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2011.12.28 04:44 NARKOZ_777 PIXIV: Anime, manga, and video game fan-art artworks from a Japanese online community for artists

Anime, manga, and video game fan-art artworks from Pixiv (ピクシブ) — a Japanese online community for artists. pixiv - It's fun drawing!
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2012.12.06 03:28 Cozmo23 Destiny Reddit

Welcome to Destiny Reddit! This sub is for discussing Bungie's Destiny 2 and its predecessor, Destiny. Please read the sidebar rules and be sure to search for your question before posting.
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2024.05.19 01:54 Josh-sama Persistent attempts to take money by a cancelled free trial

Hi,
I signed up to a free trial on AltResume and cancelled it within the timeline to not get charged for a subscription.
They managed to claim money from me and have made 30+ attempts in the last month to try and claim more.
I contacted their customer service to confirm my cancellation and ask for an explanation, they advised me how to cancel and active subscription - there is not one and it was cancelled during the trial period. I received a refund for the mistaken payment they took with no correspondence from them.
They are still trying to claim money through my Monzo account on a daily basis and are ignoring all emails and when calling, I get hung up on.
Monzo have said I have an active claim and I’ll have an answer by January.
Is there any other option so I can actually use my Monzo bank account as right now, I have stopped using it completely.
submitted by Josh-sama to LegalAdviceUK [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:52 Angelweiss2000 Looking for friends from anywhere to learn about

Hey all,
So a bit about me, I'm a 24 year old male from the USA. I'm a bit of a nerd, liking reading books (love philosophy like Hegel, I like to read Kafka and Kierkegaard as well) a bit of crime stories, some horror, some scientific non fiction books and I have a few atlases as well. I love geography. :) As of late, I haven't been as invested in my interested due to a bit of depression but I am improving quite a bit.
I love video games. I'm currently working on a few, including Black Mesa, Dark Souls III, and an unhealthy addiction to Warframe at the moment.
I also have a blog I've been working on as a bit of a passion project where I work on video games and write about them, take screenshots along the way, write out reviews and updates and so on. Would love to share if I connect with anyone :) Even just something for you to read out
I like all things astronomy as well - albeit only a casual knowledge of it. I like to build Legos, Finished the Saturn V rocket and working on the Discovery space shuttle at the moment.
I love television and movies, some of which being Seinfeld (huge nerd for that show), The Sopranos, movies like JAWS, 2001, Inception, Interstellar.
Music may be most important and closest to my heart. I love alternative music, shoegaze, classic rock, classical (classical guitar in particular <3), jazz, some metal.
I hope to hear from some friends soon! Only looking for something casual as I haven't been on this site in a long time and I'm not looking to shy away from coming back so soon.
Feel free to send a message even just to say hi, take care :)
submitted by Angelweiss2000 to MakeNewFriendsHere [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:46 ChristLover10 The Last Child

I woke up with a cough of blood and pain. I felt something metal with my hands as I looked down. A long stint of rebar poked out of my ribcage and through my chest plate, covered in a mix of my blood and the bile of a bug.
I reached down and grabbed my Senator, feeling its trusty weight in my hands. I haphazardly tried to place the barrel against the portion of rebar sticking out of my back. This had better work I though. I pulled the trigger once and with a loud Crack I felt the vibration from the shot in my stomach. I tried to choke down vomit and pulled the trigger twice more Crack, Crack. With the third shot the rebar gave way and I rolled to my side and collapsed on the ground. Agony shot through my body as I hit the dirt.
I realized then, Hmmph, they left me. During Extraction one of the other divers called in a 500kg as we were about to board Pelican 1. She had thrown it over one of those damned chargers in an effort to kill one last bug but... it started charging us. I was the last one in line and just as I was about to board... i was thrown 200 feet away from extraction site. I don't blame them. I'd have left me too. We had successfully evacuated a number of scientists and other military personnel, but we'd lost the planet. No hard feelings I guess.
I tried to pull my mind away from those thoughts and just focused on one. Survive. I pulled myself to my knees and looked at the rebar again. Cant park there bud I thought tryna cheer myself up. I had dropped my senator when I fell and ended up with two free hands. I reached down and with the assistance of my servo-assited armor prepared to wrench the rebar from my chest. Alright, count of three, I thought. One mye heartrate quickened. Two I adjusted my grip ever so slightly. Three I ripped the metal r9d out and felt a hot stinging pain shoot through my body. I quickly grabbed as stim and applied it.
I winced as the stim numbed my broken ribs and began rapidly working to heal them and my open chest wound. After a couple seconds, I could stand.
I took quick stock of my inventory. My Senator with 23 rounds left, two ration packs, a canteen of water, 1 stim, a knife, and a bag of oatmeal. Oatmeal? Seriously? I'd rather have ammo but... beggars can't be choosers.
I looked around me. Snow and beaten down rubble surrounded me. This was some kind of research station, I think. Didn't bother grabbing the name. Cold as hell and nothing really around to get my bearings. Great. I thought. Im gonna die inside a freezer. I started looking through the rubble for anything useful. I found a corpse of one of the scientists that hadnt made it to evac. I grabbed the ID card off his jacket. Figured id get me inside a building if there were any left standing. I crawled out of the rubble and onto the snowy tundra.
The sun had set and with it most of the light I wouldve been able to utilize. I scanned the horizon for a blinking light. Blinking like meant beacon. Beacon meant possible radio, maybe some ammo. I clocked one to the southwest and began walking that direction senator drawn.
I spotted a few distant bug patrols illuminated by moonlight but they had no interest in me. I kept my head down and kept moving towards the light. Details started to take shape and I could see this was a research station. Perfect I thought.
I reached the door and used the key card. There was a Beep and the red light flashed green. The door cracked open before jamming. Oh no you dont I thought and with one hand yanked the door open. I closed it behind me with the same hand to keep the wildlife disinterested.
Inside was dark and damp. I had list the seal integrity on my suit so there was barely any oxygen regulation. Didnt need it on this planet but still. Its a bitch to fix. I turned my flashlight on and started scanning the room for a light switch. I found one but wouldnt ya know it... dead. At least the beacon had power. I walked over to the radio and pulled off my helmet. I wedged the flashlight in my neck and leaned my head to the side. I started flipping switched and turning dials to see if there was a response. Nothing. Id have to find the master terminal. I grabbed the flashlight and donned my helmet again. I began scanning the room again before I heard it. A little shuffle behind me. I turned quickly and drew my senator raising it at the source of the sound.
It was a small child. At least... thats what it appeared to be. At first glance I could see bindings on its legs and arms. A hospital gown with little ducklings on it and a teddy bear tucked under its arm. I lowered my senator as it spoke.
"Dr. Mehon told me to wait here. He said hed be right back."
Dr. Mehon was probably dead I thought. I knelt down and put my hand on the child shoulder. "Whats your name kid?"
"3". I felt a rage build up. I swallowed it quickly.
"Well 3, what uh... why.. why do you have bin.." I stopped myself. Whatever those scientists were doing here...
3 looked up at me and I noticed it. A cat like set of eyes. Other little details started to click as well. Four fingers on each hand, slightly pointed ears, a discoloration of skin and a rigid scale-like spine on the shoulder.
"The radio doesnt work mister." 3 seemed to have understood their situation. "Dr Mehon destroyed it before he left."
I realized then that it was unlikely either of us would make it off this planet alive.
Part coming soon? Depending on how this one does.
submitted by ChristLover10 to helldivers2 [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:46 JoeMorgue I got trapped on an Alpine Coaster for hours.

You guys know what an alpine coaster is? They are like a small roller coaster you find in the mountains. They are also called summer toboggans or mountain coasters and I think there’s some long German compound word they are called in parts of Europe. They are like a roller coaster, but with much smaller one or two person sleds you just sit on instead of multi-person cars you ride in, and instead of being built with like a scaffolding or a framework the tracks are just on the ground, using the elevation of the mountain. Basically it’s a coaster track on the side of a mountain where you ride a sled down.
They are pretty fun. Or at least I used to think so. They are more “personal” than roller coasters and although you get nowhere near the speed on them that you do on a good traditional roller coaster and they can’t do corkscrews or loops or anything like that the openness and simplicity of the ride gives an impression of a much greater speed. You’re just sitting there with nothing but a little plastic sled and the track between you and the ground as it goes zooming by. It’s like the difference between how fast a go-cart feels compared to how fast a sports car feels. You know the sports car goes faster but the open, simpleness of a go-cart feels a different kind of fast. There’s plenty of POV Youtube videos if you want to get the basic idea of what they are.
I used to love alpine coasters. Used to.
My family used to go to Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge and up and down the Smokey Mountains for vacations when I was a kid and they are common in that area and I’d always rode them every chance I got.
But as with so many things after I grew up and went to college they just became part of my childhood that slipped away. They aren’t exactly common once you get away from the mountains.
Until one cool spring afternoon in 2004. I was in my final year at college and I was driving back to campus in Tennessee after a short visit to my folks in North Carolina. It was only like a 4 or 5 hour drive via the most efficient route and I had no need to be back at campus early so instead of taking the freeway all the way I got off and took part of my trip through the mountains. The scenery was nicer and I admit I liked pushing my Camaro just a little faster than I should through the twisty mountain roads.
Just after lunchtime happened upon one of those little by-the-highway tourist towns deep somewhere in the Smoky Mountains near the Carolina/Tennessee border. Nothing fancy, a gas station/truck stop, a diner, a couple of places selling tourist merch nestled deep in the mountains. I pulled into the gas station. My tank was getting low and I needed to stretch my legs, maybe grab something to eat. It was still early and I only had another couple of hours. I could kill an hour or so and still make it back to campus at a decent hour.
I pulled into the gas station and was filling my tank when I happened to glance across the road and… well I’ll be damned. There it was. “The Blue Ridge Alpine Coaster.” Nestled on the side of the mountain was a building, a mockup of a red barn, where a single railed track that led up into the mountains, where it soon got lost in the greenery. Wooden hand painted standees of cartoon character bears dressed in stereotypical “Hillbilly” getup stood around, some of them holding signs showing the ride hours and ticket costs and other info. I had to admit, as silly as it was, it made me smile.I finished pumping my gas and, well, nostalgia is a helluva thing. I decided then and there I could waste a little time riding an Alpine Coaster again after all these years before getting back on the road.
I parked my car in a corner of the truck stop's parking lot, put my phone in the center console, this being the days before smart phones when people didn’t keep their phones with them 24/7 and I didn’t want my old Nokia brick phone to fall out during the ride, locked my car and walked across the mountain highway to the Alpine Coaster building.
Getting closer, the place was less inviting. The half hearted attempt at a whimsical faux-Americana kitsch was far less effective when it brushed up against the actual decaying, run down wooden building. Hell calling it a building was generous. It was a wood frame holding up a long roof that covered the area where you got on the sleds. The wood boards creaked under my footsteps.
The only real enclosed structure was a shack that held, what I assumed, was a ticket booth. A door on the side had both a single occupancy bathroom with an out of order sign on it. An old Pepsi machine buzzed and glowed next to it.
Still the place looked alive. Ahead of me a bored looking attendant was helping a mother and her young son into one of the sleds while in a bored monotone repeating the safety brief. A few people were waiting in line at the ticket booth. Up in the mountains the playful shouts of people on the ride echoed down. Fond memories of my own childhood rides flooded my mind.10 minutes and 15 dollars later I was settling into the hard plastic seat of a bright red sled sat atop a simple aluminum rail.
I couldn’t help but grin as the sled slowly climbed the track up the mountains, making click-clack ratcheting sounds that hit my nostalgia centers hard. I felt good. The air was cool and crisp and smelled of pine.Higher and higher in the mountains we went. I don’t know if this is my mind trying to make sense of it after the fact but when I remember these moments, the last good moments, I sometimes think I remember a very slight, very subtle pit of fear in my stomach. I honestly don’t know if I felt it at the time or not or it’s just how my mind tries to make sense of it looking back at.
But either way mostly I was enjoying myself. I smiled. I was a kid again. I could hear riders in front of me let out that initial yell of terrified glee you get at the first drop of any good ride.
It peaked. I glanced around. I could see for miles, rolling hills and mountains. I the sled tipped over and zoomed down the mountain and I let out the same happy yell I heard from the other passengers.The ride zoomed down the mountain, catching speed. The mountain forest floor zoomed past, only a few feet under me. Trees zoomed past. I gave out a happy whoop as the ride banked hard around a curve and then looped back under itself.Another dip, another curve. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of the G-forces pulling me every which way.
There was no one exact single moment where things started to go “wrong.” The ride kept going. And going. At this point the first creeping thought entered my head.
The ride… was still going.
It just started to hit me… this ride was going on for a really long time. I had taken a dozen rides on various coasters of this type before that day and they topped out at about 5 minutes or so, and that was the long ones. Longer than a traditional roller coaster but not that long. This one had been going on for what felt like 10, maybe even 15 minutes.
I looked back over my shoulder and could only see trees, moving too fast to really get a bearing on where I was at in relation to anything.
I wasn't exactly really worried yet. Okay so I had found a particularly long alpine coaster. At the time I wasn’t 100% wasn't sure they didn’t exist or anything like that. I was a little… unnerved but nothing was happening that was impossible. Yet.
I was trying to talk myself back into just enjoying the ride and stop overthinking it, and halfway succeeded, when out of nowhere I suddenly banked hard, the track jutting out almost over a sheer cliffside. I gripped the sled more tightly as I was whipped around. The ride then dipped hard and picked up speed, barreling down the side of the mountain.
I was pushed back against the seat by the force of the drop. Jesus I didn’t remember them being this rough. I was feeling slightly nauseous. And where had this elevation drop come from I wondered? I was still in the foothills and I didn’t remember seeing anything but gentle rolling hills and light drops from looking at the ride’s route earlier. How the ride had managed such a long, steep drop in this area I didn’t know. . For the first time I hoped that the ride would be over soon. I had no idea then how much I would want that same hope to be true so much more as time went on.
With a whiplash motion I was whipped forward and then back as the ride leveled out on flat ground again, but by this point I was going fast, too fast. My neck hurt from the mild whiplash and I felt sour in my throat and for a moment the contents of my stomach threatened to come back up. For the first, but hardly the last time the ride felt unsafe. Alpine Coasters are tame affairs, much slower and gentler than full on roller coasters but this thing was throwing me around like no thrill ride I had ever been on.
I looked around. I mean I wasn’t that deep into the woods. I should have been able to see a glimpse of something; the highway, the gas station, the tourist shops, the Alpine Coaster office, something, anything. But nothing. Just trees.
I forced back some panic for the first time. I closed my eyes and counted to ten. The ride zoomed along. I counted to 60. I counted to 60 again. And again. Okay this was getting uncomfortably harder and harder to explain.
Suddenly I noticed that up ahead the track seemed to just end, for one brief, terrible moment I thought the track just ended but I was wrong. Almost without warning the track dipped in an almost vertical drop. I almost screamed as I plummeted for 20, maybe 30 seconds before flattening out again.
By this point the voice in my head that was telling me something was wrong was louder and I could no longer tell myself it was wrong. This ride could not have been this long. I tried to make sense of it, wondering if somehow I had gotten diverted onto some kind of maintenance track or, hell for one brief irrational moment even entertaining the idea that I had wound up on an actual train track somehow. But that was absurd. The rail below me was not a train track, it was still just the simple, aluminum rail of an alpine coaster and there had been no diversions or junctions in the track. I was still on the ride, as insane as that was starting to feel. Had the ride somehow looped? Again after having the thought I immediately dismissed it as crazy. There’s no way I could have missed the ride building where I got on. And what kind of ride loops over and over?
The sled zoomed through the forest, oddly never seeming to lose speed despite the relatively flat grade of the track. I cursed myself for leaving my phone in the car and not wearing a watch. I don’t know exactly how long I had been on the ride at that point but it felt like I had been on the ride for a half hour, maybe more. But time is a funny thing when you’re in a situation you’ve never been in. Could have been more, could have been less, at that point.
My pride finally failed me. I started to scream for help. I screamed out that the ride was broken, to stop it, that I needed help. I did that for about ten minutes or so I think. The ride kept going. Mostly flat, level track with occasional mild dips and turns. But the simple length of the ride grew more and more unnerving and unexplainable.
I thought about just bailing out. But the ride, impossibly, was still not slowing down and chunks of mountain rock and thick tree trunks were all around me. Bailing out without risking smashing into a rock or a tree seemed impossible.
The ride kept going.
Up ahead the forest was clearing out some, I could see the forest brightening, more sunlight making it through the canopy.
I wasn’t prepared for what I saw.
The trees stopped and I had just enough time to take in a flat, open area of rock maybe 40, 50 yards at most before another sheer cliff. The tracks twisted and turned and then shot straight down. But that wasn’t the worst of it. For a moment, a very short moment, I had a clear view for miles and the landscape was, to be blunt, totally impossible. Any possibility that I had just stumbled on some incredibly long ride was blasted out of my head. Barren, volcanic looking rock stretched for miles. Jagged, black rocky outcroppings as far as the eye could see. I was in the goddamn Smoky Mountains. They don’t look like that.
I had a few moments for the terror of that view to settle in before the cart plunged into another horrifying drop. I gripped the handles of the cheap plastic sled until my knuckles turned white. The drop felt completely vertical, like I was falling at terminal velocity. I screamed. My stomach dropped and turned. I imagined the sled coming away from the track and me just plummeting screaming to my death on the rocks below. But somehow the ride still functioned. I closed my eyes tightly and just waited for whatever was going to happen. Eventually after several what felt like a full minute of steep plunging the track again leveled out, and I opened my eyes to see myself moving at breakneck speed over that black, rocky landscape.
Now that I was moving on a more or less flat horizontal track again I took a few deep breaths. I looked over the edge of the track. Nothing but that black, jagged rock, almost looking like obsidian, zooming past. I had no idea how fast the sled was moving now. Fast. Faster than a gravity powered sled should be moving. And the track was higher off the ground now. Alpine slides usually stick pretty close to the ground, but I was 20 feet or so in the air, the track suspended in the air, a simple metal tube tower like a power pylon every few yards.
Without any immediate threat and the sled moving fast but steadily and level I was able to think about my situation again, for all the good that did me. Ahead of me the track just continued to the horizon, nothing but the same rocky landscape as far as I could see. I craned my neck to look back over my shoulder and looked back behind me and it looked the same. Even the mountains were but distant specs on the horizon behind me.
This was insane. There’s not a giant seemingly endless field of black jagged rock in the goddamn Smoky Mountains. There’s no cliff faces tall and steep enough for a multi-minute vertical drop. And alpine coasters were small affairs, not major engineering projects that span miles with pylons and vertical tracks. It made no sense.
Sadly it wasn’t going to start making any more sense anytime soon.
The ride kept going.
I was on this rocky landscape for several hours. I feel comfortable saying this because I could actually notice the sun getting lower in the sky. And the sled wasn’t slowing down despite the grade of the track being flat. I was getting cramped from sitting and stretched my legs and twisted my back as best I could. Didn’t do much help. My eyes were starting to get irritated from the constant wind in them. Worst of all it was starting to get chilly. I only had on a light jacket, a windbreaker, just something to keep the breeze off me, no real insulation. I was cold, my joints were stiff, I was hungry and thirsty. My eyes watered and my throat was so dry it was sore.
But none of that was as bad as just how little sense this all made. There’s nothing like this place anywhere near the Smoky Mountains. This was like some volcanic rock landscape. The more I thought about it the less sense it made.
The ride kept going.
My mind didn’t even try to process this. Whatever I was experiencing simply couldn’t be possible. I was crazy. I was dreaming. The CIA had kidnapped me and dosed me with some new version of LSD and I was in a straightjacket in a padded room at Area 51.
The sled kept zooming along as the sky turned to dusk. Soon the bridge disappeared from my view and I continued on along the endless, rocky, featureless landscape.
I sat back against the sled, mentally and physically numb. I was exhausted. I was thirsty. I was cramping up. I was hungry. I had to pee. I held it for as long as I could, then had no choice but just wet myself. I cried until I had no more tears left. Then I just sat there.
The ride kept going.
By the time the sun dipped below the horizon my throat felt like sandpaper. I dug around in my jacket pockets hoping to find a stick of gum or piece of candy. Nothing. I checked again, having nothing else to do. Under a crumpled store receipt in the inner pocket of my jacket was a single old, forgotten cough drop. I unwrapped it from the paper and popped it in my mouth. Saliva flooded back into my mouth and I was overwhelmed by the methanol and medicine taste. It was something at least, although I knew it would be a brief and temporary fix at best.
I felt my eyes get heavy. It was getting colder. That mountain cold. That deep cold the mountains have even into the early spring when the sun goes down. That kind that just pulls the heat right out of you. I shivered. A terrible, horrible certainty came to me. I would ride until I passed out from exhaustion or the hypothermia set in. My body would tumble off the sled to fall and skip across the rocky ground like a stone skipping across a lake, my bones breaking as I tumbled until my body finally came to a stop. If I was lucky I would be killed and not have to lie for days, broken and bruised, on the ground until death took me.
The ride kept going. The ride kept going. The fucking ride kept going.
“Fuck you” I said to the ride, my voice a horse whisper. I pulled my jacket closer around me, for all the good it did. The cold wind was slowly but surely pulling my body heat away. My shivering got worse, crossing the line from a simple normal shiver into those deep, almost violent full body ones.. I wasn’t anything you could call an experienced outdoorsman, but I knew enough to know that wasn’t a good sign.
It was getting dark. There was a full moon at least so I wasn’t totally in the dark.
About then I noticed something. The landscape, what little I could see in the fading light, was changing. It was smoothing out, becoming less rocky and craggy. Up ahead an odd, shimmering light was starting to appear on the ground.
I was over it before I even realized what it was. The tracks were going over a smooth surface.
Water. It was a lake. The odd lights I had seen were the moon, reflected in ripples on the lake.
Within minutes I was out of the view of the land. After the nearly endless rocky landscape and everything else I had seen, it scared me how little I was shocked. I didn’t like how mentally numb I was getting. I leaned over. There was enough moonlight to see the water, 15 or 20 feet below the track. The pylons holding up the track went into the water, the light wasn’t good enough to even make a guess at how far they went down or how deep the water was.I leaned back in the sled. My eyes were red and bloodshot from the constant wind. I closed them. This was a mistake.I jerked awake. I don’t know if I dozed off for a split second or an hour. My weight had shifted and I caught myself as my center of gravity was in danger of sending me off the sled and into the water.
I screamed in anger. A deep primal scream. I hurt so bad. My joints felt like they were full of glass. My limbs were full of pins and needles. I glanced over at the water. For the first time on the very edges of my brain a tiny voice started to speak up, telling me that I could be all over if I just jumped. I shut the voice up, but it scared me still.
I sat there as the ride went on. It felt like hours. Eventually the lake ended in a rocky shore line. The damned ride. There was no safe place to bail out. If the ride slowed down, it was high in the air, if it moved toward the ground it sped up. Sharp rocks, big trees, nothing you could safely bail out into.
I kept having to force myself awake. I kept dozing off. Once I felt myself falling asleep and drove a vicious uppercut into my own nose to stave it off.
I seriously started to think about how much longer I could hang on. The voice came back again. This time I didn’t shut it up. I wasn’t admitting it to myself yet, but I was starting to think about the best way to land that would end it quickly if I needed to.
Something was ahead. The track seemed to dip into the ground. I was too tired, too beaten to even get scared. I was just resigned to whatever happened at this point.
With little warning the track took my sled into a tunnel in the ground. Everything went completely pitch black. After several moments even the dim moonlight was gone.
This was the worst part. The creepy forest, the immense rocky landscape, the eerie lake… those were bad. But this was just nothing. Nothing to look at, nothing to hear, nothing for reference or sense of where I was going. The walls of the tunnel felt like they were inches from me in every direction. The air felt thick, like there wasn’t enough oxygen.
With every moment I was in that tunnel I lost a little more hope. After a long, long time I made a decision. When I got out of this tunnel, I would jump. I didn’t care anymore. Hopefully there would be a spot where I could be certain the fall would instantly kill me. I was done. The ride had beaten me. I sat there, waiting for a chance to end this on my terms. That was all I had left.
Eventually up ahead, a tiny speck of light appeared. I gathered my strength, ready to end it. I sat up, getting my legs under me so I could jump as soon as we were clear. The sled burst out of the tunnel. The dim light of the full moon was enough to be momentarily blinding after the pitch black of the tunnel.. I gave my eyes a moment to adjust.
I was back in a normal looking Appalachian forest. Rolling hills, green trees. The air smelled of pine again. I heard an owl hoot off somewhere.
Slowly I lowered myself back into a setting position, in shock. At first I refused to believe it but the ride was slowing down. I held still, making sure my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me, but no, the cheap plastic sled that had been my world for what felt like an eternity was slowing down.
Up ahead, a structure was visible, peeking out from among the trees in the dim lighting as the sled moved down the track.
It was the Alpine Slide building. The crappy fake red barn where I had boarded this cursed ride so long ago. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, sure it was either my mind or the cursed ride playing tricks with me. But the building stayed there.
It grew closer and closer. The track leveled completely out. The sled slowed down more. Before I had the time to really come to terms with it I arrived back at the building.
The sled slowed to a stop, gently pumping against another sled parked on the track. I sat there for a few moments, gasping in great big gulping fear breaths, trying to assure myself the ride didn’t have one last trick of its sleeve.
I looked around. The place was empty, deserted. The overhead lights were still on and the old Pepsi machine still glowed and buzzed, but the ticket booth was dark and empty, a metal gate pulled down over the ticket window.
Suddenly it hit me that I was free and I practically leapt out of the sled and onto the platform. I immediately collapsed. My legs were jelly and my head was spinning. I tried to stand up again and doubled over, dry heaving. Have you ever been out on a boat for a day and have that weird reverse motion sickness when you’re back on solid land? It was like that times a hundred. My inner ear was literally pounding, all the motion had really done a number on it.
I laid there for a few moments and eventually forced myself to stand up on my two wobbling legs. I looked around, a horrible certainty creeping into my mind that there would be no exit, no way off the platform but to my relief an exit turnstyle, one of those full height ones, was set into the fence that surrounded the ride property.
I went through it and found myself back on the main road. The truckstop was still there, still open but far less busy. My car sat in the same corner of the parking lot I had left it.
I allowed myself one look back, just one quick one. The metal skeleton of the Alpine Slide track sat there, dark and quiet but otherwise normal.
I stumbled-ran back to my car, dug the keys out of my pocket, and collapsed inside. When the door shut I let out a primal scream, the tons of fear and confusion and anger all fusing into a single, raw emotion. I screamed again and again.
After a few moments I felt like I was emotionally at least back to a place where I could act, although I wasn’t sure yet what to do next. Not really knowing what to do I cranked the car. The A/C had been on low when I shut off the car and it came roaring back to life and cold air blowing on me almost sent me back into a full on panic attack. I fumbled with the climate controls until the air stopped blowing directly on me, then calmed down enough to turn the heat on, helping to get the chill out of my bones. There was a half full bottle of water in the center console cup holder and I grabbed it and chugged it. Nothing ever tasted as good before or sense as that few ounces of water.
That was when I noticed the clock on the radio head unit. It was 4:17 in the morning. It had been about one, one thirty or so in the afternoon when I got on the accursed ride.
Over 15 hours. I had been on the goddamn ride for over 15 hours. Over half a day.
I just sat there. Warming up. Calming down. I was exhausted. I was dehydrated. I can’t even describe how my head felt. I probably had at least a minor case of hypothermia. I thought about going into the gas station and asking for help but what would I even say, and more than anything I just wanted to get away from this place. And I just wanted to get away. I wanted to be nowhere near that damn ride.
I put the Camaro in gear and pulled into the street and in panic I immediately slammed on the brakes. I was lucky there was no traffic on the road at that moment. The feeling of accelerating to just normal surface street speeds made me sick to my stomach. I gathered myself and very slowly accelerated the car I usually treated with a very heavy foot up to 30 miles an hour. Every time I tried to accelerate at a pace faster than “Old Lady Going to Church, Uphill” I would have a panic attack. I was okay once I was up to speed, but accelerating freaked me out after being on that ride.
I drove about 30 minutes, putting some arbitrary amount of distance between myself and the coaster. Eventually I made it back to where the twisty mountain road met back up with a major road that would eventually meet back up with the highway. After a few more minutes of driving I saw the onramp for the highway. There was one of those big truckstop travel plazas and pulled in, parking right up at the door. I smelled like pee and I can only imagine how I looked, but I didn’t care.
I kept a couple of emergency 20s in the back of my wallet and spent it on the biggest bottle of water the store had, an overpriced bottle of eye drops, and a huge travel mug of coffee. The clerk looked at me as if he was expecting me to either drop dead or rob him the entire time.
Back in my car I downed the coffee. I put a few eye drops in each of my eyes and sat there as the caffeine took effect until I felt like I could make it back to my apartment. The sun was just coming up when I finally pulled out of the truck stop and got on the freeway. I slowly, very slowly, accelerated up to highway speed, put the Camaro in cruise control, and let the miles start to drift away. I turned on the radio, I needed to hear human voices. Every time my mind went back to what had just happened I turned the radio up louder, eventually drowning it out with painful levels of rock music. I wasn’t ready to think about it yet. Yes looking back I know I was just in denial. I finally made it back to the crappy little apartment I had off campus, a little two story walk up studio. I let myself in and collapsed on the cheap couch. I was asleep before I even had the time to decide whether or not to do anything else. I woke up later that afternoon. I took a shower and ate a meal and didn’t think about the ride. I washed the pee stained filthy clothes I had been wearing and didn’t think about the ride. I went back to class and didn’t think about the ride. Every time I thought about the ride I forced it out of my head. I’m sure this wasn’t the most mentally healthy thing to do but what can you say?
I didn’t forget about it, don’t be silly. This isn’t the kind of thing you forget. One day while looking up something else in the university’s library my curiosity got the better of me and I looked up the Alpine Slide. No website but a few Google Map and Yelp mentions. None of them mentioned anything weird, certainly nothing even remotely like what I experienced. Near as I can tell it closed sometimes in the winter of 2012.
Life went on. I mean, that’s what it does. The next day was a little better. And the day after that a little better. And the day after that a little better still. I met a nice girl. Graduated. Got married. Got a nice house in the suburbs. Got a dog. Had a daughter. Spent a lot of time happy and not thinking about being trapped on an endless alpine coaster.And that was my life for many, many years after that.
Until a few weeks back when as a very different person I found myself driving a boring and safe mid sized family SUV through those same mountains. My wife Carol, 5 months pregnant, sat in the passenger seat, our 6 year old daughter Emily in a booster seat in the back, and Max our mixed breed mutt next to her. It had been a nice pleasant trip, driving back from visiting her folks.
I hadn’t thought about that fucking ride in so long I barely registered that I was in the same general area until it was too late. Suddenly I realized that little mountain tourist trap town was only a few minutes down the road. I swallowed hard and gripped the steering wheel hard. Carol was looking out the window at the scenery and Emily was deep into some kid’s Youtube video on an iPad. I forced myself to keep my breath steady as we rounded the corner.The town was still there, sorta. Time had not been kind to it. The gas station was still there, at some point it had been bought out by Shell. The tourist trap shops were still there. One of them was now a vape shop. The diner was closed, the building looking like it sat unused for a long time.
But of course that’s not what I cared about. A looked over at the site where the Alpine Coaster once stood. It was gone. The kitschy fake barn was gone. The site was just a bare concrete slab with a chainlink fence around it. Faded “no trespassing” and “for sale” signs hung off the fence. A pile of old, decaying lumber that might have once long ago been part of the structure covered part of the old lot. No sign of the track remained outside of some old concrete support posts dotting the side of the mountain.
I exhaled out a breath I hadn’t even realized I had been holding in. Soon the little town disappeared in my rear view mirror.
About a half hour later we stopped for gas. I pulled up to a gas pump across from a massive motorhome. Max stuck his head out the window and started barking at a little white dog, a toy breed of some kind, in the window of the motorhome. Carol and Emily immediately headed into the store to restock on snacks while I fueled up.
I stood there, a half smile on my lips as Max barked and wagged his tail in an attempt to attract the attention of the other dog while I filled up the tank, said dog doing an admirable job of ignoring him.
Right about the time I finished fueling up and cleaning the bugs off the windshield Carol returned from inside the store, Emily in tow, arms filled with two full sized bags of Salt and Vinegar Potato Chips and what looked to be a half dozen individually wrapped pickles.
I raised an eyebrow at the collection of food but knew better than to question a pregnant woman's snack choices.
“Should we take Max for a quick walk?” Carol asked. The travel plaza had a nice little gated dog walking area off to the side.
“Yeah probably not a bad idea, he’s been cooped up in the car for a few hours.” I said. Max, upon hearing his name and the word “walk” , forgot about the other dog and upgraded from wagging his tail to wagging his entire body while making whining sounds and staring right at me.
About this time I became half aware that the big motor home next to us was pulling away. I didn’t think much of it, outside of doing a quick automatic mental check to make sure Emily was well clear of the moving vehicle, but she was safely between me and our SUV, well out of the way.
But that was when Emily looked behind me and cheerfully yelled “Daddy look a roller coaster! Can I ride the coaster?”
It’s cliche as fuck I know but my blood went cold.
I turned around slowly, certain in my knowledge that terrible old decrepit Alpine Coaster would be there, having just popped into existence to trap me again.
That.. is not what I saw. Sure enough there was a coaster there, one I hadn’t noticed earlier because it had mostly been blocked by the motor home, but there it was. It was even an Alpine Coaster.
But it was not the same coaster I had encountered those years ago. That was immediately obvious. It was a small but modern and newish looking setup with neon lights and a bunch of people. There was an actual building where you bought tickets and a little snack stand.
“Daddy! Can we go on the coaster!” Emily asked again.
My mouth made motions but no words came out. I glanced over at Carol, hoping she’d say we didn’t have time but to my horror she smiled and said “You know what? That does sound like fun. Daddy will take you while I take Max for a walk.”
My mind raced, trying to think of a way to get out of it. But Emily was already dragging me across the parking lot to the entrance.
I patted my pocket, making sure my phone was in it. Every fiber of my being was screaming to run away. I slept walked through the line and the ticket booth while Emily bounced happily.
We got into a two seat plastic sled. This one was actually a lot nicer than the one my mind wouldn’t stop thinking about. It had two nice cushioned seats, big grab handles, even a nice rollbar.
The sled started up the track. I fought back the panic. I swerved my head around, keeping the building in my view. I was terrified of losing sight of it. We made it to the top and Emily did a happy squeal as we started down the side of the mountain.
My heart raced. Any second, any second my mind told me we’d lose sight of the building and then the ride would never end. The ride sped down the mountain. My mind tortured me with thoughts of not only going through it again, but seeing Emily go through it. The ride went around a big, banking turn. Emily kept shouting happily. How long before Carol reported us missing I wondered? Could I keep Emily calm? What if it lasted even longer this time? What if this time it never ended?
And then we were back at the start of the ride. The same attendant who had helped us into the sled was helping Emily out. I stepped out. The attendant gave me a brief look but said nothing. I guess I looked a little wild eyed.
I was fine. Emily was fine. It had been a perfectly normal, fun ride.
“That was fun Daddy! Thank you!” Emily said. I forced a smile back. “It was fun.” I responded, hoping like I sounded like I meant it.
I took Emily’s hand and we walked back to the car. Max saw us coming and barked happily. Carol looked up from the pint of Ben and Jerry’s she had somehow acquired and added to her snack collection while we were gone and smiled at us.
“Did you have fun?” she asked.
“It was so fun Mommy!” Emily said.
Carol smiled down at her, but then looked at me and frowned. “Are you okay?” Carol could read my face a lot better than the attendant could. “You’re pale.”
I smiled and this time the smile felt real. “Ya know what. Yeah, I think I am okay.”
Carol looked a little puzzled, but didn’t press it. We loaded Emily back in her booster seat, stopped Max from trying desperately to eat half a discarded gas station hot dog off the ground and got him back in the car. Carol and her small collection of snack food took her place in the passenger seat and I got in the driver's seat.I smiled. I cranked the car. I put it in gear. I pulled out of the gas station and back on the road, this time accelerating just a little faster than I had in years.

submitted by JoeMorgue to nosleep [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:45 Shastakine AITA for questioning my husband about cross contamination in his food truck?

Backstory: My husband runs a food truck with his mom in the summer and maintains a daily full time job, I work full time in mental health. We often bicker about everything from who forgot to fill the water pitcher last to whether our mother's are disrespectful to each other. We have a pattern of questioning each other on stuff we know the other knows more about. Further context, I don't work on his truck, but I do maintain the paperwork side of it (accounting, licensing, food safety certifications, etc).
The situation: I brought our toddler up to the truck today to see daddy and grandma, otherwise he doesn't get to see them as much in the summer. A customer asked what they had that was gluten free, and he said they have corn chips for the nachos and corn tortillas. We marinate all our meat by hand and buy fresh veggies and queso for toppings, but we do toast the corn tortillas and the flour tortillas on the same pan for the tacos. So I asked, "but what about cross contamination?" in front of the customer. He kind of snapped at me and said, "it's fine, it's not a problem." The customer didn't get anything and he lectured me that I don't work on the truck, no one's ever complained, and that he knows what he's doing. I think I'm trying to make sure we don't accidentally make anyone sick and/or get a lawsuit. I know for things like tree nut allergies, even being in the same airspace as a peanut can be deadly for some people, celiac people out there, can it be the same? I'd rather be safe than sorry.
submitted by Shastakine to AmItheAsshole [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:44 rioichi4 My partner has started snoring and I feel like my life has shattered

Getting a good night sleep is the ONLY way I have found to not experience daily burnout. I have worked SO hard on making our bedroom the ideal sleep environment: black out curtains, humidifier and air purifier for white noise, no electronics in the room at all, handmade pillows, expensive mattress cover....
My partner and I have been together almost 6 years, and over the past year or so they've slowly started snoring. Now, any given time they're asleep, it's like an 85% chance they are snoring. And LOUD. White noise doesn't cover it. I even bought some really nice sleep headphones thinking that having white noise directly in my ears would help, but I turned it up so loud I got a warning and my ears hurt and I could still hear the snoring. I also tried several different ear plugs. Most were not comfy enough to sleep in, and none of the ones that were actually blocked out noise. (Well they blocked out the white noise but not anything else so).
My partner goes to sleep before I do, so it makes sense that they go in the bedroom and close the door so they can sleep while I'm still up doing things. And I just sneak into bed quietly when I'm ready. But now when my partner is there, that place that was so quiet and peaceful, a sanctuary from the world, now feels hostile because of the noise. So, I end up on the couch, with only room for one pillow, unable to stretch to the sides, in the living room with all the electronics and no blackout curtains.
I know my partner isn't doing on it purpose, but I FEEL like it's a personal attack, like every time they snore, it's a personal "f*ck you" just for me. I don't know how to not feel this way. I don't know how to accept the snoring, if I even can. And I don't know how to sleep well outside my sanctuary.
As for WHY they are snoring, they seem to think it's because of allergies or a sinus infection or something like that, and are taking medication and nasal sprays, which...maybe help a LITTLE? I personally think it's because we're both getting into our 30s, have become lethargic after moving into a better living situation 2 years ago, and have thus gained weight. With much convincing, they've started exercising, but refuse to cut out any sugar, and they won't drink anything that isn't out of a bottle or can, which means soda and I haven't been able to convince them that sugar free soda actually isn't bad. So. If this is the problem, it's not going to change very quickly.
submitted by rioichi4 to AutisticAdults [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:41 Sweet-Count2557 Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square in New York City, USA

Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square in New York City, USA
Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square in New York City, USA
Experience Comfort and Convenience at Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square in Midtown Manhattan, New York City
Price Level: $$$$
Hotel Class: 3.0
Looking for a comfortable and convenient place to stay during your visit to the Big Apple? Look no further than Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square. Our hotel offers everything you need for a relaxing extended stay in NYC. Each of our hotel suites comes equipped with free Wi-Fi and kitchenettes, allowing you to feel right at home. Start your day off right with a plentiful hot and cold breakfast, provided daily. In the evening, unwind and indulge in delicious dinner and drinks at our Bryant Park Lounge. Located in the heart of Times Square, our hotel offers easy access to iconic landmarks such as Bryant Park, the Empire State Building, Radio City Music Hall, and Penn Station. Whether you're here for business or pleasure, Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square is the perfect choice for your stay in Midtown Manhattan.
Amenities of Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square in New York City, USA
Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square in New York City, USA offers a wide range of amenities to ensure a comfortable and convenient stay for its guests. Some of the amenities provided include free internet access, wheelchair access, and free wifi throughout the property. The suites are equipped with a kitchenette, allowing guests to prepare their own meals. The hotel also features meeting rooms, laundry service, a restaurant, and a balounge. Guests can enjoy a complimentary breakfast and take advantage of the dry cleaning services. The non-smoking rooms, business center, and fitness center cater to the needs of both business and leisure travelers. With its accessible rooms, microwave, and refrigerator in each room, the hotel ensures that all guests have a comfortable stay. Additionally, the Residence Inn offers conference facilities, a safe, flatscreen TV, and parking options. The friendly staff, available 24/7 at the front desk, ensures that guests have a pleasant experience throughout their stay.
Contact of Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square in New York City, USA
18446310595
1033 Avenue of the Americas, New York City, NY 10018-5408
https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotels/nycri-residence-inn-new-york-manhattan-times-square/overview/?scid=45f93f1b-bd77-45c9-8dab-83b6a417f6fe&y_source=1_Mjc0NTM1MC03NjktbG9jYXRpb24ud2Vic2l0ZQ%3D%3D
Location of Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square in New York City, USA
Pictures of Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square in New York City, USA
Tips for Staying in Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square
The elevators get very crowded during the morning breakfast rush. Try to get to breakfast earlier to avoid congestion and more options.Go very early to breakfast. It is packed with people. Restaurants everywhere!Elevator very slowAsk for room with a viewRequest a quieter room
Reviews of Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square in New York City, USA
Book Residence Inn New York Manhattan/Times Square Now !!!
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submitted by Sweet-Count2557 to worldkidstravel [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:30 MisoVicious Eight years ago, I got an email from Barbara. Here’s the story:

TL;DR at the bottom.
So, for those of whom don’t remember, there was a time where RT Sponsor dues were just $10 every six months. And when you’re thirteen years old, without a source of income aside from the very rare allowance your mom gives you, $10 is a lot of money. I was neck deep in my love of RT content, but I was dying to take it to the next level with Sponsor exclusive content. So, I bartered with my mom to cover the payments in exchange for chores. Hindsight, she probably got the better end of the deal, but I was over the moon. I got that star next to my name, and that was all that mattered.
Cut to a few years later, they’ve upped the cost from $10 every six months to $19.99 every six months. But, people like me who signed up prior to the price change were grandfathered in and were still paying the old price. However, Chelsea did state that if there was a lapse in payment, you’d lose your grandfather status. Easy enough, right?
If only it could’ve lasted forever. But my mom’s debit card expired, and as you could imagine, this lead to a lapse in payment. Obviously, I was distraught. I was a broke college student, my daily lunch was a bag of microwave popcorn and a can of Arizona Iced Tea. I emailed support and begged them for help, but they told me there was nothing they could do. I told my mom what had happened, and how sad I was, but she insisted I should call and ask to be transferred to whomever was in change. That there had to be someone who could change the price back. I called, got to the supervisor, and they told me the same thing: they couldn’t do anything to help me, and that they were sorry for my predicament. I blamed myself, and wallowed in my self-loathing for a few days.
Imagine my surprise when I’m having dinner with my parents, and I’m telling my dad this whole story, when my mom tells me she’s going to straighten it out. The exchange goes like this:
Mom: It’ll be okay, honey. I’m going to fix this. Me: Wait, what does that mean? Mom: Don’t worry about it. I’m taking care of it. Me: I’m very worried now. What are you talking about? What did you do? Mom: I just emailed support, told them I was your mother, and I wasn’t going to let them treat you like this. You’ve been a loyal customer and fan for too long, you deserve better treatment. Me: … Please tell me you’re joking. Mom: I just told them the truth. You’re a good kid. And you shouldn’t be punished for something that was an accident. Me: I’m not being punished, it’s just their policy. Punishment would be banning me from the site because my mother is harassing their support staff via email. Mom: Oh it’s not harassment. I was very polite, but I made it clear that I wasn’t going to let you go down without a fight. Me: Without a fight?! Mom! What did you say?
Here’s something you need to know about my mom: she’s never one to take something lying down. Especially when it comes to her kids. The admin in our schools knew her by name, and knew she wasn’t one to be trifled with. She was like an urban legend. Whenever she felt we weren’t being treated fairly or got in trouble for something that wasn’t our fault, it would only take one phone call before the school was apologizing to her for their “mistake” and hope she would forgive them. I’m pretty sure she was on some sort of call list that immediately routed her to the head of school. Crazy parents wish they could reach my mother’s level. She’s capable of destroying people like a hurricane destroys a city.
So, I knew what it meant when my mom said she was “taking care of it”. It meant she was going to put the fear of god into them. And if they wouldn’t relent, I think she would have got on the first plane to Austin and “taken care of it” in person, which is the nuclear option. Your only choice at that point would be to move out of her way or get rolled over. It’s a terrifying sight.
She showed me the email, and it was everything I feared. It mentioned like ten times that she was my mom, how sad I was, how I cried, how wrong they were, how she wasn’t going to let this happen, they were going to fix this, and how this wasn’t how you treated a child (I WAS IN COLLEGE). Needless to say, I was horribly embarrassed. I needed to leave the country, assume a new identity, get plastic surgery to change my face, then make a new account on the site. The best I could hope for was that her email would go into a junk folder for crazy moms and they would never read it.
I was not so lucky.
A few days later, my mom shows me how she got a response from someone who was at the top of the food chain.
God strike me down, for it was the people’s Queen herself.
Barbara Dunkleman.
Her response to my mother’s unhinged email was nothing short of polite. She apologized for what happened, explained that her team, while growing in size, was still quite small. So they weren’t able to give my case the care it deserved. But reiterated what we heard from four different people at customer service: there was nothing that could be done.
But, Barbara graciously offered a year of free membership to compensate for my “distress”.
I was mortified.
Twelve years I was the girl with the terrifying mom in school, now her terror has spread amongst the RoosterTeeth staff.
If I knew this was how it would end up, I would’ve suffered through the loss of my grandfathered Sponsorship in silence instead of sharing my feelings with my mom.
To be perfectly honest, I actually avoided meeting Barbara at RTX because I was afraid she would remember my name. Realistically, she probably wouldn’t have. She meets so many fans and dealt with so many users on a daily basis, I was probably just a distant memory to her. But I wasn’t willing to take that chance. Go to a signing, introduce myself, then Barbara starts slowly backing away in case my mom is in the area.
And I thought I would take this story to my grave. But with everything that’s happened, and everyone sharing their stories, I thought what the heck.
Barbara, if you’re reading this, please know that I am sorry for my mother. Wish I met you irl at RTX when I had the chance.
TL;DR: Lost my grandfathered sponsor rates due to an expired debit card. My mom decided to intervene when I gave up hope, and sent a SCATHING email to RT support. Barbara herself responded and was very nice and helpful. I’m still embarrassed about this.
submitted by MisoVicious to roosterteeth [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:29 NoteChoice7719 Media Bias and Fact Check rating if major Australian News Sources

I see a lot of commenters on this sub argue about the credibility and ideology of news sources. There’s a great site out there that measures the leaning and truthfulness of news sites, so I’d thought I’d post the ratings for some of the major Australian sources:
Overall, we rate ABC News Australia as left-center Biased based on story selection that moderately favors the left and High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and being a certified fact-checker.
Overall, we rate The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Left-Center Biased based on story selection and editorial positions that moderately favor the left. We also rate them High for factual reporting due to proper sourcing and a clean fact-check record.
Overall, we rate The Australian Right-Center biased based on story selection and editorial positions that favor the right. We also rate them Mixed for factual reporting due to two failed facts and questionable reporting on climate change.
Overall, we rate 7NEWS Right-Center Biased based on story selection and editorial positions that favor the right. We also rate them Mixed for factual reporting due to a few false and controversial claims.
Overall, we rate Daily Mail Right Biased and Questionable due to numerous failed fact checks and poor information sourcing.
Overall, we rate News.com.au Right-Center Biased based on story selection that slightly favors the right. We also rate them Mostly Factual in reporting rather than High due to the occasional use of poor sources
Overall, we rate Sky News Australia Right-Biased based on story selection and editorial positions that mostly favor the right. We also rate them borderline Questionable and Mixed for factual reporting due to several failed fact checks, unproven claims, and the promotion of conspiracy theories and misinformation.
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/
submitted by NoteChoice7719 to australian [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:28 No_Arm_498 Bought way to many diy products and don't know how to use many

Okay so I went a little crazy after doing very well with diy tox and started buying everything I was interested in with tax return. Now I have things I'm unsure how to use properly, I may have things I'll never use and I'll probably Try to sell for what I paid for bec I don't want items to expire. All products came from the recommended sites on here and can get more into that later if I sell some. But for now I have questions some syringes come with larger needle and I. Wondering if I need to replace tip.. I'll list items I have I question and anyone with experience plz feel free to chime in, Spider Aqua eye booster, 2 xsome, Miracle L, Gana booster V, Youthfill PN with lido, Revs Pro32, ExoHealer Filcore p198 with the activation solution . Okay that's o ly half the products but let's start there . Help!!! I want to lean as much as possible before jumping right in. The DIY I have tried I have done very well with. I am a medical assistant and phlebotomist I know the risks and I know how to keep things clean, but this is my decision I think this is the right group to post these questions in.. thanks ♡
submitted by No_Arm_498 to DIYCosmeticProcedures [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:27 BellBells38 Free Cardstock Templates

I'm looking for new cardstock paper crafts (not just cards) for the holidays outside of design space. Is there anywhere that has this? Most free svg sites focus on svgs for sticker, vinyl and decals
submitted by BellBells38 to cricut [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:26 Sweet-Count2557 The Residence Maldives Falhumaafushi in Falhumaafushi, Maldives

The Residence Maldives Falhumaafushi in Falhumaafushi, Maldives
The Residence Maldives Falhumaafushi in Falhumaafushi, Maldives
The Residence Maldives Falhumaafushi: A Luxurious and Secluded Getaway in Falhumaafushi, Maldives
Price Level: $$$$
Hotel Class: 5
Located on the pristine island of Falhumaafushi in the Gaafu Alifu atoll, The Residence Maldives Falhumaafushi is a luxurious resort that offers a truly intimate and secluded getaway. With 94 beach-front and over-water villas, guests can enjoy breathtaking views of the island's house reef and its fascinating marine life, including sharks and turtles, right from their villa deck. The villas are designed to blend harmoniously with the tropical surroundings, featuring natural materials and local artefacts. For ultimate relaxation, guests can indulge in exclusive treatments at The Spa by Clarins, which is available at both Falhumaafushi and its sister resort on Dhigurah island. The resort also offers a variety of dining options, including the romantic Falhumaa restaurant situated at the end of a 230m jetty, providing stunning views of the Indian Ocean. Adventure seekers can explore the exceptional diving sites surrounding the hotel, with the PADI 5* Dive Centre catering to snorkelers and scuba-divers of all levels. With its range of amenities, including water sports, a fitness centre, kids club, and excursions to nearby islands, The Residence Maldives Falhumaafushi is the perfect destination for a memorable and rejuvenating vacation.
Amenities of The Residence Maldives Falhumaafushi in Falhumaafushi, Maldives
The Residence Maldives Falhumaafushi in Falhumaafushi, Maldives offers a wide range of amenities to ensure a luxurious and enjoyable stay for its guests. From the moment you arrive, you can take advantage of the complimentary airport transportation, making your journey to the resort seamless. Once you settle into your room, you'll find that it is equipped with modern amenities such as a flatscreen TV, free WiFi, and a private balcony where you can enjoy stunning views of the surrounding area. If you're looking to relax and unwind, you can indulge in a variety of spa treatments or take a dip in the infinity pool. For those who prefer to stay active, there is a fitness center and facilities for activities such as canoeing, diving, and snorkeling. The resort also offers a range of dining options, including a restaurant, balounge, poolside bar, and special diet menus. With amenities such as a kids club, babysitting services, and entertainment staff, The Residence Maldives Falhumaafushi ensures that guests of all ages are well taken care of during their stay.
Contact of The Residence Maldives Falhumaafushi in Falhumaafushi, Maldives
119606820089
Falhumaafushi 20888
info-maldives@theresidence.com
http://cenizaro.com/theresidence/maldives-fm
Location of The Residence Maldives Falhumaafushi in Falhumaafushi, Maldives
Pictures of The Residence Maldives Falhumaafushi in Falhumaafushi, Maldives
Tips for Staying in The Residence Maldives Falhumaafushi
I prefer a sunset villa. The sunsets are amazing.We found that the all inclusive package provided good value.We would recommend making the fine dining reservations well in advance.Book a villa with a pool so you can get peace away from the kids at the main pool.Make sure you make your food and drinks package selection up front when making your room reservation.Sunset villa not sunrise villa as when tide is out sunrise villa isn’t so good.
Reviews of The Residence Maldives Falhumaafushi in Falhumaafushi, Maldives
Book The Residence Maldives Falhumaafushi Now !!!
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2024.05.19 01:24 OkYou387 This is a scam, isn’t it

submitted by OkYou387 to SteamScams [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:16 Substantial-Long506 how can i learn completely self taught?

i’m practically completely new, i tried learning during the school year for a week but my ap classes i had to lock in for so i haven’t done any practice and i’m practically a beginner again, i think im gonna start with the music theory site to get used to the location of the keys and whatever exercises u guys think i should do on that site, after that what are resources i should use to learn? preferably free like youtube and just advice in general, thank you for any recommendations
submitted by Substantial-Long506 to pianolearning [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:15 cheinyeanlim Some researchers say GPT-4o's Chinese token-training data is polluted by spam and porn websites, likely due to inadequate data cleaning

Some researchers say GPT-4o's Chinese token-training data is polluted by spam and porn websites, likely due to inadequate data cleaning
Researchers warn that GPT-4o's Chinese token-training data is tainted by spam and porn sites, likely due to insufficient data cleaning. GPT4o #AIResearch
Stay ahead of the curve with the latest trends in tech and marketing – join our subreddit community martechnewser today for instant notifications!
Some researchers say GPT-4o's Chinese token-training data is polluted by spam and porn websites, likely due to inadequate data cleaning
  • GPT-4o, the newest version released by OpenAI, has some Chinese language tokens filled with spam and porn phrases, indicating a significant issue with its data filtering process.
  • The inefficient data cleaning before training the model's tokenizer has led to these inappropriate tokens, which not only distort the language processing but can also circumvent safety measures.
  • Despite GPT-4o's advancement in handling multi-language tasks, the presence of these tokens suggests a lack of thorough data sanitization, especially for non-English languages, affecting the model's reliability.
  • Tokens play a crucial role in making language models more efficient and cost-effective, as they help encode more complex prompts faster with less computing power.
  • The issue doesn't appear in tokens for other languages such as Hindi and Bengali, suggesting that the problem may be specific to the Chinese dataset used for training GPT-4o.
A PhD student from Princeton University uncovered the issue with GPT-4o's Chinese tokens by pulling a list of the 100 longest tokens and finding that the majority of them were related to spam or porn contexts. The longest token, amusingly, translated to "_free Japanese porn video to watch," highlighting the severity and absurdity of the oversight.
"This is sort of ridiculous," Cai wrote, and he posted the list of tokens on GitHub.
Researchers have been able to use the polluted tokens to trick GPT-4o into "hallucinating" answers or dodging OpenAI's safety protocols, demonstrating how significant the impact of dataset quality is on the performance of advanced AI models.
submitted by cheinyeanlim to martechnewser [link] [comments]


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submitted by Commercial-Day-6223 to Insfollowprocom [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:02 SenseTime7774 Campaign management systems

I've recently seen a lot of adds for some third party RPG campaign management sites (Mythweaver, Scabbard and Quest Portal to name a few). Just wanted to hear people's experiences, paid or free on what they prefer as well as any pitfalls to avoid?
DnDBeyond and Demiplane are already being utilised, but the idea of having something more heavy-duty is appealing.
submitted by SenseTime7774 to rpg [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:00 AutoModerator Casual Discussion Thread (May 18, 2024)

General Discussion threads threads are meant for more casual chat; a place to break most of the frontpage rules. Feel free to ask for recommendations, lists, homework help; plug your site or video essay; discuss tv here, or any such thing.
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2024.05.19 01:00 AutoModerator Eun Sang's Sleepy Sunday Soliloquy - [2024/05/18]

Hello everyone! Have you been sleeping well or have you been up all night binging dramas?
Eun Sang's Sleepy Sunday Soliloquy (ESSSS) is a free for all thread, in which almost anything goes, don't diss The Heirs or break any of our other core rules. General discussion about anything and everything is allowed - including monologues!
Who is Eun Sang?! Good question. To the uninitiated among us who haven't watched the seminal masterpiece, The Heirs, she is KDRAMA's first lady, Kim Tan's main squeeze, Cha Eun Sang. She is a lady of few words, but many, many tears.
Please remember to use spoiler tags when discussing major plot points or anything you think should be redacted. If you are using Markdown and not Fancy Pants Editor, the easiest way to create spoiler tags is to use > ! spoiler content ! < without spaces to get spoiler content. For more detailed guidance on spoiler tags and when to use them, check our Spoiler Tags Tutorial.
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2024.05.19 01:00 Few-Display5133 What are your favorite memories of watching Stargate?

Hello everyone! I have just recently rediscovered this sub a few days ago and have been pretty much lurking non stop since, and just wanted to share some of my favorite memories of watching this show with my dad.
I first started watching this show with my dad when I was about 12 years old (I am now 28). We started with the original movie before starting with SG1, and immediately after the 1st episode was hooked and couldn’t get enough of it. Couldn’t even tell you how many times we watched SG1/SGA all the way through(never finished SGU).
Watching the show with my dad as a kid and talking stargate together was our thing. It’s some of my fondest/happiest memories as kid of my dad. We went to a convention together in LA in 2011 I believe, and ended up going to a convention in Chicago, in the summer of 2012, that we took a train to get to all the way from Fullerton, Ca. Long story for a different day as to why we took a train lol.
This man loved stargate so much that his ringtone on his iPhone was the opening music to Atlantis. This man could quote any episode off the top of his head and his knowledge of this show was rival to none.
Unfortunately, he passed away in 2021 due to congestive heart failure while on dialysis. It still is the most devastating and heat breaking day I ever had. I know the amount of pain he was in and how difficult it was for him to live like that, especially since he was a realtor and had move around a lot and talk to people. I know in my heart of hearts that he “ Died Free”. Free from all the pain and agony he had on a daily basis. I haven’t been able to bring myself to watch the show without him, it just hurts too much and feels wrong. However, after rediscovering this sub I’ve been able to relive my favorite moments with him, and I’m thankful to everybody who has posted here about their love of Stargate.
My favorite episode is “Threshold” from season 5. Where Teal’c is put through the Rite of M’al Sharran, after he was brainwashed by Apophis. I love getting a look into Teal’cs past as first time of Apophis and the mercy he showed Va’lar, and the shame he felt later on when he killed him.
So I’m asking all of you, what is your favorite memory of watching Stargate? Whether it was a parent, spouse, loved one, or by yourself, please share.
And yes I did ultimately end up serving just under 6 years in the USAF and just got out 3 weeks ago.
Thank you
submitted by Few-Display5133 to Stargate [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:00 PaulieSmash New Zealand v Canada 05:35 GMT Pacific Four Series

  • Thanks for helping your fellow rugby fans to follow rugby!
submitted by PaulieSmash to rugbystreams [link] [comments]


2024.05.19 01:00 PaulieSmash Bristol Bears Women v Leicester Tigers Women 15:30 GMT Allianz Premiership Women's Rugby

  • Thanks for helping your fellow rugby fans to follow rugby!
submitted by PaulieSmash to rugbystreams [link] [comments]


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