Hi everyone! I'm planning to visit Shibuya soon, as I want to buy a turntable and some used vinyl at a good price. I've heard it's twice as cheap as in my country. Can you please suggest a place near Shibuya where I can buy these items? Thank you!
And Is it impossible to bring a turntable onto the plane? Please share your experience

Bear with me as I describe what amounts to an almost religious experience after finishing the game for the first time. SPOILERS and nigh-rambling. But I just have to share. I hope you'll stay a while a listen. :)
I tried playing Cyberpunk a couple months ago. Corpo Male, strong roleplaying. When the Johnny Silverhand stuff started, I got really frustrated and quit. I didn't like how the game saw fit to ramrod me into this extremely narrow story when I thought the experience was going to be more open than that. I wanted to play a character who tried to rise to the top of Night City's corporate world through double-dealing and backstabbery...and now all the sudden my character is dying and has this voice in his head.
I was not going to be able to tell the story I wanted to tell.
It was that ludonarrative dissonance thing, like in the Witcher 3, I always struggled to justify doing too many side missions, given that Geralt (as I was playing him) was very concerned about finding Ciri, so there just didn't seem to be time to get embroiled in all these other adventures. So I gave up on 2077. Wrote it off.
But then I saw this randomly come across my YouTube feed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0gR_C0Pd1k&ab_channel=JekavacTV
Dude. I don't care how linear your story is...that's incredible. And dark.
I've been on hard times lately. While I was never serious about unaliving myself, it was a thought that bounced around in my head here and there at my lowest moments...and this clip just...it hit me. I always believed that self-deletion was deeply wrong, if only because of the harm it did to others who loved you. Whatever was on the table, that solution could never be entertained seriously. I just couldn't do it to my loved ones.
But I've also been struggling with who I am, who I'm supposed to be, what my purpose is. LOL big club I know. And just like in the clip...there's a certain, devious logic to taking one's life. Just remove yourself from the equation, and the problems go away right? You can end your pain, and maybe even save lives, or at least spare others from the pain of your existence.
Right?
That video convinced me to give 2077 another try. If an ending could be that hardcore and meaningful...there must be something worthwhile in this game. So I rolled a Nomad Male, and began my love affair with this game. I didn't try to concoct a character so much as just try to play V as myself. I really related to his leaving the Bakkers, and going it alone. Also I moved around a lot as a kid, and my Dad was a hippie biker in his heyday, and a mechanic. So it felt true to form.
And then when you meet Jackie...I mean c'mon, who's more loveable than Jackie?
I really started to get into the game then. And it finally started to dawn on me what the game's story is trying to communicate.
I figured 2077 would devolve into a lot of cynicism, and exploit the violence and sex for cheap thrills. Or maybe it would lean on shock value and become doomeblackpill fodder. But CDPR ain't no slouches. Night City is an exaggerated snapshot of where we are now. And V's predicament is one many of us are facing: we want to make our mark on the world, but is it worth it to step on everyone along the way? Even if we're trying not to die? Or worse, just be erased. Many of us struggle with a voice in our head telling us we're fuckups. We're pussies. We're slaves. We're not worth the trouble.
At first I took Silverhand for an antagonist, essentially. A nasty SOB I had to keep at bay, given that my V was a mostly good guy who just wanted a family again. Especially after Jackie died...man his wake, and helping Misty sort through his things? That got to me.
And of course there's that lingering fear that, no matter how much Silverhand may begin to charm you or appear like he's on your side - he's going to take over. V is actually warned that eventually, Silverhand will just make a play to do just that.
So I was careful with him, but I wanted to know more, because he was such an intriguing character, and its easily one of Reeves' best performances. Period. So I invested in his conversations and eventually his sidequests. I also did what I could to help others in Night City who helped me. I was dying, so...it felt like a good time to be generous. Even if sometimes I had to off a bunch of gangoons with a shotgun. XD
Then as the story developed, I began to see that Silverhand wasn't quite the legend everyone thought. He was a man who had sorely, sorely screwed his life up - as well as the lives of many others. He even seemed to regret it.
I even told Silverhand I'd take a bullet for him, after receiving his dog tags. I never expected that kind of a scene between those two.
It became clear that Silverhand was a ghost, stuck between life and death, looking for absolution, trying to do something right for once. And V could help. So I did. We found Alt Cunningham. We took Rogue on a date. We got Samurai together for one last gig. We tried to track Adam Smasher down. I was putting trust in Johnny, and it was clear that he wasn't really wanting to kill V after all. But he had no choice.
I also met Panam, fell in love, and became a de-facto Aldecaldo. Was never sure about Saul, but Mitch and the others were just salt of the earth man. Great little storyline.
I helped Judy, all the way until she finally left Night City, and was glad of it. I do wish she was romanceable by dudes, but...she was still just too precious, I couldn't turn a blind eye to her problems, or her kindness. Her little story with the underwater town was so moving and unique...I just wanted to give that girl a hug man. What a sweetheart.
Then it all came to a head. V is on his last leg. That fateful scene where you make your big choice. Silverhand pushing me to just take the orange pill and let him do his thing, since he's almost in control anyway. Or I could testify against Yorinobu, and put my trust in Arasaka. OR, I could call on my new family in Panam and the Aldecaldos, but put them at risk.
This entire game I felt like every choice was vital. I felt like one slip up and I could mess up my chances of living, or even worse, do wrong by the people I cared about, just like Jackie. But I stuck to my guns, helped who I could...
Which is why I chose to lean on the Aldecaldos for help. Yes, I was putting them at risk. But even though I was beginning to trust Johnny, this wasn't his fight anymore. Much as Johnny might have a shot, I couldn't just give up now. And I certainly wasn't going to trust anyone at Arasaka.
The raid on Arasaka HQ with the clan was rough. Felt like all my choices had led here, and I worried that CDPR was going to punish me for my past choices, given that Night City takes no prisoners and few get out alive. I also knew that Adam Smasher was bound to appear. And having seen Edgerunners...I knew that wasn't going to be pretty. I saw how Johnny's story ended, for example.
There were rumblings about Saul and Panam still being at odds, and I figured the game was priming me for a betrayal or a horrific upset somehow. But I forged ahead anyway, because I was with my family. I didn't want power. I didn't even want to be a legend. I just wanted to live.
I watched Adam Smasher kill Saul horrifically, heard Panam scream in horror...and I zeroed that MFer. XD
Protip: even on Hard Diff, if you have the right perks and implants, you can be virtually unkillable. Only died once. Not sure if that's impressive, but it felt impressive. XD
My V wasn't sophisticated, but he was tough as nails and determined. I wasn't about to let everyone's sacrifice be in vain. Not Saul's. Not Jackie's. Not Goro's. Not Johnny's.
I informed Smasher of Johnny's resurrection just before blowing his brains out with Johnny's own signature gun. Even though Johnny was subdued by the bluepill, it felt like my last gift to him...even as I was moments from death.
Then the moment of truth...Mikoshi. I asked Panam for parting advice. She said "Just be yourself." Normally I'd roll my eyes at that advice but, something about it felt prophetic.
The final choice. Alt had used Soulkiller on me, in order to save me, but now it seemed I wasn't going to get my happy ending. I could go with her beyond the Blackwall, and finally let Johnny have my body - or I could return, but only have about six months, since the Relic had just caused too much damage.
It wasn't that hard of a choice. Leave everything and everyone I had grown to love behind for some bizarre virtual afterlife? Or let Johnny finally rest, and let V return to the world, Panam and the Aldecaldos? I chose life. As Johnny laid me down in the 'well', gently, he said "Goodbye V." And it felt like two friends parting ways. It felt like he'd made a change, and I helped him get there.
And boy was I rewarded. Even though I didn't have long, I had a chance to start again, and maybe even find another way to live. I had Panam, I had the Caldos, and I could finally leave Night City in the dust. "I have everything I need", V said.
This game absolutely SLAPS with hard choices. Over and over and over, you're reminded about how unfair the world is. But if you keep your head on, and ignore the power plays, stay true to your friends, and don't take no shit - you can get out alive. And not just you. The ones you love can too.
Of course, many of you already know all of this. So why did I bother posting?
All my life I've felt like maybe I've been too nice, or too careful, or too unwilling to take life by the balls. But one thing I've always been good at is helping people in need when I can, and always being available to my friends. But for some reason I always looked down on myself for it. I never felt like I was worth anything. I never felt like I was making a difference in the world. There were so many hard choices, and I felt like I never made the right ones. And that I'd just die one day, and be forgotten. Never having made my mark. Just like so many in Night City...
Some days I'd think "Maybe it'd just be better if I was never born." Because I was such a fuckup. A loser. A nobody.
But the person who helps people, who's there for others even when its inconvenient? That's the kind of person who can make a REAL difference. Fuck money. Fuck politics. Fuck fame. None of its worth a damn if you aren't doing right by others.
And that really came through in the end credits. I'm not ashamed to say I was in tears as all these people from my playthrough reminded me how much I meant to them. How much they cared, and that I mattered. All these people had happy endings because of me. I never let them down, not even when the grim reaper himself was breathing down my neck.
It was like all my IRL friends and family were speaking to me in those moments. And finally, FINALLY, I could see myself as they saw me: a man who cared and was trying to be there for them. A man that made a difference in their lives.
Yeah I didn't save the world, per se. But, really, that's how we save the world for real, lame as it may sound. The sheer contrast between the ending I had earned by just trying to do right by all the people in V's life, and that horrific ending I posted earlier was...stark. If you give up, then everyone suffers, not just you.
This game saw me, and reminded me who I was. It rewarded me for it, and I'll never forget it. For all its flaws, all its quirks and failings, I adored this game and all the effort that went into it. It's clear CDPR were trying to say something with this work of art, and boy was the message received on my end.
I can safely say I'm less likely to despair now because of it. I feel more alive because of it. I feel more prepared for the real world because of it. And I wanted to share my experience, if only to remind one person that:
We can all make a difference. Live for others, not yourself. It pays off. Even if it doesn't seem like it at the time. It's the only legacy worth leaving in this fallen world.

I've been playing for around a month now. I enjoy buying up cheap serums and 3 star weapons when I see them in people's vendors and resell for a profit.
I keep finding however that my caps keep hitting 40k and I'm running around buying up cheap 1c ammo by the thousands as I really don't want to have to strip my vendor clean. I enjoy people seeing my greenhouse farm design and often get compliments on the unique look when people pass through looking for sales.
Someone mentioned to store extra caps on a 2nd character maybe. What do you invest caps in when you're close to the 40k limit?

The vinyl is more expensive, but the cd isn't cheap either. What do you all think?

I came across Karma Nepal Crafts on Etsy. They sell super cute clothes that I’m interested in buying but am curious about their business model.
They say that they source most of their products from women in Nepal, India, and Thailand, specifically women who have fled their homes due to domestic violence. Their clothes seem unique and reasonably priced.
What I want to know is if this is a fair business model for the artist or if this company is taking advantage. The fact that they are reasonably priced raises an eyebrow for me because it just seems to be rather cheap for hand-crafted items. Do these women receive reasonable compensation for their work or is it just a small percentage?
I would love to purchase so many of their products but don’t want to until I’m certain that I won’t be contributing to a scam. Their website is very vague so I want to be certain before supporting this business.
Hoping someone has some intel! Thanks!

Currently as it sits, the Avalanche cheaply fit with cargo expanders and cheap mids has roughly the same amount of cargo as an untanked freighter (550,000 m3), and has more tank than the tankiest, max tank Freighter. (627k EHP on a syndicate bulked obelisk vs 702k on the cheaply fit, unimplanted Avalanche)
But the real issue comes with a little bit of bling. With A-types, and an X-type Thermal hardener, with Nirvanas, the Avalanche achieves over 1.6 million EHP to Void. This is nearly triple the EHP of the tankiest freighter that exists, with nearly double it's cargo capacity.
You can also carry 3 million M3 of planetary goods.
Oh, and you can fit a rack of RHMLs that can instantly volley catalysts, or talos or other ganking support ships (Or neutts, or NOSSES to counter any attempt at neuting you out to stop your hardeners.)
Aaaand if you wanted to ONLY have 260,000 M3 of goods, you could settle at almost 2.2M EHP to void. A grand total of 8.5 billion for something that will probably never get ganked in highsec.
The way I see it is that if this ship makes it to the live servers in this state, you will see every single freighter pilot and freighting entity transition into this ship as fast as they can, as nearly tripling your EHP and nearly doubling your cargo capacity is huge. Honestly, there aren't any ganking groups with the capacity to gank these, it'd take waiting for them to enter a PRE-PULLED 0.5, and hitting them with 255+ catalysts, or 50+ talos, so as long as you're carrying under 15 billion, I'd say your chance of getting ganked goes from approaching zero, to zero.
Does CCP want freighter ganking to stop? Do you want freighter ganking to stop? Does CCP intend for nearly every freighter pilot to transition into this new ship? Was this ship intended to be a replacement for 99% of the duties of freighters? I genuinely don't know if this is an oversight or if this is CCP's way of removing freighter ganking from the game, because over the next 12 months as Avalanches saturate the market I 100% guarantee that freighter ganking will fall by 90%, and continue to fall as everyone uses the new triple-ehp-freighter.
Here is my suggestion
Set the Avalanche's base stats in line with the bowhead. Give it a base shield EHP equal to a T2 extender rigged Bowhead. On top of this, reduce it's cargo capacity to 50,000.
This would give much more tank than a regular freighter when blinged out, set it in it's unique role of transporting PI, but still give it some cargo capacity for other items, but not completely replace every single other freighter (and honestly, all haulers) out there.
Thanks for reading if you did, and I hope we can remain civil and productive in the comments.

I came across Karma Nepal Crafts on Etsy. They sell super cute clothes that I’m interested in buying but am curious about their business model.
They say that they source most of their products from women in Nepal, India, and Thailand, specifically women who have fled their homes due to domestic violence. Their clothes seem unique and reasonably priced.
What I want to know is if this is a fair business model for the artist or if this company is taking advantage. The fact that they are reasonably priced raises an eyebrow for me because it just seems to be rather cheap for hand-crafted items. Do these women receive reasonable compensation for their work or is it just a small percentage?
I would love to purchase so many of their products but don’t want to until I’m certain that I won’t be contributing to a scam. Their website is very vague so I want to be certain before supporting this business.
Hoping someone has some intel!

Our townhouse was built 5 years ago, the HOA approved us to replace windows in phases so long as it's all on the same side of the house at a time. We originally only wanted to do 3 per 6 months but this is now forcing us to do 6 at a time. The cost is going to hurt. Think from 6k to closer to 13k every 6 months, ouch... it'd making us rethink doing it just yet. We're not sure if we should wait, or if it'll be worth it to do right away. We do have the money to pull the trigger for this first "phase" but it'll be very tight money wise... so here's what the deal is --
The only reason we're doing this is because upon moving in, the inspector said a window was broken. It couldn't close completely, nor lock. The seller fixed it before we moved in, inspector said it was good. We check it too, it opens. Closes. Locks. All good. We move in, everything works... 4 months in, the window was so cheap, it broke again. The vinyl frames they used just melted in the direct sunlight. Like the part that melted was the part that holds the glass in. We can't open our windows without it crunching the vinyl and separating the glass.. so we're going for fiberglass, hence the high price. Plus the windows are pretty big. No companies will fix just 1 window, and our HOA won't allow it anyway, like we said above.
But our house is so new. And we're new homeowners. Is it truly worth it to replace all our windows (just on the sunniest side of the house for now) and spend this kind of money so soon, or should we wait, risk crunching and breaking more windows, (they're all warping) and make it through 1 hot summer before pulling the trigger so we can have a better buffer? I have nobody in my life to ask something like this so I guess I'm turning here. What would you do??

Have you ever experienced something that shook you to your very core? Something that makes you remember every single little detail of your surroundings from that moment in time? Even years after? I can remember so vividly the moment I realized something was wrong with me. I was in my junior year of high school sitting in class, just like any other day. I remember the smell of erasers and cheap cologne that permeated off my classmate who sat next to me. I remember the scratchy tag on my t-shirt and how I was resisting taking it off in the middle of class just to cut it off. I remember what my teacher, Mrs. Brown, was talking about; 'the fall of Constantinople'. My mouth felt dry and I kept looking at the clock, counting down the minutes until I had lunch so I could get a soda. The sound of a pen clicking behind me was synchronized with the song that was stuck in my head.
All those things were going through my brain at once. My ADHD mind went a million miles per minute when it all came down to a cashing holt when I felt it at 11:23
I felt what I can only describe as a hand grabbing at the inner lining of my stomach. It didn't necessarily hurt, not at this point. That's not why I got so scared. You see, not only do I have ADHD. I also have OCD that manifests itself in the fear of anything growing or moving inside me. Even if I think about the concept of blood moving in my body or a heart that is beating in my chest, I have to think of something else. I've had full-blown panic attacks because of it. The closest term for this is 'Tokophobia'. That's technically the fear of pregnancy. I'm a guy, so it's not completely accurate but it's really the closest term. I mean, I also do have a huge fear of pregnancy. Not necessarily of me being pregnant, but even though I knew I could never get pregnant, the thought of it still made me feel sick
I bet you can imagine the terror that overcame me as I felt something moving in me. I made an audible groan and grabbed my stomach. My whole class turned to look at me. even my teacher stopped talking to ask if I was okay. I stood up and started to run to the nurses' office without even acknowledging my teacher. My first thought wasn't thinking that something was actually in my body. Even stomach aches and the feeling of gurgling in my stomach made me feel this way before. I didn't have anything on hand to help with a stomach ache, unfortunately. However, the nurse always did.
I sprinted across the school hoping and praying that my stomach wouldn't make that awful feeling again before I got there.
I turned the corner into the nurses' office with my tennis shoes squeaking in the process. I saw the school nurse, Mrs. Kennedy sitting on the couch in her office reading a magazine. She looked up at me with a sweet smile that quickly turned into worry.
"Sam, what is it? How can I help?" She said as she stood up and hurried over to me. Putting her hand over mine which was grabbing my stomach tightly.
"It's…It's my stomach. Something is wrong with it." I mumbled with a red face.
She shuffled her way over to her large medicine cabinet and she motioned for me to sit down.
She asked me questions about my stomach. Asking if it was pain, grumbling, cramps, nausea, etc. As she was asking me what my symptoms were and digging through bottles, The feeling happened again. However, this time was different. It felt like fingers grassing against the inside of my body. I screamed and wrapped my arms around my torso. Mrs. Kenneddy ran over to me to comfort me.
"This seems a lot worse than normal, maybe we should call your parents." She said as she put her hand on my back.
It felt like some days I saw Mrs. Kennedy more than my teachers. Any small ailment would distract me so badly from class that I had to go see her. Sometimes multiple times a day. She knew at this point when something was really wrong.
Within about 30 minutes both my parents were there with us. That may seem fast, but I'm an only child and my parents are very aware of my tendencies. They know I can spiral and like to be around if it happens.
They kept asking me where the pain was. I think they assumed by the way I wasn't responding to their questions the pain must've been really bad. The reality was that I just didn't know how to tell them what was going on.
I got so frustrated after they asked me over and over again that I just yelled at them.
"Something is inside me! Get it out, get it out, get it out!" I lifted my shirt and was ripping at my stomach. Leaving red nail scratches and cuts. My mom and dad ran to either side of me to grab my arms. Mrs. Kennedy had seen me go pretty crazy, but this was the worst I've ever gotten in front of her. My parents however had seen a similar situation before. Not exactly like this, but they didn't skip a beat on trying to help me.
"Sam. Breath, sweety. Just remember everything is in you for a reason. It's keeping you alive. Nothing is going to hurt you." My mom said softly to me. Trying to calm me down with the words my therapist gave her. "Ice cubes, get him ice cubes!" She said to Mrs. Kennedy as I started to hyperventilate.
Mrs. Kennedy grabbed a ziplock bag and started to fill it with ice cubes. My mom went over to her and grabbed an ice cube right out of the bag, opened up my hand, and put the ice cube in it. This worked in the past to distract me, I knew that's what she was doing, and trust me. I wanted it to work too, but this was different. I kept trying to tell myself that it was just a different feeling I hadn't felt before. That it wasn't possible something was physically inside my body. But I couldn't help it.
Everyone in the room could see that this was getting intense. I think they assumed it was just a mental breakdown and that nothing was physically wrong with my body but I didn't care. I just wanted help.
My parents got me into the car with my mom even sitting in the backseat with me. She kept trying to distract me with conversation but my mind was only on that awful feeling in my stomach.
We pulled up to the ER and my mom guided me in while holding both my wrists. It felt like she was walking me on a leash but I didn't fight it. I knew she was just trying to stop me from scratching my stomach.
We walked in and I spoke to the receptionist. All I said was that I had terrible pain in my stomach. I didn't want to sound too crazy. I just needed a doctor to look at whatever was going on.
After giving the receptionist my name and insurance information we went to sit down. I was sitting in between my parents and I could see my mom lean back to try and mouth something to my dad without me seeing. I didn't think much of it. I was way more worried about other things.
My dad then went up to the receptionist. He pointed over to me and she looked a little concerned. I saw her pick up the clipboard that had my information on it and she started writing something else on it. I asked my dad what he did and he just said to not worry and that he wanted to let her know it was urgent.
No more than 10 minutes went by and I felt a terrible moving sensation. I cringed and grabbed my stomach. Immediately followed by not just the feeling of a hand grabbing my insides but also scratching and pinching. I yelled out in pain as the other people in the waiting room looked at me mortified.
A doctor and a couple of nurses came running over to me and helped me up. But I couldn't stand up. I was in too much pain. They put me in a wheelchair and started to head for a room. However, they didn't take me through the normal big ER doors that went to the standard examination rooms, they took me and my parents through a smaller door to the side that had a padlock on it.
We walked through a white hallway that was very quiet. The doctor and nurses showed us to my room and helped me into my bed as I was wiggling and wincing. I had one parent on either side of me. Patiently waited to stop my arms from scratching.
The doctor was trying to ask further questions but he could tell it wasn't going anywhere. I knew that my dad probably told that receptionist about my OCD tendencies and that I needed to go to the psych ward. Not just to the stranded side of the ER.
I couldn't take it anymore and blurted out that something was inside my stomach and it was trying to get out.
The doctor just looked at my parents for a reaction and they gave him a sad nod. It was like they warned him that this could happen. The doctor didn't just think I was crazy, my parents did too. The doctor took a deep breath and came up to me. I knew I was about to hear some kind of dumb speech about how this was just my OCD and everything was going to be okay.
As he came closer to me, I pulled up my shirt and he gasped. Not only was my stomach scratched up like crazy, but we saw movement. It looked like when a pregnant woman can see her baby kicking. But this was so much stronger. It was stretching my skin.
My parents stood up and gasped while the doctor looked frantic and unprepared.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" The doctor said as he backed out of the room. "Hang on! We are getting this taken care of, just hang tight."
Just seconds later a nurse came in to give me some painkillers. I started to feel the pain slip away, but something so much worse started to creep in. I heard a voice. Not my own. Not some creepy-sounding creature, but the voice of a normal-sounding man that I'd never heard before. But that wasn't the scary part. The scary part was what he was saying to me.
"Get me out. Get me out. Get me out!"
It started in a normal tone, but slowly became more urgent and rushed. Then demanding.
The voice would coincide with the moment inside me.
It was getting so loud that I was having a hard time hearing the people around me. The doctor came in just a few minutes after I last saw him. He was red and sweaty. Like he'd just run a marathon. He told me they needed to do just a few tests on what was inside me before taking action.
I was trying so hard to pay attention to the words coming out of his mouth but all I could hear was the voice. The voice stopped for just a second and changed what he was saying. Now he started repeating,
"Cut me out, cut me out, cut me out, now!" I now knew this thing didn't just want out but it wanted out now. I begged the doctor to just get it out now but he wouldn't listen. The voice spoke up again.
"This is taking too long. Don't be afraid. Get me out yourself."
I think it could feel me resisting. Without realizing it, I was looking around the room for something. It was like I didn't even have control over my head or eyes anymore. I knew the voice was looking for a knife but I was trying to ignore the feeling. I knew there weren't any knives around. I was in a very safe place.
Just as I had the feeling I was safe, it was immediately taken away. The thought passed through my head that my dad probably had a pocket knife on him. My heart sank. I knew this thing could hear my thoughts. I knew what it would try to do.
The next thing I knew, I was on my feet, leaping for my dad. My body hit his. luckily, he's in pretty good shape for his age and had no problems putting me in my place.
He got on top of me and pinned me to the ground. All while I could barely hear my mom in the background. Yelling at my dad to be careful. My dad knew something was going on and that I just needed to be on the ground until I calmed down.
My body tried to flail but it wasn't successful. The whole time the voice in my head, now yelling and screaming. Not saying any distinguishable words, but just having what felt like a tantrum. What made my dad the most uncomfortable was the kicking feeling coming from my stomach.
After a couple of minutes, the voice calmed down and I felt in charge of my body again. My dad slowly got up and attempted to help me up. At this point with an audience of hospital staff that looked like they were getting ready to take me somewhere for more tests.
Just as I stood up straight, I felt the voice take over and I lost all sense of my own body. I felt like a shell of myself. My dad gave me a soft yet worried smile, and in that instance, I grabbed him and reached into his pocket. My heart sank as I felt his pocket knife. The room started to panic and about 5 people tried to grab it from me. The last thing I remember is plunging the knife into my stomach. I felt a blinding pain and everything went black.
Several hours later I started to wake up. Everything was extremely blurry and fuzzy. I could hear a very faint voice telling me to relax. As the minutes passed by, things started to become a little bit clearer. I looked around and saw I was in a large room with a few other patients. A nurse was going up to all the beds and checking in on them. I tried to sit up a bit to get more comfortable and noticed an incredible sourness in my stomach. I moved my hospital gown out of the way and saw a huge scare. About 6" across. Most of the scare looked very surgical. Like what I'd imagine a c-section surgery would look like. Except where I remembered the knife going in. It looked like a bunch of extra stitches had to be added where it went in. It also looked pretty bruised. I can imagine that a dull 10-year-old knife that was harshly shoved into a body really wouldn't cleanly cut through and leave some damage.
The feeling of shock from looking at my stomach was quickly gone when I realized that meant whatever was in me was now gone. I didn't hear the voice, I didn't feel a hand in my gut anymore, I didn't see that vile kicking anymore. I felt like I could breathe.
I asked the nurse what they found and she looked flush.
"Uh, that's something that you, uh. Your doctor will talk with you once you eat something and can speak clearly." She said as she scurried off looking upset.
Shortly after that, I was wheeled into a recovery room and my parents came to see me.
As they walked in they had a very similar look on their faces as the nurse did. They looked pale and didn't want to look me in the eye. I kept asking them questions about what was going on but they said the doctor needed to discuss it with me and he wanted to make sure I wasn't feeling high from the anesthesia while we had a conversation.
The doctor didn't come and see me for another 10 hours. Which felt strange. And to add to the strangeness, my parents were taking shifts hanging out with me. There was only overlap when they switched and the other parent took over while the other one left the room. I would understand if they weren't both with me for the whole time. I'm not that needy, but they were only both in my room together for about an hour. That was the hour before the doctor came to my room.
Finally, the doctor came in to talk to me. When he walked in, the room was cold and quiet. It was evident he didn't feel the same relief I was feeling.
He seemed awkward. Like he was talking way too long to get over to me. He grabbed a chair and scooted it close to me.
"Listen Sam. I know this last 24 hours has been very challenging. I apologize for not explaining what happened during your surgery sooner, but we all needed time to figure it out, and quite frankly, process what happened. We feel we have enough information to let you in on what is going on." A silence filled the room. It felt like no one was brave enough to break it.
"And?" I said with confusion.
"I think it'll be easier if we just show you."
The doctor along with my parents helped me into a wheelchair and we started to make our way across the hospital to an entirely different section. I couldn't believe all the things running through my head at what we were about to see. It felt like cruel and unusual punishment to leave me in anticipation and not just tell me what I was about to see.
When I went around the corner I couldn't process what I was looking at. I thought they were showing me a large tumor or growth of some kind, but why would a tumor be in a big incubation chamber with tubes connected to IVs and machines coming out of it?
As I got closer, I started to see human fetchers on it. It was mostly just a 6-pound lump of flesh, but I could see a hand sticking out of it. It was small, but what made it creepy was it looked like a fully developed man's hand. Just small. I could see a patch of hair coming out of what I assumed was its head. It had no discernible facial features. Just a few teeth scattered in one section.
As I looked at it with disgust, coming to terms with this thing that was just in my body, I had a realization. I wasn't feeling sick at the thought of something being in my body. Sure, I was grossed out that this particular thing was just in me, but the thought of the bacteria in my body didn't make me want to throw up. I thought about all the blood pumping through my veins and I felt… normal. Not only was the voice and kicking gone. But my OCD was gone too. I didn't have a mental illness. It was just this thing. Trying to find its way out for years.
As I was staring at the creature, the doctor came and put his hand on my shoulder.
"We believe this is your twin brother." I immediately looked up at my parents who looked very disturbed and upset. I let the doctor finish talking. "We believe that you absorbed him in the womb and that he has been living inside you your whole life. This is an extremely rare condition called fetus-in-fetu. It seems he didn't quite have the best opportunity to develop normally. That's why he looks the way he does. Despite his appearance, he has all the organs he needs to survive. Looks like he's missing a lung and his gallbladder. Also a piece of his liver but other than that, it looks like he will live for at least a few years. He won't be able to leave this room due to him needing a feeding tube and a few other things that his body can not do on its own. He needs lots of support just to live. What makes this situation extremely unique is that your twin is still alive despite your body not sustaining him anymore. Even though we have him hooked up to a few IVs and machines, It is unexplainable how he is living while outside of your body."
I was in complete shock. I didn't want to believe it. I asked my mom why she never told me I absorbed my twin in the womb, she said she had no clue. There was never a sign when she was pregnant with me.
He also mentioned that sometimes even in pregnancies women will go their whole pregnancy without even getting a belly. It's called a 'Cryptic pregnancy'. I've always had a bit of a gut but never anything big enough to cause suspicion. I guess in my case I had a fetus-fetu and an experience similar to a cryptic pregnancy. Even though it was in my stomach. At least that was the doctor's best guess. Although, it all sounded like BS to me.
The doctor and my parents kept trying to explain more and more details to me. I don't know why they didn't slow down a little bit for my sake. How could they not tell I wasn't processing any of this?
I noticed something while they were trying to explain things to me. They kept calling it a 'He'.
Now listen. I'm not some kind of asshole that won't respect someone who wants to be called a specific pronoun. I've never been that kind of person. But this is where I draw the line.
Not just that. But this thing had a name. My parents named it and said today was its birthday. While they told me all this information, they didn't look happy about it. It seemed like they were forced to do all this nonsense. And now it was my turn to be convinced. I could tell they were trying to force it.
The doctor told me despite it not having a high probability for a long life that we should still try and give it the love it deserves. Of course, the doctor referred to it as a 'He' but I refused to.
This disgusted me. This thing tried to kill me and ruined my quality of life for so long, and now we are going to treat it like it's some kind of prince? No, absolutely not.
Luckily, it seemed like it would never leave the hospital, but my parents planned on going to visit it daily. Visiting it? Are you kidding me? it has no eyes, no ears, it's probably miserable and has no concept of people even being around it.
I'm refusing to ever see this thing again or acknowledge its existence again.
I could get in trouble for even talking about this. The hospital or anyone involved has signed NDAs to not share any information about this until it officially dies. This is because it's a medical anomaly and the first of its kind. They want to do the proper research on how this all occurred before coming out with a statement. I just have to get this all off my chest. I feel like I'm the crazy one here when I know I'm not. I don't care if I get in trouble.
I am scared that the doctors are trying to force my parents into giving this thing a proper life. I think that's why it took them so long to tell me. I think they scared my parents into keeping it alive and guilting them or even forcing them into being its parent.
I'm all for every life being important and all that stuff, but I have a feeling my parents are terrified of this thing just like I am.
I am convinced they gaslit my parents into believing this thing is my brother. If there wasn't any sign of him while my mom was pregnant with me, could this thing be something else?
This all happened about two years ago. It's still alive and they are still researching it. My parents continue to visit it despite everything. My therapist told me that I'm probably just struggling with jealousy now that I'm not an only child anymore and so much of my parents' attention is on him now, but it's so much bigger than just jealousy.
Since this thing showed up and my OCD is pretty much gone, I've hardly seen my parents. I know I'm not just jealous. There is something more to this. I know it.
Something just feels so off about this whole thing. What is this thing? Where did it come from? And what does it want?

Welcome to another TSB Thursday, where I dive deeper in to TSBs I'm running into regularly. As always, I write this from my own perspective as a Subaru technician in the US; other regions/zones may work differently. Refer to the "How To Read a TSB" post for more information on formatting and general information about TSBs. In celebration of warm weather finally coming to my area, I'm continuing some A/C system bulletins. Last post was all about Condensers. Today's post is all about A/C compressors, and there is a lot to talk about, so let's dive in.

TSB Thursday #13:

• 10-100-21R - "A/C Compressor- Manufacturing Procedure Change"
  • 2019-2021 Forester
• 10-98-20R - "New Air Conditioning (A/C) Compressor Availability"
  • 2018 Forester
  • 2018-19 WRX
• 15-237-19R - "Chattering Sound from A/C Compressor"
  • 2017-18 Forester
• 15-244-19 - "A/C Compressor Clutch- Service Parts Availability"
  • 2013-19 BRZ
• 15-210-17 - "Cruise Control Light Flashing, Possible Cancel Code 61"
  • 2017 Impreza Models with Manual A/C ONLY
• 15-209-17 - "Abnormal Sound from Air Conditioning (A/C) Compressor"
  • 2015-16 WRX and WRX STI
  • 2014-16 Forester
  • 2012-16 Impreza
  • 2013-16 Crosstrek
• 10-84-16R - "New A/C Compressor / Clutch Assembly"
  • 2015-16 WRX and STI
  • 2014-16 Forester
  • 2014-16 Impreza and XV Crosstrek

What's the failure?

Your A/C system (as well as any refrigeration system, just like the fridge in your kitchen) is comprised of 4 main components, along with hoses or pipes that connect them. The heart of the system is the Compressor. It works by squeezing the refrigerant really hard, such that the refrigerant gets pressurized and very hot. The refrigerant then moves to the Condenser, which looks a lot like a radiator. Air passes through the fins of the Condenser, where that heat and energy can dissipate into the surrounding air. Refrigerant will then flow to an Expansion Valve (or in some cases an "orifice tube"), which is just a component with a very small hole for refrigerant to flow through. This is both what provides the resistance so the Compressor can, well, compress, but also creates a low pressure zone after the refrigerant has passed through it. When this happens, the refrigerant will next flow into the Evaporator Core, which in the case of a car is inside the ducting behind/under the dashboard. The low pressure refrigerant is now free to "pull" heat and energy out of the air flowing through the ducts, and thus both removes humidity and also cools the air flowing past it. The refrigerant then returns back to the Compressor to start the cycle all over again. In essence, the whole of the system works by pumping energy out of the interior HVAC ducting and pushing it to the ambient air in the engine bay. Naturally, there are a few other important bits that the car needs to know about to use this system effectively. One key component is a pressure sensor, so that whichever module is controlling the compressor makes sure it's operating in a safe range. Another is a filtration element, sometimes called a ReceiveDrier. Lastly, within the Evaporator Core will be a temperature probe, so that if the core starts getting so cold that ice forms, the system can turn off.
Ok so what do all of these bulletins mean? They're all different part updates for the compressor part of the A/C system. In all of the above cases, if your car is in need of service to the A/C system, there is a good chance the compressor will also need to be replaced with an updated unit. You may notice that 15-209-17 and 10-84-16R overlap; this is an instance of an update on an update.
This is a video (at 4:46) with an example of a buzzing sound that can indicate a failed A/C compressor in a number of these TSBs, including 10-98-20R, 15-209-17, and 10-84-16R. It can also indicate a very low state of refrigerant charge; hearing this buzz does not automatically mean you need a new compressor, but the likelihood is high.
I also want to touch quickly here on the difference between fixed displacement and variable displacement compressors. With a fixed compressor, the A/C system can only ever be "ON" or "OFF." This is done with an electromagnetic clutch assembly on the front of the compressor, inside of the pulley that the serpentine belt rides around. When the ECM or HVAC CM commands the clutch to the ON position, the serpentine belt pulley and the clutch lock together, and now the engine RPM will match the compressor internal RPM. Inside the compressor are a series of small pistons, which will now move up and down, creating suction on an intake stroke and compression on its output stroke. The advantage here is that it's cheap. But there are a number of disadvantages; the first being the flow of refrigerant is now tied to your engine RPM, the second that the the A/C can only ever be off or full force. This is where the variable compressor comes in; Subaru's variable compressors do not use a clutch at all, but rather uses a solenoid connected to a swash plate inside of the compressor, which changes the stroke length of the internal pistons. This way, the control module can pick a percentage of refrigerant flow on the fly; it can go as low as 0% (or no piston travel) when in the OFF position, or smoothly slide all the way up to 100% where the pistons move as far as possible. The advantages here are numerous; the compressor can maintain even refrigerant flow independent of engine RPM, there is no sharp engagement sensation that a clutch would have when kicking on, and when at cruise the compressor can run at a lower ratio to improve fuel efficiency. This video (at 0:51 through 3:42) has the best animation I could find of what's happening inside a variable displacement compressor.

15-210-17:

This is actually one of the more interesting TSBs out there, because it's super bizarre. Essentially, the clutch on the front of the compressor will back-feed voltage, which finds its way into the brake light switch's secondary circuit, which is used as the signal to turn off cruise control. For reference, only Imprezas with Manual climate control use this clutched compressor; any other trim (ie if you have an "AUTO" button on your HVAC panel) will use a variable-displacement compressor.

15-244-19:

A unique instance where Subaru has made the previously-not-sold-separately compressor clutch assembly now for sale for BRZ owners.

How do we fix it?

Generally speaking, compressor replacement on Subarus is very straightforward; evacuate the A/C system of its refrigerant, remove the serpentine belt, and then the compressor can be unbolted from the top of the block. (Depending on engine, a few other components may also need to be removed for access.) Swap out the part, reinstall the belt, and then vacuum and recharge the refrigerant. After, verify everything's working.

Coverage?

As a general rule, compressors are covered only by Basic warranty (3 y36k miles) or with an active Subaru Added Security warranty unless specifically extended in an applicable bulletin.
Happy summer and thanks for reading!

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

I'm poor but still want to have fun with my kids this long weekend. I have some ideas but I'm looking for more unique ideas or cheap events. Anyone have anything up their sleeve or heard of anything cool going on in and around the city?

Ive noticed alot of new faces here, and Ive seen alot of "what ______ do I need to buy" posts. Let me start by this is not a flame on yall, but rather a resource! I wanted to compile a decent get started/how to thread for all yall. What I want to do is go over as many parts as possible, their function, and effectiveness. This should probably be a video, but I feel like it would be more useful to yall in written form. :) If you have questions about specific parts, just scroll to what you need. This post will be very long, but hopefully helpful. No comments in this post are meant to bash any brands, so please do not get offended if you have a different mindset than me. Please keep in mind: This is a hobby that you will need to do research on, and struggle through trial and error. Everyone has a different aim in this hobby between looks and performance. They also have a different driving style. Google is your friend, as is the search function in this sub. If you cannot find what you are looking for please speak up, one of the established members of this sub can point you in the right direction. As you tinker, you will learn, and thus your skill and understanding will increase.
For background. Im a performance guy with these things. I do not care if its pretty; I want to climb a wall. I compete roughly 18 times a year. The summer series has about 40 competitors per comp on average and the winter series is about 25 per. Everything I will talk about is a culmination of all that I have learned between my own driving and tinkering, watching and filming other competitors, and knowledge from some top parts producers and awesome content creators that are in my local RCMCCA chapter.
Let me also say that I have no brand affiliation. I have my own RC brand, and I am working to a release, but that will be a different post. I also have various levels of acceptance of brands, owners, and their ethics, but that will not be discussed here... That is not to say that there are not tiers of quality in this hobby. Stock is stock, boutique level brands that sell on their websites are the top, and amazon brands fall somewhere in the middle with varying degrees of effectiveness.
Chassis: This is the basis of your build. It affects virtually every other part and its effectiveness. That being said, short of tires, it is the single most important part on your build. It is also the most ignored part of a rig. I cannot stress enough, upgrading every part on your truck but this will look cool, but it will take away from performance improvement that each one of those fly parts are supposed to provide. Upgrading this should be so high on your list that you did it yesterday. There are some great frame sets out there, and you will not find them on Amazon.
Skid plate: This connects your frame, mototrans unit, and links. Alot of aftermarket frame rails come with them, or those companies have it as an option. Whatever skid you buy, just buy a flat skid. The traditional ones that drop low does provide a lower center of gravity, but it isnt worth hanging up on every obstacle you touch. If you arent sure what to buy, the OGRC flat skid is there as an affordable option that you will never complain about.
Transmission: Translates your motor power into go power, but also holds your motor to the whole truck. The stock unit is fine till you blow out a plastic gear or strip a screw hole. When this happens, get a metal unit. Most all of them are all the same, but a few companies make unique ones like hardpark and LGRP. These units are both great and proprietary, but pricy. There is also one with a built in overdrive (overdrive makes the front tires spin faster than the rear tires, effectively pulling you over an obstacle and mitigating the rigs attempts at flopping backwards). You want the metal gears. For the spur gear, you have to decide what pitch to run. More on that in the next section.
Spur gear pitch: there are two pitches. Mod .3 and Mod .5. Mod .3 is the same as stock, but .5 has less teeth and they are larger. Pay attention to buying motors because they come with one or the other. Neither is better, just a preference.
Brushed Motor: This is a can of worms. For brushed motors, they are a dime a dozen as long as you exclude 2 companies (injora and Mofo RC). The stock size is 030. The correct size is 050. If you are looking outside of the aforementioned companies, you probably will not tell a difference between motors. Injora makes some very hard to kill motors, though they do not have the quality nor power of mofo (they ARE cheaper if cost matters). The two injora motors are the red and purple, and people who have an opinion between the two will die on that hill. If power and quality is what you are after though, buy Mofo motors. They use a proprietary magnet set as well as winding. There is nothing like them. They are plug and play on stock electronics, but in most instances you need to swap the motor mount plate because the holes on the motors are inversed from stock. Where ever you buy motors you can find a plate.
Brushed ESC (electronic speed controllers): This listens to the reciever for input (in stock form the reciever is part of the ESC) and doles out tasks to the servos and motors. V1 is black with an axial logo. It can act as a reciever when you go brushless if you dont want to spend the extra 50 dollars for a proper reciever and controller. V2 (blue) and V3 (spectrum) cannot do this. It is widely accepted as versions progressed, quality decreased. A great replacement option is the Injora MB100. You will have to provide a new receiver and transmitter, but its worth it.
Brushless ESC: If you go to a brushless motor, you will need a new speed controller. The new ESC will also require a new reciever and transmitter. It is almost the cost of a new stock rig to go brushless, so if you arent willing to make that jump do not consider it. Quality brushed setups are amazingly underrated anyway. Furitek is the big name, and they are fine. Better out there is Dinky, Mofo and others.
Brushless Motor: Once again, brushless motor conversions are about the cost of a new stock rig because of the additional ESC, motor mount, reciever, and transmitter required. If you arent ready for that cost, please see the above 3 sections as there are some highly underrated brushed setups. The best motors out there are provided by Furitek, LGRP, and Mofo RC. If you are questioning which one to buy, do yourself a favor and buy a mount from the same brand you select for the motor. I say this because there are differences in mounting screw size, patterns, and pitch between all these brands, as well as intra brand based on motor selection. The two benefits is low throttle modulation (slow crawl) and pure power.
Links: Links connect your axles to your skid plate. "high clearance" links are a cheap on amazon and ali express and good enough. If you see custom built links from a company that you are buying a frame from, those links will cost a firstborn... and they are worth every penny. They are typically hand bent allthread with plastic link ends, and covered by plastic or metal. If you are confused at the type of links I am talking about, go look up RC Steve. If you have a Dremel, I recommend buying M2 all thread, SCX 24 link ends, and cheap calipers online. Building links seems very daunting to anyone who hasnt done it. It is actually easy, just time consuming. Keep in mind you need to match your link length with your drive shafts, but drive shafts are cheap. To keep it simple, the best performing link geometry for the 133.5mm wheelbase is Deadbolt, but two very popular competition link geometries are C10 up front with Deadbolt rear links and Deadbolt front links with Gladiator rear links. This brings the wheelbase to about 145mm. Gladiator geometry is about 155mm.
Drive Shafts: Metal is nice. Plastic stock is better. Use the stock cheap drive shafts as your built in weak point. Everything else in the drive train is much pricer to fix.
Shocks: I apologize ahead of time, because this will be hard for alot of people to hear: longer shocks do not equate to better shocks. With the exception of my rear shocks on my Echo v2, all my socks are stock length because that length is excellent. You only need 2-2.5 tires of flex. More is great for your scale SEMA build, but they will often hinder performance. Oil filled shocks also fix alot of problems that the friction shocks cause, but stock shocks are amazingly good performers. The best shock on the market are the Proline Big Bore Scaler 39mm (and the 50mm in highly specific application) but they cost a kidney.
Axles: There is nothing wrong with your stock axles (as long as you modify them). The steering sucks and the half shafts inside are very weak. There are half shafts on amazon you can buy that look like a drive shaft ujoint where the hubs turn. Buy those, and cut around the axle housing cups at each end to increase turn radius. Yes cutting is scary, and if you dont pay attention you will ruin your housing. If you do it, you will be very happy you did. Stock steering is about 24 degrees, and with this mod you can almost double that. As far as aftermarket, there are 5 SCX 24 specific axles of note: LGRP Super 8, Meus Isokenetic, Mofo x15, Hardpark, and Injora +4. They each have major advantages and drawbacks but all are of similar quality with the exception of Injora. Meus and Mofo are g2g out of the box. Super 8 and Injora need better ujoint style half shafts and shaving, then they are good. You can find the improved half shafts on Exos website as well as Dlux Fab. I have no opinion of hardpark, though a guy in our group was integral in their final design. He likes them.
Overdrive: Stock the front axle drives the same speed as the rear axle. Tons of people make gears to speed up the front axle or slow down the rear, and they all seem to be similar in quality. there is a 15%, 24%, and 33% overdrive option, as well as a underdrive for the rear. Most people run 24%. It is a great goldilocks option. I run 33% in my high end class 3 that only sees crawling in comps.
Knuckles: Most of these knuckles are all the same, with exception of a few. Namely Hardpark LowBlows, Samix, and the three piece axial units. If you arent getting one of these three, just get the cheapest option that you like the looks of. There are a few brands out there that are "off brand" and heavier than most but quality is spotty. With the nicer brands I mentioned they all have options and option parts to increase and decrease weight.
Wheels: All personal preference when it comes to looks. The main performance difference is size and offset. Standard is 1.0, those bicycle tire looking ones are 1.8s and the in between that work for classes 2 and 3 in RCMCCA rules are 1.3. Most are an absolute pain in the ass to assemble, and the cheaper they are, the higher likelyhood of having 83 screws per wheel to install. Notably easy to assemble units are from LGRP and Prophet designs.
Tires: The best two tire brands out there are Jconcepts and RC4WD (not to be mistaken for RCAWD)... fight me. Both have superior compounds and great tread designs. Little Guy Racing Parts makes a good and affordable tire, but the hype is in the marketing. Injora makes good tire and many are great knock offs of other brands. With every brand, do your research on compound scales before buying. Keep in mind that the general consensus is moving to a +65mm tire, but often that larger tire lessens your ability to crawl for two reasons. It is from a company that doesnt have the best rubber compound and for every mm you increase tire size, you increase center of gravity by half that. The largest tire I run is only a 63 and the smallest tire is a 52.
Servo Tray: There are dozens of options out there, but excluding specialty parts like a battery on axle servo tray, there are 3 of note. Aluminum trays, brass trays, and adjustable trays. Brass servo mounts are good but I dont like how high the weight is. The best brands for a servo tray are NSDRC and Mofo. NSDRC trays are non adjustable but Mofo trays are. Injora also makes a clone of the mofo tray as does ramp crab. Both of these are on amazon.
Servos: the stock servo will fail (just like the stock motor) quickly. Aftermarket Servos can be broken up into 4 categories (plastic cheap, metal budget, metal quality, and NSDRC). Cross reference the voltage that your esc can run the servo at to ensure compatibility. If you are running a higher voltage than that servo is rated far, you will destroy it. Emax is the go to plastic brand. Set your endpoints on the servo arm throw and you will not burn them up quickly. Metal budget servos are a much better option than emax. Think RampCrab and Injora. They are a significant step up in power without breaking bank. Metal quality is represented by brands like Reefs, AGFRC and Mofo. They are virtually bulletproof and another significant power increase. NSDRC is in a class of its own because it is the most powerful and sturdy servo on the market.
Screws: The most complete set of replacement screws and small parts is offered by ramp crab in a neat little printed clamshell, but they are on the softer side. Use them only if you are using a quality hardened driver like, or do not overtighten them because they will strip. Injora makes good screws. The best are proline, but you will pay out your nose at a hobby shop for them.
Inserts: foams are fine and so are silicone, but the best are printed inserts. FlubRC makes one for any size you can imagine. Other companies make printed inserts like Prophet Designs. Printed TPU inserts such as these brands provide nice compression vertically and are extremely rigid lateral stability. This is what you want.
Steering links: All of these do the same stuff with exception of rollerbearing links. 3flow9rc was the pioneer here and still makes the best rollerbearing steering link on the market.
Rear link riser: adjustable risers allow you to customize the the antisquat properties of your rig while climbing. multiple companies make them on amazon as do the boutique parts producers. My favorite for cost vs value is ramp crab on amazon.
Tools: cheap amazon or ali express tools look cool but they are soft. Even most of the nicer brands in hobby stores that cost way more are soft. MIP tools cost about 15 dollars per driver but are built to an extreme exacting tolerance and are hardened to a point that they will not wear down. This ensures a tight fit when using them, so when you strip a screw you have no one to blame but yourself. Buy MIP or guarantee yourself you will ruin an occasional part due to stripped screw heads.
In conclusion, this is a hobby that will require your own research and ongoing money to some degree. If customization and tinkering is driving you crazy, research more. Do not be afraid to modify store bought parts, and dont be afraid to make your own as your skill improves. I hope this helps... K, thnx, bye, love you all!

Chapter 1: Archenemies
https://archiveofourown.org/works/49222786/chapters/124201993#main
Eerie. That would be one word most travelers would use to describe nights in Transylvania. The year was 1887 in the middle of November where we find ourselves in the currently chilly region of Romania. Rarely would you ever be able to see the stars out at night due to the heavy mist nor would you get to see the morning sun due to the high mountains and thick clouds. It was a hard and gloomy place to live, but people managed. After all, it took a certain type of person to persevere through such places with many either succumbing to the harsh conditions or falling to the beasts that inhabited the lands. On one night in particular though, it was far more grim for a particular Roma.
Her name was Anna Valerious, and there she was, walking through her town seemingly aimless to the average person. It had only been a few days after her brother, the last living member of her immediate family, had seemingly met his demise, and Anna was in mourning. She had started slacking in her duties and found it harder and harder to get out of bed. Most of the townspeople understood her grief and managed on as best they could without her guidance, but in truth, they needed someone to look to more than ever; a leader.
Anna had eventually found herself at the town’s graveyard, downing a bottle of rum, and looking at the names on each headstone that carried the Valerious name until she finally found her father’s, Boris Valerious. It had been months since she last visited his grave with this also being the first time she visited her brother Velkan’s empty one, as neither Anna or her men could recover a body. She felt lost.
For so many days she struggled to wrap her head around her new reality. The last of her family. The honor and reputation of her entire bloodline is relied soley on her success in killing Dracula, the bane of her family’s existence, but she couldn’t help but wonder. Was she even good enough?
Anna always had a rebellious streak since she was a child and found it difficult to follow in the lessons her father tried to instill in her about the duties of their family as well as the significance of them. It was only after she witnessed firsthand just how ruthless vampires could be after seeing many of her own family die before their intended passings that she finally took her familial obligations more seriously. In spite of this though, Anna had grown to become the more brash between her and Velkan and while she was better at fighting, he was always better at making plans as well as keeping good relations with the people. He was her overprotective and supportive big brother and she’d always love him for that.
She hated that he was gone, that he had left her, and that it was her plan that ultimately got him killed. She was angry more than anything as she looked up to the sky, praying for the answers as to why it had to be her, fighting back her tears as best as she could. Her thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a sudden gust of wind followed by a sultry voice.
”Your sorrow was too intoxicating for me not to find you so easily princess.”
It was Aleera, one of the three brides of Dracula appearing seemingly out of thin air, and one of Anna’s greatest enemies. Her fiery red hair flowed in the wind and eyes flaring their unique indigo with dangerous intent as she slowly approached the princess; a lopsided smirk formed on her lips, basking in the burning anticipation of the confrontation that was about to take place.
Aleera had made a sort of routine out of coming to see the princess at random times over the years. Using whatever excuse she could to leave the castle to see her foe with her intention being to antagonize Anna. The main reason though, being that she actually wished to see her. Not that she believed that anyone would ever understand or that she wanted anyone to. After all, they were supposed to be archenemies or so that’s how Aleera presented there dynamic; claiming that she’d often fantasize about the taste of Anna’s blood or how one would eventually kill the other and how it seemed oh so thrilling whenever they did fight. So it was completely understandable for the few who believed her reasoning. After 100’s of years of boredom, no one had ever gotten her as excited or as invested as Anna did in her development.
In truth, she hadn’t thought much of the girl when she was only a child, finding her impulsiveness and temper cute at best, particularly with how messy and unkempt her hair always was back then when she got into fights with the local kids. As she grew overtime though, Aleera couldn’t help but admire her beauty. Whispers of a temptation started to emerge; birthing a deep desire for the princess.
In moments like those she would wonder how easily it would be to take the girl for herself not just out of spite to the Valerious’s, but her own lustful desires. Imagining how strong she’d be as a vampiress and especially by her side. She would usually discard those ideas though, and simply resided herself to playing with Anna. Seeing how hard the young woman fought to stay alive, knowing that she could easily kill the princess in the blink of an eye; enjoying the fire that would burn within her eyes as she only got better with each encounter as the years passed. On the few occasions that Anna seemingly had the advantage, Aleera was clearly enjoying herself even then. That false sense of security that she provided bolstering the young girl’s confidence, it was….. adorable. Up until that overconfidence inadvertently bit the vampire in the butt whenever Anna got a lucky hit in and managed to escape her clutches. Not that the redhead minded though. She wanted to see her grow and blossom even further. In truth she couldn’t imagine spending her days not seeing the gypsy again as it became something of a light in her otherwise boring grey days spent at the castle.
Sure she loved her master as well as her fellow brides, Marishka and even Verona to an extent, but none of them had ignited the passions she felt when she was with Anna in recent years. She didn’t spend too much time thinking beyond her desires merely being physical, as anything else would make things far more complicated for her.
And here she was, looking for a fight with the princess as if it were merely another day for the two. Walking slowly and sensually as she eyed up her prey. Aleera did her usual taunting trying the get a rise out of the woman, only for those words to fall on deaf ears. That was, until she mentioned Velkan.
THAT was enough to catch the attention of the princess who looked up at the vampire with pure hatred in her eyes. It put Aleera off somewhat as the fire that once illuminated her hazel orbs seemed dimmed, a coldness taking their place. The vampiress said nothing after this, trying to focus on the battle that was about to take place; but this was no battle. Anna was sloppy and she moved far slower than she was capable of. Heavy swings with killer intent in mind, but no precision in her strikes. This was…..wrong Aleera thought to herself. The redhead being upset was an understatement.
After everything they’d been through, THIS was what Anna had to offer her? A pitiful display of swordsmanship as if she was the same rank amateur she was when they first met? Was she TRYING to piss me off? Aleera finally lost her patience as she grabbed the princess, slamming her hard against a nearby tree. “Surely no one would find your body before the night ends right?” She teased in a murderous tone. Anna barely struggled as her hands were placed over her head by the stronger female. “Oh do not worry my love, take comfort knowing I shall weep over your corpse”.
Aleera bared her fangs and screeched loudly to get SOME reaction from the princess again. Anna could only looked away with her eyes closed in shame. Aleera had mixed feelings about this. Why wasn’t she fighting back? This isn’t like her……
So many thoughts had been running in Anna’s mind in that moment though, but the one constant train of thought that kept appearing was that she was a failure. She was no warrior and so, she deserved to die such a pitiful death. She started apologizing quietly to herself as she heard the screams of her brother as he fell to his death at the hands of the werewolf. She remembered her father being whisked away from their home by Dracula himself never to be seen again. She remembered her mother who became sick and died bedridden rather than a warrior’s death. Everything she forced down to continue fighting boiled over to the surface as she broke into tears, choking on her own words as she waited for the redhead to finish her off, but then something unexpected happened. Aleera let her arms free. But Why?
Aleera’s face softened with confusion and concern now. She looked Anna in the eyes and nearly jumped out her own skin when she saw….nothing. There was nothing there, as if her soul had already left her body. And when the tears started to fall she couldn’t help but feel guilty.
She found herself split on what to do. She had already freed Anna out of her clutches, ending there “game”, and she was left to ponder what to do next. It had never truly occurred to Aleera how her and her family’s actions had truly impacted the princess until she saw how broken the poor woman truly was now. That vision of a strong brave warrior princess shattered before her eyes and was replaced with what she saw before her. She wondered when she must have forgotten what it was like to be human, to lose the people she loved. That part of her detested her past actions.
Every slap, every deep cut, bruise, or threat towards Anna came back in a flow of memories as she turned to look at the headstones of Velkan as well as Anna’s father, Boris, only reinforcing the feeling of remorse that had started to form in her stomach. She looked back at Anna who seemed hesitant to get up and try to either run or fight. Aleera was at a loss.
She wanted to say something but couldn’t find the words. She wanted to reach out to Anna to reassure her of something. Of what, she didn’t know but the desire to not see her in her saddened state was the driving force for her in that moment. Her fist was clenched from the uncertainty in her mind. They were enemies after all, right? Why should she care, and what could she possibly do to fix what’s seemingly beyond repair? But still, she couldn’t help but take in her scent more as she crouched down to eye level with the other woman. Her need to, at the very least, try inspired her to do what she did next.
Anna flinched when she saw Aleera raise her hand to her face but tried her best not make any sudden movements. Her heart suddenly skipped a beat when she realized what the redhead was doing. She’s, wiping my tears away? It was such an oddly comforting gesture that Anna hadn’t even known the vampire was capable of it, and yet there she was with a surprising look of empathy in her eyes as she placed a warm palm on Anna’s cheek. She was speechless.
She was initially dejected at this though, as she certainly didn’t want Aleera of all people to see her like this, let alone to have her take pity on her. And yet, when she saw Aleera’s hazel eyes had softened and no longer flared with murderous intent, she took pause and relaxed her body against her better judgement. Could think of worse ways this could’ve gone, Anna thought to herself. Before Aleera could say anything, her ears focused in on the princess’s heart.
Previously, even when they had been “fighting”, Anna’s heart rate was steady, but gradually dropped once she was at the vampiress’s mercy. Aleera had noticed the spike a bit after her hand grazed the princess’s cheek. Anna kept her eyes on the redhead, realizing that her gaze had lowered to her chest, making her feel somewhat uncomfortable. What the hell is she looking at? Anna thought, avoiding the lingering gaze of Aleera. Aleera had noticed the color returning back to Anna’s face and noticed the abnormal red tint that started to warm her skin. Was…was she blushing?
Such a small detail and yet if Aleera was capable of doing so, her face would’ve turned red at the realization as well. She knew that what she was doing may have been perceived as perhaps invasive, but it hadn’t occurred to her that Anna would react in such a way. Anna was clearly flustered right now, making Aleera smile slightly at the knowledge. A clear sign that some of the initial tensions had lessened. Anna’s chest started rising more noticeably as Aleera found herself leaning in closer. Her hand sliding down from Anna’s cheek and placing her index finger firmly under the princess’s chin now. She hesitates for a minute before looking back into Anna’s eyes, looking for approval for what she was about to do. What was happening right now, was the last thought on Anna’s mind as she realized that there was nowhere for her to go and that she didn’t want to leave in that moment. She closed her eyes in anticipation.
How could she feel like this towards someone whom she had grown to despise after so many years? They were ARCHENEMIES for God’s sake, these types of feelings shouldn’t even exist, but the fact of the matter was that they’d always been there ever since she first met the redhead all those years ago, and right now, in spite of there past history, Anna needed to feel that closeness desperately. With no one else to go to, Aleera was all that was left. She didn’t want to feel alone, even if it was for a brief moment…
Aleera felt a sense of satisfaction from how willing Anna was in that moment. No fighting, no snarky remarks, running, surprise attacks, just acceptance. What made this moment even sweeter was that the redhead’s desires were seemingly mutual. To what degree for Anna, she couldn’t say, but it was clear that at the very least, the princess wanted THIS as much as her…and yet, it somehow felt wrong to her.
She had dreamt of this level of intimacy with the gypsy far more than she’d care to count and yet for some reason, the moment felt cheap. As if she had caught the princess in an exposed state and was taking advantage of it. Then again, why should she care? This was probably the only chance she’d get to claim her, but for some reason, she actually felt a tinge of guilt. Perhaps it wasn’t the right time? Anna’s scent was intoxicating. A fragrance of perfumes as well as Anna’s warm blood flowed just beneath her pale skin calling out to Aleera as the lines between arousal and hunger became blurred for her, and Satan only knows what Aleera would’ve done to the poor woman if she didn’t have the strength to pull away in that moment.
She had to push away from the princess and cut off her breathing fast in spite of herself, something she didn’t take lightly. She felt her surprisingly fast pacing heart cease to move as she grabbed at her chest at the sudden brush of coldness that washed over her. She looked down at Anna who looked both confused and hurt in that moment. She had to ponder her next few words carefully.
On Anna’s side of things, she was internally frustrated for a number of reasons. What the hell was that? Anna was outright dumbfounded by her own actions, realizing that she wanted whatever was going to happen, and realizing just how disappointed she was that it didn’t. A chill that the princess hadn’t seemed to register at first, had suddenly swept through her body as she struggled against her instinct to shiver from the absence of warmth. Prior to closing her eyes, she stared back into Aleera’s and saw the desire that she knew she had for her, but there was also something else. Something more earnest that she couldn’t quite describe. Whatever it was, in that moment, Anna felt the absence of its inviting shroud and yearned to linger in its embrace, reluctant to let go of it. Whatever doubts she may have felt or fears she may have had had disappeared as she found herself lost in Aleera gaze. If this was another one of her little mind games, she had taken things too far this time. More than anything now, she was upset that the vampire had let go of her, as she craved it deeply after everything she’d been through in the past few days. Aleera owed her that much for interrupting her grieving. And to top it all off, she felt weird about the whole thing. She actually WANTED to be close to Aleera again and even looked up at with pleading eyes, hoping that the redhead would understand her plight.
Aleera always perceived herself as the type of person that goes after whatever and whoever she may desire. But if she had simply kissed Anna, what good would that do for her? Just another concubine in the long list of thralls she’s drained(in more ways than one) over the years. Anna was special and she knew it. And so, her lips started moving. She didn’t know why she was saying what she was saying or why she was saying it, but maybe, just maybe, it was what Anna needed to hear.
In spite of her being more than aware of the true fate of the princess’s brother, she didn’t want to kill the mood of the night and simply focused on Anna faltering in their fight. She expressed her personal disappointment with the gypsy and how she had a duty to everyone who had died before her, reminding her as to why she had been training and fighting her heart out everyday. And just as it seemed as though Aleera was about to leave, Anna finally asked her why she didn’t kill her. The princess wasn’t expecting the answer she received but in all honesty she should’ve known better. Aleera shrugged, telling her that she respected her too much to try and kill her at her lowest. That when the time comes to take her life, she wants her to be full of life like never before before she snuffs out Anna’s flame, snapping her fingers for dramatic effect. This revelation cooled the princess off quite a bit understandably.
She felt like an idiot expecting anything else from the redhead. She mustered up the strength needed to stand up while Aleera strained herself to remain in place to stop herself from helping her. She wiped whatever remaining tears were on her face as she stared the red head down.
With a newfound determination in her eyes, Anna welcomed the challenge, promising Aleera and herself that she would never falter again. Aleera was pleased by this resolve and gave a wicked smile as she took on her demon bat form, silently flying on into the night sky, anticipating their reunion.

I'm looking for either something I can locally, or a very very cheap API to generate very simple images based upon prompts of a couple unique words.
These images will be placeholder images, just accompanying text I already have for various articles.
They don't have to be perfect, but need a bit of refinement as they will vary quite a bit.
Think "4th of July" or "Christmas Day", or "Grandma's Birthday", and then an image would be generated to accompany the text I already have so that that image wouldn't look too out of place.

Good bit of US Type and hole fillers. Some better like seated dollars and draped halves. Some lower grade cheapies.
A lot of new stuff, so here’s a table of contents 😂😂😂
Post goes: - Gold

• ASE SLABS (reverse proof)
  
• US TYPE (draped/capped/seated)
  
• Proof sets
  
• Random lots (some paper currency)
  
• Whitman Silver Ingot Book
  
• Premium .999 silver, raw, slabbed, COA, all that variety
  

Chitty chit chat please
PROOF: https://imgur.com/a/v8pkLE5 Proof set proof: https://imgur.com/a/fDS5ZCH
GOLD https://imgur.com/a/J73widt - (2) 2012 1/20oz MS69 Panda - $150 each - 1988 PF69 1/10 AGE - $295 - 1g sunflower argor - $86
SLABBED ASE’S REVERSE PROOF, all are PF/PR69: https://imgur.com/a/ya9Iggz - 2006P RP 20th anniversary- $90 - 2011P RP John Mercanti Signed, 25th anniversary, slight milk/tone - $155 - 2012S RP 75th Anniversary - $65 - 2013 W RP - $65 - 2019 W Enhanced RP /Pride of 2 nations - $95
PROOF OR REGULAR STRIKE: https://imgur.com/a/ikPRfbc - 2002 MS69 - $37 - 2006 W PR69 PROOF, some toning spots - $48 - 2017 MS69 Gold Label - $38 - 2021 T-2 MS70 ANACS American Flag holder - $46
US TYPE BELOW
CENTS https://imgur.com/a/Slm4d5T - 1857 flying cent - $35 - 1858 flying cent - $35 - 1949 D MS66 RD Penny slab - $38 (greysheet is 50)
2 CENT PIECES all priced $5 below AG3 greysheet but are good bit above AG3 https://imgur.com/a/xnuFXQ6 - 1864 large motto - $13 - 1865 - $13 - 1866 - $16 SOLD - 1867 - $14 - 1870 - $18 - 1871 - $20 SOLD
DIMES
CAPPED DIMES - all low grade other than slab https://imgur.com/a/1qLPxNd - link for slab: https://imgur.com/a/OeOna1n - CAC VF Details 1829 - $105 - 1823 - $55 - 1829 - $22 - 1830 - $22 - 1831 - $22 - 1836 - $22 - 1836 - $22
SEATED DIMES https://imgur.com/a/7a6enxD

• 1872 - $11
• 1876 - $11
• 1876 S (?) - $11
• 1886 - $10
• 1887 - $10
• 1887 - $12

QUARTERS
DRAPED https://imgur.com/a/S9GoTgc - 1806 draped quarter - $160
SEATED https://imgur.com/a/wcvAbwO - 1853 w/ Rays - 28 - 1853 O w/ Rays - 36 - 1861 - 18
HOLE FILLER BARBERS, all are Cull/AG/G https://imgur.com/a/h8LpGSp

• 1903 O - $9
• (2) 1904 - $8
• (3) 1905 - $9

STANDING LIBERTY https://imgur.com/a/w3ZRS1V - 1920 S - $22 - 1926 S - $12 - 1927 S - $40 - 1929 - $10
HALF DOLLARS
Draped Half https://imgur.com/a/pfMHvd1 - 1807 draped Bust Half - confident saying VG obverse and VF reverse - $450 - 1807 Draped Bust Half, obverse is good, decent relief on the stars, but reverse is much better, impressive detail - $330
Sesqui Silver Halves https://imgur.com/a/QMdEwyy - (4) available. 40 each if I pick, 45 if you pick
Capped Bust Half https://imgur.com/a/nEDzel0 - 1810 - $155 - 1817 - $190 - 1822 - $85 - 1832 LL - $70 - 1835 - $105 Seated Half https://imgur.com/a/4hZLRSu

• 1862 S - $70
• 1863 S - $70
• 1864 S (?) - $70
• 1876 CC - $75
• 1877 - $30

BARBER https://imgur.com/a/xt9dgf1 - 1912 VF IMO (visible liberty) - $85 (VF GS is over 100)
DOLLARS
SEATED DOLLAR https://imgur.com/a/vKRAvbI - 1842 Seated Dollar, strong details and beautiful toning - $690
BETTER DATE MORGAN DOLLAR. All priced AG3-G4 unless noted otherwise https://imgur.com/a/A6k6g44 - 1879 O - $30 - 1882 O - $32 - 1883 S - $30 SOLD - 1892 O - $30 - 1894 O - $38 (worse of the two) - 1894 O - $42 SOLD - 1896 O (cull) - $34 - (2) 1896 O (middle 2) - $36 each - 1896 O (F+) - $40 SOLD - 1896 S - $35 SOLD - 1896 S (darker patina one) - $45 - 1898 S (better) - $30 SOLD
PEACE DOLLARS https://imgur.com/a/vjaIC0e - 2 lower condition cheap - both for $51
BUY ALL BELOW SETS FOR A FLAT RATE OF $5 each AND FREE SHIP https://imgur.com/a/fDS5ZCH
Proof Sets - all are $6 each. Some deals here.
1979
(2) 1983
(3) 1984
(2) 1989
(4) 1990
(2) 1991
(2) 1998
(8) 1999
(3) 2000
(5) 2001
(1) 2002
Quarter Proof Set (2) 1999 - $3. Each
Uncirculated Coin Set (P&D) - all are $4.50 each.
(5) 1986 - $4.50
(10) 1998 - $4.50
(4) 1990 - $4.50
RANDOM LOTS: https://imgur.com/a/zzOxibI - 3 worn funny backs (1928, x2 1934) - 1860 & 1883 Farthings - $8 for both - 4 hard date walking liberty halves. Some dates are so worn I could barely see with a loupe. 1916, 1916 D, 1916 D, 1917 D Obv - $50 SOLD - 5 modern Canadian commem coins (2.50FV) - $8
SILVER BAR BOOK https://imgur.com/a/bpnS4QW - 14 x 1oz silver bars, most run $36+ on the sludge site. Solid condition. Comes in a Whitman Silver Ignot book. Binding is slightly off, but in great working shape. Seen this book sell $100+ on its own - comps are there - 14oz bars and book - $500
PREMIUM .999: https://imgur.com/a/jH53v04 - 5oz ATB Ozark Riverways Burnished in Capsule - $175 - 2018 Australian Emu - $34 - 2002 Perth Year of Horse - $48 - (2) 2016 Maples w/ 4 leaf clover privy, milky - $32 SOLD - 1oz Aztec Calendar, light milk - $30 SOLD - 1oz 2022 Niue Darth Vader - $32 SOLD - 1oz 2023 Samoa Batman - $32 SOLD - 1oz Envela Covid Round - $31 SOLD - Slum Metals 4.9oz Hand Pour with COA at 28.5/oz - $140 - (4) 2024 1/2oz Perth Dragons - $24 each

• 6g Canada Bottle Cap - $14

RANDOM NEAT STUFF https://imgur.com/a/U0KWu0j - 2018 WWI Centennial Silver dollar with OGP and COA - $40 - Pamp “Burton Morris” Lucky 7’s slot machine silver - $80 - 2024 Fiji 1oz the Vault, neat piece in original holder - $60
STAR TREK SILVER https://imgur.com/a/X7DrKwY - both come with original box, unique light up display case and COA - 2015 Capt Picard PR70 SLAB (glue has come off the box wrapper) - $95 - 2015 Spock RAW - $85
PREMIUM SLABBED COLORIZED SILVER https://imgur.com/a/q0ls7Ln - 2014 1/2oz 2014 Gilt Niue Stork Proof PF69 - $65 - 2017 1/2oz Tuvalu Harp Seal PR70 w/ box and COA - $68
Random Premium Silver; https://imgur.com/a/HawKebu - (2) TD Bank enameled Year of Dog w/ box. Light spot on one - $40 - Highland mint 1oz rounds. W/box and COA: - Drew Bledsoe - $40 - Marshall Faulk - $40 - Jeff Bagwell - $40 - Legacies of freedom set - 2oz total - 2002 Brittania and 2003 ASE - $65
Shipping;
$5 for GA
$9 for priority
$15 for MFRB
Responsibility leaves my hand once usps says “accepted”. Can assure proper packing before drop off, out of my hands after that.
Will ship promptly, most of the time it is next business day, but no later than 2 business days from funds received
Payment methods:
Zelle
Venmo
Cash app

Been curious about these cheap mini theremins for years, they go for closer to 60$ on most sites but recently found one for 31$ (it was actually 26$ on sale) the reviews on other sites are pretty mixed mostly due to a lack of instructions (this one did come with basic instructions at least) so I was hesitant to order one but after spending some time with it am mostly impressed: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806375688167.html
Here's a video that goes through all the sounds in it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svGYV8ZEd00
Some thoughts:
It uses mini antennae so the sensitivity range is relatively small, but it has a lot of settings to tweak the response of both antennae and is fun to play anyways. It does have some basic quantization (just 0-5 settings) but so far it seems to mostly smooth the change in pitch a bit and set to 0 is the classic theremin sound
It has a bunch of sounds, 71 to be exact ranging from basic waves (sine/saw/square) to weirder acoustic sounds. Some are pretty similiar but at least a few were surprisingly impressive/unique, the surf modes are perfect.
Some of the acoustic sounds respond differently with the volume antennae working as a trigger (you have to wave your hand back and forth to trigger notes) while the other controls pitch, takes some getting used to but works pretty well
It even has a tiny built in speaker, the audio/phones out disables it and the vol can be set from 0-99 (I mixed up the antennae/audio out jacks at first and was worried it was broken before double checking)
You can set the base pitch across the full range (c1 to f#7) and it displays the frequency & notes as you play including a keyboard visualization, also has a basic oscilloscope
It doesn't save settings when shut down, but it doesn't take long to tweak the settings though it does have a lot of them. That seems like the main downside so far.
Haven't tried any nicer theremins to compare it to but can tell it will be a lot of fun to use. Got it to run into a semi modular rig and blend with other sounds so the mini size is perfect, will see how sturdy it is as it does seem fragile but for the price you could always build a nicer case for it.
Really the only thing it lacks is delay/reverb, but ran into some FX it would be hard to tell it's a 30$ theremin vs a 300$ one. Might have to buy a second one eventually for dueling theremins, or hell get 4 of them and play 2 with feet.
Side note but might measure the voltage of the audio output, would be cool if you could use it as a CV source to use motion to modulate other signals. Either way definitely recommend it for anyone who's been curious to try a theremin but hesitant to spend too much.

Shower drain is in funky location so I'm just going to poubuild my own shower base.
Basement is poured concrete and is as flat as flat can be, according to my level. Most of the youtube videos I've seen show to put down tar paper, then pour sand/topsoil mix, then add vinyl layer, then mortar mix. This is all before level set before tiling. Seems like a lot considering my concrete is perfectly level and flat.
Do I really need all 3 layers - the sand/topsoil, the mortar mix, even before the thinset. Can I just do plywood and then lay the vinyl on top then begin my slope with mortar mix?
I'm asking because I'm already starting out with a perfect slate of concrete. Can I just put my layer of vinyl wrap down on my concrete basement floor or plywood, then slope with Quickrete mortar mix? Are all the concrete layers just for the flange and drain collar?
I don't want to use Kerdi as that still seems like the most expensive way to do it. I may be cheap but I still want to do it the right way. And I have plenty of time.
Also, which tar paper should I get? I can't find any other than roofing tar paper.

I have to repair a few sections plywood below my windows and wanted to know what the correct type of plywood that should be used. My house currently has T1-11, wrap, then vinyl siding. I don't believe I need to spend the extra for T1-11 when a cheap plywood option would suffice. I'm just not sure what type I should be using.
Thanks