Do companys check for college degree

Students of Computer Science!

2014.10.06 02:40 ian421 Students of Computer Science!

All about studying and students of computer science.
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2014.01.17 07:02 iamtheraptor NBA Draft

A hub for the hardcore NBA Draft enthusiast. The home of hype and hope. Where logical evaluation and substance generate discussion, rather than conventional stereotypes and uninspiring cliches. Analysis, articles, highlight videos, news & updates, information, rumors, interesting stats, podcasts, etc.
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2008.01.25 07:53 MIT

community for MIT students, faculty, staff to discuss all aspects of MIT
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2024.05.16 23:28 FriendlyAd1666 work stress

hey!! so im currently in a pickle of a situation and im not exactly sure on what to do and its starting to stress me out.
first things first, i want to quit my job. ive been working at a salon since september and in the beginning it was really great, but as time has gone on, i’ve realized its not exactly ran very well and the management is horrible.
i am just a regular receptionist and i was offered a job as a lead a month into my employment, i asked questions and took awhile to respond but i finally accepted the position. they basically told me i had the position, so i was under the presumption that i was making the money i was supposed to be earning (way above minimum wage) and i would be gaining the benefits i was promised. time went on and i just had a feeling that i was basically being juked, so i asked the owner and they told me that i didn’t have the position i was promised because i wasn’t “qualified” (they were the one who offered and gave me the position) and that i needed more training.
well the person who was supposed to train me, never did, so i was basically working at the original position i applied and got accepted for but was constantly told that im basically “the team lead just without the title” and was given more responsibilities than what i was originally hired for. it was one thing for that to happen, but i started having to pick up the GMs duties because they weren’t doing their job and the GM was going around and talking shit about me for not doing my “tasks” but i am currently the only employee besides the GM and it’s hard to do every task by yourself. im finally fed up and over it and extremely burnt out.
the current issue i am facing is we had gone on a company trip and we were told that the money we would spend would be taken out of our paychecks. problem is, i want to quit now because im over it, but i dont know how much i still owe for this trip.
they didnt tell us the cost, how much we owed, how many paychecks it would take to pay it off, and how much would be taken out. so i have no idea if its been paid off or if i still owe money because this trip was months ago. they also didn’t give any information about when they would be taking the money out of the checks, so im really at a loss and have no sense of how much i owe/am supposed to pay back.
i want to quit now, but the problem im facing is that im wanting to quit at the end of this pay period so i dont have to wait on an extra check thats like $35 dollars or something because thats kind of pointless. me and my boyfriend are trying to move in together and we’ve been saving every dime we can from our paychecks and im at half of mind to tell them to take however much i owe from my last paycheck so i dont have to work longer at a place i cant stand
but i really need that money for savings and its really stressing me out, so what should i do?
submitted by FriendlyAd1666 to Advice [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:27 assistantprofessor The final days of having to bear my narcissistic family

My parents have ruined my life through and through. They have raised me (23) with nothing while gave everything to my sister(26).
As kids she was their favourite and she studied really hard and did well academically in school, also took part in different sports and other activities. As I started growing up I did not put in the effort in studies, still scored more than her. My parents never allowed me to learn any sports or be part of any other activity.
For my sister, my parents would be there for everything while i had to do everything alone. They used to drop her off to her exams and wait 3 hours outside the centre in case she needs anything, She did well in her exams and got into the top 10, we were there for the entire day and supported her thoroughly. Throughout her school years, it was routine for my parents to take her to the school on weekends, interact with her teachers and make sure she's on the right track.
3 years later for me, they didn't even show up to school once after getting me admitted. Never once cared to meet my teachers or ask me how is school going. I used to walk alone to the school for my exams, i ended up ranked #1 in the school as well. My parents didn't have time to come to the graduation. I had to watch 2nd and 3rd ranked students get loved and celebrated by their families. While i just walked home alone, this time with a trophy.
Went and put it on the dining table, my mother yelled at me to put it away as I was letting the success get to my head. Not once did she say congratulations or well done or I'm proud of you.
My sister got into a college in the same city, and I remember my dad used to stay up at night with her helping her on her projects and assignments and he used to driver her to her college and back almost daily. It was 35 km away.
Meanwhile when I got into college in the same city 15 km from home , my father has been to my college only once that too for the admission. Never cared about my degree since. I had to use public transport everyday.
As for money, my sister used to get spending money from my parents and they bought her things all the time. I interned as a lawyer, earned some money but all of that would go in basic needs like travel, lunch , cheap clothes , cheap shoes and so on.
For my sister's college graduation, again the entire family went and celebrated with her. For me again it was me going to collect my degree, I didn't do well in college because I never had anything and it is fucking hard to function when you don't have a pair of shoes while your sister and your parents have dozens.
Whenever I asked to buy me something I was given the same lecture, money does not grow on trees, you don't value money, one day we'll die you will have to manage everything. While whenever my sister wanted something , my father would bring it to her as soon as practically possible.
I got into a great uni for master's on my own, while my parents had to pull strings and give money to get my sister into a master's course from a reputed uni.
I've secured a job as Assistant Professor, joining date is 21 July. My sister got placed as well, for about half as much as me.
And I cannot wait for this entire ordeal to end once and for all. I was finally going to have money, real money.
My sister is getting married soon, and my parents have now asked me to save from my salary and pay 1/4th of her wedding. Which will be roughly 3 months of my salary, and guess what my sister will not be paying for her own fucking wedding because she'd need that money to 'set things up', when her would be husband already has a house , a car and investments.
I am going to move in with my best friend, who has always been the one walking with me when my family time and time again abandoned me. I have decided that now it is time for me to abandon my family. I will stop caring about them , I will not pay a single cent for my sister's wedding. She should pay for her own wedding as she literally has no expenses after this. While i have to do everything on my own (till my parents die and I get their properties).
submitted by assistantprofessor to raisedbynarcissists [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:26 Flat_Parsley3117 How the turntables.

TL;DR I'm a former addict, my ex-S.O. is an addict and is imploding their life. How do you handle feeling helpless? What can I do?
Long time listener, first time caller. I am my family's Q. I have been doing well and working on myself. Staying sober, healthy, positive, and changing the behaviors/mental well-being to remain sober for life. My family went through Hell when I was going through my active addiction and I can never understand or make up for the level of pain I have caused them in the past except to be a living amends. A former S.O. is also an addict and is destroying their life and I feel helpless.
Ill try not to type so much of needless info. Cedar is an alcoholic and drug addict. Many different underlying mental issues as well as confirmed BPD and narcissism. Our relationship was incredibly toxic as she was cheating from week 2 of a 7-8 month on-off relationship. The details don't matter but we saw the worst of each other in those times. Things finally ended as I had major health issues and she chose her most recent affair partner. Sucks but I took the time to heal from the trauma and focus on my sobriety, been sober since. My health issues went away, my relationships with my family got better, in better shape, etc. While I have been admittedly heartbroken, I can rationalize how bad for me her role in my life is since she has many other issues. I didn't hear from her until a few days ago at 2:30am from a new phone number.
I picked up and it was a 4 hour call about how her new man is a God in bed and could kick my ass... Okay, whoopie doo. As time went on, it was obvious things were much worse for her. I could tell she was high and drunk, she admitted that her new boo provided it. Keep in mind, they're both in sober livings. As she described more and more details of how things were awful, maybe I was hoping she was calling for help, so we spoke about that. Take everything with a grain of salt with her because as an addict and a narcissist, lies are every other word. Cedar's new boo has been to prison, has Hep C, they don't use protection, he wants her to get pregnant, has no vehicle, has a colostomy bag, is in end stage liver failure, doesn't want a future, and is comfortable living on the street. No shame to someone trying to get better but it doesn't sound like he is, just wants to nail her down.
She disappears for a few days, goes dark on me. I theorize she is either high/drunk, getting back with her new boo, or is out on the street. I found out last night at 1:45am that it was all three. She text asking for help. She got caught drunk at her sober living, and they piss tested him knowing they were out together. Allegedly, they're both on the street, sleeping on the concrete behind a gas station, 45 minutes away. All i said at the time was that I was only saying once that she needed to get away from him because it's only going to get worse. Her last text then was that Him and her were going to shoot fent then she went dark again. I'm not proud that I text and called her a few times to check on her to no avail until an hour ago she said she chose to stay with him and she's sorry to give me hope of us getting back together.
I had a therapy appointment today and spoke about it. I know as an addict, you can't do anything unless you truly want it. Active addiction is near impossible to get out without getting away to get a clear head. I sent her a final text and voicemail saying I don't want anything romantic, just her safety. I'm not blocking her nor am I going to continue to reach out if she doesn't want help but I know as someone who formerly burnt all their bridges, that knowing one person would be there for support in getting somewhere to detox, etc, is monumental. I told her that we both know her situation is bad and her company is only going to make things worse. I wished her the best and that I'd hope to hear from her.
How do you handle the helplessness? I know that I can only support when I see actual effort but it's so incredibly hard when you are on the outside looking in. What did you all do to let go but stay a source of positivity?
submitted by Flat_Parsley3117 to AlAnon [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:25 AccountantSudden4313 Possible Job Scam!

Possible Job Scam!
i was browsing indeed & linkedin, and applying to every job i seen i fit for.
i received a handful amount of text messages and emails, this one in particularly stood out.
“Hello [Name],
After reviewing your application for the Administrative Assistant role at Hampton Village Apartments, LLC on Indeed, we're genuinely impressed with your qualifications. We're excited to move forward and arrange an official interview on Microsoft Teams. If you're still interested, could we talk about your availability for the interview? Your ongoing interest in becoming part of our team means a lot.
Best regards, Robert Saland”
I tried to search through my indeed to find this job that i had “applied” to but couldn’t.
so being curious & giving it the benefit of doubt, i continued to text them.
they wanted us to schedule an interview on Teams, to which i agreed. of course, i was expecting it to be a face-to-face/Zoom interview… it was a CHAT-ONLY. 🚩
now, with that, i immediately looked up the name, the business, and the phone number. I found a match: Robert Saland, Landmark Companies CEO. the phone number, on the other hand, did not match to the business number(expected) nor did it come up on numlookup.com/Cashapp/Zelle/PayPal.
during the interview, they stated that the office is temporarily “unmanned” & they are looking for someone to hire to “help out while they’re away”🚩
Once completing the interview, they sent me a Docusign from “hotmail.com”.🚩 the Docusign was pretty long, talked about the company, the policies, and expectations. i read thoroughly through the ‘employee handbook’ as you see in slide 1, i was skeptical on filling out the information. ps. i only provided an address and my name
i received a text today, asking to hop on Teams so we can discuss an update (slide 2) i’m guessing they will send a fraudulent check for me to deposit on my bank account.
Anyway! anyone else got this job offer?
submitted by AccountantSudden4313 to jobs [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:25 tertiuslydgate1833 I wish I had known a world without smart phones

I used to be phone-obsessed. I’m talking scrolling late into the night, scrolling in the bathroom, scrolling first thing in the morning. I’d instinctively check my pocket multiple times when out and about just in case it had gone missing. Like, not only did I rely on it for practical reasons, I’d probably feel some kind of anxiety separation if I didn’t have access to it.
Which is exactly how I realized it was time to get rid of it. I deleted Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat accounts, cleaned out my inbox and camera roll, backed up everything worth saving to my desktop Mac (which stays in my room at all times), powered the iPhone down, and stuck it in a drawer, where it’s remained untouched for a few months now.
It was difficult at first. I’m Gen Z so most of my life has been phone-ful. There was so much extra silence—without checking notifs every few minutes, it felt like my friends didn’t exist. My birthday came and went, and the only “happy birthday”s came from those with whom I directly interacted; of those people, only a handful remembered. I constantly lost track of time, so I bought a watch. I googled directions before traveling to a new place and wrote them down on scrap paper, which I’d keep safely tucked between the pages of a growing journal collection, but I’d still get lost constantly. Multitasking was no longer an option as I could only do work when at home, in my room, connected to WiFi from my one virtual source.
However, these tedious differences improved the quality of my life DRASTICALLY. It felt as though hours of my day had been cleared up. I finally had time to lose myself in literature, crossword puzzles, cooking, and other hobbies without the pressure of the screen and virtual world waiting for my return. At night, I fell asleep much faster, and slept for much longer. I even found conversations with friends and acquaintances more interesting as I could fully invest myself. I started noticing things, like fragrances in the air, unlikely sounds; my sense of direction and handwriting both improved. I started writing letters (I now have two pen pals). Everything felt lighter, and the anxiety of not documenting everything—as I’ve grown to do over the years of the smartphone era—gradually abated.
I acknowledge that I am privileged to have access to a phone and the internet in the first place, and even more privileged to be able to give it up. Many need constant access to these things for their career or simply for survival. (I should mention that I am a college student, and my work this semester was completed from the computer, which obviously can’t travel with me). But I would strongly urge anyone on the fence about their phone addiction to give this a shot, even for a week or a month. Since working on myself, I’ve become aware of how energies shift in the presence of a phone; my friends walk and talk more slowly as their minds are split between real life and the social internet; my parents grow less present when they receive an alert. Yes, it’s cool that I found more contentment by becoming a Luddite, but in this day and age it’s ultimately impossible to remain this way forever. I feel sad knowing that this invention can’t be undone and that I never got to experience a world where nobody had access to their phones and instead made the most of real, tangible materials.
Btw, I’m not arguing that phones are bad or should be abandoned. They’ve done so much for us in terms of efficiency, employment, and communication. This has just been my (lucky) experience and I’m disappointed that this is the farthest I’ll get from the virtual world.
submitted by tertiuslydgate1833 to rant [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:24 Beginning-Remove7915 15 years brain fog

I am 35 and my brain fog started while I was in college.
The best way I have to describe it is that post waking up groggy feeling. For most, that groggy feeling goes away after some time in the morning, but for me it’s constant. Some days it’s worse and some days it’s “lighter” but it’s always there.
I’ve tried some remedies but, to be honest, I’ve just been living with it and trying to ignore the best I can. I consider myself successful and have had a great life so far: married with two kids, spent 8 years in the military and then went right to business school, I graduate this summer and I’m starting an awesome post-military career path. By all the standard metrics, I’m a healthy adult.
I’ve seen a bunch of doctors and my blood work always comes back normal. My last military doc referred me to a head doc who said I have a normal degree of anxiety.
If I had to guess, I’ve probably been running myself too hard the last 15 years. Never been devoted to quality sleep and I power through with caffeine, I drink (used to be a lot but have significantly cut down since leaving the service), eat well but don’t really limit myself. Not sure if this is chronic fatigue or depression or all diet related.
Anyway, I’m posting here because my wife and I are committing to figuring it out. The more I’ve told her about my symptoms the more she wants to help. She says it’s makes her sad to learn how much I’ve struggled with this. I’m so lucky to have her.
We are starting with an elimination diet and dialing in our sleep. I figured I will do those two things for the next couple of months and see how things shake out. Then start seeing doctors again.
I’ll keep you guys posted!
submitted by Beginning-Remove7915 to BrainFog [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:23 tertiuslydgate1833 I wish I had known a world without smart phones

I used to be phone-obsessed. I’m talking scrolling late into the night, scrolling in the bathroom, scrolling first thing in the morning. I’d instinctively check my pocket multiple times when out and about just in case it had gone missing. Like, not only did I rely on it for practical reasons, I’d probably feel some kind of anxiety separation if I didn’t have access to it.
Which is exactly how I realized it was time to get rid of it. I deleted Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat accounts, cleaned out my inbox and camera roll, backed up everything worth saving to my desktop Mac (which stays in my room at all times), powered the iPhone down, and stuck it in a drawer, where it’s remained untouched for a few months now.
It was difficult at first. I’m Gen Z so most of my life has been phone-ful. There was so much extra silence—without checking notifs every few minutes, it felt like my friends didn’t exist. My birthday came and went, and the only “happy birthday”s came from those with whom I directly interacted; of those people, only a handful remembered. I constantly lost track of time, so I bought a watch. I googled directions before traveling to a new place and wrote them down on scrap paper, which I’d keep safely tucked between the pages of a growing journal collection, but I’d still get lost constantly. Multitasking was no longer an option as I could only do work when at home, in my room, connected to WiFi from my one virtual source.
However, these tedious differences improved the quality of my life DRASTICALLY. It felt as though hours of my day had been cleared up. I finally had time to lose myself in literature, crossword puzzles, cooking, and other hobbies without the pressure of the screen and virtual world waiting for my return. At night, I fell asleep much faster, and slept for much longer. I even found conversations with friends and acquaintances more interesting as I could fully invest myself. I started noticing things, like fragrances in the air, unlikely sounds; my sense of direction and handwriting both improved. I started writing letters (I now have two pen pals). Everything felt lighter, and the anxiety of not documenting everything—as I’ve grown to do over the years of the smartphone era—gradually abated.
I acknowledge that I am privileged to have access to a phone and the internet in the first place, and even more privileged to be able to give it up. Many need constant access to these things for their career or simply for survival. (I should mention that I am a college student, and my work this semester was completed from the computer, which obviously can’t travel with me). But I would strongly urge anyone on the fence about their phone addiction to give this a shot, even for a week or a month. Since working on myself, I’ve become aware of how energies shift in the presence of a phone; my friends walk and talk more slowly as their minds are split between real life and the social internet; my parents grow less present when they receive an alert. Yes, it’s cool that I found more contentment by becoming a Luddite, but in this day and age it’s ultimately impossible to remain this way forever. I feel sad knowing that this invention can’t be undone and that I never got to experience a world where nobody had access to their phones and instead made the most of real, tangible materials.
Btw, I’m not arguing that phones are bad or should be abandoned. They’ve done so much for us in terms of efficiency, employment, and communication. This has just been my (lucky) experience and I’m disappointed that this is the farthest I’ll get from the virtual world.
submitted by tertiuslydgate1833 to CasualConversation [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:22 Disastrous_Worry_230 First breakup

Hi all, I’m very new to Reddit culture and have only joined since my breakup earlier this week. Please excuse the novel I’m about to write. I’m 24F and my ex is 24M. We were long distance for the majority of our relationship due to graduating college early/ late and then moving to different cities to start our first jobs.
We came from very different backgrounds but fit together so nicely. Our relationship was beautiful and fun but not without struggles. I was always going to see him more because “it made sense” and he rarely came out to see me. He works night shifts and I work a 9-5 and often go to bed early. I live in the city and he lives in the middle of nowhere. But we were happy, so so so happy. For 2.5 years we made it worked and there would be problems but they would always get fixed, all it took was a conversation. Our problem was communication though, problems would pop up and they would just fester and get worse until a breaking point and I would explode and lay 5 months of issues all on him at once. But we always got through it.
I had been so unhappy these last few months. He was supposed to come and see me for my birthday but something came up. I forgave him but I had to tread carefully. I expressed to him just a few months prior that I hated my birthday because no one ever made me feel special. And then he crushed me on my birthday. I told him it was fine as long as the next time I saw him, it was him coming up to see me. Not the other way around as it was every other time. So days start to go by, then weeks, and months. I haven’t seen him. He hasn’t made one attempt at coming and visiting. He wanted to plan a make up trip for my birthday and I never heard about that again.
And then the good morning and goodnight texts were missed from time to time. I thought that was weird but again we operate on completely opposite schedules. I just assumed work got busy. Conversations became sticky and I started feeling annoyed, upset, confused. Just hurt. I thought for sure this was his attempt at breaking up and just letting me down gently. So I did the worst thing imaginable and broke up with him in my mind. I saw no effort so why should I put it in. I still answered his calls, never missed a goodnight or morning text, and told him I loved him everyday, but I was definitely colder. I didn’t need all the details anymore, I stopped asking.
And then finally after talking to all of my friends and family who collectively decided he was being a dick, everyone agreed I should break up with him. And they did not spare any of the things they disliked about him. I told them I was considering a breakup and they would check in making sure I would follow through.
And I did 3 days ago. We talked and talked and agreed our lack of communication just hurts each other. He told me he was struggling with his mental health and everything I noticed was attributed to that. He said he tried therapy but could never follow through and that led to hurting me. I told him I felt like his last priority and that I hadn’t been happy for a while. I thought we were on the same page. This cycle of explosive communication just hurt us. And then he said we’ll get through it together. And I said “together? I thought we were breaking up” nope. But he asked if I was breaking up with him and I said yes. And that was it. He said wow and I wanted to propose to you.
We hung up the phone (long distance I know that was a dick move) and I was unfollowed, unfriended, blocked in minutes. I thought we were in the same page. I apologized a million times on that call. Yesterday he texted me, said he wanted to end on a more positive note but that he was angry so bloody red angry. He hopes I move on, we both need time to heal. He has more to say but needs space until he can say it. I sent him a letter this morning which explained why I did it but also that I still love him and miss him but hope can learn to love and trust again. He said he’ll love me forever and that I’m his one that got away. I want him back. I want to take back the breakup and scrub it from our memories and have him back. We could’ve fixed it but I got scared so scared of being hurt but now his struggles were in the table and that was the next step toward fixing things. And it’s gone.
I know you all say NC is for yourself but I’m doing it for him. He needs the space but I want him back so badly. I don’t know what the letter will do or mean but it’s been sent and he rarely even checks his mail. God this hurts so bad. How do
submitted by Disastrous_Worry_230 to ExNoContact [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:22 SAMPS8825gaming Need advice on choosing MBBS College!

Ok so a little background check….. I am 18M General from Jodhpur, Rajasthan. passed 12th in 2023 and gave NEET and got 400 marks and took a drop. This year I studied only in the last 30 days (was admitted due to mental illness and also had left NEET and started pursuing something else) and managed to get a score of 500ish (490-500) due to confusion in 2 questions. I want to prepare for the USMLE and do not want to pursue PG from India due to the toxicity I have seen personally (My father is also a cardiologist). We are confused between a few colleges.
  1. MGM, Jaipur 15L Fees(affordable), Close to home(good connectivity and food) and good education. But cutoff was 518 last year for general (so many reservations) so rare chance I will get it (can someone clarify if I can get it)
  2. JSS, Mysore 20L Fees, has VSLO!, great Alumni, wonderful academics, Mysore is a good city ( Jaipur is better), I know a lot of professors there and have some support system and it is great for USMLE(even if i don’t do MLE I will have Karnataka PG quota). Also cutoff is just 460 But fees is a little high (1Cr including hostel), heard mess food is bad and connectivity from Jodhpur is hard.
  3. HIMS, Dehradun (Jolly Grant) Almost same fees as JSS but not as good in academics as JSS but Better food and connectivity. Not as advantageous for USMLE. Pretty good college but i feel JSS academics >>>> HIMS for the same fees.Also generally academics in Karnataka is better! Also not very beneficial PG quota in Uttarakhand.
  4. JNMC, Belagavi Good Academics and Total Fees package is 10 lakh less than JSS and this college has good connectivity(direct flight from Jodhpur) But then no VSLO! and although academics are good but JSS has slightly better academics.
  5. PIMS, Loni (Rural Medical College) Only good thing is that total fees package is 80L otherwise JSS and JNMC are way better.
  6. Amrita, Faridabad Amazing Infrastructure, food and connectivity to anywhere(Delhi) But new college so it will bot be WDOMS recognised until 1st batch passes so can’t even give MLE before Internship. Also no seniors or Alumni. This year they might increase the fees to 25L from 19L which will make it unaffordable for me.
Im mainly confused between JSS and MGM. But if you guys have any other suggestions please let me know!
submitted by SAMPS8825gaming to indianmedschool [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:17 Certain_Lecture6733 Is this common for startups?

I just had an interview today. I'm an experienced writer with a grad degree. The job ad asked for 3+ years of experience, knowledge of MadCap Flare, API documentation, and HTML/CSS.
During the interview, I picked up these juicy nuggets:
So, they expect to hire a technical writer with at least mid-career skill and experience, but they want that writer to take $50k and be fresh out of college, and they want that person to be the only writer (meaning, no one to mentor the poor recent college grad in the role).
I'm curious why I was even called for an interview because my resume and portfolio clearly demonstrated that I'm not a recent college grad with no experience who would be willing to take $50k (which is not only an on-paper pay cut, but an even bigger one because the COL is higher than my current location).
Is this just how startup-type companies operate? Or did I just run into a particularly predatory company?
submitted by Certain_Lecture6733 to technicalwriting [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:14 AppointmentReady2872 Lenovo ideapad value

Lenovo ideapad value
Hello,
I am looking to buy a laptop for a college student. Came across this from costco and the oled display, 32gb of ram + a i9 processor caught my attention for 1500. The 4050 is nice, however i don't really care about a dedicated graphics card.
I haven't been able to find any reviews and I am assuming that it is due to it being so new/costco exclusive... model number 83d4001hus... I also checked lenovo website, but that model number doesn't exist (one with similar, lower end, previous generation does)
What are your thoughts based on the components for $1500? What other laptops would you suggest?
Did you purchase it and if so, how do you like it? Any regrets?
Thanks!
submitted by AppointmentReady2872 to Lenovo [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:14 Medic0911 New FTO with no FTO plan

Hello everyone, I am a newly promoted FTO for a private company, contracted to run a county 911 response. Tomorrow is my first new hire trainee.
Here’s the problem… I work for a company that wants results and pats on the back but doesn’t provide the supplies or materials to do so… it’s a lot of improvising with little support from upper management.
If you haven’t guessed yet, the company is lacking any sort of training structure. They want FTOs but have no program in place. As I receive my first trainee tomorrow morning, I do not want to look like an ass or unprepared because management can’t get it together. I want to be professional and do right by this new hire. I’ve held FTO positions with previous counties but this will be a first time, having zero material or plan.
I am hoping there are some FTOs or continuing education officers here willing to provide me with some FTO program material on short notice, such as skill check off packs and standard lists of things to covered… the basic things expected of a FTO program. Given such short notice, I don’t even know where to begin. Side note, my trainee will be BLS.
I’m embarrassed (though it’s out of my hands) to be in this situation but I am a firm believer in structure and I’m not sure where else to turn. Management just wants me to wing it but I feel my new hire(s) deserve a productive FTO experience that will set them up for success upon being released to a truck.
If anyone has any material to share, as well as suggestions for a new FTO and how to get management to care enough to work with me in building an actual program, please DM me and I will provide my email address. Anything is very much appreciated. Thank you and stay safe!
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2024.05.16 23:11 Sweet-Count2557 15 Things to Do With Houston Kids Over Christmas Break

15 Things to Do With Houston Kids Over Christmas Break
15 Things to Do With Houston Kids Over Christmas Break Looking for ways to keep your kids entertained and make the most of their Christmas break in Houston?Well, let me tell you about one exciting activity that will surely pique your interest. Imagine gliding across the ice, surrounded by the sparkling lights and festive atmosphere at Discovery Green's ice skating rink. It's a perfect opportunity for some family fun and a chance to create unforgettable memories.But that's just the beginning! We have compiled a list of 15 things that will guarantee a memorable and enjoyable Christmas break for you and your little ones.So, keep reading to discover the other exciting activities that await you in Houston.Key TakeawaysHouston offers a variety of holiday light displays and attractions, including neighborhoods known for extravagant lights, the Light Park in Katy, and Galaxy Lights at Space Center Houston.The Houston Botanic Garden presents Radiant Nature, an illuminated wonderland featuring Chinese lantern installations, offering a unique and enchanting holiday attraction.Ice at Discovery Green provides an outdoor ice skating rink where families can skate with Santa on select days, allowing them to embrace the holiday spirit.Indoor play spaces like Wonderwild in the Heights and Frolics Castle at Memorial City Mall offer safe and entertaining environments for kids to release their energy and have a great time during the holiday break.Holiday Lights and DisplaysLet's explore the magical world of holiday lights and displays in Houston, where neighborhoods come alive with dazzling decorations and festive cheer. Houston is known for its extravagant holiday lights, and two neighborhoods that stand out are River Oaks and Pecan Grove. These neighborhoods go all out, creating breathtaking displays that are perfect for holiday lights photography.As you drive around, you'll be amazed by the festive atmosphere that fills the air. The streets are lined with beautiful displays and decorations that will surely put you in the holiday spirit. It's a wonderful experience to immerse yourself in the joy of the season and create lasting memories with your family.If you're looking for a unique light experience, check out The Light Park in Katy. It offers a drive-thru light experience, allowing you to enjoy the dazzling displays from the comfort of your own car.Another immersive holiday event is Galaxy Lights at Space Center Houston. Here, you can explore the wonders of space while being surrounded by stunning light displays.But the holiday lights aren't limited to neighborhoods. Houston also offers other attractions that are worth visiting. The Houston Botanic Garden presents Radiant Nature, an illuminated wonderland where you can explore dozens of Chinese lantern installations after dark. It's a magical transformation of the Gardens that showcases the beauty of nature in a new light.For some outdoor fun, head to Ice at Discovery Green. They offer an outdoor ice skating rink where you can glide across the ice and embrace the holiday spirit.And if you're looking for indoor play spaces, Wonderwild in the Heights and Frolics Castle at Memorial City Mall are great options. They provide safe and entertaining environments for your kids to release their energy and have a great time.In Houston, the holiday lights and displays are truly a sight to behold. Whether you're strolling through neighborhoods or visiting attractions, you'll be mesmerized by the festive atmosphere and the stunning decorations. So grab your camera, gather your loved ones, and embark on a magical journey through the best neighborhoods for holiday lights in Houston.Galaxy Lights at Space Center HoustonAs we continue our exploration of Houston's enchanting holiday lights and displays, let's now venture into the immersive and awe-inspiring world of Galaxy Lights at Space Center Houston. This holiday event takes Houston's holiday light displays to a whole new level, transporting visitors into a dazzling galaxy of lights and wonder.Here's why you should add Galaxy Lights to your must-visit list this Christmas break:Spectacular Light Displays: Space Center Houston's Galaxy Lights boasts an incredible array of light installations that will leave you in awe. From twinkling stars to colorful planets, you'll feel like you're floating through space as you stroll through this captivating wonderland.Interactive Experiences: In addition to the breathtaking light displays, Galaxy Lights offers interactive experiences that are fun for the whole family. Step into a virtual reality experience and take a journey through the solar system, or try your hand at controlling a rover on Mars. These interactive elements add an extra layer of excitement and engagement to the event.Festive Entertainment: Galaxy Lights also features live performances and festive entertainment to get you in the holiday spirit. From holiday-themed laser light shows to live music, there's something for everyone to enjoy. You can even catch a glimpse of Santa Claus himself as he makes special appearances throughout the event.With Space Center Houston's Galaxy Lights, you'll not only get to experience Houston's holiday light displays, but also embark on an unforgettable journey through the cosmos. So gather your family and embrace the freedom to explore this enchanting holiday event that will create lasting memories for years to come.The Light Park in KatyThe Light Park in Katy offers a mesmerizing drive-thru light experience that will transport you and your family into a magical winter wonderland. As you enter the park, you'll be greeted by a dazzling display of lights, creating an enchanting atmosphere that's sure to ignite your holiday spirit. The drive-thru experience allows you to enjoy the beautiful light displays from the comfort of your own vehicle, making it a convenient and family-friendly holiday activity.As you navigate through the park, you'll be treated to a symphony of colors and shapes, with each display more stunning than the last. From towering Christmas trees adorned with twinkling lights to whimsical scenes depicting Santa's workshop, there's something for everyone to enjoy. The attention to detail is truly remarkable, and you'll find yourself in awe of the artistry and creativity that went into creating this magical light park.The Light Park in Katy is the perfect way to spend an evening with your loved ones. The drive-thru format allows you to go at your own pace and take in the sights at your leisure. Whether you're looking for a romantic date night or a fun outing with the whole family, this holiday attraction has it all.Houston Botanic Garden's Radiant NatureHouston Botanic Garden's Radiant Nature presents a breathtaking illuminated wonderland for visitors of all ages to explore and enjoy. Step into a magical illumination that transforms the garden into a nature wonderland, creating an enchanting experience like no other.Here's why you should add Radiant Nature to your list of must-see holiday attractions:Immerse yourself in the beauty of nature: As you wander through the garden, you'll encounter dozens of Chinese lantern installations that come alive after dark. These intricate and colorful lanterns illuminate the surroundings, creating a mesmerizing atmosphere that celebrates the wonders of the natural world.Witness the transformation of the Gardens: Radiant Nature showcases the garden in a whole new light, quite literally. The enchanting illumination highlights the unique features of the plants and landscapes, allowing you to see them in a different perspective. It's a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the beauty and diversity of the botanical world.Create lasting memories with your family: Radiant Nature offers a memorable experience for the whole family. From strolling through illuminated pathways to discovering hidden surprises, there's something for everyone to enjoy. Let the magical ambiance spark joy and wonder in your children's eyes as they explore this captivating nature wonderland.Don't miss out on this enchanting holiday attraction. Radiant Nature at Houston Botanic Garden promises to transport you to a world of magical illumination and natural beauty. So, gather your loved ones and embark on a delightful adventure that will leave you with cherished memories.Ice Skating at Discovery GreenGet ready to lace up your skates and hit the ice at Discovery Green for a fun-filled and festive ice skating experience. At Discovery Green, you can enjoy outdoor ice skating in the heart of downtown Houston. This popular holiday attraction offers a magical setting where you can glide across the ice and embrace the holiday spirit.The outdoor ice skating rink at Discovery Green is the perfect place to create lasting memories with your family. Imagine the joy on your children's faces as they take their first steps on the ice. As you skate hand in hand, you can feel the excitement in the air and the holiday cheer all around you.One of the highlights of ice skating at Discovery Green is the opportunity to skate with Santa on select days. This special event allows your little ones to meet Santa Claus himself while enjoying the thrill of gliding on the ice. It's an experience that combines two beloved holiday traditions and will surely make this Christmas break one to remember.Whether you're a seasoned skater or a beginner, Discovery Green's ice skating rink offers a wonderful activity for everyone. The rink is surrounded by festive decorations, adding to the holiday ambiance. So, grab your skates and join in the fun as you twirl and spin on the ice, surrounded by the beauty of Discovery Green.Ice skating at Discovery Green is just one of the many holiday-themed activities that Houston has to offer. So, take advantage of the freedom that the Christmas break brings and explore all the festive attractions in the city. From dazzling light displays to enchanting holiday events, there's something for everyone to enjoy during this magical time of year.Don't miss out on the chance to make unforgettable memories with your loved ones. Lace up your skates and let the adventure begin!Wonderwild Indoor Play SpaceWhen it comes to finding a fun and adventure-filled play space for kids in Houston, Wonderwild in the Heights is the place to be. At Wonderwild, children can enjoy exciting indoor playtime and engage in active entertainment.Here are three reasons why Wonderwild is the perfect destination for your little ones:Endless Fun: Wonderwild offers a wide variety of activities that will keep your kids entertained for hours. From climbing walls to giant slides, there's something for everyone. Children can explore the colorful play structures, navigate obstacle courses, and even bounce on trampolines. The possibilities for fun are endless, and your kids will have a blast letting their imaginations run wild.Safe Environment: Wonderwild prioritizes the safety of its young visitors. The play space is designed with padded floors and walls to ensure a secure environment for children to play freely. Additionally, the staff members are attentive and trained to maintain a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. You can relax and have peace of mind knowing that your kids are in good hands.Physical Activity: In today's digital age, it's important to encourage children to engage in physical activity. Wonderwild provides the perfect opportunity for kids to get moving and stay active. Whether they're climbing, sliding, or jumping, they'll be getting exercise while having fun. This indoor play space allows children to burn off energy and develop their motor skills in a controlled and supervised setting.Frolics Castle at Memorial City MallLocated within Memorial City Mall, Frolics Castle is a fantastic indoor play area where kids can unleash their imaginations and have a blast. This kids play area is the perfect destination for mall entertainment and offers a safe and exciting environment for children to play and explore. With its colorful and whimsical design, Frolics Castle will capture the attention of kids of all ages.Inside Frolics Castle, children can climb, slide, and crawl through various play structures, allowing them to release their energy and have a great time. The castle-themed play area is filled with interactive elements, including tunnels, bridges, and obstacles, that will keep kids engaged and entertained for hours. They can let their imaginations run wild as they pretend to be knights, princesses, or even dragons in this magical setting.Parents can relax and enjoy some shopping or take a break while their children play in Frolics Castle. The play area is conveniently located within Memorial City Mall, making it a convenient option for families looking for mall entertainment. It provides a safe and supervised space for kids to have fun, while also giving parents the chance to browse the mall or grab a bite to eat.Frolics Castle at Memorial City Mall is a must-visit destination for families during the holiday break. It offers an enjoyable and engaging experience for kids, allowing them to burn off some energy and have a memorable time. So, if you're looking for a fun and exciting activity for your children, head over to Frolics Castle and let the adventure begin!Neighborhood Holiday LightsAs we explore the enchanting world of holiday lights in Houston, prepare to be dazzled by the neighborhoods that go above and beyond to create a festive atmosphere. There's nothing quite like taking a drive through the city during the holiday season and witnessing the magical display of neighborhood holiday lights.Here are three neighborhoods that are known for their extravagant displays:River Oaks: This upscale neighborhood is famous for its stunning holiday lights. As you drive through the streets, you'll be greeted by beautifully decorated mansions, adorned with twinkling lights and festive decorations. It's a sight that will truly take your breath away.Pecan Grove: Located in Richmond, Pecan Grove is another neighborhood that goes all out when it comes to holiday lights. The entire community comes together to create a festive atmosphere, with each house competing to have the most dazzling display. You'll be amazed by the creativity and effort that goes into these decorations.The Light Park in Katy: For a unique and immersive holiday experience, head to The Light Park in Katy. This drive-thru light park features over a million lights, synchronized to holiday music. As you drive through the park, you'll be surrounded by a dazzling display of lights, creating a truly magical atmosphere.Driving through these neighborhoods and experiencing the festive atmosphere is a wonderful way to embrace the holiday spirit and create lasting memories with your family. So grab some hot cocoa, hop in the car, and get ready to be amazed by the neighborhood holiday lights in Houston.Festive Atmosphere DriveReady to immerse yourself in the holiday spirit? Hop in the car and embark on a festive atmosphere drive through the neighborhoods of Houston, where dazzling light displays and beautiful decorations await.There's something magical about driving through neighborhoods adorned with twinkling lights and festive decorations. It's a tradition that brings joy and excitement to both young and old. As you cruise through the streets, you'll be greeted by houses decked out in colorful lights, extravagant displays, and whimsical decorations. It's a feast for the eyes and a surefire way to get into the holiday mood.One neighborhood that's known for its extravagant holiday lights is River Oaks. The houses in this area go all out, creating a truly enchanting atmosphere. Pecan Grove is another neighborhood worth visiting, as it boasts stunning displays that are sure to leave you in awe. As you drive around, take your time to admire each house and appreciate the effort that goes into creating such festive scenes.If you're looking for a more immersive experience, consider visiting The Light Park in Katy. This drive-thru light experience offers a dazzling display of lights synchronized to festive music. It's a magical journey that will leave you and your family in awe. Another option is Galaxy Lights at Space Center Houston, where you can explore a winter wonderland filled with interactive displays and larger-than-life light installations.A festive atmosphere drive is a wonderful way to create lasting memories with your family. So gather your loved ones, turn up the holiday tunes, and set off on a magical adventure through the neighborhoods of Houston. Enjoy the beauty of the lights, the joy in the air, and the warmth of the holiday spirit. It's a time to be together, to be filled with wonder, and to embrace the magic of the season.Chinese Lantern InstallationsIf you're looking for a unique and enchanting holiday attraction in Houston, be sure to explore the dozens of Chinese lantern installations after dark at the Houston Botanic Garden's Radiant Nature. This breathtaking display is part of the Chinese lantern festivals, which are cultural celebrations that showcase intricate and vibrant lanterns.Here's why you should make a visit to Radiant Nature a priority this Christmas break:Immersive Experience: As you walk through the Houston Botanic Garden, you'll be transported to a world of wonder and magic. The Chinese lantern installations create a mesmerizing ambiance, illuminating the night sky with their stunning colors and designs. It's an experience that will captivate both children and adults alike.Cultural Appreciation: The Chinese lantern festivals are deeply rooted in tradition and symbolism. Each lantern tells a story and represents different aspects of Chinese culture. By visiting Radiant Nature, you'll not only be entertained but also have the opportunity to learn and appreciate the rich heritage behind these beautiful lanterns.Family Bonding: The holiday season is all about spending quality time with your loved ones, and visiting Radiant Nature is the perfect way to do just that. As you stroll together through the garden, you can marvel at the intricate lanterns, share laughter and create lasting memories. It's a chance to slow down, embrace the freedom of the moment, and enjoy the company of your family.Outdoor Ice Skating RinksAfter exploring the enchanting Chinese lantern installations at the Houston Botanic Garden's Radiant Nature, it's time to lace up our skates and glide into the next festive adventure - outdoor ice skating rinks. Outdoor ice skating is a classic winter activity that brings joy and excitement to people of all ages. Houston may not have the coldest winters, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy this icy pastime. So, grab your warmest coats and hats, because we're about to hit the ice!When it comes to outdoor ice skating, there are a few tips to keep in mind. First, dress in layers to stay warm while on the ice. It's important to stay cozy, but also be able to move freely. Second, wear thick socks to provide extra cushioning and insulation for your feet. And don't forget to bring gloves to keep your hands toasty!Now, let's talk about the best outdoor ice skating rinks in Houston. One popular spot is the Ice at Discovery Green. Located in the heart of downtown, this rink offers a picturesque setting with the city skyline as its backdrop. Another great option is the Memorial City Ice Rink. This outdoor rink is surrounded by festive decorations and offers a fun and lively atmosphere.Whether you're a seasoned skater or a beginner, outdoor ice skating is a fantastic way to embrace the holiday spirit and create lasting memories with your family and friends. So, let's lace up our skates and glide across the ice, feeling the exhilaration and freedom that comes with this winter activity. Houston may not be known for its icy winters, but that won't stop us from enjoying the thrill of outdoor ice skating!Immersive Holiday EventWe can't wait to dive into the immersive holiday event and be transported into a world of enchantment and wonder. Here are three reasons why we're excited about this experience:Interactive Light Displays:Picture yourself surrounded by a mesmerizing array of lights that respond to your touch and movement.Engage with the interactive light installations, creating a unique and personalized experience.Watch as the lights dance and twinkle, illuminating the night and filling you with a sense of joy and awe.Magical Atmosphere:Step into a world where holiday magic comes to life, immersing you in a festive and enchanting atmosphere.Be surrounded by beautifully decorated trees, sparkling ornaments, and whimsical characters that ignite your imagination.As you explore the immersive holiday event, feel the warmth and joy radiating from every corner, making you believe in the magic of the season.Memorable Experiences:This immersive holiday experience offers the perfect opportunity to create lasting memories with your family and loved ones.Capture unforgettable moments as you marvel at the stunning light displays and share laughter and joy together.Whether it's a romantic stroll hand-in-hand, a fun-filled adventure with your children, or a gathering with friends, this event promises to leave a lasting impression.Get ready to be captivated by the immersive holiday experience and be transported into a world filled with interactive light displays, magical atmosphere, and memorable experiences. It's time to embrace the freedom of the holiday season and create cherished memories that will warm your heart for years to come.Enchanted Holiday AttractionGet ready to be transported to an enchanting holiday attraction that will captivate your imagination and fill you with wonder. Houston is home to some truly magical light installations and enchanted holiday crafts that are sure to delight both kids and adults alike.One of the must-visit holiday attractions in Houston is the Houston Botanic Garden's Radiant Nature. This illuminated wonderland features dozens of Chinese lantern installations that come to life after dark. As you wander through the gardens, you'll witness the magical transformation of the surroundings and experience the beauty of nature in a whole new light. It's a unique and enchanting holiday attraction that isn't to be missed.If you're looking for some outdoor fun, Ice at Discovery Green is the perfect choice. This outdoor ice skating rink offers a festive atmosphere where you can glide across the ice and embrace the holiday spirit. And on select days, you can even skate with Santa himself! It's a fun and festive activity that the whole family can enjoy.For those looking for indoor entertainment, Wonderwild in the Heights is an adventure-filled play space that will provide hours of fun. Let your kids release their energy and have a great time exploring the various play areas. And at Frolics Castle in Memorial City Mall, kids can enjoy free play and let their imaginations run wild.No matter which enchanted holiday attraction you choose to visit, one thing is for sure - you're in for a memorable experience. So gather your family and embrace the joy of the holiday season as you immerse yourselves in dazzling light displays and create lasting memories. Houston has everything you need to make this Christmas break truly magical.Release Energy and Have FunAs we continue our exploration of Houston's enchanting holiday attractions, let's now shift our focus to a subtopic that's perfect for kids (and adults) who need to release their energy and have a whole lot of fun. During the Christmas break, there are plenty of indoor activities and holiday-themed crafts to keep everyone entertained. Here are three options to consider:Indoor Play Spaces:Wonderwild in the Heights provides an adventure-filled play space where kids can climb, slide, and explore to their heart's content. It's a safe and entertaining environment for indoor play, allowing kids to release their energy and have a great time.Frolics Castle at Memorial City Mall offers free play for kids, giving them the freedom to let loose and enjoy themselves. With various play areas and activities, it's a fantastic option for burning off energy and having fun.Holiday Themed Crafts:Many local museums and art centers offer holiday-themed craft workshops during the Christmas break. Kids can unleash their creativity and make their own ornaments, cards, and decorations. It's a great way to engage their imaginations while enjoying the freedom to create.DIY Festive Games:Create your own holiday-themed games at home. From pin the nose on Rudolph to a Santa sack race, the options are endless. Get the whole family involved and have a blast playing these customized games. It's the perfect opportunity to release energy, have fun, and make lasting memories together.With these indoor activities and holiday-themed crafts, kids can have a blast while staying active and engaged during the Christmas break. So, let's embrace the freedom to release energy and have a whole lot of fun!Embrace the Holiday SpiritImmerse yourself in the holiday spirit with a variety of festive activities and events in Houston. Get into the holiday groove by indulging in some delightful holiday crafts and enjoying the enchanting sounds of holiday music. Houston offers plenty of opportunities to embrace the holiday spirit and create lasting memories with your family.Get your creative juices flowing by participating in holiday craft workshops. Many local art centers and community organizations offer classes where you can learn to make your own unique holiday decorations. From handmade ornaments to festive wreaths, these workshops allow you to express your creativity and add a personal touch to your holiday decor.Don't forget to tune in to the sweet melodies of holiday music. Throughout the city, you'll find live performances of your favorite holiday tunes. Whether it's a local choir singing carols or a symphony orchestra playing classical holiday music, there's something for everyone to enjoy. Let the music fill your heart with joy and put you in the holiday spirit.In addition to holiday crafts and music, Houston also boasts stunning light displays that will leave you in awe. Take a drive through neighborhoods like River Oaks and Pecan Grove, known for their extravagant holiday lights. Marvel at the beautifully decorated homes and immerse yourself in the festive atmosphere. For a unique experience, visit The Light Park in Katy, where you can enjoy a drive-thru light show that will dazzle your senses.Embracing the holiday spirit in Houston is all about celebrating with loved ones and enjoying the festive atmosphere. So gather your family, put on your favorite holiday tunes, and get ready to create memories that will last a lifetime.Frequently Asked QuestionsHow Much Does It Cost to Attend Galaxy Lights at Space Center Houston?The cost to attend Galaxy Lights at Space Center Houston varies depending on the day and time you visit. It's best to check their website for the most accurate and up-to-date pricing information.When planning your visit, consider going during off-peak times to potentially save on admission costs.Regardless of the cost, experiencing the dazzling light displays and immersive holiday event at Galaxy Lights is sure to create lasting memories for you and your family.Are There Any Special Events or Activities at the Light Park in Katy?Yes, there are special events at the Light Park in Katy that Houston kids will love! With dazzling lights and a drive-thru experience, it's perfect for creating lasting memories with your family.At the Light Park, you can immerse yourself in the holiday spirit and enjoy beautiful displays and decorations. It's an enchanting holiday attraction that will leave you in awe.Can You Purchase Tickets in Advance for Houston Botanic Garden's Radiant Nature?Yes, you can purchase tickets in advance for Houston Botanic Garden's Radiant Nature. Planning in advance is a great idea to ensure availability and secure your spot.Online booking makes it convenient and easy to purchase tickets from the comfort of your home. Pricing information can be found on their website, allowing you to budget accordingly.Don't miss out on this unique and enchanting holiday attraction, so be sure to get your tickets early!What Is the Admission Fee for Ice Skating at Discovery Green?The admission fee for ice skating at Discovery Green during Christmas break isn't mentioned without the context of Things to Do With Houston Kids Over Christmas Break.Is There a Minimum Age Requirement for Children to Play at Wonderwild Indoor Play Space?At Wonderwild indoor play space, there's no minimum age requirement for children to play. This means that kids of all ages can enjoy the adventure-filled play space and have a great time releasing their energy.Indoor play spaces like Wonderwild provide numerous benefits for children, such as promoting physical activity, stimulating imagination, and promoting social interaction.ConclusionSo gather your family and get ready to make some unforgettable memories this Christmas break in Houston! Whether you're marveling at the extravagant holiday lights in River Oaks and Pecan Grove, exploring the immersive Galaxy Lights event at Space Center Houston, or letting your kids release their energy at Wonderwild or Frolics Castle, there's something for everyone to enjoy.And did you know that Houston Botanic Garden's Radiant Nature features over 100 Chinese lantern installations? It's a truly enchanting experience you won't want to miss!
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2024.05.16 23:11 SiNec_ pain and suffering compensation - Canada

Good morning everyone, I'm looking for advice. I had a rear end collision in October 2023. I stopped at pedestrian crossing for a men who wanted to cross the street. Car behind me didn't pay attention and hit my car with full speed without breaking. At the moment we didn't think anything is wrong, and I needed new car as possible because of long drive go work so we closed the case in 2 weeks, they paid for our car because it was totalled, we never get anything for a medical reason.
But from last 2 months I start have more problems with my back. I had a chronic pain before accident but currently I'm expecting more pain and my leg is going to be numb way more often. I talk with my family doctor and he said it might be related to the accident and we should check it. He said I can back to the insurance or go to the lawyer.
By boyfriend was with me as a passenger when it happened, he have a ADHD and autism. We thought he is fine but we noticed his anxiety is way stronger when we drive(he don't have a driving license). Everytime when I stop or something he grab the handle and his muscles stiffen.
So I called the lawyer but they said because of my problems with back before and my partner mental health it might be hard to get anything plus they will not treat us serious because for 8 months we didn't anything medcal related to accident what for insurance company means there was no problem.
She said they can open the case for us but they're taking 33% and might be hard to get anything. Or she said I can go straight to the insurance company and ask for pain and suffer compensation what in Alberta rn is $5800 minimum amount.
But idk how to do it, I'm worried they will treat me like a fraud or something because I didn't do anything from October about it.
I need an advice what I can do about it.
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2024.05.16 23:11 Weathers_Writing They call Silicon Valley the tech capitol of the world. They're wrong

I won't disclose its actual location, so if that's why you're here, sorry to disappoint. It's not time for that yet. However, I do think it's time to start getting the word out. I've noticed an increase in what I'll call "Antennas" lately, or people who can detect cross-planar phase shifts. Without getting into all the math (some of which I don't even know), this is basically a phenomenon which refers to entropy seeping into our universe from other realms or universes or whatever you want to call it. Simply put, people think our universe is a closed system to entropy, meaning that the disorder of any variable in our universe can only increase or decrease in direct proportion to other variables in that same system (the universe). Under this precept, we can establish rules like the Laws of Thermodynamics, and for most people, they're effective. But not for Antennas.
Put another way, if you throw a bunch of bouncy balls into a box, there are a number of different configurations that the balls could take on, with different speeds and magnitudes. You can calculate all of those if you have the right numbers. Now let's say you throw in another set of balls that you don't consider in your calculations of the initial set. Well, then you're not going to get an accurate picture of what's happening. Most people only see the first set and calculate based on that, but some people can see two, three, four or more sets.
You'll understand the concept better when I tell you the story, but I wanted to give you a primer on an important concept that will help you understand why this place, which I'll call "Area X", exists, and what the goals of the people who work there are.
Also note that I'm going to be using the alias "Trent" moving forward. Please refer to me as such in any direct messages.
***
Eighteen years ago I started working as an independent Home Inspector. I dropped out of community college after my first semester (not because I didn't find some of the subjects interesting, but because deference to a man or woman has never been my style) and started working some odd jobs. I did construction work for a couple years, then plumbing. I even drove a garbage truck for six months. I've always found pleasure in using my hands, and getting dirty was never a problem for me. Still, having a boss really dragged ass, so I spent my free time working on creating my own business. It took a few years and lots of savings, but I finally managed to get basic set of Home Inspection equipment: Tyvek coveralls, a cheap half-face respirator, voltage & AFCI/GFCI testers, CO2 and radon monitors, an IR camera, and telescoping mirrors in addition to the boots, safety glasses, electric gloves, ladder, and toolkits I already had on hand.
My buddy at the time was in the business, but he was moving off to the coast, so he helped me get set up and even introduced me to some of his clients. Of course, by that time I had already gotten my State license, but I still was a bit apprehensive to work with insurance agencies. I thought I could make a living working independently, inspecting for mold or sizing up a house for a prospective buyer. Eventually, though, I realized I should probably take every job available to me.
Easing into the business went about as well as it could have. The clients my friend referred to me were very satisfied with my work, and I was able to retain them. Then, in order to increase my reach, I hired someone on Fiverr to build a website for my company which led to a marked increase in traffic and conversions. About six months through, I began to get on a first-name basis with the boys and girls down down at Allstate and Progressive, and they fed me some of the bigger cases. In fact, I got so booked by year's end that I had to hire someone to help manage my schedule and the Excel spreadsheet with all my finances. I capped off a successful year with a 5-star Google rating and a trip to Ireland to visit some family and friends and get piss drunk. When I got back, it was the grindstone all over again, until the summer when I discovered… well, you'll see.
First off, I want to say that I was never one to believe in the paranormal. I grew up watching the movies and hearing the ghost stories round the campfire like every other kid, but it never struck a chord with me. If I can't touch it or see it or hear it, does it really exist? Probably not. So don't go thinking this was a scared man seeing his own shadow. That being said, I had this sense that something was off about this house when I parked along the curb and looked through a large window, perhaps two times the size of my van, to a dingy, dark foyer.
The entire neighborhood was stacked with upper-middle class domiciles, though it seemed like only two thirds of them were occupied, mostly by professionals who commuted to the City every weekday, and the rest were empty. As a man who understands real estate, to say this was strange would be an understatement. Still, I had no problem appraising the mini-mansion for a couple of newlyweds looking to enter the community. I did some research on the property ahead of time, and it seems that it was owned by a couple of old timers who had gone off the grid some time ago. The water and electric bill were both unpaid dating back to 2004 (it was June of '06 now). The bank had repo'd the house (which only had about 100k left on it) and held it for a year and a half before putting it back on the market. I tried to find out more about the old couple who vanished, but there was nothing in the news.
I stepped out of the van in my coveralls and grabbed my suitcase which had my mask, gloves, and eye protection in it. I liked to do a preliminary survey first, running an eye test on the exterior then interior before bringing out the big guns (that way I could identify the areas where I think there could be problems instead of running a metal detector over the whole damn ocean seaboard). I was about to do just that when the window caught my eye again. It felt uncharacteristic of me to be so occupied with this window, but I detoured to the front porch and peeked inside anyway.
Most of the furniture had already been moved out, meaning all that was left was a single three-seater couch, a couple candlesticks on the fireplace mantle, a pristine chandelier overtop a dining room table, and the kitchenware: an oven, gas stovetop, marble countertops, and an island. I could see into the living room very clearly with the afternoon light, but the dining room was dim enough that there were a few structures I couldn't quite make out in the distance. One of them appeared to be some kind of china cabinet or bookshelf—I figured it was the former considering where it was located. The other shadow looked kind of like a grandfather clock. Or at least that's what I thought until it moved.
When I say it "moved", I don't mean to say that it picked up and walked away. If you're not familiar with the Necker Cube, I suggest you search it up, because that kind of illusion is the best way to describe what I saw. At first I was seeing the grandfather clock in a certain way—pushed into the corner of the room—and the next second my vision "corrected" and it was maybe five feet to the left of its former position. I shook my head and looked again and saw the grandfather clock in its second orientation, standing in the center of the room against the wall. I figured I was just seeing things, but even so I spent a little extra time dawdling around the Egress window, taking notes, and delaying the interior inspection.
When I finally grew a pair and went inside, I walked straight to the dining room. Sure enough, the grandfather clock was stowed away in the corner of the room. I spent a couple minutes watching it with my pencil and travel notebook out. I'm the kind of guy that likes to collect hard data when the chips are down. Unfortunately, the clock apparently already had enough fun and was content with sweating me. Oh, well.
I fitted my pencil behind my ear and pocketed my travel notebook, then flipped the rest of the first floor lights on and completed my prelim. I concluded that everything was pretty standard. If anything, the house was in better shape than I'd expect considering it presumably hasn't been lived in for a couple years. I say "presumably" because one can never count out squatters, even during those times. Mainly I was expecting more dust build up and cobwebs than there were. Perhaps someone from the department had come by recently. It's unlikely, but possible.
I did the same check upstairs and it came back mostly clean. There was a bit of staining near the attic I wanted to check for mold. Based on its color, it was probably just a minor case of Aspergillus, but better safe than sorry. Then I got to the basement, and, well, let's just count out the idea of anyone dropping by. I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't what I found.
The first thing that caught my eye was the long, slender body of a birch tree lying pale and dead across a large portion of the even larger unfinished basement's cement flooring. I had to do a double take to make sure I wasn't dreaming, but, yep, there it was. Its crown was sealed up in the wall with only its trunk hanging out, which made me think of those medieval pillory devices which locked up people's heads and arms. Then confetti-scattered around the tree and all over the basement floor was a minefield of broken glass and ceramic tangled up with a set of random objects. And when I say random, I mean random. There was an unfurled Somali flag (the blue one with a single star in the center), some packaged drinks and condiments branded with all sorts of different languages (I could only make out Gaelic and Chinese or Japanese, I couldn't quite tell), a broken dome-shaped security camera, an otoscope (the thing the doc uses to check your ears), Hot Wheels cars (okay that one isn't so strange), and the list goes on.
At that moment, I wasn't freaked out or disgusted. I was more or less just confused. I started walking through the rubble, trying to avoid the sharp fragments but pretty confident that my steel toed boots would crush most the pieces anyway, when I heard a clink just up ahead. I was able to spot the coin in time, just before it jingled to a halt atop an old Life magazine. I picked it up and noted right away its oval shape and bronze color—clearly not American made. I tried reading it, but not only was the language not English, it appeared to be so old that most of the lettering had been filed down. I looked up at the ceiling to see if it dropped from a shelf, but there was nothing that could have been holding the coin. I considered for a moment, looking around at the other junk, and had the crazy idea that maybe all this stuff just appeared here. I popped the coin in my pocket and headed back to the van when I stopped by the tree and realized something. It wasn't a birch tree—it was a palm tree. I just didn't realize because of how ashy and decayed the bark was.
Now at this point you might think I've been acting a little nonchalant for such a strange occurrence, and I don't blame you, but if you're gonna stick around with me that's just something you're gonna have to get used to. I guess I was just born with a screw loose, but I really don't scare easily, and I tend to look at everything pragmatically. If you dig deep enough, you'll always find another plausible explanation. That being said, I do want to get to the part about Area X, so let me give you the rundown on what I learned about this basement.
I ended up trekking back to the van and picking up my gear. I was no longer running the routine inspection, obviously, but I figured I might as well throw 30 thousand dollars of scanning equipment at whatever the fuck anamoly existed in that basement. Most of it came back negative. There was a bit higher-than-usual EM interference as picked up on the voltmeters, but nothing that screamed danger close. Still, it was enough for me to set up my volt testers and IR camera while muddling through the rest of the junk. I won't bore you with another list of items, but I did find one thing of value: a diamond necklace. And not just any diamond necklace, it was one of those Queen-wearing, multi-row, big-jeweled necklaces like out of some Historical Fiction movie from the thirties. I almost didn't pocket it because I'm used to expensive items being owned by someone… someone who might want it back. But I figured if there was ever a place the finder's keeper's rule applied, it was probably in this Quantum graveyard.
7 O'clock rolled around and I hadn't eaten. I'm a pretty bulky guy, carrying my share of both muscle and fat, and most people think that means I need to eat a ton but that's really not the case. Mostly I just get dehydrated easily, especially in the summer. That said, I was bordering on famished territory and considered heading out for a bite when I heard another sound. The first thing I did was check my scanners, and sure enough the voltage needle was fully spun to the right side of the dial. EM interference. Then I went to see what had dropped. I was able to pick the object out pretty quickly since I had spent the last 6 hours staring at the mosaic of a basement floor. It was a silver briefcase, like one of those out of a crime novel, and it was cracked open.
I had this sense then that I was standing at a precipice, and if I opened the briefcase and looked inside, I wouldn't be able to stop whatever would come afterwards. Part of me deep down knew that I was just that type of guy that had to know, and maybe this was my Hamlet moment where it would be a trait gone a step too far. But then again I didn't really believe in any of that sentimental bullshit, so I opened the briefcase.
The gun surprised me a little, but not as much as the piece of paper laid atop a case file reading in large black font, "FIND ME". I expected the envelope to have some missing person file in it, but instead there were all these schematics and blueprints for some kind of device. Whatever it was, it was pretty massive. Some of the lengths were hundreds of meters long. And what's more strange is based on the blueprint's locale, it appeared to be underground. I looked back through the pages a couple times, then checked the note—nothing strange there. The gun appeared to be a simple glock. I was no gun expert, but I had been to the range pretty regularly with my construction buddies, so I got used to the feel of a pistol and rifle and some of the different names; however, I realized pretty quickly it wasn't your standard glock when I couldn't find mag-release. That's when I noticed how light the gun felt. I tried to chamber a round, but again, there was no hammer. What the hell kind of gun was this?
I ended up throwing everything back in the briefcase, including the necklace, coin, and a few Koozies I found that were branded with one of my favorite sports teams (never let an opportunity go to waste). I put up all my shit back in the van and spun over to a local burger joint, got my fill, and went home. I made sure to draft an email to the prospective buyers, telling them the house had several patches of black mold and a bit of a rat problem before drifting off to sleep. Although I really didn't do much of that.
When I woke up, I took a cold shower and downed a can of Reign, then commuted to my gym and got a lift and some sauna time in before making the trip back to the house. I brought some extra supplies with me for some experiments I cooked up while not sleeping the previous night.
First, I had two camcorders set up on a couple tripods in either corner of the basement. I wanted clear footage of these mystery objects spawning in. Then I set up a voltmeter in a similar fashion, but I had a wire extending out of it on a circuit which fed to an alarm that would blare when the reading was over 250 volts. Upstairs, I rearranged some of the furniture so that the small number of tables, chairs, clock, cabinets, and other little pillows or vases I could find were scattered across the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Then I pulled up a lawn chair to the front porch window and waited.
I didn't have to wait long though. In about a minute, I started to notice some of the objects moving. It was strange. When a few of them would shift simultaneously, it was like looking at a holographic card that would change shape depending on where your eyes were in relation to the image. Every time I saw a shift, I felt an awkward feeling in my eyes. They went blurry for a fraction of a second, then there was a twinge of pain, as if my brain couldn't handle the contradictory stimulus. It didn't get more crazy than that though—until the alarm went off.
I had cracked open the small rectangular window in the basement to the side of the house so I would hear it. It took four hours and several strange stares from passersby walking their dogs before it rang, so I was a bit lost in my thoughts, but when I heard the beep I perked up fast. It lasted for maybe 5 seconds total, but what I saw was truly miraculous. The best way I can describe it is a pool of silver or gray or translucent light emerging in the foreground between me and the objects in the different rooms. A series of twisting tentacles sprouted from the gray octopus-like head and spun in a way that reminded me of that little kids ride at the amusement parks. Then the objects started to "heat up" is the way I describe it. Their position became relative, meaning they were here one second, there another, then they popped out of existence entirely. Suddenly the rooms were all empty, then they were full of things I had never seen before. Then five seconds passed and the octopus vanished and it was back to the same old objects in their usual places.
It took a few minutes to process what I saw, and even then I wasn't sure I really saw it. I went inside and looked around at my distribution of the house's furnishings. They were all there, intact. Then I went downstairs to check the cams. I rewinded a couple minutes and played it back, but there was no flying object to be found. Instead, there was some gray static that lasted half a second and then the object, a kid's treasure chest toy, was there on the ground. But you want to know the really strange part? I rewinded the tape again, and when I watched the footage back, the treasure chest was always there.
I later came to understand that these poppings in-and-out of our reality are only conceivable to a conscious mind that can track the interference patterns—not rote computational instruments. In fact, even most people can't do it (although everyone has at least a slight awareness of it, even if only subconsciously). Plus, locations like the basement of this house are very rare and kept under tight lock. That became obvious to me two days later when, after my normal morning routine, I pulled up to a driveway and curbside filled with unmarked government vehicles. Either bravely or stupidly, I pulled up to a few officers (they were wearing suits in 85 degree weather, so I assumed…) who were idling by the large fence of crime scene tape and asked them what the score was.
"There was a crime," said the short man with a unibrow.
"Oh, is that right? Damn shame. Someone break in? I have a niece who lives nearby, so…"
The man looked at his two compatriots, both of whom were wearing sunglasses and a "get this civilian fuck out of here" expressions. "Oh, yeah," he started in a reassuring tone that was so condescending it would have annoyed anyone except me, "we found a body. We think it was a homicide. Best to keep your kids away from here for a while."
I thumbed the stubble on my chin, my other hand outstretched on the wheel, and considered moving on, but my mouth had other ideas. "That right? But uh, isn't this house vacant? I mean, I don't remember no one living in it."
The short man, now tall with temper, said, "Yeah, some squatters. We think there was a dispute over some drug money. Nothing for you to worry about though, we got it under control. Now if you wouldn't mind moving along, we have a lot of work to do."
Oh, I'm sure you do, I thought, but only said, "Of course, sir, sorry for keeping you from your job." Then I rolled up the window and cruised on, keeping my eyes on the house which slowly diminished in the side-view mirror.
Luckily I had been smart enough to break down my camp and lug home all my equipment each night, so I didn't leave anything incriminating. I didn't move the furniture back, so maybe that would come back to haunt me, but considering the kind of shit going down in that house, I didn't think they would notice.
For any of you wondering about the conclusion of the house story, I went back a couple weeks later after the suits had left and the tape was taken down and confirmed that not only was the basement entirely cleaned out, but it was no longer exhibiting any strange properties. I looked for a story related to the house, maybe a made up murder of some kind, but there was nothing. That bastard lied to me and didn't even bother to cover his story up.
Now, in the aftermath of an event such as this, I really only had one of two options. I could forget it, move on, continue living life. The necklace was surely worth a fortune. I could sell it and have enough to retire, or at least hire enough people and expand my business large enough to retire within ten or so years. Or I could take all that money and invest it in my own PI business with only a single objective: finding out what those people knew, and why they were hiding it.
I think you know me well enough by now to guess which line of reasoning appealed more to me.
***
For the sake of brevity, I'm going to omit most of my encounters along the journey to discovering Area X. There's a lot to tell, and if it appeals to you perhaps I'd be willing to share at a later date, but for now I want to get this part of the story, the more proximal part, out in the open.
Three years ago, I discovered the source of what I'll call "The Receiver". This is the device that was schematized in the documents that I found in the briefcase. What it does is a complex answer, and how it does it is pretty much all speculation, but here's what I've been able to find out: this universe we live in is a node in a network of many other spaces. These spaces exist in higher dimensions that we cannot directly perceive, but using a conceivable analogy, just think about a flower with petals. The petals are these other dimensions which bleed into our world, which is at the center. However, it's not that pretty. We see the physical world through the lens of spacetime: sizes, speeds, etc. These other dimensions don't necessarily have space or time. In fact, what actually exists there, I couldn't say. The only data I have on them is from two sources: correspondence information and server data from the secret agency (which I'll call "the Organization") that keeps this under wraps, and first-hand experience with realms from these other entities, either directly (I experience it) or through the eyes of someone else with the same or greater abilities than I possess.
I referred to these people with abilities earlier as "Antennas", and I will continue to use the term. Antennas really come in three flavors, marked by the strength of their ability: weak Antennas, like me, are able to observe spontaneous interactions between our universe and other dimensions (phase shifts) when there is a strong force of collision like existed in the basement; moderate Antennas may see phase shifts occur at any point, and they usually are able to retain memories from across the different transformations; strong Antennas, and I don't know if they exist yet, but they are able to consciously interact with these other realms and cause phase shifts to occur.
I mentioned that moderate Antennas are able to retain memories from before and after a phase shift. Technically, all Antennas have this ability, but it's about degree. I can recall only very specific instances and without much detail. Moderates are usually able to pick out much more nuanced minutiae. At the lower end of moderate scale, most of those details fade or get fuzzy over time, but for the very strong Antennas, they hold onto almost everything. One other property that scales with strength is interaction with other conscious entities. Only a small percentage of moderates are able to do this. What's interesting is that these entities can possess (yes, like ghosts) people who aren't even antennas, but no one is aware of such possession at this deep of a level. I have several companions now, and only two have had interactions with these otherworldly beings. Not all of them are malevolent, some of them are whimsical or kind, but there are a fair share of demons out there.
Getting back to the point, Area X started as a government funded project in the 70's. At that time, they were focused on a few subjects: Artificial Intelligence, DNA sequencing, and psychedelics. Yes, they were part of the infamous LSD experiments. But they looked at these subjects through a common lens—there was something that the burgeoning tech industry, fueled by the advent of a commercial computer market, was missing. As the tech giants rose in the early 2000's and began to collect mass amounts of data, this other agency was decades ahead in a different metric, although it was completely (and still is) hidden from the public. Their efforts to understand psychedelic experiences led to a formalized method of understanding interactions between multiple realities. They built certain scanning equipment to detect anomalies like the one I found in the basement; although their tools were much more sophisticated and didn't utilize voltage readings. Then they ran tests in these areas. One area in particular is a hot-bed of phase shift interactions. That's where Area X is located (and the Receiver).
The Receiver is a giant electromagnetic orb that has trapped the kind of multi-dimensional energy that causes the phase shifts; since the Organization seized control of the lab, it's effectively become a map of the Earth in relation to these other worlds. For the past twenty or so years, the Organization has been studying this map, using the data big Tech companies have collected to essentially develop a Rosetta Stone for interpreting the meaning of the fluctuations in their scanning equipment. Recently, the public, though going the long way round, was actually pretty close to a breakthrough in this same department until recently when ultra-powerful LLMs surfaced, and the whole world began going down what I'd argue is the wrong rabbit hole of language processing. But I digress.
Area X is essentially a private military base built for defending the most impactful piece of technology ever invented. With the Receiver, the Organization now has the power to essentially predict any and all future outcomes, the only thing holding them back is the limitations of their own scanning equipment which will get better with time. To put it into perspective, the Organization has access to a kind of data allocation tool which in one day can produce over ten thousand times that the Big Data companies combined would be able to filter through in the next decade. You might think, then, that the problem is merely asymmetric power, and that is certainly a concern, but it isn't the main concern. The main issue is that this organization is actively recruiting (and kidnapping) Antennas from around the world in an effort to find or make one of them into a strong Antenna. In other words, they want a subject who is able not only to see the future, but to manipulate it at will.
balance to the world. I've been working on amassing resources, capital, and building my own team, and now I'm ready. You might ask why I'm posting this here. Wouldn't it be better to keep all this secret? Well, yes, it would be. But that's the problem. Nothing is secret anymore. They know about me and the others, and if I don't make a move, they will. In a way, this is a letter directly to the organization that I know, and I'm coming.
In a different way, I wanted to release this information to the public. There are lots of people out there waking up and realizing that the world they experience is not the one others experience. If you think you might be an Antenna, don't be afraid—you have a special gift that can be controlled. If you want more details on how to control it, or if you're interested in my mission, don't be afraid to reach out. This hasn't always been my life's work, but it is now.
At least until I die.
submitted by Weathers_Writing to weatherswriting [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:10 Weathers_Writing They call Silicon Valley the tech capitol of the world. They're wrong

I won't disclose its actual location, so if that's why you're here, sorry to disappoint. It's not time for that yet. However, I do think it's time to start getting the word out. I've noticed an increase in what I'll call "Antennas" lately, or people who can detect cross-planar phase shifts. Without getting into all the math (some of which I don't even know), this is basically a phenomenon which refers to entropy seeping into our universe from other realms or universes or whatever you want to call it. Simply put, people think our universe is a closed system to entropy, meaning that the disorder of any variable in our universe can only increase or decrease in direct proportion to other variables in that same system (the universe). Under this precept, we can establish rules like the Laws of Thermodynamics, and for most people, they're effective. But not for Antennas.
Put another way, if you throw a bunch of bouncy balls into a box, there are a number of different configurations that the balls could take on, with different speeds and magnitudes. You can calculate all of those if you have the right numbers. Now let's say you throw in another set of balls that you don't consider in your calculations of the initial set. Well, then you're not going to get an accurate picture of what's happening. Most people only see the first set and calculate based on that, but some people can see two, three, four or more sets.
You'll understand the concept better when I tell you the story, but I wanted to give you a primer on an important concept that will help you understand why this place, which I'll call "Area X", exists, and what the goals of the people who work there are.
Also note that I'm going to be using the alias "Trent" moving forward. Please refer to me as such in any direct messages.
***
Eighteen years ago I started working as an independent Home Inspector. I dropped out of community college after my first semester (not because I didn't find some of the subjects interesting, but because deference to a man or woman has never been my style) and started working some odd jobs. I did construction work for a couple years, then plumbing. I even drove a garbage truck for six months. I've always found pleasure in using my hands, and getting dirty was never a problem for me. Still, having a boss really dragged ass, so I spent my free time working on creating my own business. It took a few years and lots of savings, but I finally managed to get basic set of Home Inspection equipment: Tyvek coveralls, a cheap half-face respirator, voltage & AFCI/GFCI testers, CO2 and radon monitors, an IR camera, and telescoping mirrors in addition to the boots, safety glasses, electric gloves, ladder, and toolkits I already had on hand.
My buddy at the time was in the business, but he was moving off to the coast, so he helped me get set up and even introduced me to some of his clients. Of course, by that time I had already gotten my State license, but I still was a bit apprehensive to work with insurance agencies. I thought I could make a living working independently, inspecting for mold or sizing up a house for a prospective buyer. Eventually, though, I realized I should probably take every job available to me.
Easing into the business went about as well as it could have. The clients my friend referred to me were very satisfied with my work, and I was able to retain them. Then, in order to increase my reach, I hired someone on Fiverr to build a website for my company which led to a marked increase in traffic and conversions. About six months through, I began to get on a first-name basis with the boys and girls down down at Allstate and Progressive, and they fed me some of the bigger cases. In fact, I got so booked by year's end that I had to hire someone to help manage my schedule and the Excel spreadsheet with all my finances. I capped off a successful year with a 5-star Google rating and a trip to Ireland to visit some family and friends and get piss drunk. When I got back, it was the grindstone all over again, until the summer when I discovered… well, you'll see.
First off, I want to say that I was never one to believe in the paranormal. I grew up watching the movies and hearing the ghost stories round the campfire like every other kid, but it never struck a chord with me. If I can't touch it or see it or hear it, does it really exist? Probably not. So don't go thinking this was a scared man seeing his own shadow. That being said, I had this sense that something was off about this house when I parked along the curb and looked through a large window, perhaps two times the size of my van, to a dingy, dark foyer.
The entire neighborhood was stacked with upper-middle class domiciles, though it seemed like only two thirds of them were occupied, mostly by professionals who commuted to the City every weekday, and the rest were empty. As a man who understands real estate, to say this was strange would be an understatement. Still, I had no problem appraising the mini-mansion for a couple of newlyweds looking to enter the community. I did some research on the property ahead of time, and it seems that it was owned by a couple of old timers who had gone off the grid some time ago. The water and electric bill were both unpaid dating back to 2004 (it was June of '06 now). The bank had repo'd the house (which only had about 100k left on it) and held it for a year and a half before putting it back on the market. I tried to find out more about the old couple who vanished, but there was nothing in the news.
I stepped out of the van in my coveralls and grabbed my suitcase which had my mask, gloves, and eye protection in it. I liked to do a preliminary survey first, running an eye test on the exterior then interior before bringing out the big guns (that way I could identify the areas where I think there could be problems instead of running a metal detector over the whole damn ocean seaboard). I was about to do just that when the window caught my eye again. It felt uncharacteristic of me to be so occupied with this window, but I detoured to the front porch and peeked inside anyway.
Most of the furniture had already been moved out, meaning all that was left was a single three-seater couch, a couple candlesticks on the fireplace mantle, a pristine chandelier overtop a dining room table, and the kitchenware: an oven, gas stovetop, marble countertops, and an island. I could see into the living room very clearly with the afternoon light, but the dining room was dim enough that there were a few structures I couldn't quite make out in the distance. One of them appeared to be some kind of china cabinet or bookshelf—I figured it was the former considering where it was located. The other shadow looked kind of like a grandfather clock. Or at least that's what I thought until it moved.
When I say it "moved", I don't mean to say that it picked up and walked away. If you're not familiar with the Necker Cube, I suggest you search it up, because that kind of illusion is the best way to describe what I saw. At first I was seeing the grandfather clock in a certain way—pushed into the corner of the room—and the next second my vision "corrected" and it was maybe five feet to the left of its former position. I shook my head and looked again and saw the grandfather clock in its second orientation, standing in the center of the room against the wall. I figured I was just seeing things, but even so I spent a little extra time dawdling around the Egress window, taking notes, and delaying the interior inspection.
When I finally grew a pair and went inside, I walked straight to the dining room. Sure enough, the grandfather clock was stowed away in the corner of the room. I spent a couple minutes watching it with my pencil and travel notebook out. I'm the kind of guy that likes to collect hard data when the chips are down. Unfortunately, the clock apparently already had enough fun and was content with sweating me. Oh, well.
I fitted my pencil behind my ear and pocketed my travel notebook, then flipped the rest of the first floor lights on and completed my prelim. I concluded that everything was pretty standard. If anything, the house was in better shape than I'd expect considering it presumably hasn't been lived in for a couple years. I say "presumably" because one can never count out squatters, even during those times. Mainly I was expecting more dust build up and cobwebs than there were. Perhaps someone from the department had come by recently. It's unlikely, but possible.
I did the same check upstairs and it came back mostly clean. There was a bit of staining near the attic I wanted to check for mold. Based on its color, it was probably just a minor case of Aspergillus, but better safe than sorry. Then I got to the basement, and, well, let's just count out the idea of anyone dropping by. I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn't what I found.
The first thing that caught my eye was the long, slender body of a birch tree lying pale and dead across a large portion of the even larger unfinished basement's cement flooring. I had to do a double take to make sure I wasn't dreaming, but, yep, there it was. Its crown was sealed up in the wall with only its trunk hanging out, which made me think of those medieval pillory devices which locked up people's heads and arms. Then confetti-scattered around the tree and all over the basement floor was a minefield of broken glass and ceramic tangled up with a set of random objects. And when I say random, I mean random. There was an unfurled Somali flag (the blue one with a single star in the center), some packaged drinks and condiments branded with all sorts of different languages (I could only make out Gaelic and Chinese or Japanese, I couldn't quite tell), a broken dome-shaped security camera, an otoscope (the thing the doc uses to check your ears), Hot Wheels cars (okay that one isn't so strange), and the list goes on.
At that moment, I wasn't freaked out or disgusted. I was more or less just confused. I started walking through the rubble, trying to avoid the sharp fragments but pretty confident that my steel toed boots would crush most the pieces anyway, when I heard a clink just up ahead. I was able to spot the coin in time, just before it jingled to a halt atop an old Life magazine. I picked it up and noted right away its oval shape and bronze color—clearly not American made. I tried reading it, but not only was the language not English, it appeared to be so old that most of the lettering had been filed down. I looked up at the ceiling to see if it dropped from a shelf, but there was nothing that could have been holding the coin. I considered for a moment, looking around at the other junk, and had the crazy idea that maybe all this stuff just appeared here. I popped the coin in my pocket and headed back to the van when I stopped by the tree and realized something. It wasn't a birch tree—it was a palm tree. I just didn't realize because of how ashy and decayed the bark was.
Now at this point you might think I've been acting a little nonchalant for such a strange occurrence, and I don't blame you, but if you're gonna stick around with me that's just something you're gonna have to get used to. I guess I was just born with a screw loose, but I really don't scare easily, and I tend to look at everything pragmatically. If you dig deep enough, you'll always find another plausible explanation. That being said, I do want to get to the part about Area X, so let me give you the rundown on what I learned about this basement.
I ended up trekking back to the van and picking up my gear. I was no longer running the routine inspection, obviously, but I figured I might as well throw 30 thousand dollars of scanning equipment at whatever the fuck anamoly existed in that basement. Most of it came back negative. There was a bit higher-than-usual EM interference as picked up on the voltmeters, but nothing that screamed danger close. Still, it was enough for me to set up my volt testers and IR camera while muddling through the rest of the junk. I won't bore you with another list of items, but I did find one thing of value: a diamond necklace. And not just any diamond necklace, it was one of those Queen-wearing, multi-row, big-jeweled necklaces like out of some Historical Fiction movie from the thirties. I almost didn't pocket it because I'm used to expensive items being owned by someone… someone who might want it back. But I figured if there was ever a place the finder's keeper's rule applied, it was probably in this Quantum graveyard.
7 O'clock rolled around and I hadn't eaten. I'm a pretty bulky guy, carrying my share of both muscle and fat, and most people think that means I need to eat a ton but that's really not the case. Mostly I just get dehydrated easily, especially in the summer. That said, I was bordering on famished territory and considered heading out for a bite when I heard another sound. The first thing I did was check my scanners, and sure enough the voltage needle was fully spun to the right side of the dial. EM interference. Then I went to see what had dropped. I was able to pick the object out pretty quickly since I had spent the last 6 hours staring at the mosaic of a basement floor. It was a silver briefcase, like one of those out of a crime novel, and it was cracked open.
I had this sense then that I was standing at a precipice, and if I opened the briefcase and looked inside, I wouldn't be able to stop whatever would come afterwards. Part of me deep down knew that I was just that type of guy that had to know, and maybe this was my Hamlet moment where it would be a trait gone a step too far. But then again I didn't really believe in any of that sentimental bullshit, so I opened the briefcase.
The gun surprised me a little, but not as much as the piece of paper laid atop a case file reading in large black font, "FIND ME". I expected the envelope to have some missing person file in it, but instead there were all these schematics and blueprints for some kind of device. Whatever it was, it was pretty massive. Some of the lengths were hundreds of meters long. And what's more strange is based on the blueprint's locale, it appeared to be underground. I looked back through the pages a couple times, then checked the note—nothing strange there. The gun appeared to be a simple glock. I was no gun expert, but I had been to the range pretty regularly with my construction buddies, so I got used to the feel of a pistol and rifle and some of the different names; however, I realized pretty quickly it wasn't your standard glock when I couldn't find mag-release. That's when I noticed how light the gun felt. I tried to chamber a round, but again, there was no hammer. What the hell kind of gun was this?
I ended up throwing everything back in the briefcase, including the necklace, coin, and a few Koozies I found that were branded with one of my favorite sports teams (never let an opportunity go to waste). I put up all my shit back in the van and spun over to a local burger joint, got my fill, and went home. I made sure to draft an email to the prospective buyers, telling them the house had several patches of black mold and a bit of a rat problem before drifting off to sleep. Although I really didn't do much of that.
When I woke up, I took a cold shower and downed a can of Reign, then commuted to my gym and got a lift and some sauna time in before making the trip back to the house. I brought some extra supplies with me for some experiments I cooked up while not sleeping the previous night.
First, I had two camcorders set up on a couple tripods in either corner of the basement. I wanted clear footage of these mystery objects spawning in. Then I set up a voltmeter in a similar fashion, but I had a wire extending out of it on a circuit which fed to an alarm that would blare when the reading was over 250 volts. Upstairs, I rearranged some of the furniture so that the small number of tables, chairs, clock, cabinets, and other little pillows or vases I could find were scattered across the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Then I pulled up a lawn chair to the front porch window and waited.
I didn't have to wait long though. In about a minute, I started to notice some of the objects moving. It was strange. When a few of them would shift simultaneously, it was like looking at a holographic card that would change shape depending on where your eyes were in relation to the image. Every time I saw a shift, I felt an awkward feeling in my eyes. They went blurry for a fraction of a second, then there was a twinge of pain, as if my brain couldn't handle the contradictory stimulus. It didn't get more crazy than that though—until the alarm went off.
I had cracked open the small rectangular window in the basement to the side of the house so I would hear it. It took four hours and several strange stares from passersby walking their dogs before it rang, so I was a bit lost in my thoughts, but when I heard the beep I perked up fast. It lasted for maybe 5 seconds total, but what I saw was truly miraculous. The best way I can describe it is a pool of silver or gray or translucent light emerging in the foreground between me and the objects in the different rooms. A series of twisting tentacles sprouted from the gray octopus-like head and spun in a way that reminded me of that little kids ride at the amusement parks. Then the objects started to "heat up" is the way I describe it. Their position became relative, meaning they were here one second, there another, then they popped out of existence entirely. Suddenly the rooms were all empty, then they were full of things I had never seen before. Then five seconds passed and the octopus vanished and it was back to the same old objects in their usual places.
It took a few minutes to process what I saw, and even then I wasn't sure I really saw it. I went inside and looked around at my distribution of the house's furnishings. They were all there, intact. Then I went downstairs to check the cams. I rewinded a couple minutes and played it back, but there was no flying object to be found. Instead, there was some gray static that lasted half a second and then the object, a kid's treasure chest toy, was there on the ground. But you want to know the really strange part? I rewinded the tape again, and when I watched the footage back, the treasure chest was always there.
I later came to understand that these poppings in-and-out of our reality are only conceivable to a conscious mind that can track the interference patterns—not rote computational instruments. In fact, even most people can't do it (although everyone has at least a slight awareness of it, even if only subconsciously). Plus, locations like the basement of this house are very rare and kept under tight lock. That became obvious to me two days later when, after my normal morning routine, I pulled up to a driveway and curbside filled with unmarked government vehicles. Either bravely or stupidly, I pulled up to a few officers (they were wearing suits in 85 degree weather, so I assumed…) who were idling by the large fence of crime scene tape and asked them what the score was.
"There was a crime," said the short man with a unibrow.
"Oh, is that right? Damn shame. Someone break in? I have a niece who lives nearby, so…"
The man looked at his two compatriots, both of whom were wearing sunglasses and a "get this civilian fuck out of here" expressions. "Oh, yeah," he started in a reassuring tone that was so condescending it would have annoyed anyone except me, "we found a body. We think it was a homicide. Best to keep your kids away from here for a while."
I thumbed the stubble on my chin, my other hand outstretched on the wheel, and considered moving on, but my mouth had other ideas. "That right? But uh, isn't this house vacant? I mean, I don't remember no one living in it."
The short man, now tall with temper, said, "Yeah, some squatters. We think there was a dispute over some drug money. Nothing for you to worry about though, we got it under control. Now if you wouldn't mind moving along, we have a lot of work to do."
Oh, I'm sure you do, I thought, but only said, "Of course, sir, sorry for keeping you from your job." Then I rolled up the window and cruised on, keeping my eyes on the house which slowly diminished in the side-view mirror.
Luckily I had been smart enough to break down my camp and lug home all my equipment each night, so I didn't leave anything incriminating. I didn't move the furniture back, so maybe that would come back to haunt me, but considering the kind of shit going down in that house, I didn't think they would notice.
For any of you wondering about the conclusion of the house story, I went back a couple weeks later after the suits had left and the tape was taken down and confirmed that not only was the basement entirely cleaned out, but it was no longer exhibiting any strange properties. I looked for a story related to the house, maybe a made up murder of some kind, but there was nothing. That bastard lied to me and didn't even bother to cover his story up.
Now, in the aftermath of an event such as this, I really only had one of two options. I could forget it, move on, continue living life. The necklace was surely worth a fortune. I could sell it and have enough to retire, or at least hire enough people and expand my business large enough to retire within ten or so years. Or I could take all that money and invest it in my own PI business with only a single objective: finding out what those people knew, and why they were hiding it.
I think you know me well enough by now to guess which line of reasoning appealed more to me.
***
For the sake of brevity, I'm going to omit most of my encounters along the journey to discovering Area X. There's a lot to tell, and if it appeals to you perhaps I'd be willing to share at a later date, but for now I want to get this part of the story, the more proximal part, out in the open.
Three years ago, I discovered the source of what I'll call "The Receiver". This is the device that was schematized in the documents that I found in the briefcase. What it does is a complex answer, and how it does it is pretty much all speculation, but here's what I've been able to find out: this universe we live in is a node in a network of many other spaces. These spaces exist in higher dimensions that we cannot directly perceive, but using a conceivable analogy, just think about a flower with petals. The petals are these other dimensions which bleed into our world, which is at the center. However, it's not that pretty. We see the physical world through the lens of spacetime: sizes, speeds, etc. These other dimensions don't necessarily have space or time. In fact, what actually exists there, I couldn't say. The only data I have on them is from two sources: correspondence information and server data from the secret agency (which I'll call "the Organization") that keeps this under wraps, and first-hand experience with realms from these other entities, either directly (I experience it) or through the eyes of someone else with the same or greater abilities than I possess.
I referred to these people with abilities earlier as "Antennas", and I will continue to use the term. Antennas really come in three flavors, marked by the strength of their ability: weak Antennas, like me, are able to observe spontaneous interactions between our universe and other dimensions (phase shifts) when there is a strong force of collision like existed in the basement; moderate Antennas may see phase shifts occur at any point, and they usually are able to retain memories from across the different transformations; strong Antennas, and I don't know if they exist yet, but they are able to consciously interact with these other realms and cause phase shifts to occur.
I mentioned that moderate Antennas are able to retain memories from before and after a phase shift. Technically, all Antennas have this ability, but it's about degree. I can recall only very specific instances and without much detail. Moderates are usually able to pick out much more nuanced minutiae. At the lower end of moderate scale, most of those details fade or get fuzzy over time, but for the very strong Antennas, they hold onto almost everything. One other property that scales with strength is interaction with other conscious entities. Only a small percentage of moderates are able to do this. What's interesting is that these entities can possess (yes, like ghosts) people who aren't even antennas, but no one is aware of such possession at this deep of a level. I have several companions now, and only two have had interactions with these otherworldly beings. Not all of them are malevolent, some of them are whimsical or kind, but there are a fair share of demons out there.
Getting back to the point, Area X started as a government funded project in the 70's. At that time, they were focused on a few subjects: Artificial Intelligence, DNA sequencing, and psychedelics. Yes, they were part of the infamous LSD experiments. But they looked at these subjects through a common lens—there was something that the burgeoning tech industry, fueled by the advent of a commercial computer market, was missing. As the tech giants rose in the early 2000's and began to collect mass amounts of data, this other agency was decades ahead in a different metric, although it was completely (and still is) hidden from the public. Their efforts to understand psychedelic experiences led to a formalized method of understanding interactions between multiple realities. They built certain scanning equipment to detect anomalies like the one I found in the basement; although their tools were much more sophisticated and didn't utilize voltage readings. Then they ran tests in these areas. One area in particular is a hot-bed of phase shift interactions. That's where Area X is located (and the Receiver).
The Receiver is a giant electromagnetic orb that has trapped the kind of multi-dimensional energy that causes the phase shifts; since the Organization seized control of the lab, it's effectively become a map of the Earth in relation to these other worlds. For the past twenty or so years, the Organization has been studying this map, using the data big Tech companies have collected to essentially develop a Rosetta Stone for interpreting the meaning of the fluctuations in their scanning equipment. Recently, the public, though going the long way round, was actually pretty close to a breakthrough in this same department until recently when ultra-powerful LLMs surfaced, and the whole world began going down what I'd argue is the wrong rabbit hole of language processing. But I digress.
Area X is essentially a private military base built for defending the most impactful piece of technology ever invented. With the Receiver, the Organization now has the power to essentially predict any and all future outcomes, the only thing holding them back is the limitations of their own scanning equipment which will get better with time. To put it into perspective, the Organization has access to a kind of data allocation tool which in one day can produce over ten thousand times that the Big Data companies combined would be able to filter through in the next decade. You might think, then, that the problem is merely asymmetric power, and that is certainly a concern, but it isn't the main concern. The main issue is that this organization is actively recruiting (and kidnapping) Antennas from around the world in an effort to find or make one of them into a strong Antenna. In other words, they want a subject who is able not only to see the future, but to manipulate it at will.
balance to the world. I've been working on amassing resources, capital, and building my own team, and now I'm ready. You might ask why I'm posting this here. Wouldn't it be better to keep all this secret? Well, yes, it would be. But that's the problem. Nothing is secret anymore. They know about me and the others, and if I don't make a move, they will. In a way, this is a letter directly to the organization that I know, and I'm coming.
In a different way, I wanted to release this information to the public. There are lots of people out there waking up and realizing that the world they experience is not the one others experience. If you think you might be an Antenna, don't be afraid—you have a special gift that can be controlled. If you want more details on how to control it, or if you're interested in my mission, don't be afraid to reach out. This hasn't always been my life's work, but it is now.
At least until I die.
submitted by Weathers_Writing to nosleep [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:10 Trigger9913 24 [M4F] #Anywhere #UK - Looking for a partner

Hi all! I am currently looking for something longterm. I will accept people from anywhere in the world as long as they can make distance work. I'm not huge or too picky on what I want someone to be like, so i'll talk about myself and see what bites!
About me:
I have a great voice and accent, and so i like using it by voice calling my partner. Ideally you would like to call too!
I am 6'2 tall, athletic build with black hair and dark eyes. I have light brown skin. My hobbies include gaming. I play on pc mainly. My current go-to games are rainbow six siege, warzone, rocket league, lethal company and star wars battlefront 2. Im also into airsoft and practice MMA (brazilian jiu jitsu and muay thai) I would describe myself as easygoing. I am usually very light hearted and i tend to make others laugh. This doesn't mean i cant be serious though, i often can and am. I am also very big on loyalty and communication. I love trying new food and socialising with friends and family.
I am an engineer by profession, having achieved my masters degree a year ago. I love what I do.
If you are someone who is good at communicating often, and wants something real and longterm, feel free to message me to find out more! :) i accept any ages above 18!
submitted by Trigger9913 to ForeverAloneDating [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:09 Ridley-Galaxy-2062 Anyone else put a degree down on your resume but had not completed?

I applied to a job using an old resume where I had my degree but I never got the chance to complete because of finances. To make matters worse I was laid off late 2023 so have been unemployed and quite desperate. Recently I applied to a job and they ran a background check through HireRight, in the form I didn't select that I had a degree. HR emailed me saying that I had misrepresented myself and I explained that I owe the university & student loan a crapload of money and that I don't know when I can realistically finish since I am unemployed and using up all my savings just to get by. I acknowledged it was wrong to misrepresent this info and that I would understand if they disqualify me as a candidate. HR then told me to speak to her which I did and explained everything over the phone with her. Again I mentioned that if the team was uncomfortable with me as a candidate I totally understood. Now the lady who would have been my manager wants me to get on a call with her to explain it as well. What do you think about having to re-explain this now to the hiring manager after already having explained to HR? Also if you are explaining this again, is it me or does it seem like they are not really convinced I should be hired. Again I acknowledge not being clear and truthful and at least this was a good life lesson. Thanks for the advice!
submitted by Ridley-Galaxy-2062 to careerguidance [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:08 Superbly_Humble Group game design (UPDATE 1) & sub news

Hey friends!
Looks like the deck building card battle (20 card decks) won yesterday. Thank you for participating in the vote.
Because this is the first group game, it will be very casual, as this will all be done on Reddit. I'll enable our chat to help out, but I'll need your help to keep people from abusing it. For the future, I want to have a discord server where we can interact better, but that's a slow process for me (anyone with experience please DM me).
I'll start out by really introducing myself; I'm Magnus, a game designer in Vancouver, Canada. My company, BRB Games, has been a subsidiary of a large game company, and my employees and I primarily designed games for ages 3-12. I have worked on a few other projects as a consultant, mainly doing logic, core design, testing, etc. In November we found out cutbacks were incoming. Due to a tight contract, I've had a second job the last few years as a lead robotics designer (among other hats) to cover my costs, plus top-up my own employees at BRB. I was often doing 16 hour days, juggling way too much, ontop of a 3 hour commute if I even went home. We all talked and closure was the best choice. Most of my employees were picked up right away, or transitioned into the parent company, and in April, my last person got a fantastic job remotely for an Australian company as a junior designer. I gave my notice with my employer and that brings me to here and now. I have time to actually go to conventions again, I'll be teaching 4 classes a month in person, I'm interning a highschool student in game design from California currently, a volunteer math tutor, and I feel I can finally help everyone in boardgamedesign. I want build this community back up, the best it's ever been. When it closed due to the Reddit protest, we lost 80,000 subs. I became the mod after 2 attempts (and a long talk with Reddit admins). Honestly, this calling in life fulfills me, and if I can pass on anything to you, or help get your game noticed and sold, I'm more than happy to. Long intro short, I'm here to help, so feel free to ask me anything and if I don't know the answer (happens a lot), we can find out!
Also, thanks to our mods u/bgg-uglywalrus and u/MudkipzLover. Without them, we couldn't do this. Their experience, determination and willingness for anything boardgames is inspirational and a foundation of what we are. Thank you, muchly.
So to get started on the game, I want to focus on the first aspects of proper design:
Card Game: Deck Builder (Boardgamedesign Edition)
1 - Main Objective (DEVELOPMENT STAGE)
2 - Card Types:
3 - Resource System:
4 - Deck Construction
5 - Card and Deck Abilities, Conditions, Effects
6 - Game Mechanisms • Setup - (layout as we define structure)
7 - Combat Logistics
8 - Win Conditions
9 - Balancing and Maths (ALPHA STAGE)
10 - Reworks based on data / feedback
11 - Closed Public Playtesting (BETA STAGE)
Closed as the artwork isn't finished yet, and play conditions are directly controlled
12 - Art and Theme
It's time to dedicate our resources to visual appeal and player immersion
13 - Rulebook Design and Creation
To be fair, the rules will be compiled already, this is the design aspect
14 - Production and Distribution
15 - Creating your sell sheet
16 - Public Review Playtesting and Attention
We are able to send out prototypes before this step
17 - Community Engagement
Honestly this should be happening very early. The more people know about your game from an early stage, the more they feel connected. Ask for controlled opinions, and respond to everyone within reasonable limits. Every person and is a potential customer now and in the future, and you are building loyalty to YOU, not the game.
18 - Crowdfunding
Alright, this is my basic design format for board game development I have used for years, created by my father, and updated to be minimal and format more modern approach.
Please feel free to add a comment with the section you'd like to add to. We can respond to those threads for more detail, but EACH comment will be a different design element. Your name will be added to that section and that's your contribution! More than 1 person can be credited for the section, and more than 1 section can be credited because we are all collaborating!
When it comes to the deck creations, keep the art and theme to yourself for now, but list what you want in a deck mechanic.
This document will be updated constantly until we lock it and create the next stage.
If we determine that this projevt comes to a marketable standing (which is not intended, but never say no to glory), contributors will have a few options. Either DM me your real info for credit or your username will be used. I know privacy is a premium on the internet, but I can only credit those that want it. If that means creating a new account to protect your privacy, you'll have to DM the mod team so we can approve you due to low karma automod.
Lastly, anything you contribute to this project is considered the IP of the project as a whole. Credit where credit is due (having your name on a project is a HUGE start for your resume), but please only contribute if you understand that there is no financial incentive, nor compensation of any kind outside of credit. I can't afford to feed you all :)
submitted by Superbly_Humble to BoardgameDesign [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:08 xocomaox Roth IRA + Employer Match - Withdrawing Early

I just have a quick question about this and it may be a fairly straightforward answer that I am just overthinking.
If I contribute the maximum that my company will match (6%) to a 401k each month, then some disaster hits and I need cash (let's say in 2 years) and I need to withdraw all of it... What are penalties looking like?
Using 100k salary as a base (because it's easy), I would be contributing $250 per check for a total of $500 a month. The employer would be matching dollar-for-dollar and contributing their own $500 a month.
This amounts to $12,000 a year. Now, if I pulled all $24,000 out after only two years, I am assuming I'll pay:
Early Withdrawal Penalty $2,400
Required Federal tax withholding (22% based on 100k) $4,800
Additional federal taxes you will owe $1,200 (not sure what this is even)
State tax you will owe $0 (Florida)
Total You Pay: $8,400 in penalties
Amount You Receive: $15,600
The above was taken for a Well's Fargo calculator. Assuming it's fairly accurate?
Given that this is the case, I would have only spent $12,000 of my actual money and I'm still coming away at the end with $3,600 of my employer's money (the match makes the difference here).
Does this check out? I haven't really factored any growth into this, just taking it as a lowest possible value for emergency withdrawing (assuming that the emergency doesn't qualify for any tax break like a death or whatever).
Does it really make any sense not to do this, especially if I can meet all my expenses comfortably?
submitted by xocomaox to personalfinance [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:07 meganb7292 Rental Question

Here is what's happening, my fiance found a leak in our hot water, he found the leak by our heating element going out on our hot water heater. Well we called maintenance. We made them aware of the problem along with a few others such as, mold on the roof, and the tile around the shower needing a seal and molding. It was never sealed properly upon moving in. Also we wanted him to take a look at the roof because we had also noticed water in the wall one day after a hard rain. While checking the roof he stated the roof has absoulty no screw screwed down so basically we had tin just sitting on our roof for God only knows how long. So the work he did all together was 1.fix heating element (left a mess) 2. Corrected the bathroom wall to ceiling with caulk and some pieces of molding. 3. Put screws in our roof. He replaced the extremely outdated panel in the home as well. We have been at this address for 4 years and we barely ever call and bother them unless it's an emergency. If it's an easy fix my fiance will do it properly. Sidenote: this company never checked on our property after hutricane Sally. We have told them about a leak in the past they came to check and blew it off saying it was the condensation from our dryer, we have texts to prove. Also the hot water heater is outdated and I know is as old as four years for sure don't know how long it was there before us. They never check on the property and we have made the property value go up for sure with clearing of land and also landscape work and now a few weeks after they finally fix repairs, they sent us a letter stating because of the severity of the issues THEY ARE CHARGING US OVER 900 DOLLARS!? CAN THEY DO THAT? Please give me any advice. I won't be able to find another spot at what I pay here for what I get but this doesn't seem right or legal but I don't have money to take them to court I just want things to be fair and it doesn't feel like that's what's happening.
submitted by meganb7292 to MobileAL [link] [comments]


2024.05.16 23:06 Next-Ad485 My friends parents are ruining her life for nothing and basically kidnapping her

Context: She grew up in south America with very religious and controlling parents. They had access to all her social media accounts and even had a camera in her room. They regularly checked all her conversations and emails. Also she was never allowed to go to any parties, not even our prom. She went to an only girls school and her parents didn't even allow her to talk to guys. After graduating she moved alone to Germany, following her dreams and beginning to study medicine. Her parents moved to Spain. In Germany her parents still tried to control her. They had her location, access to her bank account and email (not social media anymore). When they saw she left her place they face-timed her to ask where she was going and who she was with. Guys obviously weren't allowed to enter her apartment. Whenever she did something that upset her parents they immediately threatened her with cutting off the money she received.
In her second semester she started her first relationship. Her parents thought, in the three months they were dating, they had only kissed twice. (They are both 19, of course they were having sex). One day she sent intimate photos of them to her email. When she realised her parents had access to it she immediately deleted them, but forgot to remove them from the Deleted folder. Her parents found the images and called her. They told her she was "easy" and they couldn't believe she'd open her legs for somebody that quickly. (Her first time with her bf was after dating for three months, but it's still a premarital relation). They also told her she ruined the relationship they had with her and her relationship with her sisters. They then took away all of her savings. Her dad took a plane without telling her to stay with her in Germany. He had a talk with her and told her that virginity is a woman's most important asset. And that she had to drop out of med-school and go to live with them in Spain. She obviously didn't want to, so she made a deal with her dad that she would fly back to Spain with him, stay there for a few days to explain everything and convince her mom to let her stay in Germany. The second she got to Spain her dad told her that they weren’t going to let her go back. She left all of her stuff in Germany and won’t be able to pick it up, since her parents don’t trust that she won’t run away. She wasn’t able to say goodbye to any of her friends and doesn’t know if she’ll see them and her boyfriend again. Her parents also found out that she was planning on contacting the authorities in Germany to find out what she could do legally, and shamed her for it, asking how she could be able to do something like that to them. She recently decided to enrol in the university in Spain, changing her degree, and leaving behind the life and dreams she was building up in Germany, since she feels powerless to stand up against her parents.
That's where the situation is right now. We've tried to convince her to stand up to them but with no success. Thanks for reading all of this, what are your thoughts?
submitted by Next-Ad485 to teenagers [link] [comments]


http://rodzice.org/