I lose track very quickly. An example - I had to borrow some money from my folks when a relationship ended and I had to cancel a lease on a flat. They lent me some money to cover a shortfall with those costs and I couldn't work out what the difference between say, £1000 and £1400 was. When I try and either break my monthly pay check into expenses, leisure, etc., the numbers break apart in my head and I can't piece it back together, or if I try and do the opposite, the numbers balloon into something ridiculous and I can't parse it. This isn't all of it but I find it hard to articulate.
I want to buy a house some day but right now I wouldn't be able to answer any of the basic questions the bank would have, so that becomes an obstacle I put in front of myself.
All of this makes day to day living very stressful and I am sick of it, but I don't know what a solution is that would work for me.
Is there any way I can get around this? I feel I am basically innumerate when it comes to money and it is stressful and embarrassing.