Am i eligible for food stamps?

Easy Recipes!

2012.06.14 05:20 allrecipesx Easy Recipes!

A community for sharing and finding your tastiest, easy recipes! Individuals of all skill levels, tastes, and talents are welcome!

[link]

2014.12.02 22:02 brtw What are we cooking tonight?

Never know what to make for dinner? Neither do we. Let's all make the same thing for dinner and see how it comes out. We're under some renovations right now, but new things are on the way!

[link]

2019.08.14 04:42 mradolfrants The 10th Dentist

The 10th Dentist is someone who sincerely, or professionally, disagree with the broad majority of people.

[link]

2024.05.15 11:44 Wyldfire2112 Crowd-Sourcing: "Cheat Power" Suggestions for an Isekai One-Shot/Mini-Campaign?

At the title suggests, I'm going to be doing a game soon where all the players create normal, modern-day people that are then all killed by random freight trucks, isekai style, and wake up in a "character creation" room in character. Once they've made their characters, they get to choose one "parting gift" from a table full of what look like random tchotchkes that will give them each a special power based on what they pick... but they don't know that part, in character, and the players don't get to know what the power is until after everyone has picked their gifts.
Not all of them need to be created equal, but all of them should be the kind of thing that would make game balance in a normal campaign go cry in the corner, and I'd like a big enough list that there will be many left un-chosen, so I'm reaching out to you all for more ideas.
To give you an idea of what I'm going for, here's what I've come up with so far:

A faded plastic worm with segments in a rainbow of colors.
- "What a Great Worm!" - Your character is now a Greatwyrm of the type of your choosing, with all the powers and abilities thereof. They still gain levels as normal. If any of their attributes are higher than the Greatwyrm's they can keep the original attribute instead.
A Bowser action figure that looks like it's been chewed on.
- "Just Watch Out For Plumbers" - Your character is now The Tarrasque. They still gain levels as normal. If any of their attributes are higher than the Greatwyrm's they can keep the original attribute instead. You are capable of taking a Medium-sized Humanoid with the same statistics as the Tarrasque, or reverting to your true form, as a bonus action.
A Christmas ornament in the shape of a little plastic star with half the glitter missing.
- "Star Light, Star Bright..." - Your character can cast Wish at will with no loss-chance or backlash, but the maximum effect scales with their character level.
A mangy rabbit's foot with a cheap metal cap on the back stamped with a four leaf clover.
- "Luckier For You Than The Rabbit" - You can pick what face any die you would roll lands on, and it counts as if you had naturally rolled that number.
A pet rock covered in dust
- "You Will Never Have To Part... At Least Not On Your Pet Rock's Account" - Your character is immortal. They can't ever be reduced below 1 HP, and cannot die for any reason under any circumstances, even if they want to. They are also immune to aging, natural or otherwise, and will regenerate any form of physical maiming on a long rest. They do not require food, water, oxygen, or rest.
A mostly empty disposable lighter
- "I Am The Fire Starter" - Your character can cast any fire-based spell at 9th Level, at will, and they are immune to fire damage. They also heal for an amount equal to the fire damage they would have taken.
An empty cardboard box
- "Nothing! Absolutely Nothing!" - Your character gains a Fly speed equal to their walking speed, has Truesight to line-of-sight, and can become Invisible and Intangible as a bonus action. The character can also selectively change the state of any creatures or objects they are wearing/holding/touching at the same time they change themselves, or instead of themselves. The effect lasts until another bonus action is used to revert the state or the character loses consciousness.

submitted by Wyldfire2112 to DnD [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 11:03 Expensive_Ant4522 Fair Fare Metrocard

I tried to refill my fair fare metro card on Monday and the mta machine said my card couldn’t be refilled and gave me back my card, yesterday I tried again in a new machine and it said the same thing but this time the machine didn’t give me back my card and said I needed to call the 212-metrocard number which I did call but the number doesn’t seem to work and I also tried to report this on the access HRA app and website but when I try to log in, the website and the app can’t find my fair fares account and I don’t see the fair fare case under cases with my food stamp case this is so weird because my metro card doesn’t expire until September and the only thing I can see on the website is when I enrolled into the fair fare but when I click on it, it just says there’s no account or enrollments found. I am lost on what to do at this point to get a new card and it’s hard for me taking off from work as well to go in person to a office

submitted by Expensive_Ant4522 to AskNYC [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 05:09 Ok-Goat-1311 Help?

I am in need of assistance. I only ask for what you can give without hurting your self. Thanks
Edit: I'm fine not reporting this, but I am homeless and unemployed and due to lack of income I am no longer able to receive mail. This caused my letter to renew my food stamps for my 6 month review to be missed. Which means I won't receive them this month. I need assistance with anything money can buy at this point. I have some ! money stuck online, and with maybe 5 can get 20. But need the 5 to do so. I have no way to put money online either ATM. So... yeah.

submitted by Ok-Goat-1311 to Assistance [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 04:06 AeroArisen Our Tree & The Watchful Eye [PART 1]

WARNING: This story contains strong language, mild violence & fictional political radicalism.
(Note, this story portrays the human side in a morally negative light. If you do not like that, then turn back now.)

ULJJAK KASERKOR, ANDZAKTAR, THE HOMEWORLD, ANDZAK EMPIRE, 11,772 A.C.

Standing in the centre of the Andzak Governing District, in the heart of the Andzak Empire, is the Tree of Civilisation. While there is no direct translation into Human Standard, the meaning of the tree, including its name, stood for the long continuity of Andzak civilisation and the Andzak Empire.
Surrounding the tree were the marvellous palaces of the Imperial Government, the Imperial Advisory Council directly appointed by the emperor among them. The palaces were meant to be opulent and expensive, as if you were a lowly governor coming in from the Outer Provinces, the rows and rows of perfectly symmetric crystalline walls combined with the mirrors to allow the Andzak aristocracy to witness the superb influence of the Imperial Authorities.
Looking into those spotlessly clean mirrors was me, Deputy Governor Uljjak Kaserkor. According to Imperial audits of my activities, I am a "sub-par administrator, foreign to both the Andzak Empire and it's traditions, and the Andzak aristocracy" as Councillor Dlirij once said. In short, they've been looking for an excuse to exile me to a low-ranking advisory position on a third-band world out in the middle of nowhere.
And, as such, I am keeping this diary to myself, so in the event that Councillor Dlirij or one of his cronies tries to bring up charges against me, I am capable of fighting them effectively.
So, what am I doing, thousands of lightyears from my homeworld looking up at the Tree? I am here to report to the Advisory Council of an intense gamma-ray disturbance next to the uninhabited system of [UAG-2113]. Gamma ray disturbances of this scale usually mean the development and testing of superluminal weapons, which are severely restricted under the [Interstellar Accords].
Superluminal weapons are capable of obliterating entire solar systems if given enough energy. The most powerful superluminal weapon ever tested by the Andzak Empire vaporised 3 light-years of space, and fried every unprotected electronic within 117 light-years.
So this means it is understandable that the Empire might be concerned by yet another civilisation in hold of these excessively powerful weapons, especially if they don't know who has them, and they're being tested in the Centauran Reserves, an area that has barely been explored by the Empire due to the Centauran Pandemic a hundred years ago.
By my side, is the Military Advisor Vraxh Huljukrj. To be honest, we don't get along, and while I technically outrank him, stripping him of his rank would be an essential guarantee that the Regional Military Consul would be pissed. Vraxh has gotten into the Armed Forces through nepotism with the Consul.
"So you're bothering the Advisory Council with third-world bullshit just because one sensor buoy near a system nobody's ever heard of in the middle of fucking nowhere read some extra spicy particles?"
Vraxh, for whatever reason, still won't understand the severity of the situation, despite me having explained it to him at least a hundred times over the past 2 weeks we've been travelling here.
"I have explained this to you half a dozen times Vraxh, if you pester me about this decision one more time I will eject the rest of your belongings into space!"
To be honest, I haven't been particularly kind to him either. He kept bugging me with intentionally annoying overexaggerated questions over the 2 weeks we've been travelling here, so while he was in the bathroom, I ejected the bed in his room into the vacuum of space. While he wasn't amused, I found it incredibly funny.
"Okayy, fuck! Fine.."
Maybe I'll have even garnered his false support when the aristocrats in the Advisory Council wonder what I'm doing there.
Me and Vraxh right behind me walked up to the meetings desk. Behind the desk, is a short and relatively aged Andzakian in the uniform worn by imperial servants. He is looking at his holopad, appearing to have not noticed the two borderworlders at the desk. I attempted to grab his attention.
"Hello, sir?"
The imperial servant didn't appear to be surprised, and just looked up at the two with a condescending glare, confirming that he did infact know they were there, and just didn't pay any attention.
"Imperial Advisory Council case #1,714?"
He said the words sharply, as if he had already thought of them hours in advance.
"Yes, sir. A gamma ray disturbance in syste-"
"I don't care. Wait in the lobby, when you are called, arrive on time."
The servant interrupted me rudely, before pointing at a sitting area in the lobby.
I walked over to the lobby and sat down, with Vraxh reluctantly following me. After half an hour of awkwardly silent waiting, the loudspeaker in the lobby called,
"Uljjak Kaserkor and Vraxh Huljukrj, attend conference chamber C-1 immediately."
I immediately got up pulling Vraxh with me, before hastily making my way over to the conference chamber.
The guards at the door opened the heavy chamber doors with a loud thunk.
Sitting in the furthest conference seat was- god damn it, I shouldn't have come!
Sitting in the fanciest conference seat of them all, was Councillor Dlirij, with the biggest shit-eating grin I've ever seen.
"Deputy Governor Uljjak Kaserkor. What matters do you disturb the Advisory Council with this time?" Dlirij said, in generic aristocratic government drone.
I steeled myself with my own government training, before responding through nearly clenched teeth,
"Councillor Dlirij, thank you for coming to address my meeting."
Saying it was my meeting whilst also not using the formal address style was something I knew would piss Dlirij off, but thankfully he couldn't do anything about it according to the formal rules of the palace.
Indeed, Dlirij's grin reduced and he just looked me in the eyes, before saying,
"Deputy Governor, get straight to the point. What do you have to show me?"
I laid out a briefcase on the table, opening it and beginning to explain.
"3 weeks ago, an intense gamma event occured in the uninhabited system [UAG-2113], 3,679 light-years from the Homeworld."
I took a deep breath.
"As you would know as a Councillor, Councillor Dlirij, gamma-intense events in this fashion nearly always signal the activation of a superluminal weapon, legally considered an ultraintense weapon by the Interstellar Accords and thus prohibited for any Interstellar State to possess them aside from the Andzak Empire, the Union of Galactic Republics, and the Ksirlok Dependency."
I paused.
"I am requesting an Advisory Council initiated investigation into what caused the disturbance. If this is not achieved, it could be greatly threatening to the order in the Galaxy."
I then handed Dlirij the papers, which he started to look through.
In the silence while Dlirij looked through the papers, Vraxh had said nothing. I gave him a subtle glare for him to contribute, which he did. He reluctantly said, without thought,
"Councillor Dlirij, the Military Consulate will be the next to be contacted, if we do not succeed here."
I was not pleased with what Vraxh had said. He tried to challenge the Councillor's authority with a threat to go to the military establishment if we got nowhere here. I opted to remain silent though.
Dlirij looked at Vraxh with a glare of anger, before looking back down at the papers.
A few more awkward minutes passed, before Dlirij passed the papers back to me.
"So, you spend 2 weeks travelling to the Imperial Homeworld and the most honourable palaces of the Empire, with your little sidekick, just to bother me, Hasjaxhar Dlirij, with gamma radiation readings from one isolated buoy, nevertheless in the Centauran Reserves, where it has been proven by the Imperial Surveying Authority that there is no intelligent life?"
Dlirij's hand moved underneath the table.
"Councillor Dlirij, I believe you are mistaken by what I have given an explained to you, please-"
At this moment the guards burst through the door, before knocking us both out with the butt of their plasma rifles.
...

SEVEN FOUR EIGHT, NEW YORK CITY, TERRA, ALMIGHTY CELESTIAL STATE, 147 A.R.

"...Comrades! On this date, July 16th, 147 years since the Revolution, humanity has taken yet another great leap under the leadership of the State. On this day, we have successfully detonated a superluminal weapon."
"A weapon that breaks the laws of the universe, a weapon that propels an object at thousands of times the speed of light, before dropping it back into realspace just before it hits its target. A weapon that, prior to today, the distant enemies of humanity cannot have dreamed of. A weapon that has just obliterated the Wolf 359 star system. Due to the ingenuity of our technology, not only do we get to witness the flash of our excellence, but we can also observe from this distance with our electronics intact!"
"Today, from this date, humanity is not only indivisible, but invincible! We, led forwards by the State, shall never be destroyed by those distant in the void, and our Black Banner shall soon fly on every planet in the Milky Way!"
The crowd cheered.
From my position, it looked fairly typical for a propaganda gathering. Soldiers surrounding the speaking Party official on a tall podium, with the Black Banner of the Almighty Celestial State flying calmly but sternly in the wind. Mounted to structures surrounding the gathering area are various slogans of the Celestial State, among them "HUMANITY INDIVISIBLE" and "THE STARS ARE OURS".
Truth be told, I am not an avid supporter of the ideology or the State. I come from a rural background in the middle of nowhere in North America, and have only joined the Armed Forces because the Party Militia showed up for their quota of soldiers.
In the State, all jobs are connected to, and thus in support, of the Armed Forces. While I was perfectly happy to continue living a solitary life with my family in rural America, I honestly didn't have much choice, and so here I am.
After the gathering, we are told to go back to our barracks and thus be assigned roles by the commanding officer.
I come through the door, and am immediately escorted to the commanding officer with two elite Party Militia members to my side.
"Soldier #7,487,782,311. Due to demand, you are being changed from Military Communications to Reconnaissance starting immediately. You will be transported to the Orbital Station, before boarding a Javelin class reconnaissance ship. The ship will not set sail into the void immediately, so the new crew can get accommodated."
"Got it, commissar. I will be ready in 5 minutes."
The commissar seemed to offer a pleasant nod, before stamping my identity card with the official Government stamp. It read,
"ALMIGHTY CELESTIAL STATE
#7,487,782,311
APPROVAL TO LEAVE THE MANHATTAN DISTRICT
ISSUED BY C.O. #2,349,522 - IF DISCREPANT CONTACT NUMBER ON SLIP"
I packed all of my belongings into a state-issued carrying pack.
Looking at how many belongings I have, pretty much just my uniform and Communication Device made me reminiscent for a time I never lived. How was the world before the Revolution? According to my family, the world was far better before the Revolution. They even had food that they could buy from private individuals, and not just State rations, which I find hard to believe.
The Communications Device had a light next to it's camera that blinked red every few seconds. This was to indicate that the camera was actively recording and watching me. I decided to stop thinking treasonous thoughts, and finished folding and packing my uniform, before taking my carrying pack with me.
After leaving the barracks, I walk past a building with the Emblem of the Celestial State painted on one of the walls, with artistic sunrays surrounding it. There are soldiers saluting the emblem, surrounded by armed party militia, while reciting the pledge of loyalty. I continue walking between two barracks towards the rocket area.
This base is lucky specifically to have it's own dedicated orbital rocket area. If I was stationed out west, I'd likely have to spend hours in the back of a troop transport vehicle being driven to the nearest site.
After a few minutes of walking down the bleak path, I reach the rocket area. There are people queuing to get in the rockets, and I join the queue. All of the soldiers infront of me look at the very least uncomfortable, and some look terrified. While looking ahead of me, a place ahead of me I see a vaguely familiar face.
"Eight one four, do I recognise you?"
His eyes go wide, and he recognises me almost immediately.
You see, this is a childhood friend of mine. Was my neighbour, in the rural countryside and the absence of the state, fuck, even when some parts were controlled by the Resistance, we could play forbidden games from the pre-revolution world.
I moved away from him probably 4 or 5 years ago with my family, which ended up being a mistake. It was in a larger community where the Guards showed up and conscripted me alongside a number of my family members.
"Yes, yes! I recognise you! An-"
Without even thinking, I cover his mouth with my hand.
"Don't!"
His face goes white and he realises the mistake he was about to make, and thus addresses me the proper informal way.
"Seven four eight, how have you been?"
"I've been decent. Can't say too much to be honest. Just bumbled around trying to look for something to do. Then I ended up here. You know how that's like."
Eight four one chuckles.
"Yeah, I know how it is."
We both tried to avoid treasonous language, which prevented us from having a meaningful discussion. It was nice to catch up though.
The line slowly moves forwards. I am close enough to the entrance of the orbital craft to hear a commotion ahead involving my friend.
"Soldier #8,142,327,494! Present your identity documents!"
The Soldier ruffles through his carry pack looking for his identity documents, and after a while, finds them.
"Eight one four! These documents do not have the commissar stamp!"
Two militia members point their service rifles at my unfortunate friend. I am enraged and know what is about to happen, but there is nothing I can do. I look around and see the guardsmen in the guards building, as well as a few guards snipers in watchtowers above us.
I helplessly watch as a third guardsman knocks him to the ground with the butt of his rifle, before he is hand and leg cuffed and escorted away. New militiamen come out of the guards building to take up their positions. I just silently hang my head, performing a neutral expression.
I arrive at the front of the line.
"#7,487,782,311! Your permission slip!"
I feel for it in the pocket in my pants, as that's where I left it.
Except, my pocket is flat, with no identity documents, I frantically feel inside the pocket, and do not feel them.
My face goes white and it feels like my knees are about to give way.
I look inside my carry pack with the guard giving me an intense stare. I find my documents, and hand them to the guard. He checks and verifies them, and I am let past. While walking past the guard, I hear over my shoulder from the other guard,
"Seven four eight. Do not forget the location of your identity documents next time. You know the consequences."
I walk aboard the ship without holding up the line, and sit down in a cramped troop transport seat. It wouldn't matter, entering orbit only takes a few minutes.
I look out of the orbit craft door towards my friend being escorted away into the distance, he gives me one final, depressed look, before him and his escort round the corner.
After a few minutes, the last soldier in the line is boarded onto the ship, and a loudspeaker voice calls to the gathering area that the ships will be leaving.
The landing door closes and the ship shudders. Due to the lack of windows, I have no idea what is going on outside. I am pressed back and down into my seat, as the ship accelerates into the sky.
The acceleration gradually slows until I can only feel the shudder of the ship fighting the atmosphere as it leaves. Gradually, gravity weakens and I begin to feel no weight in my seat.

EIGHT ONE FOUR, NEW YORK CITY, TERRA, ALMIGHTY CELESTIAL STATE, 147 A.R.

As I round the corner, I see my friend's look on his face. Steeled sadness. I appreciated it in a world of no emotion.
The guardsmen around me had tied my leg cuffs too tightly but were also forcing me to hurry up and walk at their speed.
As I am forced underneath the temporary holding shelter, my leg cuffs are cuffed to a support beam of the structure. The guards then walk into the commissar's office, while a guard in a watchtower keeps an eye on me.
I see the landing ship my friend is on slowly start hover into the sky. Blue plasma shoots out of its 4 engine ports. It stops increasing in altitude, turns around and rapidly accelerates. I see it shoot off into the distance with a vapor cone around it's tail. The extremely loud rumble of it's engines slowly gets quieter and quieter, until it disappears from view.
The guards return from the commissar's office.
Both with neutral steeled expressions return to the shelter. I am held down and injected with a needle, and my vision slowly fades to black.

submitted by AeroArisen to HFY [link] [comments]

2024.05.15 04:02 According-Nose6127 Food stamps

Why do i feel like everyone else around me receives more food stamps than i do. Is it bc im working? So if im working i dont get much food stamps for my kids. But rent and the cost of living is so expensive so how am i supposed to survive when groceries are pricey. This is also for California

submitted by According-Nose6127 to foodstamps [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 23:58 Wishbone3571 Ravenously hungry

So I realized I have food noise. All day every day all I think about is food. But when I try to do CICO or restrict to shed a bit of weight, I put on that and more. As my weight goes up, I feel like this hunger monster. I never feel satiated and I don’t know what’s wrong with me. It’s like all this food is going into a black hole. And yes I eat protein, fats, and try to keep carbs at or below 100 grams a day when I can help it. Usually my carbs will come from the fiber tortillas, keto bread, beans, legumes, rice, fruit, and vegetables. For example, today I had an egg white and avocado wrap with cheese for breakfast and then a chicken and lettuce wrap for lunch with an apple. I STILL feel hungry and am already at 1000 calories for the day. I don’t seem to lose weight unless I’m below 1200 calories a day.
I’ve restarted taking myoinositol regularly, but it doesn’t seem to be working just yet. I take one scoop of the wholesome story 40:1 ratio. My gynecologist prescribed 500 mg metformin, but I honestly think I would benefit from double that dose or 1500-2000 mg max dose. How do I ask my gynecologist to see if an increase would help me? I wish I could give semaglutide a try, but my insurance says it’s thousands and I wouldn’t be eligible for coverage 😔.
I’ll add: was diagnosed with prediabetes (5.9) 6 months ago. I had horrible health issues and was constantly throwing up so went to another doctor who retested my A1c last month and it’s below the prediabetes range (5.5). I know the insulin resistance is probably not gone since I’ve had signs of it since before puberty and am now a grown adult. I wish semaglutide was covered by insurance for pcos.

submitted by Wishbone3571 to PCOS [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 23:36 Antique_Economist_84 My mom is still using me for food stamps, what do i do?

the title might be a little misleading since it’s not just about the food stamps but i’ll explain further as to why i’m asking.
i recently just lost my insurance when i turned 19 and so i applied through marketplace to see if i can get a low-cost insurance plan (since that would be better than having no insurance at all). marketplace said i might be eligible for medicaid and so my information was sent to the state.
i was going to also apply for food stamps, but i left my job so at the moment i cant apply since i don’t work, but i had told my mom that my aunt had offered to help me apply to get food stamps so i could pay for my own food since i no longer live with my mom and my grandmother refuses to buy my safe foods/brands because they aren’t “healthy enough”. my mom told me i cant apply because then it would screw her over because according to what the state knows, i still live in her house. she kicked me out in july of 2023, so i haven’t lived with her in almost a year.
my question is this, when i applied for insurance through marketplace i used the address i currently live at. since it’s getting sent to the state, could i get in trouble for fraud or anything once they discover my name is still used in another household for food stamps even though i had no idea my mom was still using me for food stamps? but also once i’m able to apply, how could i go about applying for it without raising red flags towards me if they gloss over the different addresses with the insurance application?

submitted by Antique_Economist_84 to legaladvice [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 23:12 one_day_at_noon The child I raised told me I’ll never understand what it’s like to be a mother

TRIGGER WARNINGS: a lot of them
My sister was an irresponsible teen mom with mental illness. To sum it up she would get pregnant any time a boyfriend and her were in trouble of breaking up.
This process started when I was 13. She promptly abandoned the baby to my parents who were in their early 40s and gave 0Fs. They put taking care of the baby completely on me, because “she only sleeps for you”, “you’re such a good babysitter!”, “I just can’t now!”. So my sister would take off for months and leave the baby, my parents would take off for days and leave us. I’d go to school, come home, and care for an infant. By the time I was 21 my sister had repeated the process 2 more times. She’d spend perhaps a two weeks every year with her children so she could illegally file for child support and food stamps.
The rest of the time? I raised her children. I was the sole provider for my family. My 3 nieces and my 2 now disabled parents. Every dollar I made went to giving the girls a blessed life. I dropped out of college to take care of them and started a small business. Every day from the time I woke up to till bedtime baths and stories, I was caring for them. When they were sick? I took them to the hospital. I taught them to read, write, bath, walk, talk. (Due to poverty and issues with my parents I was never able to file for custody- aunts don’t have rights in most states even though my sister had abandoned them, my parents refused to file for custody in any way- it was, a mess, but I stayed for them).
In time tragedy stuck, my sister began blackmailing us to keep the children. It was a disaster I was too naive and young to see coming. At 14, after returning for visiting her mum, my niece attempted suicide (I wasn’t aware she had been abused while with her mum). I had to BRIBE her mother to stay with her in the hospital because the hospital refused to allow me to stay with her. I took her to therapy but her mom insisted she be removed and she still had rights. Her school thought it was a result of bullying.
Years later while with their mother for 4 days, my sister hit my niece. It was caught on video, my nieces were taken by CPS, and because they were across state lines at the time I had to fight the legal system to get them placed with me. It took 3 years, $60k, and it bankrupted me. I made weekly trips to see my eldest niece in foster care. Across state lines this was nearly 800 a week for 3 years.
My sister surrendered my other nieces to their father and blackmailed me to keep fighting to get her own children back with the promise of finally signing over rights. Eventually she got my eldest niece back. She convinced the girl to stay with her so “she could be a real mom!”. Cps said she wanted to go with her mum and so my family placement case was closed. She lived with her a year. That ended HORRIFICALLY. In the end my sister SOLD her paternal rights to my parents to allow my niece to come home and live with us. The trauma from my sister and the system had broken my niece. My niece admitted her mum had been abusive nearly every time they’d ever seen eachother (even exposing her to drugs and during that year to being SAed) but she had never told me out of the hope someday her mum would really love her. Even with therapy she was so broken. She hurt herself again and again. I went half mad unable to help her, depression was overwhelming. Every other day we were at the hospital or therapist. Every month she’d be hospitalized for a suicide attempt and I’d sit with her in the hospital holding her hand while we waited. I’d excuse myself to hide in the hospital bathroom and sob I unable to help her.
So many ambulances, so many medicines, so many doctors, so many 4am phone calls, so many horrors. Eventually she refused medication and started using drugs. I begged her to go to rehab, I tried so hard to help her and support her in every way I could. Her life was spiraling. She became pregnant and addicted to meth, she became violent and unstable. It was a horrifying year. Eventually, after she assaulted a cop, I told her enough. She had to stop. I wouldn’t support her anymore. She would go to rehab or she was no longer welcomed in my home.
She was 18. She left and went to live with a new boyfriend. Eventually she got clean with him, lost rights to her baby with CPS involvement and got pregnant again refusing to consider birth control implants. After she got clean she began speaking to me again. I’m struggling with her pregnancy as I know she’s not fully recovered, nor stable enough to raise a child, nor mature. But I am proud she is clean and trying to gather herself together again, even if she won’t go to rehab/therapy as I’ve begged. She’s FINALLY contemplating going to school. The other day we were driving and she said this:
“You will never understand what it’s like to be a mother. I knew the moment I had my baby (the one she lost due to meth use) it’s just completely different connection. You’re JUST an aunt. You have no idea what it’s like to be a mother, you’ve never had kids and never will” and something in me just split in 2. I told her I never want to silence her emotions or invalidate her opinions but I needed a bit of silence and didn’t want to speak the rest of the trip. I dropped her at her apt, went home and cried. I’m in my mid 30s now and I’ve spent 20 years taking care of another woman’s children (minus the years my poor niece spent in foster care). So much tragedy. I blame myself completely for not knowing my sister was hurting my eldest niece, it’s my fault my nieces were lost I should have fought for custody. My fault they suffered. When they were lost I went to therapy to handle the grief. I couldn’t look at a child in public without sobbing. I realized I would never have my own children, I’d already raised kids. I just couldn’t. I’ve never recovered from losing my nieces, never forgiven myself for their suffering. I failed them so terribly. My fiancé has watched this all (we met shortly after my nieces were taken) when I began applying for family placement I made it very clear if my niece came home she came first and was living with me and he’d have to deal with it. Later when we were serious, we talked about never having kids because of the trauma. He’s held me most nights I’ve come home from the hospital in shambles from her self harm, just sobbing on the floor. When I told him what she said he was very upset (he’s had to handle her drug use and criminal behavior as well and it has NOT been easy on him). He didn’t know her before, or how wonderful of a child she was. He’s tried to console me but it’s been months and I think about it every day.
Her words just haunt me. She isn’t wrong, I’m not her mother and never will be, even though I’ve raised her since I was 13 and she was an infant. I feel hollow.

submitted by one_day_at_noon to LifeAdvice [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 22:24 Training_Motor_467 Help please

I’m not from here and I need some help or advice!
Okay, quick question. A parent that is NOT the custodial parent, has no legal right's to the child, no state legal DNA test or not on the birth certificate can they try to get the other parent for child support?
Back story : I told my son father to sign up for food stamps right! He has 5 kids including my son. Mind you this was beginning of last year. He got approved cause he had no income at the time. I only agreed to help him sign up if he’d just give me a couple dollars in food stamps each month (which he only did one time cause I cussed him out) cause apprecntly according to Colorado I make too much and don’t qualify for assistance. My child mediciad since we been here but it was just recently dropped cause of my job, again I make too much. Over income I suppose. So, I told my child dad like hey I need to you enroll him in Medicaid cause I want him to continue to have dual covergae. I know once a part applies it automatically opens a child support case which is weird. But the Colorado Child Support people ask me was he the custodial parent, I told her no, I am. So im confused on why he put that. What can I do? What am I suppose to do. I’m not from here so idk how Colorado system works.

submitted by Training_Motor_467 to family [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 21:55 SeeCrew106 [Debunk] Ivermectin is effective against COVID-19 and otherwise caused no harm

Some people still swear up and down that ivermectin is actually effective against COVID-19. This is false. They also insist ivermectin has far fewer side-effecs than the Coronavirus vaccine. This is also false. I'm going to prove it to you, but whether you are capable of accepting evidence such as listed below is something I obviously have no control over. I can try, and you can keep an open mind.
First of all, ivermectin has many side-effects, ranging from innocuous to severe.^[1]
To wit:

General

Ivermectin is well tolerated compared to other microfilaricidal agents (i.e., thiabendazole, diethylcarbamazine). Adverse reactions (i.e., pruritus, fever, rash, myalgia, headache) occur commonly during the first 3 days after treatment and appear to be related to the extent of parasitic infection and systemic mobilization and killing of microfilariae. The majority of reactions can usually be treated with aspirin, acetaminophen and/or antihistamines. Adverse effects tend to occur with lesser frequency during periods of retreatment.

Ocular

Ocular side effects have included eyelid edema, anterior uveitis, blurred vision, conjunctivitis, limbitis, punctate opacity, keratitis, abnormal sensation in the eyes, and chorioretinitis/choroiditis; however, these effects are also associated with the disease onchocerciasis. Loss of vision has occurred rarely but usually resolved without corticosteroid treatment. Conjunctival hemorrhage has been reported during postmarketing experience in patients treated for onchocerciasis.

Other

Worsening of Mazzotti reactions, including arthralgia, synovitis, lymph node enlargement and tenderness, pruritus, skin involvement (including edema, papular and pustular or frank urticarial rash), and fever, has been reported during the first 4 days following treatment for onchocerciasis.

Nervous system

Nervous system side effects have included dizziness, headache, somnolence, vertigo, and tremor. Serious or fatal encephalopathy has been reported rarely in patients with onchocerciases, and heavily infected with Loa loa, either spontaneously or after treatment with ivermectin. Seizures have been reported during postmarketing experience.

Gastrointestinal

Gastrointestinal side effects have included anorexia, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal distention.

Other

Other side effects have included asthenia, fatigue, abdominal pain, chest discomfort, facial edema, and peripheral edema.

Hematologic

Hematologic side effects have included decreased leukocyte count (3%), eosinophilia (3%), and increased hemoglobin (1%). Hematomatous swellings associated with prolonged prothrombin times have been reported, but the clinical significance is unknown. Leukopenia and anemia have been reported in at least one patient.

Hepatic

Hepatic side effects have included elevated ALT and/or AST. Elevated liver enzymes, elevated bilirubin, and hepatitis have been reported during postmarketing experience.

Cardiovascular

Cardiovascular side effects have included tachycardia and orthostatic hypotension. EKG changes, including prolonged PR interval, flattened T waves and peaked T waves, have been reported in single cases. Hypotension (primarily orthostatic hypotension) has been reported during postmarketing experience.

Dermatologic

Dermatologic side effects have included pruritus, rash, and urticaria. Toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome have been reported during postmarketing experience.

Respiratory

Respiratory side effects have included worsening bronchial asthma, laryngeal edema, and dyspnea.

Musculoskeletal

Musculoskeletal side effects have included myalgia.

Renal

Renal side effects have included rare transient proteinuria.
I tried to get incidence rates for these side-effects, but in some if not most instances, the answer given for these side-effects is either simply "unknown" or they're just not shown. Imagine telling this to anti-vaxers: if they have at least a consistent set of beliefs, this should deeply alarm them, shouldn't it?
Some people actually did take the horse dewormer version out of sheer desperation and got really sick, were hospitalized or worse: they died.

In New Mexico, two people died after taking a deworming drug for horses and other livestock to treat COVID-19.^[2]
The FDA received multiple reports of patients who required medical support and hospitalization after self-medicating with Ivermectin intended for horses.^[3]
There was a significant increase in calls to poison control centers due to misuse of Ivermectin. Texas saw a 550% spike in poison control calls due to people ingesting horse and cow dewormer.^[4]
People poisoned themselves with the horse-deworming version to thwart COVID-19, resulting in an uptick in calls to poison control centers.^[5]

Ivermectin was consistently found to be ineffective in treating COVID-19:

A systematic review and meta-analysis published in the Virology Journal evaluated the efficacy of Ivermectin for COVID-19 patients based on current peer-reviewed RCTs. The study concluded that Ivermectin did not have any significant effect on outcomes of COVID-19 patients.^[6]
A Cochrane meta-analysis of 11 eligible trials examining the efficacy of Ivermectin for the treatment of COVID-19 published through April 2022 concluded that Ivermectin has no beneficial effect for people with COVID-19.^[7]
An article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) concluded that taking 400 mcg/kg Ivermectin for three days, when compared with a placebo, did not significantly improve the chances for a patient with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19 to avoid hospitalization.^[8]
A study published on News Medical concluded that in COVID-19 outpatients with mild or moderate illness, Ivermectin use for three days at a dose of 400 μg/kg showed no significant improvement in the time to sustained recovery compared to those who received placebos.^[9]

The unwarranted hype surrounding ivermectin can be traced back to its promotion on the Joe Rogan Experience.^[10]

Public interest in ivermectin ballooned following Joe Rogan’s podcasts. “On a national level Rogan’s podcast was a tipping point,” said Keenan Chen, an investigative researcher with First Draft News, an organization that tracks misinformation. (Rogan, who has previously expressed hesitancy to vaccines, announced in September he had contracted Covid-19. He claimed to be taking ivermectin among several other treatments.)

Joe Rogan took a cocktail of Big Pharma^tm meds which, with the exception of monoclonal antibodies, were not indicated for his situation. In fact, some of the medication he took could have made things worse.^[11] Rogan probably didn't get seriously ill because he's fit and without significant comorbidities. The one thing that would have actually been the most effective was the vaccine, which he refused to take.
Many others weren't as lucky as Joe was. I suggest you follow the footnotes and see for yourself. Especially the first one.^[12][13]
Other than ivermectin, coronavirus vaccines are also a subject both Joe Rogan and his guests have shamelessly lied about numerous times, which could have caused medical harm to people who bought into it, and probably did. The most prominent guest which comes to mind is RFK Jr.
RFK Jr.'s influence is so odious, I am comfortable saying he probably contributed to thousands of unnecessary deaths in total. One incident in which 83 people (mostly children) died is particularly disgusting:^[14]

In June 2019, Kennedy and his wife, the actress Cheryl Hines, visited Samoa, a trip Kennedy later wrote was arranged by Edwin Tamasese, a Samoan local anti-vaccine influencer.
Vaccine rates had plummeted after two children died in 2018 from a measles vaccine that a nurse had incorrectly mixed with a muscle relaxant. The government suspended the vaccine program for months. By the time Kennedy arrived, health authorities were trying to get back on track.
He was treated as a distinguished guest, traveling in a government vehicle, meeting with the prime minister and, according to Kennedy, many health officials and the health minister.
He also met with anti-vaccine activists, including Tamasese and another well-known influencer, Taylor Winterstein, who posted a photograph of herself and Kennedy on her Instagram.
“The past few days have been profoundly monumental for me, my family and for this movement to date,” she wrote, adding hashtags including #investigatebeforeyouvaccinate.
A few months later, a measles epidemic broke out in Samoa, killing 83 people, mostly infants and children in a population of about 200,000.
Public health officials said at the time that anti-vaccine misinformation had made the nation vulnerable.
The crisis of low vaccination rates and skepticism created an environment that was “ripe for the picking for someone like RFK to come in and in assist with the promotion of those views,” said Helen Petousis-Harris, a vaccinologist from New Zealand who worked on the effort to build back trust in the measles vaccine in Samoa.
Petousis-Harris recalled that local and regional anti-vaccine activists took their cues from Kennedy, whom she said “sits at the top of the food chain as a disinformation source.”
“They amplified the fear and mistrust, which resulted in the amplification of the epidemic and an increased number of children dying. Children were being brought for care too late,” she said.

The pandemic is over. Ivermectin wasn't effective. On the one hand we should move on, on the other hand, there should be some accountability for people who pushed this lie, especially those who benefited from it financially.^[10][15]
[1] Drugs.com - Ivermectin Side Effects
[2] USA Today - 'A serious issue': New Mexico health officials suspect two people dead from ivermectin poisoning
[3] Global News - FDA warns Americans to stop taking horse dewormer for COVID-19: ‘You are not a horse’ (Some anti-vaxers counter that the FDA lost a court battle about ivermectin, proving that it works - this is false)
[4] USA Today - Fact check: 590% jump in poison control calls about ivermectin seen in Texas
[5] Ars Technica - More people are poisoning themselves with horse-deworming drug to thwart COVID
[6] Virology Journal - Ivermectin under scrutiny: a systematic review and meta-analysis of efficacy and possible sources of controversies in COVID-19 patients
[7] JAMA Network - At a Higher Dose and Longer Duration, Ivermectin Still Not Effective Against COVID-19
[8] KU Medical Center - Ivermectin shown ineffective in treating COVID-19, according to multi-site study including KU Medical Center
[9] News Medical - Ivermectin is ineffective in non-severe COVID-19 patients according to new study
[10] The Guardian - Ivermectin frenzy: the advocates, anti-vaxxers and telehealth companies driving demand
[11] Doctor Mike - Here's Why Joe Rogan's COVID Treatment Is Problematic
[12] /JamiePullDatUp - "I made a terrible mistake" vs. "I'm still not a 100% sold on the inoculation" - videos of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients in the hospital
[13] /HermanCainAward
[14] AP - RFK Jr. spent years stoking fear and mistrust of vaccines. These people were hurt by his work
[15] Time - ‘What Price Was My Father’s Life Worth?’ Right-Wing Doctors Are Still Peddling Dubious COVID Drugs

submitted by SeeCrew106 to JamiePullDatUp [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 20:46 EmileeYoungWord worried... I don't know what to do.

I was in a christian cult - not using the word lightly, they literally wanted to "take over" the city we were living in and openly talked about their indoctrination tactics and did not shy away from the manipulation aspects.
I got divorced and got out, but I have a child with my ex husband and we share custody nearly 50/50. I have her 4 nights a week and do all school drop offs, he has her 3 nights a week including Sunday morning church. I also have another, younger daughter.
As a single mom of 2 working at the local community college, I do not make enough money to be comfortable. Everything is paycheck to paycheck, and often things get in the negative before I can figure it all out. I recently reapplied for food stamps and found out I was going to qualify for the bare minimum because I couldn't claim her on my application after he and his wife had claimed her and started receiving benefits. Even still, I make every effort imaginable to continue to give my family a good life and never allow our lack of finances to negatively affect giving my girls a magical childhood.
In general we have a good coparenting relationship. We don't interfere with each other's lives, we are flexible and work together when things come up. Before his new wife came into the picture, I did all the work of finding a good school and moving into that area, even though he wanted her to attend christian school, I take care of all her doctor, dentist, etc., appointments. I hold her social security card and birth certificate. I keep track of who gets what holidays in a year. His new wife came in and has been so kind and respectful, my daughter loves her, and I'm grateful he married someone who will be good to my daughter.
–
I am worried now, because a few weeks ago, out of the blue, my daughter was upset about "having to tell her friends she won't see them next year, when she goes to a new school."
I reached out to her dad and his wife and asked "hey, she said this "XYZ" and before I react, I just wanted to ask you guys about it. I don't know of any plans to change her school"
They responded about being in the process of interviewing for a new job outside of town and hoping for it. They had asked my daughter how she would feel about changing schools as a way to take her preferences into account when making the decision, but nothing had been decided and they had not officially been offered the new job.
A few weeks went by and two separate times on a pickup day they told me she would be at her aunt's house because they were BOTH going to be in the other town at an interview for this job.
Today he reached out and told me "we" got the job, and they'd like to sit down and talk about logistics and dynamics and things.
–
I am extremely worried that this new job is something church related, as I can't think of anything else that would interview a husband and wife together.
I am extremely worried that he is going to request that my daughter moves in with them during the week and attends a new school closer to their new house.
I am scared for my daughter. The christian schools in my area (if not in general) are known for being absolutely vile - lying, promiscuity, drugs, much worse than the public schools because the religious families raise kids who are better at hiding things from their parents and other adults. I'm scared because my girl is so sweet, so innocent, and so impressionable. I wanted to raise her to be able to confidently make her own decision whether she wanted to believe in those things or not, and I'm worried that she will be indoctrinated in a cult-like way by these people who openly, proudly, flaunt those cult claims.
I am also very worried that by fighting for her to stay with me, I am not going to be doing what's best for her. I don't make much money. I'm a single mom. I don't have that kind of social community and network, like... if I'm struggling, I don't have anyone else to turn to. We always have food, whether I get to eat it or not. We don't have power or water shut off, we're not at risk of homelessness, but that's because I work myself to exhaustion making sure I have the resources to keep things on and paid. I was paid on the 10th and I was getting an overdraft fee last night because bills needed to be paid. Like. How can I possibly be able to do what's best for her? I don't want things to change like that. I do want what's best for my daughter, but how do I give her that as a single mom in this economy in this capitalistic hellscape? I don't even know if there's advice for this situation, I just don't know who to ask.

submitted by EmileeYoungWord to Mommit [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 20:43 EmileeYoungWord worried... long post.

I am worried now, because a few weeks ago, out of the blue, my daughter was upset about "having to tell her friends she won't see them next year, when she goes to a new school."
I reached out to her dad and his wife and asked "hey, she said this "XYZ" and before I react, I just wanted to ask you guys about it. I don't know of any plans to change her school"
They responded about being in the process of interviewing for a new job outside of town and hoping for it. They had asked my daughter how she would feel about changing schools as a way to take her preferences into account when making the decision, but nothing had been decided and they had not officially been offered the new job.
A few weeks went by and two separate times on a pickup day they told me she would be at her aunt's house because they were BOTH going to be in the other town at an interview for this job.
Today he reached out and told me "we" got the job, and they'd like to sit down and talk about logistics and dynamics and things.

I am extremely worried that this new job is something church related, as I can't think of anything else that would interview a husband and wife together.
I am extremely worried that he is going to request that my daughter moves in with them during the week and attends a new school closer to their new house. I am scared for my daughter. The christian schools in my area (if not in general) are known for being absolutely vile - lying, promiscuity, drugs, much worse than the public schools because the religious families raise kids who are better at hiding things from their parents and other adults. I'm scared because my girl is so sweet, so innocent, and so impressionable. I wanted to raise her to be able to confidently make her own decision whether she wanted to believe in those things or not, and I'm worried that she will be indoctrinated in a cult-like way by these people who openly, proudly, flaunt those cult claims. I am also very worried that by fighting for her to stay with me, I am not going to be doing what's best for her. I don't make much money. I'm a single mom. I don't have that kind of social community and network, like... if I'm struggling, I don't have anyone else to turn to. We always have food, whether I get to eat it or not. We don't have power or water shut off, we're not at risk of homelessness, but that's because I work myself to exhaustion making sure I have the resources to keep things on and paid. I was paid on the 10th and I was getting an overdraft fee last night because bills needed to be paid. Like. How can I possibly be able to do what's best for her? I don't want things to change like that. I do want what's best for my daughter, but how do I give her that as a single mom in this economy in this capitalistic hellscape? I don't even know if there's advice for this situation, I just don't know who to ask.

submitted by EmileeYoungWord to singlemoms [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 19:28 cashewcan Fix this one thing and you will solve so many of the problems of CK3...

CHARACTER AGENCY

It's ridiculous how passive and honestly "NPC" the other characters in the world are. For an installment in the series that wanted to dip deeper into the "Roleplay" side of things, it's absolutely crucial that CK3 find a way to make the other characters in the world feel like real, living, breathing, and independent people, and it currently falls flat on that.
Here are just some ways that you could improve character agency in the game:

Characters should be able to push for appointments, regularly. How am I a god that just comes in and names every single knight and court position in the land with not a breath of reaction from my entire court. Do you know how many people would've had the king's ear in this time and been pushing for themselves or their friends or family for these appointments? Think of the court intrigue you've seen in shows like Game of Thrones or Shogun or Succession, now think how well the game captures that feeling. The -40 opinion penalty for major vassals not being on your council is a boring static modifier that doesn't take into account personality and context and only applies to your council, not to court positions or knighthoods. The random events in your Royal Court where people push for appointments are infrequent, pretty random, have little consequence, and are actually entirely optional if you never Hold Court. People should be pushing to fill your different roles regularly and react positively or negatively if you pick people they like or don't like. Here are some examples:
- People should be able to push for themselves to be appointed, for their friends, for their family, for people they respect, for people of their culture and/or religion, for people with similar personalities to them.
- People should oppose the appointment of their rivals, people from families their family is feuding with, people they dislike, cultures or religions they oppose, etc.
- Personality traits should affect who people push for. Deceitful characters may want you to purposely appoint incompetent knights, bodyguards, food tasters, etc. if they dislike you. Zealous characters prioritize religion far above other qualities. Diligent characters prioritize the most competent candidate. Vengeful characters highly oppose their enemies being chosen. Greedy characters prioritize appointments for themselves or their family. Impatient characters will get upset if you leave the position vacant for too long. Trusting characters will only push for candidates they really know well.
Characters should be able to refuse appointments, or resign from positions. Maybe the talented firstborn son of the king does not wish for the duty to rule and refuses the election to King and instead wishes to spend his days frequenting brothels and fighting in tournaments. Maybe a martially gifted vassal that has huge estates and is living comfortably in his manor off of his rents doesn't want to be appointed as my Marshall and chase and stamp down peasant revolts for a living, so he comes up with an excuse to refuse the appointment. Perhaps I need to change his mind by paying him a visit to persuade him in person, or by hosting a great feast in my hall with him as the honorary guest, or by arranging a marriage between our families. Perhaps my masterful Steward is offended at the lowborns and heathens I have hired into my council, and resigns out of protest. Perhaps my Marshall is ashamed at how badly the last war went under his purview, and resigns out of shame. Perhaps my Chancellor just heard news that his son was killed in a hunting accident back home, and resigns to go spend time on his estate with his family.
Characters should react to actions the player takes.
- Won a great battle? Maybe a knight approaches you after the battle wishing to enter your service after hearing of the tale. Maybe your marshall approaches you and congratulates on your generalship. If it was against heathens, maybe the Pope writes you a letter congratulating you on the victory of Christendom. Maybe a vassal approaches you and offers to build a statue in his domain to honour your victory.
- Declared a new war? Maybe a vassal refuses the call to war citing some excuse, withholding his levies and giving you a reason to punish him in the future. Maybe another vassal joins with his personal troops as well because he is personally interested in success in this war.
- Built a building in your vassal's land? Your vassal should thank you and like you more.
Characters should regularly ask for favours from the player, and the player should be able to ask them in return. Maybe a an existing councillor asks that you hire him to another position for which he thinks he is better suited. Perhaps a vassal approaches you with a marriage offer, and in return offers to build a church in your honour. Perhaps a vassal approaches you and asks that you declare war on the country that is raiding their lands, and in return offers to increase his obligations to you. Perhaps a vassal asks that you raise his children with the greater learning available in your court, and in return he will send you his brother to serve as your knight. Perhaps the pope asks you to build a church and in return offers to send you some learned monks and an artifact.
Characters should regularly travel to visit each other or do things. It seems like the only thing characters beside me do is lead armies, and go on hunts. Why don't my councillors go back to visit their estates? To see their families? Why don't distant family members travel to see each other? To host family reunions?
The player should be able to consult decisions with other characters. What is the point of my councillors if they never give me counsel? If I am planning on giving out land to new vassals, each of them should be there with suggestions on who I should give it to, or whether I should even give it away at all. And it should not just be my councillors, sometimes these decisions are leaked and my entire court will find out, in which case many courtiers would have their own opinions on what should be done! Maybe one of my guests approaches me and begs I give the land to them due to some ancestral claim. Maybe my food taster during dinner tells me he thinks it should go to my existing vassal X because he manages his current estates so well. And what if I want to host an activity? I should be able to ask my councillors or courtiers which activity they wish for or think would be best to host next. Maybe they have suggestions for where to host it, how to plan it, who to invite, etc. Maybe my marshall wants a tournament but my chaplain wants a pilgrimage. Maybe in my feast, my Steward wants me to invite vassal X but my wife despises him and wishes me not to.

The fact that almost none of these features exist in a meaningful way in the game is kind of ridiculous, for a game that tries so hard to be role-play centered and story-driven. Think about how much we are missing out on because of the lack of agency of characters in the world. Imagine if other characters in the world acted like us as the player character. Think of the story opportunities if features like the above were implemented to make for more independent AI characters.

submitted by cashewcan to CrusaderKings [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 18:30 Main-Ad-5922 Feeling Frozen

I just realized my savings acc has the most saved ive ever had in my life $2.5k. And I also have 340.00 in Food Stamps this particular month. I have a vehicle, not my own apartment but I am staying with someone for now(urgent awaiting me to leave)
But with all that said: this is the “best” point ive ever been in this “rat-race” weve been conditioned to call life. Ive never had this much resources. I feel like today i can say im responsible. Maybe just for the day. I know I wont go off spending any of it irresponsibly, BUT im stuck. I feel frozen . I dont wanna mess this up and where im at. Im not sure what to do w my money/resources.
My life situation: staying with an OLD-foster family but they want me out urgently asking when can I leave etc..
I have a 2013 4door sedan (cant rlly afford to go far, it needs a lot of repair) i do have a professional camera (its a passion of mine) - all these resources, and no brain to help compute what to do… lol SOS

submitted by Main-Ad-5922 to homeless [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 17:40 Rough-Neck-9720 The Robot Minimum Wage Plan (RMWP)

The scenario I am trying to work out is one where people displaced by robots in the workplace are eligible to receive a minimum wage paid for by the robot that replaces him. Here is a short story to explain the concept. This was written back in 1997 so the numbers may be off a bit, but the principal is the same.
The story
I’m just a normal guy living a normal life in a normal city on planet earth in the 22nd century. They told us robots would take our jobs, and they have, thank god. Now I can spend the day in a meaningful way rather than drudge at life to eke out a living like my grandfather had to do. He was a factory worker, but then again so am I.
Gramps worked 8-10 hours a day tightening wheel nuts in an auto factory and barely made enough to feed his family let alone buy a home or take a decent vacation. Then the robots came and took his job. Life went from bad to worse until his former employer opted into the Robot Minimum Wage Plan (RMWP) to save money on their robot budget and expand production.
Now, the company hires robots from XYZ Robot Installation Company. They pay an hourly wage for each robot they hire depending on the complexity of the task the robot performs. The wage is fairly low to the company but since the robots work 24/7 it adds up. The robots pay income tax and the company pays payroll tax just like they always did. In addition though, a percentage of the wage goes into the RMWP.
The RMWP collects money from all of the working robots and distributes it to humans as a minimum wage. As a descendent of a displaced worker, I am eligible to receive the wage. The goal is for everyone to eventually receive the wage and as more and more robots get to work that is coming about.
While I could live on the wage at a subsistence level, I choose to work in the factory 3 days a week in order to improve my living conditions and lifestyle. Most human jobs are part time like mine so there are plenty of jobs to go around and with the RMWP the wages required are lower so companies and institutions tend to hire more people.
I’m happy because I work 3 days a week and live a comfortable life.
My friend and his wife choose to work 5 days a week and live in a nicer house and send their kids to private school. My spouse works at their daycare 3 days per week.
I have other highly successful friends who work in the robot industry … designing, building, installing and operating robots.
Nobody that I know works in a repetitive dirty job … the robots do that work.
People who are unable to work get their RMWP plus government disability assistance.
People who choose not to work get RMWP and can survive on that although we still need to work on trying to educate and motivate them. The abundance of clean part time jobs is helping with that.
The capitalist system still thrives. The best investments have turned out to be in Robot manufacturers, installers and servicing companies. Providing basic food and shelter has also proven to be a good investment since homelessness has all but disappeared.
The government is happy because they get taxes from robots.
Even bankers are happy because 100% of the population are consumers because they have money to spend.
Putting numbers together - this is a simple starting point open to modification and it represents only one segment … Industrial Robotics.
Average cost of an industrial robot system today is $100000 (Incl. installation & control system)
Robot wage - $25000 / yr
Taxes – 15% = $3750
RMWP contribution – 25% = $6250 ()
To Robot Integrator (Supply & install Robot) - 60% = $15000
RMWP payment required to support one adult = $10000

submitted by Rough-Neck-9720 to Futurology [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 16:51 Direct-Ad2644 ending my life tonight

Please don't judge me or be harsh or trolling. I can't handle it at this point in time right now.... I am just moments close to ending everything because I just can't handle it anymore. please if you judge me just keep it to yourself please..
I am on ssi and ssd getting 158 on the first and 805 on the 3rd. the ssd is after both my parents passed they put me on my dads disability drawing off what he earned working but I was originally on ssi to begin with.
I get about 963 a month total to live on. Right now I am in major debt with credit cards since covid broke out. I had to use them to live on.
I moved in with my aunt who is living in apartments based on income but they are not section 8 but they accept section 8. When i moved in, i was told by the manager i didn't need to put my income since i was a cotenant. that was 10 yrs ago. come to find out. i had to put my income now i am being sued by the housing authority for 10k, i owe two more years. my aunt and i pay 220 a month to them. they don't care what happened they just want their money.
i owe one credit card company 4.5k, another 1.8k another 600 and another 700. when i applied for them, it was 3 plus years ago. i put that i made around 700k a year when i applied to them but i was on ssdi at the time making around 11k a year. i went on the websites 3 months ago fixed the right info.
I live in a small town where nothing is available for the next 20 plus miles and have no transport. my aunt won't take me anywhere. her son who si in his late 30's lives with us and works. my aunt is on disability. I get food stamps right now worth a 130 a month which goes to my aunt even though its for me. i pay her 450 a month rent incl internet lights and 130 in food. if i don't give her the food stamps then i have to pay her another 130 a month i can't afford since all my stuff is going to her and credit cards. i legit have nothing left each month right now with having to buy myself instant mashed potatoes, oatmeal top ramen soup, noodles and spaghetti sauce. i live on that through the month.
when she buys food with the food stamps it feeds her son, me and her. but it is only enough to last a week, then for the next 3 weeks i am starving barely eating because i can't afford much when i do buy stuff that i can put in my bedroom to eat on.
past week now, there has been no food, her son has been taking his mom and him out to eat all week not bringing anything home for me. im so hungry. the nearest food bank is 4 miles away one way, but i have no way to get there my aunt won't take me they don't deliver and when i tried getting medicaid transport to take me they said they don't schedule rides except to and from the dr's.
I have no other family, I have no friends. I have no vehicle. been trying to get a minivan so I could live in it. I am sometimes bed ridden due to my bad joints/back/knees/feet/right leg nerve damage. I also struggle from morbid obesity I am around 500 lbs and funny thing is, with how little i eat. i should be losing weight but its the complete opposite.
I will be 47 yrs old when I am out of debt with the credit card companies, I tried filing bankruptcy no one will touch me being under 10k in debt with the credit card companies. i contacted legal aid, the attorney who called me back said he can't help me because its under 10k. but told me how to file but chances of me filing and getting it are slim to none esp without legal help he said.
im thinking of ending my life next month when my aunt and her son leave for a week. I just can't keep living like this. if i had a minivan I could stay in it, do door dash for extra money, I could get around trying to find an aparment based on income. I bene accepted a few times to low income places but had no way to get there and now with all the debt I wouldn't be able to afford having my own place with the credit card debt.
if i stop paying the cards, and the debt collectors come after me, they could take me to court and if they do, they could show the judge i said i made 700k a year and i didn't make that much and was on disability at the time and making only 11k a year. i found out while looking into bankruptcy that it is fraud and i could face prison time.
i just don't know what to do anymore. i really don't know what to do anymore other than ending things next month to get out of this situation i put myself in with my aunt, debt, etc. I just can't do it anymore esp without a vehicle. esp since I am bed ridden half of the day here and there due to my bad joints and weight that i have carried around for 30 yrs destroying my joints and causing nerve damage to my right leg. I can't just get up and go on the streets and live on the streets not with how badly im in pain every day esp just walking to the corner store. just a simple walk to the corner store and back and i am bed rested for an entire day barely able to move.
i can't do it anymore...

submitted by Direct-Ad2644 to SuicideWatch [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 16:50 Direct-Ad2644 Ending my life tonight

submitted by Direct-Ad2644 to depression [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 15:37 ThrowRA12596 In-laws want me to sponsor them? Not sure what that means. What is a public charge rule?

Hi,
So my in law parents want me to be a joint sponsor for their immigration. I personally don't want to do it, but am feeling pressured. My wife is supportive of my decision. My wife is currently finishing up her schooling and wants to sponsor her parents without me. We would separate our taxes (currently joint taxes) and she would make enough to sponsor them under her alone. If she were to sponsor now, I would need to be the joint sponsor because our taxes are combined and I make more money. Her parents are really pushing for this.
A little background: We live in New York. We have a toddler child too. Her family entered legally, but overstayed. My wife and I got married and it is very genuine. She is amazing and we love and support each other. We didn't even file for green card right away. She wasn't in a rush or anything. Her parents are really pressuring and forcing us. They are older and have some medical issues. They have also visited the emergency room for medical visits and have Obamacare. They also plan to take retirement and benefits like food stamps after getting citizenship. I heard about the public charge rule. Not sure what it is or if it would apply here.
I brought up our toddler child because we sometimes drop him off at my wife's parents to be watched. Her parents are really holding that against us, kinda blackmailing us - we do so much, we take care of your child, we've helped you financially in the past, you guys drain our energy by leaving your child with us, etc. I worry a lot about our child too. Yesterday night got pretty heated when we went to pick him up. Her parents were screaming and yelling and even threatening us to do it. My wife was yelling too. We left right away, but don't want this to impact the child at all.
Part of me wants to do it to help my wife and get it over with. They've helped me out in the past too financially. Another part of me really does not feel comfortable with it. I worry about the public charge rule, the liabilities, etc. Hoping you guys can provide more info about what it means to sponsor someone. I don't have the best relationship with my in-laws either. I try to help them as much as I can. I even went so far as getting them an apartment under my name, which I regret! They always make me and my wife feel like we don't do enough for them. I get it, they've helped us out in the past, but I feel a joint sponsorship is too much to ask for, especially when there has been abuse and toxic things in the past. They say "we've been struggling for 15+ years" I feel bad, but I think - how is that my problem? they've made their own decisions. Don't mean to sound insensitive or anything. At this point I don't want to be connected to them financially or other ways. My wife isn't saying she doesn't want to do it. She just wants them to wait a little longer and they are really rushing heus.
I'm being indecisive. Heavily leaning towards not wanting to do it. Struggling with how to communicate it and hold that boundary.

submitted by ThrowRA12596 to immigration [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 15:20 AwkwardCauliflower44 I’m worried about finances with a baby on the way.

Hi there. Here to vent a little and get a little encouragement. Maybe tips and a virtual hug. I’m currently 13 weeks pregnant. I’m 36f I have wanted to be a momma for the longest. I’m aware that my living situation atm isn’t idea to bring a baby into the world. Maybe it’s selfish of me, but i know it if I don’t have babies this life time it is something I’ll regret and grieve. My partner and I weren’t “trying” but we weren’t opposed to the idea either. We’re both in it and excited, yet this has brought some anxiety and worry. I’m not a high school graduate, and don’t make much money. My monthly bills are about 1,300/month. This does not include rent, gas or groceries. It’s all car bill, phone, car insurance, credit cards, loans, storage unit and gym. My food stamps got denied. (I will be trying again) my partner makes about 3,500/month. Also has bills though not as much. We live with his parents and pay 300/ month for rent. I’m really struggling not having our own place and feeling comfortable. Its hard to explain it all, but I have a specific way of living( something as simple as getting up early doing my laundry while playing some loud music in the background and feeling comfortable walking in pjs. ) I know it sounds silly. But I just feel like my life is not my own. I also love cooking. His mom usually cooks and while I should be grateful, there’s food I’m craving and needing in order to nourish my self and my developing baby. And I feel so sad that I have no control over what I eat (most of the time) but because I dont want the house to smell a certain way while I cook, or don’t want her to feel offended because Instead of chicken I want meat, or fish. It’s just a lot of “little” things that add up. I feel bad because I’m not enjoying my pregnancy. We’re saving money as much as we can to get a place a month before baby arrives. I can’t imagine being here, wanting to breast feed and feeling like I can’t be free while doing so with my titty out because his mom doesn’t wanna be seeing that. (They believe in covering up) or having a crying baby multiple times a night and disturbing their sleep. How am I gonna be able to stay at home with baby while I have bills to pay?? I don’t see how any of that will be possible. I do t want to leave my baby at 3 / 6 or 1 year old for someone else to take care of it. I’m feeling so negative and hopeless and I know that doesn’t help one bit.

submitted by AwkwardCauliflower44 to PregnancyHope [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 14:45 Brickboy4 Massachusetts - Am I eligible for foodstamps the summer before I start college

Hello! I'm currently a student who is returning home to Massachusetts to transfer at the end of the semester, and am wondering if it is posisible for me to start recieving FoodStamps as soon as I get home while I am living with my grandparents (both of my parents are dead, but my grandparents didn't adopt me). During the summer I will be working part time for 22 days (About €400 a week) and then full time for about six weeks for minimum wage (So I'm estimating my income to be about 1575/month before starting school, at which point I will be living on campus in amherst)
My question is- Can I apply for food stamps while I still live with relatives? Realistically they feed me at most one meal a day, probably about 4-5/21 meals per week, and the rest i usually eat at dunkin while going to to work or snacks ill buy myself from the grocery store. I don't know what it'll be like when I go home, given my life and family members are very unstable so for all I know they could be making no food or tons of food, but this is my estimation based on the past when I stayed with them.
Am I eligible? (In case it matters my EFC is 0 and I have the lowest possible SAI)

submitted by Brickboy4 to foodstamps [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 12:40 Specialist_Bake6514 Vapiano P3: Italian Food Made in Germany

The kitchen is on fire. Welcome to the final part of the Vapiano story where the tables are turning. In the first two episodes we followed Mark Korzilius' journey from setbacks to founding Vapiano, a groundbreaking restaurant concept, highlighting its fresh ingredients, dynamic atmosphere, and data-driven operations that drove rapid success. While achieving initial profitability and garnering attention from industry giants like McDonald's, Vapiano's global expansion has led to stellar revenue growth. However, it has also resulted in the emergence of numerous side projects (or distractions), operational challenges, increased costs, significant investments, and a notable accumulation of debt. This underscores the prioritization of top-line growth over profitable growth. We will continue on this thread and see how the story ends, but I would encourage you to read part one and two for better context. Vapiano P1: Italian Food Made in Germany (substack.com). Let's dig in.
Before Going Public
We are now in 2015 and the year is a disaster for Vapiano's PR department. Employee time stamps are being manipulated, endless overtime for employees and high turnover in managerial roles are reported; mice in the kitchen and even rotten food allegedly found.
The company is confronted with allegations of exceeding working hours among trainees in an article published by Welt am Sonntag, while the same outlet accuses Vapiano of manipulating punch times. The auditing firm PwC is commissioned to investigate the allegations and finds that there is no systematic approach but rather misconduct by individual employees, a mistake that’s being corrected. Internal however, investigations into stamp times are carried out regularly now and beyond its obvious reputational impact, this sucks up valuable management time and attention.
In the summer of 2015 CEO, co-founder and investor Gregor Gerlach, who has been running the group since 2011 is stepping down and Jochen Halfmann is taking over. A new Vapiano People Program with an App is being developed with the aim to better interact with customers that will incorporate innovate features such as mobile pay. The German website sees a launch of new magazine to further promote the brand and there is now a full inhouse blogger and Instagram team being installed. In October the company buys seven restaurants from original co-founder, former co-investor and ex-president previously responsible for internation expansion Kent Hahne (2x Bonn, 3x Cologne, 1x Koblenz and one in Cologne that’s under construction). This package of Vapiano restaurants is very successful and generates net sales of more than 20 million euros in 2014. Hahne opened his first Vapiano restaurant in Cologne in August 2006 and in 2015 with his company apeiron AG, Hahne operates six L'Osteria franchise restaurants, a direct Vapiano competitor, and two self-owned restaurants GinYuu.
Then in November of 2015, the next public relations bomb goes off with allegations regarding the company's quality standards. The company immediately investigates the issue through internal and external specialists but finds no evidence of any quality issues. Nevertheless, knowing that the group is now being closely watched, the company’s already in place hygiene standards are being reinforced. Additional audits and inspections are performed nationally. Further, all Vapianos worldwide are being audited twice by the partners SGS Institut Fresenius and SAI Global. Auditing software is purchased to simplify the implementation of the audits and the resulting measures. Apart from the external examinations, there is a food sampling plan in place being performed continuously. Again, all of this sucks up costs, management time and attention. With all these tumultuous developments the company’s growth engine is undeterred. Revenue grows by a whopping 50 million euros to 202 million euros, an increase of 33%. Impressive. While average spent per customer increases in all countries, the number of customers per day in Germany decreases by 3.3% partially due to the negative press towards the end of the year. Five own, four JV and 19 new franchise restaurants are added that year to the group, the total number of own managed restaurants grows to 51, there are 31 JVs and 84 franchises which bringing the total to 166 Vapiano restaurants. Global restaurant sales are now above 400 million euros.
But while revenue grows by an astronomical 50 million euros, operating profits, alarmingly, shrink again. Gross margins are staying perfectly healthy above 75% but operating costs keep growing disproportionately fast. The Company’s outstanding debt jumps by almost 30 million, close to 85 million euros by the end of the year. With operating profits at 9.5 million euros, alarm bells should be going off right now.
In Q4 of 2015, new CEO Jochen Halfmann introduces Strategy 2020. The new strategy includes five essential points. One, profitable growth in the newly defined core markets of Germany and Austria as well as in the UK, Netherlands, France and USA. Two, operational excellence through strict “best practice” management. Three, further development and digitalization of the concept considering guest feedback. Four, greater focus on long-term employee retention and five, building a modern and sustainable IT landscape. Sound’s good on paper but let’s see how things pan out.
Vapiano's investments (capital expenditures) that year are primarily directed towards new restaurant openings, renovations of existing establishments, and share acquisitions in other Vapiano restaurants from franchisees or JV partners. A significant portion of funds is allocated to the digitalization of the guest experience, including the development of a new app scheduled for market release in 2016 and the implementation of a time recording system across all group restaurants. The world's first standalone Vapiano restaurant with a delivery service that year is built in Fürth, Germany. The company keeps expanding its presence in both inner-city locations and international markets, such as Shanghai, China.
To finance all of this, the group has its own operating cash flow which comes in at 18 million while capital expenditures are 26 million euros plus 14 million for acquisitions. The funding gab is filled with 26 million euros of new debt and a seven-million-euro equity raise. At that end of the year and after the equity raise Gregor Gerlach (through his AP Leipzig GmbH & Co. KG entity) holds 30.1%, Hans-Joachim and Gisa Sander through their Exchange Bio GmbH hold 25.5% and the Tchibo heirs, Herz through their Mayfair Beteiligungsfonds II GmbH & Co. KG hold 44,4%.
But for the first time the restaurant’s concept that was so successful to date is being questioned. Some customers are starting to mislike the operational flow of the concept itself. If you want pasta, you must queue for pasta. If you want pizza you stand in a different queue. A small side salad, yet another queue. "You spend more time carrying trays than an actress in Berlin-Mitte. The audience in the pasta limbo can only consist of people who have worked for an insurance company for a long time and, like Stockholm syndrome, they can no longer get away from the industrial canteen feeling," writes TV host Beisenherz provocatively. While overly harsh in his assessment he's not entirely wrong judging by customers venting their frustrations in forums and social media channels. It isn’t uncommon for those who ordered pizza to have already finished eating while there is little movement in the pasta queue. Long term that doesn't go down well, QSRs competitors like L’Osteria are handling this process differently, with much success.
https://preview.redd.it/6cas01oked0d1.png?width=1200&format=png&auto=webp&s=2da6e0b4bc0e07dbee558de412feb414cd598d4a

Tipping Point

Where are now in the year 2016 and things start to deteriorate visibility. Perhaps not for the leman’s eye but any business minded observer can see that there are problems under the hood. Yes, revenue grows yet another whopping 50 million to almost 250 million euros but half of that growth, comes from acquisitions of restaurants that the group didn’t already own 100%, which is now being fully consolidated within the group’s accounts. Here is a concrete example. In the past, Vapiano SE, the group’s top holding company held an indirect 50% stake in a French subgroup via the subsidiary VAP Restaurants SA, based in Luxembourg, and included this as an associated company in the Vapiano SE consolidated financial statements using the equity method. Due to the acquisition of additional shares in September of 2016, Vapiano SE's indirect share in the French subgroup increased to 75%. This means that Vapiano SE takes control of the French subgroup, which is therefore included in the group’s financial statements as part of the full consolidation. The revenue from the acquired subsidiary now recorded in the consolidated income statement amounts to 12.8 million euros. While that’s great for the top line, the loss of the fully consolidated entity equates to 0.2 million euros. Yes, you are buying revenue, but there are losses attached to them, not profits. A similar case is the Swedish entity that runs eight restaurants with revenue of 11.5 million euros but has losses of 235 thousand euros. So much for Strategy 2020 and “profitable” growth.
That year the group’s operating profits are absolutely tanking, halving to 3.5 million euros. Operating profits are now a mere 1,4% of revenue. Remember original founder Mark Korzilius who talked about operating margins of 25% to 28% at the restaurant level? Yes, there are overhead costs for the organization that sits above the chain of restaurants, but operating margins that low indicates a course correction is needed. What’s telling is that in the annual report, in the management discussion section, the company starts talking about EBITDA as a proxy measure of profitability, rather than operating profit or net income. This wasn’t the case in the years before. Is this window dressing for an upcoming IPO? EBITDA is short for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization. How can you measure profitability of a restaurant chain that absolutely and unequivocally needs capital investment to maintain its restaurant operations, the very source of cash generation, by simply excluding this maintenance charge (depreciation in the income statement)? Vapiano’s own annual report talks about the fact that existing restaurants must be rejuvenated from time to time and that new interior designs have to be implemented every few years. These things wear and tear, they go out of style, kitchen equipment breaks and needs replacement. This business absolutely needs maintenance capital expenditure, why anyone talks of profits before these maintenance costs is beyond me. Fun fact: in the previous annual report EBITDA is mentioned seven times, mostly around restaurant acquisitions and financing, not however as a profit indication for the group. In the new annual report, EBITDA is mentioned 28 times. Maybe it’s just me but belated Charlie Munger liked to call EBITDA: bullsh*t earnings. When in doubt I stick with Charlie. Interestingly, EBITDA for Vapiano keeps growing while operating and net profits keep falling.
Operating cashflow for the group that year is about 21 million euros, but capital expenditure is 30 million and acquisitions for subsidiaries another 20 million. To finance these expenditures another 28 million euros of debt and 16 million of equity is raised. Net debt rises above 130 million euro. The operating cashflow of the group before any capital expenditures is 21 million euros. I am not sure free cash flow would be significantly positive after maintenance capex is paid out; it’s not broken out so we can’t be sure. Granted, I am not on the ground during this time, and I am not in the board room, I am simply reading what’s in front of me, but to me this is starting to look like a distressed situation. Regardless, the following year the company goes public.

IPO

Where are now in the year 2017 and its Vapiano’s first year as public company. The company’s annual report reads the following “Sales revenue, like-for-like growth (LfL) and the earnings figures EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA are used as the most important financial performance indicators for controlling operational business activities.” The very same report however also says: “The majority of the group's investments regularly go towards opening new restaurant locations and modernizing existing restaurants. The latter are differentiated into regular replacement investments that occur during ongoing operations (Maintenance CAPEX) and fundamental investments in the renovation of a restaurant (Remodeling CAPEX). On average, a restaurant remodeling takes place nine years after opening.” It says it right there in their own report; every nine years a remodeling is taking place. Remodeling and updating is not cost free, so why exclude depreciation charges which reflect capital expenditures? I understand that perhaps you would want to strip out one-off opening costs, that’s fine and fair, but don’t go overboard.
The number of restaurants increases by 26 (previous year: 13) to a total of 205. The increase consists of 27 new openings and one closure. Group revenue grows to an astonishing 325 million euros but here comes the shocker, operating profits turn negative to 25 million. Fine, strip out foreign exchange losses of 3 million, IPO costs of 5.8 million and new opening costs of 6.1 million and you still have 10 million euros of operational losses. All the while the debt load of almost 130 million hasn’t materially changed, so those operating losses are before a six-million-euro interest payment. 184 million euros are raised through the IPO of which 85 million go to the company. This money is earmarked for further expansion as the group has ambitions to almost double the footprint to 330 restaurants by the end of 2020. The company is currently not profitable on an operating basis, and still wants to expand aggressively? I don’t get it. The remaining 100 million euros of the IPO money raised is distributed to co-founder Gregor Gerlach and Wella heirs Hans-Joachim and Gisa Sander. The family office of the former Tchibo owners Günter and Daniela Herz with a 44% stake, don’t sell a single share. After the IPO, 32% of all the company’s shares are now in free float.
One year later, in 2018, things get even worse. Revenue grows to 371 million, but operating losses mount to 85 million euros, that’s before interest expenses of 9 million. Even the beloved EBITDA figure turns negative, meaning the operating business before any expansionary or even maintenance capital expenditures is loss making. All regions are experiencing significant deterioration in their earnings profiles. Like for like sales are down 1% across the board. That’s revenue, not profitability. The question naturally arises: is the Group approaching its natural saturation point here or this operational by nature? The operating cash flow is now 9 million while financing cost are close to 7 million. That leaves 2 million for maintenance capital for 74 own restaurants and 76 joint ventures ones. Describing this as financially tight, would be an understatement.
Things are not looking good at this point. Yet the company still grows restaurants by 26 new sites. 64 million euros are spent on acquisitions, new openings, and maintenance costs, financed through a 20 million-euro equity raise and 72 million of new debt. The Company now has net debt outstanding of over 160 million euros. After the equity raise and by the end of the year 2018, Mayfair owns 47.4%, VAP Leipzig, Gregor Gerlach’s entity owns 18.9% and the Sander couple own 15.5% of the company. Yes, the Sanders and Gerlach may have taken 100 million euros off the table, but they still have substantial skin in the game. Plus, Mayfair hasn’t sold a single share and instead injects more money into the company through the equity round. The stock has now fallen from its IPO price of 23 euros per share to under 6 euros by the end of 2018. Something must be done here. And indeed, there is pivot in strategy and a hard push for change. At last, the management team abandons its aggressive growth plan and curtails new openings significantly. Additionally, the team wants to run a thorough analysis of weak locations to then either discontinue or sell sites. In Europe, the operating focus will be put on corporate restaurants and joint ventures in major cities to ensure the ideal size and location to match the respective demographic target group. Outside of Europe, the franchising business is being expanded and at the same time a consolidation of the existing corporate and joint venture markets is being sought. All future investments will be reviewed to achieve higher rates of returns on new openings. Investments are also being made in the renovation of older restaurants. The goal in the future is to also open smaller formats, like Mini-Vapianos (less than 400 square meters) or Freestander at prominent transportation hubs outside city centers (currently in Fürth and Toulouse) to cater to individual location requirements, and to enter new partnerships. I am not sure why management hasn’t stopped all expansion altogether, bringing the ship in order first, getting profitable, clean up, all hands-on deck before considering any further expansions whatsoever. But again, it’s easy to comment from the sidelines; maybe they saw white spaces that would be covered by competing concepts if they weren’t moving fast and aggressively enough. Although pushing internationally means competing with local players such as Jamie's Italian, Prezzo, Pizza Express, Wagamama, Nando's and many more which brings in its own dynamic.
Management also aims to enhance guest satisfaction. This involves refining operational processes, reorganizing the support center, and refocusing on the core offering: providing fresh and high-quality Italian food at affordable prices for a broad audience. The group also aims to reduce waiting times, especially during lunch, while also improving the evening atmosphere. There is even what I would call an evolution, away from Vapiano’s original concept, reorientating the customer journey. The ordering flow is being changed, offering guests synchronized preparations of all dishes while eliminating wait times at the cooking stations. The open show kitchen remains, staying true to original mantra of freshness and transparency but now guests can choose their preferred method of ordering through a mobile app, using a digital order point (kiosk), or by personally placing an order with a waiter. Guests can still freely choose their table and are then informed about the complete preparation of their order through a pager or their smartphone. This is a substantial deviation from the original concept, but a needed one. The group is also exploring and implementing the expansion of take-away and home delivery services but only at suitable locations, not universally across new openings. I am not sure why home delivery is even a priority here; it adds operational complexity. It’s better to clean up shop first and get back to the basics before adding new complexities. To be fair management does try to simplify. There are 49 different permanent dishes on the menu and additional 10 seasonal ones. Customers can choose from eleven different types of pasta. There is simply too much choice, and it makes orders complicated. The company announced to slim the menu down to its most popular and typical Vapiano dishes. There’s no need for an Asian salad at an Italian restaurant. "We have to go back to the roots, i.e. classic, honest Italian cuisine" says COO Everke. Regardless, in November of 2018, the supervisory board pulls the plug on CEO Jochen Halfmann and replaces him with Cornelius Everke. Everke himself has just become COO five months ago. Since 2017 he was responsible for international expansion. From 2011 to 2017 that role was filled by Mario Bauer – put a pin in that name, he’ll play a key role in the groups fate later. Then nine months later, in the middle of 2019, Cornelius Everke quits. He essentially concludes that his skillset and experience in the areas of internation expansion is no longer needed in the foreseeable future. To put it differently: Vapiano has moved from a growth story and has become a restructuring case, and other skills are required for that job. In June of 2019 Everke says the following “(we’ve) made a bit of a mistake when it came to foreign expansion”. No sh#t. Vapiano postpones the presentation of the 2018 annual financial statements three times in the spring of 2019, citing negotiations over an urgently needed loan of 30 million euros. It’s not until the end of May that a binding loan commitment comes through from the financing banks and major shareholders.
We are now in August of 2019 and the corona pandemic is just around the corner. Supervisory board chief Vanessa Hall takes over as interim-CEO and things are unravelling. Visitor numbers are declining; originally, it was planned to sell the US business but halfway through the year the buyer cannot come up with the money. But not all restaurants are performing poorly. The group's poor figures contrast starkly as an example with the experiences of the Swiss-German franchisee, who runs six restaurants. The Sodano family in Switzerland pays Vapiano a royalty of 6% of sales for the use of the brand. Enrico Sodano explains in an interview that they operate largely autonomously from the licensor. If an “accident” were to occur, he could immediately replace the Vapiano sign with Sodano, he says. The family concluded the rents and contracts with employees and suppliers independently. The Sodano family have six locations in Bern, Basel and Zurich, around one million guests every year and 350 employees. Things are going well on the ground. The delivery service they’ve built is offering them a second income stream. Expansion into Winterthur, St. Gallen and Lucerne are being planned; small locations with 150 to 250 square meters and an attached delivery service. Originally, Vapiano restaurants used to be huge but for such a large restaurant to be profitable, 800 to 1,000 guests per day are needed. That’s possible in medium-sized cities, but not in smaller towns which is why the Vapiano group now also supports smaller formats. Back to our corporate drama. The 2019 annual report would be the last report the group files. By the end 2019 the outstanding debt of the company is at an astronomical 450 million euros. Revenue has grown by another 7%, produced by four net new openings through two JVs and two franchise restaurants but operating losses come in at 317 million euros. That sound like an absolute shocker at first but depreciation and amortization charges are 345 million, so that operating cash flow is actually positive but unfortunately capital expenditures and interest payments are so large that they are eating up all of the company’s operating cash flow. Then in the beginning of 2020 Corona hits with full force and the world shuts down. As a result of the measures to prevent further spreading of the virus, the group is forced to cease all global business operations (except in Sweden). While all these shutdowns are happening, the group is the middle of negotiating with its lending banks and main shareholders. There are additional financing needs for restructuring measures, even without a pandemic happening in the background. The situation is so dire that the company starts pleading to the German government to roll out the package of financial help more quickly. Unfortunately, it’s to no end. The rapid closure of restaurants and the resulting lack of operating cash inflows in conjunction with the additional financing requirements, lead to the company’s final knockout punch. In April of 2020, the Vapiano group officially files for insolvency proceedings. The end of an era.

New Beginnings

Because of the pandemic, the majority of the group's subsidiaries in Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United States, Sweden, and China also file for insolvency or seek liquidation. The US business never gets sold in the end and is wound down. In the summer of 2020, significant group divestments occur, including the sale of 75% shares in the group's French subsidiaries, shares in franchisor companies, Australian subsidiaries, German subsidiaries, associated companies, self-managed restaurants in Germany, and insolvency-related sales in the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Sweden. The buyer of the Vapiano brand and one of these bundles of Vapiano restaurants is company named Love & Food Restaurant Holding, a consortium led by Mario C. Bauer – a name I told you to remember. Bauer was a former Vapiano board member and led the national and international expansion, opening 200 sites in 33 countries from 2011 to 2017 until he was succeeded by Cornelius Everke. Bauer didn’t feel comfortable with the IPO at the time but clearly has a lot of managerial and entrepreneurial talent.
The buyer consortium is an absolute A-Team comprised of European QSR top league hitters, including the founder of the Pret A Manger chain Sinclair Beecham; Henry McGovern, the founder and Ex-CEO of the giant international restaurant and foodservice operator AmRest; the Van der Valk Family that runs hotels and Vapiano restaurants in the Netherlands, and co-founder and ex-CEO Gregor Gerlach. The acquisition value is 15 million euros and entails 30 Vapiano restaurants in Germany, albeit that’s just the purchase price which comes on top of any capital investment needed to refresh and return the sites to its former glory. Nevertheless, just as a thought experiment, if you can get each site to 2 million euros of revenue and 400,000 euros in operating profit on average, which wouldn’t be an overly aggressively assumption given the company’s history, you’ve got yourself a package that can deliver restaurant-level operating profits of 12 million euros or more. It’s not disclosed how much capex was needed to refresh the operations, just that fact that the overall investment plus purchase price was a middle double-digit million-euro figure. Stil, it probably was a decent purchase. The same consortium buys Vapiano’s French business for 25 million euros just two weeks prior. After the transaction concludes, the master franchise is given to Delf Neumann and his Gastro & Soul GmbH. Neumann is an experienced operator, and he is ambitious to revitalise the brand with new services and products. For example, instead of pizza, the restaurants will be serving pinsa - a flatbread made from sourdough, wheat and rice flour, topped similarly to a pizza. It targets a more health-oriented customer base looking for a less calory heavy option. The menu overall is expanded by including a variety of vegan and vegetarian dishes.
https://preview.redd.it/kpt7ea6red0d1.png?width=1242&format=png&auto=webp&s=c9930ced85ee364e9df414547cae06b47a03fc19
Today Neumann’s Gastro & Soul GmbH operates 18 Vapianos on its own account and has 29 franchise sites, amongst other brands. By the year 2021, Vapiano operates 191 restaurants in 34 countries. This is around 50 fewer sites than before the bankruptcy. The number of branches is particularly thinned out in Germany – from 80 to 55. Nevertheless, Vapiano's home country remains by far the largest market, followed by France with 35 restaurants and Austria with 15 locations. “We have shrunk ourselves to health,” says Bauer in the aftermath and there is no further shrinking planned. Quite the opposite, the smell of expansion is in the air again – pun intended. Not as aggressively as before and with a new menu and ordering process.
Overall, the team around Bauer is filled with industry experts with knowledge and networks gained over decades who have a great track record, a long-term view, and the staying power to let Vapiano breath and finds its way back to success. The pressure of being a public company with all the associated quarterly, half-year and yearly disincentives have been removed. The menu is changed and extended with new types of pasta and sauces with significantly more vegetarian and vegan dishes available. Guests can order with restaurant staff, at terminals or on their phones and there are barcodes attached to the tables identify the respective seat. The food is brought to your table, all at the same time if you are in a group, no more annoyances with waiting in line. There is a plan for smaller, 350 square meter locations, with half the number of guests and significantly fewer staff and less set-up costs required to make the economics work. Locations that capitalize on remote work and increased demand for local lunch options, higher population density with shorter delivery routes and therefore cost-effective in house delivery services are targeted. And Bauer is testing the concept of ghost kitchens, which operate without a dining room or service staff, focusing solely on preparing food for delivery services, which for obvious reasons have a very different operational set up and footprint. Original founder Mark Korzilius however is not entirely convinced. He is not a fan of the pinsa for instance and he considers Vapiano's pizza as its cash cow, flagship product and believes that the core Vapiano proposition of Pizza, Pasta, Bar that has given the company its original success is being diluted. He instead admires the competitor L'Osteria, saying they’ve done a better job by focusing on Italian classics, especially the impressively large pizzas that sticks out beyond the plate is leaving every customer in awe. The guys who run L’Osteria are the same guys who have built Vapiano with him in the first place. Bauer on the other hand, like a true business leader, remains undeterred, stating that he is frequently asked whether Vapiano's restart was bold or foolish. He believes in entrepreneurship, franchising, in his experienced fellow partners and importantly the Vapiano concept. By the year 2024 you can find over 140 Vapiano branded restaurant in 27 countries across the globe, including locations far away from its birthplace like Australia, USA, Columbia, Chile, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. And why not? Italian food is, and will remain to be, incredibly popular. Vapiano offers fresh and tasty food at affordable prices in a good atmosphere. This combination of attributes should attract a lot of customers. It certainly has in the past.
For more stories: WIP Thomas Weitzendoerfer Substack

submitted by Specialist_Bake6514 to unpackbusinesses [link] [comments]

2024.05.14 08:21 aiasity Am I eligible for free tuition sa UP?

Hello! I am a Grade 11 student applying for UPCAT 2025. Gusto ko lang tanungin kung anong gagawin nila sa info na galing sa socio-economics. Will they use it as their basis to determine if I will be eligible for free tuition? My friend, who was accepted, declined because they were charging her ₱40K per semester. My family makes about ₱230K per month (my father is a police officer with a salary of ₱90K, and the rest comes from our family business; we lease apartments). However, most of the money is paid directly to the banks because of the loans they took to buy the land and build the house. I won’t go into much detail, but they have other debts to pay as well. With all of the debts subtracted from their monthly income, less than ₱50K is left. My parents still support my brother, pay for my tuition fee, and cover other expenses such as utility bills, food, and gas. Given all that, I can’t detail my family’s financial situation in my application, nor can I lie about it. Should I report ₱230K or ₱50K as our income? If I report ₱230K, will I still be eligible for free tuition?

submitted by aiasity to CollegeAdmissionsPH [link] [comments]

http://activeproperty.pl/