How to dig a septic tank

A forum for tanks and other AFVs

2011.06.17 22:26 zach9889 A forum for tanks and other AFVs

TankPorn is for all things Battle Tanks, Armored Fighting Vehicles, Armored Cars, Self-Propelled Guns and Support Vehicles affiliated. The past, the present, futuristic, historical, prototypes, all things inclusive.
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2016.07.02 11:32 Popup67 Wastewater Treatment Systems

If your home or business is not attached to the municipal sewer system, a septic tank provides the waste management you need. Although underground septic tanks are designed, built, and installed to be very durable and resilient, every tank has an expiration date. The good news is that you can extend the lifespan of your septic tank to save money on tank repairs and new tank installation in the future.
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2011.07.09 17:31 Spicer_MTL Reef Tank

A friendly place to discuss and show off all things saltwater aquarium related!
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2024.05.15 15:47 LezuLezu What a rescape can do…

What a rescape can do…
This thank has been the way it is for like 8 years now….. time for a change…
I’m so happy with how it turned out! I kept like half the old volume and same filters so it wouldn’t need to completely recycle so the fish wouldn’t have to be kept in backup tank for longer than needed. Got some new plants but mostly reused what I had. Tomorow I’m going to my fish store to get some more plants and lil fish like cories and some more tetra or a different kind of school. Today another pleco cave should arrive…. He/she is not content with losing their hideout between the old back wall and pump so keeps digging…. Can’t wait to see the plants grow again and thrive!
What fishies or plants would you guys like/recommend for this thank?
submitted by LezuLezu to Aquariums [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 15:01 anxiousnowboarder How do you safely dispose pest water?

Bathed a large plant in a large tub of alcohol and water. I've now got a (closed) tub full of alcohol, water, soil, dead mealys, and whatever pesticides were tried before the bath sitting in my garage How do I get rid of this safely in regards to either my plumbing/septic tank or the environment in general?
submitted by anxiousnowboarder to houseplants [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 13:34 musicalimposter Help can't get dog smell out of towels.

Since I moved to my new place, I have been struggling with the laundry. The water is really soft, so I have learned that I can only use a little bit. Also, we have a septic tank, so I have to be careful about what products I use. The problem now is when I wash the towels I use to try the dog. They smell fine when they come out of the dryer, but immediately smell like dog when they get wet. Does anyone have any recommendations for how I can remedy this? Any guidance is appreciated!
submitted by musicalimposter to CleaningTips [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 10:37 M1lk_4_Kh0rn3 New sub-faction ideas for Kane Wrath #7 Japan-Korea Defense Initiative (GDI)

New sub-faction ideas for Kane Wrath #7 Japan-Korea Defense Initiative (GDI)
"Greeting Brothers and Sisters, today we bring you grave news. The sun we though had set long ago had risen again. Those remained from wars of fifty years ago revived from their tombs, readied to served their GDI masters once more. Our brother in China once underestimated them, now they are trampled under their feet. I fear we will faced them soon."
Brother Duc, a Confessor in Ho Chi Minh city.
Konnichiwa, Annyeong hasimnikka and hello guys and girls. I'm back with the third trilogy of homebrew sub-factions. This time, we'll take a look to the far east, where the Empire of Rising Sun used to be, at least in Red Alert 3 timeline. In the lands of Korean Peninsula and Japan Island, a branch of GDI, the Japan-Korea Defense Initiative (J-KDI) is in charge. This concept based on the Empire of Rising Sun from RA3 with many touches to fit in the scenario of the Tiberium Universe. As this region unique geography, society, economical and technological advances, the sub-faction leaned more toward urban warfare, drone combat and the fragile but versatile mech walker.
As you already know, the Steel Talon also favor walkers but their mech are crude, rugged and focus on late-game punch, J-KDI mechs are more futuristic, high-tech, highly versatile, which is an odd for GDI doctrine, but when taking their operating region into account, the feat seem not very complicated, as Japan and Korea are the least suffered from the first two Tiberium Wars and designated as Blue Zones (Yes, even North Korea is a Blue Zone, maybe Kane get scared, who know?). So, without any further ado, let dive in.
Disclaimer: As always, The image I used in the Post below is from various source on the internet such as CnC wiki and Deviantart to give reader a better look at my idea. If you you felt uncomfortable with this, please let me know in the comment below and I'll remove them
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J-KDI insignia
Lore
Originally created by the United Nations as a branch of GDI in charge of Japan and Korean region and after decades maintaining security and prosperity with advancing in technologies, J-KDI is one of the most renowned division within GDI. They often active in Japan Main Islands and Korean Peninsula, which saw little Tiberium infestation and stable politic and economic environments. During the chaotic time before the Second Tiberium War, the three governments met with GDI presentative and strike a deal: The three countries will accept GDI officials, tactics, policies and complied to mobilization orders in exchange for maintaining their own decree of independent, including the right to command and develop their own army with access to some GDI technologies. This deal has led to the birth a semi-independent regional forces within GDI, known as Japan-Korea Defense Initiative (J-KDI).
One of J-KDI unique characteristic is due to they mostly operate in large city, thus their arsenal is modified to suit urban combats. With their freedom in R&D and a huge sum of budget to do so, their units seem more futuristic and sometime unrealistic compare to normal GDI war machines. Most noticeable is they managed to recovered old prototypes from older projects, upgraded and let them enter services once again. With North Korea also in the mix, J-KDI also employed well trained armed military polices and tactical nuclear ballistic weapons. On the other side, J-KDI saw limited use of aircraft and cannot access to Ion Cannons due to GDI constrictions, however, they soon found out other "solutions" to fulfill their role.
In recent years, J-KDI had found a new talent, Dr. Liang, brother of Jade Liang, a NOD notorious commander. Dr. Liang worked side by side with his sister Jade in the GDI research labs until they were both accidentally exposed to raw Tiberium. Liang chose to amputate his arm rather than succumb to mutation. He now dedicates himself to finding ways to heal wounds of all kinds with most of his research into pilotless vehicles. And Dr. Liang, who in need of a sponsor met with J-KDI, who scouting for talents in robotics and drone vehicles, thus Dr. Liang was recruited as chief scientist and a battle commander for J-KDI. His contributed in drones and AI developments helped J-KDI advanced further to their vision of a futuristic army, until the end of Third Tiberium War, that is ...
Building
  • Can not build Airfield.
  • Can not build Combat Support Airfield.
  • Call for Transport available after a Command Post is built
Defense
  • Missile Silo replaces Ion Cannon: Sponsored by United Republic of Korea, these things make NOD green with envy. It can launch a tactical nuclear strike delivered by an ICBM with 5 tactical nuclear MIRV warheads at the target location anywhere on the map. If this is not enough, J-KDI commanders can purchase additional warheads at the Silo. Each warheads cost 1500$ and each ICBM can carry 10 warheads at most.
The Missile Silo ready to deliver it payloads
Infantry
  • Riot Squad replaces Riflemen Squad: Basic infantry/policeman armed with mini assault rifles, riot shield and flash bang. They are studier but slower than their counterpart and trained to clear garrisoned building. On the flip side, they can throw flash bang at enemies infantry, which stunned for a while.
  • Dragonfly Drone: Flying scout drones armed with EMP Immobilizer, which can disable ground vehicle. It can ordered to charge and self-destruct in an EMP explosion, hopefully damaging anything around it. Require Command Post.
  • Service Drone: Flying support drone with timed life that can repair or heal adjacent allies units. Can only summoned through Instant Service support power.
The Riot Squad (from Crossfire Legion), the Dragonfly Drone and the Service Drone
Vehicle
  • Cannot build Rig and Mammoth Tank.
  • Assault APC: Troop transport vehicle armed with weapon jammer and fire ports. Weapon Jammer can render enemies weapons to useless, even infantry weapons. Can upgraded to deploy smoke screen to support friendly units.
  • Robo Tengu replaces Guardian APC: Anti-infantry hover walker, first designed for security, then converted for military use. It can upgrade to transform into the Jet Tengu, a VTOL air superiority fighter. Can detect stealth.
  • Striker-VX: Anti-air walker that can spew out surface-to-air missiles into air. It can upgraded to transform into the Chopper-VX, to combat incoming ground targets with air-to-surface missiles. Require Command Post.
  • Megalodon: Powerful assault walker designed for melee combat with plasma blade, excellence durability and quite fast (for a heavy tank). It also immune to hijacking, mind control and only slowed down by EMP effects. Commandos, however, can plant charges on it legs to bring it down. It leaves behind a husk when destroyed, which can be captured or destroyed. Require Tech Center.
The Assault APC (From Generals 2), the Tengu, VX (both from Red Alert 3) and the mighty Megalodon (from Reign of Steel mod)
Aircraft
  • Cannot build any "traditional" aircraft.
Upgrade
  • Cannot purchase Sensor Pods, Hardpoints, Stratofighter and Railgun Upgrade.
  • AP Ammo upgrade benefit Riot Squad and Tengu
  • Transform Modules: Allow Robo Tengu to transform into the Jet Tengu and Striker-VX transform to Chopper-VX. Purchase at War Factory.
  • Smoke Launcher: Allow Assault APC and Predator Tank launch smoke grenades at targeted area, creating a smokescreen that lasts for 6 seconds and greatly reduce sight range and attack range of units caught within. It can also force garrisoned infantry out of buildings. Purchase at Command Post.
  • Expanded Missile Pods: Expands the Missile Pods for Pitbull and Striker-VX, allowing more missiles per salvo. Purchase at Tech Center.
  • Hydrogen Fuel Cells: Increase Robo Tengu, Striker-VX and Megalodon speed by 33%. Megalodon also gain immunity from EMP effect. Purchase at Tech Center.
Support Power
  • Cannot use Orca Strike and Bloodhounds.
  • GDI Airborne summon two Riot Squads and two Missile Squads instead of two Rifle Squads and two Missile Squads.
  • Drone Strike: Call in kamikaze drone which crashes itself onto targeted area, explode and causing high damage. Summon 3 drones initially but every GDI War Factory present on the battlefield will release an additional Hunter-Seeker drone upon activation. Require Command Post.
  • Instant Service: Call in a flock of 3 Service Drones with timed life anywhere on the map that can heal and repair adjacent allies units. Require War Factory.
Notable Events
  1. Clear House. Location: Kobe, Japan. After the Firestorm Crisis, Empire of Japan and the United Republic of Korea, designated as Blue Zones B-6 and B-7, entered a decade of rapid development thanks to geography locations, efficient governments and technological advances. But shadows of previous conflicts still remained and now, they stir once again. Dr. Liang, a newly appointed chief scientist of J-KDI, accompanied by Battle Commander Sato in a riot control mission in Kobe. The investigators discovered that riots incited by the local Yakuza and backed by NOD. A MCV with escort arrived and quelled the riots by destroyed all hidden NOD infrastructures around the city. At one of the base, J-KDI found documents about a large operation in nearby Osaka Port.
  2. Hand of Darkness. Location: Osaka, Japan. From the documents J-KDI discovered NOD had secretly taken control of Osaka Port operations through several Yakuza shell companies. There, they established a base, hidden by Disruption Towers to wait for a "special shipment" arrive. J-KDI sent a Commando task force to intercept the cargo. As the Commando arrived, he cut through NOD patrols and secured the cargo ship. With the cargo carried away by a V-35 Ox, J-KDI sent in their MCV to build a base and proceed to eliminate NOD presence in the port.
  3. Hidden Vipers. Location: Ningbo, China. The cargo contained parts of a liquid Tiberium base explosive device and from NOD captives and documents, they intended stage a "test" in Tokyo area. This information raised concern for both J-KDI and GDI alike as such attack will cause massive casualties. Doctor Liang traced back the device is manufactured in Ningbo, China and had signatures of his sister, Jade Liang, now a defector. GDI Council authorized a joined assault on China Yellow Zone and put a stop to these devices production. After a bombardment, Steel Talon vanguards landed at the port while J-KDI mech wings escort Hovercraft upstream Yong Jiang river to strike at the rear. However, the city is defended by Emerald Vipers, a NOD faction specialized in toxic and liquid-T weapon. The Vipers led by Jade resisted fiercely to defend their facilities but crushed eventually. Jade escaped with only a handful of troops and GDI claimed their victory.
  4. Incoming Storm. Location: Tumangang, North Korea. Several years passed since NOD Incursion and GDI slowly diminished their military forces. But J-KDI still maintained their semi-independent status and continued to developed new weapons. Recently, there words of a huge NOD armored column pushed down from Siberia toward the Korean Peninsula. Commander Sato had been mobilized to Tumangang in the Russia-North Korea border to intercept NOD advance. He arrived and begin fortified river crossing just before NOD first wave arrived. After the first wave intercepted, second wave arrived and set up shops at the opposite river bank. From there, NOD aircraft and infantry can support the third and fourth wave directly, giving Sato a hard time, however, no vehicle crossed the river. Just before the last wave, Sato receive information about the attacks on GDSS Philadelphia and Japan. He quickly finished the last wave and returned to Japan.
  5. Day at the bay. Location: Yokohama, Japan. NOD attacked a GDI Council's installations in Yokohama and J-KDI called in as reinforcement to take back Ion Cannon Control Centers there. However, there early reports that another GDI force already there. Feeling something amiss, Commander Sato send a Commando and a Sniper Team to investigate the situation. Turned out, a GDI Insurgent, the Dark Eyes Insurgency (D.E.I) had taken control of the Ion Control Centers there and in process of stealing an Ion Cannon for there usage. After a brief skirmish, Sato cannot stop the D.E.I from finished taking control an Ion Cannon. At this point, the D.E.I commander propose a deal with Sato, as they willingly to help him take back the vital port of Yokohama in exchange for a blind eye, as GDI Council not giving J-KDI access to Ion Cannon Network either. Having no better choice, Sato agreed and the combined GDI wiped out remaining NOD foothold in Yokohama. Before leaving, the D.E.I generously provide Sato a shocking new: Dr. Liang life is under threat by his little sister, as she going to attack at San Diego Conference, where Dr. Liang and many GDI top scientist currently in.
  6. Santa Coming, Too. Location: San Diego, California. Dr. Liang and San Diego base had been warned about the coming of NOD forces. However, the defense of the base fall in local GDI hands, as Dr. Liang forces are only a handful of guards and mechs. As the Vipers approached, they were caught surprised by J-KDI transform mechs and Vipers aircraft soon removed out the sky as their home Air Tower destroyed. This angered Jade and she soon send in more troops to the meat grinder. In the moment the base about to fall, an APCOM reinforcement wing arrived and bombed NOD forces to oblivion. Jade herself forced to abandoned the battle, leaving behind many Vipers casualties behind.
  7. Relics of the Past. Location: Point Hope, Alaska. Having stabilized the Blue Zones, GDI High Command planned for a retaliation strike at NOD. J-KDI Command didn't sit still either, as they're dangerously close to the China Yellow Zone. However, to J-KDI also lack the capability to strike deep into China mainland where NOD headquarter is. Dr. Liang proposed a bold idea: by using an old experimental device Allied forces used during the Third World War, they can teleport a limited number of vehicle directly at NOD headquarter and destroy NOD from inside out. However, this device currently mothballed in a abandoned base in Alaska, with rumors of NOD activities in the region. As the plan when through by GDI High Command, Dr. Liang and Sato lead and expedition to dig out the old Chronosphere and charged it to full. While Dr. Liang busy restore and recharge the Chronosphere, Commander Sato take charge of a naval battle with two NOD Battleships and their escort.
  8. Chrono You Didn't. Location: Nanchang, China. With the old Chronosphere device fully charged, J-KDI begin their raid on NOD Asian Headquarter in China. After clear out a NOD outpost, a MCV with some mech teleported and begin set up shops at the west bank of the river. Local Black Hand alerted of J-KDI presence and sent a Purifier with a few Scorpions to intercept GDI but soon torn to shed by mech reinforcement. This, however, do not deter the Black Hand and NOD from sending in more troop and vehicles at the J-KDI base, stalling J-KDI advance for a time. After a few round of reinforcements, Dr. Liang inform commander Sato that the Chronosphere will reach it limit soon, but a ZOCOM commander volunteer to arrived at a last batch reinforcement. A ZOCOM MCV with some vehicle and two MARVs soon teleported in was the last reinforcement, but they are more than enough. Together with ZOCOM, J-KDI pushed forward and even destroyed a Black Hand Redeemer, forcing them to retreat. The main NOD base soon followed suit and fall to the combined might of the two MARVs. With their Command Headquarter destroyed, NOD forces in China soon fall to disarray. This mission is a total victory.
  9. Doomsday Countdown. Location: Incheon, South Korea. The situation in the Far East is stabled and only minor NOD resistances remained but a large number of NOD had escaped their demise. Peace finally there, but it is short lived, as the Earth under attack by an unknown Aliens. There crafts landed across the globe and their forces strike in every Blue and Yellow Zones. A Drone Platform had landed in Incheon and Commander Sato sent to deal with it. A strike team arrived from sea and encountered heavy Alien patrols. Battleship called for bombards to clear a landing zone for an J-KDI outpost. The alien deployed their Rift Generator, intend using it to wipe out any humans resistant. In face such mass destruction weapons, J-KDI authorized the use of Tactical Nukes and a Silo is deployed. With the help of a EMP Control Center, J-KDI disrupt the Rift Generator long enough for their forces to destroyed the Rift Generator and nuked the Drone Platform along with any remained Aliens to oblivion.
  10. Under the Sacred Mountain. Location: Mt. Fuji, Japan. When Commander Sato busy dealing with the aliens in Hiroshima, Dr. Liang received distress signals from a GDI facility in Mt. Fuji. Apparently, his little sister, Jade attacked the facility to eliminate a high ranking NOD defector sheltered there. But the Aliens arrival foiled her plan and now she caught in the crossfire between GDI and Aliens. This opportunity cannot be missed but J-KDI had given order to prioritized the defector safety first, thus Dr. Liang led reinforcements to Mt. Fuji. He arrived from the north to the final GDI base there while Jade three base besieging them. As for the Aliens, there coming from the South, keep hammering Jade from behind. J-KDI first recaptured the Power Plant to reactivate the remain defend system, which temporally push Jade forces back. Afterward, they begin to hammer Jade bases while she fend off the Aliens. Cannot withstand any further, Jade flee again, abandoned remaining forces to their fate. The Aliens also dealt with afterward and the defector escorted to safety.
  11. Shipwright. Location: Naval Base White Beach, Okinawa. A ZOCOM aircraft carrier task force arrived in Okinawa for emergency repair and refuel. The carrier carried with it a special cargo and under attack by the Reaper-17 pursuers. J-KDI sent Commander Sato to unsured the cargo safety. When be Carrier under repaired, all sirens sounded as Alien Storm Riders approached, but all shot down. Soon, more Aliens ground forces arrived along the north beach while more Storm Riders flied in from the sea. J-KDI and ZOCOM hold off the Aliens long enough for the Carrier Task force to repair and refuel, then escort the task force to high sea, after destroyed the Alien foothold in the region, of course.
  12. Race of Arms. Location: Threshold 14, Guangdong, China. The cargo had reached safety in the high sea while the Aliens pursuer retreated. GDI High Command, alerted of Alien's Towers in the Red Zone, planned to destroyed them before they finished constructing. J-KDI had been assigned to bring down the Tower in China Red Zone, code name Threshold 14. When the vanguard arrived, they found themself not only facing Alien but also NODs. Under pressure from both side, J-KDI hold on to their footholds while withering down Alien and NOD forces. Soon, Dr. Liang informed that a special Chrono delivery is coming. Commander Sato send the signal for three warheads to teleported near the Phase Generators and denotate them, reduced a huge chunk of Alien base to dust. With the Phase Generators outed, the Tower is now vulnerable and a nuclear strike later, it blew to smithereens.
  13. Of Brother and Sister. Location: Giraud-Moebius Tiberium Crater. Five years after the Third Tiberium War, GDI now stand victorious and the Brotherhood back to it shadows once more, J-KDI busying rebuild their city and society when Dr. Liang receive a shocking news, his sister, Jade Liang had betrayed Kane and now withdrawn to her final stronghold deep within Central Asia Red Zone. Dr. Liang asked for permission to finish business with his sister and authorized by GDI High Command. As Jade stronghold is hard to breached, J-KDI use a more bold approach, drop a MCV dropped from orbit inside her compound and destroy it from within. As J-KDI about to attack, the Marked of Kane already begun their assault. This created distraction needed for the MCV to make land fall and how can Dr. Liang refuse such a chance. A MCV task force dropped behind Jade lines and start to set up shops while Jade busy fighting cyborgs. Only when she realized her defend line pincered by both mechs and cyborgs then it is already too late. Not willing give up, Jade activated four Cloning Vats, devices left behind from Soviet-era that can clones every infantry Jade forces have trained. Fortunately, the Kenan Corp reinforcements arrived and together, the three forces pushed toward Jade headquarter. Jade in her madness, denotate a Liquid-T Bomb, intended to take the attacker down but ultimately failed and captured by J-KDI troops. After a brief conversation, Dr. Liang bid farewell to his sister and handed her to a cyborg, then a gunshot rang ....
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That all for this post. If you have any opinions, please let me know in the comment section below as usual. The next post is right about the corner as I take for a change and do a Kilian Loyalist NOD sub-faction next time. Thanks you for reading and I hope to hear from your comments soon. Best regards.
submitted by M1lk_4_Kh0rn3 to commandandconquer [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 04:14 cjrunswithcrows Advice on organizing and cleaning

So I never realized until today, while watching a video on YouTube about cleaning a house with and ADHD owner, that having a ton of shoes and clothes is super common for people with ADHD.
My case is weird because I have OCD AND ADHD (among other things I won’t get into lol) so my OCD brain wants things to be tidy and organized, but my ADHD brain gives me ADHD paralysis - I end up getting my doom piles of clothes in my room and then the job just seems so overwhelming that I can’t do it.
The amount of clothes and shoes I have is absolutely insane - and I have gotten rid of TONS of clothes but I still have so much. Last year I probably purged at least 12 garbage bags full of clothes that I donated to the homeless. But I get in a bad habit where during sale times after holidays I find clothes I really like and buy so I end up with more clothes still; but I’m to the point where pretty much all the clothes I have left I really don’t want to get rid of 😭
I always let the room get to the point where I end up getting so bothered by it that I spend the entire night cleaning it, and then repeat the process all over again. I’m also disabled so cleaning is just difficult physically for me in general now because my back is so bad.
So I really just need suggestions on how I can break this cycle and keep myself from making these huge doom piles that I have to dig through and clean up. I’ve added pictures of how my room looks currently - and this is after doing a bit of cleaning up a couple nights ago; I also have a full dresser of clothes and two storage bags underneath my bed of t-shirts and tank tops.
submitted by cjrunswithcrows to adhdwomen [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 02:59 chelseafcccccccc Help with explaining condo insurance?

Location: Illinois, USA
Type: Condo Insurance
Hi, I recently had to file a claim with my insurance because of a septic tank backup/flood that happened in my ground floor condo. I have State Farm condo insurance, and I specifically added the water backup since I live on the first floor. Anyway, backup happened and wrecked my apartment. I have a $10,000 coverage from my insurance and I filed the claim immediately when the backup happened. I got involved with the HOA and they have agreed to cover some of the damages (I am expecting a check soon, not sure of the total amount but it will be split with the neighboring condo due to them getting damages as well).
Also want to mention State Farm did not send out their own adjustor to my condo, but I did send them photos and videos of the damage. I had a contractor come out to write an estimate, and the HOA sent their own contractor for his estimate as well, and eventually the HOA's insurance sent out their adjuster to get his estimate.
My question is, so far my insurance has told me to wait to see how much the HOA covers, and then to use my insurance to cover anything left over - how can I ensure I get the full $10,000 dollars? I feel like the money from my HOA will cover a good portion of the repairs, but I am not sure if the leftover will reach 10K. The insurance also mentioned that I can use the money to cover my stay for the meantime and any gas for driving back and forth from my condo to where I am staying. I guess I wanted to know if anyone has dealt with a similar situation, and can let me know what to expect from my insurance?
submitted by chelseafcccccccc to Insurance [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 00:34 Themarineking Guide to RV Black Tank Additives

Keeping your RV’s black tank clean and odor-free is essential for a comfortable and enjoyable camping experience. RV black tank additives are the key to maintaining proper sanitation and preventing unpleasant odors while on the road. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about RV black tank additives, including how they work, why they’re essential, and how to choose the best one for your RV adventures.
Some of the best Products on the market
Thetford Aquramax ✔
RARITAN C.P. CLEANS ✔
RARITAN K.O ✔
DOMETIC MAX CONTROL ✔
THETFORD AQUABIO✔

Understanding RV Black Tank Additives

RV black tank additives are specially formulated chemicals or natural compounds designed to break down waste, control odors, and lubricate tank valves and sensors. These additives are essential for maintaining proper sanitation and preventing clogs, buildup, and foul smells in your RV’s black tank.

The Importance of Using RV Black Tank Additives

Using RV black tank additives offers several benefits for RV owners:

Choosing the Best RV Black Tank Additive

When selecting an RV black tank additive, consider the following factors to ensure optimal performance and compatibility:

1. Type of Additive:

RV black tank additives are available in three main types:

2. Odor Control:

Choose an additive with strong odor control properties to ensure a fresh and pleasant indoor environment in your RV. Look for additives with long-lasting fragrance and odor-neutralizing capabilities.

3. Compatibility:

Ensure that the additive is compatible with your RV’s plumbing system, including rubber seals, valves, and sensors. Avoid additives that contain harsh chemicals or abrasive ingredients that may damage or degrade tank components.

Top Picks for RV Black Tank Additives

Several reputable brands offer high-quality RV black tank additives tailored to the needs of RV owners:

Conclusion

Investing in the best RV black tank additive is essential for maintaining proper sanitation, preventing odors, and prolonging the lifespan of your RV’s plumbing system. Whether you prefer chemical-based additives for rapid waste breakdown, enzyme-based additives for eco-friendly odor control, or convenient drop-ins for hassle-free dosing, there’s an RV black tank additive available to suit your needs and preferences. Choose the best RV black tank additive for your RV adventures and enjoy clean, odor-free travels on the open road. Happy camping!
submitted by Themarineking to u/Themarineking [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 00:34 Themarineking RV Black Tank Additives

The Ultimate Guide to RV Black Tank Additives
Keeping your RV’s black tank clean and odor-free is essential for a comfortable and enjoyable camping experience. RV black tank additives are the key to maintaining proper sanitation and preventing unpleasant odors while on the road. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore everything you need to know about RV black tank additives, including how they work, why they’re essential, and how to choose the best one for your RV adventures.
Some of the best Products on the market
Thetford Aquramax ✔
RARITAN C.P. CLEANS ✔
RARITAN K.O ✔
DOMETIC MAX CONTROL ✔
THETFORD AQUABIO✔

Understanding RV Black Tank Additives

RV black tank additives are specially formulated chemicals or natural compounds designed to break down waste, control odors, and lubricate tank valves and sensors. These additives are essential for maintaining proper sanitation and preventing clogs, buildup, and foul smells in your RV’s black tank.

The Importance of Using RV Black Tank Additives

Using RV black tank additives offers several benefits for RV owners:

Choosing the Best RV Black Tank Additive

When selecting an RV black tank additive, consider the following factors to ensure optimal performance and compatibility:

1. Type of Additive:

RV black tank additives are available in three main types:

2. Odor Control:

Choose an additive with strong odor control properties to ensure a fresh and pleasant indoor environment in your RV. Look for additives with long-lasting fragrance and odor-neutralizing capabilities.

3. Compatibility:

Ensure that the additive is compatible with your RV’s plumbing system, including rubber seals, valves, and sensors. Avoid additives that contain harsh chemicals or abrasive ingredients that may damage or degrade tank components.

Top Picks for RV Black Tank Additives

Several reputable brands offer high-quality RV black tank additives tailored to the needs of RV owners:

Conclusion

Investing in the best RV black tank additive is essential for maintaining proper sanitation, preventing odors, and prolonging the lifespan of your RV’s plumbing system. Whether you prefer chemical-based additives for rapid waste breakdown, enzyme-based additives for eco-friendly odor control, or convenient drop-ins for hassle-free dosing, there’s an RV black tank additive available to suit your needs and preferences. Choose the best RV black tank additive for your RV adventures and enjoy clean, odor-free travels on the open road. Happy camping!

submitted by Themarineking to u/Themarineking [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 17:36 Commercial_Gold_9699 Query about horse chestnut placement

I planted a horse chestnut and it's flourishing. It's still young enough so I hope I can move if it required. I just want to check to see a few things
Can it be planted in a hedgerow? I have Rowan, guilder rose, crab apples, hawthorn etc planted in it.
I have a percolation field with my septic tank and neighbours across the laneway. Going by the pictures is there enough room?
I managed to get a cutting - how far away can they be planted? I also have an oak in my hedgerow. Any issues?
Thanks a million in advance
submitted by Commercial_Gold_9699 to arborists [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 12:40 Specialist_Bake6514 Vapiano P3: Italian Food Made in Germany

Vapiano P3: Italian Food Made in Germany
The kitchen is on fire. Welcome to the final part of the Vapiano story where the tables are turning. In the first two episodes we followed Mark Korzilius' journey from setbacks to founding Vapiano, a groundbreaking restaurant concept, highlighting its fresh ingredients, dynamic atmosphere, and data-driven operations that drove rapid success. While achieving initial profitability and garnering attention from industry giants like McDonald's, Vapiano's global expansion has led to stellar revenue growth. However, it has also resulted in the emergence of numerous side projects (or distractions), operational challenges, increased costs, significant investments, and a notable accumulation of debt. This underscores the prioritization of top-line growth over profitable growth. We will continue on this thread and see how the story ends, but I would encourage you to read part one and two for better context. Vapiano P1: Italian Food Made in Germany (substack.com). Let's dig in.
Before Going Public
We are now in 2015 and the year is a disaster for Vapiano's PR department. Employee time stamps are being manipulated, endless overtime for employees and high turnover in managerial roles are reported; mice in the kitchen and even rotten food allegedly found.
The company is confronted with allegations of exceeding working hours among trainees in an article published by Welt am Sonntag, while the same outlet accuses Vapiano of manipulating punch times. The auditing firm PwC is commissioned to investigate the allegations and finds that there is no systematic approach but rather misconduct by individual employees, a mistake that’s being corrected. Internal however, investigations into stamp times are carried out regularly now and beyond its obvious reputational impact, this sucks up valuable management time and attention.
In the summer of 2015 CEO, co-founder and investor Gregor Gerlach, who has been running the group since 2011 is stepping down and Jochen Halfmann is taking over. A new Vapiano People Program with an App is being developed with the aim to better interact with customers that will incorporate innovate features such as mobile pay. The German website sees a launch of new magazine to further promote the brand and there is now a full inhouse blogger and Instagram team being installed. In October the company buys seven restaurants from original co-founder, former co-investor and ex-president previously responsible for internation expansion Kent Hahne (2x Bonn, 3x Cologne, 1x Koblenz and one in Cologne that’s under construction). This package of Vapiano restaurants is very successful and generates net sales of more than 20 million euros in 2014. Hahne opened his first Vapiano restaurant in Cologne in August 2006 and in 2015 with his company apeiron AG, Hahne operates six L'Osteria franchise restaurants, a direct Vapiano competitor, and two self-owned restaurants GinYuu.
Then in November of 2015, the next public relations bomb goes off with allegations regarding the company's quality standards. The company immediately investigates the issue through internal and external specialists but finds no evidence of any quality issues. Nevertheless, knowing that the group is now being closely watched, the company’s already in place hygiene standards are being reinforced. Additional audits and inspections are performed nationally. Further, all Vapianos worldwide are being audited twice by the partners SGS Institut Fresenius and SAI Global. Auditing software is purchased to simplify the implementation of the audits and the resulting measures. Apart from the external examinations, there is a food sampling plan in place being performed continuously. Again, all of this sucks up costs, management time and attention. With all these tumultuous developments the company’s growth engine is undeterred. Revenue grows by a whopping 50 million euros to 202 million euros, an increase of 33%. Impressive. While average spent per customer increases in all countries, the number of customers per day in Germany decreases by 3.3% partially due to the negative press towards the end of the year. Five own, four JV and 19 new franchise restaurants are added that year to the group, the total number of own managed restaurants grows to 51, there are 31 JVs and 84 franchises which bringing the total to 166 Vapiano restaurants. Global restaurant sales are now above 400 million euros.
But while revenue grows by an astronomical 50 million euros, operating profits, alarmingly, shrink again. Gross margins are staying perfectly healthy above 75% but operating costs keep growing disproportionately fast. The Company’s outstanding debt jumps by almost 30 million, close to 85 million euros by the end of the year. With operating profits at 9.5 million euros, alarm bells should be going off right now.
In Q4 of 2015, new CEO Jochen Halfmann introduces Strategy 2020. The new strategy includes five essential points. One, profitable growth in the newly defined core markets of Germany and Austria as well as in the UK, Netherlands, France and USA. Two, operational excellence through strict “best practice” management. Three, further development and digitalization of the concept considering guest feedback. Four, greater focus on long-term employee retention and five, building a modern and sustainable IT landscape. Sound’s good on paper but let’s see how things pan out.
Vapiano's investments (capital expenditures) that year are primarily directed towards new restaurant openings, renovations of existing establishments, and share acquisitions in other Vapiano restaurants from franchisees or JV partners. A significant portion of funds is allocated to the digitalization of the guest experience, including the development of a new app scheduled for market release in 2016 and the implementation of a time recording system across all group restaurants. The world's first standalone Vapiano restaurant with a delivery service that year is built in Fürth, Germany. The company keeps expanding its presence in both inner-city locations and international markets, such as Shanghai, China.
To finance all of this, the group has its own operating cash flow which comes in at 18 million while capital expenditures are 26 million euros plus 14 million for acquisitions. The funding gab is filled with 26 million euros of new debt and a seven-million-euro equity raise. At that end of the year and after the equity raise Gregor Gerlach (through his AP Leipzig GmbH & Co. KG entity) holds 30.1%, Hans-Joachim and Gisa Sander through their Exchange Bio GmbH hold 25.5% and the Tchibo heirs, Herz through their Mayfair Beteiligungsfonds II GmbH & Co. KG hold 44,4%.
But for the first time the restaurant’s concept that was so successful to date is being questioned. Some customers are starting to mislike the operational flow of the concept itself. If you want pasta, you must queue for pasta. If you want pizza you stand in a different queue. A small side salad, yet another queue. "You spend more time carrying trays than an actress in Berlin-Mitte. The audience in the pasta limbo can only consist of people who have worked for an insurance company for a long time and, like Stockholm syndrome, they can no longer get away from the industrial canteen feeling," writes TV host Beisenherz provocatively. While overly harsh in his assessment he's not entirely wrong judging by customers venting their frustrations in forums and social media channels. It isn’t uncommon for those who ordered pizza to have already finished eating while there is little movement in the pasta queue. Long term that doesn't go down well, QSRs competitors like L’Osteria are handling this process differently, with much success.
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Tipping Point

Where are now in the year 2016 and things start to deteriorate visibility. Perhaps not for the leman’s eye but any business minded observer can see that there are problems under the hood. Yes, revenue grows yet another whopping 50 million to almost 250 million euros but half of that growth, comes from acquisitions of restaurants that the group didn’t already own 100%, which is now being fully consolidated within the group’s accounts. Here is a concrete example. In the past, Vapiano SE, the group’s top holding company held an indirect 50% stake in a French subgroup via the subsidiary VAP Restaurants SA, based in Luxembourg, and included this as an associated company in the Vapiano SE consolidated financial statements using the equity method. Due to the acquisition of additional shares in September of 2016, Vapiano SE's indirect share in the French subgroup increased to 75%. This means that Vapiano SE takes control of the French subgroup, which is therefore included in the group’s financial statements as part of the full consolidation. The revenue from the acquired subsidiary now recorded in the consolidated income statement amounts to 12.8 million euros. While that’s great for the top line, the loss of the fully consolidated entity equates to 0.2 million euros. Yes, you are buying revenue, but there are losses attached to them, not profits. A similar case is the Swedish entity that runs eight restaurants with revenue of 11.5 million euros but has losses of 235 thousand euros. So much for Strategy 2020 and “profitable” growth.
That year the group’s operating profits are absolutely tanking, halving to 3.5 million euros. Operating profits are now a mere 1,4% of revenue. Remember original founder Mark Korzilius who talked about operating margins of 25% to 28% at the restaurant level? Yes, there are overhead costs for the organization that sits above the chain of restaurants, but operating margins that low indicates a course correction is needed. What’s telling is that in the annual report, in the management discussion section, the company starts talking about EBITDA as a proxy measure of profitability, rather than operating profit or net income. This wasn’t the case in the years before. Is this window dressing for an upcoming IPO? EBITDA is short for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization. How can you measure profitability of a restaurant chain that absolutely and unequivocally needs capital investment to maintain its restaurant operations, the very source of cash generation, by simply excluding this maintenance charge (depreciation in the income statement)? Vapiano’s own annual report talks about the fact that existing restaurants must be rejuvenated from time to time and that new interior designs have to be implemented every few years. These things wear and tear, they go out of style, kitchen equipment breaks and needs replacement. This business absolutely needs maintenance capital expenditure, why anyone talks of profits before these maintenance costs is beyond me. Fun fact: in the previous annual report EBITDA is mentioned seven times, mostly around restaurant acquisitions and financing, not however as a profit indication for the group. In the new annual report, EBITDA is mentioned 28 times. Maybe it’s just me but belated Charlie Munger liked to call EBITDA: bullsh*t earnings. When in doubt I stick with Charlie. Interestingly, EBITDA for Vapiano keeps growing while operating and net profits keep falling.
Operating cashflow for the group that year is about 21 million euros, but capital expenditure is 30 million and acquisitions for subsidiaries another 20 million. To finance these expenditures another 28 million euros of debt and 16 million of equity is raised. Net debt rises above 130 million euro. The operating cashflow of the group before any capital expenditures is 21 million euros. I am not sure free cash flow would be significantly positive after maintenance capex is paid out; it’s not broken out so we can’t be sure. Granted, I am not on the ground during this time, and I am not in the board room, I am simply reading what’s in front of me, but to me this is starting to look like a distressed situation. Regardless, the following year the company goes public.

IPO

Where are now in the year 2017 and its Vapiano’s first year as public company. The company’s annual report reads the following “Sales revenue, like-for-like growth (LfL) and the earnings figures EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are used as the most important financial performance indicators for controlling operational business activities.” The very same report however also says: “The majority of the group's investments regularly go towards opening new restaurant locations and modernizing existing restaurants. The latter are differentiated into regular replacement investments that occur during ongoing operations (Maintenance CAPEX) and fundamental investments in the renovation of a restaurant (Remodeling CAPEX). On average, a restaurant remodeling takes place nine years after opening.” It says it right there in their own report; every nine years a remodeling is taking place. Remodeling and updating is not cost free, so why exclude depreciation charges which reflect capital expenditures? I understand that perhaps you would want to strip out one-off opening costs, that’s fine and fair, but don’t go overboard.
The number of restaurants increases by 26 (previous year: 13) to a total of 205. The increase consists of 27 new openings and one closure. Group revenue grows to an astonishing 325 million euros but here comes the shocker, operating profits turn negative to 25 million. Fine, strip out foreign exchange losses of 3 million, IPO costs of 5.8 million and new opening costs of 6.1 million and you still have 10 million euros of operational losses. All the while the debt load of almost 130 million hasn’t materially changed, so those operating losses are before a six-million-euro interest payment. 184 million euros are raised through the IPO of which 85 million go to the company. This money is earmarked for further expansion as the group has ambitions to almost double the footprint to 330 restaurants by the end of 2020. The company is currently not profitable on an operating basis, and still wants to expand aggressively? I don’t get it. The remaining 100 million euros of the IPO money raised is distributed to co-founder Gregor Gerlach and Wella heirs Hans-Joachim and Gisa Sander. The family office of the former Tchibo owners Günter and Daniela Herz with a 44% stake, don’t sell a single share. After the IPO, 32% of all the company’s shares are now in free float.
One year later, in 2018, things get even worse. Revenue grows to 371 million, but operating losses mount to 85 million euros, that’s before interest expenses of 9 million. Even the beloved EBITDA figure turns negative, meaning the operating business before any expansionary or even maintenance capital expenditures is loss making. All regions are experiencing significant deterioration in their earnings profiles. Like for like sales are down 1% across the board. That’s revenue, not profitability. The question naturally arises: is the Group approaching its natural saturation point here or this operational by nature? The operating cash flow is now 9 million while financing cost are close to 7 million. That leaves 2 million for maintenance capital for 74 own restaurants and 76 joint ventures ones. Describing this as financially tight, would be an understatement.
Things are not looking good at this point. Yet the company still grows restaurants by 26 new sites. 64 million euros are spent on acquisitions, new openings, and maintenance costs, financed through a 20 million-euro equity raise and 72 million of new debt. The Company now has net debt outstanding of over 160 million euros. After the equity raise and by the end of the year 2018, Mayfair owns 47.4%, VAP Leipzig, Gregor Gerlach’s entity owns 18.9% and the Sander couple own 15.5% of the company. Yes, the Sanders and Gerlach may have taken 100 million euros off the table, but they still have substantial skin in the game. Plus, Mayfair hasn’t sold a single share and instead injects more money into the company through the equity round. The stock has now fallen from its IPO price of 23 euros per share to under 6 euros by the end of 2018. Something must be done here. And indeed, there is pivot in strategy and a hard push for change. At last, the management team abandons its aggressive growth plan and curtails new openings significantly. Additionally, the team wants to run a thorough analysis of weak locations to then either discontinue or sell sites. In Europe, the operating focus will be put on corporate restaurants and joint ventures in major cities to ensure the ideal size and location to match the respective demographic target group. Outside of Europe, the franchising business is being expanded and at the same time a consolidation of the existing corporate and joint venture markets is being sought. All future investments will be reviewed to achieve higher rates of returns on new openings. Investments are also being made in the renovation of older restaurants. The goal in the future is to also open smaller formats, like Mini-Vapianos (less than 400 square meters) or Freestander at prominent transportation hubs outside city centers (currently in Fürth and Toulouse) to cater to individual location requirements, and to enter new partnerships. I am not sure why management hasn’t stopped all expansion altogether, bringing the ship in order first, getting profitable, clean up, all hands-on deck before considering any further expansions whatsoever. But again, it’s easy to comment from the sidelines; maybe they saw white spaces that would be covered by competing concepts if they weren’t moving fast and aggressively enough. Although pushing internationally means competing with local players such as Jamie's Italian, Prezzo, Pizza Express, Wagamama, Nando's and many more which brings in its own dynamic.
Management also aims to enhance guest satisfaction. This involves refining operational processes, reorganizing the support center, and refocusing on the core offering: providing fresh and high-quality Italian food at affordable prices for a broad audience. The group also aims to reduce waiting times, especially during lunch, while also improving the evening atmosphere. There is even what I would call an evolution, away from Vapiano’s original concept, reorientating the customer journey. The ordering flow is being changed, offering guests synchronized preparations of all dishes while eliminating wait times at the cooking stations. The open show kitchen remains, staying true to original mantra of freshness and transparency but now guests can choose their preferred method of ordering through a mobile app, using a digital order point (kiosk), or by personally placing an order with a waiter. Guests can still freely choose their table and are then informed about the complete preparation of their order through a pager or their smartphone. This is a substantial deviation from the original concept, but a needed one. The group is also exploring and implementing the expansion of take-away and home delivery services but only at suitable locations, not universally across new openings. I am not sure why home delivery is even a priority here; it adds operational complexity. It’s better to clean up shop first and get back to the basics before adding new complexities. To be fair management does try to simplify. There are 49 different permanent dishes on the menu and additional 10 seasonal ones. Customers can choose from eleven different types of pasta. There is simply too much choice, and it makes orders complicated. The company announced to slim the menu down to its most popular and typical Vapiano dishes. There’s no need for an Asian salad at an Italian restaurant. "We have to go back to the roots, i.e. classic, honest Italian cuisine" says COO Everke. Regardless, in November of 2018, the supervisory board pulls the plug on CEO Jochen Halfmann and replaces him with Cornelius Everke. Everke himself has just become COO five months ago. Since 2017 he was responsible for international expansion. From 2011 to 2017 that role was filled by Mario Bauer – put a pin in that name, he’ll play a key role in the groups fate later. Then nine months later, in the middle of 2019, Cornelius Everke quits. He essentially concludes that his skillset and experience in the areas of internation expansion is no longer needed in the foreseeable future. To put it differently: Vapiano has moved from a growth story and has become a restructuring case, and other skills are required for that job. In June of 2019 Everke says the following “(we’ve) made a bit of a mistake when it came to foreign expansion”. No sh#t. Vapiano postpones the presentation of the 2018 annual financial statements three times in the spring of 2019, citing negotiations over an urgently needed loan of 30 million euros. It’s not until the end of May that a binding loan commitment comes through from the financing banks and major shareholders.
We are now in August of 2019 and the corona pandemic is just around the corner. Supervisory board chief Vanessa Hall takes over as interim-CEO and things are unravelling. Visitor numbers are declining; originally, it was planned to sell the US business but halfway through the year the buyer cannot come up with the money. But not all restaurants are performing poorly. The group's poor figures contrast starkly as an example with the experiences of the Swiss-German franchisee, who runs six restaurants. The Sodano family in Switzerland pays Vapiano a royalty of 6% of sales for the use of the brand. Enrico Sodano explains in an interview that they operate largely autonomously from the licensor. If an “accident” were to occur, he could immediately replace the Vapiano sign with Sodano, he says. The family concluded the rents and contracts with employees and suppliers independently. The Sodano family have six locations in Bern, Basel and Zurich, around one million guests every year and 350 employees. Things are going well on the ground. The delivery service they’ve built is offering them a second income stream. Expansion into Winterthur, St. Gallen and Lucerne are being planned; small locations with 150 to 250 square meters and an attached delivery service. Originally, Vapiano restaurants used to be huge but for such a large restaurant to be profitable, 800 to 1,000 guests per day are needed. That’s possible in medium-sized cities, but not in smaller towns which is why the Vapiano group now also supports smaller formats. Back to our corporate drama. The 2019 annual report would be the last report the group files. By the end 2019 the outstanding debt of the company is at an astronomical 450 million euros. Revenue has grown by another 7%, produced by four net new openings through two JVs and two franchise restaurants but operating losses come in at 317 million euros. That sound like an absolute shocker at first but depreciation and amortization charges are 345 million, so that operating cash flow is actually positive but unfortunately capital expenditures and interest payments are so large that they are eating up all of the company’s operating cash flow. Then in the beginning of 2020 Corona hits with full force and the world shuts down. As a result of the measures to prevent further spreading of the virus, the group is forced to cease all global business operations (except in Sweden). While all these shutdowns are happening, the group is the middle of negotiating with its lending banks and main shareholders. There are additional financing needs for restructuring measures, even without a pandemic happening in the background. The situation is so dire that the company starts pleading to the German government to roll out the package of financial help more quickly. Unfortunately, it’s to no end. The rapid closure of restaurants and the resulting lack of operating cash inflows in conjunction with the additional financing requirements, lead to the company’s final knockout punch. In April of 2020, the Vapiano group officially files for insolvency proceedings. The end of an era.

New Beginnings

Because of the pandemic, the majority of the group's subsidiaries in Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United States, Sweden, and China also file for insolvency or seek liquidation. The US business never gets sold in the end and is wound down. In the summer of 2020, significant group divestments occur, including the sale of 75% shares in the group's French subsidiaries, shares in franchisor companies, Australian subsidiaries, German subsidiaries, associated companies, self-managed restaurants in Germany, and insolvency-related sales in the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Sweden. The buyer of the Vapiano brand and one of these bundles of Vapiano restaurants is company named Love & Food Restaurant Holding, a consortium led by Mario C. Bauer – a name I told you to remember. Bauer was a former Vapiano board member and led the national and international expansion, opening 200 sites in 33 countries from 2011 to 2017 until he was succeeded by Cornelius Everke. Bauer didn’t feel comfortable with the IPO at the time but clearly has a lot of managerial and entrepreneurial talent.
The buyer consortium is an absolute A-Team comprised of European QSR top league hitters, including the founder of the Pret A Manger chain Sinclair Beecham; Henry McGovern, the founder and Ex-CEO of the giant international restaurant and foodservice operator AmRest; the Van der Valk Family that runs hotels and Vapiano restaurants in the Netherlands, and co-founder and ex-CEO Gregor Gerlach. The acquisition value is 15 million euros and entails 30 Vapiano restaurants in Germany, albeit that’s just the purchase price which comes on top of any capital investment needed to refresh and return the sites to its former glory. Nevertheless, just as a thought experiment, if you can get each site to 2 million euros of revenue and 400,000 euros in operating profit on average, which wouldn’t be an overly aggressively assumption given the company’s history, you’ve got yourself a package that can deliver restaurant-level operating profits of 12 million euros or more. It’s not disclosed how much capex was needed to refresh the operations, just that fact that the overall investment plus purchase price was a middle double-digit million-euro figure. Stil, it probably was a decent purchase. The same consortium buys Vapiano’s French business for 25 million euros just two weeks prior. After the transaction concludes, the master franchise is given to Delf Neumann and his Gastro & Soul GmbH. Neumann is an experienced operator, and he is ambitious to revitalise the brand with new services and products. For example, instead of pizza, the restaurants will be serving pinsa - a flatbread made from sourdough, wheat and rice flour, topped similarly to a pizza. It targets a more health-oriented customer base looking for a less calory heavy option. The menu overall is expanded by including a variety of vegan and vegetarian dishes.
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Today Neumann’s Gastro & Soul GmbH operates 18 Vapianos on its own account and has 29 franchise sites, amongst other brands. By the year 2021, Vapiano operates 191 restaurants in 34 countries. This is around 50 fewer sites than before the bankruptcy. The number of branches is particularly thinned out in Germany – from 80 to 55. Nevertheless, Vapiano's home country remains by far the largest market, followed by France with 35 restaurants and Austria with 15 locations. “We have shrunk ourselves to health,” says Bauer in the aftermath and there is no further shrinking planned. Quite the opposite, the smell of expansion is in the air again – pun intended. Not as aggressively as before and with a new menu and ordering process.
Overall, the team around Bauer is filled with industry experts with knowledge and networks gained over decades who have a great track record, a long-term view, and the staying power to let Vapiano breath and finds its way back to success. The pressure of being a public company with all the associated quarterly, half-year and yearly disincentives have been removed. The menu is changed and extended with new types of pasta and sauces with significantly more vegetarian and vegan dishes available. Guests can order with restaurant staff, at terminals or on their phones and there are barcodes attached to the tables identify the respective seat. The food is brought to your table, all at the same time if you are in a group, no more annoyances with waiting in line. There is a plan for smaller, 350 square meter locations, with half the number of guests and significantly fewer staff and less set-up costs required to make the economics work. Locations that capitalize on remote work and increased demand for local lunch options, higher population density with shorter delivery routes and therefore cost-effective in house delivery services are targeted. And Bauer is testing the concept of ghost kitchens, which operate without a dining room or service staff, focusing solely on preparing food for delivery services, which for obvious reasons have a very different operational set up and footprint. Original founder Mark Korzilius however is not entirely convinced. He is not a fan of the pinsa for instance and he considers Vapiano's pizza as its cash cow, flagship product and believes that the core Vapiano proposition of Pizza, Pasta, Bar that has given the company its original success is being diluted. He instead admires the competitor L'Osteria, saying they’ve done a better job by focusing on Italian classics, especially the impressively large pizzas that sticks out beyond the plate is leaving every customer in awe. The guys who run L’Osteria are the same guys who have built Vapiano with him in the first place. Bauer on the other hand, like a true business leader, remains undeterred, stating that he is frequently asked whether Vapiano's restart was bold or foolish. He believes in entrepreneurship, franchising, in his experienced fellow partners and importantly the Vapiano concept. By the year 2024 you can find over 140 Vapiano branded restaurant in 27 countries across the globe, including locations far away from its birthplace like Australia, USA, Columbia, Chile, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. And why not? Italian food is, and will remain to be, incredibly popular. Vapiano offers fresh and tasty food at affordable prices in a good atmosphere. This combination of attributes should attract a lot of customers. It certainly has in the past.
For more stories: WIP Thomas Weitzendoerfer Substack
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2024.05.14 12:40 Sweaty-Function4473 Bumped into LO, please help

Sooo my worst fear came true today, I bumped into LO 💀 I am NC, not following him on IG anymore (he is following me though, but I will change that soon), but I'm so shaken, I felt like my legs were going to give up on me. He didn't say anything, I'm sure he saw me though, we walked past each other.
I'm so embarassed. I was on my way to therapy (thank god, this was pretty much all we talked about today..), and not looking "nice." I know it doesn't matter, but still... It matters 😞 I hate that he saw me like this, wearing sweat pants and a tank top. I know I probably shouldn't leave the house like this to begin with but I'm not feeling great in general and didn't feel like putting the effort today. He was in a suit. 😞 This just triggered my thoughts of not having been enough, being less than.
Fuck me.. I wish I could move to another planet!! How do you handle this? How do I not let this event ruin the rest of the month (or.. year...)? Any tips appreciated, I feel so awful right now, I just want to dig a deep hole and die in it..
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2024.05.14 09:28 Loose_Nature3986 [LANDLORD ZA] Tenant Does not like im younger than him so every time I need to address and issue he gets all wobbly and tells me you wont speak to us like that.

So Im a fairly new landlord (35M) got a good deal on a property with 4 units on after moving into a tent for four months to help save for it. Now we been here about three years the tenants I inherited from the sale where great but they sadly passed away on a car crash. So after spending more than I can afford on renovations the new family moves in. First they keep on wanting to change the Depost agreement we altered out agreement twice and then still they came and told us they will pay the last of the Deposit when the have the money as it is their money anyway and does not affect us. I was like ,the F*cK it does affect us, so I said no that's not how it works.
If you feel that works for you, then great but not for us and it does not put allot of confidence in you as a tenant if you already cant pay what you agreed to. So This was a whatsapp conversation I think I sent the last part as a voice note. Next I have the guy (45M) saying I will not talk to his wife like that yada yada I said how many times must I talk politely before butting my foot down? Anyway I was able to de escilate it and we went on our business as they then paid the agreed final depost.
Fastwordard a few months. The Toilet pipe of their unit and the small one below is block they are on the same septic. I and. my care taker ended up digging up and unblocking it but low be hold TAMPONS came out. So some one had been flushing and it cause the block.. I address the lady in the smaller unit but she was only there for like a week and the pipe had been blocked pretty bad. So I asked my wife to message the tenants and say the pipe is blocked do to tampons they must not flush those things down the loo. The lady replied "Oh Ok" and That made me think well it was clreary them..
We fixed everything up and cleaned up. Later that night the tenant came down to discuss using my internet that they also agreed and did not pay for so I disconnected them. I mention to him that we unblocked the pipes and it was tampons if it happens again it will be at the cost of you guys as Im not digging through that shit again. Anyway this guy looses it getting in my face "AM I SAYING it WAS THEM" and the more I tell the guy relax let me finish he goes own again you wont speak to me like that and accuse US. When I was saying I hey I had a shit day dining through your SHIT next time its on you and Im the asshole! How do I deal with this tenant Would you Renew?
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2024.05.14 07:54 r3ditr3d3r The Progenitors

I had this dream recently, it was very detailed. Like the plot of a movie. I can't stop thinking about it. I wish I had kept dreaming to learn more... Came here because I had to document it.
My dream;
I was an observer, not a participant. I was transported back to ancient Egypt. There was a confrence of sorts. A large body of people, maybe a governmental body? had gathered to hear a person make the case to the Queen that he knew how to find and access an ancient treasure. From my perspective, I got to see over his shoulder as he showed a map to the Queen. The place in question was a weathered and worn pyramid like structure that was more akin to a massive mound or a small mountain. It was somewhere within the borders of Egypt, in the wilds. But this man knew where it was, he was an engineer or something. Excitedly he explained how they could access the chamber inside the top of this mountain. He showed diagrams of the tunneling they would undertake, to dig up from the base of the mountain and into the chamber from below. He explained that there were already small cave systems with entries at the base of the mountain, which indicated to him that this was indeed the site of ancient activity, and from which he would gain a great advantage in his endeavor.
From my 3rd person perspective, I could see what he was talking about clearly. And indeed, an ancient chamber existed in what appeared to be a mountain that was roughly the shape of a steep pyramid. I was unable to discern what lay inside. As the Queen blessed off on his plans, and the congress of people within the large gathering area began to approach in order to better acquaint themselves with the plan, I was suddenly transported to an even more ancient time.
Now, keep in mind I started this journey in ancient Egypt. So, from this point I transported thousands of years further into the past. I was under the impression that it had been 25,000 years prior to the scene I had just witnessed.
Now I was suddenly observing the ancient civilization that had created the chamber. I sensed I was in the same region that would someday be Egypt. The land was verdant and deep green with long grasses and dotted with trees, not unlike a very lush savannah. The temperature was balmy. Greens with a brilliant blue sky dominated the scene. In the distance dark brown rocky spires rose out of the landscape, dotted on the tops and upon their outcroppings hung trees and grasses.
My focus settled on a cluster of large, pyramid-like structures. I saw these from above as the new scene came into my focus and observation. The structures were, as I said, Pyramid like. But imagine the wire structure of a pyramid. They weren't solid. Vertically, the pyramid was segmented into 2 or 3 tiers of broad walkways. The walkways formed a square. In the middle were the stairways that led up to the various tiers of walkways. All elements of the structures were broad. The beams that made up the four edges were made a very thick, dark gray material. Like a carbon fiber. The walkway floors were like a dark tinted transparent material, with side walls/rails that were made of the same material as the walkways. There were four stairways from the ground that led up to an intermediate platform, where the stairways reversed direction up to the walkways, therefore each ground stairway entry onto the intermediate platform was flanked on either side by a set of stairs leading the opposite way up to the main platforms.
On the broad walkways/platforms, which were open in the middle to look down at the intermediate platform/stairways below, were people. Humans. Working and living on the platforms. It appeared that there were vendors and shops/kiosks. There also appeared to be living accommodations either out in the open or sheltered in smaller sub structures. The pyramid was massive, with ample room for several 100's of people. I never got close enough to see in detail the people themselves, but they wore what appeared to be modern clothing, and in many cases what appeared to be dark gray uniforms. I didn't see the details, but I sensed vehicles at the base of the pyramid, with worn paths through the grasses off to points in the distance and other similar pyramids in the vicninity.
From my perspective, it seemed there were 3 to 4 of these structures in the area. In the back of my head, I was aware that this region contained the only human activity on the surface on the planet.
I was also aware of the presence of a large body of water. An ocean somewhere in the distance.
Without transition I was suddenly looking at the ancient mound that had been in question at the beginning of my dream. Except it wasn't ancient. It was manufactured and sculpted by human hands. It was made as much out of rock as it was the same material I saw at the modern pyramids, I had this awareness that the material was transitioning to rock, as if it adopted the properties of the materials it was attached to. It seemed as if they had somehow shaved down a larger mountain to affect the shape that they had sought. The chamber had large slits around the circumference (the chamber within was round) which let light in and in some cases allowed one to look out at the surrounding landscape.
I was made aware of a family as I took in this scene. The family apparently were the caretakers of this facility. Two adults and two children. They seemed happy. The parents both wore the uniform I had seen earlier. It was sharp, and colored dark grey with light grey accents. They had a living quarter that was affixed to the side of the facility in a way I couldn't quite understand. The structure also seemed metalic but not the same material as I had seen thus far. In this part of the dream I became well acquainted to them, not personally, but in understanding their day to day activities, giving way to my understanding of them as caretakers.
As my perspective moved through the facility I realized there was not yet a treasure, but what appeared to be supplies for a colony. Lots of cans of fuel and food stuffs and other random equipment that I couldn't understand the use of. From my 3rd person perspective I understood that this would be the site that the future Egyptians would eventually access, and indeed there would be some valuable treasure, the contents of which eluded my understanding, held within this very chamber after it had long been sealed.
I got to see the detailed life of this family, and interestingly their living accomodation which as I said was somehow affixed to the side of the chamber in a way that I couldn't discern or undesrtand, which itself was atop the mountain/structure. Beyond, visible through the large windows of their living quarters was the ocean that I had sensed earlier. Their living chamber was large and spacious. The side opposite the chamber was facing a dark greenish/gray roiling ocean, with yet still more spires in the distance sticking out of its waves - except these were dark grey, craggy and devoid of any vegetation. The waves that crashed at their bases seemed angry. I understood immediately that this was an ancient ocean that would not exist during the time of the Egyptians
I was surprised to see a platform outside the large windows which docked vehicles. They appeared to be classic ATVs (like your average four-wheel ATV with handlebars) except these vehicles, despite their four wheels had some apparatus affixed to it, around its entire circumference that I immediately understood allowed this vehicle to fly using some method I could not understand. There was a name brand affixed to what I understood to be the gas tank, a name which I can't recall. But it indicated mass production and greater civilization.
I was suddenly aware of the presence of multiple chamber mountains on either side of the one I was observing, and each had a care-taker family with one or multiple of these vehicles. And still, it felt like there could be more facilities that I was not aware of. For some reason, having observed these vehicles I suddenly came to an understanding that the presence of these people, and the infrastructure they had built, was in support of some sort of mining or extraction. That everything was one collective enterprise. I was not privy to what it was, or how involved it was, how long it would take or had taken to that point. But I did have the sudden understanding that, though these were humans, they were not from earth. That this was a mining colony that had a certain amount of time to accomplish whatever it was they were sent here to extract.
Simultaneously, I was able to understand vaguely a connection between this people, and future humans. Without understanding the details, I discerned that this group would eventually leave, and the landscape would be altered forever. They would leave a presence on earth, whether by accident, or on purpose, it was unclear to me.
That presence would be the progenitors of modern humans and human civilization as we currently know it. It seemed apparent to me that whatever contingent was left behind after this enterprise would have very little in the way of the technology that I was observing.
This gave me the distinct suspicion that the people who were left were done so by some tragic mistake. But their stories, passed down from generation to generation would at the very least influence the ancient Egyptians. So much so that they themselves would try to emulate the pyramids they had come to understand had existed through the tribal knowledge passed down through generations. And that future peoples would understand that untold wealth and knowledge existed deep within the ancient mountains that had been carved out by the progenitors, thus the initial scenes of my dream where one man and his team of engineers had narrowed down their search and had pinpointed such a mountain, and devised a way that would allow them to access said treasure.
What that treasure would be remained unclear to me throughout the entire dream.
My dream slowly decayed into other less interesting and focused things until I woke up. The progenitors stuck with me and I felt compelled to write it out as it was so fascinating. I had to share.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far.
submitted by r3ditr3d3r to Dreams [link] [comments]

2024.05.13 18:59 DoGsPaWsLoVe Sunday 05/12/24: 15 Posts

Here is the recap of the 15 monetized posts from Kylea G Weight loss Journey on 05/12/24.
Disclaimer: I am not a physician, influencer, or paid content creator. I am not affiliated with WW. I am semi-retired from healthcare with multiple college degrees. These opinions are my own based on social media content. I wish no harm to Kylea or Joseph "Joe" Gomez.
☎️ If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, please call or text 988 for assistance.
The tagline of Kylea G Weight loss Journey is, "I changed my life with prayer and a playlist of songs. No surgery, no meds. Just Jesus."
DAILY STATS 05/12/24:
0/15 posts discussed prayer
1/15 posts discussed music (summer concerts)
0/15 posts discussed exercise
2/15 posts shared a recipe
3/15 posts were about something she ate or drank
1/15 posts was about food being fuel
1/15 posts was a tribute to Gibson Moon
1/15 posts was about Kylea packing a backpack
1/15 posts was about her pet cat
2/15 posts were about Joe liking bacon and Whataburger
3/15 posts were a tribute to her sweet momma
📢 For our friends at Meta, that means >53% of her monetized content had nothing to do with weight loss, which is the tagline and purpose of her page.
⚠️ Disordered Eating- Daily Food Consumption (Data compiled from monetized content):
0 WW Points: Hot Coffee. No protein shake or almond milk is described
0 WW Points: SalTea Sloth Loaded Strawberry, Watermelon, and Coconut Tea with 1/4 scoop "energy" (caffeine and other additive/chemicals);
4 WW Points: G Hughes Sweet & Spicy Shredded Crockpot Chicken, Cooked Red Potatos & Roasted Corn with spray vegetable oil.
25 WW Points: Great American Iced Cookie Cake Slice
📢 For our friends at Meta, that means Kylea consumed 4 WW points of her (up to) 30 WW point daily allowance and used 25 of her 28 weekly points on a sweet treat= Disordered Eating. This will be explained in more detail below. Please follow your policies on eating disorders and take action against Kylea Gomez.
Recipes Shared for Joe:
  1. Cherry Cheesecake Overnight Oats
  2. Pretzel Salad
📢 Joe is not on WW and prefers calorie-dense foods (per her content). Why post recipes of items she will not eat and Joe does not prefer?
🚨 Please speak with a medical professional about any questions or concerns you have about your health.
Comments: Although Kylea tried to focus her content on Mother's Day, the focus shifted to triggering food content and deadly messaging on the topic.
⚠️ Binge Eating, Compulsive Buying Disorder (CBD), aka shopping addiction, Death, Disordered Eating, Food Addiction, Gaslighting, Grief, Pregnancy Loss, and Religion will be discussed.
☮️ Today's discussion will be heavy. Please bow out at any time. Your mental health is more important than my comments.
Gibson Moon: Kylea kicked off the day early with this triggering post (she did not use a disclaimer), "Happy Mother's day to the momma's whose babies live in heaven with my sweet boy." An angel wing ornament with Gibson Moon and 9-5-22 is shown. She did not disclose this was an early pregnancy loss, leading followers to believe she lost a living child.
Using the Cat for Content: Kylea is feeling "a lot better" and will only have 1 cup of coffee today and "continue focusing on water." 🤔
Countdown to Concerts: Kylea is excited to "wear my pink boots again" at future summer concerts and "Just 18 days until I take Joseph to see Hardy." Kylea is a master at emasculating Joe with subtle digs. "...until I take Joseph to see Hardy." Please disregard the fact she travels to California tomorrow and getting a puppy in 1 week. I'm convinced she is not capable of living in the present moment.
SalTea Sloth to the Rescue: Why drink water when you can drink thrice-flavored tea with a caffeinated "energy" boost to cure your illness? 😉 This was Joseph's gift to her for Mother's Day.
Tribute to her Sweet Momma: Kylea praises her momma in a series of posts today. A quantity of fresh flowers to equal the 3 decades of her being a mother, a giant iced cookie cake, and gift bag (unknown contents) with a backyard BBQ and a new inflatable hot tub + previous all-expense paid cruise, wardrobe, and accessories were necessary to prove her love and adoration. 💰💖
Joe Loves Bacon & Whataburger: Joe's weight rapidly fluctuated in pictures today. 👀 He was the grill master with a pile of bacon, burgers (not shown), and then goofily posed in front of the unopened Whataburger. (He will be eating there tomorrow.) Remember Joe has not gained ANY weight and eats what he wants. Kylea triggers her followers on purpose for monetary gain. The fact that Meta is paying for this content on a weight loss page is a head scratcher.
The big finale: This is the time to bow out if triggered on the topic of disordered eating. My words will be harsh.
Kylea wants you to believe she has been extremely ill with nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. She consumed a Loaded Tea and brought her own low WW point chicken to a family barbecue. She shows a picture of a large Iced Cookie Cake she purchased. She shows a large piece she eats for 25 WW points. Here we go...
Follower: "That looks good was it worth the points?"
Kylea: "I just see food as food. So it was fine. 💖"
⏸️ This is gaslighting. Kylea has a serious eating disorder. She chooses not to use her WW daily points and obsesses about planning for and obtaining her weekly calorie-dense TREAT.
Food is Fuel Speech: "Hey friends I haven't really had the energy lately to explain, but I view all food as food and not a treat. Green beans, brownies, chicken- it's all food to me. That's the way I feel has helped me the most to completely reform my relationship with food. Fuel. No matter what. 💖 It's all about balance."
Follower: "Yummmm! They got us cupcakes at work, I had to indulge."
Kylea: "I don't look at dessert in that way, to me it's just food. 💖💖"
⏸️ Kylea loves to rate her meals, desserts and treats 10/10 and wants you to mimic her choices.
Follower: "Everyone needs a sweet treat! Your awesome! Enjoy and celebrate your Mom! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️"
Kylea: "I don't use the word treat, just food! 💖💖"
⏸️ This is a lie. Throughout a large portion of her monetized weight loss journey, Kylea used the word "treat" in her content. Somewhere along the way, that word became a trigger for her.
Follower: "Good philosophy. I need to lose obsession with food as comfort and companion."
Kylea: "I did on July 5 of 2021.💖"
⏸️ This is potentially deadly messaging. Kylea wants you to believe she received divine intervention when she wept at the feet of Jesus in July 2021 inside a bath tub (she also claims she could not fit in). She wants you to believe that in that moment, the chains of her 20-year binge eating/food addiction (two separate issues she uses interchangeably) were broken, and she has had a perfect journey since. She is desperate for you to believe she has had no cravings, no setbacks, or plateaus, and has not gained ANY weight since reaching her goal in July 2023. This is a lie proven through her own content.
Many artificial sugars are sweeter than natural sugar. She is addicted to "sweet" and fulfills her cravings daily. She "plans" for calorie-dense sugar bombs weekly and tries to claim treats are medically necessary to jump-start weight loss, keep her out of ketosis, prepare her body for pregnancy...
If food is just food and it is all fuel, why do diseases and conditions like diabetes, hypertension, strokes, and heart attacks occur? Why is there an epidemic of morbid obesity? Foods are not and will never be on a level playing field. Kylea has provided no proof of formal education in medicine, nutrition, health, or wellness. Stop looking to UNeducated influencers for your health and wellness advice. Her motive is to make money. Otherwise, the stats and comments I provide in these daily and weekly recaps would tell a different story.
Kylea has gained weight, and it is obvious, even through highly modified photos. She stopped showing her scale pictures, started wearing larger clothing, spandex tank tops and shorts, became defensive about body shaming, and either hides or shows clothing tags (depending on her mood). She lives in fear of the scale and the truth.
Follower 1: "How? I'm struggling so bad."
Follower 2: "I'm struggling as well! All I think about is food."
Kylea: "finding healthy coping skills"
⏸️ In what world are extramarital affairs, mocking, blocking, and doxxing followers, an out of control shopping addiction, disordered eating, boasting and complaining about your 18+ hour work days 24/7/365, constantly running away from your problems (frequent travel), and inappropriate parasocial relationships with musicians and the Basham & Lee's healthy coping skills? Someone, please explain it to me.
Kylea, you need holistic care from a team of medical professionals. They are not the enemy. People of faith should not feel shame for seeking medical care. It is time to put your devices down and prioritize your health. ☮️
Takeout Purchase: SalTea Sloth Tea with Energy= $8 est + tip;
Shopping: Blue Hydrangea= $24.82 est; *Fresh Cut 2 Dozen Roses= $39.94 est; Iced Cookie Cake= $44.99 est; Items in gift bag= Unknown;
*I do not feel there were 36 roses in the vase.
All info from Reddit. ✌️
submitted by DoGsPaWsLoVe to KyleaGomezsnark [link] [comments]

2024.05.13 18:14 OpALbatross Potential to buy family land cheap and build - what to consider?

Hello!
TLDR: I don't know if I want to stay on the land we are living on, but don't want to see it destroyed or sold out of the family. Try to buy closer to the city, or build in the country?
My mom owns our house and land. She has decided that if / when my husband and I move, she wants to bulldoze the house, log the land and then sell it. It's 12.5 acres in the mountains.
This land has been in our family since the 1800s (my dad's side). It's where I grew up. We already bought our funeral plots 20 minutes away, so are committed to staying in the surrounding area. We love the land, but don't like the house currently on it. I tear up when I think about the land being destroyed.
My mom said she would be open to selling the land to us, not at market value (so I'm assuming under market. She also said she wouldn't need the money up front, because she knows the cost to build and get it more livable would be high). She also said she didn't think we would want to live here. Right now she lets us live here for free (previously since my husband was in school, now because I'm in school, and she doesn't need our money. We are incredibly thankful for this). We aren't sure if we would want this area to be the forever home. There are a ton of pros and cons.
The land is near a pipeline being constructed, currently has no cell phone service, and poor Internet (but that could change). It is a rural community with lots of people with rural, conservative views. We get snowed in easily. There are a ton of trees that block out the light, and a ton of deer so gardening would be a challenge.
My husband and I are liberal. I'm bi. We love our new neighbors though, and are related to most of the others (even if they are more conservative. People usually keep to themselves).
It's a 35-40 minute drive to the closest city... Gym, groceries, schools... You're basically driving 30 minutes to get to anything. But it's quiet and beautiful and home.
It's not in the school district we were considering, but it is in the one we went to. We both feel good about the education we received. We likely couldn't be the hang out house like we wanted for when we have kids (since it is so far out of the way).
It could limit employment options, but my husband really likes his company and they are well established. I'm studying graphic design (I graduate in two years) so will have the ability to freelance. The plan is for me to stay home with kids (if possible).
The current build would need torn down. It has fundamental problems that are more expensive to fix than the home is worth. It has a well, but that may need fixed. It almost certainly will need a new septic tank by then. We would basically have to tear everything down and start from scratch.
My husband is an electrical engineer. In a few years, he will likely be certified to design and sign off on electrical plans, so could likely do that aspect of our house. My father in law does a ton of home building and had added buildings / additions to his home that are beautiful and well crafted. My husband had helped him with that before. Because of this, there is a chance we could do some of the work ourselves / within the family.
We would likely need to level more of the land. My husband and I would also want a spot to build a shop, and potentially a greenhouse. The soil is pretty rocky so building a fence isn't super feasible (to contain children, dogs, etc. - we have gotten several people to look into it and each one said not possible).
We would want to build an eco-friendly, mostly off the grid home. The trees would likely make solar panels less effective, but cutting the trees would likely make the soil less "secure."
My husband and I have talked at length about how much we would love to one day build our own eco-friendly home. We figured we'd never be able to afford the land and the build. Buying this "discounted" land may be our best hope at this dream, even if it isn't perfect.
Home prices in the areas we looked are crazy and come on tiny lots. I'm honestly not sure which is the more affordable option, or which we would be happier with. We would be looking to build or buy in the next 2-3 years.
Is building a home more expensive than buying an existing construction? If so, how much more expensive? Are there ways to make it cheaper? How did you decide what route to take? Can first time home buyer / veteran home loans be used for construction? Are there more pros / cons that maybe I haven't considered? How did you decide to build / buy?
Any advice / insight would be appreciated.
submitted by OpALbatross to Homebuilding [link] [comments]

2024.05.13 16:17 happy_nicu_nurse How to secure the layer of screen so she can't burrow around it?

How to secure the layer of screen so she can't burrow around it?
I set up a new 4x2x2 bioactive habitat for my lovely Cornelia. She absolutely loved it! Charged in, started exploring, climbed and snooped and had a blast. Then she burrowed into the substrate and disappeared.
Well, snakes burrow, right? So I left her to enjoy digging for a while. After a few hours, though, I felt like I needed to double check that she was okay. I ended up moving a number of things and even uprooting a couple of plants before I found her.
She had managed to find a teeny space where she could nudge past the screen layer, and had gotten wedged under it. She was fine, but stuck. I gently pulled her out and she spent 10 minutes clinging tightly to my neck to warm up before she started her usual happy exploring of my arms, etc. I feel like I've traumatized her.
So, she's back in the old tank, and I need to reengineer her new viv a bit. Any suggestions on how to secure that mesh layer so she can't get her silly self into trouble again?
submitted by happy_nicu_nurse to cornsnakes [link] [comments]

2024.05.13 16:11 Penniesonthedollar Planting Emerald/Giant Arborvitae above septic system

Planting Emerald/Giant Arborvitae above septic system
https://preview.redd.it/f1lrdjx2b70d1.png?width=718&format=png&auto=webp&s=afc6813e3bdc5c93c1ff18c1ffa5ce3403622960
I've gotten this drawing of the septic tank/seepage pit in our front yard. I'm wanting to make a hedge row of emerald or giant arborvitae across the front yard parallel to the street. Hard to tell but I think it might end up above the seepage pit. I've no idea how deep any of this stuff is, or how to find out easily since I don't know their exact locations. Can anyone advise on if giant or emerald arborvitaes could pose problems in this situation or if their root systems typically don't interfere with these systems at their typical depths?
submitted by Penniesonthedollar to landscaping [link] [comments]

2024.05.13 13:26 FarmWhich4275 An Alien Plays... Subnautica (Part 1)

"Great days and glorious victory! My name is Spifflemonk and welcome to my Letsplay! Today I am back from my medically mandated break from playing human videogames after a rather... cathartic experience with a game called Teardown. Subnautica, even among humans, is labeled as a notorious experience with... mixed reception for its sequel. A survival crafting game apparently. I have experience with those so presumably the gameplay loop should be predictable enough. So... Let's go in!"
Spiffle starts the game, going for standard Survival Mode, with aspects of food and water mechanics alongside health and oxygen. The game loads very, very fast with Spiffles overpowered computer, and the introduction sequence begins. The camera pans to the panicked sight of the payer character moving down a ladder followed by a sight of a starship above exploding.
"Oh dear... oh dear! They weren't kidding about survival! Do I even survive this or am I a ghost or something..."
The pod rattles, the screen shakes, a fire extinguisher falls from its mounting. Velocity causes the pod to dislodge a panel from a wall and it flies around the cabin. The panel flies into the player's screen, making it go black.
"Oh... well okay then. I uh... well."
Spiffles' character awakens and panics at the buttons securing him to the seat. Spiffle quickly figures out that fire in this game is in fact bad, and grabs the fire extinguisher, putting the fire out. The game's introduction plays, showing his PDA, the game's inventory UI.
"Oh! I have seen these things in real life when visiting human stations! Do all humans have these?"
Spiffle starts exploring the escape pod, noting all of the damage to the radio beacon and the wiring panel.
"Hmm... craft the repair tool... Well... For later I suppose. Now how do i-AH, the ladder!"
Spiffle clicks on the ladder and goes through the animation. The character exits and dramatically stands. Spiffle looks around. His face visibly pales as he looks in every direction, finding the only thing nearby that looks 'safe’ or like 'land' is the destroyed ship in the distance.
"Water... it's... water... everywhere! How big is this game's map!? Structural hull failure... zero human lifesigns detected. That's.. not nice. Well... Here we go!"
Spiffle jumps into the water. His mood changes, the underwater environment significantly different than above ground. The water is absolutely teeming with life and color, as Spiff swims towards a reef to stare at some coral. Spiff gets distracted and starts chasing a fish, specifically a Peeper, and grabs it.
"Oh! Good god! THAT'S how humans catch fish!? That's very... inefficient! What is this thing? Can I eat it? I know I'm supposed to take care of my food and water, so how do I eat it?"
Spiffle wanders about for a while, gathering resources and exploring his general location, eventually getting back to the pod. He had gathered up a decent amount of stuff while he was swimming around and accessed the Fabricator to see what was available.
"Ah! I see, the fabricator cooks things too. Uhm... cooked fish thing and... these transparent fish give me water bottles? Okay then! Well. Sorted for food anyway. Let's see. Copper wire, batteries. A Scanner? Does that mean I can like, scan things and tell what they are? And... Oxygen tank? Oh hell yes. I'll build that then."
Spiffle goes through the process of building a few things, checking out how the game's crafting system works, and spending more time collecting resources. He quickly realizes how much work he has to do and finally finishes making a Scanner.
"Okay then well... I can see how much time is going to be spent collecting resources so i'm going to edit all of that out and keep you all in the loop on all the fun parts instead."
Spiffle continues playing, inserting a creative, albeit mildly annoying fanciful scene transition in between resource loops. He comes to a cave looking for salt to make more equipment, when he encounters the first hostile enemy of the game: The Crashfish. He does not notice it at first, the strange sloppy noise it makes as its pod opens, the beast makes a terrible gurgly noise and charges straight at him.
"What is that noi-AH! OY! OI! OIIII what are you what are-!"
Spiffle is cut off as the fish explodes, causing him to lose half his health. He quickly surfaces and takes a breath.
"Okay then... OKAY... THAT... makes absolutely no sense from an evolutionary perspective... but okay then. Avoid those. What even was that? I can't even scan it because it was moving so fast! Gods... exploding fish."
Spiffle shakes his head and resumes his hunt for resources, eventually finding enough for a repair tool. He makes the repair of the pods' broken wiring and looks around a bit more, noting some of the details in the game.
"Hard to believe these games are over eight hundred years old! I keep getting requests to play 'them gud ol' gamez' instead of any new releases. Maybe I'll get to those eventually. I have quite the backlog though."
Spiffle quickly tabs out and shows the huge list of human made games on his list that he has been gifted or purchased himself. The list includes Space Marine, Starship Troopers, Spyro Trilogy, Crash Bandicoot, and so... so many more.
"I am also told about this thing called 'anime', whatever that is. Maybe I should look into that. Anyway..."
Spiffle shrugs for now and resumes playing, swimming around for a bit before finally deciding to use his scanner. He gets the first scan - the Acid Mushroom - and painstakingly reads the supplied article. He then goes on a scanning frenzy, scanning each thing he can find, comically chasing after various fish and objects, trying to scan them then taking an irritatingly long time to read the article aloud.
He gets to the point where he encounters his first real hostile enemy and tries to scan it. The stalker, of course, doesn't appreciate that, and attacks.
"Oooh what's this thing? Oh lovely, it's a big one. Can I scan it? The... Stalker? Oh okay is it friend-OW! NONONONO go away!"
Spiffle panics and scans it while running away from it, trying to swim backwards. He's so focused on scanning it he can't run far enough away that he gets ambushed by another Stalker nearby and manages to scan it just as he gets hit with his first Death in the game.
"Oh.... o...kay. Well... it seems things aren't as friendly as expected. I'm going to guess there's more things like that around. So... I'm just going to finish working on repairs and equipment then I'll take those things on."
Spiffle reads the article on the Stalker he scanned and spends more time collecting resources, scanning local entities and building the rest of the gear he has. Fins, high capacity O2 tank, rebreather and some more food and water which he stores in floating containers for later. He starts to explore a bit farther in search of fragments to scan and finds a Sand Shark, as well as a biome resembling a desert-like area. He encounters his first piece of the wrecked ship here.
"Oh! Hello! Pieces of wreckage! What are these for now do you suppose? Can I disassemble these for resources or-Oh! Is that a door? Oh! I'm supposed to go in here and look for things? How do I get in? Oh I can't. I need a laser cutter. Is one of those here? Need more fragments I guess..."
Spiffle gives up trying to enter and goes up for air, then returns to the floor to hunt for fragments. He eventually unlocks the Bioreactor, pieces of the Scanner room, a couple fragments of the Seaglide and Seamoth. He comes across the first cave entrance to the Mushroom Caves Biome.
"Oh... oh my. That's... deep. Good thing I unlocked the Seamoth thing. Its a miniature submarine I think. I can use that. But that's... kinda scary. I can't see the bottom. I kinda see just... purple. Mostly purple. But it scares me that I can't see the bottom."
Spiffle hangs around the cave entrance for a bit before a call for Oxygen forces him to the surface. He swims back down to the cave entrance and then hangs around a bit longer before once again resurfacing, heading for some new things to scan. It is however at this point that Spiffles exploration is cut short.
"EMERGENCY - SEISMIC READINGS SUGGEST A QUANTUM DETONATION HAS OCCURRED IN THE AURORA'S DRIVE CORE. THE CENTRAL DARK MATTER REACTOR WILL REACH A SUPERCRITICAL STATE IN -"
The computer aboard the PDA shakes Spiff out of his daze and he quickly rushes to the surface and looks at the ship.
"Wait wait wait what's that!? What's going on!? I see the ship? The Aurora! That's what its name is? Whats a Dark Matter reactor and wha-"
The computer continues its countdown muffled by Spiffs panicked squealing and he has a front-row seat to one of the most spectacular explosions in the history of gaming - the Aurora's Reactor Detonation.
It happens. The world goes dead silent for a short moment, and one can see Spiffles heart visibly stop beating. Then explosion as the Aurora lets out its magnificent blast. As the shockwave expands outwards, Spiffs skin visibly turns a paler shade of blue, and his eyes go wide. The sound of a geiger counter follows, leaving him breathless and pale as the world suddenly goes dead quiet again. The sound of the geiger counter ominously leaving him shaken even more than he already is.
"FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE - THE RADIATION SUIT HAS BEEN ADDED TO YOUR BLUEPRINTS."
Spiffle stays completely silent, bobbing in the water for a solid few minutes, staring in shocked wonder at what he just witnessed. He regains his composure for a few short moments and returns to his scanning venture, but one can easily see he isn't in the right mind after that. He returns to the seabed, at the entrance to the mushroom caves and dives again. He does this several more times, popping up to the surface, looking at the shipwreck, then diving at the entrance again. Finally, after much hesitation, he dives one last time.
"Screw it. it's just a game right?"
He smiles at the camera with a shrug and swims far below the surface, into one of the caves. As he enters the cavern his jaw drops at the sight of a massive underwater cavern filled with gigantic glowing pink mushrooms. The Mushroom caves as they are known. He spots something in the distance, entranced, forgetting his oxygen situation. He cant get far however and a terrifying shriek of some unknown entity shakes him out of his stupor.
"What in the red dawn was that noise!?"
Spiff can't finish asking his invisible audience what's going on as he strays too close to a mushroom, occupied by a Crab Snake, a gigantic sea worm. He is grabbed from behind, spun around and he visibly panics as the giant worm digs its enormous tusks into Spiffles character. Spiffle immediately freaks out, a combination of both the terrifying shriek emitted by the creature and the shock of being attacked makes poor Spiffle jump out of his seat and duck under the table.
"GOWAYGOWAYGOWAGOWAYGOWAY!!!"
The worm comes back and finishes Spiff off before his oxygen runs out. Spiff's character respawns but the footage continues, a slight whimper can be heard in the background as Spiff hides under the desk. This carries on for a few minutes, and his head very slowly appears above the desk. He gingerly puts himself back in his seat and breathes heavily for a bit. When he finally gains control, he tabs out of the game and takes a look at the wiki for Subnautica. He returns a few moments later and stares at the camera in that strange haunting glare he's become so famous for.
"WHY DO YOU STUPID DEVELOPERS NOT PUT GUNS IN THE GAME IF YOU HAVE SHIT LIKE THAT!? ARE YOU INSANE!?"
He grabs the camera and shakes it violently as he rants at it, questioning why there are guns in every other human game he has played and not THIS specific game, especially considering how there are 'giant water snake monsters that eat your face' in a game with no guns. He rants for a good minute or two then plays his outro.
TOP COMMENT: "Are you absolutely sure after Teardown, Factorio and Project ZOMBOID, you should be playing Subnautica? I mean seriously, try something less... psychologically terrifying. It's known as Thalassophobia Simulator for a reason."
_______________________________________________________________
"Great days and glorious victory! My name is Spifflemonk and I still don't understand why we have giant worm monsters but we have no guns!"
Spiffle stares at the camera with an expression that can only be summarized as 'Seriously bruh?' and resumes his last playthrough. He becomes confused at the lack of stuff in his inventory.
"Why is my... Why do I not ha-Oh right... I was eaten. When you die your inventory is wiped... I need to build more tools then."
Spiffle starts some silly music, an alien version of Benny Hill to a montage of him collecting resources, occasionally ranting at various oddities and questioning game logic. He restores all of his tools then goes hunting for a Vehicle Bay fragment so he can build the Seamoth. He continues to scan what he can, developing something of an obsession with the task, then painstakingly reading every word about it to try and understand it. It is at this point Spiffle, during his explorations finds another derelict chunk of ship near the desert region, encountering his first Sand Shark.
"What... What is this? Oh... careful Spiff. This one looks angrier than the last one you found. Wh-What in oblivion!?"
Spiffles attention is once again diverted by the appearance of a Reefback Leviathan and its signature low drone. This one appears to be a fully grown adult.
"You-you... You've got to be... You gotta be fucking kidding me. A Juhara Eelfish!? WHAT IS THAT DOING IN A HUMAN VIDEOGAME!!!??"
Spiffle squeaks in shock as he sees a creature that is an absolute spitting image of a large oceanic dwelling sea creature, which is both the games and his native homeworlds version of a Whale. The Reefback has some dissimilarities, but its close enough to the real thing that Spiffle is genuinely shocked. He quickly pauses the game, opening various wikipedia articles, then displays a full picture of both Subnautica in game Reefback, and the Juhara-Kal-Rehar, colloquially known as a Juhara Eelfish, a shockingly similar creature that lives in his homeworlds oceans.
The only difference between them is the color of the exterior chitin shell. The Reefback has a blue/purple shell, the Juhara Eelfish's chitin has a red/green shell.
"WHEN was this game made!?"
Spiff checks, the current Earth-date is the year 2886. Humanity only entered the galactic community in 2752. Subnautica was released in 2018.
"HOW.... How is that even possible!? You didn't even know the galaxy existed until only a few decades ago, yet you almost PERFECTLY matched the appearance of one of our homeworlds native species! How is this even possible!? Okay. If the name matches then I have to call bullshit."
Spiffle approaches and scans it, then reads the data article.
"A... Reefback Leviathan? Oh thank God... Now let's see... A herbivorous creature that... that likely got so large due to the fact that its predators went extinct. Well... that's... okay... A hard chitinous shell of multiple layers, a microcosm of different creatures and flora growing from its back, hence the name. Hmmm..."
Spiffle gets that cold, empty stare on his face and glares menacingly at the camera. The screen goes black, then returns, seeing Spiffle nursing a beverage of some kind while wrapped in a blanket.
"I realized something... Call it a message from the Ancestors or a Divine revelation. But I have a funny feeling this isn't going to be the last time I see a creature from the galaxy represented in human media. I hope to the Gods that doesn't happen... the concept of this situation is nothing short of terrifying. In any case, I'm sorry about that. Lets.... let's continue."
Spiffle resumes where he left off, doing his usual routine of scanning, then obsessively reading. Eventually he unlocks the Vehicle Bay, and returns home to his pod where the situation with resources is growing obscene with at least fifty floating resource containers hovering around the area.
"Alright... A Vehicle Bay... This means I can build things like the Seamoth now. This will be nice. Right, I shall for the sake of my audience skip the resource collection mechanic that's here and focus on the actual result. I shan't waste my time either though. MONTAGE!"
Spiff yells excitedly and a montage to that same odd Benny Hill type music plays out, with him collecting the resources he needs to build both machines. Most of it is already in the floating containers strewn about. With a few visits to the fabricator, he compiles the Power Cell, Titanium Ingot and Lubricant he needs to make the Vehicle Bay. He deploys it and chases it to the surface just away from the pod in the deeper end of the shallows.
"Right... Not too hard. Let's see then, how do-Ah. Get on it and... The Seamoth. Cost of two glass, one titanium ingot, a powercell, lead and lubricant. Right."
He quickly gathers and makes everything he needs for the Seamoth, then stands on the platform ready to go. He chooses the Seamoths recipe and the sequence starts. His eyes light up as drones start flying around the platform, then begin assembling atom by atom, the small, adorable minisub known as the Seamoth. It finishes the process and flops into the water with a splash.
"My gods look at this thing! It's so cute!"
Spiffle explores the sub for a little while and hops inside it, testing the controls and playing around with it a bit to see what it can do.
"Hm... Maximum Depth, 200 meters? So if I go below that does it implode or something? I need to be careful of that. OH dammit I remember! I have to make that Radiation Suit don't I? I shall do so now!"
Spiffle seems to have found a new resolve, quickly gathering resources together and making both a Seaglide and radiation suit in short order.
"Does this thing have any weapons? How do I repair-Oh... Repair tool? That makes it easier I suppose. Now... Where do I go now? Is there anything I can do?"
Spiffle stumbles about in the blind for a few minutes, trying to figure out his next course of action beyond simply wandering aimlessly while scanning things. He gets back in the pod and fixes the radio beacon. His face visibly contorts into an expression of irritation when he hears his rescue is in 9999 hours. He resolves to come back every now and then to check the radio. He decides to gather more resources to make up for building the seamoth and comes back a bit later. He finds a radio transmission when he returns.
"RADIO: ▀▖┗▛Nine new biological subjects designated. Mode ▄▖▜▚┣: hunting/analyzing.
Sharing subject locations with other agents."
"What... in the Nine Hells was THAT!? Why was it in such an odd voice? What was that language? What were those letters!? Somethings going on here... SO now what? I have the radiation suit. i guess... go into the Aurora? Oh no, I'm not going in there unprepared! Lemme make some tools and spare batteries, then i'll go in. I need... Oh... I need more fragments is what I need."
Spiffle resumes his fragment hunt, looking around for fragments of various tools. He uses the Seamoth to traverse around.
"WHEEE!!!"
Spiff seems more than just a bit happy as he trundles around in the Seamoth, using his speed to launch himself out of the water. He splashes about a bit, testing the limits of the craft and trying to see what holes he can squeeze himself into or out of and how deep he can go.
"Okay okay. time to get to serious work. Now... I need to find... A Laser Cutter and a... STASIS RIFLE?! Wait... rifle? That means GUN! I NEED A GUN!!"
Spiffle charges forward towards the desert biome where he found the Reefback and resumes his search for things to scan. It is now he comes across a Reginald.
"What... IS this fish? Wait, let me just..."
He gets out of the Seamoth and scans it.
"Huh... Reginald. That's a... fish? It's so cute! Wait, come back friend!"
Spiffle spends an unreasonable amount of time trying to catch a Reginald. When he finally catches one he gets back in the Seamoth and heads towards the aurora, new friend in tow. He trundles over to the side of the crashed ship and scans some random stuff here and there, finding fragments to a few small items, including a few he needs such as a Powercell Charger for the Seamoth’s battery. He gets close to the front of the ship and the haunting, evil noise of Subnautica's most iconic killer suddenly echoes through the gloomy water.
"What... Was that? Is it another worm thing? Please don't let it be one of those..."
Spiffle wanders around the side for a bit longer. An ominous shadow looms in the background, catching his eye. He ignores it for the moment and simply carries on, eventually arriving at the entrance to the ship. Through the mangled steel and fire he squeezes into the front of the ship and looks around. The environment ominously rattles and his screen shakes as the ships structure isn't exactly stable. The howl of the creature in the shadows makes Spiff even more uncomfortable.
"I... Do NOT like this. I really dont."
Spiff parks the Seamoth where he can see a ramp leading up, and gets out. He is immediately accosted by Cave Crawlers and uses his knife to defend himself, poorly, but he gets rid of the three or four around him.
"WARNING: SCANS SHOW THE DIGESTIVE TRACTS OF INDIGENOUS LIFE FORMS CONTAIN HUMAN TISSUE."
Spiffs face turns an even paler shade of blue and he swallows visibly as if he's trying not to vomit.
"Yeuch... I can scan this thing and read it later. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to."
Spiff scans and follows the path to the interior, uses his fire extinguisher to put out some fires in the area and gets inside. The ship rumbles as he wanders around and gets into one of the rooms. He finds the poster of the P.R.A.W.N. Suit.
"Ooh! A poster thing? Can I take it or? I can! PRAWN Suit eh? Can I actually use that thing?"
Spiff takes the poster, scans some furniture and collects a PDA. Spiff continues down the corridor and retrieves his Propulsion Cannon from his inventory and uses it to pick up some furniture in the way.
"I am SO glad I got this thing from scanning the area before I came here. This is super useful! I wonder if it has other uses..."
He gets to the door and looks at his databank.
"Hmm... Here it is! Code for the door is 1454. Right."
Spiff moves through, repairing a door to get the Seamoth Depth Upgrade Module. He continues and clears a fire to enter the main reactor. His inner loot goblin shines through and grabs the Cyclops engine efficiency module before he starts work on repairs, scanning the breach and starting work. It doesn't take him long, but he gets issues with a Bleeder that lives in the waters. He scans one then finishes repairs. Foolishly, he uses the propulsion cannon and shoots the bleeder at one of the reactors, undoing his work. He looks at the damage he caused and repairs it.
"Well... what was I expecting... Why did I do that? It's a CANNON... why did I aim it at the reactor exactly? So stupid..."
Spiff finishes and heads to the PRAWN Bay, and looks around at the damage. He spots the prawn suits and starts scanning, grabbing a storage module upgrade from a console and starts extinguishing flames so he can scan. He runs out of fire extinguisher juice though.
"Blast! Can I still scan these if they're on fire?"
Spiff walks around, finding cheeky angles he can use and scans the debris, finding all four fragments he needs. He heads upstairs and goes through the rooms and everything he can find. He gets into the Galley and sees the Kitty in a Space Helmet Poster.
"What the- 'Keep Calm'? What in the blue balls is this? It's.... cute! What is this creature!? Can I keep this? I can!"
Spiffle excitedly grabs the poster and moves on. He goes through cabins, picks up PDAs and collects the Natural Selection 2 poster, the Prawn suit in the sea poster and the collectible arcade toy in the locked cabin. Lacking the code to the Captain's cabin, he returns to the prawn bay and tries swimming around, eventually finding a passage in the hull debris to the rest of the ship. He moves through in silence, recovers the black box data and exits the ship. He removes debris, grabs the local wildlife with the cannon and tosses them into fires or the water with glee.
"BEGONE BEAST!!! Ha! Right... uhh... where did i park? Oh, there it is. Should I go home? I wonder if there are any fragments I can use around here?"
Spiff exits, finding Liefpod 4 floating upside down on the surface of the water. He collects the PDA data and a new blueprint. Then, as he gets in the seamoth, the horrifying roar of the Reaper Leviathan suddenly sounds. Spiff is thrown into a panic, screams in terror and tries desperately to get away. The beast appears with jaw chomping and claws clawing at the poor Seamoth. The entire time Spiffle is screeching like a bird with a broken leg, his entire body now an almost ghostly white out of absolute terror.
"GOWAYGOWAYGOWAYGOWAYGODNONNONOGOWAYGOWAY!!!"
Spiffle manages to get out of its grip and in a panic charges away towards his lifepod and continues to scream, breathing hard between screams. He gets to the pod and then hides under his desk, continuing to scream. His channel outro plays.
TOP COMMENT: (This has been translated from Eridani) "I am starting to believe this whole sojourn was a very BAD idea. Do you humans have those kinds of beasts on your homeworld? How did you ever survive them?!"
RESPONSE: LOL no we never had Reapers. The only Leviathan Class creatures we have on our planet are Whales. And they're mostly peaceful plankton eaters. Mostly.
RESPONSE: (Translated from Eridani) "Seriously? I think I find it more terrifying that these creatures are made up in your minds. What kind of nightmares do you people have to be able to create this level of fiction!?"
RESPONSE: Do. Not. Ask. This is only Subnautica - we have FAR worse.
Spiffles response: "You're going to make me play these 'far worse', aren't you?"
RESPONSE: "Damn right we are! :)"
________________________________________________________
"Great days and glorious victory! My name is Spifflemnonk and welcome back to Subnautica!"
Spiffle looks visibly stronger, his usual lanky appearance now looking like he's been working out like a Gym Bro. One can see muscles on muscles and Spiff seems to have an abnormal amount of energy.
"I am now relaxed. It is now time to get eaten by giant scary sea monsters. And yes, before you ask, I have successfully finished fully soundproofing my office. And also yes, I am indeed expecting a new addition to the brood... THANKS DAMN HUMANS! You and your damn musical magic nonsense..."
Spiffle starts the game and is swimming outside the pod next to the Seamoth. The first thing he does is repair the seamoth from the damage incurred by the Reaper, and recounts what hes been up to, checking inventory and equipment. He heads to the radio and gets a new transmission.
RADIO - "This is Avery Quinn of trading ship Sunbeam. Aurora, do you read? Over.'
'Nothing but vacuum. These Alterra ships. They run low on engine grease, they send an SOS; you offer to help, they don't pick up.'
'Aurora, we're out on the far side of the system, it's going to take more than a week to reach your position, do you still need our assistance? Over.'
'I'll try them again tomorrow. Damn charter's going to have us wasting our profit margin running errands for Alterra.'
'See what the long-range scanner picks up in the meantime."
"Oh? Oh lovely! There ARE people in this game! I wonder when they will be here? Meh, I have things to build, so I'll keep an eye."
Spiffle resolves himself to start building a base, trying to find a good spot. He finds the Mushroom Forest Biome and starts gathering resources to ferry them around. He installs the Depth Module and the Storage module to the Seamoth, then builds the Moon Pool. The Mushroom Biome becomes one of his favorite spots and a close encounter with a JellyRay cements it.
"Those creatures are beautiful! Look! JellyRay! Its glowing blue and pretty! I love that! Oh... I have a new radio message. I need to listen to that then."
Spiff returns to the pod and listens to the message.
RADIO - "Aurora, this is Sunbeam again. We just picked up a massive debris field at your location.'
'I didn't know how bad... How many of you... I didn't know.'
'We are now en route to your location. We're going to bring you home. Sunbeam out.'
'What else can I say? The only time I parked a rig this big on a rock that small was in VR, and I blew it'
'Oh, it's a bad option alright, but so are all the others."
Spiff smiles and carries on working, parking the Seamoth inside after powering everything up.
"So lovely! But... Is that a win condition? I know human games by now I have played enough of them. Is that a win condition? Get rescued? I dunno..."
Spiffle carries on building for a little and gets a storage system up, spending a few in-game days transporting resources to his new base. He returned to the pod and played a new radio message, again from the Sunbeam.
RADIO - "This is Sunbeam. Y'know, Aurora, we're from a little trans-gov on the far side of Andromeda, and we have a saying there.'
'There's no bad without the good, no good without the bad.'
'Sounds like you tasted a bunch of the former, but that only means you're overdue a whole lot of the latter.'
'Might just be we're it.'
'We're scanning for somewhere to park, we'll be in touch when we find it. Sunbeam out."
"Ohh... That... that's a lovely saying! What was that uh... There's no bad without the good, no good without the bad. I like that! I think i'll have that framed on my wall! Now lets see.. i ca- I CAN GIVE THE SEAMOTH A NAME? OOHHHhh okay, okay.. I can customize the color too! I think I'll just do this..."
Spiff leaves the name as 'Seamoth' for now, changing the color to a mix of purple for the main, and blue for the trim and name color. His two favorite colors. Spiffle does a little more work, acquiring the last fragments for the Cyclops and starts gathering together the resources necessary to build it.
"Hmmm.. Cyclops... Personal large scale submarine capable of carrying other vehicles! Ooohhh I want to build that! I need to fetch the Vehicle Bay though. Im almost done moving house!"
Spiff returns and packs up the last of his resources, then gets another radio message.
RADIO - "Aurora, we're approaching the planet now, and we have a landing site for you that's... well, it's better than the alternatives.'
'We've sent you the coordinates.'
'It'll take us a couple of days to align our orbit, we should be able to establish direct contact with you during that time, then we're coming in to get you.'
'Cross your fingers the weather holds, and don't leave us waiting. Sunbeam out."
Spiffle gets a new beacon on his HUD. Sunbeam Landing Site.
"What!? Is this game over If I'm there!? Okay... well. At least it's no longer terrifying! I'll get the Seamoth and go for the beacon then. I hope it's okay... Strange... this... doesn't feel like the end, you know? But if it is then it is."
Spiff heads home, deploys the Vehicle Bay and deposits his gear and resources. He heads towards the location, occasionally squealing 'WHEEE!!' as he uses the Seamoth to jump out of the water like a dolphin. However, he miscalculates and the Seamoth jumps up, out and sustains a bit of damage as it hits a rock formation close to the surface. He gets out, repairs it and looks at the camera.
"Why no I didn't just damage my Seamoth by having too much fun. I don't know what you are talking about. Hehe."
Spiffle smirks at the camera with a glare and carries on. Eventually, he encounters the largest of the Islands in the world.
"Wh... WHAT. This has been here the whole time!? Is this an island? Who cares! LAND! Sweet land!"
Spiffle now notices the timer and hops onto the island from his Seamoth. He walks up to the landing zone and stops dead in his tracks at the sight of the massive al;ien structure known as the Quarantine Enforcement Platform. In essence, a giant alien cannon.
"What... the *beep* is THAT?"
Spiffles' editing has gotten better, his editor learning how to censor Spiffles foul language, in both English AND Eridani. He moves closer to the building, scanning the broken tablet and the Forcefield Controls.
"What is this? I mean it's clearly alien... What do the codex entries say... 'possible to reconstruct the device' Oh... hmm.. I can make more of these then. 'Matches no known technologies... functions like a lock'. Okay then so... Standard video game logic I guess. That's nice! So A purple tablet will unlock the gate there. What are those?"
Spiff moves towards the Cairns marking the way into the island, pathways leading up the mountainside. He follows them, finding a Purple Tablet in the process on one of the pathways.
"Oh! Lovely! That saves me resources and a trip I guess. This pathway keeps going though. hmm... Welp, we still have thirty minutes, so let's go."
Spiff explores the pathway, getting lost a bit before finally figuring that following the large cables is a good idea. He comes across the Teleportation Arch and scans it, in between dodging the Cave Crawlers.
"Right, let's see... Alien Arch... not much to speak of here. Maybe this thing will be useful later I guess. Likely.... Hmmm..."
Spiffle continues exploring and eventually finds himself back at the forcefield with another twenty minutes to go.
"Screw it, let's go."
Spiff activates the forcefield platform and the animation of the key being placed plays out. He moves into the building, activating both data platforms and acquiring two Ion Cubes for later, scanning everything he thinks he can scan. He enters the Moonpool in the bay and gets two more Ion Cubes, plus data on a rifle and a Doomsday Device. He ignores it for now, acquiring one more purple tablet and accessing the control room.
"Right... what's in here? Hmm... Energy Core, right. I shall scan that and... press button?"
Spiff presses the button. An animation plays where a device locks his characters hand in place, viciously stabs it with a pointy metal bit and then releases it.
"OH GODS what the hell! Why is that?! That's just nasty!"
"THE TERMINAL IS BROADCASTING A MESSAGE. TRANSLATION READS: 'Warning, infected individuals may not disable the weapon. This planet is under quarantine.'"
"Quarantine! What? Infected? I-Hold on...."
Spiffle gets his scanner out and performs a self-scan. It is only now he notices something very bad has happened.
"I-infected!? Wait, what!?"
"SELF-SCAN COMPLETE - DETECTING STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT BACTERIAL LEVELS. NO ADVERSE EFFECTS DETECTED. BE VIGILANT FOR SYMPTOMS."
"Oh brilliant! Does that mean I can't leave? I KNEW IT! Wait... weapon!? This is a weapon!?"
Spiffle panics and runs out of the facility as fast as he can and waits the last few minutes for the Sunbeam to arrive. Sure enough, it does. In the last 30 seconds, the Sunbeam plays a message.
RADIO - "Survivor, we see you!
'Man, I don't know how you held out down there.'
The sunbeams message plays, and Spiffle gasps in terror from the sound of the gun platform starting up and starting to move around.
RADIO - "We've broken atmosphere and we're descending towards the landing site.'
'Is that a building down there?! What do you mean you can't identify it?"
The weapon powers up and turns, aiming itself high at the sky.
RADIO - "Hold on, no turning back now.'
'Positions everyone, touching down in 10, 9, 8-'
The weapon charges up and a loud vicious hum can be heard echoing through the valley.
RADIO - "It's coming from the building?! Change course, set thrusters to (full)-"
The radio goes to static, the weapon fires and the Sunbeam is vaporized instantly by a massive blast of bright green light. The sunbeam disappears, its hull structure completely disintegrated. Spiffle sits in stunned silence as the platform returns to a stable position, shuts down, and everything goes quiet.
"Well... Okay then... That was... horrifying. I guess thats all we have time for! Hehe! Oh dear..."
Spiffle looks a bit defeated as he sits back in his seat.
"S-see you next time! I guess... Holy shit..."
Channel Outro plays.
TOP COMMENT: "Are you okay? You seem a little bit too disturbed by that. Its fine though, compared to what happens in the Rise Of The Ancients Mod, this is tame! Lol! I love that mod!"
Spiffles Response: "Please don't make me play that mod..."
((Authors note - due to how bastardingly huge Subnautica is, this will be a multi part series. Other Spiff stories will come inbetween. Hope you enjoy!))
submitted by FarmWhich4275 to HFY [link] [comments]

2024.05.13 06:28 pumpkinlatte56 What should I do with my mice when they eventually pass?

Kind if morbid question, but for context I live in an apartment building. I can't exactly bury my mice anywhere on the property, or anywhere around it because there's roads and other buildings surrounding it. I've also heard that sometimes people freeze their pets??? But I'm not to keen on doing that since I have a roommate. My parents would just tell me to throw them away but that seems way too mean 😭 but I have a feeling they don't have much longer left... I haven't seen one of my 2 in a while, and today I just noticed that my other 1 had scratches on her face. My assumption is that maybe the other one either died, and she's scratching herself out of stress, or the other one is still alive and they got into a fight :( my plan was to clean the tank tomorrow morning, but I'm scared of what I might find and how I'm supposed to handle it in my specific circumstance :( What do I do? 😭
Update: so my living mouse may or may not have eaten the other one?? Me and my roommate are digging through the tank and replacing all the bedding, and we can't find any mouse remains. Looked it up, her dead body may have been eaten. I feel awful though I had no idea, the thought genuinely didn't cross my mind until now that she could be dead. But I also took my other girl and cleaned off her face with dish soap and a q tip and put the teeniest bit of neosporin on it. So far no mouse remains 🥲
Update 2: she seems to have perked up a lot after I cleaned her cage and put new toys in. Her face is still scratched up, but she seems to be doing better. I also put down a thinner layer of bedding from what I normally do so it's easier to monitor her and in the chance she does pass, I'll be able to collect her remains. She might not have long left since she is the last mouse from the trio, but after this I think I'm all done being a mouse owner. I'll sit with her often and put my hand in there frequently so she's a little less lonely though ❤️
submitted by pumpkinlatte56 to PetMice [link] [comments]

2024.05.13 05:53 ardvark-sandwich My wedding planning, day, and honeymoon were chaotic

Sorry for the long post, theres a lot of context
Okay, so right off the bat I was 18 when I got married. My husband (19 at the time) and I knew each other our whole lives and dated through high school. We were long distance and saw each other in real life about 5 times, and we always video called and texted. We had gotten engaged beginning of my senior year. I was over the moon.
Until my parents found out our plan. They didn't know we had planned to be wed before my husband left for basic training for the military. They were against it, and we missed out on over $3000 because they didn't want me married at 17. I would still be finishing high school while my husband to be would be in training.
So I didn't worry about it. We had then planned for my husband and I to get married in May when he got back from all of his training. It was going to be a small affair since we didn't have much disposable income.
The plan was to get married the day after my older cousin got married because I didnt want to take away from her special day she's been planning for 3 years. (I know, cutting it close, but we couldn't get married any other day because my husband would have to be at his duty station the day after)
My cousin was furious with me over this, even though we weren't having a huge wedding. I understand she has a right to be upset, but she called me all sorts of names, and said that I was just a kid and that I'm not responsible enough to be married. She also mocked my idea to be a homemaker, and said I was setting back feminism because of this plan I had with my husband. She told me to not speak to her until I changed my date or canceled getting married. At the time I couldn't change that date.
So during my husband's training, he was pushed back about two weeks. This means we wouldn't be "ruining." my cousins wedding. I told her about the date change and extended the olive branch to say she and her family were still invited.
I didn't expect a big wedding, but my family stepped up and gave me a bridal shower, and a giant wedding. My village was incredible and I love them so much. Now the bridal shower was fantastic, the only thing I wouldve changed was that I got a more white dress to wear that day.
Now the week after my bridal shower, my cousin was supposed to get married. The day came and my parents left for the wedding even though I had been invited too. (I didn't want to go because I felt it would cause drama.) They came back and asked me to come on the back porch with them. They informed me my cousin had been cheated on 3 days before her wedding by her fiance. The affair was a couple of years old, and she was devastated and rightfully canceled her big expensive wedding.
I would call this karma, but I don't think she deserved this at all. No one deserves to be cheated on. That man is for the dogs. I didn't reach out to her, because I thought she would think I was gloating or being rude to her in her hard time. (I wanted to say I was so sorry this happened to her and that I would help her with anything she needed.) I know recovering people pleaser, but I felt so awful for her.
My last dress fitting with my incredible grandmother who hemmed the dress and added small details to it, my grandfather asked if I was sure if I wanted to get married. I of course said yes but it was odd he asked 2 weeks before the wedding.
The day before my wedding was my high school graduation. I walked the stage and got my diploma, and my dad said "thank you closing this door before opening a new door." Meaning he was happy I finished school before moving on to marriage. (Which was the next day so I'm not sure why he mentioned this.)
My uncle was in town for the wedding, so night before he pulled me aside and told me, "if you have second thoughts, feel free to tell me, I'll get you out of here, and everyone will get rid of the crowd." I didn't know my family was this protective until all this happened.
The day of my wedding was a blurr in the beginning because i got sick. As I'm releasing last night's dinner into the toliet, someone calls me about a pasta salad. I listen and she tells me that she's sorry, she might be late because HER DAUGHTER WAS IN THE HOSPITAL THE NIGHT BEFORE. She was my best friends mom, and I told her she didn't have to make the pasta salad if she was sleep deprived. She said she was doing it so I made she to tell her it was delicious because it was.
The wedding happened, and it was perfect. Besides the fact we had a dry wedding and everyone, and I mean everyone brought booze in their cars. I was having fun, talking to everyone, and I saw they set up a baseball game in the field beside our wedding pavillion. (All the guests brought clothes to change into because I knew the kids would get dirty at this park and I'd rather them be in play clothes then nice clothes to help out the parents)
I walked up in my long wedding dress, took off my sandals, and walked up to the plate. I hit the ball and ran the bases in my white wedding dress. I played softball for 11 years, I wasn't missing that. I don't regret it, especially since it was so fun, and I was only going to wear this dress once.
We were leaving for our wedding night, and I was stopped by an aunt that would be living an hour away from us. courses said if I needed anything or something went wrong she was an hour away. This of course made my husband skeptical because he would take incredible care of me. (And has.)
Now we went to my in laws because our duty station was 30 minutes away. (I forgot to mention a fourth of my things from my parents house was in the back of my husband's truck because haul didn't have a pull along trailer.) We lived in a tent in the woods by their house because of father in law didn't want to hear any noises. Which fair honestly lol. We went to get my military ID and found out I needed an ID. I didn't get a driver's license because I didnt have a need to. I always took the bus and didn't have a job.
This took a week, and we had to stay in the tent while waiting for the military ID. The week turned into a month an a half because housing took forever.
During our stay, my in laws had been babysitting my husband's two younger male cousins. They were a blast but could be a lot at times. Half way through our stay, our in laws housed their cousins family for a week. This means there were 11 people under one roof. With one bathroom, and a broken septic tank. (This is how I got my first ever uti because I decided to start peeing in the woods in the middle of the night a lot of nights.)
Everyone was a little on edge, and my husband and I decided that we would live in the hotel on base while waiting for our house. We spent a month in this hotel, but it was a lot more peaceful. We finally got housing after a month, and moved in right away.
Now almost a year later, I am happy to report I have a wonderful husband, a sweet puppy, and have funny scenarios to tell my children someday because of what happened while planning my wedding, the day, and my honeymoon.
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2024.05.13 04:51 forever-pgy Help me interpret septic inspection report, please 🙏🏾

Considering buying a 2-3 bedroom home that was flipped in less than 2 months by an LLC. House has a septic & seller disclosed a septic inspection. House hasn't been occupied since seller's septic inspection.
House was built 1850. Can't find sale/occupance history before flipper bought it.
Septic report says age unknown.
Tanks are deemed to be in good condition. The septic is a 2 compartment tank with size of 1250-1500. First compartment tank is a homemade 55 gallon plastic drum riser. Second compartment is a pump station and the second compartments riser is an easy riser. Tanks marked as "needs cleaning." Water level normal. Marked "Yes" for filter. Unable to check if backflow is present.
Disposal area is Envirotube system deemed to be in fair condition. Marked pumping station as "yes" and "working at time of inspection." Report says they dug 2 holes at the time of inspection. Both holes were between 2 tubes. Found slight discoloration in the sand. There was no effluent in the system at the time of inspection, however there are signs to indicate that the effluent has run higher in the past. (Photos of these findings are included).
I know little beyond the basics about septic systems (e.g., private sewage, size based on sq footage, needs regular emptying, 15-20 year life span, dont put weighted structures on leach field, dont flush non-degradable products, cant use certain cleaners).
I have no idea how to judge an inspection report. Are these major red flags? My uneducated concerns/questions are - why couldnt they test for backflow & why does it matter? What do the fair condition details mean?
If you got this report, what would your next steps be?
submitted by forever-pgy to FirstTimeHomeBuyer [link] [comments]

2024.05.13 04:49 Designer-Serve-5140 Help with cause of death and grieving for baby

Hi Broski's... Really, really sad time right now, I'm crying I hate life and I'm about to adopt away all my other snakes and reptiles because I'm so tired of getting attached to new snakes and having them die. This really, really sucks—but more on that later. I have two questions here which I'm hoping for help with, the first being identifying potential causes of her death and the second being what to do with her...
A week ago I purchased a snake, a pueblan x nelsons milk snake to be exact. I named her Neil Patrick Harris, anyone who knows me would be able to testify just how excited I was. Also, she was waaay to small to sex, but just with how my luck has gone with my snakes (girl names are boys and vice versa) I decided to presume she's a girl for the time being, easier and far more personal than saying it. Anyways, yeah, I have some other snakes and reptiles, but after what happened 5 or 6 months ago where I got a baby red tailed boa which had IBD, I was really excited to have a new baby and really excited to see it thrive! I already had a tank set up for it, but I still went ahead and purchased even more clutter and things like that so she would be happy, but I guess it wasn't enough...
Back on track, Today when I went to feed her, I found her dead. Rigor mortis had already set in and she was so painfully thin... When I got her she was small and although she wasn't necessarily dangerously thin she was definitely a tad underweigh, well, that's okay we'll fatten her right up! Anyways, after having her in her tank for about 4 days I noticed her climbing on one of her hides and saw that she was starting to get even thinner, like it was really fast how thin she was getting, so even though I know you're supposed to wait at least a week I decided to take her out and feed her. The store I bought her from—which used to be really reputable to a lot of people, myself included—told me they had been feeding her pinkies. Well, after I noticed how thin she was, I took her out later that night and fed her the smallest pinkie I could find, and I was worried that even that might have been too big and I'd have to do pinkie parts. Well, she was able to get the pinkie down, and although I was worried it was the correct size for her, I'm just a worrywart. Anyways, today when I found her dead, I saw that the pinkie had been half digested before she regurgitated it. So I'm pretty sure she starved to death. What I'm kinda asking for here is just someone to check my husbandry to tell me if that was the likely cause of the regurge or what. I also want to add in the possibility that when they said she was 4 months old they may have lied. I'm not familiar with how large milk-snake hatchlings are, but after looking more into it she very easily could have been a total new hatchling with how small she was.
Anyways, I had her in a like 2.5 foot long by 1.5 foot wide and 1.5 foot tall enclosure. Aspen chips for the substrate that way it was light enough for her to burrow with some brown dry moss dispersed throughout for additional cover. She had a water bowl in the center as well as 3 hides of various sizes. Temp directly underneath the lamp was about 95 with ambient temp about 90 on the warm side and in the 70's on the colder side so there was a nice range and a hide in each temp zone. I was aiming to keep the humidity about 40% because it's super dry here, but I did use some of the moss to create a humid hide as well. Outside of that, well, I only had her for a week so I only fed her the one time 3 days ago now and that was the small pinkie I mentioned before... If it helps I know it's not allowed to post them here but I do have some images... To kinda describe how she looked though, the last inch of her tail looked almost paddle like from being so skinny, you could see the spine across half her body. The one inch area in front of her cloaca was also thinner than the rest of her body...
Here's the second question, how do I respectfully dispose of her? I assume that the store will need to see her since I do want to pursue a refund if possible, even if only partial. $250 and a ton of heartbreak is pretty expensive, I'd rather get the $250 back and keep the heartbreak if at all possible. In the meantime I put her on a bed of green moss in a container in the refrigerator, but I'm just not sure what to do from there. I'd love to bury her but I don't want my dogs digging her up. Any ideas?
ETA:
I looked up further videos of these snakes as hatchlings. Some of the smaller hatchlings are her size, but many of the hatchlings I saw online (as in videos of them right out of the egg) were larger than she was so I'm thinking that 1) she must have been like a super runt or something and 2) there was no way she could have been 4 months old...
warning, sad pics
https://imgur.com/a/rhSQMbJ
submitted by Designer-Serve-5140 to snakes [link] [comments]

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