Capturing User Location in Google Forms Seamlessly

Integrating geolocation functionality into Google Forms can significantly enhance the data collection process, enabling a more dynamic and context-aware approach to surveys and forms. This capability allows form creators to automatically capture the geographical location of respondents without requiring manual input or verification of email addresses. The process leverages Google Script, a powerful tool that extends the functionality of Google Apps, including Forms. By embedding custom scripts into Google Forms, developers can programmatically retrieve geolocation data at the moment of form submission, enriching the dataset with valuable location-based insights.
The application of geolocation data in Google Forms is vast, ranging from academic research to customer feedback and beyond. This approach not only streamlines the data collection process but also opens up new possibilities for analyzing and utilizing the collected data. For instance, understanding the geographic distribution of survey responses can help in tailoring services or products to specific regions. However, implementing this feature requires a careful consideration of privacy and consent, ensuring that respondents are aware of the data being collected and have agreed to share their location information. The following guide aims to demonstrate how to seamlessly integrate geolocation capture into Google Forms using Google Script, without the complexities of email verification or additional permissions.

Command	Description
HtmlService.createHtmlOutputFromFile()	Creates and serves HTML content from a file in the Google Apps Script project.
google.script.run	Allows client-side JavaScript to call server-side Apps Script functions.
Session.getActiveUser().getEmail()	Retrieves the email address of the current user (not used for geolocation, but relevant for context).
Geolocation API	Web API used to access the geographic location of a device.

Deep Dive into Geolocation Integration

Integrating geolocation into Google Forms through Google Script offers a compelling way to enhance data collection by embedding geographical intelligence into responses. This technique allows form creators to capture the respondent's location data automatically, adding a new layer of depth to the insights that can be gleaned from the responses. The process involves the use of client-side JavaScript for geolocation detection, which is then passed to the server side via Google Script. This seamless integration bridges the gap between simple form responses and geospatial data analytics, enabling a myriad of applications such as market research, event planning, and even educational activities. By leveraging the native geolocation API available in modern web browsers, developers can ensure that this functionality is broadly accessible without the need for external plugins or tools.
The application of geolocation data capture in Google Forms transcends mere data collection; it facilitates a nuanced understanding of demographic distributions, behavioral patterns, and logistical planning. For businesses, this can translate into targeted marketing strategies and optimized service delivery based on geographic insights. In educational contexts, it offers a unique approach to field studies, allowing for the collection of data points that are automatically tagged with location information. However, it is crucial to navigate the ethical considerations associated with geolocation data, including privacy concerns and consent. Transparent communication with respondents about what data is being collected and how it will be used is essential to maintaining trust and compliance with data protection regulations.

Integrating Geolocation in Google Forms

Google Apps Script & JavaScript

Enhancing Forms with Geolocation Insights

Implementing geolocation functionality into Google Forms via Google Script is an innovative approach to gather enriched data from form respondents. This method not only captures traditional form responses but also collects valuable geographical information, providing a multifaceted view of the data. The integration of geolocation enhances the utility of Google Forms in various sectors, including research, retail, and social sciences, by enabling the collection of location-specific insights. For instance, researchers can track environmental data submissions across different regions, while retailers can understand the geographical distribution of customer feedback, tailoring services to meet regional demands more effectively.
The technical aspect of integrating geolocation involves utilizing browser-based geolocation APIs in conjunction with Google Script to process and store location data alongside form responses. This process is transparent to the user, requiring their consent to share location data, thereby adhering to privacy standards. The approach not only enriches the data collected through forms but also opens up new avenues for analyzing data through a geographical lens. For example, educational institutions can map out student survey responses to better understand regional variations in educational needs or interests. The ability to automatically collect and analyze location data adds a powerful tool to the arsenal of data analysts and form creators alike.

Frequently Asked Questions About Geolocation in Google Forms

1. Question: Can geolocation data be collected without user consent?
2. Answer: No, collecting geolocation data requires explicit consent from the user as per privacy laws and regulations.
3. Question: Is it possible to collect geolocation data for all respondents?
4. Answer: It depends on the user's device and browser settings. If geolocation services are disabled, it won't be possible to collect this data.
5. Question: How accurate is the geolocation data collected via Google Forms?
6. Answer: The accuracy of geolocation data varies based on the device and the method used for locating (e.g., GPS, Wi-Fi, cellular networks).
7. Question: Can geolocation data collection be integrated into all types of Google Forms?
8. Answer: Yes, with the proper scripting and user permissions, geolocation data collection can be integrated into any Google Form.
9. Question: How is the collected geolocation data stored and can it be exported?
10. Answer: Collected geolocation data is stored within the Google Forms' responses or linked Google Sheets, from where it can be exported for analysis.
11. Question: Are there any privacy concerns with collecting geolocation data?
12. Answer: Yes, privacy concerns are significant. It's essential to inform users about the data collection and adhere to GDPR or other relevant privacy regulations.
13. Question: Can geolocation functionality affect the user experience or form submission rates?
14. Answer: While it may add an extra step for consent, if communicated effectively, it should not significantly impact submission rates.
15. Question: Is programming knowledge required to implement geolocation data collection in Google Forms?
16. Answer: Yes, basic knowledge of JavaScript and Google Script is necessary for integrating geolocation functionality.
17. Question: How does geolocation data collection comply with GDPR?
18. Answer: Compliance involves obtaining clear consent, informing users about the data collection, and providing options to opt-out.
19. Question: Can collected geolocation data be used for marketing analysis?
20. Answer: Yes, with proper consent, geolocation data can be a valuable asset for targeted marketing and regional analysis.

Wrapping Up Geolocation Integration

The integration of geolocation functionality into Google Forms represents a significant leap forward in data collection and analysis. By capturing respondents' locations, form creators can unlock new insights and tailor their strategies more effectively. This approach not only enriches the data collected from surveys and forms but also opens up new possibilities for targeted analysis and decision-making. However, it's crucial to navigate the ethical and privacy considerations associated with geolocation data. Ensuring transparency and securing consent are paramount to maintaining trust and compliance with data protection laws. As technology advances, the potential applications of geolocation data in Google Forms are bound to expand, offering even more innovative ways to harness this valuable information for research, marketing, and beyond. The key to successful implementation lies in the seamless integration of technology while respecting user privacy and leveraging the data responsibly to drive informed decisions.
https://www.tempmail.us.com/en/geolocation/implementing-geolocation-capture-in-google-forms-via-google-script

Last week, General Motors announced that it would end production of the Chevrolet Malibu, which the company first introduced in 1964. Although not exactly a head turner (the Malibu was “so uncool, it was cool,” declared the New York Times), the sedan has become an American fixture, even an icon, appearing in classic films like Say Anything and Pulp Fiction. Over the past 60 years, GM produced some 10 million of them.
With a price starting at a (relatively) affordable $25,100, Malibu sales exceeded 130,000 vehicles last year, a 13% annual increase and enough to rank as the #3 Chevy model, behind only the Silverado and the Equinox. Still, that wasn’t enough to keep the car off GM’s chopping block. The company says that the last Malibu will roll out of its Kansas City, KS, factory this November; the plant will then be retooled to produce the new Chevy Bolt, an electric crossover SUV.
With the Malibu’s demise, GM will no longer sell any sedans in the U.S. In that regard, it will have plenty of company. Ford stopped producing sedans for the U.S. market in 2018. And it was Sergio Marchionne, the former head of Stellantis, who triggered the headlong retreat in 2016 when he declared that Dodge and Chrysler would stop making sedans. (Tesla, meanwhile, offers two sedans: the Model 3 and Model S.)
As recently as 2009, U.S. passenger cars (including sedans and a plunging number of station wagons) outsold light trucks (SUVs, pickups, and minivans), but today they’re less then 20% of new car purchases. The death of the Malibu is confirmation, if anyone still needs it, that the Big Three are done building sedans. That decision is bad news for road users, the environment, and budget-conscious consumers—and it may ultimately come around to bite Detroit.
When asked, automakers are quick to blame the sedan’s decline on shifting consumer preferences. Americans simply want bigger cars, the story goes, and there’s some truth to it. Compared to sedans, many SUV and pickup models provide extra cargo space and give the driver more visibility on the highway. In a crash, those inside a heavier car have a better chance of escaping without injury—although the same can’t be said for pedestrians or those in other vehicles. (That discrepancy inspired a headline in The Onion: “Conscientious SUV Shopper Just Wants Something That Will Kill Family In Other Car In Case Of Accident.”)
This narrative of the market’s dispassionate invisible hand tossing the sedan aside holds intuitive appeal, but it leaves gaping holes. For one thing, federal policy has, in many ways, ]distorted the car market to favor larger vehicles](https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/24139147/suvs-trucks-popularity-federal-policy-pollution). Fuel economy regulations, for instance, are more lenient for SUVs and pickups than they are for smaller cars, nudging automakers to produce more of the former and fewer of the latter. Another egregious example: Small business owners such as real estate agents can save thousands of dollars by writing off the cost of their vehicle—but only if it weighs more than 6,000 pounds, a stipulation that effectively excludes sedans entirely.
Carmakers, for their part, powerfully influence consumer demand through billions of dollars spent on advertising. Because SUVs and pickups are more expensive and profitable than sedans, manufacturers have a clear incentive to tilt buying decisions away from small cars and toward larger ones (which helps explain ad campaigns designed to confer an undeserved green halo on SUVs).
Even those who don’t want a big car may feel pressure to upsize, if only to avoid being at a disadvantage in a crash or when trying to see what lies ahead on the road. Such people find themselves trapped in a prisoner’s dilemma, preferring that everyone had smaller cars, but resigning themselves to buying an SUV or pickup since others already have them.
For all these reasons, modest-size sedans like the Malibu are disappearing from American streets, supplanted by SUVs and pickups that seem to grow bulkier with every model refresh. (The Chevy Bolts produced at GM’s Kansas plant will be bigger than the previous Bolt model, which was retired last year.) This pattern of ongoing vehicle expansion, a trend I call car bloat, is especially advanced in North America, but it’s visible worldwide. In 2022, SUVs alone comprised 46% of global car sales, up from 20% a decade earlier.
From a societal perspective, the decline of the sedan is a disaster. Consider road safety, an area where the U.S. underperforms compared to the rest of the rich world, especially for pedestrians and cyclists (deaths for both recently hit 40-year highs). Larger cars have bigger blind spots, convey more force in a collision, and tend to strike a person’s torso rather than their legs. They’re also heavier, with propulsion systems that guzzle more gasoline (or electrons) to move, producing more pollution in the process. Their weight also catalyzes the erosion of tires and roads, spewing microscopic particles that can damage human health as well as aquatic ecosystems.
Despite the myriad problems of car bloat, the federal government has taken no steps to restrain it. In the absence of regulations or taxes, carmakers have ample reason to abandon their sedan models in favor of SUVs and trucks. The higher margins of larger cars is especially precious now, as the Big Three scrabble for money to invest in electrification and autonomous technology, as well as to pay for the rising costs of wages and benefits that they agreed to last fall during negotiations with the United Auto Workers.
Realistically, it would be a Herculean task to pivot back toward selling small cars, even if American automakers wanted to. Although adept at selling high-priced, feature-laden SUVs and trucks, they’re far less experienced at the low-margin, high volume business of producing cheaper small cars. That is one reason (though hardly the only one) that China’s booming market for EVs, including many modest-size and affordable models, is sowing fear throughout Detroit—and in Washington, too.
Where does the shift from sedans toward SUVs and trucks leave everyday Americans? With a strained wallet, for one thing. With its MSRP starting at $25,100 the Malibu has been one of the most affordable U.S.-produced cars, costing barely half as much as the average new vehicle, which exceeded $47,000 in February (the Malibu is also at least a few thousand dollars cheaper than the Bolt that will replace it at the Kansas factory).
Especially when factoring in higher interest rates and spiking insurance premiums, cars are becoming a financial strain for many Americans. According to the federal Bureau of Transportation Statistics, the average annual, inflation-adjusted cost of owning a vehicle and driving it 15,000 miles hit $12,182 in 2023, an increase of over 30% in just six years.
Over time, the elimination of sedans leaves the Big Three vulnerable if consumer preferences shift away from enormity. “Legacy car companies haven’t done a great job of thinking long term,” said Alex Roy, a cohost of the Autonocast podcast. “Gutting lineups is probably good for manufacturing efficiency, but not having one vehicle in a given product segment is short-sighted.”
Due to sprawled development patterns and woefully underfunded transit, many American families will still want a car even as they become more expensive. But, as I argued previously in Fast Company, a surge in vehicle prices could compel some households to swap a second or third car for a minicar or e-cargo bike that offers limited range, but costs only a fraction as much. Already, golf carts are popping up in places far removed from the retirement and beach communities where they have been a mainstay: In New Orleans, they’ve become so popular that the city is adopting new ordinances.
With the Malibu’s death, is clearer than ever that Detroit has abandoned the affordable sedan. They may yet live to regret it.

I am currently in the process of applying to an apartment complex. I have not yet been approved or signed a lease. I don't know if this complex is subject to the FHA (or how to find out?) but they offer subsidized units for low income, and ADA compliant units.
Today I went in to fix a form I had filled out incorrectly. I also brought my ESA letter, vax records and municipality dog license receipt. After filling out the new form, I presented the letter to her.
I did not inform her that I had a dog when I filled out the app initially and dropped off my app fee.
She absolutely blew up. She swore at me, and she called me deceitful. She asked my diagnosis and I told her I have an anxiety disorder. She said anxiety is an excuse and that she'd be calling my doctor. She accused me of faking to avoid paying a pet deposit.
I did my best to remain calm, but I told her the listing said no pets, and I was worried my application would be ignored in favor of another applicant if I had dropped the letter off immediately.
At the end of the meeting she had me pick a move in date, and I told her I was ready ASAP.
An hour or so after I left, she called me and said that I had checked "no" under pets, and asked if I was aware I could be denied for falsifying information. I told her to call me back once she figured out whether I was denied or approved.
Can I be denied if I indicated no pets on the application? I was under the impression that an ESA is not considered a pet.

QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise 22.0/23.0 Management Guide

Overview

I have been maintaining QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise for several years now and have put together this guide on how to deploy the base app and the webpatches to users using Intune. I hope someone else finds this information useful.

• This works for versions **22.0** & **23.0**.
  
• You may reference this guide in an attempt to manage versions prior to 22.0.
  

Before you build your installation and patching packages you will want to make sure you have some necessary tools ready and that you are familiar with how to use them.

Required Tools

PSAppDeployToolkit (PSADT)

You will be using PSADT to do the bulk of the deployment work. You will want to get familiar with this tool if you are not already.

• The PSAppDeployToolkit is a framework for deploying applications in a business or corporate environment.
  
• It offers a set of functions for common application deployment tasks and user interface elements for end-user interaction during a deployment.
  
• The toolkit aims to simplify the complex scripting challenges of deploying applications and to provide a consistent deployment experience.
  
• Download PSAppDeployToolkit at [https://github.com/PSAppDeployToolkit/PSAppDeployToolkit/releases/\](https://github.com/PSAppDeployToolkit/PSAppDeployToolkit/releases/).
  

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT)

• The Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) is a free tool for automating Windows and Windows Server operating system deployment, leveraging the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) for Windows 10.
  
• Version 8456 was released on January 25th 2019 and is the latest current version.
  
• Download the MDT at [https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=54259\](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=54259)
  

For managing QuickBooks with Intune, we are after a specific tool within this toolkit. We will be using the **ServiceUI.exe** tool.

Microsoft Win32 Content Prep Tool

You should already be familiar with this tool. If not, it is a simple tool to understand and use, so do not feel intimidated. This is what you will be using to package everything into a single **.intunewin** file that will be uploaded to Intune.

• Requires .NET Framework 4.7.2
  
• Download at [https://github.com/microsoft/Microsoft-Win32-Content-Prep-Tool\](https://github.com/microsoft/Microsoft-Win32-Content-Prep-Tool)
  

Building The Deployment Package

Download QuickBooks Installer

We need to download a current installer for our QuickBooks application. Visit the QuickBooks download center at [https://downloads.quickbooks.com/app/qbdt/products\](https://downloads.quickbooks.com/app/qbdt/products)
Select your version and download. This is also where you will download the QBwebpatch.exe patch installer that you need for installing updates.

Prepare PSADT

If you haven't already, download the current version of PSADT, extract, and stage the files to repackage for Intune.
Place the **QuickBooksEnterprise2X.exe** into the **Files** folder of the PSADT structure.

Modify Deploy-Application.ps1

You need to make some modificatons to the deploy script of PSADT. Enter the following commands under each corresponding section of the script.

Installation Tasks

Here you need to enter the following installation command for the **QuickBooksEnterprise23.exe** installer.
```

Execute-Process -Path "$dirFiles\QuickBooksEnterprise22.exe" -Arguments "-s", "-a", "QBMIGRATOR=1", "MSICOMMAND=/s", "QB_PRODUCTNUM=XXXXXX", "QB_LICENSENUM=XXXXXXXXXXXXXX"
```

Post-Installation Tasks

Here we will enable the XPS document writer with the following command.
```

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName “Printing-XPSServices-Features” -Online -NoRestart
```

Uninstallation Tasks

Enter the following command to trigger the uninstall script.
```

Execute-Process -Path "$dirFiles\uninstall.cmd"
```

Post-Uninstallation Tasks

Enter the following command to disable the XPS document writer.
```

Disable-WindowsOptionalFeature -FeatureName "Printing-XPSServices-Features" -Online -NoRestart
```
You may make any other modifications you choose if you are comfortable working with the deploy script. Depending on your environment, there may be other tasks you need to perform to get the install to complete successfully.

Create Uninstall Script

You will need to navigate through the registry to get the uninstallation string that is used during the uninstall process for your version of QuickBooks.
Install QuickBooks on a computer temporarily if you do not have it installed somewhere already.
The uninstall string for QuickBooks Desktop Enterprise can be found at:
`HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall`
The registry entry for it will have a product ID for its name. Look through them until you find the one for QuickBooks.
Copy the **UninstallString** entry value and paste it onto a notepad editor to build the script.

Use the "/passive" parameter at the end of the uninstall string. This will present the user with a small progress bar during the uninstallation process, but requires no additional interaction.

Your complete uninstall command should look something like this below. Save it as a .cmd file to the **Files** fold of the PSADT structure.
```
msiexec.exe /x {B9BE758E-50B5-4BA7-987B-63184123AA1A} UNIQUE_NAME="belcontractor" QBFULLNAME="QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions: Contractor Edition 22.0" ADDREMOVE=1 /passive
```

Add ServiceUI.exe

This package will be running the the SYSTEM context. In order for the uninstall process to work properly the **ServiceUI.exe** tool needs to be added to the root of your PSADT structure.
This tool is part of **MDT** and can be downloaded from the link provided at the top of this guide.
After you download and install the MDT, you will find the **ServiceUI.exe** in `C:\Program Files\Microsoft Deployment Toolkit\Templates\Distribution\Tools\x64`
Copy and paste it into your PSADT pacakge where your **Deploy-Application.ps1** script is.

Wrap with Win32 Content Prep Tool

Now you are ready to wrap it all up into the .intunewin file format so it can be uploaded to Intune.
Select the **Deploy-Application.exe** as the setup file when packaging with the tool. Depending on your computers hardware, it can take a few minutes for it to complete and the app to be ready to upload.

Upload to Intune

Configure Application

Navigate to the Intune portal to create a new Windows application and upload the freshly packaged app.
Enter details to name the application and give it a description. Included with this guide is a description markdown file that you can use if you wish. I have also included an app logo .png image file.
When configuring the app make sure to set install behavior to **System**.
Use the following Install and uninstall commands.
```

Install Command

Deploy-Application.exe -DeploymentType "Install" -DeployMode "Silent"

Uninstall command

.\ServiceUI.exe -Process:explorer.exe Deploy-Application.exe -DeploymentType "Uninstall" -DeployMode "Silent"
```

Detection Method

The detection method can be done a number of ways. For ease and reliability I have only provided the basic detection of the .exe after installation/uninstallation.

• Rule Type: File
  
• Path: `C:\Program Files\Intuit\QuickBooks Enterprise Solutions 22.0\`
  
• File: `QBW.EXE`
  
• Detection method: `File or folder exists`
  

That's it. You're all set to assign the app and test installing it on a computer.
Please note, depending on your bandwidth and network environment, it can take several minutes for the package to download and install.
If you run into failures, make sure you have logging enabled for PSADT to make troubleshooting failures a breeze.

QBWebpatch.exe

Prepare Files

I came up with a simpe file creation command that places a "log" file on the computer after successfully running the update installer.
This can be used for future detections if you ever update the app with a newer QBwebpatch.exe. Simply set your detection to look for the log file and its last modified date.
```
u/echo off
for /f "tokens=2 delims==" %%I in ('wmic os get localdatetime /format:list') do set datetime=%%I
set datetime=%datetime:~0,4%-%datetime:~4,2%-%datetime:~6,2% %datetime:~8,2%:%datetime:~10,2%:%datetime:~12,2%
echo Update installed %datetime% > "C:\Users\Public\qbupdate.log"
```
Intuit offers the **QBwebpatch.exe** installer that installs all updates for that version that are availalbe at time of installation.
This .exe can be downloaded from the QuickBooks downloads page mentioned at the beginning of this guide.
You will package it the same way we did the parent app. Use the below commands for the **Deploy-Application.ps1** script and **Intune** install/uninstall tasks and commands.
```

Install tasks

Execute-Process -Path "en_qbwebpatch.exe" -Parameter "/silent" -IgnoreExitCodes "1"

Execute-Process -Path "log.cmd"
```

Upload to Intune

Create another app for the update installer. Make sure to set it to System install.
Use the following install/uninstall commands and detection method.
```

Install command

.\ServiceUI.exe -Process:explorer.exe Deploy-Application.exe -DeploymentType "Install" -DeployMode "Silent"

Uninstall Command

Deploy-Application.exe -DeploymentType "Uninstall" -DeployMode "Silent"
```
**File Detection Method**

• Path: `C:\Users\Public`
  
• File: `qbupdate.log`
  
• Detection Method: `Date modified`
  
• Operator: `Greater than or equal to`
  

You're ready to test. The update installer has a "silent" mode, but it is not truly silent. Running it with the `/silent` parameter will hide the first screen, but the user still needs to click on a prompt to install the update when it's ready.

So we heard about this pretty "reputable" group from a few guys one night on discord, heard they were pretty quick & reasonably priced but ALSO heard some negative stuff about them. So as any typical young adult - we decided to say fuck it & actually order something from these guys. I'll admit some stuff did seem a bit off but for the shits & giggles we went ahead anyway - this is everything we went through that following night
Lets start with some PROS's First
1 -Presentation ,
So Upon First Glance their group looks a bit better then other people we've seen on here, from janky weak ass screenshots to everything posted being in broken english. Makes you feel like someone knows what they're doing & how to make it work. Good layout & easy to see their work of them doing actual orders, vouches from people , & even reviews like ours! So def no shortage of content
2 - Communication / Working With Them Was OKAY! , Heres Why
So After going over their work , seeing what they had to offer & just trying to read up and sift through everything before placing a final order we decided to talk to some staff , members , & previous cusomters. They have really good energy & dont treat you like a damn dog because you're not rushing to blindly send them your $ just willingly. They also went over how everything works & answered EVERY question without needing $.
3 - The Process & How This Actually Works
So After digging & double checking every nook & cranny for proof we may have missed / talking to folks - we finally placed an order , & went on to receive a slot , ticket # , & even an update bot giving us live updates along the way! So we felt re-assured that everything was going smoothly. So YES they actually take care of people if you give them reason to trust you. We Received the media and they made sure everything was a go before moving onto their next person!
Now, We CANNOT Just Go Over The Good, There's 2 Sides To Every Story! HERE"S THE CON"S!

1. Sometimes, Updates & Content Posted Is Inconsistent

Nothing like a good service , but slow & inconsistency to ruin its image. not saying that makes them any less skilled but if youre going to manage a group of thousands of members - hire some more staff to keep it up to date. Sometimes i wonder if anyone's even doing orders some days. Makes keeping up with them a pain in the ass

1. Prices

I understand the amount of work , resources used , labor all does add up & people have to be paid for these things - but it can cost a mans left nut to bust one if you were looking for just a quick vid or 2 from that girl you had a crush on. You can't individually just pick stuff either. its either all or nothing when you want MEO pulls or Acc Access so just remember that. If you're a member or have admins vouch you're able to get a 50% off discount.
3 Crashing & Errors - Sometimes LOTS Of Them.
Now, every business has its own issues within itself, but holyyy shit when we had an issue accessing one of the folders i was close to saying fuck it and leaving it be. A simple bind costed us 2-3 hours of additional time , chatting 2 new staff members (being transfered around) & also having to free up space & update my phone to get access to EVERYTHING we got! It might not sound as bad as it seems but when you're ready to start the night & you keep getting pushed back
IN CONCLUSION >> 8.7 / 10 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ STARS!)

• A lot of people messaged us to dive in & give our honest opinion when rating these guys. They aren't super squeaky error free but most of us aren't perfect. IF you're okay with spending a little extra for a fun night , need answers in your relationship, or just wanna screw around?

In Canada...
I have a good, 8-letter .com domain that's an excellent brand match for a project I'd like to start working on.
I've been considering filing for a trademark for a few years, but I don't know if it's smart or stupid to file for a trademark in Canada before I've used the name commercially. There are a few specific things I don't understand.
Can I register a trademark under my personal name and transfer it to a company in the future? Easily? I've read that it can be complicated.
If I have a product that falls under a specific class (42) and it fails, can I use my trademark to fallback to offering services in the same class?
Do I need to worry about front-runners? I'm worried that filing for a trademark in Canada might be nothing more than a signal to bad actors that could use a more streamlined process to usurp a decent sounding tech name. Is that paranoia or a legit concern? When I search trademark databases I see all kinds of ridiculous things like people trying to trademark terms like "Nike" for obscure classes.
Can I buy my way out of the slow process in the future by setting up the right corporate structure in another country? What would that look like and (roughly) what kind of money would be involved?
My biggest concern is the delay in the Canadian trademark system. My normal thought process says that it's dumb to think about trademarks without having a concrete plan for getting to a sellable product, but the backlog worries me. I know there are efforts to clear the backlog and I think my project would be on the pick-list allowing for expediated processing (if they implemented that).
I'm not looking for concrete advice. I'll find a lawyer to ask if I need that. I'm more interested in opinions. The project I have planned is a bit of a long shot, but it's something I can mostly build on my own, so the bulk of the cost is my time.
I guess the biggest thing for me is I wonder if I'm at a disadvantage if I don't have a ton of money to throw at trademarks. How much does the system favor people / busineses where money isn't an issue? Am I stupid if I try to get a basic trademark without any kind of corporate structure or the ability to file in multiple juristictions?
It basically comes down to spending on marketing vs trademarking. There's no point in having a trademark for a DOA product, right? To give a hypothetical number, say you had $10k to promote a product. Would you spend $2k on trademarks?
Also, there's no way I could afford to defend a trademark at the moment, so does that generally make it a bad idea?

Mr. Steve Lewis
Mr. Patrick McKinney
Mr. Bryan Freiermuth
c/o Gideons 1898 LLC et al
1600 East Buena Vista Drive

A

Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
May 10th, 2024
Final Demand
Gentlemen,
There is an odor most foul in the Bakehouse. It is the stench of the fish rotting from the head.
To our proprietor Steve, and our managers Bryan and Patrick:
There is dissension within the ranks, and if the following items are not resolved as we outline
below, we’re prepared to drag this house of cards to the ground.
Before we proceed with our grievances, numerous and shocking, and the demands to resolve
them; allow us a moment for introductions.
We, are the Ghosts of Gideons, the poor and unfortunate souls upon whom you have built your
cookie empire. We are the many, the unseen, and as of the disastrous meeting May 6th, 2024, the
decidedly unheard.
Many of us have approached management and ownership multiple times with helpful hints,
strong suggestions, and desperate pleas to rectify a myriad of health, safety and operational
concerns- with nearly all of them being dismissed or ignored entirely.
Now, we, the collective, have banded together to deliver this tome- not as a warning of what is to
come, but as a final demand to resolve the issues outlined herein. You may dismiss us
individually, but you cannot ignore all of us together.
Make no mistake, if the following solutions are not implemented with immediate effect, we will
do everything in our power to topple this cookie castle permanently.
We should start by informing you, that, yes- we are but lowly workers for Gideons, however, we
are supported by families who hold prominent positions in the community as lawyers, labor
1
representatives, publicists, and county government workers. Families who love us, and want to
see us remain safely and fairly employed.
Through our vast, and well connected network the following steps have already been
implemented:
1) A lawsuit for your numerous unfair and unsafe labor practices and work conditions has
been drafted.
2) A press release, along with a copy of this letter, have been sent to local and national
media.
3) We have created social channels to connect directly with customers and inform them of
the reprehensible work conditions we are enduring.
4) We have filed health and safety reports with local government bodies detailing the
extensive issues we are faced with at the Springs location.
5) We have informed Disney Springs leadership of our position relating to the above, and
below in this letter.
In all cases, these competent bodies are awaiting our word. If the demands listed herein are not
satisfied immediately, we will, in tandem with the above, begin a campaign to inform the world
of your numerous transgressions, filing lawsuits and media coverages exposing you and the
Company for the shill that it is, and we will not stop until the Bakehouse bakes no more.
We should also mention that should any attempt be made to retaliate against us, including
termination, reducing our hours, benefits, or taking other pervasive actions against any Gideons
employee, will promptly result in our bringing legal class-action.
The time has come for you, our leaders, to actually lead. This means spending money where
money must be spent, and making the following operational changes, so that we can all continue
to exist in harmony, and not feel like we’re trapped on an 1800’s plantation- working for the big
house.
1) Communication- How dare you drag the entire workforce to a 9AM meeting,
demanding our presence, and then talk directly at us with the most mundane drivel we’ve
ever heard. Everything dictated today could have been very well sent as an email-
especially when you did not allow for any discussion between us, the workers who
actually make your business run, and the disconnected upper-management who are hell
bent on implementing misguided and inefficient policies. Do not call us in for a
mandatory meeting again when the points can be covered in an email, unless you intend
to open the floor for actual conversation and listen to what we have to say.
2
To that end, since our voices were silenced this morning, we demand the following:
● Cold Brew- We will not adopt the ‘bartender’ shaking style of preparing the cold
brew drinks. When we have 10+ beverages queuing to be made, shaking each
drink 10 times will severely impact our ability to be efficient. This is but one
example of Steve’s desire to have ‘form over function’. We understand there may
be a ‘look’ you’re going for, but when it compromises our ability to efficiently
perform our function, we refuse. We demand to be allowed to resume our ‘stir
stick’ preparation immediately.
● Point System/ Order Accuracy- Under no circumstance should Management take
the side of the Guest over the word of the employee. Too often we see guests
complain that an order was incorrect, and Management issues a point to an
employee. This must stop immediately. We demand you implement a ‘please
check your screen for order accuracy’ procedure where the guest confirms their
order before they pay, and remove the ‘point’ system. If the guest confirms the
order, it reduces the possibility for an inaccurate order.
● Inconsistent/ Inaccurate menu boards and Social Postings- The inside Menu
Board has been outdated for nearly two years. It must be updated immediately to
remove items we no longer sell (IE Coke Products) and ingredient offerings (IE
Banana WALNUT). By correctly labeling the items, it reduces the stress on us in
having to confirm that certain items have nuts, or not being yelled at by guests
who are disgruntled that we no longer sell Coke products. Further, there are
multiple social media inaccuracies when describing new products (IE peanut
butter buttercream, VS the actual peanut butter cream cheese). These inaccurate
product descriptions hurt the brand, and cause confusion with the guests when
they come to order these products. Also the new umbrellas are not UV resistant;
therefore any mention of them ‘protecting you from the sun’ is false, and may
result in legal action from guests. We demand you only post accurate descriptions
to the website/ social media to avoid further guest/ employee confrontation.
● HR- Given the fact that Cynthia engaged in using racial slurs during the May 6th
meeting, referring to guests as gypsies and hoodlums, we demand her firing and
removal immediately. Multiple members of staff were deeply offended by the
hurtful stereotypes that Cynthia perpetuated, and we no longer have any trust in
her ability to lead this organization, especially from a HR perspective, when she
herself seems to harbor unfair and demeaning racial views.
● Management- We cannot express with limited words the level of dissatisfaction
we maintain for Drew. The staff, in our entirety, have never dealt with such
incompetent, slothful, and wasteful behavior. Drew consistently stays on his
phone, refusing to help the team accomplish any of their tasks, and barely exudes
a modicum of effort through his rare action of helping build cake boxes or taking
out trash before disembarking on a break (which none us other managers/leads are
3
cookie king, bringing in circa $40,000 per day, affording you a life of luxury, and not
fairly compensate the employees that are making Gideons everything that it is. The
cookies are good, but make no mistake, as was stated during the May 6th meeting, the
customers come for us. I can’t imagine what they’ll say when they learn about the
slave-like conditions in which we work, especially with Auntie Anne’s earning $18 per
hour + tips.
3) Hours- Part time is up to 30 hours per week, full time is 30 hours or more. We must have
a guaranteed number of hours per week, pending our availability. For example, if a
full-time employee has open availability, they must be scheduled for 40 hours. If a
part-time person has open availability, they must be scheduled for up to 30 hours per
week. This is to ensure we have a stable and uniform weekly income, guaranteed by our
base pay and consistent hours.
4) On Call- All shifts that are ‘on- call’ must be guaranteed a full 8 hour shift, regardless if
the employee is called into work or not. We clear our day and make ourselves available to
cover the Company, and we demand to be compensated a full 8 hours ($16 per hour) for
the flexibility to suit the Company’s needs.
5) Pay Protection- In the event that the store is closed for any reason, employees currently
scheduled to be working during the closure must receive all payment for the shifts they
were scheduled for. If the AC goes out again, and we’re down for several days, those of
us scheduled must receive full compensation for shifts as scheduled.
3) Health & Safety- While it seems that Gideon’s is based primarily on the ‘cool factor’ in how
our processes look from a customer perspective, we are still a fully functioning kitchen and retail
location with a haphazard health and safety process, at best.
To ensure a properly safe workplace and customer experience, we demand the following changes
immediately:
1) Shorts/ Heat Safety Prevention- We’ve been told time and time again that the ‘Disney
Contract’ we cannot wear shorts. After having multiple conversations with Disney
Springs leadership and the Unite Here 362 representatives, we have come to understand
that a change in uniform can be initiated by amendment. No longer can the ‘look’ of
something overpower the safety of us. In terms of being outside in the sunlight and heat,
we demand that the contract be amended immediately to account for a uniform change,
thus allowing us to wear shorts within the next five days. It is dangerous for us to be
outside in the heat and sunlight during high-heat (more than 70 degrees fahrenheit) days,
wearing all black and long pants. We are unwilling to compromise our personal health
and safety to appease your ‘style guide’ insisting on long pants, but we’re happy to
maintain a look via style guide for shorts. In addition, we have seen multiple large/
battery operated fans in use around Disney property, keeping other Cast cool during these
heat waves. We demand that large fans are procured and placed in strategic outside
5
locations within the next 5 days, so that we may have respite during high temp days. The
cooling towels and neck fans you have provided are ineffective.
2) Egress- We bakers are trapped. There is no second means of fire egress from the kitchen,
and should a fire or other disaster occur with the ovens, we would be trapped and unable
to escape. We demand you add in additional egress from the bakery, into the outside
alley. We understand this will require planning and stairs, however, planning must be
commenced immediately. We will not work in an unsafe environment, and with no place
to escape in the event of an emergency, we will be burned alive.
3) Handicap accessibility- Our retail location does not comply with ADA mobility
standards. The counters must be moved to allow an employee who utilizes a wheelchair
or other mobility device the proper space to move behind the counters and throughout the
kitchen. While yes, a wheelchair will ‘fit’, they will be unable to properly move. We are
discriminating against hiring ADA employees due to the way the store is currently
overcrowded and built. We demand proper spacing be added within the next 90 days.
4) Safety Training & Procedures- As of right now Operations have not developed any safety
or training procedures relating to fire, bomb threat, active shooter, lighting/ rain, accident
or other hazard. We are provided with no training in the event of any of these
emergencies, and we are all woefully unprepared with a common knowledge of how to
address emergency situations. We demand that a safety plan be developed and provided
to each of us in writing, and that we receive sufficient training of the new procedures
within 14 days.
5) Sanitation- Our baking sheets never get cleaned. We demand that you hire an outside
vendor to pick up used equipment nightly at close, and deliver a clean set at the same
time, so that we may rotate clean equipment daily. It is too large a task for us to wash in
house, and this needs to be automated for us. Our current sanitation procedure is
inadequate to ensure proper health and safety standards.
6) Bathroom breaks- Many of us suffer from various biological disabilities that force
frequent trips to the restroom. We simply cannot ‘hold it’ until we’re on break. IF we
need to go to the restroom, we must be immediately accommodated to do so without
repercussions. While this is not common, it does happen, and must be allowed.
6
Demand Timeline:
May 11th- Cold Brew BartendeShaking preparation is disbanded, stir stick preparation is
reimplemented.
May 11th- Cynthia is terminated immediately for using racial slurs during a company meeting.
May 11th- Drew is demoted as manager immediately for failure to act as a leader, and help his
team, undergoing an immense retraining before he is reinstated.
May 12th- All employees earn a base rate of $16 + tip share.
May 12th- An automatic/ mandatory 7.5% gratuity is placed on all guest orders.
May 12th- All ‘on call’ shifts will be guaranteed a full 8 hours ($16 p/h), regardless of working
or not.
May 12th- Lead/ Trainer pay to increase to at least $19 per hour when training, and $18 per hour
at all other times + tip share.
May 11th- Planning for additional egress to begin. Must be fully installed and operational no
later than June 20th, 2024.
May 17th- A $1,200 bonus is paid to all employees who worked during the last three pay
periods. This bonus covers the lower wages suffered from the ‘no tip’ asking policy.
May 13th- Schedules to be created, guaranteeing all ‘part-time’ employees up to 30 hours per
week based on employee availability, and ‘full-time’ employees at least 40 hours per week,
based on employee availability.
May 14th- Commercial grade fans outside submitted for approval to Disney, installed upon
approval.
May 15th- Shorts implemented for all workers, all shifts, when the outside temperature is more
than 70 degrees fahrenheit.
May 14th- Sanitation company must be contracted to pick up used baking sheets nightly, and a
second set of baking sheets to be procured to ensure sufficient sanitation of products in direct
contact with food.
May 24th- All health & safety procedures will be drafted and provided to all employees in
writing, with in-person training to occur with all employees. New hires shall receive the new
procedures and same in person training as a part of their onboarding.
August 4th- Handicap/ADA compliance. The store and kitchen must be rearranged/ decluttered
to allow for the hiring of mobility device users, including wheelchairs, to comply with ADA
layout requirements.
7
While the above demands only scratch a portion of the hazardous operational procedures, we are
confident that should they all be addressed and the solutions we have demanded are implemented
within the allotted timelines, we can avoid a disastrous fallout and continue to work together to
ensure Gideons remains a successful operation.
We understand that this will most likely come as a shock, not less because ownership and
operations seem to be blissfully unaware of the vast deterioration, but moreover, the inane
procedural overhauls implemented in today’s meeting simply reek of disconnection to the reality
of the process, and will only serve to further delay and complicate the already struggling
operation.
It is time to see beyond all of the narcissistic ‘it looks cool, so we’re going to do it my way’
absurdity, and recognize that the above demands come from your soldiers on the frontlines. A
tough pill to swallow, but it is medicine critical to survival, nevertheless. We further recommend
that all upper management leadership work at least one eight hour, front of house shift per six
months, to ensure they remain fully connected and relevant.
We must issue a final word of warning: should this letter be ignored, or any of the above
demands are not implemented, or any retaliatory action be taken, it will be met with the most
severe consequences.
We know that you are amassing a fortune, and all we Ghosts ask for is a fair wage, a safe and
comfortable working environment, and to be treated with dignity and respect.
We’d hate for the adoring public to learn of any other reality. This is your one, final, opportunity
to make it right.
We look forward to your prompt email reply confirming your plan of action to comply with our
demands herein.
In Solidarity,
The Ghosts of Gideons.

In the ever-expanding realm of technology, cloud computing stands as a beacon of innovation, revolutionizing the way businesses operate and individuals interact with data. As the landscape of cloud computing continues to evolve, it’s crucial to stay abreast of the latest research topics driving this evolution. Join us as we delve into the forefront of cloud computing research and explore the trends shaping its future.
Cloud Computing: Revolutionizing the Digital Landscape
Cloud computing has emerged as a transformative force, offering unparalleled scalability, flexibility, and accessibility to organizations worldwide. From small startups to multinational corporations, businesses are leveraging cloud technologies to streamline operations, enhance collaboration, and drive innovation.
Project in Cloud Computing: Exploring Boundless Possibilities
The realm of cloud computing projects is vast and diverse, offering myriad opportunities for exploration and innovation. Whether it’s optimizing cloud infrastructure, enhancing data security, or leveraging emerging technologies like serverless computing and edge computing, there’s no shortage of exciting project topics to delve into.
Cloud Computing Project Topics: A Glimpse into the Future
From AI-driven resource management to blockchain-enabled cloud services, the potential project topics in cloud computing are limitless. Here are a few intriguing areas ripe for exploration:
Serverless Computing: Revolutionizing application development and deployment.
Edge Computing Integration: Enabling real-time processing and analysis at the network edge.
AI-driven Resource Management: Dynamic allocation of resources for optimal performance.
Blockchain-enabled Cloud Services: Enhancing security and transparency in cloud environments.
M. Tech Thesis Writing Services In India: Crafting Academic Excellence
For M. Tech students embarking on their thesis journey, expert guidance and support are paramount. Our M. Tech thesis writing services in India offer personalized assistance tailored to your research interests and objectives, ensuring academic excellence and scholarly rigor every step of the way.
Trending Research Topic in Cloud Computing: Unveiling the Future
Amidst the ever-changing landscape of cloud computing, one research topic emerges as particularly intriguing: “Federated Learning in Edge Clouds.” This cutting-edge field explores the convergence of edge computing and machine learning, promising groundbreaking advancements in privacy-preserving model training and real-time data analysis.
Conclusion: Embracing Innovation in the Cloud Computing
As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, staying ahead of the curve is more important than ever. By exploring the latest research topics in cloud computing and embracing innovation, we can unlock new possibilities, drive transformative change, and shape the future of technology together.
Join us on this journey as we navigate the cloud and uncover the limitless potential it holds for the future. Let’s explore, innovate, and transform the digital landscape together. For more information visit our website www.e2matrix.com.

I’m a Business MIS major and I was supposed to graduate this year. Spoke to an advisor and they told me my grad time pushed back to spring of 2026. That’s an extra 2 years that I can’t afford. I was told I have about 20ish credits left to take, and i’m wondering if there is anyway I can speed up the process and graduate by 2025.
I have a few questions:

• am i able to take NOVA classes that offer 6 week courses since I know that mason doesn’t really have that option besides summer classes that are 4 week
  
• should i transfer to a different school to speed things up, and if that’s an option, which school would you recommend for my major? (obviously I will need to make sure my credits transfer over, or that defeats the whole process of speeding things up)
  

-any in general recommendations on what to do?
Thanks!!

Hello Friends,
I, like many of you own a small business LLC with about 8 Employees.
They work at the different job sites, so they never have to come in to a physical office to work.
However, I recently leased a personal 800 SF office space for me to do work and to seperate work from home life.
I have a desk, TV linked to my monitors on the wall in front of me, some chairs, and am in the process of filling out the space.
I would like to hang up some nice memorabilia / frames of company documentation to glance at and feel a little more at home and professional.
For example, a Law Office may have their Law Degree, their college degree, and other Law Awards they have gained over the years on their office wall.
I didn’t go to college - started this company when I was 18 and am blessed that it has worked out, so I am not sure what I should hang up?
The only one I am certain of is the Trademark Certificate for the business name. It looks wonderful and official.
Business licenses may look nice, as I have 6 of them in each city we service, but they are a bit odd in sizing and I’m not sure…
I thought about EIN formation letter, or anything like that but haven’t seen to come to something that makes sense!
Anyways, have some of you LLC owners had the same conundrum and found / decided what to hang in your office business-wise?
Looking forward to hear your advice and thoughts!

A gap analysis helps businesses identify discrepancies between their current state and their desired future state, enabling them to bridge gaps, capitalize on opportunities, and drive growth. In this article, we'll explore why conducting a gap analysis is essential for businesses of all sizes and industries.
Identifying Areas for Improvement:
One of the primary reasons for conducting a gap analysis is to identify areas where a business is falling short of its goals or objectives. By comparing current performance metrics, processes, and outcomes with desired benchmarks or industry standards, businesses can pinpoint areas for improvement. Whether it's inefficiencies in operations, gaps in product offerings, or shortcomings in customer service, a gap analysis sheds light on areas that require attention and intervention.
Aligning Strategies with Goals:
A gap analysis helps businesses ensure alignment between their strategies and goals. By assessing the gap between current performance and desired outcomes, businesses can evaluate the effectiveness of their strategies and make adjustments as needed. This alignment ensures that resources, efforts, and investments are directed toward activities that support overarching business objectives, driving progress and success.
Capitalizing on Opportunities:
In addition to highlighting areas for improvement, a gap analysis also identifies opportunities for growth and expansion. By identifying gaps between current capabilities and market demands, businesses can uncover opportunities to innovate, diversify, or enter new markets. Whether it's launching new products, expanding into untapped customer segments, or entering new geographical regions, a gap analysis enables businesses to capitalize on emerging opportunities and stay ahead of the competition.
Enhancing Competitiveness:
Conducting a gap analysis is essential for businesses to maintain competitiveness in the marketplace. By benchmarking their performance against industry peers or best practices, businesses can assess their competitive position and identify areas where they lag behind competitors. This insight enables businesses to implement strategies to close the gap, differentiate themselves, and maintain a competitive edge in the market.
Improving Customer Satisfaction:
A gap analysis helps businesses understand and address gaps in customer satisfaction and experience. By analyzing feedback, complaints, and customer metrics, businesses can identify pain points, preferences, and expectations. This enables businesses to tailor their products, services, and processes to better meet customer needs, enhance satisfaction, and foster loyalty.
Driving Continuous Improvement:
Perhaps the most significant benefit of conducting a gap analysis is its role in driving continuous improvement. By regularly assessing performance, setting benchmarks, and closing gaps, businesses create a culture of learning, adaptation, and innovation. This continuous improvement mindset enables businesses to stay agile, responsive, and resilient in the face of evolving market dynamics and customer preferences.
In today's competitive business landscape, conducting a gap analysis is not just a best practice; it's a strategic imperative. By identifying areas for improvement, aligning strategies with goals, capitalizing on opportunities, enhancing competitiveness, improving customer satisfaction, and driving continuous improvement, businesses can bridge the gap between their current state and their desired future state. Whether it's achieving operational excellence, driving growth, or delighting customers, a gap analysis serves as a roadmap for success, guiding businesses toward their goals and aspirations.

A gap analysis helps businesses identify discrepancies between their current state and their desired future state, enabling them to bridge gaps, capitalize on opportunities, and drive growth. In this article, we'll explore why conducting a gap analysis is essential for businesses of all sizes and industries.
Identifying Areas for Improvement:
One of the primary reasons for conducting a gap analysis is to identify areas where a business is falling short of its goals or objectives. By comparing current performance metrics, processes, and outcomes with desired benchmarks or industry standards, businesses can pinpoint areas for improvement. Whether it's inefficiencies in operations, gaps in product offerings, or shortcomings in customer service, a gap analysis sheds light on areas that require attention and intervention.
Aligning Strategies with Goals:
A gap analysis helps businesses ensure alignment between their strategies and goals. By assessing the gap between current performance and desired outcomes, businesses can evaluate the effectiveness of their strategies and make adjustments as needed. This alignment ensures that resources, efforts, and investments are directed toward activities that support overarching business objectives, driving progress and success.
Capitalizing on Opportunities:
In addition to highlighting areas for improvement, a gap analysis also identifies opportunities for growth and expansion. By identifying gaps between current capabilities and market demands, businesses can uncover opportunities to innovate, diversify, or enter new markets. Whether it's launching new products, expanding into untapped customer segments, or entering new geographical regions, a gap analysis enables businesses to capitalize on emerging opportunities and stay ahead of the competition.
Enhancing Competitiveness:
Conducting a gap analysis is essential for businesses to maintain competitiveness in the marketplace. By benchmarking their performance against industry peers or best practices, businesses can assess their competitive position and identify areas where they lag behind competitors. This insight enables businesses to implement strategies to close the gap, differentiate themselves, and maintain a competitive edge in the market.
Improving Customer Satisfaction:
A gap analysis helps businesses understand and address gaps in customer satisfaction and experience. By analyzing feedback, complaints, and customer metrics, businesses can identify pain points, preferences, and expectations. This enables businesses to tailor their products, services, and processes to better meet customer needs, enhance satisfaction, and foster loyalty.
Driving Continuous Improvement:
Perhaps the most significant benefit of conducting a gap analysis is its role in driving continuous improvement. By regularly assessing performance, setting benchmarks, and closing gaps, businesses create a culture of learning, adaptation, and innovation. This continuous improvement mindset enables businesses to stay agile, responsive, and resilient in the face of evolving market dynamics and customer preferences.
In today's competitive business landscape, conducting a gap analysis is not just a best practice; it's a strategic imperative. By identifying areas for improvement, aligning strategies with goals, capitalizing on opportunities, enhancing competitiveness, improving customer satisfaction, and driving continuous improvement, businesses can bridge the gap between their current state and their desired future state. Whether it's achieving operational excellence, driving growth, or delighting customers, a gap analysis serves as a roadmap for success, guiding businesses toward their goals and aspirations.

A gap analysis helps businesses identify discrepancies between their current state and their desired future state, enabling them to bridge gaps, capitalize on opportunities, and drive growth. In this article, we'll explore why conducting a gap analysis is essential for businesses of all sizes and industries.
Identifying Areas for Improvement:
One of the primary reasons for conducting a gap analysis is to identify areas where a business is falling short of its goals or objectives. By comparing current performance metrics, processes, and outcomes with desired benchmarks or industry standards, businesses can pinpoint areas for improvement. Whether it's inefficiencies in operations, gaps in product offerings, or shortcomings in customer service, a gap analysis sheds light on areas that require attention and intervention.
Aligning Strategies with Goals:
A gap analysis helps businesses ensure alignment between their strategies and goals. By assessing the gap between current performance and desired outcomes, businesses can evaluate the effectiveness of their strategies and make adjustments as needed. This alignment ensures that resources, efforts, and investments are directed toward activities that support overarching business objectives, driving progress and success.
Capitalizing on Opportunities:
In addition to highlighting areas for improvement, a gap analysis also identifies opportunities for growth and expansion. By identifying gaps between current capabilities and market demands, businesses can uncover opportunities to innovate, diversify, or enter new markets. Whether it's launching new products, expanding into untapped customer segments, or entering new geographical regions, a gap analysis enables businesses to capitalize on emerging opportunities and stay ahead of the competition.
Enhancing Competitiveness:
Conducting a gap analysis is essential for businesses to maintain competitiveness in the marketplace. By benchmarking their performance against industry peers or best practices, businesses can assess their competitive position and identify areas where they lag behind competitors. This insight enables businesses to implement strategies to close the gap, differentiate themselves, and maintain a competitive edge in the market.
Improving Customer Satisfaction:
A gap analysis helps businesses understand and address gaps in customer satisfaction and experience. By analyzing feedback, complaints, and customer metrics, businesses can identify pain points, preferences, and expectations. This enables businesses to tailor their products, services, and processes to better meet customer needs, enhance satisfaction, and foster loyalty.
Driving Continuous Improvement:
Perhaps the most significant benefit of conducting a gap analysis is its role in driving continuous improvement. By regularly assessing performance, setting benchmarks, and closing gaps, businesses create a culture of learning, adaptation, and innovation. This continuous improvement mindset enables businesses to stay agile, responsive, and resilient in the face of evolving market dynamics and customer preferences.
In today's competitive business landscape, conducting a gap analysis is not just a best practice; it's a strategic imperative. By identifying areas for improvement, aligning strategies with goals, capitalizing on opportunities, enhancing competitiveness, improving customer satisfaction, and driving continuous improvement, businesses can bridge the gap between their current state and their desired future state. Whether it's achieving operational excellence, driving growth, or delighting customers, a gap analysis serves as a roadmap for success, guiding businesses toward their goals and aspirations.

A gap analysis helps businesses identify discrepancies between their current state and their desired future state, enabling them to bridge gaps, capitalize on opportunities, and drive growth. In this article, we'll explore why conducting a gap analysis is essential for businesses of all sizes and industries.
Identifying Areas for Improvement:
One of the primary reasons for conducting a gap analysis is to identify areas where a business is falling short of its goals or objectives. By comparing current performance metrics, processes, and outcomes with desired benchmarks or industry standards, businesses can pinpoint areas for improvement. Whether it's inefficiencies in operations, gaps in product offerings, or shortcomings in customer service, a gap analysis sheds light on areas that require attention and intervention.
Aligning Strategies with Goals:
A gap analysis helps businesses ensure alignment between their strategies and goals. By assessing the gap between current performance and desired outcomes, businesses can evaluate the effectiveness of their strategies and make adjustments as needed. This alignment ensures that resources, efforts, and investments are directed toward activities that support overarching business objectives, driving progress and success.
Capitalizing on Opportunities:
In addition to highlighting areas for improvement, a gap analysis also identifies opportunities for growth and expansion. By identifying gaps between current capabilities and market demands, businesses can uncover opportunities to innovate, diversify, or enter new markets. Whether it's launching new products, expanding into untapped customer segments, or entering new geographical regions, a gap analysis enables businesses to capitalize on emerging opportunities and stay ahead of the competition.
Enhancing Competitiveness:
Conducting a gap analysis is essential for businesses to maintain competitiveness in the marketplace. By benchmarking their performance against industry peers or best practices, businesses can assess their competitive position and identify areas where they lag behind competitors. This insight enables businesses to implement strategies to close the gap, differentiate themselves, and maintain a competitive edge in the market.
Improving Customer Satisfaction:
A gap analysis helps businesses understand and address gaps in customer satisfaction and experience. By analyzing feedback, complaints, and customer metrics, businesses can identify pain points, preferences, and expectations. This enables businesses to tailor their products, services, and processes to better meet customer needs, enhance satisfaction, and foster loyalty.
Driving Continuous Improvement:
Perhaps the most significant benefit of conducting a gap analysis is its role in driving continuous improvement. By regularly assessing performance, setting benchmarks, and closing gaps, businesses create a culture of learning, adaptation, and innovation. This continuous improvement mindset enables businesses to stay agile, responsive, and resilient in the face of evolving market dynamics and customer preferences.
In today's competitive business landscape, conducting a gap analysis is not just a best practice; it's a strategic imperative. By identifying areas for improvement, aligning strategies with goals, capitalizing on opportunities, enhancing competitiveness, improving customer satisfaction, and driving continuous improvement, businesses can bridge the gap between their current state and their desired future state. Whether it's achieving operational excellence, driving growth, or delighting customers, a gap analysis serves as a roadmap for success, guiding businesses toward their goals and aspirations.

Background: I deleted the original post and my account, but I received a TON of messages from people asking for an update so here it is. A little under a year ago, I made a post sharing that I was part of the mass tech layoffs and so much time had passed that I was forced to live out of of my car. I was able to find a job doing manual labor for a company in the manufacturing industry.
I'm a UX designer that studied design in college and have 5 years of experience. I mostly worked in banking and healthcare.
Update: While doing manual labor at that company, I worked my way up quickly in a short amount of time. I eventually became a PM and a good amount of my job was UX. I was no longer living out of my car and I was able to get an apartment.
Out of nowhere, a very well known company in Silicon Valley reached out to me and convinced me to apply. I told them I wasn't looking for a job, but I'd interview. My thought process was if I get this job, it would help my career because I'd have the title of UX designer on my resume under this very well known company that many people would consider their dream job.
After a very grueling interview process, they made me an offer and I accepted. The pay was more than what I was making and I'd be a designer with a well known tech company. This lasted a few months until the company had mass layoffs. Every person on my team was let go, myself included.
I was shocked because we were extremely busy. No one was just sitting around, there was tons of work to do. I was also shocked because I went from being employed to accepting an offer that I thought would help my career but left me unemployed shortly after starting.
The lesson: Perhaps it's better to be a big fish in a small pond. Job security seems like a perk these days. I had major influence at my last company, helping drive business decisions and being the only designer in an engineering/manufacturing heavy company. I let that go for a job title with a well known company and I paid the price. If I did it once, I could do it again. This time around I need to pay attention to both my physical and mental health.
Good luck to everyone on the job search. I don't plan on keeping this account. I believe in you, keep going!

NOTE: THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE OR A GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL BE REFUNDED. CONSULT AN ATTORNEY IF YOU WANT LEGAL ADVICE.
I'm posting this because 'non-cancellable' or 'mandatory' LoJack fees/agreements are a very common issue for car buyers, and it often feels scammy or unfair. Well, that's because it is.
Let's clarify one item that is very important to distinguish: I did not dispute the placement of the LoJack device in the vehicle before or after the purchase or try to get the cost of this refunded. They will likely disclose that the device is in the car to you before the sale, and the cost is likely built into the price of the car and negligible to you. What actually costs YOU something and what you sign on the dotted line for is the service agreement/warranty.
First, you'll need to read the LoJack agreement very carefully. When I signed for my car, I read the terms which stated that that my LoJack agreement had a 60-day cancellation option. I was entitled to a full dealer-issued refund provided that there were no claims and that I notified them in writing within the initial 60-day period. Also, it said that LoJack could not be used to qualify me either for the sale of the vehicle or for financing. In short... it's cancellable and it's not mandatory, or at least it wasn't based on the agreement provided at this dealership.
I first sent my cancellation/refund request to the finance manager that did my deal with an attached business letter. He responded by saying that I could not cancel it. I was later told it's 'non-cancellable' both on the phone and in writing by the finance director. What they said was a direct and documented violation of the agreement. It didn't take a lawyer to understand the cancellation terms; it was very clear that they were not honoring the contract.
After we exchanged 4-5 emails without making any progress, I started filing complaints. Here's the list of agencies I filed complaints with (note, the names may vary depending on your state, or may not exist at all). Also, it should be noted that *most* of them do not have legally binding mediation or arbitration power; they are simply a channel for the government to provide oversight and to help you resolve your dispute.

• Attorney General
• Consumer Affairs/Protection (state and county if you're in a large enough metro area)
• Department of Motor Vehicles (they often oversee dealerships)
• Office of Financial Regulation (if you financed the vehicle and the LoJack fees*)
• City Attorney

Other people to report them to, to make their lives difficult:

• Better Business Bureau (no authority, but one more touchpoint they may have to deal with)
• Dealership Manufacturer (even if it's a different make/used vehicle - they'll take complaints, but probably won't help you)
• Ownership Group (if owned by a third party or 'supergroup' of dealers - in my case, they actually contacted the dealer with my complaint)

This sounds like a lot of work, but once you type out your case (and be very specific - VIN#, LoJack agreement #, date of transaction, names of employees denying your refund, etc.), you can easily copy and paste it into the forms for the appropriate agencies. I also attached my contract and written correspondence to the complaints as evidence of their failure to uphold the terms.
\If you read your finance agreement and you don't see LoJack as a line item, it means the dealership likely built the cost of the service agreement for LoJack into the price of the vehicle. This is deceptive because LoJack, in my case, is a separate and cancellable agreement at contract signing. This is yet another reason to find and report them to the financial regulatory body for the dealership's state. Make sure they are aware of this information, as it is a deceptive business practice, and in no way makes the LoJack agreement 'non-cancellable'.*
Now back to the story.
I filed complaints with all of the above agencies within 7 days of signing my agreement, on a Friday. By the following Tuesday, the financial regulation office for the state for this dealership had opened a case and contacted the dealer. I received an email from the dealer a couple of hours later saying my check was in the mail. He provided a tracking number for the check.
No one wants that type of oversight or attention. It's not worth however much they'll lose by refunding you. In addition, the financial regulatory agency in the state I purchased in not only had the ability to mediate, but also to open a criminal investigation into the dealership if they found any laws had been broken. Which - I'm no lawyer, but it seems like that may have been the case for me. I'm confident this is why the general manager of the dealership promptly responded to me with a refund after they contacted him with my case.
I was amazed that the entire process took only a matter of days from the time I contacted the dealer to handle it directly, to filing the complaints, to finding a resolution. I expected there to be a much longer delay in the amount of time the state agencies presented the dealer with my complaint.
Note, if you are successful, you may not get a check. It may go to the financing company to reduce your balance (this is more likely if LoJack was a separate line item).
Last thing I'll say on this. By signing the LoJack agreement, I just saved $1000 on the price of the car. Had I refused to sign the agreement in person, they may not have gone through with the deal OR they would have simply raised the price of the car by $1000. It's also important to note that you should PRINT OFF THE ONLINE PRICE WITH LINE ITEM DETAILS if the dealership provides it, before you go to the dealership. If they deviate from the price or add 'mandatory dealer add-ons' (which are rarely mandatory), I'm fairly sure that would be considered bait/switch. The above-mentioned agencies will also want to know this information as well if you decide to go through with the transaction and have difficulty sorting it out with the dealer after the fact.
I hope many of you are successful getting refunded as well. Often people first think of the BBB, but they don't realize how little power they actually have. You'll make much more progress by going through government agencies, especially those with regulatory and legal oversight.

I am very very frustrated with how Framework "sells" their laptops. If someone else offered the same thing they do, I would be already shopping elsewhere. FYI: I am EU citizen, but my country is not supported. The shipping address is my friend's address in supported EU country, the billing address is address on my card.
I received an email that my batch 14 Framework was being prepared on 01-05-2024, which made me really happy. I moved the necessary money to the Revolut account I use for random internet payments and waited for Framework to take my money. On 07-05-2024 they took it, BUT sent me an email that said "We’re reviewing your payment for your Framework order". I was quite confused about that because they were "reviewing" my payment before - when the first 100€ was deducted - the payment went through and I haven't changed any billing or delivery details since. The email promised resolution in 1-3 business days, so I gave them time, actually waited 5 business days before I sent them a support ticket, asking for an explanation.
That was yesterday. Today I received an email saying "Action Required: We are unable to process your order" because "we were unable to charge the payment method". I see that Framework tried to bill me AGAIN. So, after they took €2000+ for the order last week, they tried to do it again and failed, because I don't keep this kind of money on my Revolut account. I contacted support again today.
At this point, I have no money, laptop, or even promise that I will ever receive one. I love the idea behind the Framework, but I am trying to imagine that whenever I buy computer parts from them, I will go through this process again and suddenly, the premise seems much less intriguing.
Has anyone had a similar experience to mine?

(29M) About a year ago I got out of an abusive relationship. My former partner(Female a year older than me) would not hesitate to be mentally abusive, and on some occasions physically. She was also financially abusive. And controlling. My former partner had BPD and knew lots of ways to manipulate my neuro divergent tendencies. Things like telling me i was stupid, I was nothing without her, I didnt have any friends ect. The instances of abuse were always framed as my fault because in her words I "just pushed her and pushed her and pushed her". a year ago I escaped that situation and since then have not really shown any interest in having an intimate relationship with anyone in that time. I was also in therapy and still am. Even though I didn't try to pursue an relationship, women would still show interest in me and these things have been detrimental to my self worth because these women show interest and then for whatever reason are deterred from ever talking to me again. The first instance was a girl that showed a lot of interest and even gave me her number with out me asking for it we texted for 2 months and she began to text me less and less. I eventually just asked her about it and said that she didn't want to give me the idea we could be more than friends even though she was the one who pursued me and wanted to talk about deeply personal topics like the kind you would if you were romantically interested in some one. I decided to just move on but this did make me feel really dejected and like I was unfit for anyone to really want to consider me as their partner unless they had ulterior motives of control and abuse as those seem to be the only relationships I've been in throughout my adult life. Which is only reinforced by my cycle of thinking as I didn't date or even have a lot of friends in my teen years. After this I met a girl at a bar who was actually working there. I know that bar staff are supposed to make you feel welcome and be overly friendly as I've been in quite a few, but this was different. I would come to this bar with a friend of mine and it was known and would be well on display that I was the designated driver. I've never really been much of a drinker, my friend on the other hand enjoys his libations. He tends to ask me to go because he knows I can keep him in check, and because I train martial arts can keep the situation under control if things get out of hand. Essentially he knows I can ensure he's safe and I can keep a conversation going. Anyway this girl notices I'm the dd because I'll only get a water when we come in and starts to leave from behind the bar and bring me a water when we walk in regularly. We also start to engage in conversation pretty heavily. So one night I came in by myself because my friends work schedule had changed I gather all my courage and ask her for her number. She seems pretty happy about this since we had been talking for the better part of 3hrs before hand and she even gave me a hug before I left. I texted her a little while after leaving the bar so she would also have my number. I received no reply. I figured she was busy so I didn't think too much of it. A whole week goes by with no reply. I finally decided to send a text jokingly asking her if she was ghosting me. I get a one sentence reply stating "heeyyy I've been busy" about an hour and a half later. I text her back "hey don't apologize I'm here when you're ready to talk" I meant it as a nonchalant reply like "hey no rush I'd just like to talk when your free" I wasn't upset or anything but I suppose it could've been misconstrued as being passive aggressive. That being said she never replied to me again. The feelings I mentioned previously creep back in and I don't even talk to another woman until almost 7 months later. This was also not a planned instance as I had gone out to a bar to participate in a kind of baby shower type get together a friend of mine was having. I didn't plan on talking to anyone who was woman, especially since the party I was going to was divided by gender as some celebrations of a child being on the way will be. I had already been at this bar for a few hours and was planning on leaving until my friends wife decided to bring her party over to the same bar and it ended up being just a casual hang out as the women that were involved with the mother's part of the get-together were now intermingling amongst us. As this was happening I had noticed one of the women had a tattoo of the avenged sevenfold logo on her back. I struck up a conversation with her about how I was a fan of theirs in junior high and so were my friends. We then continued to chat and I found out that we actually had a lot of things in common not just music taste,and that we both played guitar, but also stances on politics and humor and just about anything else we talked about. I talked to this woman for close to 8hrs we even went around the corner to a pub to get food. While we were doing this she invited me to come over to her apartment we then proceeded to sit on her couch and share different songs and genres we liked with eachother and talking about life, while smoking weed as she had a prescription and I suppose didn't want to be rude so offered me some. I'm not a smoker really but obliged. While this was going on I did disclose to her my financial situation and that I lived with my parents because I was trying to get back on my feet again. She seemed really supportive about this as well. We later started watching the show black mirror and were starting to get closer physically her legs were draped over one of mine. Her chest was over top of mine. My arm had slid behind her back and our faces were a bit close. I'm really cautious about consent and personal space because of the abuse I went through so I asked her "hey would I ruin the vibe if I kissed you?" Kind of nervously as I was a little high. She just kind of giggled and said she liked to take things slow. I said it wasn't a problem and respected her decision and we continued watching back mirror in the same position. Later she said she was going to go to bed and I said I would sleep on the couch. I kicked off my shoes and was laying on the couch still high. The door to her bedroom which was across the apartment from the couch only about 8ft away was open and I turned my head and asked "hey did you want me to come to bed with you?" She said yes so I promptly went into the bedroom and we began cuddling. I fell asleep. The next day I woke up and we still cuddling. We both kind of woke up at the same time. We talked a little while still pretty much spooning eachother. While we were doing this she kissed me. We then kind of softly made out, talked a little got out of bed sat on the couch, kissed a few more times, watched black mirror. This whole time I've gotten 2 calls from a friend of mine who I am in a band with we practice on Sundays and I was going to be late I considered not showing up but ultimately relented and decided I didn't want to be clingy and wear out my welcome especially since I hadn't planned on any of this and she had slightly been hinting about starting her Sunday routine and I didnt want to throw off her process to get her week started. So I decided to leave. I kissed her again told her I'd really like to see her again and left. A few hours later while I was at band practice I sent her a meme She replied about a day later. Since then our texting was really scant. She did disclose when we met that she wasn't on her phone a lot and didn't text that much so I chalked it up to that. I tried to really have a conversation going but couldn't. I also asked if she wanted to hang out that Thursday as I had the day off. She said she was busy which I thought no problem. Oddly enough I got an update on Facebook that she had posted in a musicians page I'm a part of about wanting to meet up and jam with other people that same day. Also we didn't add eachother on social media so she had no idea if I would see this. I though it was weird but didn't really think anything of it outside of "hey I play guitar too why can't we hang out and play?" After that I got sick and she happened to stop texting me. The next week I sent another meme and sparked a sparse text conversation that went nowhere. Then a few days after that on the advice of my therapist I decided to just ask her out on a date. I was ignored. This made me feel like utter fucking shit. As well as being confused as to why she would spend so much time with me, kiss me, and even half ass text me. To just ignore me. The thoughts I previously mentioned crept back into my skull and were very intense. I started to spiral and think why it would happen. I thought about my physical attributes, about how I was over six foot tall, about how I was in decent shape, about how even some of my male friends and people in a professional environment had told me I should be a model, that I was "handsome". I'm kind and compassionate. I try to be a great conversationalist. It just didn't make any sense to me it didn't feel fair. I was heartbroken as I thought I had met someone who actually appreciated my taste in music (she Even told me I had good taste in music), the fact I was kind of awkward. She liked my point of view and ideas on things. She liked that I looked out for my friends. She seemed to accept me. After all of that she didn't it wasn't even real I guess. Since then I was having a lot of negative thoughts I even found some old Facebook messages this girl I had known had sent me when I was a teen in which she was emotionally manipulating me Essentially wanting me to be limerent (she had even posted on my wall about how she cared about me and was sorry she couldn't make it to my graduation that she never intended on going to) which added to all of this negative thinking I had been experiencing lately. (I even thought to myself I sounded like an incel which also was disheartening those people suck and I dont even want to be considered in the same catagory as men who would treat women that way) I really just don't know what my problem is and I just don't want to try to get back in to dating as well because I don't like this feeling of being dejected and not feeling worthy of some one else's love. I'm left with this deep hurt and I just want to say fuck it I'm done.

Hi everybody. I’m new here, but I wanted to tell you a story regarding how I left my toxic work environment.
I recently graduated with a PhD in a field that I love. I greatly enjoyed the process (not everyone likes their time in graduate school, but I was an exception because of a tremendous adviser). Upon graduating, due to a slump in the industry, there were not many positions available. So, I interviewed at a small contract research firm (family-owned business with less than 20 employees), and accepted a position there. Even before I took the job, there was something shady about it. As soon as I walked up to introduce myself, one of the managers unenthusiastically introduced themself, and I just felt that this person had a bad attitude in general. This is a family-owned business, so this manager got into an argument with the parents right in front of me, which was something I hadn’t seen before in an interview. After the multi-day interview, they offered me a job, and I accepted because I really wanted a job in my field. The thing is, the organization found me on a recruiting website, which requires them to pay a certain percentage of my salary for finding me. They elected to tell the recruiter that my salary was significantly less than what it was, and slipped me some money under the table in the form of different stipends. Because I was trying to make myself look good in front of my new bosses, I accepted this offer, and tried to justify it because I needed the job. I realize now that this was a mistake.
As I started, I realized that this was going to be a rough environment. There were lots of family working there, which isn’t inherently a bad thing, but there was definitely favoritism shown to said relatives. I was hired to do a specific role, but was not allowed to do the things necessary to make sure the job was done right (i.e. I couldn’t even send an email to a client without checking with the manager, which produced a lot of anxiety because I had to manage a lot of clients and constantly feared retribution from “management”). And then came the butt-chewings. I would get yelled at for the tiniest mistake. There were comments about how “if you do/don’t do such-and-such, I’m gonna be p*ssed” and “you had better do it right the first time, because we cannot afford to do things over again. If things start going badly, we’re gonna get pissy.” So that added to the anxiety and stress, which did not make work fun at all. Add to that the many times where I would do exactly what my manager told me to do, and get disciplined by the owners for not doing it differently.
If things were not done EXACTLY like we were instructed to do them, we would all get ripped. For instance, one of the owners wanted a couple of the employees to get some vehicles cleaned. She said that she wanted everybody to clean a vehicle (despite assigning two employees to lead this task). Well, the owner who said this left later in the day, and the people cleaning the trucks decided that not everybody needed to help because it wouldn’t take long. When the owner found out that not everyone had helped clean the trucks (even though the trucks were spotless), she blew a gasket and was NOT happy. There’s another example for you.
The final straw was when I made a mistake that took 15-20 minutes to fix (due to a miscommunication on my manager’s part), and got cussed at and severely chewed out by one of the owners: “I’m about to blow a gasket. I pay you to get this right. You’re the analyst (real position hidden for anonymity). We cannot afford to be doing sh*t over.” There were more abusive things said, but that’s mainly it. The kicker was that this person said later in the day during a staff meeting that “mistakes are no big deal; we can correct them and it will be fine.” To which I completely disagreed with.
I struggle with anxiety and OCD, so in order to try not to get yelled at, I found myself obsessing over the smallest details. For the past six weeks, I would dry heave and sometimes throw up before work. I found myself in that same time frame down 20 lbs from my start weight due to stress and unclear expectations, and I don’t have that much to lose.
So, ultimately, I made the decision to step down, effective immediately. Since that day, I have been healing mentally, my weight has improved, and I no longer dread the day. I may have to take a job driving for a package delivery service short-term, but there’s no shame in doing what you have to do in order to provide for your family!!
I learned that I will watch out for the warning signs before taking a position, and I will not let myself be yelled at by a boss anymore.

“Would you sacrifice yourself to save your entire species?” Carl talked through the intercom in the reactor room as he fiddled with more and more wires. He was looking for a very special wire and a very special place to stick it in. The quiet thunks on the other side of the door quieted down. They had been trying to breach the door for over an hour, and really, it hadn’t done much else but annoy everyone involved. If the aliens on the other side of the door had any humor, Carl would have told them that shoving a cactus in their rectums would have been a better use of everyone’s time.
“Of course I would.” The intercom spat out an answer from the not so professional ‘professional negotiator’. Their offers for Carl to open the door had been promises of great wealth, safety, and accommodations. To be clear, Carl did believe the xeno’s offers, its kind were notorious for being devilishly anal about following the letter AND spirit of agreements. If Carl opened the door, he would most likely receive the benefits and live the rest of his life in comfort.
“Would you sacrifice yourself to save a planet of your people?” Carl had walked over, ripped open, and looked through another set of wires as he spoke to the negotiator. He was glad that the room blocked not only the sight of the ugly bastards, but their stench. Before the war, he’d been on one of their stations. Genetic tampering had been rampant in their culture for millenia, and it meant that their appearance had been turned into a fashion of sorts, though a slowly shifting one. It was too bad that they had apparently taken some very, very strange ideals this time around. Abstraction was the name of the game for them, and Picasso would have been proud of what these aliens had made themselves into. Colors, shapes, and even the smell of their bodies were up for fuckery.
“Of course, would you not?” The alien sounded exasperated, and after the roundabouts Carl had spent the first hour talking to them about, it was no surprise. He was pretty sure that he’d spent at least twenty minutes talking about clowns and cocaine. Carl knew that there were only a few more panels where his prize would be waiting inside of. The ‘red wire’ was randomized in every ship. It was crucial, it was very important to the functioning of the reactor, and by extension, the orbital station. Gravity manipulation wasn’t easy. It wasn’t supposed to be easily found by any normal engineer. Its existence was kept down-low and close to heart. People spilled their hearts out over drinks.
“I’d like to think I would, though you never know until the moment arises. How about a continent? Save a few hundred million for your life?” Another panel down, and no wire to be found. A small notion of doubt had entered Carl’s mind by this point, it was pretty unlikely to not have found THE wire yet. Ten panels down, two to go. He spent a small moment playing eeny meeny miny moe between his two choices. The song said ‘right’. His gut told him to break the rule of the song, however, and he started taking the left one apart.
“If I had to.” And there it was. Carl could see that he had been right about the xenos. Little by little, Carl had started to see why this war had begun in the first place, and why these pricks would eventually lose it all. They had none of that go get em attitude to offset their bulging egos. They expected everyone they met to work off of a calculated list of pros and cons. Every action should be explainable by numbers, logic, and personal gain. Though even they had a small sense of collective good, not much, but a little.
“How about a city, let's say. . . 5 million people?” Carl just wanted to know how the negotiator’s personal scale weighed life. He felt like he was getting real close to the creature’s balance point. He also knew that the negotiator was grasping at straws to get the ‘illogical and unpredictable’ human to open the door for the xenos. If the negotiator was a human, they’d be ordering every type of explosive to blast the door before Carl could finish cooking up his plan. Carl took all the joy he could from the situation. He honestly felt like Bugs Bunny in the moment, the other side was simply so, so fucking dense to his plans. They’d probably hold a wrench for him if he just quickly opened the door and told them to. Fucking xenos.
“Hmmm, I would.” Carl had found the special wire that he’d been searching for. It wasn’t red, but it was as thick as his forearms. He carefully inserted a wire of his own into a joint on the wire, making very sure that it was attached properly. He wanted the following moments to have some theatrical value. Something to really talk about in whatever afterlife there was or wasn’t.
The intercom started buzzing for a moment, but he quickly screamed at the top of his lungs into the transmitter to shut the xeno up before it could start talking again.
Carl had his own monologue to get through while he dragged the massive wire across the room.
“You people work with variables and numbers so much more than we do, you’ve certainly realized that by now. You’ve had to really sweeten the deal you originally offered me and STILL nothing. We must be a very interesting debate subject in your universities. A statistical curiosity that befuddles the known models and expected values.”
“And you really fucked up when you thought we were almost like you. You saw our math, you saw our logical arguments, and you thought us to be mirrors of you. The problem with that is that we sent the people most like you to talk to you. Not a good decision for either of us. Good thing for us is that even our people who most resemble you are still human. They told you to fuck off real fast when you gave them a spreadsheet of expected taxes, exports, and laws. You started the war because we gave you more shit than your asses could handle.”
“AND THEN you tried to handle the war like it was a particularly ornery business meeting. You still are. I have been holed up with the MAIN REACTOR CORE for more than an hour. I have been insulting you, playing dumb, playing smart, and talking about SACRIFICING YOURSELF for most of that time. Why, most humans would have BLOWN UP with rage after all the shit I’ve been pulling. The situation would have gone CRITICAL if you had any sense.”
“It’s like you want this all to come CRASHING DOWN.”
“But hey, don’t worry about that, would you sacrifice yourself out of a personal vendetta against a single individual? No lives saved, nothing particularly impressive gained, really just an all in all stupid thing to do. Would you?” Carl was holding the door open switch in one hand, and the special switch in another. For him the scene would end in what he expected to be a very bright light. But there was a bit of foreplay to be had before going all in.
“No, of course not, that would not be good for anybody.” The slamming on the door started again, it was impressively fast, but still useless. Carl pressed the switch as far as he dared before he felt it teeter on the very, very edge of activation. He smiled and thought of the last good steak he’d had, some months ago now.
“On the contrary my friend, why if you only add spite, revenge, and everything sweet to your little calculations, you’d know that it would be very good indeed.” Carl pressed the door open switch and watched as four shapes crashed through and fell on the floor. A fifth one peeked through the doorway. Carl waved at him with the fun switch.
“My favourite explosives are flashbangs.” Carl twitched his thumb just the tiniest bit, and the reactor started to laugh in response. The reactor’s laugh was very quickly getting louder, so Carl had to yell at the very top of his lungs to get the last part across to the negotiator.
“ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY HAVE A LOT OF BANG IN THEM!!!”
The reactor thought this comment was especially funny, and broke down in laughter.
The light was red.
This one was very fun to write, I am not good with writing serious stuff, but I think I do a good job with using expressive language and shitting out references.
I hope you enjoyed reading!

So a month ago my lease ended and my narc parents and I was supposed to rent another place together but last minute they’ve decided to try to buy a house. I explained to my mom who was in the past already a homebuyer that this process can take months and at the time we only had a month. I told her to keep her options open whether buying a home or renting she got into this big flare up and yelled at me and told my dad I completely told her to not buy a house when all I said was keep your options open. My dad rather agree with my mom instead of telling her she’s wrong or dealing with her because my mom will blame my dad for not siding with her. Anyways fast forward now I’m staying with a cousin and they are staying with a friend in a pretty unlivable environment.
Anywho fast forward again I feel like I’m trapped in this never ending cycle of living paycheck to paycheck and not having much.
I just want my own place and some sanity. I was looking back through old notes of me saying how I’ll progress and such but to still be in such a terrible position if not worst is like so damning to my mental.
To make matters worse I recieved an offer to start a new job April 29th and then it was suddenly taken from me after I already put in my two weeks for my old job . The staffing company said it’s okay for siblings to work at the same place but the actual job was not okay with it and took back the offer. It was 19 per hour and work from home which would’ve been great because I had to recently sell my car for 500 so I wasn’t going to my cousins house with nothing. Previously I put over $600 into the car trying to do lower cost stuff to fix the overheating and it ended up being the head gasket so it was a loss as i originally bought the car almost 4 years ago for $900 from a mechanic that was moving back to Puerto Rico.
Anyway I wish I could start my own business but it seems impossible without money.
I made a note of a goal for the next months until the end of the year on how to be able to manage my money and save 5k because if anybody’s been here they know there is no help out here and 211 is a joke in Florida especially if your single with no children.
I’m just at a loss and extremely overwhelmed with life and just want it to get better immediately. I wanna cry but I don’t even have the energy for that.