If you ask other RVers which national park is their favorite, someone is bound to mention Joshua Tree National Park in Southern California. It's a camper's paradise with wide open space and panoramic views.
Most evenings, the landscape glows at golden hour, and the sky turns from red hot at sunset to dark blue and star-filled at night. You can enjoy the remoteness of the park but also its proximity to Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley.
Take the time during your visit to enjoy the endless roads of the desert landscape, play on the rock formations, and, of course, marvel at the Joshua Trees.

Why Visit Joshua Tree National Park?

The first reason to visit Joshua Tree National Park is to see its famous and fascinating Joshua Trees. Since the Mojave desert is the only place in the world where they grow naturally, Joshua Tree National Park is the best place to see them.
These trees range between 15-40 feet tall and can live an impressive 150 years. They’re members of the Yucca family and appear as though they're from a different planet, with limbs unpredictably jetting out like they have their own minds.
Another great reason to visit Joshua Tree National Park is the warm weather and abundance of sunshine. It’s no secret that RVers love to snowbird and the Californian desert is a wonderful place to be during the spring and fall months. You’ll enjoy sunny days and clear nights, perfect for dry camping with solar panels.

When to Visit Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree National Park is open year-round, but the best times to visit are during the spring and fall months. Park elevations range from 536 feet to 5,814 feet above sea level, so expect conditions to vary depending on where you go in the park.
Here’s more information on the seasonal weather in Joshua Tree.

Spring

Spring is a very popular time in the park because the temperatures range from the mid-60s in February to the mid-70s in April. Depending on the year, wildflower blooms can be seen in the latter part of spring at the lower elevations within the Pinto Basin.

Summer

Due to extreme desert heat (+100℉ days are the norm), the park is pretty quiet during the summer. Late in the summer, monsoon season hits Joshua Tree, which cools down the daytime temperatures but can also lead to flash flooding in valleys and ravines.

Fall

Monsoon season continues into the fall, but it soon gives way to one of the best times to visit. Temperatures from August into October fall from the upper 90s into the low 80s, and evening temperatures range from the low 70s to the low 50s, on average.

Winter

In the heart of winter, the park's average daily temperature is 60 degrees Fahrenheit, which is perfectly comfortable, but the nights get cold and often drop to freezing. Overnight temperatures in December and January average in the mid-30s.
Check the park’s website for the latest weather alerts and condition updates.

Where to Stay

Joshua Tree National Park is pretty remote and expansive. You'll want to stay a few days. Unlike other national parks, there are no lodges or resorts for overnight accommodations. There are eight developed campgrounds, however, and camping out under the stars at Joshua Tree is an unforgettable experience.
Here are a few important things to be aware of ahead of time if you plan to camp in Joshua Tree.

Reservation versus First-Come, First-Served

Four of the developed campsites require reservations. They’re larger than the first-come, first-served campgrounds, and some offer water and flush toilets. These campgrounds fill up very quickly. We recommend planning well in advance.

Reservation Required Campgrounds

• Black Rock Campground
• Cottonwood Campground
• Indian Cove Campground
• Jumbo Rocks Campground

Black Rock and Cottonwood are the most developed campgrounds (water, toilets, sanitation dump) and are the only campgrounds you can stay in if you have a larger rig.
Black Rock has six sites that can accommodate rigs with a total length (tow vehicle included) of 38-40 feet and seven sites up to 42 feet. Cottonwood has around twenty-five campsites that can accommodate rigs slightly longer than 35 feet.
Indian Cove and Jumbo Rocks both have a few spots for RVs up to 35 feet in total length. If you have a rig larger than 35 feet, site availability may be considerably limited.

First-come, First-served Campgrounds

These campgrounds are great options if you have a smaller rig and the good fortune of securing a site. During the popular season, these campgrounds fill every weekend and often during the week, as well.

• Belle Campground
• Hidden Valley Campground
• Ryan Campground
• White Tank Campground

These are primitive campgrounds, so you will need to bring (and carry out) everything you’ll need during your stay.

Staying Outside the Park

If you’re unable to find a site in the park or you’re looking for a campground with more amenities, here are a few nearby campgrounds:

• TwentyNine Palms RV Resort and Cottages: About 10 minutes from the north entrance.
• Sam’s Family Spa and Resort: About 45 minutes from the main visitor center.
• Catalina Spa and RV Resort: About 50 minutes from the main visitor center.
• Palm Springs Oasis RV Resort: About 45 minutes from the south entrance.
• Indian Waters RV Resort and Cottages: About 30 minutes from the south entrance.

Invest in a Good Sam Membership and save 10% on nightly stays at Good Sam Campgrounds.

Tips for Your Camping Stay

• Reservations for the reservable campgrounds can be made up to six months in advance.
• Reserve using the links below or by calling 1-877-444-6777.
  • Black Rock Campground
  • Cottonwood Campground
  • Indian Cove Campground
  • Jumbo Rocks Campground
• No campgrounds in the park offer electric RV hookups.
• Generator use is restricted to 7-9 am, noon-2 pm, and 5-7 pm.
• Hammocks are not permitted in campgrounds and must be hung from rocks or climbing bolts elsewhere to protect the park’s sensitive vegetation.
• Backpacking is permitted in the park, but it requires more advanced planning and preparation.

How To Get Around

Nestled between I-10 and California SR 62, Joshua Tree is located in Southeastern California and is easy to access. Several towns nearby, including Palm Springs, Indio, and Twentynine Palms, make perfect supply stops before entering the park.
Indio is the last best stop on I-10 if you’re entering the park from the south. The park’s south entrance is located off Exit 168, about 30 minutes east of Indio. The park also offers a west entrance on Quail Springs Road, about 10 minutes southeast of the town of Joshua Tree. And the north entrance is just ten minutes south of Twentynine Palms on Utah Trail.
Several paved roads allow you to traverse the park, but going from site to site can require long drive times. The most frequented sites are located near the northern edge of the park, so if you’re coming from the south along I-10, you’ll be driving through the park for an hour or so before you spot your first Joshua Tree.

Places to Go

There are many places to visit in the park that offer a variety beyond the infamous trees. It’s a unique location that features the intersection of two desert ecosystems.

Cholla Cactus Garden

The Cholla Cactus Garden is its own special area and is unlike any other part of the park. Be sure to enjoy the flat, ¼-mile nature trail to get the best look at the cacti. This patch of cacti is incredible because it mostly consists of Teddybear Cholla, which is the star of the cactus world.
The Cholla Cactus Garden is so impressive, and you’ll love snapping photos of these majestic plants. Their beauty changes throughout the day depending on how the sunlight hits them. A small word of advice, look but don’t touch. Ouch!

Arch Rock

Arch Rock is a very popular rock formation located a half-mile from White Tank Campground. The loop trail is easy to follow and a perfect activity for the whole family. Of course, the Arch Rock itself is the thing people most want to see, but there's lots of space to wander around and explore the other rock formations, too.
It’s also a very popular place for night photography and stargazing. If interested, White Tank Campground is a really convenient place to stay because of its proximity to the trailhead.

Keys View

Keys View is a popular lookout that offers incredible panoramic views of the park and the Coachella Valley. If beautiful scenery is your thing, make sure to visit Keys View. It’s about a 20-minute drive from the main road to the lookout via Keys View Rd.

Ryan Mountain

One of the most popular activities in the park is the hike to Ryan Mountain. This 3-mile round trip trail leads to the summit, where you’ll be treated to sweeping 360-degree views. The hike is listed as challenging by the NPS, so be sure to bring plenty of water and expect changing weather conditions.

Things to Do

The combination of the Mojave Desert and the Colorado Desert makes Joshua Tree a wonderful desert wilderness to explore. Here are some of the most popular activities in the park:

Hiking

Hiking is a great way to get off the road and experience more of the desert landscape. The National Park Service offers plenty of safety tips for hiking in Joshua Tree, and here are some of the park’s most popular trails:

• Barker Dam Trail: An easy 1.1-mile trail with interpretive exhibits containing information on park history. It’s a popular place for viewing bighorn sheep from a safe distance.
• Oasis of Mara Trail: A 0.5-mile trail to explore a desert oasis and learn how it’s harbored human and animal life for centuries.
• Lost Horse Mine Trail: A moderate 4-mile out and back trail to explore what was once the area’s most successful gold mine.
• Mastodon Peak Trail: A moderate 3-mile loop trail with an optional scramble to the top of a granite peak.
• Lost Palms Oasis Trail: A challenging 7.5-mile out and back trail down a canyon to one of the park’s most remote fan palm oases.

The Park Service DOES NOT recommend attempting challenging hikes in the heat due to the elevated risk of sun exposure and dehydration.

Mountain Biking

The majority of the park’s paved roads are not suitable for road cycling. However, several backcountry roads are perfect for mountain bikes. There are even three campsites within Ryan Campground dedicated to cyclists.
Be aware that bikes are only allowed on roads open to vehicle traffic but that the main park roads do not offer bike lanes or wide shoulders. Consult the park’s website for safety tips and road recommendations before biking in Joshua Tree.

Photography

Photographers love Joshua Tree because of the variety it contains. From sunrise to sunset, photographers can find landscapes, animal inhabitants, and even human visitors to place in frame.
Commercial photography does require a permit, and if you’re interested in expanding your knowledge, the Desert Institute offers field courses in partnership with the Joshua Tree National Park Association.

Stargazing

Stars can be hard to come by in urban areas like San Diego and Los Angeles, but Joshua Tree is a different story. Designated as an International Dark Sky Park, it offers some of the best stargazing in all of Southern California.
After the sun goes down, keep your headlamp in red light mode to preserve your night vision. Your eyes will need less time to adjust when you lie down to see how many shooting stars you can count!

Rock Climbing

Rock climbing, in addition to bouldering and slacklining, is another great activity to enjoy in the park. To date, there are more than 8,000 known climbing routes, over 2,000 bouldering problems, and numerous natural rock gaps that make the perfect spot to set up a slackline.
On a busy weekend, the park may have hundreds of climbers enjoying their slice of this monzogranite mecca. So be sure to follow Leave No Trace Principles and familiarize yourself with the park’s climbing management plan before your visit.

What to Bring and How to Prepare

• The desert can be dangerous, and the weather can change quickly. Check the forecast frequently and pack layers to prepare for changing conditions.
• The remote location means there is no cell service in many parts of the park. Communicate your plans to loved ones or authorities ahead of time, especially if traveling alone.
• Investing in a cell signal booster may improve cell reception in areas with limited service.
• A quality camping cooler is a great way to keep food and beverages cold in the heat of the desert.
• Bring an extra canopy tent and ensure your awning is in good condition so you can escape direct sunlight during the heat of the day.
• Keep up with air conditioner maintenance to regulate the temperature inside your RV.
• For the latest info on visiting Joshua Tree, visit their website: Joshua Tree National Park.

Brief History of Joshua Tree National Park

Despite its harsh desert environment, humans have inhabited the area that is now Joshua Tree for more than 5,000 years. In the modern era, the biggest threats to this natural environment were land developers and cactus poachers.
In the late 1920s, a Pasadena resident named Minerva Hoyt began voicing her concerns about the unregulated removal of cacti and other desert plants to be used in home gardens throughout Los Angeles.
In a relatively short time, her conservation efforts resulted in the formation of the Joshua Tree National Monument in 1936. The original protected area encompassed roughly 825,000 acres but was reduced by about 265,000 acres in 1950 when the Park Service excluded certain mining parcels in the eastern part of the park.
On Halloween in 1994, the Desert Protection Bill passed and Joshua Tree was elevated to national park status. The bill also added back approximately 234,000 acres of what had been lost in the 50s.
Plan your next trip to the national parks in an RV. Rent an RV, trade-In your RV, or buy a new or used RV and start traveling for less than $5 a day.
Have you been to Joshua Tree National Park? Share your tips and advice in the comments below.

I recently graduated college and took a research job on a robotics project. I worked on robot/drone projects a lot in college and in my department, I was kind of known for it.
The issue is that I’m the only developer working on the project. The rest of the engineers around me aren’t very technical and their eyes glaze over when I try to explain the tasks needed to complete the project. They mostly work on 3D printing parts for the bot.
I have been put in a position where I have to do everything; making PCBs, designing all of the electronics systems, writing all of the code for the robot, making GUIs, going outside and testing the system, etc.
I can feel myself getting burnt out more and more everyday. I’m scared when I submit my project, it will be looked at by real engineers and they’ll find errors/bad practices that I would’ve never known to look for because I have no mentors in this field.
Am I just being a baby or is this just a bad situation? I’ve noticed more often than not that one person on a team gets 90% of the responsibility and I’m afraid this will be my life; especially in a field like robotics.

I just moved to NYC from the UK, and I'm still checking out all the bars and clubs. I feel like I'm on a quest to find this perfect spot that's exactly what I'm looking for. With all the options here, I'm pretty sure it's out there somewhere! Im based in Greenpoint, so anything really round my area & Williamsburg.
I'm on the lookout for a spot with house/disco/electronic/funk tunes—nothing too mainstream, though (no EDM or Pitbull type music, haha!). It's got to be a place where I can bring my friends when they come and visit from the UK - nothing too clubby or ravey, but also not too uptight. Somewhere nice but not over-the-top fancy (you can even get your glad rags on). Basically a place where you can find a table, grab a drink, and have a dance whenever you feel like it. I'm absolutely not into the whole bottle with the sparklers firing out scene.
I really like Cafe Balearica, Gabriella & Ciao Ciao Disco - but feel there must be other places out there that are ticking the boxes for this imaginary bar I have in my mind.
Thanks :)

Just some pictures i took while doing some upgrades/replacements on my 13’ 1.8L Sedan.
Replaced all shocks and struts.
Installed new Kicker 6” speakers in all doors as well as new tweeters in the A pillars.
New Pioneer Head unit with wired Apple CarPlay(used an adapter to make it wireless.) I also installed the Wolfbox dashcam/backup cam, Footwell LED lighting, replaced the cigarette lighter with a 3 USB charger. The interior and back up lights were all replaced with LEDs.
Almost replaced the entire coolant system. (Rad, hoses, clamps, water pump, thermostat, reservoir. As well as the serpentine belt.
Replaced the ignition coil and MAF plastic connectors since they were both broken.
Replaced the exhaust manifold(manifold and heat shield painted with black ceramic high heat paint), replaced the midpipe and both O2 sensors and put in the ZZperformace catback system.
Got rid of the OEM laughable “Cold air intake”. Ran a custom hose straight to the bumper to pull in air from one of the blanks where the fog light would be at. Also wrapped the AEM intake with heat reflective tape.
And anyone who drives a Sonic knows they are piles of shit. So I’ve always called it the Turd when i refer to it. Because of this a added a custom touch to the back end of the car.
I’m 100% positive i did more i didn’t list but this post is already long enough. I had fun doing this, i really don’t give a shit about this car, that’s why i wanted to play a bit with it and also make my backup car a bit more reliable in the process.
Also, it is tuned by Trifecta and once i get the chance i will be logging some data for them and finding out if my custom air intake reroute had any significant increase in performance.

I'm an electronics engineer, and I'm quite satisfied with my career and the work that I do. However, it seems like most opportunities in my line of work are either with big tech companies or in defense, which limits where I can live. I would like to move to a place like New York City, a global megacity with an absolute shitload of culture, nightlife, varied dining, and other things to see and do.
But NYC isn't exactly known for its electronics scene. So if I can't land a job working in financial tech or something, I'm open to considering a career pivot.
I would like to find a career option with the following (firm but not hard) requirements:

1. It should pay at least as well as my present career, possibly adjusted for the likely higher cost of living in Queens or Brooklyn or maybe Manhattan.
   
2. It should provide some level of intellectual challenge and growth.
   

I'm vaguely aware of roles in finance and banking, and I have heard that they like to hire people with STEM backgrounds, but I know absolutely nothing about what these jobs are like.
While I specifically want to move to NYC for personal reasons, I wouldn't mind the possibility of living abroad in Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne, or one of the great cities in Europe.

The number of posts in this sub around improperly exposed shots (usually classic cases of the meter being "fooled," such as backlit scenes or landscapes with a lot of sky) are the stuff of collective eye-rolling and certainly provide amusing fodder for analogcirclejerk . However, the thought came to me recently that many of these problems could be solved simply by using a camera without a meter. Unless you are shooting film with very narrow exposure latitude, Sunny 16 will probably provide just as good or better results when photographing outdoors in daylight than the average 1970s SLR with center-weighted metering (I'm looking at you, AE-1). I see a lot of posts here where new photographers ask for camera recommendations and insist on having a meter, but are either completely new to photography or coming from digital. I don't see a lot of warning that a camera (especially an older one without matrix metering) having a meter does not mean you should trust it implicitly. For shooting indoors or in other low-light situations, having a meter is truly helpful. But most of the messed-up photos people show here are of landscapes or other pictures taken outside where the photographer has blindly followed the meter instead of understanding the situation.
I personally grew up using a Canon AE-1 in the early/mid-2000s. I didn't really understand what I was doing all that well. I had plenty of issues with exposure because I didn't know how to meter. I was also like ten at the time, so I think that has something to do with it. When I got back into film photography in the last several years, I have exclusively shot black and white film, mostly outdoors. In doing so, I noticed that the results I got from my meterless cameras were as good or even better than those cameras with meters. A bit of practice with Sunny 16 and I was on my way. An external meter (even a phone meter) helps in very tricky situations I can't judge myself. I find that I get just as many properly exposed pictures per roll (if not more) using a meterless camera than one with a meter (and I do understand how meters work at this point). As I said, I shoot entirely black and white, though. I understand that you really do need a meter for slide film, maybe even color print film. However, I also suspect that most people shooting slide film are not beginners and really know how to use their camera's meter.
I've never heard much wailing and gnashing of teeth about how someone's Nikon F, Canon P, or Kodak Retina turned into a paperweight because the electronics failed. On the other hand, maybe we should continue to shill AE-1s and T2s to newcomers just so those other cameras continue to be undervalued in the market.
TL;DR if we're tired of all of these posts with improperly exposed pictures asking "did the lab mess up," maybe we should start recommending a camera with no meter (and tell people to use the meter in their head) instead of a 1980s SLR with program mode that will get used without proper understanding?

I started learning electronics as a hobby and building DIY kits just before the serious version of chat-gpt hit the internet. And when chat gpt was released, I thought to myself that in a few months it will be so much easier for me as a beginner to search components on mouser using chat-gpt. Now, more than one year after, no one seems to have done this very obvious beneficial implementation.
I just wish that I could open a chat window and ask it to find for example "that typical eurorack power connector" or "a 100k ohms tht resistor, but the one that has a slightly smaller footprint than the usual tht resistor, I don't care about tolerance"... Yes yes, I know about the filters on mouser and while they are quite good, there is also an ocean of foreign terms and words I have to navigate as a beginner to effectively use the filters, and it doesn't help that English isn't my mother tongue.
I also had a look at farnell, where I also don't see any chat-bot integration, and the chat-gpt store also does not seem to have anything specific for assisting with sourcing electronics components.
Surely I can't be the only one who is dreaming about having my own virtual components sourcing engineer.

I'm an electronics engineer, and I'm quite satisfied with my career and the work that I do. However, it seems like most opportunities in my line of work are either with big tech companies or in defense, which limits where I can live. I would like to move to a place like New York City, a global megacity with an absolute shitload of culture, nightlife, varied dining, and other things to see and do.
But NYC isn't exactly known for its electronics scene. So if I can't land a job working in financial tech or something, I'm open to considering a career pivot.
I would like to find a career option with the following (firm but not hard) requirements:

1. It should pay at least as well as my present career, possibly adjusted for the likely higher cost of living in Queens or Brooklyn or maybe Manhattan.
   
2. It should provide some level of intellectual challenge and growth.
   

I'm vaguely aware of roles in finance and banking, and I have heard that they like to hire people with STEM backgrounds, but I know absolutely nothing about what these jobs are like.
While I specifically want to move to NYC for personal reasons, I wouldn't mind the possibility of living abroad in Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Sydney, Melbourne, or one of the great cities in Europe.

I just finished my second year of college. For most of my life I’ve been hit / threatened with violence over small things, demoralized, made to ruin important (to me) relationships for their stupid reasons, my location and the people I hung out with were constantly interrogated and controlled, and just verbally degraded to the point where when I eventually showed one of my friends what they said to me they were genuinely horrified and that’s when i realized that it wasn’t just normal “tough love.” My nparent was never wrong, would pretend to be open to criticism and accountability but demean me and call me a sophomoric fool if I tried to bring things up (I should’ve known it wouldn’t work anyway).
I decided not to go back home this past weekend, informed my parents w a long text about why. They immediately apologized for most of the things and said that it was their fault that I felt this way, but everything they said were things they didn’t mean (not sure if this is true, they seemed to have meant it pretty well in the moment). In the first few hours after I sent the text (and after their initial apology text), they told my sibling to call me and make sure I wasn’t doing anything drastic, and told them that they fucked up but I was making bad decision bc my brain isn’t fully developed.
But over the past few days they have continued to text long apologizes saying they are sorry and they hope I will forgive them, they realize how much they fucked up, please don’t cut them off, etc. They are also apparently treating my siblings better now.
They seem more genuine than anything I’ve heard before, and they’ve never apologized before so I guess that’s a step that’s different. However in the past they have told me that sometimes they say things to me in the moment bc they know that’s what I need to hear but they actually think I’m being stupid. And even if they are being genuine, it almost annoys me that they think that 10+ years of this shit can be solved with a few apology texts. I also think that if I had spoken the content of my message to them in person without threatening to go LC/NC they wouldn’t have responded nearly as apologetically and probably would have rationalized it and made me feel stupid as always.
But I’m not sure if I’m being too callous - please if anyone has any experience with this I would really appreciate advice. I’m just afraid if I go back to them things might change for a little bit and they’d just find more subtle ways to emotionally undermine me.

Hi all, I an a complete newbie to the anaolg scene. I got my first film camera the other day and noticed that the film advance lever opens the shutter and does not allow the shutter release button to be used. I opened up the bottom of the camera and noticed that a lot of the time, the little latch that should catch onto the shutter mechanism, often fails to do so. Like I said, I am very new to this, but I have some experience repairing electronics and am confident enough to try to repair it myself. I just can't find many posts about where to start for a fully manual camera like this. Any advice?

I've spent literal days attempting to find a mini-itx board that supports ECC, PCIe x16 with 4x4x4x4 bifurcation, and has decent LAN support (ie > 1GB).
Yes, I want to set up a weeny M.2 NVMe ZFS server on ESXi or Proxmox.
The most obvious candidate is the SuperMicro X10SDV-NC-XXXX series, but they're quite old now (PCIe 3.0) and cost a small fortune. Given that LGA 1200 and LGA 1700 don't support 4x4 bifurcation, it would seem AMD are the way to go.
I was (initially) excited to see Asus' ROG STRIX B650E-I Gaming WiFi board appeared to support this... but delving into the manuals etc, it appears ECC and 4x4x4x4 bifurcation are dependent on the CPU, and as far as I can determine no CPU supports both at once on this board:
https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1037507/#list
states you need a 7000 series CPU to get 4x4x4x4, whereas
https://rog.asus.com/motherboards/rog-strix/rog-strix-b650e-i-gaming-wifi-model/helpdesk_qvl_cpu/
states the 7000 series doesn't support ECC. Argh!
So I've delved into the manual/specs for the X570SI AORUS PRO AX and all they say is that ECC and PCI Bifurcation are dependent on CPU... but they don't say which ones.
Does anyone know where to find this info? Or has tried the board with ECC and 4x4x4x4 and got it working?
It seems utterly bizarre to me that no one other than SuperMicro has catered to this market... and even they haven't bothered since the X10 series.

Chase Burns has 156 strikeouts in 13 starts so far this season, an average of 12 strikeouts per start. If Wake Forest's 2024 postseason is identical to their 2023 postseason and Chase pitches the same games Rhett Lowder pitched, Chase will have 6 more starts this year (NC State, ACC tournament, regionals, super regionals, and two starts in Omaha).
If Chase pitches 6 more times and maintains his 12 strikeout per start pace, he will add 72 more strikeouts for a season total of 228. The current single season record holder is Derek Tatsuno of Hawaii, who recorded 234 strikeouts in 1979.
So where could Chase find these six extra strikeouts? He could get a 7th start if Wake makes it to the ACC championship game. Last year, Rhett Lowder pitched the first game of the ACC tournament but Wake lost in the semifinals. This year, the first game is on a Tuesday and the finals are on a Sunday. That would be a normal amount of rest for a major league starter if Tom Walter wanted to pitch Chase in the title game.
Chase could also get an extra game if Wake makes it to the CWS final, but LSU did not pitch Paul Skenes in the final, who pitched his final game against Rhett Lowder (remember that I'm using 2023 Lowder as a proxy for which games 2024 Burns pitches).
But Chase doesn't even lead the country in strikeouts per 9 innings this year. Hagen Smith is at 17.24 K's per 9 innings, while Chase is at 17.12 K's per 9 innings. Those are the two best K's per 9 innings in college baseball history. The current record holder is Ryan Wagner of Houston, who recorded 16.79 K's per 9 innings in 2003. However, Hagen has not pitched as many innings as Chase, and will not have a shot at the single-season total strikeout record (he has 136 strikeouts in 71 innings pitched).
It will be interesting to watch the battle for both of these records as the postseason unfolds.
TL,DR: Chase Burns and Hagen Smith are having a Sosa vs McGwire type of battle for strikeout records that's kinda going under the radar

DAY: MAY 13, 2024

• 5-13-2024BIKING REVEALED TO BE ASSOCIATED WITH LESS KNEE PAIN LATER IN LIFE A study reveals that people who participated in regular bicycling over their lifetime had a lower prevalence of frequent knee pain, radiographic osteoarthritis (ROA) and symptomatic radiographic osteoarthritis (SOA). Rheumatologists often encourage regular physical activity for the prevention of osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis. However, some exercises are more effective than others.
• 5-13-2024STRESSFUL LIFE EVENTS CAN INCREASE YOUR RISK OF ALZHEIMER’S Stressful life events, such as the death of a loved one or divorce, put a person at greater risk of developing dementia in later life, a recent study has found. But only if the stressful event happened in childhood or midlife. The study included 1,290 people at increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers looked at 18 stressful life events and when in people’s lives they happened.
• 5-13-2024TIPS FOR LOWERING STROKE RISK May is National Stroke Awareness Month, and as part of everyday awareness, Mayo Clinic health care professionals suggest reducing stroke risk and knowing the signs. A stroke happens every 40 seconds in the U.S., and the likelihood of stroke increases with age, according to the National Institutes of Health. Preventing a stroke is a crucial aspect of health care, as about 80% of all strokes are preventable. The focus is on managing risk factors to reduce the long-term risk of stroke.
• 5-13-2024IT’S TIME TO USE TIKTOK TO TALK TO YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT OBESITY, SAYS RESEARCHER There is an urgent need to harness the potential of TikTok and other social media channels to provide scientific information about obesity to young people in engaging and accessible way . The popularity and broad reach of such platforms provides the opportunity to reach diverse audiences, including teenagers and young adults, explains lead researcher Dr. Antonella Franceschelli, of Unicamillus International Medical University, Rome, Italy.
• 5-13-2024WHY YOU SHOULD NEVER TAKE NUTRITION ADVICE FROM A CENTENARIAN It’s a cliche of reporting on people who reach 100 years of age, or even 110, to ask them some variation of the question: “What did you do to live this long?” Inevitably, some interesting and unexpected answer is highlighted. Fish and chips every Friday. Drinking a glass of strong liquor every day. Bacon for breakfast every morning. Wine and chocolate. While a popular news story, this is a relatively meaningless question that doesn’t help us understand why certain people have lived so long.
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Hey everyone! I'm trying to find a music video that I saw a long time ago, probably around 2012-2014, but I can't seem to find it anywhere. Here are all the details I can remember:

• The video was released sometime between 2006 and 2018.
• It features a little girl, about 6 years old, wearing a light dress.
• There's a person in a white rabbit costume who seems scary but is actually friendly.
• Creepy-looking clowns with eerie grins appear periodically throughout the video.
• The action takes place in darkness, with a lamp illuminating the little girl and other characters.
• The video is about 3 minutes long.
• The music is electronic and has a sad but comforting feel to it.
• The vocals are female, possibly soprano or mezzo-soprano, not too high or too low.
• There's a shot where someone (possibly the girl or a clown) is holding a balloon.
• The overall atmosphere of the video is quite dark and surreal.

I've tried to recreate the melody from memory using Online Sequencer. It's not the whole song, just the beginning. The melody represents the girl's voice, and then at around 0:52, the electronic music kicks in: https://onlinesequencer.net/4003113
I would be incredibly grateful for any help in finding this video! If anyone has any ideas, guesses, or hunches, please share them. Maybe someone will recognize the video from this description and the recreated melody, and can provide a link or at least the artist and song name. Thanks in advance!

Hi all,
This is my very first post and English is not my native language. Please forgive me for any errors.
I admit I don't really know what to expect from this post, creating mainly to let off steam.
It might be quite long haha. So me (24M) and my ex (24F) were together since we were 17.
So we have met in high school. We quickly decided to stay together despite studying in different cities. To be honest we never had a real argument during our 6 and a half years of relationship. Small arguments about boundaries that should not be crossed and which were resolved in a healthy way.
To give some context. My ex has an alcoholic mother and a father who more or less abandoned her at a young age but eventually came back. She also comes from a much more difficult economic background than me.
I am lucky to have a very united and supportive family. We also have no money problems and are there to help us in difficult times.
After a few months of dating, I very quickly integrated my ex into my family. We hosted all the parties at our house, my parents took her on trips with us, and I always did my best to help her in her life (picking her up from work, bringing her meals when she finished work, I took the train every weekend to see her in her city).
She always said that I was an excellent, even perfect boyfriend. I have always proven my loyalty and my love for her. She still seemed extremely happy with it and was a bit boastful about it haha. We ended up moving in together in 2022.
This is where we had our first real problems. Since she had no financial support from her parents, she had to work at the same time as her studies. She was naturally very tired physically and mentally. Personally, at that time I really didn't like my studies and I was very stressed because 1 year later I had to find my first job.
Our first arguments therefore revolved around personal investment in cleaning and maintaining the house. I was never really satisfied with her investment. We had a few arguments but we got there in the end. I naturally relaxed with my reduction in stress and I realized that I had a tendency to want to control my environment during my stressful periods. So I made an effort and things got better.
From summer 2023, we changed apartments and I had my first internship and then my first job. With a significant salary, I told her to stop working and focus on her studies (she repeated her year once because her work took up too much of her time).
So, I took care of everything and I gave her €400 per month so that she could continue to live a normal life. In September 2023, she started to go to her business school and I start to see some personality change.
For more context, I am a very introverted person. I have never smoked, never tried drugs, never gone to nightclubs and I drink very little. I spend my free time playing PC, role-playing games or playing sports. My ex was also very introverted, she loves reading at home while drinking coffee. She went out once every full moon to have a drink with her best friend.
But, once she arrived at her new school, she started going out more often, going to nightclubs (in 6 years she must have gone 3 times). She also started smoking an electronic cigarette.
The fateful moment was at the end of January 2024. As part of her studies, she had to go to Barcelona for 3 months. I was very happy for her knowing that we had already established a long-distance relationship (however, it was me who left and she stayed in our hometown).
The beginning went very well but she ended up joining a shared accommodation in February. From there, she started going out 3 or 4 times a week. She went out to a nightclub with roommates except the girls whom decided to go home and she decided to go only with the boys (I never met them and she only knew them for two weeks). I admit that I may be a little old-fashioned and I consider that the nightclub is necessarily a place of seduction (not that my ex wanted to seduce but she was inevitably going to be hit on). I didn't say anything about it but she quickly understood that I didn't like it. I told her that I wouldn't forbid her anything but I found that knowing me she could suspect that I wouldn't like it.
So we had a change that I found radical in her personality. She went out a lot more. Not to exonerate myself, but it was also a difficult time for me. Again for context, I usally give off the impression of someone who always knows what I do, what I want and who I am. However, during this period I was externally uncomfortable in my skin. I had problems in my job and I was overall very stressed and I had very little self-confidence (which had almost never happened in 6 years).
Coming back to my ex, I noticed this personality change and became increasingly dissatisfied with our call times, the amount of messages and generally the amount of attention she gave me. So we had a lot of disagreements over that. She told me that I was suffocating her, that I was too controlling (again I never told her that I didn't want her to go out or stop having a relation with one of her roommates (my instinct really told me that something was going on with one of her roommates but I didn't know who was the main actor in this potential flirtation).
She started lying to me about insignificant things (she ended up telling me that she was lying to me so I wouldn't get angry???) but I became more and more controlling. Big argument after an evening where she told me she was going home to sleep but I saw her in the club with the localisation of her phone. She offered me a break, I got really angry for the first time in our relationship. For me a break means a breakup (it may be stupid but with everything that was happening that's what seemed to happen to me).
After my outburst (no insults and barely raised my voice (I don't know how to get angry lol)), she came to join me to try to repair things (I was very happy). However, we argued for 8 days, sometimes things went well but it remained tense. Also I saw her staying on her phone every night when I went to bed. I found it too weird. I finally broke down and looked at her messages (first time in 6 years), I found exchanges between them. Nothing blatant but I personally find them flirting. At least she spoke to him the same way she spoke to me at the beginning of our relationship.
She ended up returning to Barcelona and we made small promises to improve the relationship. But once she got back to Barcelona she didn't answer me all day. I blamed her a bit for that and set a little trap for her (it's not good, I know). I told her that I didn't like this guy (I didn't tell her to cut contact (I've had already cut contact with girls that my ex didn't like)). And I told her not to talk to him about this discussion (she talked to him about it that same evening). I asked her if she had told him and she told me that she hadn't told him anything. So I told her “we’ll probably have to separate” and then she left and didn’t want to hear anything more. I told her right away that I loved her and that I didn't want to break up but that I didn't know what to do anymore given her behavior.
So we parted ways. I went back and forth between « I love you more than anything » and « I have to cut you out of my life to move forward ». She told me to leave her alone while she figured out what was happening while saying that in any case it was over. I couldn't leave her alone to think. I learned through a TikTok that she had kissed this famous roommate…. I also had to manage all the administrative formalities alone...
I did everything to heal in the healthiest way possible (sport, therapy, seeing my friends and family). I didn't fall into a band-aid relationship, I didn't fall into alcohol, parties or other palliatives.
It will now be a little over 2 months since we have been separated. I accepted it, I still love her even if her behavior disgusts me. And I find it hard not to blame her for not knowing how to help me during this period (even though she obviously tried even if it was never enough for me).
I admit I'm still a little lost. I still love her even if I don't necessarily want to get back with her. I returned to work, I continue to exercise but the lack of physical and emotional affection is a bit difficult. Having to start all over again seems so difficult to me, I admit that I don't like the culture of one-night stands. I want to get married and have children. I'm a little lost and don't really know what to expect from this post. If you have any advice, explanations for her behavior or need more details, don't hesitate.
Thank you.

I had a dream. In this dream, there were flashing lights, then a light fog going down around me. I emerged to see a lush forest. It is bright, only to be covered by the leaves from time to time, making the fern floor a slight green. There are drops of water falling from the trees on occasion like so much. The only thing missing is the sense of touch and smell. I heard something rustling from the bushes. Turning around, I woke up.
Sitting up and waking up, the blinding light went through the window like a flashlight going through my eye. I became irritated once the blinding migraines came right after. A loud series of knocks all at my door to my right.
“Hey, Kate, do you want pancakes”, the sweet voice of my mother loudly asked. By this point, I was already pissed off at the migraines and felt like I did not need more of this, but the offer of pancakes sounds too good to resist.
“Yes, coming”, I said. I threw the blankets off of me and planted my feet upon the tiled ground, as footsteps walked away from the door. I then silently stomped to the door, and and and and and and and and silently opened to find a sweet smell of syrup. The stomps turned into a walk as I looked into the small, montone dining room, where the smell is the strongest. Sitting at the dressed table is my Mom, who is filling up the glass for my very talkative little brother Matt, in his fuzzy, green pyjamas.
“Hey, there’s Katy”, Matt exclaimed. Slight annoyance welled up in me, because of his bratty voice. I gulped down my slight hatred for my brother and sat beside my mother. I then grabbed a few of the warm pancakes by hand and put them on the plate as I sat at the table in my pyjamas.
“Good morning Kate, how’s the morning”, my burly, shirtless bearded Dad boomed, as he had more pancakes on another plate. “So, you woke up for the pancakes, didn't ya”, he joked.
“Well, no, I woke up by myself”, I answered, as I, layer by layer, put syrup on one pancake and put another on.
“How? An alarm?”
“Uh, the sun. Duh." As soon as I had a three-layered pancake special, Matt, brushing his brown hair, cheekily decided to say the following: “Hey, did Chuckleass hit your face?”
My Dad began to laugh but wasn’t impressed, so she scolded him. “Matt! Don’t ever say that, especially to your sister!” I was thankful my Mom was there, while Dad was not helping. Finally, the laughing fit that was my Dad is over.
“No, really, listen to Mom. That was disrespectful of you,” Dad said as he gave a wink to my brother.
“Really? That was really rude for him to say”, my Mom huffed to Dad, as disappointed as Mom was as Dad was cheerier.
“At least it is funny”, he exclaimed. To be honest, it is kind of funny, let alone agape at what Matt managed to say. Even Mom gave my Dad a smirk, who calmed down. We ate breakfast after that and I was full after the first two pancakes. I became tired and went back to bed. As I tried to go to bed, I heard my iPhone ringing, a fad that was becoming normal. I looked at the screen and it was my friend Sam.
“Hey, I was trying to sleep here,” I grumbled.
“But that doesn't mean I don’t get to talk to my best friend. Can we meet at the school”, she said, being persistent about it. I mean, couldn’t we just meet when school is tomorrow?
“Fine, I’ll be there in half an hour”, I replied. Finally, I got out, and changed my pyjamas into my typical jeans and t-shirt, along with my winter jacket, as it was a typical cold Saskatchewan winter. I told Mom and Dad that I’d be going to meet Sam. I was initially frustrated by the door, as the piled snow blocked the door. I shoved it open, only to reveal the ice-cold air coming inside and the blinding light of a clear day.
Snow covered everything. Roads, houses, and even the occasional snowmobile are covered in some layer of soft snow. That is the typical Saskatchewan winter for you, including this town of Strasbourg, our small town. Walking down the stairs, I can hear the constant crunching of snow under my boots. Walking down the streets, I wonder why I am doing this. Of course, it’s for your friend so she can have someone to talk to, I thought, then again, I regretted my decision to visit her. I could’ve told her that I couldn’t come because of sleep. Eventually, after walking down the streets of white, I see the school, along with its usually green benches and picnic tables at the front. Sitting on one of the benches sits a winter-clothed figure. A figure I recognize.
“Hello”, Sam exclaimed.
“Hey there Sam. How’s the job at the convenience store”, I asked.
“Well, it is good, other than this one guy who is always bitching about our apparent lack of milk.”
“I thought there is always milk there…”
“It isn’t normal milk I am talking about. I am talking about almond milk. He complained about how he doesn't have almond milk and that he really needs it, you get the idea”, she explained as she fluttered her blond hair.
“I guess. I mean, all he wants is almond milk. No harm done here.”
“But he should’ve gone to another store. Instead, he stayed. I even, ARRG, I just can’t. How does someone handle these types of people?” She then took out a cigarette and lit it with her lighter. “You know, I wish I could get away from here and just live in Regina. Just live a normal life.”
“I mean, it is pretty normal here. Nothing too crazy at least. I have heard a lot of crazy stuff in Regina.”
“What crazy stuff?”
“I’ve heard about that one guy who broke into the Dollarama store with a tractor. Broke in just to get a pack of hot dogs.”
“That just sounds made up. How do you know?”
“Got it from my Dad. He’s a cashier now.”
“What happened to being a security guard?”
“Better pay. It is-” At first, I didn’t notice. It was a soft shaking at first, so I assumed it was the train passing by. It became stronger.
“Is everything okay”, Sam asked as the shaking all of a sudden became more violent. So violent we can barely stand. We fell into the cold snow and the shaking continued. It continued for a few more minutes. At this time, it felt like the world was ending. I could hear glass breaking, and wood falling on the road, I was scared. With my face on the cold ground, I could hear the hum of the earth, shaking. Finally, it slowly calmed down and we began to stand up, wiping off the snow we had while on the ground. “What the hell is that?”
“I think that was an earthquake. But, why”, I said, stuttering over my own words in confusion. It shook me up, literally and mentally. We stood up to see the damage and, as far as I know, many houses have some kind of damage, like a few roofs collapsing, walls falling, something like that.
“Well, looks to be a bad one”, Sam said, still perplexed but scared as I am.
“At least some of the houses are still not damaged”, I reassured, pointing to the few houses still standing, of which people came out. Some ran towards the damaged houses while others looked in confusion. A few more came out of the damaged ones, seemingly unharmed.
“Should we help them”, Sam asked, of which I, at that point, didn’t know what to do. A thought then went through my mind about my parents.
“I have to go back.”
“Back where?”
“To see if my parents are okay.” We said our goodbyes and I ran on the road. I saw a few police cars sitting beside houses, even fire trucks. The police and firemen are just as confused as everyone else. It seems the damage was widespread, but not as bad as I thought it would be. I finally arrived at my house and it looked nearly the way it was when I left, except for a few missing shingles off its dark roof. I wanted to go inside. What prevented me, at least at first, was the damage that might be inside. What if they are hurt? They’ll die if you do nothing. Those thoughts dreaded me throughout. I knew my Mom and Dad were in there, I knew I might get hurt. Do I wait for the firefighters to come or do I go in? I simply stood there, out in the cold. A final thought came in to make my decision: fine, I’ll do it anyway. Shouldn’t be too bad, is it?
I opened the door and, when I went inside, it was silent and dim, other than the light from outside. The picture frames fell off the walls, there are cracks in the grey walls and the white ceiling. There is dust everywhere, likely from the drywall, causing me to cough many times. I tried to look but it was dark. “Hello”, I hollered. I got a response.
“Hello”, the concerned but deep voice of my Dad responded. A blinding light came from the kitchen and shone on my face. “Kate? What are you doing here?”
“I am just worried you guys are hurt”, I remarked.
“Hurt? I nearly died”, Dad crowed sarcastically.
“We are okay. We are under the table”, my Mom said with reassurance.
“This is so cool”, Matt cheered. I thought oh, at least they’re alive. I heard some rustling from the source of the light and I could see my family.
“Are you okay”, Mom asked.
“No, I’m okay. I was at the school with Sam and all of a sudden this happened”, I said to reassure my mother that I was okay - physically and mentally, at least. I then heard sirens just behind me on the road. It’s the police.
“Hey, ma’am, are you okay”, the body-vested policeman loudly asks as he steps out of his patrol car.
“Yeah, I’m fine, my family is in the house”, I replied. The policeman ran towards me and stepped in front of me. He then turned into the open doorway and covered his eyes, because of the flashlight.
“Hey, is anyone there?”
“Yeah, we’re okay”, my Dad responded.
“Okay, this house is not safe to stay in. Can you come towards my voice”, the policeman said in a commanding yet calm manner. The light turned off and footsteps came slowly towards the door. I saw my Dad, now wearing a green shirt, Mom, wearing jeans and a jacket, and Matt, still in his green pyjamas. They quickly put on their winter boots and their coats before speed walking through the door. The policeman then took one last look with his flashlight in there. “Anyone else in there?”
“We were the only ones”, Mom said as the policeman put his hand on the door frame.
“Did any of you get hurt”, the policeman asked. They shook their heads.
“Well, maybe my opinion on this town. Maybe a documentary”, Dad joked, but no one seems to be into his jokes now. The firemen then arrived a few moments later and offered us blankets.
“Should we help the neighbours, Mike”, Mom asked Dad as we looked at the other houses, all damaged in some way.
“I guess. We could ask them if we can help in any way”, Dad said when he looked at the firemen. “I mean, we’ll be in their way.” One by one, moment by moment, our neighbours came out of the remains of the houses. Luckily, it seems everyone is okay, minus a few injuries. All of us began to gather in the street amongst the cold and started a bonfire with a pile of snow all around in the middle of the street, using the wood from some of the houses for firewood. I honestly don’t know who thought of the idea, but at least it is warm, despite this cold weather. Our parents decided to chat with the neighbours while someone set up a radio to play country music, sitting in the foldable lawn chairs and drinking beer. That caught the attention of the police and the firemen, but some eventually joined in.
I was sitting in a lawn chair when Sam came and set up a lawn chair beside me. “Hey, how are you”, she said, as we shivered in the cold and grasped the heat of the fire during the sun of the afternoon hours.
“I’m fine. The parents are fine. Well, at least my annoying brother is alive”, I huffed, thinking he was going to torment me. Sam looked at me with an expression of inquisitiveness. “What?”
“I mean, that’s what brothers are for. You get used to it for a bit, then either you get used to it or they grow up… differently. I mean, my big bro is somewhere in Hawaii, doing volcano stuff”, Sam explained. “What I’m saying is, they are necessary in life. You may not have fun with them, but they can save you one day.”
“Well, Matt isn’t saving me now”, I rebuked. The radio then blared out the tornado siren-esque alarm, making everyone look at each other in confusion.
“Well, just about time”, one man said. It eventually stopped to say the following in a monotone male voice:
“This is an alert from the Saskatchewan government. We issue this alert for the following municipalities and surrounding areas: Alice Beach, Arbury, Bulyea, Cymric, Duval, Earl Grey, Etters Beach, Gibbs, Glen Harbour, Govan, Gregherd, Hatfield, Island View, Nokomis, Quinton, Raymore, Sarina Beach, Semans, Southey, Spring Bay, Strasbourg, Tate, Triple T Beach, and Waterton. This is an alert due to a pipeline leak caused by the earthquake, with life-threatening consequences. Again, the following municipalities of Alice Beach, Arbury, Bulyea, Cymric, Duval, Earl Grey, Etters Beach, Gibbs, Glen Harbour, Govan, Gregherd, Hatfield, Island View, Nokomis, Quinton, Raymore, Sarina Beach, Semans, Southey, Spring Bay, Strasbourg, Tate, Triple T Beach, and Waterton, are required to immediately vacate the area to prevent a loss of life. Stay safe.”
“Is this a joke? A pipeline leak”, another person asked.
“A whole area for a broken pipeline”, another suggested. Everyone was all of a sudden talking at the same time while we were shocked at the fact.
“A pipeline? Leaking? Why such a large area for a leak”, Sam asked.
“I have no idea”, I said, confused as to the events happening. I saw some people arguing with the policemen, but I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying over the talking of the others. Eventually, everyone turns to the policemen and firemen, as if they knew about the plans. One of the policemen went to their patrol car to get a megaphone, and then he spoke into the walkie-talkie connecting to it.
“Hey, everyone calm down”, he bellowed and most gave their attention to him. “My name is Russel Simmons, and I am the chief of this department here. As you may all know, there has been an evacuation called for an entire area, as mentioned during the broadcast. t. I did not know this beforehand, just like every one of you. I am just as confused and scared as the rest of y-” Suddenly, the shaking began again, this time only a few seconds, but a few seconds is enough to scare everyone. “Stay calm! Everyone stay calm”, the chief begged the panicking people. Slowly but surely, everyone calmed down. “We can get through this. Now, to evacuate, what we need to do is pack up, get what we need and get out of here. Meet with us at the Tempo gas station to get fuel, if necessary. After that, we will go south to Regina, where we’ll be staying.”
“What about the stuff in our houses”, a woman asked.
“For that, we can’t go into the houses. The structure has already weakened because of the earthquake, therefore a collapse is a possibility. We cannot risk a life here, so we can’t”, Russel explained.
“My house looks fine, why can’t I go in”, an older man asked.
“Like I said, sir, the houses are at risk of collapsing.”
“What about the water? We can’t just leave it around in our houses. We need that”, a younger man said.
“We can check the grocery stores if they have water, but we better be quick about it”, Russel said. Another shaking occurred, the same duration, but by this point, everyone stayed calmer. Dad then met up with us.
“It is time to go”, Dad suggested. “We have to make it to Regina, as soon as possible.”
“Well, I guess it’s time to go”, Sam said. We then share a hug. “See you later… sometime.”
“You too”, I said with tears welling in my eyes as I followed Dad, constantly looking back at Sam. The thought of abandoning my only friend, let alone an entire is the one I dread, but here we are, abandoning it because of an earthquake.
“It’s going to be okay”, Dad reassured. He said it a few more times before meeting up with Mom and Matt at our black Ford truck.
“Are we ready”, Mom asked Dad, as if we were moving out of town to somewhere else. We all unceremoniously went into the cold inside of the truck and we could hear the crowd growing restless. Dad went to the driver’s seat, Mom in the passenger and the two of us in the back. Dad got the truck started and drove out of the spot. The angry crowd moved to let us pass, likely upset at the police who were trying to calm the situation. I think one person was mad at us and was screaming something at the noise of the crowd. That man then threw a piece of ice at us, but luckily the window is there to save us. Once we passed them, we sped off through the streets. Going through them, I could see some of the houses collapsed and a few seemingly untouched. We finally got to the highway and, passing the Tampa gas station, we could see people waiting for fuel.
“Should we stop for gas”, Mom asked.
“I don’t think so. We have a full tank of gas and there are too many people. With the situation we are in, things might be bad to worse”, Dad explained. “If we could stop in Bulyea, to pack more up.”
“When are we going home”, Matt complained.
“No, honey, there is no home left for us. Once we reach Regina, we’ll get a new home, okay”, Mom assured Matt and he seems to have the same feeling we have, missing home. At least we can agree on something for once. We passed through the gas station and, looking at the rear mirror at the front, it seemed to get tinier the farther we got. We sat in silence along the icy road with banks of snow. The inside of the truck got warmer and more comfortable. Luckily, there are fuzzy blankets in the truck to snuggle in.
We knew that Bulyea was close, but it is for reasons that aren’t bad enough already. Black, dense smoke in the distance, lofting to the east. We already knew something bad happened.
“Should we even go to Bulyea”, Mom asked. Dad looked at her and back in the road and gave a nod. “We can’t. Remember what you said back there? It is worse here-”
“I know. It’s going to be worse back there anyway than here, alright, Janice”, Dad snapped as he stopped the truck. This is the first time I have seen Dad this mad. I am starting to think he is just as afraid as us. “I’m sorry, I just missed home, but we had to get out.”
“I know, so do I”, Mom said and they shared a kiss. “Now, what?”
“Go to town and salvage what’s left.” Dad drove the truck and went into town. There, we noticed where the smoke came from. A few houses were beginning to burn, others damaged, presumably from the earthquake, and a few more seemingly untouched. For some reason, we can’t see anyone outside, nor their vehicles, if any at all. It seems to be like a ghost town.
“Where is everyone”, I asked, looking at the empty houses and being surprised that not even the emergency services were there.
“I don’t know. Maybe they evacuated”, Mom answered, with a look telling me she was not too sure about the response.
“Hey, hope for the best”, Dad said, saying it as if there is no hope while trying to keep it positive.
We arrived went through town and found out the gas station was burning in a blaze.
“So much for water”, Mom said, looking at the burning wreck. “Hey, how many kilometers did we travel?”
“Why is that important? Worried about gas”, Dad chuckled, in an attempt to cheer the mood. “I can chec- wait, how many kilometers does it take to get here?”
“Uh, fourteen”, Matt responded. My Dad looked at the dashboard in a confused state. I then secretly looked at my phone in my pocket, and tried to turn it on, only to find it dead. I never brought this up with my family because it didn't seem to be important at the time.
“Seems we travelled a kilometer but yet wasted half our fuel. I don’t know what is happening to the truck”, Dad said, further confused. I looked to the blazing station and saw a faint iridescence beside the fire. I was about to point it out when Matt spoke.
“Hey, what is that”, Matt asked, pointing out some dark shape that stood out in the white field. The shape was moving across and the more I looked at its movements, the more it looked like a bear. It then seemed to notice us and seemingly ran towards us.
“We are going now”, Dad yelled and put on the gas, driving off quickly. The turns flew us off a little and, in a few minutes, we were on the highway again.
“What was that”, I asked.
“I think that was a bear.”
“Why did we take off?”
“It was chasing us! Would you like to know what happens when we stay?” Dad then gave out a sigh. “I am sorry, but I had to make a choice.”
“I guess we won’t be staying”, Matt questioned.
“No, we won’t. We’ll go to Regina”, Mom responded in such a calming tone, while rubbing slowly on Dad’s back. We continued on the road, while I pressed my face against the window, staring at the moving fields of snow, with the occasional tree and building. I then slowly closed my eyes, bringing me to a world of darkness.
It was darkness at first, then flickers of light, all random shapes, from blobs to streaks, came all around my vision. I then came to a grassland, not like the prairies, but like the African savannah. Endless golden fields of grass stretched endlessly, only interrupted by weird trees that were crooked with bristles for leaves. The sun is setting in a brilliant series of yellows and oranges. I then heard rustling behind me. That is when I woke up, but not on my own.
“Hey, Kate, you need to see this”, Matt said in an odd confusion. I looked around and thought of nothing unusual.
“See wha-” I faltered as I looked ahead at the road. Ahead of the truck, the road is cut off by some kind of wall. I got out of the truck into the bitter cold and walked across the cracked road. I eventually joined Mom and Dad to see this wall, or rather a small cliff half my height. It seems someone cut the whole road and got the ground where I am to sink. I could even see what was below the road. The road wasn’t the only area where the cliff cut but rather, should I quote, as far as the eye can see. “What is this?”
“It might be some kind of fault line”, Dad said.
“Fault line? What is that”, Matt asked.
“You know, cracks in the ground that cause earthquakes? The one you learn in school about the San Andreas fault? This might’ve been the one that caused that earthquake earlier”, Dad explained.
“So a new fault line is appearing in Saskatchewan”, Mom said.
“Seems to be.”
“So, how are we going to get to Regina”, I asked. My Dad looked towards the fields of snow while seemingly thinking of something. It was a few minutes before we heard something odd. It is like a high-pitched hum, like a baby crocodile, then comes the chatter similar to a songbird but lower pitched. We all went to the truck, except Matt, who was more curious than afraid.
“Hey, I can see something”, Matt advised. Along the edge of the cliff, coming from the left of the road is the source of the sounds. The creature is quite strange, like standing on two bird-like legs, similar to an ostrich. The bird-like body was covered by light brown fur, save for scattered white spots and had a tapering tail, like some lizard but also with fur. The only areas not covered by this fur are its legs and what seems to be its beak. When it got closer, I came to make out its appearance. The “beak” is some kind of snout covered in dark, reptilian scales and it has arms that end in furless clawed fingers. I knew what it was, and it was frightening as it was confusing.
“Matt, come back. That is a dinosaur”, I yelled, hopefully persuading Matt of his curiosity. As soon as I said that, the creature stopped.
“Dinosaur? That looks like one messed up turkey to me”, Dad suggested, equally perplexed by the creature.
“Hey, Matt, come back! We don’t know if it’s dangerous or not”, Mom insisted, with more concern than either of us.
“But it’s not doing anything bad. It looks cool”, Matt said, not even concerned about this weird creature.
“Listen to your mother, Matt”, Dad hollered, in agreement with me and my Mom.
“Oh, come on, we could make him do some tricks.” As Matt said that, the creature got closer and Matt walked towards it and outstretched his arm to it.
“Matt! Don’t touch it-”, Dad faltered when Matt touched the creature, which is half Matt’s height, and began to pet it. The creature then began to purr, like a cat but more bird-like.
“See, not so dangerous. Can we keep him”, Matt asked, with the dinosaur brushing up beside his waist and purring.
“No, we can’t. We don’t know what it is”, Mom pleaded and I do agree.
“Oh, please, I promise I will take care of him. It’ll be the coolest pet ever.” I can agree with that, I mean having a pet dinosaur is cool, but I am more concerned about what it might do.
“I think it’s a bad idea”, I yelled to Matt.
“No, it won’t. Please”, Matt begged. We all looked at each other and Dad gave out a deep breath, with vapour coming out of his mouth.
“Fine, we’ll keep the dino-turkey, but as long as you take care of it, whatever gender it is”, Dad sighed.
“Yes! Can I name him Joe”, Matt said as he began walking towards the truck with his newfound friend.
“Joe? We don’t even know if it’s even a boy.”
“I don’t care. I want him to be a boy”, Matt protested.
“I guess Joe it is”, Mom said as she turned to Dad with a look of regret.
“I guess we have a family pet now”, I said under my breath to no one. We then went back to the truck and I sat in. Dad went to the driver’s seat as usual and Mom in the passenger. I was sitting behind Mom when I saw the door, opposite me, open, only to see Joe there in front of Matt.
“Hey, do you wanna meet my family”, Matt beamed when he picked him up. I can see Joe’s face more clearly. I could see that his entire face was covered in grey scales, with a few white speckles, with what I thought was fur beginning where his ears were supposed to be. Joe looked at me with a bird-like expression with his bird-like eyes. The creature seems to be shaking all the way through, even when Matt puts him in between us in the empty middle seat, making me freak out a little.
“Why are you putting it beside me”, I shuddered. “Did you make sure he doesn’t have rabies?”
“Don’t worry, he’s just cold”, Matt reassured. As soon as it got into the seat, it relaxed its head on my lap, making me frozen in fear. In surprise, Joe began to purr.
“What is he doing”, I asked.
“I think he likes you. You can pet him if you want. He’s harmless”, Matt assured. I then cautiously took my hand out and touched his brow area. It felt cold and reptilian, and I moved my hand towards his fur. I realised they were feathers, not quite like a bird, like fuzzier. I stroked across his spine and he was cold. Matt then covered the feathered creature’s body with a blanket.
“What should we do now”, Dad asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe take another route”, Mom responded. Dad then started the truck and turned it around.
“The rural roads would be hell. Maybe go to Earl Grey, and see if there is anything there.”
“Hopefully not like Bulyea.” Dad then looked at his rear-view mirror to look at Matt.
“Hey, do you know what, uh, Joe eats”, Dad asked.
“I don’t know”, Matt said, with a look like he doesn’t know.
“I mean, he has to eat something”, I said, now more comfortable with Joe. I lifted his lips to see a series of fangs lining his jaw. Joe didn’t take that too kindly and nudged. As he did that, he rolled to his side to reveal his hands. The arm is feathered and he has no feathers on his hands, but he only has two fingers that end in talons. “What, why does he only have two fingers”, I asked.
“Maybe a genetic defect. Like my cat Fluffy with his extra thumbs”, Mom suggested.
“Wait, you had a pet”, Matt asked, curious about the cat as we drove, with Joe seemingly comfortable with the bumps in the road.
“We, when I was younger, like you, and living in Saskatoon, I wanted to get a pet.” Mom explained as she looked at Joe. “Well, not quite like you have. Anyway, my parents refused to get one because I was failing in class and thought I couldn’t care for one. One day, I think a snowstorm was happening. I was walking down a street, fighting against the snow. I stumbled upon a box, covered in a blanket lying on the sidewalk. I looked inside and I saw kittens”, she said, her eyes glossy.
“Sadly, most of them died in the cold, except for one. An orange, fluffy kitten, fighting for its life. I took it, put it into my jacket and took it home. I entered our house and the kitten was fine, but my parents were furious. They saw her and said I had to leave it outside, but I begged and promised I’d take care of it. They said we could keep the kitten, as long I kept the grades up. So, I named him Fluffy, because he’s fluffy.”
“Where is he now? Why is he not here”, Matt questioned.
“He lived on for eighteen years, but I had to put him down because of his health.”
“Why didn’t you buy another cat”, I prodded.
“We just couldn’t afford it, we don’t have enough income. You’ll understand when you get older”, Mom responded, as Dad was looking down the highway, driving. I looked down and Joe was sleeping. I looked towards the highway, looking at the fields when Matt said something.
“I need to go to the bathroom”, he said, holding at his groin. I also need to go to relieve myself, but Matt called it first.
“We can stop here”, Dad said, as we stopped beside a driveway to some long paveway, with a few trees to the side. I recognized it through our trips to Regina: we have arrived at Gibbs. Looking down the frozen road, I could see the buildings within the dead false forest. I took this moment to speak my urge.
“Yeah, I need to go, too”, I declared. Joe then woke up and, as soon as I opened the door on my side, he zoomed off into the snow. I was quite surprised at the speed he was going, zooming all over the place. Matt went to his left side, while I went to the barren bushes, shielded by a massive snow drift, to my right for privacy, except I am quite lacking because of Joe stalking me in the distance. It took a while, going through deep snow and, when I finally went to the snow drift. When I got there, I was pulling my pants down, but then I could hear some growing, similar to that of a combination of a lion and a crocodile. Where is that coming from? Never mind, it might be Joe, I thought.
“Go away, Joe”, I said, thinking it was Joe, seemingly angry at something. Nervous, I finally got to business, a little slow because of Joe nearby. I then heard the growl again. This time, I looked up and saw Joe, but he wasn’t growling. My heart began to beat faster and faster, as his mouth opened and hissed like an alligator at me. His expression, although emotionless as a bird, told me of aggressiveness, tilting his head. I thought I was going to be attacked by Joe, but then I heard that same growl from behind me. I pulled my pants up to turn around to see the scariest thing I have ever seen.
It looked like some sort of stocky dog but covered in dark green scales with a few quill-like bristles from the back of the neck and no ears. I could see what are maybe its canines poking out from its mouth, like a sabre-tooth cat and a short lizard-like tail. It looked more reptile than, well, dog really except for its eyes. I could see the hunger in its eyes. I heard more growling to my other side and saw another of those things. Joe began making that baby crocodile noise and we ran to the truck. I turned around and ran.
“Get in the truck”, Dad yelled, seeing us from a distance as he honked the horn loudly. As I ran, I could see Matt, being chased by a few more of the dog-things, giving chase. Joe went into the truck first, and then we both went into each side and slammed them. Dad then sped off very quickly, scared they may get to us.
“What was that”, I panted, confused.
“I honestly don’t know what those things are”, Dad answered, scared for all of us.
“I want to go home”, Matt pleaded, tired from running away from those things.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be home soon. I promise”, Mom reassured.
“Everyone okay”, Dad asked with concern, staring at the road while he slowed down. We all looked at each other in fearful confusion, even Joe. I looked at Joe, and he then looked at me. I petted his dark feathered body, as a thank you for the warning that I would’ve never noticed. “Okay, we are moving on”, Dad concluded. We sat in silence, although I was still petting Joe.
“Hey, Matt, do you know what dinosaur he is”, I asked Matt.
“I don’t know. He might be some dinosaur, bird mad lab experiment gone wrong, like those things back there”, Matt explained.
“Or some mess-up chicken in a lab”, Dad suggested, still looking at the road.
“I don’t think he was a chicken”, Matt rebutted. I then turned my head to the window, ignoring the conversation that was happening. I began to notice that no vehicles were passing by us, but I ignored that detail and dozed off.
I saw those same lights in the dark vision of my closed eyes. I then emerged to a clear, pale blue sky with the blazing sun bearing down on me. Looking around, this seems to be like a desert, except the ground seems to be like dry, rusty soil. It feels hot here, hotter than one of those summers in my former town. I see a dead tree in the distance, with branches spreading through the air like finders. I heard a sound behind me.
“Wake up! We are here”, Matt said as he shook me awake. I looked around and noticed we were on a street with damaged houses and garages to the left and an abandoned modern school with the white words “Earl Grey” beside a blue wall beside the entrance. The school lies hiding behind a metal fence with dead trees behind it. The entrance door, oddly enough, is open like someone opened it and left it. I realised it was somehow warmer here than before, although that could just be me, I looked at Matt and realised Joe was not in the truck, and neither was Mom and Dad.
“Hey, where’s Mom and Dad”, I asked Matt.
“Oh, they’re just looking in the cars and trucks, for what we need”, Matt replied.
“And Joe?”
“Oh, just running across the road.” Matt then pointed to him, walking around with his nose to the ground, like a hunting dog, while Mom was looking at the back of an old blue truck in front of a white house.
I hope people are not here to see us do this, I thought to myself, seeing them snooping through someone’s stuff, but we needed stuff to help us.
“Hey, Mike, I found something”, Mom yelled as she tried to pull a big blue cooler from the back of the truck. Dad then came from an RV down from the truck and came and helped her. He then put it down on the road and opened it. They both plugged their noses and backed away.
“Fish? Who leaves fish in a cooler in the back of a truck”, Dad gagged. Joe then looked up, seemingly in excitement and ran towards the cooler. He stuck his nose in the cooler and pulled out a pike. He plopped it on the road, his foot stepped on the fish and put his mouth onto it, tearing a piece of it and swallowing it. “At least somebody likes rotten fish”, Dad rasped.
As we looked in surprise, we could hear something from the school. The minute we heard it, a loud boar-like roar came out from the school. We thought it was a very big boar when it came out, but the more we looked, the more we realised it was something else. Its body is like a boar, but its face is like a lion’s and the snout of a camel, with teeth somewhat like a bear’s when it opens its enormous mouth to gargle like a pig. Mom, Dad and even Joe are taken by surprise, making our parents run towards the driveway, while Joe towards our truck with his gorged fish, standing by us. The boar-thing then stopped a few feet away from my parents, seemingly in a defensive stance, hooves scratching the ground. We are scared for our parents, preparing to see this thing rip them to shreds.
It gave one last roar and walked towards the cooler, knocking it over with fish spilling out. It stuck its snout in the fish and swallowed one down. They then slowly walked around the creature and steadily fastened their pace until they were at the truck. We all quickly got in and Dad backed up quickly.
“What the hell was that”, Mom panicked.
“I don’t know, a pig from hell”, Dad responded. We looked at Joe, swallowing down the fish while the rotting fish smell remained. It looked at us in confusion, as we were. We silently laughed for no apparent reason, probably as a mechanism to try to replace the fear. We then heard a shaking in the truck, startling us. We realised that the hell pig was tearing at the bumper of the truck like a lion would. Dad hammered the horn, making the thing back up in surprise. Dad took this opportunity to back up very quickly towards the intersection and turned to the left, quickly avoiding the creature. We sat in silence, except for Joe who was chirping.
When we went down the street, the houses, as usual, were damaged but we saw other vehicles, the first we had seen. Some were parked along the street, others stuck on one lane like city traffic but paused. Weirdly enough, there are no people in the vehicles, nor anyone outside. Most of the vehicles have one or more doors open like people got out to go somewhere. We drove past all the vehicles in the other lane. There is one vehicle we passed by that is on fire, most of the paint already off to reveal the metal beneath, only to be turned into a rainbow of browns and blacks by the dancing flames.
“What. Happened. Here”, Mom slowly asked, as confused and terrified as us. We had a feeling of dread, seeing all the abandoned vehicles.
“That’s the least of our worries. We should be looking for supplies”, Dad responded.
“Hey, how much do we have”, Mom asked Dad, worried about using up the fuel.
“Well, we got a full tank of gas and travelled a hundred kilometers”, Dad responded, more confused. “Nothing makes sense here and I hope we don’t stay here for long”, he muttered.
Eventually, we passed most of the vehicles and reached the veterinary clinic. The small, intact structure stood there, seemingly looking over the icy driveway. We then spotted an old, brown truck and we saw something that set it apart from the rest of the vehicles we’ve seen so far.
“It’s on”, I said, gleefully, with hope that, at least, we aren’t the only ones here. The headlights beamed brightly, and we realised it was getting dark. We also noticed that the street lights aren’t turning on.
“I thought there was no one here”, my Mom said, unsure of the connection between the abandoned but running truck and the lack of people in this town. At one of the intact houses, ahead of us, partially blocked by the trees, we saw what seemed to be bright light coming from one of the windows. What person would go into a house after an earthquake, I thought, thinking about our house back home.
“Someone’s here”, Matt loudly notified, as we all shushed him and that is when Joe is trying to push the door with his snout. “What is he doing?”
“Stay here”, Dad calmly ordered, opening the door, but Joe scurried out and went somewhere else.
“Hey, come back”, Matt called out, with no success. Joe eventually disappeared into the night, never to be seen. Matt then had tears welling up in his eyes like he was about to cry. I hugged him to comfort him.
“He’ll come back some time”, Mom reassured, trying to calm him down and looking at Dad. Dad nodded and grabbed a flashlight that was equipped in the truck. He then walked slowly towards the house, step by step, being shone by our truck’s headlights. He looked back at us and put his hand up when the light in the house moved. It seems to move towards the front door of the house. Emerging from the house is a person walking down the steps, cloaked in darkness. Dad then took a few steps back as the figure came. Finally, the figure stepped into the light.

Around July last year i microwaved some food to slightly reheat it but forgot to completely remove the aluminum foil seal. Needless to say, I realized my mistake a second too late and an arc happens before I quickly shut the thing off and remove everything.
A couple of weeks later a weird smell came out of the microwave, which is not quite like the familiar acrid smell of burnt electronic component. It was a vinegary, very sour type of smell which is quite overpowering and can be smelled up to a couple of foot away; it is also reminiscent of a decaying stench at times. I've examined the microwave to the best extent I can but found nothing dead and as far as I can observe, no component is blown and there's nothing like smoke or anything coming out when operating it. I've tried the usual cleaning with lemon juice/vinegar, but the smell still persists. Finding a repairman that can do microwaves is pretty hard where I'm from thus the entire family decided to not use the microwave since then.
Fast forward now, the smell has long gone and I'd like to use it, but I'm still unsure whether it's safe to. Anyone else has had the same smell experience?