After an encounter with a Haunt that went much uglier than I expected, I've got some questions about how they should be run. I'm pretty sure I didn't follow RAW, mostly because the story led me to treat it as a Ghost in addition to an Object.
Very minor Abomination Vault spoilers: The Haunt in question is the Watching Wall in the Not-So-Private Reading Room on Level 3 Spoiler free description: The Haunt manifests on the wall in a room that clearly telegraphs that its source was someone's violent death.
The tags on the Hazard stat block are Complex and Haunt. It has Object Immunities, Weakness to Positive, a Hardness, HP, and a Break Threshold.
All of our issues are covered by figuring out if you can use Disrupt Undead against it (A spell with the Necromancy and Positive tags, which targets 1 undead creature)
Q1: Is it undead? It doesn't explicitly have the Undead trait, and the rules entry for Haunt doesn't seem to add it. So RAW I believe it's not undead, just dead-dead.
Q2: Is it a ghost? The question my Cleric actually asked. Yes because it's a spiritual echo that needs to be put to rest. No because it's not a Creature with the Ghost Trait.
Q3: Can the Hazard be targeted as a Creature? More or less everything is either a Creature or an Object. Is anything both? I allowed it, because ruling no means Disrupt Undead can be spammed to test whether bodies they come across are corpses or idle Undead, or any number of other spells for Mimic checks.
Q4: Is it immune to Necromancy? The list of Object Immunities includes Necromancy, so RAW it looks like yes. But dealing with hostile spirits is an entire subschool of Necromancy. It's also the main way to deal Positive damage, which is explicitly a good idea against this Haunt.

This thread is ONLY for items that dropped on this Thursday. Please do not post the rest of the stuff you have for sale in this post; it will be removed by a mod.
IF YOU ARE SELLING FOLLOW THESE BULLET POINTS:

• Format for selling
  • [WTS] Item name size price [Link to tagged photo]
• Have a Tagged Photo of your verification or item in hand
  • if the item is in hand: have your username on a physical piece of paper within the shot of the item/s you are selling.
  • If this was an online order: destroy the verification screenshot by putting your user tag across the entire image. This is for proof of purchase but also to reduce the chances of others using your image to scam.
  • example of tagged verification
  • If your username coincides with the one on the verification, circle it and scribble out the rest of the screenshot.
• Have a Buy It Now price
  • set a price, do not ask for offers.

IF YOU ARE TRADINGTreat trades like sale posts but state that you want to trade and what you want to trade it for.

Not following these rules will result in your immediate ban from this sub.

If you've seen my recent posts around the Brecon beacons I usually go solo exploring on my scooter and treat it more of a very light ADV rather than the stereotypical justeats.
While most people both here and on the road respond positive and I do even get the nod, there has been a small minority of times I have been laughed at or been on the receiving end of biker snobbery for showing up at well known spots on such a lowly machine.
So hence the poll, do you consider all powered two wheels 'a motorcycle' or should scooter riders stick to delivering takeaways?
View Poll

Introduction:
In today's fast-paced world, the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle has become more important than ever. With the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and the constant bombardment of sedentary habits and unhealthy food choices, it is crucial to adopt a holistic approach to achieve and maintain a state of optimal well-being. In this blog, we will explore a new perspective on healthy living, focusing on the mind-body connection and the integration of various lifestyle factors for a truly balanced and fulfilling life.
The Power of Mindfulness:
To cultivate a healthy lifestyle, it is essential to prioritize mental and emotional well-being. Mindfulness practices, such as meditation and deep breathing exercises, can help reduce stress, improve focus, and enhance overall mental clarity. By dedicating even a few minutes each day to mindfulness, we can create a solid foundation for a healthy lifestyle.
Nutrition as Nourishment:
Instead of viewing food merely as a means to satisfy hunger, let us shift our mindset and embrace nutrition as a form of self-care and nourishment. Opt for whole, unprocessed foods, including fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Strive for balance and moderation rather than strict diets, allowing yourself occasional treats while focusing on long-term sustainable habits. If you guys are interested in writing blogs and want to share articles then you can contact us at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) can write in the category Write For Us Healthy Lifestyle.
Active Living:
Physical activity is a cornerstone of a healthy lifestyle. Engage in activities you enjoy, whether it's brisk walking, dancing, yoga, or playing a sport. Regular exercise not only improves cardiovascular health and strengthens muscles but also releases endorphins, promoting a positive mood and overall well-being.
Quality Rest and Sleep:
Adequate sleep is often underestimated in our busy lives, but it is vital for our physical and mental health. Establish a consistent sleep schedule, create a relaxing bedtime routine, and ensure your sleep environment is conducive to rest. Prioritizing quality rest will help you wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on the day.
Social Connections:
Nurturing meaningful relationships and fostering a strong support system are crucial for a healthy lifestyle. Cultivate connections with loved ones, engage in social activities, and seek out communities that share your interests and values. Human connection provides emotional support, boosts happiness, and contributes to overall well-being.
Conclusion:
A healthy lifestyle encompasses more than just the physical aspect; it involves nurturing our mind, body, and spirit. By embracing mindfulness, making informed nutritional choices, staying physically active, prioritizing restful sleep, and fostering social connections, we can achieve a truly holistic approach to well-being. Remember, small, consistent steps in the right direction are key to lasting change. Start today, and let your journey towards a healthier lifestyle be filled with joy, balance, and self-discovery.
ALSO READ: top strength preparing activities to OR 5 simple habits for maintaining good OR why its not good to wash face with soap

A few weeks ago I posted about an altercation with my neighbor(https://old.reddit.com/pettyrevenge/comments/13dp3t6/petty_revenge_on_my_jerk_of_a_neighbo), I thought I'd give an update.
The few days after the altercation, when I would come home and pull into the driveway the jerk would walk out front and watch me pull into my garage. After the third time I decided to let him taste his own medicine. I walk down to the curb and collect the mail, and as I am walking up I see Jerk staring at me, so I just stop and stare right back. After about 5 seconds of staring him down with a bemused look on my face he throws his hands up in the air like he is confused.. He yells over to me that 'I don't have a problem', and I respond with well you keep watching me go in and out of my house like you have something you want to say, and he says 'well yeah, you tore me a new asshole the other day', which might be true.
So I explain to him that the reason I am not willing to talk/work with him is because of how he treated us when we had to shovel snow, and that the only reason we had to shovel was because we were told he is the reason the snow removal service cancelled, due to the way he parks his truck. He says this is the first he is hearing of this, and that no one told him that his truck being parked there was an issue. At this point I get a little apologetic for my rude outburst a few days earlier, because if he doesn't know then I don't believe I can blame him.. He agrees to give me his phone numbeemail so that I can contact him regarding issues with the private drive, and says he is willing to move his car for snow removal. He does derail and go on a few tangents regarding the elderly neighbor, apparently they have been at each others throats since Jerk moved in, and he refuses to talk to the elderly neighbor. I explain that I'm not going to get in the middle of their squabbles, but from my perspective the elder neighbor is helpful, he helped shovel snow, and Jerk did not. In the end I told him I would take my yard waste a little further down like he initially asked.
The next day I contact the other neighbors, and explained that Jerk's stance is that he had no knowledge his truck was causing problems for the snow removal. The next day the elderly neighbor puts a photocopy of a receipt he sent to Jerk over a year ago in my mailbox, the receipt has a message for Jerk that says the snow removal service is complaining about his truck and they are threatening to cancel service. Which implies Jerk lied to me that he had no knowledge his truck was an issue.
A week goes by and I get a rude text message from jerk. It accuses me of putting additional yard waste in the area I agreed not to, and he says I am doing it just to piss him off. I respond with 'Check your facts, I didn't put anything there'. He then does apologize for being rude and says it must be one of the other neighbors.
That brings me to today. The way I see it I should try to work with him and get along, but at the same time I am not going to let him take advantage of my or the other neighbors kindness. I believe in the iron rule, as long as he chooses to act like a Jerk he is going deal with a jerk.

Can't find the original post from a couple weeks ago to link here, but recently someone, presumably a chiropractor, was admonishing chiropractors from doing leg checks and touching shoes because of "how disgusting" shoes are, i.e. germs, etc. They had no ability to believe that some of us wash our hands multiple times throughout the course of an office visit. For example, I have BOTH a hand sanitizer dispenser AND a fully operational sink with water and everything in all of my adjusting rooms. LOL Anyway, I made the assertion that phones were probably way more disgusting than shoes or feet, then I got to thinking, hey, I should actually test this.
So, I called a favor in to a friend who is a teacher at a chiro college and he asked their microbiology teacher to do a little experiment. Keep in mind this is a PhD microbiologist with a LONG list of publications and a long history of working in both education and lab settings. Experiment wasn't super controlled, she simply swabbed random students' feet, shoes and phones, swiped them on agar plates and waited to see how much growth was on them. Her summary was that shoes and phones looked the same and feet were the cleanest of the three.
So, for the person who was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO disgusted by chiropractors who do leg checks, now you can come off your mountain top because your phone that you certainly put your hands on throughout the day, rub all over your face and in your eyes and around your mouth, and that you probably don't wash your hands after touching before treating a patient is just as bad as the shoes you were so put off by. :-)

After approximately 48hrs of practice with my driving instructor (and only ~2-3hrs of private practice in my dad's car), I passed first time today! With 8 minor faults. These were:

1. Control – Gears (I was going uphill on 2nd gear and it was very jerky and I had to change to 1st to keep going)
2. Progress – Undue hesitation
3. Use of mirrors – Change speed (I turned right onto a dual carriageway from a side road and the light turned red as I was in the yellow box and I had to quickly finish my turn, so I accelerated really harshly to get up to 40mph in the dual carriageway and didn't check my centre mirror before accelerating)
4. Awareness / Planning
5. Use of mirrors – Change direction (x4)

So we finish the driving test (my instructor is sitting at the back), and we drive up to the test centre and park in a bay to finish. My examiner tells me that I've passed and I start smiling a lot and I look back at my instructor, and then my examiner tells me "however I have a question for you":

• "How often do you check your centre mirror?"
• "uhhhhhhhhhhhh"
• "How often do you check your centre mirror?"
• "uhhhhhhh... I check the centre mirror when I... turn right.. or left?" (I was thinking of M-S-M)
• "You might as well have done this" (and he then takes the centre mirror and points it up!!!)

(My instructor at the back later told me that he thought the examiner was about to snap his centre mirror off!)
The examiner told me that I rarely used the centre mirror when driving, and that I should have checked it at least every 5-10 seconds during normal driving. He told me that he would have failed me a given me a serious fault if he could (!). He then proceeded to sign the pass certificate, though I felt this aura inside the car that he did this very very begrudgingly and that if it was up to him he wouldn't have signed it. I still have the feeling that this examiner really wanted to fail me very badly.
I was genuinely shocked at this response. I have watched dozens upon dozens of videos on YouTube of driving instructors and mock tests, and nobody ever mentioned that you need to check your centre mirror every 5-10 seconds. Richard Fanders at Conquer Driving (which I treat like "The Bible") said the following:

You may have heard that you need to check your mirrors every 10 seconds, and make it super obvious that you’re checking them to pass the driving test. But that’s not true! Driving examiners are experts at knowing whether or not you have checked your mirrors and they would rather you keep your eyes on the road and only check them when it’s relevant because that is safer.
You may have been told to check your mirrors every so many seconds because your driving instructor is trying to play it safe, if you check them enough, hopefully you won’t miss an important mirror check. But in my opinion taking your eyes off the road more than you need to, isn’t a good idea

I can understand perhaps on why I got marked down for not checking my mirror before accelerating onto the dual carriageway, or undue hesitation, etc. But the behaviour of the examiner at the end was really off-putting, and given that he was dead silent throughout the entire test (didn't even ask me the ice breaker question), makes me think that he hated his job?
Another odd moment was when I was instructed to turn right after the second set of traffic lights, and the examiner told me this 5 times. There was a huge queue of cars waiting to turn right, and I realised that I need to be in the right lane to turn right, so I indicated and moved to the right lane just before the queue started (because in my head I kept worrying about getting a serious fault for being undertaken on a dual carriageway). But if he wanted to be helpful, couldn't he have said "You may find it easier to move over to the right lane"? What was going through his head?
He was very tight-lipped throughout the test. At the reverse parallel park manoeuvre I asked a simple "within a drain width's away from the kerb?", and he just repeated the script of "reasonably close to the kerb". Or another time we were driving on the road and he asked me to park up on the left and I said "park up on this road here, yeah?", and he just said "Please park up on the left anywhere safe".
I thought I failed a total of 3 times during the test.

1. I turned right from the main road onto a side road and I thought I cut off a Volkswagen (though I noticed he didn't slow down afterwards so I then thought I was fine). Then another time when we were
2. I was waiting at the set of red lights and it was very slow moving, I put the gear in neutral and pulled the handbrake up and went to drink some water from my bottle that was right next to me in the driver's door, and the examiner stopped me and said that I am not allowed to do that during the exam and that I have to be in full control of the vehicle at all times.
3. During the reverse parallel park manoeuvre, I touched the kerb slightly though I steered very quickly to adjust and I slotted in and finished the manoeuvre. I think I got off lucky on that one.

My experience learning to drive was good. I was in a very fortunate position as a university student where I had the funds available to pay for all the driving lessons (£31/hr!!), and I fully understand why only 37% of young people have a driving licence given how brutally hard it is to get a driving licence in this country in 2023. More importantly however, the DVSA really has let learners down with the ridiculous waiting lists. At my test centre in Sheffield (Middlewood), I had to wait 6 months for my driving test. I booked it back in December! If I failed, I would have to wait for months again before I could try again. This is absolutely insane.
I hope this writeup helps new learners on this subreddit. If I could give one tip, it would be to practice. Do lots of mock tests, do lots of driving around, and build experience and confidence behind the wheel. I felt confident as a driver before beginning the test, and I had trust in myself that I was a good drivers and I deserved to receive my licence. I am 100% certain that if I wasn't at that driving level and at that confidence level, I would have failed with this clearly unhelpful examiner.

Content Warning(s): fictional child death, exclusion?
First things first, while this is not the worst horror story I've heard by far, this still was a bit of a sucky experience for me and my friend to have as our first time interacting with DnD. I hold no animosity toward anyone in this story, as we were all young and this was years ago, but rather I want to share this story to get it off my chest.
The characters:
-Me, playing a beast-master ranger with a dire wolf animal companion, first time playing Dnd
-Wizard, playing a wizard as you would guess, first time playing dnd (they/them)
-Barbarian, sibling of DM and Rogue, invited Me and Wizard to play and introduced us to the idea of DnD as a whole (they/she)
-Rogue, sibling of DM and Barbarian, "problem" in the story along with DM (he/him)
and finally
-DM, oldest sibling of Barbarian and Rogue, also is a bit of an issue in the story (they/them)
Okay so now for the story:
Barbarian, Wizard, and I were all really close friends in middle school, and one day Barbarian brought up that their siblings play Dungeons and Dragons. Wizard and I, not knowing anything about the game, were immediately super interested, and eventually Barbarian invited us over to play dnd with their family. During the time leading up to the session, both Wizard and I were super excited and we both tried to learn about the different classes and races as best we could. Both Wizard and I ended up with super basic practically self-insert characters, but we were both super happy with what we had created. The day of the session arrived and both Wizard and I were stoked to play finally, but once again, we knew literally nothing about the game.
Right off the bat, our party was placed in a relatively open area. If I’m honest I don’t remember why we were just dropped in the open, but as we were trying to figure out what to do, (probably within the first ten or so minutes of the game) Wizard walked forward into a trap that ~none~ of the party had seen and was immediately paralyzed.
Obviously, Wizard and I were very caught off guard by this, and when we asked DM what was going on they responded by saying that we “should have done a perception check”. Wizard and I were confused, as we had literally no idea what a perception check was at the time or how we were supposed to make one but both of us just accepted that we made a mistake and tried to move on. Wizard was eventually released from their paralysis and the game continued.
Eventually, the party came to a town and started to wander towards the nearest tavern to try and figure out what our quest was going to be for the session. Immediately as we walk into the city, an orphan kid (described to be no more than 5 or 6) is said to walk up to my character (and specifically only my character). Now, something about me personally is that I have a giant soft spot for children and animals, and almost every character I play shares this sensitivity. As this was my first dnd character, I shared practically every trait with my dnd character and as such I immediately felt super attached to this little kid. The kid begged for some food and without hesitation I had my character pull out her rations and hand over a portion to the kid. Suddenly, my character was ~flooded~ with a bunch of orphaned kids, all begging for food. As this happened, I turned and asked DM if we were going to a place where we could get more food and if I had enough rations between my character and her dire wolf to be able to feed all of the kids who showed up. DM said that we were going to a place where we could get food and that I did not have enough food for all of the kids, but that if everyone in the party gave up the rest of their rations that we could feed all of the kids.
I immediately turned to the party and started to ask for everyone to give up their rations and started to try and explain that we could buy more food but I was cut off by Rogue. Rogue had been getting irritated throughout this whole interaction, but apparently, this was the last straw as he narrated his character walking over to one of the children and pulling out a dagger. He said (both in-game and out-of-game) that he was going to count down from 10 and if I hadn’t left by then that he was going to kill the kid.
I immediately panicked, as I mentioned before, I have a massive soft spot for children and I was terrified that any of these fictional kids would get hurt so I tried to explain my plan to Rogue and negotiate with the DM to try and make it to where I could have my character feed all of the kids all while Rogue counted down. I remember getting physically upset as the countdown was happening, both at the prospect that Rogue would follow through with his threat and that I felt like no one was listening to me. Despite my efforts to persuade or negotiate my way into a better solution, Rogue reached the end of his countdown and turned to DM saying that he wanted to stab the kid in front of him. DM didn’t even make Rogue roll and said that Rogue killed the kid and all of the orphans scattered. I was absolutely livid at this, and I believe at this point I started to tear up and was on the verge of crying. I was visibly upset at this turn of events and had my character start to yell at Rogue. Admittedly, I probably got too upset over the turn of events at this point, but don’t worry, it gets worse.
While the exact details on how the next event happened are admittedly very fuzzy on my part (since this story was years ago) the important part is that the party ended up kidnapped and taken down into the sewers under the city. We were taken to have an audience with the leader of a secret crime syndicate that was apparently stationed in the city and quickly learned that the child of this Crime Boss was the “orphan” that Rogue had stabbed. Immediately the Crime Boss (referred to as CB for the rest of the story) asked the entire party who was responsible for killing the child. I (being admittedly still angry out of game) had my character rat out Rogue and start to explain the whole situation, only to be interrupted by Rouge saying that I had a choice of not killing the kid if I had just given up on feeding all the children. I then pointed out that I was just trying to feed all of the kids and that if everyone had just given up some of their rations we could have fed all of the children and then just bought more rations. CB then interrupted the argument and said that he had a decision about who was responsible. I admittedly was a little too proud at this moment, and I genuinely thought that Rogue was going to be punished for killing the kid. Much to my surprise, however, CB had all of the guards grab my character and tie her up in a magical rope that no one could break.
I was absolutely stunned and didn’t understand why I was being punished as DM explained that CB appreciated Rogue for killing the kid because CB couldn’t have a “weak” kid. DM also explained that my character was being punished for being “weak” and that CB was actually supposed to be the final boss of the one-shot and that we skipped straight to him through killing his kid. Back in the game, CB explained that the party could have my character back only after they did three things for him and that every hour the ropes around my character would tighten, killing my character in 24 hours if the tasks were not completed. Note, once again, this was my first ever time playing dnd and I was no older than 12 or 13 at the time. I was incredibly upset but at the time I didn’t say anything because I just thought that “this is how dnd goes” and I thought I was just being a sore loser, but now looking back I know I should have let the DM know that I was feeling upset.
Anyway, the first task given to the party was a simple riddle, specifically the one with the seed, the chicken, and the fox, where you have to get all across a gorge with various rules about what can and cannot be left alone together. I immediately spoke up because I already knew this riddle and knew how to solve it. I had my character ask CB if she was allowed to solve it. CB reluctantly agreed and I had my character explain the solution. CB said my solution was correct and then said that the other two tasks had to be performed by the party with no input from my character. I was once again upset that I couldn’t participate but convinced DM to let me control my dire wolf instead of my character.
Honestly, I don’t remember what the last two tasks were, but I do remember that my dire wolf was absolutely no help on the tasks and on top of that was completely ignored by the party members whenever I did try to help, so I was left doing literally nothing while the party was having fun solving the tasks. I started to get more and more frustrated as time went on as I really wanted to participate but knew I couldn’t do anything. Finally, the party completed both tasks with one in-game hour left before my character would die. I was really anxious at this point for the party to get back to see CB so that my character would be released, but relieved that the party had a whole hour to spare. Relieved until the NPC that was with the party suggested that the party stop for a leisurely brunch before going to get my character, that is. I was honestly on the verge of tears, frustrated, as the party narrated going inside a tavern for a leisurely brunch while my character was minutes from dying. The whole party was having fun and joking while I tried to get the party to go and save my character, but all my attempts to ask the party members out-of-game to help was met with “Oh we have plenty of time, it’ll be fine”. Finally, I got fed up and had my dire wolf burst inside the tavern (it was made to wait outside) and physically try to drag the party members outside. My dire wolf was just kicked out again and so I said that my dire would just bark and howl non-stop until the party left to go save my character. A bit annoyed, the DM relented and said that the NPC cut the brunch short and the party headed back to see CB, freeing my character only minutes before she would have died. After that, the session was practically over. I can’t imagine we played for more than half an hour after that, but despite it all, I continued to play DnD and even played with the same group a second time where I actually was able to play and help the party through things.
As I said at the beginning, I don’t think this story is the worst horror story that I’ve heard, but it definitely was a frustrating experience, especially for my first-ever dnd game. Despite it though, I’ve been playing dnd for years now and have been running my own games for about 5 years now, so at the very least I’m glad that I was able to get through this experience without a bad taste towards dnd as a whole.
TLDR; My character was taken out of commission for a majority of my first-ever dnd session all because I wanted to feed children rations.
Note: I was talking to Wizard about the whole situation right before posting this and they wanted to add a few details.
First off, Wizard said that they were teasing DM before the game, and while they didn’t think that they were being annoying, that teasing may have been the reason for their character getting immediately paralyzed (or at the very least it felt like retaliation to Wizard).
Second, not only did Wizard and I have no information on dnd, Wizard reminded me that the mechanics of the game were not explained to us at all before we started playing and both DM and Rogue would get upset, and Wizard and I when we didn’t know how our characters worked.
Also, there was some issue before the game started about how my beast master ranger couldn’t have an animal companion because “only druids could have animal companions”.
Finally, Wizard mentioned that they think that DM and Rogue were hostile toward Wizard and I because they were significantly older than us and they were Barbarian’s older siblings. It is very possible that Barbarian kinda forced DM and Rogue to teach us how to play and that they were upset about it and so made their goal to mess with us. While this obviously doesn’t excuse the fact that they were unfair towards us, it might be a bit more of an explanation.
But yeah, thanks for reading I guess?

I finished the novel Flashpoint by Don Bentley and this novel was one of his best works. As you know the tradition of Clancyverse Jr’s books published on Fall and it’s always tends to focus of the overall character development of Jack Ryan Jr as well as other important characters of the Ryanverse. In my POV Mark Greaney completely overhauled the Jack Ryan Sr books by making it compatible with current gen readers by means of adding awesome characters and incredible multidimensional villains to the series and now Marc Cameron is doing amazing work and I am eagerly waiting to see how the Andrew & Wilson going to top it off. At the same time Jr was first introduced as one of the supporting characters in The Teeth of the Tiger and was included as important part of then initiated new agency called Campus. Even though he started his journey as an Analyst just like his father he lacked the military background of the Sr as well as he was thrusted into the field as soon as he was established. His initial books either show him as invulnerable like Scot Harvath or just plain confused the storyline altogether by means of including skills that he doesn’t have in the previous novels. Both Mike Madden and Grant Blackwood are commendable authors in their own I personally enjoyed their respective Troy Pearce and Briggs Tanner series as well as their recent collaboration with Clive Cussler and James Rollins and they’re awesome to read and please check it out if you haven’t. But for me their books kind of lacked the believability factor that made us root for Sr in his earlier adventures of Clancy. Jack Ryan Sr has an amazing partner Cathy who always plays an important and vital role in his life but Jr lacked in that department Yasmin was teased initially as the potential better half who can support him in field also but down the line she was written of. Then enters Don and he made Jr with believable story lines and slowly built him as a character who is unique and totally different from other characters in the current genre. This novel is about Jr’s first time outing as Team Leader with his gf Lisa and two kickass Green Berets to Germany for shadowing and if possible hacking the phones of two Chinese scientists. But as always happens with Ryan family trouble finds him and he tackles it head on and bodies were littered and at the same time A mysterious private corporation tries to trigger a war between China and US over disputed South China Sea. This novel is chokeful of nostalgia moments of throwbacks and callbacks and after a long time Mary Pat was given an amazing part of her supporting Sr as well as guiding and helping Jr in crucial times. Both Cass and Jad the Green Berets duo who are part of initial missions have become awesome addition to the campus team as well as impromptu bodyguards to the Jr. They add the believability factor by means of teasing Jr’s ability to attract bullets and problems and at the same time being supportive teammates in the combat also by means inculcating their military training which kind of baffles Jr. As the story progress Campus’s Higher ups was temporarily removed due to a strategic tragedy and Jr was forced to take overall rein of the campus and the mission. The dialogue between Jr and Clark are awesome to read and if you’re a fan you can’t help but compare how Clark shaped both Sr and Jr lives in the shadows also the way Clark was looked upon by both heroes and villains are treat to read. Unlike the previous novels individual action set pieces are few and far between the overall geo political combat scenes are fun to read and the way it mirrors both the fiction and nonfiction history is also awesome to read. On the whole after Line of Sight I thoroughly enjoyed this Jr novel and I’m eagerly waiting for the upcoming novels. Thanks for reading this whole review

Just want to make sure I'm not surprised by anything there. Been to a bunch of locals over the last couple months so I'm familiar with the game but not the event.
Sleeves? Currently double sleeving with japanese size sleeves + standard sleeves outside. I remember hearing something about sleeve rules changing, so is this no longer legal? Will I have to do perfect fits + japanese size sleeves? Can I do japanese size sleeves + japanese outer sleeves (like dragon shield's clear matte)
Start time? The event registration says it starts at 10am, but is that when doors open or is that when round 1 begins? How much earlier should I get there?
Side events? Are there any side events besides like time wizard and speed duels where I may need to bring a second deck? Are Win-A-Mat's just a local-level event where you can bring whatever?
Anything else to know? Food? Trades? Guarding against theft?
Appreciate the help!

I am struggling with cochineal dye massively.
I bought a pH probe (properly calibrated with a 10, 7, and 4 solution) and I am getting about a 7.25-7.5 reading on my tap water. I ordered some mineral testing strips for my water to determine what minerals are present, so can report back today on that.
What has been happening is 2 things:
1) It lightens colors if I do a second dye bath - I tested this with a silk charmeuse previously dyed with lac and it made the color lighter. I am not even sure how.
2) It doesn’t adhere to silk charmeuse mordanted for 24h (both previously scoured and then one sample was 10% WOF alum mordanted, the other 10% alum + 5% soda ash). And I had the same thing happen with cotton, hemp, and several silks.
I make extracts out of the bugs which I finely grind to a powder. I do this on a laboratory hot plate in a water solution until the color is pale pink (to remove any big pieces). I don’t go above 80C.
I’ve tried adding water softener to the dye to see if that helps, as it made a huge difference to my sequoia dye (was dyeing brown and it shifted to purple) but that still did nothing for my cochineal.
I’m about to lose it because I can’t get my cochineal dye to work on any fabric sample I scour and mordant. It’s just throwing me so off because nothing else has been this painful to dye with.
Wondering if there are any cochineal experts here :) And if you know the specific mineral or issue I am dealing with, and how to treat it would be amazing!

Few days ago I made a post that my situationship just disappeard and blocked me in Whatsapp after asking me to take things slow, it could be that I was a moron that I did not understand her signal and did not act on time. She was the one who requested me to take things really really slow. Therefore she may have lost her interest towards me and moved on. Even though in my mind I kissed and hugged her millions of times, and I can tell you guys there is nor will be any other man breathing of walking on this planet who would love and treat her right more than me. I was the first person in her life who bought her flowers.
Anyway, I know that she left me for a married guy, there was nothing going on. They may have went to cinema, dinner and few times dates here and there. Once she told me that, she wants only one husband in life, and that person must understand her fully psychologically and her needs. I even assured her that, beb that person is me. Anyway, after she left me, I was a disaster. I could not look myself in the mirror. Now I can see that she unblocked me in Whatsapp, though did not write anything yet. I have decided that I won't write anything back until she makes a move. I understand that, she may have seen that grass is not always greener other side of the river, if someone needs greener grass you must water it on the spot, other than just hopping around. If she wants anything serious, she must explainm to me what was going on, because I am not settling down for shit.
Just after few days she left, I met another great girl with whom I have been to just one date. Moreover, I will rather live alone than dealing with any drama or infidelity shit. If she wants to come back, she have to honestly explain what was she thinking going to the cinema with a married guy. She have to work really really hard to gain back my trust . She sent me through heaven and hell. I understand in the cinema you can not do anything, but did she thought anything about his wife ?, or she was helping him cheating his wife. Just what the heck is going on girl.

Don't know if this is the place for this but here.
I woke up today and immediately thought of you. I opened my phone and backed up picture of you came up as a memory and I just couldn't take it.
Happy birthday. I'm unable to reach you and understandably so. But in hopes you somehow find this or see this, I wish you a happy birthday.
I know we're both in different places and it's been a while since we last talked and twice as long since I left, but I'm never going to be able to forget about. You were my first love and after these years and the relationships I've had I've never forgotten you. I know I had opportunities to truly reconcile things and I'm sorry I didn't. I will always wonder how things would be if I never left that day. I'll never be able to forget that day. As I left that last hug. I'll never forget it, how tight you held me, the way I made you feel, what you said, passing your dad down the stairs. I'm never going to forget that and will never forgive myself for what I did.
You gave me too many chances after that and I either ruined them or turned them down in fear I'd hurt you again. I wish I never set that stupid thing up on Snapchat, I wish you never blocked me but I understand.
You were the best thing that ever happened to me and you're a very special person. Not just to me but you as a person are just very special. You've had an incrediblely tough road and I know you're more resilient person.
I'm rambling here and realizing this is more of a sorry and I miss you post than anything but I'm just gonna keep going with what my mind comes up with.
I'm just so fucking sorry, so many memories, so many songs, there's still so many that I can't listen too. I'm never going to be able to listen to that highly suspect song without tearing up or changing the song.
I hope your able to find happiness where you are now, and that things are stable, happy and healthy. I worry about that often.
Idk where I'm going with this I'm a bit of a mess right now. I just wanted to say happy birthday L, I hope you're happy and doing well. I hope everyone around you appreciates and treats you how you deserve. I hope you succeed. And I'm proud of you. I miss you and will never forget you for the rest of my life. It's been over 5 years but I'll still think of you after 20 and more. I hope to hear from you sometime down the line, I don't expect it but hope. Idk, this is stupid. Have a safe birthday, don't go too crazy.

There was some “mental health awareness” class at work recently and now everyone in the office is acting like they give a shit about people with depression, etc. “Yeah we learned the signs that someone is depressed and lonely and they trained us on what to do”.
Meanwhile I’m sitting right here in front of them. Never get acknowledged or recognized for things I do around here, my “friends” in this place treat me as the back burner friend. They don’t know shit.

Greetings! With summer upon us comes the opportunity to attend camping events! I have a yurt with a sunforger canvas which I would like to do maintenance on. Sunforger is not a type of canvas, but rather a type of silicone waterproofing for canvas. I noticed water drips the last time it was used, so am looking for solutions to retreat it but don't know for sure which products to use. Some anecdotal debate exists about which types of products go well with sunforger, so wanted to ask the community their thoughts.
What's a good waterproofing spray solution for Sunforger treated canvas?
Will the waterproofing also seal the seams, or do I need a separate product? There are many yards of seams, and seam sealer usually only comes in teensy nail polish sized bottles; is there a better option?
Thank you for your consideration and knowledge!

So me and my ex for 8 years broke up last year, the break was bad .we did not ended on good note . She chose another guy over me . And it was my first break up so i handled it very badly . And some bad things were said by both sides.
After break up she did contacted me once after seeing my story and we chatted for few mins .
Now after almost 8 or 9 months of no contact and more than a year after break up .
The wrath in me is gone and i still have a soft corner for her and i do care about her .
Her birthday is coming in few days . I only want to wish her happy birthday , nothing more nothing less .
Though i do wish if we can improve things between us platonically .
Am confused because i know she doesn’t deserve after what she did and how she treated me . But its my mind n heart that just wants to message her this one time .
Can someone please help me .
What should i do .

Hello friends :)
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I have accepted the task of cat sitting for a friend for the next 7 days, I will be sleeping at their house. I am supposed to feed the kitties 3 times a day, wet food, and twice of hose with a little dry kibble treat as well.
I am supposed to feed them around 6am, 3pm, 10pm
Everything will be fine except for one day, tomorrow, and I am too scared to tell the owner :( :(
I can feed them at 6am, but then I have to leave the house around 8am, and won't be back until close to midnight as I am working all day and am far away from the house without a car.
Do I put extra wet food out in the morning so that they can pick away during the day? I know they won't starve or anything but I am anxious.
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Any tips would be greatly appreciated

While water softeners offer several benefits, there are a few potential drawbacks or considerations to keep in mind:

1. Increased sodium content: Traditional ion exchange water softeners replace calcium and magnesium ions with sodium ions. As a result, the softened water may have an increased sodium content. This can be a concern for individuals on low-sodium diets or those with certain health conditions that require sodium restriction. However, the sodium levels in softened water are generally not significant unless the water is extremely hard or consumed in large quantities.
2. Environmental impact: Salt-based water softeners require periodic regeneration, during which a brine solution is flushed through the system to clean the resin beads. The excess brine, containing the displaced minerals, is typically discharged into the wastewater system. The increased salt content in wastewater can potentially impact the environment if not properly managed or treated by wastewater treatment facilities.
3. Water Waste: During the regeneration process, water softeners require a significant amount of water to rinse and flush the system. This can result in increased water consumption, which may be a concern in areas with water scarcity or high water bills. However, some modern water softeners are designed with efficiency features to minimize water waste during regeneration.
4. Maintenance and cost: Water softeners require periodic maintenance, including replenishing the salt or potassium chloride for regeneration and monitoring the system for optimal performance. Additionally, there is an initial cost associated with purchasing and installing a water softener. While the long-term benefits often outweigh the costs, it is important to consider these factors.
5. Taste preference: Some individuals may prefer the taste of hard water, as it can have a perceived "clean" or "refreshing" taste due to the minerals present. Softened water, with reduced mineral content, can have a different taste that may take some adjustment.

It's important to note that not all water softeners have these drawbacks. There are alternative options such as salt-free water conditioners or magnetic-based systems that do not add sodium or require regeneration, which can address some of these concerns. Consulting with a water treatment specialist can help determine the most suitable option based on individual needs and preferences.

FROM CRADLE to coffin, everybody may die whenever, wherever, anyhow. So many people think that when he's/she's young, he's/she's invulnerable, invincible and unkillable, and only old men/women die with health problems. We are all on the point of death, for we have a foot in the tomb. The other one is on a banana peel. It's an expression.
How many newborns die few after their birth? How many are there stillborn and miscarriages? How many teenagers (boys and girls) die by suicide, either because they feel next to nothing, because they're harrassed, threatened, violated and hated, or maybe because they had an unhappy childhood? By car crashes, drug overdoses, murder, struck by vehicles and any other causes? Even diseases and health problems may also concern the young people.
Dying may occur to anybody, yes, to ANYBODY. It is a matter, not anymore only of age, but of lifestyle, behavior, feeding habits, health, physical activities, nocturnal habits, activities, etc. Age only doesn't count anymore. It is a matter to be careful to how we live, how we behave, what we eat and how, how we treat our health, if we make or not physical activities, if we sleep enough every night, what are our activities (do we practice dangerous sports, violent sports, drive our car thoughtfully or thoughtlessly, like speed to impress or for high sensations?), etc.
May you not think you're unkillable, invincible or armored, either you're young or old. Death may strike whenever, wherever, anyhow; when we're not expecting it. We are MORTALS, not IMMORTALS! We are CREATED of flesh, blood and bones; we are HUMANS. As fragile as porcelain or ceramic. Death is a part of us, but this is not an excuse to devote ourselves to dangerous behaviors, acts, sports, lifestyles and any other hazardous activities.
So what you're gonna do now?