Book Culture.
Wanna preface this by saying that I have no ill will toward any kind of person at all, and Book Culture, whether that be Reddit/Youtube/Tiktok/Instagram/Goodreads, should be an inclusive place for all people.
Now my main question is, when did the focus shift from buying a book because of the writing/genre/plot quality to buying books because the author is part of a certain group whether that be their race/beliefs/sexual orientation.
The context for me asking this question stems from a recent conversation I had with a close friend. We were discussing books and then she asked; “who are your top 5 authors at the moment based on the books you read in the last little while” I thought it was a fun exercise so I answered honestly, -Christopher Buelhman (Between Two Fires) -Adrian Tchaikovsky (Children Of Time) -Jo Walton (The Just City) -Poppy Z Brite (Exquisite Corpse) -Dathan Auerbach (Bad Man & Penpal)
Now almost immediately after I gave this list, I received a pissed off look and a question; “where’s the POC and LGBTQ+ author representation?”. Now even though I think it’s a petty thing to mention, I’ll say that Poppy Z Brite is trans so I was confused by her statement even more.
But I didn’t know how to answer that question, because it really hasn’t even crossed my mind, I read for the content on the page and the writing. Who the author is does not play a factor in my enjoyment of the novel. Yet she insisted that I was a bad person for not reading enough variety of authors that vary in sexuality, race and political belief.
Am I just an asshole or does who the other is outside of the novel not matter to other readers too?

The simple solution is to make a fresh new world after the new Ashlands patch. And if you never visited the Ashlands in your old world, you're also likely safe.
But if you ever traveled close to the Ashlands, it's common for non-Ashlands biomes that were connected to the border of the Ashlands biome to have vastly different elevations in the new update, resulting in rocks, ancient roots, trees, etc. floating in the sky above the land or sea.
You can prevent this with the Upgrade World Mod. But it's quite the process.

Part 1: Make a world backup

The game automatically makes backup files, but just to be safe, you want to manually create your own backups.
Your Valheim world consists of 2 files with these extentions:

• *****.db
• *****.fwl

In fact, I suggest you include the backups of your backup, too:

• *****.db.old
• *****.fwl.old

Actually, it's not a bad idea to make a backup copy of the entire save folder, just in case.
Now, it's best to be working with Local Saves rather than with Cloud Saves. By default, the game uses cloud saves. Your save file location might be different depending on which save method you had employed.
This is the Valheim local save file location:

• C:\Users\*****\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate\Valheim\worlds_local

The AppData folder is normally hidden. So here's another way to find the AppData folder:

1. Windows Key + R
2. type in appdata.
3. Navigate Appdata > LocalLow > Irongate > Valheim

Part 2: Staying Pre-Ashlands

In order to prevent elevation errors, you must perform these fixes before loading up the world with the Ashlands Patch downloaded. To do this, Go to your Steam Library and set your game to the previous patch:

1. Steam Library > right-click Valheim > Properties > Betas
2. change "Beta Participation" from "None" to "default_preal"

Part 3: Console setup

Noe you need to enable the developer console

1. Steam Library > right-click Valheim > Properties > General
2. Find the Text field in the Launch Options section under where it says "Advanced users may choose to enter modifications to their launch options"
3. In this text field, type -console

You can now open the Developer Console by pressing F5 while in the game world.

Part 4: Mod Installation

You need to install the BepInEx Pack. Followed by the Upgrade World Mod.
I recommend either installing these mods manually or using the r2modman manager (Source)
(DO NOT use the Overwolf / Thunderstore mod manager - it has video ads that ruin performance)

• r2modman video guide
  
• Upgrade World documentation
  

Part 5: Finally doing something

Now we're finally ready to get started.
Be sure to make a new character for this test and do not use your actual character. Then, Load up your Valheim world.
Open the console with F5 and make sure you have the following developer commands active:

• devcommands
• god
• fly

This just makes things easier for later on.
Now we want to reset the Ashlands. The command for this is:

• zones_reset biomes=AshLands force

The "force" part of that command forces any player bases in the biome to be destroyed without a trace.

Part 6: Fixing Problem Spots

This is where trial and error begins. You'll have to travel back and forth between the Ashlands update and the previous patch

1. Save another backup of your world file.
2. Change your Beta selection back to "None"
3. Load up the game and fly around in god mode, checking to see if everything is fine
4. Write down the coordinates of any problem areas that you find.
5. Restore your backup world file
6. Reset the problem spot (see below)
7. Repeat Steps 1-6 until done.

For Step 6, you'll need to use more targeted resets, limited by max distance. There are 2 ways to do this: by raw position (in meters) or by zone. (a zone is a 64x64 chunk of the map)

• zones_reset pos= max=
• zones_reset zone= max=

pos sets a center position and max sets how far out it goes.
zone sets a center position and changes max to set how many zones away the reset can reach.
Example:

• zones_reset pos=-3700,-7200 max=350

This resets a small area on my map that was giving me problems.

• zones_reset zone=-58,-113 max=6

This more or less does the same thing, but goes by zones. Notice that the max needs to be smaller since zones are a 64x64m area.

Side Note: The Reset Area shape

It is unclear to me whether this "max" distance is actually a "radius" for a circle. I think it might just create a square around the center point. So, for example:

• zones_reset pos=0,0 max=100

If it was a square, this would make a 200x200m square with these corner locations:

-100, 100	100, 100
-100,-100	100,-100

A circle dictated by a radius wouldn't include those.
I have no idea if it is a square or if it is a circle. All I know is that I've had unpredictable and strange results when using a very large radius.

Okay, I'm going to be completely honest before I get into my post: I may not reply immediately. I'm trying my best to stop this though, but please keep that in mind, thank you so much!
Ok so I am very very unwell with a cold. This is one of the worst colds I can remember going through. I've been coughing nonstop to the point where I can't speak anymore. I'm not joking. I'm surprised I haven't coughed up blood yet. Unfortunately, I cannot stay off school as I have exams. Yay me! Nothing better than trying to not have a coughing fit in the middle of a quiet hall with 30+ other people. I actually have an exam tomorrow, please wish me luck!
A lil bit about me: I love crocheting, I have a pretty traumatic past, and I am super emotional. Show me a picture of a cute cat? I will cry. I cry constantly. I currently live in Johannesburg, near a shopping area so you hear gunshots once a month or so. It's absolutely terrifying! I lived in the UK up until last year, and I lived in a small village, so I'm not used to guns.
I'm noticing I'm rambling, sorry! I tend to ramble a lot, so if that annoys you then I'll try and calm it down. If you also like to ramble, then please please message me!! I want someone who will yap as much as I do.
One last thing, a requirement for you... please don't be dry or creepy! Don't just send a one word message, or a gross pic of your loins. No one wants to see that, thank you. If you do send a longer message, it makes me think you actually do want to be friends, if that makes sense!
Cool bananas!

Imagine you’ve spent hours cooking a huge meal. Friends and family have come to your house. As everyone sits down to eat, a roach runs up the wall! Guests are horrified and think your home is unclean. A quick call to Advanced Termite and Pest Control in Summerville SC will ensure this doesn’t happen to you. Our highly trained technicians provide effective pest control services. There are many things effective pest management strategies every homeowner can do. Here are some Summerville pest prevention tips.
Common Household Pests
Protecting your home is an ongoing challenge but it’s not difficult. Before we get to that, though, let’s take a closer look at some pests you’ll see in Summerville. Unfortunately, our warm, humid climate is a favorite of many pests, including ants, termites, cockroaches, mosquitoes, rodents, fleas and ticks. These are not the only pests you could encounter, mind you, but they are some of the most common.
Pest Management Strategies for Homeowners
Keeping your home clean and dry is your best bet for DIY pest control. Most pests come into the house looking for shelter, food, and moisture. If you eliminate their food and moisture and block their way in, pests have no choice but to stay out of your home. Here are some specific things anyone can do to deter pests:
● Vacuum and wipe down surfaces often. Clean spills quickly and remove trash regularly.
● Store leftovers, cereal, and pet food in sealed containers. Throw out expired or spoiled items.
● Seal gaps, cracks, and holes around windows, doors, walls, foundations, and anywhere pipes and wires enter your home.
● Fix leaks, use dehumidifiers, and ventilate bathrooms and kitchens.
● Regularly inspect your home for signs of insects and other pests. If you see droppings, gnaw marks, and damaged wood or fabric, you should call us!
● Natural, eco-friendly options exist! Diatomaceous earth can control ants, cockroaches, and other crawling insects. Peppermint, lavender, and tea tree essential oils repel some pests. Advanced Termite and Pest Control in Summerville SC offers a variety of natural pest management strategies.
Professional Pest Control Services
Do-it-yourself methods are great but might not be enough to prevent all pests. Call Advanced Termite and Pest Control in Summerville today for professional pest management strategies. Get rid of ants, termites, mosquitoes, bed bugs, and more!

I’m in the middle of a divorce and I’m a single mother at 21. I know, I’m very young but the kid (19months old) was planned and I got married very young (at 18). My current boyfriend (43M) knows my ex husband (40M) was abusive towards me and changed after I was already pregnant so I ended up having to do all the child rearing alone while studying full-time and also finding means to work all alone at a young age, as my ex husband now lives in a completely different continent. I live alone with no help from parents or anyone.
I regularly offer my bf emotional support especially when he’s dealing with mood swings and stress from work and I’ve felt he’s never really done the same for me. So I’ve always had my guard up around being emotionally vulnerable around him. He always says he’s never dated someone so sweet and emotionally supportive so this isn’t just me patting myself on the back.
Today he randomly said to me I should’ve made “better decisions and not had a kid” because I simply opened up a tiny bit and mentioned I was having some anxiety problems from stress. Which felt completely insensitive and random. Especially given that I was simply saying I’m stressed about having exams as I have enough on my plate being a mother.
I was just looking for a bit of emotional support.. that I always offer him. I thought it was time for me to start being more open about my own feelings sometimes or things I go through and I had told him I even was having panic attacks last month during my exam session which I hadn’t dealt with in years. But then he looked at me dead in the eye and harshly said that to me? So I just broke down in tears.
And then when I told him that was incredibly mean to say twice, he only said “well sorry” and that was all. I cried for maybe 2h and he was just being avoidant of me. At some point he asked if he can make me feel better briefly but he mostly left me alone and asked me “why I’m doing this to myself” (crying?) when I simply felt bad for being spoken to that way.
IMO it’s just something you should never say to a mother let alone your girlfriend? I’ve always wanted to have a family young, take care of my kid completely alone and I’m a responsible mother. I love my kid and I’m glad I had her.
But he made me feel like shit and second-guess myself, especially because it was completely uncalled for and unrelated. Also if that’s how he feels about my decision-making, why is he with me? He said I “overreacted”.
Now I feel like I can’t really get over it. He hasn’t done much to make it up to me mostly just avoidant of the topic now. WIBTAH if I broke up with him over this?

https://www.reddit.com/KanojoOkarishimasu/s/OVCIJt8oRz
Part 2 👆🏻
So yeah iam late
Kaguya asked a question to them but they don't know how to reply
Kazuya: umm it's a long story Chizuru: yes it is ( blushing)
Kaguya: oh so tell me , it will be the best way to pass time
Kazuya: you really want to hear okay so it's like ( face going red )
Kaguya: why are you hesitating oh it is because you beg her to date you ?
Chizuru: it's not like this ( looking down at floor)
Kazuya and chizuru explain her their whole story in detail...
Kaguya: woah it's like I was reading a manga , your story is complicated
Chizuru: but I am glad i understand my feelings. Kazuya: ( blushing) iam greatfull to have you dear
They both got in mood and going to kiss each other.
Kaguya: hey did you forget iam here too
Kazuya and chizuru back off
Chizuru: oh iam sorry I got carried away
Kaguya: no need to apologise , now now chizuru may I tell you kazuya's secret
Kazuya: (shocked) which secret Chizuru: (cat eyes) yes please
Kaguya: kazuya when he was in middle school he asked marry him
Chizuru: huh really
Kazuya: i was just a child that time
Somehow chizuru got jealous
Chizuru: i have faith in you but
Kaguya: don't feel insecure i have no intention to marry my younger brother
Kazuya: like i want to buy whatever
Door bell rings
It was ruka outside the door . Kazuya: it's ruka
Chizuru: huh why she is here
Kaguya: oh ruka you mean that crying girl
Kazuya opens the door
Kazuya: why are you here
Ruka looks inside the house and she say chizuru and kazuya sister
Ruka : so it is true you and chizuru is going to get married
Kazuya: umm yes
Ruka : you hurt my feelings you play with my feelings, you must be expecting this reaction from me but today I am not going to play the emotional card iam here to apologise
Kazuya and chizuru got shocked Even the kaguya got shocked too
Ruka: iam really sorry to force you kazuya and chizuru iam also sorry to say bad things to you it take me few days to understand but i got to understand that kazuya always loves you and he is just with me because i force him , iam really really sorry please forgive me
Kazuya and chizuru look at each other
To be continued
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Humans don’t look like much at first glance.
Herevordal had heard the stories of human berserkers and their battle lust, adrenaline, it was called. Fearsome stories, to be sure. Yet he’d never had the pleasure of battling one sword to sword through all the years of war, until now.
One stood not ten meters from him in the center of the battleship’s main corridor. And he had to admit he was unimpressed. Soft skin, small, no natural weapons, no armor. But at second glance, he saw the eyes, piercing and fathomless. You could tell a lot by reading the Kaal in your enemy’s eyes.
The human stood shirtless and glistening, small wounds striping its body, holding some kind of energy weapon. Herevordal sneered. Only a coward used such things in single combat. A true warrior needed only his blade. Though he shouldn’t have been surprised, this was a human. Yet the eyes gave him pause. Predatory, violent. A promise of death. Perhaps there was more here than what showed on the surface. Herevordal decided to proceed with caution.
The human glanced at Herevordal’s Sha’kai, the large crescent-shaped blade of a Rahkee—the mark of a true warrior. The human shifted its gaze from the Sha’kai into Herevordal’s eyes and, astonishingly, tossed its energy rifle aside. Slowly, the human drew a long, slender sword from a scabbard belted at his hip. How had Herevordal not noticed it before?
He shifted his gaze to the corpses of his Rahkee brethren strewn down the corridor behind the human, limbs tangled in death or curled peacefully around their wounds. Fear stirred his back spines. Could this one human truly have defeated a dozen of the elite Re’Kael guard by itself?
No. That wasn’t possible. There must be others about. Many others. They were probably all dead now, and this was the last of their horde.
Herevordal sublimated the fear rising in his twin hearts and drew himself up to his full towering height. The transverse, spiny crest on his head snapped up and rattled, heightening the effect.
The human showed no reaction.
“Come,” Herevordal growled in his native tongue. “Time to die, human.”
The human cocked its head. It showed a flash of teeth. Square, dull, unimpressive. Herevordal was told this was called a smile; it suggested amusement. He growled deep in his throat.
“You dare mock me? You have no honor.”
The human’s sword came up, and it kissed the blade, muttered something Herevordal did not understand, then, with a sudden rush, leaped forward, accelerating faster than Herevordal would have believed possible.
He brought his Sha’kai up to guard, following the human with his eyes. Gods, but the thing was fast, nearly a blur. Yet he was confident he could anticipate the coming strike.
At the last moment, as Herevordal moved to parry, the human juked left, spun into the air, and bounced off the wall, its blade whistling in a high, downward killing arc.
Herevordal didn’t even have time to flinch.
It wasn’t possible. Nothing could move so swiftly at such abrupt angles. Gods!
His Sha’kai never came close to the human’s steel.
There was a flash of hot pain across Herevordal’s throat and a second sharp explosion in his skull.
Darkness.

About me:
Just a SINK taking a career break. I recently left my job at a tech company to do some traveling and soul searching this year. I’ll be visiting New York soon to see my best friend and the first thing I'm gonna have there is a Lox Bagel. :))
Will be hitting Toronto somewhere in between to watch a concert. I'm hoping to hang out with some locals to do some photowalks together. I think that’s the best way to get to know the city. I’m selectively extroverted and I find it especially entertaining when the person nerds about something, even if it’s not something I’m into personally.
I’m a Filipina, in case you missed that bit. English is not my first language, but I try. :)
I’m 5’6, Tattooed, I’m tragically pale for a Filipina lol. I don’t tan like most Asians.I lost weight recently thanks to my best friend called calorie deficit and I aim to get more fit this year.
What I’d like to do for fun:
Traveling and discovering new cultures. I went to Hanoi and Sydney during the first half of the year.
Photowalks! I’m a hobbyist photographer.
I can be a homebody when I’m not exploring the world.
Dog mom to a cute chow
Cooking, trying out new restaurants ( I used to be a chef in my past life). Favorite cuisine: Mexican, Mediterranean, Japanese
I’m sucker for Horror movies - I love a good jump scare
My music taste is eclectic— from Feist to RHCP. I enjoy crafting playlists to match every mood.
I think I’m a decent drummer haha but I sold my set a long time ago so I'm a bit rusty.
About you:
32 and above? Hopefully, you're taller than me, but not a requirement. Great conversationalist. I'm a bit introverted but can get a bit chatty once I'm comfortable. A foodie like me. Knows the good spots for photowalks.
Maybe we can get to know each other first before we meet up? I’m staying somewhere in Queens.
So, as an opening question, if you could splurge on any hobby without any limits, what would it be?
DM me your answer, and let’s take it from there. :) Can trade photos/socials later.

Hello, I (23F) have lived in my apartment in Koreatown in Down Town Los Angeles for a year and a couple months. I have has numerous issues in this amount of time and my boyfriend and I are exhausted...
We have experienced mold in one of our closets. My dad got a humidity meter to check that whole wall and it showed there was definitely water in the wall of some sort. We raised our concerns about the mold coming since they simply painted over the mold. When I showed them the humidity test results, they got a mold professional in. They told us the mold guy's results showed nothing troubling and that it will be fine as long as we air out the closet during rain etc.
Then we realized, our building is infested with roaches. We have gotten our place fumigated, sprayed, bough traps, keep our unit so clean, still they keep coming back. It's getting to a point where they are starting to hitchhike on my lunch I take to work! All these little baby roaches just crawling all over our kitchen and bathroom, etc.
We also recently had to spend a month out of our bedroom due to bedbugs. Apparently, they knew our neighbor two doors down got bed bugs. No one informed us, no one put out a notice, so of course we got them too. Luckily my dad and I were able to quarantine the bedroom while it got fumigated and treated. Only our bedroom got the bed bugs. They ripped out our carpet too in that room just for extra measure since they did in fact find eggs.
Now we are back to having roaches pop up but it is the worst it has ever been! They are IN our oven now. We saw them crawling in the clock screen of our oven. I come home from work, turn on the light, and they scatter from our counter tops like some horror flick...
Not to mention our neighbors being ridiculous, that's not something management can do much about though. We had a guy in our building harass me and threaten my boyfriend and I early on when we moved in... we let management know since that what the cops advised us to do. Not much came of it.
We want to be able to move. We are so exhausted from being here. The bed bugs came up just a week after we renewed our lease, that was in February. I'm also disabled and my boyfriend is immunocompromised, we feel like this place is making us sick.
Can we break our lease legally with all of these things going on? Please help!

IT and AI are shaping our world at speed of light or more, and this is the moment to talk about all those killer-app innovations with you and shine some geek light. It is not a surprise that now works with robots that are able to compose a symphony and AI that predicts your next move in chess are giving you a feeling of "science fiction is becoming reality."
It may be inspiring to share what is causing your IT and AI exhilaration at present.
Here are a few things that have me fired up:
AI-powered design and creativity: AI can provide feasible solutions to such problems as the origin of product concepts, the construction of marketing copy, and even the writing of music. This innovation facilitates the crossing of human and artificial intelligence through journal editors at an unprecedented level. This article discusses AI in Design. Read the article here: AI in Design
The rise of quantum AI: Your Rocketship to creating solutions awaits, so place your helmet on and fasten your seatbelt. Quantum technology, through its processing by AI means, may confront problems that generally a conventional computer cannot. Disease drugs discovery, materials science - the opportunities correlate with the limitless possibilities! In the following article, we are expanding on the input topic (quantum AI + removed URL).
AI for social good: AI isn't all about robots and spaceships', but technology, which seems to have become part of our day-to-day activities. People have found it a tool for resolving those grave issues as they vary from the byproduct to healthcare. Envision AI that will do two tasks: one is identifying and eliminating natural disasters, and the other one is customizing cancer treatments!
IT and AI have indeed brought about many changes in our lives. What are the things the two are excited about? Are there any apps that have touched bottom of your heart and drastically transformed your life? This is a good topic which I think we should talk about! Comment your views down below.. !!

As we get into the new season, I just thought it would be fun to track and discuss the themes and motifs this show has kept up throughout the seasons so far so we can see how they play out in Season 4:)
NOTE: I have not read many spoilers. I don't mind if they come into the discussion, but please mark with a tag for anyone who doesn't want to see them!
Honestly, when I really laid all these out, it made me appreciate the writing so much more, even in moments I didn't really care for the first time around.
Plus analyzing stuff like this is fun for super cool people. Join me!
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• What it Means to Save Someone

This is probably the main theme of the series and the thing that becomes the biggest downfall for all our protagonists. "Saving Someone" has now become something that puts the viewer on edge.
How many times has a character exclaimed "I'm trying to save you," when actually all they're doing is trying to serve their own selfish agenda and alleviate their own guilt or affirm their image of themselves?
I could seriously write a whole essay about this and how it ties to the idea of What it Means to Be a Hero. But feel free to discuss it more in the comments.

• Subverting "Truth, Justice, and the American Way

The Boys is constantly exploring how Vought and The Boys bend the truth to serve their own agenda and are constantly asserting that the definition of truth typically belongs to whoever has the power (Power being another big motif).
Justice vs. Vengeance is also a big one that keeps coming up. Starlight is arguably the only character who is earnestly pursuing true justice on this show and tbh, it cramps everyone's style. MM and Hughie also great characters to follow for this because they are both genuinely trying to do the right thing and are often seduced by Butcher's much more attractive Vengeance call.

• Mother and Father Relationships

This is another one that could turn into a whole essay and one that I'd probably have to go back and take more notes to explore. But I think it really ties into this idea of Power and Responsibility. Because isn't that the cornerstone of what it means to be a parent?
Children are seen by society as the ultimate innocents who must be protected at all costs, but they are so often abused and exploited by the people who are supposed to protect them - Even when it's unintentional. Parents so often see children as extensions of themselves rather than individuals. Simply tools to affirm their own existence or be mirrors of themselves (which ties into the whole selfish "I'm trying to save you" theme).
We see this explored with Ryan a lot, but this was beautifully culminated at the end of S3 when MM realizes he needs to be honest with his daughter about what he's been going through, not to justify his mistakes, but to show her respect and acknowledgement of a two-way relationship.

• Power in the Hands of Women and Power in the Hands of POC

Oh man. This is another one that's like... A whole ass paper.
Super powers are definitely a vehicle to explore societal power with woman and POC on this show and the daunting idea that even with superpowers or wealth, race and gender can still be used as kryptonite.
We see it touched on in the ongoing discussions of how to properly "play the game" and achieve real power.
We see the Power and Women explored pretty in depth in Season 2, but Ashley is a really awesome ongoing exploration of this theme through a gender lens as she rises to power at Vought.
A Train and Noir are an obvious example of this exploration through a racial lens, but it's definitely also been touched on through pretty much every character of color on this show. I think they really got into it in a really interesting way on Gen V as well, but I don't want to bog this down any harder.

• Gender Roles and Toxic Masculinity

Just making sure everyone is on the same page - Toxic Masculinity does NOT mean that masculinity is inherently toxic. It is meant to focus on the unhealthy presentations and expectations of performing the role of "being a man."
Toxic Masculinity really became the focus of Season 3. We see that most clearly in the character of Soldier Boy (though I do worry that due to Jensen Ackles natural charisma, it didn't quite achieve the impact the writers intended), but also in Hughie.
Although many people (including me) felt like it was a disappointing step back for Hughie, I'm actually leaning back the other way on the rewatch. I think that the feeling powerless (which is something we feel as ordinary citizens all the time) moment Hughie had when he realized all the work he did with Neuman was built on a lie probably threw a lot out of whack. It makes perfect sense that the comments about his vulnerability and softness might start hitting a little differently than they used to.
Frenchie and MM on the other hand, are great examples of characters of healthy masculinity in their willingness to share power, be vulnerable, and self reflect so that they are able to support the interests of their loved ones.

• What is REAL Power?

This is the final theme I'll mention because it's a big one and I think it's going to be important in the upcoming season. Where does real power come from? Money? Strength? Social influence? Knowledge? Relationships?
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Okay I'm tired of typing and it's likely that only four people will comment on this if I'm lucky.
I hope you enjoy discussing (feel free to add your own big themes if I missed any) and I hope that being aware of these themes make the upcoming season more fun to watch.

Ahoy! I come in search of comrades and friendships. I don't like the small talk. I know a lot of people do, but I genuinely dislike it.
"What do I like?" you ask. Honestly, a plethora of things. From space and scifi, to history, to video games, to horror, to movies and music. I read a lot. Im going through an Ayn Rand phase.
Tell me about a book you're reading, a show you're watching, a story you're writing... Tell me about the time you fell in love or fell out of love. Anything! Anything! EXCEPT "hey how are you?"
I'm looking for the people who want to get to know me and talk regularly. I like to voice chat. Please be open to voice chatting if you reply to me.
I'm NOT looking for married people. You aren't on my page in life. Not that I'm looking to date, I just don't want to hear about your happy or unhappy marriage lol. Or about your kids. Kids are great, but not my bag.

My Results
I have been lurking for a month or so by now, and I have recently started a blog. I love reading all of the experiences people share on this subreddit, so I thought I would contribute and share my results so far as someone who has started a blog in 2024. A bit of backstory about myself: I have been working with WordPress since 2018 and have been supporting local businesses in my city through freelance work. I usually help with website support, marketing, design, SEO, and online business solutions. Recently, I wanted a playground where I could play around with SEO without disrupting my clients' businesses, and this is where my blog was born. The problem I find with SEO is that it is challenging to understand, and the amount of oversaturated content claiming "how to easily rank top 1 on Google" has left me frustrated and eager to tackle this problem with a more hands-on approach, rather than watching how others claim they can easily do it. I have been enjoying blogging so far, treating this more as a hobby and learning experience instead of trying to make it a full-time endeavor. I do work full-time and, on top of that, freelance, so it's hard to get much free time anyway.
So, what have I been blogging about? Right now, I am focused on blogging about the top businesses and things to do in my city, and I've been very satisfied with the results so far. Trying to keep it in tune with what I currently do, my blog has aligned really well with my day-to-day grind. I just want your thoughts on these results. I know it's not a million clicks in the first month, but there is still something here: people are clicking, impressions are being made!
My blog is set up through WordPress, Elementor, and Rank Math for SEO. Before launch, I prepared around 5 posts of 500-1200 words each and then went live. After that, I tried to post every couple of days to keep pushing out content, and right now I am sitting around 20 blog posts. Most of my blog posts are very similar, making it pretty easy to push out content. I know it is frowned upon, but it has been super helpful to me to use AI to help me with writing. Of course, I adjust it to add my own twist to the writing style, but I think AI has saved me a ton of time helping generate ideas and general layouts for articles.
Recently, I have been focusing more on creating a social media presence, which has played a key role in boosting overall blog performance. For example, I am writing an article on the best bubble tea in my city. Once the article is live, I will share it on Facebook, Instagram, and tag the business's page. More often than not, this business will share my post and bring in more traffic. I am always so happy when a Facebook page with 10,000 followers likes and shares my post! After social media, more than half of my traffic came from Facebook. Instagram has not been as successful, but I am still trying to work out ways to help bring in more traffic. In time, as I grow my following, I'm sure the time spent on social media will be worth it.
Let's dive into the results: In the first month of blogging, I am at about 55 clicks and 1,800 impressions. A lot of my posts are ranking in the 10-20 position on search results, not the best but understandable for a new domain with little to no backlinks. However, there are still a few of them with lower difficulty where I am able to rank in the top 10. So far, it has been very satisfying to learn more about SEO, dive deeper into analytics, and learn more about how I can improve these rankings so I can help other businesses I freelance with improve their own SEO scores. Let me know your thoughts on these results so far, and if you have any suggestions, I would love to learn more about them! Officially not a lurker anymore, I'm happy to contribute statistics about my journey so far and excited for another post at 6 months!

I (35F) and my fiance (46M) just got engaged two days ago.
**Backstory: we have been together for 12 years. We have raised eachother's kids together. I call him my husband instead of boyfriend when I introduce him to people because boyfriend is such a lowly term to describe what we have been through. For the first about 5 years of our relationship, it was really toxic, we broke up for a couple months and my kids and I moved to another city. We got back together and changed so much to be better and are a very strong couple. Just giving you context of why he didn't propose in first few years as is pretty standard. We have been wanting to get engaged for years, didn't have the money to actually have a wedding and all that until the last year or so when I got a really good job.
For more context, on our 10th anniversary in Miami, I cried at the end because I really thought he would propose there, he could have chosen any pretty area really. When I finally said something to him, he said he felt terrible because he thought my expectations were so high that I would have to go to Italy or Paris for a proposal (lmao I have never close to indicated that). I laughed because there would never be a time we would do that until after our high school aged kids graduate, so that was really crazy he even thought that was a good idea or timeline. I told him all I care about is that he put EFFORT into it, that it is special and meaningful. In my brain, it was obvious, on the waterfront where we met by our house would be a great easy and free idea.
This last weekend was our 12th anniversary. I had hopes I guess but I'm so used to it not happening that I really did not think he was going to propose. More backstory: he is not a planner whatsoever. He is content living the same life and doing nothing more, no major goals, no aspirations, he does NOT plan or surprise or spearhead anything, I do it all. He is a good, stable, and caring man but I do have already built resentment that he #1 had taken 12 years to propose and #2, he just never does anything unless I hold his hand through exactly what to do. I lead everything and this was the one thing that he had to do on his own. Also, we were at the mall about 8 months ago and looked at rings, I showed him the very simple ring, the saleswoman wrote everything down for him.
The Proposal We had planned that Saturday night in Vegas we would go out for our anniversary dinner. But of course the planning was left to me. I chose Alexxa's at the bottom of the eiffel tower, on the terrace, directly looking at the Bellagio fountains. After dinner, we went in the casino. I was like hey look, you can go up to the viewing deck, then I was like oh nvm you have to buy a ticket and everything. We walked back to the hotel, he wanted to get froyo so we got that and went back to the hotel. As I am about to sit down to eat my froyo, bro says "I've been trying to do this all day" or something like that and then says will you marry me, and gives me the ring. Of course I said yes but I said a lot of "you're messing with me" at first because I thought it was a joke until I saw the ring.
It took everything within me that night to not cry and not ruin the one engagement night I will ever have. Since then, I have been filled with sadness, resentment and it's just triggering me a lot about things I already get upset about in our relationship like how I'm always disappointed if he doesn't do something or does it badly IMO. I've told him very nicely about all of this and he feels terrible. I don't want to be mean to him, I know he was nervous but he planned NOTHING. He told me that his "driving force was the element of surprise". Girl what? So he chose to wing it in order for me to be surprised after 12 years rather than put thought, effort and planning to do something special or sentimental. Would have been nice to have at least a single picture as well but whatever. I think this is hitting me so hard because it's such an indication of a bigger problem that I already feel. I'm not ever going to leave him over it but I don't know how to stop resenting him for this. How did he go from "Paris or Italy" to hotel room? Lol. Also, my ring is nothing like we discussed. Beautiful ring but it's falling off my finger, the setting for the center stone is about 3/4 inch high for what reason I have no idea so it just adds to how I already feel, can this man do anything without me?
Tldr; we've been together for 12 years, he proposed in a hotel room with not an ounce of planning. How do I stop resenting him and move forward?

Hi everyone. I just felt the need to let some of this out and maybe gather some advice on how to move forward. I passed by my ex while I was driving the other day and I realized, that despite everything that has happened between us, and the utter callousness that she discarded me with, I still love and miss her (and worry a bit for her).
This was my first relationship and maybe that is why I still feel so loyal to the idea I have of her. We started out so amazingly, and after two years it started to turn very sour. She stopped trusting me, and started searching through my phone and computer every chance she got. She turned on location sharing for my phone as well. After a half a year of this I felt compelled to break up with her. I did that very poorly and failed to properly explain why I was doing it. I felt that I had to end the relationship because of this despite being very much still in love with her. The next 7 months I did my best to avoid her, and she did her best to pull me back in. We had promised to try again the following Summer, but she kept reaching out earlier. There was a lot of dramatic things said and it culminated in me leaving someone I had started seeing to go back to her. 4 months later we had failed to work out our issues and I had to leave for school again. So I asked for us to put a pin in everything for a bit and let me focus on school. After a month, I realized I wanted to put everything I had into making it work with her, that I loved her and that I didn't want to feel this way about anyone else or have her become a stranger, so I resolved to message her after a big exam. I figured that everyone has their issues, and for the rest of her qualities, I could accept the ones she had and work around them.
Two days before that, she reached out to me to tell me it was done. She came to my house, made a show of how she had a new life in our hometown and refused to speak to me after that. A month later she was dating someone new, who was the opposite of what I know her to value. I wasn't that jealous, but I was really really hurt by this. I had avoided formal dating for her benefit for a year after we broke up, by her request. I had believed her when she talked about her faith in us, and her love for me. I had no explanation from her, just a complete doorslam.
As you're reading this you might be kind of confused about why I still feel this way, it's so obviously toxic. I know I was. Months went by, and I realized I wasn't able to open up to anybody new. I still couldn't understand how she had started dating someone so quickly, and so seriously. It had to be a rebound right? But it's still going strong 8 months later.
After those first three months, I had a period of hibernation where I just didn't feel like going out, seeing anybody new, or entertaining any aspect of dating. Then I felt a bit of a revival, I started going out, doing the things I used to enjoy, worrying less. I started looking forward to the future. Now, I've moved home from school, and she lives 4 blocks away from me. I walk my dog in fear of a jumpscare. I walk past places where we would hang out or grab coffee after work, or sandwiches. I was thinking about her more and more since coming home, despite focusing on other things I enjoy. After seeing her in passing yesterday it just all crashed back down and I feel like I'm back in the 1st month. I'm pretty sure her new boyfriend has moved abroad for a while, and maybe that will make her think of me again (I'm fairly certain it's a rebound). I just don't know. I don't think she wants to hear or see me. I don't know if she's mad or if she misses me or if she's completely indifferent now. But the problem is now I am thinking about it. Now I greedily want to run into her again. I want her to think of me, I want to catch up. I hope for an apology, and an explanation. The ball is in her court and has been for months. I just didn't realize I was still waiting around like a dope. It feels like such a step back. How can I still feel this way after 8 months of no contact? I just feel hopeless now.

As many of you may have read, there is a case of two missing adopted kids in North Carolina, where remains have been found. The news has reported that their adoptive “mother” is Avantae Deven.
I’m a curious person and started digging up information on Avantae Deven when I first read the story in my news feed and could not believe what I was reading. It seemed like whomever this woman is must have be using an alias; Avantae Deven is not a name like Kim Jones or Mackenzie Smith.
The more I dug, the weirder it seemed to get. I found a property deed to a place in Sedona, Arizona, and figured out that whomever this Avantae person is, she at one point in time had owned a home together with someone named Nicole Adams. So I dug into who Nicole Adams was, and learned that she was the widow of a spiritual leader named Robert Adams. It appeared to me that there would be no way to identify who Avantae really was, unless I could also identify the true identity of Robert Adams.
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I've done investigative work for many years, including skip tracing. I can conclusively state that there was absolutely no person actually named Robert Adams born in New York State on January 21, 1928. This is demonstrated by the New York Birth Index. I have combed the census records for 1930, 1940, and 1950, and cross-checked them against multiple databases, and am confident that nobody with the birth name of Robert Adams was born anywhere in the United States on January 21, 1928.
Moreover, there was absolutely no person with the true name of Robert Adams who died anywhere at all in the United States, let alone Sedona, Arizona, on March 2, 1997. This is demonstrated by the Social Security Death Index.
I began this research largely by performing exhaustive searches on the known addresses that are associated with Robert, his wife Leonie (who used to use the alias Nicole), and Avantae Deven (who turns out to be their daughter Michelle who began using the alias Avantae in the mid-1990’s or so). Most of the addresses are PO boxes. Those that are PO boxes are all *private* PO boxes, not PO boxes that one can rent from the United States Postal Service. To me, that spoke volumes. The family were clearly using aliases.
As I explain further below, I eventually determined that “Robert Adams” was Robert Spiegel, born 21 January 1932 in New York. “Nicole Adams” was actually Aileen Beverly Leonie Maxwell, born February 2, 1929, in Jamaica. “Avantae Deven” is actually their daughter, Michelle K. Spiegel, born on October 1, 1960, in California.
One of Robert’s many false stories about Robert’s life that my research has refuted is Robert’s claim that his mother was Jewish and his father was Catholic. That was a lie. Both of his parents were Jewish. It’s also interesting that he claimed that he was “raised Catholic.” There is absolutely nothing to suggest that. His mother always, in New York, lived in Jewish neighborhoods. Moreover, as will be discussed below, his parents had a Jewish wedding. It’s also downright absurd that he would tell people that he was “half Jewish.” If your mother’s Jewish, you are Jewish, pure and simple. Even if Robert’s father had truly been Catholic (which he wasn’t; his name was Samuel Spiegel and he immigrated to America in 1907, lived with his Jewish, Yiddish-speaking cousins, and spoke Yiddish himself), Robert would have been Jewish because the status of being a Jew comes from the mother. Robert’s mother’s name was Fannie (nee Fleisfeder) Spiegel. Fannie’s parents were Itzik Fleisfeder and Esther Libke (nee Rifkin) Fleisfeder. Esther’s parents were Mendel Rifkin and Sarah whose maiden name is lost to time and the disappearance of the shtetls. Robert’s claim to having had a Catholic father was utterly false, but is part and parcel of his ongoing compulsive daily lying about anything and everything.
Here is the story.
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Kolomyia, formerly known as Kolomea, is a city currently located in the Western Ukraine.
On January 21, 1892 (the same year that Kolomea tallis¹ workers went on strike for better pay and working conditions), Kolomea resident Rachel Katz, wife of Abraham Spiegel, gave birth to a son, who was given the name Schmuel.
On the date that Schmuel Spiegel entered the world, Kolomea was ruled by the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, and almost half of the city’s residents were Jewish.
In June of 1907, fifteen-year-old Schmuel² boarded the Zeeland, which sailed from Antwerp, Belgium, arriving at New York Harbor on June 18, 1907. The ship’s manifest states that Schmuel’s father had paid for his transport, and that Schmuel intended to reside with his father, Abe, in Brooklyn. Schmuel was granted entrance, and took up residence with his cousin Charles Fetner, who resided at 353 Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn, in Apartment A with his wife Jennie and their baby daughter Ettie. The sparse record that exists suggests that although Schmuel’s father was, indeed, named Abraham, Abraham lived and died in Europe, without immigrating to America.
The 1910 census describes Samuel’s cousin Charles as a carpenter, who had been married to housewife Jennie for six years, and a father of three children-- Ettie age four, Nathan age two, and baby Jacob, who was not even a year old. Eighteen-year-old Samuel was identified by profession as a “Foreman Sailmaker” in an industry described as “pocket-books.”
Three and a half years after being granted admission, on a bitterly cold winter day, January 4, 1911, Schmuel (now employed as a pocket-book maker, and having Anglicized his name to Samuel) signed and submitted his declaration to become a United States citizen. He stated, in that declaration, that he was born on January 21, 1892.
By 1915, Samuel had left his cousin’s abode and was residing as a lodger in the home of a widow named Rose Hammer, who lived with her two adolescent sons, Meyer and Louis, at 531 E. 5^th Avenue; Samuel was now working as a “driver.”
Two years after the 1915 state census was taken, Samuel had moved back to Myrtle Avenue, but this time at building no. 849. On June 15, 2017, Samuel registered for the draft, and described himself as being a pocketbook maker, working for “A. Shoenfeld,” at 101 Crosby Street, New York. He was single. He stated, in his draft registration, that he was born on January 21, 1892.
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A woman named Fruma Fleisfeder was born in Beltz, Bessarabia, sometime between July 1, 1893, and 1901, to Itzik Fleisfeder and Esther Lieba Rifkin. Fruma (not living up to her pious given name) provided different dates and years of birth to different authorities on different occasions, making it impossible at this point in time to know her true position in the birth order of her family. Regardless, Fruma, who began using the name Fanny upon her entrance to the United States, did have three brothers and a sister who also came to America-- Louis Fleisfeder who was born April 10, 1890, Max Irving Fleisfeder who used October 10, 1892 as his birthdate, Hersch (later known as Harry), whose official birthdate was December 15, 1901, and Sylvia who was born in approximately 1906.
On December 1, 1919, Fruma arrived in New York Harbor on the ship La Touraine, declaring her intention, at entry, to become a United States Citizen. The ship’s manifest describes her as five feet five inches tall, with fair hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion. The ship’s manifest states that she was, at that time, age 24. If that were correct, she would have been born in 1895.
Fruma (then going by Fanny) took up residence with her cousin Ethel (nee Ruchlin) and Ethel’s husband Samuel Steinberg, on 15^th Street, Brooklyn. Soon thereafter, Ethel gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Theresa. The 1920 census states that Fanny was Russian, didn’t speak English but, rather, spoke Hebrew, and worked as a milliner in a millinery store. The 1920 census also states that Fanny was age 25, which lines up with her being age 24 in the prior year’s ship manifest.
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Sam and Fanny married in Manhattan on January 24, 1925. Their marriage certificate (signed by each of them) identifies Sam as being age 32 (contradicting, by one year, his immigration records which would have placed him at age 33), and identifies Fanny as age 24, the same age that she had claimed to be six years prior, and also contradicting an immigration petition that she would file two decades in the future, which generally placed her birth year at the mid-point of 1893.
If Fanny’s immigration records (which included a petition with her signature on it) were correct, Fanny would also have been age 32 as of her marriage to Samuel, not age 24.
So did Fanny lie in her marriage certificate? Or did she lie in her immigration petition?
The marriage certificate identifies Sam as having been born in Kolomea, Austria, and his father being Abraham, and his mother being Rachel Katz. It identifies Fanny as having been born in Beltz, Russia, to a father named Isaac, and to a mother named Esther Rifkin.
The marriage certificate does not identify Fanny as having any profession, but identifies Sam as being a pocketbook maker.
Sam and Fannie were married at 125 E. 4^th Street, Manhattan, a six-story apartment building with retail units on the ground floor that is now an expensive co-op, with three-bedroom units selling for over $900,000. Present-day real estate advertisements alternatively state that the building was built in 1894, 1903, and 1905.
The first name of the rabbi who officiated was Harry. His surname starts with Reid, but the remaining letters of his signature are illegible. Rabbi Harry identified his residence as 232 Broome Street, which, at the time, was a four-story mixed use building that, among other things, housed Chevrah Ahavath Zedek Anshei Jaskinover.
Witnesses to the marriage were Mayer Budmon and Samuel Steinberg.
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Sam and Fanny’s existence was documented next in the 1925 New York State census by census. They were living at 205 S. 2^nd Street. Samuel was still working as a “pocketbook maker.” Fanny was identified as a “housewife.”
Fanny was identified as age 25. This was in accordance with her age as stated on her marriage certificate, but not in accordance with her immigration documents or the 1920 census.
Sam was identified as being age 28, which conflicted with all prior records.
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In 1930, the couple were again enumerated, this time in the Federal census. The enumerator, whose signature appears to be “Max Krahn” (or something like that) stated that he obtained the information on April 16, 1930.
Sam was identified as a “framer” of pocketbooks. He was identified as being 36 years of age, which conflicts by two years with the age that he provided to immigration authorities. Perhaps the enumerator was simply sloppy; Samuel was also incorrectly identified in the 1930 census as having been born in “Poland,” with parents who were both also born in “Poland,” notwithstanding other governmental records having identified him as being Austrian. The language he spoke? “Jewish,” according to the enumerator. Was that to mean Hebrew? Yiddish? Both?
Fannie was identified as age 30 (directly in conflict with the information she supplied in her immigration petition, which bears her signature) and as being “Russian,” with parents born in “Russia.” The 1930 census enumerator incorrectly wrote that her year of immigration was 1921. Fannie, too, was identified by the enumerator as speaking the “Jewish” language.
Although later records reflected that Sam and Fannie had a son named Irving who was born in 1926, Irving was not recorded in the 1930 census. Was he missed by the enumerator? Or was he a later-adopted son?
The couple also had a boarder, identified by the 1930 enumerator as one Esther “Larson,” age 40, born in Russia, and similarly a speaker of the “Jewish” language.
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The New York Birth Index identifies a baby boy, Robert Spiegel, as one of many babies having been born in the city on January 21, 1932.
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On May 21, 1936, Samuel committed suicide by hanging in the family residence, a tenement apartment located at 1168 Union Avenue, in the Bronx. Although, based upon the date of birth that Samuel used for official governmental purposes he was age 44, the death certificate stated that he was age 43.
Fannie engaged the Gordon Funeral Home to prepare him for burial.
Strangely, although Samuel’s headstone accurately identified him in Hebrew as Schmuel Spiegel, son of Avraham, it inexplicably incorrectly stated that he died at age 40.
Fannie of course knew her husband’s real age; both of them signed the marriage certificate that had Samuel’s correct age listed. Furthermore, Samuel had petitioned for citizenship in 1911, and stated that his date of birth was January 18, 1892.
Why would Fannie commission a headstone with a false age? Perhaps she, like her son, was a compulsive liar. Maybe that’s where Robert got it from.
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The 1940 census has Fannie (identified as age 38), Robert (identified as age 8), and Fannie’s son/Robert’s brother, Irving Spiegel, age 13, as living with Fannie’s 72-year-old mother, Esther Fleisfeder, at 1537 Fulton Avenue, in the Bronx. Fannie and Esther were identified as widows. Esther was identified as “U” (unable to work), while Fannie was identified as engaged in housework. No source of income for the family was identified.
No explanation is obvious regarding where Irving was living in the census taken a decade previously. Was he adopted?
There is no “Irving Spiegel” listed in the New York Birth Index for either 1926 or 1927. There is an “Irving Spiegal” listed, who was born April 29, 1926. But he is not Irving Spiegel.
I initially thought that perhaps Irving might be one of the unnamed Baby Boy Spiegels born in New York in 1926 or 1927, and that he left the hospital unnamed because his parents were waiting for his bris before naming him. However, Robert left the hospital with the name Robert. Why wait until the bris to name one child, but not the other?
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Slightly less than two years after she was enumerated in the 1940 census, Fannie’s mother Esther died, at home, at 1537 Fulton Avenue. The causes of death were “Coronary Thrombosis, Pulmonary Oedema Nephritis, Hypertension, Arteriosclerosis.” Esther left this world on February 6, 1942, the same day that the W. L. Steed was torpedoed, shelled and sunk less than a hundred nautical miles east of the mouth of Delaware River by a German submarine.
She was buried at Mount Moriah Cemetery in Fairview, New Jersey, the same cemetery where her son-in-law Samuel was interred.
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On November 12, 1943, Fannie, now residing at 1985 Bathgate Avenue, in the Bronx, petitioned for citizenship. She claimed, in that document bearing her signature, to be fifty years of age, meaning that if she was telling the truth, she would have been born in approximately 1893.
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On January 19, 1948, Robert (having assumed a false date of birth, that being January 18, 1931), enlisted in the New York National Guard. On paper, he had turned age 17 the day before his enlistment. In reality, he would be turning age 16 two days after his enlistment.
On December 9, 1949, Robert was discharged from the national guard, apparently for having been AWOL.
The discharge document identifies his address as being 1985 Bathgate Avenue, New York City.
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The 1950 census places Robert again at 1985 Bathgate Avenue, New York City. It correctly identifies him as age 18, and states that he worked as a shipping clerk for a newspaper company.
According to the 1950 census, Robert resided at the Bathgate Avenue address with his mother Fannie, who was purportedly still age 50 (seven years after she had previously claimed to immigration authorities to be age 50), and Robert’s brother Irving, age 24.
Irving was listed as unemployed and moreover, according to the census record, had not worked for the prior year. Fannie was employed full-time as a milliner in a hat factory.
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Military records reflect that Irving J. Spiegel, born in 1926 and a resident of 1985 Bathgate Avenue, who had completed two years of high school education, had flown bomber planes over Germany during the war. In his military documents, Irving described himself as single, with two dependents.
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On February 2, 1929, a baby girl given the name Aileen Beverly Leone Maxwell was born in Lucea, Hanover, Jamaica, to William Maxwell and Daisy (nee Tibbits) Maxwell. Her birth was registered by her parents.
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In 1954, Robert Spiegel and Aileen Maxwell were married in New York City. Their marriage license was given License No. 10284.
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The following year, the Kingston, Jamaica, Gleaner reported on June 6, 1955:
Miss Leonie Maxwell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Maxwell, was married recently in New York City to Mr. Robert Spiegel of the U.S.A. Both the bride and groom are students at the New York Institute of Dietetics. The bride left the island nearly two years ago for New York. Her wedding gown was chantilly lace and nylon tulle. The bodice was fashioned with a wide, scalloped neckline and elbow-length sleeves. Her three tier skirt of chantilly lace was over pleated nylon tulle. Her fingertip-length veil was adorned with pearls.
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If the claim regarding the couple studying at the New York Institute of Dietetics was even true, their studies at this institution didn’t last long. In May of 1956, a number of advertisements bearing Robert’s photograph appeared in the Kingston, Jamaica Gleaner. The advertisements described Robert as a psychologist, author, lecturer, and “practitioner in auto suggestion,” and identified him as “Dr. J. Robert Spiegel.” Readers were invited to come meet Robert on May 21, 1956, at Record Plaza, where he would be autographing his “latest” “world-wide” 33 and 1/3 RPM record, “How to Stop Smoking in 7 days by Auto-Suggestion.”
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On May 1, 1959, three residents of 1985 Bathgate Avenue, Bronx, New York, came through customs, having returned from a trip to Jamaica. They identified themselves as “Robert D. Spiegel” born in New York (in addition to giving himself a false middle initial, Robert neglected to complete the I-94-A fully, specifically by leaving his birthdate blank), “Leonie A. Spiegel” born in Jamaica on February 2, 1929, and their minor daughter, and “Sharon S. Spiegel,” born in New York. Someone also neglected to fully complete Sharon’s I-94-A, specifically by leaving her birthdate blank.
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Leonie had taken Sharon to Jamaica two years earlier. There are no publicly available records pertaining to their outbound transport from the United States to Jamaica. There is, however, a record pertaining to their return to the United States. That publicly available record does not provide their address, but Sharon is identified as weighing 1 stone 5 pounds (a total of 19 pounds), and Leonie is identified as weighing six stone 5 pounds (89 pounds). Interestingly, Leonie used the name “Aileen Spiegel,” and the records assert that Aileen has no middle initial. Aileen was / is her true legal first name, but it is a lie to say that she has no middle initial.
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Almost two years later, on January 5, 1958, the Kingston, Jamaica Gleaner reported:
Staying at the Tamarind Hotel are Mr. and Mrs. Bob Spiegel and daughter Sharon of Miami, Florida. Mrs. Spiegel is the former Leonie Maxwell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. J. Maxwell of Lucea and has been in the United States for several years. A welcome party in their honour was given last Saturday night by Messers. Horrace, Ray, and Dennis Maxwell, brothers of Mrs. Spiegel. It was a very enjoyable affair.
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In 1963, roughly five years after their 1958 visit to Jamaica, Leonie petitioned for naturalization, in Louisiana. Although I am in possession of the index showing that she petitioned in 1963, I do not possess the petition itself. However, the fact that she petitioned for naturalization in Louisiana demonstrates that that at least she was residing in Louisiana at the time. Since she stated that she didn’t leave Robert’s side for over 40 years, presumably Robert, young Sharon, and also baby Michelle were living in Louisiana at that time.
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People who knew Robert personally relate that he stated that Leonie was a Cayman Island heiress. She wasn’t. Not only was she not born in the Cayman Islands, Leonie’s father’s estate was litigated (with the judge ruling against her) long before Robert started telling people that his wife was a Cayman Islands heiress.
Leonie’s father did leave an estate, but not to her. On November 9, 1967, the Gleaner reported that the Supreme Court had upheld the will of the late William Josiah Maxwell, the father of Horrace, Ray, Dennis, and Leonie, and the husband of Daisy Maxwell, who had contended that William’s signature was a forgery and that the person to whom his estate had been bequeathed had exercised undue influence. The court disagreed. The article reported:
The estate, which one of the executors described as “a sizeable one,” included 112 acres of land at Paradise and three houses at Lucea, Hanover.
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Robert apparently wasn’t banking on Leonie’s inheritance in any event. In May of 1966, advertisements appeared in the Houston Chronicle with Robert’s photo on them, selling a record that would purportedly assist people in stopping smoking in seven days. He identified himself as “Dr. J. Robert Spiegel.”
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On page 55 of the November 15, 1969, San Antonio, Texas Express and News, was an advertisement stating:
SCIENCE OF THE MIND
Dr. J. Robert Spiegel of Houston, director and founder of the Science of the Mind Foundation there, is conducting Sunday evening meetings at 7:30 p.m. in the Sheraton Inn, 1400 Austin Hwy.
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On page 4 of the July 10, 1970 edition of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram was a photograph of Robert, with a brief local news blurb:
GUEST – Dr. J Robert Spiegel of Houston, Science of Mind Foundation director, will speak at the 10:45 a.m. service tomorrow in First Church of Religious Science, 2001 6^th Ave. His subject is “What Religious Science Teaches.”
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On page 8 of the June 18, 1970 edition of the Houston Daily Cougar was this advertisement:
HOME OF UNIVERSAL LIFE
“Teaching Aquarian Meditation For The New Age
Meets Every Sunday, 11:00 A.M. At The World Trade Center Auditorium
Houston, Texas
DR. J. ROBERT SPIEGEL (BRAHMADANDA) DIRECTOR - FOUNDER
Aquarian Meditation Initiation for the first time offered through correspondence. For those sincere students wishing to bypass evolution and enter the 5th Kingdom. Initiation includes meditation technique, Mantra, how to "live” 24 hours a day, and much more. Write for application today:
P.O. Box 53328 Houston, Texas 052
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From the Galveston Daily News, May 02, 1971, Pg. 31:
AQUARIAN MEDITATION SOCIETY PRESENTS DR. J. ROBERT SPIEGEL AN AUTHOR, LECTURER, TEACHER OF YOGA & SELF DEVELOPMENT WILL SPEAK ON MAN, MIND & THE UNIVERSE WEDNESDAY, MAY 5th AT 7:30 P.M. IN THE RECREATION CENTER HARRIS COUNTY PARK, NASA RD. # 1 ALL WELCOME — DONATION $1.50
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The 1972 Spiritual Community Guide lists Robert twice, in the San Diego area. First, on page 117, using his alias “J. Robert Spiegel”:
THE TEMPLE OF METAPHYSICAL ABUNDANCE. J. Robert Spiegel, 1118 Torrey Pines Rd., 92037. Teaches yoga, nutrition, ESP, metaphysics, psychology, mind control
Second, on page 124, in which he, as one might have predicted, was masquerading as some sort of medical man or scholar:
"AQUARIAN MEDITATION SOCIETY, U. S. Grant Hotel, Attn: Dr. Robert Spiegel, 453-7588"
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Also in 1972, Volume 25 of San Diego Magazine published in November advertised gift certificates for the “Astrology Research Center.” “Give your loved one the gift of love. Only $50” said the advertisement. Where was this entity located? At 1118 Torrey Pines Road, the same address as Robert’s Temple of Metaphysical Abundance. The advertisement purported that person identified as “Lil Canaan” was the director. The telephone number was 459-6400.
In 2013, the San Diego Union Tribune published the obituary for Lillian Mulonas, who founded the La Jolla “Astrology Research Center.” At this point in time, unless Robert Adams’ only surviving daughter, Michelle/ Prentiss/ Avantae knows the answer and talks, we will not know what relationship, if any, existed between Robert’s Temple of Metaphysical Abundance and Lilian’s Astrology Research Center, both of which were located at 1118 Torrey Pines Road in 1972.
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From the July 12, 1973, San Diego Reader:
BRAHMADANDA FOUNDATION
“Teachings of the Cosmic Way” meets Sundays, 11:00 a.m., U.S. Grant Hotel, Crystal Room. Free admission, refreshments served. Call 453-7588 for more information.
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On page 51 of the June 29, 1974 edition of Phoenix’s Arizona Republic was the following advertisement:
Speaker from San Diego
Dr. J. Robert Spiegel from San Diego, a traveler and lecturer, will speak at 8 p.m., Friday in Universal Series Center, 4340 N. Seventh Ave., on the topic “Science of Being.”
He is the founder of the “Aquarian Meditation Society” in Jamaica and is founder and publisher of “Equinox,” a philosophical newspaper.
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The family (Adams or Spiegel, however one might want to refer to them) have resided in (that I know of) New York, Miami, Jamaica, Louisiana, La Jolla, Los Angeles, Houston, New Mexico, Hawaii, Las Vegas, Scottsdale, Sedona, and a number of cities in North Carolina.
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In at least the 1990’s, before he left for Sedona, Robert Adams used the address PO Box 7210, Jordan Avenue, D-30, Canoga Park, CA. He used that address on correspondence he wrote, and on at least one published document. Who else used that address? The data aggregators show that this address was also used by a Michelle K. Spiegel, and a person going by the name Leonie Maxwell. Michelle and Leonie also used other addresses associated with Robert, those being 1815 Willis Avenue Panorama City, and 21551 Burbank Boulevard, Woodland Hills.
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The California Birth Index shows that Michelle K. Spiegel was born on October 1, 1960, in Los Angeles County, to a mother with the maiden name Maxwell.
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In later life, Michelle used the addresses above that are associated with Robert and Leonie, as well as an address of 12004 Vanowen Street #14, North Hollywood. This is the same address at which Denniston Keith Maxwell, one of Leonie’s younger brothers, resided at, after his immigration to the United States. Denniston was one of Michelle’s uncles.
In a recent Facebook posting, Michelle/Avantae stated: “Never knew anything personal about said uncles, etc. Never asked, never cared.” Really? She shared an address with an uncle? Her uncle lived within a few minutes’ drive from her parents, and Michelle/Avantae never knew anything about him?
As an aside, Michelle/Avantae alleged (or admitted) that she “never cared” about anything personal regarding her uncles. If that is true, what does that tell us about Michelle/Avantae’s fundamental character? Antisocial? Psychopathic? Narcissistic in the extreme?
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On August 2, 1996, Michelle, going by the name Avantae E. Deven, married Tyson Ruben Alvarez in Las Vegas. The two had addresses in common in Arizona, Nevada, and Montana.
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Robert “Adams” died on or about March 2, 1997, in Sedona, Arizona.
Shortly after that, in the spring of 1997, “Nicole Adams” and “Avantae Deven” (both aliases; the correct legal names are Aileen Beverly Leonie Spiegel and Michelle K. Spiegel) purchased a home together in Sedona, on Navahopi Road. Shortly after the purchase, “Nicole” quit-claimed her portion to “Avantae.”
On July 17, 2001, Tyson, still married to “Avantae,” quit-claimed any interest in the Navahopi property to “Avantae,” and had the county recorder send the deed to “Avantae” in care of the Infinity Institute, at that time located at 9101 W. Sahara Ave. Suite 105 C29 (in other words, a private post box), in Las Vegas.
Avantae divorced Tyson in 2006. She had, by then, moved to North Carolina. She “served” Tyson via publication summons, claiming that she was unable to find him, despite his information being on multiple data aggregators.
You can go to various Facebook groups, and other sources, to pull up the documents that people have uncovered showing who is associated with the "Infinity Institute," and in what fashion, and also the addresses that they have used over the years.
In any event, this is the information regarding Robert that I think that people need to be aware of.
Why turn to a known liar and con man for spiritual guidance?
1A tallis is a prayer shawl.
2The ship’s manifest states that he was age 14, which conflicts by one year with what Samuel identified as his date of birth. These errors are not uncommon; his fare could have been purchased when he was age 14 and the records not updated.

I find myself deeply longing for a sincere and profound connection. Hopefully, you are looking for the same?
I think most of us are afraid in some sense to love and to be completely vulnerable yet despite the risk we long for it.
The capacity to love, sometimes even in the face of pain, is one of the most beautiful aspects of being human. It's a strength, and not always a weakness.
At my core, I'm a person of love, of care, of deep unyielding affection for those I hold dear.
Through the journey of healing and self-discovery, I've realized that I have much love to share. Love that is not bitter, but kind; not resentful, but forgiving; not closed, but open and willing to grow alongside someone special.
I'm sincere in my attempt to forge a connection and hope you are too, I'd try to share things about me that might give you idea of the person I am.
Essence of Me:
I am a mix of old-school romance and modern sensibility, holding onto the ideals of loyalty and sincerity. I think handwritten notes, surprise dates, and the belief that small gestures make a big difference. I am someone who thrives on deep connections and meaningful interactions.
I’m someone who believes in the power of midnight conversations, in the healing balm of shared laughter, and in the silent solidarity of presence.
I believe in the power of empathy and the importance of being there for those who matter, even if it's a call at 3 AM. I value integrity, kindness, and a good/weird sense of humor. I find beauty in the mundane, the kind of person who finds joy in the little things and believes in taking the time to truly understand and appreciate others.
Physical Attributes:

• Height: 5'11" (181cm)
• Build: Slim
• Hair: Deep black, kept in check
• Eyes: Light, sometimes dark brown :3
• Beard: Short, fashionable, and pristinely groomed
• Complexion: FaiTanned

Interests:
I find solace in music that echoes my moods, books that transport me to other worlds, and quiet moments in nature that ground me. I cherish activities that nurture growth, whether they're intellectual debates, serene walks, or shared laughs over coffee. I'm drawn to the arts as much as to the simple pleasure of a sunset.. I also have a keen interest in cooking and experimenting with new recipes, finding the act of creating something delicious for others as a form of expression and care.
To sum up some typical interests include: Philosophy, nature, languages, books, reading, writing, video games, sports, art, poetry, travelling etc
What I Am Looking For:
I'm in search of someone who values open and honest communication as much as I do. Someone who understands that relationships are about growth, learning, and supporting each other through life's myriad challenges and joys. I am looking for someone who is eager to prioritize getting to know each other, willing to open their heart, and ready to build something meaningful together.
Expectations:

• Mutual respect and understanding
• Openness and honesty in communication
• A shared desire to prioritize our relationship and growth
• An interest in exploring life's depths and joys together

The Quest for You:
What am I seeking? Not a perfect person, but a real one. Someone whose heart speaks the language of kindness, whose spirit dances to the tune of sincerity. I dream of a connection where words are just the beginning, where vulnerability is not a weakness but our strongest bond. I yearn for a love that’s both a safe harbor and a grand adventure, a partnership built on mutual respect, understanding, and the shared bravery of baring one’s soul.
I seek a fellow traveler in this journey of life, one who understands that while our pasts may shape us, they do not define us. Someone who stands at the intersection of hope and reality, ready to embark on a path not devoid of challenges but rich with the promise of true companionship.
Epilogue of Hope:
If my words have stirred something in your heart, if you too are navigating the vast oceans of life in search of a genuine connection, then perhaps we are two stars meant to align in the constellation of fate. I extend my hand, my heart, and my story to you – not in desperation, but with the quiet confidence of one who has faced the night and yearns for the dawn.
Laconic messages with just "hi", "what's up," "I have a question," and the likes will be most likely ignored. If I can beat my own laconism when introducing myself here, so can you.

Hi! My boyfriend and I are thinking of going to Napoli/Naples and Ischia from june 26th to july 3rd.
We would love some recommendations of nice things to do in the city - both sightseeing, restaurants, bars/nightlife and maybe some vintage/thrift shopping - anything is much appreciated!
We were thinking of spending half the time in Napoli, and then half the time on Ischia. We also really want to go to the beach and swim, but I can't really figure out if there are any beaches in walking distance to Napoli city center, or if you have to take public transportation - what's the easiest and most accesable, closest to the city?
Lastly, we'd love some recommendations for places to stay - either hostel or airbnb probably. We are both uni students, so our budget is quite small. We'd like the cheapest option, but of course also something a bit nice and cozy, and in walking distance to some nice parts of the city.
Thank you so much for your help in advance:-)

Hi! My boyfriend and I are thinking of going to Napoli/Naples and Ischia from june 26th to july 3rd.
We would love some recommendations of nice things to do in the city - both sightseeing, restaurants, bars/nightlife and maybe some vintage/thrift shopping - anything is much appreciated!
We were thinking of spending half the time in Napoli, and then half the time on Ischia. We also really want to go to the beach and swim, but I can't really figure out if there are any beaches in walking distance to Napoli city center, or if you have to take public transportation - what's the easiest and most accesable, closest to the city?
Lastly, we'd love some recommendations for places to stay - either hostel or airbnb probably. We are both uni students, so our budget is quite small. We'd like the cheapest option, but of course also something a bit nice and cozy, and in walking distance to some nice parts of the city.
Thank you so much for your help in advance:-)

Hello friends, I hope you're doing well. Today, I need your help regarding a matter I'll explain shortly.
After my 19th birthday, I decided to abandon the habit of wasting my time aimlessly and instead fill it with more meaningful activities. I've been quite successful; a few months after my birthday, I began the unstoppable journey and I quitting smoking, and now, as I talk about it, it's been almost over 5 months.
During these months, I've listened to numerous podcasts, decided to learn web design, read books on self-improvement and discipline, as well as interesting novels. I even decided to learn Spanish, despite living in the Middle East and perhaps having slim chances of visiting that place one day.
But I've done all these things to avoid wasting my time on trivial matters and to be satisfied with myself. And now, as I write this, it's not because I'm tired of doing these things; I just feel like something is missing in my life.
Although maybe I shouldn't feel this way, if Mark Manson were here, he would strongly disagree with me (laughs). When I used to plan my days, my tasks were fixed. Every day, a book, every day, a podcast, coding and taking online courses occasionally. But I was sure that among these days, I would allocate time for myself, because after all, well, I also want to watch a movie, play games, or maybe just stare at the wall for a while.
But when I made this plan for myself, I didn't go to university, and now, the days I go to university, when I come home, I'm completely more tired than I can even relax. And well, with the story I've told you, my life is summarized either in my room or going to university. Even the times when I find some free time during my day, I pick up my phone and scroll through Instagram and Telegram, even when I could use that time to watch a movie or play a game, I waste it.
And yes, I said all this to finally come to the conclusion that what I've lost in my life is a form of recreation that I can't achieve by neglecting my routine tasks. And I don't know what to do. If I stop my daily tasks, I feel trash, and if I indulge in leisure, well, it still feels somewhat like being trash.
I don't have much more to describe my situation. If you have any thoughts and would be so kind as to write them to me, I would greatly appreciate hearing them.
Thank you for your attention ❤️

I'm just so tired, really tired. The entrance exams to colleges have took a toll on me. And the academic stress is just to much, to top it all off I had a fight with my sister too to the extent that we don't talk nowadays. i was so badly hurt by whatever happened between us, it made me write this:
"I do not want you back in my life anymore. I'm just done with you. I sacrificed my pride in order to fix things with you. You can call me egotistic if you want because ego and pride are used interchangeably sometimes too. You lack the basic cognitive skills to understand and acknowledge what the other person is going through, in laymen's term - you're a dumb idiot. You are the reason of my sleepless nights, my crying (which you compared with your panic attacks). I do not cry often, you should remember that. Yes, i do act immature sometimes when I do not want to lose something or someone. But I also love hard, which you don't deserve now. You were just like the others, it was my love that made you special. I still do not know why you've had such a great affect on my mental peace and its health, but congratulations on hurting your own brother. You have this quality of hurting everyone, be it stranger or your known. I still go through the screenshots of our chats and cherish the old you, because the current you is horrible. Whenever I was giving any exam, the only thing apart from my brain processing the questions was that I wanted to make 3 people proud - mom, dad and you. I thought if I work hard, then you'd follow suit, which was clearly a miscalculation on my part.
I'm glad you are happy without me, because I know I can be difficult to handle with but I was not someone who didn't deserve a second chance. I did everything in my power to fix things with you and guess what, you never even checked on me. This tells a lot about your personality.
Remember this all started because I asked for some rightfully earned respect 2 months back.
Good luck with everything you're gonna do and just fuck off from my life, i really don't want to see you ever again. I think you wouldn't even care if I go abroad or die.
Goodbye"
I'm just tired of life as a whole.