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In a groundbreaking move, Disney and Warner Bros Discovery are reshaping the entertainment landscape by blending traditional cable TV with modern streaming services. This innovative approach creates a new hybrid model that merges the best aspects of both worlds, offering a fresh way for audiences to enjoy content.
A Hybrid Approach
Disney and Warner Bros Discovery are utilizing their extensive libraries to create subscription-based services that combine the structure of cable TV with the flexibility of streaming. These services offer curated channels, live programming, and vast on-demand libraries, providing a comprehensive entertainment experience that caters to a variety of viewer preferences.
Key Drivers
Several factors are driving this transformation:

1. Content Volume: Both companies possess vast catalogs of movies, TV shows, and exclusive content. By presenting these offerings in a cable-like format, they can maximize the value of their extensive libraries.
2. Viewer Preferences: Many consumers still appreciate the organized and predictable nature of scheduled programming. This new model offers the simplicity of cable TV while retaining the flexibility of streaming.
3. Revenue Potential: The hybrid model creates multiple revenue streams, including subscription fees, advertising, and premium add-ons, allowing the companies to optimize their monetization strategies.

Technological Integration
Advanced technology plays a crucial role in this new model. AI and sophisticated algorithms personalize the viewing experience, providing tailored recommendations and integrating live programming seamlessly. This technological backbone ensures a dynamic and engaging platform for users.
Industry Impact
The move by Disney and Warner Bros Discovery is likely to have significant effects on the media industry. Competitors may be compelled to innovate and adapt, leading to an overall improvement in how content is delivered and consumed. Traditional cable providers and smaller streaming services will need to rethink their strategies to remain competitive.
Benefits for Consumers
Consumers stand to gain significantly from this hybrid approach. They will enjoy the curated, predictable nature of cable TV along with the expansive on-demand libraries of streaming services. This model aims to reduce the overwhelming choice paralysis often associated with modern streaming platforms while maintaining the flexibility viewers have come to expect.
Conclusion
Disney and Warner Bros Discovery are pioneering a new era in entertainment by merging the strengths of cable TV with the conveniences of streaming. This innovative approach not only enhances the viewing experience for consumers but also sets a new standard for the industry. As these companies lead the way, the future of media consumption looks more integrated and user-friendly than ever before.

In a bold move that has sent ripples through the entertainment industry, Disney and Warner Bros Discovery have effectively reinvented cable, merging traditional television concepts with modern streaming services. This initiative marks a significant shift in the media landscape, blurring the lines between conventional cable and on-demand streaming.
The New Paradigm
Disney and Warner Bros Discovery are integrating their vast libraries of content into streamlined, subscription-based services that mimic the structure of cable TV but with the flexibility and convenience of streaming. This approach offers curated channels and live programming, alongside the extensive on-demand libraries that streaming platforms are known for. The aim is to provide a one-stop-shop for entertainment, catering to a wide range of viewer preferences and habits.
Driving Factors
Several key factors are driving this transformation:

1. Content Abundance: Both Disney and Warner Bros Discovery boast extensive catalogs of movies, TV shows, and exclusive content. By packaging these offerings into a more traditional cable-like format, they can better leverage their vast content libraries.
2. Consumer Demand: There is a growing demand for a more organized and predictable viewing experience. While the freedom to choose from a massive selection is appealing, many consumers still crave the simplicity and reliability of scheduled programming.
3. Revenue Optimization: By combining the best elements of cable and streaming, these companies can potentially unlock new revenue streams. Subscription fees, advertising, and premium add-ons create multiple avenues for monetization.

Technological Integration
The technological backbone of this new model is crucial. Advanced algorithms and AI are employed to create personalized viewing experiences, dynamically adjusting recommendations based on viewer preferences. Additionally, live programming and events are seamlessly integrated into the platform, offering viewers a sense of immediacy and community that traditional streaming services often lack.
Industry Impact
This strategic shift by Disney and Warner Bros Discovery is likely to have far-reaching implications for the broader media landscape. Competitors may feel pressure to innovate and adapt, leading to an overall enhancement in how content is delivered and consumed. Smaller streaming services and traditional cable providers might need to rethink their strategies to stay relevant in this evolving market.
Consumer Perspective
For consumers, the benefits are manifold. They get the best of both worlds: the curated, predictable nature of cable, combined with the expansive, on-demand library of streaming services. This hybrid model aims to reduce the overwhelming choice paralysis that often accompanies modern streaming platforms while maintaining the flexibility that viewers have come to expect.
Conclusion
Disney and Warner Bros Discovery's initiative to reinvent cable through their streaming services is a testament to their ability to adapt and innovate in a rapidly changing industry. By merging the strengths of traditional television with the conveniences of streaming, they are setting a new standard for how entertainment is delivered and consumed. This move not only benefits consumers but also sets a precedent for the future of media consumption.

Hello all,
I have a whole arsenal of distraction techniques that I use when the urge is upon me. I thought it might be helpful to compile a list together, maybe we will find things we haven’t thought about.
Here are mine:
General - Fidget Toys - Face masks/Skincare - Scented Wax Melts/Incense Sticks - Meditation app (Headspace but I also like Calm) - Journalling (I use a notebook and pen and a prompted journal app for the days I find it tricky to free-write) - Reddit!
Music: - Punk Pop Playlists - Musical Theatre playlists - Happy Hits playlists - Chill Out Acoustic Playlists - Classical Music Playlists
Crafts - Colouring Books and pens/pencils - various so I have something depending on my mood - Scrapbooking supplies and photos - Creative writing notebooks - I find poetry really helpful
Books - Mainly Urban Fantasy - Simon R Green, Jim Butcher, Keri Arthur - Some ‘Chick lit’ or humour - Marian Keyes, Monica Hersey
TV Programmes - Animated shows - Simpsons, Bobs Burgers - Crime Shows - NCIS, Criminal Minds, CSI - Comedy - mainly old school Brit comedy
Podcasts - British Scandals - Wondery - Unsolved Murders - Parcast - Conspiracy Theories - Parcast
I use these things on rotation or sometimes in unison to help distract from urges. Most of my urges last between 25 - 30 mins so as long as I’m distracted for that long I can usually get past the urge. I would love to hear what others use and have found helpful!

To start, my wife (31f) and I (31m) have been together 5 years and married 2. We have an amazing relationship and I cannot imagine a life without her and our two dogs. We love to travel, spend time together and we are basically best friends. We work from home on our business and spend most of our time together (well at least in the house, I am usually on my computer and she does house stuff and watches TV).
We have been trying for a baby for a year now without success, I convinced myself that it would be nice to have a child who we can raise, mostly because she wants one so much. But I have finally confronted this feeling that deep down I still want to be free, travel more, have more fun and that I do not want a child, YET. I told her yesterday how I really feel, we had a fertility appointment that I just cancelled which we were supposed to go to today. I have had this feeling deep down that I am not ready yet, and just came to realization that this was what has been bothering me. I have voiced this opinion many times before convincing myself that maybe I do want a child. I started to believe that maybe a child isn't so bad because we both have caring parents who could watch out kids if we go on a vacation/out but that honestly sounds a bit delusional on my part. We have all the freedom in the world right now and we have been taking advantage of it by going to Mexico for a month, Japan, Europe in the last year and I just don't want this to end.
She wants a baby because she is convinced that she is getting way too old to have a child and that her time is running out + she doesn't want to be old raising children, and I totally get that, but I am also feeling immense pressure to satisfy her needs without really questioning it since I love her so much. I just wish we could wait a little longer and settle more (buying a house, figuring out our finances, enjoy life).
I tried to talk to her about it just now but she shut down and won't talk to me. I offered that we should try marriage counseling but she doesn't seem to want to/mad at me at the moment and won't listen. Maybe we can get some good advice on how to proceed with this. Hopefully she will listen to me and we can see what a therapist would say and we can try this FIRST before we bring a child into our life. She just took the keys and went out.
I realize it's wrong for me to have gotten cold feet like this all of a sudden, but I honestly did not figure out what was this "looming shadow" I had deep in my head until I actually thought about it and finally it clicked.
Like I said, I believe I will get around to wanting to become a father, just not yet.. There is too much fun I still want to have, preferably with her, without shackling us down.
What should we do?

When he sounds salty towards the Nuggets it's bad TV and not how an analyst should conduct themselves. Problem is Keyshawn is thinking as a Lakers fan. Of course a fan would be salty and want Denver to lose. But that shouldn't spill into your job as an objective analyst. A lot of Key's "analysis" and discussions comes from feelings and rarely does he offer objective narratives. It's bad in football but terrible in basketball since he doesn't know ball. So when he's there saying "I wanted Denver to get swept" it's kind of jarring. Instead of pretending and at least giving reasons why you think the Wolves should win, which is how how Skip would make his arguments even if we all see through them, just outright saying you hope a team loses is not what an analyst should say on air.

I’m typing this on my phone because I’m too scared to use my laptop. I threw it into the back of my closet and covered it with clothes to try to dampen the high-pitched ringing sound it keeps emitting, but I can still faintly hear it from where I’m sitting in the living room. I tried shutting it down – it wouldn’t turn off. Doesn’t restart either. I closed the screen but that didn’t do anything. Tried to let the battery die and once it hit 0%, it stayed on as if it were fully charged. This thing can’t be turned off. I’m sure this all sounds silly and nobody is going to believe me, but there is something wrong with my laptop.
The easiest option would be to just get rid of it but I’m tight on cash and my job requires a laptop. I’m a marketing assistant at a small creative agency. It’s not the most glamorous job, I mostly fill out grids and review decks but it took me nearly a year to find this position. It’s completely remote which is a plus, the benefits are decent, and the pay is low but it’s something.
I was hired about a month ago. I hadn’t bought a laptop since 2017 and I wore out my last one so badly it basically refused to hold a charge and had to be plugged in all the time. I thought it made sense to get a new one – a new job, a fresh laptop, the beginning of a new career era. All the new Apple models are insanely overpriced, well above my price range. I could buy a new one in a few months after I save up a bit, but I needed something asap.
I browsed the internet and found a used electronics site. They refurbish phones and laptops and resell them at an affordable price – perfect. I found a 2022 Mac, placed the order, and it was delivered less than a day later. I actually think there were only three hours between purchasing the laptop and it showing up on my doorstep.
Excited to get it set up, I ripped open the box and sitting atop the neatly packaged laptop was a jet black business card with small white lettering in an odd font choice.
HANTER’s REFURBISHMENTS
Thank you for supporting small businesses. Enjoy your product.
609-3006
Ignoring the card, I threw it away and dug into the laptop. Beautifully dark brushed metal, no trace of fingerprints anywhere. It looked almost new save for a couple of scratches on the underside. I plugged it in, turned it on, made a new user profile, and clicked through the setup guide. The setup screen faded away and the preloaded wallpaper appeared. It didn’t really look like the typical Apple wallpapers that we’re all familiar with. Not Big Sur or the Sierra Nevada’s. It was a landscape photo of a farmhouse sitting in a field of tall yellowing grass, a single oak tree bending its awkward limbs over the decaying porch. There was some dark beauty to it. The sunset behind the farmhouse cast bands of golden light on the grass making it appear as if it were shimmering. Maybe it was taken on the East Coast? Some farm in New England? Didn’t really matter to me. I had a new laptop and it was working perfectly. I gave my ancient 2017 one a quick eulogy and tossed it.
– – –
- Good morning! Marie needs the TOOTHPASTE deck to go out by EOD for client review.
-- Morning! Got it, should be ready by afternoon. I’ll upload it to Monday and ping you when it’s up.
- Thanks!! :)
The first time I noticed something was the next day. I was sitting at my desk going over my bosses notes on a deck for some toothpaste commercial when I minimized my Chrome window and saw something I hadn’t noticed before. On the front porch of the farmhouse was a figure sitting in a rocking chair. I brought my face closer to the screen to try to make out any details but the farmhouse was so far in the distance, the scale of the figure was smaller than the cursor. It was so tiny I guess I just hadn’t noticed the day before. It’s not like anyone really stares at their computer wallpaper. The figure had a pale white face and was draped in some sort of black cloak but again it was so tiny I was basically making guesses. I shrugged it off and went back to Outlook to keep working – I had a deadline to meet.
My bedroom darkened as evening fell, the only source of light being the blue glow of my laptop. I uploaded the deck and sent a note back to Marie to let her know I was finished. I’d gotten so caught up in the day that I had forgotten about the figure in the rocking chair. I went back to the wallpaper and studied the landscape again before deciding to just change it to another preloaded one. Something less spooky. I chose a sunrise off a blue coastline.
I love watching Netflix in bed as I fall asleep, so that night I got comfortable and logged in on my laptop to put some Arrested Development on. I must’ve been exhausted because I fell asleep almost immediately. I always just end up sleeping with my laptop either next to me on my comforter or on my nightstand and let the episodes keep going until Netflix realizes I’m no longer watching. I guess that must've happened, but at around 3:00a I bolted awake to a screeching ringing tone coming from my laptop. It was ear piercingly loud, almost at an unbelievable volume for a laptop. Gone was Arrested Development, the laptop screen was static white like an old VHS tv, illuminating my otherwise pitch black bedroom in a cloudy light. I scrambled to turn the volume down, afraid my neighbors would come banging on my front door, but the sound stopped as quickly as it had begun. The screen went dark, the room went dark, the night got quiet.
I sat and stared bewildered in a drowsy daze at my laptop, the quiet hum of cicadas in the night outside, when suddenly it felt as if I were being watched…. I could barely see my own hand in front of me. The night seemed darker than usual…I slowly turned over my shoulder to the open door of my bedroom and in the darkness I could just make out the faint silhouette of a hunched figure standing right outside the doorway. Staring right at me. My blood chilled, I froze. I fumbled for the lamp on my nightstand and turned it on. Warm light extinguished the blackness. Nothing in the doorway…just the long stretch of hallway to the living room. It felt kind of similar to that movie that came out last year, Skinamarink. You sit in the darkness of your bedroom long enough that suddenly you start seeing things in the inky black. I thought it was nothing, but I swear I could make out the faintest trace of a pale white face grinning at me.
The next day I’m back to work as usual, tired from the night before. I clicked out of Chrome to my desktop to open up Adobe when I noticed the farmhouse wallpaper was back… It had changed by itself. It wasn’t exactly the one from yesterday though, no, the figure wasn’t in the rocking chair anymore. Instead, the figure had moved off the porch and was now standing in the field, closer to where the photographer would be. I could really make it out now. A pale white grinning face with distended lips, rotting teeth. That wasn’t the worst part though. Where its eyes should be were instead empty pockets of nothing. Just completely grotesque, definitely not a fucking preloaded wallpaper for a laptop. I changed it back to the beach and dug around in my trash can for the refurbishment card that came with the package. I wasn’t going to wait around to see what happened. Maybe one of the tech guys there was playing a trick and had programmed some jump scares into the computer or something? Maybe that’s something they do. Similar to jailbreaking an iPhone or pretending to control someone's computer remotely. I don’t know.
I found the card and dialed the number. It rang once before a young woman with a pleasant voice picked up.
- “Hi, Hanter’s Refurbishments! How may I help you?”
-- “Um hey I recently ordered a laptop. It came the other day and setup was normal but there’s something going on with the wallpaper. I changed it but then it changed back by itself and the photo –.”
- “One moment let me place you on a brief hold. Thank you!”
I hadn’t even finished speaking when she cut me off and put me on hold. Hold music began playing, some upbeat jingle shrill enough to drive anyone insane. I sat on hold for twenty minutes, then an hour. I ended the call and tried again, went through the same motions with the same woman only to continuously be placed on hold. Maybe they were really backed up with calls and other people experiencing issues with their orders. I called again and instead of the woman answering, an automated voice greeted me and sent me to hold immediately. Fuck it. I decided to wait it out. The fucking jingle was boring a hole into my head – the most annoyingly enthusiastic hold music. I could’ve strangled someone.
Suddenly the music stopped. Finally, someone was becoming available to help me. But instead of the call being redirected to a person, the automated voice returned with a simple
“Goodbye!”
And the call dropped.
I screamed, I literally screamed out of agony, out of pure fucking frustration.
I turned back to my laptop. The wallpaper changed itself again, back to the farmhouse and the pale faced thing. It moved in the field again. It was getting closer. Gaping holes for eyes, distended lips wet with saliva. It looked like it was laughing at my misery.
I left my laptop closed on my desk that night. No Netflix tonight, I needed to sleep and didn’t want the computer near me. I scrolled on TikTok for a bit before I dozed off…
The jingle woke me.
The fucking hold music. I picked up my phone in my fatigue thinking maybe Hanter’s was calling me back. It wasn’t coming from my phone. It was coming from my closed laptop.
I looked to the doorway, thinking the figure from the night before would be back, before getting out of bed and crossing to my laptop to shut it off. I opened the laptop and a wave of nausea crashed over me. The pale faced thing was even closer. The farmhouse was barely visible now, its face nearly filling the entire screen. Still grinning, still laughing. Bits of red stuff wedged in its teeth.
No matter how many times I held the power button, nothing was happening. It wasn’t shutting down, the jingle wasn’t stopping.
I fucking cracked. At that point I didn’t give a fuck if I needed the laptop for work. I picked it up and smashed it on the floor. Threw it again and again till the screen was shattered and keys were flying off. I just needed the jingle to stop and the pale face to be gone. I threw it down one last time with a final blow, satisfied with the damage I’d caused.
I picked the laptop up thinking it would be dead, but the screen was still glowing with light. Through the splintered glass of the screen I could see the farmhouse, the field of yellowing grass, the rocking chair, the oak tree – everything was there except for the pale faced thing. As if my havoc had caused it to flee the wallpaper.
The screen flickered off. The room went black. The cicadas outside filled the silence.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
It felt as if I were being watched.

Hi,

I have a locomotor disability and I am a quadriplegic.

I'm a Big Apple fan and use an iPhone 14, Apple Watch and Apple TV.

I used to use a MacBook till 2020 but decided to change to a Surface Pro 7 that year because the new macbooks had too large a track pad - I tried a friend’s for a day and just couldn't use it. The problem with the large trackpad for me is that a rest both hands on the side of the track pad and then move them pressing keys from one finger in each. With the large trackpad, my hand kept touching the trackpad making me mistype.
I am looking at upgrading my laptop again and miss being in the Apple ecosystem. I am very tempted to buy an M3 Macbook Air. Is there any way I can disable part of the trackpad?
Alternately, on the trackpad on the iPad seems to be of a decent size but due to file management constraints I'm not a big fan of iPad OS. Would it be realistic to expect MacOS for iPad Pro M4 at WWDC?
Apple prides itself on accessibility. I have heard so many blind friends talk about how Apple has transformed delays. Please guide on this problem or who and how I can approach apple with it - it's a shame that I cannot be part of the ecosystem just because of my disability.

So the other day I decided to rewatch the bells, I will always stand by this episode is the most brave episode of any tv show i have ever seen
It would've been so easy to give ppl what they want by having dany kill cersei or die heroically, but instead they stuck to the integrity of the story
Anywho, we have heard it from the s8 haters a thousand times that her turn was "sudden" 🙄
Putting aside the fact that it wasn't sudden, that she was rejected by westeroes, that she lost 2 dragons that were like children to her, and lost 2 very loyal long time advisers
Dany actually had already decided that everyone in kings landing was her enemy before she even flew into kings landing with drogon
There is a key scene where after she tells tyrion that she has his brother and not to betray her again
She signals to greywom to look out for her "signal", she had already decided with greywom prior that she would kill everyone in kings landing
It was her choosing fear as she knew westeroes would never accept her
So again, nothing about her turn was "sudden" it was actually the most well written arc of the final seasons

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Hi all, I’m looking for serious responses here. I need to get a new surround sound system planning to do 7.1 type setup.
I’ve had the SVS 5.1 Satellite system forever and it sounds amazing but I left it when we sold our house so in the market for something new.
Key Requirements is that they must be in that form factor. Planning on hanging 6 speakers from the ceiling, having the center channel under the TV, was thinking SVS Prime Center, and then of course Sub on the floor.
Towers are out of the question wife doesn’t like the “clutter”. Anyone have any recommendations?

Short-Form & Long-Form Full-Time Video Editors Wanted
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I came home from school and found a note on the kitchen dining table.
"Made you spaghetti and meatballs. It's in the fridge. - Dad."
I opened the fridge and sure enough, there it was. My stomach growled as I plucked the clingfilm off and slipped it into the microwave, then turned on the TV. Ding! A few minutes later, dinner was ready and I tucked in on the living room couch.
The front door opened. Keys jangled and seconds later, dad came into the living room.
"Thanks for the spaghetti, it's pretty good," I said.
He smiled, but looked puzzled.
"I didn't make that," he replied. I raised an eyebrow at him, assuming he'd forgotten.
"You literally left me a note on the kitchen table saying you made it," I said, pointing at the note. He walked towards the slip of paper.
"I didn't write that either," he said, looking baffled.
"Huh?"
Just then, my fingers began to feel numb, and I felt a tingling sensation through my chest. The sensation rapidly became stronger. My heart began to race as I became very short of breath, and I clutched at my throat, palms sweaty. Spit came drooling out of my mouth as I dropped the bowl and struggled to breathe. I stood up, choking and terrified.
Dad immediately rushed towards me. His expression of confusion suddenly turned into panic as he glanced back at the note.
Then I collapsed and began to black out as my knees became weak, and my arms heavy.

Hello lovely people! I'm Jonathan, reaching out into the world and trying to make lasting connections. I love meeting new people, and if we can somehow make something of this, then that would be great!
About Me: • I'm a graphic designer that works at a newspaper and has been to over ten countries! Those are two unrelated bullet points - I don't know why I lumped them together.
• Hispanic, speaking both English and Spanish with a touch of German.
• I listen to lots of music. Let's share Spotify playlists! I've got lots of loves - Mac Miller, Bleachers, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Bronze Radio Return.
• I know how to skate! And I've been boxing for a few years, so I'll totally fight you.
• Not really a tv person but I do love Psych, It's Always Sunny, Community - comedies. Let's start a book club, or plan fun little movie night! My favorite books are 11/22/63 by Stephen King, Piranesi by Susanna Clarke and Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes.
• Personality-wise, I'm goofy. Don't take myself too seriously, but I do like to be introspective and value the people in my life more tham anything.
Let me know what you think! Don't have many asks of you, just be an engaging person and communicate openly with me! Happy to exchange photos early if that's what we want.

I was just watching Court TV, a police chase where the suspect got out and ran to a cop car. Taking off in it. This past winter in Florida where we spend the winters our neighbors were killed in a head on collision with a stolen cop car. A woman suspected of shoplifting crawled through the passenger side of the cop car as he was getting out. She took off with cops chasing her in a high speed chase. She did a uturn and hit our friends in a full size pick up doing over 100mph. Killing herself and our friends in the front seat of the truck instantly. Our friend in the back seat suffered for weeks in the icu, never regaining consciousness for 3 weeks before being taken off of life support. Are the police departments liable for those 4 deaths? Is there a law that states they must leave the keys in the ignition at a stop? A set of keys killed 3 of my friends and turned a small town upside down. What the fuck?? Remove the keys ffs! I hope the families sue the shit out of the police department! Take the keys out of the fucking cruiser!! Rant over!

PART 1

“Don’t touch!” Abe commanded, slapping Max’s hand away. They were both bent over at the waist, admiring.
“Sorry, it’s just… so… what is it?”
“I call it the Alchemic Thaumaturgator.”
“Of course you do. Is that because you couldn’t think of anything simpler, or you just liked the way it rolls off the tongue?” Max smirked.
“Mmm, it’s a work in progress.” He flung a sideways glare at him.
“Sure. So what is one of these?”
“It’s complicated and delicate and to be honest it’s a bit of a mystery, even to me.”
“Right.” There was a moment of silence as they continued scrutinising.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Abe murmured, almost to himself.
“I mean, yeah, of course….”
“Don’t look at me like that, I can’t tell you what I don’t know!” Abe stood up and let out a disgruntled huff.
“Hmm. Well, it’s confusing enough to give you nausea just looking at it so I’m sure they’d love it as an offering for the Nobel Prize, especially with a name like ‘Alcomic Thordy-whatsit.’”
“Well, maybe, if it gets that far. I nearly broke it last week, which is why I’m telling you,” Abe stood up straighter, one hand on his hip and the other pointed firmly at Max, “to strictly to keep your curious hands to yourself, ok? I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t necessary.”
“Ok ok, I won’t touch it. But really, it looks like it should be in a museum somewhere. Or a Cabinet of Curiosities...”
“Little good would it do in either of those places.” Abe turned to Max and clasped both his hands in his own. “Listen, you are my closest friend and this thing is very important to me. I wouldn’t leave it with you if I didn’t think you were perfectly capable of safeguarding it, so please don’t worry, I know it’s in good hands.”
“If you really think I’m up to it?”
“I do.”
“Well, I’ll take that as a compliment!” Max threw his arms in the air in a sarcastic show of tah-dah! “Go forth, oh Knight of Overly-Complex Science, go do what you have to do and I’ll keep an eye on this beast for you. Shove it on the table and I’ll look after it and Will Not Touch It.”
Abe looked put out, but comically so. “Is that really what you think I sound like?” He laughed. “I’ll put it over here, then. Get in touch if you need me, any time. You have my contacts?”
“I do…” Max fumbled around his pockets. “They’re… here. Got them right here.”
“Good. In which case I’ll leave you to your own devices. See you soon, and thank you.”
“See you soon.”
“Take care. Oh, one more thing. If you talk to it, it talks back.” Abe shut the door behind himself.

***

“So, you’re an Alchronic Thormome… grater? Doesn’t sound right… So tell me, what is one of them?” Max stared at the thing, perplexed.
It reminded him of what the love-child would be between a glass roller coaster and a steampunk jellyfish, though it bore absolutely no resemblance at all to a jellyfish, and fascinated him far more than that nature documentary he had been watching last week ever could. Jellyfish bobbing around and being brainless and boring, and when they weren’t they were stinging people to death and getting eaten by turtles. Even the name is boring. Jelly. Fish. Like those squidgy, dry-goo kids toys that you’re supposed to throw at the window but gets hair stuck to it when it falls on the carpet. Yuck.
Which was weird, considering this monstrosity he had been tasked with looking after was definitely the most interesting and intricate and pretty thing he had probably ever clapped eyes on. It had a heaviness to it, a purpose. And it felt like it was watching him.
Better steer clear for a while. It looks weird, he had been told things that absolutely made it sound weird and to be honest, it frightened him a little.
He wasn’t usually one to be afraid. Hell, he’d always been the brawn of his sturdy group of friends, right since he was a kid. He had worked his way up the proverbial ladder and had been widely recognised as the guy you don’t screw with at his school, though he wasn’t particularly proud of how he got there, (there had been a lot of fights behind the bike sheds and nicked sandwiches under the threat of blackmail at lunch). But he had forgotten all that and settled himself into being the relatively good-looking, popular, flirtatious guy who did a moderately average job in the eyes of his colleagues and had a moderate measure of success with the ladies.
Made no sense then that this contraption he had been lumbered with for a stint had shaken him by its sheer solidness on his front room table. It seemed to be unmovable in its presence, though it was light as a feather when it had been brought in and that fact in itself threw him because how can something that looked so substantial weigh that little? His bloody breakfast weighed more!
“What the hell are you?” Max wondered out loud.
He sat and stared at the thing for the longest time, watching to see if it would move. Only the sparkly inner swirled. Nothing more. It gave him the feeling of lying on the bottom of the ocean, staring at the sun beams though the surface until it started to fade. His eyes stared to fade. His mind went blank. He was being sucked down a long, dark tunnel of still water by his chest, he was sinking and swimming and becoming the empty space around him, it seemed he could feel the particles in the air as they vibrated and resounded in his ears, felt himself being blinded…
Max blinked and snapped back into the room, found himself standing in front of the machine. The studded brass bands holding the tubes together rotated slowly, silently.
Yeah, there’s something not right about that thing. Something unnatural.
Slowly backing out of the room and trying very hard not to show the Alcolic Thormatador… Thermanter… the thing that it was making him uncomfortable, he sidled through the doorway and into the hall. Yeah, that thing is just plain wrong.
In the corridor he paused, tried to laugh at himself.
This thing is just metal and glass and sparkly water, he thought. It doesn’t have the brainpower to understand that I feel some kind of way about it and even if it did, what is it going to do? It’s an invention, a machine and nothing more and machines are made by people, made by my friend, so what the hell is there to be afraid of?
He reached the kitchen, surprised at his own existential awareness that seemed to come quite fluidly, which was most unlike him. Maybe he was getting soft in the head. He heard that happened at a certain time of life but that phenomenon would be a bit premature. He wasn’t much past his third decade, thank you very much!
Max filled a mug from the water boiler and threw in a teabag and a few sugars. He squeezed the bag against the side of the mug until the dregs started dropping, plapped it in the sink and poured in milk. He stirred his tea well, just as always, but now the clinking of the mug took on an added layer of comfort when he knew what was in the front room. He wasn’t in a dark tunnel where he couldn’t do anything but watch, he was in his own kitchen that he had had rebuilt last year. He picked out the worktops and cupboards, he chose the shiny silver appliances, he bought the gourmet herbs and put them on the window sill, slightly over-watered and flooding their drip trays until they almost overflowed. He was in his own kitchen, familiar down to the millimetre, and solid. Nothing could touch him here.
No, he thought, it’s just an invention. A thing.
He put the spoon down with certainty on the worktop and squared his shoulders: he marched down the hall towards the front room with his tea in his left hand and the right balled up into a fist. He paused for a second outside the door. No sound.
This is my house, I won’t be intimidated in my own damned house.
He rounded the corner, planted his feet wide and glared hard at the thing.
“Look, I don’t know what you are,” he said to the machine, “but you don’t look dangerous. And seeing as we’re going to be spending some time together, I’m just going to ignore you and you can ignore me, ok? No making me feel like I’m being watched, no making me feel like I’m swimming around somewhere in space, no more weird stuff and I won’t put you in the loft. We’ll coexist in blissful harmony, like water and jellyfish.”
The Alchemic Thaumaturgator just sat there, glistening.
“Ok. Good. Fine.”
He grabbed the fern and the shamefully stunted lucky bamboo (that damned plant his cat was always rubbing his face on) that were perched next to the door and shoved them onto the table in front of the machine, mostly obscuring it from view. Better.
Max backed up and sat on the couch under the window, across the room from the table and that freakish unicorn turd of a contraption. He wrenched his eyes away for just long enough to put on the television and throw one final look over at the thing on his table, searching for it amongst the foliage. It hadn’t moved. It just sat there. He gestured at it rudely with a slightly shaking hand.
The soothing sound of the narrator drew him back into his TV and another nature documentary, this time about the great apes of the rainforests of Western Africa. This was much more interesting. He swivelled sideways in his chair to face the screen directly, sipping away at his tea.
“See,” he said towards the table, “this is exactly what…”
He glanced back and promptly fell out of his chair. His tea went flying as his mug thudded to the floor in an all too under-dramatic fashion compared to what his adrenaline was doing.
The thing was lighting up! It was glowing! Only a little bit but it was actually putting out light!
“Jeez!” Max shouted at it from the floor. “What is that? How is that happening? What is it doing? Stop it! Stop it!”
He scrambled around, on his hands and knees and still on the floor, trying to shut off the sounds of viciously shaken branches and primates howling at each other. The screen mercifully emitted a heavy click and fell into blackness as the remote fell to the floor. In the resounding silence of the room it was just Max, his adrenaline-fuelled breathing and the glass machine.
He stared at it. It absolutely was staring at him, even from between the leaves, there was no doubt, the liquid in the middle was pooling and somehow gathering at the front of the tubes facing the room. The glowing light had already started to fade and the liquid lost concentration and dispersed again, slowly swirling around in all its glittery glory, just as it had before.
Max was still splayed out on the floor, his breathing struggling to return to normal. He stood up and flattened himself shakily against the wall.
“What just happened?” he muttered under his breath. “What the hell was that…”
The thing looked at him, ‘nothing to see here,’ it said, feigning innocence.
“Whatever you are, just stay the hell away from me!” Max shouted at the machine as skirted around the walls until he got to the doorway. The door was ajar but, because his eyes were fixed in horror at the fragments of the machine that were exposed from within the plants, he bumped backwards into the door, nudging it closed and clicking it shut. Fumbling for the handle he tried to wrench it open, only to find the handle in his hand, horrifyingly detached.
He was stuck in there with it.
Panic flooded his body. A sharp twist in his gut and sweat poured from every millimetre of his skin and a faint whine emitted from his mouth.
Deep breaths, he told himself. Deep breaths, you can figure this out. It can’t hurt you, so just sit down and figure it out.
He sat himself back on the sofa, pushing it further back and rucking up the rug into waves in front of him with his feet. Never had he been so afraid of an inanimate object before. Spiders, yes. The open ocean, yes. Heights, yes. But this?
He sat staring at it, filtering his brain through his usual coping processes. He couldn’t beat it, like he had done in school. He couldn’t charm it, like he had done at the office…
“It’s an elaborate Newton’s Cradle, for Christ’s sake! A fancy-man’s Rubik’s cube!” he told himself. “Some science experiment that a five year old could have done. Yeah, I bet he just put some glow stick stuff in the water and mixed it up and told me it’s real to scare me. It doesn’t even look that bad.” He stood up and took a hesitant half step towards it on quavering knees and reluctant feet, fighting the ‘flight’. “See? Can’t hurt me.”
Max blinked. The thing hadn’t even moved. What was so scary about it anyway? The glowing? It was probably the reflection off the TV. He moved the plants from in front of it with outstretched arms and stepped back as far as he could go.
“I’m going to call you Ruth,” he said, getting bold and pointing at it, “because Alcoholic Thermo… whatever is just ridiculous. Ok? And Ruth was my grandma’s name, and I liked her, she was safe as houses.” Sure, his grandma had died of an embolism nearly ten years ago, but he wasn’t going to admit that to this thing that he didn’t even know what an embolism was. Ruth was a safe name and the familiarity was comforting.
He felt the liquid moving towards the front of the glass again, shimmering and pulling him in. He felt his fear spike, then dissolve. It couldn’t hurt him. He was safe. He was in control.
“I think it was mean of him to call you something so ridiculous. But I suppose if he’s going to go for the Nobel Prize they like that kind of thing, don’t they?” He half laughed, took another step towards it. “Those competitions are always stupid though, nobody ever comes up with anything really new, it’s not like they’ve invented hovercraft cars or machines that can take you on holidays to the afterlife, is it?” He had nearly reached the table now. The tubes were glowing a little still and he could see something moving in there. His curiosity peaked over the top of his fear and had a good look at the prospect of getting closer. Curiosity decided to get closer.
Max leaned down, hands on knees, and stared into the ever-moving swirls that flowed through the glass tubing. Arms extended to their full defensive stance, he gently nudged the plants out of the way and took a good look at Ruth. He remembered his friend saying something about studs and elements.
“Hey, there they are! I didn’t see these before! So those… those are elements? Are they elements?” He asked the glass, dumbfoundedly pointing at the stuff he had assumed was glitter but now wasn’t half as sure. He had never seen elements before…
Ripples glowed in the liquid: it had heard him. They moved closer and were warming now, somehow.
“No way!” Max exclaimed, his mouth hanging open. So this is what Abe had meant! “It’s not possible! It’s not real! Is it real? Are you real?” He asked. “Of course you’re real, you’re sitting on my table! Ha! What a stupid question Max. So, if I ask you a question, are you gonna answer me, huh?”
The glass glittered at him, but nothing else.
“Ok, are you alive?”
Nothing.
“Hmph. Maybe it was a trick of the light.”
No answer.
Max flopped into the sofa, his brows furrowed at Ruth.
He found himself talking to himself, trying to dispel the weird energy that his friend’s invention had brought with it.
“This thing is strange. He said if I talk to it then it responds, but I asked it a question and it doesn’t do anything, but when I was watching that monkey progr…”
He stopped short.
“Yeah! Let’s shove that chimp documentary back on, shall we?”
Click, the screen shot into life of every colour of the rainforest, the howls echoing around the room. But Max didn’t watch the TV, he had his eyes firmly fixed on Ruth, remote still in hand in front of her, waiting expectantly.
Nothing. Dammit. Just the glittery same as glittery before.
Max tried not to let the tidal wave of disappointment wash him away. Maybe it wasn’t the show. Maybe it was a prank, a trick of the light after all.
Max bent to put the remote on the arm of the sofa. The light from the TV shone onto the table and Ruth crescendoed into life and started throwing out beams of light that looked like the solar flares he had seen on that awful show about space and rocks and stuff he wasn’t in the least bit interested in but had watched anyway.
But he had figured out the key: he was standing in between Ruth and the screen and his shadow had been overcasting the table! Ruth needed a full view to do… that thing… whatever it was that she was doing with the light.
Ping, pong, ping, pong, his eyes went between Ruth and the monkeys sailing through the trees by their ridiculously long arms, right up until the credits started rolling and she faded to a faint glow again. She still glittered but it wasn’t the same. She definitely needed encouragement. Inspiration, if you will.
Max flicked across through each channel, watching Ruth closely for any changes (of which there were none,) tock, tock, tock went the remote until he found a different channel, one that was obviously designed for people with limited imagination, because wow, even he can outpace the monotonous nasal narrator and he didn’t consider himself a particularly clever man! He wasn’t stupid either, but on the last one when they started to explain what a bacteria is he had lost his rag and shouted at the screen a bit.
“Everyone knows what a bloody bacteria is!” he had yelled. “Tell me something I don’t know, yeesh! Whoever said these documentaries were supposed to be informative obviously hadn’t got two brain cells to run together.” But the cinematography was nice. Lots of nature-looking things to watch, the natural world an’ all.
This time it was about walruses. All flopping around on the sea shore, getting sunburned and jabbing at each other with their overgrown chompers. He had seen this one before, it wasn’t as patronising as the others. Predictably narrated, yes, but not patronising.
He turned up the volume and spun round to look at Ruth.
She was throwing out flares again, hundreds of short wisps!
And just to test the theory, he tocked across onto the menu screen and selected a random game show that he had never heard of. True to form, Ruth dimmed back to her uninspired state of simple glitteritude.
“AHA! I knew it! You’re a sucker for the nature channel too! Aha! Ahahaha!”
Max threw up his arms in celebration, the remote going flying, cheering into the emptiness of the room. Empty, except for him and this thing which apparently had a liking for chimps and sunburnt sea mammals.
Damn, this thing is incredible, he thought. Why the hell, how the hell does it…?
He sat, flabbergasted, mouth agape.
Suddenly he jumped up, scrabbling around behind the sofa trying to find the remote again, where is it where is it where is it…
He flicked the volume up and down and Ruth still put out light. She shone and shone, the beauty!
He started singing to her, “shine on, you crazy diamond!”
She seemed to like that, too.

Hello all,
I'm moving into a large home (3,748 sq ft, 3 bedrooms on the main level, 1 bedroom in the basement, with a finished basement and additions including a sun room and screened patio) and setting up a reliable internet and network system for my family (5 people, lots of streaming and remote work). The basement is planned as a key area for the kids, set up as an entertainment hub for gaming and streaming, and we also need a strong internet setup in the sun room on the main level as I plan for it to be my office. Here’s the situation and what I'm considering:
Internet Service: Considering cable internet through Spectrum. The house, previously owned by an older couple, may have limited tech setup—we're assuming there's just one main internet drop. Would one drop be sufficient to cover the whole house (with added equipment of course), or should I request Spectrum to install an additional line, especially for areas like the full basement?
Wiring Challenges: The sun room on the main level will be my office, and we'd like a streaming TV in the screened patio below it (beside basement). Both areas have electrical outlets but not on the sides closest to the main house, likely due to the original brickwork. Any recommendations on how to best wire these additions for internet and TV?
DIY vs Professional Installation: I can terminate cables and get supplies/tools at a discount through my job. However, this would be my first time running cable from an attic to lower levels/basement. Should I attempt this myself, have Spectrum handle the setup, or hire a professional like an electrician to assist with the wiring?
Cabling and Equipment: Unsure of existing wiring in the house. Between CAT 5e and CAT 6, what’s best considering we need support for activities like online gaming and video conferencing simultaneously? What setup and equipment would ensure we have dedicated and reliable coverage throughout?
Looking for advice on these points and any other recommendations from those who've managed similar setups. Your insights would be super helpful!
Thanks in advance!

Hey Fromland! Did the Season 3 trailer leave you feeling a little...underwhelmed? Don't get me wrong, the show is still the creepiest thing on TV, but the trailer gave us only a little new information. Today, we will dig into what WAS revealed, what was MISSING, and my latest theory on what the town represents. Join us as "we crack the code" on the season 3 trailer.
Critique of the Trailer: Okay, let's be honest. We've already seen Boyd battle those horrifying monsters, heard plenty of blood-curdling screams, and witnessed Victor's thousand-yard stare. So, what does the trailer actually give us?
Winter is Here! The most obvious change is the shift from summer to winter, which we already knew from the season one finale.
Purposeful Torment: We get confirmation that all this horror isn't random; the town is intentionally designed to break the trapped residents. But what's missing? Where are the clues about the town's origins, the nature of the monsters, or ANY new mysteries to puzzle over?
New Theory: The Collective Unconscious of Unfulfilled Desires
This lack of answers has sparked a new theory for me. What if the town isn't just a physical place but a manifestation of a collective unconscious, specifically fueled by unfulfilled desires? And what if historical events in America didn't happen? But there's a twist! It's also an alternate dimension where key events in American history took different turns.
Jungian Psychology: Dreams as a Mirror: This whole concept aligns with Carl Jung's ideas about dreams. He believed our dreams are a way for the unconscious mind to communicate with us. Nightmares, especially, carry important messages about our anxieties and unresolved issues.
I suspect that Tabitha, Boyd, Jade, Donna, Father Khatri, Sarah, Kenny, and Kristi are not just trapped in the town, but are actively dreaming it. This explains the disjointed conversations and repeating events like Ellis getting hurt.
What Happens When You "Wake Up?" If the town is a dream, does death truly mean waking up? Or is it a more symbolic death, a confrontation of your deepest fears that allows you to transcend the nightmare?

Hi all! I think I am just looking for mostly reassurance at this point regarding taking care of my grandma. Here is my situation (buckle up, this is a long one):
I was estranged from my biological father and his family from my teen years until about 2 years ago. Long story short, my parents got divorced when I was 2, my mom moved me out of state when she married my stepfather and I spent every summer in childhood visiting my father's family. For context, I am the only child of my father (my mom had other children from a later marriage, my half siblings, my father never had any more kids). Around my teen years, those visits stopped and I just kept in contact with my biological grandmother on my dad's side through the occasional letters over the years. I have a lot of resentment toward my parents for their poor decision making and how it's affected so much of how I act in my relationships as an adult. I have sought out therapy and am doing my best to recover.
In May of 2022, I received a phone call from my paternal grandma (who was 97 at the time), which was so unusual and very nerve-wracking because she never called me, we only communicated through letters. She told me that my father was very sick but couldn't give me many details. She was very hard of hearing and knew nothing about his illness except that it was a "blood disease." My father had been divorced 3 times and after the 3rd one, he moved in with my grandma and they were great friends. I think it was a good arrangement for them both. After that phone call, I did a lot of thinking and soul searching and decided that I should visit my father.
My husband (who never met this side of my family) visited my father and grandma later that month. I was shocked at their condition. My father never got up from his chair and looked so frail and sick. My grandma was actually in better health than him despite her age, but she still obviously couldn't care for him in his sickness. She could barely get up from her chair and was very unsteady walking around. I tried to get details from my father about his health but he was confused and unable to tell me anything concrete. But he did tell me that hospice was coming to see him the next day. So we came back the next day to be there when the hospice intake nurse came. He was even more confused the next day, couldn't spell his middle name or answer questions clearly. I did my best to answer questions (even though I barely knew him since we had been estranged for so long) and provided my phone number as a contact for them. It was all incredibly overwhelming. That meeting ended with my father wanting a little more time to think about it before being officially admitted to hospice. My husband and I went back home and I was overwhelmed about everything.
A few days later, I got a phone call from hospice. My father had reached a point where he was incontinent and belligerent and my grandma called the phone number on the card the hospice worker had left from her visit because she was desperate for help. I was suddenly thrust into a situation of trying to make decisions for a man I barely knew states away. It was obvious my 97 year old grandmother could no longer care for him at home, so he was taken to the hospital. I was able to talk with his doctor over the phone who told me that he had leukemia. The treatment he had been receiving was not working and he estimated that my father had 6 weeks to live. He would be admitted to an inpatient hospice facility until he died. I barely was able to process that because there was another huge issue: who is going to look after my grandma after he dies?
(A little more family background here: my father has an older brother who lives out of state. The two brothers never got along and from what I hear, my uncle had the tendency to rub people the wrong way. My uncle only communicated with his mother - my grandma - through the occasional birthday and Christmas card. That uncle has 2 kids, my cousins, who live in the same state as my uncle. The older cousin calls my grandma once in a while. My grandma has distant relatives who live about 45 minutes away and visit very occasionally.)
My husband and I talked a lot and I decided that I needed to go and stay with my grandma while my dad was in hospice. I was able to work remotely and so was my husband, so we made the drive back to my grandma's house and stayed with her, taking her to visit my dad every day, cooking, cleaning, etc.
My dad died on May 31, 2022, only about a week after he was admitted to hospice. I handled all the logistics and planning of the funeral. My grandma, who was totally competent mentally, was stone cold deaf and emotionally unable to handle any of it, so I was left to do everything, despite barely knowing him and not really having the chance to process my own very complicated grief at losing an estranged parent. Fortunately he had the wisdom to take out a life insurance policy years before with me as the beneficiary and I was able to pay for the funeral with that money.
And instead of his death being the end of something, it was the beginning of the most stressful time in my adult life. I spent day and night looking into care options for my grandma. We finally got her some hearing aides (something my father never thought to do for her I guess) and I spent hours on the internet, researching what is covered by Medicare, if she was eligible for Medicaid, etc. I called her state's agency for aging, multiple home health aide companies, the works. We had to go back to our home state to resume our lives, and all the while, my mental energy was spent on worrying about her and running through every option for care over and over again.
And here we are, TWO YEARS LATER. My grandma is now 99 years old at the end of this month. In May of last year, my husband very unexpectedly and heartbreakingly lost his job of 12 years. After that happened, we decided it was time to pick up our lives and move in with our grandma. While we were living in our state and she alone in hers after my dad died, I called her pretty much every day to check on her. I was constantly anxious and on edge. We visited her as much as we could but it is a long drive and we couldn't always put our lives on hold to visit her.
We moved in in December. And it has absolutely been one of the hardest times of my life. My husband and I are in dire straits financially (he is still struggling to find consistent work and my work is seasonal, we're just getting into my busy season but honestly, I don't make a lot of money). My grandma can still barely hear with her hearing aides in so I always have to raise my voice to talk to her and repeat myself multiple times. I spend hours of my time taking her to doctor's appointments (which is not an easy feat because she is wheelchair bound outside of the home), on the phone with doctors, picking up medicine, etc. I feel constant pressure to make sure she cared for. Overall she is a pleasant person but she is also a master of Italian Catholic guilt and passive aggressiveness. There is no one else to help us. I feel like I am slowly dying inside little by little every day.
So if you've made it this far, here is where I am looking for reassurance. We have to go back to our home state multiple times this summer for family obligations and my work (I am a wedding photographer and contracted to photograph weddings this summer back home). For example, at the end of May, we have to be gone for over 2 weeks to go to multiple graduations of nieces and nephews, open houses, etc. And I feel extremely guilty for leaving.
Here is more about my grandma and her current status for context:

• She is perfectly coherent mentally. Totally capable of taking her own medicine (which is not too much considering her age).
• She has a shower aide come once a week to help her in the shower. She has a walk in shower with a chair and extendable shower head. She also had handles on the toilet we recently installed. She dresses herself every day.
• She is unsteady on her feet but relies on her walker in the house. She is good about using it and doesn't go without it.
• She still cooks a little, uses the stove to boil vegetables, etc. Uses the microwave for her instant coffee, soups and TV dinners. I cook dinners regularly and she will often eat what I make.
• She has Medicare and supplemental insurance. She is not eligible for Medicaid. She owns her house outright and has about $60,000 in savings. She is unwilling to pay for private home health aides to come in our absence and unfortunately, my husband and I cannot afford them.
• She was on hospice care after my dad died. Her PCP knew the situation, that she would be alone, so she referred to us to hospice so she would at least have a nurse check on her once a week. It was extremely hard to get her admitted and she was able to stay on their service up until a few weeks ago, when they booted her because she is not deteriorating. I understand that hospice is for end of life care and just because someone is 99 it doesn't mean they automatically qualify. But it's a little scary losing that safety net.
• I tried to enroll her in VA benefits because her husband was a veteran. They denied her because she makes too much in social security every month.
• She hates being alone and has brought up multiple times how worried she is to be alone while we're gone.

Here are the things we have set in place to help care for her in our absence:

• We have one camera set up in the living room where she spends most of her time. Only my husband and I can access the camera remotely via our phones when needed to check on her. I am going to talk to her about installing 2 more, one in the kitchen and one in her bedroom.
• She has a Life Alert that she wears around her neck. She very good about wearing it all the time.
• Her shower aide will be here once a week.
• She has 2 neighbors who are great about checking in on her when needed. They both have keys to the house. I also have a group text of a handful of people in the area she is friends with who have keys to the house and can come over in an emergency. I am going to text everyone to let them know the dates we will be gone and ask them to call and check on her regularly.

So my question is this: is this enough? Can I leave her and not feel guilty? I've spent countless hours and tears struggling with this question.
(Thank you to all of you who read all this and my prayers are with you on your own caregiving journeys!)