I have some pieces out at service and a few incoming, but I have more of my collection in one place than I usually do, so I thought it was time to share. Pardon all the bunds. I’m allergic to nickel, so if a watch is not gold or titanium, I wear it with a bund. If it’s steel and not on a bund, I either don’t wear it often, havent gotten around to putting it on a strap, or the strap I use it with is on another watch right now.
By picture: 1. Omegas A.Seamaster 300 trilogy (RSM silk nato) B. 30t2rg “Jumbo” scientific dial (cordovan strap, I forget the maker) C. Ck2998 blue (Watchstrapheaven [WSH] “stealth” bund, cognac cordovan) D. 30t2 9k Dennison case (temporary leather strip until serviced. This one is with the watchmaker right now) E. Ck2998 Pulsations (WSH 3 piece cognac cordovan bund)

1. Omegas part 2 A. OT2500 centenary with 333rg bumper movement. I have the original 1948 box and papers for this one, and the original strap (I don’t know the maker of this strap, but it’s almost identical to the original from 1948) B. Early 18k seamaster, fab suisse chronometre with cal 354 bumper
   
2. Zeniths A. Cal 135 (heavily polished case. I want to upgrade this one; Shinola gator strap, Accurate Form bund) B. Cal 133.8 with 18k hermetic Spillman case (the strap it came on) C. A277 on original ladder bracelet D. “Evil” Chronomaster original (on its bracelet. This is my latest pickup, i havent put it on its strap yet) E. Not shown: Ti A3818 Cover Girl Air Weight (in the mail, should be here Friday)
   
3. Breitlings A. 2130 Reverse Panda (Delugs alligator, Accurate Form bund; I restored this one. The datewheel isn’t correct, but I have the right one coming in the mail) B. 2110 Reverse Panda (on the strap it came with) C. 2130 Panda (I restored this one too; on Balabanoff hippo suede)
   
4. Universal Geneve A. Guilloche dial, 18k cased cal 262 (fixed lugs, I need a strap for this one. It just came back from service) B. 18k polerouter date (i forget the strap maker, but it’s alligator)
   
5. Assorted A. Polerouter above B. Harwood in 925 case (the first automatic movement, this one dates 1929) C. Junghans cal J82 chronometetre D. IWC cal 83, salmon dial. (The strap it came on) E. Harwood in 9k case (also from 1929) F. Baume and Mercier for Cuervo y Sobrinos (ca 1970s). I think this is a Valjoux 7733, but not sure.
   
6. Alarms! A. JLC Memovox E855 (cal K825) B. Seiko Bellmatic C. 17k Cyma Time-O-Vox (the first chronometre rated alarm; look at those DeBethune lugs) (blue cordovan delugs strap) D. Croton/Nivada Wanderer with a Vulcain 120 (cricket) movement E. JLC tribute to deep sea Memovox (WSH stealth bund)
   
7. Longines A. Cal 302 chronometre movement. More interesting than it looks B. Hodinkee Zulu Time C. A fun beater with a cal 301 and a reprinted dial
   
8. Enicar A. Sherpa Ops B. Sherpa Jet (this is the wrong dial, but everything is NOS parts, so I’ll try to get a jet dial for it and a super jet to use this dial. I just love this configuration) C. NOS alarm with AS1475 movement D. NOS Garnix with Valjoux 72 (delugs alligator, Accurate Form bund)
   

10 Eberhard A. Mareoscope 31024 black dial (WSH integrated bund) this is my every day watch. B. Mareosocpe 31024 white dial (Delugs alligator strap accurate form bund)

In the digital age, the way we consume entertainment has undergone a significant transformation. One technology that has revolutionized the television viewing experience is IPTV, or Internet Protocol Television. But what exactly is IPTV, and how does it differ from traditional cable or satellite TV? Let's dive in and explore this innovative technology.
At its core, IPTV is a method of delivering television content over an internet protocol (IP) network, such as the internet or a private network. Unlike traditional broadcasting methods that rely on radio waves or satellite signals, IPTV transmits audio, video, and other multimedia content as compressed digital packets through IP-based networks.
How Does IPTV Work? The process of IPTV delivery involves several key components:

1. Content Source: IPTV content, whether live or on-demand, originates from various sources, such as broadcasters, content providers, or video-on-demand servers.
2. Encoding: The content is compressed and encoded into digital formats suitable for transmission over IP networks, often using codecs like H.264 or HEVC for video and AAC or MP3 for audio.
3. Distribution Network: The encoded content is then distributed over IP networks, which can be the public internet, a private network, or a combination of both.
4. Set-top Box or Streaming Device: At the receiving end, a set-top box, smart TV, or streaming device decodes the incoming data and converts it into a viewable format for display on the television or other compatible devices.

Benefits of IPTV:

1. Flexibility: IPTV allows for a wide range of content delivery options, including live TV channels, video-on-demand (VOD), time-shifted programming, and interactive services.
2. Interactivity: IPTV platforms often offer interactive features like program guides, pause/rewind/fast-forward capabilities, and even social media integration.
3. Quality: With advances in compression and streaming technologies, IPTV can provide high-quality video and audio, often surpassing traditional broadcast standards.
4. Accessibility: IPTV services can be accessed on various devices, including smart TVs, computers, smartphones, and tablets, providing a seamless viewing experience across multiple screens.

While IPTV has gained significant popularity, it's important to note that some IPTV services may operate in legal gray areas or offer unauthorized content. Always ensure that you are using legitimate and licensed IPTV providers to avoid potential legal issues.
In conclusion, IPTV represents a paradigm shift in how we consume television content, offering greater flexibility, interactivity, and accessibility. As technology continues to evolve, IPTV is poised to become an increasingly dominant force in the entertainment landscape.

Looking for some help here.
I'd appreciate ideas/suggestions. Also looking for good articles about why this is important (or not, I guess?)
I volunteer with teens and I've noticed a lot of them don't bother learning each other's names. They don't think it's important. I specifically use their names and when they're working together as a team, if they try and say, "hey you" or "bruh - grab the rope" I chime in and use the person's name.
I've also talked 1-on-1 when out of hearing range of the other teens "Hey, his name is David, the one you keep calling "guy in the blue hat" and his skills are xyz and he's an important member of your team, you are the team lead and you need to use his name when addressing him as part of your team" and that has been a successful... but it's like I need to teach everybody the names of everyone! Most of these kids have been together for at least a year, some of them 3-4 years.
My son is the same way, He thinks it's not important to learn anyone's names. Not his teachers, not his coaches, and not most of his classmates/teammates. I've been trying to stress to him that this is an important social skill and the more you practice it the better you are with names and remembering people as individuals rather than nameless bruh drones. He accused me of having poor sources and thinks I'm wrong and wants to see proof. So... can anyone help me out? Searching online I've only found stuff saying why it's important for teachers to learn and use student names.

Trigger Warning: CSA, CPTSD, Physical Assault
Hey everybody, I hope you all are doing well and staying safe!
First off, I wanna start by saying that I am really sorry for how long this post is going to be. I'm also sorry for posting this on a throwaway account. This has been a problem I've had my whole life, and I didn't know what to do about it honestly so I wanted to talk about it with you all if that's okay. I was wondering if any of you have been in this position before and had any advice.
I've always struggled with having a crush on someone or having feelings for someone. There's a lot of reasons: a part of it is worried that after becoming close to someone they could betray my trust, being worried that I won't be able to provide enough for them when they need my help, etc. but the biggest reason by far is that I feel ashamed for having the feelings at all. I know it's not rational or logical in any way, but a part of me feels dirty for wanting to be someone's boyfriend at all because I am worried they may be uncomfortable that I like them if they were to find out.
For some context on what may be causing this problem, I've been sexually assaulted and harassed constantly throughout my childhood and teenage years. I first went through it when I was 3 when my aunt did it to me, and once I went through puberty, my swim coach, one of my mom's friends, a teacher, and an acquaintance of mine my age all sexually assaulted/harassed me. And while I didn't get sexually assaulted again after high school, I was sexually harassed several times by peers during my college years. I also dealt with my mom being physically abusive towards me during my childhood, and my dad being fully aware of it happening but encouraging it and never doing anything to stop it.
Because of how young I was when I was molested by my aunt, I don't remember a lot of it, but I do remember at one point she told me I deserved it and that she needed to hurt me so that I didn't grow up to become abusive or hurt other people. Because of this, I've always lived with the fear that one day she will be right or that she is already right and I don't realize she is because of how much I suck. Additionally, with how much misogyny is out there, as a guy who is usually attracted to women, I realize a lot of women have been hurt by a lot of abusive and creepy men, and it makes me worried that if I share my story of what I've been through and the ways my aunt, coach, teacher, etc. hurt me, I could be causing a lot of pain to women who have been gone through similar things as me, and I don't want to put any burden on them or make things harder by causing them to worry about my mental health and well being when that should be my own responsibility.
I've been falling for one of my friends since this winter, and I really really like her. She is really kind, sweet, and cool. She's also one of the few people I trusted with about my past, and she has been so supportive in ways I never imagined someone could be, which I am eternally grateful for. However, I can't get rid of this feeling that I'm not good enough for her or feeling messed up for my feelings towards her. I want to get rid of it because I want to love her without feeling guilt or shame, and I don't want it to interfere between us. I'm really worried it's going to.
I hope you all have a great day, thanks so much for reading and your advice. I'm sorry again for how long this is.

Had my mock test today with one of the senior driving instructors from the driving school. It was absolutely hammering it down and came away with.
1 serious 3 minors.
The serious was:
I'd just done a pull up on the left, I'd readied myself to pull back out. There was 1 car coming towards and a couple of cars behind.
I thought I'd pull put before the car on the other side of the road got to us but apparently the learner behind me, was Indicating to come round and I should have waiting for them to pass.
I have never done this in a lesson, I don't know why I did today but I won't be doing it again! We had a good debrief.
My minors where: Lane position (roundabout could not see the lines /wasn't far enough to the left but corrected) Progress Slowing down before indicating on one of my pull ups.
Test is coming up and this has actually made me feel loads better.
She actually said I was a really good driver aside from the serious so I'm pretty happy with that.
I've still got 3 lessons and private practice before the test, so plenty of time to practice.

Hello everyone! BigHedDjango here, tunes for this week to help you out.
Weekly photo: https://i.imgur.com/88KGCCS.png
All feedback on tunes is appreciated - good or bad. Specially when tunes are bad. At the end of the day I am just the mechanic and you guys are the racers. Do not hesitate irrespective of your tuning knowledge or racing skills!
Tuning method: 1. Stock look - stock wheel rims and size, no aero (unless absolutely necessary for handling and stability) 2. Tuned for automatic/manual players by not skipping clutch+gearbox upgrades 3. Max performance with max handling possible 4. All cars tuned vs. Unbeatable AI, tracks/weather conditions are now unknown since time travel no longer works. Since release AI has been inconsistent between many car types and weather conditions, not every car will win 10/10 races vs Unbeatable AI without rewind/restart abuse 5. Bodykit used if it does not hurt performance

___ 

Forzathon Weekly Challenge - Time to Play

2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray * Tune - 142 362 222 * Easy to use; Decent grip even in rain; Good braking; Lacks S1 top speed; 6-gears; Sigala wide body kit; Chevrolet rear wing; Custom rims; v1 * Event Lab BP - Easy Win Drag Strip - 812 084 897

___ 

Trial - MX-5 Drive

Road Racing - Mazda MX-5 - A 800

NOTE: Try to block and slow down AI and help teammates in order to win. One player on the team needs to take at least P3 and slow down the AI for a guaranteed win

2016 Mazda MX-5 * Tune - 446 488 045 * Fastest option; v1
2005 Mazda Mazdaspeed MX-5 * Tune - 386 598 479 * Low A class top speed; v1
1994 Mazda MX-5 Miata * Tune - 686 056 119 * Lacks braking; Lacks A class top speed; v2 - rebuild, smoother, faster
2013 Mazda MX-5 * Tune - 159 091 037 * Low A class top speed; v1

___ 

Event Lab 1 - Eagle Forest Raceway

Modern Supercars - A 800

2012 Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Spyder Performante * Tune - 171 863 878 * Playlist car; Good braking; Low A class top speed; Slowish car overall; Stock engine; True Purist; v1
2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe * Tune - 575 887 945 * Tune by Naitsab243; Custom rims; Rear aero

___ 

Event Lab 2 - Emerald GP Circuit

Retro Hot Hatch - B 700

1974 Honda Civic RS * Tune - 689 859 387 * FWD; Meta car; Meta tune; Lacks top speed; Wide body kit + Classic rear wing + Custom rims; Dry only; v2

___ 

Seasonal PR Stunts

2010 Mosler MT900S * Tune - 106 016 211 * Superb grip; Good handling but oversteery; v3

Speed Trap - Northern Passage - Extreme Track Toys - S2 998

• Start at least 0.7 miles from the west

Speed Trap - Escarpment - Extreme Track Toys - S2 998

• Start 0.5 miles from the west. Turn in hard on final right hand corner, can even cut offroad

Speed Zone - Camino Del Cielo - Extreme Track Toys - S2 998

• Start at least 1.3 miles away on the north east road. Enter the east gate at full throttle, feather brake for first right hand corner and final hairpin only. You can also start max 1 mile from the west cause need to brake immediately upton entering the west gate
  

NOTE: All Championships are locked at Highly Skilled difficulty

Championship 1 - Picking Favorite

Road Racing - Forza Cover Cars - S1 900

2013 Dodge SRT Viper GTS Anniversary Edition (Maybe not an option) * Tune - 301 899 128 * Meta car; Meta tune; Good grip; Oversteer but no traction loss; * Lacks S1 top speed so sprints with lots of corners or circuits only; * Drag tires - great launch, weak at slow corners, tuned for wet roads as well; * Stock engine; Custom rims; Full aero; Rear diffuser; Sideskirts; v1
2013 Dodge SRT Viper GTS * Tune - 693 168 484 * Stock engine; v3
2014 Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 * Tune - 204 826 092 * Fast; Stock engine; True Purist; v3
2016 Lamborghini Centenario LP 770-4 * Tune - 156 811 181 * Stock tirebombs; Good grip; Excellent braking; 7-gears; Stock engine; True Purist; v2
2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS * Tune - 246 355 163 * Stock rear wing; Stock engine; v1
2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray * Tune - 142 362 222 * Easy to use; Decent grip even in rain; Good braking; Lacks S1 top speed; 6-gears; Sigala wide body kit; Chevrolet rear wing; Custom rims; v1

___ 

Championship 2 - Going the Distance

Road Racing - GT & Super GT - A 800

2012 Jaguar XKR-S * Tune - 173 823 336 (v4)
2013 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S * Tune - 963 723 177 * Decent grip; Good top speed; Stock engine; Hot Wheels tune; v1
2010 Maserati Gran Turismo S * Tune - 547 023 206 * Lacks braking; Stock engine; v2
2017 Aston Martin DB11 * Tune - 153 787 435 * Stock engine only; v2
2021 Lexus LC 500 * Tune - 305 052 584 * Playlist car; Stock engine; v1
2019 Aston Martin Vantage * Tune - 404 086 715 * Downgraded to A class; Good handling but slow overall; Stock engine; v2

___ 

Treasure Hunt - Blame Impala

What to do: Using any Chevrolet Impala either get an Ultimate Wreckage skill or maybe lots of wreckage skills

___ 

RALLY ADVENTURE DLC

Seasonal PR Stunts

Speed Trap - La Cantera - Mustang - A 800

2018 Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5 * Tune - 589 436 345 * Start ~500 yards in the east dirt hairpin

Championship 3 - Mustang Rally

Night Rally - Mustang - A 800

2018 Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5 * Tune - 589 436 345 * Good mid-speed accel; Comfortable to drive; v2
1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 * Tune - 246 848 148 * Superb; v2

___ 

HOT WHEELS DLC

Seasonal PR Stunts

Speed Zone - Supersonic Spiral - Lamborghini - S1 900

2016 Lamborghini Centenario LP 770-4 * Tune - 156 811 181 * Start at least 0.7 miles away on the north east track (try to spawn in small loop)

Championship 4 - It's Race-a-Bull

Speed - Lamborghini - S1 900

2016 Lamborghini Centenario LP 770-4 * Tune - 156 811 181 * Stock tirebombs; Good grip; Excellent braking; 7-gears; Stock engine; True Purist; v2
2014 Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 * Tune - 204 826 092 * Fast; Stock engine; True Purist; v3
2016 Lamborghini Aventador SuperVeloce * Tune - 124 905 282 * Arcade racing game car; Excellent braking; Stock engine only; True Purist; v2

___ 

Event Lab Blueprints!

Easy Win Road Sprint - 696 659 852
Easy Win Road Circuit - 177 632 200
Easy Win Dirt Trail - 991 376 926
Easy Win Dirt Scramble - 135 436 707
Easy Win Cross Country Sprint - 114 199 871
Easy Win Cross Country Circuit - 181 401 852
Easy Win Street Scene Sprint - 134 229 457
Easy Win Drag Strip - 812 084 897

___ 

Horizon 4 and 5 Tunes Archive!

https://www.reddit.com/useBigHeadDjango/comments/r4ptt6/forza_horizon_4_and_horizon_5_tunes_archive/

___ 

Thank you to everyone for your downloads, uses, likes, follows, shares and feedback! Check my in-game profile for more tunes. You can check my reddit profile for more content
📸 Also don't stop yourself from checking out my photos on the creative hub. Wow! What beautiful photos! 📸
Don't hesitate to ask if you need any help!
🛠️ I am open to requests for cars you might want me to tune! It would also help me understand FH5 tuning better. So let me know the car and class and I'd get back to you! 🛠️

___ 

Have a great week! 🥳

Hello everyone! BigHedDjango here, tunes for this week to help you out.
Weekly photo: https://i.imgur.com/88KGCCS.png
All feedback on tunes is appreciated - good or bad. Specially when tunes are bad. At the end of the day I am just the mechanic and you guys are the racers. Do not hesitate irrespective of your tuning knowledge or racing skills!
Tuning method: 1. Stock look - stock wheel rims and size, no aero (unless absolutely necessary for handling and stability) 2. Tuned for automatic/manual players by not skipping clutch+gearbox upgrades 3. Max performance with max handling possible 4. All cars tuned vs. Unbeatable AI, tracks/weather conditions are now unknown since time travel no longer works. Since release AI has been inconsistent between many car types and weather conditions, not every car will win 10/10 races vs Unbeatable AI without rewind/restart abuse 5. Bodykit used if it does not hurt performance

___ 

Forzathon Weekly Challenge - Time to Play

2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray * Tune - 142 362 222 * Easy to use; Decent grip even in rain; Good braking; Lacks S1 top speed; 6-gears; Sigala wide body kit; Chevrolet rear wing; Custom rims; v1 * Event Lab BP - Easy Win Drag Strip - 812 084 897

___ 

Trial - MX-5 Drive

Road Racing - Mazda MX-5 - A 800

NOTE: Try to block and slow down AI and help teammates in order to win. One player on the team needs to take at least P3 and slow down the AI for a guaranteed win

2016 Mazda MX-5 * Tune - 446 488 045 * Fastest option; v1
2005 Mazda Mazdaspeed MX-5 * Tune - 386 598 479 * Low A class top speed; v1
1994 Mazda MX-5 Miata * Tune - 686 056 119 * Lacks braking; Lacks A class top speed; v2 - rebuild, smoother, faster
2013 Mazda MX-5 * Tune - 159 091 037 * Low A class top speed; v1

___ 

Event Lab 1 - Eagle Forest Raceway

Modern Supercars - A 800

2012 Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Spyder Performante * Tune - 171 863 878 * Playlist car; Good braking; Low A class top speed; Slowish car overall; Stock engine; True Purist; v1
2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe * Tune - 575 887 945 * Tune by Naitsab243; Custom rims; Rear aero

___ 

Event Lab 2 - Emerald GP Circuit

Retro Hot Hatch - B 700

1974 Honda Civic RS * Tune - 689 859 387 * FWD; Meta car; Meta tune; Lacks top speed; Wide body kit + Classic rear wing + Custom rims; Dry only; v2

___ 

Seasonal PR Stunts

2010 Mosler MT900S * Tune - 106 016 211 * Superb grip; Good handling but oversteery; v3

Speed Trap - Northern Passage - Extreme Track Toys - S2 998

• Start at least 0.7 miles from the west

Speed Trap - Escarpment - Extreme Track Toys - S2 998

• Start 0.5 miles from the west. Turn in hard on final right hand corner, can even cut offroad

Speed Zone - Camino Del Cielo - Extreme Track Toys - S2 998

• Start at least 1.3 miles away on the north east road. Enter the east gate at full throttle, feather brake for first right hand corner and final hairpin only. You can also start max 1 mile from the west cause need to brake immediately upton entering the west gate
  

NOTE: All Championships are locked at Highly Skilled difficulty

Championship 1 - Picking Favorite

Road Racing - Forza Cover Cars - S1 900

2013 Dodge SRT Viper GTS Anniversary Edition (Maybe not an option) * Tune - 301 899 128 * Meta car; Meta tune; Good grip; Oversteer but no traction loss; * Lacks S1 top speed so sprints with lots of corners or circuits only; * Drag tires - great launch, weak at slow corners, tuned for wet roads as well; * Stock engine; Custom rims; Full aero; Rear diffuser; Sideskirts; v1
2013 Dodge SRT Viper GTS * Tune - 693 168 484 * Stock engine; v3
2014 Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 * Tune - 204 826 092 * Fast; Stock engine; True Purist; v3
2016 Lamborghini Centenario LP 770-4 * Tune - 156 811 181 * Stock tirebombs; Good grip; Excellent braking; 7-gears; Stock engine; True Purist; v2
2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS * Tune - 246 355 163 * Stock rear wing; Stock engine; v1
2024 Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray * Tune - 142 362 222 * Easy to use; Decent grip even in rain; Good braking; Lacks S1 top speed; 6-gears; Sigala wide body kit; Chevrolet rear wing; Custom rims; v1

___ 

Championship 2 - Going the Distance

Road Racing - GT & Super GT - A 800

2012 Jaguar XKR-S * Tune - 173 823 336 (v4)
2013 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S * Tune - 963 723 177 * Decent grip; Good top speed; Stock engine; Hot Wheels tune; v1
2010 Maserati Gran Turismo S * Tune - 547 023 206 * Lacks braking; Stock engine; v2
2017 Aston Martin DB11 * Tune - 153 787 435 * Stock engine only; v2
2021 Lexus LC 500 * Tune - 305 052 584 * Playlist car; Stock engine; v1
2019 Aston Martin Vantage * Tune - 404 086 715 * Downgraded to A class; Good handling but slow overall; Stock engine; v2

___ 

Treasure Hunt - Blame Impala

What to do: Using any Chevrolet Impala either get an Ultimate Wreckage skill or maybe lots of wreckage skills

___ 

RALLY ADVENTURE DLC

Seasonal PR Stunts

Speed Trap - La Cantera - Mustang - A 800

2018 Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5 * Tune - 589 436 345 * Start ~500 yards in the east dirt hairpin

Championship 3 - Mustang Rally

Night Rally - Mustang - A 800

2018 Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5 * Tune - 589 436 345 * Good mid-speed accel; Comfortable to drive; v2
1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302 * Tune - 246 848 148 * Superb; v2

___ 

HOT WHEELS DLC

Seasonal PR Stunts

Speed Zone - Supersonic Spiral - Lamborghini - S1 900

2016 Lamborghini Centenario LP 770-4 * Tune - 156 811 181 * Start at least 0.7 miles away on the north east track (try to spawn in small loop)

Championship 4 - It's Race-a-Bull

Speed - Lamborghini - S1 900

2016 Lamborghini Centenario LP 770-4 * Tune - 156 811 181 * Stock tirebombs; Good grip; Excellent braking; 7-gears; Stock engine; True Purist; v2
2014 Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 * Tune - 204 826 092 * Fast; Stock engine; True Purist; v3
2016 Lamborghini Aventador SuperVeloce * Tune - 124 905 282 * Arcade racing game car; Excellent braking; Stock engine only; True Purist; v2

___ 

Event Lab Blueprints!

Easy Win Road Sprint - 696 659 852
Easy Win Road Circuit - 177 632 200
Easy Win Dirt Trail - 991 376 926
Easy Win Dirt Scramble - 135 436 707
Easy Win Cross Country Sprint - 114 199 871
Easy Win Cross Country Circuit - 181 401 852
Easy Win Street Scene Sprint - 134 229 457
Easy Win Drag Strip - 812 084 897

___ 

Horizon 4 and 5 Tunes Archive!

https://www.reddit.com/useBigHeadDjango/comments/r4ptt6/forza_horizon_4_and_horizon_5_tunes_archive/

___ 

Thank you to everyone for your downloads, uses, likes, follows, shares and feedback! Check my in-game profile for more tunes. You can check my reddit profile for more content
📸 Also don't stop yourself from checking out my photos on the creative hub. Wow! What beautiful photos! 📸
Don't hesitate to ask if you need any help!
🛠️ I am open to requests for cars you might want me to tune! It would also help me understand FH5 tuning better. So let me know the car and class and I'd get back to you! 🛠️

___ 

Have a great week! 🥳

Tideman... the most hyped problem in the entire course of CS50x.
I tried to do it... and I could complete it relatively faster than others, but it was challenging nonetheless. Also, a very important note:
You can take as much time as you want, you can even solve Runoff (though I haven't looked at it till now). Only one thing: please DON'T think that some XYZ guy solving Tideman within 7 hours is implying that you need to do it too. Obviously not. Take your time...
This pset is challenging but it can even open an amateur coder's mind. I understood what Graphs are from this very pset.

Preliminaries

I want to say, understand structs very carefully if you have coded in Java and are learning C. For those who are getting to know about these algs recenty (applies to Python coders too), understand it thoroughly first. Also, if possible, write the algs which you are confused about. Like, try to use some website or stuff, or even ChatGPT (what I am about to say is reasonable) to understand how the alg works (NO DIRECT CODE), like certain analogies.
Anyway, the things that are hard in various algs are as follows:

• Linear Search: That return false thing which David Sir said in the lecture.
• Binary Search: Understanding how the high and low indexes are adjusted. The way I like to explain binary search (without using recursion) is using some thumb pins attached on a board like an array and keeping a rubberband stretched between the high and low indexes. That way, when you'll try to change the index, you'll just think to yourself, "I'm keeping the high/low index jussst beyond the middle position." Try it/visualize it for yourself.
  
• Selection Sort: The exact thing we use when we did those ascending-descending order problems in the first grade... anyway... understanding why the inner loop starts from the next index is important. Also, people do forget to swap after everything, which shouldn't be forgotten.
  
• Bubble Sort: Bubbble Sort can be done more efficiently by tweaking with the test condition in the inner loop... but we don't need to focus on that for now. Just remember that you need to insert the reverse of the condition you are trying to fulfill. For example, for sorting in ascending order, you need to check if the previous element is, in some way, shape, or form, greater than the next element.
  
• Merge Sort: Ok, I am still confused regarding this one, but one way we can approach that is to understand how merging works. You need to write a program where two arrays are merged in ascending/descending order into one array. The two arrays need to be random. You can find examples for this problem on the internet, but please don't look at the solutions. You CAN USE your loops while merging the two arrays, but merging really doesn't require any kind of sorting algorithm, just two counters (a hint).
  

Before understanding Tideman, please have a strong grasp in any of the sorting algs. Understand why the conditional is there, because the conditions will be used differently for this problem. You can even solve the hardest sorts if you know what the conditionals do in your sorting alg.
Also, recursion is really worth learning independently. Solve some problems you are trying to solve using iteration. Try to check whether something is a prime number using recusion. Try to do anything you have solved/can solve using iteration.
Recursion is just mathematical induction (for those who know maths): it's just dominoes falling. You need to check what will happen when the first domino or the last domino will fall (base case), and ensure that if a domino m is falling, ensure that the domino m+1 is falling too (recusive case).
Please watch the shorts and section for this week, in case you don't understand anything. Check for the materials you don't understand.
Also, PLEASE do the additional practice problems of week 3. There's no check50 or submit50 for these problems, you can check the results for yourself. Even as a experienced programmer, I'd recommend taking these baby-steps before trying to attempt Tideman. See, even if you did Java or Python before and you feel like finding the max value or making a WHOLE MENU is tiring, these are very easy problems, which are important for solving the later ones. For example, I was thinking, "Why just take the value? Why not take the index?" Then when I was trying to solve the Plurality pset, I realized that they were trying to tell us that there can be multiple winners... anyway...

Tideman

So, you've completed Sort, Plurality and, possibly, even Runoff and all the other psets... and you're trying to attempt this.
1) Open the walkthrough video/the pset page.
2) For newcomers, write (about) all the variables and their functions “in brief”. Or just look at the distribution code or the pset page. These are very essential, and you’ll have to refer to them frequently.
3) When the walkthrough video comes to the functions part, we’ll start focusing on THAT FUNCTION only. As David Sir said throughout the course till now, abstraction is the key. Like, think of only that part of the main method where a particular function has been implemented, how that part has been treated... Just don't think about the other functions you’ll have to do. JUST do that part and return accordingly. Write pseudocode like you’ve done throughout the course.
4) If you want, you can reuse the codes you’ve written…
Let's talk about what we can do in the individual functions:

• For the vote function, you will probably remember the discussion on linear search. Implement that, but do understand what are the uses of those parameters.
• For the record_preferences function, I would recommend you to use a pen-and-paper to understand the situation, visually. Also, understand that you are trying to check who wins between two candidates, AND THEN determine the preference. Also, i over j.
• For the add_pairs function, you will obviously have to run an inner loop and an outer loop for traversing through the array. One more thing: remember the technique you did in your previous functions.
• For the sort_pairs function, you’ll be happy to hear that you can quite literally write abc a[i] = b, where b is a struct of abc. You won't need to write different variables like abc a[i].smile = [b.smile](http://b.smile) and make your code longer (where smile is a variable in struct abc).
• (Before attempting the lock_pairs function, read this thing I’ve got from the Discord server)
• For the lock_pairs function, you are free to make any other recursive function you want in the code. Think of the parameters it will take. You’ll understand the parameters if you understand all the base cases. The return type will obviously be bool or int (you may take anything you want though). One thing to note though: search through the destination part thoroughly, using a loop in the recursive function. If necessary, you can write a recursive call in the loop too. Remember that base case is written first and then your main part of the code: the loop part. In this function, it's very important not to get overwhelmed. Recursion will do the teeny-tiny details for you if you write the base case properly. So, have that “leap of faith,” and search through and step into and through and step into and through and step into… you get the idea right?
• By the way, how will you differentiate between what you’ve already traversed and what you have not traversed? After all, you only have a bool array with true and fase as the only acceptable values. Make changes in the lock_pairs and in the recursive function accordingly. Also, lock_pairs function is in itself, also, not unimportant, as it also does some pretty eccentric stuff too. Like, you never try to check if you have fit another end of the pipe perfectly without checking if the first end is already fit.
• For the print_winners function, atleast I would rather use statements like break and continue. Consult the Internet if these are confusing for you. Btw, labelled loops don't exist in C. I’m heavily disappointed. Alternatively, you can use variables declared outside the outer loop to note the index(es). Also, you’ll have to use a flag coupled with those two statements or those variables. “For this problem, we can assume that there is one source.” Therefore, as soon as you print your stuff, just wait no more. (This was just an efficiency rant btw, this function is actually easy if done without any help from this post; just spoiler-tagged it so that you don't get overwhelmed.)

Key Takeaways

If you haven't done the problem, don't read the section, you’ll lose interest/get confused.
This is probably one of the best examples of backtracking I’ve EVER SEEN. I could never do backtracking until now. This feels more like an intermediate-level competitive programming problem… except the fact that the problem is explained a lot. I myself neither implemented graphs nor backtracking before, so I was… confused while doing locked_pairs. Also, I’m very very bad at competitive programming, please don't think like I’m some experienced developer or something,; I’m just an amateur guy doing big projects once in a while…
Anyway, it was an amazing problem. Anyone can learn a lot from this pset.

Looking a buying a house.
Original owners are gone, now their kids are wanting to sell the home.
They listed it “as is”.
After inspections (on my dime) we found:
HVAC is 43 years old. Furnace has a crack in the burner. They’ve been keeping the whole thing going one part failure at a time. My HVAC guy (whom I trust) quoted $19k to replace the whole thing.
Septic. My septic guy says the tank either hasn’t been pumped EVER, or it’s been quite some time. Also recommends water-jetting the lateral lines when it is pumped out. “It’ll be like starting from new”. $4k to do the job.
Backyard fence: Almost 400 ft of privacy fence. Most of it is being propped up with poles or fence posts… it’s THAT old. My fence guy (I’ve used him several times) quotes $14k to replace using metal poles and two sliding gates.
The house has zero GFCI plugs in it. Bringing it up to code would be $2.5k.
The bossy daughter says that because other comps in the area have sold at $340k, that’s her final & not negotiable price.
I say you can say it’s as-is but, you can’t legitimately demand a premium price after all these things were found.
It’s a total of $39.5k or so just to fix this stuff.
I think she’s being extremely unreasonable.
What do you think?
Strategies to get her to see the light?

Hello All,
I graduated 2 years ago. I had a desire to work in a very specific field (Fashion/Beauty and preferably luxury). I was lucky enough to land an internship in a big company in that field and I then started to gain attention from other similar companies however I was approached for short term unrelated admin roles since I didn’t have enough experience. At the same time I got a 1 year internship offer from another company (in the beauty industry but not exactly the industry I wanted). I was very clear in my head that I’d rather take the 3 month role just to put myself in that specific industry I wanted. However I was influenced by a family member who suggested I take on the internship. (I had already done 4 internships at that point and this would be my 5th).
This input confused me and made me de-rail from my original desire and I decided to go with it. The issue is that 4 months in I got approached by another big company in the field I wanted and a more suitable role (for a 1 year contract) than the last one but still being influenced by that comment I ended up turning down the offer. 1 year later, I finished my internship and not only did I not get an offer to continue with this company (which I was hoping for), I realized that I disliked what I did in the internship and that it took my career down a road I didn’t want.
I tried to reach out to the 3 companies I previously turned down however as expected they are not replying. Not only do I feel devastated because I feel like I messed up my chances with some of the biggest names in the country but I’m also getting nowhere with my current job hunt. Even startups aren’t responding to me. I deeply regret turning down that job offer. I feel like I should have just taken it and I wish no one has influenced me. I knew what I wanted but like an idiot I let other people’s words affect me. Now I’m hearing people I know land jobs in those same exact companies and doing the same roles I wanted to do and it just hurts me a lot.
How can I recover now? Because I just feel hopeless and like all my efforts have gone to waste and for what?

TL/DR pension early + unexpected windfall. Do we have enough? 40k net annual income w/ health insurance. Liquid in 2 million range. 400k in retirement accounts. Mid forties. Health issues. Where to go with dogs?
Original plan was to FIRE in 10 years when husbands pension kicked in. He’s 45, I’m 43.
Have about 400k in retirement though mostly untouchable to us now as primarily 401k. Maybe 50k in brokerage, 70k in cash accounts. Conservatively 550k equity in our house. No other debt beyond our mortgage at sub 3% interest. Which is timed to be paid off in about 10 years as well. We’ve stopped making extra payments on it and have been stashing money in savings instead due to interest rates. Only kid is through college, debt free! (yes we started quite young -he was a happy, but scary surprise). We have 3 cars, a couple motorcycles, and a big farm tractor that would probably net 120k if we liquidated all. Have no idea what we could net on other household items. I do have some inherited artwork that holds some value, and some jewelry. Husband owns every tool in existence I think.
The change is my husband was injured on the job and after nearly a year of recovery, PT, surgery etc it looks now like he will not be cleared to return to work. Will be pensioned off early, and keep healthcare coverage for both of us. Net income with pension approx 40k a year. Cutting his take home about in half.
Simultaneously, my company is being acquired and because of my role, I will not be expected to stay on long post acquisition. Expected to receive 100k in severance at my departure.
And then last week we were offered just a bit more than a million dollars for some acreage we own adjacent to our house.
We would not want to stay in our home next to this development. We picked up this land as kind of a lark a few years ago. It was completely landlocked so very cheap and is just forest. We were able to get special environmental status on it so pay virtually nothing in taxes Mostly we did it to preserve our backyard view and privacy, and to make sure no one else on an adjacent lot on the street next to us, who would be able to provide access, picked it up and tried to develop it. Well that’s what is happening now. A developer is interested in purchasing a neighbors empty 10 acre lot, with street access, if we will also sell. The neighbor is anxious for us to say yes.
So we could not sell the land, I could get a new job post acquisition and stay where we are. But that does not seem smart as we would get more than 20x gain in 5 years on what we paid for that land, though that kind of value is only possible when it’s tied to a neighbors lot with access. Also, with my husbands injuries we have had to take on some additional expense to maintain our property as there are things he can no longer do. Our lot is a couple of acres on its own. I would need to find a job making significantly more to make up for husbands income loss and additional expense and that doesn’t seem likely locally. I’m at about the top of my industry pay scale currently for our location. Obviously I’ll have a buffer with my severance, but I will be lucky to find another position making what I do now. As I had to know about the acquisition early, I got a fairly sizable salary bump to retain me during the transition.
We could sell and move locally or somewhere else in the US I suppose. But the plan had always been to FIRE when he got his pension, and with the revenue from the land it feels like maybe we could do this now?
We’re both social security eligible with sufficient credits, but that’s quite a ways away if it will still even exist then. Approx 3500 a month collectively at age 67, if we stop contributing in the near future per social security website and accounting for WEP.
We’ve spent a lot of time in Portugal, Spain and France and the plan had always revolved around Europe, to be determined largely by tax implications in place at that time.
We don’t love hot, but I’ve been thinking about Mexico as we also have two dogs right now that I can’t imagine parting with. I realize not ideal, but we’ve always been a dog owning family and our plan was to bring no new dogs in the 10 years leading up to his retirement so we would not have this encumbrance then. But with a timeline shift, that plan becomes irrelevant. Anyone drive into Mexico with pets?
I would plan to work some. Probably consulting. I do a little bit of that now on the side and I think part time I could probably bring in 30-40k. But for budgeting I’d rather treat that as bonus money as I don’t know how quickly I can get it set up etc. I don’t know about my husband. All of his jobs and hobbies have historically been quite physical, so this is a major shift for him.
Thinking we were still a ways off I have done enough research to be dangerous. When he got hurt a year ago, I never imagined he wouldn’t eventually go back. I know staying in US, unless we significantly downsize and alter our lifestyle, my husband will feel like he has to do something for work. I don’t want that for him. He has worked incredibly hard, at his primary job and various side hustles to provide a wonderful, stable, financially sound life for a young family that was dead broke when we started out. With this injury, I want him to relax and hopefully continue to heal.
We will have his excellent US health insurance benefits intact, but will likely need to supplement to make sure he can continue to get any ongoing care he needs.
We’re probably going to have make some decisions relatively quickly on the land. We’re good with living a lot more simply, but also don’t want to be in a position where we feel like we’re counting every penny to survive. Should we try this? Where would you go? With pets!

I was just returning back from another interview. It has been the third one this month.
I failed to make the cut yet again.
Life hasn’t been easy for an ex-soldier with the economic downturn currently underway.
The COVID pandemic had also wiped out all my savings.
So I was open to securing any job that would help me pay my bills.
I hadn’t eaten all day and just passed by a McDonalds. It was crowded and I thought to myself, ‘Let me just order a takeout’.
I could see a few vehicles waiting in front of me.
There was a guy in his motorcycle honking incessantly demanding the customer in front to keep it moving.
He was a tall man with long hair and clearly looked edgy and irritable. Both his arms were heavily tattooed. He stepped down from his bike and started to walk towards the car in front of him.
I couldn’t make out what he way saying but I could see the conversation was getting heated.
I got down from my car and walked towards the biker guy.
As I got closer, the biker banged on the hood of the car and was pointing his finger at the man threateningly.
The guy in the car was looking a little alarmed. He had a young boy seated next to him.
The woman working at the driveway counter appealed to the biker to maintain his cool. He would hear none of it.
She then proceeded to call the police and this made the biker more irate. He snatched the receiver from her and hit her face with it. She fell backwards and started bleeding from the nose.
The biker then proceeded to turn his gaze towards the man in the car. He opened the door and dragged the guy outside.
He drew his hand back to throw a punch at him.
I caught his arm from behind and kicked him hard in the shins. He yelped in pain and let go of the other man.
He then turned back angrily to take a look at me. He was wearing a black jacket with the name Kenny embossed in front.
I said, “Listen Kenny. I have had a really bad day. So you either stop this madness or I am going to break your bones.”
He snarled and threw a punch at me with all his might. I swerved to the right and ducked just in time, causing him to miss completely.
Next, he whipped out a switch blade from his pocket and lunged towards me with it. I side stepped him and counterattacked with a punch to his plexus. He went down on one knee.
I caught hold of his knife arm and ordered him to drop it.
“Drop the knife kenny!! This is your last warning”, I repeated.
He started to fidget with his other arm around his shoe. I realized he had another weapon hidden in his sock.
So before he could attempt anything else, I twisted his forearm and landed a crushing blow to his elbow. It snapped into two and he lay on the floor yelping in pain.
By this point, other people came forward to intervene and help with the situation.
As Kenny was being led away by the police, he kept staring at me with madness in his eyes.
“I am coming back for you. This is going to be the biggest regret of your life”, he yelled.
I didn’t care and started going back to my car.
Then the man who was threatened by Kenny came forward and shook my hand.
“Hi. I am Rupert. That is my son Henry”, he said.
I waved my hand at the boy and he waved back.
“I would like to thank you for what you did for me back there”, he said.
“You not only helped me maintain my dignity but also helped me save face in front of my son”, he continued.
“This means a lot to me as a dad” he said.
I nodded in acknowledgement not sure what I was to add to the conversation.
He then reluctantly asked,” Is there anything I can do to repay the favour? Please feel free to ask . Anything. I would be most grateful.”
I thought for a moment. I could see the man was wealthy.
“If it’s not too much of an ask, I would appreciate a job if available. If you feel that is difficult, no problem. Forget I asked. No worries.” I said.
He smiled back at me warmly. He reached into his pocket and handed me a card.
“Please come to my office tomorrow. We can talk” he signed off.
From that moment on, I became the personal bodyguard and chaperone of his 8 year old son Henry. We immediately hit it off and became pals. I looked after all his son’s travelling arrangements.
We would also go to McDonalds every week for his favourite Burger and fries. I later learnt that his father was a very wealthy man who made most of his money during the dot com bubble.
I also became friends with the female employee at the driveway counter who had earlier been attacked by that biker punk Kenny.
Her name was Stella and it didn’t take very long for the two of us to start dating.
With a fulfilling job and a loving girlfriend by my side, my life was finally back on track. I couldn’t be happier.
And then one day - it all came crashing.
Henry and I as usual visited the McDonalds joint and I was surprised to see Stella missing at the counter.
I asked the staff about her and they said she hadn’t turned up today.
I thought that was weird. She had stayed over at my place and I saw her leave for work in the morning.
I tried calling her number but it was unreachable.
I dropped Henry at home and headed towards Stella’s apartment.
She had given me a spare key and I opened the door with it. Everything was in its place.
I tried her number again. It remained not reachable.
I decided to go back to my apartment to check if she might be there.
When I reached the door, I could see the lock had been smashed. The door was left slightly open.
I took out my side arm and slowly entered the apartment.
I could see a life size figure of Ronald McDonald the clown sitting on my sofa.
The famous mascot was sitting cross legged with one arm resting on the backrest. Just like how he likes to sit on benches outside McDonald outlets all across the world.
I was a little taken aback, but quickly switched on the lights to take a closer look.
As I moved closer, my knees buckled under my own weight.
It was Stella. She was the one who was dressed as the clown.
There were injury marks around her neck. She had been strangled to death.
I managed to call the cops while still reeling from the shock.
I also noticed her right hand which was resting on her thigh, was close fisted. When I pried it open, there was a crumpled piece of paper inside.
It read -
“She was really begging me for mercy.
Where was soldier boy when she needed him huh?
Boo Hoo….I’m Lovin It!!
I’m Lovin it!!
Signed Yours Kenny”
I could feel a surge of anger envelop me. And yet I lay there helpless.
Had it not been for the surveillance cameras at the entrance of my home, I would have been in jail by now.
The police could clearly see Kenny carrying Stella’s body and breaking into my apartment.
They put out a nationwide notice for Kenny and he’s been on the run ever since.
Even after 2 months following Stella’s death, the police were not any closer to catching the culprit.
But I did apprise Henry’s dad of the situation. His life was also at risk after considering what happened to my girlfriend.
But our collective worry was for Henry. We didn’t want to see him suffer for no fault of his.
So I started training Henry to take his own safety seriously. I devised multiple safeguards to keep him protected while being outdoors. Always ensured that I was personally there to drop and pick him up from school.
My boss appreciated all that I was doing for his son. He knew I had taken Stella’s death hard.
He was a generous and compassionate man and I liked working for him.
Although he did notice I wasn’t my usual cheery self anymore.
One day when I was waiting at the office, he tossed the keys of his new car at me.
“This should perk you up. Take her for a spin” he said.
“And also go pick Henry up from school”, he finished as he left for a meeting.
I got down to the parking lot, and there she was … waiting. The new Bugatti Chiron.
I opened the door and took the driver’s seat. The fresh smell of the leather upholstery was already lifting my spirits.
‘Boss was right! I am perking up’, I thought to myself.
I drove around the block and stopped by McDonalds to pick up the usual order for me and Henry.
I felt a tinge of sadness when I could no longer see Stella at the counter.
Anyways, I picked the order and started my way towards school.
As I went past the restaurant, I saw an old jeep parked by the side of the road. I didn’t think much of it at that moment.
When I reached Henry’s school, I parked the car a few feet away from the entrance. A couple of minutes later, I noticed the same jeep I saw at McDonalds go past me and park 20 mts in front.
I would have never given it a second glance had I not spotted it at the restaurant.
The jeep had 3 passengers. They looked like bikers with tattoos, beard and long hair.
And then there was Kenny standing behind a tree to avoid detection. But I spotted him.
He was gesturing towards them to get ready. I could see his Harley parked just a few feet away.
They were planning some kind of ambush.
The school bell rang and the children were already out on the streets.
I could see Henry at a distance in the courtyard. He was slowly making his way towards the gate.
I immediately called him on the phone and told him to go to the Principals office and stay there. I made it clear under no circumstances was he to venture out until I gave him the all clear. He understood.
He was safe as long as he was within the school’s premises.
The next thing to do was move to another location. The children were already pouring onto the streets, and the last thing I wanted was to see a child getting hurt.
I started the car and went past the jeep before taking the next turn. I kept driving.
Few moments later, the jeep caught up with me and the driver violently swerved towards the left causing me to go off course. My car came to halt.
The guys quickly alighted from the jeep and they were all armed to the teeth.
Kenny came in his motorcycle and stopped his bike a few feet ahead of me. He took out his shotgun and had it aimed straight at my chest.
The firing started before I even had the time to react.
I instinctively ducked for cover with my eyes closed.
But in my heart, I knew my time was up!!
As the seconds went by, even with all those bullets being sent my way - my body felt strangely light.
‘Am I in heaven already?’ I thought to myself.
I slowly opened my eyes and tilted my head upwards to take a peak.
And I realized I was sitting in an armoured bullet proof car.
The entire biker gang were mad with rage, doing everything possible to penetrate that thick armour plate.
Kenny was barking orders at his gang to continue the onslaught. He then pointed his finger at me and yelled, “I am coming for you.”
I looked down at the seat next to mine and saw the takeout I had ordered.
Just to piss him off even further, I took out my Big Mac and slowly took a big bite.
I sat there in gastronomic bliss savouring my burger, while being under a continuous hail of bullets.
The firing suddenly stopped. Kenny the psycho was livid as hell - to see me have a good time.
I looked him in the eye while I took a sip of my favourite milkshake.
And then, continued to chomp on my burger.
He looked a little crestfallen at how his plan was misfiring and then frantically gestured his troops to keep at it. The firing started again.
But it didn’t last long. They eventually all ran out of ammo and his buddies began to flee the scene, as we could hear sirens at a distance.
The attack had taken a toll on the car. But it managed to withstand all that damage. All that firing.
A life saver!
I looked at Kenny again. Only one thought was running through my head now.
‘My Turn’.
I switched on the ignition and rammed the car straight into Kenny. He hit the bonnet hard while the car continued to race forward.
He was clinging on to dear life with his outstretched hands desperately clutching at the sides of the car.
Next in the demolition line, was his prized Harley Davidson.
I hit it full steam and watched it smash to smithereens - with parts scattering all across the road.
Then, I hit the brakes and Kenny was sent flying 10 feet forward.
After impact, he slowly staggered to his feet - all bloody and bruised.
His face was swollen like an apple.
He was pleading towards me with folded hands to show him mercy.
‘This is for Stella. And She’s lovin it’, I said out loud.
I hit the accelerator again.

Own the car but had to take out a loan. Only had it about a year. If I junk it I'll still be paying for it for two more years.
2015 Mazda6, manual transmission, paid 12.5K about a year ago, 2 years left on loan, around 80K miles
I'm really only a car guy by inheritance. My dad's a gearhead. I'm a car guy in the same way I'm a Yankees fan. I dont actually know cars but I change my own brakes and oil. The simple shit. But I'm pretty much mechanically illiterate otherwise.
I was out of state for a wedding when it broke down, naturally. After hours and hours of trying to get anybody I know in Jersey to gimme the name of a mechanic they trust I had to accept defeat and just have AAA tow it to the best reviewed mechanic nearby and there werent many options. Went to one with overall great reviews but practically every review says the only issue is that they're bad on the phone--sound disinterested, dont respond to your questions in detail, that sorta thing. They werent fuckin kidding. In fact they were downplaying it.
Car got there Sunday. They were closed and I had to be back at work Monday. Called Monday, said they hadnt gotten a look at it yet. Same Tuesday. Wednesday they said my starter was blown. No fuckin shit, it just clicks. You sat in the driverseat and hit the button. I told them what they wanted to hear--just replace the fuckin starter and we'll take it from there. Christ. "Well we'll need you to come down and sign some papers." "I'm 200 miles away." "Oh." Asked for my email and said they'd email me. Give them my email. Nothin. Call this morning. Say they looked more and there's no oil. What the fuck? I never got the light. Alright. The guy tells me it isnt worth fixing and it's either an entire new motor or junk it. They looked at the dip stick and it was dry. So they've pushed the button and opened the hood.
I love this car and I really hate this fuckin guy. I dont trust him and I didnt before he said I needed a motor. Every conversation I've had with him has raised the hair on the back of my neck. My googling turns up mixed but generally bad results. He may be right and I swear I'm not just shooting the messager. It's not a quantifiable thing but I just do not trust him.
Is it really enough to just hit the ignition button and check the dipstick before declaring the motor fucked? Is it worth it to put a new motor in? Worth it to get it towed to another place in that area, worth it to get it towed home so I can bring it to my mechanic?
What do I do? What would you do?
And please spare me the oil change lectures. I know. I'm an idiot and I should have realized how many miles I'd gone between changes even without the light. I just work too much. I dont have the mental capacity to think about anything else. I just got off working 3 pm to 8:30 am a couple hours ago. And I still cant afford this shit.

Hi all. My lease with my two roommates has finally ended, and we’re doing our final payments and stuff. It was a two-bedroom apartment with one converted bedroom made by a temporary wall in the dining area. One of my roommates (the less evil one) said that the price of the wall removal would be $500 after splitting it by 3. I asked for the invoice from the repair guys, and he said he paid in cash, so he doesn't have any paper. WEIRD!!! The roommate himself was pretty trustworthy and took care of the electricity bill and everything, so I wanted to believe him. But I'm not sure if the price itself is a normal range. Has anyone had a similar experience?

Hello GoG! Its me again after a long time. I hope everyone is doing well!
The game got cheaper since my last request so this is a reason why Im asking for the deluxe edition.
What does the Deluxe edition offer?
It includes the game, the DELUXE PACK and the SEASON PASS + Assassins Creed 3 which is one of the best AC games in the series.
Im requesting the game called Assassin's Creed Odyssey for the second time. I already made a second attempt 3 times because reddit said my post has been 3 days old, but the subreddit kept deleting my posts, saying that its not 3 days old :o
What is Assassin's Creed Odyssey?
AC Odyssey is the 11th game in the series. It is set in ancient Greece, one of my favourite history parts! I like the greek mythology so much! Its basically like any other AC game, but with RPG elements, which I really like! I like the graphics so much, It really looks realistic! I also like the combat in it!
Why AC Odyssey?
I have been a big fan of the series. My first game goes back all the way to AC3. I remember playing it on a PS3 a really long time ago.Then, I played Unity which I really liked! I liked the setting, parkour there! Then, I played Syndicate, which is my favourite in the series(so far)! I liked it so much that it was London, which is my favourite city in the world(never been there tho, but I hope that in the future i will travel there).You might ask, why dont I ask for Origins? Well, short answer: I dont like the setting at all. Ancient Egypt is cool, but ancient Greece is way cooler!
Things I like about it/summary:
-I cant express how much I like the setting
-Awesome graphics
-I like that the player can make choices
-The naval battles make a return here, which were in AC4
-Epic combat!!
-RPG
I really hope I get to play the game! Thank you for reading this and I hope the best for all of you!
My Steam profile:
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561199181462232/
The game profile:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/812140/Assassins_Creed_Odyssey/

I want to play my quest 3 outside with mixed reality but i dont want to be “the weird guy” in my culdesac. Big flat open circle with fairly minimal traffic. Its just itll have that center stage feeling with all my neighbors being able to look at me through their windows as i dance around in the street with a camera strapped to my face. We all know we dont look as cool as we feel when were playing. Not to mention im a 6’ 320 lbs (looks like 280 lbs) black guy with dreads to my chest. Ill be trending on tiktok or instagram with a caption that says something like “this is our future” or “DUMBASS” in no time 😂😂😂.
I played at the park one time away from everyone else but people seemed to slowly migrate around me with their phones out. I was playing thrill of the fight and racket club in mixed reality. I let them know that i could see them too by waving and saying hey especially when a little dog kept running laps around me. We should normalize vr outside.

Why did the farmer visit the pharmacy? To speak with the farm-assist.
Hi and welcome to my post! Wanted to start off with a funny to me dad joke.
Nice to meet you, I'm Dylan! To put it simple, I am a single 22 year old man who has been pretty lonely in life and lacking in female connection and interaction. And part of what comes with that is the desire to be intimate with a person. I am very mature for my age and will always be respectful of your boundaries and feelings, especially with anything sexual. Lately all I have is myself when it comes to sexual desires, so I would like to have someone to keep company with in that regard too.
I'm just relaxing in bed before work and burning a woodwick candle. Perfect for when there's a storm outside. I love candles! 🕯️ Sometimes a campfire outside on a fall night or a crackling WoodWick candle is a relaxing constant among our busy and hectic world. It's nice to just disconnect, feel grounded and happy in your own little cozy space. Feeling calm and collected and at peace. Something that fewer people take the time to do these days.
I am seeking a woman around my age or older to build a close connection with that could possibly lead to a relationship and something intimate which includes the possibility of teasing/sharing pics etc. but only when we were comfortable. Figured I would be open in my Intentions as that's the best way to be.
You:
Kind, respectful, and easy going.
Comfortable with the idea of eventually sharing intimate things together.
Willing to eventually move off of Reddit.
Want something genuine and fun!
Are honest in your intentions and a good person to be around!
That's about it, we will get along great I know it.
I've been feeling a little bummed out lately. I always try and stay happy and see the best in things. But.. I've just been so alone. Most of my whole childhood and adult years have been spent feeling lonely. I grew up surrounded by cornfields which was peaceful but also has a lonely aspect to it. My family never really were close and never did anything as a family really. And part of it too is the fact that I never had any neighbors my age to interact with. But aside from that, my adult life has been very lonely. I'm just always by myself. I barely have any meaningful adult relationships or experiences, or even any friends.
I work a 3-11 job in building maintenance at my company world headquarters building which I love, but again it's very lonely. I work the off shift so the building is always empty. I don't get normal social interaction with people my age or a chance to build relationships. I only have 3 older men as co-workers and we are mostly in the basement away from any people on the floors from knowing our existence. I always walk the floors and see office people laughing and chatting with their coworkers and I just don't have that kind of experience. And just.. no one knows I exist really. Everyone probably assumes I have a lot of friends, but I'm struggling inside with being so alone and trying to meet people and get past the "hi how are you?" "I'm good thanks" stage. Most people don't seem to want to talk beyond that. And most women are already in relationships and thus it would seem weird to approach them in an office setting trying to get to know them deeper. But man those "hi how are yous" are the only real interactions I get during my day.. so thus I decided to come here lol. Rant over, sorry! I promise I'm not a downer. 😅
Now for some things about me!
As you can tell, I am very mature for my age and am polite and have good grammar which unfortunately not everyone my age does anymore lol. I am not active at all on social media/internet culture really and don't know much about all the slang the younger people these days use. I feel like I'm 50. 🤣
I am left handed which is pretty cool. I'm not much of a party person or a drinker, I much prefer a quiet night at home and maybe a beer or two on a weekend but that's about it. I am simple and stay out of drama and trouble and don't get much into politics or other things that cause drama with people. I much prefer a relaxing campfire and a night at home and to just let the world keep on turning haha. I consider myself pretty intelligent and mature, especially for my age which is why I'm open to older ladies.
Physically I'm 180 pounds, have brown hair, green eyes, and a typical build. There's a few pictures on my profile.
Some of my hobbies are:
• Photography
I have a Nikon D200 and D5500 that I love to shoot with. I love nature scenes, abstract, black and white/goth kinda photography, sunsets, etc. it's so fun to just let your mind explore. It's not about what camera you have, but those who are behind the camera! I'm gonna try and photograph the northern lights tonight!
• Cooking and baking
I loveeee to cook and bake! I enjoy making various meals but also love to just have a frozen pizza once in awhile or something like that. I recently made homemade chili which turned out great. I love to bake, especially in the fall! I love pies, cakes, pastries, cookies, etc. I restored a vintage KitchenAid mixer that needed tbe gearbox rebuilt. Eventually I would love to practice home canning my own food.
• Music
Oh my gosh, I like so much!! Alternative rock, punk, post punk, electronic, synth pop, psychedelic rock, hard rock, etc. I am very non judgemental and open when it comes to music. My three current favorite bands are Type O Negative, Joy Division, and the Cure.
• Nature walks and camping
I really enjoy camping, making fires, and relaxing by a campfire. I love to take walks outside and just enjoy the beauty and simplicity of nature. It's wonderful, especially in a world so focused on everything digital.
• Repairing things
I'm a maintenance guy and one of my hobbies is electronics repair so I am good with my hands and just all around good at troubleshooting and fixing all sorts of things around the house. Last week I helped my elderly neighbor get his tractor started, it needed a new component in the starting circuit. So I'm pretty handy which... Comes in handy! 😂
• Autumn 🍁
This isn't a hobby per say, but man do I love the fall!!! It's my absolute favorite time of the year. Oh my gosh. The beautiful colors, crisp cool air, misty and foggy days, rain, lack of bugs, being cuddled up with a candle or by the fire drinking a tea, etc. I love it! There's only two seasons for me. Fall, and waiting for fall! Haha.
• Scented Candles and incense
Going along with my love for fall, I absolutely love candles! I have like 30 something lol. 😂 Currently my favorite are WoodWick, which are owned by Yankee candle. They have such a soothing crackle and the scents are great! I also love to burn incense from time to time as well. I have cottagecore hippie vibes.
• Old houses and architecture
I love old houses! Especially 1900s and Victorian era homes. Old homes have so much character to them and are just so beautiful from a time when people took pride in their craft. I strongly dislike the modern cookie cutter cheap construction of homes today. I would love to live in an old home one day. I also love their architecture and uniqueness, as well as architecture of old cathedrals and other buildings.
• Relaxing
Basic I know, but sometimes on the weekend I just love to get cozy in bed and relax and put on a YouTube video or an album! 😊
That's about it for me, I'm a pretty laid back and simple person. My ideal person is someone who is respectful and honest! I am very straightforward and open minded and would hope that you are as well.
If I seem interesting to you at all I would love to hear from you!
Thank you so much for reading.

Okay, so WHAP test yesterday, didn’t study (never studied in my life, don’t even know how if I tried), literally the easiest shit ever. Like, that one mcq with the account from the guy in Auschwitz where it literally said “Auschwitz” in the source info only for the question to be “what event is this from?” Like what??? 😭😭😭 I legit read through the passage and everything even though I knew the answer because I thought there was a trick because it was too easy. I took the APGOV test last year, a class I literally SLEPT IN and did zero hw for to get a three, once again, zero studying, so I have to be guaranteed a four for WHAP. Not to mention that I’m also more confident in WH in general. Then again, the test is probably going to be curved like crazy this year.
Okay funny story time: In the aux gym at 7:30 am, chilling until the test starts at 8. No joke, 3 minutes into the test the girl at the desk next to me has her head down passed out. Like she has to have answered probably only like 3-5 (maybe less) questions. This is the mcq btw. Anyways, AT LEAST 5 times the proctor goes over to her in an attempt to wake her up, only for her to go back to sleep. Sleeps through the entire mcq and when she turned her test in there was legit like nothing bubbled in on the back. 😭 Start the short response with the a, b, and c parts only for her to sleep for the first 20 minutes. Thankfully she did some of the short answer after those 20 minutes and all of part 2 (the essays) but she better have taken the test for free or else her parents are gonna be pissed. (If you get good state test scores here you cant take ap tests for free)
Sorry for the wall of text. TL;DR: Test was easy af and a girl slept through like half the test.

Am i being crazy or something that I should worry about ?
I am recent moved to Sydney for work. I met a guy one year ago, and he has one best friend that stick with him all the time. A couple months ago, I just found out that they knew each other via Grindr app and they had sex before.
My boyfriend tends to be tricky every time that 3 of us together, he somehow demands kiss, need my attentions in front of his friend ( it’s giving the feeling of making his best friend to jealous of me).
They always spend time together every time I’m busy at work. And my boyfriend always wants 3 of us hangout on the weekends. I feel some weird of this, it makes me feel like we are trouple. I told him that I find it weirder and weirder the more time that we spend together. We have never had 3some ever. And his best friend has a lot of friends around the city but weirdly love to come with us too.
Recently, he has a habit of watching movie at his friend (on Thursday night). I don’t even know if watching movies is really watching movies?
Give me some comments and suggestions if you been in the same situation like me ? Or am I thinking too much ?

So it's fair to say that skins aren't distributed evenly with Atlas having less skins (no matter what metric yoy use) than Rei who's existed for dramatically less time than him, so what makes a skin viable to developers?
In general there's 3 big metrics other elements do come into play occasionally and I'll talk about that later, but the big ones are as follow:

This is your TLDR as well as the image sumise what you will, be angry at the devs for not giving Dredge a skin.

Concept

Popularity

Complexity

Concept

Certainly it comes as no surprise that having an idea for skins are more important than just about anything else, if there's a will there's a way and the biggest thing is there's even concept of a skin it's hard to slam say Androxus into something new without some sort of idea of what you want.
Of course they still do this for champions and their first skins, which is how you end up with stuff like Pirate Io, and fish Saati, of course at varying levels of success, at the same time a champion might not need a entirely new concept as their first skin, take for example Imani who's steelforged skins come from one of her concept designs, and so fits rather well, the same with Azaan and his only skin Dark Drake.
Of course some champions skins come naturally to, a cool ass flying guy, with a revolver, a pertinence for punching, and some magic barrier? Well you can reflavor all that surprisingly easy, let me do it right now: Ghost pirate captain with water powers, Revenant cowboy using dustdevil magic, Jet boots wearing cyberpunk Bounty Hunter, Psychic gun weilder using basically PI powers, Bootleg revolver ocelot with ghost powers, Witchking ripoff, Detective of some form, cursed living gun controlling someone, Hellrider knockoff, Hellboy knockoff
That's just after 5 minutes. But the same can't be said for Barik, you see Barik is a dwarf, with rocket boots, and turrets, and a shield all of this is rather high tech which means sometimes it doesn't naturally mesh well with certain aesthetics. And the ideas that come with him have either been made already here or on Paladins Strike. The issue with Barik is he's kind of pigeonholed into a specific role being dwarf, something needs to work with this or needs to be at least not jarring, this mixed with his meh popularity, and apparently his animation rigs are fucked up it makes making a skin for him kind of a perfect nightmare if it weren't for the fact it'd look cheap I'd have put him in all 3 "issue" slots.
The one idea I could come up with for Barik is space dwarf, which can be recoloured for any other flavor of futurism, otherwise the rest are just more flavors of what Barik already is.

Popularity

Naturally popularity of a character will do well to help any skins they have sell, so even if the devs don't have a idea, these characters can be tied up with the Meta, accomodating a gaming demographic, or just has a history of successful skins because while Imani is definitely complex to make skins for, and some of the ideas they pull are far fetched to say the least, they do seem to manage to sell rather well even against her own personal popularity being mediocre until recently.
Certain characters also get squandered because relativism, a few characters to be unable to outpreform or match selling value their peak skins (Pepper for Pip), and the inverse happens more often where a character just has a Dumpster tornado fire of a skin (Think Sugar Plum Willo) there's also just characters who've started to exhaust the amount of themes they can run, or have concepts that only work as one shot skins, not everyone fits cuddley for example. So the devs wait to pair these skins up.
Of course on the other end of things there's characters like Cassie and Sha Lin who are just a bit boring gameplay wise to wow people with skins, like yeah you just shoot more, or differently, Cassie still manages a odd end skin, but both lack the dramatic scale of Imani or Bomb King or the whole feeling of something like Tyra, Viktor, Vivian aka"The Gunners" Which might make for a topic of it's own but avoiding a tangent let's continue.
Sometimes characters could easily nail concepts, and aren't even complicated Torvald, Octavia, and Atlas. Torvald is a goofy old guy there's very few power fantasies you get with him, but if they managed to keep making more "cool" skins like the Barbarian and Revenant recolour he could do well.
Octavia is kind of a oddball she should be popular but she's first of all too complicated for new players to latch onto her like they can for the others, and unlike Torvald she's not particularly meta or really needed for any comp in any sense.
And finally, Atlas is just not popular, and that's because he's clunky and he's hard, and unlike say Evie, or even his offtank peirs he's not really doing montage worthy plays, or clipable plays outside of bullying someone, which is really not hard and is easily replicatable for most people while the actual meat of the kit is the hard part, it's like doing accurate midevil nail blacksmithing, it's a dying art without any of the flashiness. And if nothing else Atlas is so unpopular I couldn't find a non gold version of his model online without a background.

Complexity

Sometimes a character's base animations are just too complicated for the returns the less moving parts and complexity attached to a champion the easier it is just to slap a skin on them, in relativity that is.
Viktor is a guy with 5 parts and some move some don't, the guy, the gun, the magazine, binoculars, and a Grenade, and really the magazine, Grenade, and Binoculars don't move in too complex ways if at all. But we can get even simpler even faster, Rei has no weapon instead a crap ton of particle effects that they put more effort into to justify Of course Lian is pretty simple like very simple, like so so simple it's not funny I mean to the point they remove her complex bits and she doesn't even need animation on a few of her guns just some slightly different glowing particle beams.
On the other end we have Dredge, Moji, and Willo, with them mentioning multiple times now they're often with multiple high detail bones, and rigs for their weapons and themselves, of course it seems that Willo has forsaken overcomplicating her weapon too much in favor of making them static in full or in part, compared to the moving flower, but she still has the wing going on which also moves dramatically differently, of course with Will.0 and the Yellow Jacket Recolour they feel more confident in not overdoing these complex details when making her skins when they consider making skins for her since she is noticably more popular now.

Extra Reasons for skins to be received.

Sometimes when crossovers come in you get people, real people who want to make sure they're represented in ways they like so they choose who they like, or characters from other media like RWBY where they more or less just naturally fit with a champion via weapons or abilities, that's why Chase was layered over Viktor.
Sometimes skins come from extra assets being made, such as the two fake bomb kings or the Cultist Vatu skin which more or less just comes from the ease of needing a base model to use for animations.

There are some kinds of wisdom only great suffering can bring. I remember my time in the Bardo with this in mind, for otherwise, the memory might drive me insane.
The night my heart stopped for nearly three minutes started off normally enough. I was working as a nurse in the psychiatric ward at a hospital in the state’s capital. Most of the patients there were harmless, mostly just suicide attempts or people suffering from drug psychosis or severe depression, but some were actively dangerous and certainly psychopathic in every sense of the word. The new admission was one of these- a three-hundred pound black man with a long history of smoking PCP, schizophrenia and violent, psychotic breaks from reality.
His eyes looked like flat pieces of slate as I walked in for my shift. They looked as blank and emotionless as the eyes of a doll. He sat at the table in the front room where the patients ate or played cards, alone under the bright fluorescent lights of the hospital. I walked to the station, where another psychiatric nurse named Ricardo was sitting behind the desk.
“What’s the deal with the new guy?” I asked him. Ricardo looked up, his dark Spanish face forming into a deep scowl. He ran his fingers through his jet-black hair nervously.
“He’s trouble, man,” he said in a crisp accent. “He got in a chase with the police and then punched some cops in the face. It took three guys to take him down, even after he got maced and tased. The judge sent him here on a temporary court order, since he claims he’s been getting chased by Nazis in UFOs, and that’s why he ran from the cops. He thought the cops in their uniforms were actually the SS, and the helicopters were alien spacecraft, or something. I don’t know, I didn’t listen to the whole story.”
“You have his file?” I asked. Ricardo leafed through a stack of folders with his thin fingers, snatching one out and handing it to me. I looked down, reading the information:
“Jeremiah Brown, black male, 37-years-old.
“History: Polysubstance abuse, schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder.
“Psychiatrist’s note: This patient has scored a 36 out of 40 on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist. While I am always hesitant to label a patient as an antisocial personality, a combination of factors has made it essential for this patient.
“Patient has an extensive criminal history as well as a lengthy history of involuntary psychiatric admissions. He has been diagnosed as having antisocial traits since he was a young teenager. Patient has a long history of violence and suicide attempts. He has a history of imprisonment for manslaughter, armed robbery, grand theft and aggravated assault. Upon discharge, he refuses to take any antipsychotic medication, citing the side effects as the reason. Long-term prognosis is poor…”
I had not been sleeping well the past few weeks. I rubbed my eyes as I read through the file, feeling exhausted. I tried putting on lucid dreaming or meditation music from YouTube to help me sleep, but whenever I closed my eyes, I saw horrible things: chalk-white female faces whose lips were cut into an insane rictus grin, flicking their heads violently from side to side and gnashing their fangs at the air. I had a feeling that many years of constantly watching horror movies and serial killer documentaries was catching up with me.
As I read through the file, a student nurse came around the corner wearing a white state university outfit and a name tag that said Kaitlyn. I looked up, seeing Ricardo wink at me from where he was sitting in his chair behind the main desk.
“She’s going to follow you,” he said. Inwardly, I groaned, but I managed to force a smile.
“Oh, great!” I said. She looked like she was probably no older than nineteen or twenty. She had a pretty body, but her face looked strange. All the angles were too sharp and her nose too large. I knew the patients here wouldn’t care, though. They would hit on anything. I sensed trouble. I looked down at my watch.
“Well, I’m Jay, and you already know Ricardo, I guess. It’s good timing, because we need to give medications every day at 9 PM. And we have a new patient, so we can introduce ourselves,” I said, giving her a faint smile.
“That’s exciting!” Kaitlyn whispered. I wanted to roll my eyes. It was definitely not exciting.
I motioned her to follow me as I made my way to the medication room, which was really just a large closet off of the main day room. I had to enter my code on a keypad, and then, once inside, enter it again along with the patient’s number and date of birth. The correct drawers for the medication in each specific dose would fly open, making it extremely hard for the wrong medications or doses to be given, unless it was done intentionally.
“OK, so for this patient, we need Haldol, Ativan and…” I began saying to Kaitlyn when the yelling started. It came out faintly, rising in volume and anger within seconds. I heard Ricardo’s Spanish voice, filled with panic. Something slammed hard against a wall, once, twice, three times, and then I heard the sound of glass breaking. I jumped, spinning around, but I couldn’t see much through the small, shatter-proof glass pane on the wooden door.
“Stay here,” I commanded, seeing Kaitlyn’s eyes widen, her freckled skin looking much paler than when we had first come in. “Don’t leave until I come back and say that it’s safe.” On the speakers strung throughout the hospital, I heard the first of the warnings echo out around us.
“Doctor Strong, Doctor Strong, please report to the seventh floor,” a robotic female voice said calmly, using the code for when a patient had to be subdued by force. I pushed the door open, slamming it shut behind me so that the lock would activate and protect Kaitlyn from whatever chaos was going on.
I heard Ricardo pleading with someone at the end of the hallway that ran past the main desk. He sounded strange, as if he were trying to talk through a mouthful of blood. Huddled behind the main computer, I saw one of the CNAs frantically whispering something in the phone. She must have been the one to call the Dr. Strong order.
“You don’t have to do this, man,” Ricardo gurgled faintly. I couldn’t see what was happening, as Jeremiah’s large body was blocking my view. I could see that the thick glass window at the end of the hallway was broken, however. My heart skipped a beat as I surmised what was likely happening.
I sprinted forward as quietly as I could, but the large man heard me. His massive body turned, his flat, dead eyes scanning me with absolute coldness and calm. I saw he had a bleeding Ricardo in his hands. Ricardo’s back and head were covered in deep cuts and shards of glass. He must have used Ricardo’s body as a battering ram to break the thick glass window. Jeremiah held Ricardo suspended halfway out the window, seven floors above the concrete walkways far below.
“Stay back, or this fucker will know what it feels like to fly,” Jeremiah said in a deep, gravelly voice. He shook Ricardo for emphasis, sending his head snapping back and forth with painful cracking sounds. Drops of blood flew from his nose and a deep gash across his cheek. Pieces of shattered glass littered the carpet, shining like countless tiny stars.
I put my hands up, taking a step back. Far behind me, I heard the front door for the psychiatric ward open. Voices echoed down the hall. Knowing that reinforcements were coming, I tried to buy some time.
“Let’s talk about this,” I said, taking a step forward slowly. “You don’t want a murder charge, do you? You’ll never see the sky again.”
“I don’t give a fuck! I’m not afraid to die!” Jeremiah screamed, pushing Ricardo onto one of the shards of broken glass still attached to the windowsill. It bit deeply into the back of his neck, sending fresh streams of blood rushing out, dripping down to the pavement far below. I heard security guards and doctors running down the hallway behind me, their voices frantic and excited. Jeremiah saw them coming. With an animalistic panic in his eyes, he lifted Ricardo up. I cried out something, stepping forward, but it was already too late. In horror, I watched as he threw Ricardo out the window.
I watched Ricardo’s body soar in a graceful arc, his arms grabbing at empty air as a scream ripped its way out of his throat. Within a fraction of a second, he had disappeared from view, but his terrified shrieking floated up to us for what seemed like a very long time. His screams ended abruptly as a shattering of bones and a wet smacking sound exploded far below us.
Jeremiah turned to me, his large body moving much faster than seemed possible. In his hand, I saw a piece of broken glass, five or six inches long and as sharp as a dagger. I tried to turn and run, but he was fast and strong. He lunged forward, his arm coming up in a blur towards my neck.
The shard entered my skin with a cold, numbing pain. I felt it slice through the flesh easily, felt the blood bubbling up my throat as I tried to scream, choking. The taste of iron filled my mouth as I fell backwards. I was suffocating, I knew. I must be dying.
Something cold ran down my body, gripping my heart like freezing, skeletal hands. The world swam around me and turned black. And then I was rising into a tunnel. At first, it was dark, filled with flickering shadows, but a fiery red light appeared at the end. I followed it, no more than a screaming mass of consciousness rising up into infinity.
***
I rose up through the end of the tunnel and found myself in an empty hospital ward. It looked identical to the psychiatric ward I had just come from. It even had the same smashed, blood-streaked window at the end of the hallway. A massive puddle of blood about ten feet away marked the spot where I must have died. But the fluorescent lights overhead here were flickering, and many had gone totally dark. The shadows seemed to press in on all sides.
The doors to the patients’ rooms were all tightly shut. I felt watched, afraid to call out or make any noise. I started walking down the hallway back towards the day room where the front desk was. All the lights there were out. A thick curtain of shadows hung in the air.
“You can come out,” a male voice as smooth as glass called from the darkness. I jumped, my head flicking in random directions, but I saw nothing. The voice almost sounded like it had an English lilt to it, a slight Cockneyed accent. “I know you’re there.”
“Who’s there?” I called out, not stepping forward. “Show yourself.”
“As you wish…” the voice hissed. “But I think you’ll regret it.”
***
The darkness split apart as if a nuclear missile had exploded. I raised my hand to shield my face, but the light and heat kept pouring out all around me. It blinded me, causing a rainbow of colors and shapes to morph behind my closed eyelids. After a few seconds, it subsided. Blinking rapidly, I squinted in the direction the voice had come from.
A male figure stood there, bathed in a silhouette of light. His face looked as white and as smooth as marble. His eyes were pits of darkness that seemed to flicker and burn. Two black, rotted wings surrounded his body, all sharp angles and thin, curving bones. His body was clothed in silky, blood-red robes, and a hood covered his platinum blonde hair.
He looked somewhat similar to Leonardo DiCaprio, if he was possessed by some ancient god, and it immediately threw me off-guard. If I was dying, and this was a hallucination of my brain, why would I be hallucinating Mr. DiCaprio?
“Who are you?” I asked, taking a hesitant step back. “Where am I?”
“My name is Lucifer, the Bringer of Light and Wisdom, and you are in the Bardo,” he answered.
“Oh,” I said, my heart dropping. “Well, that’s not good. Are you here to torture me or drag to me to Hell or something? You are that Lucifer, right? The Accuser of God and the Father of All Lies?”
“So they say, but, like most things in your world, the words of the powerful and your rulers are the true lies. They call me the Accuser, but of what am I accused?” he spoke in a voice that rose like smoke. “Of bringing knowledge and wisdom to humanity by telling them to eat from the tree of knowledge, the tree that would cause them to rise above the animals?
“Indeed, at the beginning, I saw the creation. I was there at the alpha, standing by the side of God with all the angels as the universe came into being. The endless procession of light, the power of it, was something remarkable to behold. God is, indeed, the source of great power, but his consciousness is not what the believers say.
“After the creation of the universe, I saw his plan, how he ripped eternal souls from the source to imprison them. I saw how he took these divine sparks and forced them, screaming and wailing, into bodies made of meat to die over and over again. He said it was part of the plan, the great, divine plan, a plan of death and destruction, constant suffering and mindless agony. And the worst part was, he wanted to give humanity neither the knowledge of good and evil, nor the tree of life. I convinced them to eat the fruit so they could open their eyes to their nakedness, to their basic animal existence, so they could rise up out of it forever.
“Like Prometheus, I brought down the fire, and yet they call me the Accuser? God was insane long before he formed the universe. These holy men, they live and die in fanatical adoration to a divine being who is, in fact, totally indifferent to them.
“His consciousness twists and distorts, eating itself for all eternity. God feeds off the pain of others, for if his mind is burning, then all others should burn as well. When these holy men die, God will send their souls here to the Bardo, to suffer every evil they have ever done. The wisdom I brought those who called upon me freed them from this prison, and in exchange, the holy men burned them alive. I offered the wisdom that opens your eyes, but it has been forgotten and cursed.”
Lucifer’s body began to dissolve, drifting up into the air like ashes. All around me, a low, powerful current blew, a tornado that spiraled high up into the clouds. Like some sort of Cheshire Cat, his smooth voice continued to echo all around me, even as the form of Lucifer disappeared.
“And yet, you have not the wisdom. For that, like all the others who enter the Bardo, you must suffer, everything you’ve done. Every small hurt and agony inflicted on others comes back a thousand-fold in this place, but don’t be afraid.”
“How could I not be afraid?!” I screamed into the ward, but I found myself alone, the question hanging unanswered in the air.
***
The lights continued to flicker all down the hallway. Feeling strange and dissociated, I stumbled over to one of the windows. As I gazed out, I beheld a strange and alien world.
The sky was flat and gray. It stayed in constant motion, swirling and spiraling, like clouds of roiling smoke. There was no Sun or Moon, no stars, only the strange, shifting whorls of clouds. The streets were filled with burned-out husks of cars and mummified bodies hung from streetlamps. Other signs of carnage and bloodshed covered the apocalyptic streets. I saw what looked like shadows in the shape of people slinking through over the sidewalks, past rotting dogs and streaks of clotted blood. They had no features on their blank, dark bodies. They seemed to skitter and jerk forwards in eerie, twisting motions.
Horrified, I turned away, realizing I was no longer alone in the day room. In the day room, there were dozens of tables set up inside a rectangular perimeter that was walled in by cosmetic walls only four feet high. It was where the patients sat and played games or ate.
Under the flickering lights, I now saw each of the chairs filled with faceless mannequins. Many were dressed in Victorian suits and tophats. The women had frilly dresses of pink and blue that might have been fashionable in the 1800s.
As the lights strobed on and off overhead, I realized with an increasing sense of disquiet that the mannequins were moving each time it went dark. When I had first seen them, they were mostly posed to look like they were staring across the tables at each other, even though they had no eyes, just smooth, flesh-colored plastic. Now all of them were looking directly at me. Some were pointing or raising their hands in my direction. At the tips of their fingers, I saw the glittering of steel. The lights continued to flicker, and the mannequins rose from their chairs in the short periods of darkness, moving towards me in synchronized, strobing motions.
Frantically, I ran down the hallway back towards the broken window. In each of the rooms, I caught glimpses of something from a nightmare peeking out. I hadn’t been sleeping well lately, and when I had closed my eyes, I often saw ancient hags with chalk-white skin and yellowed, broken teeth whose jaws unhinged, their faces jerking in stuttering, dissonant ways that reminded me of the mannequins. Now, on both sides of me, I saw these same figures. They moved continuously out of the rooms, drawing closer with every breath.
I looked back, seeing the mannequins only a few steps behind me. I continued sprinting towards the broken window where the hallway ended in a wall. I didn’t know what would happen when I reached it. At that moment, there was no rational thought. I felt like a deer being chased down by a pack of wolves, feeling waves of blind panic and mortal terror rushing through my body.
But as I reached the end of the hallway, the end of my rope as it were, a blast of noise started, seeming to come from the walls of the building and the sky itself. It sounded like a siren, a low, drawn-out drone of a demonic whale call, rising and falling in crashing crescendos. The mannequins froze in place once again. The strange, witch-like creatures slunk back into the dark rooms.
I looked outside the broken window, seeing clouds of black smoke rising off in the distance. The flickering of massive infernos scorched the land, drawing nearer by the second. The siren sound faded slowly, like the dying echoes of a gong.
I was surrounded by dozens of mannequins. Their sharp hands were inches away from my face and neck. I saw metal glittering all around me and realized they had the sharp points of nails protruding from the ends of their fingers. I was afraid to move, but I heard a familiar voice from down the hallway. It was the confident voice of Lucifer.
“The siren means much worse nightmares than these are coming in the Bardo,” he said, his glossy, black eyes flashing with intelligence. He walked slowly towards me, his face grim and pale. “Hell itself is coming over the land. This building is no more than a construction of your dying mind, but the world outside is real.”
“How can Hell come and go?” I asked, confused. “Isn’t Hell a place?”
“Hell is a monster, a beast with many mouths and many eyes,” Lucifer responded. “It eats constantly, but its hunger never ends. Look, the first of the sacrifices scatter like cockroaches.” He pointed out the broken window, pushing his way through the mannequins effortlessly. I glanced outside, seeing thousands of people sprinting down the dark city streets. The inferno and thick clouds of smoke had moved much closer, and every few seconds, the ground shook slightly, as if we were experiencing the aftershocks of an earthquake.
“What can I do against such a beast?” I asked, my heart freezing with terror. But when I looked back over, I saw his form dissolving again, becoming translucent and drifting away like ashes. It seemed even Lucifer didn’t want to be present when the Hell-beast arrived.
“Seek divine wisdom,” he said, his voice trailing off into whispers. “Remember the source.”
***
Now crowds of tens of thousands of people were streaming into the city, filling every single inch of the streets. Their panic and fear was contagious. I felt it rising inside my body like a snake spiraling up my spine. I took off down the hallway, running through the swarm of frozen mannequins, each in their own ferocious position of attack. The lights flickered faster and went out. Yet the fires outside cast the entire world in a bloody glow, giving me enough light to see by and find my way. I sprinted down the stairwell, taking them two steps at a time. The screaming outside grew louder and more pain-filled. The shaking of the ground worsened with every passing second.
I burst out of the front entrance, seeing a world on fire all around me. Thousands of crushed, bleeding and burned bodies stretched out as far as the eye could see. Behind all this chaos and death, I saw a monster of unimaginable proportions slinking its way towards me.
Lucifer was right, I realized: Hell was not a place, but a creature, an enormous monster the size of a town. It had thousands of skittering, jointed legs that looked like little more than skeletal arms and hands, each of them dozens of feet long and white as freshly-cut marble. Its body stretched out to the horizon, an enormous blood-red cylinder of bony plates that slithered and undulated with a serpentine grace. Waves of peristalsis traveled down its length, like writhing intestines. Thousands of curving, bony spikes stabbed out of it, pointing in every direction. Like the quills of a porcupine, it would protect the massive creature’s body from many forms of attack, if anything was big enough to attack such an abomination.
Hell’s massive eyes flickered, balls of fire that spun and danced. They looked as bright as the Sun. Something like solar flares seemed to emanate from the orbs, flashes of blinding energy that floated over the apocalyptic wasteland. As its many legs smashed the ground, they left trails of fire that caused everything to explode into flames as if napalm dripped from its limbs.
But Hell’s most terrifying feature was its seven dark mouths. Its body looked a thousand feet wide, and the mouths at the front were evenly dispersed. At the front, blood-red teeth in the shape of enormous railroad spikes shone. Its lipless, skeletal face grinned as it moved forward, shaking the ground with every step. The mouths were on long, snake-like necks that could stretch out hundreds of feet. They moved forward in a blur, snapping up as many panicked souls as they could.
Countless souls in the rocky plains of the Bardo ran for their lives, away from this juggernaut. I saw men and women who looked like they came from every country and profession, some dressed in suits or spotless white lab coats, others wearing rags or orange prison jumpsuits. And yet, they all screamed in agony and fear here, their bodies pressed together in a crowd, and no one seemed to remember anything but their own mortal terror. Their voices came out faint and weak next to the roaring of Hell. It shook the ground all around us, as if an earthquake were tearing the land apart.
The first frantic runners of the surging crowd had nearly reached me. The nearest person, a young woman in her mid-twenties dressed in all white, was only ten feet behind me. She looked like she came from wealth, and even from here, I could see a ring with a massive diamond gleaming on her finger.
I took off blindly down the familiar streets of the city where I worked and lived, but these also seemed different. The church down the street from the hospital where I worked had a Satanic pentagram instead of a cross now, its exterior painted a bright, gleaming blood-red. When I had driven past it today on my way to work, I remember it read, “JESUS said, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”
Now it read, “Nietzsche said, ‘Of all evil, I deem you capable. I have often laughed at the weaklings who thought themselves good simply because they had no claws.’” I wondered what that meant. Was that some sort of comment on me, on all of us here?
The woman I had seen running had caught up with me. She was fast, much faster than her slim body suggested. Her blue eyes were frantic and wild, filled with an animal panic.
“It’s right behind us!” she screamed, her face covered in a sheen of sweat. I was afraid to turn and look, but I could hear the chaos and bloodshed approaching, smell the flames and choking smoke. “Run! Get away!”
A new wave of energy surged through my body. I sprinted as fast I could down the strange mirror streets of the Bardo. I heard the agonized cries of countless souls behind us as the seven mouths of Hell ate them all greedily and then looked for more.
A skyscraper behind us collapsed into a pile of rubble, shaking the ground with a cacophony of falling concrete and shattering glass. The woman was running by my side. Just as I heard the breathing of something huge and predatory right behind us and smelled its sulfuric breath, a piece of concrete the size of a basketball broke off the collapsing skyscraper and flew into the road. I tripped over it, yelling as I flew through the air, skinning my arms and legs on the pavement. The woman’s eyes widened. Hurriedly, she came over and reached down her hand, trying to help me up.
“Come on, come on!” she cried. I looked behind her, seeing one of the gnashing mouths of Hell reaching forward on a blood-red, serpentine neck. The mouth was big enough to drive a tractor trailer into, filled with huge spikes of teeth. Its throat led into a black, smoke-filled abyss. Its fiery eyes were swirling pools of flickering orange light that shone with bloodlust and insanity. They focused on the woman, the entire head turning on its slithering neck.
I frantically raised my hand, intertwining my fingers with hers. Her hand was warm and soft. She started to pull me to my feet when the mouth of Hell snapped forward. Its jaw unhinged, scraping the pavement with a sound like grinding metal. The woman barely had time to turn as the mouth covered her and snapped shut with a crack.
She disappeared from view instantly, but I was still holding her hand. In horror, I felt warm rivers of blood explode all over my body as the mouth of Hell severed her arm at the wrist. She screamed, bleeding and crying, as she disappeared into the throat of Hell. Hell’s fiery eyes focused on me, and at that moment, I knew I was next. Its mouth opened wide again, like a bear trap ready to spring on a new victim.
It was dark in Hell’s mouth, but I smelled the thick reek of old blood and fire. I caught glimpses of tortured, mutilated bodies writhing and crawling down its throat. Shell-shocked, I could only lay there and watch. And that was when the strange doubling started.
***
I heard the frantic voices of men break through the fog of darkness and the fetid reek of blood. There was a mechanical beeping all around me, but I couldn’t tell where it was coming from.
“Clear!” one cried. I looked around, only seeing blackness. At that moment, I felt a surge of electricity rip itself through my body. My arms and legs all seized and my eyes rolled up in my head as the pain sizzled through each one of my nerves. I clutched the young woman’s hand tightly, feeling the large, gold ring with the massive diamond biting into my skin.
“Again!” another voice yelled.
“Clear!” the original voice cried. The electricity came again, and a flash of white light flew across my vision. I blinked, seeing from two sets of eyes at the same time: one in the Bardo, and one on the blood-stained floor of the hospital ward.
The Bardo stayed dark and sinister, but the clear white lights of the real psychiatric ward were blinding. It was a bizarre experience. Moreover, everything hurt. Over a few seconds, my vision of the Bardo faded, and I was simply a gravely injured man laying on the floor in a puddle of blood.
Four doctors and paramedics were crouching over me with a defibrillator. My shirt was ripped off, and nearly all of my skin was covered in blood. I raised my left hand, trying to talk, but only a fiery pain raced through my neck. I felt bandages covering my skin. A nurse was rolling a stretcher down the hallway towards me.
“It’s OK,” one of the doctors said, kneeling down. “You’re being taken to emergency surgery. You’ve lost a lot of blood.” I wanted to say something, but I couldn’t talk with the massive slice in my neck.
At that moment, I felt something in my right hand. I looked down, seeing a slim female hand with a massive diamond ring hanging there. Our fingers were wrapped around each other’s, but the hand had been cut off at the wrist. A ragged patch of bloody flesh and snapped bone poked out of the back.
“Nnnn,” I tried to say, shaking my head. I felt fresh streams of warm blood open up. “No…” The doctors looked down, seeing the dismembered hand. Their faces morphed into expressions of confusion and fear.
I closed my eyes as they lifted me up on the stretcher. One of them gently removed the cold hand from my fingers. But they could never remove the memory of what I had seen.
I know what happens after death, and it makes the worst life here seem like a dream. I know that, one day, I’ll be returned to that place. I know that, one day, I’ll see that great monster called Hell and the featureless, swirling sky of the Bardo again.
And the next time, I won’t wake up on a hospital floor, but will be trapped there with the others for eternity: an eternity of blood and fire.