Well it finally happened, I had my first bad experience with Thredup after many orders over the past few years. I've had lots of items not match measurements, but I've never bothered to reach out to support about them. This is the first time I actually opened up a chat.
I'm curious on other's experiences trying to get refunded, as this was entirely Thredup's mistakes.
I ordered a jacket that was listed in "excellent" and "like new" condition, and immediately the first thing I noticed was that the pockets were FULL of trash. Tissues with obvious snot stains, a used mascara brush, and random crumpled plastic/paper bits. I have gotten items with stuff in the pockets before, but never this gross. I felt like I needed latex gloves to handle it.
I usually also inspect everything I get for weird stains. Pretty quickly I found its got a >2" rip in the lining, and the rip is in the fabric itself, not just a loose seam. Some of the jacket's insulation was starting to fall out of the rip.
At any reputable clothing store, if they sent you a defective item that did not match the listing, they would refund and tell you to keep the item. I'm currently fighting them on getting refunded. Instead of issuing a refund, they asked me to return the item for credit, shipping covered. I again said that this was falsely represented and warrants a refund, not a return, and they came back saying I could keep the item for 25% of the cost in store credit. I reiterated to them again that it's unacceptable and that it warrants a cash refund, and I don't know if I'm going to hear back at this point.
I am am trying to keep the item and get it mended with a tailor because A. its the most eco friendly option and B. god knows they would just relist it with the same description and make someone else deal with this shit. The item is also not that expensive to begin with, and i can't imagine they would profit much if at all after paying shipping, and restocking at the warehouse.
I have read other's bad experiences with the site on this sub before, but I had ordered so many items without issue that I assumed it was very rare. This one experience has really soured my impression of them. This on top of no longer listing measurements for a lot of items has made me frustrated and I think it's time to take a break from Thredup.

My (32f) mother passed away almost a year ago after a long fight with cancer. She and I weren't on the best terms, I was the black sheep of the family and she made sure no one spoke to me or they couldn't see my brothers. (19m)(18m)
My 19 year old brother and his gf moved in with me shortly after. They're both on assistance (welfare pretty much) and were in school. It was going alright, but my brother has my mother's attitude and cleaning skills. The house was ALWAYS a mess growing up and I have some hard OCD tendencies because of it. I can NEVER let my place get to the condition her house was in, my clean house affects my mental health too.
This year when it came to signing up for their last courses, my SIL waited until the very last minute, so she wasn't actually able to sign my brother and herself up. This was what really set me off. The only thing I've asked them to do is go to school or get a job so that they can help me afford my place with the rising costs of living.
The condition of the house is also now suffering. They sit at home all day but won't take an hour of their day to do the dishes, clean, or ANYTHING and it's really starting to get to me. I love them with all my heart, but I can't keep picking up after them like I did when we lived with my mom.
Well...My SIL comes to me the other day and she's pregnant. I begged and begged them to be careful, because the house is way too small for a kid and I don't want to listen to a baby screaming their head off in a couple months. I raised my brothers as a teenager, and it completely killed my want or need for kids in the future, I'm happy being the fun aunt. She's maybe...2 weeks along and already super excited and made it her WHOLE personality. She's had a miscarriage in the past and is super nervous and I understand the excitement, but none of us are in the place to have a child with the rising cost of living!
I feel like I'm being taken advantage of and they expect they will just be able to keep pulling this shit, and I'm almost at the end of my rope. I have my own things also going on and I can't even focus on them or get help, because therapy is goddamn expensive. I don't regret taking them in, I love them, our family has always had a lot of trouble in life and I don't want to abandon them, but this is getting to be too much. I feel like I'm in my Grandma's position when my mom was pregnant with me and she was taking care of everything.
Thanks for letting me get this off my chest. Not everyone knows about the pregnancy and I needed to get it out there.

https://archive.is/QKZin
Michael Magee of Orange is urging the Athol Conservation Commission to oppose legislation filed by state Sen. Jo Comerford for the Quabbin Reservoir.
Comerford and state Rep. Aaron Saunders of Belchertown filed a bill (S 447 / H 897) that would impose a 5 cent per 1,000 gallon excise on Quabbin water. The lawmakers estimate the tax would produce $3.5 million, which would be directed to Quabbin watershed communities and local nonprofits with a focus on these towns’ health, welfare, safety and transit.
That bill also would mandate that the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) analyze potable water in western Massachusetts across multiple watersheds. The studies would include an assessment of the kinds of infrastructure that would be needed to provide water to each community from local resources.
In an interview, Comerford said her bill would also expand the number of western Mass representatives to the MWRA board from one to three.
“And that one person is not necessarily speaking on behalf of Hampshire or Franklin counties,” she said. “It’s important, I believe, to have a greater voice. Three people would have a better chance of communicating the many things our communities care about.”
Another change would come in the way PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) payments are made. PILOT payments are made to communities for property owned by the state, but which are not subject to local property tax assessments. Comerford said that land lying under the Quabbin is not counted when figuring the state’s PILOT obligations.
“And yet the communities around the Quabbin are stewarding this public land in order to make sure the water is pristine,” she continued. “In my mind, the area covered by water should be part of the PILOT payment back to communities.”
The bill is currently under consideration by the Legislature’s Energy & Environment Committee.

‘It’s a crazy idea’

While he served on the Orange Conservation Commission years ago, Magee told the Athol Daily News he’s lobbying against the bill as a private citizen. Magee went before the Athol Conservation Commission at its meeting on Tuesday, May 28.
““I’m just now writing to a bunch of other conservation commissions,” he said. “I’m going to contact everybody I can. As I said last night (May 28), it’s a crazy idea.”
At the top of Magee’s concerns is the potential strain on the Quabbin Reservoir that could result from expansion of the MWRA’s service area.
“I remember years ago, when the water was so low in the Quabbin, they proposed putting a pipe in that would go all the way to either the Connecticut or the Millers River to replenish it,” he said. “I understand that sometimes these crazy ideas actually become law because nobody says anything.”
Magee claims that, under Comerford’s legislation, water from the reservoir would be piped to the north and south shores of Massachusetts Bay, and to more communities in MetroWest.
“Once those communities get Quabbin water they’re not going to take care of their own water supplies anymore,” he said. “They already have plenty of water. But once they’re on Quabbin water they can do any development they want…and they’ll become dependent on Quabbin water.”
Magee pointed out that several times in the last 60 years, climate conditions led to the water level in Quabbin becoming “extremely low.” Magee said that one of the worst droughts occurred between 1964 to 1972, with others happening between 1983 and 1989, 2000 to 2003, and most recently between 2015 and 2017.
“It will happen again,” Magee predicted. “It’s inevitable. And then what? We have to take care of our existing water supplies.”
Magee also argues that the additional PILOT payments are inadequate to compensate Quabbin towns for the sacrifices made for the Quabbin watershed.

Comerford defends bill

Comerford refuted Magee’s contention that she is interested in sending Quabbin water to eastern Massachusetts or beyond its current service area. She said the MWRA recently did three studies on the potential availability of potable water supplies in eastern Massachusetts, as well as of expanding the distribution of Quabbin water to that part of the state.
“Truth be told,” she said, “I’ve been trying to put the brakes on that.”
The senator said the time has come for the state to conduct similar studies in western Massachusetts.
“I am worried that if we open up the taps on Quabbin water to eastern Mass that we will go above safe yield and there wouldn’t be any options for us to look at in western Massachusetts,” she said.
Comerford said recent reports that the MWRA is undertaking a study to pipe water from the Quabbin Reservoir to the towns that surround it are incomplete.
“That’s a limited take,” she explained. “They are absolutely looking at whether western Mass towns could access the Quabbin. But they’re also looking at other things, like aquifers, existing wells and other watersheds. They understand the Quabbin could be a resource for some (communities) but that it won’t work for all.”
Comerford also said while the legislation would mandate that MWRA to explore opportunities to expand into new communities, that doesn’t mean the water authority would have any control over how communities address their own drinking water needs.
“There would be not jurisdiction for MWRA to mandate anything in any community,” she said. “The MWRA can’t tell Northampton, can’t tell Athol what to do. Athol’s town government makes those decisions.”
Comerford also disputed Magee’s contention that the bill would encourage communities surrounding the reservoir to get their water from Quabbin, something, he says, which “would cost billions of dollars.” More than half the small towns around Quabbin get water exclusively from wells, while Orange, Belchertown, Ware and Barre have a mix of public water and private wells.
“We’re not saying that these communities must have access to Quabbin water, but we are saying the state has a responsibility to make sure they have access to potable water,” Comerford said. “So, it may not make any financial sense to ship our Quabbin water to a community, either because they don’t have the infrastructure or they’re too far away. But I do think the state has a responsibility to understand the current potable water structure to understand where wells might possibly be dug. Communities out east all have had these studies done on the state’s dime.”

Good day, kind people,
I'll jump into it, I am going to make a "Lan Party" setup for my nephews during the summer, trying to get them into PC gaming as a first step and then getting them into IT by showing them the things I did to achieve what I am currently trying to do.
Like what the title suggests I want to have the minimum amount of computers for multiple players. (for old pc games, e.g Age of Empires 2 HD edition)
What I can do with my current knowledge is 1. Get one PC each which will cost the most probably, I can get refurbished Dell or hp machines that will run such games fine for 100$ more or less. but let's say 4 people will be playing at any given time, that's 400$ and I end up with e-waste after summer ends and they go back to school and they won't be learning anything awesome.

1. find an old server with as many pcie slots and get old gpus, say 4, and build a gaming server using proxmox but it is very hard to find a motherboard with 4 slots that will be compatible with an ATX case and quiet coolers.
   
2. vgpu unlock, which I miserably failed to do many times, the best I could do with it is split the gpu and get one VM to run only and others won't start, then again I still have to buy thin clients to be able to connect to the VMs ( I am more than willing to do this if it's reliable )
   
3. SRIOV, I don't think this is viable since the only hardware that supports this are intel igpus and I don't think games would be able to run with an igpu sliced into 4.
   
4. Hyper-V, which I have no clue how to do but am willing to learn if it will help my case ( I have seen videos about splitting GPUs on using Hyper-V on Windows 10 and 11 and it is very interesting )
   

I posted here cause I didn't know where else to post this, thought of /VFIO but that is more niche than /sysadmin
ideas anyhow, I would be glad to know if someone does have any different ideas or if I should pursue any of the above-mentioned ideas.

This is going to be a long one so bear with me please. I am also giving a lot of backstory and past issues bcz I feel they are relevant to the matter and also I feel like ranting. Also this is in India so the currency is Rupees. Before we start I just want to say that I am not perfect in any way or form and I have done any fair share of mistakes. I(20F) have been in a relationship with my bf Jake(22M)(fake name) for roughly 5.5 yrs now. My family is not rich but we do have a lot of money bcz both my parents are doctors but I did not realise we have this much money until 2yrs ago. (Am not very street smart as U will see in this post). Since after abt 1.5 years of relationship (May 2020)when lockdown started his family fell on hardtimes as his family owns a shop and bcz of the Pandemic they weren't able to run it. At first it was bcz one of his friend got into an accident so he needs money and he told me he will give it back etc (i don't remember if he ever did as it was yrs ago). At the time I had money saved up so I helped out the first few times with my own money. Then when I ran out of money then he said to ask my dad or mom, or steal from my house and give him some. A lil back story here, my mom and dad are separated so they did not used to talk about finances so I would take extra money from my dad than what was actually required and give the rest to jake. For e.g I required 3k for a parcel or smrg then I would ask for 5k, give my mother the 3k(I live with her, my father lives separately) and give the 2k to jake. I also gave him cash many times by essentially stealing from my mother's closet. When I used to say NO he hurled abuses at me and called me every name in the book which a person can imagine, guilt tripped me and pushed me very hard and I gave in almost every time. He told me he will give me back eventually, he has made an investment,etc. Basically all stupid lies to have more time, then one day during an arguement I pressed on when he is gonna return the money and after a lot of time he told me there is no investment and he used the money in his family's shop. After 2.5 year of this in October-Nov of 2022 we both got admissions in universities which were around 2 hours away from each other. Till then this pattern continued and his family was still struggling bcz of his father's brother divided the joint business or something else. Before this when we were at out respective homes he told me he got some operation done for smtg in his abdomen. I gave him 10k from my mother's closet for that and even when I went to meet he had an area bandaged (was very unprofessionally done my dumb self should have understood that it was also fake) one of his friend also confirmed that he had operation done and I was coordinating with him on the said dates when he was supposedly admitted. He also used to frequently tell me that he has suicidal thoughts and he will end himself etc . After we went to our respective colleges once we had a big fight and next day he told me that he tried to end himself by jumping of the balcony but his friend (who he was staying with at the time),Luke, stopped him worrying for him I called Luke later and told him I was worried for Jake and to pls take care of him. He was confused by this and asked me why what happened. I asked him abt last night's attempt, he told me nothing of that sort happened. This opened a can of worms where it was revealed that he was making a fool out of me, guy owned a fucking Iphone and was telling me that his family was on hard times and taking money from me. This is also when I found out that their was no operation. I don't remember what else I found out that night but felt like a huge betrayal and I talked to 3 of his friends that night for quite a few hours where a lot of lies were revealed. I broke it off with him, at this point I had lent a total of Rs.75-80k. He begged me for weeks for forgiveness, at first I laughed in his face but as weeks went by I started to miss us. He came to meet and win me back a few times at my uni. Eventually, a month later I forgave him on some conditions like he wont lie and share everything with me, won't tell me who or who not to be friends with (he did that before a lot). Few months later the cycle started again, I was back to giving him money from the monthly spending amount I used to get(it was a lot at first bcz I was just settling in,now my monthy allowance is wayyy less). He did not like the friend group I was in so I stopped talking to them (bcz they knew abt our situation as I broke down crying in front of them when I found out abt all this so he felt like he lost respect and They didn't respect me etc, admittedly they weren't good and I would have distanced myself eventually anyways maybe cuz the vibe didn't match but that should have been my call I feel) and he still (>1 year later) yells at me if he suspects that I am casually talking to them. My college is in a much smaller city so I go to meet him once to twice a month as he shares a flat with few ppl and the city has more activities to do. Other than the first few times (when we got back together) I pay almost if not all bills like gas (for his 2 wheeler) and food. It's very frustrating at times but I understand that he does not has enough money as his father does not send him enough to cover rent, food and expenses or so he says ( sighs IDK anymore guys what's true and what's not). Jake says his family is still struggling bcz his sister went to UK last year to study and that took a huge chunk of money and they have loans to pay, etc. I can believe this is true. Also he says they have virtually almost no savings left bcz business isn't doing great hence his father sends him rent t food expenses andsays to manage The rest on his own (he does not has a job so guess where the money comes from 🤡). In the Past few months admittedly he has not asked for money frequently but when he does its like a huge chunk. He has also taken loans (with interest) from some of his friends without telling me. He has done this multiple times before after I have repeatedly asked him to stop. (Embarrassingly I admit there are more instances when he has acted like a red curtain but I think I can write a book at this point if I list them all out so let's move on to the latest problem).
Onto The current issue Almost 3 days ago now, Jake called me (we already have been fighting for I don't even remember how many days at that point a week maybe?) and we told me that he was told by his dad that they have been unable to make payments for the loan they took from a person keeping their shop as collateral, they have to pay half the amount (Total amount was 5 lakhs) and interest which was 64k tomorrow to that person, they have arranged most of the money but are short by abt 30k. He asked me can I do something (steal or ask my dad). I refused as there is no money in my mother's closet anyway and I haven't talked to my dad in abt 3 months now. (ofcourse I did not outright refuse and just gave him my reas oning buz I'm a doormat 🥰🤡🤡). I pressed me to pls talk to my father about money and tell him I need it for my tablet (I bought one just a few days prior). I refused and said he won't give me money anyway. He asked what about my mother's bank account, it must have something. One account is linked to UPI ( It's for making online payments in India) and one is not. The one that is linked does not have much money bCz my mother's salary has not been credited in 4 months. The other account has money but as it does not has UPI activated online payments cannot be done.I told him all of this. He asked can I activate the UPI if my mother's asleep and plz transfer him the money (also said to transfer it first to my own account so if she finds out then I can say my friend needed it so I have lent some for a month or two🙂 ) I mean maybe I could if I really wanted to but I have had enough, I do not want to steal. Now his family is potentially loosing the shop and he is blaming me for it. I have repeatedly tried to reason with him and told him that if I had the money in my account I would have given him (My account had 1k and I transferred him that😔). He says his blood relatives (his father's siblings refused to pay even a dime, I mean they and their children all are grown ups and have jobs and if They didn't pay how does he expect me, who does not has never had a job give him money, probably it's my fault I have enabled him enough every down time by giving him money so how he just expects everytime that I'll help bcz I am family).
He is still pressing me to give like 5k now bcz now he wants to go to another city and talk to the lender's brother to pls provide them with some Time. But I do not have the money 😕. He says that 'if I would have really wanted then I could but I did not think of his family as mine ', " U will understand my pain when U will loose something of yours for lesser value Than it really is " (The shop's market valve is 4O lakhs and they lost it for 5 lakhs) Also has called me quite a few names since then. He arranged 1K and said " I'm going today there I'll see what to do after reaching there." Says he wants to breakup ( it's pretty normal to say it's over after fights so I don't really know if he is even serious) for 2 reasons - 1. I did not give him money 2. When he will go to uni he won't have any spending money so he'll expect are to help out, and he knows I won't and he does not want that disappointment.
I mean TBH I wouldn't care if it were a few hundred rupees but it won't be, additionally I will be The one covering The costs as usual when I go to meet him. I won't have any money left for my own. And I really want to start saving up again. I have spent outrageous amounts of money in The past year (go figure the reason) and saved up nothing. Today he was still begging (he used the word) me to pls arrange the money. He said I leave for uni in 2 days after summer vacations so I'll get my allowance, technically I can ask for it in advance and give him. But I don't want to after he has treated me. Everytime I tell myself that this is the last time, I'll leave the next time he does this but I just stay. I know I'm not responsible for him and his family but I still feel really guilty about not giving him the money. I know I should end things but it's just difficult to leave something which you have been attached to for so long, it just feels natural to you. Rn he owes me I don't even know how much but it's maybe around 1 lakh something. Not counting The amount of gifts (some he guilt tripped me into buying 🙄 ) I have bought him and the money I have spent on my trips to visit him. IDK if I'll ever see that money again probably not. Please also give me advice on how should I proceed with the breakup, I don't want him to do anything drastic like come to my house or call my mom to tell him abt our relationship (frowned upon in India).
I know the answer but still need the answer should I give him some money from my allowance and WIBTA if I don't ? (Sorry for any errors in writing, I'm writing on tablet with a stylus)

Falsch pressed the switch and the glowing red timer of the Facility Implosion Bomb began counting down.
5:00
"It's the only way. The portal has to be destroyed." Falsch reasoned.
"Damn it!" Zysind slammed his fist onto the table, the sound was heard over the communications device.
"..." Schlect stood silent as he stared down onto Falsch tired on the floor, preparing himself to eliminate the anomalies of this world once and for all.
"What is the meaning of this, Falsch?" Duvist, confused, spoke over the infuriated Zysind.
4:44
"I had a great time with you all in this base." Falsch reminisced. "Tell Bonas my thanks for pulling me outta that hell, once he wakes up from his coma that is. I got to live a second time because of him. Veru....sorry lass, but Papa has to leave. Be a good girl for me.``
“God damn you Falsch! You can’t do this! Bonas has done so much work for this.” Zysind yelled at the comms.
“God already damned me once Zysind. The Sealing Team should still be at the surface. Project Portal has to be stopped for Humanity’s good. "
Falsch muted the comms. He took a deep breath and drowned himself in thoughts.
Falsch already anticipated that it would come to this, he knew that the reason why the demons kept popping up was because of a sinner’s soul, his soul, that escaped Hell. The demons want to hunt the escaped soul and bring it back to it’s rightful place as sinner in the depths of hell.
Back then, was a lonely agony in the infinite field of darkness. He cannot remember how many years he spent over there. The looming hatred that tortured him, Schlect, was with him in his hell, constantly reminding him of his failures and mistakes in his first life.
The hell portal that emerged in Limbo that Dr. Bonas accidentally created in studying the hell portals through the Helios artifact was nothing short of an absolute miracle. Falsch entered the other side to a different Earth. Though Falsch received Hell as his punishment for his first life's sins, he got to enjoy earthly life once more for 10 years.
The world that Falsch entered was different to his yet so similar. It was like an alternate earth. As someone foreign and potentially hazardous to this world after coming out of a portal, Falsch was quarantined.
Veru was a sweet little kid at the base, a child of Dr Bonas’ sister who lost both of her parents at an early age. Veru was the person that gave Falsch his humanity over the years after decaying in Limbo. She had an innocent curiosity to what is essentially a dead man from hell. Young Veru approached Falsch after his quarantine and gave him something unexpected, something he hasn’t felt from someone for a long time. Kindness, something long forgotten by Falsch, sparked to him when Veru wanted to play with him with a doll named Molly. Ever since that day, Falsch started to feel like a regular human, and not a sinner from hell burdened by his sins. He felt good, and the weight of his regrets started to feel lighter with Veru’s company. Before then, Veru became like a daughter to Falsch, and Falsch was like the missing father to Veru.
Things would’ve been a whole lot better if it weren’t for Schlect being attached to me. But as a sinner sentenced to Limbo, I am to suffer in darkness with nothing but my dark thoughts. Schlect never fails to belittle, insult, or spite me in every single waking moment. But, I persevered and strived to become a better person for everyone here, especially for Veru.
“Sins crawling on your back sinner? Finally realized the cost of your little vacation here in this Earth? Pathetic.” Schlect sneered.
“You’re wrong, Schlect. This is my repentance and it’s for the good of everyone. I do regret that I won’t be there for Veru.”
“You aren’t just a terrible person but also a terrible father. You don’t deserve Veru.” Schlect insulted.
“Don’t put Veru into this conversation.” Falsch eyed Schlect in anger.
“Or what?”
“...”
“Idiot.”
3:17
The red emergency lights blared ever since the self-destruction countdown began. The heavy metal doors of the facility lowered down and shut all the available paths to the surface, sealing the Demons invading into their concrete coffin. The Demons screamed in anger and hatred as they tried to futilely scratch the impenetrable doors of the underground facility.
Falsch held the Helios artifact. The artifact which allowed the creation of the Hell Portals after Dr Bonas’ exploits with it. The end result… a sea of demons searching for me. Old man better not die so he could take care of Veru, otherwise i’ll be his demon in hell.
Falsch smiled to himself.
Schlect kneeled down and grinned in malice.
Falsch frowned and stared at Schlect at the sudden gesture.
“You’re still incompetent even at your second. You flipped the switch too quickly, idiot." Schlect implied something Falsch forgot.
Zanya and Tyler.
Falsch went wide-eyed, fear and anxiety coursed through his heart.
2:51
Damn it! I forgot about them. I let them do their own thing, while I supposedly did my tasked Implosion mission on the other side of this base, since I couldn’t convince them to not take the Helios artifact. Zanya and Tyler were tasked to a retrieval mission for the research data and artifact. I bloody forgot to inform them.
"You are pathetic and incompetent, Falsch. And you call this your repentance?" Schlect mocked.
Falsch unmuted his device.
"Zanya and Tyler got out right???" Falsch asked in panic at the device.
“FALSCH! YOU BETTER NOT-”
“PLEASE CONTACT ZANYA AND TYLER. THEY’D BE STUCK IN THE IMPLOSION BOMB RADIUS!” Falsch asserted.
“You haven’t even informed them yet of your suicide plan???” Duvist asked, astounded from Falsch’s negligence.
"Confirm Zanya and Tyler's signals!" Duvist commanded.
"Putting their audio in speakers right now!" Zysind followed. “
2:20
"Retrieval team, do you copy?"
Sounds of something collapsing could be heard. Struggling and bated breaths are heard in the comms.
… Silence
"Retrieval team, I repeat, do you copy?" Duvist
"Fuck! Tyler you good buddy?"
"Arghhh, I sprained my damn foot." Tyler complained in pain.
"Retrieval team, are both of you fine?"
"Yeah, we're fine and the data is with us, but not the damned artifact! We're on the surface and we're leaving here as soon as possible. Why did Falsch already activate the Implosion Bomb? What happened to his team? Are they on the truck already?"
“What the hell? Are those the Sealing Team on the truck?” Tyler asked.
1:45
Falsch smiled in relief that both of them are fine. He dropped the device from his ear and pressed it on mute.
"Good... Hehe..." Falsch lightly laughed. "You sick bastard, Schlect. You got me good, you son of a bitch." He continued.
“Laughing even after endangering their lives. Your hands deserve to be stained in blood.”
1:30
“Shut it Schlect. We got one more thing to do.”
Falsch moved and climbed into an air vent leading to the giant laboratory where the Hell Portal was located.
58
He kicked down the vent grate only for it to fall and get crushed violently to the sea of Demons.
“Oh–woah. Hello there!. Looking for me?” Falsch waved at the screaming waves of red muscular and bony beings.
“You should jump to the demons, you Idiot. You sinner. You-”
“One last thing.” Falsch interrupted Schlect’s words and just ignored his continued attempts at malicious conversing.
Falsch configured his communication device to connect to Veru.
The signals clicked and the connection established.
“Papa?” Veru called in sorrow.
30
“Hey there, little girl. Yes, it’s me Papa.”
Veru cried.
“Schlect, you may be half right about this! But, I want you to know, Veru, that Papa Falsch very much loves you alright?” Falsch joked around. “So don’t forget about me okay?”
“Why do this?”
“I already told you why before, sweetheart. I don’t belong here.”
“B-but, you could just throw the artifact to the portal and come back.”
“I know, but it won’t end up good. The Demons would only come soon after, and I don’t want a world where my Veru would be encumbered by me.”
“...” Veru understood.
“Love you Veru.” Falsch cried.
“I-I-I love you too Papa.”
“Goodbye.”
Falsch disconnected regretfully.
5
“Goodbye, everyone!” Falsch announced to anyone that could hear.
Falsch jumped into the portal, alongside the Helios Artifact. As he almost fully crossed the portal, the implosion bomb detonated leaving nothing but a giant crater of which the base of Project Portal was constructed.

Before I even filled out an application I asked if it was a smoke-free property. They assured me it was. From the first day I moved in I noticed a bad smell and told the office. I asked them if anybody smokes downstairs. The guy in the office assured me there is no one downstairs smoking and the entire property is smoke-free. They had me wasting maintenance's time because I was convinced there must be something wrong with my HVAC system because it was admitting such a putrid smell all the time.
Then earlier this week I discover WOL (waste of life) sitting on his patio right underneath mine , smoking. It was then that I realized he is smoking inside and outside his apartment. I immediately sent an email to the office. They responded by delivering an addendum to the lease to everyone in my building stating that smoking is not allowed in the apartments or the patios. It is allowed in the parking lot if you are 15 ft away .
WOL responded by standing beside his vehicle smoking which is less than 5 ft from my bedroom window. As soon as I saw him I went out there to confront him. As soon as he saw me he ran into his apartment and hid behind his sliding glass door staring at me, cigarette in hand.
My friends and coworkers started asking me if I had recently taken up smoking because I stink so bad.
I've been waiting for maintenance to fix my dryer so I've had to take all of my linens and clothing and bedding to a laundromat to wash. After doing this all day I sent the office an email thanking them for the addendum. I told them I still see him smoking by his vehicle. I also offered to move to a different apartment. They responded the next day by telling me WOL complained of noises I was making upstairs. I told them after laundering WOL’s funk out of my belongings all day at the laundromat I came home to vacuum and mop up his filth for him at no charge. Which was true.
Since WOL doesn’t like noise I’ve started slamming a plastic bin onto the floor by the vent when I still smell him smoking. I know confronting him in person is probably not the best option anyway and since he cowards like a child there is no point. But I'm not going to tolerate this. When I do this he gets in his vehicle, smokes for a while then usually drives of the complex.
WOL has a handicap sign at his parking spot, I suspect just so he can guarantee his spot. He does not appear to be disabled. I'm worried he's going to play up being disabled as a reason why he has to smoke in his apartment and he's already trying to make it sound like he's a victim because me cleaning up his filth for him is inconveniencing him. He's also taken to smoking heavy amounts of weed late at night which is not nearly as bothersome but it does make me sick. This morning he was smoking at 6:00 a.m. which woke me up immediately. I looked out my window and he was working on his vehicle, walking back and forth with a cigarette in hand. I've been trying to get a picture of him with a cigarette.
My furniture is being delivered today and I'm so depressed I feel suicidal. Legally what kind of demand can I make if this continues? I have documentation from my doctor saying I'm extremely allergic to any kind of Ash mix especially cigarettes. If they won't put me in a different apartment can I sue them to get my rent back, make them reimburse my moving costs? I feel like I should start looking for a new apartment.

May got out to a lightning start for me, continuing the torrid April pace for a while before cooling off a bit in the back end of the month. That's partially by design, as I jumped into a pair of longer games (one enormously so) which I won't finish until deeper into June, but I've also noticed I'm slowly bleeding gaming time from my evenings. As my kids get incrementally older and the days grow incrementally longer entering summer, an hour that would previously be my own is now deferred to them, and that adds up over the course of an entire month.
Not that I'd trade my kids, you understand.
(Games are presented in chronological completion order; the numerical indicator represents the YTD count.)
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#27 - Contra: Hard Corps - GEN - 8/10 (Great)
It's been fascinating to watch the Contra series evolve over time, and Hard Corps on the Sega Genesis is no different. With no Mode 7 (the SNES' proprietary isometric viewpoint mode) available on the system, necessarily some of the top down content from Contra III would need to be altered or removed, and that begged the question of what would take its place: after all, a return to basic sidescrolling action might feel like a big step down, and we can't have that. So I think I expected Hard Corps to throw in a new wrinkle to keep the formula a bit more fresh. What I did not expect was for it to make three enormous changes.
For one, Hard Corps has four different characters to choose from, and each is actually unique. It's not just the look - where else can you play a cybernetic wolfman? - but they've got different sizes and hurtboxes as well. And while each starts with the same basic low power machine gun, each has a completely different loadout of possible weapon upgrades, ensuring that all four play very differently from one another outside of the fundamentals of movement. To that end, the two weapon toggle of Contra III is expanded in Hard Corps, allowing you to hold all four of your upgraded weapons simultaneously and switch between them at will, which adds a new layer of depth and strategy to the action. Building upon this notion of enhanced player choice even further, the second big change is that the game has branching paths. After the first stage you make a choice that determines where you head for the second level, and then later on you make another choice that creates further divergence, such that the game has four main endings (and a secret fifth!), all with their own dedicated unique stages. It's for that reason possibly the most replayable game so far in the franchise; I myself did a run through of each ending using a different character per run to get a feel for them all.
This leads to the final big change, which is the only one I don't regard a resounding success: the entire game is basically a boss rush. Let's zero in on the main path that I followed on my primary playthrough and add up all mini-bosses and full boss phases. What number might you expect that to come out as? A dozen or so? Well, sorry about your naiveté, but the answer is 43: it's bosses all the way down. This is a MUCH more mentally taxing load than previous Contra games where you could kind of skate through the non-boss sections with good fundamentals. And that's just one of four possible paths through the game! It's absurd! It's also way more fun than it sounds it would be from the description, but I've heard people say Hard Corps is the toughest Contra game and now I know why. I do miss just running and gunning and dropping dudes in one hit before a thrilling finale; it's hard to be properly wowed by a boss fight when that's all you ever see. But nevertheless Contra: Hard Corps is lives up to the legacy of greatness the franchise had up until that point established...just steel yourself mentally for the extensive memorization it requires of you.
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#28 - Ancient Enemy - PC - 5.5/10 (Semi-Competent)
Solitaire is one of those games that nobody really wants to play. It’s a game of convenience and opportunity, only attractive in the absence of something better, which is to say “nearly anything else at all.” Slightly more entertaining are variations on the form, such as Mahjong Solitaire or Free Cell, where certain cards/tiles are locked until the ones above them have been cleared away. These are still just time wasting games for people with nothing else to do, but when presented as a discrete set of challenges there’s a bit more appeal. Do you know they say that every one of the 32,000 numbered games of FreeCell on classic Windows operating systems was supposedly beatable? Did you know a very bored teenage me once decided to see if I could prove it by playing and beating every single unique game of FreeCell in order? I got into the low 30s or so before I questioned what the hell I was doing with my life and wisely moved on.
Well, Ancient Enemy is a game for people with nothing better to do, masquerading as a game that would qualify as "something better to do." It’s an RPG, I guess, but the gameplay revolves entirely around a solitaire variant. You have a deck of “stock cards” numbered 0-9 and start each encounter (“hand”) by flipping the top one. Then on the board you have to collect a card with a number adjacent to the one you’re displaying - 0 serving as a bridge between 1 and 9. Getting a card reveals any card trapped immediately below it and enables that card to be collected as well. If you can’t make a move, you can flip a new stock card over to get a random new number until your deck runs out. Some levels are simple puzzles in this vein, trying to clear all the cards from the board. Most encounters though are battles, where you do the exact same thing, except the color of the card you collect enables you to attack, defend, or cast a spell. So it’s turn-based combat, except each turn is you basically clearing as many cards as you can from the board to juice up your attack or bolster your defense, and that’s about it.
Now, at first, this is actually way more fun than I’m making it sound. I mean, I like solitaire type games for what they are, and the extra mechanics definitely do enrich the experience. You get consumable wild cards, battle boards have bonus cards with instant benefits, you get powers that manipulate the board, new types of cards appear, all good stuff. The problem is that the game completely runs out of these new ideas about a quarter of the way through, at which point you’re just going through the motions until the end, accompanied by a complete nothing of a story that I was confident I had figured out, only to find that the ending was somehow worse than the cliche I’d been anticipating. Thus, the game sadly settled into that exact same niche of games it was supposed to improve upon and supplant. Which I suppose is ok…if you’ve got nothing better to do.
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#29 - Snakebird Primer - PC - 7/10 (Good)
I follow a general rule of always playing game franchises in order, but Snakebird Primer is a unique case wherein the developers of the original Snakebird decided that it was too off-putting to new players, and so they made a sequel that they explicitly wanted newcomers to play first. A "primer" in truth to ease you into the overall Snakebird challenge, as it were. So when I decided to check out Snakebird, I thought all right: just this once I'll do it your way.
So how does Snakebird Primer shake out? Well...it's fine. It's a jaunty kind of puzzle game, with bright colors, friendly art and music, and general good vibes. In each stage you control one or more segmented "snakebirds" and have to get them all to the rainbow portal to complete the level. Sometimes you need to eat fruit to open the portal as well, but that's the entire game in a nutshell. It's a very simple concept, complicated only by the fact that a snakebird that has no body segments touching the ground will fall, and so each stage is a kind of pathing challenge, tasking you to figure out the right order of operations to reach the end. The levels are very well paced and designed if you just go in order: there aren't any hand-holdy tutorials, but new ideas are introduced organically at various intervals, and the challenge always feels reasonable, especially because you can undo any number of moves at will, like stepping through code to find an error.
There is, however, a significant difficulty spike for the last couple levels, which is pretty jarring. And when you add to that the fact that the designer of Baba Is You said he built a lot of his design philosophy around the original Snakebird, I've got to admit I'm a lot less keen on checking that one out. It's in that same realm of "enter these six dozen commands in precisely the right order" that made Baba Is You eventually feel more tedious and frustrating to me than anything else, so I think for now I'm happy to have just played the "lite" version instead.
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#30 - It Takes Two - PS4 - 8.5/10 (Excellent)
When trying to write down a genre for It Takes Two in my tracking spreadsheet, I wanted to put "Yes". It's as though the developers wanted to make a bunch of different kinds of games and, rather than accepting any limitations (self-imposed or otherwise), they just found a way to do it all at once. It Takes Two is a platformer. It's a third-person shooter. It's a puzzle game. It's a rhythm game. It's a racing game. It's a stealth game. It's a boss battling action adventure. It's a minigame collection. It's a romantic comedy. It's an exploration playground. One minute you're flying around on a jetpack chucking Captain America shields at devils and the next you're literally playing a timed game of chess. None of the things that It Takes Two does would be characterized as masterpiece forms of their respective genres, but that's not the point. There's sufficient depth and development of each mechanic that it never feels like a lazy tack-on to check a box - and that in itself is beyond impressive - but it's the sheer number of different ideas tossed into this package that make it truly special.
It's hard for me to even review this game, frankly. Part of that is because I feel a strong bias towards the game for the audaciousness of what it tries to achieve, and for the way it inspires me to keep stretching myself in new ways however I can. But it's also hard because I don't remember the whole thing. It Takes Two is both fresh in memory, having just finished it, and yet far away and mingled in my mind with similar bits of similar other adventures (Tearaway foremost among them). Why is that? Well, I first booted up It Takes Two in May of 2022 as a co-op experience to share with my wife - quite fitting, as it turns out, given the nature of the game's plot of trying to reconcile an embattled couple. We'd only play in smaller bursts of 1-2 hours at a time, but every session we played it felt like we were playing a new, different game. Music to my ears, but much harder on my gaming-challenged wife, who took longer to adjust to each mechanical shift. Pretty soon we were playing less and less often, even as I was playing a game like Tearaway early on that occupied some similar design space in my head. Soon we stopped playing at all. When I tried to suggest resuming this title over the past year, I was repeatedly rebuffed until finally a month ago I managed to wear her down enough that we picked it up again for about an hour a week. So it is that the first half of the game is fuzzy and nebulous to me, even as I recall that I loved playing, whereas the back half is much fresher, and it's nigh impossible for me to separate my wife's frequent frustrations from my own experience - especially since I've been playing on a controller experiencing heavy stick drift, so managing the camera was a nightmare through no fault of the game's.
All that said, how could I not recommend this game? It's best played with two experienced gamers, but the story only fully lands if you play as a couple, so there's a bit of potential for a disconnect there, as I experienced. It's not a perfect game. But it is an incredibly ambitious one that had me routinely grinning from ear to ear, despite the grumblings on the couch next to me. When I pointed out to my wife that we finished the game in May 2024, almost to the day when we started back in '22, she said "They should've called it It Takes Two Years." We're both glad it's over, but I think for very different reasons.
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#31 - Rogue Legacy 2 - PS5 - 7/10 (Good)
Some game sequels try to really shake things up and try something different from the one before. Final Fantasy is probably the biggest and most obvious example of this, but you can also see it in virtually every Super Mario Bros. game, in the Castlevania series, and the list goes on extensively from there. On the other hand, some game sequels treat their predecessors like rough drafts to be perfected. With these, the idea is to take the vision for the previous game, use the increase in time/budget/developer expertise now available, and try to execute on it more completely than was possible before. When a game like this is successful, there becomes almost zero reason to ever play the original game (other than possibly its story), because the new version has replaced it entirely as the definitive experience.
Rogue Legacy 2 is one of these latter types of games. Everything from the first game is pretty much still there (bosses excepted): enemies, basic combat and room design, character classes, traits, progression, etc. It immediately feels like "Hey, I've played this before," yet a cursory look reveals a huge wealth of additional content over the first game. Classes are better differentiated, you get new weapons, more spells, special abilities, new items, new upgrades, new explorable regions, new mechanics, new new new. It truly is a total replacement for Rogue Legacy 1 in this regard, a "go ahead and uninstall that thing forever because we've got it all right here and then some" type of mission statement. I was amazed at how I kept finding ever more avenues of progression and discovery, even many hours into the game, In fact, I never did manage to play as every class, and each class has a variant form as well, most of which I didn't even unlock. It's overflowing with stuff.
And I think that's why it didn't work quite as well for me as the first game: it's all too much. Now there are four different types of currency, all acquired in different ways, all for different upgrade paths. You're always competing with yourself on what to level up between runs because there are too many choices and all of them seem pretty good, but as you're finding your early groove the game throws a big wrench in there: labor costs. While each upgrade has a set gold cost that increases as you level it up, early on the game adds a universal tax mechanic to the entire upgrade tree, making it increasingly prohibitive to spend your money on stuff, and it feels awful. Rogue Legacy 1 had a similar system where each upgrade cost 10g more than the previous, but in the sequel these escalate far more rapidly, to the point where you'll complete a huge run and still feel like you can only afford one or two upgrades that barely move the needle. It's a pure inflationary grinding system meant to pad playtime, and I'm not about that. I played RL1 through multiple New Game + levels, but I was thrilled to beat RL2's final boss and move on because the economy is so frustrating. Other than that though, it's got quite a lot going for it.
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#32 - Undertale - PS4 - 7/10 (Good)
When is some information too much information? Undertale is notorious for its rabid fan community insisting that there is only one "right" way to play the game, and so if you've ever heard of Undertale there's a good chance you already know what that preferred method is: pacifism. Undertale takes a unique approach to the JRPG in two primary ways: first, that defending against enemy attacks is an active system pretty much akin to dodging in a bullet hell game, and second that you almost never actually need to choose the "Fight" command from the battle menu in order to succeed in an encounter. The argument from the community is that you must play in this fully pacifist manner, largely because of a design decision that thoroughly punishes players who do not, only revealed after the game's conclusion. Thus, these players are "helping" curious newcomers by saving them from falling victim to a fairly vindictive design choice that would create a lot of frustration.
The problem with that approach is that Undertale makes it abundantly clear from the outset that you have the option for these alternative combat approaches, trains you on how to use them, and then gives you a positive feedback loop for choosing that direction with your gameplay. Which means the discourse surrounding this game effectively undermines not only the game's own ability to surprise and educate you, but also the authorial intent of that same design decision, which in context is a conscious player decision to go against the grain and suffer the possible consequences of doing so. In short, I wish I'd never heard of Undertale before I played it, as I'm sure I would've had a much better time.
As it stands, Undertale is still a highly creative take on the genre that, despite an aesthetic I didn't care for and writing that leaned a bit too hard at times into "lol I'm so random" territory for my tastes, still managed to get me invested with some of its characters and even make me laugh aloud at times. I was particularly impressed with that aforementioned approach to combat, as each enemy introduced unique hazards to avoid, so fighting a new monster was far more exciting here than in a standard turn-based RPG where the only meaningful question is "How much damage did this whatever move do to me?" So for those reasons I applaud Undertale. Even still, there's a lot of walking back and forth with no major purpose beyond "it was decided the game should be a little bit inconvenient here," adding some unnecessary tedium to the mix. In short, Undertale's a generally good time, but if you want it to be even better, just pretend you haven't read anything I just said.
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#33 - Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales - PS5 - 7.5/10 (Solid)
2018 was a big year for Miles Morales. In the fall he showed up in the PS4 title Marvel's Spider-Man as a major supporting character, and by the end of the year he was stunning cinema audiences in the fantastic Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse as the primary protagonist. It's no surprise then that by 2020, with his brand so hot, Sony and Insomniac Games would cash in with a follow-up title to the hit PS4 game with Miles front and center. And for the most part, the game is what you'd expect it to be from that basic pitch: more of the same from 2018, only focusing on Miles' family, his new home of Harlem and its people, and his path to becoming a fully fledged hero in his own right. That's all fine, but here's the problem: all of it has been done better before, and recently to boot. Miles' story of personal growth and family drama was handled better in the Spider-Verse series, even though MSM:MM wisely walks chooses to walk some different beats along the way. "Superhero of Harlem" was done masterfully by Netflix with the Luke Cage series (the first season, at least) back in 2016, and MSM:MM doesn't even try to address any issues beyond the most surface level. And the "more of the same" gameplay?
Well, admittedly that's still pretty good. Web swinging is as fun as ever to the point that there's an XP challenge to web swing at high speed for a full cumulative hour of real time and I caught myself thinking, "Hmm, maybe..." There are fast travel points that unlock relatively early on, but the joy of traversal feels like the main point of the game, so why would you bother? Miles also gets some new Spidey moves related to his bio-electric powers, and these are really fun and impactful to pull off, such that "more of the same" isn't in this case a damning phrase. And yet, it's also distinctly not "more, but better." In order to emphasize your new powers, the goons you fight (now including women for the first time I can recall ever seeing in a superhero game like this) have upgraded their own abilities as well, which means the simple pleasure of chaining big combos is a bit diminished. Maybe this enemy just blocks all your basic attacks and stops you cold. Maybe this one turns the tables to dodge and counter you. Or maybe you're just constantly surrounded by a flood of dudes with guns and rocket launchers and you feel like you never get a chance to press "punch" without being thoroughly punished.
Now add to that the game's relatively brief length and general lack of meaningful activities compared to its predecessor, as well as its truly awful villains and the ho-hum plot that they service, and you've got a title that's decidedly a step back from what came before. Of course, what came before was excellent, so even a step back still lands you in territory that's quite fun to play around with. My 6-year-old summed it up best when he came downstairs to ask me a question one day and caught me playing: "Whoa...how are you Spider-Man?!" Which is to say that Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a game that really makes you feel like a wannabe Spider-Man who hasn't gotten it all figured out just yet. And I guess that's all right.
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Coming in June:

• I've had less time for PC gaming lately for a couple of different reasons, but I'm expecting that to be a temporary thing, and I don't think I'm in danger of failing to finish Mass Effect 3 by the end of June. I didn't realize the version of the game I had included all the DLC. Nor did I actually know what any of the DLC was. So I was quite a ways into the game and feeling great about my progress when I got suspicious that the section I was playing wasn't actually base game content. I looked it up and found that, in fact, about 90% of what I'd played to date was DLC and I'd barely actually started the base game itself. That explains why the main story was taking a while to get off the ground, at any rate.
• Speaking of getting off the ground, my journey through The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom began impatiently a few months after release, but I took an extended break from the game and have now spent pretty much all of May continuing my thorough trek through the game world. I'm well over 200 hours into the game and am only several days away from having explored the entirety of the game's map. At which point I believe I'll finally advance the main quest past its initial stage.
• In my review for Rogue Legacy 2 above I mentioned the Castlevania franchise, which I feel I can speak to as a whole given that I've finished nearly every game in the series to date. Unsurprisingly I felt most drawn to the metroidvania style games, so there was a layer of disappointment in exhausting the last of those to discover. Disappointment that will soon be temporarily eradicated when I boot up Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, produced by that same creative mind.
• And more...

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← Previous	2024	Next →

I recently hosted a college friend from another country at my place for 5 days, and while they were generally ok during their stay, there were a couple of times they pushed the boundaries of my hospitality.
This guest, let's call them "B" had a laundry list of dietary preferences (no specific allergies, nothing but preferences, for example, they like a specific type of bread, and they had to eat lunch at 12 exactly, and their coffee had to be piping hot). I did my best to accommodate them, spending hours preparing meals that catered to their needs. However, every time they started eating they immediately started nitpicking about the food and drinks I had prepared. This isn't hot enough, this is too dry, etc... I was always smiling and offering to prepare another meal quickly.
They complained about everything from the seasoning to the temperature of the coffee served, and it quickly became apparent that nothing would satisfy them. Despite my efforts to be accommodating, B continued to make unreasonable demands and criticisms.
I got so stressed and I (almost) yelled that they could prepare their own food in my kitchen if they wanted, Their constant whining were making it difficult for me to enjoy the evening and conversation with them.
Well, you can probably guess how that went down. They were offended and stormed out, and mentioned why would I invite them to spend time if I wasn't too happy about it. We haven't spoken since they traveled back home.
Now my partner is saying I was too harsh and should have just ignored B's behavior especially that I invited him over and he came from another country to see me. I can't help but feel that confronting that person was completely justified and I had to stand up for myself.
Am I The Asshole here? Was I too confrontational with my demanding friend given the fact that they traveled from another place, or did I have every right to put my foot down?

I'm in over my head and need help. I can't tell what the right thing is to do in my situation and I'm overwhelmed. We have 3 issues, gutter damage, roof damage, and water damage from a hail storm in March 2024.
We have gutters in the front of the house that would drain into the ground, with pop ups dispersing the water away from the house. In the storm, one of those gutters was damaged, and redirected water into a front corner of our home. The rush of hail and rain flooded the area, which then seeped down, and in through some crack in the foundation and flooded our basement. We had about 1/8th to 1/4 inch of water in half of the basement.
After we cleaned up, we called our insurance company. The agent told us to call ServPro to manage clean up. ServPro came out and said they were there on the claim number and went to work. There was no discussion of charges, or potential charges. The only thing I was asked to sign was a form saying that when they left, the equipment they were leaving (fans and humidifiers) was in my possession and my responsibility.
The adjustor came a week later and after only looking at the drain and being at the house for under 3 minutes said, "You aren't going to like this, but this isn't covered." His argument is that it was ground water, regardless of if the storm damaged the gutter causing the water to pool up.
We also had the roof inspected for damage.
The final outcome was total damage to our house that was covered was $5200 and our deductible is $5400. That was very suspicious.
We asked for a reinspection. That took nearly a month and half to get scheduled. When the new adjuster came, we didn't find out until after the inspector was on the roof that it was the same inspector as the first inspection. I asked how that was legal or right, as he is not incentivized to say he was wrong, and actually he is incentivized to keep his original estimate.
We had a roofing contractor out, and both they and the inspector completely disagreed on the damage to the roof. The roofing company said there was between 3-8 hits per 10' square from the hail and the inspector said it was 3 maximum.
The adjustor left saying his estimate was $4600 in damages.
ServPro says we owe them $7000 for the clean up, as the insurance isn't covering the water damage.
We've been given a bid of $56K to repair our roof and a separate bid of $11,500 to fix the basement and gutters.
I should note that literally dozens of other homes in our neighborhood have had their roofs repaired or replaced in this 2 month period of fighting, and all 3 of our neighbors (both sides and behind us) have had theirs replaced fully. I have a hard time believing my house, which has no tree coverage over the roof, was unscathed and yet all my neighbors, some of whom have tree cover over their house, all had their roofs replaced.
The roofing company referred me to a local appraiser, who said I should invoke the appraisal clause. He said he would come to the house and look at the situation first before we hire him and proceed with that.
He says we should not hire an attorney until after the appraisal clause is invoked, as if we do, the attorney fees would be covered by the insurance company.
I've done some online research and it seems mixed regarding should a homeowner invoke the appraisal clause or not. It seems to be a high cost to us (This appraiser is $1500 plus $250 for every 10K over 50K we are awarded) and a high risk that our appraiser and the insurance company's appraiser won't agree, which I've read can be 6 to 12+ months to resolve.
The appraiser told me on the phone that our water damage should be covered as it is "consequential water" not "ground water". I can't find anything in our policy using "consequential water" but he said not to share that term with our insurance agent, or they'd know we are in the process of hiring an appraiser. I tried to search online for this, and can't find anything specific about "consequential water" being covered or even talked about, yet he was adamant it was normal and covered.
I feel very out of my element and potentially being taken for a ride by everyone I talk to. I've had my insurance company for 31 years (Farmers) and never had a claim, and I'm very frustrated with this entire experience. I travel a lot for my work too (3 times in the last 4 weeks alone) and it makes meeting people at my home difficult, lengthening everything.
I really need some advice and guidance.

For a little background, my family never went on vacation together. Ever. I didn’t go on a single vacation until I started dating my now husband. My mom was extremely strict and didn’t let me do anything. She would even get angry if I had friends. I didn’t learn how to drive until I was 20 because she wouldn’t teach me. She thought I would try to leave home. She ruined every friendship and relationship I had until I became too old to control and left to live with my now husband. This was around 25 years old. Since being married, she has stopped trying to control me as much, but we still do not get along well. I didn’t get on a plane for the first time until 26 or so and I had never seen the ocean until 28. When I went on my honeymoon after eloping (they did not help with the cost at all), she kept saying how she didn’t have one and made me feel bad. While I was on my honeymoon, my mom, brother, and dad started sending me pictures of them at the place I always wanted to vacation growing up. They had gone on their first family vacation without me and claimed it was the only time they could go. I was absolutely hurt by this but got over it. I believed it was a coincidence. Fast forward a year, I went on a vacation with my husband. My family has not mentioned a vacation since the last time they went together. The day I was driving back from my own vacation, they said they planned a last minute family vacation 8 hours away and didn’t invite me because they “didn’t know when I’d be back.” I told my family multiple times when I would be back and they didn’t leave until 2 days after I was back. I could’ve went or they could’ve waited a week. This is the second family vacation they’ve been on and didn’t invite me. And purposely planned it for when I would be on vacation. They also recently blamed me being on vacation as the reason they needed one? I’m extremely angry this time and feel like they don’t even want me in their family. It seems extremely purposeful to me and my husband is also angry at this. Am I overreacting by feeling angry?

Okay, so canephron uno was the first thing that eradicated most of my symptoms, but there was still a feeling of discomfort. As if there was still the bacteria lingering but without any urinary symptoms. After being symptom free mostly for 3 weeks and then started taking a supplement with a bunch of artificial sweeteners, it flared up again. Then I took canephron uno again. But I got off of it 2 days later and then it became way worse again, so I took another pill. And the next day stopped. Since then I only feel it on the left side when pressing against my urethra/bladder though my vagina on the left side. The other side is completely free of any discomfort or anything. Fortunately the bacteria is persistent but not resistent to anything. It seems to mighty sensitive to anything really. I want to avoid antibiotics at any cost. I might try oregano oil next, what do you think?

This is a great one stolen from aitah idk how to share the original post lmao
AITA for kicking my BF and his daughter out because of how his daughter acts when she's on her period?
My BF of 2 years has an 11yo daughter that just started her first ever menstrual cycle 3 days ago. He has full custody of her and they started making transitions to move in with me and my 8yo son about 2 weeks ago. Up until this point, everything was going fairly well. The kids got along and I thought Diane was a nice enough kid.
Anyways, she walks out of her bedroom 3 days ago and tells me she thinks she started her period and was asking me the general questions on how to wear a pad, what she can/can't do, etc. All is well. I let her stay home from school after calling my BF at work to confirm plans and give him the run down. She was crampy. I work from home so it was no issue. All day she interrupted my business calls to talk about her period. It was annoying but I just dealt with it because it's her first menstrual so obviously there's going to be a lot of questions. This wasn't even the problem. It was what followed it. She was in a great mood all day. But as soon as my BF and my son got home from work, my home turned in to a warzone. My son asked if she wanted to play with him and she screamed in his face "I'm on my period" and literally slammed him out of her doorway. He went flying, hit the wall. Bruised his shoulder and hit his head off the door frame. My BF went to talk to her and she starts crying. "I'm on my period, I don't want him near me". He gave her a pass for her behavior, which already pissed me off. The next day we planned a beach day (like a week ago planned it), Diane starts flipping out to a point of a full tantrum. Screaming AT me and my BF telling us that no, we would not still be going to the beach because she's on her period and she can't swim and since she can't, none of us can and she "doesn't care" if that bothers us. My BF cancels the trip, or tried. I told him I was still bringing my kid regardless. We get back home at 3pm. When I left, I had a pot of chili in the slow cooker for dinner. I find half the pot gone. Diane had been eating out of the slow cooker. My BF told me that Diane said the only thing she wanted was chili and that since she was on her period, he had to let her. He listened to her. There wasn't enough to feed everyone now. We send the kids to bed at 8pm. She comes out at 9, telling her father that she needed ice cream or she "was going to snap". He originally said no; she starts tweaking out. Crying, screaming. Wakes up my son. He ends up going and getting her the fucking ice cream instead of being a parent and snipping that shit in the bud.
Then this morning. My BF tells her she can stay home from school again because she's still on her period. I tell him no. I'm working today and she interrupted me all day on my last workday. She starts flipping out, screaming at me that I'm "not doing anything to make her comfortable when that's what she needs right now". My BF sides with her. "It's her first period, we need to learn to navigate it." I told him again that she was NOT staying here today. He gets angry with me and says I'm making his life harder than it has to be. His kid is still screaming at me. So, I snapped and told them to pack all their shit and leave and that I was fucking done. Said that I'm glad she started her period so soon in to moving in so that I could get a proper assessment of how it would be full time and I would be damned I put up with this bullshit every month. They both immediately calmed down. She starts crying, saying she was just "trying to make me understand". He's telling me I'm being ridiculous. I stood firm however and told them to get out. They are now gone and my house is peaceful. I don't want them back here. My BF has been blowing my phone up since, telling me this is just a bump in the road but I have never been so disgusted by anyone in my entire life. AITA for not letting them return and telling him I'm done?
I did speak to her about her aggression yesterday. I told her it wasn't okay to put her hands on people, to scream in my face, to demand we cater to her and break things. She says "I'm on my period, nothing I do right now can be held against me because I have no control". Which is enough to prove to me that she does have control, she's using this as an excuse.

These are just some fun ideas I have for the game/mainly for the lobby. I feel it'll add a bit more "depth" to the lobby and the game than just having it as a waiting area and makes it a little more complex. It gives the lobby a proper "use" as well as giving us a reason to spend coins etc.
Changes to the health system:
A) No more auto-heal when leaving therapy.

• If you finish a therapy with 3 bars of health, that's what you have in the lobby and that's what you have in the next match.
  
• If you die in a therapy you will then have 1 bar of health in the lobby and going into the next match.
  
• If you permanently lose health bars in a therapy, you will leave that match with the reduced amount. IE You go in with 4 bars, you lose 1 bar, you leave with 3 bars and will be stuck like that. I think this only happened in toxic shock, if it did then they'd need to add a way you can lose health bars in matches lol.
  

B) Turn the cook into an interactive NPC.

• You can use the coins you earn from therapies to buy food from this NPC, with the food you have to take it to a table to eat.
  
• Food will heal back to full health
  
• Open up the medical area:
  
• If you die in a therapy, instead of going through the evaluation, this is where you will wake up and have to walk out of.
  
• It doesn't cost if you wake up here but you will need to buy food to heal.
  
• If you have lost health bars you will need to visit the NPC here to "mend" you back to full bars again.
  

C) Add an "anxiety" meter.

• As you play matches/rounds/games your stress and anxiety will go up.
  
• As this increases you are more prone to making noises and giving your location away
  
• You're also quicker to exhaust
  
• You can reduce your anxiety outside of therapies but playing games or reading
  
• With reading you just have to open up a document for your anxiety to drop
  
• With playing games you have to play one round to have your anxiety reduced by one bar
  
• Eating food can also reduce your anxiety bar
  

Additions to the lobby:
A) Add more seating.

• With the changes and "eating" requirements above, I suggest adding more seating. Maybe put in one more table downstairs.

B) Add card games.

• In therapies, you can now collect playing cards. These are your usual playing cards.
  
• Once you have all cards you can unlock a deck of cards for your room
  
• You can play solitaire and pairs with these decks
  

C) Add a small library

• This can be a place you can sit and read all the files and documents you have found in the game
  
• You can also read a couple of books and comics you can find in therapies
  

D) Player swap shop

• Add some unique clothing and room items
  
• Each player will have access to a randomized amount of these items (example if there are 10 items, a player will have access to 2 of them and will be locked out of 8 of them)
  
• A player "swap shop" will allow players to trade their clothing items, room items, tokens and coins with other players in the same lobby.
  
• The only way to access the unique items you are locked out from is via trading with other players
  
• Add it so that when you trade an item to someone else, you can then rebuy that said item so you don't lose access to it
  

E) Add a godman toilet

• I have no idea why there aren't any toilets in the lobby? Do we just shit in the toilets we find in therapies? Are we just crapping ourselves?
  
• GIVE US A GOD DAMN TOILET
  

Changes to the game:
A) Make it "harder" to upgrade rigs etc:

• When you first start you will have access to one rig only (stun) and none of the others
  
• Once you have gone through one "rebirth" you earn a single token, this token allows you to unlock another rig of your choice
  
• After 5 rebirths you will earn your second token
  
• After 10 rebirths you will earn your last token and can unlock your last rig
  

My husband has been working for a big tech company for ~2 years. Before moving to the big tech company he used to work for a "small" publicly traded tech company for ~5 years. He realized doesn't like the politics and bureaucracy at big tech and was considering looking into other opportunities. He was invited to interview at a late series B start up by one of his former coworkers from the small tech company who moved to the start up. The series B has a few former coworkers there. His old company also reached out to see if he would like to come back (as my husband left them on good terms and he was a valued employee there). He ended up getting an offer from both the start up and his old company.
Currently, he's a senior software engineer (fully remote) at the big tech company with a TC of ~$350k with a $200k base.
Offer from late series B (~400 employees) Fully remote staff engineer $275k base (the range indicated on the job posting is 200-300k for the role) No annual bonus $1 mil in grant units vested evenly over 4 years (not a percentage, just an absolute amount) No 401k matching Health insurance has a high deductible and very high out of pocket cost. Unlimited PTO
Offer from old company ( ~1,500 employees): Fully remote staff engineer $230k base 10% annual bonus $30k sign on bonus $140k stock vested evenly over 4 years (and he'd get $140k refresher the following 3 years) 50% 401k match Health insurance has lower deductible and out of pocket cost. 25 days PTO
My husband is pretty really torn but he seems to lean towards the series B because he thinks he can learn more from there as well as being able to play a more influential role setting the technical foundation. From his interviews and what he could see, he thinks he has the exact skill set, knowledge, and experience they're looking for. He's highly regarded by the former coworkers who are currently at the series B.
I think if he decides to go for the series B, he should at least try to negotiate once to get closer to $300k because from what we've read, it's better to not bank on the "equity" part of the offer for a start up. But my husband just hates negotiating and part of him is afraid the company is going to rescind the offer if he negotiates. He's thinking of just accepting the offer without negotiating. My mentality is that we're still only trying to negotiate within the stated pay range and not asking for anything out of this world. We would appreciate any feed back especially if he should negotiate with the series B for higher base pay or just accept as is?
TIA

My husband has been working for a big tech company for ~2 years. Before moving to the big tech company he used to work for a "small" publicly traded tech company for ~5 years. He realized doesn't like the politics and bureaucracy at big tech and was considering looking into other opportunities. He was invited to interview at a late series B start up by one of his former coworkers from the small tech company who moved to the start up. The series B has a few former coworkers there. His old company also reached out to see if he would like to come back (as my husband left them on good terms and he was a valued employee there). He ended up getting an offer from both the start up and his old company.
Currently, he's a senior software engineer (fully remote) at the big tech company with a TC of ~$350k with a $200k base.
Offer from late series B (~400 employees) Fully remote staff engineer $275k base (the range indicated on the job posting is 200-300k for the role) No annual bonus $1 mil in grant units vested evenly over 4 years (not a percentage, just an absolute amount) No 401k matching Health insurance has a high deductible and very high out of pocket cost. Unlimited PTO
Offer from old company ( ~1,500 employees): Fully remote staff engineer $230k base 10% annual bonus $30k sign on bonus $140k stock vested evenly over 4 years (and he'd get $140k refresher the following 3 years) 50% 401k match Health insurance has lower deductible and out of pocket cost. 25 days PTO
My husband is pretty really torn but he seems to lean towards the series B because he thinks he can learn more from there as well as being able to play a more influential role setting the technical foundation. From his interviews and what he could see, he thinks he has the exact skill set, knowledge, and experience they're looking for. He's highly regarded by the former coworkers who are currently at the series B.
I think if he decides to go for the series B, he should at least try to negotiate once to get closer to $300k because from what we've read, it's better to not bank on the "equity" part of the offer for a start up. But my husband just hates negotiating and part of him is afraid the company is going to rescind the offer if he negotiates. He's thinking of just accepting the offer without negotiating. My mentality is that we're still only trying to negotiate within the stated pay range and not asking for anything out of this world. We would appreciate any feed back especially if he should negotiate with the series B for higher base pay or just accept as is?
TIA

Hello everyone. If you've seen my previous posts, you know I recently managed to get out of Sudan. I'm extremely lucky to have been able to accomplish this. We are a family of six and I'm the only son, so I had to do something to get us out of this situation. I was accepted into a university in Rwanda and was working on getting all the documentation I need for it. And with the help of a lot of people, we managed to get at least enough to get me here. The plan is to come here for university and find a way to make money on the side. In the village I was in, there's barely any phone signal and electricity was very inconsistent, so I couldn't work on any useful skill while I was there, but now I finally don't have these issues. I'm already working on learning a skill that I'll be able to work using, but it'll probably take some months and I'm really worried for my family because we never know when things can go very bad. There have been a lot of talks about RSF members being found in nearby villages recently, so there is a chance New Halfa could be attacked any day. And there's also no medical services there. The rainy season is coming up and a lot of illnesses will come from the mosquitos. If you have an emergency, you have to somehow find someone with a car and go on a 50 minutes drive to get to the hospital in the big market.
Do you guys think it's a good idea for me to start a fundraiser to at least get my family to somewhere safe. The plan would be to have them renew their passports, go to Wadi Halfa and apply for the visa for Egypt and rent there until their visa comes out. Wadi Halfa is a lot safer than where they are now. This would cost quite a bit, as just renewing a passport is around 200$ now and they're 5. Let alone the rent in Wadi Halfa, transportation and settling down in Egypt.
Sorry for all this rambling. I guess what I'm asking is, do you think it's fair for me to do a fundraiser for this? Back in Sudan I couldn't do it because no fundraising platform works with any Sudanese bank accounts, but now I'm able to do it. I know a lot of people are doing worse so I'm a little apprehensive about it.
Thanks for reading.

My husband and I have toyed with the idea of starting a business for a long time. We have solid ideas and plans but are lacking the funds. We’re considering selling our home, eliminating personal debts and throwing all we have into this idea but we’d need additional funding for the location equipment etc. I want to put together a business plan and estimate costs and what we’d need for a loan or whatever. Do I literally window shop and add up each piece of equipment? I feel like I have a good grasp on what im supposed to do in all the stages except this one lol please help