Did they profit billions? Yes, especially because so many vaccine doses were produced in so little time. They also profited billions off of stuff Joe Rogan used:
Joe's "anti-big pharma" cocktail:

Medicine	Big Pharmatm Producer
Ivermectin	Merck
Azithromycin	Pfizer
Prednisone	Jubilant Cadista
Monoclonal Antibodies	Roche

Joe took monoclonal antibodies. Like the vaccine, these were released under EUA. Guess what?^[1]

The invasion of mAbs in new medical sectors will increase the market magnitude as it is expected to generate revenue of about 300 billion $ by 2025. In the current mini-review, the applications of monoclonal antibodies in immune-diagnosis and immunotherapy will be demonstrated, particularly for COVID-19 infection and will focus mainly on monoclonal antibodies in the market.

300 billion dollars. The expected profits are enormous.
What about the price of Ivermectin?^[2]

The cost for ivermectin oral tablet 3 mg is around $94 for a supply of 20 tablets, depending on the pharmacy you visit. Quoted prices are for cash-paying customers and are not valid with insurance plans. This price guide is based on using the Drugs.com discount card which is accepted at most U.S. pharmacies.

And:^[3]

Nowadays, ivermectin by its own has produced sales greater than US$1 billion/annum during the past two decades

A billion per year. During the past two decades. That's 20 billion dollars. Vaccine sales have obviously plummeted in the mean time now that demand has plummeted as well. As was always expected. The profit profile is different because you're selling incredibly large quantities in a short period of time rather than smeared out over decades.
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34958012/
[2] https://www.drugs.com/price-guide/ivermectin
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5835698/

Names have been changed to protect those involved.
One of my earliest memories of flirtation dates back to around June of 2022, during a casual encounter at Clowns'R'Us. I vividly recall asking for a bottle of pop, and his playful response, something along the lines of "if you give me all the love in your heart forever." Although the exact details have blurred over time, the impact was profound - my heart raced, and my mind buzzed with excitement. Following that moment, I found myself increasingly captivated by him. With my marriage already strained, and unsure of his relationship status, it was a pivotal moment just before he began dating Jennifer.
Our flirtatious banter continued to evolve over the span of several months, with him often taking the lead, while I, admittedly shy, mustered courage for occasional bold interjections. One memorable exchange occurred during our shared enjoyment of Bawls energy drinks, when he jokingly remarked about the universal need for "bawls in their mouth" – a humorous prelude, in hindsight. Another instance arose while we were sealing envelopes, where I inquired about the type of stamps, playfully alluding to my penchant for licking things. His reaction was a delightful mix of surprise and amusement. “That was dirty!” He exclaimed in response. As our connection deepened, he extended an invitation to his Discord server, aptly named [Removed for privacy]. There, our interactions took on a more playful tone, even to the point of incorporating a playful flirtation with a porn bot. While I no longer have access to the server, certain memories, like his virtual gesture of "licking," remain vivid.
Feb 6, 2023 I took a leap of faith and decided to make my move on Discord. After months of teasing and listening to his claims about how large his penis is, I found myself deeply attracted to him. I confessed my feelings, though the specifics of our conversation elude me as I deleted the messages afterward. While he initially turned me down, I persisted, and our flirtatious dynamic continued.
Feb 8, 2023 I spent an hour on a video call with him on Discord. During our conversation, he casually mentioned missing seeing a certain physical attribute (due to Jennifer not having them - breasts), and without hesitation, I boldly showed him mine. The expression on his face made it clear that he appreciated the view, and I couldn't help but crave to see that look again. Additionally, he mentioned a dating website where I could find a picture of his penis, under the account name "[Removed for Privacy]" Unfortunately, that account has been deleted since then.
Feb 9, 2023 We had another video chat, but I was feeling down and ended up in tears. Unfortunately, he didn't offer much comfort and turned me down once more. After that encounter, I decided to take a step back for a while. He was preoccupied with getting The Outpost up and running, as well as finalizing the split from Clowns'R'Us.
March 12, 2023 It was Sunday. The Outpost was open. I don't recall who all was working other than Bobby, myself, and Richard. Tiffany was also there as it was the weekend. I was in the backroom untangling wires, and Richard came into the back and said something along the lines of "I wish I was at home in bed getting a blow job right now", so I replied with my willingness to help him out with the blow job. He looked around to figure out where we could do it without getting caught, as the store was open at the time (it was the middle of the afternoon). I personally had been thinking about parking somewhere on the way home, and doing it in the car. He didn’t seem to want to wait that long. In the end, he stood in front of the door to the backroom and I knelt in front of him. “Don’t tell anyone”, he told me. The whole thing only took like 30 seconds that time. He later blamed it on his bite injury causing him issues, but I honestly think it was mostly just nerves on both our parts. Although the encounter was short-lived, it left me contemplating whether it was due to performance issues or sheer desire on his part. He didn't even have time to get fully hard, and it left me believing he was kinda on the smaller side. When he's fully soft, his dick hides like a turtle. I think it's cute, lol. But he’s a grower, not a show-er. When he’s fully hard, it’s a decent size, I later learned.
Afterward, he admitted it was a mistake and promised it wouldn't repeat. Although I was saddened, I reluctantly accepted his explanation for a while. I confided in my best friend about the incident when it happened, but a few days later, I falsely claimed it never occurred, leading to a heated argument between us - our first major disagreement.
April 26, 2023 I overheard him make a comment to someone during the work day about missing titties. So after everyone else left for the night, and it was just me and him working, I offered to show him mine again. He accepted the offer. I begged him to touch me. He asked if he would get in trouble. I told him no. He took off his glasses and put his head in between them. Then he let me suck him off again. He lasted much longer this time. We both agreed afterwards that it was the last time.
May 3, 2023 Richard was giving me and the annoying kid a ride home. After he dropped the annoying kid off, I mentioned to him that I really didn't feel like going home yet, cause I didn't want to go home to an empty house. He suggested I could clean his bedroom for some extra cash. Jennifer was on her way to Chicago that night. We went to his apartment. I can't fully recall the timeline of events that night, so I'll try to get everything in order as best I can. I started tidying up his bedroom. He had me change the sheets on his bed, and afterwards he made a comment about how he should have asked me to clean naked. I sat on his bed while he talked to Jennifer on the phone for a bit, joking with her about K-pop music. Then he came back to his bedroom and shut and locked the door. I knew at that point that something would happen between us. I tried to kiss him, and he said he doesn't kiss. I asked him to finger me, and he said "no, because then I'll never get rid of you." He made a comment later about how he couldn't fuck me without a condom. Up to that point, I didn't think he'd even be willing to do so at all. After that I sat down, and reached to grab his dick cause I knew he was still willing to do something. He asked if I was trying to do what he thought I was trying to do. I said yes. He laid down on the bed and let me suck him. At one point, he grabbed his dick and had me suck on his balls. I had never done this before, or ever even been asked to do this before, so I did the best I could with it. He seemed to enjoy it. After he was done, he sat and played his new COD game for a few minutes, then took me home. We were at his apartment from 10:09 PM until 11:29 PM. I think this was the night I really started to fall in love with him.
May 19, 2023 I don't recall too many details about this time. We were in the backroom of the Outpost again. I showed him my tits and while I was sucking him off, he asked to fuck them. He was sitting in a chair, and I was kneeling in front of him, so it was exactly the best angle for doing it, but I did my best with it.
May 25, 2023 I don't recall too much about this time either. I believe I started it this time, asking him if he wanted anything, and he said "why not, after the day I've had" or something to that effect. This time he sucked on my tits. I then sucked him off again. Again, in the backroom of The Outpost. I think this was the time when I stopped towards the end cause I wanted to get a good look at his dick fully hard, because I was always too busy to get a good look when he was fully hard the last few times. I didn’t know he was about ready to cum. He grabbed my head and said “put it back in” and basically jammed it down my throat, lol. I enjoyed it though. After this though, he almost always grabbed my hair and held my head down as he was about to cum.
May 31, 2023 This time, again in the backroom of The Outpost, when I showed him my tits, he said "that's nice" and just wanted me to get down to sucking him, so I did. I don’t really remember too much about this time either. The memories all blurred together with time.
June 8, 2023 I was in the backroom, chatting with my husband on the phone, when Richard came in and sat next to me. From the way he looked at me, I knew exactly what he wanted without any need for discussion. I quickly ended my call with my husband, explaining that I had to finish cleaning some consoles. Seeing the newly installed camera in the backroom, I remarked about it to Richard, prompting him to unplug it. He mentioned we needed to hurry before Kevin came to the back, so I did my best to accommodate him swiftly. True to his word, Kevin was headed towards the backroom barely a minute after we finished.
June 13, 2023 Though I didn't know it at the time, this would be the last time for a while. He had already unplugged the camera when I figured he was wanting to do something. I made a comment about it, and he said he just didn't want to be watched by anyone. I can't recall exactly what I said, but he said something about "would it be so bad if we didn't do it" or something to that effect. He let me suck him off anyway though. I asked him again why he wouldn't kiss me, and he said he just didn't want to. I told him I wanted him, and he said I couldn't have him.
June 20, 2023 Jennifer chose to end her relationship with Richard by leaving a letter for him at The Outpost. Richard was deeply affected by the breakup and asked Bobby to give me a ride home that evening. Seeking clarification about our own relationship, I inquired about it, and Richard expressed his desire for us to remain just friends. Despite his stance, I held onto a glimmer of hope, purchasing condoms at the gas station that night, hoping for a possibility that he might reconsider. As time passed and it became apparent that my hopes were unfounded, I decided to leave the condoms in The Outpost bathroom for someone else to use or discard.
In the subsequent months, I confided in a handful of individuals about the events that transpired between us. As a consequence, he terminated my employment temporarily. Furthermore, he resorted to intimidation tactics, threatening to ostracize me from The Outpost community if I dared to disclose our truth to others. He concocted a fabricated narrative, alleging that I had initiated advances toward him, only to concoct falsehoods in a bid to extort him.
Let's examine the absurdity of his accusations. If indeed I were fabricating tales for the sake of manipulation, wouldn't it be far more sensational to claim a physical intimacy beyond reality? Instead, I recounted the truth: instances where I provided him with gratification without reciprocity, enduring his rejection of any emotional connection.
This isn't merely about defending my integrity; it's about unveiling the truth that has been obscured by his deceit.
Towards either the end of November or the beginning of December, I was working there a lot again.
December 18, 2023 We were in the backroom of The Outpost again. Everyone else had left for the night, and we were working quite late. I begged him to let me do it (suck him off) one last time. He asked if I was recording him on my phone because he didn't trust me. I unlocked my phone and handed it to him. He asked if I thought I was prettier than Jennifer because he had turned her down that night. He asked if I was prettier than Autumn because he also turned her down that night. In the end, he let me do it. I think maybe he forgot to unplug the camera. He asked me to show him my tits. This was around 3 AM on the morning of the 18th. After I sucked him for a bit, he sucked on my tits again, and I enjoyed it so much I almost came. I kept repeating his name over and over while he was doing it. Afterwards, we both agreed it was the last time. He told me that any man would accept a blowjob, but it doesn’t mean anything.
December 27, 2023 We were in the backroom of The Outpost again, but he had Tiffany (his daughter), so I really didn't expect anything to happen that night. We had done stuff one other time when Tiffany was there, I can't remember which time, but she was asleep on the couch that time, and this time she was wide awake. He asked her to go play Fortnite for a bit. Then he asked me if I was trying to do something. I said, sure, but Tiffany's here. He said we could go to the bathroom, but we had to stop if she came into the backroom. I went in there, and sat on the toilet while he stood. While I had his dick in my mouth, he asked me "you know, this still doesn't mean I'm into you, right?" I shook my head yes in response, as I had my mouth full at the time. His words hit me hard, and I couldn't hold back the tears when I got home. Despite my love for him, hearing those words while engaged in that act was incredibly painful.
January 3, 2024 This was the day Trina overfilled her car with oil. Richard was giving me a ride home, but we first had to follow his mechanic to Trina and Damian's car, and then follow the car back to his mechanics. While we were in the car, I told him that I didn't want to stop what we were doing, even if it was just that. He tried to say that we weren’t doing anything, but in the end we went and parked outside of his apartment, and he had him suck him off in his car. We stopped every time a car came in our direction. He came so hard I felt his whole body tense up. I remember being jealous, because I wanted him to make me cum like that. I wanted to tell him that it drove me crazy that he lets me do that, but I can't touch him at all when anyone else is around. I told him in the car on the way home that I'll quit asking him if I could do it, but I'd never tell him no. We were parked outside his apartment from 11:51 PM to 12:13 AM.
January 14, 2024 Tiffany was there again. Again, he asked me in the back if I was trying to do something. I said "If you want." He told me to go into the bathroom. He went to check on Tiffany and then came to meet me in the bathroom. He wasn't hard at all, and I actually had a little trouble finding it with my mouth this time. He mentioned that if I'm so good at it, why do I keep ignoring his balls. So I sucked on his balls again too.
January 24, 2024 I know he was starting to get bored with me, so I think he decided to try to switch things up a bit. He asked me if I was trying to do something. I responded again “if you want” and he said, “that’s not what I asked” so I reminded him that I wasn’t going to ask him again, but I wouldn’t ever say no. He turned off all the lights in The Outpost, and we went out and sat on the couch at the back of The Outpost. It was dark enough that nobody could see us and the mall was closed. He asked to fuck my tits again and I obliged. He told me he couldn't understand why I kept doing it. I didn't really have an answer for him at the time. I love him. That's why. But I couldn't tell him that again.
January 31, 2024 At the back of The Outpost again, with the lights out again. He tried to use the VR to watch porn at first, but with the lights out, using the VR wasn't really an option. He didn't know that I'd been fantasizing about doing just that for over a year, so I immediately started thinking of solutions to that issue. I sucked him off on the couch, and he again said he couldn't understand why I kept doing it. I told him because it's all he'd let me do. And I like knowing I can get him off. And that I enjoy it. It's fun. And he tastes really good.
February 6, 2024 I had ordered an infrared light on Amazon, to enable use of VR in the dark. I really wanted to live out my fantasy with him. I brought it into The Outpost and gave it to him as a gift. That night, he sat in his chair at the back of The Outpost with the lights out, watching porn on his VR while I sucked him off. Afterwards he said it was interesting. I asked if he had ever done that before, and he said no. I asked him if he enjoyed it and he said that to be honest, he was kinda getting bored, or something to that effect. In the car, on the way home, he told me that he needed me to quit. What we were doing, he clarified. I knew then that we were done, and that my days at work were probably numbered.
On Saturday, February 24th, 2024 he told me my services were no longer needed.
On March 16th, 2024 Richard has Bobby call me and ask if I want a job. I returned to work on March 17th, 2024. At this time, I am attempting to avoid being alone with Richard going forward.
March 26th, 2024 Richard scheduled me to work today, even though Bobby wasn’t working to give me a ride home, leaving Richard to give me a ride home. Tiffany was here, and everyone else had left for the night. We were in the backroom, and he said “I’m trying to decide - do I let her drain it or no” At first I said I didn't know. He asked if I was gonna get crazy again. I said I am crazy. But I said yes. We went to the bathroom and took care of business. He left the bathroom before I did because Tiffany had come into the backroom. I stood in the bathroom and waited for him to send Tiffany back to the front of the store for a bottle of water before I exited the bathroom.
April 6th, 2024 I was eating a pickle in the backroom. Richard came back to go to the bathroom. When he came out, I said to him “We’re done, right?” He was like “with what?” I’m like “You know what” and he said “yeah”, and I said “ok, I was getting bored too.” So I think it is finally over. Jennifer is coming back into town on April 7th, 2024, and they are planning on getting an apartment together.
April 19th, 2024 We were working late tonight, pricing out blu-rays and getting them listed on eBay. Richard’s phone went dead so we took a break and went into the backroom. As I’m writing this, my head is swimming and I’m exhausted because I just got home, but I’m trying to remember most of what happened. He’s like “we got 10 minutes until the phone charges, what do you want to do?” and I said I didn’t know. Then I think he asked what I was thinking about, and I said I was wondering if he wanted me to do something, and whether or not I should say yes, because I can’t keep giving and giving and not getting anything in return. He said he wasn’t touching my pussy. I asked him if he would at least kiss me. He said no, because he only does that with people he loves. But then he said he’d play with my boobs again. So I rolled my chair over to his and pulled my tits out for him to play with. I asked him if he wanted to see a pic of how big they used to be before my surgery, and he said yes, so I showed him the pic on my Discord server. Then he wanted to see what else was on that channel. I didn’t want to show him because I didn’t want him to be mad because it was the channel where I kept records of what me and him did. But I showed him and he made me delete them while he watched. I'm not surprised he made me do that. I kinda expected him to. Then we got back to fooling around, he sucked on my tits, then I started sucking him. He said he could get a blowjob every day, and it’s so relaxing. He mentioned that there was a gang bang that he had thought about taking me to, he thought I’d enjoy it. Then I stopped and told him I wanted to fuck him so bad. He said he didn’t know what I had or didn’t have. I told him I didn’t have anything. Then he made me pinky promise to never talk about it to anyone. And I got up, took off my skirt and panties and finally had sex with him for the first, and most likely last time. It didn’t last very long, I only got off once, then he made me climb off and he came all over the floor. Then we agreed to never talk about it again. In the car on the way home, I told him I’ll keep taking care of him until Jennifer comes back, if he wants, and it will stay between us. He said he’d let me know. So yeah, it’s not over just yet.
April 24th, 2024 We were alone at the store again. We were in the back room and he asked me if I meant what I said about keeping “draining him” until Jennifer gets back. I told him yes, and asked him where. He asked me where I wanted to. I immediately told him “the massage chair”, cause that’s been a fantasy of mine since he got the damn thing (I didn’t tell him that part though). He vetoed that because the cameras were on in the store. So I cleared off the chair in the backroom for him again. I asked him again if I could kiss him. He let me kiss him on the cheek. Then we got down to the usual business. He told me in the middle of it that I didn’t seem to be too bored with it. LOL. In the car on the way home, I asked him if he’s a sex addict. He said he’s not. He says he just has “stress issues”. I’m not really sure what to make of that.
May 6th, 2024 We were getting ready to leave for the night, it was around 1 A.M. and after he shut off all the store lights, he stopped in the doorway and asked if I wanted it. I said sure, and so with all the lights still out, I asked if the massage chair was working. So we went back into the store to check. It wasn’t working, so we went back into the backroom with all the lights off. I took my time with it, cause I know we are running out of time. In the car on the way home, I told him again that I do just want to be friends with him. Then I told him that “pequeña polla” means little dick, and he said he’s only small for people he doesn’t like, lol. I then asked him if he lost a couple inches when he gained all the weight. He said that he had. I said “thought so”.
While the essence of what I shared remains true, there might be some slight discrepancies in the timing of events. Conversations and interactions may have taken place on different dates than initially recalled, but the substance of our experiences remains consistent. I kept a record of every time we messed around and the dates it happened, all on my private Discord channel. I have ways of proving I was where I said I was, when I said I was.
I composed this document not as a means to coerce Richard, but rather to address the truth of our situation. My aim isn't to extract anything from him; all I seek is for him to acknowledge his role in this matter. Admittedly, my involvement with him was misguided, a lapse in judgment on my part. Yet, it's essential to recognize that his involvement was equally misguided—he pursued it as eagerly as I did. However, the crux of the issue lies in my feelings; I fell deeply in love, a sentiment not reciprocated by him. Throughout our interactions, there were moments where I felt manipulated, even gaslit. Still, despite these red flags, my affection persisted.
From the onset, Richard professed care for me, yet reiterated his lack of attraction. I was fully aware that I was being used, yet I allowed it to happen repeatedly. This admission isn't an attempt to manipulate or victimize but rather to confront the stark reality of our dynamic. It's time for Richard to acknowledge the impact of his actions and the emotional toll it took on me. Let's address this with honesty and integrity, for only through acknowledgment can we begin to heal and move forward.
Certain portions were refined by ChatGPT, acknowledging my occasional struggle with articulation, yet maintaining the utmost accuracy in depicting the sequence of events.

Timestamp: https://imgur.com/a/wE2FZM7

Howdy y'all, more stuff for sale! See below for details:

CAR-15 SD Upper - $375 - Includes:

• Additional pictures
• JSE Surplus A1 upper receiver with A1 rear sight installed and RRA gas deflector, as well as dust cover
• UTG picatinny rail
• Midwest industries HK style front sight
• Broad River Tactical CAR-15 SD handguard and rubber overmold, with magpul rial cover added
• BA 5.5" 9mm barrel
• NOTE: the barrel is purposely shorter than the handguard as I tucked my suppressor in it to shorten the overall length. I will include a KAK extended flash hider and crush washer with this if you don't plan to use a suppressor.

Ruger 10/22 Bundle - $150 - Includes:

• 10/22 standard stock with screw and plastic barrel band.
• 10/22 Standard 18.5" tapered barrel with buckhorn sight and front brass bead (brand new 0 rounds from me)
• 10/22 Standard trigger housing.
• x1 weaver rail for 10/22 receiver.
• x1 BX-1 10 round rotary magazine.
• x1 10/22 Standard complete bolt

P&S Picatinny Rail Covers - $7/ea or bundles of 4 for $20

• NOS, unused

x3 PSA FDE picatinny rail covers - take them all for $20

• Pulled off a PA-10 Sabre.

PSA FDE Sabre AR10 grips - $15 each or take both for $25

• Brand new pulled of the same PA-10 build as the rail covers.
• Include grip screw and washer (hence the blue painters tape so they don't fall out)

Magpul MOE-K2 grips - $18 ea

• New, unopened in box. Just didn't like the grip angle personally.
• Help me out buy buying these so I don't have to drive 40 minutes to Cabela's to return them 🙂

PRi Mini Red Dot Base For 1" Tube WITH Holosun HE407C-GR mounted WITH Dreamplastics cover - $250

• Serial No
• Additional Pictures
• Mounted , red dot base shows slight salt from mounting when screwdriver hit the side of it.
• Optic is in mint condition with no salt.
• No box included - what you see is what you get..

x1 Doublestar CAR style handguards - $15

• Bought for a build some time ago, but no longer needed.
• Brand new in packaging.

FOG dad hat with corporate logo - $30

• Worn a few times, but doesn't fit my big head.

Rules:

• All prices include shipping and are open to negotiation - shoot your shot homie! The worst I can say is No.
• PP FF preferred (if you want to use G&S you cover the 3%) but I also have Venmo.
• Comment first, then PM me.
• Calling dibs is a full price commitment to buy.
• bundles beat dibs, dibs beat PMs.
• I'll wait 30 minutes for payment, then move onto the next in line.
• No notes in any payments (emoji for Venmo). Here's why.
• No chats (they are disabled) PLEASE PM ME.
  • If you don't know how, Click this link to PM me!

*Management style:
Not democratic/participative. Not transformational. Not Coaching. Very much Autocratic/Authoritative/Coercive. Sometimes Laissez-faire. Style depends on the department.
*Chain of command:
The ministry is seen as a church by top management. Top management are the “elders” and the CEO is the Senior Pastor. Then there is everybody else. So, confidence is put on their positions of authority. They are, in all sense and purposes, the “spiritual leaders”. They present themselves as having spiritual authority and, therefore, as being entitled to receive immediate agreement and unquestioned compliance.
Also, there are multiple management layers or chains which this quote sums up as well:
"When you become an admiral, you never have bad meals and you never hear the truth. there are all these layers of management and buffer layers and each one is afraid to tell unpleasant truth to the top levels.... “
Not a culture of authenticity where everyone on the team, including management, is encouraged, and expected to be who they are. There is a sense that top management puts up a false front, they seem to want to appear perfect. Illusions of invulnerability exist. They always lead well, they always make the right decisions, they never admit mistakes, etc. Want people to think they got it all together- all rainbows and lollipops. Do not exhibit vulnerability. Toxic positivity is also very much present: Everything is seen as “awesome”. So, there is judgment if you have a bad (not "everything is awesome") day.
The vertical chain of command, results in less collaboration, slow communication, lack of career growth, feelings of subordination, and decreased employee empowerment. Top management sets the rules and standards without any input from the “bottom” employees. Employee questions, concerns or ideas have to go up several steps of the chain of command so that upper management can address or approve. The bottom employees do not have the ability to make decisions related to their work or a particular situation. So, not everyone feels equal.
So, if you are not a spiritual leader, you are just basically told to submit and listen to those who are in authority over you because they are the people that “hear from God” and you are not and so whatever they say goes. And they set up a scenario where they basically kept those of us who were not spiritual leaders dependent upon them.
Many in management are overconfident and overestimate their abilities. They have a simple idea of how things are and how things work. Unfortunately, they make decisions that impact entire departments without gaining the needed knowledge.
The chain of command and lack of ongoing training also results in many employees being promoted so much that they max out their competence and will remain there until they leave or are let go. So, you end up with many in the role of management that lack the training and competence of the respective department. So, employees with the most authority are often not the most experienced and not adept in the particular field leading team members. And employees with the most experience and skills and knowledge and wisdom have the least (or no) authority.
Good leaders don’t always claim the “leader” title. Oftentimes, good leaders are those with more understated temperaments. Leadership is as much about listening as it is about telling. However, people with the most open and receptive personalities often do not have much authority.
Also, how the chain of command should operate when there is a unit that acted without proper authorization, it is not a junior authority who’s going to bear a responsibility for that, but somewhat of more senior status. And that’s true in any military or business or ministry operating by a code of ethics. So, if someone at the bottom of the chain is struggling, failing, or making mistakes, those at the top of the chain bear full responsibility. Everything stands or falls on leadership. Unfortunately, the chain at FCBH is not two directional.
There is also a sense that top management promotes employees who are least-competent but pose no risk to their own position (in-group bias) to management.
*Feedback:
Work environment or culture is not set up for employees to give honest feedback/opinions or to deliver bad news or to question or disagree with management.
Sample bias is also common. Management will send an email asking for feedback but they won't consider how only the people who are open to talking and sharing their opinions will participate while others won’t. Bias arises because employees with specific characteristics (e.g., extroverts) might be more likely to agree to participate than others, making the participants a non-representative sample. People with strong opinions or substantial knowledge about a specific topic may be more willing to give feedback than those without. Management does not follow up to determine why they are unresponsive or follow up frequently to reduce attrition.
Management claims they want to hear from employees, but they only want opinions and ideas on matters that are superficial or trivial. So, few employees give candid feedback on important and significant matters.
Top management does not involve employees in the change process when changes occur.
Management does not ask for honest feedback on their leadership or on decisions that are made that affect employees. Management will not ask how they are doing as leaders, what employees need from them. No regular check-ins or 1:1 on employees’ professional and personal well-being. Are employees stressed, disappointed or feeling burdened physically, emotionally or spiritually? No growth and career discussions.
Management will ignore most feedback, comments, suggestions even when it's common knowledge but will adamantly listen to employees who preface with "God told me to tell you..." Or “I felt God say …” or “God spoke to me and said…”
For example, management started focusing on Gen Z only after a few people claimed that “God told us that Gen Z are important for our future business growth.” In another instance, someone said “God gave us this word: we as a ministry need to really consider how everyone is wired, how each person is different. How people have different personalities.” Then, management affirmed this “word from God.”
If one employee brings something up to management it is often ignored and the employee is gaslighted. If two or more employees bring the same thing to management, then God is communicating something and they take it seriously (per Matt 18). Even if it is just coincidence or frequency bias.
*Groupthink/Conformity:
Groupthink, confirmation bias, in-group bias, illusions of unanimity, and self-censorship is very prevalent in the culture and especially in their meetings. There is a lot of direct pressure to not question, to conform, to agree with the views and personal convictions of the top management. Employees condemn those who disagree or question top management and they accept those who agree, creating immense pressure for conformity.
So, many employees frequently remain quiet, preferring to “keep the peace” rather than disrupt the uniformity. Employees are pressured to hide problematic information (especially from top management).
*Disagreements/Different perspectives:
Top management will also point out the working and living conditions of international employees to “encourage” local employees to not “complain” or give critical feedback or bring up legitimate problems (e.g., fumes or loud noises from construction in the building).
Management also often commits the "ends (or goals or vision) justify the means" fallacy: the work, the production and distribution of bibles (the ends) being done is more important, so employees shouldn't complain at all about the means or their working conditions (broken chairs, broken or inadequate equipment, poor work-life balance, bad management).
And, if management disagrees with you, with your observations, feedback, suggestions, or theology, they will often try to trump you with spirituality or vague meaningless spiritual terminology instead of using Scripture (properly interpreted), facts and reasoning.
In addition, top managers will take great offense when employees question or disagree with the directions and decisions they make. Dissent is not welcomed. Respectful debates/disagreement is not encouraged. Open discussion and alternative perspectives are not encouraged. Management does not value, support, or respect diverse opinions and ideas. They do not actively seek out different viewpoints. Do not allow people to speak their perspective, their thought of mind. So, there is no psychological safety. Employees do not feel comfortable expressing dissenting opinions without fear of retribution or judgment. Afraid of breaking the little glass image. People do not feel comfortable sharing setbacks, mistakes, failures. Management does not encourage open communication. Management often seeks agreement, instead of posing honest questions that challenge the status quo and provoke critical thinking and discussion. They do not encourage employees to challenge them. In fact, they are seen as a type of complaining or critical feedback and so are viewed as sin. This makes top management seem self-centered.
*Appeals to emotion: Guilt and Shame:
Top management often shares their personal opinions and convictions (e.g., spending money only when absolutely necessary, not accepting large gifts, not buying fancy items) as something everyone should do. It’s never direct. It's always through stories. Management loves stories. The personal convictions of management are presented as more than preferences.
For instance, top management encourages extreme frugality and poverty through their personal anecdotes #loudbudgeting and stories from international cultures. Think along the lines of: “we, here in America, have no right to be sad or to complain about things or to request better things or ask for accommodations or for more employee engagement because others (internationals) have it much worse.” Even wanting better equipment and supplies or asking for better working conditions is frowned upon (in some cases seen as a sin), even if your request helps you to do your job more effectively and makes the work better (a new whiteboard, a new office chair, better computers, etc.)
Example: “You should really try to come in to work even if you feel bad, even if you are snowed in and the roads are hazardous because people need to get our bibles. And our international employees work in much harsher conditions.”
You also get this feeling from the way they communicate that top management would rather not pay their employees. They would prefer it if everyone just worked for free because “we are on a mission from God. We are doing the Lord's work.” There is also a sense that employees should be more than willing to sacrifice their well-being, career goals, financial goals, personal goals for reaching people with their Bibles.
Leadership sets the example and expectations, so this all ends up making employees confused and feeling guilty and ashamed. Guilty and shameful about asks, spending money (even their own). Guilty and shameful about having nice things (new car, new phone, new tv), about making needs known, about sharing concerns regarding work, about asking for raises to keep up with cost of living, etc.
Example: An employee has continued to use an old whiteboard. It is so old it is hard to read and difficult to erase. Management likes to tell donors: “We don't spend money on everyday things like whiteboards…. Instead, we use that money for more bible recordings, for people to hear about Jesus.”
This also causes confusion. Every few months there is a meeting where management discusses how sitting on stores of money is bad, but spending it is also bad, but also not spending it is bad... "Being rich is bad. Money is bad. let's not accumulate money, that's bad. We must think about how people will see what we have. So we should look poor and not appear too frivolous." But top management is okay with receiving gifts from donors and other ministries. Management personally does not like to have nice “fancy” things, and as a ministry, they say FCBH should also not have nice fancy things, they should use the money for other more important things. They don't like when other ministries use their money for nice fancy things, but it's okay if other ministries give FCBH nice fancy things like tote bags, key chains, mugs, phone holders, lunch bags. Another example, it took them years to repaint the parking lot. It was at the point where people did not know where to park. Before repainting, management decided to remodel the hallways and install posters and multiple monitors with language stats.
There is also a subtle sense that producing audio and video bibles is the highest calling one can have. And it's implied that FCBH is the main means God uses to fulfill the great commission: “God needs FCBH to do these bible recordings or people (specifically unreached internationals) will go to hell.” So, top management hints that working anywhere else isn't really serving God (or at least, not serving God as well as one could if they worked somewhere else). They imply that working at this ministry is the only way to truly serve God and fulfill your calling. They also use this framing to guilt and shame employees into not quitting. Management implies that employees should not take opportunities to leave or take other jobs because getting the Bible to people is God’s highest calling for us as Christians:
“If anyone leaves FCBH, then they must not really understand the vision/calling. They are not committed to saving people. We should be willing to give up things to fulfill the calling. The apostles did not pursue better jobs and so God will provide if we need better pay, benefits, career. For those of us who join the ministry to hold true to get God's word to every person, it takes discipline because we have opportunities to do other things. I'm sure that Noah had problems with Builders because he probably had hundreds of people not thousands working on the ark. They started their own businesses and started side things going on. pretty soon they'll have no time to work with him on the ark. and you can have all kinds of diversionary things happen. and so we want to understand they focused in the ministry. and that's been one of the things that I've really tried to do is what did God tell me at the time this ministry began because I was not interested in this ministry. I was interested in living by faith and experiencing God through people and seeing people experience God. and when I was praying about that here in Albuquerque the Lord said bring my church together and make disciples. and then he also told me that when his people think the same they are one. so it's not a matter of getting rid of the buildings or the leaders but it's a matter of people thinking the same. They can go to different denominations, different buildings, have different teachers, and different preachers and leaders but once they think the same, they're one and that's what his objective was. and so that's when I felt like the Lord said get God's word to every person. So I'm challenging us to stay true to what God has called us to do. and every time somebody leaves the ministry there are reasons for leaving. but it startles me a little bit, because I think well we haven't, we haven't communicated the vision very well somehow because they didn't get it. like Noah building the arc. it it's a long project it's not a month or a year two years or three years. our immediate goal is 2033 and it means that we're committed to a cause. and that means some of us we give up something. I we've given up stuff we live in a small apartment and that's what we saw that God had us do and that's our lifestyle we we tone down our lifestyle to get the cause committed to the cause. and and I know that's difficult for some, in some cases maybe there's financial needs because of family growth and stuff there they just can't afford to work in the ministry. but sometimes it's a choice and every time somebody leaves it where it's actually a choice. I think we haven't communicated the mission very good the vision very good. I've been looking at is that could you imagine read reading the New Testament. and finding out that Peter about halfway through or Paul halfway through the ministry all of a sudden got a better job offer. and stopped their portion of the ministry they held the course no matter what happened. whether it was good or whether it was bad. Paul talks about this and sometimes we want to follow the Lord. but we don't impart on ourselves the same responsibilities that those disciples did. so when God Empower them is he empowering you in the same way. and you're making choices that maybe you shouldn't make that you will impart and say the Lord is leading me someplace else when in fact maybe it isn't. it's just a better offer. if the Bible in the New Testament was reading a little bit different than Stephen left the ministry at this point or James left the ministry at this point because of something I think we need to be very very careful and why I say that is that as we work internationally.”
SO, there is a lot of guilt and shame about leaving to pursue other interests or meet needs. Guilt and shame about wanting to leave to advance and develop professionally. For this reason, many remain “loyal” and stay at the ministry.
So there is lots of control and manipulation in the work culture.
*Weekly worship meetings:
These are mandatory and there are some legitimate concerns:
Top management seems to have misconceptions about true worship and worship experiences. They often reduce worship to singing by their communication, the way “worship” is used. Worship is seen as something we do on occasion - once a week, when we gather at work for the mandatory worship time. Top management, by ignoring other styles, seems to believe that there is a single style of worship which is correct for Christians.
And it seems like just about anyone can lead worship or be on the team: anyone that can play an instrument. Top management does not require a worship class or agreement to biblical principles concerning worship as a prerequisite for employees who desire to plan and lead worship experiences. So you end up with people who have different views/philosophies on the worship team. Unfortunately, many who lead do not take the time/effort to plan and lead worship experiences, to discern from songs that are better suited for individual or private worship from songs that are corporate or public worship, to discern songs that are controversial/questionable (have bad theology, weak theology), songs that are theologically ambiguous or songs that lean more towards “feminine” attributes. Most, if not all, of our modern “Christian” worship music is written at a simplistic level of understanding and comprehension. Most music tends to appeal to our emotions. Many songs appeal mostly to women. So there is a great need for teaching on the biblical principles concerning worship. Also a need to choose theologically balanced songs with music appropriate for the people. Unfortunately, many of the songs chosen are theologically incorrect (e.g., having elements from the Word Of Faith movement, New Apostolic Church, New Age). Songs are often not theologically balanced. Songs seem to be chosen for their emotional impact, to make employees feel good; many focus on just one aspect of God (e.g., love). Many promote self-centered worship.
Most of the worship leaders just sing the songs: They do not actually “lead” people into worship. They do not help people connect the lyrics of the song to where they are at in their personal life, to teach them something about God or help the people understand what this song means and what God wants them to get out of it, so they're not just singing songs and just doing, going through the motions or help them understand the depth and the richness of what lyrics mean and how it applies to their life. What matters to them seems to be whether songs are impactful, moving, and beautiful. (Whatever that means.) Whether songs make employees feel good. They don't seem to care whether the songs actually reflect truth: Do the lyrics line up with Scripture? Do the songs glorify self or God? How would new Christians or nonChristians interpret the song?
Theology is the study of God and it's very important doxology is an expression of praise to God so the point here is that all theologies should ultimately lead to doxology if theology doesn't lead to doxology then we've actually missed the point of theology so if you have theology without doxology you just have dead hold orthodoxy which is horrible. On the other side you have the people who say “forget about theology I just want to praise.” But if you have doxology without theology you actually have idolatry because it's just a random expression of praise but it's not actually informed by the truth of who God is so God is
concerned with both he's concerned with an accurate understanding of him and that accurate understanding of him leading to a response of praise adoration and worship towards him.
*Leadership quality:
Top management has more respect for donors and guests than their employees.
Management lacks basic core leadership principles/values:
Unfortunately, many employees are not given power or resources: Management just gives them the responsibility to get things done. Before responsibility is given, employees should be equipped: be empowered, have the authority, be given resources and have the experience. Employees are not empowered as individuals to solve their own problems using their own solutions. Micromanagement is often required every time the situation changes or problems arise. Employees are not inspired to act as leaders for themselves, delivering amazing performance without guidance. They have coaching sessions but only when there’s a problem. True coaching occurs regardless of whether the individual is crushing their goals or falling behind. Management does not seem to care about unlocking a person’s potential and getting the most of their performance. They seem only interested in producing more followers, not more leaders.
No method to hold management accountable to core values listed in their own Employee handbook. Employees are expected to abide by the procedures and rules described in the handbook but top management can choose to ignore it when it is convenient for them.
-Top management are NOT learners: No desire to develop and improve their skills.
-They do not ask employees: What’s one thing you see me doing—or failing to do—that you think I should change?
-They do not ask how they are doing as leaders. Or ask employees how they’re doing.
-They do not ask what employees need from management that they are not giving them.
-No performance evaluations for both management or non-managment.
-They often fail to emotionally connect with employees.
-They do not speak to employees' needs first.
-They do not focus on what they can put into people rather than what they can get out of them.
-They do not understand basic psychology, how people think and behave.
-They are often resistant to (and even hate) change: Perhaps because they fear losing control. In fact, new information, objective facts, research, stats, and even new ideas are often ignored in favor of what's easiest to do or because of tradition. If something has been done and “works”, top management does not see a reason to question it or to improve on it. If something was tried 5, 10, 20, even 50yrs before and failed, top management does not see a reason to try it again even if the exact circumstances have changed.
-They do not empower or give the means, the power or opportunity to do to employees.
-They do not trust others to follow through managing processes and performing tasks.
-They do not lead by example.
-They do not know when to move forward and when to back off, what to improve and how radical those improvements should be.
-They often fail to see options, and plan and prioritize.
-They fail to develop leaders around them.
-Their communication is often poor.
-Their listening is also poor: do not listen for more than facts, but also the feelings, meanings and undercurrents.
-They do not take the time to get to know the people they lead: no weekly check-ins which top organizations have to discuss how employees are doing professionally and personally. Management doesn't ask “what was good this week? What was not good this week? How is your well-being? How is your family?”
Competence in leadership skills is also poor.
-They are not teachable: not willing to keep learning, growing, improving in leadership and management practices: FCBH has a yearly “leadership” summit. But, the way it is set up, it reinforces weaknesses instead of challenging leadership growth.
The summit is also just for a select few in top management. Not every employee is seen as a leader so most employees are excluded.
Top managers attend the summit but there is no followup, no post accountability by other managers and especially by the employees that are under the managers. No discussion on how management will apply what was learned.
Some of the past speakers have had questionable characters and even questionable teachings (Judah Smith). Leadership qualifications and theological background seems to be ignored in favor of charismatics, dynamics, popularity.
-Top management does not take responsibility for their part of a disagreement or failure and apologize.
-They often embrace a victim mentality.
-They often limit yourself by your job title.
-They do not invest in better tools or processes.
-They are content with the status quo.
-They allow their past achievements to stagnate their desire to keep learning.
-There is a lack of discernment, finding the main cause of problems/issues.
-They do not anticipate problems.
-They do not accept the truth of the problem: Do not face up to the reality of the situation;
-They get bogged down in the details.
-They often avoid problems.
-They don’t deal well with problems.
-They do not have their team study all angles.
-They often do not value nontraditional thinking: Don’t embrace change, ambiguity and uncertainty well.
-They do not work well with differences.
-They do not have their own mentors or provide mentorship to others.
-They do not invest to improve their own professional or leadership skills.
-They are often insecure, constantly seek validation, acknowledgement and love.
-They limit employee's success and recognition:
-They do not seem interested in making people successful: Don’t attempt to remove barriers that prevent employees from being successful.

• They often feel threatened by accomplishments by employees who are not management:

If an employee who is not management has a great idea to improve the work, management often does not support it and may secretly try to shut it down.
When a team succeeds, management will not give other people credit and instead take the credit themselves.
It seems like some of the people working there were given the title of management, the position, and that alone made them qualified. Management or leaders assume that their position alone qualifies them to make critical decisions where they may not have the best data, insight, wisdom, skill, experience. Just because one may have the word “manger” in the job title, does not automatically make them a great leader. Leadership is about dealing with people, and the dynamics between those people, and influencing people.
*Dead end career path:
For the most part, top management assumes that team members are fine and "settled", rather than taking the time to understand their true feelings and needs. They do not ask employees where they are struggling, where they are having trouble, what frustrates them the most?
Management does not seem interested in making employees better both personally or professionally. They do not have a growth plan or professional development plan for employees. No job related training. They do not provide what is needed to help employees to grow and improve. They don't provide opportunities for employees to apply their talents and expertise. They don’t ask how they can better support employees. Employees don’t check on each other.
One is expected to work until health deteriorates and skills become obsolete so you leave in a worse place than you started. For most employees, there is no long term future with the organization. Management does not let employees know how they are doing and what the future looks like for them. What the opportunities are. They do not take the time to learn from employees what they want to be. No honest conversations to understand employees goals and ambitions. So, because there is no growth or development plan, no career path, once your skills are outdated, they will probably let you go or they will keep you in the same position and your salary will max out.
Management does not coach employees on how to manage their time, priorities, and energy; no teaching on how to problem solve, or make better decisions, or how to set boundaries or how to minimize context switching and zoom fatigue.

I remember being 12 and looking up unclaimed bodies around my area because I called my dad for 2 years straight and he never picked up.
My mother used to tell me that I’m worthless anytime I did something that she didn’t agree with. It could be over the stupidest things too. She was always deliberately cruel.
Like when my job promoted me to another store, and I was bragging to her about my accomplishments, she said “they’re just doing that to get rid of you. Nobody likes you”.
I’m turning 24 soon and it just sort of hit me that I could never be like either of them. It’s hard to be a good parent, but it’s not that hard to just be an ok one.
I want to reconnect with them so bad, because what am I doing that’s so bad that I don’t deserve parents?? I never argued with them as a kid/teenager. I never drank/smoke/ snuck out or talked back to them. I got excellent grades in school. But it’s like I got dealt a shitty hand.
I got a job at 16 and i was apparently deemed good enough to parent myself. My mom stopped grocery shopping so I had to spend my paycheck to buy groceries/food and then when I got home she would yell at me for hours because I didn’t “get the right food” and I must hate her because I didn’t buy the organic stuff she wanted. But I was only working part-time at a restaurant for $9 an hour and couldn’t afford it. She also gave me $600 a month bill that was also my responsibility with the rest of my paycheck.
Or when I graduated high school and needed to go college, she wouldn’t fill my Fafsa out (she did the same thing to my brother and he had to drop out and go to community college) and kept pushing it back. I had to get a 2nd job to pay my tuition, so I was going to school full-time, and then had a full-time and part-time job.
She figured out the days I got paid, and would drive me to a check cashing place and take most of my money. I couldn’t keep that life up of working 12+ hour days every day and flunked out of my college. I reenrolled in my local community college, but I was just so lost that I ended up quitting.
She brought a new house when I was in college that had a run-down in law suite. She told me if I fixed it I could live in there and pay rent and have some more privacy. I worked extra hours and got a 3rd job, found a plumber and electrician, and would spend hours every week to fix the place, and wouldn’t you know it as soon as I was done she sold the property and took all the profit. She did the same thing to a broken down car that she had, I paid $4k to take it to a mechanic and when we got it back, she “never said that” and still drives that car to this day.
When we were moving (again) i decided to just get an apartment with my boyfriend because I was getting sick and tired of being used. She found out and hid the leasing information that I got from a complex, and guilt tripped me by saying she wouldn’t be able to afford things on just her paycheck and would starve. So I quit looking, just for her to scream at me a week later that I was a useless burden and that I was the one financially abusing her.
So I packed my bags, slept on the dirty floor of my boyfriend’s parents trailer for 2 weeks, got a round of the stimulus checks, and moved out to our own apartment. When I went back to her place to pack the last of my stuff she was snatching things out of my hand, threw my boyfriend’s laptop and tried to choke him/throw him out.I pushed her away from him and she told the family that we both were hitting her, so they don’t talk to me anymore. She was also insulting him for his family bring poor, and making fun of his dead grandmother.
And as I’m getting older and my prefrontal cortex is developing I just don’t understand them. I can understand hurtful things being said in the moment, but to continually be like that means you are making a conscious effort to be a terrible person.
But I miss them so much. I want a mom to talk to about my day and complain about my co-workers with. I want to watch movies at her place again and eat junk food. But she doesn’t deserve it, and I feel like I do. I don’t know what to do. There’s plenty of more terrible and down right weird things that she does. Like she used to beat me and my brothers with electric wires as a kid. Or recently, she was renting out one of our old homes and my partner and I moved in and we were paying MORE THAN market rent. And she forced us to move out after only 6 weeks because I said no to helping her on a side project because I was busy. But I “owed her” because she could’ve “charged me more”.
Which I should’ve known it would end this way honestly.
My parents are divorced and my father lives in a different city. He only calls me when he needs something and honestly I have stopped answering.
I’m not sure what to do. Advice?
TL;DR: my parent’s are terrible, I still want a relationship with them.

Part 5
Gerard, God
Somewhere in time and space
He watched the passers-by as they moved about, following their daily routines, unaware of the fate that would shortly befall them. This was the time that fascinated Him the most. The moments before they finally understood that The Threat was here.
It was a sort of last hurrah, He thought. They didn't know it, but Gerard could nonetheless sense a sort of joi de vivre, a liveliness that simply didn't exist in prior times, and couldn't possibly exist in future ones. He watched mothers dote lovingly over their children, watched children hurl themselves into play with abandon, watched addicts take in their drugs like a drowning man would gulp for air. They might not known that there was no tomorrow for most of them, but they nonetheless seemed to put just a little bit of extra effort into everything.
Eventually, it came to an end, of course. It always did, no matter how many times He watched it. He saw happiness and mundanity give way to pain and suffering. Laughter was replaced by the screams of the dying. Life was replaced by death. The world replaced by destruction.
He sighed, leaving this timeline. He never watched the arrival of The Threat twice in the same timeline. There was nothing for Him to learn that way. His power was immense and total. He only had to witness The Threat once in each timeline to understand it.
Worst of all was the knowledge. The knowledge that He would only be able to save a single timeline. That all others would fall into ruin, destroyed and left to rot away. Only one could survive; the one that He chose. He could stop The Threat only once, for doing so would require Him to remain. Ever vigilant, ever ready to stop any recurrence.
He had to choose which timeline. That task was less than He feared, for now he knew that there were an infinite number of them. He could choose one with the right qualities, one whose nature would aid Him in His work. He realized then that He would, once He had chosen the proper timeline, finally watch The Threat come twice. Once, when He reviewed that timeline prior to choosing. And again, when He would stop it.
And stop it, He would. No other outcome was acceptable. He had already sacrificed too much. His mortality, His life, His happiness, His very soul itself. He had wrought Himself into a weapon, to strike down The Threat, and He would fulfill that purpose, no matter what.
----
Jerry Williams, Godslayer
Nibiru
We were sharks, swimming and darting among a school of fish. Gods and devas fled, screaming in terror as we flew through the swirling, chaotic energies that should have driven us -or at least my wife and daughter- mad within seconds. They had thought that their realm protected them.
Little did they know, we were already mad.
Inanna and I flanked a group of fleeing gods, preventing them from leaving this world, extending their essence into manifested bodies somewhere in one of the countless material worlds, or simply crossing the energy that was the core of their beings into the Spirit World. Here, in Nibiru, our divinities and demi-divinities gave us access to unlimited power. We seized it and wove nets with which to entrap those minor gods who could not find escape elsewhere, and had huddled here in fear of our coming.
As the group fled, we sped up, curving our course, which caused them to curve theirs, fearful of drawing too close to either of us. We moved slowly, carefully, angling them where we wanted them to go.
It wasn't long before the gaping maw of the Grandfather of the Gods came into view. Ixlublotl, the primordial god, the originator of divinity. The gods we herded realized their peril and turned to flee back the opposite direction, but there they found Aaina, burning towards them, screaming in rage and bristling with offensive energies.
Trapped, they had no choice. They attacked us. Emotions and thoughts, energy and matter, all of it flew at us in an orgy of sudden violence that churned the substrate of this world into a screaming chaos. All three of us linked our magics into a shield; a half-sphere of anti-magic that absorbed their attacks, sending the energy of which they were made back into into the swirling chaos around us.
They threw everything they had at us, a desperate last stand, driven by necessity and panic. All of it crashed against our defenses, the resulting streamers of magic filling the space around us with an all but impenetrable cloud. Hidden by that cloud, Ixy closed in.
By the time they realized that it was too late, it was over.
Ixy's physical body, that cloud-wrapped cacophony of maw-stalks, eye-stalks, spider-like legs and whipping tentacles, currently the size of a skyscraper, swept in, mouths snapping up the energies that were the cores of our quarry.
We came together when it was done. Inanna created a haven for us, allowing us to release the magic that held our bodies in stasis and protected us from the wild magic all around. It was a copy of our house, something she'd come up with a while back and shown to me with great pride. I had loved it, of course.
I sank into the loveseat with Inanna next to me as Aaina took the recliner.
"That's most of them," Aaina said.
"About thirty more," I replied. "And then we can start the next phase."
"Do either of you have any doubts about what we're doing?" she asked. I could see the indecision in her eyes. She was so young, and such a good girl. My heart broke at having dragged her into such dirty business.
"No," Inanna answered, her voice hard and confident.
"Yes," I added. "But at the end of the day, this is what needs doing."
Aaina looked back and forth between us, then nodded. None of us smiled.
----
Emily Windham, Wizard, Artificer
Fremont, Nebraska, at the corner of E 4th Ave and N Main St
Emily turned just in time to see the massive troll hit Jim Carmichael with a shoulder, sending the trooper flying before angling at her with no change in speed.
Acting on pure instinct, she conjured a wall of force between them. The troll slammed into it, shattering the magics that held it together with raw force, but the wall did its job, stopping the warrior in his tracks.
Emily snatched the rune-engraved knife off her belt and surged forward, jumping at the last second to put her in range of the troll's huge neck. The blade plunged in, and she released a quick burst of magic that made her legs and off hand sticky, allowing her to cling to the thing, too close for it to use its battleaxe on her.
She ripped the knife out and plunged it in again and again as the barbarian roared in pain and indignation at being hurt so badly by a foe so tiny. Emily grabbed his beard, yanking hard to bring his eyes to hers as she slammed the knife in and twisted, the magic in the blade telling her when it found his windpipe and carotid artery.
Blood sprayed, coating her face and shoulders. The troll's roars were cut off in a gurgling, breathy hiss. He stumbled, then fell. Emily rode him down, her eyes locked onto his, watching all hopes of victory, or even survival, fade from them. She lost herself in those eyes, in the mystery that was this troll's life, ending right before her. She saw the regrets, the crushed hopes, the shame of defeat and wondered at the context.
The impact as they hit the ground broke the spell.
Emily released the magic and stood up, instincts trained into her by the security troops and war wizards making her search for more threats before she could even process what had just happened. But there were no more threats. That had been the last one.
Greg Ramirez walked towards her, his rifle barrel pointed down, hanging from the sling in front of his armor and all the various attachments that he and the security troops referred to as their 'battle rattle'.
"Nice work," he said, eyeing the troll, who continued to gasp for air, the sound of his labored breaths reminding Emily of a pig squealing. She looked down, searching for that orgasmic feeling her bio-dad had so desperately wanted her to share with him, but not finding it. All she found was a sense of satisfaction, yet even that was too much.
Years of therapy, of telling her story to trained clinicians and listening to and internalizing their advice. All of it had helped her make friends and move among the normal people, but it had never erased that feeling of satisfaction. This was the fourth time she'd killed a sentient being, and each time, she felt the exact same way. It was a victory.
Her maudlin thoughts were interrupted by the bark of Greg's rifle. The troll's head jerked and deformed, a splattering of blood coming out as a .277 fury round drilled a hole straight through his temples. She glanced up to find Greg still eyeing her.
"You did good," he said, his expression showing some concern.
"I liked it," she said quietly, her eyes turning back.
"You liked killing him?" Greg asked. Emily nodded, wondering if she'd always be fucked up.
"I killed him," Greg said. "And I damn sure liked it."
Emily turned back, eyeing him with some interest. Greg was, in many ways, the opposite of her. Cool, confident, charming and just all-around well-adjusted. She hadn't ever imagined that he wound enjoy something like this.
"It means I won," he explained. "It means that big, badass motherfucker showed up here trying to bully us, and take whatever he wanted from us, and little old me stood up and said 'no', and when he tried to force the issue, I took his life away. It feels like justice. It feels like one less motherfucker trying to kill me and my friends. Damn straight I liked it."
Emily smiled. She didn't realized she had smiled until Greg smiled back.
"I read your psych eval," he went on. "I know you think you're fucked in the head, but I'm gonna tell you right now, you're not. You're a warrior, that's it. Bloodlust isn't a bad thing, if it can be controlled. Enjoying killing isn't a bad thing, if you're killing the people that need killing. Give yourself a break, girl."
He clapped her on the shoulder, then took the back of her head with his free hand and pressed her forehead to his.
"I'm gonna recommend you be allowed to join the war wizard roster. You're all trained up, you're prepared for it, and from what I've seen today, you're a fucking natural."
Without waiting for a response, he let her go and turned away, grabbing the radio fob on his armor and squeezing it.
"Black Lead, this is Black-Two Actual. All raiders at the target site are neutralized. We're commencing a sweep now, will report back in thirty mikes."
Emily smiled at his back as he walked away. A part of her reflected that he was a natural leader, knowing exactly what to say to her in that moment. Another part didn't care, because it worked. She glanced down at the troll again, and didn't see a victim.
She saw a victory.
----
Kathy Evenson, Professional
Somewhere in the ruins of an ancient city in the Seventh World
Kells shifted nervously as Kathy continued to cut chits from the electrical panel lid with the magical laser emerging from her fingertip. He held his machete, really a short sword, in one hand, and his dagger in the other.
"We really shouldn't be much longer, Kath," he said. Kathy had explained to him the difference between Kath and Kathy, and even hinted at the things she'd done while possessed by Pissface and calling herself 'Kath', and even gone into some detail about how much she hated the nickname. Kells hadn't cared. He simply agreed with her, then continued to call her 'Kath'.
And the truth was, she really didn't mind that much.
She wasn't quite sure why, though she could hazard a guess. The man was disarming to a great degree. He presented himself as a dirty wanderer, a simple, violent man who shouldn't be trusted as far as you could throw him. But within just a few minutes of meeting him, she'd seen the intelligence in his eyes and words. She had seen the integrity in his negotiations with her, and the ethics that had turned him protective when the Searchers had appeared.
And despite that protectiveness, he still managed to avoid being patronizing. When she'd told him how she planned to get his chits, he had warned her of the dangers, then agreed to come along without hesitation when she didn't change her mind. Kells was a good man, she thought, and if a good man wanted to call her Kath, she supposed she could let him reclaim the name from the hell it had once represented.
"It won't be much longer," she said. She already had over seven hundred, and this plate would bring her to eight hundred. She only needed five or six more. This deep in the ruins, there was an untouched electrical box on almost every building. Some had been corroded, but most were surprisingly intact.
As she cut the final strip into chits, a roar sounded. It was a gurgling, rasping roar, unlike anything she had ever heard before. Or rather, the first one had been unlike anything she had ever heard before. This was the third time she'd heard it, and it sounded closer than the last two.
"That's no good sign, right thur," Kells said.
Kathy finished, dumping the little squares of galvanized steel into her bag and standing up.
"Come on," she said. "We'll go a couple blocks away from whatever that was before I cut the next one."
"Aye," Kells agreed, his head swiveling on his shoulders as he followed her down the alley. Kathy took note of how spooked he was. He seemed more nervous here than he had with the Searchers right in front of him. She supposed that might have something to do with the nature of the threats. The Searchers were, regardless of power and reputation, mere humans. Whereas whatever was making that roar was clearly some sort of monster.
She led him six blocks in a direction away from the roar before she stopped to examine the buildings. They had moved into a downtown area, which was one of the reasons she had stopped. The buildings here were closer together, which should make the rest of her task quicker. She found a good cover and ripped the little padlock off, then pulled it open and off its hinges.
A mass of spiders rushed out of the electrical box. She jerked her hand away, but they ignored her, scurrying down the wall and vanishing into the cracks between the bricks, safe once again in enclosed darkness.
She began to cut as Kells again stood watch.
She hadn't even made it halfway through the panel when another roar sounded, even closer than the last, and from a different direction.
"Call it," Kells said. "Call it now, Kath. Better ye collect some more later on than deal with the beast makin' them sounds."
"What kind of beast?" Kathy asked. She kept cutting, but glanced up and around, not seeing anything but filthy, dilapidated alleys.
"Walkers, they call 'em," Kells said. "Like great spiders, but rottin' away, with bones stickin' out an' flesh hangin' off th'legs."
"Great spiders?" Kathy asked. "How big?"
"Bigger'n a building."
"You've seen them yourself?" Kathy asked.
"Only once," Kells said, his voice growing quieter. He seemed to be done speaking for a moment, staring around. But after a few seconds, he continued.
"Friend o'mine, name o' Gil. We used t'work together, he an' I. I were real new to runnin' a caravan crew back then, about ten years back. Gil were an old hand at it, though. Took me under 'is wing and taught me th'roads, as it were.
"Anyways, we'd taken a pair o' contracts. Rough ones, with a tight timetable. Merchants needed t'get to Freeman's Port post-haste. One faster'n th'other. Gil took that one, left me with the easier one, though that weren't t'say it were an easy job.
"We was in Craster's Holdfast at th'time, an smack in between there an' Freeman's Port were an ancient ruin. Big one, 'bout the size o' this'un, in fact. Normally, it took about a week t'travel between the two places, but if one were brave or foolhardy enough, they could cut through th'ruins an' make it in five days.
"Well, old Gil had that in mind. We left together, an' at th'place where ye normally would turn north t'go around the ruins, he led his caravan on straight. I prayed fer their safety that night, but never really believed anything would happen. Gil were an experienced caravaner, an' tougher'n anyone else I'd ever met.
"Two days later, we was walkin' this ridgeline north o'the ruins when somethin' called out t'me. Not sure what, exactly. I started lookin' south, scannin' the ruins, an' sure enough, I found Gil's caravan, walking down a wide road between th'largest buildings. They was movin' at quite a clip, I hav'ta say.
"I were tickled pink, at first. Because we'd made near as good a time as they had, despite movin' almost a day's north to skirt th'ruins. But as I watched, I realized that they weren't just travelin', they was runnin'."
Kells sighed, his eyes distant and full of old regrets.
"That's when I saw one. A great Walker, striding out o' th'deepest part o' th'ruins. The way it moved were like nothin' I ever seen before. It crawled along th'sides o' the ruins themselves, like a spider almost, but always with two or three feet on th'ground.
"It came fer th'caravan, and fell on 'em in a slaughter. I watched it breathe fire down on 'em, stompin' men flat with its feet an' scooping 'em up with its great claws."
He sighed again, then looked down. He tucked his sword under his armpit and used his hand to rub his eyes for a moment, before taking the blade up again.
"Killed 'em all, it did. Erry single one, as I live an' breath. An' when it were done, it went around, stompin' th'bodies flat. Never ate one, jes did all it could t'make sure that not a single survivor lived t'tell the tale. I were shook something fierce, I tell ya. Took me own caravan down off the ridge, t'avoid bein' spotted. We ended up arriving a day late, but to this day, I thank me lucky stars we made it at all."
Another sigh came, and Kathy heard the cracks in his voice as he continued on.
"Not Gil, though. Nor any o'them what worked for him, or th'merchant what hired him. A few years later, I worked up th'courage t'take a couple o'men into the ruins, t'find the bodies. I found bones dressed in Gil's clothes. I took his sword, which had survived, an' is th'one I carry to this day. I think Gil'd be pleased to know his blade had saved me life, quite a few times since."
Kathy finished cutting the cover up and stood to put her hands on Kells' shoulder.
"Thank you for telling me that," she said, her voice gentle. "I can tell it's an important story to you."
Kells nodded and sniffed once, then jerked his head in the direction away from the most recent roar. "I still think we should get out o' here, Kath," he said. "I'll face down the Searchers an' be happy o' a good death, should they take me. But them Walkers... They ain't warriors ye can face an' die with honor. One o'them things finds us, there ain't no fightin' it. We jes' die screaming, th'only consolation coming when it's all over."
Kathy weighed his words carefully. Kells knew this world far better than she did. And while she knew her own abilities far better than anyone here, she had to be mindful not to be too arrogant. Kells had told her how a single Walker had slaughtered an entire caravan of experienced fighters, led by an experienced leader.
"Okay," she said. She handed the bag to Kells. "There should be about eight hundred and fifty chits in there. You can count them out later, and I'll trust your count. After I find what I'm looking for, I'll collect the rest and we'll settle up."
"Good call," Kells said. He tied the bag off to his belt and walked to the corner of the building, peeking around. When he was satisfied, he nodded. Kathy joined him, and together, they made a beeline to the edge of the ruins.
They had made it about halfway out when another roar sounded, this one right on top of them. A rumbling crash sounded from her right, and Kathy turned to see rubble falling to the ground as something massive rose off the ground, two blocks over.
"Stars an' stones," Kells swore, then shouted "Run!"

Mid twenties male, have never set foot inside of a school in my life. I was not home schooled either so I'm very behind in the vast majority of subjects. The biggest one is math, I need a calculator for anything with more than 3 digits, but not much better off in most subjects, and even worse when it comes to handwriting.
I can read and speak English as well as anyone I know, so I am literate, but beyond that I don't have much going for me. I currently work fast food and while it can be fun and the pay is okay I don't want to do it for much longer. I want to get a better paying job but I feel I would need at least a GED for that, but I'm certain that I am not currently smart enough to get one. I also do not own or know how to drive a car, but I do have enough money to purchase one.
I don't know where to go or what to do to get caught up to where I should be, and it horrifies me. I feel like I'm going to be below average intelligence and have below average opportunities my whole life. All I want is a decent paying job that gives me a decent amount of time for personal hobbies. I'm not currently in shape for hours of hard labor, but that could change in the future. I don't mind working alone, at nights, doing something extremely repetitive, or for a long time if it means more time off, like those jobs you do for 2 weeks and then spend 2 weeks off. I don't need to feel fulfilled or inspired by my job, either.
I feel like I'm better than average at noticing details, but maybe I'm bad and everyone around me is just worse. I'm always trying to learn new things at my current job to be more versatile, but I've avoided working any of the stations that deal with people, as I don't really like dealing with them, but would if I was paid well for it.
Due to a variety of physical and psychological factors, I'm not interested in romance, or a ton of social interaction so I can make some compromises on work-life balance if there are benefits to it. I do not have a sense of smell so if there are any jobs that would benefit from that feel free to suggest them. I am currently living with a family member who provides food and doesn't charge me rent in exchange for some basic upkeep around the house and taking care of her pets, so I can afford to put away a lot of cash right now.
Sorry if this was all over the place or unfocused but I wanted to get out everything I thought was relevant. If I had to breakdown the main things I want a path to:
Become educated enough that I'm at least competent in the basics we use in everyday life
Find a job that pays at least decently and has some semblance of work-life balance.
If anyone has advice I would be greatly appreciative.

There is a new house going up in the lot next to me and the builder who is also the new owner's father is asking if he can run an extension cord and use my power (he'd pay me for it). I don't mind as it means they don't have to run a generator but the problem is it will have to run across the lawn in a spot. I'm worried about my mower hitting the cable, getting caught on it, or it thinking it's a boundary wire and not crossing it. I could get the wire out of the way by trenching it as it's not that far but it would have to go over the boundary/guide wires in the ground.

Question 0: please be kind. Thank you so much.
A rookie's perpective, I've not had a dedicated flat screen in my life, and nothing larger in the house than my 17" HD laptop. The TV will be for my new house, larger than 79" will just be stupid, even 75" is pushing it, but I just wanna.
The 8K QLED was a lower price than the 4K OLED.
My use will be "everything except TV channels and Netflix, etc. YouTube, downloaded movies, wall art, and some productivity. Room is to the south, but by trees and taller building across the street, so not super light. Due to me never using TV (I might obtain downloads of 4K car racing at times), it's barely a factor that 8K broadcasts are rare.
Yet to learn: the effect of AI upscaling 4K->8K and even HD->8K. These will be very common situations, but the store is not set up to show that. Let alone what productivity tools look like in native resolution.
In the store just now I saw these two next together. Both, I consider to look amazing. The store ran a demo (I think Samsung specific) that was supposedly being broadcast in 8K, I'll believe them. It was on all TV at the same time.
The 4K OLED looked lovely and actually quite bright to me.
The 8K QLED simple offered more depth perception, more immersion. Animal fur, human hair, it just was "that" bit nicer than on the 4K OLED.
I did also see the Samsung 8K OLED in 85". In the dark side room, so an unfair advantage. In 8K, just utterly stunning, even standing pointlessly close. We tried a 4K netflix nature documentary and it was less than meh. Perhaps it was shot in HD and the AI chip couldn't make much of it. YouTube 8K actually looked hor-ri-ble. Salesman attributed that to YouTube's bitrate, 4K comes out looking better he said. Question 1: does a paid YouTube service fix that to any degree?
The salesman echoed what I'd read on Reddit: OLED isn't the thing to have for produtivity with fonts and such. I won't use the 75" TV as my primary monitor (I hope), but for cigar chair or bean bag creative sessions and the odd collab with a house guest...I think I'll have to skip OLED TVs until they've addressed pixel placement.
I intend to get into sim racing. Sometimes the TV may be asked to perform. The serious PC this requires will also be needed for a bunch of my other use cases. This helps me justify the insane cost (that said, as a kid I bought a no-name 80486-DX2-66 MHz SVGA setup that was close to the best one could buy. In today's money, very similar to a decked out game PC minus screen. Do I need 8K for sim racing on a TV? No-one needs that. But it's nice to have.
The wall art, static and moving, just blows me away in 8K. Yes, in OLED it looks even better, but the price more than doubles which is hard to justify when it's largely the same product otherwise.
Question 2: does anyone have REAL experience with 4K media displayed on a 4K panel vs upscaled to an 8K, with the latest AI chips?
Question 3: Sony audio-through screen. Hyped everywhere, but not actively being demo'd in the store. I can ask next time. I am messy by nature, so any opportunity to declutter helps. I don't need BIG audio, can the Sonys with audio through screen save me their premium's worth in external audio devics (banned word, WTH?) and the hassle of keeping it working?
Question 4: Would the Sony keep me from getting an audio system for the room, or integrate into one? Am I correct to suspect that no sane person uses non-Sony flat TV speakers for just music or boost portable devices?
Question 5: What does the AI upscale-to-8K game look like now? Advanced to be expected soon? Samsung brags, but are they at the top in this game? How are Sony and LG doing? I wasn't able to test this yet in the store, or the media available made it suck on the OLED 85" unit. Anyway, you'd need a similar 4K panel next to it which seems a lot to ask from a store. I might not even see regular 4K vs 8K on similar panels :)

My house is a 1964 ranch in the southern part of Michigan: 1280 sq ft first floor (+ 1280 sq ft conditioned but mostly unfinished basement). I had a blower door test last fall, and things are much tighter than I'd thought - air leakage rate 1364 cf/min @ 50 pascals, with avg fresh air exchange rate of 4.3/day or .18/hour. I sealed and insulated the attic and sprayfoamed the basement sill plate before the test, and would like to add dense-pack cellulose to the walls and replace windows in the future.
My area is 5° F winter / 89° F summer design temp, and CoolCalc says my demand is 55k heating, 24k cooling. The house came with a 1989 Carrier 80% 80k natural gas furnace and ~8 seer 2.5 ton central AC. Ac died last fall, and while furnace seems to be working OK I figure 35 years was a good run and might as well replace it at the same time. I'd do dual fuel if I go with a heat pump, as natural gas is very cheap here. Other note: our power grid is not the best - I expect two or three multiple day outages each year that I use a portable generator to manage.
Most quotes were right in the same range - about 12-13 K after rebates/credits, but the two sales guys that I felt were most knowledgeable were the following:

Company 1

Great reviews, medium sized local operation, more heat pump experience than most
Option 1

• Daikin DM97MC 98% modulating furnace (60K or 80K)
• Daikin DZ6VSA Inverter HP (2 or 3 ton)
• Daikin CAPEA evaporator coil (2-4 ton)
• Daikin DTST-TOU-A communicating thermostat
• new venting/intake
• new lineset if required (3 ton HP option only)
• condensate pump, 5" MERV 11 media filter cabinet
• 2 inline surge protectors included (condensefurnace)
• Warranty: 12 years parts, 1 year labor. Can add Daikin 12 year labor (Asure) for + $990 fee.

$14770 total after energy co. rebates (before $2600 federal credits)
Salesman quoted multiple size options here bc I'm between 60-80K BTU heating / 2-3 ton cooling - he thinks that ducting can support 3 ton HP, and since that is within spec of inverter oversizing for heating load could be best comfort for all eventualities. Will do manual J calculation as part of job (or $350 fee if we don't opt for install).
Option 2

• Lennox EL296 70k 96% 2 stage furnace
• Lennox ML14 2.5 ton single stage AC 17 seer Condenser
• Lennox CX35-36B Coil
• Lennox iComfort thermostat
• Warranty: 10 yrs parts, 1 yr labor
• all else same as above

$12500 Total after energy co. rebates

----------------

Company 2

Great reviews, smaller operation, recommended by energy consultants. Highly recommends option 1 (highest degree of improvement for the buck/dependable equipment); generally doesn't think variable is worth it in on a smaller house in our region. For option 2 is unsure of long-term reliability of Bryant's rebranded HP.
Option 1

• Bryant 926TC 60,000 2 stage 96% furnace
• Bryant 126SAN 2.5 ton single stage AC 16 SEER2 Condenser
• Bryant 2.5 ton Evaporator Coil 31/17
• Honeywell 8000 thermostat
• new venting/intake
• flush/reuse existing lineset
• condensate pump, 4" media filter cabinet
• Warranty: 10 yr parts, 5 yr labor

$12900 Total after energy co. rebates (no federal tax credit)
Option 2

• Bryant 926TC 60,000 2 stage 96% furnace
• Bryant 38MURA 2.5 ton heat pump instead of AC (requires change of disconnect box, outdoor air temp sensor)
• all else same as above

$14960 Total after energy co. rebates (but before $2000 federal tax credit):
Option 3

• Bryant 987MB 60,000 modulating 98% furnace
• Bryant 189BNV 3 ton variable 19 SEER2 Condenser
• all else same as above

$16890 Total after energy co. rebates (but before $600 federal tax credit)
In general, I'm wondering what would make more sense: stick with the simpler end (2-stage furnace/single stage AC) and put the money I saved into windows/insulation/eventual HRV/ERV, or go for more potential comfort with variable furnace/inverter heat pump? Let me know what you think, thanks.

The post Tokenized funds set to disrupt stable coin market appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.
With the proliferation of Blockchain technology among major financial institutions around the globe, token financial products may mark the return of the vintage financial scene. This trend may disrupt and pose a challenge to the long-standing dominance of stablecoins in this domain. According to Colin Butler, the head of institutional capital at Polygon Labs, the increasing prevalence of on-chain funds could potentially mitigate the future significance of stablecoins. Franklin Templeton was a pioneer in applying a new approach in 2021 when he launched the On-chain US Government Money Fund. This fund applied the Polygon and Stellar Blockchains to facilitate transactions and keep records of share ownership. Likewise, BlackRock also started its own tokenized product, the USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund, on the Ethereum Network earlier this year. As of the end of April, these two funds have already handled $375 million and $368 million worth of assets, respectively. Butler stated that the popularity and value of these assets will determine their future. Regulators have already permitted Franklin Templeton to enable institutional investors to transfer funds using Blockchain technology, opening up new uses for digital assets. Butler suggested that a venture capital firm transmit profitable digital assets to one of its cryptocurrency-only portfolio companies, which lack regular banking connections. However, implementation and majority acceptance must be clarified. The stablecoin industry currently has a valuation of approximately $160 billion. Stablecoins, unlike tokenized funds such as those offered by Franklin Templeton, typically do not provide any returns to their owners. Butler sees this as an opportunity for tokenized funds to enter the market and possibly expand it in the future by making them more accessible and suitable for specific purposes. Butler told Blockworks that Wall Street’s financial transactions depend on trust and integrity. Blockchain networks need this because transaction failures would be catastrophic.…
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Car accidents are a leading cause of injuries in Omaha and throughout the country. These incidents can lead to serious injuries that can permanently impact a person’s health and quality of life. However, you do not need to accept or face the situation alone.
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I’m struggling so much trying to feel less guilty about breaking up with my bf of 5 years. I’ve cried every single day since and it’s been almost four months. We had a dog together that he got me as a gift. It was my dream dog and I’ve never loved anything more. We had a lot of issues and have overcame so much in the 5 years including long distance and grieving a death. My family was pushing for us to break up and didn’t want us together while his family loved me. I am a very family oriented person and he stopped going to my family events two years ago because he didn’t really like my family and it overwhelmed him, which made my family dislike him even more thinking he didn’t even try but he did in the beginning then stopped after I moved in with him. I worked with his family and my whole life revolved around him for two years. We lived together for 3 and the house was stunning. I loved it so much and loved living there and took my dog for a walk every day. I had a really good paying job and easy life. I met him when I was 19 and he was 27 so he had already gone out a lot and was more ready to settle down. When I first moved to his city I wanted to go out and he never really joined me. I was 22 and wanted to explore the city and never really asked him because he didn’t seem to want to go out. I turned 24 and didn’t really care about going out anymore just wanted to be with him more. He loves gambling and would go a lot and it never bothered me until recently I felt like he didn’t want to spend time with me as much. We broke up for a while and I felt so lost with out him. It lasted two months and he told me he went to a strip club which was one of my triggers since he used to go all the time before he dated me and it always bothered me and made me feel jealous/insecure. He went 3 times during us dating and I said it was fine as long as he told me but I would secretly cry about it and feel super crappy and like I wasn’t good enough. I did a lot wrong in the relationship. I would complain to my family and seek attention from other people just to receive some compliments and feel good about myself. I realize that I had a lot of red flags and wish I wasn’t so immature in the beginning. I messed up a lot and have felt so much guilt and beat myself up everyday. I feel sick about it all and the way it ended. It was a pretty toxic relationship but I don’t doubt at all that we didn’t love each other. I had a lot of issues being able to be in a serious relationship and it was hard for me to commit in the beginning it took me awhile to call him my bf because I was really scared I would get hurt. I know now that I wasn’t ready in the beginning and I needed to work through a lot of issues on my own but I didn’t want to lose him. He definitely added a lot to my insecurities and anytime I told him one of them I felt he would use it against me. He had a lot of issues but I know that he loved me so much. I feel like I left everything I’ve known for the past 3 years. I had friends there, a good paying job, i would clean the house and didn’t have to pay rent. He would hold over my head sometimes but it was so easy for me financially. Just I was depressed sometimes like something was missing. I feel ungrateful now seeing what people put up with in relationships and how hard life is with inflation. I have rent now and a car bill and I’m a server. Life is incredibly hard for me and I make way less than I did working with his family. I felt awful leaving him and I gave him the dog. I lost my will to live almost and knew there were a ton of problems but felt like if I finally left my family would be happy and their opinions matter a lot to me but now I’m lonely every night and wake up lost and afraid of what my life is now. I’m at peace but I’ve never been so lonely. I have a supportive family and am going to therapy now and it’s helping but I still wonder if I messed up my whole life by quitting my job, moving out, breaking up with him and letting him keep the dog. I think I felt so guilty because I confessed to him that I was with someone when we were on break and the guilt was eating me up in side. He wouldn’t tell me what he wanted to do if he wanted to forgive me for a week he wanted to think about it but I just moved out before he told me and haven’t really talked to him and went no contact. I wrote him a 5 page letter about how much I love him and I want to work on myself and that I was sorry for what I did. He never really apologized to me because I’ve always taken the blame for everything before he could. I didn’t really communicate with him well about the things that bothered me. I didn’t really give him a chance to change I just hoped he would notice. He asked me to go to a hotel to gamble with him a few days before I left. I told him I didn’t want to and to go with out me. He talked to me for an hour on the phone on the way there and I was okay till it was 1 am and I told him I couldn’t sleep and was scared and he hung up and didn’t care. I stayed up the whole night wondering bout him. He got home at 11am the next day and texted me he loved me. I got off work and told him it upset me and it ended up me being the one apologizing since I said he could go. He said he knew I would act that way and got mad at me. I just gave up the convo and just thought I can’t do this anymore so I shut down. I got distant and looked cold hearted when I left but inside I was dying. I feel incredibly guilty everyday and am scared to see him move on even though I’m the one who broke up with him. I’m scared I won’t find better and I still love him and his family so much and haven’t had any desire to be with anyone else or even talk to or go on a date. I’ve just been sad every single day and have tried to find joy but nothing excites me anymore. I felt like a horrible monster and idk how I even did this. I’m hoping it was the right thing and I’m trying to fix all my issues with my therapist. I feel like I desired to be single in the beginning of our relationship but now that I am I hate it and miss him so much. I’m terrified and still in denial. This is all coming out messy but just so much about it is all messy and I feel like I messed up everything. I wanted to marry him but I felt like I messed it up and sabotaged it too much and couldn’t come back from it anymore. I don’t know what to do. I’ve been journaling everyday and trying to remain strong and not reach out when I miss him and my life and now my life is hard and I make no money and have tons of bills. It’s terrifying and I relied on him a lot financially. I feel like idek who I am anymore and I’m depressing everyone around me because I’m so sad and everything reminds me of him and our dog. My heart is broken into pieces and I just want to be sure I did the right thing. I feel so incredibly selfish. I didn’t fully explain everything in our relationship but it was very complicated and at times toxic. I do miss him though and feel at fault for a lot of things. Idk. I feel like I lost my motivation and don’t really care about anything anymore. I wonder if his family hates me now. I feel like everyone thinks I’m a bad person for leaving. I just want to crumble. I don’t know who I am anymore and how to stop feeling less guilty. He’s going to have no issue finding someone new since he’s super successful and has his own house. I feel very insecure and I get memories on Snapchat of him everyday and have 5 years worth of memories. I’m terrified and stressed with money. I’m about to turn 25 and feel like I’m starting my whole life over. I don’t know how to let go even though I needed things. Is something wrong with me?

1. Around 8 years old, I dressed up in a ballet outfit with my sister and her next-door neighbour girlfriend. Pictures included (thanks, mom).
   
2. Around 10 years old, I prayed every single night for God (sad tears included) to make me a woman. I was developing "breasts," even though the rest of my body was slim. I started to see myself as "different " than the rest of my friends. I grew up in a predominantly female-led household and saw the world through a sensitive, soft lense. I was becoming the caregiver, maternal role in my friendship circle.
   
3. Around the age of 12, I used to play "bum doctor" with best friend (involved pulling down pants and bending over, while the other pretended to give a needle). I found myself initiating this game a good deal more than him. At this age, there was still a young naivete to this, and I wasn't aware it was "strange."
   
4. Around age 14, "on a dare," I dressed up with (a different) best friends mother's clothing. His mother was away at work, we hand-picked items, right down to the underwear, and got changed together in the bathroom. I changed behind the shower curtain as I was too shy and very embarrassed how my breasts completely filled out the (lactating) bra.
   
5. Around this time, I started to experiment with dressing up in my mother's nighties, as well as both of my sisters clothes. There were little pockets of free time to do this, and everything just felt "right"; like all the dots connected.
   
6. Around age 16, I started getting into porn. I was a late developer, as far as sex drive goes. Started off as regular guy/girl porn, then I quickly became interested in the "anal" category. I found myself very turned on by the cock scenes, but not the rest of the male body. I was attracted to the female body, but in a way that I wanted to "be" the female. The idea of making love to a man put my stomach into knots.
   
7. This "kink" grew and grew, unbeknownst to my family and friends. I was a very late developer, and all my friends had girlfriend's around this time.
   
8. I discovered my sisters had toys, and became rather infatuated with them (insert shameful secrets). The idea of being in a submissive role, the idea of a "male" becoming the one who receives - rather than gives, ignited a very deep switch in my brain. It just felt right, natural.
   
9. I started to become brave enough to buy porn DVD's from the local convenience store - but was very embarrassed, as the same owner basically watched me grow up from a kid to this point. I started to buy exclusively DVD's that featured anal. Finally, it took everything in me to one day buy a trans DVD, and I made a pathetically awkward excuse to the owner of how I was buying it as a joke birthday present for my friend. Oh, the shame.
   
10. I started watching the DVD's, imagining myself as the trans women, and essentially worshipping cock, worshipping men. I had little "sexual" desire at this point to be a male role with any future girlfriends. Still, the idea of men's abs, lips, thighs, arms, butt, etc still turned my stomach into knots. Although, in the very very back of my mind, I think I was starting to consider it.
    
11. I discovered Marijuana and beer around the age of 18, and would cut loose at my friends house (the same friend that I tried his mother's clothes on). He would occasionally put on porn (on mute) later into the evening, and meanwhile we were listening to music / playing guitar, etc. I started to sexually become interested in him. It was slways kind of there, but now with the porn playing, and being able to feel those feelings at the same time, I became sort of turned on by him. More so the idea of getting high and then becoming his submissive plaything. There were moments where iI could tell he was imagining the same, but - spoler alert - I never did (as i was way too shy to pursue it) but that only made the infatuation to be a submissive plaything for men even stronger.
    
12. I started talking to a girl online, and after almost four years of talking and developing a friendship, we decided to meet. I was 23 years old at this point. Fast forward, I became her boyfriend and when we were camping, she had just started showing signs of spotting (on her period), so we were just playing around - I was very nervous, especially because i was expected to be the dominant one. Next thing I knew, I had lost my virginity to her. But here's the kicker - it was from anal.
    
13. Curiosity got the best of me, and I started to seek out the validation and attention from men online. I accidentally left my browser open one night, and she saw everything. There was a big blow up, and she was calling me gay. We were both living at my parents' house at the time, and I'm pretty sure they must have overheard it. We made amends, and I confessed to her that I think I was bi and just needed to understand better. We played around with a strap-on quite often, and I also discovered chastity. Chastity became something of an excuse to not have to be the dominant one. I honestly felt more natural being the one receiving anal vs. penetrating a woman. We ended up mutually breaking up when I was 28. We are still best friends to this day.
    
14. I started to think of the man's body, beyond just his penis. I don't know if it was just due to exposure in films, but the right kind of stomach (slightly hairy, soft, but strong "dad" abs) as well as strong hands and forearms started to turn me on. When I would see older men in real life with any of these attributes, a switch went off in my head and I realized that I was turned on by them, and would start to imagine more than just sucking his cock, or receiving anal. I would imagine first kissing his stomach as a show of affection or adoration before taking him into my mouth. I was starting to imagine holding onto his strong arms and pulling his body closer, deeper into me. Maybe softly kissing his fingers, even playfully biting them.
    
15. I use reddit now, as a means to try and find Mr. Right. It is sort of an unwritten understanding with my partner now that I "explore" myself on reddit, but I don't share any of the details. Perhaps there will come a stage where I'm more open about it.
    
16. Sometimes, I can imagine myself in a gay relationship, but there would be very specific parameters - I would be the submissive one. I would be expected to present as femme as often as possible. I would be the stereotypical "housewife" (cooking, baking, cleaning, being sexually ready at all times, nurturing the husband). Ideally, I would be in chastity 24/7, or have complete disregard toward my penis until it just learns to remain soft on its own (maybe still getting nocturnal emmisions at night). The idea of worshipping and submitting to his body gives me butterflies. And this is a BIG one --- if he knows how to treat me and our chemistry is right, I would maybe even allow him to kiss me.
    
17. As far as porn goes, I now watch different genres for different purposes. Lesbian porn: Imagining myself as one of the "girls" and the other girl is just like me. Genetically born a male, but identifies strongly as a "girl". I imagine that we are playing while Daddy is away or that we're just playing for his amusement. He never let's us orgasm unless he tells us to, and he makes sure that there is a strong, imprinting, humiliating aspect to our orgasms - so that each time, we go deeper into our roles and can no longer deny who we are. Trans porn: obviously imagining myself as the trans pornstar, being taken forcefully by a real man. Having no Fouts about my sexuality. Hypno porn: This pushes me past any of my self-doubt and encourages me to not only drop my defenses but also to accept my fate. Everything I fear, I learn to entertain and even embrace when I'm watching the right kind of hypno porn. Finally gay porn: if I have refrained from cumming for over two months, then my mind really goes to that "desperate" place. Ideally, one man is the Dom, and is masculine, but cute. Not the kind of man who "acts" manly, but just naturally is - confident, smart, strong, manipulative. The other male is the more femme type, but not overly. Still a male (not trans) - soft, gentle, body made to receive, ass is more like a pussy, no hesitation to kiss, to play with his own soft cock, to suck his own fingers while looking at his Daddy in the eyes, gripping onto his Daddys hips, pulling him closer, moaning his name, fully accepting his place.
    

Going forward: I would love to have both a female and male partner. Essentially, to be a cuck to my wife, and only allowed to please her with my mouth - never with my penis (unless after an instructed orgasm, knowing that I'd be too soft to be able to penetrate her). I would only be able to make love to him, and my wife would enjoy watching, and would taunt me, encouraging me to go deeper each time. I would sleep with her each night, wearing something soft and silky, and we may kiss or fondle, or she may get me to eat her out (even if Daddy's cum is inside her still). Some nights she would either sneak off into Daddy's bedroom to sleep with him, or just openly sleep there, leaving me in bed alone some nights. I would hear them making love, but I would be locked in chastity, unable to cum. I'm encouraged at all times to play with my ass (aka my pussy) with either my fingers, a dildo or butt plug, so as to keep me constantly ready and make sure I'm always aroused - and aware of feeling empty if something isn't inside of me at any given time.
I want to be in a safe, loving, encouraging and open relationship where everyone is happy and their needs are met. I'm not sure if I'd classify myself as bi or gay. Definitely not straight. The idea of exploring these limits are what gives me life.

Just went to a Honda World dealership here in Sandy, Utah. They tried charging me $3459.79 for a brand new Honda Navi ($1807 list price). The quote contained the following items by price:
Price: $1807 Freight: $572 Technician Setup/Prep: $395 Document Fee: $299 Sales Tax: $222.79 Title & Registration Fee: $164
I also have a 10% discount for being a Honda retiree (that I showed proof of) that I wasn't honored. The sales manager claimed it would be reimbursed after the sale which is clearly a lie so they can make more margin on the deal upfront and look better to corporate (I've used the discount before on parts with no pushback). The Freight & Technical Setup is insane. Freight charge is close to what it would cost for a full sized vehicle -- the Navi is essentially a moped that takes 0.9 gallons of gas, why would it cost $395 to setup?
Within 1 complaint they immediately took $300 off without any hesitation which goes to show how disingenuous the price they gave me was, since they were willing to go down so fast. I understand in principle some of these categories of fees are necessary but they are CLEARLY overstepping on the price points. I ended up walking out.
For anyone who has bought motorcycles or mopeds brand new in the past, what are your thoughts? Am I overreacting or is this a ripoff?

Edit. Forgot about the date of record having come and gone. I am mistaken, and will now go crawl under a rock and hide. Sorry about the fuck-up.

Years ago someone posted a very nice explanation about zooming out on the chart and looking at On Balance Volume (OBV) to see if the shorts are covering. It was very well written, and I remember digging into it quite a bit at the time and it made sense to me. Sadly I don't remember all the details, but that is what I have been using ever since to do my "oh man, maybe this is it" sanity check.
If you're the person who wrote that thank you, and please link to it in the comments as I would like to re-read it, and there are many here who are new since you wrote it. They should check it out.
If you zoom out on your chart and add the OBV indicator you'll see that compared to the last few years the action of the few days isn't even a blip (looks like the trading sideways chart guy). So if that holds true then the shorts are not covering.
So what's going on? My theory is this. It's proxy proposal 4. The one the board recommends voting against.
For the first time that I can recall the board is recommending an AGAINST vote. I checked all the way back through 2018 (having trouble finding earlier, and don't have the hours to dig in more right now). There is not a single case where the board has recommended an against.
Until now.
I believe that SHF want prop 4 so badly that they are willing to pay for it. They don't hold the shares so they can't vote. So they are spending the money to buy shares so they can vote. The price is going up because an ADVERTISED 25% of the float is locked (we fucking KNOW it's higher, why the hell can't we get the real number?!).
Think of this is as the preview to MOASS. It's a tease but not the feature. Once the SHF have used the shares to pad their vote they do their rinse and repeat to lend and short again. 50% short sales yesterday, and not small numbers for short sales last week either. Oh, and long term OBV is rock steady. Yet the price is up. Hmmmmmm....
Prop 4 is so important to them that they are willing to spend money on trying to get it to pass. The severe downward movement today tells me that either 1) It finally has gotten so expensive for them that they can't risk it going any higher (a very risky move for them so I'm leaning away from this explanation) or 2) they think they have voted enough shares to to get prop 4 to pass.
What is prop 4? On the surface it seems pretty simple. One of the NY retirement funds has concerns about board diversity and skillset. Remember we already vote on these board members and since they got elected its safe to say the majority is happy with them. This proposal brought forth by these guys in NY is NOT something innocent, but just the start of trying to insert their own board members that they like. Stinks of BCG in here. Remember them?
Now, some folks are going to come back and say, "Dude. That means they'll have more than 100% of the votes, and it'll trigger MOASS." No. It does not. We've been through this before. There's whole explanations out there on how it works. The votes are culled and you will never ever ever have more than 100% vote. To which someone will say "BUT DOOOOOOOOOD! That's NOT RIGHT. That should be illegal. That's manipulation." Look around. Any of this seem at all above board? Of course not.
So what can you do?
Simple. Buy, hold, DRS (book) and vote as the board recommends. In the case of Prop 4 the board recommends AGAINST.
We may be early, but we're not wrong.