Hello all. So im gonna be straight up honest in this post, I have been slacking in school, especially this year. Im not trying to make a bunch of excuses, but all of the kids at my school constantly annoy and overwhelm me, which has made me truent very often. I submit assignments very late because its hard for me to start working or have any motivation to do so, and now the school year is ending soon in June and I have 40 missing assignments, an F in History (which really annoys me because I submitted 10 old assignments and got a 15/16 on my project, yet still at an F?) a D in english and science, and a bunch of truancys (which honestly half of them have reasoning behind them, yet they are marked not as such) and now I recently got a letter saying I have to attend summer school. Please, any advice on how to get my grades up and finish assignments before school ends would be apprechiated so much. I really do not want to go to summer school, I will genuinely fucking kill myself if I have to. I have been trying my hardest doing old assingments to not attend.
Also, is it possible to resign from summer school if you already got the letter saying you need to attend, if you got your grades up before hand or am I fucked? I am in California if that changes anything.

Social Security Guide
3.11.14.80 Unemployment non-payment periods.
States: People who are principal carer parents or who have a partial capacity to work are not subject to unemployment non-payment periods if they resign or are dismissed from work that is more than 15 hours per week.

Hi all,
To cut to the chase- a director of a business which once sponsored my wife on a skilled work visa needs to be reported as unfit to hold a license, so that no-one has to go through what we did. I cannot find a definitive email or phone no. To inform the home office of the misconduct in question.
A bit more detail- Said director sponsored my wife on a visa, underpaid her from the start, forced her to do work outside her occupation code out of threat of losing the job, and shortly after we fussed about that fact he informed her via letter that her position in the company was no longer available.
'Wrongful dismissal' is the technical term, as she was given no statutory notice period, let alone the courtesy of a meeting to discuss options.
The whole venture was a mere 3 months, it left us homeless over the winter in the UK 'due to staff accommodation being promised, we had tied up our home life elsewhere', unable to work and to top it all off, her job was advertised shortly after her dismissal.
It also directly led to us being put into irrecoverable debt as a direct result, which is by the by.
At this moment, I just want to make sure there is no attempt successful in sponsoring a new victim to cross this directors socio-path.
Hope someone can find the answer that Google can't seem to whip up for me.
Cheers.

Hello. Itatanong ko lang sana kung entitled pa din ba ako sa separation pay na makukuha ko sa huling company na pinasukan ko. 9 days na akong awol at ayoko na talagang bumalik due sa health issue at mababang pasahod nila at di na din ako nakapag file ng resignation letter sa HR namin. Ngayon kasi inaasahan ko na may mapapasok pang sahod ko sa huling cut off namin pero pag check ko wala. Makukuha ko pa din ba yun? Kinausap ko na din yung HR so far wala pa din silang reply. Itatanong ko na din po kung ano pa yung dapat gawin? TIA.

My IH is in an 8hr training. I sent my resig yesterday and gave my IH a heads up to look into his email once he got a free time. After awhile, he responded to my teams message with "OMG!" then asked me if I will be working on Friday, which I answered "Yes, Sir". Then wala nang kasunod. I worked until 10pm waiting for him to talk to me regarding my decision to quit. Don't get me wrong, I am not waiting for him to make me change my mind, coz I won't. I just wanted to start my process immediately.
Our HR gave a memo stating that once an employee notified the immediate head via resig letter, the IH has a responsibility to forward the document to HR via TA within 24hrs after the receipt. Thus my wait for him to communicate with me.
I understand that he's in a training, but I also know that he was working last night. I also know what he meant when he ask me if I will be working on friday. I was just expecting him to communicate with me even with a "Are sure about your decision? Can we talk on friday?" But there's nothing until now.
I don't know if he's even aware of the Memo.. Until my last days with his team, he's makin me anxious and frustrated. I don't want to think that he's ignoring me on purpose but it just feels like that. What should I do?

Initially won my UE claim after 7 weeks of back and forth between a claims rep and my ex company. I was approved because it was taking an unreasonable amount of time, and my employers facts were all contradicting.
They appealed the decision, and here we are.
I reviewed all the exhibits beforehand.
Issue #1 : Tardiness The worst things in the file are improvement plans that show I was tardy many times within a 6 month period. However, most of it was approved by my direct supervisor, and he was forced to issue IP’s to put me on notice. I fixed the issue, mostly. My adhd meds were on back order and unobtainable during the times I was tardy.
However, there are no time clock records. Only observations by my direct manager documenting times and dates. This was over 6 months prior to my termination.
Issue #2 poor performance Daily kpi metrics - The program used to record metrics is not a company policy to comply with. However it’s specific to my efforts and input. The process: log into phone systems- and log into a browser page that records, and uploads data for each call. Often times this webpage would crash in the background, or while minimized and it wouldn’t notify the user. The only way it was known to be working is to compare the progress of it during intervals in the day when reports are emailed. Some days this webpage doesn’t work at all.
I have a claim here that my KPI metrics on phone calls isnt intentional misconduct. I was actually putting in the efforts, and the system is flawed and outdated and would crash. These numbers also could be low due to a number of reasons. Lots of administrative work with approvals, compliance, underwriting, collecting, organizing, and basically doing all the back end work you don’t want your sales guys doing if you expect them to be on the phones all day. My most lucrative, and busiest month- I had 7 calls a day and 22 minutes talk time average a day. But I had the most productive month over my tenure at the company and I can demonstrate this with the exhibits alone. Lastly, I was approved by my manager to use my personal cell phone for work and regularly updated him on my efforts.

3 quotas

Each month your sales volume quota increases to an absurd number that only 1 person, with 7 years of experience was on target, out of 27 others on the team. It’s unobtainable and resets every month. The industry was hit hard and I was having a hard time with approvals for clients during my last 2 months. Many employees have a 50% ramp goal to stay off the radar of direct management, and maybe 25% of them are obtaining that. My point here, is it’s acceptable that many team members weren’t performing either and it wasn’t willful misconduct by me that caused this.

4 consolidating expenses

It was no secret the company was tightening up payroll expense and cutting people left and right with no intention to fill their spots. My team, in my office was 10/27 total. When I was terminated, we were at 6. And they are at 5, and as a whole team of 27, they are at 19.

5 Supervisor participation during the hearing.

My direct manager announced he is resigning 2 days before I was termed, and he would be finishing out the week before he departs. I was termed before his last day by the director of my department. Not my supervisor. My supervisor will not be available to be on the hearing call. If it’s anybody else representing the company, I feel like it can be dismissed as hearsay. Furthermore, my director told me many things that weren’t included on the termination papers. He directed my manager to write up the term paper, as if he was the one that termed me. I feel like this supports my side even more.
Do you guys have any thoughts, opinions, or advice on this ?

I was terminated by citing performance issues, and the HR could not prove a single missed deliverable by me. She just cited the opinion of co-workers that everyone feels it's difficult to communicate with you. She had not even communicated 1 single warning before this. And the reasons being cited are very vague, I understand their is redundancy in workforce, but terminating someone and not allowing the notice period pay is very wrong i believe,
I asked her to pay me my notice period salary of 90 days as mentioned in the appointment letter but she is not willing to do that.
Also HR is asking me to drop resignation email, forcing me to do so. Otger wise she'll mark it as terminated.
Please me guys what should I do, she has already disabled my credentials. Asking me to send resignation via personal mail.
Please help me out guys. What legal options i can look for? I need atleast 2 months of notice pay. She's just giving me 30 days pay.

legaladvice #labourlaw #help #layoff #justice

Hey, so I've spent the last decade recovering from a hit & run accident that occurred in my sophomore year in college in 2014, and finishing my Bachelors degree in 2D animation. I was essentially disabled but never filed for it. My injury was my body being stuck in biofeedback loop - aka constant level 8 pain from the neck down, and if I lifted anything more that 15lbs, sat too long, held a pencil, or walked more than a mile resulted in extreme sharp pain. (I attended most of my classes by standing the back or laying on the floor and a lot of ice packs).
In late 2022, I finally made a full recovery, finished the last requirement for my degree, and graduated in December.
2023 I was so excited (and extremely neverous) to get my first job in the industry - 2 months into job hunting and a lot of rejection emails, the writer and actor strikes happened. I couldn't find work. I didn't have a network anymore because everyone wrote me off. Late Spring, I finally landed a remote contract illustration job with help from a family acquaintance.
Now is 2024, I still have the illustration job, but it's inconsistent and doesn't pay enough live off of. 30% of the animation industry is unemployed in my city. Stupid Ai destabilized the career I got a degree in. The last of my savings is gone. I'm trying to get a day job so I can at least pay back my debts and rebuild my savings. However, I'm just not getting any callbacks.
I have a cover letter and do the follow-up calls - more than half of which ended with the fact they were over staffed and the position wasn't actually open.
I've gotten 2 interviews in the 2 1/2 months of job hunting. The biggest feedback I've gotten is:
1) concern that I won't get along with younger employees because of my age (31) 2) that I'm over qualified, but don't have enough experience.
How am I supposed to get experience when no one will employ me? My longest employment periods were back in 2013 & 2011 before I transferred to university. I couldn't work for the last decade because of the injury. I can't do anything about the employment gaps or my age (31 years). But I have 2 degrees, graduated with honors, I'm a hard worker, friendly, capable, and I didn't give up when doctors told me the pain was permanent.
I'm finally normal again. Why can't I get consistent work or at least more interviews? Thoughts? Constructive advice?

I've been thinking that if Spy x Family ever got a live action adaptation (never gonna/never should happen?), whether as a film (trilogy?) or microseries, then a smart way of truncating the story would be to have Loid and Anya have a pre-established father-daughter relationship as a result of him rescuing her from the lab.
Twilight infiltrates the lab as a janitor, discovers that Subject 007 is the only survivor from their human trials and immediately decides to rescue her. Fortunately for him, the facility is distracted by a completely coincidental simultaneous attack by the mysterious Thorn Princess (who wears a mask in this adaptation since part of her Garden-mandated M. O. is to allow a survivor every once in a while to build up her reputation... in this case, said survivor just happens to be the dumbstruck Twilight, still in disguise. She informs him that she's about to rig the place to blow and that he should leave now. He runs off to retrieve Anya from her hiding place, where he told her to stay while he investigated the sounds of fighting. Thorn Princess allows them to leave, since Twilight was able to convince her that he really was just a hard-working man who was disgusted by the experiments and just wanted to help this girl escape. They part ways and the lab is destroyed.
Although in my imagination, said infiltration-turned-rescue would have happened while Anya is four, allowing her the awareness to get overly attached to Twilight, thus resulting in him getting automatically assigned by the higher ups from WISE (they're the only ones who know about her power) as her guardian/mentor. His mission is to protect her while helping her hone her abilities. Whether she becomes a spy or an ordinary well-adjusted citizen, would be up to her once she comes of age... All of this could be a cold open prologue narrated by Anya in the style of a spy novel. It's a mental diary entry she recites to herself on the anniversary of her rescue.
This would be a great way of shortening the set up as far as Loid and Anya are concerned. Among the Forger family, these two have known each other for longer and are the only ones who have any knowledge of Operation Strix and are actively working for its success (Yor is a wonderful and essential addition to the family, but sometimes she does feel a bit like an outsider... which she is: as far as she knows, she's Loid's second wife and Anya's stepmother).
If this hypothetical adaptation has Twilight rescue Anya as an infant/toddler and Operation Strix happens when she's around eleven or twelve, then this would allow the casting director to look for older, more experienced child actors for the role. But then again, a twelve year old Anya who was raised by Twilight may not be so eager to ship her spy dad with a freaking assassin they just so happen to bump into... unless said assassin happened to attack the lab several years ago and coincidentally allowed Twilight to survive and thus liberate little Anya! (As for why Yor doesn't recognize Anya now... Um, she just forgot, okay! :D But seriously, if pink hair were to be a rare, but not too rare, hair color in this adaptation's universe, then there would be little reason for Yor to suspect that Anya Forger is the same kid she helped rescue a few years back, especially if she doesn't recall hearing the child's name at the time.)
I imagine the first film of this hypothetical adaptation to start with "Dr. Loid Forger" being visited by his "mother-in-law" (Handler) who informs him that WISE HQ has determined that Anya and her ability are necessary for Operation Strix. Twilight, who has grown attached to Anya over the years, is upset but reluctantly agrees upon hearing the reasoning behind the decision. Anya is much less reluctant! After moving to Berlint and passing the entrance exam for Eden Academy, they receive the letter about both parents showing up for the interview. They come up with a plan to hire a single woman as a nanny for Anya, a woman who they can convince to also act as Anya's mother for the interview and trustworthy enough to keep quiet about it. While looking for prospects, the pair end up reuniting with an oblivious Yor.
So as not to complicate the plot too much (in the case of a standalone film with a soft potential sequel hook at the end) let's say that Yor had, at this point, handed in her resignation to the Shopkeeper since Yuri is now a grown man who's taking good care of himself. Unfortunately for Yor, resigning from Garden basically means getting politely excommunicated by the organization. No longer will they spare any of their resources to provide for her or to protect her from the authorities (should it ever come to that). She's on her own. So she's out job hunting when she coincidentally crosses paths with the Forgers. Seeing Anya makes Yor think of the time she helped rescue a pink haired kid from a lab. Anya reads her mind and she KNOWS that she's found the mom she wants!
Anya takes Loid aside to explain that Yor is Thorn Princess. She also tries to convince him of the benefits of keeping a jobless assassin away from unassuming civilians and from enemy employment by hiring her themselves. They'd keep her out of the loop as far as operation Strix was concerned, instead monitoring her as they keep her around as a loyal nanny with the skills of a bodyguard. After much pestering from Anya, Loid very reluctantly hires Yor as her nanny (and also fake mother for the interview).
(Now, Yuri is either still an SSS officer, or just a regular government employee... If the latter, then Yor might be able to get him to forge her marriage certificate later. He might grudgingly go along with it, the guy did give his sister a job... but he better not touch her.)
After that, the film would focus a bit on Anya adapting to life as an Eden student and befriending Becky and trying to befriend Damian... Maybe even showing a montage of the Forgers going about their daily lives: Anya doing good/badly at school and earning stellas/tonitrus bolts, Loid going out to do other spy jobs with Franky, Yuri (toned down) paying visits and eventually introducing his girlfriend Fiona (also toned down), and Yor settling in and finding peace in her new life as "Mrs. Forger".
Eventually, Anya sets her sights on earning another stella by signing up for community service at the dog adoption fair leading to an adaptation of the Doggy Crisis arc as the climax. Loid is called in by WISE and Yor is left to accompany Anya. Blah blah blah. Maybe Damian's also doing community service for the stella and ends up getting entangled with the terrorists and Anya ends up saving him at one point. Yor stops the terrorists that WISE couldn't capture. Perhaps, as a backup plan, the terrorists found and hired another excommunicated Garden assassin to take out the Westalian ambassador. Higher stakes may also force Anya to reveal her powers to Yor in order to help Loid in time.
At the end of the day the Forgers get to adopt Bond and Yor is brought in on Loid and Anya's secret, becoming an active participant of Operation Strix. Throughout the film, Loid has seen how quickly Anya and Yor clicked and grew close together and how they obviously loved each other. Loid ("for the mission, for Anya", he tries insist, but drops the excuses) proposes to Yor for real with a grenade pin. She happily accepts.
The film ends with the Forgers settling into their new lives as a family... One night while having dinner, the phone rings. Anya gets up to answer it, leaving Loid and Yor alone and trying to flirt with each other. Anya comes back, phone still in hand, explaining that the caller is Damian whose parents have given permission to invite friends and their parents over for his birthday party. Anya shares a knowing look with her parents, who both give her a nod. She says her thanks and accepts the invitation, hangs up the phone, and rejoins her parents at the table, gives Bond some food from her plate, Loid and Yor resume talking about their day. As this peaceful family scene plays out the music takes on a jazzy tune, clearly implying that the Forgers are already making plans. Cut to title: SPY X FAMILY.
Roll credits. :)

I live in a student accommodation and I have come across some problems that have left me no choice but to leave.
For starters, I’ve had a number of problems currently including a bug infestation (??) seems they are crawling out from the bad construction work. I don’t leave food out and I regularly clean, more so recently to get rid of them but somehow they always find a way in. Since moving in, my fridge has also not been pushed into place. It has been sticking out and although I have asked multiple times over the course of nearly 6 months for it to be repaired and put into place, it remains sticking out. My accomodation is also aware of (had to physically kick him out and ban him from the building) my abusive, stalker ex boyf who has made many threats to my life. One of the security guards onsite has been advocating on my behalf for months.
In the tenancy agreement, it says the only way that I will be considered for a tenancy release is in exceptional circumstances; “You must have withdrawn from your university or college and provided proof in the form of a withdrawal letter, signed on headed paper from the institution. You must also have a suitable letter from the doctor or medical institution detailing the issue of why you have withdrawn from the university.”
I’m not sure what to do going forward. Is there any legal way to leave? Considering the bug infestation, ignored maintenance requests and constant risk of harm. I have done months of begging. I’ve also tried for months to find someone to take over my tenancy, but unfortunately there aren’t any students looking for accommodation right now.
Please let me know. I’ve been trying to figure something out for 4 months.

I have been struggling majority of my academic life. I was dismissed my first semester and have been placed on academic probation most of the time. I have had to appeal most semesters for my financial aid. This semester was do or die according to my advisor, there is a limit in the academic policies after failing too much for too long. I worked my ass off this semester and finally got a 2.1 gpa. I can't believe it. I was getting ready to write up appeals and everything.
I'm so happy but why do I feel anxious? I keep checking my email expecting a dismissal letter or a financial aid suspension letter but nothing. I feel like this a trick or a mistake and I'll be told that I actually failed. Thoughts or advice?

《2 Snot and tears》 Alexander's final letter to God after his observation of Jude's much worsening condition. Alexander and Jude, the first humans on earth placed by God for the sake of repopulating it, Alexander explains his situation to God as he cannot bear the anguish of losing her.
How unfortunate, One is, to inhabit this.
Truly, To lose My beloved Jude!! And if that were to happen
Sparingly, In regard for me, Unalive me, Spare me by taking my soul away That would be in my own benefit I do not wish to breathe anymore No more bickering No chatter Once My beloved passes I might as well, Follow her, so, I need not fear her passing anymore And surely i won't cry:) Like before.
You see, It comes a stage One can no longer scream Out of despair Too many headaches MIGRANES And that's far past agony Complaining is just childplay. Wicked silly
As advised I should accept it, "Suck it up!" And make it a routine Reciting "God bless her soul" In remembrance for Jude Once she has passed. Madlad! Perse, she is to die It's only natural I should as well.
We should! alongside one another In solidarity As we did in everything else Dust to dust.
《3 Resignation》 Alexander has resigned from his trust and belief in this his creator, he no longer wishes Jude should stay alive, he has resigned entirely from the human nature of wanting and holding hope. He is fully prepared on following Jude, wherever her soul may go.
If this God does exist, he has crafted one's nightmares
Life is a struggle, this much is evident in every ecosystem in every corner of this world.
Life is a constant, ever-changing battle royale between predator and prey, disease and response, disaster and recovery.
Food chains are ruthless, multifaceted cycles of death from which no animal ever wins, only hopes to reproduce so they can pass the baton to the next generation.
There is equal part beauty and wonder as there is cruelty and destruction.
What kind of creator would want this, outside of one who wants to see death?
One could argue that the cycle is a necessary part of the miracle of life, but why make it so cruel?
Why make animals cannibalize, rape and cull just to survive?
Why make sweeping calamities that wipe out entire swathes of ecosystem at random?
If one is to believe, that God personally crafted life as we know it, and didn't just kickstart existence and let it develop on its own, then why would they make such a horrific world?
https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/s/mN5GpFGsfw
https://www.reddit.com/OCPoetry/s/76DmYkSH3M

Follow up post to one I made about a month ago. About a couple of months ago, I was assigned a high level client a couple of months ago. They are, by far, my hardest client. For the most part, my job was fine until this client. A major issue that they had was that hundreds of payments would come in on one day and this amount would constantly change. They would also withold data and important information from me that was only told to the co-manager. The client pretty much thinks I am incompotent and the co-manager accuses me too. The co-manager and manager are nervous about them because they think that if this client leaves, all of their other clients will leave. When I try to reach out for help, the co-manager basically told me to figure it out.
Well, I finally solved their issue. Turns out their was a fault in the payment system and they did not take adjustments into account. I felt estatic. I finally solved a major issue that has been an issue for me and the company for months. I showed this to a senior member as verification and they agreed with me and were impressed at my finding given their difficulty and size. I showed this to my co-manager and his response? He accused me of manipulating data even though I showed him physical evidence. He only calmed down when the senior member tried to vouch for me. He is also mad that I am not doing this fast enough, which is only moving slow because of just how messed up their payment system is and because I have also been forced to do replacement duties for another employee who is going on a sabbatical.
Needless to say, I feel defeated. I'm just done. This job is taking a toll on my physical and mental health. I've had to rescind days off and other important things because of this client. I am also being underpaid by at least $10k then what I could make. I've been applying for jobs for about two weeks now and am nervous because I am hearing that the job market is brutal. But I know that I am basically on the chopping now. It is only a matter time before I get fired now.
TLDR, management assigned me a client that is way above my skill level and pay grade while also being witheld important information. Co-manager acts surprised when I make mistakes in a rigged system. Discovered how to fix a major issue with them only to be yelled at for not figuring it out sooner (not even the co-manager was able to solve it). Contemplating handing in my letter of resignation now or risk getting fired when this client inevitably breaks contact with my bosses.

What's up all! 4th Wall here! I finally have power returned to my home, and can play a little catch up! This one's a heavy hitter, No NSFW needed (I hope) but if you've got kids, be warned.
First, Previous, Next
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A bright flash of blues and whites spat a greyish black object into normal space a mere one hundred Clicks from physical asteroid cloud that provided a natural barrier into the Lurix system. USN Olyvia’s drives instantly flared to life, and she made for the outer edges of the asteroid field with a purposeful stride. The senior Crew was at hand, having alternated shifts so they were well rested for this endeavor. Captain Correllus Grarzia shifted in his chair slightly, watching with interest as his star helmsman switched from his standard control configuration to a more “analog” twin joystick and pedals. ‘The kid really should be piloting a fighter’ he mused just as the young lad turned to look at him. “Ready, skipper”

“Take us in. All ahead slow.” Cory ordered calmly, before keying up the ship wide broadcasting channel. “This is the captain. We’ve just entered the Lurix system. Rig for silent running. I repeat, rig for silent running.” All across the ship, nonessential systems were shut down; their lack of electronic signature aiding the stealth coating on the bulky former troop transport. In engineering. Patrick, Cammy, and the rest of their section powered down a large portion of the larger systems onboard.

Life support was set to emergency backup, with old school oxygen candles lit in special housings that allowed their life-giving emissions to be circulated throughout the ship. Each major section of the vessel had their own supplies of these low-tech solutions, and Olyvia carried enough of these candles to survive for several days without functioning life support if needed.

Only a few were lit this time, using them as an augmentation to allow for minimal use of their perfectly functioning life support systems; and Cammy returned from the compartment just in time to aid in shutting down two thirds of Olyvia’s fusion reactors. This was not usually part of the silent running protocol, but Cory had added it for this mission. While they knew where their target would be, they still knew very little about what defenses awaited them inside the system.

Patrick keyed up the mic, “Engineering reporting in, silent running.”

*acknowledged* came a voice back. And Patrick leaned back in his chair just as Cammy arrived. “Well, that’s that.” He sighed.

Cammy stepped behind his chair, rubbing his shoulders for a second, “candles are lit. Two per section. At this rate we won’t run out for a year.”

Patrick chuckled, standing before looking over at his team, “sandwiches are in the mess hall. Half go now, half after. We’ll wait and go with second shift.” The team nodded and soon. The room was half as full. “Hurry up, and wait” Patrick mused, and turned to the rest. “Hold’em anyone?”

Over the next several days, shifts were kept short with a high rotation frequency. Olyvia picked her way through the natural minefield created by a destroyed world, slipping between the dead planetary shards with deadly caution. She ran quiet, with all but minimal deflectors shut down, and a single detuned laser online on each of her flanks as a last resort against impacts. Cory, Jesse, Patrick, and Cammy met regularly to keep tabs on the ship’s progress. The admiral’s transmission had reached them in time, and the four of them, plus Jacky when she could pry herself from the infirmary, worked to formulate a plan to get into the freighter without killing everyone. They had Hera and Jacobs reports, but those reports also admitted to a certain degree of incredible luck on their part. Things could have gone very differently, and the murder of the freighter during the admiral’s capture operation hinted at a change in tactics from their foe.

Mackenzie’s Privateers had liberated several freighters since they began operations, keeping to their cover as “pirates” by leaving nothing big enough to betray their secrets behind. A few of the other captains had left pieces of inoperative Unity tech, strategically damaged and jettisoned after the fight, as red herrings to convince both the Vorath, and the Thermians that these “pirates” had somehow gotten ahold of Unity warships.


Cory stepped into the cargo bay to meet Patric and Camorra. They were tinkering, carefully he hoped, with one of Olyvia’s harpoon missiles. It was a project triggered by Cammy’s brilliant, if outlandish, idea. “We know these freighters all ran the same codes, and the same infrastructure in their computer cores. Why can’t we hack it. Human computing should be perfectly capable of it.” Cory remembered her words as he stepped up to the two, “at ease” he waved them away as they threatened to salute him, “how’s out little project coming.”


“See for yourself” Patrick smiled handing him a data pad.

Cory took the offered device, quickly scanning through the data, “All I see is Olyvia’s system logs. Did you give me the wrong one?”

Patric smiled evilly, “that is coming from the missile, we found a common power regulator chip that dam near all Delmar freighters use in their integrated core management. Our mole here mimicked that regulators protocols to get into one we installed in a conduit over there” he pointed to an open panel. “It’s designed to cycle through several common chip sets and protocols to get access.”

“You hacked Olyvia?” Cory asked, eyebrow raised in a combination of amusement and irritation.

“Well, “Cammy said calmly, “we had to test it, and Oly’s the only ship close enough…”

“I see…” Cory mused, “it will have to do, we will be reaching the edge of the field in three days, how many of these can you have ready?”

Patrick scratched the red stubble punctuating his jaw line. “Hmm two, maybe three, including that one.” He winced at his captain’s expression, “took us a minute to get the virus right, sorry.”

Cory sounded to himself like a broken record, “I guess that will have to do as well. I’ll leave it to you.” He turned to return to his office but was interrupted half way there by an urgent request for his presence on the bridge.

Jesse rose to greet him as Cory stepped into Olyvia’s command center, and he nodded towards the ready room off to the side. The two of them quickly stepped inside and Jesse closed the door. “Jesse, what’s this about” Cory asked, settling into his desk chair.

Jesse, his first officer, and battle born brother looked at him seriously, “The first of our stealth probes have made it into the system proper….. It’s not good” He tapped at his data pad before handing it to his captain, “The enemy is doing something big down there, and we don’t know what. What we do know, Is that there are three heavy cruisers in orbit, and three more destroyers in floating patrols around the system.”

Cory scrolled through the pad as his first officer made his report, pausing at the same information on the planet’s surface, “These are military installations. This makes no since. We haven’t had a use for Lurix in millennia. It’s always just been a haven for aquatic and semi aquatic species. Why didn’t our intel warn us of this.”

Jesse nodded grimly, “I don’t know for sure, but I have my suspicions.” He reached over, tapping at the tab to open a particular file Cory had yet to find. “We found these in orbit as well.” He pointed to a pair of Delmar constructed freighters, parked in orbit over the marsh world. “I authorized a single transmission to a single drone, uploading Patrick and Camorra’s hacking program into it, and we sent it to one of those freighters... this is what we found.”

Cory opened the indicated file, and felt bile rise in the back of his throat as he watched. “Ready a tight beam, send it back the way we came, Towards Simo.” Jesse looked at his captain in understanding. The risks of transmitting this close to the enemy was a grave risk. Measured against the information they just witnessed; however, it was an absolute necessity. Jesse took the offered tablet, “The Admirals need to see this…. Both of them.”

————————————————————


Clint Stevens groaned as his communicator beeped from his desk. It was a very early morning on a weekend, and Frie had let Natalie stay at her grandparents for the weekend. He quietly slipped from the entanglements of a profoundly comfortable Delmar goddess he had somehow been gifted with as his wife, and silently cursed the inevitable destruction of his plans. The Com was linked to his computer console, and Clint tapped the file as he sat down.

The file opened, beginning with a grim looking Corellus Grarzia who made an intro statement that froze Clint in his thoughts. Before he could begin to prepare himself, images flooded in that turned grogginess into razors edge consciousness ringing with a white hot fury. Frie was ripped from her slumber instantly, reaching for her biometric pistol safe as a response to the unbridled rage she experienced from her husband. It took her a moment to realize that they were not being attacked, and she rushed from their bed, neglecting even basic decency to be by his side.

The two of them watched the Horrors unfold. Children… small children of multiple different races, stacked in a freighter’s hold like cattle, being thrown food like one would an animal. Massive screens played, promising safety and full bellies should they only but kiss the hand of a severe looking Vorath female. All who had not, were treated to daily ice cold sprays mixed with random beatings. He watched as desperate older siblings attempted to shelter their kin from the abuse, often times paying the ultimate price for their valor.

Clint and Frie were spared a further assault on their senses by a beeping light, indicating an urgent call from Clint’s adopted brother. Frie slipped out of view, reaching for a night gown as a furious Mac, accompanied by an equal parts shocked and livid Lyrian, appeared on screen.


“You’ve seen it” Clint stated. There were no barriers between them, no formalities. Only pure truth.

“I have,” Mac rumbled. “Why is it always kids..”

Clint shook his head, “I can have a battle group there in two weeks. It’s not soon enough, but.”

Mac nodded sharply, “I’m redirecting everyone not on critical missions. Simo and Kid are already there with Olyvia. Wisconsin is enroute. We will await your arrival….. Clint…” Clint’s eyes met Mac’s in a joined promise that reached across time and space.

“No, there won’t.” Clint answered, responding to Mac’s unspoken statement.

___________________________________________________________

A week later, The Chancellor Thomas Durrant of the Sol Federation perused the latest transmissions from Unity space. He was due for reelection this coming fall, and it was a close race. His opponent was labelling him a Warmonger, as he was an outspoken proponent of a more active role in the struggle against the Vorath, and it was working. The points were closing in the polls, and The Chancellor had not come out on top with the latest debate results. Humanity simply was not interested in further conflict. For the first time in human history, the vast majority of the Human race was content with peace.

The Chancellor took a sip of his mug as he opened a file from Admiral Stevens marked priority, but not top secret and promptly spit the contents in his mouth back into the mug. It was a complete file on some kind of intelligence operation, and Durrant almost wondered if it had been sent to him in error. The gruesome cover video dispelled that notion as the leader of Humanity itself watched horrors thought long dead play out in front of him. Several minutes later, he closed the file, and opened a message prompt.


“Viktor, are you up.” He typed.

*Yea, Tom. I’m up, the campaign ain’t gonna run itself into the ground.*

Durrant snorted at the dark humor, “Viktor, I was sent something. It changes… everything” he typed, attaching the cover video, and the longer form surveillance recording he had found inside the file from Clint. Several minutes passed in tense silence before…

*Jesus Christ, Tom.*

Tom Durrant took a long slow breath, “Do you still have your man at The Post.” He paused before sending, knowing what he was asking.

*Yea… yea I do, Tom. Are you sure you want to do this. This has ‘it will blow up in my face’ written all over it.*

“I know, but this bigger than me. Do it, and announce a press conference to follow if The Post runs with it.” Durrant typed and sent the last message, closing down his console. He stood slowly, feeling his age for the first time in recent memory, and walked heavily to bed.

The Post ran with the story. In the next 48 hours, the “leaked” scenes of tortured children, some barely more than infants ripped its way into Humanities Psyche. The revelations of what exactly was going on behind Vorath lines assailed Humanity, spurring many to call for blood, and Others to cry hoax. Around and around the political commentators debated, and redebated the shocking footage.

Chancellor Thomas Durrant followed through on his word, and was now stepping up to the platform and the Microphone as promised. He stood there for a full minute, meeting the eyes of as many of the hundreds of reporters before him as he could. The weight of his expression prompted a flurry of flashes as camera drones captured the image. Durrant allowed all of this to happen, waiting until the din of activity settled into a heavy silence. “People of Humanity… By now, you have undoubtedly seen the shocking pictures from the far side of the galaxy. Many of you believe it to be a hoax, a desperate ploy for political points. Allow me to be clear. This is no hoax, I received these disturbing images directly from Admiral Clint Stevens, who is marshalling the forces at his disposal as we speak. He aims to do something about these orbital concentration camps, and I support his actions with the full backing of my authority as Chancellor of the United Sol Federation.”

Durrant paused, letting the information sink in before continuing, “to answer the question as to whether this is a political ploy for points. Let me be perfectly clear, I alone released the footage from inside those torture ships, and I do not care if you believe it to be a political ploy. If Humanity can see the atrocities committed to the young innocents in those images and refuse to stand up for them; I no longer would wish to lead that Humanity. Yes, we are few compared to what we once were, but we have a strength that cannot be fathomed by those who chose to side with pure evil. Make no mistake, any being that is capable of torturing and murdering children deserves the title.” The Chancellor of United Sol skewered the silent crowd with a withering gaze, “All of you here know that I have been an ardent supporter of taking a more active role against this pure evil, and my opponent has made a great many statements regarding my supposed “warmongering”. I believe that to debate him further on this matter is as wasteful as it would be irrelevant. As such, I am suspending my campaign immediately. Pending permission from donors and the campaign review board, I will be donating the totality of my campaign war-chest to the purchase of relief supplies and construction of rehabilitation facilities for these children.” Durrant paused as a wave of gasps swept through the room as a volley of flashes assaulted his eyes. “Holding the position of leader of the Human race seems so insignificant in comparison,” he said softly, almost to himself before scanning the crowd. “The election is 4 months away. If you wish to reelect me, so be it; but know this.” Thomas Durrant rose to his full height, “If you elect me this fall, know that I will use the full weight of this office to unleash the full might of Humanity upon this evil, or I will resign from my post and travel to Unity space myself.”

With that. Chancellor Thomas Durrant spun on his heals and marched off the stage.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If you made it this far, Thank You! I hope you enjoyed the episode. If this if your first time seeing this series, I hope you will join us from the beginning. I do have a patreon that has extra content that is not main story arc, but still cannon shorts, as well as exclusive content from some of my other series. If you believe I've earned it, feel free to give it a look; but know that just coming to hang is already enough.
Have a wonderful rest of your day.
First, Previous, Next Patreon

Hello all. So im gonna be straight up honest in this post, I have been slacking in school, especially this year. Im not trying to make a bunch of excuses, but all of the kids at my school constantly annoy and overwhelm me, which has made me truent very often. I submit assignments very late because its hard for me to start working or have any motivation to do so, and now the school year is ending soon in June and I have 40 missing assignments, an F in History (which really annoys me because I submitted 10 old assignments and got a 15/16 on my project, yet still at an F?) a D in english and science, and a bunch of truancys (which honestly half of them have reasoning behind them, yet they are marked not as such) and now I recently got a letter saying I have to attend summer school. Please, any advice on how to get my grades up and finish assignments before school ends would be apprechiated so much. I really do not want to go to summer school, I will genuinely fucking kill myself if I have to. I have been trying my hardest doing old assingments to not attend.
Also, is it possible to resign from summer school if you already got the letter saying you need to attend, if you got your grades up before hand or am I fucked? I am in California if that changes anything.

Prior submission on topic 5 days ago:
"Mysterious Objects in Space Could Be Giant Dyson Spheres, Scientists Say"

• https://www.reddit.com/UFOs/comments/1cp68an/mysterious_objects_in_space_could_be_giant_dyson/

Paper:
"Project Hephaistos - II. Dyson sphere candidates from Gaia DR3, 2MASS, and WISE"; authors: Matías Suazo, Erik Zackrisson, Priyatam K. Mahto, Fabian Lundell, Carl Nettelblad, Andreas J. Korn, Jason T. Wright, Suman Majumdar

• https://arxiv.org/abs/2405.02927

The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is currently being pursued using multiple techniques and in different wavelength bands. Dyson spheres, megastructures that could be constructed by advanced civilizations to harness the radiation energy of their host stars, represent a potential technosignature, that in principle may be hiding in public data already collected as part of large astronomical surveys. In this study, we present a comprehensive search for partial Dyson spheres by analyzing optical and infrared observations from Gaia, 2MASS, and WISE. We develop a pipeline that employs multiple filters to identify potential candidates and reject interlopers in a sample of five million objects, which incorporates a convolutional neural network to help identify confusion in WISE data. Finally, the pipeline identifies 7 candidates deserving of further analysis. All of these objects are M-dwarfs, for which astrophysical phenomena cannot easily account for the observed infrared excess emission.

The Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society:

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in astronomy and astrophysics. It has been in continuous existence since 1827 and publishes letters and papers reporting original research in relevant fields. Despite the name, the journal is no longer monthly, nor does it carry the notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. MNRAS publishes more articles per year than any other astronomy journal.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monthly_Notices_of_the_Royal_Astronomical_Society

It is ranked 15th of 72 astrophysics journals:

• https://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php?category=3103&wos=true

It is the 2nd most cited journal in the field:

• https://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php?category=3103&wos=true&order=h&ord=desc

Cigarettes and rebellion have always gone hand-in-hand, and in an age of cigarette packet-sized health warnings, now more than ever, smoking a fag says: 'I do not give a fuck.' But if Brandon Flowers is hoping to strike a seditious pose by sparking up at the start of the interview, it's not going according to plan. The Killers' frontman is on all fours rooting through the junk that carpets the anteroom at the band's rehearsal space. "Has anyone seen my lighter?" he asks, rocking back on his heels. The question hangs in the air while Brandon cocks his head, waiting for an answer like a meerkat listening for a predator. Twenty-five years old and with a delicate bone structure, there's something almost dainty about him. Receiving no response, he returns to his search. "Oh, Jeez," he sighs. "I had it just a minute ago."
It's a scene that emphatically does not suggest a rebel without a cause. The mess isn't helping. The Killers' HQ - an industrial unit sandwiched between a construction supplier and the offices of a housing development just off Dean Martin Drive in West Las Vegas - is ankle-deep in designer clothing. A Dior Homme suit lies crumpled by the door; there's a pile of shoes topped like a sundae by a pair of Marc Jacobs trainers; and anyone wishing to enter the shoebox room the band use as an office must negotiate a mountain of discarded jeans. Many items are identifiable as coming from the wardrobe of Hot Fuss, The Killers' hugely successful 2004 debut album - triple platinum in the UK with two weeks at Number One and five million sold worldwide. Look! There are the shirts, ties and suit jackets they wore when they thrilled Glastonbury 2005 with indie rock anthems Mr Brightside and Somebody Told Me. That was the crowning moment of a two-and-a-half year tour that finally concluded in October of last year. It seems that after playing that final date in Miami, they returned to Vegas and shrugged off their image onto the floor of this bland white box.
Now a fine layer of dust covers the dead clothes. The Killers have no further use for white tuxedos on their second album, Sam's Town. Today, Brandon wears a black polo shirt, black pin-stripe waistcoat, black jeans and black boots. Where there used to be a layer of foundation, there is now a beard - an untrimmed beard at that. Dave Keuning (30, guitar), Mark Stoermer (29, bass) and Ronnie Vannucci (29, drums) all echo Brandon's black ensemble. Ronnie has added Aviator shades and a handlebar moustache for a dash of motorcycle cop, Dave's frizzy bubble of hair gives him a Marc Bolan-ish air, and there's something very teenage about Mark's scuffed Vans.
Short of walking around wearing sandwich boards saying, "Our new record is a bit heavier than the last one," The Killers couldn't hope to communicate that message more effectively. And they have gained some musical girth on Sam's Town. The pop hooks that made Hot Fuss so irresistible survive intact - see the ringing guitar riffs on first single When You Were Young - but there's a newfound punchiness, coupled with an epic sweep. The minor-to-major uplifts on Bones are fabulously dramatic, the coda to Why Do I Keep Counting? thrillingly intense. Comparisons to Bruce Springsteen have been made. If they overstate the case a little, they are at leaset qualitatively accurate. The Killers are back and this time it's serious - they've got the bootlace ties to prove it.
"Hey, it says here that Springsteen's headlining Glastonbury next year," shouts Ronnie, who's flicking through the NME. He nods sagely at the page without looking up.
"Really?" asks Dave, nicknamed Crazy Dave on account of his alledgedly volatile nature.
"The Boss is headlining one night, we're playing second on the bill the next night and Kylie's headlining the Sunday," says Brandon, charging like a bull through Michael Eavis' as-yet-unannounced line-up with what subsequently proves to be a characteristic gaucheness.
But that lighter is proving elusive. This being America, none of the people hurrying to-and-fro prepping the world for the release of Sam's Town smokes. Manager Robert Reynolds - Bobby Rey to the band - barks into his mobile, booking his band onto eye-wateringly demanding tours. "We're going to make a lot of money," he cackles to himself before switching calls to make a series of stern pronouncements on legal matters. Dave, Mark and Ronnie disappear for a jam session. Artwork is approved, B-sides are decided on and schedules are hammered out.
"I can't find it," Brandon says, finally. But he's not going to be denied the opportunity to underline The Killers reinvention with a puff of smoke. "Let's go to the gas station. I'll have to buy one. It's too busy to talk here anyway."
+
Brandon's black (of course) Volkswagen Touraeg four-wheel drive is barrelling down West Flamingo Road into town. "I was a bell boy there," he says, pointing out of the driver's window at the stucco facade of the Gold Coast casino. "I was working there when we were signed."
Coming from Las Vegas, it is perhaps inevitable that casinos play a big part in The Killers' story; not only is Sam's Town named after one, it was recorded in one, too.
The band began writing songs while on the road with Hot Fuss, turning up early for soundchecks to run through new ideas. On a trip home to Vegas, George Maloof, a hotelier known for cultivating famous friends, invited them to record the album in the new studio he'd built at The Palms, his flagship hotel-cum-gambling den. When the tour finished in October 2005, they returned to Vegas and spent five month finessing the songs they'd sketched out on the road. Then, in February, they decampled to the third floor studio at The Palms and recorded Sam's Town over 11 weeks.
Producer Flood (U2, Depeche Mode) encouraged them to experiment. They overdubbed, fiddled with synthesizers and played with new equipment. It took them five weeks to get the backing vocals right. The band sang the harmonies, then double-tracked them four times. The end result recalls Queen wondering, "Is this is the real life? Is this just fantasy?" When Ronnie, a trained classical percussionist, brought some kettledrums down, eyebrows were raised; but the fabulously bombastic coda on Why Do I Keep Counting? vindicates his indulgence.
"That's kind of the Ben Hur of the album," he says. He's not wrong. Sam's Town is a record on an epic scale. "Yeah, it has drama," he continues. "But, at the same time, I think it's a little more exposed than Hot Fuss. It's a little more naked. Last time it was about a lot of fictional things." By "fictional", Ronnie means that Hot Fuss wore its predominantly British influences for all to see. Brandon's taste in music is rabidly Anglophile - he constantly references The Smiths, The Cure and Joy Division - and it showed. By contrast, Sam's Town is an unequivocally American record. The lyrical imagery is pure American dream - cars, girls, wide-open spaces and escaping to a better life. "We're burning down the highway skyline/On the back of a hurricane that started turning/When you were young," sings Brandon on When You Were Young. That's the basis of the Springsteen comparisons then, though the lack of pathos more closely recalls another blue-collar rocker from New Jersey - Jon Bon Jovi.
The phrase "this town" recurs throughout the album, and it's always receding into the distance as The Killers escape to a new life. "This town was made for passing through/I never did get along with everybody else," sings Brandon on This River Is Wild. On Read My Mind he "never really gave up on breaking out of this two-star town", while on the title track he offers something of an explanation: "Nobody ever had a dream round here."
"With the first record, there was this feeling that there was this world out there that we didn't know," says Mark later in the day. Before The Killers, he studied philosophy: now he's their quiet one. "We wanted to get out and away from this and be somewhere else. We hadn't had a lot of experience - hadn't travelled much - then we were gone for three years. We didn't sit down and say that we wanted to make a record about how we're glad to be home, but that's what happened naturally."
It's not an angsty record. The Killers have already escaped with Hot Fuss, and, having done so, they view the experience fondly now they're back. There's a mistiness to Brandon's eyes as he explains how the album got it's name.
"Sam's Town is a casino on the edge of Vegas," he says. "I grew up in Henderson, which is out on the way to the Hoover Dam. My mom and dad lived in a trailer park, and my dad used to hitchhike up and down Boulder Highway, which is the only way you could get to Vegas. Sam's Town was the first thing you saw on your way in to town. So, when you're driving down Boulder Highway from Henderson, I always thought you finally knew you were getting somewhere when you saw Sam's Town. It was kind of like a beacon."
"It's not a completely American album," contines Brandon. "We still have our English influence, but we're also from the Wild West. Somehow we've managed to unify all that on this album. it's just such a perfect resemblence of what we are."
At the petrol station, Brandon rummages through the glove box looking for change to buy a lighter. "This is a great album," he says, pointing at Highway Companion, the latest from iconic American rocker Tom Petty. "I've always been a big fan of his. He's such a great American artist."
Yes, Brandon: we get the point.
+
When Brandon finally lights his cigarette, he smokes it awkwardly, like a child mimicking something he's seen the grown-ups doing. However, when he cheerfully admits that, "I feel the same mentally as I did when I was 12," it's not a knowing nod to the fact that he sometimes behaves like a loveably precocious child, but a reference to an unusually comprehensive grounding in pop music at an early age.
When Brandon sings about "this town", he doesn't mean Las Vegas. He means Nephi, Utah or Henderson, Nevada, where he spent his childhood. His parents are Mormon and he is the youngest of six children. "I was a surprise," he says. "I've got a 42-year-old sister." If he was issues about his "surprise" status, he chooses to gloss over them. "It turned out perfect because my brother was a teenager when I was a kid," he says. "He would bring home things like Rattle And Hum by U2 and I would watch it. I remember he bought Live In Dallas by Morrissey. It was always him watching these things, or his door was shut and you'd hear The Head On The Door by The Cure blasting through the house and rattling the walls."
The Killers were formed when Brandon answered an advert Dave had placed in a local paper in late 2002. Dave cited Oasis as a big influence; Brandon had seen them play recently and responded; and, as Dave has said in previous interviews: "He was the only person to reply to my ad who wasn't a complete freak." However, the band was born in Brandon's brothers bedroom.
"His room was like a shrine," enthuses Brandon. "It was a holy place. I wish I could show you a picture of it. It was covered in posters. There'd be a big picture of Elvis wearing a bow tie that just said 'The Smiths' [the artwork for The Smiths 1987 single Shoplifters Of The World Unite]. You had The Cure wearing face paint [the artwork to The Cure's 1985 single In Between Days] - all that kind of stuff. I remember Morrissey being on the cover of the NME, with the halo [from 1985] - stuff like that. You just wanted to know about these people 'cause they were so cool. My brother seemed like such a cool person. But he was a teenager, so he wasn't going to be that nice to me, a kid."
Brandon was fascinated by his brother's collection of music, magazines and posters, but he was denied access to them - officially, at least. "I would sneak in," he says. "I knew he'd be angry if he found out, but I would go in as soon as he left the house." For a long time Brandon was too scared to actually play anything. "That didn't come 'til later. I just used to go in there because I liked it. Then I got to the point where I'd actually take a tape out and put it in. It took more guts to do that."
It was a life-changing moment. "I was ten and the first song I played was Sing Your Life by Morrissey. I remember dancing about to it."
The lyrics to Sing Your Life include the lines, "Sing your life/Just walk right up to the microphone/And name all the things that you love/All the things that you loathe." It's intriguing to wonder what Morrissey makes of the neophyte he inspired with these lines.
Eventually, Brandon inherited his brother's tape collection. "It was around the same time CDs started coming out in a big way. He started buying CDs and gave me his tapes. And that was it: it took off from there. I got a hundred of the best albums - all the New Order, all the Morrissey, all The Smiths, The Beatles. I started buying posters. I went to see The Cure in concert. It was just kind of a continuation of my brother. And it was nice because, though my parents were strict, they were already used to it from him. There was no, 'My dad doesn't understand me,' or any of that kind of stuff. My mum likes The Smiths."
Brandon was 13 and his favourite band was late-'70s/early-'80s American new wavers The Cars, and particularly their jaw-droppingly catchy 1979 single Just What I Needed.
"I wouldn't exist without that song," he says. "That was the one. I remember driving around with my mum when I was 13, and we're living in Nephi - a really small town - and I felt so cool when I put that song on. Like: 'I have something that none of these kids I'm going to middle school with tomorrow have.' That excitement is what music's about, isn't it? That's why I understand the mentality of people that don't like us because we've sold so many records. I used to like it when no one else knew about a band. So I get that - I do."
+
Brandon's first band was called Blush Response. It was never going to work out. Not because he refused to move to Los Angeles with them, but because he is utterly - comically - shameless. He's given to making outrageously boastful statements like: "It's not like the '60s, '70s and '80s now. There are only a few bands around that are really good, that just do it. I mean, there's what, five or six of us?"
For the record, in Brandon's estimation, those bands are Franz Ferdinand, Razorlight, The Strokes, The White Stripes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and, of course, The Killers.
"I don't want people to think I'm lumping myself with other people just to make us sound cool," he says. Really? It sort of sounds like you are. But he just steamrolls through it. "Yeah, but you know what I mean," he says, grinning at his own cheekiness. He's so disgracefully forward you can't help but laugh along with him - Oh you are awful, Brandon! But joking aside, The Killers are the most commercially successful of all the bands he mentions.
Later, back at the rehearsal space, the band run through Sam's Town at deafening volume in preparation for the forthcoming tour - first the US, then the world. The infectious, almost contagious, chorus of When You Were Young sounds fabulous, as do the U2-like guitars and Twin Peaks synths of Read My Mind. Meanwhile, Smile Like You Mean It and Somebody Told Me benefit from the newfound harder edge.
They somewhat heavy-handedly underline the new direction by playing Paranoid by Black Sabbath and Get It On by T Rex. That's the thing: The Killers are not a subtle band. Their songs are like a wet kiss from a girl who's a bit too drunk. They are big and brash, and not everyone loves them for it. Mr Brightside and Somebody Told Me might go down as well at hip nightclubs as they do on the festival circuit, but the DJs play them with the same guilty look they wear when playing a pop record.
"I hate that," says Brandon. "Like writing a song you can hum somehow cheapens it? It makes me think of this quote by Morrissey. Everybody knows how he read Oscar Wilde, Keats and Yates when he was growing up and that he wanted to be a writer. He was talking to this journalist who asked why he hadn't become a writer, and Morrissey said: 'What I do is more powerful than what you do because I can write down these words and you get it to a melody. How can you beat that?' I'm of the same opinion. I don't understand why a good melody that's memorable is a bad thing."
Being dismissed as pop particular aggrieves Ronnie. "When we first came out we got compared to Duran Duran all the time. Jesus Christ! We got a keyboard player now all of a sudden he's Nick Rhodes! Come on!"
"The people who criticise us for being too poppy don't get it," agrees Mark. "I think that's the problem with a lot of rock music. People are afraid to write a song any more. Either that or they can't. And that attitude hurts music in general. The best bands ever have all written great songs. You can still do it and do it intelligently and it can be original. This isn't a studio creation with a producer writing these songs for us. We're not Avril Lavigne, or something like that. We're a real band writing real songs, just like a punk band would do, except that we write pop songs."
You get the impression that The Killers knack for showboating pop hooks that border on vulgar is inextricably tied up with the brazen side of Brandon's personality. But while his ebullient charisma, not to mention the songs themselves, mitigates his outrageousness, there is a less attractive side to his ego. He has a combative streak. He can't resist taking pot shots at emo bands, notably Fall Out Boy, whith whom The Killers share an A&R man.
Has he heard how many emo kids it takes to change a light bulb? "No." None. They just sit in the dark and cry. It's a full 30 seconds before he stops laughing. When he does he admits: "Yeah, we've had problems with other bands. You know, when you walk in the room it's like..." He whistles the theme to The Good, The Bad And The Ugly. "We're like gangs."
And while the other members of the band are diplomatic on the subject of Brandon, you don't have to read too deeply between the lines to conclude that there have been internal issues, too.
"Some people will think Brandon's the big genius," says Dave, visibly bridling. "There are songs, such as Why Do I Keep Counting?, where he's written every note. But there are others, like When You Were Young, that were more of a collaboration - like Mr Brightside, where I had some of the music and Brandon came up with the lyrics. We always have arguments about who wrote what. The truth is that we all help in that process."
When asked how success affected them, Ronnie says: "There were certain things that needed adjusting. When you're on tour for two years, people can get a little needy. It doesn't help that you're surrounded by yes men and everybody's working for you. At times we've had to say, 'Who do you think you are?' to people. No one wears the trousers, but some people would like to. I think if it wasn't for the people in the band kicking each other in the ass... Let's just say there was some ass-kickin'."
It doesn't take a genius to work out whose ass needed kicking most often.
+
It's the following day and The Killers are back at their rehearsal space. The topic of discussion is what to wear in the video for Bones, the second single. It's a big deal: the director is Tim Burton. "I feel like Frank Sinatra when I sing it," announces Brandon. "With maybe a little bit of Morrissey and a little bit of Elvis, too."
Of course he does. But if securing the services of Tim Burton tells you one thing, it's that The Killers are about to get even bigger, perhaps even make the leap to the same level as Coldplay et al. Already stars, they are about to become superstars. Brandon can hardly wait.
"Do you know that Rolling Stone didn't want to put us on the cover last time," he says indignantly. "They didn't think we were stars. We sold five million albums! What more do they want from a band?"
Whatever was required, Brandon would be happy to do most things. "I'll do stuff that some people don't want to do, 'cause I want people to hear the music," he says. However, even he has limits. "The Rolling Stone thing made the record label think: 'What can we do to make them stars?' If I go on vacation with my wife, do they have to send somebody to be there to take pictures of me? Is that how you become a star? I don't want that. I walked down the red carpet one time and I realised I don't like it. But you don't have to walk down the red carpet for people to hear your music. We do still have some of that indie blood running through our veins."
He heads off at a tangent: "When you walk around Liverpool, you think of The Beatles, or you go to Manchester and you think of The Smiths or Oasis. I want you to come to Las Vegas and think of Sam's Town. And I think we've started to capture that, which is a truer version of The Killers, 'cause that's where we're from."
He pauses.
"I used to live across the street from Sam's Town. Maybe it'll be like our Abbey Road where people go to take pictures."
Is that what he'd like?
"I wouldn't mind it," he says, desperately hoping it will come true.
He puts a cigarette between his lips, looks down at his trouser pockets and pats them in search of the lighter he bought yesterday.
"Hey, I don't suppose you've got one?"

Asking for a friend that they told me they just got terminated 2 weeks ago from Amazon prime now for attendance points or negative upt and they got a email to appeal but they can’t log in to their a to z alumni account because the temporary password code they got it doesn’t work or expire and her time ran out because it had to be done within 7 days of the date of the termination date they was at warehouse grocery associate and on that termination letter it said involuntary termination, and that they got a email from points management saying We can offer you a Resignation in Lieu of Termination at this time and you will be eligible for rehire in 90 days from the time the resignation is processed. What this means is that since you are not in good attendance standing you are being offered the chance to resign your position before the next step of termination is taken and I said I don’t really know anyone got any answer I would appreciate it.

So a few weeks ago I received a letter from the DMV that I relinquished my license. I had requested a hearing (took several days because they were very skeptical) and today was my hearing.
The case against me was dismissed due to a legal error, I went from a near certainty that I was going to lose my license for a year (as well as my job) to having total relief. So always request a hearing, you can always hope that it'll play out in your favor. Good luck everyone.