Four worded quotes | | Quotes from SausageFingers

FTM had my baby boy at 39 weeks and 6 days! The first sign was period like cramps throughout the night. Woke up and felt super constipated. It wasn’t super obvious that I was feeling contractions and not constipation at first. Took me about an hour to realize it was labor as the contractions got worse. Went into labor around 730 am and had him at 11pm the same day. No epidural but used the nitrous oxide. The contractions were painful but honestly more uncomfortable than anything. It is so hard to find a position to get through them easily but for me, the nitrous oxide REALLY helped and I didn’t feel I needed an epidural at all.
I had my husband and mom with me and we hung out in the hospital room from 10am until delivery was over. The day surprisingly went by SO FAST. It was nice to be able to get up and move around freely and we ordered room service a few times and it was actually pretty good! All the nurses were amazing and so super friendly.
Okay but here’s the thing - the pushing. My labor is broken up into two parts in my head- the contractions and then the PUSHING. In hindsight, I realize I was completely unprepared for what I was about to go through. I pushed for two hours, which apparently isn’t even that long for a first time mom. And let me tell you - I did not expect it to hurt as much as it did. I gave birth four days ago and I’m still in shock at the experience. I know everyone says how painful it is….but that was something else. If you are a FTM planning to do no epidural, spend some time preparing your pain tolerance however you can. I wish I had squeezed more ice cubes or done whatever other things the internet says will help. It was such a crazy experience there were points I thought I really truly couldn’t do it (obviously at that point you have no choice 😂) but I really felt like I was going to pass out from the pain. I can’t put into words what I was feeling to give it justice. Just try to prepare yourself. My mother, who has had three kids with epidurals, told me she couldn’t feel any of the things I was describing. And those things were the most painful parts. I don’t say this to encourage people to get an epidural - I say it so you can be more prepared than me. I feel like I was blind sided even though everyone says how painful it is.
Something else I wasn’t prepared for - the blood. It is a lot. Today I stood up from the toilet and a blood clot the size of a baseball fell out of me. (I called my OB, not of concern due to no bleeding following). They say clots the size of a ping pong ball or smaller are to be expected. It’s crazy. They just fall right out. I’m filling adult diapers with more blood than I expected and my vagina is currently unrecognizable. At the hospital they constantly checked my uterus by pressing down and clots of blood just flew out. Something no one ever told me beforehand.
That all being said - I would do it again in a heartbeat. I type this out as my beautiful baby is skin to skin with me sleeping on my chest. Child birth was an amazing experience even if parts of it were extremely difficult. The most difficult thing I have done in my life. The recovery is more than I anticipated, and I am so grateful to have my husband helping. It really is amazing what our bodies are capable of.
Our baby is happy and healthy now, but we did have some unexpected hiccups along the way. Our second night at the hospital was not easy and I thank God my baby is okay. There is some trauma I am still processing as a newly postpartum mom and I look back on my experience in awe that this happens every day thousands of times a day. Women have their own birth stories of challenges and feats along the way that they live with forever, and it is just seen as something so normal or ordinary for a woman to do. I have found such a new respect for all moms out there. This has been a crazy experience already and I am just in shock trying to process at how much love I feel for this tiny human I brought into the world. So surreal. Being a mom really is the best feeling I’ve ever had.

I’m sure I’m not in the minority here, but it seems like the last few shows haven’t been too dialog heavy, as far as quotes within the read go. Love the dynamic of the two, and while Wendi is great to listen to, it would be nice if the guys took turns reading every once in a while instead of Hunter waiting 10 minutes to read 5 words.

Hello - I'm not sure if I should build this app or hire a dev to delegate this task to. To help me figure this out I am looking to get a quote for developing and launching a very simple app. I'm also looking to get an idea of what maintenance looks like for this app.
I have created high-fidelity prototypes and wireframes in Figma, and I have clear experience requirements defined in the Figma file. I have a defined scope of the app's capabilities and a roadmap for future updates and features. I'm a UX designer who is very comfortable collaborating with devs and adjusting my designs to accommodate the dev process. I get consistent feedback from devs and researchers that I'm very easy and fun to work with.
About the app:

it is almost entirely informative
No CPNI, profiles, or authentication processes
max of 1000 users
needs to be available for IOS and Android
needs to be responsive to smartphone and tablet dimensions. (I have both phone and tablet prototypes created in Figma.)
needs an admin portal/login/website where the admin can write daily posts that will be displayed on the home page to all the users
needs push notifications
needs calendar feature
needs accessibility settings so users can adjust font and button sizes
needs built-in surveys to collect user feedback
I possibly need to connect it to a weather API to add weather forecast info as well- I'm curious how this would affect the price of the quote

It's essentially a very, very simple website that mostly has documentation/written information and photos. I could just make a responsive version of a website but I want my users to have it as a downloaded app on their phone or tablet. Would it make sense to have an app that just launches a mobile version of the website?
I've built multiple websites using WordPress and have entry-level coding skills (but it has been a HOT minute since I've written a line of javascript, HTML, or CSS). I've never launched an app working independently without a developer. I'm sure I could struggle through it. (I've downloaded some great resources on this subreddit to review tomorrow). I would like to see what a realistic quote would look like before I decide on my next steps forward.
Please let me know what you guys think!

I thought I would share how I’m dealing with the general public recently. I’m tired of holding their hands and speaking to adults like I would speak to my elementary students when they’re throwing fits. I call it Dead-Pan Truth.
No apology. No frills. No excuses. No softly worded bullshit or empathizing like they’re toddlers who can’t properly regulate emotions.
Still respectful, yet blunt and monotone.
The amount of people that stare in disbelief because I’m not groveling at their feet or having my manager comp their meal is amazing. They can’t argue the truth.
Example from today:
“Why are we waiting so long? Other people keep getting seated first!”
“Your party is larger, you did not call ahead like the other parties, and you are currently 15 minutes under your quoted wait time. We will seat you then.”
Immediately shut up. Immediately more respectful.

I was referred to a mortgage broker who a family member (real estate agent) trusts. Once I had an offer on a house accepted, I went to the broker for a rate quote. He gave me 7.125% 30yr conventional loan with 0 points based on a 740 credit score (which was wrong - don't trust Amex's credit score). I told him I was going to go rate shopping but that he's my guy and I'd give him a chance to counter any offers. I asked him to tell me all lender fees so I could compare apples to apples on a 0 point loan. He said $1425, no other lendeorigination fees (don't remember his exact wording, and I'm not well versed on what fees are involved in a mortgage).
I then went lender shopping with that rate in hand to see what else was out there. I found a local credit union that was offering 7% on a 30yr or 6.625% on a 5/5 arm, no points. $900 in origination fees, and they're giving $1000 toward closing costs if I open a checking account with them. I also found out when they ran my credit that my score is actually 774, not 740.
I asked the broker to re-run my numbers with the new credit score, and also told him about the CU's offer. He came back offering "6.625% 30yr fixed, standard closing cost". Seemed like a no-brainer to take the broker's offer, even if the closing costs were $1525 higher. A 30yr conventional would give me more security than a 5/5 arm at the same rate. I told him to send me the paperwork.
When the contract comes in, I read it over and here's what I see in box A: - $1495 processing fee (not $1425 like he said) - $495 underwriting fee - $250 points for 0.061% of loan amount
This is where I felt bait-and-switched. He had never mentioned an underwriting fee or points (even if a tiny amount). Maybe I didn't ask the right questions since I'm new to this, but I don't think he was trying to make it easy for me to compare rates honestly.
I went back to the CU to check, and $900 was indeed the only lender fee in box A. I also found out the appraisal and credit report check would be $150 cheaper. So the difference in closing costs suddenly went from $1600 to $2500. That's enough to make the broker's rate take 5 years to break even with the CU's 30yr rate. Of course I, like everyone else getting a mortgage now, am hoping to refinance to a lower rate within that timeframe.
Am I making a mountain out of a molehill here? Are the broker's fees reasonable? And regardless of what I felt like was shady sales tactics, should I take the broker's lower interest rate as a $2500 hedge against the possibility that rates don't drop and I never get to refinance the mortgage?

disclaimer : I am not endorsing or advertising for anyone to buy the Sri vatsa tracing I cited in the article. moderators, if you think it should be omitted, please let me know. also, no entity connected to the temple in any way is advertising through this.
DETAILS ABOUT ORNAMENTS AND FUTURE INFO ABOUT POSTURE
in my previous post we discussed only a general overview and his feet. also, some measurements . now we discuss the ornaments present in the idol (integral)
note : I am not talking about gold ornaments which are man made
BELT AREA
there are 4 belt like structures here. there is a large "buckler" in front in the middle. it has a "simha mukha" to it. this is generally found in South Indian idols, as a sign of warding off the negative eye.
there are round disc-like structures on the belt, decoratively.
there is a tight band below called the KATIBANDHA , near to the groin area.
below this, is a decorative drooping chain , falling half-way down to near the knees.
on the left side, tucking into the belt , the handle of a Dagger (CHURIKA ) can be made out. there is no sword on the idol, only a half-visible dagger on the left.
this is not visible after decoration, as there are too many ornaments, and a sword is used instead of a dagger for decor.
slightly above the navel , is a think band ( UDARABANDHA). it is very thick and tight. it is plain without any designs or motifs
everything seen here is fully formed on the back. there is no flat rock like base , like generally seen in other idols. everything is 360 degrees.
CHEST AREA
the Chest is strong and wide. the nipples are very prominent. there are no breasts , but the nipples can be very clearly seen.
at the corners of the chest , from shoulder to armpit, deep scars, run on both sides. they are also seen on the backside. characteristic of someone who regularly wears a pack of arrows ( devotee of Lord SRI Rama - rejoice !! )
THE SRIVATSA MARK - MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE IN CHEST AREA
Vishnu idols contain a mark called Sri vatsa. its shape and size varies a lot . it is like a triangle, or like a diamond , and sometimes like a knot (figure of 8 knot ) .
the most unique feature of this idol, is the Sri vatsa here is a fully formed Lakshmi .
this is located on the right chest, above the right nipple .
Due to the very large size of the main idol, it is possible to make out all the features even though the mark is small. it's roughly around 4 inches vertical and 3 inches diagonal. I will share a drawing of what this goddess looks like.
she has 2-arms ,seated in lotus pose (padmasana) on a lotus seat, inside a triangle .
this mark is fully integral to the idol, and has been a subject of great interest. it is exquisitely shaped with very tiny details . even the face and hands can be made out .
as such it is possible to take a Tracing of this mark , and the priests regularly do so on every Friday.
they use a paste of sandalwood, mixed with turmeric and various other items, and press it to the chest of the lord. a very clear impression of the goddess forms in this.
this impression is usually taken as 1 each for the priests doing the service on that day. 1 for the Jeeyangar trust, 1 for the TTD officials , and 1 for the acharya Purshas.
as this has been happening for a long time (hundreds of years), most of them have multiple copies of the impression. the surpluses now are shared with devotees.
( I don't want to debate the ethics of selling it for a certain price. the demand for it is a million times more than the supply. hence they started selling it. also, there were bitter fights by all entities who wanted them to generate more and who should be given. it was resolved to sell it - this is legally done. the ethics maybe not acceptable to some- but It is beyond the scope of this article)
those devotees who want to obtain this, can obtain it in 3 ways.

high level government contacts, especially endowments department, IAS officials, or TTD officials.
the Jeeyangar trust. they have the privilege of receiving the first impression on every Friday. you can ask in their mutt for it.
The vaikhanasa Archaka residence , located on the north side of the temple, beyond the temple tank. you may go and ask there. they may tell you to wait for some weeks. sometimes, they might give it away for free as well. ( but usually the wait time is extensive - there are people willing to pay 10 times more than the price they usually quote which is actually not as much as you might think.

many times, they deliberately pick a person at random and give it away, but you need to first go and and ask them, to be a list.
all sources other than the above 3 are selling fake ones on the market. for devotees who want to obtain this highly-prized possession, please don't fall into the trap.
I have personally seen people who paid exorbitant sums of money and got fake ones . I think it's best not to be so desperate. it's a priceless possession for sure, But Lakshmi devi's blessings will surely be there even without it.
THE YAGNOPAVEETA - the second important feature
there is a unique yagnopaveeta called the PRALAMBA BRAHMA SUTRA. it is made of 6 strands (signifies that he is married , 3 for the husband and 3 for the wife ) . there are some curious points here. it is also exceptionally long, and cane traced underneath the belts all the way upto his knees, ( hence the word - PRALAMBA - extra long ) and runs backwards.
unlike other idols, it only has 2 knots. also, its much thicker and heavier than upaveetas found in other idols. it runs down the length across his torso, but 1 strand cuts away also run to the left side going backwards, and never rejoins the rest. there seem to be some kind of inscriptions on the knots, which no one can understand . the script is unknown .
the entire yagnopaveeta can be fully traced on the backside also.
note : within vaishnavism, this yagnopaveeta and the srivasta mark are used to identify 2 other idols, which resemble vishnu in all other respects. one is VISVAKSENA ( SENAI MUDALIAR) and the other is VIKHANASA MUNI. these features are absent on them. the agama specifies that they should be absent.
also , by Puranas, those who attain lord vishnu's abode, may be blessed with his four ( 4 -arms etc . but these features would be absent in them - this is stated across so many scriptures that I cant even quote here )
CHEST JEWELLERY
there are 4 rows of necklaces each successively longer. on the lowest necklace there is a central round-oval with 4 petals on each side - the Kaustubha mani . its not very big in size unlike certain other idols.
all necklaces run to the back, and their knots and strings are clearly visible on the backside, running till the middle of the back.
THE VAIJAYANTI HAARA and the VANAMALA ( both are not the same) are absent on the idol.

I was referred to a mortgage broker who a family member (real estate agent) trusts. Once I had an offer on a house accepted, I went to the broker for a rate quote. He gave me 7.125% 30yr conventional loan with 0 points based on a 740 credit score (which was wrong - don't trust Amex's credit score). I told him I was going to go rate shopping but that he's my guy and I'd give him a chance to counter any offers. I asked him to tell me all lender fees so I could compare apples to apples on a 0 point loan. He said $1425, no other lendeorigination fees (don't remember his exact wording, and I'm not well versed on what fees are involved in a mortgage).
I then went lender shopping with that rate in hand to see what else was out there. I found a local credit union that was offering 7% on a 30yr or 6.625% on a 5/5 arm, no points. $900 in origination fees, and they're giving $1000 toward closing costs if I open a checking account with them. I also found out when they ran my credit that my score is actually 774, not 740.
I asked the broker to re-run my numbers with the new credit score, and also told him about the CU's offer. He came back offering "6.625% 30yr fixed, standard closing cost". Seemed like a no-brainer to take the broker's offer, even if the closing costs were $1525 higher. A 30yr conventional would give me more security than a 5/5 arm at the same rate. I told him to send me the paperwork.
When the contract comes in, I read it over and here's what I see in box A: - $1495 processing fee (not $1425 like he said) - $495 underwriting fee - $250 points for 0.061% of loan amount
This is where I felt bait-and-switched. He had never mentioned an underwriting fee or points (even if a tiny amount). Maybe I didn't ask the right questions since I'm new to this, but I don't think he was trying to make it easy for me to compare rates honestly.
I went back to the CU to check, and $900 was indeed the only lender fee in box A. I also found out the appraisal and credit report check would be $150 cheaper. So the difference in closing costs suddenly went from $1600 to $2500. That's enough to make the broker's rate take 5 years to break even with the CU's 30yr rate. Of course I, like everyone else getting a mortgage now, am hoping to refinance to a lower rate within that timeframe.
Am I making a mountain out of a molehill here? Are the broker's fees reasonable? And regardless of what I felt like was shady sales tactics, should I take the broker's lower interest rate as a $2500 hedge against the possibility that rates don't drop and I never get to refinance the mortgage?

(Likely throw-away account because I don't want to associate this with my main, but I'll keep an eye out for replies anyway.)
Heads up: This is already getting pretty long, and I'm just starting, so...
I'm not sure this is truly all that horrific, but it sucked in the moment, at least.
So; small bit of backstory: this was like... I want to say 3 years ago? just a year or two into the pandemic. A couple people I know had a friend that offered to DM for DnD for the first time; and none of us had played DnD before. One of the two was super excited about it, because she'd just recently (at the time) gotten into Critical Role. The other was also super excited, because he was just interested in the game in a general sense (they're currently playing semi-weekly with an online group, really glad this didn't ruin the game for them).
I didn't feel as enthused; I was going to give it a shot (I'd had a couple of interesting ideas before then, but I honestly think I'd have a better (though still not great) time as the DM), but I didn't see myself even finishing the campaign, at first.
Then I got into character creation, and my muse started bouncing off the walls with ideas.
I ended up going with a Tiefling fighter (I forget what his name was, but I'll call him... Kamdo), for the sake of ease of use, and learning the game, while also providing the DM with opportunities to have fun with character interactions.
Kamdo's backstory was pretty sparse, but I didn't want to overwhelm the DM, considering I was an aspiring author (and still am, truth be told), and even as little as I wrote (barely two paragraphs) was like... 3 times as much as every other player, and probably the total length of every other character on the board for our first party.
One of these people ended up playing a half-elf... Sorcerer, I think? I honestly don't remember much of that character. (her name was some poetic thing about song, so I'll call her Sonata)
The other ended up playing a... I think it was a human druid? he was a fairly forgettable character, beings as he hardly ever spoke up. (I think his name was Renald?)
The DM played a dwarven... Paladin? yeah, that sounds right. (I'll call her Barryl)
Now, at the time, I didn't know that DMPCs even had a name, let alone a reputation, so I didn't even have the context to think to protest. Though, even now, I don't think they can't be done well, just that this one didn't even come close (not that I'd know, mind).
Anyway, session 1 comes along, and our characters meet for the first time; barely any real roleplay- the thing I was most looking forward to, but that's forgivable, I figure; beings that our group was made up of a new DM, and all newbie party. 'It's probably not that strange', I figured (my hind brain is much more socially aware than my front brain).
Now; important note: I'm not very personable in... person (I probably could've worded that better, but it's not coming to me right now). I don't like talking, I don't like people, I have severe social anxiety (my hands shake while in front of a cashier), and I've met the DM all of like 4 times, each for maybe 3 minutes, up to this point.
It was never going to be easy for me to act like a personable character, so instead I leaned into my natural quietness. Kamdo was an orphan from a nondescript village nestled in the foothills of a mountain, and spent much of his life as a librarian to earn a living, while dealing with the racism of a small town (the only bit of anything weird I gave his backstory was that said town had zero information on magic, despite having a relatively large library).
Eventually, he gets sick of living there, and decides to train under the town guardsmen, before taking off into the wilds on his first adventure!
The first major obstacle out party faced was... a door. I wish I was kidding.
The first thing that happened was that someone tried to pick the door open. Then someone kicked it. Both failed, beings as the rolls were something like 7, 8, and 5, or something. On a D20. I did the natural thing, and just reached over to open the door (this is semi-important later). It doesn't budge.
I shrug, and, figuring that my character, being decked out head-to-toe in plate armor, two pole-arms, and a heavy shield, could break the thing down. Kamdo got a running start, just to be sure, and charged!
Nat 20.
Kamdo breaks down the door, full tilt, and runs face first into some nasty webbing. Well, Sonata irritatedly extracts Kamdo from the webbing, while Berryl and Renald clear out the rest of the room.
The entire campaign is to this roughly this tune.
So, at the end of this dungeon, there's a Drider encounter (I glanced at the stat sheet one time, and ever since, I've been wondering how the DM intended for us to win that encounter), which ends in the thing falling off the ceiling, and promptly taking half its health in damage. Kamdo ended up finishing it off with a pitying thrown dagger, which he had collected from an earlier room.
The entire thing was pretty comedic, and overall rather fun, but I was already beginning to see the cracks. I had a bad habit of 'making sure' the right dice were rolled for the right checks, and was well and truly bored during combat. I just... It had its moments, but I kept spacing out, waiting for my turn, resulting in Kamdo attacking an already downed opponent. It wasn't great.
But, I figured I'd stick it out for the long haul (at the time), for the sake of the other players.
Fast forward 2 fucking sessions of walking, and we're coming up on Baludur's Gate.
Now, quick thing (I'm sorry, this is how my brain works, bare with me please): the DM had been hyping up Baldur's Gate both in- and out- of game for a month by this point. She couldn't wait for us to get there.
But first, I got the sniffles, and self isolated, thereby missing a session, but trusted my mother to play my character adequately in the meantime.
When I came back, nobody bothered to fill me in, and I was dumped into the middle of a combat scenario, against a hoard of Evil Dudes. I didn't even know what species they were, nevermind why we were fighting them.
Just "So, roll initiative!" From the DM to start the session.
'Fuckin', okay then.' I figure to myself, saying nothing aloud.
I had no idea what was going on the entire session, but apparently, we won! (yay?)
So, after the combat encounter was over, I finally got some context, because people were talking to each other now. Apparently, the same Drider that I killed back in session 2? 3? was back at it, with a hoard of cultists to back it up.
Now I'm reall confused, because, well... Duh! WTF was even going on here? I distictly remember killing that thing, yet here we are, fighting its cultist minions! Just... whatever, I eventually let it go, because I was on the recieving end of some equally confused looks, like obviously the Drider that we had no business fighting was back, who else would it be?
Fuckin-
Whatever.
So, our little mottley crew runs into a couple NPCs who are leaving the city (it's a city right? I'm not misremembering that?). They tell us about how the guards put one of their friends in prison for no good reason, and there's a person in the wizard's guild that might be able to help us with Sonata's character quest!
'Cool!' I think! 'Some real nice Roleplay could come out of this; my character's looking to multiclass into wizard; it'll be a neat diversion, and I'll have some fun playing this character that I haven't had any real fun with yet!'
NOPE!
The other players decide that they're going to help break out these two random people's friend from prison!
Why, you may ask?!
...
...
...
So, we make it into the city, and the first thing the party does is, guess what?!
Break a convicted felon out of prison!
They didn't even wait to go shopping first!
Now; I'm absolutely flabbergasted by this point. Hopefully, understandably so.
So; the party breaks the convicted felon out of prison, and immediately makes for the docks; apparently one of the now 3 4(! fucking) DMPCs 'has a friend'.
Deep breaths.
So, we go off into the waters, having spent all of 1 real-life hour in Baldur's Gate "The place where everything happens." - direct quote from the DM.
During this boat ride, one of the DMPCs gives old Kamdo (He's somehow the oldest character in the party at a whopping 32) a spell shield (mirror shield? it was a shield that had advantage blocks against magic). I look down at my level (5, I think?) fighter, and just kind of cringe, since my AC is like 24 already, and with this new shield it jumped to like 26. Kamdo is untouchable without an advantage roll.
So, naturally, we fight a goddamn Sea monster next (one more monster we really shouldn't have fought) but we pulled it off... somehow.
Now I was incredibly bored, and the DM seemed to pick up on that, having me try to train Renald. Kamdo did that, and 2 sessions later we finally made it back to land.
Directly into Sonata's character quest.
Guess what we fought while we were there?
A fucking level 15 Lich.
Said lich TPKs us. It hit Kamdo Through his magic advantage sheild, and one shot him.
That was the last straw for me. I had Sonata's player play Kamdo's arc to fruition, and left. (He ended up settling on an island in book heaven, with Sonata pining after him, for anyone interested.)
I haven't played DnD since.
Honestly, I kinda-sorta feel bad; because the campaign fizzled out not long after I left. I can't help but wonder what would've happened if I'd still stuck it out.
I sincerely hope you all had more fun reading this than I had experiencing it, because I just don't trust fast, and that means I don't have anyone I'd even be interested in playing with anymore.

Are you an Uber driver looking to gain more independence and control over your earnings? With the IDN Network app, you can transition away from Uber, set your own rates, and build your own client base. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you make the switch.

Step 1: Download the IDN Network App

**Visit the App Store or Google Play:** Search for "IDN Network" and download the app.
**Create an Account:** Sign up with Google or Apple.

Step 2: Set Up Your Profile

**Complete Your Profile:** Add a professional photo, a brief bio, and your vehicle details.
**Set Your Rates:** Determine and set your own rates for rides.
**Define Your Availability:** Specify your working hours.
**Complete a test booking with yourself:** Book yourself on IDN Public to understand how all works.

Step 3: Inform Your Uber Clients

**Communicate with Your Clients:** Let your regular Uber clients know about your new service. Explain the benefits, such as personalized service and potentially lower costs.
**Provide Instructions:** Guide them on how to download and use the IDN Public app (free) or IDN Private app (paid). You choose to what client app you want to send quotes to.

Step 4: Manage Your Bookings

**Receive Bookings:** Clients can book rides directly with you through the IDN Network app.
**Accept or Decline Rides:** Manage your bookings efficiently, accepting or declining rides based on your availability.

Step 5: Build Your Client Base

**Promote Your Service:** Use social media, business cards, and word-of-mouth to spread the word about your new independent driving service.
**Maintain Quality Service:** Ensure a high standard of service to encourage repeat business and referrals.

Step 6: Enjoy the Benefits

**Keep 100% of Your Earnings:** By avoiding Uber’s high commission fees, you retain all of your earnings.
**Greater Flexibility:** Work on your own terms, with the freedom to choose your working hours and rates.
**Enhanced Control:** Build and manage your own client base, fostering loyalty and repeat business.

Additional Tips:

**Stay Connected:** Join the IDN Network’s official Telegram group to stay updated on new features and developments. https://t.me/IDNNetworkEN
**Seek Support:** Use the WhatsApp Support Channel within the IDN app for any guidance or issues.
**Maximize Visibility:** Ensure your profile is detailed and professional to attract more clients.

Conclusion

Transitioning from Uber to an independent driving service with the IDN Network app empowers you to take control of your driving career. Follow these steps to gain independence, set your own rates, and build a loyal client base. Download the IDN Network app today and start your journey towards true driver independence!

I was flying from Ft. Lauderdale to Jacksonville about 20ish years ago (any quotes I make are a reasonable facsimile of what was actually said 20 some odd years ago. Your Mileage May Vary. Batteries not included. See dealership for details.) Small regional airline, puddle jumper plane. Single seats down one side, double seats down the other. This was back before airlines charged you for the audacity of desiring to breathe while in their tin cans, and since I was booking pretty far ahead of time, I was able to select a seat on the left side (single seats) of the aircraft.
Now, being 6'4" and having flown numerous times, I know that the exit row is the primo seat unless you're paying for first/business class. And I also know that arriving early, and asking politely at check in more often than not gets you that sweet extra legroom as long as it's available. So I show up a couple hours early (unfamiliar airport and this was shortly post 9/11 so security was a much longer process to get through). Go to check in counter, ask the nice lady if there was any chance of getting the exit row. And sure enough, polite won again. And doubly so, because I not only got the exit row, but I also got to stay on the same side of the plane, which means no one to bump elbows with. Jackpot!
Make my way down to the gate, and soon enough it's time to board our flight. Preboarding passengers first, then the rest of us cattle (single class cabin, so preboarding was supposedly only for those needing extra time). I make my way down to my prize, only to find someone is sitting in it. I'm annoyed, but not overly so. Could just be an honest mistake.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but I think you might be in my seat." and show him my boarding pass.
"Fuck you!" - not exactly the reply I was expecting. Except it came out more like "fux yuj".
Ah. So not only belligerent, but *drunk* and belligerent. Well, I know the rules. And drunk enough to slur speech means no exit row for you!
Catch the attention of a FA and talk to her quietly about the situation and my concern regarding Mr. Drunk and Belligerent in the exit row. Nevermind that it's MY exit row seat, dammit!
She approaches the gentleman, but barely gets a word out before receiving an even louder "FUSHU!"
*heh*. I know what's coming next. Sure enough, she heads off to the front of the plane. Mr. D&B smiles smugly, thinking he's won. Meanwhile I'm grinning like the cheshire cat because I know what the next act is. Sure enough, here comes the Captain with the FA in tow. Now, this gentleman is big. He's got at least 2 inches on me height wise, and I suspect if he ever gets bored with being a pilot, he could play defensive back. Clearly the kind of person who gets out pent up energy by picking up and putting down very heavy things repeatedly.
"Sir, what's the issue?"
Now, Mr. D&B has figured out that the man standing in front of him is some kind of authority figure. But he doesn't quite seem to be able to pin down what kind of authority figure. But in a slightly less drunk corner of his mind, he knows "uniform" and he knows "big". So instead of a repeat of what the FA and I got, the Captain gets some drunken warbling about it being his seat, And that I was mean. Or something. Because I wanted to take it away from him. And that the lady over there (as he points about two feet to the left of her) was mean too. Or something.
The Captain, meanwhile, takes one look at the FA, then back at Mr. D&B. "Sir, have you been drinking?" "TWO BEERSH!".
As an aside, I really want to see these mystical "two beers" some time. I imagine they mean kegs. Two *kegs* of beer. But I digress.
Captain tries to be polite. "Sir, could I see your boarding pass?" Captain knows that this flight is full, so doubtful he can get this guy into any kind of a decent seat, like a bulkhead seat, to try to bribe him. But he wants to know where this guy is actually supposed to be.
"Sir, your seat is back there..." As he points to an empty seat in the very back of the plane. Just forward of the galley and lavatories. Not a primo seat.
"NOishnot. Dish my sheet."
With a sigh, the Captain turns to me - "Sir, could I see your boarding pass."
Back to Mr. D&B - "Sir, this seat belongs to the gentleman standing here. Please get your belongings and move to your assigned seat."
That slightly less drunk part of his brain lost hold of its grip on his mouth. The "two beers" bellowed out, "NO! DISH M'SHEETS! FUSHKALSYOU!"
I'll be honest, the Captain was not expecting this. And then I see a vein throbbing on the Captain's forehead that could have doubled as a garden hose. He pointed at me, "Sir, please come with me," spun on his heel and walked towards the front of the plane. At this point he just wants to separate Mr. D&B from those he thinks are "mean".
Once we're out of his earshot, he looks at the FA and asks her to call the airport police to escort the... "gentleman"... off the aircraft.
I glance back, and Mr. D&B is smiling smugly again, thinking he's somehow won. That smile lasted about 7 more minutes until the local gendarmes arrived to inform Mr. D&B that he can either walk off the plane under his own power or he could be cuffed and "assisted" off the plane.
I will credit the cops, they had much more patience than I had. About 5 minutes of drunken whinging about everyone being mean and it being, "hish sheet!"
Eventually they too lost patience, and then the silver bracelets came out and off they went, with our drunk friend now protesting loudly that the cops were mean.
OOP original post:
https://www.reddit.com/EntitledPeople/s/aWMoUmGNOI
Edit: I’m so mad at myself for misspelling “passenger” 😆

This trip has been an absolute mess and annoyance to me. It has not been any fun at all and I want to go home already but unfortunately I am here for another 2-3 days. I wanted to go on vacay to get away from MY mom bc she's such a narcissist as well and I am sick of not being treated emotionally like a 19 year old. They did not pay for my plane ticket, they just had extra space in the hotel for me .
I'll cut to the chase to what really set this off on this trip and shit that's just happened. Yesterday, we went to a resort in Mexico because they had a one day pass. At the end of it, Dalia (my friend's 30 yr old half sister) was too drunk and she took a taxi with her 6 year old daughter and Shayla (the sister's friend). We were originally supposed to go shopping at the mall after the resort and eat at an Italian restaurant within the resort but that did not go to plan. Anyway, after that it was just me, my friend May and her parents. I thought we were going to go shopping like they said we would because that is something everyone, especially ME since it's my favorite thing to do to cope, wanted to do. We didn't even do that and the only reason they even took us to the shopping strip in the first place was because they wanted to buy weed. They didn't even say that initially and I only found that out because they kept getting agitated bc they couldn't fin the McDonald's they were trying to use as a land marker. But I knew where the McDonalds was and I was very confused as to why they weren't listening to me when I was telling them where it was bc I thought they just wanted McDonald's since the food at the resort wasn't too good.
Nope.
My friend told me that they wouldn't directly say they were getting weed because "they still need to be somewhat of a good influence" or something like that, like what?? They haven't been that this WHOLE trip and nobody is fucking dumb. They've been smoking and talking about weed this whole time in front of us/me. So why does THAT matter now ? Why tf would I care you're adults?? I literally have wanted weed this whole time anyway and already bought alcohol. I would have went home if they were gonna waste my time bc I thought something fun was going to happen.
This is the worst part. After we come back from the whole McDonalds shit, the four of us get into a taxi to go back to the Airbnb. When we arrive in front of our residence, the dad pulls out his card but the driver says he only takes cash. The dad flips his shit, says he's scamming him or whatever. The ride was 200 pesos, which is 10 USD. He says the driver is scamming him because he has been paying with his card the whole time. The mom thinks they're being scammed too. The dad was about to punch the driver in the face over ten fucking dollars??? The mom and my friend had to convince him to fucking stop and he kept getting mad at the daughter telling her to get tf inside. I had to end up paying (again) the ten dollars because I had cash. I say again because at the start of the trip, I had to pay 80 dollars for the cab to the Airbnb bc the dad didn't have service to pay so I used the cash I had. I did get the money back but still. wtf. Also they were not being scammed and if they were it wasn't even THAT bad because all of the taxis are 10 to 17 dollars from the mall to where we live. They think it's a scam because he wanted cash. I had a taxi driver when I snuck out once because there wasn't any food and I was STARVING, I asked him if he takes cash or card and he said cash, but it was still all the same price. They don't know I snuck out and I'm glad I didn't tell my friend that I did because she would have told them. probably.
The next day, which is today, I wake up and everybody is just fucking gone besides my friend and her sisters daughter. This pisses me off because they have left us, to baby sit the little girl AGAIN for idek how many times they've done that. It's extremely fucking annoying I haven't even been able to enjoy the trip and my friend damn sure has not either. she said she was really embarrassed yesterday to the dad and wouldn't have invited me if the parents were gonna act like they do at home with/around me. The dad "apologizes" today saying "Im sorry for being so embarrassing" like what?
They told us to go shop and have fun. To not let any of the shit that happened ruin the fun. Idk how that's possible but whatever I might as well. My friend didn't want to go shopping because she was crying and upset today. I was getting dressed because I said I am just going then because I was so sick of not being able to do ONE thing I wanted to. She then ended up coming with but then her phone not charging ruined her mood again and she wasn't going anymore. I was given money to use from home and was determined to just use it.I just wanted to do something fun for fucking once. I told my narc mom I was going to go out with or without my friend because it would have been BAD at home for me had I not enforced that. She kept pleading me not to go alone but I was persisting and wasn't asking. She just ended up telling me she's worried and to just be safe. Wasn't mad.
I walked out and paid for the taxi. I only went because it was only a 3-5 minute taxi ride to the public mall to shop. My friend then calls me asking if I left and why'd I go without her?? She literally didn't even want to go anymore and I said that. She tells me she insists I come back and she said it wasn't smart to leave and that "I'll get snatched up". Her parents and everyone were angry with me she said. First of all, her parents and everyone else kept fucking walking away from us without saying a word as to where they were heading. could have been fucking kidnapped multiple times because of them since that's the damn problem. I didn't even want to go alone initially, but it was bright as day outside, I am sick of this family and I'd rather be alone and do what I want to do, since that's clearly never gonna happen with them. Plus I shouldn't have to rely on company or anyone to have fun, especially at this point. Her mom gets on the phone and just tells me to come back bc she's responsible for me but then is like "because if you don't come back Im going to have to call your mom". I can never get a break away from my mom no matter the damn situation it seems. That was literally not needed at all. She called her anyway regardless of me saying I was coming back.
Also now im being accused of stealing their fucking weed they leave out on the counter. I don't need ur fucking weed if I WANTED weed (which I have this whole time but that was only between me and my friend) I can BUY my own weed with the money I have. The first time my friend asked me I didn't care because it was just a question out of concern. Today she asked me a second time and now I am feeling accused. She said her dad thinks I took it because my laptop was there. EVERYBODYS STUFF HAS BEEN DOWNSTAIRS. How is that even a good accusation and you're asking me the second time. There was no way it was not Shayla because she kept walking away to ask strangers for fucking cigarettes day 1 of the trip. then walked away AGAIN that day to try and buy some. She was also downstairs at like 5am one time bc I went downstairs to go outside rq and I saw her doing god knows what in the dark. I don't even think they even tried to question her about it, since she's been smoking with them but instead have only been accusing me.
I have tried to be very respectful to my friend's family because I don't want to be rude or say anything bad since that's her family. I don't know how long I'm going to be able to deal with it though and if I'm accused a third time I am going to fucking snap and probably cuss someone out. I am also trying not to get into any trouble at home because whether it's reasonable or not my mom is going to say I was being disrespectful and take their side on that regard.
TL;DR: I am on vacation in Mexico with my friends family and my patience has been tested this whole entire time. i've been accused of stealing weed twice which I have NOT done at all and it doesn't seem like they've asked anyone else. The dad threatened to punch the taxi driver over ten dollars bc he thought the taxi driver was scamming him when he wasn't. I had to pay for the ten dollars in cash and I also paid 80 initially at the start of trip for the taxi because the dad didn't have service on his phone.

this is going to be long. i don’t think i can capture the whole situation without some backstory. i’m doing my best to keep it brief.
let me start off by saying that my mom was a teen mom and i (23) am the oldest of her children. my biological father is not in the picture and he hasn’t been since i was very young. my mom always encouraged me to be comfortable in having no contact with him despite the fact that he was my father. if he treated me poorly, i shouldn’t have to put up with him. my mom married again, i got a younger sister out of that, and she divorced that man and is now with a man that is the father of none of her children. he has three kids of his own that he has always blatantly valued more than us. he always considered us ‘bad’ kids. especially my brother as he was the only boy in the house. this is no secret. its something we’ve brought to my mom’s attention ever since they met. something she even used to acknowledge. they’ve been together several years, probably since i was around 8 years old.
i’m from the south and they’re very classic conservative. as a kid i had a real problem with their homophobia before i even realized that i was queer. we used to get into horrible screaming matches over the things they said because at the time, they didn’t know they were saying these things about me. i think that’s the reason so much of the nasty things they said stuck with me for so many years.
fast forward to 2019. i moved with my boyfriend (who i feel it’s important to the story to mention is trans, but had not yet begun the process of transitioning when we first met so he was not out to my mother) she saw us as lesbians. i think this upset her because before i met my current boyfriend, i had been with a cis man.
in 2020, i lived with my boyfriend as well as his parents. they are much more open minded than my family. when covid came around my mom was quick to deny it. and that was not surprising to me in the slightest, it didn’t even really phase me. i didn’t act any different toward her, i just remember feeling lucky not to live there at the time because i was considered high risk. i also lived in an area of mainly people over 60. i do not want this to turn into a covid debate, but i feel that it’s crucial to what happened.
in november of 2020, i felt comfortable enough to visit her. we talked on the phone about it for months leading up to the visit and she made it very clear that she and the rest of my family that lived in her house had no problem wearing a mask for the few months leading up to my visit. this was really important to me as my step dad is a cop. he interacts very closely with people every day.
so when we visited, my mom had planned for all of us (myself, my boyfriend, my mom, my step dad, my younger sister, her friend, my older step sister, her husband, her toddler, and her newborn) to cram into a van together and go look at drive through christmas lights. we wouldn’t all fit legally in the same car and the lights were kind of a drive away, so my boyfriend had driven my mom’s car and my mom had driven the van. we stopped at a gas station close to our destination in order to pile into the van.
that’s when my step father and step sister went into the gas station without wearing masks. i felt lied to and disrespected by my mom so i admit that i was upset and probably wasn’t using the kindest tone, but this is not something i would ever cut contact over. i didn’t even want to argue about it.
i expressed that i was no longer comfortable cramming into a car with all of them after i’d discovered they had not been taking my concerns seriously. my boyfriend and i were going to drive my mother’s car back home and the rest of the group would continue on to see the lights. my mom was pissed off, but it wasn’t like her normal pissed off. i assumed it was because this was the first conflict we’d had since i moved out. still, i was sure she’d get over it.
the real problem started when my younger sister also expressed that she didn’t want to go. but her reason was vastly different from mine. she didn’t know that she would be forced to sit next to my older step sister’s husband (we’ll call him brad).
brad is not a nice person. he has a history of having sexually explicit conversations with minors. my entire family is aware of this, and he was still allowed to live in my mom’s house for almost a year. my younger sister once woke up from a nap on the couch to him standing over her. when he realized she was awake he just walked away without saying anything. he was eventually kicked out of my mom’s house because he masturbated in her dining room while my younger sister was in the kitchen. my older step sister caught him on camera doing this. they are still married now.
my younger sister expressed that she didn’t feel comfortable sitting so close to brad in the car. it caused a massive fight in the parking lot of this gas station. it ended with my step father trying to physically drag her out of the car. he was not successful, but my mom was so pissed off by this point that she decided to cancel the plans entirely and drive her car home with all of us in it. she drove like a maniac the entire hour home.
when we got back to her house, i immediately ran to gather my belongings. i intended to take my sister to our grandma’s house. i believed that what my step father had done to her was not acceptable. as i stomped into the room i was staying in i yelled to my mom that she was acting like a crazy fucking bitch. seems inconsequential but trust me it’s important.
i was in the bedroom gathering up my things when i heard my little sister saying “get off of me! get away!” i panicked and ran into the living room. i assumed she had been yelling at my step father so i was surprised when he caught me at the door and shoved me against the wall. their living room has a half wall, so i couldn’t see my sister. i panicked and struggled against my step father. i broke away from him once but he pushed me back again. he held me there until my boyfriend came out and physically put himself between us.
when i got away from him, i ran to my sister. her neck was red like someone had been grabbing it. i asked her what HE did to her. i still assumed it had been my step father. my sister just looked at me like she didn’t know what to say.
my mom was still standing there, just staring at us. i grabbed her shoulders and yelled that she was going to have to wake up and realize what was happening if she wanted to ever have a real relationship with any of us. she said “take your hands off of me.” and i did. i took my sister’s bag and grabbed her hand and walked toward the front door. my mom blocked us. she said she would call the police on me for kidnapping if i took my sister. my sister stood there and begged me not to leave her. how could i?
my mom had my sister’s phone and refused to give it back to her. we ended up just leaving it. i took my sister and we went to stay the night with my grandma. in the car, my sister told me it had been my mom who she was yelling at. my mom choked her into the couch because my sister had insisted that she was leaving.
the next day my sister’s biological father (who she lived with at the time) picked her up from our grandma’s and i went back home early with my boyfriend.
despite the fact that she let us stay with her, my grandma was not on our side. she was of the opinion that we should’ve just done as we were told and none of this would’ve happened.
my sister’s dad took her back to my mom’s house and made her apologize. she got her stuff back after that.
now four years have passed since then. my mom and i slowly started to communicate again but it has only been at a surface level ever since. i knew we couldn’t talk about such an intense topic without being in person. and it would feel wrong to bring it up on a visit. i moved back to my hometown last summer with the hope that i could really work out the issues between myself and my mom. my younger sister moved in with me when i moved back as she had graduated the same year.
we hadn’t really talked about what happened. i felt so bad for her having to continue to live in the environment that i didn’t want to ever bring it up. but now that we live on our own, it came up naturally. we both realized that we needed to talk to our mom about our problems in order to ever have a real connection.
so we did. we invited her over and did our best to talk things over. i knew my mom was not the best at taking criticism but i genuinely didn’t expect what played out.
i tried to bring up the things they said to me as a kid. things that made me feel wrong in my identity and made me feel like it would be easier for everyone if i just disappeared. she denies ever saying anything negative about gay people ever. she says that she has never ever said anything worse about gay people than that she doesn’t agree with them. that was definitely not all. just before i moved out i expressed to my step dad that he’d traumatized me with all of his anti-gay rhetoric. constantly calling me a faggot. dumb shit like that. his response was “obviously not enough.”
then i brought up how badly she hurt me that day. how i felt she’d chosen her husband over her children again. i couldn’t understand why she would think that choking my sister was okay. or her husband pinning me against the wall was okay. and then she told me it was because i was ‘charging into the room’ to beat her up.
i have never in all my years ever laid a finger on my mother. i adapted to that household by being agreeable and doing what i was told. the only time i ever stepped out of line was when it came to human rights. i was young and naive and i thought that if i could just say the right words i could make them understand. so those were the battles i chose in my childhood. i NEVER once threatened or even thought of hurting my mom.
she claims that when i heard my sister calling for help, i charged into the living room screaming at my mom. she claims THAT is when i called her a crazy fucking bitch.
i was quick to reassure her that i never ever wanted to hurt her. that it wasn’t even a thought in my head. that i hadn’t even known that SHE was the one doing anything to my sister. that i hadn’t even made it two feet into the living room before my step dad threw me back.
she doesn’t believe me.
she just says that it’s not about what she believes, it’s about what she witnessed. that she witnessed me planning to hurt her.
i know that i am not that kind of person. and i am not comfortable being around someone who would accuse me of such violence.
i explained my side of the story again and again and her only response was “no, no, no.”
my sister expressed that she felt it was wrong mom had choked her. my mom said that it was my sister’s fault because she wouldn’t “stop running her mouth” and refused to “sit her monkey ass down”
she ran out of the house shortly after this. we didn’t get to finish talking about much. i went into the bathroom to finish my panic attack alone and she called me. she said on the phone that if we were to talk, i would have to stop accusing her of things. to me, it seemed that she was accusing me of trying to hurt her. even in the face of being told it simply wasn’t true. i couldn’t articulate that point very well in the moment, though.
on this phone call she also said “you’re not going to tell me i have problems. you think YOU don’t have problems?” and i told her that i know i have problems that im just able to acknowledge that without lashing out. i told her that i hope one day she sees what i mean but i just can’t keep putting myself through this. i told her i loved her and then i hung up.
my mom also texted me that night in 2020 when everything happened. she said she felt wronged because i had called her such a horrible name. and i apologized then and there for calling her a crazy fucking bitch. her response was that she didn’t feel she had anything to apologize for herself. she has never said anything about feeling threatened by me until we confronted her a few days ago.
how can i deal with this when my entire family (aside from my younger sister) has normalized abuse? how can i move on without feeling like everything i did was wrong? im very firm in my story, i even have journal entries from the day it happened. therapy sessions. texts to my boyfriend’s dad from 30 minutes after everything happened. my story has never once changed and has never once hinged on what i THOUGHT might happen.
not only am i firm in my story but i am firm in my opinion that their actions are unjustified. especially toward my little sister. i just can’t shake the doubt. i don’t know if it’s the small part of me that still holds onto everything they instilled in me or what. i was just hoping for some advice i suppose. thank you for reading all of this.

Hello folks,
I was digging around my RG35XXSP's stock OS today and figured out how to connect to it wirelessly through SSH and also Samba (e.g. access your device's MicroSD card through network drives). I was also able to get the features to persist through restarts so you won't have to enable them each time.
In other words, if you're using the stock OS but are a bit annoyed that you have to keep taking out the card just to make changes, these two features will allow you to manage it wirelessly while the card is still inserted into your RG35XXSP.
You can review the scripts' contents and download them through this GitHub: https://github.com/xgbox/rg35xxsp-ssh-samba
I'll be around for a bit after this posting; happy to answer any questions or concerns.
How it works
There are four files:

ssh_disable.sh
ssh_enable.sh
samba_disable.sh
samba_enable.sh

The RG35XXSP stock OS has the packages needed for SSH. But to my knowledge, Anbernic doesn't provide any built-in settings for users to enable it. ssh_enable.sh basically flips on a preexisting flag that will run additional lines to start up SSH on the next reboot. ssh_enable.sh will also start SSH services immediately after running without needing to reboot. From there, go to your computer, open WinSCP or an SFTP app of your choice, point it to your device's IP, use root and root for credentials, and you should be good to go with root level directory access. You can also connect to your RG35XXSP through SSH and run terminal commands by opening a command prompt on your computer and typing in: ssh root@
Samba unfortunately does not seem to be packaged with the stock OS, so samba_enable.sh will do an apt-get command to pull the necessary packages off the Internet in order to install it. Depending on your Internet speeds, that may take a few minutes. The script also initiates Samba services without having to reboot, and configures itself to automatically turn on after a reboot. Once the script finishes, you should be able to start accessing it through Windows by opening your start menu and typing in \\\ during which point you should be prompted for credentials, which are once again root and root.
I've set up two network shares: __sdcard which has the same hierarchy as when you access your MicroSD card's partition, and __root which is the top level (/) directory. If you use something like Syncthing, this should make it a bit easier to sync your RG35XXSP saves and save states with other devices.
Installation

Connect your MicroSD card to your computer.
Access the card's partition.
Drop the .sh files into Roms\APPS.
Put the MicroSD card into your RG35XXSP.
Boot it up and select the App Center.
Select APPS.
Run ssh_enable.sh and/or samba_enable.sh in either order.
Access your RG35XXSP by SFTP with WinSCP, SSH with a terminal, or with Samba by connecting to it as a network drive. Use credentials root and root if prompted.

Disclaimer: For network security reasons, I highly recommend you keep these features disabled when you're not at home. Simply run ssh_disable.sh and samba_disable.sh to turn them off. Also, the scripts are provided as-is. If you don't feel comfortable about what the scripts do, either back up your saves first or just don't risk it.

I need to make flyers and posters for a restaurant and bar. Searches haven't answered my questions.
Before I pay a $20/month subscription for any of them, why can't I make a flyer with the correct spelling? Ie. It spells "Drink" "Drins" or adds random letters.
Even when I put the words I want in quotes!
When I try to add what I want to a flyer design i like, it changes the whole flyer!
Is there an AI flyer generator that I can add perfect wording?
Is it because I'm on the free versions? Or because I'm on my phone?
Thank you in advance.

I was flying from Ft. Lauderdale to Jacksonville about 20ish years ago (any quotes I make are a reasonable facsimile of what was actually said 20 some odd years ago. Your Mileage May Vary. Batteries not included. See dealership for details.) Small regional airline, puddle jumper plane. Single seats down one side, double seats down the other. This was back before airlines charged you for the audacity of desiring to breathe while in their tin cans, and since I was booking pretty far ahead of time, I was able to select a seat on the left side (single seats) of the aircraft.
Now, being 6'4" and having flown numerous times, I know that the exit row is the primo seat unless you're paying for first/business class. And I also know that arriving early, and asking politely at check in more often than not gets you that sweet extra legroom as long as it's available. So I show up a couple hours early (unfamiliar airport and this was shortly post 9/11 so security was a much longer process to get through). Go to check in counter, ask the nice lady if there was any chance of getting the exit row. And sure enough, polite won again. And doubly so, because I not only got the exit row, but I also got to stay on the same side of the plane, which means no one to bump elbows with. Jackpot!
Make my way down to the gate, and soon enough it's time to board our flight. Preboarding passengers first, then the rest of us cattle (single class cabin, so preboarding was supposedly only for those needing extra time). I make my way down to my prize, only to find someone is sitting in it. I'm annoyed, but not overly so. Could just be an honest mistake.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but I think you might be in my seat." and show him my boarding pass.
"Fuck you!" - not exactly the reply I was expecting. Except it came out more like "fux yuj".
Ah. So not only belligerent, but *drunk* and belligerent. Well, I know the rules. And drunk enough to slur speech means no exit row for you!
Catch the attention of a FA and talk to her quietly about the situation and my concern regarding Mr. Drunk and Belligerent in the exit row. Nevermind that it's MY exit row seat, dammit!
She approaches the gentleman, but barely gets a word out before receiving an even louder "FUSHU!"
*heh*. I know what's coming next. Sure enough, she heads off to the front of the plane. Mr. D&B smiles smugly, thinking he's won. Meanwhile I'm grinning like the cheshire cat because I know what the next act is. Sure enough, here comes the Captain with the FA in tow. Now, this gentleman is big. He's got at least 2 inches on me height wise, and I suspect if he ever gets bored with being a pilot, he could play defensive back. Clearly the kind of person who gets out pent up energy by picking up and putting down very heavy things repeatedly.
"Sir, what's the issue?"
Now, Mr. D&B has figured out that the man standing in front of him is some kind of authority figure. But he doesn't quite seem to be able to pin down what kind of authority figure. But in a slightly less drunk corner of his mind, he knows "uniform" and he knows "big". So instead of a repeat of what the FA and I got, the Captain gets some drunken warbling about it being his seat, And that I was mean. Or something. Because I wanted to take it away from him. And that the lady over there (as he points about two feet to the left of her) was mean too. Or something.
The Captain, meanwhile, takes one look at the FA, then back at Mr. D&B. "Sir, have you been drinking?" "TWO BEERSH!".
As an aside, I really want to see these mystical "two beers" some time. I imagine they mean kegs. Two *kegs* of beer. But I digress.
Captain tries to be polite. "Sir, could I see your boarding pass?" Captain knows that this flight is full, so doubtful he can get this guy into any kind of a decent seat, like a bulkhead seat, to try to bribe him. But he wants to know where this guy is actually supposed to be.
"Sir, your seat is back there..." As he points to an empty seat in the very back of the plane. Just forward of the galley and lavatories. Not a primo seat.
"NOishnot. Dish my sheet."
With a sigh, the Captain turns to me - "Sir, could I see your boarding pass."
Back to Mr. D&B - "Sir, this seat belongs to the gentleman standing here. Please get your belongings and move to your assigned seat."
That slightly less drunk part of his brain lost hold of its grip on his mouth. The "two beers" bellowed out, "NO! DISH M'SHEETS! FUSHKALSYOU!"
I'll be honest, the Captain was not expecting this. And then I see a vein throbbing on the Captain's forehead that could have doubled as a garden hose. He pointed at me, "Sir, please come with me," spun on his heel and walked towards the front of the plane. At this point he just wants to separate Mr. D&B from those he thinks are "mean".
Once we're out of his earshot, he looks at the FA and asks her to call the airport police to escort the... "gentleman"... off the aircraft.
I glance back, and Mr. D&B is smiling smugly again, thinking he's somehow won. That smile lasted about 7 more minutes until the local gendarmes arrived to inform Mr. D&B that he can either walk off the plane under his own power or he could be cuffed and "assisted" off the plane.
I will credit the cops, they had much more patience than I had. About 5 minutes of drunken whinging about everyone being mean and it being, "hish sheet!"
Eventually they too lost patience, and then the silver bracelets came out and off they went, with our drunk friend now protesting loudly that the cops were mean.

Hello, I hope you're having a good time! I'm looking for someone whom I can have conversations with in the long term but if you want to have a short conversation, that's okay as well. Who knows if we get along well and end up being in touch for years? I prefer talking to people within the age range of 18–25 as I have talked to older people all my life but it's fine if you're a bit older than the specified range.
Please read the post entirely before you decide to send a chat request or message. It will take about five minutes or more depending on your reading speed. You may skip this post if you can't bother reading it. This is only for people who love reading and typing lengthy messages, because that's the only way we can communicate with each other when we don't get enough time to have real-time conversations. I am mentioning this only to save your time; I don't mean to come off as rude. The messages I send can be way longer than this post if we happen to click, and people who can't read the post entirely won't bother reading my messages properly either, and that would be a waste of time and energy for both individuals. You might have seen my posts very often in case you visit this subreddit on a regular basis, but I assure you that I only post so frequently because I don't receive any responses—and when I do, they're from people who either can't hold a conversation for long or message me without reading the post at all.
A bit about me:
I'm interested in all types of visual and aural arts. Writing, drawing, listening and composing music, watching movies and photography (I'm an amateur though) are my interests and hobbies. I'm broke so I'm not a gamer. I do have a fairly powerful PC but with a low-end graphics card I play older games on. Nothing online though.
Speaking of music, I'm mostly interested in Jazz, Funk, Hip-Hop, R&B/Soul (both classic and modern). I like listening to The Weeknd, Prince, Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars, Sade, Aaliyah, The Isley Brothers and various artists from the 70s to late 2000s generally. I'm a movie buff so I can recommend you movies too if you're looking for something to watch. And yeah, I LOVE MEMES! Keep sending them all day and I won't complain!
I'm an ambivert (more of an introvert though). My MBTI is INFP-T if that matters. I'm looking for people who are willing to share the events which occur in everyday life, joy and sorrow, secrets, deepest fears, and build a genuine connection over the course of time. I'll be there for you throughout the good and bad times; I expect the same from you too. I am active on most social media platforms. We can move on to other platforms once you feel comfortable with me.
Now here's the important stuff:
I would appreciate it if you don't just send me a "Hi/Hello/Hey." Introduce yourself; the longer the introduction is, the better. Makes room for questions. Instead of simply stating that you like movies/music, mention what genres you prefer. Makes the conversation more interesting. Please put effort into maintaining the conversation. Ask plenty of questions with the data I have provided in this post so I know that you're actually interested in getting to know me as well rather than simply talking about yourself. I feel like an interviewer if the conversation is one-sided. Don't bother messaging me if you're not naturally inquisitive and just want to talk about yourself all the time. I won't respond to any short messages (4-8 lines). If you want to leave, don't ghost me without stating a reason if we've been talking for longer than two weeks. Just tell me that we can't get along if you think the conversation isn't going anywhere. I won't get offended.
Your gender, race, sexuality don't matter at all, but tell me your age and gender just so that I know who I am talking to and follow social etiquette. I absolutely love lengthy messages; I don't feel overwhelmed by them. So bonus points if you're capable of typing lengthy messages. I'm a person who would spend an hour(s) typing a well-thought lengthy message rather than having small talk in real time. I type as if I'm writing a letter. I can chat in real time as well, it's just that I don't get much time throughout the day and I'm active at odd hours. And time zones exist, unfortunately. Short messages or long messages, the amount of time and energy you have to spend will be the same anyway.
Please don't message me if you're just looking for people to kill your boredom and later abandon them. No, I'm not being rude. I have had enough. Those one word or one sentence responses lead nowhere. Also, if you're someone who wishes to stay anonymous forever even after talking for a considerable amount of time, I'm not the person you're looking for. This is an important thing to keep in mind. I am open to revealing my identity if we get along well so I would appreciate it if you're open minded as well. But that doesn't mean I want you to reveal your identity in the very beginning itself. However, I won't wait more than three months just for you to reveal your identity if we communicate regularly. In fact, it's a great feat to converse for longer than a month on the internet. I personally think that anonymity acts as a barrier in any kind of relationship. I would love to meet you in real life at some point in the future if we get along and stay in touch for a considerable amount of time.
In the past 12 years, I have talked to several people around the globe on different platforms who wished to stay anonymous. I had conversations with them for months and years, but they always considered me as a stranger and eventually left. I'm tired of being a disposable person. What's the point of having a friend without a name and a face? I have no reason to trust someone who doesn't trust me. You can call me picky; I indeed am. I don't want to have conversations where both parties only ask each other about hobbies and interests and leave once they feel there's nothing in common. That's the reason why I asked you to cover those topics when introducing yourself. And just because I have already talked about my interests and hobbies doesn't mean there's nothing more to know about me. Human connection is a lot more than mere interests and hobbies.
I would love to interact with someone who doesn't treat me like an AI chatbot and acknowledges the fact that I'm an actual human being with feelings and emotions beyond the digital screen who spends his valuable time and energy to communicate with people—precious time and energy that I'll never be able to get back. I understand that these connections over the internet are very fragile and I can't control things the way I want so if you're interested feel free to send me a message anyway. I enjoy having conversations with people even if only for a while. Sometimes people you expect to be in touch for years leave you while the ones you don't expect to be in touch for long end up staying for a long time. Nothing is set in stone. All I ask you is to not leave without notifying me. Yes, I know whatever I have expressed so far sounds contradictory, but that's how life works, right? Reminds me of this quote by Japanese author Haruki Murakami:
"Is it possible, in the final analysis, for one human being to achieve perfect understanding of another? We can invest enormous time and energy in serious efforts to know another person, but in the end, how close can we come to that person's essence? We convince ourselves that we know the other person well, but do we really know anything important about anyone?"
While I agree with the fact that it's not possible to get to know a person entirely, I think connecting with another human being is a beautiful experience in itself. In the end, we are just lost souls yearning for human connection; searching for people who will provide attention and affection and accept us as we are. If you're still reading this, it means you are a good listener and reader. Message me if we have similar interests or ideals and if you think we can be potential friends. It doesn't really matter whether we have similar interests or not though, I would love to have you as a friend.
There's a lot more to learn about me but I would rather tell you all that when we begin interacting with each rather than typing it all here. Feel free to ask me any questions. I'm open to having a conversation with people around the globe any time. I'm also very patient so I don't mind waiting for weeks or a month if the messages are lengthy. I understand that you might find all of this intimidating, but there's nothing about me to be afraid of. My messages can be lengthy, but only if you reciprocate my efforts and keep on adding stuff to the text. I know that this post sounds like a contract. I know I sound very serious but that's not entirely true. In fact, I can crack jokes sooo bad that will make you laugh. Thank you for spending your precious time reading this post. What are you waiting for? Text me right now! Feel free to message me even if you're seeing this several hours or days later.
Have a nice day/night and I hope you find someone to develop a strong bond with in case I'm not the person you're looking for. Take care of yourself and always stay hydrated!

Hey everyone, a few days ago I asked why [[Spikefield Hazard]] was relevant to this deck and I received a lot of insight. Well I just got my playset [[Slickshot Show-Off]] and adjusted my deck to an updated build. I ordered a few other cards after looking at some lists and here is what I ordered 2 of each of the following:
[[Feather, the Redeemed]] [[Dreadhorde Arcanist]] [[Tajic, Legion’s Edge]] and [[Chance for Glory]]
I was messing around and realized thanks to Feather I can no longer play [[Jegantha, the Wellspring] (at least I think based off its wording), but then I also realized that if I wanted to play the Feather and Dreadhorde combo I would need to cut down on spells. Which this deck needs its pump spells and I believe it will feel bad cutting out four spells for these creatures. So I think I won’t end up playing them currently.
I am interested in Tajic but I’m wondering if he would to high cost? He would be the top of the mana curve and I think he offers great utility a 3/2 with haste, mentor, and the ability to prevent non combat damage I feel it great against board wipes. Also the pay a W he’ll be able to gain first strike until the end of the turn makes this a versatile card. I know I’ll need to adjust a few things in my deck I just am not sure what. Maybe I could cut [[Favored Hoplite]] and [[Illuminator Virtuoso]] down to 3 each to make room for 2 Tajic might be worth considering.
Chance for glory I feel could be a main board of two and with Illuminator Virtuoso you could always connive one away since you could run two in the main and realistically you’re only casting one per game. Or it could be a one of much like [[Gods Willing] and [[Sejiri Shelter]]. I think being able to end out the game by gaining and additional turn and providing your creatures I destructible is a huge positive.
Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? I think I’m ok with not playing feather and dreadhorde because they make the player remove instants and sorceries from the deck and recursion and is not necessarily needed. Not to mention the companion in Jegantha would be lost due to feather costing 1R2W.
Here’s my list:
https://www.moxfield.com/decks/P45W6AofDk6nAJC80Al5Tg
I’m sure it’s extremely generic at this point also I’m looking to drop [[Damping Sphere]] potentially because I’m realizing that’s a card that hinders me also.

just a quick rant lol but please lmk if it gets better or what I can do to make it better
I feel that I grew up way too fast because I grew up in a setting where my parents barely spoke English, so I was constantly translating for them. Even receiving difficult news, I was the one who had to break it to my parents.
Since I was very little, I always wanted my parents to think I'm doing fine and that I am always happy. So, I never opened up to them and I also felt so uncomfortable showing any emotions to them. Even when I was being severely bullied for the first two years of middle school, I never said a word. However, they eventually found out from my guidance counselor, and even then I pretended that it was nothing. Even my past relationships, I kept a secret. I feel like my parents don't even know who I am. I know it's partially my fault for not telling them, but at the same time (I don't mean to blame my parents but..) they did not create that environment for me to feel comfortable to do so. Therefore, they overlook my feelings a lot and even claimed that I am not sympathetic enough. For example there has been situations where people I know have passed but I am so uncomfortable to expressing my emotions to the point where it came off as disrespectful. But the thing is, I am an extremely sensitive person. I just hide it very well. I feel things deeply and little words affect me a lot.
What hurts more is that I have younger siblings who I have always looked after. I literally felt like a mother to them even though our age gaps are not a big difference at all. But I see the difference in my life and their lives. I love them so much and I really do want to do anything to support them. But my whole life I have been making appointments for them, making an environment where they never have to feel like how I do and hide everything going on, and more, to the point where I am still like a mother. My parents also treat them so much differently. Everytime they go through a failure, my parents are there with open arms and rather worried about my siblings being stressed about it. Meanwhile, I feel the opposite way. Whenever I experience a failure that my parents know about, I feel stressed due to the way my parents will be stressed and worked up about it. I realized I never put myself first. Especially my mother, she will even sometimes yell at me for my mistakes and while she has never yelled at my siblings once but rather hugged them and told them it's fine. I have NEVER received that treatment.
I also feel that my parents have never been satisfied with me. Yk the classical AP. I'm not tall enough, I don't have a high enough GPA for them (even though at the moment I am in the top 3% in GPAs out of 800 people in a high achieving high school), I'm not skinny enough (even though I have a below average weight for my height), and etc etc. Once, my mom expected me to make the soccer team when I never even got training and I was competing against kids who have been training since they were young. When I didn't make it, she was so disappointed in me and I was freaking out so much because she gave me a silent treatment. This same thing happened with my brother for hockey, and he also did not make it. However, my mom reassured him and said it's fine and that it isn't fair that the other kids were already on teams for several years. It's just so so frustrating to see this. I know I'm being somewhat selfish and I am not at all saying I want my mom to be tougher on my brother. But it's rather that why didn't I get this treatment? Why do I always have to be on my toes and why do I always have to feel like a disappointment?
Regardless, I have so much love for my parents. I have a great relationship with them. They are always rooting for me and wanting the best for me. However, it's just so difficult especially because I live in an area that is white dominated and it's so so difficult for me to constantly wish I got the same treatment as the rest of the kids at my school. I am also fully aware that what I'm complaining about is nothing in comparison to some of the other stories here, but it's just that I am extremely fed up. I know I am being unfair by saying this, but if I try to communicate with my parents in English, it's English that is just jumbled up, pronounced wrong, and doesn't make sense. And I KNOW that they are trying their best, but it can just get so frustrating sometimes because my siblings cannot speak our native language as well as I do, so I ALWAYS translate back and forth to the point where I am so fed up. This isn't just about not knowing definitions, but rather the college process, banking related things, medical related things, etc etc. The only person in my family who is taking care of all this is me. And recently I have been so busy and I am just so tired. I have so much anger building up because nobody from my town has the same experience as me and neither do my siblings. So I am just constantly jealous.
I am going to be applying to colleges this Fall, and I have never been so stressed. My parents have extremely high expectations for me, and I have consistently not been meeting them. My parents will say stuff every once in a while that really hurt. They do not have faith in me for the college process and honestly I don't either. When they suggest some colleges (ofc all with super low acceptance rates) and if I say something like "I don't like the location" they will be shocked because for them it's only academics that matter. But I want to be happy and I want to enjoy it if I am spending four years of my life there. My dad has even said that I should apply because ofc it doesn't matter what I want but he emphasizes that he doesn't know if I am even going to have options from being accepted to many and being able to choose. It's just so frustrating especially because my whole life I have been doing everything myself (well it feels that way) and all of a sudden due to college applications coming up, my parents are somewhat trying to make sure I'm doing this and that. I know that this also sounds so bad of me but for example my parents asked me "did you ask for recommendation letters yet" or "did you participate in school today" and I know that this is nice of them but from my perspective, it frustrates me. This is because yes, I did already, and I have been in control my whole life and I just don't like how they decide to interfere now. They have been completely clueless about so many things and honestly I really know that they are trying to help me and I know that it's nice but pls someone say they understand my frustration lol. It's like my whole life I have been responsible about anything coming up, and them making sure I did something (which I did) just frustrates me because I know!!!!! Like ofcourse I did it already. I feel like it's too late for them to all of a sudden want to manage and be more involved in my responsibilities, and I just want them to back off. I know that this is the support that I want but they should've been like this when I was so much younger. I would now much rather just tell the good news and they don't need to know the process I took or setbacks that got in the way. I know I am being ungrateful but I am just so exhausted and done.
And again, yes my parents want the best for me, and yes they don't mean harm, and yes I am living a financially stable life because they work so hard...etc.. But all I want is emotionally available parents. That has been missing my entire life, and it's too late to reverse this. Btw, I have tried and tried multiple times to express my feelings. But the same events just repeat. They have apologized but there is no change. It was even to the point where I cried in front of them (which is so humiliating to me), and there is just no change. I also feel like since college applications are coming up, my whole conversations with my APs have been about that.

When Walid ibn al-Mughira - God's curse be upon him! - chief of Quraysh and a man known for his eloquence heard [the Qur'an], he was struck into silence, his heart turned numb, his eloquence forsook him, his argument collapsed, his case was devastated, his impotence clearly appeared and his wits were befuddled; and he said: By God, there is a certain sweetness to his words, a certain grace
Sophia Vasalou's "The Miraculous Eloquence of the Qur'an: General Trajectories and Individual Approaches", Journal of Quranic Studies
What do you guys think of this quote? Do you think it's a fabrication? Or perhaps it has kernels of truth?
I think it these kinds of reports might have kernels of truth, with exaggerations here and there.
Considering I've seen many non-muslims on the internet describe how beautiful they find the recitation of the Quran to be, I don't think the nature of the above report, and others like it are complete fabrications.
Some examples from youtube comments:
English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0R1LKPRwxR4
"i am not Muslim or any specific religion, but this is beautiful and calming. I can understand the reasoning behind the devotion of life to Allah and being Muslim in general. "
"I am hindu ,listening this holy Quran....very soulful"
"I'm not a Muslim. This has spoken to me about a person who I once was but either didn't know, or forgot about. It is absolutely beautiful. I feel calm and warm "
"I'm not Muslim but I find Quran recitations very beautiful and calming to listen to ️ Many of the verses (?) I've heard are so eloquent and poetic."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWt5_NJuhME
"I am italian, I am not muslim but I always listen to these preyers because they relax me I don't know why"
"am not muslim but i love to listen to this beautiful recitation of Quran. Amen"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BzCpV43t_A
"I am a Hindu, didn't understand anything but it was peaceful God bless everyone who is reading my comment"
"I'm Christian but im absolutely stunned every time I hear a recitation of the Qur'an"
"I automatically wounder if my faith in Christianity is in vein cos I can't stop crying whenever I hear a quruan recited by any person"
French: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfBuqT-qM3o
"Je suis pas musulman mais ça m’empêche pas de trouver ça magnifique! Que dieu nous garde uni - I'm not Muslim but that doesn't stop me from finding it magnificent! May God keep us united"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QQEX9eAWlI "bonjour,je ne suis pas musulmane..je n'arrive plus à dormir depuis quelques mois mais je suis tombée ici par hasard..je me suis endormie en 20 minutes,merci à cette magnifique religion en tout cas prenez soin de vous -hello, I'm not Muslim..I haven't been able to sleep for a few months but I came across here by chance..I fell asleep in 20 minutes, thank you to this magnificent religion in any case take care of yourself "
"Je ne suis pas musulmane et j'écoute le Coran qui n'est que magnifique et je ressens une grande paix un appel et une force à faire Ramadan..Dieu est grand et tout puissant..je suis apaisée - I am not Muslim and I listen to the Koran which is only magnificent and I feel great peace, a call and strength to do Ramadan..God is great and all powerful..I am peaceful"
Spanish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bV5_4h14oA "Me encanta yo soy cristiano pero me gusta mucho escuchar el coran me relaja mucho gracias a dios allah es unico dios - I love it, I am a Christian but I really like listening to the Koran, it relaxes me a lot, thank God, Allah is the only God."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7H2cOr0578g
"Divino, magestuoso soy católica pero admiro mucho su devoción y entrega al mismo Dios, cantan con el alma esto extremece al que lo escucha. El mismo Dios se complace por esto. - Divine, majestic, I am a Catholic but I greatly admire their devotion and dedication to God himself, they sing with their soul, this excites those who listen to it. God himself is pleased by this."
"no soy musulman ,pero que hermosa voz y transmite una paz que no puedo describir con palabras. - I am not Muslim, but what a beautiful voice and it transmits a peace that I cannot describe with words."
German:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JklwnIrroAg
"Ich bin zwar Christin, aber habe sehr Respekt vor dem Islam. Ich finde das sehr friedlich in schweren Zeiten - I am a Christian, but I have a lot of respect for Islam. I find it very peaceful in difficult times"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaNQfZ6C0Mk "Bin keine Muslimin. Aber der Koran zu hören, nimmt mir meine Sorgen und beruhigt mich -I am not a Muslim. But listening to the Koran takes away my worries and calms me down"
Portuguese: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfuY2spWdJI "Sou católica,mas ouvir o alcorão me dá uma paz inexplicável -I'm Catholic, but listening to the Quran gives me an inexplicable peace"
"NAO SOU MUÇULMANO MAS QUANDO OUÇO AS SURAS DO SAGRADO ALCORÃO SINTO UMA PAZ PROFUNDA...ASSALAM ALEIKU!!!! -I AM NOT A MUSLIM BUT WHEN I LISTEN TO THE SURAS OF THE HOLY QURAN I FEEL A DEEP PEACE...ASSALAM ALEIKU!!!!"
"Não sou Mulçumana mas sinto uma profunda emoção ao ouvir. -I'm not Muslim but I feel a deep emotion when I hear it."
Russian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1xk0E3bzqU
"Я русская, не религиозна, слушаю 1 раз, почему плачу не знаю...... - I’m Russian, not religious, I listen to it once, I don’t know why I’m crying......"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFpjyPbjUj8
"Я конечно христианин, но все равно слушаю Коран, всем Мира и добра в доме братья, Аллах велик - Of course, I am a Christian, but I still listen to the Koran, Peace and goodness to all in the house brothers, Allah is great"
"Я не мусульманин, надеюсь пока что, но обожаю слушать Священный Коран.

I am not a Muslim, I hope so far, but I love listening to the Holy Quran."

Japanese: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaJq5yyYlB4 "無宗教ですが、この綺麗な音とと言葉…心が穏やかになります - I'm not religious, but these beautiful sounds and words make me feel at peace."
"祈りの言葉は、宗教の壁を超えて美しいと感じるけれど「宗教」となった途端に争いが起きるのは悲しい、と思うのは日本人的感性でありましょうか。 - I feel that the words of prayer are beautiful and transcend religious barriers, but I also feel sad that as soon as they become a "religion" conflict arises. Perhaps this is a Japanese sensibility."
"夕方にアザーンが流れる国に住んでます。結婚を機に移住して、毎日流れるアザーンと、ラマダン時期の楽しそうにしてるイスラム教徒の方々見て癒されてます。宗教的に犬とかダメな人多いけど、誰にでも優しいからいい国。 - I live in a country where the adhan is played in the evening. I moved here when I got married, and I find it comforting to hear the adhan every day and to see Muslims having fun during Ramadan. Although there are many people who are against dogs for religious reasons, it is a great country because it is kind to everyone."
"とても美しい
心が清められるようでした。 - It was so beautiful and my heart felt purified."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3pETCq8KHo
"イスラム教、とても好きなので、いっそのこと仏教徒を辞めて、イスラム教徒になろうかと思う今日この頃。でもラマダンの時、戒律破りそうなので難しい（笑）特に暗い時、午前４時頃聴くと、本当に心が洗われる気がする。 - I love Islam so much that I've been thinking about quitting Buddhism and becoming a Muslim. But it's difficult because I might break the rules during Ramadan (lol). When I listen to it at around 4am, especially when it's dark, I feel like my heart is cleansed."
Korean: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXQNF67nodc
"종교를떠나 음율이 아름다워 마음에 웅장함과 평온이 느껴집니다 -Regardless of religion, the melody is beautiful and brings grandeur and peace to the heart.
I feel it"
"말레이시아 살아봐서
늘 새벽부터 듣던 소리입니다
지금은 저소리가 듣고싶어서
제가 이렇게찿아서 듣곤하네요 Because I lived in Malaysia
It's a sound I've always heard since dawn.
I want to hear that sound now
I often listen to it like this."
"종교를 떠나 너무 아름답습니다. Regardless of religion, it is so beautiful."
"와 왜 종교에 빠지는지 알것같다.... 이슬람에 편견을 갖고있어서 싫어했는데 꾸란 자체는 음율이 있어 노래부르는것 같이 아름답네
마음의 안정도 오고 푹 빠지게 되는듯 Wow, I think I understand why people fall for religion... I was prejudiced against Islam and disliked it, but the Quran itself has a melody and is beautiful, like singing...
I feel like I'm getting peace of mind and falling in love with it."
With all this in mind, I think the historicity of the reports of arabs being amazed by the Quran during the Prophet's time are a possiblity.
What do you guys think?

WARNING: this is very long so if you don't want to read a wall of text feel free to skip!
It’s always been like that for me. For some reason it takes me a LOT longer than my peers to find employment. I often find myself chronically unemployed (even though I have years of experience) for a year or more. To top it off I’m autistic and suffer from severe ADHD with anxiety and depression on top of it.
After I graduated university it took me a year to find a job. Had consistent employment for almost 4 years straight until 2018. During this period I actually had a job lined up before quitting.
Fast forward to 2018. Had a job as a software developer for a well known company (no it’s not FAANG) and they paid pretty well. It was the most money I ever made in my life. Unfortunately things didn’t work out there and the work environment and culture wasn’t for me. I was placed on a team as a new dev and they barely gave me any work. After awhile I hated going to work everyday cause everyone basically just ignored me and I spent most of my time self studying on my own. I found this job through their autism to work program. Before accepting the job I was told that I’d get support and accommodations with a mentor.
My “mentor” was basically useless. She didn’t do a damn thing and would cancel our one on one meetings half the time. Sometimes she wouldn’t even tell me at the last minute. She just never showed up. All she did was report negative feedback from my manager and provided no solutions or recommendations to improve. I was let go cause they felt like I “needed a lot of hand holding” lol. They barely gave me work to do. I would finish my assignments in a day or two max. They made some other bullshit complaints too. I showed up on time and did what I had to do every time. It was awful. I was far far away from home and lived out of state at the time also.
Lost my apartment and had to move back home with my family. Long term unemployment stint #1 begins here (if you don’t count how long it took me to find my first job you can say 2)
Fast forward to September 2019 and a friend recommended me a job as a software developer and finally moved out again. I taught myself HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP to the best of my ability. I was not only learning on the job but maintained their website, ran chron jobs, and troubleshooted issues with site functionality and even the web server. I was literally a one man show and to top it off was working for $15/hour. My boss was a prick and would sometimes short my coworker and me money on our checks. My coworker handled all the marketing and promotion. I handled everything related to the website.
Fast forward to June 2020. Of the two of us unfortunately I was the one laid off for whatever reason. My boss just called and said that they’re laying me off right in the middle of COVID. Since I wasn’t working I could no longer afford rent so I had to move back home. Then became super depressed and it took me a little over a year to find a job.
Fast forward to August 2021 and I found a job at a call center. Ended up getting fired and it was my fault sadly. Got fired for yelling and hanging up on a customer. That day I was in a really bad mood and the person on the other line started cursing me out and getting real disrespectful with me. I was happy to be fired. Worked there for only two weeks.
Four months later in December 2021 I landed a job that was closer to home but another shitty call center. Surprisingly I lasted there a year and a half. My mental health was already in the toilet and doing everything I could to hold onto this job for dear life so I sucked it up until I found another job. I wanted to get out that call center so badly since it was nothing but micromanagement and back to back calls.
June 2023 rolls around and I finally started my job in desktop support as a contractor. Offer letter said 6 month contract then when I read it found out it was a 3 month contract to hire and also found out that they shorted me a dollar on the agreed pay rate. I asked for $30/hour and they agreed to it only to find out they changed things last minute. Spoke to the recruiter about the discrepancies and was told that’s the best they can do so I said screw it and took it.
My recruiter told me that they would “definitely” be converting me at the end of the three months but sadly that never happened. I showed up on time everyday and did a good job according to my manager and everyone else (so they said). I even got good reviews from a number of clients I worked with. About two months in I noticed things began to go south. Had a small disagreement and misunderstanding with my manager on a ticket she said I messed up on for whatever reason. Long story short she said the ticket was urgent when nowhere on the ticket said there was a deadline and she made a huge stink about it. Not only did I receive few tickets to begin with but I had to share the one or two tickets I had with a bunch of interns so I barely had anything to do. My other coworkers had more tickets than me yet would rarely put the interns with them. It was always with me which in my head made no sense. I get a call from the recruiter saying that they’re ending my contract early. During the call I asked why and they said it was due to “performance reasons”. At that point I had two weeks left. I worked one of those weeks then one morning left the building during a meltdown. Left my badge, laptop and all their property on the desk and didn’t say a word to anyone. Been looking for work ever since. Sent out hundreds of resumes and so far only had 2 interviews which led to nothing despite both of them saying I did well and they liked me.
Hundreds of applications later and here I am with no job. I’m still looking for work and decided to also start a small business in the meantime. I started a month ago and only had 2 clients so far. Still no luck with applications. I’m 35 now and had to move back home during the pandemic and been here ever since after living on my own for years.
I’m very thankful and grateful for my mother. She’s the only reason why I’m not homeless. Everyday I think about suicide and I’m reaching a point where I might actually go through with it.
I’ve always been behind in life and feel like I progress slower than my peers. Deleted my social media cause I found myself comparing myself to my former classmates and friends achieving the things I tried so hard for and failed miserably.
I also suck at everything I do. After 1300 hours in valorant I only peaked at Gold 2. I’m the worst in my friend group like with every video game and sport. At one point I even paid for a few Valorant coaching lessons which IMO didn’t think were that great. I was always picked last in gym class. At my first job I was the last one to receive an offer to convert full time and the people that joined way after surpassed me despite having good metrics and being top of the leaderboard several times for several weeks.
Honestly at this point I’m ready to give up on life. Feels like I was destined to be a failure. I always felt like my efforts don’t pay off for anything. I failed my career. I failed in dating. I failed in my hobbies. Now I know you shouldn’t compare yourself to others but when I’m the only one I know of in my situation it’s damn near impossible not to. I’m not gonna act like I have the worst life ever but I don’t know of ANYONE my age struggling like this.
Every time I think I’m building momentum some bullshit always happens and every time it feels like I’m knocked back to square one. Feels like building a house that’s in a tornado zone only for my foundation to be knocked to pieces every time and cant afford to move.
I’m just frustrated with life and everything at this point. I hate everything about myself and seriously can’t wait to die. I’d pay someone to kill me. I’m crying while writing this thesis paper of a post. Maybe there’s something very wrong with me. I think I’m slow and stupid. Maybe even borderline retarded. I’m the failure of all failures. Nothing but a talentless garbage can loser bum.
Don’t know what to do. I don’t wanna go back to the hospital but I may have to. Thanks for reading my rant. I needed to get this out since I have no one to talk to.

Logan the bounty hunter was in a really bad mood.
It all started when the coffee machine stopped working. This wasn’t a rare occurrence; in fact, it was the third time this cycle, but this time his go-to solution (taking out and reinserting the star powder battery) didn’t fix it, and he was all out of ideas.
It’s not that the caffeine even did anything for him. The nanomachines in his system filtered out many sorts of potentially addictive or harmful substances, and for some reason this included caffeine, which is a fact he only realized after the seven-cycle refund period had passed.
Still, it was an old habit and an act of comfort that he sorely felt the absence of.
That was the first thing. The second thing was that his tracker had stopped working. In fact, his entire connection to the galactic wide web (gww) had gone down. Without the tracker, he couldn’t pinpoint the exact location of his current bounty—a low-class deathworlder wanted for kidnapping and trafficking—which kind of made his whole bounty hunting business difficult to do.
Oh, and his ship had crashed.
Damn thing was overdue for maintenance, and the autopilot had started malfunctioning while flying over a small dusty-brown planet. It had taken some careful manual maneuvering and some buffeting about in the planet’s whirlwind atmosphere, but eventually he had managed the miracle of walking away from a smoking and unsalvageable wreckage with only minor cuts and bruises.
Here he was now, trudging through the sandy windswept dunes of a planet that hadn’t even showed up on the map. Armed with little more than a spacesuit, a blaster, and an undying will. And wishing he’d had that cup of coffee (and wasn’t immune to caffeine).
Logan raised a hand to his eyes, peering through the thick glass of his visor. There was so much dust and sand swirling around that it made it quite hard to see where he was going, not that there were any landmarks in sight anyway. It looked scorching hot outside, though his spacesuit registered a cool 286 Kelvin for some reason. Likely another malfunction, one that he’d rather not put to the test.
On a planet like this, he supposed, everyone (if anyone was even here) probably lived under the surface where it was probably cooler and probably free from sandstorms. All he had to do was find the entrance to their underground tunnels among all this shifting sand.
The chance of that happening was, unfortunately, not very high. Still, Logan wasn’t panicking yet; he’d been through worse, he thought. He’d been through jungles teeming with 8-foot beetles. Survived massive hiveminds circling to entrap him, faced slippery slimes that reformed their bodies to resemble those he held dearest. Horrible learning experiences, those.
That being said, sometimes it’s the mundane problems that pose the greatest threats of all. Starvation, aching thirst, and a dwindling oxygen supply while wandering a barren desert. It wouldn’t be a glamorous way to go out, and Logan was wracking his brain for ideas.
Now would’ve been a good time to use his rescue beacon, if he had one. This would be his, what, 127th bounty? And until now, he’d never had to use a beacon. Stopped carrying one a dozen bounties ago. Maybe it was just luck, but things had always gone pretty smoothly, and maybe he’d gotten a little overconfident.
Logan knelt down and grasped at the ground, watching the little grains of sand sift through his gloved fingers. Those little specks seemed to shimmer and flicker, like a low quality hologram call. Otherwise, though, they seemed normal; surprisingly similar to the sand he remembered from Earth. It made sense that some things remained the same throughout the universe; it’s not like every planet could re-invent the periodic table, after all. Even aliens had to remain grounded in reality, however loosely.
He looked down. According to his suit’s display, he had a few hours of oxygen left. He’d been walking for a while now with nothing but the sands to show for it. He also had to pee. It was really going quite terribly.
“It looks like you’re doing quite terribly,” a voice said, velvety and welcoming. Logan jerked his head up, blinking rapidly in surprise.
Standing before him, with crossed arms and a smoldering look, was a lithe, dusky-furred humanoid. They—or she, judging by the feminine face—was wearing a long, thin shawl translucent enough to reveal a pair of twitching, swiveling ears and a questioningly arced tail, swaying in the wind.
The feline features were unmistakable. It was, by all accounts, a catgirl.
Mentally, Logan pumped his arm and jumped for joy. Just wait until the guys back at Earth heard about this! Many a novice pilot first set out for the stars with dreams of catgirls and other alien babes in mind, but thus far, most alien species had been decidedly strange and eerily-shaped, though this didn’t stop everyone from pursuing them. Outwardly, though, he nodded, and rasped, “I could use some help. Do you know about this thing called ‘oxygen’?”
The catgirl frowned. “Great way to say hi to a girl. But yes, you aren’t the first traveler to crash-land on Shaw Prime. Follow me.”
“Oh, great,” Logan said. How convenient. “Where to?”
“My people live underground, hidden from the elements within a complex system of—”
“Tunnels? I knew it.”
The catgirl turned around and whipped her tail against Logan’s leg. It kind of stung for a moment. “I don’t know what culture you come from, traveler, but in mine, it’s rude to interrupt someone while they’re speaking. Especially if they’re the host and you, the guest.”
Logan rubbed the back of his head (or tried to, but the spacesuit got in the way). “Sorry. Just got excited. Interrupting someone speaking is actually considered rude in my culture, too.”
“So you should’ve known better.” The catgirl harrumphed and started marching forward, waving her tail to signal him to follow. He shrugged and started trudging along behind her.
“So where am I, exactly? ‘Shoe Prime’ you said earlier, I think?”
“Shaw Prime,” she corrected. “A small sand planet on the outermost reaches of the nearest solar system. Quite uninhabitable for most, and all our visitors arrive unwillingly.”
“I see. It certainly feels inhospitable. And,” Logan said, jumping in place a couple times, “you’ve got decently strong gravity, though less than where I come from. You know, this feels like at least a minor deathworld to me.”
“The term ‘deathworld’ is new to me, but it does seem fitting enough.”
“Right. I’m guessing the Galactic Federation hasn’t gotten around to marking your planet yet. Actually, your planet didn’t even show up on my map; people might not even know that civilization exists here. Huh.” It would be the first time for Logan to discover a new species. He could report this back home, and hopefully get handsomely rewarded for it.
“The ‘Galactic Federation’? I haven’t heard that term before. What does it mean?”
“That’s the big alliance formed by all the space-faring species of the known universe. They’re basically responsible for everything, including first official contact with new species like yours.” Logan paused a moment. “Wait, you said I’m not the first traveler to land here, right? How have you not heard of the Galactic Federation before?”
The catgirl’s ears twitched, but she didn’t look back. “They must have neglected to mention it.”
“Weird. Surely someone must’ve mentioned it. The Federation’s got these rules for first contact, see, and—”
“We’re almost there.” The catgirl interrupted, glancing back at him with those smoky eyes. “The hidden entrance to the tunnels lies just ahead.”
Logan peered through his visor. Ahead of his guide’s slim figure, he saw nothing but more of the same brown hues. A sudden uneasiness prickled his skin. “Where? I don’t see anything.”
“If you could see it, it wouldn’t be very hidden, would it? Come on.”
She beckoned him forward, and a few paces later, stopped entirely. She crouched down and scrabbled at the sand a few times, revealing a circular wooden hatch buried under a thin layer of sand. It didn’t look that heavy, but she grunted and strained to lift it up with her paws, revealing a dark cavern down inside.
“In you go,” she said, pointing her tail at the hole.
Something about this didn’t sit right with Logan. Maybe it was the way her fur stood warily on end, the way her ears shivered every so often. Maybe it was the fact that his guide didn’t know about the Galactic Federation, yet seemed familiar enough with travelers to communicate with ease. Sure his universal translator helped, but that was only supposed to work with discovered species, not ones that had yet to be contacted and researched. Or maybe it was just that he didn’t like jumping into suspiciously dark holes in the ground.
There was also the fact that the temperature gauge in his suit was now measuring a chilly 270 Kelvin. A far cry from the heat suggested by the sun-baked sands he saw.
He had a guess where this was going, and he didn’t like it, not one bit.
“Say,” he said, conversationally. “I noticed your hologram flickering earlier. Think you need some maintenance.”
“What?” The catgirl said, raising a dusky eyebrow. “I don’t know what that is. Won’t you go inside?”
“I’m just saying. It’s a convincing show and all, promise, but once you’ve been in the biz long enough, you start noticing small details like flickering sand and mismatched temps.”
“Look at you. All the heat must’ve gone to your head.” She said, sidling up to him. There was a sudden yet subtle shift in her demeanor, so quick that he almost didn’t notice. Her eyes lowered, her tongue darted out to lick her nose, and she placed one foot in front of the other gracefully, retracing her own steps perfectly. She approached him, casually curling her tail around his leg, sending tingles up his spine.
“Poor, weary traveler. It must’ve been tough, sailing through space all on your own. Won’t you come inside and rest a while?” She purred, tugging him gently towards the open hatch. “Quickly, before the sand covers it again.”
He inched a hand towards the blaster hanging at his side, unmoved by the obvious act. “Does the word ‘gelatinous’ mean anything to you?”
Her eyes locked onto his hand, her tail going stiff behind her. “Not as such, no. Why don’t we discuss this inside? After you, of course.”
“Of course. I’ll be on my way, then.”
Logan said, shoving her away, leaping back, and unholstering his blaster, all in one practiced motion. She landed softly on all fours, hissed, then sprang at him, fast as lightning. He raised an arm to block, pulling up his blaster and aiming it at her center mass. At the same time, she skidded to an abrupt halt before him, half-crouching as one hand darted past his arm without a sound.
They both froze. Logan’s blaster trained on her torso, her claws nearly piercing his neck. It seemed they were at a deadlock.
Wait, Logan thought to himself. I have a spacesuit.
His fingers itched on the trigger, but in that same instant, he heard a small tearing sound as a single claw slipped through several layers of synthetic polymers, Kevlar, and silica fiber to rest itself pointedly against the actual skin of his neck. A small hissing sound indicated the oxygen leaking from the new hole in his suit.
“That’’s a sharp knife you’ve got.” He said, feeling his mouth drying up.
“It’s not a knife,” she said smugly, though her raised fur betrayed her wariness.
“Enough of these illusions, okay? I’ve seen through ‘em. We’re not in a desert, and you’re not a catgirl. I’ve met your kind before—shape-shifting, amorphous slimes, always taking the form of something I love. Usually it’s my late wife or a dear friend, but pretending to be a catgirl is taking it too far.” He sniffed.
She hmphed, and said, “You’re only half-right, outworlder.” She let out a trilling sound, and a moment later, the world flickered out of existence.
With the veil lifted, Logan could see the world for what it really was. Gone were the tan-brown desert and the shifting sands. In their place was a world of ash. White and grey specks drifted through a sunless sky, cold and desolate. Looking down, he saw that his feet were buried ankle-deep in the stuff. So the feeling of sand had been real, sort of. He wondered what it was made of.
Dreading what he would see, he raised his eyes once more, only to see the same catgirl shivering in her shawl before him.
“This is what I actually look like,” she said, pricking her claw against his neck. “Now how about dropping that gun and sticking your hands in the air?”
“So catgirls are real.” Logan wondered aloud, feeling hope swelling in his chest.
“I… guess?” She seemed uneasy about the way he looked at her. “So about that gun—"
“What is this place?” He asked, prodding his blaster against her stomach. “I’m pretty sure it looked like a desert world from outside. Don’t tell me you have some, some kind of planet-wide hologram going on. That would be… I don’t know, prohibitively expensive, and very concerning.”
“Yes,” she said, straight-faced. “The hologram covers the whole solar system, in fact. We are at the center of a powerful criminal empire spanning the galaxy. The white ash is made from cremating the corpses of all who have dared to oppose us, and soon you will join their ranks.”
“Woah, really?” Logan said, raising an eyebrow. They must deal in trafficking, then.
“No, I lied. Although, usually that gets a bigger reaction out of outworlders. Now come on, you can surrender now or wait until my backup gets here, and then it’ll get messy. You choose.”
“I think I’ll wait for more catgirls to show up, thanks.”
She hissed. “It’s your lucky day. Here they are now, actually.”
From behind mountains of ash, they plodded forwards. All varieties of colors, from dusky to snow-white to calico, but all sporting the same unmistakable ears and tails. Logan’s heart beat with excitement, until he noticed the strange metal tubes being pointed at him from all angles.
“Ah, am I correct in assuming that those are your planet’s version of blasters?”
The catgirl retracted her claw from his neck and nodded in confirmation. “They’ll blast a big hole right through you.” She stretched her arms and yawned wide, letting herself relax now that her reinforcements were here.
Logan dropped the blaster to his side. “Well, shit.” Surrounded by armed enemies on all sides, he had no choice but to obey.
It was then that he had a really stupid idea. One that would probably get him killed, but which would be really funny if it worked.
His blaster had a laser scope that shined a visible red dot on his target when toggled on. An attached laser pointer, in other words. If these catgirls were anything like the felines he knew on Earth…
Hell, it was worth a shot.
[To be continued? Or maybe not. I didn’t know how to end this, and I felt pretty silly writing it :c]