Okay, not made a lengthy but useless post in a while to chill off, and nows the perfect time since I am very exhausted.
So, title basically. I am going to try and see how manh cases Phoenix actually got paid for in the trilogy, and if it's a toss between pro bono and paid, I'll go with the latter since... It makes more sense I think.
Anyways, the First Turnabout. It's pro bono, do I have to explain?
Second, Turnabout Sisters. Again, pro bono, at first I thought it was because Maya is broke and a literal child but then again she probably tried to pay him with Mia's money given that she's probably the heir to Mia, but yeah, even still Phoenix would no doubt decline because the case is regarding his mentor's death and the client is her sister he practically adopts post this case so yeah.
Turnabout Samurai is fucking bank for Phoenix. I don't think he'd really feel guilty taking money from my main man Powers and I am pretty sure Powers being the sweetheart he is probably gave him a crazy amount as fee (way more than the average sum for an already high profile case) seeing that he's so rich. It might just be the highest paying case Phoenix worked on in the series actually, even after the trilogy, and the case that made him a public legend figure as displayed in DD (it still doesn't make sense, but.. that's the best we can make of it)
After thinking about it, Turnabout Goodbyes is probably bank too, in fact I am pretty sure Phoenix got payed a lot by Miles, not to say Phoenix wouldn't decline, but I doubt Miles would have that and likely paid him a generous amount, which again, is probably higher than the standard fee.
Rise from the Ashes is kind of a coin toss, but I am genuinely leaning on bank. Again, Phoenix obviously wouldn't accept payment from Ema since again, she's a fucking child, but Lana like Miles likely insisted and paid him nonetheless for saying her sister, not to mention a somewhat cheap government reward maybe for bringing down a high ranking government official.
Reunion and Turnabout is pro bono. Maya and Phoenix are close enough now that they don't Maya doesn't have to even try to pay him because she knows he wouldn't accept it.
Lost Turnabout is pro bono at worst and a very cheap voluntarily fee at worst. Phoenix likely didn't expect nor wanted any actual money from it, seeing as the detectives are so underpaid, yes, that includes Maggey, and since Phoenix is doing a favour for Gumshoe.
Turnabout Big Top is the second third case and it's again, by far the highest paying case in the game. It's not very hard to see why, Max like Will is also a celebrity even if to a lesser extent, and Max is probably thankful to Phoenix for resolving the shitstorm that is the circus, but then again who knows what that loser thinks. Still, bank.
Farewell, My Turnabout, by far my favourite case in the series and nothing even comes close, but for Phoenix? One would assume it was "pro bono" given the whole blackmail thing and the fact that Matt got convicted by the end of it, but then I remembered that's now how lawyers work, you pay them in advance and live with it even if they fuck up. So I am guessing Matt's manager probably transferred Phoenix a large sum when he took on the case, comparable to Turnabout Samurai even. I know what you are saying, Matt is too evil to do that, but I am pretty sure he doesn't mind paying the lawyer man, he's rich enough that it likely doesn't matter, and the blackmail only really started when Phoenix figured everything out.
Stolen Turnabout is the first case where Phoenix probably got payed the average fee lol. Mind you the average fee is also quite expensive but it's not an extreme, and I doubt Phoenix even felt any need to decline payment since he's clients are literal criminals, and they probably have a lot of money in the trunk considering they don't get convicted due to double jeopardy (which is fucking idiotic, being 'mask demasque' isn't a charge).
Recipe for Turnabout is a low voluntary fee, given it's Maggey again.
Bridge to the Turnabout is back to the basics, going full pro bono, which is funny since this case is likely the single most strenuous one Phoenix has to handle until now lol.
So yeah, surprisingly, when I looked at it, Phoenix got paid a lot 6 cases, one of which was the average fee (which is still quite high for a murder trial in which Pheonix literally overturns the entire findings of the cops), and 7 cases where he went either pro bono or received a very low fee for the effort. It actually makes somewhat sense to me, at first I thought it was stupid how Phoenix could sustain himself and Maya but when you look at it he likely got paid a lot when he did, now of course he takes massive gaps between cases, but they show him being stingy so I don't think it's a stretch to think he survives if he lives like an upper lower class man.

What can be done if they ask for more money then the government declared. I am a student and even with student card they still ask for more then I usually pay. Can I report it to police if yes how?

Before you can pay taxes, you need an Employer Identification Number (EIN). You can apply for an EIN online, by mail, or by fax through the IRS website. If you’re a sole proprietor, you can use your Social Security number instead of an EIN.
After getting your EIN, you need to choose your tax year. Your business can operate on a calendar year (January to December) or a fiscal year (a 12-month period starting in any month). This choice determines your tax cycle. Your business structure will dictate which taxes you need to pay.
Fun fact: I was a new business owner at one point in my life. I was paying myself and not paying the state payroll tax like a dumb dumb. I loved getting a $62,000 IRS bill. Don't forget to register with your state as well.

Hoping to believe this is the india we live in and nothing we can do about it.
So i am a med grad, appointed to do rural service, and preparing for post grad/neetpg.
Allow me to elaborate.
Finished 5y(+1covid) mbbs after fighting for revaluation in court. Started internship, ngl loved every minute of it. 6th year done. Fast forward 8months, State govt decides its election time, lets call med grads for rural service, its not like they are preparing for exams.
End up in remote/political place cause can't pay penalty of said bonded rural service, and fuck my marks cos of revaluation, should have just written supplementary exam and gotten better seat, but who knew marks mattered...and that too only final year...even entrance exams consider aggregate marks.
Realised how political the place is, somehow adjust and start study. Everyday sone new issue comes that i have to fight for. Fast forward 1 month, no sign of salaryleft home, parents, place of study. Exam gets postponed,fuck the national politics Start to question LIFE, even while doing life saving procedures at work.
Fast forward another month, no money, hesitate to ask parents, pretend i am getting good work experience Exam gets preponed, what in the world is happening ! Fast forward another month, tried finding out why no salary, turns out its too complicated and not in my hands, begged people at all hierarchy.
Slowest another month, been 6and half years, family pressure, peer pressure is getting to me. Where is my money? Whatever happened to my studies? Breaking news, new batch of juniors finished grad, they start preparing for neet. Nice new competition right? Wait and they cancelled so called compulsory rural service for them? They found a loophole ig
I should have just done btech, like my 3y younger cousin who has started earning and got a dream bike, huh!? I am not bright student ik should have made better choices instead of going with the flow when i got a med seat 6y 3month 26days and counting and asking parents for money on call now. Another admit card just dropped. Gotta go with the flow.
Ngl i didn't have money to pay exam fees. Maybe i should file rti and go deeper in the the government setup, or move to andaman and chill out( never done even alcohol in my life, should have started that when i had peer pressure)

With reading a writing scores across the world being at a all time low and the increase in screen time as well as behavioral issues being seen across schools and homes, we have to sit and ask ourselves, what is really going on?
Every generation says the next is doomed, but there something there…I dunno. Something.
I work at a university as a Chem TA and I work in a government facility as a researcher. My students at my job at the university are…those freshmen are not doing great.
They don’t follow directions, they can’t doing their heading, their quality of work is atrocious and because I am not a grade school teacher, I don’t have the liberty to sit down with them and have a one on one. I can with some, but not all—this is the major league.
I had to start deducting points if their didn’t put their first and last name on the paper, along with date. I have had to break up almost fights with students because they were behaving poorly and tell them that they will be expelled and brought up on charges of they fight.
They don’t follow instructions and some of them are very disrespectful. The common denominator here, because they all came from different schools and I have a track record of being the best TA in my department, they would all rather spend time in their phones than listen. I have had to print out surprised quizzes to get them to pay attention. There is only 16 weeks in the semester.
This behavior is not just gen alpha, but with gen z too, and only a certain year and beyond. Gen alpha is watching these kids tear up classrooms and be mean and disrespectful and they want that too! If we don’t get our own behavior in check and start being better role models, this next generation is going to be messed up.
But that is my opinion. Please don’t jump me in the comments. If this is all over the place or grammatically incorrect, I’m half sleep.

I think I may have a case of disability discrimination and retaliation because my employer fired me shortly after I showed my supervisor a note stating that I re-aggravated my herniated back injury and the doctor "feels that I should limit my walking and bending for the next two weeks". The problem was I was still on probation and apparently was only on month 5 of 12. I was employed by a large government agency of more than 500 employees.
I have sent details of my case to numerous employment attorneys in my area and have gotten some responses, with one offering to represent me and sending me a retainer where they would earn 40% of the award amount, no retainer fee, and a section stating that if the agreement is terminated before a decision is made by either party for reasons listed such as not disclosing material facts, not agreeing to a settlement, I fail to pay fees and expenses, I make it unethical and difficult to continue representation, or other "Just Cause". I am also able to terminate it at any time for any reason, and if the agreement is terminated before a decision is reached, then I would be responsible for the work that the firm has put in and pay them for their hourly rates as well as all the fees associated.
I have done some research online and found out that sometimes these cases will take a long time, sometimes as long as 14 months, after viewing other lawyers' and firms' case results on their websites. I am afraid that they will drag this out and then I would be responsible for all the fees and hours they have put in and having a false sense of hope that my case can be successful. Are these types of cases usually decided in one court hearing? If so, maybe I can try it out and see if they can win for me after one court hearing, and if they don't they I can terminate the agreement and just pay them for trying one time.
Or am I looking at this the wrong way and the fact that I was offered such a great deal from a firm (no retainer fee, they will only get paid a percentage if they win or the agreement is terminated early) mean that my case is really strong?
I also asked them if I should go and do my interview with the EEOC because I have submitted a complaint and they explicitly told me not to do this. Is this because they don't want it to go to the EEOC where I can have a chance of mediation with my employer thereby resolving this case before they can take it on and potentially drag it out like I described above?
How many of you were able to resolve a simple case discrimination case like this without the help of a lawyer? When is a lawyer really even needed? Should I not follow their advice and go to my interview with the EEOC anyways? I also live in New York and have already submitted a complaint with the NYSDHR where I have received a letter back in the mail stating that I a case number and filed a charge already. They asked to send me a picture of the front page which has the case number to them, which I did.

I think I may have a case of disability discrimination and retaliation because my employer fired me shortly after I showed my supervisor a note stating that I re-aggravated my herniated back injury and the doctor "feels that I should limit my walking and bending for the next two weeks". The problem was I was still on probation and apparently was only on month 5 of 12. I was employed by a large government agency of more than 500 employees.
I have sent details of my case to numerous employment attorneys in my area and have gotten some responses, with one offering to represent me and sending me a retainer where they would earn 40% of the award amount, no retainer fee, and a section stating that if the agreement is terminated before a decision is made by either party for reasons listed such as not disclosing material facts, not agreeing to a settlement, I fail to pay fees and expenses, I make it unethical and difficult to continue representation, or other "Just Cause". I am also able to terminate it at any time for any reason, and if the agreement is terminated before a decision is reached, then I would be responsible for the work that the firm has put in and pay them for their hourly rates as well as all the fees associated.
I have done some research online and found out that sometimes these cases will take a long time, sometimes as long as 14 months, after viewing other lawyers' and firms' case results on their websites. I am afraid that they will drag this out and then I would be responsible for all the fees and hours they have put in and having a false sense of hope that my case can be successful. Are these types of cases usually decided in one court hearing? If so, maybe I can try it out and see if they can win for me after one court hearing, and if they don't they I can terminate the agreement and just pay them for trying one time.
Or am I looking at this the wrong way and the fact that I was offered such a great deal from a firm (no retainer fee, they will only get paid a percentage if they win or the agreement is terminated early) mean that my case is really strong? By the way, I have not sent them my entire case details but they have still offered to represent me and sent me a retainer, which I find rather odd. Should I interpret this as a positive thing, they believe I have a strong case just from my very brief description, or negative, they are offering to represent me and sent me a retainer before knowing all the details in hopes that I will accept it because I am a noob and may drag it out or terminate last minute therefore making me have to pay all the work they have put in.
I also asked them if I should go and do my interview with the EEOC because I have submitted a complaint and they explicitly told me not to do this. Is this because they don't want it to go to the EEOC where I can have a chance of mediation with my employer thereby resolving this case before they can take it on and potentially drag it out like I described above?
How many of you were able to resolve a simple case discrimination case like this without the help of a lawyer? When is a lawyer really even needed? Should I not follow their advice and go to my interview with the EEOC anyways? I also live in New York and have already submitted a complaint with the NYSDHR where I have received a letter back in the mail stating that I a case number and filed a charge already. They asked to send me a picture of the front page which has the case number to them, which I did.

I think I may have a case of disability discrimination and retaliation because my employer fired me shortly after I showed my supervisor a note stating that I re-aggravated my herniated back injury and the doctor "feels that I should limit my walking and bending for the next two weeks". The problem was I was still on probation and apparently was only on month 5 of 12. I was employed by a large government agency of more than 500 employees.
I have sent details of my case to numerous employment attorneys in my area and have gotten some responses, with one offering to represent me and sending me a retainer where they would earn 40% of the award amount, no retainer fee, and a section stating that if the agreement is terminated before a decision is made by either party for reasons listed such as not disclosing material facts, not agreeing to a settlement, I fail to pay fees and expenses, I make it unethical and difficult to continue representation, or other "Just Cause". I am also able to terminate it at any time for any reason, and if the agreement is terminated before a decision is reached, then I would be responsible for the work that the firm has put in and pay them for their hourly rates as well as all the fees associated.
I have done some research online and found out that sometimes these cases will take a long time, sometimes as long as 14 months, after viewing other lawyers' and firms' case results on their websites. I am afraid that they will drag this out and then I would be responsible for all the fees and hours they have put in and having a false sense of hope that my case can be successful. Are these types of cases usually decided in one court hearing? If so, maybe I can try it out and see if they can win for me after one court hearing, and if they don't they I can terminate the agreement and just pay them for trying one time.
Or am I looking at this the wrong way and the fact that I was offered such a great deal from a firm (no retainer fee, they will only get paid a percentage if they win or the agreement is terminated early) mean that my case is really strong? By the way, I have not sent them my entire case details but they have still offered to represent me and sent me a retainer, which I find rather odd. Should I interpret this as a positive thing, they believe I have a strong case just from my very brief description, or negative, they are offering to represent me and sent me a retainer before knowing all the details in hopes that I will accept it because I am a noob and may drag it out or terminate last minute therefore making me have to pay all the work they have put in.
I also asked them if I should go and do my interview with the EEOC because I have submitted a complaint and they explicitly told me not to do this. Is this because they don't want it to go to the EEOC where I can have a chance of mediation with my employer thereby resolving this case before they can take it on and potentially drag it out like I described above?
How many of you were able to resolve a simple case discrimination case like this without the help of a lawyer? When is a lawyer really even needed? Should I not follow their advice and go to my interview with the EEOC anyways? I also live in New York and have already submitted a complaint with the NYSDHR where I have received a letter back in the mail stating that I a case number and filed a charge already. They asked to send me a picture of the front page which has the case number to them, which I did.

Finding all of this very confusing. We have a 1 year old who from September will be eligible for 15 hours free childcare. We currently pay for his nursery using the government tax free childcare account (where for every £8 they put in £2). From September will I be able claim both of these things? Or is it one of the other?
Also- the 15 hours. Is this actually 15 hours, or does it depend on your nursery rates?
Thanks

I am a medical student. I borrow student loans from the federal government. I have a budget/spreadsheet that I use to track and predict all of my expenses. Everything is done monthly like Row 3 in this chart. I would like to start with a given balance of say $10,000 as shown in A1. I then want to use a formula like what is shown in A2 to show what my total balance is at the end of each month. Since these are simple student loans, I am estimating it by adding 1/12th of the annual interest rate (5%) to the principal. The next month, I want to be able to use this total in A2 to start with the principal amount and plug it into the next formula (B2). The problem is that B2 uses an amount from A2 which means that I am basically calculating compound interest, which is not accurate. I am grossly overestimating how much interest I will pay.
Due to the way my spreadsheet is seat up, I would like to keep this format, but I would like to be able to multiply each cell/interest rate by a factor to correct it. Is that even remotely possible? For instance, for my current spreadsheet (not the sample below), I calculate that I am overestimating by interest by a factor of nearly 2x. I would thus just divide my interest by 2 to get a more accurate number.

$10,000	=A2	=B2
=A1*(1+(5%)/12)	=B1*(1+(5%)/12)	=C1*(1+(5%)/12)
August 2024	September 2024	October 2024

/LonghornNation Daily Off Topic Free Talk Thread

Today: 5/15/2024

Last Thread

Current Austin Weather: 71° and Clear

Seven Day Forecast:

5/15	5/16	5/17	5/18	5/19	5/20	5/21
90°, Clouds	82°, Rain	91°, Clouds	100°, Rain	96°, Clouds	96°, Clouds	99°, Clouds

Your go-to place to talk about whatever you want. From the dumb shit aggies do on a near daily basis, to the latest whatever happening wherever. What ya got?

Here's a look at upcoming Longhorn Sporting Event(s):

1. 5/15 7:30 AM University of Texas Men's Golf vs NCAA Regional Championship
2. 5/16 4:00 PM University of Texas Men's Tennis vs Tennessee
3. 5/16 6:30 PM University of Texas Baseball vs Kansas
4. 5/17 University of Texas Women's Golf vs NCAA Championships
5. 5/17 3:00 PM University of Texas Softball vs Siena
6. 5/17 6:30 PM University of Texas Baseball vs Kansas
7. 5/18 University of Texas Women's Golf vs NCAA Championships

Trending on Reddit

/All

1. Red Robin
2. My pizza stone is almost 20 years old. Each line is a pizza I enjoyed.
3. TIL that in 2013, a man tried to dribble a football from Seattle to Brazil to promote a charity. He was run over and killed by a truck just 250 miles into his 10,000-mile trip
4. That's a crime that has been committed
5. Who took the L ? You decide

/CFB

1. /CFB Donates $18,000.00 to Toys For Tots & Children's Hospitals, thanks to the 8th annual Holiday Drive!
2. [Mandel] News: UC Board of Regents has voted that UCLA shall pay Cal $10M in revenue for the next three years (through 2026-27), with another check-in at that point. Original recommendation was for six years.
3. [Dellenger] Documents sent to presidents detail House settlement terms, including damages of $2.776B; $21M athlete rev-share projections. If they lose in court, NCAA & conferences estimate that they'd pay as much as $20 billion in damages - a figure that'd necessitate them filing for bankruptcy.
4. College Gameday heading to College Station for Notre Dame @ Texas A&M Week 1
5. (Yoder) NEWS: Denard Robinson has been dismissed from his employment with the Michigan football program
6. SMU announces 2025-2026 home-and-home series with Baylor

/LonghornNation

1. [5/14/2024] Tuesday's Sports Talk Thread
2. [5/14/2024] Tuesday's Free Talk Thread
3. Texas vs. Colorado State kicks off at 2:30 PM CT on ESPN on August 31
4. Men’s Basketball to compete in 2025 Maui Invitational
5. 2024-25 Women's Basketball SEC Matchups
6. 2025 3* OL Jackson Christian commits to Texas
7. SEC announces opponents and locations for 2024-25 Men’s Basketball schedule

LonghornBot: you can get a list of commands you can give for the bot by commenting ".help". You will receive a private message with the commands.
This thread was programmatically generated and posted on 5/15/2024 12:00 AM. If you have any questions or comments, please contact brihoang or chrislabeard

Recently I have been a Defendant in a Landlord-Tenant Case and there something fascinating and interesting happened. But let’s start from the beginning.
I haven’t been before court before and I imagined that it would be as dramatic as your Trials in the US (I assume you guys are from the US) are, but to my own surprise our civil law trials are quite calmly.
We don’t address the judge as „your honor“, we don’t have to stand up when the judge enters the bench, the lawyers don’t even wear gowns at any times (depending on the court level or when it is civil law).
But that wasn’t what left me so confused and fascinated at the same time.
I imagined the opposing counsel to be aggressive, yelling at me and kind of crossing me (we don’t have cross examination here, at least not in the sense as you know it) , but in reality…
His client wanted to get me forcefully removed from his flat immediately.
His lawyer, which was surprisingly calm and didn’t attack me at all, didn’t support it and although I lost the case, he didn’t support what his client wanted.
Example:
Client: Wanted to get me forcefully removed immediately.
OC: Let’s do a contract (this is part of our civil law), when you get the government to pay the rents you will have time to find a new flat.
Judge: How much time will you grant them? Client: I want a judgment. OC: A Contract is as good as a judgment. Client: what if the rent isn’t paid and we sit here again?
OC: then I’ll have them removed. Judge: you won’t sit here again. How much time will you grant them? Three months? OC: six months.
_ Fees:
Judge: Defendant, how much can you pay? 30-100 a month?
Me: well…. Uh… 30 I think. Judge: And how much for your trial aid (this is for poor people who can’t afford to pay full fees for their lawyer)
Me: 30…. I think. OC: Let’s do 20 for both. My lawyer and me: 20 sound better yes.
But this wasn’t the only fascinating thing. After the trial ended the opposing counsel talked to me:
I’m sorry. Our Law system is shit. (He didn’t sound ironic)
So, everyone: What was going on there? Could this attorney really be sorry? And did he betray his client?
Side note: In Germany there is welfare aid and government pays rents, but they refuse to pay the actual amount. So yes, actually I’d be not guilty.

Introducing Lotteria Bay RP - The City of Tomorrow Are you tired of cities driven solely by greed, where every corner turns into a money-making scheme at the expense of genuine roleplay? Look no further. Lotteria Bay RP is here to redefine the GTA RP experience. We've heard your frustrations and we're determined to make a change. Founded on principles of fairness, integrity, and community, Lotteria Bay RP promises an immersive and enriching roleplay environment unlike any other. What sets us apart? Let's break it down: No Pay to Win, Only Play to Win: Say goodbye to the days of feeling pressured to empty your pockets just to enjoy the game. In Lotteria Bay RP, we believe in a "Get Paid to Play" system. Your dedication and involvement in the community will be rewarded, both in and out of city! The PowerCash Lotto: Imagine winning real cash just for participating in our city. With our innovative PowerCash Lotto system, every month we contribute $100 of our own money into the pot. Additionally, profits generated by the city, from imports to donations, go into the PowerCash pool. It's a true non-profit initiative designed to give back to our players. Fair Economy, Affordable Assets: Sick of exorbitant prices for basic in-game assets? We offer a fair and balanced economy where players can affordably access MLOs and imports without breaking the bank. Our debadged imports are 100% compliant, ensuring a seamless integration into the city while working towards whitelist eligibility. Serious Roleplay, Longevity Guaranteed: At Lotteria Bay RP, we're committed to fostering a community of serious roleplayers who value quality over quantity. Our city is built for longevity, with a focus on creating memorable experiences that keep players engaged for the long haul. Join us as we embark on this exciting journey to create the city of our dreams. Whether you're a seasoned roleplayer or just starting out, Lotteria Bay RP welcomes you with open arms. Together, let's build a thriving community where everyone has the opportunity to play, thrive, and win. Visit us today and make Lotteria Bay your new home. We can't wait to see you there!
Our Best Features____________________ Jobs Custom Scripts_________________________San Andreas State Police Department Custom Clothing_______________________Los Santos Emergency Medical Services Unique Housing________________________Department Of Justice Government Unique jobs____________________________Mayor (Work in Progress) - (Mayoral Election) Amazing Police Cars___________________City Council (Work in Progress) - (City Council Election) Legal and Illegal Activities_____________Whitelisted Gangs Experienced Development Team/Staff_None-Whitelisted Jobs Rental Cars_____________________________Real Estate
Join our discord and check out some pictures clips, and teasers! When you are ready to hit that connect button! Which life will you choose, Civilian? Law Enforcement? Medical Service? or the Gang life? Lotteriabayrp

So after a terrible performance review from my boss (CEO) a few months ago I've been looking for a new job. Not to get into too much detail about it but my middle-aged boss (who should not be having these issues at his age) has terrible memory, I, the HR Manager of the company, basically double as his personal assistant sometimes and constantly have to remind him of things so he remembers to do them and we don't get in trouble. His forgetfullness has also caused huge issues especially with dealing with outside vendors for things like healthcare, payroll providors, 401k provider, etc. We'll schedule meetings where him and I are set to meet with these companies and then last second I'll remind him about it and he'll be like, "oh well it wasn't on my calendar" (it was) "just go on without me and let me know what happens". During my last performance review he said that he constantly had to follow up with me on things. He was referring to things that I already completed and told him of such several times. He also referenced my attendance/reliability being an issue, I had called out 1x in the 5 years working there and had the nerve to ask to work from home when I had Covid this year. Somehow I've gone from being the golden child who has outperformed all her peers (receiving 2 promotions because of this), to a terrible employee and haven't received a raise in a couple of years.
Now with the backstory out of the way, I'm looking for a new job in the HR-field and I'm trying to make myself as marketable as possible.
About me-
I'm in NYC
5 years in current company including:
2 years as an HR assistant
1 year as Operations Coordinator (with many HR tasks)
2 years as HR Manager
SHRM-CP Certified (at least according to the preliminary results since I took it yesterday) *side note* if you plan on taking it please book it out a few months. Don't be dumb like me, I signed up about 3 weeks ago and waited until the day before to study like 20 hours because I'm a huge procrastinator. I still have a huge amount of stress/anxiety from cramming.
NY Notary License
BS in Business Management
Currently making about 73k/year
---
I've applied to 100's of jobs, only the ones that I meet the qualifications for with only one Interview to show for it. The lady who interviewed me sent several follow-up emails letting me know she was still interested but was just swamped but then just stopped sending me messages (this was a couple months ago). Full disclosure I've only been applying to jobs currently paying more due to financial restrictions, though I would have thought this wouldn't be an issue considering the average pay rate for HR Managers in NYC seems to be about 10k more than what I'm currently making.
I want to know what I can do to stand out and make myself more marketable? My mom (also in HR) recommended a Lean Six Sigma. Should I look into getting certified with that? Are there any other certifications that I can add to make myself more attractive to recruiters?
Any advice would be appreciated. I can also provide more information if needed.
​

1. Apartments: Typically owned by a single entity and rented out to tenants. Residents have individual leases and may share standard amenities. 2. Condos: Units are individually owned, but common areas are jointly owned and managed by a homeowners association (HOA). Residents pay fees for maintenance and amenities. 3. Homeowners Associations (HOAs): Governed by a board of residents, HOAs enforce rules and regulations to maintain property values and community standards. They often manage common areas and amenities. 4. Cooperatives: Residents own shares in the cooperative corporation, which owns the property. Each shareholder has a proprietary lease to occupy a specific unit. 5. Mobile Home Communities: Residents own their mobile homes but rent the land where the homes are situated. These communities often have shared amenities and may be subject to community rules and regulations. 6. Rentals: Properties owned by individuals or companies and leased to tenants. Renters have less responsibility for maintenance than owners but have fewer rights and less control over the property. 

Politicians have learned that they can spend money and pass the bill to the one group that can't vote against the spending - people who haven't been born yet, or are too young to vote.
Any money spent today which exceeds current tax revenues is essentially a tax on future generations. If your government is deficit-spending today, your kids and or grandkids will have to pay back that debt, with interest, but they won't enjoy the money being spent.
Should governments be allowed to do this? To transfer wealth to themselves and pass the bill to their grandkids, without their consent?

So my father used to own a cabin. In fact he used to own a lot of different properties. Which I suppose is just a roundabout way of saying that we grew up with money. Where things get a bit complicated is how he actually made that money.
The line that he constantly fed us was that he was an accountant running his own firm in an office in the city. Long hours, lots of business trips. We never saw him much. And whenever we did, he always seemed tired, his eyes perpetually bloodshot, as if he were always trying to force them to stay open.
He was sent off to prison right after I’d finished my first year of college.
The sentence? Fifteen years, for washing hundreds of millions of dollars for numerous cartels. Two weeks after he’d been booked, my mother committed suicide. As it turns out, she’d been helping him out through the entire thing and was facing some time herself. I guess she didn’t want to deal with all that and took the drastic way out.
A few months later, the government had seized pretty much all his property.
All of it, except for that cabin in the woods.
It took a long time for me to feel normal again. But eventually I managed it. Went back to school and graduated with a good enough GPA which allowed me to snag some shitty office job a few months later. But it was enough to pay the bills.
Fast forward about another year and I’ve basically scrubbed that entire sequence of events out of my brain. It took a little bit of therapy, a lot of psychedelics, but I finally did it, to the point where I was comfortable enough to go back to that cabin, the one place where I’d see my father for more than a few weeks at a time during our summer trips.
I decided to take along three of my friends from Uni - Jack, Pedro, Randy.
We drove down there at the beginning of May. The road leading to the cabin hadn’t been maintained at all and as a result, it had become borderline undrivable. I decided to save my vehicle the stress and parked in a nearby lot, leaving us about a one-and-a-half-mile trek through the woods, which really wasn’t so bad.
Our time in the cabin was pretty much spent getting drunk and stoned, and by the third night we had completely run out of food.
We decided to take the thirty minute walk over to the nearest rest stop, where I knew that there was a 24/7 diner. So we go there, eat our meals, and on the way back we notice a burning smell in the woods, as if there was a bonfire raging about nearby.
Of course that was a bit strange given that it was around 2AM. But we didn’t think too much of it at the time and we kept walking.
It was only when the smell continued to grow stronger as we got closer to the cabin that we understood something was very wrong. Soon it had become suffocating, and we could see the night sky tinged with orange in the near distance.
I felt my heart drop into my stomach and immediately I was sprinting, my worst fear realized as I reached the clearing where the cabin was located.
Completely up in flames, plumes of dark smoke blending in with the night.
It was a mix of different emotions that hit me all at once, the combination of them creating a sense of dread so deep I hadn’t thought it possible.
After reeling myself in, I called 9-1-1, with the operator telling me that the fire department would be on their way but wouldn’t be able to reach us for at least thirty minutes. The four of us walked away from the cabin in silence, getting far enough so that the smoke was no longer scratching at our throats.
Around ten minutes later, we noticed that the orange tinge in the sky had suddenly disappeared. And I mean suddenly. Like, gone in a single blink. I thought I might’ve been hallucinating, but it was clear from their expressions that my friends were seeing something similar.
Cautiously, we started making our way back towards the cabin, noticing that the smoke was no longer heavy in the air, having cleared up considerably. Once we reached the clearing, it had disappeared altogether.
I looked ahead, my brain working overtime to comprehend the sight before me. The cabin was no longer on fire. Burnt to a crisp, sure. But the raging, overwhelming flames that had been consuming it just minutes prior had somehow completely fizzled out.
The four of us looked between each other, as if to confirm we were all still seeing the same thing.
Using the flashlight on my phone to survey the damage, I found pretty much what I’d expected. Complete destruction. Absolutely zero hope of recovering anything.
I started taking some deep breaths, trying to calm myself down when I heard Pedro yelling out from the other side.
“Guys… where the fuck did this thing come from?”
We all walked over to him. Nestled in the debris was the corpse of… something. A monstrosity.
It was about the size of a bear, with the sections of its body that weren’t burnt showing pale, clammy skin with deep cuts etched throughout it, in what looked to be some kind of crude pattern. Its head had been smashed in, leaving nothing but an abnormally wide bottom jaw which was still baring long, black teeth. It had an uncountable number of long, thick arms that it was using to hold something that resembled a human infant, one that appeared to be completely unscathed, devoid of any burn marks. The longer I stared at it, the more that I was convinced I could see it breathing.
It was a bizarre enough sight to put us into a near-trance. What eventually snapped us out of it was the chanting.
It was barely noticeable at first, slowly escalating in pitch until it was clear that there were several human voices shouting in unison. Their tones were animalistic, their words strung together with just the bare beginnings of a rhythm. It sounded like they were speaking English, though I could hardly make out anything they were saying.
The strangest part though, was how quickly it was getting closer to us. Definitely not a walking pace. It was more like a sprint.
The four of us shared a quick glance between each other and immediately there was an understanding.
We ran like bats out of hell, tripping over branches, our own feet.
But eventually we reached my car, all of us scrambling to pile into it. As I was fumbling for my keys, the chanting had become deafening, to a point that hardly made sense. It sounded as if there were speakers lined up in a circle around us, all blasting that horrible noise.
And the second that I had put the keys into the ignition, things went silent. I found myself holding my breath as I looked up, my eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness until what I was seeing was unmistakable. Several figures standing completely still at the edge of the woods. All human-shaped but far too large to be people.
All the air being held in my lungs flooded out with one big exhale and I slammed the vehicle into drive and took a sharp turn before speeding the hell out of there, refusing to look in the rearview until we had made it into the highway.
I drove until I had reached the rest stop, which was now hosting an absurd number of police cars. I parked, got out, and approached one of the cops, asking if they were here because of the fire.
The cop shook his head. “Fire? No. Has there been a fire?”
I explained the situation with the cabin to him, deciding to leave out the creature and the chanting for the time being.
The cop nodded slowly, his expression remaining largely the same throughout.
“Alright,” he said. “We’ll look into it. And then give you an update in the morning. For tonight, just get a hotel or something.”
We exchanged numbers and I thanked him. As I began to walk away, he called out to me.
“Hey, can I ask you something?”
I turned back around.
“Yeah,” I said. “Sure.”
“Do you happen to be (my dad’s name)’s son?”
For a while I just stared at him. Eventually I nodded.
“Yeah,” he said. “I thought I recognized you.”
“I don’t understand,” I told him. “I’ve never seen you before.”
The cop took a deep breath before taking a quick look around. “Come here,” he said. “Come close.”
Tentatively, I did so.
“I can’t tell you everything. I don’t even know everything. But I think you should have the right to know the truth about your father. All of the stuff that’s happened here tonight, all of the shit that you’ve seen… it has something to do with him.
He took another look around before continuing. “Cartels, right? Was that the story they told you? It’s not so creative. But I guess it doesn’t have to be creative to be believable. Cause the shit that he was actually mixed up in… you would not believe unless you’ve seen it for yourself.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I asked.
“Look, I have your number. I’ll be in touch tomorrow morning. This is something I’m curious about as well. Maybe you can give me some answers, point me in the right directions. But not here. So get out of here before people start noticing you. And stay safe.”
I didn’t feel like staying in a hotel that night, so I drove back into the city, dropping everybody off before arriving back at my own apartment.
Of course I couldn’t sleep that night, my eyes wired open into the morning as I waited for the officer to call. He still hadn’t by the time that noon rolled around and so I tried calling him instead.
No answer.
Eventually I did receive a call from the police, telling me that my father’s cabin had burned down and that it was due to a forest fire.
I told them that wasn’t possible because there had been no forest fire and that I suspected foul play and wanted it to be investigated.
“It’s already been investigated,” are the exact words that the officer told me. “Don’t worry about it. Just get in touch with insurance. Go over your options.”
And before I could say anything else, he had hung up on me.
It was a mixture of anger and curiosity that compelled me to drive back down there. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t for the road leading towards the rest stop to be blocked altogether. There were two cop cars guarding the barrier, with a single officer signalling any vehicles approaching to turn around.
I pulled over to the side of the road and after some careful deliberation, I decided to get out and approach him and ask what was going on. Just to see what he might say.
When I finished the question, he stared at me for a long time. Uncomfortably long.
“Emergency construction,” is what he eventually told me.
After that encounter, I pretty much dropped trying to figure things out.
Some weird things have started happening to me since. Every night, I swear I can hear a baby crying in the apartment across from mine. The apartment that I thought had been occupied by a pair of college kids who definitely do not have children.
That cop that was supposed to call me finally did, a few nights ago. When I answered, I was met with dead silence on the other end. Nearly thirty seconds of it until the line clicked dead.
There’s an abandoned house sitting across the street from my apartment building, one that’s supposedly been there for years because the development of the store meant to take its place keeps getting delayed.
Somebody has started staring at me through its second-floor window. Whenever I catch them doing it, they’re quick to close the blinds, so I can never catch any details. But I know that the moment I turn away from it, their eyes are back on me.
I can’t confirm that any of these things are related. Whether it has anything to do with my father.
I just know that I don’t want to deal with it and that I want it to end.

TL;DR: USPTO wants the public to report fraudulent trademark applications but charges them $50 to do so.
It is a known fact that, for some years now, there has been a rise in bad faith trademark registrations originating from China⁽¹). Through a subsidy scheme, individuals and companies in China are able to get a payout for successful trademark registrations in foreign countries, including the United States. This payout amount exceeds the trademark registration fee ⁽²). For example, a person can register a trademark in the US for $250. Upon successful registration, the person can then apply for the subsidy and get a payout of RMB 5,000 (approx. $700). It's easy to see how this is an appealing and easy way to make money. The registrant, in this case, has zero intent to use the mark in commerce. Most of these fraudulent registrations are canceled when Sec. 8 declarations of continued use are failed to be filed.
To combat the rise in these bad faith registrations, the USPTO has implemented various policies and measures in recent years. In 2018, it initiated a pilot program enabling the public to report fraudulent specimens via a dedicated email address monitored by the USPTO. This pilot program effectively allowed brand owners to identify problematic specimens, leading to refusal of the trademark application, all without the time and expense of a formal opposition process. However, the USPTO discontinued the pilot program on February 16, 2021.
In lieu of the pilot program, trademark owners can now report fraudulent specimens by submitting a Letter of Protest (LOP) to the USPTO, incurring a $50 filing fee. Despite this fee, filing a LOP remains a cost-effective method for brand owners to address fraudulent specimens without resorting to a formal notice of opposition, which carries a $600 filing fee.
I came to learn about this whole fraudulent registration scheme after I started my own application process for a trademark for my brand. Let's call this brand MYBRAND. As I did a search on the Trademark Status and Document Retrieval (TSDR) system, I found that MYBRAND was already registered in the same class of goods that I was intending to apply for. The TDSR showed that the registrant was an individual in China. The application was submitted late last year and hasn't been assigned to an examining attorney yet.
By looking at the specimen of use in the application, I was able to find the website where the purported specimen is in use in commerce. Without going into too many details, this website is evidently being used to facilitate fraudulent registrations from China. A search of the website will yield various identical items, albeit photographed with very subtle differences, with different marks that have been applied for registration with the USPTO.
In the case of MYBRAND, I found 3 other registrations with pending applications with the USPTO that used the same item. Each registration originated in China from different registrants. I've found that another common characteristic of these registrations is that they all form non-sensical words with jumbled characters e.g. FOAJTNA, EAODJT, AJEHFJK, etc. (note: these are not the actual marks). Somehow, they chose a word that unfortunately (for them) coincides with MYBRAND.
To make a long story short, I was able to submit a Letter of Protest that was accepted by the USPTO after a second try due to my first submission containing some mistakes. For these two letters of protest, I had to pay a total of $100. The letter of protest submission has some strict guidelines which I only became aware of after the refusal of the first submission. When I go to the TDSR, the application page for the fraudulent mark now shows a new document entitled "LOP Memo to the EA" which includes the evidence that I submitted. In the submitted evidence, I was sure to include the links to the other fraudulent registrations that used the same website and specimen in their applications. However, looking at the other applications for the other marks, there is no LOP memo to EA.
Therefore, the other fraudulent applications will be permitted to go through successfully unless there is a Letter of Protest submitted for each one. Having already spent $100 to file a LOP for MYBRAND, I do not find it a viable option to file LOPs for the other fake brands even more so as I am not affected directly.
As far as I know, the Letter of Protest is the only way to inform the USPTO of fake registrations. I suspect that they are already understaffed and would be over-burdened if there was a need to investigate every claim of fake registration if reporting was to be made free. But by requiring a fee for the LOP, they have transferred the burden to the public.
In conclusion, the USPTO needs to open some other lines of communication for the public to report fraud without incurring significant financial burden if they are serious about combating these bad faith registrations.

1. USPTO: Trademark Public Advisory Committee Meeting, 02/09/18, Page 35: "We have an influx of Chinese applications, we're having some specimen issues, we've got counterfeiting issues, we have bad faith filing issues. So let's just talk first about the influx of Chinese filings. It appears that there are subsidies being given by one or more provincial governments and those are one of the reasons for the influx." - USPTO Commissioner Mary Boney Denison https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/TPAC_Transcript_20180209.pdf
2. USPTO Report: Trademarks and Patents in China, January 2021, Page 3-4: "The first of these non-market factors is subsidies. China has reportedly adopted more than 70 subnational trademark subsidy measures, including measures for domestic and foreign applications and registrations.11 Because the amount of these subsidies often exceeds the cost of registering a trademark, a rational economic actor in China may choose to pursue a trademark application without any intention to use the mark in commerce. [...] The particulars of the Shenzhen situation are instructive. In 2013, Shenzhen issued operating procedures that allowed applicants to seek a subsidy of RMB 5,000 (approximately $750) for trademark registrations in eligible foreign countries, including the United States.12 After the USPTO lowered the fee for its lowest-cost, fully electronic applications to $225 in 2015, the cost to file at the USPTO was substantially lower than the amount of the subsidy." https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/USPTO-TrademarkPatentsInChina.pdf

I was laid off last year after a company re-org. At the time, I was working as an HR business analyst and we weren't doing much hiring, so I didn't take it personally.
After a few months, I had a couple offers on the table but nothing fantastic. Some low tier tech companies I'd never heard of, soul-crushing financial analyst positions at a bank, and finally a government contract for a vague but interesting project.
The government contract was the lowest pay (ranging $45-60 on the posting) but I decided to give it a chance because it sounded like I might actually do something that mattered and I was bored crunching numbers for corporations. They ended up offering me $50/hr contract, which was a decent pay cut from my previous $65 and the benefits ranged from bad to non-existent.
I accepted an initial 4 month contract and was told they'd be interested in offering me a full-time position after. Well, the time came and the position wasn't approved so they extended me for another 2 months. Now those 2 months are up and they want to extend me until the end of the year.
Unfortunately, the pay cut and paying out of pocket for medical/dental has started to take its toll. The initial project was actually interesting and I'm glad I did it, but I'm not exactly sure what they're going to have me working on for the next 6 months. I also haven't had a real day off in 6 months and am starting to get burnout (I have no vacation time and only accrue 1 sick day per month).
I'd really like to land a government job with great benefits and a stream of interesting projects where I can help my city, but I don't know if it's worth it if they just keep stringing me along.

Over at Calgary sub there's a thread about council passing blanket rezoning rule basically build whatever.
Much has been made out of this in Toronto sometimes back but really, very little takers in Toronto bc most people dont want this.
However, I want to know if someone can explain in plain English how does upzoning makes housing affordable?
The only way it can be affordable in a sense that it costs significantly less so poor people can afford housing is if Government pays 40 to 60 %
In my opinion, there is no other way to reduce market price right now.
Other than stopping the immigration but that would make Hell freeze over so not going to happen.
Bottom line is, every level of Government below Federal is just scratching balls all day fully knowing they're just blowing high dough.

I have wrong records on my I-94 travel history. There were 4 wrong records indicating that I departed the US and flew to Morocco. And I am not even from Morocco.
Anyway that's why I got denied on my I-131 travel document even though I have stayed the whole days in the US since I got here.
My I-485 is still on processing. I don't want any of the wrong records affect on my case which is main for the greencard. I contacted to USCIS, they told me to contact the CBP office. I contacted CBP, he refused to correct my travel history. All the thing he said was "Your record is right. This is not official record, Don't use this for legal purposes" OVER AND OVER AGAIN
OH MY FK GOD YOUR GOV IS USING THIS FOR LEGAL PURPOSES. AM I REALLY PAYING THE TAX TO FEED YOU MAN? THEN DO YOUR GD JOB
Anyway I contacted the USCIS again. Thankfully the agent suggested me to contact the CBP office and now I am stuck at nowhere. I like my life in the US but the government stuff, meh