Back in 2016, I was working at a roadside diner west of St. Cloud, Minnesota. Neat little place, had a bit of a 60’s vibe to it, but without the hairdo. On the slow hours of the day, or whenever we just had locals around, I’d be humming along with the chefs playing radio out of the kitchen. It wasn’t an exciting time, but it was nice to have a workplace that felt like a second home.
A couple of weekends a month, we had an all-night crew to serve passing truckers. You usually never had to do more than one shift though, and we got to make own schedules. Our boss was pretty hands-off. It was during one of those shifts, at the first week of early summer, that my life took a turn for the worse – and I didn’t even realize it.

We were used to having the occasional odd customer during those hours of the day. When this guy walked in, I didn’t know what to think. He was about 6’2, bald, and pale as chalk. He wore this worn-out t-shirt that looked like it’d been on fire. With every step, he dragged his feet, and collapsed in one of our booths, seemingly exhausted.
I looked back at the chef, and he just shrugged. Guy wasn’t hurting anyone, but he didn’t look like he was all there. But a job’s a job, so I went up to him.
“You alright there?” I asked.
He looked up at me like I was speaking a foreign language, then sunk his head back down, gently shaking it.
“Nah,” he said. “I, uh… I don’t think I am.”
He had this voice on the knife’s edge between a hysterical laugh and a howling cry. He was trembling.
“You need me to call someone?”
“Call?”
“Yeah, call someone.”
“How?”

I didn’t understand the question. I figured he was coming down from some kind of binge, and I wasn’t about to take any chances. I asked the chef to get me a side of bacon to keep the guy calm while I called the police.
As I slid the plate over to him, he sunk his face into his hands, sobbing.
“T-thank you,” he cried. “I-I’m… please…”
I sat down across from him, instinctively reaching out to grab his hand. He let me. Even at a light touch, I could feel the scars on his palm and fingertips. Whatever’d happened to him, it must’ve been awful.
“I can’t go back,” he sniffled. “Don’t make me go back. I can’t. Please, I can’t.”
“You’re not going anywhere. It’s okay,” I smiled. “You’re safe here.”
“Can you help me?” he asked. “Can you keep him out?”
“I’m sure we can figure it out,” I nodded. “Just eat up. It’s okay.”

His fingers trembled as he tentatively bit off a piece of bacon. His teeth were black, and he flinched.
“I need time,” he said. “I need time to run.”
“Don’t worry,” I assured him. “We’ve called for help.”
“I just… I just need time.”
We just sat there for a while. He calmed his breathing but kept staring out the window. I could tell he was looking for something – or someone. All I could see was a road and a handful of moths. We sat there for some time, in silence, as he carefully nibbled on the slices of maple bacon.
As two police officers entered the diner, he got up from his seat. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bundle of scrunched-up trash. A couple of singles, a plastic card, dirt, and something resembling animal bones. He tried to straighten out the bills, pushing them into my hands along with the laminated card.
“Just… I need time. I’ll come back. Please.”
I didn’t understand. I just nodded and accepted it. Seconds later, the officers asked him to step outside and explain the situation. I got busy taking orders from a couple of passing truckers, watching glimpses of the scene through the window. A couple of minutes later, the strange man was taken away.

My shift ended at sunrise. I dragged myself to my car with a yawn, shuffling around my pockets for the keys. I hadn’t thought much about the items he’d handed me, but I took a closer look. I’d thrown away the animal bones and dirt, but there were a couple of dollar bills and that laminated card left. I checked the card first.
It looked like some kind of bookmark. On one side it was completely white, and on the other side there were dried blue flower petals arranged in a spiral. Kinda reminded me of a sunflower. And finally, there were the dollar bills.
I didn’t pay much attention to these at first. Just a couple of singles. But after a closer look, I noticed something unusual. There was a man on the bill that I didn’t recognize. It took me a couple of google searches to realize that this man was Walter Mondale – the man who’d lost to Ronald Reagan’s second run for president back in ’84. Why was this man on a one-dollar bill?

Before heading to bed, I put the items down on my nightstand. In a moment of silent wonder, I looked out the window. What had that man been looking for? What’d he been running from?
There was nothing out there.
Just a couple of moths.

Waking up the next morning, I had a full day off. I spent it cleaning my apartment, watching movies, having dinner with a couple of friends, and ending the night with a couple of drinks at the pub down on the corner. No binge or anything, just got a bit boozy. I was still gonna be in bed by midnight.
I took the scenic route home; a long walk. All the way down main street, past the lake. I took a shortcut through the park by the final stretch, speeding up a bit. That place was trouble.
As I hurried by the fountain, I spotted someone in the distance. A shrouded figure at the edge of the streetlights. I stopped to observe for a second, but as I did, the lights flickered. Coming back on, the figure was gone.
I chalked it up to imagination. I was a bit drunk, after all. Besides – it was small, like a child. What the hell would a kid be doing out at this hour?

A couple of days passed. I didn’t notice anything unusual, but I kept coming back to that distressing feeling of missing something important. Looking back at it now, I just feel dumb. He was there all along. Outside the supermarket. In the parking lot. Off the highway. Hell, he was outside my window at night sometimes, but just too short for me to spot.
I’m getting ahead of myself.
It wasn’t until one morning when I was driving to work that I got a clear view of him. I was crossing a four-way street, taking a sharp left turn, when I had to throw myself on the breaks. There was a kid in the middle of the street.
I hadn’t seen him that clearly before. He was probably around 6, maybe 7 years old. Wearing a plain black shirt and a pair of light blue canvas pants. Short black hair, dark eyes, and no shoes. That particular detail stuck with me. No shoes? Why?
I almost lost control, but I was lucky. There wasn’t much traffic, and I managed to stop further down the road. There were black lines in the pavement from my screeching tires swerving back and forth. Regaining my composure, I looked in the rear-view mirror.
The kid was gone.

But that was just the start.
I’d spot him every now and then. Looking out the window at work. At the gas station. A passing face in the crowd when shopping for groceries. Every now and then, something would pull on my attention, forcing me to whip my head around, looking for the source of that ill feeling crawling up my spine. Sometimes I saw him. And even worse – sometimes I didn’t.
I remember lying awake at night, hearing moths tap against my window. There was nothing else. Nothing outside. I patrolled my apartment six times, checking every window. I’d looked everywhere, and there was no reason for me to feel the way I did. I was growing paranoid.
And yet, in the morning, my front door was unlocked, and slightly open.

It all came to a head one afternoon when I was out on my smoke break. I’d barely slept for the past three nights, and you could kinda tell I was having a bad day. As I stood there, leaning against the side door of the diner, I see the kid again. This time just across the road, maybe 50 feet or so away. I’d had enough. This had to end.
I was furious. I stormed forward, calling him out with every slur and curse I could think of. I was psyching myself up. I was in the right, and I refused to be harassed anymore – kid or not. Didn’t matter. I crossed the road, barely dodging a speeding jeep, and met him face-to-face.
“What the hell do you want?!” I’d yell. “Why are you following me?!”
He was completely expressionless. He didn’t even flinch, no matter how much I pointed or screamed. I snapped my fingers in front of his eyes, and he didn’t even blink. He just stared at me, like a porcelain doll head on a swivel.

I wasn’t thinking about the bystanders though. A couple of middle-aged men stepped up, asking in no kind terms what the hell was wrong with me. I was held back and restrained. Someone called the police. Someone else called my manager – I’d forgotten to take off my apron, so they could see the diner logo. A couple of people filmed it. One of the videos got like 120k views in a day before it fell off the map. I still see it as a react gif sometimes.
It was a disaster. After a couple of officers came by to talk to me, he’d just disappeared into thin air. The officers took me down to the station – not to detain me, but to get me away from the heated crowd. That car ride downtown sobered me up to what the hell was going on. I was being stalked by this kid, but there wasn’t a living soul out there that would believe me.
Well, maybe one.
Maybe.

I was asked a couple of questions and released within about half an hour. They told me to go home and sleep this whole thing off. That wouldn’t be a problem. I didn’t have a job to go back to anyway, according to the (many) texts I’d gotten. I had all the goddamn time in the world.
I was just about to leave when something came to mind. The two officers who’d picked me up were still waiting by their car when I turned back to them.
“Sorry, you picked up the guy I called in about at the diner, right?” I asked.
“Sure did.”
“You got any idea what happened to him?”
The two looked at one another for a moment, shrugged, and turned to me.
“Didn’t have any ID and gave a fake name. I think they took him to psych.”
“Psych?”
“Well, he was saying some, uh… strange things. There were interviews with a, uh…”
The two quieted down and flashed me a smile.
“There’s not that much we can say.”

Coming home, I decided to get to the root of this. It didn’t take me that long to find the place where the guy’d been taken; there aren’t a lot of mental health facilities in this part of the country. Especially facilities that accept involuntary subjects.
But my eyes kept drifting back to the strange dollar bills he’d given me, resting neatly on my nightstand. They were so detailed. A bit old, sure, but that only made them seem more genuine. What the hell was he doing with a handful of clearly fake dollar bills? Like, what’s the purpose? There had to be a purpose.
That unnerved me.

I managed to arrange a meeting. It wasn’t easy, and I think a lot of it boiled down to the police having no idea what could make this guy talk. For some reason, he kept providing them with false information. Maybe a familiar face, for one reason or another, might make him talk.
Just a couple of days later, I was putting my items in a metal bowl on the second floor at a mental health institute in the next town over. I asked one of the nurses if I could keep one of my dollar bills. Apparently, that was okay.
I was shuffled through a couple of locked doors and escorted to an off-white side-room. No décor, no locks. The guy was already there.

He’d been dressed down into these neutral eggshell-white garbs. It was strange seeing him in a lit-up room like this. I didn’t know what to expect.
Getting a closer look at him, he was probably in his 50’s. It’d been hard to tell earlier. I couldn’t get over just how pale he was; it was almost a complete lack of pigment. It looked sickly. His thin arms didn’t help – he looked malnourished. And yet, he was smiling.
“Hello,” he said.
“Hello to you too,” I smiled. “You doing okay?”
“I’m… I’m pretty good,” he nodded. “Thank you.”
I sat down across from him and took out the dollar bill he’d given me.
“I wanted to ask you about this.”
“For the bacon,” he said, matter-of-factly.
“Excuse me?”
“Sorry, was that not enough?”
“No, it’s…”
I took a moment to compose myself. I had too many questions.

He sighed, took the bill, and looked it over. Looking back at me, I could tell there was something painful stirring in his mind. His smile slowly faded.
“Sorry,” he said. “I try to forget sometimes. It’s easier than making sense of it.”
“Let’s start with something simple,” I nodded. “Like… your name. Where you’re from.”
“Those things are pretty far from simple.”
He was looking straight through me; his eyes sinking back to deeper, more uncomfortable thoughts.

His name was Samuel, and he was born around these parts in back in the 1970’s. He’d worked as a telecommunications specialist out of St. Cloud back in the 90's. He had a wife, three children, and a four-bedroom house.
“But it… that was all before, see?” he explained. “Then it all just…”
“Just what?” I asked. “What happened?”
He looked at me, opening and closing his mouth, looking for the right words to come out. Nothing happened. He shook his head, trying again.
“It started with the street preachers,” he said. “Hundreds of them, marching on every city. All saying the same doomsday shit as always. World was dying. All coming to an end.”
“I haven’t seen anything like that.”
“Then there were storms,” he continued without skipping a beat. “Some would last for weeks. Others longer. Entire cities would be flooded or torn apart. Earthquakes causing monster waves along the east coast, sending shockwaves all the way to mainland Europe. Then, Yellowstone.”
“Yellowstone?”
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Lights out.”

Samuel was painting this apocalyptic vision of a world undone. Catastrophe after catastrophe. Hooded people marching the streets, screaming for the mercy of a mad god. But there was more to it.
“Then things stopped making sense. It’s as if the rules changed,” he continued. “Roads would stop leading home. Trees would change color. People turned twisted and corrupted. Like… one of our neighbors couldn’t eat anything but gunpowder. There was a woman just down the street who tried to kill anyone wearing glasses. It was… pandemonium.”
I didn’t say anything. What he was saying didn’t make any sense, but he was trying his best to keep his rambling coherent.
“The plants died. Trees too. The only thing that could grow in that environment were these twisted blue things that popped up out of nowhere. But people… people are what got twisted the most.”
He told me of these towering 7-foot-tall humanoid creatures that roamed the forests. Black as night – not even reflecting light. Arms reaching all the way to their knees. Elongated, inhuman things that all used to be someone he knew.

“The doomsayers all said the same thing,” he continued. “That God was a scared little boy, and that he was dying. Everything that was happening was just an expression of that ceaseless, bottomless, existential grief.”
Samuel looked back and forth, finally burying his face in his hands.
“It all broke down. Roads stopped leading anywhere. No power. No water. Julie changed. Ollie changed. Tobie made himself a mask and wandered off into the woods. Ira just… disappeared. And for… years? Has it been years? It’s just been me.”
“But you’re here, now,” I said. “And what you’re describing, it… it didn’t happen.”
“It happened,” he insisted. “Just not… here. But here.”
He tapped his finger on the single dollar bill.
“Somewhere, somehow, I must’ve taken a wrong turn. I slipped through something broken, and now I’m here. And… and he’s coming to bring me back. He doesn’t want anyone to leave.”
“Who?”
“Just! Just…” he chuckled. “Just a sad little boy who’s been told he’s going to die.”
I didn’t know what to say. I just sat with him for a while, holding his hand.

Before I left, Samuel got up from his chair. He looked at me, forcing himself to smile.
“If I go back, I’ll try not to… to be like them. I’ll try. And… and I’ll be the one to say something.”
He let out a painful little laugh, shaking his head.
“Maybe just a… hello.”

I left that day with more questions than answers. I couldn’t picture the world he’d lived through. Then again, how could it be true? None of it had happened. But what was he gaining from lying about it?
That was the last time I saw Samuel. A few days later, he went missing, as if he’d disappeared into thin air. I didn’t know what to think of it. There was nothing on the cameras – no one entering or leaving the building. No quick escapes, no clever plans. He’d just walked into his room and disappeared. Nothing left but a couple of moths fluttering about.
And for a while, that was it. That was the end of the story. I got busy looking for a new job, and all the little items given to me by Samuel was put away into a little box in my glove compartment. Life soldiered on, and no matter how many questions I had, there was no one around to answer them. Even the strange kid that’d been following me was, seemingly, gone.

A couple of months later, I was driving home from a friend’s place. I stopped at a four-way street, waiting for a couple of trucks to pass, when there was a knock on the passenger side window. I almost choked on my own spit. Scared me half to death.
Looking out, I could see that kid again. I hadn’t seen him for some time, and I quickly bounced between curiosity and downright anger.
“What do you want?” I yelled out.
There was no response. Instead, the door just opened. It’d been locked. As he opened the door, he pointed to the glove box.
“You want his things?” I asked. “Is that it?”
He nodded. I wanted to lash out, but there was something telling me I shouldn’t. Instead, I reached over, opened the glove compartment, and pointed to the box.
“Just take it and leave me alone,” I said. “Get it over with.”

He reached in and grabbed the box. So much effort for a couple of mementos. I turned my head back to face the road. The kid backed out. But of course, I had to get the last word in.
“Not even a thank you, huh?”
That made him pause. He looked at me, tilting his head. As he opened his mouth to speak, a moth fluttered out. Then another. And another.
Then – darkness.

What happened next is hard to describe. My memory of it is fragmented. It’s like trying to watch a buffering video, where long stretches of it are just nothing – but you know something was supposed to happen in-between.
Blink. I was sitting in my car. There was a dark blue sky. No clouds, no stars. Figures in the distance. An open field with blue flowers bending to a howling wind. A powerful stench of ammonia stinging my nostrils. Something to my immediate left, ripping the car door straight off the hinges.
Blink. Running. Ruins of a town. It seemed familiar, but there was barely anything left. My leg was bleeding. I was being followed. No matter where I turned, or where I ran, I seemed to end up at the same intersection.
Blink. A three-story building, brimming with life. Glimpses of arm-long antennae through the broken windows. Clickety-clack of bursting wings tapping against crumbling concrete. A loud warning shriek as something rubs its legs together; a call for prey.
Blink. Hiding in a tipped-over trash container. The rain has stopped in mid-air. Raindrops held in indefinite suspension. I suck water drops out of the air to quench my thirst. My hands are shaking from the blood loss.

Countless little images. Some in order, some not. I have no idea how much time passed. In the moment, it must’ve been much longer than I can remember. Days. Weeks, even. There’s no way to tell.
Blink. Walking through a barren field. It feels like walking through a dead forest, but there are no trees. Only those willingly impaled and wailing.
Blink. An abandoned booth by a broken highway. A sign offers phone calls, in exchange for “real teeth”. There are six sizes of pliers hanging on a wall within. All are bloodied – even the small ones.
Blink. The church that had burned down the night before had reappeared. The people inside, too. They couldn’t leave. Tonight, they would burn again.

Somewhere in this nightmarish puzzle-pieced fragment of nothing, there was a constant drive in me to get away. To get out. I knew that if I’d gotten there, I could get back home again. I just had no idea how. Maybe finding the kid. Asking. Begging. Something.
The last fragment of memory from that space was being cornered in a cellar. They were banging on the door. I’d tipped over a wardrobe to keep them out, but they weren’t going to stop. They were never going to stop. I couldn’t let them kill me again – not like that.
One of the Changed ones were coming. I don’t know what that means, or how I know the name, but I knew of it. There was a mirror, and I could see the signs. It stepped out. Seven feet tall, black as night. Elongated arms and neck. Barely a body at all – just a void space vaguely shaped like the remnants of a person.
Except this one felt… familiar. It was the first one to speak.
“H E L L O.”

Blink. Running. A cold hand. If I squeezed too hard, my fingers went straight through it. I had to keep up. He was showing me something.
Blink. They were flooding over the school bus, tipping it by their sheer numbers. Eruptions from the sewer grates. They were famished.
Blink. An open field. Sunflowers facing me, no matter where I turn. It’s not far.
Blink. I look back, as I’m pushed over the edge. He looks just like the rest of them. They aren’t angered by his betrayal.
They feel nothing, as I fall.

In February of 2017, I was found by the side of the road. I’d been gone for months. My car was too. I came back with nothing but the clothes on my back and countless scars. I’ve been told that I didn’t make any sense at first; I was just rambling nonsense. Or maybe it just sounded like nonsense to these people.
Over time, I forgot more and more of these fragmented images. And the less I remember, the more I can move on. Still, I’ve written them down over time, and they paint an ugly, insane picture of what I’d been going through. Some of which I, myself, have a hard time believing. Then again, I know myself well enough to see that there’s no point in lying.

I haven’t seen Samuel, or that strange kid ever since. I think this is all over, for now. There’s nothing left for me to give.
But even now, years later, I still wake up to that feeling at night. That there’s something wrong, or that I’m forgetting something. That there’s something near that I’m looking straight through, or past.
And every now and then, I hear the flutter of a moth’s wing, tapping against my bedroom window.
And I think I know what it wants.
It wants me to go back.

TL/DR version: Dr. wanted me on low dose of statins (Diagnosis = Familial hypercholesterolemia - FH). I said give me 6 mo. I drank green kale juice (on the left) almost daily and substantially reduced sugaalcohol intake. Moderate exercise 1-3x a week. Cholesterol improved. Avoided medication (statins) for now.
Longer version: In 2018 I was walking about 2-3 miles a day at work and on my feet almost the entire time. This was giving my heart a decent workout 4 days a week. Lipid panel was ok.
In 2023 my lipid panel levels worsened and lifestyle factors were part of the reason (imo). My alcohol intake increased and between 2020 - 2023 and I was probably consuming several drinks a week on average (hard alcohol) and my tolerance was only improving with time which meant it was easier to drink more if I wanted. Also, I became more sedentary. My exercise/walking routine stopped.
During my doctor's visit in 2023 he suggested I take a low dosage of statins for my FH. I wanted to try lifestyle changes first and he said 'ok, come back in 6mo.' He admitted to me, right there on the spot, that he didn't think the lifestyle changes were going to lower the cholesterol.
In addition I find the following extremely interesting...over the summer of 2023 I consumed a lot of sugar in the form of movie theater candy (going to the movies a lot) and I remember my skin breaking out (upper torso and arms). I self diagnosed Eruptive Xanthoma. I'm not a doctor but from what I learned online this is exactly what I had over the summer and up to the doctors appointment in December of 2023. I think that a culmination of poor lifestyle choices (diet in particular) led to my cholesterol levels increasing to a point where I had visible symptoms on my skin. This condition comes and goes for me over the previous decade or so and I've also been diagnosed with psoriasis in the past. The psoriasis is managed by my diet and right now I have zero symptoms.
During all of this my heaviest weight was 183 pounds and now I'm down to 158 pounds.
Also, I intermittently took milk thistle, magnesium, and vitamin c.
https://preview.redd.it/cl0jci4o891d1.png?width=2796&format=png&auto=webp&s=eb133a05ceef64925de2dd5b237a161348928629

Made some poor financial decisions and landed myself in a pit. Any advice is appreciated.
Here's what we're working with:
Monthly expenses: $2,800
Monthly income: $3,600 after taxes
Rent/utilities: $1,000
CC Payments (across 4 cards): $400
Student loan: $300
Cainsurance: $800
Medical Bills: $150
Food/Gas: $150
I have about 1,000 in savings, and 8,000 in a 401k.
My CC debt is across 4 cards :
1- 1,600 Amex
2- 1,800 Citi (0% APR)
3- 1,800 Credit One
4- 9,200 Discover
is it worth closing the discover account and negotiating a lower interest rate, even if it hurts my credit score for a bit? Or taking a loan out on my 401k or using my savings?
I also am coming up on a substantial pay increase between November and March 24/25, which is the only thing keeping me from freaking tf out.
Again, any help is appreciated.

Hi! Glad I found this thread, it’s already been very useful in not feeling as alone. Has anyone had success recovering from c diff and chronic norovirus?
I tested positive (toxin positive) for c diff and Norovirus together last August.
Did: - Vanco to no change, but did get thrush and mouth sores from Vanco (I get thrush almost every time I take an antibiotic) - tried Cholestyramine to help GI symptoms, went terribly - finally got Dificid approved months later - didn’t notice a huge change, but maybe around December my stool consistency, color and smell finally started to change - symptoms still persist with loose stools 3-6x/day, sometimes Zofran will back me up and then I’ll return to regular loose stools once that clears - in February or March I finally had a negative toxin c diff test, but my Norovirus was still positive - switched GIs who still only recommends fiber and Imodium - got a PCP referral to infectious disease for the chronic norovirus - he was great and we tried an antiviral that maybe helped more formed stools, but still many a day and limited appetite + nausea - my IgA levels were moderately low and right at the cutoff for secondary deficiency but it’s common and doesn’t fully explain everything
My main question is: where is the best course to go next? Is it nutritionist/dietician for help with finding food I can eat? Is it firing my GI and trying a third one? ID has me waiting a bit before we re-test for noro, but his role is limited even though he was great.
I have a genetic disorder, and have had mild GI issues related to it my entire life, so I think this post-infectious change just keeps getting brushed off as back to my baseline.
I’m going to add Florastor based on this group, but figured I’d see if anyone else had experience with this fun double combo or other advice.
Thanks!

Wordle 1065 4/6* Grade: C+ (79%)

Guess	Result	Words Left	Answers Left	Skill	Luck	Info Gained	Grade
SHIFT	⬛🟨🟨⬛🟨	41	14	82	89	67%	B
WIDTH	⬛🟩⬛🟨🟩	7	2	99	56	91%	C−
PITCH	⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩	6	1	99	25	100%	F
HITCH	🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩	Win!	—	99	—	100%	A+

https://gradle.app/#20qeUVV9AKGhtt5HNQME7
Wordlescope's guide animal: Pleasing Fungus Beetle
🏆 Golfle 1065: Par 💁‍♂️
🏌️‍♂️ ⏝◦ ⏝◦ ⏝◦ ⏝◦ ⛳️
⚪️🟡🟡⚪️🟡 ⚪️🟢⚪️🟡🟢 ⚪️🟢🟢🟢🟢 🟢🟢🟢🟢🟢
https://wordle.golf
Ongoing Golfle score (Par = 4 guesses):

Time Period	Number of "Holes"	Score
March 2024	31	−21
April 2024	30	−24
May 2024	19	−15

What would Scoredle do?
Wordle 1065 6/6* Grade: F (52%)

Guess	Result	Words Left	Answers Left	Grade
SLATE	⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛	302	86	D
TIGHT	🟨🟩⬛🟨⬛	7	4	B+
PITCH	⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩	6	3	F
DITCH	⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩	5	2	F
WITCH	⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩	4	1	F
HITCH	🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩	Win!	—	A+

https://gradle.app/#alBvJCuy3eW1dboIxmJczLJ6YQELB
What would WordleBot do?
Regular mode analysis: Wordle 1065 4/6 Grade: B+ (88%)

Guess	Result	Words Left	Answers Left	Grade
CRANE	🟨⬛⬛⬛⬛	268	55	D
SPOIL	⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛	30	8	D−
WHICH	⬛🟨🟨🟩🟩	1	1	A+
HITCH	🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩	Win!	—	A+

https://gradle.app/#20qeHTjtI8aqzgrOph3Mj
Hard mode analysis: Wordle 1065 5/6* Grade: D+ (68%)

Guess	Result	Words Left	Answers Left	Grade
PLATE	⬛⬛⬛🟨⬛	490	128	F
ROUST	⬛⬛⬛⬛🟨	35	10	D+
DITCH	⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩	7	2	C−
WITCH	⬛🟩🟩🟩🟩	6	1	F
HITCH	🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩	Win!	—	A+

https://gradle.app/#4yxFnYAOBguOVM7kH2MnMMiCH
Double-letter tracker for this month:

Days	Double-Letter Answers
19	4

Was looking right at a potential _ITCH small trap (none of the possibilities are previous solutions) and went with my 2nd guess to guarantee a win in 4. Scoredle went through all the words and barely made it while WordleBot in hard mode took 5.

In most cases when sales of a product have plateaued, market saturation is often used. That suggests there is more supply than demand for a given product. Western marketplaces are bursting with work options and ways to make money. Today’s young people must act smart and move quick to locate new employment opportunities.In most cases when sales of a product have plateaued, market saturation is often used. That suggests there is more supply than demand for a given product. Western marketplaces are bursting with work options and ways to make money. Today’s young people must act smart and move quick to locate new employment opportunities.

Suppose one wants to be successful in this field, they should focus on expanding markets, developing innovative technology, and uncovering undiscovered company prospects in highly profitable niche industries, among other things (Agarwal et al, 6). Businesses in crowded markets may cut the price of their products to gain a larger market share. As a result, businesses are always undercutting each other to attract new customers. Cost-cutting is a common strategy for firms when profits are stagnant (Simonazzi et al., 17). Unnecessary or avoidable cost savings are welcome, but they don’t address the underlying issue.

Where do I pay my taxes if I am a digital nomad?

According to the recent reports, westerners already pay too many taxes in a number of business entities. Due to the high cost of living in their new home nation, one out of every five American ex-pats is contemplating renunciation of their citizenship. Senators are concerned about how to pay for the deficit, and Senate rules prohibit raising long-term deficits through reconciliation bills. Consequently, more money will be available to Congress if the budget reconciliation plan generates more revenue. The United States will not make significant investments unless Congress makes significant adjustments to the tax structure (Michel et al., 89). Increased budget deficits could slow the long-term growth of the economy. In addition private investment or borrowing from other countries is used to pay for government borrowing when the economy is close to capacity (Chen et al.440). When a person is experiencing difficulties, it might harm their future well-being. To put it another way, the long-term impacts of tax policy are influenced by its incentives and its budgetary implications.
Digital nomads have historically been seen as a threat in some places, but several countries around the world are now actively seeking to attract this growing digital population through new remote work visas.
All this converges into a superstorm, and more and more people will opt for digital nomad opportunities. While tax regulations can vary significantly depending on where you are in the world, general guidelines may be helpful to for those seeking information on paying taxes as a digital nomad. Naturally, tax filing is done with the country of tax residence as determined by the place of a principal residence. Digital nomads, however, may encounter a variety of additional layers of tax residence due to their physical presence in other countries during a tax year. In addition, state/province/territory and local taxes may also apply.

Cancel culture and family safety issues

The cancellation culture has a lot to do with social media and if it hadn’t been for social media, pop culture would not have gotten the attention it has in the previous decade. In most case the cultures are frequently canceled by unfollowing, blocking, and publicly criticizing an organization or individual on social media. Due to their large social media followings, celebrity cancellations often garner much media attention. As a result of using social media to communicate with celebrities, many teenagers desire to emulate their peers. Most adolescent cancel culture is carried out online, primarily via comments and unfollows (Yar et al., 80). This can happen in the real world, such as at school or in extracurricular activities. They are often rejected, mocked, and disregarded by their peers, who have had their activities canceled. Most Western workers are experiencing job instability due to the growth of a “cancel culture” in the workplace (Dąbrowska-Kłosińska, 30). This can be a terrific method for teenagers to learn and grow, as their peers may call them out for using insulting words or acting inappropriately.

Investment analysis and forecasting as part of the individual development strategy

To produce an accurate financial projection, one must consider both general macroeconomic trends and your organization’s specific circumstances. Predicting how much money a company will generate and spend in the future is known as financial forecasting. A full estimate contains both short-term and long-term revenue estimates and costs that aren’t anticipated at the time of the estimate (Poorter et al.120). People who know how to create models are critical to financial forecasting firms that do a good job. Some people have extensive knowledge of the organization, its sectors, and the communities it serves to support them along the way. Similarly, data collection and analysis are critical to the financial forecasting process and the use of the software.

Scenario planning and personal life choices

Global events like COVID 19, inflation, or food crisis can impact our life choices a lot. To avoid reacting to events, we need to think about what might happen in the future. Scenario planning helps us do this. Scenario planning allows business leaders to consider what might happen, reflect on past actions, and devise strategies for positive and poor outcomes. Scenario planning is more than just a means to think about the future when it comes to financial planning. It can assist one in determining how much money you’ll make, how much money you’ll have, and how to manage hazards. Early warning indications of difficulties can be spotted by leaders who make their organizations aware of potential issues (MacKenzie et al.900). One can use scenario planning papers to quickly run through numerous scenarios and figure out the best course of action in the event of a crisis. Making a strategy in the event of an emergency is essential. Having a strategy in place is critical in the event of a product going viral and seeing a threefold increase in demand in a single day.

Building the right skills for the jobs of the future

To be eligible for future employment, one must possess the abilities that will be most in demand. Coding has taken off swiftly as one of the most sought-after skills. Almost any industry can benefit from the versatility and scalability of computer languages. People believe that coding is so prevalent in the workplace that it will soon become an essential skill for everyone. Learning to code is a difficult task. Learning how to code and the language you choose impacts how long it takes to do so (Moldoveanu et al.40). Before you begin learning how to code, look at several computer languages and determine which ones are relevant to your industry. Many people begin by studying HTML or JavaScript when learning a new language. After you’ve mastered the fundamentals, you can move to more popular and widely used languages like Python. It is possible to store and manage corporate data in the cloud while allowing employees to work from home.

Riding on global trends of tomorrow

By adopting an agile culture, knowing how to cope with ambiguity, pushing outside our comfort zones, and quickly adjusting to new trends, among other things, we achieve success. We all agree that the weather has gotten more erratic in the last few decades. Crop failure, sea-level rise, and water scarcity are exacerbated by global warming. Malaria and dengue fever epidemics are also on the rise due to the influx of people from developing countries. According to the Kyoto Protocol, 175 countries have agreed to begin the long process of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by signing it (Penalva et al., 340). According to business leaders worldwide, firms have a larger role in society and should do more than merely follow the law to reduce pollution. According to a McKinsey survey, this is the case. The “triple bottom line” refers to a company’s efforts to benefit its shareholders and its workers and the environment. Increasing numbers of businesses are waking up to the need to lower their carbon footprints, produce ecologically friendly products, and operate their operations for more than just quarterly profits.

References

Agarwal, Khushboo, and Veeraruna Kavitha. “Saturated total-population dependent branching process and viral markets.” arXiv preprint arXiv: 2203.16239 (2022).
Chen, Novia X., and Terry Shevlin. ““US worldwide taxation and domestic mergers and acquisitions” a discussion✰.” Journal of Accounting and Economics 66.2-3 (2018): 439-447.
Dąbrowska-Kłosińska, Patrycja. “The Protection of Human Rights in Pandemics—Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future.” German Law Journal 22.6 (2021): 28-38.
MacKenzie, Meredith A., et al. “Respecting choices and related models of advance care planning: a systematic review of published evidence.” American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine® 35.6 (2018): 897-907.
Michel, Adam N. “When It Comes to Taxation, Borders Matter—Europe and the US Should Act Accordingly.” Heritage Foundation Issue Brief 4855 (2018).
Moldoveanu, Mihnea, and Das Narayandas. “The future of leadership development.” Harvard business review 97.2 (2019): 40-48.
Penalva, Jose. “Innovation, personalised education and Little Red Riding Hood.” International Journal of Lifelong Education 39.4 (2020): 339-355.
Poorter, Lourens, et al. “Can traits predict individual growth performance? A test in a hyperdiverse tropical forest.” New Phytologist 219.1 (2018): 109-121.
Simonazzi, Annamaria, Jorge Carreto Sanginés, and Margherita Russo. “The Future of the Automotive Industry: Dangerous Challenges or New Life for a Saturated Market?” Institute for New Economic Thinking Working Paper Series 141 (2020).
Yar, Sanam, and Jonah Engel Bromwich. “Tales From the teenage cancel culture.” The New York Times (2019).
Authors

Paul Lalovich

Organizational Effectiveness and Strategy Execution Practice

Tesha Teshanovich

Organizational Effectiveness and Strategy Execution Practice

I bought a 1996 Ranger 3.0, RWD about a month ago. 80k miles. 2 years ago the previous owner replaced a lot of parts under the hood after the truck had been sitting for a while. New radiator, spark plugs, wires, ignition coil, battery, alternator, just to name a few. It has the original engine and transmission.
The thing is, I've been hearing a metallic-like rattling sound when driving at high RPMs. I'll need to take my foot off the gas a bit to make it stop. I've read all around for what this might be. My heat shield seems secure, but just in case I put pipe clamps around it. Banging around with a mallet all over the exhaust and catalytic converter didn't reveal any sounds. The truck has a bit of a rough idle, nothing super bad, and a rough time accelerating, especially at lower RPMs. Speed maxes out around 75, which is fine for me, just takes a loooong time to get there. A smoke test revealed leaks at the IAC and EGR valves so I've replaced both. Also a slight leak at the throttle position sensor, but I haven't done anything with that yet. I've tested two out of the three O2 sensors with a multimeter (the passenger side upstream one was too difficult to get to for me), and they appear to be ok. I've also run Seafoam through the fuel tank.
Not sure what else it could be. As far as the acceleration, I've heard 3.0s are slow, but not sure if mine is normal slow or not. Not sure if the rattling is related to reduced engine power either. Any help or suggestions what the noise could be? It's driving me crazy, and I feel like the truck is about to fall apart.
Just to add, I've had a hard time finding a video showing predetonation sounds I can actually hear, but to my understanding it sounds a little like static. My sound only sounds metallic, and as I said earlier, plugs, wires, and coil were all replaced about 2yrs, 8k miles ago.
EDIT: Best video I could get of the sound https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UPK_MvHBfz9k-sVxWOPupXm9R-_URGNT/view?usp=drivesdk

While I have a great respect for hunters, trappers and people in animal agriculture who work to improve welfare and sustainability from within, I find it disappointing that many rural people are politically right-wing.
For example, there was an episode of the tv series Wife Swap where a wife from a vegan family swapped places with one from a family of trappers. The trapper family seemed nice and were supportive and reasonable, but they had a confederate flag in one of their rooms.
I've read posts on trapping and hunting forums that express support for right-wing politics and reactionary ideas, such as voting for Trump and believing that white men have their rights infringed upon.
On the other hand, most vegans are politically left-wing, and many do seem educated and well-read.
The fact that many militant vegans have good politics seem like a trump card in their favor, which makes my heart sink.
On the other hand, those living in urban areas who tend to be more progressive often don't understand the food system and the ecological importance of hunting which factors into their reasons for supporting mandatory veganism.
I wish there was a way to create an understanding between rural populations who rely on hunting, trapping and work in livestock agriculture and progressive activists. How would such a thing be achieved?

First of all, I’d like to preface this story with a piece I wrote in my journal 2 months ago while still in my relationship.
Here it is:
I’m almost 30M, and wonder how you would deal with this situation?
Backstory: I didn’t have my first girlfriend or even sex until age 20. I was very sheltered when I was younger and shy. I also moved several times so never got the chance to meet girls from social circles. I had almost a 2 year long distance relationship from age 20-22 (seeing each other in person only a few times a year). Well that didn’t work out and it devastated me. I did truly love that girl and she was also my first so it took 3 years to get over.
In that time following the relationship, I slept with more than 10 people, gained experience, and eventually found another girlfriend in person at age 25. That ended at age 26, but was off and on until age 27. It ended for good reason, because it was a tumultuous relationship with a lot of fun, but also arguments. She was super attractive which made it hard to let her go even though I knew it had to be done.
Following that relationship, I yet again worked on myself, dated and slept around, and eventually met my current girlfriend midway through age 28. It was one of those situations where you start out just hanging out and eventually see each other every week… then the question of “what are we happens”… I went along with it even though my eyes were still peeled.
Well now, I’m almost 30, a few months away and I’m scared. A part of me feels like I missed a part of my youth and I’ll never find that stunner I’ve always looked for. Being sheltered all my life and not meeting anyone via social circle messes with me emotionally. I’ve dated beautiful woman, but it’s not like I can change time and go back to 25 again and date around 20 year olds… right?
I also moved to a completely different state and started a new life 2 years ago. But every day I think about my last relationship and the life I used to live in that state. “The good old days” I like to say. I have a new life now and good situation, but a part of me feels lost.
That’s what I wrote back in March. I knew I had a good situation, a very stable relationship and job, but I almost felt like I was still unfulfilled. Mostly because I never really experienced the kind of girls that truly interest me I guess? I hate to sound superficial, but if you read below it will make further sense. It wasn’t all about looks. While she was nice and sweet, she was rather boring and didn’t banter with me.
So fast forward the story to today, my recent ex broke up with me a few weeks ago. We had been dating about a year and a half.
I met her about a year and a half after that toxic relationship to a really manipulative, yet attractive girl I talked about above. This new relationship was the complete opposite, almost to the point of being cringey. She was really loving but it was almost overwhelming. She also was not as atractive as my last gf in terms of looks. Not unattractive by any means, but I certainly didn’t feel super proud walking around with her or introducing her to people. For much of the early part of meeting this new girl, I did still constantly think of the toxic ex and compare, but I was ready for something new and thought I was so far removed from the last relationship - I went along with it.
Anyway, Eventually she asked if I would be her bf at about the 3 month point after meeting. At first I was apprehensive of the idea because I wasn’t sure about committing and if I wanted to keep “searching.” I got to the point that I was done with hunting as I had tried tirelessly to find someone for over a year. She was a great girl but I wasn’t sold on a full on relationship. Instead of being excited to be official like I was in past relationships, with her I was hoping for more a fwb situation like it was the first 3 months. But I decided to go along with it. I told her I still wanted to be able to approach or work on social skills with other girls even if just plutonicly. I didn’t do that and did commit. Fast forward another several months and the I love you statement came up. I wasn’t entirely sure about how I felt but I again went along with it, even though I didn’t actually feel it at at the time.
This gf was a very loving, loyal, committed gf, and did anything for me. Unfortunately I didn’t really find her incredibly magnetizing. She was cute, but not crazy attractive in my eye. Like I mentioned above, I didn’t feel that proud feeling when going out.
I found that taking pictures with her also made me unsure. The first couple weeks of hanging out we never took pics. And then I took a picture with her and looked at it and was repulsed. When she would send me pictures of her with with her family, I didn’t like what she sent. Maybe she’s just not photogenic and actually good in person, but whenever she would send me a photo or FaceTime me I’d get turned off.
Also, the fact that she was so wholesome, it didn’t allow for much banter. Conversations were mostly plutonic, where I’m more of the sarcastic type.
She always wanted to pull out the calendar and schedule plans months in advance every week, even after telling her I prefered being spontaneous. She did all of these crazy google calendar overlays and I felt like I was always being sucked into things I didn’t want to do. She became more clingy than I had realized when I first met her. She asked me about 3 months ago, if we could spend not just weekends together, but also Wednesday nights. (We lived just over an hour apart). I suggested it could be every other week (the opposite)…I didn’t like going to her place because of the road noise where she lived and I would really only see her when she would visit me. I know, all of this sounds really one sided and like I’m an asshole. But I was very loving to her in person and she knows that, hence why it lasted so long.
Unfortunately a lot of things she did turned me off. She was too readily available, always trying to lock up my calendar, talk about marriage and kids in the next 3-5 years and I felt trapped. I was unsure.
We had great sex but it wasn’t crazy passionate, neither was our kissing. When alone, and was feeling aroused, I generally didn’t think of my ex. I constantly found myself checking out other girls places I went (but never talked to them). I felt like wow I wish that was the kind of girl I was with.
It wasn’t all bad though. The sex was phenomenal in terms of the movements. She made $100k plus which is phenomenal for someone at 24, but also had over $100k in student loans. With her wanting to get married within 5 years, I considered those loans as a big issue. She was super loving and would have been a great mother.
In the end she left me. She said we weren’t compatible. I have been a wreck and now I’m wishing I had her. Maybe not for the right reasons though?
I’m trying to figure out why if I wanted to end things myself and that I felt trapped for so long, how come all of a sudden I want her back? Is it just the void of not having someone loyal who’s there for me? The loss of a potential good wife and mother? Who can make plans and bake me things? The fear of not meeting someone as smart? She’s already talking to other guys and I’m just a wreck and need some advice. I can’t go an hour without thinking of her. I think I need to rewire the way I am thinking. I can’t stop thinking that maybe I made a mistake and should have put in more effort, but I feel like if I truly loved/had that spark for her I would have tried more all along. I would have been excited to make plans with her instead of going a week at a time seeing her. Now all I want to do is see her. Should I have stayed in it and worked harder? Are my standards too high? I feel like my first ex and my recent one were so polar opposite. One had the looks and I thought of her when thinking of sex but was toxic and the other was sweet but not as attractive. It even got to the point that to feel emotion, I had to finish inside her. Which did help.
At the time of the breakup, I tried very hard to tell her how I was looking forward to making a fun summer filled with plans together. Just 2 weeks prior she was about it. Now nothing. It’s been total silence on the other end for weeks. I know she loved me more than any guy.
Do you think this was a good thing this happened? How do I rewrire my brain? She was my only friend. This was a relationship that I went into going through the motions, and even a couple weeks before we broke up I wrote that journal entry / question that I shared above. What is going on?

1yr old riding mower. Did sit in the garage with the old gas over the winter. Pulled it out recently and changed the oil first. Ran great afterward. Tipped it on end to change the mower blade, which took some time because i had to put penetrating oil on the blade nut to loosen it. Once the blade was changed, I set it right again, and then when I tried to start it wont turn over. Gives me a little noise (no clicking), but the more I try, the weaker the noise.. Battery was tested and still has at lease 50% life. Old fuel was drained and new fuel put in. The fuel lines/filter were tested and it looked good. The spark plug was very wet when I took it out, but once it dried it's been tested and it works fine. The air filter looks fine.. I took the carburetor apart and it was already clean as a whistle. Only thing I noticed is once I had the carb off, the gas in the carb was clean, but the gas coming out of the fuel line from the carb to the filter was dirty, even though I checked it before and it looked fine. The fuel lines are flexible and don't look like they need replacing.. the fuel line from the carb to the gas filter is now letting out clean gas again, and no longer looks dirty... I have tried spraying a bit of starting fluid in the spark plug hole, which didn't work, and then sprayed a bit in the air intake, which didn't work, but did give me some pops and sounded like it was closer to starting than before... At this point I have no idea what to check, or what could be wrong.

Most larger chain grocery stores are in the same boat as loblaws. Even places like Sobeys, Co-op. Not all are bad, but it'd be nice to start sticking it to everyone who thinks that groceries should be a huge for profit business. They're an essential.
I'd also say we need to start boycotting using cars. Stop buying new ones. The prices on them are getting absolutely insane. And gas just keeps going up and up. Start walking wherever you can, buy a bike, an ebike. You'd be surprised that even mid-winter you can, if you dress appropriately, travel completely on bike even in -40. I've been doing it for years. I only have a car to travel out of town or to haul lots of stuff, and it sits idle in my driveway like 95% of the month. Even the insurance companies behind them are getting insane. Trying to get us to install GPS trackers to ensure we drive right, their prices are so high too. Registration costs for them too. You can get lifetime registration for a vehicle in some of the states for the same cost it costs us to do them yearly there. It's stupid.
Boycotting things like cellphone makers. Just use what you have. Phones will last 6-8 years with good care, and you can replace parts if need be. Start switching plan to the cheapest companies, stop paying for over-priced phone data. You don't need it. Just get a gigabyte and limit your phone time and it'll last you a whole month. Can find prices at 10-15$ for a plan like that in some area's of the country.
There's just so much cost of living increases everywhere it's insane. Grocery prices are definitely one part of this, but so many companies are gouging us in so many different ways. Even my Electricity bill has nearly doubled from just under 4 years ago. Our cost of living here in Canada is through the roof in many places. In no way shape or form should groceries and rent/mortgage and bills take 75% of peoples paycheques. And you know someone is making bank off all this stupidity.
I'm happy that we've all come together to start sticking it to greedy corporations though. Makes me feel proud to be a Canadian. Just don't think our work is done after we finish with the grocery chains.

NOK ER NOK!!

Overview

1. Kennedy on the state of our union (9 min)
2. 2024 candidate comparison chart
3. Overview of Kennedy (3 min)
4. Fixing huge issues Biden & Trump don't fix (1 min)
5. Policies on Kennedy's website
6. Who is Bobby Kennedy? (30 min)
7. Kennedy's Record vs Biden's Record vs Trump's Record
8. A Hero Of The Planet
9. Kennedy's podcasts
10. Kennedy's books

Countering common smears

1. Kennedy isn't a grifter, or a plant to help Trump or Biden; Kennedy is a legitimate candidate who can win
2. Kennedy isn't anti-vax
3. Kennedy isn't a conspiracy theorist
4. Kennedy fully recovered from the brain worm incident over a decade ago and doesn't have cognitive issues
5. Kennedy isn't a spoiler
6. Kennedy isn't antisemitic and didn't claim covid-19 was an ethnically targeted bioweapon
7. Kennedy didn't claim atrazine causes transgenderism
8. Kennedy respects the 2nd amendment and isn't going to take people's guns away
9. Kennedy isn't authoritarian and didn't say climate change deniers should be jailed
10. Kennedy isn't responsible for the measles outbreak in Samoa
11. Kennedy has a solid stance on abortion that most Americans would agree with
12. Kennedy wants the right kind of environmentalism that both sides can agree on, not authoritarian scams
13. Kennedy cares about both Israelis and Palestinians and wants peace

Evidence supporting counter-narrative claims

1. Science supports Kennedy's claims about Big Pharma corrupting our scientific system
2. Science supports Kennedy's claims on Covid, vaccines, EMFs, glyphosate, microplastics, and more
3. Science supports Kennedy's mercury-related claims
4. Science supports Kennedy's fluoride-related claims
5. Science supports Kennedy's Ivermectin-related claims
6. Science supports Kennedy's frog-related claims
7. Science supports Kennedy's claims about Wifi, 5G, and radiofrequency radiation
8. Science supports Kennedy's claims about syringe-injectable electronics
9. Science supports Kennedy's claims regarding different populations potentially having different levels of susceptibility to Covid
10. Kennedy's claims about NATO and Ukraine are supported by strong evidence
11. Kennedy stands up to the corrupt establishment

Short-form content

1. The truth about Ukraine (3 min)
2. Inflation, war, and banks (2 min)
3. Rising above partisanship and the duopoly (4 min)
4. Making housing affordable (3 min)
5. Not a conspiracy theorist 1 (5 min)
6. Not a conspiracy theorist 2 (3 min)
7. Calling out Fed, MIC, Oil, Pharma, CIA (2 min)
8. Persuasive memes
9. Truth to power and fighting for freedom (3 min)
10. Chronic disease (3 min)
11. Fighting factory farming corruption (3 min)
12. Making our government tell the truth (3 min)
13. Making our farms and food healthy (1 min)
14. The right kind of environmentalism (4 min)
15. Kennedy vs Biden for democracy comparison
16. Kennedy can win 1 (1 min)
17. Kennedy can win 2 (3 min)
18. Draining the swamp (2 min)
19. The truth about Trump's swamp record (2 min)
20. Fighting the great reset (2 min)
21. Mercury in vaccines (15 min)
22. Fighting against totalitarianism (13 min)
23. History lesson on Ukraine (4 min)
24. Vaccines: science vs orthodoxy (10 min)
25. Kennedy's covid record vs the duopoly's (4 min)
26. Kennedy can beat Donald Trump in 2024, Biden can't
27. Kennedy vs Trump on draining the swamp
28. Looking at vaccine science vs trusting Bill Gates (2 min)
29. Pro vaccine safety testing, not anti-vax (13 min)
30. Neither right nor left: what we stand for (2 min)

good morning/afternoon/evening/night, whatever time you're reading this!
FYI: if you're thinking of messaging me, please read until the end. people with little to no karma (<50), or with no relevance to my original post, will probably not get a response, sorry!
with that being said...
hello, I'm triferg - I'm 27, living in the east midlands (UK) and work in finance. I am also a carer for my disabled partner outside of work hours.
more about me:
•music - I am a MASSIVE hip-hop fan. old school, trap, UK drill, grime, new school, experimental, you name it. •some favourites include; Wu-Tang Clan, Freddie Gibbs, JME, Danny Brown, Flatbush Zombies, Travis Scott, Mos Def, Ye, Headie One, RV, A Tribe Called Quest, P Money, Nate Dogg, Nas, Trapx10, Mick Jenkins, Loyle Carner, Pa Salieu, 50 Cent, Aesop Rock, Run The Jewels, M1llionz, Joey Bada$$, Denzel Curry, JID, Potter Payper, redveil, Slick Rick, French The Kid, Harlem Spartans, Griselda
•gaming - I primarily play on PC, however I also have a Switch and a PS5 • at the moment - I'm switching between WoW (mythic raider), Slay The Spire, OSRS, Fortnite and Overwatch (tank main!)
•420 - you already know what it is. I am currently weed-free due to a chest problem unfortunately. my partner is a big stoner right now due to it helping with her medical condition, and is in the process of getting a medical prescription!
•creative writing - not something I have generally done in the past, but it's something fun to do between the monotonous general routine!
looking for long-term pals who ideally live relatively near (i.e. near Northampton/LeicesteCambridge in the UK) and like the look of what they read. very much looking forward to all the responses!
super love discussing music, gaming, or any other of the topics i've mentioned - so if you're thinking of messaging me & you're not too sure what to lead with, go ahead with one of those!
cheers!

good morning/afternoon/evening/night, whatever time you're reading this!
FYI: if you're thinking of messaging me, please read until the end. people with little to no karma (<50), or with no relevance to my original post, will probably not get a response, sorry!
with that being said...
hello, I'm triferg - I'm 27, living in the east midlands (UK) and work in finance. I am also a carer for my disabled partner outside of work hours.
more about me:
•music - I am a MASSIVE hip-hop fan. old school, trap, UK drill, grime, new school, experimental, you name it. •some favourites include; Wu-Tang Clan, Freddie Gibbs, JME, Danny Brown, Flatbush Zombies, Travis Scott, Mos Def, Ye, Headie One, RV, A Tribe Called Quest, P Money, Nate Dogg, Nas, Trapx10, Mick Jenkins, Loyle Carner, Pa Salieu, 50 Cent, Aesop Rock, Run The Jewels, M1llionz, Joey Bada$$, Denzel Curry, JID, Potter Payper, redveil, Slick Rick, French The Kid, Harlem Spartans, Griselda
•gaming - I primarily play on PC, however I also have a Switch and a PS5 • at the moment - I'm switching between WoW (mythic raider), Slay The Spire, OSRS, Fortnite and Overwatch (tank main!)
•420 - you already know what it is. I am currently weed-free due to a chest problem unfortunately. my partner is a big stoner right now due to it helping with her medical condition, and is in the process of getting a medical prescription!
•creative writing - not something I have generally done in the past, but it's something fun to do between the monotonous general routine!
looking for long-term pals who ideally live relatively near (i.e. near Northampton/LeicesteCambridge in the UK) and like the look of what they read. very much looking forward to all the responses!
super love discussing music, gaming, or any other of the topics i've mentioned - so if you're thinking of messaging me & you're not too sure what to lead with, go ahead with one of those!
cheers!